A Fairy Safe World

"The fan is called Figures. Hand-painted color on gold paper by Ren Xun. A fine example of late Qing Dynasty."

Ann whirled to face the speaker, who had positioned himself uncomfortably close to her. "I didn't hear you come in."

Slightly taller than her very average height, the man bowed. "Miss Gavin? I was told you have an artifact you wished to have examined." Mud brown eyes as slanted as a gazelle's studied her. He did not blink.

"And you are?"

"Dr. Zi." Another bow as with an odd cock to his head, he kept his gaze on her throughout. A suspicion of mirth burnished his eyes.

"Yes, Dr. Zi. There's a relic I hoped you'd recognize." Too on the nose? She slipped her handbag free.

"Please." With an expansive gesture, he drew her attention to two ornate chairs in the spindly fashion of 17th century France. A matching table teetered between them. The furniture seemed out of place in 21st century Singapore, especially when one considered the country's English colonial origins. Still, Ann paced to the chair and sat. Slim Dr. Zi perched opposite her, legs crossed and arms folded at his forearms. He resembled Tenodera aridifolia sinensis, the Chinese praying mantis. Ann stiffened her resolve. While all the mantises were carnivores, it was the female who ate her mate-inflagrante delicto-in the act.

Ann plunged into her spiel. "My great aunt died two months ago. Had I known of her illness, I would have come sooner." For a moment, sorrow derailed her. Then her gaze fastened on the improbably curved nails of Dr. Zi's fingers. She swallowed her grief and redirected herself.

"You have to understand-I only visited her twice here in Singapore. So imagine my surprise when the will was read, leaving all her possessions to me. Along with the inheritance was the interesting proviso that I take up residence in her home."

Her gaze fixed on the doctor's spiked sideburns. His hair had been blunt cut to cover the tips of what-looked-to-be quite pointy ears. While his hair length matched hers, his blue-black sheen made her silvery blonde appear pale as sun-bleached wood. She wrenched her gaze from this alien trait.

"My consulting firm has its main office in Seattle, Washington. I'm a biologist, specializing in risk assessment. So I really don't see how I can accept my great-aunt's proposal. Thus I've decided to sell her holdings." Ann fidgeted with the straps of her carryall.

Dr. Zi spread extremely narrow hands. "I must apologize, Miss Gavin. I do not see how I can be of assistance. My specialty is bronzes with a focus on the Six Dynasties through Tang. Certainly not real estate."

Heat flooded Ann from chest-to-face. "Precisely. For while my aunt gave me freedom to sell, she expressly forbade me to leave behind one artifact."

Now Ann delved into her bag, extracting a swathe of Shantung silk. She slipped her purse to the floor as she secured the parcel on her lap. The bundle displayed a tendency to slide off her linen skirt. Ann studied the lustrous gray silk against the teal of her lap.

"I need to know why my aunt insisted upon me keeping this piece." She raised her gaze to meet the spark of interest in Dr. Zi's.

When she made no effort to open the parcel, he prodded, "May I?"

Ann handed the packet to him, overcoming an acute reluctance. Unused to the glacial chill of air-conditioned Singapore, she blamed her shiver on the unnatural coolness. After all, she had no proof of Dr. Zi's true nature-not at this point.

The administrator set the bundle on the table between them. With something akin to reverence, he unwrapped the silky envelope, one corner at a time. When the bronze lay before him, he released the most imperceptible of sighs. "Ah."

He cradled the object, whose diameter extended beyond his palm by an inch. Its scalloped edges looked frivolous given his severe lines. Ann's attention snagged again on Zi's nails, yellowed and thick as a bird-of-prey's talons.

"What you have here, Miss Gavin, is a bronze mirror. It is from the Tang Dynasty and made between 618 and 906 A.D."

"A mirror?"

A tight smile arrested Dr. Zi's lips. "For all their many accomplishments, the Chinese did not discover the European style of fabricating mirrors. Most were made from brass, a copper and zinc alloy. Bronzes of copper and tin were used for works of art, such as this." He turned the disk over, revealing the burnished backside. Fluid designs of bounding lions and mythical birds leapt into relief.

"The ancient Chinese used mirrors to set fires for ceremonies, for cooking, and science. Adepts collected dew for elixirs of immortality. Mirrors have long been held to have magical properties," finished Dr. Zi.

