“There is no magic in my blood. I am not a Eudemon. How does this profit you? Why must I continue wearing this paper robe? It is indecent.” Edofine wished Christine was there, but she had gone to work upstairs.

“There’s no need to be afraid.”

“I am not afraid. I have been stabbed through the stomach with a spear, and the medicine-singers healed me without all this humiliation.”

Doctor Fordham and the male nurse, who was a half-Elf half-Eudemon like Lira, told Edofine they needed all this information for insurance purposes and also to further the cause of non-human medicine. They took his pulse, checked his teeth, X-Rayed his skeleton, tested his flexibility, agility, and strength, and even his oxygen consumption, making him run on a treadmill with a mask on his face. Eventually he relaxed a little and stopped being on the defensive—once he sensed they were doing this for his sake.

Krith had troubles. When Doctor Fordham stuck a needle in him to collect his blood, the needle melted. Even after Edofine finished, he had to wait for Krith, who sat in a bucket of boiling water, apologizing for all the medical equipment he damaged. Everything that touched his skin burned or melted, and Krith himself was getting pale pink from the chill. Whenever someone was not trying to measure some part of his body he set himself on fire, which slowly made him shrink to the size of a rabbit, then a guinea pig, and then a rat. They had to put him in the cooler again.

The medical group in the OMHI gave up.

In Christine’s meeting of anthropologists she heard the same news of the budget cuts, and when she protested they needed to do something about the annihilation of the Dance Clan, her superiors apologized that they did not have the resources for any action concerning the atrocity. She started to cry, saying Edofine and Kryvek would be terribly disappointed, and what would her father have thought if he were still alive? Several of her co-workers hugged her.

Edofine received a birth certificate under the name of Edward Fletcher, one year of free Blue Cross Blue Shield health insurance, a Social Security number, and a high school diploma. Before they gave him that they tested his English and math skills, which were high school level, and he knew a surprising amount of biology, chemistry, and physics. Magic is bound up in science, and to know one an Elf must know the other. The only things he lacked were technological skills and knowledge of human history, but since some poorer schools didn’t teach such things, his education was satisfactory in the OMHI’s eyes. They also gave him a brochure for a night school class held in one of the OMHI’s conference rooms, called ‘Modern Jobs: Translating Elven Skills into Human Occupations’. Edofine thanked Mrs. Oova kindly.

Chapter Nine

Shoppers and Consumers and Merchants

“So this is a car,” Edofine said.

Sara shook her head. “This is a bus.”

“Ai, I continue to make these errors. These clothes are stiff and chafing.” Edofine unbuttoned the top button of the blue Oxford shirt he borrowed from Kryvek. He fidgeted in the khaki shorts, feeling naked with his legs so bare. The bus’ neat gray benches were all empty except for the driver, a Caucasian man. Edofine winced as they went over a speed bump, and his hazel-gold eyes bulged as he folded up. “I feel ill,” he whispered, nervously stroking his long, dark brown tresses.

With a gentle pull, Sara maneuvered Edofine’s head so that it rested on her shoulder while she had an arm around his waist. Edofine’s innocence and fragility brought out her maternal instincts. “You’re just carsick. Once we get off you’ll feel fine. Do you think you can handle a big crowd?”

“More crowds than in the OMHI?”

Sara pondered for a moment. “I haven’t been there, but if it’s like any normal office building, the mall will be worse. Tuesday morning shouldn’t be unbearable, though.”

Edofine sighed and pulled three twenty-dollar bills out of his pocket. “Kryvek has been very kind. He is helping me buy new clothes. You are kind too, guiding me so.”

“Thanks, Ed. Can I call you Ed?”

“I prefer my full name, but it may draw attention to me.”

“Could I—um, could I maybe touch your ear? It’s beautiful.”

“You may.”

Such lovely, delicate points, Sara thought, lightly stippling her fingers on the upward tip of one ear. She knew she was amazingly lucky to have the privilege of friendship with an Elf. How could anyone harm such a people?

Edofine lifted his head up and looked in her eyes, his eyebrows furrowed. “Does your husband approve of you spending so much time with me?”

“He considers you a rather silly child, and anyway I didn’t tell him I was buying cookware with you.”

“Oh, but is that not wrong? Should you not have his good will?”

Sara patted Edofine on the back. “If his feelings get hurt, that’s his problem. He needs to let me choose my friends.”

“I continue to forget you cannot hear his feelings. If I displease anyone, his thought-music becomes unbearable to me. I know I please you, and that you love me.”

“No, I don’t,” Sara protested, turning pink. “I like you.”

“I did not mean lovers’ love. You love John greatly—you think of me as a younger brother or a nephew. Which is odd, since Kryvek and Christine truly are adopted brother and sister, but their love is romantic. English is frustrating, in any case, for the different types of love are not differentiated. And the grammar: woe unto the grammar. My teacher of English always was disappointed with me, and to an Elf another’s disappointment is the worst punishment possible. Ah!” He squeezed his eyes shut for the speed bump.

“Our stop is coming up.”

The bus parked right in front of Shopaholic’s Hideway, the only mall in Laconia. Sara paid the fare, while the driver stared at Edofine. “He a hippie or something?” he inquired.

“He’s a romantic,” Sara replied, smiling.

“The mall is a concrete behemoth, the tallest building in town, six stories up and five stories down,” Edofine murmured.

“What? Did you come up with the rhyme?”

“Kryvek described the place to me that way.”

There were two entrances, side by side, and two exits, both automatic glass doors. Edofine stepped up to one door, and it slid open. He looked around for some sort of control, and then cautiously stepped back. The door closed. He extended one foot towards the entrance, and it opened again. He ran forward and back, forward and back, bemused and amused at the same time.

Sara’s giggle sounded like bubbles popping. “We can come back and play with the doors later. You need clothes; I need pots and pans.” She took his arm and towed him in.

“It is suddenly cold,” Edofine remarked.

“Yes, it’s called air conditioning.”

Edofine constantly turned his head from side to side, taking in the kiosks, stands, hardware store, hairdressers, a toy store, and a candy shop. He also stared upwards for about a minute, observing the fluorescent lights, much bigger than the ones in the Official Magics-Humans Institute. The colors and polished sheen of the floor and walls glimmered and reflected in his eyes, his jaw hung open and his ears tingled. “More things in heaven and Earth,” he said.

“You know Shakespeare?”

“Shakespeare knew the English Elves well, and the story has been passed down. Most Elves here are native to America, but there are a few English Elves among us. They came to escape the World Wars.”

“Where are the Eudemons from?”

“Scandinavia—that is why they are so pale.”

“Shoes! Look at shoes! They have shoes!” Sara pulled Edofine into the Sole Outlet and practically dove into the clogs. Edofine pondered high heels, wondering why anyone would wear anything so dangerous, unless the spikes on the bottom were meant for weaponry. That certainly would give an attacker pause. “Shiny brown leather loafers,” Sara called out, holding a pair up.

Edofine recoiled. “Sara, what are you doing? An animal died to make that.”

“Animals die for meals, don’t they?”

“Yes, however I only eat animals that lived and died free. These cows are kept in overcrowded, squalid, hot, terrible pens and fed scraps of their own kind.” Edofine walked up to the clerk at the desk and shook a finger at him. “For shame! You purvey items of violence, cruelty, and very bad taste.”

The clerk raised an eyebrow. “Can I help you?”

“Yes, you certainly can. How do you sleep at night, knowing that you encourage the wanton massacre of cattle?”

“We have alligator skin, too.”

“Massacre of alligators as well! What have you to say for yourself?”

“I don’t decide on the stock, sir. Is there something I can help you with?”

Edofine shuddered, realizing the distress he was causing to an innocent person, a mere cog in a great machine. In a softer voice, he said, “I only wish for some all-occasion walking shoes that do not involve leather. Do you have such shoes?”

“Over here, Ed.” Sara beckoned him over. “See? It’s pleather. They’re not really leather; they’re made of plastic, but it’s still very nifty and happy. They’re on sale for fifteen dollars. Try them on.”

Edofine nodded. “I like these shoes, let us buy them. The Elf way would never work for humans—most of you are too dishonest. We know when people lie, and others in distress distresses us so much that we are kind to one another and to our enemies.”

“You call instant death kindness to your enemies?”

“When they catch us, they do worse than death. Besides, we only kill the ones who attack our homes.”

Sara grimaced and helped him through the process of paying for something—Edofine explained to her that Elves operated under a semi-bartering, commune-like system, with private property and individual weapons but food being shared among them all. He patronizingly said to the cashier, “I understand why such a suspicious people would need a unit of currency.”

The woman who stood there plastered on a fake smile and said, “Of course, of course. You have a nice day too.”

They passed through the food court, which had several fast-food restaurants frying the flavor out of everything they could lay their hands on, one Chinese place, and a deli devoted to sandwiches and salad. Edofine became overloaded with smells, jerking in his steps.

“I think I shall eat something very simple,” he said.

“I’ll pay for us both.”

“Thank you,” Edofine said. He knew arguing with this woman would be to no avail. Edofine stood still for several minutes, reading the sandwich choices. “There are too many—even too many meatless ones.”

“There are only two vegetarian options, the hummus and lentils and the grilled cheese. Forgive me, but I have to have meat. The baby needs it.” She folded her hands over her bulge and gasped. “A kick! I felt a kick! Ed, put your hand right there.”

Edofine rested his hand on Sara’s belly and smiled. “Indeed. This is a momentous occasion. I will have the hummus—but cheese, that is tempting—but hummus has less fat.”

“You’re as thin as a horse racing jockey. It doesn’t matter.”

Edofine wrung his hands. “Alas, now I cannot choose and I am in a quandary again.”

A man ordering pizza next to them looked at Sara and patted her stomach. “Congratulations,” he said.

“Excuse me!” Edofine ripped the man’s hand off Sara and twisted his arm, despite the man being a foot taller and eighty pounds heavier than Edofine. “You will not touch this lady without her express permission, understand?”

“Let go of me, you little freak. I was just trying to be friendly. Ow!”

Edofine gripped the arm harder, turning the surrounding skin white. “Apologize to her.”

Sara protested, “It’s fine, it’s fine, don’t make a big deal out of it.”

“Ow! Ow! Just let go of me. Security!”

“Ed, back off. It’s okay.”

Edofine released the man and appealed to Sara, his eyes grown huge. “Forgive me. I wanted to help.”

“I’m not buying anything after all,” grumbled the man, walking away.

“Thanks a lot,” hissed the woman who was dishing up the pizza.

Edofine sank to his knees, clutching his ears. “Please do not be angry with me. Please, please I cannot bear it. You are angry and it hurts!”

“Ssh, ssh, ssh, it’s fine. You had good motives and I appreciate it.” Sara pulled Edofine up. “I’m not displeased with you, and why should the problems of total strangers bother you?”

“One hummus and lentil sandwich, please,” whispered Edofine. “You know not, Sara, what it is like to know everything everyone is feeling.”

After the Elf calmed down and they had eaten, Sara led him to a Home Furnishings Ahoy. He poked the down pillows and smoothed his hands on the deck chairs, quietly absorbing new sights and sounds. He inhaled sharply and shrank against a wall whenever any other human being went by.

Sara hefted a frying pan as if she was testing a sword’s balance. “Non-stick cookware, oh dear, I think it’s too expensive.”

“This place has no soul,” Edofine murmured.

“Should I get a skillet or a wok? I love making Asian food, but are they interchangeable? The two pans I mean. Not like you’d know, obviously.”

“Everything is hollow here.”

“This one has a nice rubber grip, which is good because you wouldn’t want a hot mass of food falling out of your hand and rolling all over the floor, burning the linoleum and making everything really, really greasy.”

“It alarms me that there are no windows.”

“I like this twelve-piece miniature set, perfect if you’re cooking for two, which we will be doing for at least a year and adding a toddler won’t change things much.”

“Many trees died on this ground, and I can hear them.”

“Ed, are you listening to me at all?”

Edofine’s eyes darted back and forth, and he rubbed his hands together. “May we please leave soon? I will help you carry your purchases.”

Finally it dawned on Sara that Edofine was even more edgy than he was earlier. “What’s wrong?”

“Those who sell are tired and cold, thinking only of money. Those who buy think only of possessions. No one has enough, and instead of using money for helping others they spend it on things they do not need. How can I see with sequins in my eyes?”

“First off, get out from below that red sequined curtain.” Sara sat down on the floor, inviting Edofine to do the same. “Materialism is a great problem in our society, but it is a necessary problem, because it provides livelihoods to others and keeps the economy running. It would be wonderful if we could be like the Elves, making everything we needed except for some specialty items which we traded, living healthy lives and not fighting amongst ourselves.

