The emergence of expandi.., p.28
The Emergence of Expanding Light, page 28
The air quality was only marginally better outside, but at least the smell of defecation wasn’t present. Fires raged closer and closer, sweat collected on Pippa’s forehead as they ran down a hill and away from the cave and the fire that was quickly closing in on them. Maybe it was the rush of outrunning the fire that kept them running instead of shimmering, but they ran for a while, down the hill as Pippa struggled to keep her balance on this unfamiliar terrain.
After a while, they reached a lake that overlooked the forest and the burning tree line in the distance. A green tent was set up right at the water and a couple of people dressed for hiking sat on foldout chairs near a bright red SUV. They appeared to have drinks in their hands and their car radio played some kind of dance music as they sat outside watching the forest burn.
“Don’t you know they’re evacuating,” Pippa called to the people when Pan stopped near them. “Did the authorities tell you to leave?”
“They passed us by,” a young man with short blond hair said.
A girl with long hair and thick bangs turned to them. “We figure we’re okay by the water. If the fires come, we’ll just jump in.”
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Pan asked, walking closer. The man got up. He dug into a cooler nearby and offered him a bottle.
“Want a beer?” the guy said, and Pan shook his head no. He put the bottle away, nonplussed. Pippa thought the fire raging in the distance should have caused this couple more concern. “We’re just out here, watching the world burn, you know?”
“You don’t think it might be better to stay safe so someone doesn’t have to risk their life rescuing you?” Pippa asked, feeling a little defensive. Growing up in California, she’d heard stories of firefighters dying trying to save stray hikers from the flames because they did not evacuate in time.
“We’re not going to help and we’re not going to hurt,” the girl said. “Listen to this. It's the end of days out there.” She pressed a button on her key and the car radio volume went up just as the music turned to talk radio.
“Tidal waves cause a nuclear meltdown in Japan,” a voice on the radio reported. “This comes just hours after lightning storms cause the Sahara Desert to burn, creating a wall of flames and a massive greenhouse effect. Acid rain caused fires in the Amazon Rainforest just as authorities are able to confirm that an ice flow has broken off Antarctica and is headed for Latin America.”
“The world is burning,” the guy said, leaning back in his seat. “Literally and figuratively. Might as well enjoy the view.”
“Is that really what you think?” Pippa asked. “Don’t you think you could at least….” But she stopped herself. She and Pan weren’t even able to help in any meaningful way with all the magic they had, why on earth should these people bother? Humans were powerless right now. And with that kind of powerlessness, she knew some humans could get mean. These people were just sitting back and hanging out, but other humans would not be so kind. People would use this destruction to seize power and control others and on a small scale she was sure arson fires and riots would start to break out once it really started to feel like the end of the world.
“We’re not the only ones out here. Some guy just walked by a little while ago. Totally not dressed for the woods,” the girl said.
“What do you mean?” Pippa asked.
“A guy in a suit,” the girl elaborated. “Reddish hair, tall, thin, kinda hot actually. Older, you know, thirty-two, thirty-three, but you know, hot for an older man.” She looked over at the guy with her and cracked a huge grin. “British accent too, that’s always a plus.”
“She’s just obsessed with all those BBC shows where everyone dresses up and has fancy dinner parties.”
“What did the man say?” Pippa asked.
“Why, you know him?” the guy asked.
“I just wondered what a British guy in a suit would say under these circumstances,” Pippa elaborated.
“He seemed kinda high or something. Kept talking about having to find them. Having to get them out. Something about there being three too many.”
“Really?” Pippa asked. “I guess we should go, thanks for the talk,” Pippa said, too worried to finish her thought. They needed to get out of there. They needed to move on. “And you should really try to stay safe. If the fire gets closer, drive downhill, the fires aren’t that bad down there.”
The guy nodded and the girl waved. “Thanks,” they called as Pippa took Pan’s hand and pulled him further into the woods.
“We have to heal this place,” Pan said. “We have to…it’s the forest, I can fix it. There are people here and I am still a forest pan. I can fix this.”
“But will it help? Will it actually do anything but stop one single fire?”