Ann twisted her hands in her lap. "There's something else."

The curator lifted his brows in a polite expression of anticipation. She met his gaze with as much sanity as she possessed. "There's something--someone--trapped in the mirror."

Alarm flitted across his face and curtailed the hysterical giggle rising within her. She swallowed.

"Indeed?" His patronizing look nettled. Yet he waited.

"Yes. But I can see that you don't believe me." She reached for her mirror. Dr. Zi balked. Ann drilled her gaze into his eyes.

With obvious hesitation, Zi relinquished the mirror. Relief nearly swamped her. She figured she might win in an outright tug-of-war, but why test the theory?

He cleared his throat. "I am certain the Asian Civilization Museum would be very interested in acquiring this piece, Miss Gavin. With or without its resident spirit."

His sly jab confirmed her suspicions. She folded the silk over her mirror. "I do not intend to sell, Dr. Zi. My gut-instinct tells me that you know more about this piece, yet choose to keep your own counsel. I will not deal with a person who withholds information." She regarded him with the same coolness she did corporate terrorists.

For the first time since meeting this man, Ann saw diffidence in his look.

He held his hands wide, as though an expansive gesture would calm her reservations. "But all I know are legends! No more than smoke on water."

She folded her hands over the wrapped mirror. As often occurred at the bargaining table, her silence placed the other participant on the defensive. Zi's facade of indifference fell away, replaced by vigilance.

"Old legends have it that at one time, the world of mirrors and humans were linked. While specular beings and mortals differed in form and color, they lived in harmony. Humans came and went through mirrors as through any other door. But Mirror Beings dreamed of conquest." His eyes took on a musing aspect.

"One night they invaded Earth, disrupting the universe. Only through the Yellow Emperor's magic were they defeated. The Emperor..." Zi grimaced, "cast a spell. He compelled the mirror beings to reflect images of humans who appeared at the doors to their realm.

"The spell was not meant to last forever. Some predicted it will weaken and the mirror people will again set forth in conquest." He flecked nonexistent lint from one sleeve.

The calmness of Dr. Zi's account made Ann's stomach roil. She retrieved her purse. A chance look at the curator from beneath her lashes allowed her to see cunning hunger flick across his face. By the time she raised her gaze, he wore an expression of urbane pleasantry.

She stood, glad for the cut of her jacket, which allowed it to slip over her skirt without coaxing. Showing only strength to this creature promised the greatest benefit. In Dr. Zi, she recognized an implacable foe.

"Thank you for your time." She withheld her hand.

He offered a slightly deeper bow than when they met. "A pleasure." He held both hands out, framing a business card between his fingers.

Ann mastered her repugnance and accepted his token. She slipped it into the shallow pocket of her featherweight blazer before moving past him toward the door.

"I do hope you will contact me if you wish to sell, Miss Gavin."

She noted the me. How quickly he reneged on his affiliation with the museum. "Actually, I, too, prefer to be addressed as doctor." Surprise flitted across his face.

Walking across the vestibule, then through the museum's entryway, Ann's heels connected with the marble floors in a staccato rhythm. Yet Dr. Zi's footsteps had produced no sound.

She stepped into the high humidity and excessive temperature of Singapore in August. Turning left, she proceeded down Armenian Street toward the church of St. Gregory the Illuminator. Pacing into the lush garden, Ann followed the sidewalk running the perimeters of the structure. She aimed for a stone bench shaded by branches. Ann sank onto the seat, grateful for the unyielding support. In an attempt to regain equilibrium, she contemplated white statuary and gravestones. Birdsong, exotic and so beautiful it brought a lump to her throat, wove a capsule of melody around her. From the corner of her eye, she observed an amethyst flash as a young woman settled beside her. Silken layers in shades ranging from palest lavender to darkest purple floated onto the seat. Heady scents of tropical flowers lifted her spirits.

"I wasn't sure you'd be able to meet me," Ann said.

"Nor was I."

The two women traded conspirators' glances. A slow smile formed on the plush mouth of the newcomer, whose Asian beauty never failed to make Ann's head reel. They reached across the distance and clasped fingers, Ann's warm and earthy, her companion's yielding and petal-like.

"I think it was a success," Ann said. She recounted the conversation between herself and the enigmatic Dr. Zi.