We have been hungry, cold, and sick for much of our existence, and grabbed at anything that might make things easier. We don’t have magic, so we compensate with getting and building. Also, human nature makes us want power and possessions, and to alter that would destroy much of what we hold dear. As for our methods of growing, raising, and synthesizing food, there are too many humans on Earth to subsist as hunter-gatherer-agriculturist. Organic and small-scale is a luxury of the privileged.

Edofine pursued his lips and took a few deep breaths. “I do not like it, but I am calm now.”

They left the store with Edofine burdened with three heavy boxes. Since humanoid males the world over share certain qualities, he refused all offers Sara made to help him carry the load. They were heading for the second floor, where Bob’s Emporium of Wares was. Edofine balked at the sight of escalators.

“The stairs are moving,” he said.

“Yes, they are.”

“It is unnatural.”

“Don’t be scared. All you do is stand on one step, and it carries you upwards.” Sara went up the escalator, chatting all the way. It wasn’t until she reached the top that she looked behind her.

Edofine still stood at the foot of the escalator, chewing on his lip and shifting the boxes he was holding. “Nothing will induce me to use this contraption.”

“Come on, Ed, it’s easy. You can do it.”

An obese woman, with arms as wide as Edofine’s torso, lumbered past him. Edofine suppressed a gasp. “These labor-saving devices make it possible for humans to become grossly overweight. I will take no part in it.”

Sara realized he had a point, and said, “All right. Just go up the stairs to the left.”

It took Edofine a while to find the stairs, but once he did he ran up to his friend, not even breathing hard despite the weight he carried. “We will buy three sets of clothes for me, and then we shall leave.”

“That’ll work; no problem.”

Edofine kept quiet for the rest of the mall trip, busy simmering with thoughts. On the one hand, the crass commercialism around him nauseated him, and he longed for the forest. On the other hand, Sara became a better friend to him than anyone he had ever met. How could the two be reconciled? He had always thought of species falling into distinct categories, and it was alarming that human society could be so abhorrent (though a small, guilty part of him would hate to give up flush toilets and hot showers); yet individual humans could be so wonderful.

Even with all the inconvenience the Elf posed, Sara smiled and laughed constantly in his presence. On the way home, Edofine fell asleep leaning on her shoulder, and she felt a tenderness that assured her incipient motherhood would be a joy.

Chapter Ten

Friends and Villains and Protectors

Christine had to stop for air as she climbed up the stairs.

Lira pulled on her arm. “Come on, Christine, you can do it. You’ve climbed these stairs dozens of times.”

“I think I’ll go use the elevator.”

“No! You will not. You will climb these stairs if I have to haul you up all night. I know you’re hungry and I know you’re tired, but I also know you have enough energy to make it up one more flight.”

Christine sat down and buried her face in her hands. “Today has been awful. I was hoping we could come clean and let the government know what the Official Magics-Human Institute has been doing, but today the Arrows Clan leader said they’ll wage war on us if we inform anyone outside of Laconia about the existence of Elves and demons. Admin says I have to fire three people next week, and I love everyone in the Anthropology Department. They’re stopping the dances and the night school, even the slideshows.” Her plump body took up the whole step, quivering with her shuddery breaths. The clean white shirt and black slacks she wore were too tight. Lira could see Christine’s bra straps.

“The budget cuts are hard on all of us. I’m the only OMHI lawyer with job security.” Lira adjusted her stiff black blouse and gray pants with the belt of genuine silver, molded in the Elven design. She took off her pumps and sat on the step above Christine, massaging the top of Christine’s head. “I can infuse you with some of my strength.”

“Kryvek used to do that all the time on nature hikes. I didn’t know you had the ability.”

“Look at me.” Lira tipped Christine’s head back so she saw her friend’s face upside down. She wrapped her hands around Christine’s cheeks, thumbs meeting on the forehead and fingertips meeting at the chin.

An interesting aspect of Elf magic is that the same incantations can never be used twice. They can be on a similar theme, but most spells were off-the-cuff compositions. This meant most Elves were capable poets and composers, for the magic was in the words, notes, and rhyme. The better writer someone was, the more powerful he or she became. Lira was not the best with words, but she was an artist.

In Elvish, Lira sang, “Like the wind that rushes through the vale, I bring peace and life to you, as the forest wanders along the trails, resilience, courage, and cheer may ring true, may those who are weak rise up and fight, take the power from me until the night. When I count to three, I trust, all will be shared among both of us. One for delicacy that you crave, two for the love that you have saved, and three so that you may now be brave.”

Lira gasped as vitality and her usual rock-hard exterior drained from her body, glowing slightly orange as it rushed into Christine. Christine stood up and put an arm around Lira, and they reached their apartment together. Once they shut the door, they collapsed onto the carpet in an untidy heap.

Christine giggled. “I think you gave me too much.”

“Definitely. I suppose you’re making dinner?”

“As long as you don’t mind lentil stew.”

“That sounds great, actually. I like lentils.”

“Lucky. You would actually enjoy the diet I’m on, but you’re so thin. How do you manage it?”

Lira groaned. “Do you have to start the why-am-I-so-fat game again? I keep telling you, it’s only a tiny part of who you are.”

“Then why must I be human? All of you have cool powers and mysterious heritage and drop-dead-gorgeous everything. It’s not fair.”

“But...you’re...cute!” On the final word, Lira attacked Christine with tickles.

“Stop! Ahh! No!” Christine jumped up and ran into her room, locking the door behind her. “I’m changing into PJ’s. I hope you don’t mind.”

Just next door, John wearily trudged into the foyer. “I had a terrible day today, and I’m sorry if I come across as a little touchy.”

Sarah looked up from her wok where she was stir-frying shrimp. “I’m so sorry to hear that, dear. What happened?”

“I lost a case, and the prosecution insulted me personally, and my boss is not pleased at all. I didn’t get to eat lunch, either—I was so busy, and my stomach growled in the middle of a meeting. Very embarrassing.”

Sara set the stove on low and went to hug him. Hugs had been a little awkward because of her pregnancy, but John compensated by leaning down and kissing her on the mouth. Then he rubbed her shoulder blades, kissing harder.

“I went to the mall today,” she said, pulling away.

“Wait. What’s this?” John picked a hair off her shoulder.

“Just a hair,” Sara said.

“Whose is it?”

“You’re getting this all wrong, John. It’s the wife who’s supposed to pick a blonde hair off the husband and accuse him of fooling around. You’re not acting according to stereotype.” She smiled, but John didn’t smile back.

He spread the hair out. “It’s about four feet long. Did you go to a hairdresser?”

“No...”

“It’s brown.”

“I see that it is.”

“It wouldn’t by any chance be that kid’s, would it?”

“What kid?”

“The one who’s pretending to be an Elf even though it’s not funny anymore.”

“I showed him around a little today,” Sara admitted.

John grabbed her by the upper arms, now with a scowl. “Is that a euphemism for something else?”

“No! He needed to buy some clothes, and he’d never seen a mall before, so I went with him.”

“Doesn’t seem to be the sort of thing that requires close contact.”

“He fell asleep on the bus ride and leaned on me, that’s all.”

“I think you’re lying.”

“John, what are you saying?”

“I’m saying you’re going around with young men—younger than me, younger than you—and trying to hide it from me. Not exactly the model wife.”

“Let go of me, please.”

“You haven’t let me sleep in our bedroom since that argument we had.”

“That’s because you’re being an idiot. Edofine is really an Elf. So is Kryvek. I touched their ears, and they’re real. I’ve seen them do magic. And there’s a demon in their oven. His name’s Krith and I talked to him.” Sara tried to push him away. “Let go of me. I’m not going to ask again.”

John looked lost and deeply pained. “How about you go lie down, Sara, and I’ll call the doctor. We don’t want you seeing demons everywhere. I can take care of dinner. Okay?”

“I’m not crazy!”

“Then are you cheating on me?”

“No!” Sara bit his arm.

“Ow!” He slapped her and then stepped back. “Sorry, sorry, I didn’t mean to...oh, honey, I know you’re scared.I It’s okay. I’m sorry.” He held his hands out, supplicating, begging.

Sara screamed, thinking he was attacking her. She ran across the hall, into Kryvek’s apartment, and slammed the door. She locked both locks and drew the deadbolt with trembling fingers. Kryvek, reeling from all the fear Sara was broadcasting, jumped up from where he sat reading the newspaper and took her hand. “You’re frightened. Why?”

“John hurt me,” she sobbed out, crumpling up on the floor.

Kryvek saw the red hand mark, where all five fingers were visible, on her cheek and stroked her hair. “It’s all right, you’re safe here. I’m sure it’s a misunderstanding.”

Edofine came out of the bathroom wearing his new blue jeans and brown polo shirt, slightly incongruous with his waist-length hair. His hands were over his ears and he rushed over to Sara as well. “Lady Sara, we are here to protect you. What is it you fear?”

Sara clutched at his legs and spoke between gasps and wheezes, tears falling fast. “John thinks I’ve been pushing him away and hanging around with you because I’m cheating on him. He won’t believe me. He thinks I’ve gone insane, because he won’t believe any of you either. He doesn’t believe in magic or other species. I’m scared he’s going to...”

John pounded on the door. “Get away from my wife! You people are messing with her mind or something! She loves me, okay? Get it? Leave both of us alone!”

“I will not open my door until you calm down, sir,” Kryvek replied.

“Don’t be insolent with me, punk! Sara? Sara? Can you hear me? I’m sorry. You don’t have to go to a doctor. I don’t think it’s you’re fault. These people are what’s wrong. Let’s go stay at a hotel tonight and we can move later. Okay? Baby? Sugar honey lemon pie?” He kicked the door as well, then let out a groan of pain. His voice grew weaker. “Sara, Sara, I love you. I’m sorry, Sara. Come back, please come back.”

Edofine grunted with the weight as he picked Sara up and carried her to the couch, sitting next to her with his arms around her as she cried. “Do not be ashamed. Cry as much as you wish. You will feel better afterwards. All we need to do is let him grow calm, and Christine can mediate your disagreement. John would listen to Christine, right? She is a human like he is, though not the kind with the dark skin that is no different from the kind with light skin. Right?”

Sara smiled slightly through the curtain of tears. “You’re picking up political correctness pretty quickly.”

“I still trust not human males. The females are agreeable.”

Krith said, “Hey, Ed, does that mean we’re not gonna play charades?”

“We can play charades, my friend, but how we will manage with you being in the oven remains to be seen.” Edofine patted Sara on the back. “Would you like to play charades? Kryvek has taught us.”

“Maybe later,” sniffled Sara.

Kryvek, meanwhile, was singing incantations so every part of the door he touched turned to stone. First the stone was pumice, but when he altered the meter of his song he managed to produce a glossy gray marble. It would hold until morning, and then vanish.

“I’m going to stand right here until you give Sara back,” John announced. “I’m not impressed with your fancy tricks, making it look like you did something to the door.”

Lira opened her door. “Mister Tuft, we’d like to talk to you.”

“I’m not leaving your brother’s door.”

“He’s not my brother, he’s Christine’s brother by adoption. You will come, even if I have to bleed for it.”

“I’m not budging.”

“I guess I’ll have to bleed for it, then.” Lira took off one of her hoop earrings and plunged the sharp end into her index finger, wincing slightly. She stepped over to John and touched the bleeding finger to John’s own index finger.

To John’s alarm, the fingers stuck. He found himself dragged ignominiously into Lira and Christine’s apartment, and the moment he managed to get loose, he backed into a corner. “Is this some form of Mafia? I thought this was a low-crime town.”

“It’s a low-human town by most standards, though humans are still the majority,” Christine said. She wore cotton pajamas with Winnie-the-Pooh and Tigger cavorting among the print. “Care for something to eat? I could hear you offering to cook for Sara, so I assume you haven’t had dinner yet.”

John was speechless. Lira scooped a bowl for him and put it on the kitchen table. “We promise that we will not harm or insult you in any way, even if I really, really want to. The Elves won’t do anything to Sara. They’re just going to shelter her until she feels safe with you again.”

“I just got so mad,” John murmured, cautiously sitting down. He poked at the stew with a spoon, as if trying to see if anything had been added.

“Eat it, it isn’t drugged,” Christine admonished, sitting across from him. Lira sat next to him.

“We can vouch for Edofine. He’s as innocent and uncalculating as a sapient being gets,” Lira said.

“How do you know he’s not lying?”