“One fire down, a few more to go,” Pan said. He reached out and Pippa knew he was going to take her hand and shimmer her into the heart of the flames.
Sure enough, a moment later, the wall of heat intensified. Pippa’s skin burned, even though the fire hadn’t touched her. When she turned around she found a wall of flames. No one would be able to stand there and still survive and in another moment, Pan’s protective bubble enveloped them, and the heat died down around her. Then, Pan walked out of the bubble. Pippa reached for him, she called his name, but he marched right into the flames.
Pan raised his hands. He tried to move the flames, but they would not budge. He jumped over them but was pulled back down. Pan put his hands on a burning tree, but it still blazed. He ran frantically from tree to tree. He put his hands on the ground, as Eros had done to heal the inner earth, but the forest would not heal. He could not help it. A tree started to fall above Pan. “Watch out!” Pippa called and Pan turned to look at her just as the tree came down right on him.
A gust of fear rushed inside her gut but in another moment, Pan appeared in the bubble with burns on his face and hands. Pippa reached into his pocket, but something hard kept her from grasping the jar of balms he usually carried. “Move that map, I have to help. I have to–”
The fire raged and it was like Pan had done nothing, absolutely nothing, to fix it.
“We need help. We need to regroup,” Pippa said as Pan stood in the middle of the bubble completely mystified. “Where are your balms?” Pippa asked him. In another moment Pan mechanically reached into a pocket and pulled out a jar of balm. He slathered it all over his skin, healing himself in a second. He said nothing but kept his movements to the bare minimum like he wasn’t even there. “We have to find help,” Pippa said.
Then she remembered the only place she’d ever regrouped in California. She’d not seen them in almost a year, but she knew through the grapevine that they were still Renegades (or the Queen-sanctioned equivalent) helping those from the Fairy World who chose to live with humans. Pippa grasped Pan’s hand. He was too weak to reach for her. She pictured the Foster’s home and in a moment, the fire flickered away, the bubble vanished, and they were elsewhere.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Pippa noticed the chill in the air so far from the raging forest fire. This part of Sacramento had not required evacuation and while there was some smoke, it wasn’t nearly as bad, or as hot, as it had been inside the forest reserve. The Foster’s little Welcome mat still greeted them, and Pippa tried to remember the password Vincent had given her the last time they’d visited these Fairers.
Pippa marched to the familiar and welcoming front door. The lights in the living room shined a placid yellow through the windows. A crocheted blanket was slung over a salmon-colored couch and a wooden coat rack stood near the bay window. Pippa marched to the door and Pan followed. Since he’d failed to put out the forest fire, he’d been slower and quieter. Pippa knew to give him his space. She lifted her hand to knock on the Foster’s front door, but it opened before she could reach it.
“You’re here,” Mrs. Foster said, opening the door wide for them. She gazed at Pan for an extra-long time before she outright asked. “What happened to him?”
Pippa turned to check and sure enough, Pan’s eyes still shone with light. “I’m sorry,” he said, looking down.
“It’s alright, young man. You’re among friends,” Mrs. Foster said.
“I forgot the password,” Pippa admitted. “I’m sorry, we haven’t returned until now, things have been crazy in the Land of the Fairies.”
“Things have been crazy everywhere,” Mrs. Foster said. She still reminded Pippa of a grandmother. Her gray hair was piled on top of her head and her large glasses gave her the look of a wise owl. Pippa took one whiff of the living room as they entered, and her mouth started to water. “In the kitchen, in the kitchen,” the older woman said. “You got lucky; I’m making scones.”
“We sure did get lucky,” Pippa said, remembering the crumbly, buttery taste of Mrs. Foster’s scones.
“Gabrielle is in bed. She has a brother and a sister now. Myles and Elizabeth. Their parents are fighting in the Satyr Guard and their children are living with us, where it’s safer. Though with those fires coming our way, who knows what is safe. The Human World has seen so much this year.”
“We know,” Pippa said, taking a seat at the table with Mrs. Foster and Pan. Mrs. Foster pushed a plate full of scones at them and Pippa took one quickly and started eating. “Thanks so much. Wow, these are so good.”
