An Earl In Time Page 15

  “It’s impossible to get to the end of a rainbow. The thing goes on forever.”

  “Maybe it just seems that way. According to one of the books, leprechauns change the location of rainbows to deter anyone from getting too close to their gold.”

  “If there’s any truth in that story, then there’s no point in going after one to find gold.”

  “A couple of the myths claim that people managed to find them. One man caught a leprechaun, and since the leprechaun had to give him three wishes, he wished to get to the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. The leprechaun brought him there, but the gold was buried under a tree. The man didn’t have a shovel. Since all he wanted was gold, he let the leprechaun go free. Then he marked the tree so he wouldn’t forget where it was and went to get a shovel. But this leprechaun was sneaky, so when the man returned, there were a bunch of trees, and all had the same mark on them. The moral of the story is that trying to get rich quick doesn’t work.”

  Julian glanced at the rainbow and then turned his gaze back to her. “You think there might be some truth to the story?”

  “I don’t think all of the things in those books were true. I think some might be, or at least some element of truth in them are based on real incidents. Over time, stories get retold, and as they get retold, details change.”

  He nodded to indicate his agreement.

  “I suppose it’s not wise to be too logical when magic is involved, though,” Willow added. “There are some things that can’t be explained, even though they’re very real.”

  Her gaze went back to the rainbow. From where they were, it didn’t seem to change its course. It seemed to be standing still. If she and Julian could leave the property, she might make an effort to track it down to the end just to see if it would veer off its current path.

  The cat let out a loud meow, and the owl hooted. Surprised, she pulled the reins of her horse so she could focus in on them.

  The cat looked at her, meowed again, and darted in the direction of the gazebo. Overhead, the owl flew above her and Julian. After a couple of seconds, she realized it was following the cat.

  “I guess we better go with them,” she told Julian before leading her horse toward the gazebo.

  She continued riding at her slow pace. Just because the cat and owl seemed to be in a hurry, it didn’t mean she had to be. There was still the matter of not falling off of the horse to contend with.

  “I wonder what it is about the gazebo that has their attention,” Julian said.

  “I don’t know, but it’s not purple in this time. It’s pink.”

  “Is that important?”

  “It might be since the cat and owl want us to go to it. I don’t recall them being interested in it in the future. But then, I hadn’t been paying attention to what they were doing.” Maybe that had been a mistake on her part. But how could she know they had been changed into people and allowed to go through the centuries untouched by the hand of time?

  When she and Julian reached the gazebo, Julian got down from his horse and secured the reins to a nearby post. Then he helped her down. Once again, she noticed the pleasant warmth that crept through her at his touch. Unable to make eye contact with him, she started to take a step back, but when she realized he didn’t let go of her, she stopped and looked up at him.

  He seemed to be ready to say something when the cat let out an impatient meow. They jerked and turned to the cat. It let out another meow and headed for the gazebo. From above, the owl circled around the gazebo and hooted.

  “I suppose we should see what’s so important about this gazebo,” Julian whispered in her ear.

  The feel of his breath made her shiver in pleasure. If being with him this way made her feel as if her body had just come alive, she could only imagine what kissing him would be like. That was, if a kiss was going to come. For a moment there, she really thought he was going to kiss her.

  He released her. “I’ll tie your horse to the post then join you.”

  She was tempted to tell the cat that his timing was horrible. Couldn’t he have waited until Julian kissed her before insisting they go to the gazebo? But then, she was dealing with a cat. Even if he had at one time been human, that didn’t mean he had experienced the fluttery feelings of wanting to kiss like people did.

  Sighing, she settled for quietly following the cat into the gazebo.

  Besides the fact that the interior was pink like the outside, there was nothing that made it different from what she’d seen in her time.

  Her gaze went to the cat, which meowed at her as it hopped onto a bench. The owl hooted and flew to the top rail above the bench the cat was on.

  She heard Julian come into the gazebo behind her, and she felt as if an electric current passed through her. It was the same sensation she’d experienced when she stepped through the barrier connecting her time with Julian’s. She gasped and looked over at Julian to make sure he was still there. Thankfully, he was. She put her hand over her heart.

  “Did you feel that, too?” he asked her.

  She nodded. “I felt it when I crossed through the portal in the hallway. I was afraid one of us just went to another time.”

  His eyebrows furrowed, and he started to leave the gazebo. She started to protest that he shouldn’t tempt fate just in case he disappeared, but he crossed the threshold. The electric current swept through her again before she realized that he was still with her. He was just standing outside the gazebo.

  “Did you feel it that time?” he called out.

  “I did.” She scanned the area. “Everything looks the same as it did before. How do things look from where you’re standing?”

  He inspected the landscape around them. “It looks the same to me, too. I’m going to come back in. You tell me if anything around us changes.”

  She took a deep breath. He hadn’t disappeared yet, so chances were they weren’t going to lose each other. Even as she told herself this, she still experienced a wave of apprehension as he crossed the threshold.