Her friend gazed at the statue of a beautiful nymph. "I find it of interest that he failed to mention other, less pernicious uses for mirrors."

"Such as?"

"Brides appreciated having mirrors flashed upon them for good luck. Humans often wore them suspended from their waists by a silken cord. Thus the mirrors protected them from evil spirits-even after death. Such a possession allowed them to dwell comfortably in the afterworld."

Ann nodded. "Our mirror didn't affect Dr. Zi at all. But your folklore does remind me of more current studies. Did you know mentally unstable individuals often attack mirrors? They rarely harass pictures of natural settings."

"Ah. How interesting."

For a time they meditated upon what they had learned. Then the amethyst woman said, "I believe a most fortuitous opportunity will present itself in four days. Yue Lan begins then."

"Why will that help us?"

"During the Festival of Hungry Ghosts, the curtain between worlds thins. It may be our best opportunity."

Ann heard the distinct echo of last chance. "Perhaps I'll invite the interesting Dr. Zi to my aunt's house for a special dinner. Say this Sunday?"

Her comrade's hand flinched within her grasp as she whispered, "The day the festival begins."

"Yes. I see no reason for you to involve yourself at this stage. You are more vulnerable to Zi than I am."

The fairy trembled before dabbing her forehead and upper lip with a silken edge. She shook her head. "No. I cannot abandon you or our mutual friend to the machinations of Zi. Let me help devise a ritual for transformation. Please, friend Ann."

Ann conceded, albeit with great reluctance. "Orchid, I do not like putting you in such danger."

The other smiled. "Your aunt was correct in her assessment of you. No truer friend could we have found." The pearly skin of her face looked translucent.

"Go now. You must conserve your strength. I will speak with you again tomorrow."

Oddly reticent, the American woman kept her eyes on the statuary as Orchid fluttered from the bench. A subsonic pop! and Ann knew she was alone. She levered herself from the bench and strode through another gate. Walking up the street, her plans overlaid the street bustle until, as she neared the National Museum, aromas from the food court reminded her of her very human need for nourishment.

That night Ann settled onto a cushioned bench in her great-aunt's garden courtyard. Her silk caftan whispered with each movement. At her back, the stone mansion blocked the din from the facing road. Here the supple hoop-hoop from an apricot-plumed bird twined with the voice of a miniature waterfall. Abundant magenta bougainvillea with tiny white tubes of flowers surrounded her. Bee-eaters and lilac-breasted rollers, aerial acrobats of the bird kingdom, swooped through the dusk to capture their evening meals. A pair of fairy bluebirds alighted on a mimosa branch above her. Yellow petals floated to the bench, releasing the sweet scent of joy.

From the corner of her eyes, she saw the camellia by the backdoor briefly shape itself into a graceful woman, tall in a scarlet wrapper. Winging this way and that, tiny birds dressed the nymph's ebony locks. Ann knew from experience that if she looked directly at the shrub, she would see only a splendid bush cloaked in red flowers. As Ann waited for the full moon to rise above the garden, she flattened a sheet of heavy parchment over her lap.

From memory, she recited, 'To you, my dear niece, I entrust my most solemn burden and greatest delight, the water sprite Mi Fei. Trapped within the bronze mirror for the last millennium, she begins to weaken. I fear she will expire without again tasting freedom.

'Although I have striven to release her, all attempts have failed. The deed must be done by the wizard whose spell ensorcelled her. Only now, as I lie dying, do my tangle of inquiries yield fruit. I located the evil adept Zi. He has found employment with the Asian Civilization Museum here in Singapore as, what else, but a doctor of antiquities! Was I not much diminished by my disease, I vow I would force his hand and release my cherished Mi Fei.

'But, alas, I cannot. And so, dearest niece, the onus falls to you. More capable hands I cannot envision.'

Ann flexed her long fingers, muscular and callused from her active lifestyle. "But will I be able to do this?"

Silver light glanced off the reflecting pool at the base of the waterfall, recalling Ann to her current task. Always one to prefer action to meditation, she surged to her feet. At the water's edge, she opened the folds of silk that shielded the mirror and slipped the disk into the lagoon at its deepest point. Perching on a convenient rock, she waited for moonlight to work its magic.

