Owl's Fair by Leanne Leeds

Author:Leanne Leeds [Leeds, Leanne]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Badchen Publishing
Published: 2021-06-16T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

We followed the six pixie fighters deeper into the Florida jungle. They had a place, they assured us, we could speak freely without being overheard—even at full size. Who would overhear us—the alligators? Through the overgrown and untamed marsh, we traipsed silently along a faint path winding its way north.

“Are we almost there?” I asked impatiently. Ironic, since the pixies were known for their childlike demeanors, my sister was fifteen, and I was supposed to be the grown-up in the group. “It feels like we’re walking to Miami.”

“You seem anxious, Astra of Arden clan,” one of the pixies responded. It was difficult to tell which one in the darkness, but I could sense she was to my right. “Ebony Cottonspring agreed to speak with you. That is an honor. Why would you still be on guard?”

“Because you’re dragging my younger sister and me even further into this swampy quagmire. Just because your snippy leader agreed to talk doesn’t mean you won’t turn on us at any time and attack. This could all be a trick.”

“Ebony is our seer, not leader. Is that what you think might happen? That we would give you assurances and then turn on you?” she asked, her voice indicating her surprise. “Do other witches answer honestly so infrequently that your first instinct is to not believe us when we make an agreement?”

Since when did pixies talk like they walked out of Rivendell after lunching with the elves in Middle Earth? They’re supposed to be lighthearted and fun. This wasn’t lighthearted or fun. If anyone pulled a ring out with elvish on it, I was out of here.

“I don’t know you, pixie.”

“Does anyone really know another being? Do we know ourselves?” she mused. “Socrates famously declared that the unexamined life was not worth living. Perhaps you are seeing your own subconscious desires mirrored in your fears about us.”

Just my luck. I found the only pixies on the planet with a penchant for talking like elves and an interest in philosophy. Was nothing in Florida normal? Did everything—even the paranormals—have to be just a little weird? “Considering how we met, I think it’s a pretty good idea for me to remain on alert. Don’t you?”

“We don’t know you, either,” she responded.

“Even so, we are bringing you to our hiding place,” another chimed in.

“Witches have so little trust,” yet another added. “A paradox of their supposed empathy. Don’t you agree?”

That they were leading us to their super-secret hideout in their swamp hadn’t precisely been confirmed yet. “Let’s just say I court optimism, but I’m not gonna be marrying it anytime soon.”

“What an interesting way to put it,” a pixie said from behind me.

I rolled my eyes.

“Are you all right?” Althea whispered.

“Fine. How are you doing? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Althea responded evenly.

We continued picking our way through the bug- and snake-infested swamp.

Or maybe it was a jungle.

I don’t know; it seemed like a swamp. It smelled like a swamp.

Florida had the most pristine, gorgeous outdoor areas in the whole country—as long as you were on the coast.

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