Chapter 10

  Fortunately for my nerves, we didn't have to wait long. Before even ten minutes had passed, Oberon, Lord of the Seelie Court of the Sidhe and King of Faerie, arrived.

  Which was, weirdly, both less dramatic and more impressive than it sounds.

  He came quietly and without any particular fanfare, emerging from the woods beyond the edge of my clearing as if he'd walked the entire way. But at the same time, he didn't move through the trees and bushes…they seemed to shift politely aside for him to pass before returning to their original positions. He stopped just at the edge of the clearing, close to but beyond my wards and the fairy ring within them. Puck emerged from the woods behind him and to one side, looking exactly the same as he had the night before.

  Oberon was tall, I guessed at least six and a half feet, slim, and moved with a smooth grace that was literally otherworldly, practically seeming to glide rather than walk. His skin had a faintly golden cast to it, and his features were frankly beautiful; his face was long with, high, sharp cheekbones, a strong jaw and chin, and a hawk-like nose. His ears were long and pointed, angled up and back from his face rather than out to the sides the way Puck's were.

  His hair was long and golden-blond, tied back in a neat, high pony tail. His eyes, which found mine immediately, were mismatched…one was a brilliant green, the other bright gold.

  He wore what I thought were surprisingly simple clothes for royalty: A forest green tunic with a leaf pattern of gold embroidery at the hem, neck, and capped sleeves, over a dark brown shirt and green trousers that matched his tunic. Brown knee-high leather boots, a gold belt, and a necklace of small gold shields accented his outfit. Aside from those, the only other jewelry he wore was a circlet of gold around his head, with a single perfectly cut oval emerald embedded in it at the center of his forehead.

  But then, maybe he didn't feel he needed to look more impressive than he already was. Even through my wards and the intervening distance, I could feel the raw power of him. It was warm like a sunbeam, and crackled with restrained energy like the air just before an intense thunderstorm. This man was, I knew instinctively, like nobody I had ever met before. The power wielded by Bellinus von Einhardt at the height of his fury was a faint breeze compared to restrained tempest of Oberon at rest.

  I was profoundly glad that he was there for a friendly meeting, and had no doubt at all that in a contest of power he could swat me like a bug…and would always be able to do so, no matter how long I lived or how experienced I became.

  Oberon was a force of nature. He could have torn down my wards with a gesture and walked across the fairy ring as if it weren't there.

  He was also smiling warmly, and bowed politely. "Lady Caitlyn Reid, I presume?" His voice flowed like warm honey, a rich, melodious tenor. At the same time, I thought his smile never quite touched his eyes, which seemed hard and calculating to me.

  So I walked to meet him, and returned his bow with a curtsy. "Lord Oberon, you honor me with your presence. Will you be my guest and join me for refreshments?" I gestured to the table and chairs behind me. "I'm afraid I only set service for two. It will only take a moment for me to rectify the matter."

  He nodded graciously. "I accept your hospitality, my lady, with pleasure. And you need not put yourself out. Service for two is sufficient for you and I." With that, he entered the clearing and walked to the table with me, where the others were waiting.

  Puck threw me a little nod and a smile anyway. Clearly, he appreciated being acknowledged. But I remembered how in medieval times, servants were expected to be invisible, taking their ease and comfort only once their duties were done. I guessed that was how it still worked in the Seelie Court of the Sidhe.

  "If you'll allow me," I said politely, "permit me to introduce my boon companions, Sparkle and Penumbra," I gestured to them, then to Spice and Shine, "and my chief retainers, Spice and Shine, who lead the Fairies of Oakwood Hall."

  He bowed to Sparkle and Penny as deeply as he had to me, and less deeply but still politely to Spice and Shine. "It is my great pleasure to meet you all. And if I may say so, Spice and Shine have done a magnificent job setting up protections for this entrance to your home and building a home for their people."

  Spice and Shine bobbed curtsies in mid-air, and Spice murmured their thanks. They did not, I noticed with curiosity, either glow or grow in stature slightly the way they did when I praised their efforts. I parked that information in the back of my mind for later contemplation.

  Spice and Shine then retreated to the village proper, while Sparkle landed back on my shoulder and Penny sat beside my chair as I settled into it. Oberon sat across from me, adjusting his chair slightly as I poured tea for us both, then offered him cream and sugar, both of which he took. Puck took up a position a few feet behind Oberon, to his right, mirroring Penny's positioning.

  By the time we'd both sipped our tea, Oberon looked both amused and pleased. "Someone has been coaching you in the proper way to receive guests, I see."

  I smiled. "I have excellent tutors," I agreed.

  "And tremendous potential," Oberon said. "Your family has produced some of the most gifted spellcasters the mortal world has ever seen, and I can see that possibility in you already."