With startling ferocity, a cyan beam cut through the water, setting up a flash of response from the mirror. Plants rustled with what Ann could only describe as anticipation. Light solidified into a graceful arc that adopted the form of an exquisite young woman. A continuous fall of water cascaded from her translucent garb. Her charming face assumed a look of delight as she fixed upon Ann.

"My friend! You have returned!"

"I have news, Fei." She sketched the details of her progress.

The projection of Mi Fei listened intently, all the while shaping silvery forms from the water pouring off her hands: fish, birds, tiny dragons, and creatures that Ann recognized only from myth. As Ann wound down, the water fairy met her gaze. "I've invited him for dinner. He'll be here on the first night of Yue Lan."

A shiver of water undulated from the fairy's intricately dressed hair. "So soon! Yet it has been a millennia..."

Ann leaned toward her. "I depend on you to help me develop plans for your release. We need a primary strategy along with alternatives."

"And our allies?"

"They will help refine the scheme."

Like a wave reaching its peak, Mi Fei stilled for a moment. Then she began shaping the potential means for her escape.

Early evening on the first night of Yue Lan promised to be clear and dry. Pounding rain had dissipated into shimmering curtains of steam. Ann dressed herself as a beguiled American Miss, supposedly under the spell of Zi's virile presence. Along with helping in her grooming, no mean feat, her partners fixed the meal.

A tunic over a long skirt, both mallard green, made her feel both graceful and foreign. Makeup erased her freckles and widened her green eyes. With a wry glance in the mirror, she wondered if this night would be her undoing. Or was her reflection a mirror being mimicking her expressions, as Zi had said? She trembled. Either way, nothing in her past prepared her to play Scheherazade to Zi's King Shahryar.

A woman floated into the mirror's reflection. Ann turned. Having had trouble getting her tongue around He Xiangu, Ann called this spirit by the flower she carried in her hand. "Lotus."

Dimples and the light in Lotus' eyes belied the formality of her traditional gown and ornate tresses. "We have everything prepared. I thought I might help with your hair." Delicate eyebrows lifted as a graceful hand stroked Ann's short crop. "Or perhaps not."

Ann ran her fingers through her locks. The light gave off a golden sheen. "I keep it short for fieldwork. Doesn't exactly peg me as a vixen, does it?"

"Never mind. To Zi's jaded tastes, you will prove very exotic fare. All you need do is entice him to eat the dosed food and drink. The more he imbibes, the better for all."

A chill overtook Ann. "Lotus, I do not want to kill this guy."

The other woman swept her hands in denial. "Zi is no man. But rest assured, I have great knowledge of herbs. His death is not our objective. Instead, we must make this form he inhabits an extremely uncomfortable home. However, I have an idea that will put your mind to rest."

From an overlong sleeve, Lotus drew Mi Fei's prison. Now dangling from a braided cord, the mirror swung from Lotus' hand until she secured the binding around Ann's waist. The flat plate rested low on Ann's belly.

"Turn the mirror over, thus, within range of Zi. You will find he has no reflection."

Ann gulped, then blurted, "But I see you in the mirror."

"Because I wish for you to see. Zi, by his very nature, does not have that choice."

Orchid, in her violet gown, swept into a deep bow behind Lotus. "Immortal One, friend Ann, the wizard comes."

Lotus clapped her hands as she glided into the dining area. "Places, my dear ones. Places! He must suspect nothing."

Blurs of amethyst, ruby, and gold combined as three fairies hurried through the sliding doors, which opened onto the courtyard. Lit by red candles, the garden flickered with an otherworldly aspect in keeping with both the festival and the occasion. A pot of joss sticks as tall as Ann burned along one end of the pool. Lotus' insistent touch pulled Ann from her survey.

"Come, Ann. You must be made aware of your weapons."

Facing the low table, Lotus indicated two dishes and a pot of tea. "These you do not touch. Zi, on the other hand, must eat and drink."

"Like I could swallow anything."

Lotus smiled. "I myself prefer powdered mother-of-pearl and moonbeams. But for Zi, each bite of food and each sip of drink makes him more vulnerable."

In need of distraction from what seemed to be a mob of hamsters racing around her belly, Ann perused a unique centerpiece devised of cake and flowers. She touched the base. "Charcoal?"

Lotus flashed her dimples. "Very auspicious."

The gong at the front door rang and Ann jerked. "Great."

