Midnight Mercy by J. R. Pearse Nelson

Author:J. R. Pearse Nelson [Nelson, J. R. Pearse]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-07-05T09:25:32+00:00

“Are we on our land?” Darcie was peering around. “Who built this place? It’s amazing—”

She reached my side.

And came face to face with Grisel.

Everyone paused for a split second before Darcie shrieked.

“Oh, my. Please silence this…person!”

I wondered what Grisel wanted to call her.

I grabbed Darcie’s arm. “It’s okay. It’s okay,” I murmured. “This is the moon garden.”

“What the…drat the cat, Naomi! What am I looking at?”

Grisel cleared her throat. “I think you mean who—”

Darcie shrieked again, but lower this time, and she quickly clapped a hand over her mouth. “You’re alive – oh, my god, that’s what I thought I saw, but it can’t be, right?”

She turned to me with wide eyes and a mouth that resembled a perfect ‘o’. Which was probably the same look I’d worn when I first saw this place.

I felt a little faint. This wasn’t supposed to happen. This was so not in the plan.

“What are you doing here?”

“What are you doing here?” she returned. “I saw you scurrying off into the woods. I wanted to see what was up.”

“How did you get inside the fence?”

“What is this, the inquisition? I’m still stuck on our tree-person here.” She raised a hand toward Grisel. “No offense.”

“Darcie, meet Grisel. Grisel, meet Darcie. She’s my cousin and another of Nanna’s grandchildren.”

“She’d better be. If not, I’d have to report this breach to the Day Court.”

“No, please don’t tell them, Grisel. I don’t need Aisling to have any more reasons to dislike me.”

“Who’s Aisling?” Darcie had crossed her arms and was turning in a slow pivot, peering into the garden. It was weird to think about how it looked that first time. I’d grown used to the clusters of white blooms glowing under the open sky. They’d be even brighter at the full moon.

I tried to ignore the sinking feeling in my gut. “Will you explain a bit to her?” I asked Grisel. “Or do we need to call Bramm to…you know…”

Bramm the leprechaun could erase short-term human memories. If he got here fast, he could remove Darcie’s knowledge of the garden and her life – my life – wouldn’t be affected by what she’d seen here tonight.

“Bramm is still in the otherworld. He’s too far away to help us.” The dryad frowned.

“That is so weird.” Darcie pointed at Grisel’s features in a motion more reminiscent of the five-year-old she was raising than a grown woman.

“It is not. She frowns a lot,” I told my cousin.

“Does she ever…you know, come out of the tree?”

“I, young human, am right here. Please don’t speak about me like I can’t hear you.”

“Did she just call me young?” Darcie raised a brow at me.

“You are young.”

“Very young.” Grisel’s frown deepened. “And yes, I can exit the tree any time I like.”

“So you do?”

Grisel’s limbs gave the impression of a shrug. “Not often, no.”

“Grisel’s roots are tapped deep. She’s able to bring messages from the otherworld through—”

Darcie threw up her hands. “Um, um, um. Not sure I can handle this. Am I dreaming?”

“Nope. Not dreaming.

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