  I nodded my head graciously. "Thank you."

  He sipped his tea, then set the cup down and tipped his head a little, pursing his lips. "I hope you will not think me ungracious, but there are many things I must do and time presses…and it is…" He hesitated a moment, then started over. "It is unusual for me to find myself in a position of needing to ask another for aid. Let alone a young mortal, even a mortal as gifted as you. I beg you, take no offense. I am…" He spread his hands.

  He was showing me vulnerability, but I wondered at the truth of it. I could still feel the power in this being, and while I thought it could be nurturing, it was also huge and had an edge to it like nails on a chalkboard…there was the potential for extreme violence hidden beneath the peaceful gentility.

  I suddenly understood on an instinctive level why the Seelie Court was called the Summer Court. Yes, Oberon was warm, smiling, and outwardly cheerful and…sunny, for lack of a better term. But beneath that, behind it, lay the potential for the sort of dangerous, violent storm that a bright summer's day could turn to. For all his apparently friendly vulnerability, his eyes still looked calculating, and this was still a being of tremendous and dangerous power.

  "I think I understand," I said politely, feeling no offense, and wanting to offer none. This being was practically a physical god compared to me. Even if I was wrong about him covering up his potential for dangerous violence with a genteel and friendly mien, I was certain it had been a very, very long time - possibly millennia - since he had asked anyone for help.

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  "Growing up," I said carefully, "I was taught that there was no shame either in needing help or in asking for it, and that doing so was a sign of inner strength, not of weakness. And I was taught to give help when asked, as long as it was within my power to do so." Which I hoped was a polite way of saying I was willing to offer help, without actually doing so until I'd heard what he needed help with.

  Frankly, I couldn't imagine anything that a being like Oberon could need my help with.

  He nodded slightly and smiled faintly. "A very mortal viewpoint, but there is wisdom in it. I offer you wisdom in exchange: In Faerie, especially among the Sidhe, needing help is seen as a weakness, a failing. It is one reason we bargain for equivalent exchanges."

  I sipped my tea, then set my cup down. "In what way can Oakwood Hall be of aid to you, Lord Oberon?" I asked politely, wondering if perhaps he was simply uncomfortable asking without aid being offered first. And I hoped that I'd done so without dedicating myself to providing that help before hearing what it was, by not asking how I could help him.

  His eyes narrowed slightly, but it seemed I was close to the mark, because he nodded slightly. "There is a piece of information for which I have searched far and wide. A seemingly insignificant bit of knowledge, and yet one which I find myself in need of to resolve a larger puzzle. I have reason to believe that in your family's library, of which I have heard great things, this insignificant bit of information might be found."

  Before I could say anything, he held up a hand to forestall comment and continued. "No matter how insignificant the information I seek might be, I understand that asking to enter Oakwood Hall is no small thing. Even twenty years deprived of the presence of a blood member of your family, and even damaged through the actions of wizards of the so-called International Consortium of Organized Arcana…" he said the group's name in the same way someone else might have talked about cockroaches, "the wards and protections of Oakwood Hall are the strongest I have seen outside of Faerie. And with good reason. Nor should you ever allow anyone to enter the Hall lightly."

  I felt a frisson of unease over how much he seemed to know about the Hall's defenses, and how much he hinted at knowing about the Hall itself. But then, I realized, he'd probably been around when the Hall was built, and was certainly considerably older than it.

  And he was, after all, just hinting, and I recalled what Ken and Sparkle had taught me about the Sidhe. How they couldn't lie, but were also masters of telling the literal truth. He might not actually know anything more than what he'd just said, but presented what he knew in such a way that I would assume he knew more than that.

  I could already see that my various teachers had been right…I was going to dislike dealing with the Sidhe.

  "To that end," Oberon continued, "I would offer you the following deal: In exchange for unfettered and unattended access to Oakwood Hall's legendary library for one day, sunrise to sunset, I will offer you one boon of your choosing."

  Sparkle sucked in a little breath beside my right ear, and across from me I saw Puck's eyes widen in astonishment. Considering the power Oberon had at his beck and call, I suspected that an open-ended favor from him was quite an offer.

  "I vow that I will take nothing physically from the library," Oberon continued, "nor will I remove anything from it in any way, so long as no one is there to observe what I seek and hope to find. Nor will your or any of your household, any beholden to you, or any in your confidence seek after the fact to learn what I sought." He smiled slightly. "And even if I do not find what I seek, the boon I offer will be yours to use as you will. Though of course, I will offer greater value in return should I find my prize."

  My lips were suddenly very dry, so I licked them before speaking. "I…will need time to consider your request…" I said carefully.