Lotus framed her face. "You know all depends upon you."

"I know. I won't screw up." Please, oh, please!

"I will be here when you need me." She nudged Ann toward the front door.

Ann rubbed her hands over her tunic and composed herself. As she swung open the heavy teak panel, a cacophony of sounds invaded: high-pitched Asian voices, firecrackers, and children's shrieks. From down the street, the singsong of Chinese opera drifted. Ann focused on the creature before her.

Taller and narrower tonight, Dr. Zi looked self-possessed in a dark tunic and trousers. His unnaturally bright eyes transfixed Ann.

It must be quite a trick to keep his suits fitting, the way he stretches and shrinks for each occasion. She fingered the mirror hanging from her waist to regain control of her galloping heart.

"Please, Dr. Zi, won't you come in?"

With a slight bow, he did just that. In the entry hall, he glanced around himself. "Very nice. A fine amalgam of European and Chinese cultures."

"Yes. My aunt had wonderful taste." Ann led the way into the dining area, where steam from the chafing dishes permeated the air. "May I offer you a cocktail?"

"I do not drink liquor."

Ann heaved a sigh of relief. "Great! Neither do I. Perhaps you'd prefer to sit for dinner, then?" She swept her hands toward the table.

Zi pulled his gaze from the garden. "I see you keep with the Chinese traditions of this festival."

"I do try."

As he walked sedately toward the table, Zi said, "I must say, I found your invitation quite surprising, Dr. Gavin."

Ann smiled at his use of her honorific, then signaled for him to seat himself. "Why is that?" She sank onto her knees beside him. The closer to see you, my dear. The mirror bumped against the flat of her belly.

His heavy eyelids lowered as he captured her in frank appraisal. "A beautiful American woman. Well-educated and, obviously, a dutiful niece. I did not expect you to contact me for such a-liaison."

She swept her lashes down, fiddling with the bronze mirror. Luckily, she did not have to dredge up a blush. Zi needn't know anger fueled it. He leaned toward her, tilting his head to peer into her eyes. At that moment, Ann flipped the mirror. Where Zi's face should have been reflected, she saw the ceiling's dark beams. A small gasp escaped her before Ann turned the mirror toward her lap.

"Ah, and demure as well. Who would have expected such traits in a contemporary American woman?"

"Who'd have thought?" She peeked from beneath her lashes and noted the look of complacency on Zi's face. Pressing on, she reached for a ladle. "May I serve?"

"I would be honored."

She spooned hefty servings of the two dishes Lotus had indicated onto Zi's plate. As she scooped rice into his bowl and placed it before him, he had the nerve to pinch her wrist. Checking for ripeness? she wondered.

Instead of skewering him with her chopsticks, she withdrew in a more decorous way. Standing, she moved to the other side of the table. From this safer distance, she poured him a cup of the special tea. Even she had to admit his plate looked and smelled enticing-or would have if she had one drop of saliva in her mouth.

Ann raised her eyes to meet his gaze. He nodded to her plate. "You will join me?"

Another blush lit her face. "Of course." She decided to serve herself tiny amounts of the same dishes he had, just to throw him off any odor of deceit. Around the drug-laced beef and duck, she spooned tofu-based fare. Finally, they faced each other with chopsticks poised. "I do hope you enjoy these dishes. Local friends of my aunt shared the recipes with her."

His eyebrows lifted. "I am quite interested in preparation. Perhaps you will divulge your technique? After we have enjoyed the results of your efforts, of course."

Ann wanted to kick herself. Hopefully, the imaginary instructions would not become an issue. "Sure."

Rapt, she watched as Zi selected a large chunk of duck. When the meat was midway to his mouth, she heard a whoosh! behind her. Zi cocked his head.

"How fascinating!" He set his chopsticks along with the untested food onto his plate. Coming to his feet in a boneless move, he headed for the backdoor. Ann forced herself to breathe.

"He's going to pulverize us," she muttered as she, too, clambered to her feet.

Dr. Zi stood silhouetted for a moment in the courtyard light cast by the lanterns and candles. "How truly amazing," he murmured before stepping into the garden.