  The feeling passed through her a third time. Thankfully, he was still in front of her. “Come over here.” She waved for him to join her.

  As he approached her, she felt better. It was better if they didn’t separate while in the gazebo. Just in case.

  With a look around the landscape, she said, “Nothing’s changed. I only felt a strange electric current as you walked in and out of the gazebo.”

  “Electric current? Is that what it’s called?”

  “It’s what I call it. For all I know, there could be a magical term for it.”

  The cat let out another meow, and they directed their attention to the spot on the bench where the cat was pawing.

  She frowned and whispered, “Do you see anything on the bench next to the cat?”

  “No,” he whispered back. “The space looks empty.”

  It looked empty. Just as the barrier around the moat looked invisible. She walked over to it and touched the space. “I don’t feel anything.”

  The cat meowed and touched a spot that was a foot above the bench. His paw seemed to be tapping something, though she couldn’t hear anything to indicate a box, or something similar, that might be there.

  She put her hand where the cat was tapping. She shook her head. “I don’t feel anything,” she told the cat. Her hand went up and down the entire space.

  Julian joined her and put his hand near hers.

  And that was when she saw it. A wooden box with iron bars that was holding a small winged creature.

  Willow shrieked and withdrew her hand. Julian, also startled, jerked back. They both backed up, and as they did so, they bumped into each other. At once, red and gold streams of light pulsed in waves around them. Willow jerked again, and in doing so, she inched away from Julian. The red and gold colors vanished.

  She stared at Julian, who seemed as surprised as she was.

  The owl flew on top of the box, which was now invisible, and hooted.

  “Did you see a sm
all person with wings in a box?” Willow asked Julian.

  “I did. I also saw colors swirl around us when we touched each other.”

  “Yes, I saw that, too.”

  Though he seemed tentative about it, he lightly touched her arm, and at once, the red and gold colors vibrated through the gazebo. “This is like what we saw at the bridge when we both touched the barrier together.”

  He was right. She took a deep breath and released it. “We must possess some magical qualities in order for this to happen. And there must be something about us touching that makes it appear, at least in an area where magic is at work. Obviously, we don’t create these colors all the time.”

  He let go of her and the colors vanished. “I think that’s a fairy in that cage. I didn’t get a good look at it, but it was tiny with wings. It’s hiding in plain sight. My grandfather said they could be right in front of you, and you wouldn’t know it unless you knew where to look.”

  “Or unless you had magic. Something happened when we both were touching that space.” She gestured to the spot under the owl.

  They directed their attention back to the spot. Was it possible his grandfather had succeeded in finding a fairy? If so, why bring it here? What purpose could there be in having one in this gazebo?

  “This fairy could be why we’re trapped here,” she said.

  “Do you think if we let it out of the cage, we could leave this property?”

  “I think it’s worth trying. But we’re going to have to do it together.”

  He took her hand in his. At once, the red and gold colors swirled around them. She directed her gaze to the spot under the owl and saw the cage.

  The owl hooted and flew to the place on the bench that was next to the cat. Both animals seemed intent on watching them. Willow didn’t know why, but that only made her more nervous.

  She and Julian knelt in front of the bench and peered into the cage. Sure enough, a fairy was inside of it. The red and gold swirls didn’t touch the cage, allowing her to see the fairy’s green hair and clothes. While she could see its wings, the wings had only a hint of green in them. For the most part, the wings appeared clear. The fairy was sitting in the center of the cage, and it was looking at them with a hopeful expression.

  “She can see us,” Julian whispered.

  “Are you sure it’s a she?” Willow whispered back.

  “She has long hair.”

  The length of hair didn’t mean anything. There were plenty of men in her time who had long hair. Also, this was a fairy. It could be that they all had long hair. The books she’d read hadn’t gone into detail about how they looked. There were descriptions of small creatures with wings, but that was about it.

  She glanced at the owl and cat to see if they would give her an idea of what they should do, but the animals only watched her and Julian.

  “I think it’s up to us to do something,” she whispered to Julian.

  He brought his free hand to the cage, and she braced herself for whatever was going to happen. But, as it turned out, nothing happened because his hand just went through it.

  The fairy let out a sigh of disappointment and buried its face in its hands.

  “How is that possible?” Willow asked. She brought her free hand to the cage, and it went right through the iron bars and the fairy. The fairy gave no indication that it felt Willow’s hand pass right through it.

  “Maybe if we both put our hands on the cage at the same time, we can touch it,” Julian said.

  “Sounds good to me. Let’s try it.”

  They placed their hands on the top of the cage at the same time. She could feel the smooth wood.

  “It worked,” she said in surprise.

  The fairy lowered its hands and turned its hopeful gaze back to them. Willow noticed the feminine features on the fairy’s face and realized Julian had been right. This was a female fairy.

  “There has to be a way to open the cage,” Julian said. Keeping his hold on her other hand, he stood up and studied the top and sides of the cage. “I found it. It’s back here.” He nodded toward the side of the cage that was facing the wall of the gazebo. “Help me turn the cage.”