“Elves are terrible liars even when they try, which isn’t often.”

John grumbled and crossed his arms. “You all keep pretending you’re fantasy creatures. It isn’t funny at all.”

“What will it take to convince you?” Christine asked.

“Nothing will, because Elves don’t exist.”

Lira sucked on her finger. “What about my adhesive blood?”

“You could’ve put Super Glue on your hand before you came out.”

“Then why am I able to take the finger out of my mouth? Why did it let you go?”

“Well—it can’t. That’s all. Can’t, won’t, isn’t, shouldn’t, never will be.” John grew petulant in tone and body language.

“You believe in atoms, don’t you?” Christine asked.

“What a weird question. Obviously I do.”

“But you’ve never seen atoms. For all you know, it may be an elaborate hoax.”

“Atoms make sense, damn it! Elves don’t.”

“I think I see what the problem is,” Christine said, between bites. “You’re scared that if all this turns out to be true, you will have behaved inexcusably. You would have to admit that you were wrong, which is terrifying for anyone. My dad went through that when we adopted Kryvek, and he kept trying to prevent Kryvek from doing what he called his ‘silly little tricks’. Eventually he got slapped in the face—metaphorically—enough times to realize that there were things in the world he did not know about. Is it a crime to not know about things? The only wrong occurs when you refuse to accept new knowledge.”

“Maybe,” John said in a very small voice.

“Also, Edofine isn’t in love with Sara. He’s in love with me,” Lira said. “He proposed on the second day of knowing me, and we’re going on a date tomorrow evening.”

Christine and John both asked, “What?”

* * * *

In Kryvek’s apartment, Sara was laughing at Krith. “Interesting interpretation of the word ‘evil.’”

“I already look evil to humans, so what should I do if I want to add to it?” replied the Archaedemon, slapping his thighs and chuckling.

Sara sighed. “It feels wrong to hide from John. He loves charades.”

“Care for linguine?” Kryvek asked, setting the table.

Edofine was busy setting up blankets for him to sleep on the floor. Kryvek would sleep on the couch, and Sara would have a room to her own and the one bed in the apartment, despite her protests. “All pain will fade, and smiles live long.”

“Is that an Elf saying?” Sara asked.

“Yes.”

John found out that night that sleeping in a half-empty bed is worse than sleeping on a couch with your wife a yard away. He hoped she wouldn’t call the police on him. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered to the empty air. He dreamed of Elves chasing him through the forest—they were so beautiful, and he was so lost.

Chapter Eleven

Mediators and Spouses and Dates

Everyone went to their respective offices or lack thereof, with Sara returning to her and John’s apartment to continue unpacking and Edofine reading history and technology books, interspersed with talking to Krith. The two males discussed the benefits and detriments of human society. Krith shared his romantic conquests and spectacular failures. Edofine gushed about Lira and speculated what he would learn about her in the future.

Six individuals gathered around Christine and Lira’s kitchen as soon as everyone came home. No one had eaten dinner yet. John and Sara sat across from each other, Lira next to Sara, and Christine sat next to John. Edofine dangled his legs from the counter, equidistant from Sara and Lira. Kryvek stood behind Christine’s chair.

“All right,” Christine began, “we’ll do this like a Peer Mediation session. I was a peer mediator in school, but fewer than a dozen students actually came to us because we were the ultimate dorks. Sigh. Anyway, first Sara will tell her side of the story, with no interruptions. Then John will tell his side, and we will discuss what each of you wants out of this conflict, and draw up a contract to satisfy both sides as much as possible, which you will both sign. Agreed?”

Everyone nodded. Edofine smiled, thinking about his picnic with Lira that evening, then grew worried because he could hear John’s misinterpretation of that smile and very much wanting to strangle the Elf. “Please, sir, I mean no disrespect. Please hate me not.”

“How did you know?” John asked.

Kryvek and Christine intoned, “Because he is an Elf.”

John pushed his glasses up his nose and slumped over onto his elbows. “You guys keep saying that.”

“Do you believe us yet?” Sara asked, a tinge of exasperation in her voice.

“Everybody’s ganging up on me,” John moaned.

“We’re digressing, and we shouldn’t,” Christine said.

Sara took a deep breath. “We’ve seen evidence upon evidence that Edofine, Lira, and Kryvek aren’t human. All of you except John have seen Krith. John refuses to believe in Elves and Eudemons and Archaedemons, but he won’t even look at the evidence while claiming that there is no evidence at all. Why can’t he just go talk to Krith? You can’t fake that. Naturally I’m not going to share a bed with someone who’s being so closed-minded, and I am also not going to deny help to someone who obviously needed it. No one else was available to take Edofine to the mall and explain appliances to him, so I had to do it. Is it a crime to be helpful and to enjoy the company of someone who is practically a child?”

“I resent that,” Edofine said. “I am very mature for a thirty-six year-old.”

John blurted out, “Thirty-six? You look like you’re in high school, college at the latest.”

“In human developmental terms, Edofine is eighteen. Elves age approximately half as quickly as humans do. No more interruptions please.” Lira folded her hands in front of her and continued to have an impassive face, despite Edofine timidly, gently, stroking her hair. She didn’t respond, but she didn’t prevent him, either.

“As I was saying,” Sara continued, with an envious look at the non-human couple, “John had no cause to suspect me of being unfaithful. He should also stop ignoring the truth and accept you people’s non-human nature.”

“We’re humane, we’re just not human,” Kryvek quipped. He bit his lip to avoid commenting on the blast of frustration emanating from John. The closest analogy would be trombones shrieking. Edofine reacted to the storm of emotion by hugging himself tightly and rocking back and forth.

“Can I talk now?” John asked, tapping one foot.

Christine asked, “Are you finished, Sara?”

“I might think of something later, but that’s basically it. Oh, and John slapped me.” She turned her head so the red hand mark on her cheek was more visible. “I bit him only because he was restraining me.”

John cleared his throat. “First off, I want to say that I’m a reasonable, hard-working, caring man. I’m also a realist. Do you expect me to all of a sudden believe that magic is real, Elves exist, and our new neighbors are not human? It’s very jarring and contrary to everything I’ve believed in all my previous life. It was more likely that Sara was being taken in for a fool, so I became suspicious of all of you. I may have been wrong, but it was the most logical thing at the time. Whatever the situation may have been, when your wife won’t even share a room with you and starts spending hours of time alone with a younger man–”

“Male,” Edofine corrected, then grabbed his ears. “Ai! Please! Your annoyance is very loud.”

“Fine, male—and there’s evidence of some body contact—it will raise doubts and, yes, some jealousy. I’m very sorry I flew off the handle, but Sara really should have been more considerate.”

“You’re right,” Sara said slowly. “It was unkind of me and I should have considered your feelings. It’s just that we left our friends behind when we moved here, and I’m used to working, so I’m lonely when you’re gone.”

John reached his hand across the table and wrapped it around Sara’s. “There are faults on both sides. I cannot be induced to become best friends with Edofine, though.”

Edofine started combing his hair with his fingers. “I am distressed at your ill-will, but you have every right to feel about me however you wish. I, too, apologize; especially for the mistake I made that you took to be a racial slur. I really had never seen someone with skin that dark before.”

“It’s okay,” John said. “I’m sure you’re a nice guy if Sara likes you. Give me time.”

Christine pulled out a sheet of paper and two pens. “What would you like John to do?” she asked Sara.

“I want him to visit Krith and give me time to explain things before he jumps to conclusions. I also wish we could somehow see each other more. Once the baby’s here I’ll have company, but for now Edofine is pretty much the only choice.”

John replied, “Could you join some club or something, or maybe work part-time? I feel uncomfortable with the thought of Sara being alone in an apartment with another male our age. I’ll do the things she wants me to do if she lets me sleep in her bed again.”

“All right, I agree to that.”

Lira speedily wrote down all the requests. “Sign here, both of you. I advise that you put it up on your wall; somewhere you can both see it. If further negotiations are required, Christine and I will mediate again.”

“Thank you, everyone,” Sara said. “John promises to be non-abusive, right?”

“I told you, baby, I’m sorry.” John kissed her on the tip of the nose. On their way out, John appeared to accidentally elbow Edofine in the ribs. Edofine knew it wasn’t an accident, but he remained silent. Kryvek opened his apartment door for the Tufts, and John walked in and peered in the oven.

Krith, currently one foot tall, red as a hot gridiron, and eyes blasting orange with their own fire, swung the door entirely open, rubbing himself and shivering in what everyone else perceived as a blast of heat. “You’re the guy that won’t believe in me. I’d shake hands, but that might not turn out too good. You got a cigarette? Edofine won’t buy me any.” He grinned a wide, white, demonic grin.

John furrowed his eyebrows and put his chin in his hand. “Wow,” he said.

“I think I could make some money showing myself to an audience, but that would kinda betray all my people, which wouldn’t bother me much because they don’t want me anymore. My mom’d melt a city, though, if I did that. Your wife’s a prize, mister. Cute as a button.”

Lira cleared her throat. “Remember our talk?”

“Aw, hell, lady! Won’t you let me compliment anyone at all?”

Sara giggled. “I don’t mind.”

“I’m gonna close up now. I don’t wanna catch cold.” Krith pulled the door closed again and resumed playing solitaire.

“I’m a little dizzy,” John said. “I also feel like a total idiot. Do you people have any magical cures for that?”

“I’ve got one,” Sara said, pinching him and smiling. They left together.

“Nice to see that resolved,” Christine said, with a touch of wistfulness.

“Stop making Bambi eyes at me, Edofine. We can go now.” Lira pulled lipstick out of her pocket—she wore a smart crimson blazer for the evening’s cool, gray slacks, and makeup in silver and purple—and adjusted her appearance in the mirror.

Edofine tried to wear a necktie when Kryvek told him it was the norm for formal occasions, but he felt like he was wearing a noose and had to go without it. He had to be satisfied with a collared, long-sleeved green shirt with a print of fern sprigs, plus black trousers. He did his odd little turtle-pulling-in-his-neck trick to show how pleased he was, and picked up the plastic cooler and rolled-up blanket.

“Farewell, friends and kin,” he said, following Lira out the door. “What is Bambi?” he asked as they went down the stairs.

“A creature that is sickeningly cute.”

“I do not sicken you, though.”

Lira turned around and flashed an enigmatic smile at him. “No, Edofine, you don’t. What’s in the basket?”

“Pieces of bread with vegetables or cheese in layers, sometimes with some sort of flavored paste, with other pieces of bread on top. Kryvek helped me make them.”

They reached the ground floor.

“Sandwiches?”

“Ah, yes, sand-wishes, that is what they are called. Where are we going?”

With quick, smooth, almost fluid steps Lira led Edofine down the street, taking two left turns. She offered to carry the cooler, but he refused. They reached a creek and a stone bridge, with metal guards to keep children from falling in. Trees lined both sides of the water. There wasn’t enough vegetation to make this qualify as a park, but it was a pleasant grove and easily accessible. Lira sat on the bridge, dangling her sandal-clad feet above the water. “I come here to unwind when I can’t make it to my studio,” she said.

“Should we sit on the blanket?” Edofine looked around cautiously to make sure it was safe to eat. It was a habit born of frequently being attacked by Eudemons without warning. Eventually he sat down with a pleased sigh, taking his loafers off and kicking his dark feet like a young child.

“We don’t need the blanket now. You can just keep it to the side.” She maneuvered the cooler so it was between the two of them, partially to be fair and partially to impose some distance. She wasn’t used to males being interested in her as a person, though she was used to males being interested in her as something to look at. Her earrings touched her collarbone; chains of amethysts set in silver. “Is this the same container we kept Krith in?”

“Yes,” Edofine replied, opening it up, “but worry not. Archaedemons may be sooty when they dig themselves out of the underground caverns, but their surface temperature is so high it kills all the bacteria. Their skin is very sanitary and I washed it. Does that satisfy you? Are you comfortable? Happy? At ease?”

Lira squeezed Edofine’s shoulder. “No need to be nervous; you’re not being tested.”

“I feel like I am.”

“You’ll do fine if you don’t mention marriage.”

“Just know it remains an open offer, fine lady, and you may answer whenever you wish.” Edofine pulled out a hot grilled cheddar sandwich, pulled off a corner, and dropped it into the water. “Nature feeds me, so I shall feed her,” he said, in Elvish. An orange carp swam to the surface and ate the morsel.

Lira did the same with her bell-pepper submarine. “And I return a token in my gratitude,” she said in a brief Elf grace.

“I am glad you uphold the old ways despite your tribulations,” Edofine said.