Ann hurried to catch up, acutely aware that not one bite of doctored food or one sip of the herbal drink had passed his lips. Fear's frisson raced down her vertebrae. She overtook Zi beneath the mimosa. The whir of tiny wings pulled her attention to where Zi's regard had settled. Backdropped against a lantern hovered a bird half the size of Ann's palm. She stood on tiptoes to get a clearer view. Once she did, an audible breath escaped her.

"Indeed," he agreed.

Eyes widening in horror, Ann watched as Zi reached toward the exquisite being, who fluttered within easy range. Obviously transfixed in horror, the creature's translucent wings shed a prismatic rainbow. Her delicate nakedness brought tears to Ann's eyes. As Zi's index finger, capped by a lengthy curved nail, edged toward the fairy, Ann took action. Channeling all the concentrated terror of the sprite, Ann gave Zi a mighty push. The pixie twinkled, then shot into the darkness.

Zi whirled on Ann. "You stupid, clumsy female! What have you done?" He practically hissed his disgust.

While every instinct in her gibbered for her to act meek and apologetic, Ann could no longer subjugate her true self to this-this monster. She crossed her arms over her chest, one foot beginning to tap an ominous beat. "I won't let you to hurt her."

Zi's eyes narrowed. "Won't let? You saw her."

"Of course."

"How...unexpected." Zi drew himself up, looking thinner and more sinister by the moment. Adrenaline pumped through Ann, a sparkling stream that washed away any pretense of playing the fool.

She stepped toward him. "It's what you do, isn't it? You like to molest nature. Torture natural beings in unnatural acts."

In the candlelight, Zi's eyes took on the deep glow of hot coals. "Stupid human. What do you know of power? It is the only elixir that does not lose its sweetness."

Ann took another step toward him. "But it does corrupt, doesn't it, Zi? And you do need more all the time--like any junkie." Contempt bit off the last word. She gripped the mirror at her waist. "How many have you imprisoned? How many have died, their lives ripped from the earth or water or air they nurture and require?"

Zi's head bowed. His shoulders quaked. He looked positively contrite. For one heartbeat, Ann wondered how defeat of this fiend could have been accomplished so easily. Then Zi rocked back on his heels and let loose his mirth. Black laughter rolled over her, numbing her to all possibility of sunlight and green shoots breaking from the earth. She took one step backward, then another and another, until granite met the back of her knees. She had reached the rockery enclosing the pond. By then, Zi wheezed to a halt. Wiping tears from his eyes, he looked at her.

"I must credit you with giving me the best laugh I have experienced in-oh, at least two millennia. For a human, you are very droll."

Ann snatched a bamboo pole from the yielding ground near the pond. She lifted the lantern from one end and dumped it onto the damp loam. The flame sputtered out. Hefting the staff, she glared at the sorcerer. "It seems to me you'd have learned a lot more at your advanced age."

Zi glided toward her, chopping the distance between them in half. He tilted his head. "Why do you say that?"

"You still haven't learned not to piss off a woman." She dropped into fighting stance and fixed Zi in her line of vision.

Faint as a breeze, a voice spoke in her ear, "Wait."

An ugly smile twisted Zi's face. "Not martial arts? How utterly quaint."

"Hardly. Self-defense. YWCA." If nothing else, he looked briefly confused. Acronyms will do it every time.

She flexed her knees as Zi moved closer, then stopped. With a snick, he pulled a gleaming blade from one sleeve. Absinthe lit the glowing edge. "Give me the mirror, Dr. Gavin, and I'll let you live." The rich purr in his voice enunciated his lie.

"Right. But I have a better idea. Why don't you slip that pig-sticker between your ribs. I'll call the ambulance. I promise." She ground her teeth together, before taking a deep breath and finding a more relaxed center.

"When we free the mirrors, drop and tuck."

Ann wished they would get on with it. Her initial adrenaline rush began to subside. She felt less invincible all the time. Zi moved close enough for Ann to whiff a sulfurous odor drifting from his robes.

"Smells like you're overheating, Zi." She flashed her teeth in a show of bravado.

As the tableau etched itself into her mind, the whisper of foliage in her aunt's garden swelled into a roar. Ann forced herself to maintain eye contact with Zi, but peripheral vision detected when each of the nymphs burst into view. Behind and to one side of Zi, Lotus shimmered into sight. With a swirl of gleaming silks, each sylph uncovered the polished metal she held. As the light from each one reflected off the others, images reproduced. A refractory feast to the eye built into a blinding flash. Zi reeled, giving a screech very much like a cougar's enraged scream.

