The Magic Mirror of the Mermaid Queen - Delia Sherman [28]
The Lady made a sour face. “Yes. No. I dunno. Look—the mirror’s mine. Her Fishyness is just a bad loser. But she’s threatening my Park, my Folk. I’m the Genius, right? I have to protect them.”
Something sparked in my head. It wasn’t a plan, it wasn’t even a whole idea, but it was the beginning of one. “So if I go on a quest for the Magic Magnifying Mirror and find it, I have your permission to return it?”
The Lady looked mulish, then thoughtful. “Maybe.”
“And you promise you won’t try to keep the mirror for any reason expressed or unexpressed?” I wasn’t sure what this meant, but I’d heard the Diplomat say it and it sounded official.
The Lady’s face puckered like she’d eaten a basket of lemons. “A promise is no fun if I can’t mess with it.”
“That’s the deal,” I said. “No backsies.”
She exchanged a long look with Councilor Snuggles, then sighed. “Howzabout this. I ever find out you ratted on me about losing the mirror, the deal’s off.”
It was the best I was going to get. “All right. I wouldn’t anyway, but I promise I won’t tell anyone you’re the one who lost the mirror.” I wouldn’t have to, I thought. They’d figure it out for themselves. “Let’s shake on it.”
So we did that, her hand like polished wood in mine, smooth and hard and cool.
When the Lady let go, she said, “You’re at that mortal school, now, aren’t you? Whose bright idea was that?”
“The Pooka’s,” Snuggles said.
“Yeah, I remember. He jawed at me until I was ready to blast him.”
Councilor Snuggles scratched his ear. “You said yes instead.”
“Here’s hoping I don’t regret it,” she said, and melted back among the trees with Councilor Snuggles, leaving me standing in the middle of the Ramble in the dark. I had to cry before a moss woman would show me the way home.
Chapter 9
RULE 400: STUDENTS MUST NOT MAKE BARGAINS WITH SUPERNATURAL BEINGS WITHOUT PERMISSION.
Miss Van Loon’s Big Book of Rules
So now I had permission to return the Mermaid’s mirror and save the Park. All I needed was a clue where to start looking for it.
Astris and the Pooka weren’t any help. When I came back to the Castle and told them about my new quest, they just nodded. I was a hero; I found things nobody else could find. It was all part of being official Park changeling.
They weren’t worried about whether I’d find it by the Solstice deadline, either. Astris laughed when I started listing all the Parks of Manhattan. “Silly pet. Don’t you worry. It’ll be the last place you look. It always is, in quests.”
The Pooka was just as optimistic. “I wouldn’t be questing too hard to begin with. Whatever you do, you’ll not be finding it until the very last moment, so there’s no use wearing yourself to a thread over it.”
“You don’t know that,” I protested.
“I do so. Can you call to mind a single quest that ended before its set time? Of course not. So stop fretting and go to bed. Unless I’m much mistaken, you’ve got school tomorrow.”
Next day, I skipped lunch to sit on the back stairs and fret without interruption or question. When the horn blew, I went to Diplomacy, where I did my best to pay attention while the Diplomat talked about the difference between bargains you have to keep and bargains you can fudge a little.
When I looked up from taking notes, Tiffany was glaring at me meaningfully.
Obviously, summoning Bloody Mary was a bargain I had to keep.
When the last horn blew, I headed to the library to look for maps of New York Between.
Espresso cornered me on the stairs. “What’s happening, man?”
“Nothing. I have to go to the library.”
“No, you don’t. You have to come with me.”
Espresso speaking Village I could ignore. Espresso speaking plain English meant business. I put on my coat and followed her outside.
Fortran was on the swings again, kicking at a maple branch. Stonewall and Danskin were lounging against the iron fence. Mukuti was playing hopscotch. When she saw us, she ran out of the grid and threw her arms around me.
“You missed lunch,” she said into my shoulder. “We were worried.”
“I had to do something. No big deal.” I wiggled uncomfortably.