  Willow did as he wished, and they managed to turn the cage around so that the door was facing them.

  Recalling that some legends reported fairies talking to humans, Willow asked her, “Can you talk?”

  The fairy shook her head.

  Willow’s eyebrows furrowed. “You can’t talk, but you can understand me?”

  The fairy nodded.

  “Was there anything in those books about fairies being able to talk?” Julian asked Willow.

  “Well, there was nothing concrete.”

  “Concrete?”

  Willow searched for a word he would be familiar with and finally settled for, “Definite.”

  “Oh.”

  Willow touched the iron bars which, to her surprise, gave off a faint pink and purple glow that lasted for a second.

  “That’s similar to what we see at the bridge,” Julian said.

  “I noticed that. We’re trapped on this property like the fairy is trapped in here.” Except this was worse because the fairy couldn’t do anything but just sit in this cage. At least she and Julian had the manor and the whole property at their disposal.

  “Was there anything about pink and purple colors in the books?” Julian asked.

  “No. Unfortunately, there was nothing about any colors unless we’re dealing with green leprechauns or red far darrig. The far darrig is the leprechaun’s evil twin. But in regards to fairies, there is no specific color dedicated to them. That makes them harder to find. They could be anywhere. Most people miss them.” Willow studied the bars. “These are made of iron, aren’t they?”

  He touched the bars, and the same pink and purple glow pulsed through them. “Yes, they’re made of iron.”

  “I remember something about fairies being vulnerable to iron. There was another metal they have trouble with, too.” She thought for a moment. “Was it aluminum?”

  The fairy shook her head.

  Willow’s eyes widened. “It’s not aluminum?”

  The fairy shook her head.

  “I could have sworn there was another metal fairies don’t like.” She studied the fairy. “Is it copper?”

  The fairy shook her head.

  “Steel?” Julian suggested.

  The fairy nodded. Then she pointed to the bars around her and gave an expression that implied she’d get hurt if she touched them.

  “Do these iron bars hurt you?” Willow asked.

  The fairy nodded.

  Well, that would keep any fairy from trying to get out of this cage.

  “Who put you in here?” Julian asked.

  The fairy opened her mouth to speak, but all that came out was some gibberish Willow didn’t understand. She glanced at Julian and noted that he didn’t understand it, either.

  “Even if we don’t know how she got in there, maybe we can get her out,” Julian said.

  He pulled on the door, but it didn’t budge. Willow tried to help him, thinking if they did it together, they’d be able to do it, but the door remained locked. In fact, the pink and purple glow only intensified as if strengthening the door.

  The fairy crumpled to the floor of the cage. At first, Willow thought they’d somehow harmed her, but when she saw the fairy’s tears, she realized the poor thing was crying.

  “This is terrible,” Willow said. “She’s a prisoner in there, and we can’t get her out.”

  The owl hooted in disappointment, and the cat jumped down from the bench. The two animals left the gazebo.

  “That can’t be it,” Julian said. “We have to be able to do something.”

  The fairy let out a wailful moan then cried harder.

  Willow didn’t know what they could do. There was no lock, so they couldn’t look for a key. The door was sealed with magic.

  “I’ll have to go through the books again,” she said. “When I r
ead them the first time, I wasn’t looking for anything specific. This time, I know what to pay attention to.”

  After a moment, Julian nodded. “I’ll read one of the other books. It’ll make things go faster.” He turned his gaze to the fairy. “We’re sorry. We would release you from that cage right now if we could. But we’re not giving up. We’re going to look for an answer, and we’re going to look for it as soon as we get back to the manor.” He started to get up but then turned back to the fairy. “We’re going back to the manor right now.”

  Willow didn’t know if the fairy took any comfort in that since they didn’t know if the answer would be in one of those books, but at least Julian was trying to help. She squeezed his hand to show her appreciation. He glanced at her and offered her a hopeful smile.

  This seemed like a setback in solving their problems, but in reality, they were closer to the answer than they were before.

  She stood up with Julian, and still holding her hand, Julian led her out of the gazebo. Though he didn’t let go of her hand the entire time, the red and gold swirls stopped vibrating around them once they passed the threshold of the gazebo.

  She thought he might let go of her hand now that the colors were gone, but to her pleasure, he didn’t. Did this mean he really would have kissed her if the cat hadn’t interrupted them? Her heartbeat picked up at the thought. Perhaps the attraction wasn’t as one-sided as she’d assumed.

  Julian paused as they made their way from the gazebo, and her steps came to a stop so she wouldn’t have to break contact with him. When she realized he had glanced back at the gazebo, she looked over her shoulder. The gazebo looked normal. No one would know there was a fairy locked in a cage in there.

  Willow frowned as her mind took another turn, one that was far less romantic. In her time, had the fairy been there? She recalled going to the gazebo. Had she sat right next to the fairy and not realized it? The gazebo had been painted purple in her time. If the fairy was connected to the fact that she was unable to leave the property in the future, then the fairy must have been there, right? It was here now, and both she and Julian were stuck here.