“I do it for my mother. Most things I do for my mother, or I do them for Christine. She was my first true friend.”

“Why did I never meet you in the Clan gatherings?”

Shifting her shoulders and frowning, Lira replied, “Those around me made me feel ostracized for what I was, and I kept away from other Elves for fear they would do the same.”

“I must admit were the Dance Clan still alive, I would stay away from you.”

“Thank you for your honesty. Oh dear, someone put in mayonnaise.” She stared at her sandwich and lifted up a piece of bread to examine the filling, also noticing that it was getting dark. “I hate mayonnaise.”

“You do? I never had any in my life, but Kryvek said people put it on sand-wishes.”

“Not on peppers.”

“Oh. Forgive me.” They ate in silence for a while. Edofine sensed a disturbing emotion. “Why are you worried? Is it the OMHI?”

“Yes. There is simply no way we can hide what we are from close inspection, but if we don’t convince the government we are doing something important, we won’t have enough money to keep the threats to the species at bay.”

“So what you are in need of is a method of letting the authorities know people care about the OMHI, and people are helped by the OMHI.”

“Exactly.”

“Could the Elves of the human towns not somehow communicate this importance? What of the Arrows Clan, too? They are the nearest Elf clan and they have interacted with the OMHI. Some of them must realize if humans and demons conflicted, or if humans took over even more Elf territory, the Elves would suffer. They could write letters, perhaps, or sign their names on some sort of list.”

Lira pondered this. “Like a petition?” It sounded ridiculously simple. But maybe that’s why it could work.

“What is a petition?”

“When many individuals write their names down confirming them as people who care about something. The last time I visited, there were five hundred Elves in the Arrows Clan. It may not be enough to make an effect.”

“The OMHI knows where all the city Elves and half-Elves are, correct? There are humans, too, who care about the OMHI. You could tell all the others who work with you to contact everyone they can, and collect signatures. At least it might accomplish something.”

“You know, that is a good idea. The Clan may not listen to me, though, because of my demonic side.”

“I would go with you. I am as Elven as an Elf can be. I am even the three-years-running archery champion.” Tears stung Edofine’s eyes. “I am the only Dance Clan member left, not counting Kryvek because he defected to humanity. We had such wonderful times when there was peace, with a festival day every month with competitions of all kinds—fighting, shooting, hunting, cooking, sewing. Every night we came together around five or six campfires, singing and dancing. Do they do such things in the Arrows Clan?” His breaths grew shuddering, and his shoulders sank.

Lira put an arm around Edofine’s shoulder, which she noted was a very comfortable feeling. “Yes. You might be able to convince them to join if you tell your story. It would be against tradition, but I am sure the clan leader would be reasonable.”

“The problem is...”

“There must be some provision for survivors of villages.”

“No. One is expected to die with one’s family and friends. Tradition dictates I should have avenged them, and I did not.”

“Do not think like that.” Lira pulled him closer, wanting to protect him from his guilt, just as she used to hold her mother when she cried of loneliness and shame. “You would have likely been killed, and your blood used to further harm Elfkind. Tradition is beautiful in many ways, but we should not let it torture us. Change is important as well. Besides, you have brought joy to Sara and Kryvek.”

“Kryvek? I do not. I am a burden to him. I know it.”

“He sang the Elven songs this morning. I followed him on my way to work. He hasn’t sung the old songs for years, Christine says. His bedroom used to be plain, but now it is full of greenery.”

“I thought the plants had always grown there.”

“No, they hadn’t. He sang them into being the night you came. I was awake and heard him. Well, you have brought joy to me.”

Edofine put her hand to his lips and kissed it. “Thank you. I should not have dared to think I was worthy of you. I am an incomplete, impotent male, for I let my village die.”

“That does not make you impotent. Besides, I am an incomplete female.” They were closer, closer now. Lira put the cooler on her other side. “It is possible for a Eudemon and an Elf to have a child, but since they are different species...”

“Oh.” Edofine put his arms around Lira’s waist. “It is not your fault, though. Should you find someone to share your life with, you could adopt.”

“It is hard for a male to understand, but the capacity to have children is a great sweetness. It is a kind of immortality, knowing some of your blood will live on. Sara glows with her pregnancy, have you noticed?”

“Speaking of glowing, I see a firefly.” The colors of the landscape had darkened to indigoes and purples, with tiny specks of golden light. Nothing was so magical to Edofine as fireflies. We all had a flame within us, he believed, but it was more difficult to spark.

“Edofine, you’re lighting up!” Lira let go and leaned back, eyes wide with amazement.

Edofine examined his arms, torso, and legs. Indeed, a faint yellow haze emanated from his body, as if there were a candle inside him. “Are you so surprised?”

“I didn’t know Elves could do that.”

“Clearly you have never seen Elves in love before.”

Lira wondered if she would start glowing too if she kissed him. There was only one way to find out.

She did.

Chapter Twelve

Speakers and Singers and Dancers

Kryvek took a deep breath, wiped his forehead with his sleeve, and addressed the crowd.

“You are criticizing something you barely know. Who do you think between us is in a better position to judge humanity? Yes, I agree humans have done horrible things to one another and to our blessed Earth. Yes, they have made careless mistakes and cruel decisions. Yes, there are evil ones. No, they are not all the poisonous idiots that you think they are.

“Consider this. All life we know of has one motivation: to survive. When the first ancient humans began to burn parts of the land to grow crops, they were simply following Nature’s command. The destruction of forests, the pollution of rivers, the slaughter of species—these were all from a desire to assist themselves and their loved ones. Should not a creature’s highest responsibility be to its own species? The purpose of every piece of technology is to improve or lengthen their lives, though sometimes through destroying the lives of others. Is this fully evil?

“Until very recently, they were having such a difficult time surviving they were fully occupied with it, and had no time or thought to worry about what damage they might be doing. By the time they did realize it, they had already been set in their ways. Yet they are slowly trying to change, some individuals more than others. Is this at all an evil?

“The entire society of the United States of America, and of all other free nations, is built upon the principle of allowing a happy, secure, long life for each member of that society. Remember, their lives are half as long as ours, so it is understandable they would be occupied with making the most of precious time. Is this not, for the most part, a good?

“Wars, Inquisitions, witch trials, genocides—all these were aimed to improve their survival. They were selfish, foolish, and utterly base, but could you honestly affirm that the Elves would do better if they were placed in their situation with no ability to hear the thought-music? We do not fear each other, for we know beyond a doubt who means us harm and who wishes us well. What if that sense were taken away, in an inhospitable world, where any misstep could mean death? In such an environment, the occasional reprobate Elf would certainly turn on his or her people, caught in a web of terror, misunderstanding, doubt, and deceit.

“Finally, my strongest argument for the human species is based upon individuals I have met. Christine and her parents adopted me without asking for anything in return. They did not condemn me for my mother and father’s mistakes, as an Elf would have done. Even with their lives of confusion and anxiety, they did all they could to take care of me without knowing if I was a threat or not.

“They love me, my brethren. They love someone who is not of their kind, who is a mystery to them, and who could have hurt them if he wanted. They love me so much they have transferred this love to all non-humans, which are usually frightening to their species. Are we any better than that? We hate the Eudemons, look down on Homo sapiens, and either dismiss or loathe the Archaedemons. Would we have taken in someone from outside our species—not the way we took changelings in the ancient days, or gently-treated prisoners who knew too much, but for their sakes, on their own terms? Any race, any nation, any group that can show such quality in any of its members deserves esteem and respect. Therefore, it distresses me to hear you patronizing them like this when you hardly know them.

“Now, with this great love and dedication, they have founded the Official Magics-Human Institute, dedicated to protecting the species from one another and foster peace and tolerance between them. The foolishness of other humans threatens this organization. It could very easily save itself by telling the truth about the existence of non-human sentient species, but it does not. It is willing to pare itself down, fire its own workers, and go without heating or cooling in the entire building for your sake. Yes, your sake.

“What of my cousin, Edofine of the Dance Clan? Tradition has no space for him, for never in our history has one single Elf survived the termination of his clan. The OMHI is helping him find a place to live and a way to earn his keep.

“Some of you accuse the OMHI of wanting to do this to every Elf. Believe me, if it wanted to, it could have long ago. It could have exposed you. It could have told the U.S. government to haul you out of your homes and assimilate you or reduce your territory to reservations, a fraction of what it is now. Yet it has not. If the OMHI falls, this protection is gone. Now the OMHI needs you—and demands very little. It asks only that you sign your name, in English, within this book that Lira, a daughter of your clan, holds now. By all that we love, and by all that we sing for, I beseech you to help us.”

Kryvek climbed out of the tree his platform stood on, and he flopped onto the grass in exhaustion. Edofine hugged him and Lira stood displaying the empty book, chewing on her lip and holding her breath. They all were dressed in Elven clothing, though Kryvek had to borrow a gray outfit from Lira. Lira and Edofine wore plain green garments.

The Elves of the Arrows Clan, sitting in a semicircle on the grass or in the trees, were silent. They were Elves of all ages, some in gossamer gowns and cloaks, others in more simple homespun, earthy toned shirts and leggings. Every one of them heard Kryvek’s sincerity, Edofine’s passion, and Lira’s hope. Crickets chirped as they paused in thought. Their dark faces were quiet, and their deep brown eyes were reflective.

A short, gaunt female, who had been sitting a foot away from everyone else, and had been watching Lira during Kryvek’s speech, stood. She still held a skirt she was busy embroidering. Her face was lined with worry, but her inherent beauty and strength shone through. “I, Alarif, will sign my name.”

Lira ran to her and kissed her on the cheek, holding her tightly. “Thank you, Mani.”

In a softer voice, Alarif said, “My darling child, that Elf you sat next to is a good male. I can hear his love for you. Please marry him, and break our curse. I do not want you to suffer alone as I have.”

“I will try,” Lira promised.

Another female stood. “Alarif’s bitterness has turned sweet, for her half-demon daughter has worked for our sakes and protected us from the evil sides of the humans. I, Utopir, will sign.”

“I follow my wife in all things, for she is very wise,” said her husband, walking up.

“Does the name of a child help?” asked a little lad in the back.

Kryvek raised his hands and shouted, “We need everyone! Every name! We thank you from the ends of our spirits.”

The first hundred Elves formed a line, while the others ran about making preparations for a communal lunch—not a feast in the strictest sense, for no one had shot a deer recently. One female began to sing, developing the words and notes as she went along. A friend of hers played a string instrument, similar to a guitar, following the tune. The song was about the need for cooperation and peace among the humans, Elves, and demons, and the majesty of all speaking things, and then the wonder of all living things. Other Elves picked up the chorus and repeated it. As they sang, the clouds formed shapes. No one knew what the shapes represented, but they were beautiful. There was no need for them to be anything else.

An elderly Elf, around a hundred and twenty years old, tapped Lira on the shoulder when he came to sign. “I would like to thank you on the Elders’ behalf for not bringing humans. It would not necessarily be a disaster if you did, but it would be a strong risk.”

“I kept the Clan’s feelings in consideration, Great-Uncle.”

“Am I your great-uncle? I cannot keep track of you all.”

“Especially since I am illegitimate.”

“Actually, in consideration of your service, we are discussing making it a Clan rule to be more kind to half-Eudemon children and their mothers. We are not sure how to go about it, and we will meet resistance, but your ideas would be appreciated.”

“I am afraid I will have to return to Laconia—the human town—this evening, but I can send you letters.”

“That would be acceptable. Let your young male oversee the signing. Come eat.” His smile lit up his smooth, wrinkled face, framed by shoulder-long white hair.

“So, I am your young male, Lira?” Edofine asked, grinning.

Lira handed him the book and playfully punched him on the shoulder. “You seem obscenely satisfied with the prospect, so as long as it keeps you happy.” She curtseyed to those who were waiting and headed for the tables.

The village gathered among the trees, weaving in and out of them. They would never fell a single tree to make a clearing. On five long tables, each between two long benches, sat what their gardens, gatherings, and hunting had recently yielded. There were also bowls of well water—Elves used heavily-diluted wine as medicine, because they were so sensitive to alcohol—and river-sand to scrub their hands.

A fourteen-year-old female climbed a tree and sang, “Though we share our food every day, what a joy it is! Though we run and climb every day, what a good thing it is! We sing to the spirits and they sing to us and keep the Eudemons away—when we are left alone together, what a miracle it is!”

“If the Eudemons come,” replied a sixteen-year-old male, “what an adventure it is. When we fight and beat them back, we celebrate our victory. Oh parents who have lost your children, be comforted by the Clan, and oh, children who have lost your parents, you will find parents in the Clan.”