Lotus commanded, "Now, Ann!"

Ann dropped to the ground and tucked. All those childhood years of training for The Bomb came into play as she covered her head with her arms, doing everything but kissing her butt good-bye. A dynamic weight hit her side, followed by a colossal splash. When she could again breathe, a breathless quiet filled the court. Ann peeked between her fingers to find herself surrounded by the hems of her allies' frocks. She stumbled to her feet, then lowered her gaze to where the others looked.

She expected to see a chagrined, properly chastised Zi sitting in the lagoon. Instead in the deepest part of the pool, where lantern light failed to penetrate, Ann saw a murky haze. The sensation of watching a volcano erupting at the bottom of the sea filled her with a sense of danger.

Lotus, at her right, said, "Ann. Give me the mirror."

Hands clumsy with shock, Ann struggled to undo the knot holding Mi Fei's mirror to her waist. "I can't untie the cord," she ground out, all the while riveted to the scene developing in her aunt's water feature. Malevolent red pulsed in the depths.

Lotus slipped a tiny pair of gold scissors from one pocket. She snipped the tie. Ann still had her fingers engaged with the knot. When the weight of the mirror pulled free from the cut end, Ann nearly fumbled her catch. Lotus caught her forearm in a velvet grip.

"No! Release her into the water."

Uttering a rude protest, Ann did. The mirror of Mi Fei slipped into the pool with barely a ripple. As one, the fairies stepped back, Lotus pulling Ann with her.

"Now what?"

Lotus gave her an enigmatic smile. "Watch and learn, little sister."

Ann did. In the time it took for a bronze mirror to settle onto the bottom of a pond, nothing happened. Then, in the words of her aunt, who'd been raised in Texas after all, all hell broke loose.

The scent of ozone filled the air. A geyser of water shot straight into the air, well above the roof of the house. Instead of tumbling back into the basin, as physics dictated, the water began rotating. Building up speed, the pillar became a funnel, what Ann would call a waterspout. Except this spout began to pull the glowing red at its base into the column.

A screech more physical than vocal filled the garden as red mixed with silver water, which diluted first to a faint pink, then rosy silver. With a final roar, the water conduit surged upward before shrinking into itself. As the top of it lowered to eye level, Ann noticed the bronze mirror pillowed at its apex. Then the fountain slipped beneath the surface of water. With only a twinkle or two, the mirror drifted toward the bottom.

Ann slumped onto a poolside rock with a soggy plop. "Whew! That was wild."

No sooner had she sat than cool fingers settled over her shoulders. She leapt to her feet with a strangled cry. Tinkling laughter met her response. Ann looked into the gray-green eyes of Mi Fei, who bowed her head before speaking.

"Please, sister, forgive me for startling you so."

"Fei! You're not transparent anymore." Ann clasped the nymph's fingers with her own.

"As you see." An ecstatic smile swept over her face.

Ann leaned over the water and perused the depths with caution. Water dripped from her nose. "What happened to Zi?"

Lotus answered. "He has returned to his world--on the other side of the mirror."

"For good?"

"I believe so," said Lotus.

Mi Fei bowed low, her long hair combing the surface of the water. "How can I thank you, Immortal One?"

Lotus brushed away her thanks. "Do not allow yourself to be lured into the realm of the mirror people again, younger sister."

"This I can promise."

Lotus gifted her with a graceful nod of her regal head. She faced Ann. "You acquitted yourself well, my human sister. I do not look forward to your departure." Palpable sadness gathered the fairies closer.

She glanced into each of their faces, but only for a moment. Formidable beauty can daze lesser beings. "Well, in fact, I've been thinking about that."

Ann began wringing water from the hem of her skirt. "I've accepted a job offer from a colleague at the Zoological Gardens. It seems they've been looking for someone with my expertise for some time."

Ann slanted a look at Lotus before offering a crooked smile. "They happen to have a number of water features in the park. I thought perhaps Fei would be happier in one of those than in this cramped space. Much as I'd love to have my own water sprite," she amended.

Embraces tender as pollen enveloped her. "You are a good friend," Fei whispered.

Ann glanced at the assembly of sprites and one Immortal. "Someone has to make the world safe for fairies."