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Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
512 Forest Lake Drive
Warner Robins, Georgia 31093
Fireflies
Copyright © 2007 by Ally Blue
Cover by Anne Cain
ISBN: 1-59998-529-2
www.samhainpublishing.com
All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
First Samhain Publishing, Ltd. electronic publication: July 2007
Fireflies
Ally Blue
Dedication
To Jet, J.L., Willa, Kimber and Luisa, the best crit group ever! I love you guys!
Fireflies
Prologue
"Mama!" Joey raced into the kitchen as fast as his five-year-old legs would carry him, letting the screen door slam in his excitement. "Mama, guess what?"
"Joseph Robert Vines, how many times have I told you not to slam the door?" Mama frowned over her shoulder, hands still busy in the sink full of dirty dishes. "Goodness sake, boy, wipe your feet. They're filthy."
Joey ran back and swiped his bare feet halfheartedly on the mat. "Mama, there's a man outside, and he says he can do magic. I know I ain't s'posed to talk to strangers, but he was real nice and he said he could show me lots of cool stuff. I told him I gotta ask you first, though. Can I go back outside so me and him can play? Please, Mama?"
The plate Mama was washing slipped out of her hands, splashing soapy water all over the floor. She whirled around. "What?"
"I was outside catchin' fireflies, and he just appeared, like that Jeannie lady on TV. He said he's a faery, and he can do all sorts of cool magic." Joey blinked up at his mother. Her soft brown skin had turned a weird color, kind of like the mud in Sawyer's Swamp outside town. "You sick, Mama?"
She didn't answer. Running across the room, Mama shut and locked the wooden door, then knelt beside Joey and laid her hands on his shoulders. "What'd this man look like, Joey?"
"He was real pretty. All white and shiny, even his hair. Like one of the angels at church. And he didn't have no clothes on. And," Joey added, with the emphasis he felt this particular bit deserved, "he had wings."
Mama made a funny sort of sound. "Baby, did he hurt you? Did he?"
"No, ma'am." Joey felt his lip start to tremble as he sensed Mama's fear. "I didn't do nothin' wrong."
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Ally Blue
Mama stared at him like she didn't hear him. She looked even more scared than she had that time when he had the pneumonia and almost died. He'd never seen his mama look like that. Tears started to spill down his cheeks, his breath hitching.
"Oh. Oh, baby. Come here." Mama opened her arms and Joey flung himself into them, letting her soothe and comfort him. "It's okay, honey. It's okay. Mama's not mad at you." She pushed him back enough to look him in the face. "But I want you to listen to me real good. Okay?"
Joey sniffed deeply and nodded. He felt ashamed that he'd cried. He was too big to cry. "Yes, ma'am."
Mama's face was very serious. "There's no such thing as faeries. That man you saw isn't a faery, and he can't do magic. He's just a man. A sick man who likes to take little boys and do bad things to them."
"But, Mama, what about...?"
She stopped him, almost like she knew what he was going to say. What about the wings, Mama? "You got a strong imagination, Joseph. You always did. Got that from..." Mama stopped and took a deep breath. "Got it from your daddy."
Joey almost laughed. He loved his daddy, but Mama was wrong. Daddy didn't have any imagination at all. Mama got a strange look on her face, one he'd seen before when she thought he wasn't watching. He choked back his laughter and tried to look serious. "Yes, ma'am."
She smiled gently at him. "You run on up to bed now. Keep your window shut and locked, you hear?"
"Yes, ma'am."
He let Mama hug him and kiss his cheek, then bounded up the stairs, calling "good night" over his shoulder. He brushed his teeth, headed into his room and changed into his pajamas. Door shut behind him, lights off, he opened the window in blatant disregard of his mother's orders and leaned his elbows on the sill. The night air felt cool on his face. Out in the field, the fireflies twinkled in the dusk. One of them wasn't quite what it seemed. Maybe all of them.