Lira hummed along, then looked around, puzzled, when she heard a familiar voice. She couldn’t place it for a moment and then realized the reason she couldn’t was this voice had only once sung in Elvish in her presence. It was Kryvek, standing on one of the tables.

The rhymes were significantly better in Elvish, but he approximated it in English many years later: “Though you are not of my tribe, my dear Elves in the Arrows Clan, I wish to say I have never felt this way since my life began. I sought a different life to forget the tragedy my parents made, so I covered my ears and cut short my hair as my new family said. I had regrets of course, but by and large I forgot who I was, but now I have returned to celebrate my roots because...”

“What was that?” Lira shouted.

Kryvek smiled. “Edofine, my courageous kinsman he, showed me what modern life and the grand city was lacking for me, and though I maintain my new home, I surely wishwe could be friends and let me visit when I can, to show you need not forget the Elf when you become a Man.”

Everyone clapped. “Would you care to join us, Edofine? We do not blame you for surviving, and could use your courage and skill,” Lira’s great-uncle said.

Edofine blushed when he realized everyone stared at him. “I would, kind sir, except for one quandary. I love Lira, and I wish to spend my life with her wherever she chooses. She has friends in the human world, and so do I. Could we consider you family and visit, as Kryvek suggested? Lira has worked hard to carve a place in Laconia, and we need representatives for the Elves among the humans to keep the other Elves safe.”

“That is a brave thing indeed. I hear human life is terrible,” commented one Elf.

“There are compensations. Kryvek, could you hold the book?” He handed over his responsibility, and then Edofine slipped over to Lira’s side. “Have I embarrassed you?”

“Nobody has ever said they loved me while anyone else was listening.” They wrapped their arms around each other as Lira wept.

With smiles on all sides, the Elves went to their own ways of eating or waiting to sign the petition. A few females handed out foods and plates to the Elves in line, who then were able to enjoy the banquet without leaving their posts. Some of the youngest children signed with squiggles that their parents sang to, turning them into recognizable names in Roman letters.

Lira and Edofine helped with the cleaning up, washing dishes in the stream, scrubbing down tables, and stacking them by the side of the Council Hut. Once confident the Elves could handle signing the petition without him watching, Kryvek soon gathered a circle of enthralled children while teaching them the Do, Re, Mi song, with the solfege hand gestures accompanying it.

Alarif was watching her daughter from afar when a widower named Gythian approached her. “Remember when we were sweethearts?” he asked Alarif.

Alarif dropped her sewing, surprised. “Yes, I do. We were betrothed until that Eudemon raid, and afterwards you said you had no desire for a flower that had already been plucked.”

“I wish to apologize. I was happy with Hayannav, but when the Eudemons killed her I finally understood how you felt. I stayed away from you still when Lira joined humanity, for I thought you taught her to hate us. Now I see you taught her to think of us as her people and to remember her people. Would you give me another chance?”

They took each other’s hands, and then left the group to sit by the bank a quarter mile away. What passed between them was unknown to any other part or full Elves. The sewing lay there in the grass, undisturbed, for several hours.

After the meal the Elves who had already signed went to their homes and gardens. Holding hands, Lira and Edofine strolled by the neat wooden cabins, surrounded by flowers and vegetables. In order to not chop many trees down some houses surrounded trees, with the tree growing right through the middle of the living room with a hole in the roof to allow the tree to grow. Other houses curved in odd shapes so they could weave in and out of the trees.

“Have you returned to visit before?” Edofine asked.

“Late at night, when everyone was asleep, I sneaked in to spend a few hours talking to my mother. This is the first time I have visited in the day.”

“It makes one pity the Eudemons for their inability to make Space Enclosures, which hide the village so well.”

“If they did not spend all their time planning how to loot, rape, and murder us, they probably would have developed a spell of that kind by now. If they were forced to go without killing, they would find ways to accomplish magic besides blood sacrifice.”

“You genuinely hate the Eudemons, do you not?”

“I hate my father and I suppose that spread to the entire species.”

“Can we not make Space Enclosures for them?”

“We could if they stopped attacking us. Do you not feel any bitterness for how they destroyed your entire Clan?”

Edofine nodded. “Yes. Still, I think it is a shame. If we were kinder, perhaps the violence would end.”

“You should join the United Nations, Edofine. They need people like you.”

“I read of them in a book Sara gave me. I think I would like to be a pe-se-chia-ter-ist.”

“Psychiatrist?”

“Yes. Does the OMHI have any advice?”

“I will ask them. They helped one Elf become a librarian last year. If you can pass a state exam I think you can get a license. It’s an intensely long period of study, though. A minimum of eight years.”

“We could make a Time Bubble in Kryvek’s apartment, and I could study for years in there and come out with you having aged only a few days. Then I would be older than you.”

“We will look into that. I told the other departments to contact as many Elves as they can.” She kissed him. “Your idea might save the OMHI from those budget cuts.”

A little female, probably ten years old, ran up to them. “Can you help us play tumbleball?”

“Certainly, flower bud,” Edofine replied. “Lira, would you like to join?”

“All right,” Lira said.

The sun was setting when Kryvek, Edofine, and Lira left the Arrows Clan, laden with goodies for Christine and the Tufts, and possibly even Krith if someone could burn them badly enough. After they passed a yew tree with special symbols carved on it, the forest shrank until what was a ten-mile radius on the inside became a one-mile radius on the outside. No houses or Elves were visible in the darkening wood.

Chapter Thirteen

Innovators and Junkies and Culprits

Lira had just walked in the door and still wore her business suit, gray, with a necklace of pearls as the only ornament. For once her deeply maroon hair was not hanging loose, but instead was swept back in a butterfly clip, revealing her pointed ears.

She dumped five textbooks on Edofine’s lap, ignoring his quiet exclamation of, “Ouch!” Then she sat down, speaking with a tone of admiration. “The OMHI has received nearly three million signatures on the petition for funds. It’s all because of you, Firefly. The letters are still pouring in after two days.”

Edofine blinked, smiling broadly as Lira kissed him on the cheek. He wore a t-shirt for the first time in his life, a Greenpeace design obscured by his waterfall of brown hair. “I enjoy the diminutive you have chosen to call me. I knew not there were so many Elves in contact with the Official Magics-Human Institute. What are these?” He picked up the books one by one and examined them: The Human Mind, Andrews and MacMillian Guide to Psychology, The Diagnostic Dictionary, and A Complete List of Psychiatric Disorders, Symptoms, and Treatments.

“First, we don’t know all those Elves and part-Elves, but everyone we called knew of others, who knew of others, and so on. One of our mail sorters claims he has ten signatures from New Zealand, though what Elves are doing there I have no idea. Second, these books, a CD containing the other information you need, all the food you’ll require for eight years in a time bubble, and all the forged diplomas and credentials they’ll fabricate once you pass certain tests at the end are the OMHI’s payment for your assisting them. You have to sign a contract promising to be on call to help them in the future. It’s in my briefcase.” As Lira spoke, Christine staggered into the apartment, taking off her bulky coat and flinging it across the room.

Christine looked around. The place gleamed on every surface and had the scent of an old-growth forest. “Thank you for cleaning our home, Edofine. It’s marvelous. Did you use magic?”

“I sang as I scrubbed, that is all. You are welcome, fine lady.” Edofine turned back to Lira. “It seems a great reward for a simple idea.”

“People pay millions for good ideas,” Christine replied. “If you were the mercenary type you would have insisted they hire you as a creative consultant. Lira, is it okay if I take a shower? The office’s air conditioning’s been cut off and I’m all sticky.”

Lira waved her approval. “Go ahead. Where’s Kryvek?”

Edofine said, “School began today, so he had to leave and teach students how to sing. Why do human children have three months off from learning?”

“Only in this country. It used to be so they could help their parents with the harvest but now it’s obsolete. They’d make a huge fuss if someone tried to take it away, though. So what are you doing for dinner?”

“Sara and John have invited me, for Sara wishes for John to know me better. Have you asked anyone else what to do with Krith? Kryvek is complaining about his electric bill from having the oven constantly turned on and Krith is complaining of ennui from sitting alone in the oven.”

“I asked as many people as I could, and no one knows what to do with an exiled Archaedemon. It’s a pity he can’t emit heat without losing body mass, because otherwise he could replace the OMHI’S furnace. We haven’t heard yet from D.C. about whether they will restore our funding. The post office sent some of the petition off today—the rest must wait until they have pasted all the signatures into one or more books.”

“Something about Krith perturbs me. He continues to plead for asbestos cigars and boiling whisky, and now when I speak to him or watch him play solitaire he constantly trembles and seems in low spirits. We managed to move the visual box so he could watch the stories.”

“Is there any show he particularly likes?” Lira couldn’t resist running her fingers through Edofine’s chocolate tresses.

“Something called Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It has demons in it, even if they are mostly not the real kind. And everyone knows vampires survive sunlight. It merely gives them headaches and takes years off their lives.”

Lira snuggled up against Edofine’s chest. He blushed, but grinned, and put an arm around her shoulders. “He may be in withdrawal. Alcohol and nicotine are powerful addictives, and ceasing to use them is very difficult. Or so I’ve heard—I’ve never tried any mood-altering chemical.”

“Should I bring a gift to John and Sara when I dine with them? I know not the etiquette.”

“For something casual, among friends, not celebrating a holiday, you don’t need anything. For a formal dinner party you would take a bottle of wine—or sparkling cider, if they don’t drink.”

Lira and Edofine indulged in a more elaborate display of affection before Lira reluctantly pried herself out of the cushions. “I need to change and do some work that I brought home. If Kryvek’s still gone after you’ve left the Tufts, care to come over?”

“Christine prefers an evening alone with you, without my intrusion.”

“See? That’s why I regret not hearing the thought-music. You’ll have to be my emotional interpreter.”

“Certainly I will, Joy Tears.”

“If my name meant Joy Tears instead of Fierce Tears, I’d be called Tira.”

“Patronymics are truly an enthralling subject, Tira. Wish me well.”

“I always do.”

Edofine left Lira and swiftly arrived next door. He knocked. “Mister and Mrs. Tuft?”

The open doorway revealed John in a red plaid shirt, long black pants, and a stony face. “Hello, Edofine. Come in.”

Edofine felt wounded, since he could hear John’s reluctance, but said nothing. The apartment was neat and fully unpacked, if sparsely furnished. Kryvek explained to Edofine that recently married couples often have little money. Instead of a couch there were four large, square, yellow cushions in a pile, and the kitchen flowed into the dining room with no clear separation. There were two pictures in frames, one of Sara’s family and one of John’s, sitting on top of the refrigerator, which had a built-in microwave. The walls were decorated with posters—two of the same man singing from different angles with the label ‘Bruce Springsteen’, and five that sported drawings of very thin youths with strangely-colored hair and humongous eyes.

“Tell me, what are those?” Edofine asked, gesturing at the drawn posters.

“Oh, those are manga characters,” Sara responded. She was busy setting the table with blue plates that were all cracked. Edofine sensed that she was happy, slightly nervous, and keeping a pleasant secret.

“Manga?”

John strode over to his wife and encircled her waist with his arm, kissing her on the shoulder. It was an unmistakable statement of this is mine, and I’m not sharing. He said, “It is a Japanese art form of graphic novels.”

“Books with pictures?” Edofine spotted a trench coat and a mound of sewing equipment on the coffee table, and went closer to inspect it.

Sara snatched it up and hid it in the bedroom. “You can see it when it’s finished.”

“She won’t even tell me what it is,” John said. “Care to sit? Would you like a drink? We have lemonade, orange juice, beer, and coffee.”

“Water will be sufficient,” Edofine said, pouring a glass from the sink and taking a sip. He placed it on the table. “I appreciate your efforts to conceal your hostility. It’s very gentlemanlike of you. How are you dealing with new knowledge?”

John took a seat. “I’m still getting used to it. It gives me the heebie-jeebies when you tell me what I’m feeling, though. Could you pretend you couldn’t tell?”

“He’s been asking all sorts of questions,” Sara added. “I told him about Krith’s exile and your singing that makes all the flowers appear. I also said you hated leather.” She went over to the stove and ladled soup into a serving bowl.

“Heebie-jeebies?” Edofine asked.

“A way of saying it freaks me out,” John clarified.

“Freaks me out?” Edofine asked, sitting down across from John.

