The Magic Mirror of the Mermaid Queen - Delia Sherman [18]
“Dwarfs,” he cawed. “Dwarfs, dwarfs, dwarfs.”
The air quivered with tension as three dwarfs marched into Central Park Central. Dwarfs are not popular in the park. The nature spirits don’t like their axes, and the animals aren’t wild about their taste for exotic fur cloaks. The fairies are nervous around naked iron, even though they’re all protected by anti-ironsickness spells.
The dwarfs stopped a little way from the Lady’s throne and bowed awkwardly. I noticed their hands were stuck respectfully in their belts. No fur. No iron. No axes. This was obviously a peaceful delegation.
The middle dwarf stepped forward. “It’s like this, Lady,” he said. “There’s a mess on the border between Riverside Park and the Upper West Side. Seepage. Leaking. Water everywhere. The wall’s undermined, the sidewalk’s a box of dominoes. The trees are upset—leaves all over the place, bark peeling, dryads panicking.”
The Lady leaned her elbow on her knee, unbalancing the crow. “And the Riverside dryads ain’t telling me all this, why?”
“It’s the panic, Lady. Afraid to leave their trees. Anyway. Us dwarfs thought we’d do a little quiet poking around on our own, see what’s up, not make a Neighborhood case out of it, if you know what I mean.”
The Lady obviously didn’t, but I thought I did. The Diplomat had told us about the feud going on between the Provost of Columbia and the Psychiatrist of the Upper West Side. There’d be a horrible fuss if Geniuses got involved. Dwarfs don’t like fuss.
The Lady looked thoughtful. “Where in Riverside Park?”
“Up by the marshes,” the dwarf said. “We might have to do some damming.”
He launched into a speech about water tables and landfill that I did my best to listen to. The Green Lady’s booted foot jigged, and the long ropes of her hair braided and unbraided restlessly. Finally, she interrupted the dwarf in the middle of a sentence.
“So the marsh is getting out of hand. Fix it. Just don’t go crazy with the digging and don’t move any trees. First complaint I get from a dryad, you’re landfill. You get my drift?”
The dwarfs groped at their belts where their axes should be. “You do realize we’re trying to do you a favor?” the spokes-dwarf said.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. You got hearts the size of the Waldorf.” The Lady stood up. “Now, get lost. We got real Park business to do. And then we’re going to dance. You know what they say: It ain’t a Gathering if you don’t dance.”
The dwarfs marched away, muttering. I wondered if I could have handled things better.
“Listen up, guys. Autumn Equinox is almost here, right? I thought I’d get the fun started early this year. You’ve heard about scavenger hunts? You run around collecting special things? There’s a prize? Okay, here’s what you look for. Round things. Shiny things. Things that reflect. Look in any of the Green Places—East River Park, Gramercy, Riverside, Fort Tryon. Anything you find, bring to Councilor Snuggles’s den before the Equinox. I’ll announce the winner at the revel.”
Peg Powler waddled forward like a huge green toad. “If I can ask one small question, Lady dear? As to the prize? Is it warm and crunchable? Will it fill my belly?”
“Talk about your one-track minds! It’s a surprise, Peg Powler. That means you’ll have to wait and see. Any more questions? No? Then let the dancing begin!”
Chapter 6
RULE 12: STUDENTS MUST NOT CHALLENGE, DARE, OR ENCOURAGE ONE ANOTHER IN DANGEROUS OR RULE- BREAKING PURSUITS.
Miss Van Loon’s Big Book of Rules
There is no school the day after a full moon. I danced until moonset and slept until noon, when Astris woke me up to use my negotiating skills on the Castle ghosts. She said she was tired of their moaning and wanted them to stop. I tried to tell her that ghosts moaning is as natural as fairy godmothers worrying. But she insisted, so I went down and told them they were getting on Astris’s nerves.