herbs in his mouth just like they had instructed This was supposed to dull the pain from the markings they had tattooed on his chest which they’d guaranteed would hurt They were right he thought This was madness all madness And it was all his fault Matt slipped his fingers beneath his T-shirt and felt the place where his skin had been marked To protect and help you the Elves had said The tattoos were necessary to protect him from the dangers that lay ahead What dangers Matt thought And how would they help Was he crazy to agree to this What was he thinking It had started with the shoe It seemed like a lifetime ago so much had changed since then Matt’s dad and mom had moved the family from their apartment in Pittsburgh to the hilly countryside north of town to start a new life Dad had inherited a big piece of property and it was there that he built the houses on the edge of the rural highway He was going to be a developer He was going to transform the forest into a place where people could live But Matt running barefoot through the construction site stepped on a little jeweled shoe only two inches long and everything changed Matt hid the infection that began to fester in his foot Then the Elves came to him in the night and demanded that he return it to them Elf Matt pondered was a funny word When people thought of Elves they’d picture cartoon characters baking cookies in wood-fired ovens they’d think of fairy tales and silly stories meant to entertain and amuse children And yet here were Matt and his sister cowering in fear obeying the commands of humanoid creatures who called themselves Elves Because of the shoe the little jeweled shoe Matt had discovered a realm unknown to humans It lay somehow parallel to his own world though the bonds that kept these two worlds apart were coming undone The Elves were at war both with each other and with people though there were few who knew that yet The houses Matt’s dad had built were all burned to the ground by some hideous flying fire breathing things and there was nowhere in the human world for Matt and his sister to go Their parents and baby sister had been taken abducted by a group of renegade Elves Matt peered into the darkness Over the tops of the trees a streak of purple appeared dawn was near He heard what sounded like footsteps in the distance clomping over the leaves on the forest floor Elves no doubt soldiers on guard were patrolling the outskirts of the Elfin city of Ljosalfar Matt moved carefully among the trees His fingers touched carved wood it was one of the totem poles sculpted by Neaca She was an old friend of the Mage The Mage had
ruled Alfheim the community of Elves that was destroyed in the firestorm that took Matt’s own home Now the Mage and her apprentice Tuava-Li were homeless too and they along with Matt Becky and Tomtar were all Neaca’s guests Neaca’s forest home was surrounded by totem poles like the one Matt stood behind She called them her Klumma Matt is that you a voice whispered from the gloom Tomtar Matt replied Matt and Becky had gotten to know the Troll in the weeks after Matt had stepped on the jeweled shoe Before the failed Elfin wedding and the battle that followed Before the fire Before the black-robed Elfin monks took his parents and his baby sister in the flying machines Before Prince Macta and the monk Jardaine entered his house with the ghost-girl Anna before the guns and the fear the running and the screaming back when the world Matt knew was simple and peaceful and good If Matt had a friend in this bleak place it was Tomtar What are you doing up so early Tomtar asked I had a bad dream I couldn’t sleep And these these tattoos hurt I think the elves are trying to kill me Tomtar squatted in the brush between two Klumma He glanced up at the boy through a mop of curls wondering if he was making some kind of joke Tisn’t funny Matt I know you don’t trust em but you’ve got to try The Mage knows better than us what’s at stake Matt saw movement in the shadows ahead and ducked down Lights like torches appeared Fire Sprites Matt mouthed the words He’d seen them before in the battle in the woods A moment later a squadron of perhaps a hundred Elfin soldiers marched past Matt was sure they would hear his beating heart and the throb of blood pulsing in his veins He squeezed his eyes shut Soon the soldiers passed by oblivious to the boy and the Troll When their footsteps faded in the distance Tomtar grinned up at Matt He rapped his knuckles on the Klumma and stood up to his full height of twenty-seven inches We’ve got to trust em see Old Neaca’s lived here for ten thousand moons without bein noticed right here on the edge of Ljosalfar These things she’s carved they keep the world away We’re as good as invisible as long as we stay inside their perimeter
Matt stood back and gazed at the Klumma It looked like a stack of grotesque heads piled one on top of the other each face more ugly and threatening than the one below it How could he and the Troll be invisible to other Elves just because they were standing behind these terrifying wood carvings Where are the elves he asked Tomtar lifted his chin pointing to the treetops Tuava-Li and the Mage are up there with Neaca in the high branches They’re getting ready for the sun to rise Just then Matt heard a faint sound It’s Becky he said and he hurried through the undergrowth toward the gnarled old tree Scraping his forehead on the tangle of branches he tumbled into the leaf-dense pit and found his sister sitting up in the darkness rubbing her eyes I’m here Matt said kneeling Don’t worry I felt a bug on my face Becky whimpered Where did you go Matt I called for you Matt could just see her thin lips quivering a streak of dirt on her high cheekbones I was outside he said talking to Tomtar I’m starved Becky whimpered I want to go home Matt didn’t know what to say There was nothing he could do about a bug surely there must be thousands of them in this hole in the ground surrounded by tree roots rotting twigs leaves and dirt There was nothing he could do about his sister’s hunger either Matt felt his own stomach rumbling If they were lucky they’d breakfast on some berries and dried twigs or a few nuts And home Home was gone forever Come on out Becky he said hoping to distract her The sun’s coming up and the sky looks pretty over the hill Tomtar was waiting outside the tree trunk and when he saw Becky he squeezed her around the waist It was a heartfelt hug and Becky squeezed him back She stroked the Troll’s hair and blinked as she watched a splinter of sunlight filter through the trees Is that the way home she asked Yeah Matt replied that’s east I think that’s where the houses are I mean were But I’m not sure I guess it doesn’t really matter which direction it is she murmured We don’t have anywhere to live anymore Everything’s burned up and ruined and Mom and Dad and Emily are gone
Matt stared at the ground A breeze drifted through the trees and the forest was filled with the whispering of leaves Don’t worry Tomtar said everything will be all right The Mage says there are maps in Ljosalfar and I know there are maps back in Argant where I come from too One way or another you’ll find your family and get them back I know Becky said her face brightening Do you think the Mage and Tuava-Li will let us leave today Matt I’m not sure Matt said fighting the despair that clawed at his heart Probably soon The sound of singing came from overhead and the brother and sister glanced up to see the source of the eerie warbling voices Three Elves sat along a wide branch bowing to the rising sun What are they doing Becky asked She was unaccustomed to waking so early Welcomin the day Tomtar whispered Tis one of their rituals You know Neaca was a Mage too a long time ago She was the leader of a place like Alfheim What happened Tomtar shrugged I don’t know Anyway she was left alone with no reason for livin and nothin to do so she came to these woods and began carvin her Klumma They’re ugly Becky said and Matt couldn’t help but agree In fact the Faerie Folk themselves seemed uglier to him every day their tiny fingers their pointy little teeth pale skin and dark wet eyes it was all weird and strange and ugly to Matt It was hard not to judge them by their appearance but the feeling of revulsion welled up in him again as he watched the Elves going through their ritual on the tree branch If he didn’t need their help to find and rescue his parents Matt would never be able to stand them for long It’s probably the same for them as it is for me he thought remembering how the Elves had covered their mouths when they first saw him afraid that he’d contaminate them with germs It’s only natural We’re not meant to live together Did you wash your hands yet Tomtar asked his bright eyes darting from Matt to Becky The Mage says tis important Oh yeah Matt snorted The Elfin rituals were quickly getting under his
