Coal: A Novel

Chapter 4A

Chapter Four

Once the glamour hit Elizabeth’s mother, she flinched and then blinked, trying to clear her eyes. After a long moment, she shook her head and her refocused on Coal and Chalcedony. The  suspicious look she’d had earlier disappeared replaced with a too wide smile.

“What was that? Coal asked. “Why are we here?”

Chalcedony turned, eyes intense. “I’m glamouring her. That way she’ll have to do what I say,” she said in a low, strained, and impatient voice.

“I'm sorry, I'm forgetting my manners. Come on in. My name is Deedee.”

“Why are we here, Chaley?”he repeated, hesitant to step into the woman’s home. Chalcedony ignored his question, grabbed his elbow and pulled him into the apartment.   
The baby sat in the middle of the floor surrounded by toys. The blue coverall he'd worn earlier was gone, and now he only wore  a diaper.“Please excuse the mess. Between Elizabeth, her little brother, and my husband who is a doctoral student at the university, I can't keep up with the housework.”Deedee walked over to the baby and picked him up. “What can I do for you guys?”

“Excuse us.”Coal pulled Chalcedony to the side of the room, facing away from Deedee and the baby. “Why did you glamour her? What do you want here?”
“Whatever you're doing, drop it and let's go home.”

“She asked to come with us,”Chalcedony said.

“Who? The girl?”

As if she could read their mind, Elizabeth shrieked from behind them. “Fairy princess!”

Chalcedony turned away from Coal.

“Hi, Elizabeth.”

“What are you doing here?”Elizabeth asked with unrestrained joy.

“You said you wanted to come home with me, so I thought I'd ask your mom if it was okay,”Chalcedony said, with a fake sugary voice.

The girl gasped, sounding as if she was choking on air. “Really? I can come to fairyland with you?”

“Yep.”Chalcedony nodded. “If your mom agrees.”

“Momma, can I go?”Elizabeth begged, pulling on her mother's shirt.

“That doesn't sound like a good idea, Lizzy.”Deedee’s hands shook as she held the baby.

“But Momma, please!”Elizabeth begged.

“No, Lizzy,”Deedee said, with a thin smile. The color had left her cheeks. Wrinkles appeared around her eyes. It looked to Coal as if she’d had aged ten years in the few minutes they'd been there. “Besides, you don't want to put up with her. She's hyperactive. You'll be ready to bring her back after an hour.”

“We don't mind.”Chalcedony touched Deedee's shoulder. “You look tired. With Elizabeth gone, you'll be able to get some rest.”

Deedee glanced around nervously. It looked like she was about to run away, but then whatever had been making her hesitate broke as she focused on Chalcedony again. “The two of them are such a handful. Elizabeth is so hyper, and I don't always have the time to give her the attention she needs.”

“Please, can I go?”Elizabeth pleaded. “Can I go, please?”
“Yes, you can go.”Deedee’s eyes were empty as she stared straight ahead, hugging the wriggling baby tighter.

Coal searched her face for some sign of resistance, but the glamour had completely pacified her.

“Oooh, Thank you! Thank you, Momma! I'll be good. I promise.”“I have to get my princess stuff. I'll be right back,” Elizabeth said, running into the back of their house.

“Chaley,”Coal said, feeling as if he was a monster in someone's nightmare. “What are you doing?”

“She wants to come.” Chalcedony turned her back to him just as Elizabeth reemerged from her room. “Are you ready?”Chalcedony asked.

Elizabeth curtsied. “Yes, Princess.”She gave her mother a hug. “Don't worry, momma. I'll be extra good. I promise.”

“She'll be completely safe,”Chalcedony said.

“Bye, sweetie. I love you,”Deedee said affectionately, but her eyes never focused on Elizabeth. They were somewhere else, lifeless.

*****

Elizabeth and Chalcedony walked out the door and down the stairs. They never looked back, but Coal did.

He watched as Deedee held the restless baby. She looked past Coal as if he didn't exist. The baby in her arms began crying, and she cooed at him mechanically before she closed the door.

He ran after Chalcedony. They hadn't made it far in the jumble of buildings and concrete.

“Chaley, what are you doing? It's against the human-fey treaty to take a human without permission.”

“I didn't take her against her will. She wanted to come.”

“But her mom . . .”

“The treaty says humans can't be taken against their will or without royal permission,”Chalcedony said. “You wanted to come. Didn't you Elizabeth?”

“Yes.”The child nodded.
Coal grabbed Chalcedony's hand, forcing her to stop. “She's just a little girl. She doesn't know what she wants,”he said under his breath so Elizabeth couldn't hear.

“Let go of me, Coal,”Chalcedony said, with barely disguised anger.

“No. You need to listen. Madoc will kill both of us if you bring another human to the fey realm.”

“Let go of my arm,”Chalcedony commanded. “I know what I'm doing.”

They locked gazes. Silently fighting each other.

“We have to go. We've been gone too long.”Chalcedony said, holding onto Elizabeth’s hand, she sprinted away. Elizabeth ran after her, giggling as if her and Chalcedony were best friends.