Elfish by Julie Steimle (librera reader txt) 📖

The thing about the dreams was that he believed he was dreaming about the Elf. In most of them, he was with what he assumed was the ‘Heather’ incarnation. In beauty, she was everything he imagined a woman ought to be. But there was always a wildness to her, a fiery sort of being concealed inside that perfect form. And in the dreams, he was… what was he doing? He was on a quest, as if in the other world again. He was intent to rescue someone, with the aid of the Elf. And yet his feelings for the Elf in the dream grew more passionate each time he had one—almost as if he were falling in love with her.

But that was faerie glamor. Daniel knew that some elvish folk had the gift to charm mortals into utter slavery. He had a feeling this one most definitely did.

As soon as he was dressed, Daniel went down for breakfast. The inn served a full English breakfast, including blood sausage, mushrooms, and grilled tomatoes. He enjoyed the eggs and bacon, the only familiar thing on the plate—including the ‘fried slice’ which was toast cooked in the grease of the same pan with the other things. The beans, for some reason, he would have thought a lunch item. But he ate it all. It was filling, and gave plenty of energy for starting the day.

The waitress there smiled when she saw him and asked, “What brings you to Wells?” as he was finishing up and feeling awkward about not leaving a tip as he would at home.

Sighing, wiping his mouth, Daniel replied, taking in her blue eyes and soft brown hair, pulled back, “I’m a student of ancient mythologies and folklore. I’m doing research for my PhD, and I heard rumors about an elf in these parts.”

Her color went from rosy and cheerful to nearly deathly white. Her tray slipped from her fingers, clattering to the floor.

“Are you all right?” Daniel asked, reaching down to pick up the tray.

“You should leave,” she whispered, stooping to get the tray herself.

“Why?” Daniel looked bemused. It was helpful to do so. People liked you better when they felt they had an advantage on you. “I’m just cataloguing local legends around Great Britain. I heard this town had one.”

Yet she said again, in earnest, “You should not be here. It is not a joke or legend here.”

He paused. She seemed genuinely scared. Changing tack, he said, “Is there someone dangerous threatening you? Something connected to this?”

She peeked over her shoulder, then tugged Daniel to the side, out of his chair. “If I tell you stories, will you go promptly?”

“That bad, huh?” Daniel murmured.

Her eyes widened. She shook her head and whatever thought that was in it. “There are stories. But you do not want to get yourself involved in it, and we don’t want any more trouble here.”

Angling his head, Daniel nodded to himself. He had to think. Did they need help from him? Was the Elf causing them trouble? Then a thought occurred to him. He said, “I’m not here to draw media attention to this town. I’ll do this quiet-like. I’m not a reporter.”

She nodded, but still looked worried.

“I know I am an outsider, but… maybe I can help,” he said.

Looking him up and down, she emitted a doubting huff. Her eyes turned toward the wall, as if thinking they already had some sort of scheme in mind. He was just in the way. Indeed, an outsider and a ‘Yankee’ to boot.

So, he changed tack again. “Alright. Tell me your stories. I’ll go. It is what I said I came for.”

“And you will leave right after?” she said, in earnest.

Daniel nodded. “I will keep my promise—unless of course, Puck himself comes here and invites to meet the Elf himself. Then I can’t refuse.”

She closed one eye, leaning back from him. “You are very strange.”

Daniel grinned.

He did not want to lie to her, after all. Puck was there, and he was waiting for that invitation. But he had delivered it so flippantly that it was likely she thought he was joking about the last part.

They stepped into a side room where she regaled him with the local stories about the Elf. Daniel recorded them on his phone.

They were different stories than the ones Puck had told him.

This elf had been there in that town since forever. The odd thing about this elf was that she had become attached to a particular section of the forest the town edged. Several of the town elders had begged her to leave where she was staying and move into the wild areas they had preserved. To the north were the Mendip Hills for pity’s sake, which they believed was part of the elf’s territory. If not, she could go to Cotswold. There were plenty of Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty around. She was just so damn focused on a handful of trees in small neighborhood.

“Fixated on a few trees?” Daniel felt a shiver. It sounded like the Elf had gone insane.

She nodded. “That’s it. You’d think we could get her to relocate. The town council has been trying to negotiate some kind of deal to get her to leave for ages—but she’s stubborn.”

“Just a few trees…” Daniel murmured on that. “Perhaps it is a sacred site.”

She shrugged. “I don’t see how. The entire area had been razed once decades ago—hideous, rotten trees removed and rabid squirrels taken out by MagCorp (which no longer exists. It went bankrupt when the owner died), just so we could build tennis courts and a pool. And the elf stopped it all. She prevented us from improving our neighborhoods. She’s been a bane ever since. Those trees in there, she replanted to replace the old gnarly ones that had been there.”

“Replanted those trees?” Daniel slowly nodded. “And she won’t leave them.”

