Dawn had been prepared for accusations, threats, anything--but she had no idea what that question meant. What answer was the faerie woman looking for? What answer would it be most useful to give? Those ice-blue eyes compelled her to say something. "I--both of them!" she stammered, unable to come up with anything but the truth.
A completely unhuman hiss escaped from the woman. She let go of Dawn with one hand and drew it back. It looked more and more like a claw. Then the leafy creature Dawn had followed here ran up and jumped onto her shoulder. "Mistress!" it cried. Its voice sounded exactly like the crunching of dry leaves underfoot, except for the sibilants, which were wind in the trees, portending rain. "Remember the agreement!" The woman stopped, her hand frozen in midair, then dropped it. She let go of Dawn and turned to walk back to her seat.
When she faced them again and sat down, her face was a pleasant, smiling mask. "Very well. Tell me, girls... why are you here?"
Dawn wasn't paying attention. She had remembered what could be useful about Corrie's keys. They were made of iron! Faeries hated iron! That was another one of the rules. But how could she get them out of Corrie's pocket without letting go of one of her friends? They still saw pleasant things, and if she let go of them she might not get them back. But she could see that Edie was frowning and didn't look entirely happy with the situation. Maybe she could get her to take the keys. "Edie!" she whispered.
Edie turned her head slowly. "Dawn, this is... really strange..."
She nodded hastily. "I know. Can you do something for me?" She gestured with her head to Corrie's pocket. "Get Corrie's keys out."
Edie's face flushed. "You want me to reach into her pocket?"
Right. Edie was gay, and despite her openness, clearly not entirely comfortable with that fact. So she was afraid to touch Corrie's butt. Dawn pushed down her impatience. "Edie, please, we don't have time to get embarrassed! I'd ask Corrie to do it herself, but she's not listening to me." In fact, she was still trying to pull away.
Edie took a deep breath. "Right." Biting her lip, she quickly reached into Corrie's back pocket and grabbed the keys. Then she gasped and staggered back a step, clutching the keys to herself. "Dawn--I--are you seeing what I am?"
Dawn looked at her, startled. She had thought of using the keys as a weapon, not to see, but apparently that was how they were working. "Do you see... the food looks like mushrooms and shriveled grapes? The animal people?"
Edie nodded, her eyes big and round. Dawn let go of her arm with a sigh of relief. "It's the iron, isn't it?" Edie whispered. She looked around, her eyes fixing on the musicians. "Is that Annie?"
"Yes, she--"
Suddenly she was interrupted. The faeries had apparently let them have their little conference, hoping to get information from them, and now they had what they wanted. "I see," said the bald woman in a silky voice. "You have come to take back the girl. Just like that other one. What makes you think you can succeed where she failed?"
Dawn swallowed hard. "I have magic," she said, trying to sound bold and strong. "It works against faeries. I can make you let her go if I have to."
A laugh rippled through the group. The laughs were so varied: tinkling like bells, rippling like water, gurgling that brought to mind a swamp, and the distinctive leaf-sound of the creature that had led them here. None of them were human. But Corrie started to laugh along with them.
"Corrie!" cried Edie. It was startling enough that both Dawn and Corrie turned to look at her. She quickly grabbed the hand that Dawn wasn't holding, then pressed their palms together, the keys between them. Corrie abruptly stopped laughing and stared, slack-jawed.
"Oh, you are no fun anymore," said the fox-man, not sounding disappointed at all. Corrie made a whimpering, frightened noise, grabbing Dawn's other hand.
"Those students with the Sight," said the bald woman. "Always getting in the way."
"Oh, we have not run out of tricks," said the redheaded woman, smiling in a way that made Dawn's guts churn. "Tell me, girls, what are you prepared to do to take your friend away?"
Dawn seemed to be the only one still capable of speaking. "We offer a bargain. A trade."
"And what will you trade?"
Yes, that was the problem, wasn't it? All Dawn could think to offer was herself or one of her other friends, but that would just cause the same problem. She wouldn't give up Corrie or Edie, and she knew that if she offered herself they--not to mention Rico--would come right back to rescue her. She tried to think of something to say. "Whatever you like. Whatever you think is fair."
"I have a better idea," the woman said. "We shall have a contest."
Dawn didn't like that idea, but it didn't seem as though she had much other choice. "What kind of contest?"
The redheaded woman, the fox-man, and the bald woman all smiled in unison. "A riddling contest."