Sara now took a dish of a spinach salad with canned tuna, no mayonnaise, to the table. “Conversations with Edofine tend to follow this pattern, John. English is his second language and he’s not good with slang. Let’s begin. We have clam chowder and tuna salad. The clams and tuna lived free and died with a minimum of pain, I promise.”

“I can see that bit about conversation patterns,” John said, wryly.

“I would still like to know what heebie-jeebies means, but if I am annoying you I will go ask Kryvek when he returns from teaching, or perhaps Lira.”

“How are things with Lira, anyway?” Sara asked.

Edofine couldn’t keep the grin from his face. “It would tire you to hear all my praises and thanksgiving.” He took a sip of the chowder. “This is excellent. I never thought something extracted from a cow would be so enjoyable.”

“Pretty creamy, isn’t it? I can only say that I washed the spinach in the salad.” John took a few bites of salad, and then asked, “Let me get this straight. Lira is half-Eudemon.”

“Indeed, she is,” Edofine said.

“And the Eudemons are always attacking and killing the Elves. You’ve killed Eudemons.”

“Much to my regret. I had no other choice.”

“How does a half-and-half happen, then? Why do you love her?”

“She is a product of rape, and her Elf mother raised her as an Elf. She cannot help her parentage.”

Sara pointed one of her thumbs at the ceiling, something that baffled Edofine. “I applaud you for your species tolerance.”

They ate in silence for a while, Edofine busily absorbing the humans’ emotions. John didn’t like silence, so he asked Edofine about what sports he was interested in. Edofine explained the joys of archery and tree-climbing as long as his life wasn’t at stake, as it usually had been. John ended up giving a lengthy explanation of American football. Edofine wondered how humans could go around attacking others, even if it was in a game setting.

John stated no judgments about Edofine, but Edofine knew John found him overly sentimental, sensitive, and spineless. Edofine found John honest, loving towards his wife, but harsh and demanding. Sara followed the conversation with anxiety; hoping things would be all right between them.

At the end of the meal, when both males praised Sara for her good work, John cleared the table and served coffee. “Do you drink it black or with sugar?”

“I have never had this beverage,” Edofine said, stirring the dark liquid and staring into its depths.

“Take a sip first, and if you don’t like it it’s okay,” Sara said.

Edofine sampled it without anything added. An odd feeling of wellbeing and confidence rushed through him, confidence as he had never felt since coming to the human world. He drank more, slurping it down with eagerness. When he laid down the empty cup, he felt equal to a hundred hostile Eudemons. “Very good,” he murmured.

“Do you want to watch a little TV with me? A football match comes on in fifteen minutes,” John offered.

Sara smiled at him with gratitude for his efforts to be nice to Edofine. “It’s a difficult sport to understand, and it’s okay if you—are you all right?”

Edofine rocked back and forth in his chair, snickering. His pupils appeared to have blown immensely wide. “Forget Christine, yes. Once I have bid your leave, I will find Lira and take her to the bridge. Heeheehee. Too bad Kryvek’s neighbors dislike him and give him trouble, hahahaha. I think I will go have them relax. Everyone needs to relax. Someone should give this coffee to the warriors. Hah!” His short chuckles turned into full-scale laughter, so loud and unabashed that Sara briefly thought he might be possessed.

“You probably should calm down,” John said.

“That is the weak way. I believe I may be able to—I think I can—spirits, I call them to me, hahahahaha!” Edofine jumped up onto the table, spread his arms out, and sang in Elvish at great speed.

“I don’t like this,” Sara whispered to her husband.

As Edofine’s song grew louder, things started materializing near the ceiling and dropping down to the floor. The things were shoes, to be exact. All kinds of shoes, neatly tied together in pairs, some with high heels and some with cleats.

Edofine surveyed his work and giggled. “If I sing long enough I can shoe the whole city, at least until they disappear in the dawn.” he said, stepping down. He pulled John from his chair. “Why do you not dance with me? Everyone wished to dance. My clan was called the Dance Clan until those filthy demons murdered them.” He abruptly shoved John away.

John spluttered, “I don’t know what’s going on here, but you’re scaring Sara and you need to stop.”

“Sons of unmarried porcupines, I will show them!” Edofine shouted, running out the door.

Sara ran after him and caught hold of his arm. “Edofine, please don’t do something stupid. Is it the coffee?”

“’Tis indeed. Let go of me, female. Great things are afoot.” Edofine pulled away easily and tore through Kryvek’s apartment. He emerged with a wooden longbow and quiver full of arrows. “It is not enough to tell you of my skill. I must show it to you.” He laughed again, doubling over from the hilarity.

“We need to get Lira—now!” Sara told John. “It’s okay, Edofine. Just put the pointy weapons down.” She backed into Lira and Christine’s door, turning the doorknob behind her.

John squeezed Sara’s hand and darted into the living room, shouting, “Quick! Edofine’s gone berserk!”

Lira jerked up from her position on the couch.

“What happened?” Christine asked.

“I don’t know; we were just talking over our coffee.”

“You gave an Elf coffee?” Lira asked, her eyes widening. She went out to the hall.

John wrung his hands. “Was there something wrong with that?”

“I told you Elves were sensitive to everything,” Christine said.

“You didn’t say mild stimulants made them insane!”

Meanwhile, Edofine had kicked in the Youngs’ door. Lira saw several feathered arrows stuck in the walls of the hallway. The elderly couple was aghast when Edofine turned off their television—they had been watching Jeopardy—and he started another song, completely improvised.

Lira ran over to him. “I’m sorry to both of you. There’s an explanation. Ed, come on. We need to get you to the OMHI for an antidote.”

“This is the best I have felt in years!” Edofine argued. “Let go of me.”

They wrestled for a while, which was all the more disturbing because Edofine started laughing again. Then, like a light switching off, he dropped limply onto the carpet, unconscious.

Lira gasped and pressed her ear to his chest. He was still alive, but the hyperactivity had been too much of a strain on his heart.

Chapter Fourteen

Patients and Healers and Intruders

Kryvek shoved the glass door of the OMHI building out of his way, waving at the security guard as he ran—she fortunately recognized him. Then he nearly leaped down the three flights of stairs, avoided crashing into a cart laden with vegetarian lunchboxes, and came to a screeching halt at the reception desk for the healthcare center.

“May I help you?” asked the woman dressed in a pale yellow suit and green neckerchief.

“Edofine, alias Edward Fletcher,” Kryvek gasped out, gulping for air and steadying himself against the wall. “Edofine. He’s here.”

“Yes?”

“His cousin. I am. I’m his cousin. Is he okay? Where is he?”

The woman made a few clicks on her computer. “Oh, the Elf with the caffeine overdose. He’s stable. Go to room eight. Good luck.”

Kryvek patted her hand in thanks, slipping through the hallway while loosening his brown tie and unbuttoning his collar. He had abandoned his beloved Girls’ Choir and come straight from the high school, dashing out of the evening practice, when he heard the news. His hands shook, and his eyes stung with guilt and regret. Why couldn’t he have prevented this? A simple sentence would have saved Edofine. He was a fool for thinking Edofine, innocent, childlike Edofine, would be ready to handle the dangers of the human world.

He knocked on the door of room eight, which John opened.

John adjusted his glasses. “Hi,” John said, seemingly caught off-guard.

Kryvek gently pushed him out of the way and sat down on a wooden stool next to the bed. Sharing the vigil were Lira, Sara, and Christine. Christine had brought her work with her and was busy writing, pausing to exchange glances with Kryvek. Sara paced the length of the room. Lira held Edofine’s hand, her face one that could have been carved from granite.

It was difficult for Kryvek to look at his cousin, so young and vulnerable, for he was connected to masses of tubes and needles. There was one saving grace—no screen with a waving line representing Edofine’s pulse. At least he didn’t need that.

“What did they do?” Kryvek whispered.

Lira whispered, dead calm, “They pumped his stomach. It’s been barely two hours.”

Sara dug into her purse and drew out a checkbook. She held it out to Edofine. “I’ll pay the bills. It’s all my fault. I bought the coffee. I...” She turned pale and sank to her knees, weeping.

John crouched down beside her and enveloped her into his arms. “We didn’t know, baby. He’s not going to blame you. It wasn’t our fault.”

“Yes it was,” Sara wheezed. “Lira, I’m so sorry. Kryvek—it’s so scary. Forgive me.”

Kryvek nodded. “Of course. Someone should have told you coffee is a hard drug for Elves. You did the right thing bringing him here.”

“Lira brought him here,” Christine said. “We were all panicking and crying, but she stayed calm and drove. Her hands didn’t shake at all.”

Lira’s mouth stretched about one centimeter, and she began to stroke Edofine’s hair. He was deathly pale, his delicately pointed ears deaf to the love around him. “All I have is my strength,” she murmured in Elvish.

“Has anyone tried magic?” Kryvek asked.

“They wanted to ask your permission. Most of the Elves have gone home, though, and it would take a while to call them back,” Christine explained. “Sara, you don’t need to be so selfless. The OMHI will pay all his medical and educational expenses for one year, and then they’ll give him loans if he gets a job.”

John cleared his throat. “Is it all right if we leave? I hate to say this, but I have to go to work tomorrow, and Sara’s about collapsed.”

“That’s fine,” Kryvek mumbled, wincing a little from the burden of Sara’s agony and John’s confusion, which he heard clear and loud. Lira and Christine’s pain poured into his ears as well, and he knew only one way to let it out.

“Goodbye,” Sara said, still sniffling.

John shook Kryvek’s pale hand in his dark one, and they left.

“I’m staying here,” Lira said.

Christine protested, “But you’ll be tired. You’ve had a long day and this is not a good place for rest.”

Kryvek stood and hugged Christine. “Lira is set on this, Chrissy. You won’t be able to budge her. You should go, though, because the Anthropology Department needs you to lead it. The strain is going to be too much; I can hear you cracking.”

“I feel so weak and useless,” Christine replied, softly returning the hug. “And fat. Always weak and useless and fat.”

“No, no. Don’t say that. You have great endurance and courage, but you need to save it and be strong enough to let us take over. Can you do that?” Kryvek looked with his silver-brown eyes into Christine’s hazel.

She bit her lip and nodded, then kissed Lira on the cheek. “Don’t lose hope,” she said, and then she was gone.

Kryvek caressed Edofine’s face with his fingers. “When he first came I thought he’d be an awful nuisance.”

“Have you changed your mind?” Lira asked, not taking her eyes off her lover.

“No. He’s still an awful nuisance, but he’s a sweet, caring, charming nuisance at the same time. I can’t believe we forgot to tell either him or the Tufts about coffee and Elves.” Kryvek switched to Elvish. “He’s all I have left of my blood relatives. I cannot lose him.”

Lira spoke in Elvish as well, as they both did for the rest of the conversation. “People have always been afraid of me at first, and then a small number changed over to love. He loved me from the first day. He senses more than even another Elf would.”

“I don’t want to wait until next morning for other Elves to come. Do you?”

Lira shook her head. “This may sound ridiculous, but I do not wish for anyone else to touch him. He is ours.”

“I’m not very skilled at the healing Song.”

“Neither am I.”

“Shall we make an attempt? Have you shared your energy before?”

“I have, but this is going to drain us unless we come up with some pretty powerful wording.”

“Let me begin. I was working on a poem this morning, and I think I can use it.” Kryvek put his hands on Edofine’s head and began to sing.

How much blood really matters

Is beyond my reckoning

Though our souls are bruised and battered

And our dreams are often shattered.

I live, I think, I love, I sing

And tonight I sing for you.

Lira placed her hands on top of Kryvek’s, plucking Kryvek’s haunting tune and adding her own words.

For ages the wise have attempted

To share and find true peace

And our races were not exempted

And we have not yet perfected

But tonight, let your fears cease

I give my strength to you.

Kryvek closed his eyes, listening to the air around him. He heard the hum of fluorescent lights, the rumble of traffic above, and the clatter of footsteps in the hall. He thought of his childhood in the Dance Clan village, sitting by a pool and watching the dragonfly nymphs transform and fly away. Then Edofine would try to pull him up, telling him about marvelously tall trees with perfect branches for climbing, or an expedition to find wild strawberries. Kryvek usually had turned him away. Throat dry and insides burning, Kryvek raised his voice.

How I love you matters not to me

Or anything else, but now I grieve

To see you fallen because of another .

Lira felt herself crumbling. Though her name was about tears, she hadn’t shed them since her mother screamed to the forest in anger for having a half-demon child. Lira had been ten years old at the time. To come so far, to have been so lonely, and then to find complete rapture in another being, and then to bid it goodbye was more than she could bear.

I would cut my own feet from the bone

Rather than see you slip away

Spirits, I cannot now be alone

What evil there is, be undone!