“Once, she went missing a while in the 80’s, though she came back,” she muttered.

“I’ve heard that one.” He sighed.

The waitress stiffened. Her eyes took him in more. “Pardon?”

Picking up on her distress, Daniel realized he might have blown it. So he said, “It… was the story that led me here. Someone told me she had been kidnapped—”

“She should have stayed away,” the waitress muttered, rising.

Daniel rose too. “It is not the usual nature of elves to stay away from their home—especially one who replanted trees in her claimed territory.”

Staring at him, the waitress asked, “You’re not just a researcher, are you?”

Sighing, he cringed. Then an idea occurred to him, “Actually, if this elf is who I think she is, I am here to convince her to leave with me.”

The waitress’s eyes went wider. “Who are you?”

This was not exactly going the way he had hoped. But improvisation was how the game worked. Daniel reached into his pocket and pulled out a business card for the Seven. “My name is Daniel Smith—”

“You said that.” She took the card, looking at the gold embossed 7 on the white cardstock.

“Yes, but I am a member of a group known as the Holy Seven.” He waited to see if she reacted in any way to that. Nothing. No recognition or even a reaction except mild annoyance. So he added, “Our job is to handle supernatural things that go haywire.”

She perked up, her cheeks flushing. It was hope he was seeing.

“Now I’m looking for a particular elf. But even if this elf is not the one we’re looking for, I am more than willing to offer my services to help deal with her for you.”

“You mean remove her?” The waitress got excited.

“I have to find out if that is a good idea or not,” Daniel explained.

Her shoulders slumped, already disappointed. “What do you mean? It is a great idea. She’s a nuisance.”

“Only that?” Daniel folded his arms.

She shot him a dirty look. “She tracks in dirt everywhere she goes when she’s Rowan the brat. And Heather is… Well, she’s mad. Half the time she can be pleasant as Heather Wood. I mean, she sells things online from recycling. She actually has a small recycled product business to pay rent and electricity. She also sells indoor plants. But she is so infuriating about those stupid trees that…. Let me just say, everyone wants her gone.”

Daniel nodded. There was a disconnect somewhere in that entire thought process. So, he said, “Do you realize the danger of removing an elf who does not want to leave her territory?”

The waitress groaned, nodding.

“We don’t know how powerful this elf is,” Daniel said. “But you must know how dangerous it is to anger an elf.”

She nodded, moaning. Yet there was a look in her eye that said they might try it anyway. In fact, Daniel noticed something in the way she twisted her apron in her hands while she had been speaking to him. It occurred to him once more that maybe they had a plan already. Maybe that was why she had whispered for him to leave. Did she see him as a witness of their planned crime or as interference?

“Do you really understand?” he asked.

“Of course we do!” she stiffened indignantly.

And yet knew something was wrong. Something was going wrong. His hand warmed suddenly, and it did not feel like it was from Puck.

He got up and walked to the door.  

“Hey!” The waitress followed him out.

In the room were a few more morning patrons. There was the same couple from the evening before. A pair of young ladies sitting together near the window eating a light meal while chatting, and three men sitting together at the bar. None of them were Puck.

Hissing near his ear, the waitress said, “So… are you going to leave? Or do you think you be able to deal with our problem for us?”

Still feeling off, that itch in his palm irritating him, Daniel walked back to his table, only to see it had been cleared. He sighed. He had not finished his bacon. “I’m waiting for a friend. I need to discuss it with him before deciding.”

The waitress made a face. “You don’t mean that old tramp who was here last night?”

Daniel peeked at her with a shrug, noticing a few heads had turned when he had spoken, detecting his American accent. “Oh. I was just buying him dinner. He looked starved.”

She rolled her eyes and almost marched off. Daniel caught her wrist. “Hey, if you can get me in contact with whoever is handling that situation, I’d appreciate it.”

Nodding, though half-heartedly, the waitress left. He realized as he watched her go that she probably would not do what he asked. It was in her walk and how she still looked on him as an outsider. However, now was not the time to show off any of his gifts as one of the Seven. He was on unfamiliar ground, and therefore had to be cautious.

Daniel rushed up to his room, brushed his teeth, cleaned up his belongings and tucked away his bag. As he was about to go out again, he paused, wondering if theft was a problem here. Thinking on it, he went to his suitcase and performed what Silvia called a ‘disillusionment’ spell on the thing. It did not so much make it invisible, as difficult to see—bending the light. Camouflage in a way. It was enough of a spell to tickle his palm with heat, but no enough to give him away to possible local witches.

While going down the stairs to explore the town on his own, Daniel got the distinct impression he was being watched. The waitress was in the room, but she was busy with customers. But then he saw them—the two young ladies who giggled when his eyes meet theirs. Though they were both pretty—a blonde and a redhead—they were not his type. They had that vapid college-girl thing going on about them. He preferred more mature women who knew themselves. In fact, his friends had always teased him about his taste in women, saying he had thing