“What can you tell us about him?” Cassidy asked. “Just between us girls.” She sounded easy-going, but I knew she was itching for info.
“Well, I’m not one to talk down about the clan,” Leilah began. “But McKale’s not exactly had it easy. He surely feels a bit o’ pressure being the clan’s ‘last hope.’ Ye can be certain the elder men don’t let him forget it, either. But at the same time, they’re careful not to let it go to his head. He might have the blessing of the Fair Folk, but among the Chaun he’s the odd man out.”
“Because he’s tall?” I asked.
She nodded, looking ashamed to admit there was such a prejudice among them. The height issue seemed stupid to me, but I supposed every culture had their ridiculous prejudices. Not that that made it okay.
“If he doesn’t want to be tall, can’t he just shrink himself down to everyone else’s size?” Cassidy asked.
“Och, no. They can only be normal sized or tiny.” Leilah held her hands about twelve inches apart. “Nothing in between. And the Leprechaun don’t take well to unnecessary shifting, such as the Clourichaun do fer fun.”
“I don’t get it,” I said. “What’s the point of being able to shift? Can they glamour to disappear, too?”
“Aye.” Leilah settled back onto her hands, crossing her short legs in front of herself. “The Leprechaun were the first humans ever to be gifted with magic by the Fae. It was a test of sorts. The Fae didn’t want to give men too much power at first, but they wanted them to be able to easily hide in the grasses and forests if necessary. Besides making shoes, they had the job of tracking Fae who came out of the portal to mingle among humans. The Fae could not be stopped, but the humans who had interaction with the Faeries had to be wiped clean.”
“Wiped clean?” Cassidy and I asked at the same time, making the girls laugh.
“Surely ye’ve heard of Trackers?” Rachelle asked. I shook my head. “Well, they’re able to use magic to make humans forget moments. They follow the Fae and wipe the memories from humans who come into contact with them. Eventually the Fae bores and returns to their own realm. Only two Chaun Trackers remain, and there’s nary a bit o’ use for ‘em anymore.”
I absently plucked bits of clover and grass as we digested the information, which was all fascinating to me. For years Mom and Dad said, “We’ll tell you everything someday when it’s time.” They loathed speaking of the Fae and their realm.
“Do you guys know anything about McKale and that Freaky Fae Girl?” Cassidy asked. “The Shoe Mistress?”
My stomach clenched at the mention. Leilah and Rachelle shared a grimace.
“You can tell us,” I said.
“It’s all rumor, of course.” Leilah lowered her voice. “Some say the Shoe Mistress has sneaked into the earthly realm alone… to see him.”
Again my stomach spasmed, and I curled an arm around my waist. “Wouldn’t everyone know if she opened the portal?”
“No’ necessarily,” Rachelle squeaked. “She could bribe their doorman and open the tiniest crack, which could only be felt by people standing nearby at the moment of the opening. If she snuck in during the night there would be no one around…”
I gritted my teeth together at the thought of her gliding unsuspectingly into McKale’s room whenever she got the urge.
“Well, they obviously haven’t done the diddy or he’d be brainwashed,” Cassidy blurted. “Right?”
“Really, Cass?” I shot her a look and Rachelle covered her face to hide a scandalized expression.
Leilah continued unfazed. “If you mean what I think, he’s definitely not given his full self or she’d have taken him over to Faerie for keeps. That’s the only way humans are accepted over there: as property.”
“I don’t understand why she has to sneak,” Cassidy said. “Can’t Faeries do whatever they want, anytime they want? Why does she care what the Leprechauns think?”
“Oh, no,” Rachelle piped in. “It’s no’ because of the Chaun that she sneaks. It’s the Fae who would no’ accept her extended interest in a human. They think of us as working dogs. She’d be shunned by her own kind, she would.” The little woman nodded her head vigorously, curls bouncing on her round shoulders. “And besides, Lady Martineth and the Summer King would be naught too happy to find she’s taken to the Chaun’s ‘last hope.’”
Cassidy’s sickened expression mirrored mine. This did not bode well. I didn’t want to talk about it anymore. Thank goodness for my sister who knew me so well. She cleared her throat.
“Well, we’re not going to worry about her right now. What do you know about the Clourichaun?”
“Crazy Clours,” Leilah said with amusement, picking a clover bloom and fiddling with it. I ran my hands over the clovers as Leilah told us the story.
“They’ve always been a rowdy bunch who drink far too much. Some say it’s ‘cause they’re mostly average-sized blokes with no control. No offense.” She stopped to look at Cassidy and me, but we just shrugged it off. She smiled, relieved. “The Clour share this land. They’re on the other side of the forest, and they used to share shoe-making responsibilities. Too often they were behind on orders, and the Leprechaun had to step in and do their work for ‘em in a rush like. Besides that, the Clour were leaving the lands and being careless around humans. Especially females. They’d been warned by the Fae, which was lucky because they’re no’ usually the type to waste time on warnings.
“About two hundred years ago one of the Clour impregnated a nearby farmer’s daughter. It certainly wasn’t the first time, but the Chaun had become good at hiding incidents of their kin’s indiscretions. Ye can only imagine the surprise humans experience when they discover their child can do magic! It was terrible business, switching babies and the like. This one particular time was being dealt with when the portal opened a day early and the Faeries discovered what had happened. It was the last straw. The Fae cursed their bloodlines into extinction.”
“Why didn’t they just take away their magic?” Cassidy asked.
“The magic is so deep in them. To pull it out would require a lot of Fae energy, and t’would make the Clour lose their minds, but the Fae wanted them to live and suffer.”
They didn’t seem to be suffering much to me. But maybe it was all for show. It was kind of sad to think of them watching their family die one by one with nothing but shame to show for it.
We all plucked at the clover for a minute until Leilah spoke.
“Have ye seen the waterfall yet?”
“No, we haven’t seen much of anything,” I answered.
The girls had to get back to work, but they explained how to get to the waterfall. We thanked them and shared a round of hugs with our new friends before going our separate ways.
It was a serene fifteen-minute walk uphill through the edge of the forest, but Leilah had been right. A light path made from frequent footsteps made it easy to find. We heard the rush of water minutes before we saw it.
By the time we came to the gorgeous sight, we were both sweating lightly from the hike and the warm summer air. Down a little farther was a small rocky cliff with the waterfall.
“Wow,” I said. We jogged up to the marshy edge of the fattened stream. Clear water ran crisply over smooth rocks. Some parts looked as shallow as one foot, while other darkened pools closer to the waterfall looked deep. I kicked off my flip-flops and walked into the shallow water. It was warmer than I expected. I sighed and let my head fall back, looking up at the canopy of shading trees overhead and taking in a deep breath of air.
“This is awesome!” Cassidy said. “Let’s walk down to the waterfall and go swimming!”
“Um, hello, no bathing suits,” I pointed out.
“Um, hello,” she said, pulling her shirt over her head and wiggling out of the pajama pants, then standing there smiling in her white bra and pink polka-dotted panties. “It’s just us! Everyone’s working, come on!”