“The recipe hasn’t changed,” Mrs. Foster said. “Though much has. I made them for Gabrielle, Myles, and Elizabeth. They love them before school, but a few can go missing, they won’t notice.”
“We’re not here for scones, but they are an added benefit,” Pippa said. She looked at Pan. She’d expected him to say something, anything, but he simply followed her, keeping his head down as if he couldn’t believe how inept he was. Mrs. Foster seemed to notice his silence, but politely ignored it.
“I could sense something was different,” a man’s voice said from the stairs. Pippa looked over to see Mr. Foster in striped blue and white pajamas standing in the entryway to the kitchen. “I see she’s already forcing scones on you. Have one, young man,” Mr. Foster said, walking in. He nodded to the plate, but Pan shook his head and remained sitting quietly at the table. Pippa could tell Mr. Foster had seen Pan’s eyes, but he was too polite to comment on them.
“He’s upset,” Pippa finally said. “We came here for a map–” Pippa looked to Pan, wondering if she should tell the Fosters this. “The forest was on fire, has that been going on long?”
“We have the odd fire, it’s California, it happens. We’re used to it. Some of these fires are completely natural. But the Human World is beginning to see that so much of what is going on is not natural, not at all. They wonder what it is,” Mr. Foster explained, taking a seat across from Pan at the circular wooden table. “You’ve changed since last we met,” he said to Pan, who looked him in the eye but did not say anything.
“I’m sorry, he’s upset about the fire. He tried to put it out, but he couldn’t,” Pippa explained. “I guess we wanted to check-in and see if you know anything about what’s going on. We haven’t spoken to people clued into the human side of things in so long.”
“Since we last spoke, we were awarded that thing called amnesty,” Mrs. Foster said. Seeing that Pippa had managed to finish a single scone, she reached over and handed her another. Pippa didn’t want to take it, she thought it might be rude, but they were so good she couldn’t help herself. “More Fairers have come to this world. They just want out of all the drama in the Fairy World. They want to live in peace, and they thought the Human World would be better. Now that the damage of crossing over can be mitigated, it just made sense. You know, not everyone wants to get involved in a civil war between mother and son.”
“Is that what they’re calling Queen Mab’s argument with Eros?” Pippa asked.
“And now there is talk of the One? It’s all too much politics for some Fairers. Many are moving here, to California. It’s getting pretty crowded, actually. But now the Human World is completely out of whack as well and it looks like their moves were for nothing. Our Fairy World seems to have butted right in—”
“I couldn’t fix the fire,” Pan interrupted. He looked at his own hands, which softly glowed white. Mr. and Mrs. Foster gazed at the glow. This was strange to them, and a little disturbing, but they were polite enough not to show their concern. “I can’t even do the one thing I’m supposed to do. I couldn’t even find the right cave. Pippa, you had to remember it.”
“It’s okay to forget,” Pippa said. She grasped Pan’s hand and held it over the table. He did not shake her off, but he barely acknowledged her.
“Couldn't find what he was looking for? Didn’t stop the fire? Aren’t you the Forest Pan?” Mr. Foster asked. “Isn’t that what Forest Pan’s do?”
“It’s okay, he’s just a little off right now. He has so much on his plate,” Pippa said.
“Oh, we understand about his plate. The stories we’ve heard. Ruinae? You were with Ruinae? And something about going into the Heavens? We’ve heard a lot of stories about you two. All good, of course. A little frightening, but good.”
“It’s been quite a year,” Pippa said.
“For everyone,” Mr. Foster said.
“Did you ever think that maybe you’ve outgrown your original job title?” Mrs. Foster asked Pan. “When someone is really good at their job in this world, they usually get promoted. Maybe something or someone, has promoted you without informing you.”
“So, I lost the ability to be a Forest Pan?” Pan asked. “Why would they take that away from me?”
“Maybe it’s not a taking away, it’s just a lightening of responsibilities,” Mrs. Foster said gently. “There can only be one pan.”