Leave my Edofine, I pray.

They repeated the last line together. “Leave my Edofine, I pray.”

For a moment, there was silence, but then Kryvek and Lira’s hands disappeared into Edofine’s head, which had become a source of icy blue light. The vortex ripped through their bodies and burst into sounds of draining, sucking, and pouring. An unseen Elf choir sang meaningless syllables, and a lone Eudemon male shouted in words neither understood.

The sound then dwindled as the two struggled to breathe. The magic pulled their entire beings into the half-empty vessel. Birds sang, even though they were underground and it was nighttime. The blue light filled the room, blinding, and then sank into Edofine.

Completely exhausted, Lira fell backwards onto the floor. Kryvek sank to his knees, praying both to Jesus Christ and to the woodland spirits, hoping neither would be offended at the inclusion of the other. Edofine’s loved ones both fell asleep as they were.

* * * *

Nobody remembered to feed Krith. He banged on the oven door a few times, and then opened it to call out. “Hello? Anyone there? I’m starving.”

He couldn’t stop worrying about Edofine, whom he had seen rush in to grab a bow and arrows. Krith heard Sara shrieking that she was sorry, and ask if the Elf was going to die. With his worries came a drop in body temperature, and he reached up and out to turn up the heat to five hundred degrees Fahrenheit.

Then he shrank back to the back corner of the oven, for he heard voices that did not belong to his friends. After a moment he recognized one of them as Mister Yale, the landlord.

“Absolutely disgraceful, sir, that’s what it is. Strange noises, bizarre behavior—it’s a wonder I put up with Fletcher for so long. I knew there had to be something at the bottom of it.” Mister Yale unlocked the door to Kryvek’s apartment. With him were two policemen and a drug-sniffing dog.

“If there really are methamphetamines in here, Rachel will find them,” promised one.

“I don’t know what drugs they’ve been running,” Mister Yale replied, shuffling through Kryvek’s music sheets and flinging them aside. “All I know is Mister and Mrs. Young said that cousin of his attacked them. He was obviously high on something. They’re my oldest tenants, and I can afford to lose this guy.”

The dog looked straight into the oven, and Krith clenched his fists. He was about to be exiled again, and after Edofine, he had no one to take him in.

“Some company that calls itself the OMHI wants to buy the building. They say they want to rent apartments out to crazy people. I told them a flat no. Found anything?” Mister Yale extracted some chewing tobacco from a tin and stuck it in his mouth. Krith salivated, having been without nicotine for weeks.

There Rachel was, barking at the darkened oven. Krith wished he happened to be larger right now, because defending himself would burn up the mass he had left. The policeman who had her on a leash said, “Look, he left the oven on. All the way up, too.”

“Turn it off first,” Mister Yale said. “I don’t want to be stuck with the electricity bill.”

The policeman swung the door open. His eyes and mouth gaped. “Holy shit.”

Krith shouted, “Leave me alone!” He rolled out of the oven and ran towards the door. The dog ran after him, and the humans chased him into a corner.

“What is that thing?” Mister Yale asked.

“I’m warning ya’ll, if you don’t let me be, I will char your bones,” hissed Krith, sounding like a talking teakettle. He realized since he was currently two feet tall his threats weren’t very impressive, even though the carpet was burning under his feet.

“Is it a midget?” asked a policeman.

“But he’s bright red,” said the other. “We should take him for questioning.” He pulled out a set of handcuffs.

Krith grabbed Mister Yale’s ankle, tripping him and searing his flesh. Mister Yale screamed. “Kill it! Kill it!”

The policemen drew their guns. Krith inhaled deeply, and then blew flames at both of them. They howled in pain, rolling to extinguish the fire. Mister Yale tried to grab him and Krith threw a fireball at him. He calculated it to give a second-degree burn, enough to incapacitate but not to kill. Unfortunately, the drywall caught fire as well.

As the fire licked the apartment and spread across the floor, Krith realized he was in the deepest trouble of his life. He didn’t want anyone to die, but he was too small to pull anyone to safety, and he’d expended too much heat to grow any further. The fire was now beyond his control. He could absorb small amounts of heat instantaneously, but not hundreds of degrees. He also was helpless in stopping smoke, though his oxygen needs were different than the non-fiery kind.

As the fire engines blared their way to Pleasant View Apartments, a small figure wreathed in flame ran down the edge of the street. Someone dumped water on him and heard loud cursing, and then Krith burst into flame again and continued running, shrinking as he went.

Chapter Fifteen

Firefighters and Saviors and Scapegoats

Sara nudged John, who responded with a bleary-eyed, “Wha?”

“I smell smoke!” she hissed, pushing off the covers and standing next to the bed.

That woke him up. He nodded and rose. “We’ll take the briefcase.”

A simple brown briefcase under their bed held their marriage certificate, birth certificates, and all the documents pertaining to their bank account. John being the worrywart he was, he had insisted on two-person fire drills once a month ever since they were married. He felt oddly calm even though the fumes and shouts that drifted through their door made it clear this was not a practice.

Sara took the briefcase in hand while trying to rearrange her sheer nightgown so a minimum of flesh showed. John’s boxers seemed out of place, as they were festooned with little red hearts. When they hustled to the door, John touched the doorknob and flinched at the heat.

“Onetwothree.” John was not wasting time on pauses. They forced the door open with their shoulders.

The hallway was an inferno, hazy with smoke. Nothing but blackness and coals remained in Kryvek’s apartment across and to the left. Sara had a fleeting thought that Krith must have done something, but she pushed it away and counted in her head, trying to keep from panicking. They were near the end of the building, where a swinging door led to the stairs and another door opened to the fire escape. They crawled along the carpet, difficult for the seven-months-pregnant Sara, but she safely made it. Without looking back she carefully but quickly descended the fire escape. The elderly Youngs came after her with painful slowness, so she took Abish Young’s hand and supported her wizened frame down the last few steps.

“Thank you,” Mrs. Young whispered. “Where’s your husband?”

Sara looked around her and saw no John. She screamed his name so loudly that five firefighters ran to her aid.

Upstairs, John noticed Christine’s apartment door was still closed. Now that Sara was outside, he knew he couldn’t leave an acquaintance to die. He forced the door open, coughing and stumbling his way in. Flames grew along the floor and followed him in.

“Christine!” he shouted, his voice hoarse. “Where are you? Christine!”

He searched the bedroom. She wasn’t there. The bathroom. No Christine. The other bedroom. No Christine! Had she gone and closed the door behind her? Finally he looked in the linen closet—Christine was asleep, nestled among the towels. John had no idea what she was doing there, but he shouted and shook her. “Christine! Christine!”

She rubbed her eyes, gasping for air. “What’s going on?”

“Fire. Quick. You need to get out.” John pulled her up, no mean feat as she weighed nearly the same that he did. Part of the burning ceiling fell to the floor in front of them, creating a barrier of flame. John looked back and forth, hyperventilating. The window! There was a large window that could be opened, and they were on the fifth floor. He dragged Christine, who appeared to be drugged, as no urgency or danger had sunk into her mind, and opened the window.

“Hey!” he shouted at the milling crowd of firefighters, survivors, and onlookers. “Someone get a blanket or a trampoline or something! I’ll drop this woman down!”

Several people shouted back and spread out a net provided by the firemen. John closed his eyes and prayed to whatever deity might be listening, and then pushed Christine up and out.

“What’s happening?” she asked the second before she fell.

“You’ll be fine,” John promised, hoping with all his might, and then let go.

* * * *

Edofine’s first sensation was one of comfort, safely tucked in clean sheets in a quiet enclosure. He sensed love, intense love, coming from both sides. As he began to smile, though, a faint undertone of dissonance drifted into his keen ears. He opened his eyes to blinding light and whispered in Elvish, “Individuals I care about are in peril.” Not only were the lights above turned on, sunshine streamed in the window.

No one answered him. With the same effort it would have taken him to split a log he pushed himself up and rubbed his eyes, briefly noticing the bits of metal and plastic attached to his body. When his vision focused he saw he was in a white hospital room, bare except for his bed, the medical paraphernalia connected to him, a chair, a stool, and his unconscious friends. He reached down and pulled Lira up to a sitting position.

“Joy Tears, Tira, Fierce Tears, Lira, Lira Steele...” he called softly.

She remained still.

Edofine reached over to the other side, where Cousin Kryvek slumped. “Kryvek, Kevin, Kevin Fletcher, Kryvek, Accepting Heart, Kevin Fletcher...”

Kryvek stirred. “Hmm?”

“You are both drained. Thank you for giving me your energy. Our human and demon loved ones need help.”

Lira yawned and looked around. “My, that took a lot out of me. Edofine?”

Edofine pulled off a tube and took Lira’s face in both hands, kissing her deeply. When he pulled away, he said, “Thank you,” in English.

Lira’s silver eyes filled up. “Edofine, you’re all right. What time is it?”

“Did I do anything terrible after drinking that coffee?” he asked.

“You scared everyone and damaged the building, but no one was hurt,” Kryvek said. “Care to give me a hug?”

“Certainly.” Edofine’s scrawny frame met Kryvek’s more muscular, healthy form in a brotherly embrace.

While they held one another, Edofine murmured, “Can you feel it? The distress? Sara and Christine and John and Krith, where are they?”

“We sent them back to the building,” Lira said. “Do you hear something?”

Kryvek cupped his hand around his ear. “I’m not as sensitive as you, Edofine. Hold on, hold on—someone we are connected to is screaming.”

Not only do Elves perceive the emotions of everyone near them, once they are sufficiently tied emotionally with someone they are forever connected to their wellbeing. With the right kind of incantations the silvery threads linking their hearts together become visible. The connection between true loves is gold.

“I’ll call a nurse,” Lira offered, pressing a button.

The half-Elf, half-Eudemon male OMHI nurse appeared, looking similar to Lira with silver eyes and deeply red hair. He smiled at the three. “I see you managed to revive him on your own. Your magic’s much better than mine. Is there anything you need?”

“I would like to leave,” Edofine replied. “What time of day is it?”

“It’s four in the afternoon. If you’ve been restored through Song, we just need to test your vital signs before we let you go. Most hospitals have stricter rules but Elves become sick and then well again so quickly we’re more flexible. Let me go get my equipment.”

Kryvek nodded. “Please hurry—I believe my sister needs me.”

“Is she hurt?” the nurse asked, knowing that Kryvek could tell.

“No, but she’s frightened.”

The nurse nodded and sped away. Even though he was clothed in a medical uniform he gave the impression of wearing a resplendent cloak.

“Krith is also afraid,” Edofine said, “and Sara’s grieved from something. Could it be me?”

“Probably. Can you tell what’s going on with John? I never spent time with him.” Kryvek obtained Edofine’s clothes, which had been folded and left under the bed. “Let’s get you dressed.”

“I know nothing concerning John, for he has not been willing to be my friend,” Edofine said.

Lira smooched Edofine on the top of the head, inhaling the warm scent of Edofine’s waist-length brown hair. It smelled like maple sugar. “I will go visit the ladies’ room for a moment.” She straightened her dress, a one-piece, modest cotton with embroidered leaves.

“Will you marry me?” Edofine called after her.

“Ask me later,” she replied with a laugh, her lithe body swaying as she left.

“How many times have you asked her already?” Kryvek inquired.

Edofine blushed. “Since the second day of knowing her, I have pled for her hand five times. Why do you not do the same?”

“I have no one to ask.”

“What about Christine?”

“I’m her adopted brother! It’s practically incest.”

“You will never be happy with anyone else, for I can hear how you feel about each other. Besides, you are not even the same subspecies. Elf and human matches are increasingly common.”

Kryvek scratched his head. “Be that as it may, I hope she’s okay.”

Once Edofine had gone through a quick check up, both the nurse and the doctor he brought over declared him fit to leave. They warned him against taking any sort of caffeine, even avoiding large amounts of chocolate, and also to stay away from stimulants, depressants, alcohol, sleep aids, and any medicine that caused drowsiness. Any other medication had to be checked with the OMHI clinic, though a good rule of thumb was to take a fourth of the recommended human dose.

Kryvek drove his zero-emissions hybrid down the crowded streets. Edofine and Lira sat in silence, filled with anxiety.

When they were within sight of their home, all three gasped. Though still standing, Pleasant View Apartments was a structure of charcoal, with gaping holes in the walls and some of the floors collapsed. Tenants, wrapped in blankets, milled around a table set with sandwiches, water, and coffee.

Kryvek saw Christine and parked the car.