  He smiled more widely, that cold, calculating look back in his eyes. "Of course," he said airily, waving a hand graciously. "This being your first contact with the Seelie Court, and hopefully the first of many, you should of course consult your tutors for advice before accepting my proposal." He held up a single finger. "But tarry not, Lady Reid. I am not yet pressed for time, but will need your response before the next new moon."

  Which was less than three weeks away, if I remembered correctly. Still, that was plenty of time.

  "Puck!" Oberon said.

  Puck stepped forward and, with a flick of his fingers, a business card appeared in his hand and was held out to me. "Call this number at any time, day or night, and I will answer," he said.

  I took the card from him, and indeed there was a perfectly mundane phone number printed on one side of it, and nothing else. I wondered if making it appear had been real magic, or just a particularly good piece of sleight-of-hand. "Thank you."

  Oberon nodded and rose. "Thank you for your time, Lady Reid. I shan't take any more of it this day. You will wish to speak with your advisors, and I have other responsibilities awaiting me." He smiled wryly, the first expression I'd seen on his face that I thought might be completely genuine. "Time, as they say, waits for no man. Even if my relationship with time is different than most."

  I rose, and curtsied as he bowed to me. "Good day, Lady Reid," he said politely.

  "Good day to you, Lord Oberon. I will be in touch soon."

  "See that you are," He said brusquely. Then his lips twitched in annoyance before being replaced by his usual smile, and I suspected that had slipped out. And with that, he turned and strode towards the edge of the clearing.

  Puck glanced at the plate of little cakes and lifted his eyebrows hopefully. I smiled and nodded. He quickly snatched up two of the treats, gave me a genuine smile in return, bowed politely, and hurried after his master.

  As they vanished into the woods - which again seemed to open and close behind them - I sat down in the chair I'd made and let out a gusty sigh. I took one of the little cakes myself, popped it in my mouth, and washed it down with what was left of my tea.

  Then I got the ball rolling. "Sparkle?"

  She was instantly off my shoulder and hovering in front of me. "Yes, Caley?"

  "I want all hands on deck for a lunch meeting today in Dara's garden," I said. "That includes Spice and Shine. Have Ken see if he can reach Ariana and Emrys." I hesitated, wanting to ask D.T.'s advice as well…but this was way outside of her area of expertise. "Have him call Margrave, too. See if this is something he'd be willing to be on speakerphone for, or even attend in person. This is…big."

  "You have no idea," Sparkle said, then threw me a crisp salute. "I'm on it, Caley! Can I have a cake first?"

  I smiled. "Have three."

  She did, making them vanish in short order, then zooming off in Spice and Shine's direction first.

  I took another deep breath and let it out slowly. "Penny, do me a favor and take the tea service back to the kitchen. Have a cake if you want one, I'm going to give the rest to the fairies."

  Penny was instantly in her human form, collecting the remains of the tea. "I'll pass on a cake," she said with a smile. "And if I may say so, I think you're handling this very well so far."

  "Thank you," I said earnestly. "Thank you very much."

  She bent and kissed my cheek, then picked up the tray and went back inside.

  I sat there for a few minutes longer, then picked up the plate of little cakes and walked over to Spice and Shine's house at the edge of the village. They were standing at the edge of their observation deck as I approached, still in their finery.

  "We'll happily attend your meeting, Caley," Spice said earnestly when asked. "You honor us greatly."

  I smiled at how serious she was about that, and carefully placed the plate on their deck. "These are for you and the other fairies. A little extra show of my appreciation for your protection and support."

  I was instantly surrounded by a softly buzzing cloud of multi-colored lights as my fairies approached. "Thank you," I said, "all of you. Your presence enriches my life."

  They all glowed more brightly for a moment, an almost dizzying display…then, in a surprising show of restraint, they approached a few at a time as Spice and Shine broke up the little cakes into smaller pieces for them, making sure everyone got an equal share. Except for the two of them, of course…they each got their own little cake.

  I sat on the edge of my bedroom windowsill and looked at the woods. After a while, I felt the gentle sensation as Sparkle touched down my right shoulder, and a warm hand came to rest on my left. Glancing that way, I saw Penny's concerned expression.

  "I'm all right," I said to them. "Just thinking I might leave the table and chairs," I indicated the wooden furniture I'd transfigured barely two hours earlier. It seemed like days ago, somehow. "Maybe make the table a little bigger and add another chair or two."

  Sparkle giggled. "That's a great idea."

  "They look quite natural there," Penny agreed. "You did an excellent job on them."

  "Ken says he's going to try to reach Ariana first, then Margrave," Sparkle added. "Since Margrave always answers."

  I nodded. "I hope they can come. I want their advice very badly."