“Then who is the new Forest Pan? There can’t just be no Forest Pan? Who would they…I haven’t met anyone who seems like a Forest Pan.”
“Anyone do anything strange lately? Anyone totally attuned to the Forest?” Mr. Foster offered. “Who on earth would they promote?”
“It couldn’t be Eros,” Pippa said. “He’s got too much going on, Vincent doesn’t seem to have changed at all. I don’t even know.”
“I don't either. But we don't know everyone who exists in the Fairy World or this one. For all we know the new pan is some creature we’ve never met.”
“Or this is a lot of worrying over nothing, and it’s just a hiccup, no need to be dramatic and start thinking the poor boy has been replaced,” Mr. Foster said. “Not that this isn’t a time for drama, with all that’s going on. Still, the conclusions you jump to.”
“Maybe you’re just having an off day,” Pippa said to her boyfriend. His name was Pan. That was how she knew him. How on earth could he not be the Forest Pan?
“Well, you’re welcome here as long as you like, but I don’t think hanging around our kitchen is going to help anyone,” Mr. Foster said. The stairs creaked and the sound of three pairs of feet dashing across the hardwood floor resounded. Pippa turned to see three small children standing in the entryway. “Why hello, little Fosters,” Mr. Foster said to the children. They were small. Gabrielle, who Pippa knew from before, looked about five, the other two, a boy named Myles with soft blond hair and a girl named Elizabeth with dark spiral curls, looked to be about three. Their tiny, wide eyes were so sweet as they watched Pippa and Pan eating scones.
“What happened to his eyes?” Gabrielle said, pointing to Pan with childish innocence.
“I’m sorry, I hope it doesn’t scare you. I just—”
“Gabby, you know it’s rude to comment like that,” Mrs. Foster said, and the girl looked down, embarrassed.
“Can we eat?” the little girl Elizabeth asked, pointing to the scones.
“Nope, that’s for breakfast tomorrow. But our old friends came by tonight and we thought we’d be friendly. It’s off to bed for you three,” Mr. Foster said, getting up to usher the children back to sleep.
“Hi Pippa!” Gabrielle said. “It’s nice to see you.”
“Nice to see you too, Gabby. Good night.”
“Good night!” all three children cried merrily in unison. They waved with tiny hands as their foster father ushered them to bed. They marched up the stairs much more slowly than they’d dashed down them, but Pippa understood that. It was hard to get little kids to go to bed, no matter what world they were from.
“It was nice to see her. I hope she’s okay,” Pippa said of Gabby.
“Oh, she’s happy here. And she’s learning more about the Fairy World now that things are opening up. A more open world would be a good thing for so many reasons. But we’re not there yet. I know,” Mrs. Foster said.
“We all know,” Pan said, getting up. “But hopefully soon. Are you going to be okay here, with the fires?”
“An Access Point has opened up a few blocks away. Once travel between worlds became more accepted, the Fairy Queen put a safe Access Point in. If the fire becomes too much, we’ll head back to the Fairy World until this passes. But the authorities don’t think the fire will travel this far.”
“You never know,” Pan said. “Please be careful.”
“We always are,” Mrs. Foster said. “Now would you like a couple of scones to go before you head back?”
“How did you know we were heading back to the Land of the Fairies?” Pippa asked.
“Where else would you go?”
“True. Thank you. We don’t need any more scones.” She looked at Pan. He eyed her carefully. Then he reached out his hand and held hers.
“Thank you,” he said before looking at Pippa. “To the Lake?” he asked, as if he didn’t know where to go without her guidance. It was so very strange seeing Pan hesitate for even a second. When did Pan not know where to go?
“The Lake,” Pippa replied as they shimmered away.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Pippa thought of her brother as she shimmered herself and Pan to the Lake. Since the walls had come down, it was easy to get into the Lake, even when the Lady wasn’t there. She was expecting to have to walk far to reach the Lady’s castle, past the new ocean and the island, but instead they ended up right inside the courtyard. They’d even made it through the mote. It was night and stars shone overhead but at least there was light. Pan’s eyes shone as well but he blinked once, and his eyes returned to normal, like they’d been waiting to reach this place.