Lira ran to hug Christine. “Are you okay? Why are you all still here? When did the fire start?”

Christine sat on the ground, her hair a birds’ nest. She wrapped herself in a donated blue blanket, under which her brown flannel pajamas protruded. “Hi, Edofine. I’m happy you’re walking. They’re trying to arrest the person who started the fire, based on Mister Yale’s description of a two-foot tall man with bright red skin. He was looking in Kryvek’s place for drugs, because he thought Edofine had been on drugs, and Krith either attacked or defended himself. I’m not sure which. And John...”

Edofine shook his head. “Krith would not have attacked anyone save in defense. Where is he?”

“No one knows,” Christine answered. “John saved my life and now he’s in the human hospital.”

“Where’s Sara?” Edofine asked, looking around. He spotted her and waved.

Sara, also wrapped in a blanket, came and sat down next to Christine. Her body shook with worry. “John’s all burned and they won’t let me go see him because they won’t let any of the healthy people leave. They think it was arson, and they don’t believe Mister Yale’s story.”

“We were not here when the fire began, and we can go visit him,” Lira reassured her.

“How did John save your life?” Kryvek asked, taking a seat next to Christine and wrapping his arms around her.

Christine explained, “I was so upset about Edofine that I took a sleeping pill, and it made me so drowsy that I didn’t wake up from the smoke or fire alarms. He hauled me to the window and dropped me to safety.”

“I’m so proud of him,” Sara said, looking up at Edofine, “but…I never even got a good look at him once they pulled him from the building.”

Mister Yale, who had been talking on a cell phone, withdrew from the crowd and lunged towards Edofine. “You!” he growled.

“Yes, sir?” Edofine asked, standing straight.

“Don’t try anything. I know it was you. Everything was fine before you came. You brought that demon, didn’t you? My insurance doesn’t cover it. Now I have to sell this place to those crazy people.” He grabbed Edofine’s shirt and lifted him up so they were face-to-face. “The OMHI’s buying it and I’m broke!”

“I am very sorry for the problems I have caused,” Edofine replied, grimacing from the humiliation and from his own weakness. Usually he could beat someone this size in a fight, but he was still recovering from having his stomach pumped.

Kryvek punched Mister Yale in the jaw. “As you are no longer my landlord, I’m not going to let you push us around.”

Mister Yale dropped Edofine and punched Kryvek, knocking him to the ground and pummeling him. “You Fletchers! You ruined me!”

Sara gasped and ran to find an authority figure, while Christine shrieked, “Stop it! Stop it!”

Edofine tried to pry Mister Yale off his cousin, but ended up falling backwards.

Mister Yale paused his beating of Kryvek to kick Edofine. The former landlord swore, interspersing punches with expletives. Edofine covered his ears and shouted, “Stop hating! Your hating is too loud! Please stop! I would rather you thrash me than hate me!”

While this was going on, Lira searched the ground for some ants. She found five and whipped one of her earrings off. This time she didn’t just prick her hand, she ripped through the skin in a deep, long cut. Blood dripped onto the ants and Lira muttered, “Dogs. Attack dogs. Become dogs that attack, large dogs, bloodthirsty dogs born of my blood. Take this sacrifice and kill.”

The ants swelled, and in a split second five Rottweilers appeared on the grass, mouths foamy and full of teeth. They growled and attacked Mister Yale, who screamed and ran for it.

Kryvek had a bloody nose and sat up, squeezing it shut. Nasally, he asked, “Can you control them?”

Edofine watched the dogs. “I notice they are not very fast. Mister Yale is outrunning them.”

Lira shouted, “Go! Leave him! Return to me!”

They stopped following Mister Yale, who was curled up in a terrified heap on the ground about fifty yards away, but they did not return to Lira. Instead, they disappeared in a grove of trees.

Three men in white coats pulled Mister Yale up. “Are you the one talking about a red demon starting the fire?”

“Dogs. Where did the dogs go?” he asked, frantic.

“What dogs?”

“The dogs! They were right here! They were chasing me. That Steele woman’s behind it. They’re all freaks,” Mister Yale continued to splutter as the men hauled him away.

“I hope those dogs don’t hurt an innocent person,” Christine said softly.

Lira nodded. “I am never doing that again. Are there bandages? I need one for my hand.”

“I need some ice,” Kryvek said, blood dripping down his face. He had some bruises as well. They headed for the first aid table.

“We must find those dogs,” Edofine said, standing.

“Are you okay, dear?” Lira asked. “The spell will wear off, and they’ll turn into ants again. I just don’t know when.”

“I understand you were motivated from love and righteous anger. Evil will not come of it. I am fine. Bruised and sore, perhaps.” Edofine took Lira’s hand. “We should go to John.”

A short while later, Edofine and Lira stood by John’s bedside. “You’re a hero,” Lira said.

John smiled. “Thanks. This hurts, though.” He had second and third-degree burns on his chest and arms, which were wrapped up with ointment.

Edofine peeled back the dressings, his eyes dripping with gratitude and regret. “I apologize for the grief I have caused you. You are badly burned now, but I know what to do.”

“What are you doing?”

Tears brimmed over and ran down Edofine’s cheeks. Edofine touched them and then touched the burns, spreading the tears over the black and pink skin. Wherever his tears touched, the burns healed without a trace.

“Damn,” was all John managed to say.

* * * *

The tenants of Pleasant View Apartments were eventually allowed to either go stay with others or go to a motel. The Fletchers and Lira checked into a Super 8, paying for adjacent rooms. Sara stayed with John while doctors puzzled over John’s miraculous recovery.

Later that day, Lira called Edofine and told him Krith had been hiding in the kiln of her art studio. He had to be coaxed out as he was convinced everyone wanted to kill him.

Chapter Sixteen

People and Solutions and Family

The Tufts, the Fletchers, Krith, and Lira gathered in one tiny motel room for a conference. It had been several days since the fire. Everyone had been busy filling out insurance forms, buying new clothes, and watching the OMHI’s Elf construction team restore the Pleasant View apartment building. By using magic they planned to finish fixing the place in a month, even though they had to work late at night to prevent passersby from noticing how bricks were levitating, workers were singing, and intricately choreographed dances seemed more important than hammer and nails.

Christine and Kryvek finally realized they shared a bond beyond adopted siblings, and decided since they shared no blood whatsoever, it was okay to be a couple. They sat holding hands on a bed. Edofine had his arm around Lira, sitting on the other bed. John and Sara sat in armchairs, John more genial towards the rest than he had ever been. Sara had something concealed in a large duffel bag. Krith watched everyone from a cooler filled with boiling water, a temporary refuge from the elements but a very inconvenient one, as he had to be soggy in what he perceived as lukewarm liquid.

“I need to come clean with you all,” Christine began. “I’ve been studying you.”

“What?” John asked. The room was full of raised eyebrows and perplexed expressions.

“Ever since Edofine moved in, I’ve been writing down what goes on between all of us. This has been an unplanned experiment in how the different species interact in daily life when they are brought together. My report on the romances, fights, reconciliations, and friendships in Pleasant View Apartments is what made the OMHI decide to buy Pleasant View. The idea is to provide a supportive, economical environment for non-humans, where they can get to know ordinary humans and foster understanding and peace between the races. To the outside world we are a community of emotionally or mentally ill individuals who function well, but have delusions of being Elves, demons, vampires, werewolves, shapeshifters, magicians, seers, and so on. There will be rules for tenants preventing discrimination, violence, and intolerance, and anyone who doesn’t follow these rules is out. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about this earlier, but if I had you wouldn’t have acted naturally. Is anyone mad at me?”

Edofine said, “Elves are used to everyone knowing how they feel, so this is no different.”

“Exactly,” Lira said. “Besides, you know I support you in everything. The OMHI can use the money, since our budget is being cut by ten percent. Without Edofine and his idea, it would have been much more.” 

“Glad to further science,” Kryvek said.

“Does this mean I’m famous?” Sara asked.

“Um, do they know about the fight Sara and I had?” John asked, squirming.

“I’m afraid they do,” Christine apologized. “Your denial and slow acceptance of the truth was pivotal in the report. You were basically the control, the average man.”

“Oh.” John sank into silence.

“Everyone admired how you turned around,” Christine hastened to add. “They’re thinking of giving you a medal for saving my life.”

“Oh!” Though it was the same word John had just uttered, the tone was very different.

Sara patted him on the back. “You’re a hero to the non-humans, isn’t that great? Maybe I can give you my own medal.”

“Oh...” John smiled.

Edofine admired how much John could convey with one syllable. “I have news as well. Lira finally said yes.”

“Though I insist we set the date a year from now,” Lira added.

Christine clapped. “Yay! That’s wonderful! I love weddings. What season will it be? Will it be outdoors? Can I be the maid of honor?” She hugged Edofine as tightly as she had when she first met him and accidentally made him faint. “You’re so smart to pick her. Lira, I’m so happy! Can I see the ring?”

Lira handed her a gold ring set with a single amethyst. “The gem is my mother’s, and the Arrows Clan made it for us.”

“Congratulations,” Sara said.

“I hope it works out well for you,” John added.

Kryvek grinned. “My little cousin, look at him now: a fiancée.”

“We shall set up the time bubble as soon as Pleasant View is livable again. I wish to study to be a credible psychiatrist.” Edofine stroked his tresses. “I will have to shorten my hair, though, which grieves me greatly.”

“What setting will you use for the time bubble?” Kryvek asked.

“Eight years in eight days. Is it acceptable for the team to create the bubble in your home? Lira said she would not mind you staying with her and Christine. I will pay you afterwards, once I have begun working.” Edofine was nervous about his endeavor, but he felt certain this was the correct course.

“No need for you to pay. You’re like a brother to me,” Kryvek said.

“What about me?” Krith asked. “What happens to me? Everyone forgets me. The water’s getting cold.”

Sara stood up and spread her arms. “Ta-da! Look well, humans and demons and Elves! I have something to show you.” She unzipped the duffel bag and pulled out a chin-to-toe, red, puffy coat with odd bulges. “See, I have removed some of the down, not all of it, and sewn pockets which will hold hot water bottles right against the skin. The cloth is heat-proof—I tried cooking it in the oven all day, and I got an Elf from the OMHI to do spells to make it even more heat resistant. If Krith wears this, he can safely sit on ordinary surfaces, though to touch anything he’ll have to wear oven mitts and wear boots. He has to be full size for it to fit. I’m getting a patent and selling the design to the OMHI. I’ve got other ideas for Elf, Eudemon, and Archaedemon inventions. If we can make things the demons want, they might be willing to trade with us. At least I hope so.”

Everyone looked at Krith, whose orange eyes grew in astonishment. He lifted the cooler lid and stood, four feet in height. “It’s going to get cold in here, and I mean cold for you, not cold for me. I need to get bigger.”

“He will draw the heat into himself,” Edofine explained.

“Why didn’t he do that before?” John asked.

“It gives him a terrible headache, and also there has to be enough heat available surrounding him.” Edofine stood and pulled the blankets off the bed, wrapping them around Lira. “Proceed, my friend.”

There was no sound, but everyone shivered from the sudden temperature change. Krith grew two feet higher and considerable thicker and wider, standing in a few inches of hot water. He rubbed his temples. “Ow. I wanted to try the coat on, so it’s worth it.”

Sara walked to him and handed him the coat. “I’m hoping it works. I filled it up with boiling water before coming. There’s a pair of old, used, but thick boots too.”

Krith pulled the coat on, and slid his feet into the fleece boots. He stepped out of the cooler and spread his arms, his loose, batlike membrane stretching out. He smiled. “It’s a little cool, but I feel fine.”

“Care to give me a hug?” Sara asked.

Krith cautiously put his arms around Sara, being sure not to touch her with his hands. “Lady, you’ve set me free.”

“Here are oven mitts,” Sara said, letting go and pulling them out of the duffel bag.

“Now the OMHI can hire you instead of the furnace,” Christine commented.

“Really? I wouldn’t have to do anything but fire spells and suck the heat out of rooms?” Krith laughed. “This calls for a drink! Anyone have vodka? Whisky? Bourbon?”

“I have some beer,” John said.

“That’ll have to do. I’ll cook it in the coffee maker.” Krith rushed around the room, relishing his new mobility.

Edofine spoke. “You are to be commended, Sara.”

“That’s really clever,” Lira put in, enveloping her fiancé in the blankets.

“I can’t wait for them to rebuild the apartments,” Christine said. “Conference ended.”

The formal part was over, but no one left the room. Instead they talked, worked, played games, laughed, and loved. That wasn’t about to end any time soon.