"Will the two of you quit it, you silly starlings?" said a third unfamiliar voice. "I'm getting me headache back."
Theo squinted upward. On a balcony just above his head a trio of Applecore-sized figures stared down at him. All three were young women, as far as he could tell, two with dark hair, one cut short, the other long, and the last with an immense fluffy mane of gold half-rolled in curlers. All three had wings poking out of the back of their housedresses.
"Are you Theo?" asked the blonde. "You're a big one, aren't you?"
"Can you think of nothing else to say, Ginnie?" snapped the one with short dark hair. "You're doing my head in." She looked down. "Pay no attention to this lot. They've only been in from the country about two hours."
"Ooh, Pit, it's terrible you are!" said the other brunette. "She's been here about a month longer than us and she puts on such airs!"
"Ummm…" He tried to let his brain catch up. "Are you… are you some of Applecore's roommates?"
"Yes," said the long-haired brunette, "although for as much as Core comes around these days, you'd think we were sharing the place with a will-o'-the-wisp." She made a little mock-curtsey. "I'm Fuzz. The one with the sour face is my sister, Pit."
"Fuzz… Pit…" Theo nodded, still struggling.
"We're Peaches. And that one with her hair all sticking out like Peg Powler is Ginnie."
"Don't tell him that! That's just a nickname," the blonde said, and sniffed at her roommate. "It's really Auberginnie. I'm an actress and that's my stage name."
"Yeah, back home in Hawthorn she was just another Eggplant," said Pit.
"Oh!" said Ginnie. "You're so stroppy tonight!"
"Well, me head hurts, doesn't it?"
Theo cautiously raised his hand. So far he had not been endearing himself to the female population of Faerie, and at the moment he was outnumbered three to one. He had a feeling that the size differential wouldn't make any more difference than it had with the power balance between Applecore and himself. "Hello. Nice to… nice to meet you. Yeah, I'm Theo. Is she… um… almost ready? She didn't tell me how long she'd be."
"She's faster to get ready than most." Fuzz leaned over the balcony, squinting, her hair dangling. It looked to be almost as long as she was tall. "So, are you really a Daisy? You don't look much like a Daisy."
"What would you know?" demanded Pit. "When have you ever seen a Daisy?"
"I saw one on the news talking about some parliamentary thing. Don't be such a gull."
"Saw one on the news." Pit shook her head. "Just ignore them both. They only came out to ogle you."
"What?" said Fuzz. "Are you saying it wasn't your idea? What a liar you are!"
"He'll think we're terrible," Ginnie wailed.
"See what I mean?" said Pit with grim satisfaction. "Farm girls. Fresh out of the branches. Still have pollen in their ears."
"Take that back!" Fuzz demanded.
Fortunately, just as Theo was seriously contemplating making a run for it, Applecore appeared beside them with a small suitcase in her hand. She lifted off the balcony and began to descend toward Theo, then flew back up and hugged her roommates.
"Where are you going?" asked Ginnie. "We've hardly even seen you!"
"Not certain," said Applecore. "I'll let you know. We just have some business to take care of… some Daisy business… and it's better we don't advertise ourselves."
"Does this have something to do with those fellas who were asking about you?" Fuzz wanted to know.
"What?" Applecore was clearly startled. "What fellas, when?"
"You mean you didn't tell her when she first came in?" said Pit. "What's wrong with you two?"
"You were in the next room, just watching the mirror-stream. You could have come in and told her…"
"Shut up, the lot of you!" shouted Applecore, and the heat of her response was so unexpected that her three roommates all fell silent. "Tell me what you're talking about. Now."
"A couple of pixies we haven't seen before came to the door," Pit explained briskly. "They said they were friends of yours from back in Great Rowan, but they seemed nervous."
"Shite and onions." Applecore shook her head. "I don't know any pixies from back there. What did you tell them?"
"That you were gone and we didn't know when you'd be back, what do you think?" Pit scowled. "I didn't like the look of 'em at all. Just as well I came home — these two probably would have had them in for tea and cakes and let them go through your room."
"That's not fair," said Ginnie, almost crying now. "And if you chased them away so well, then why did I see them just this morning? Sitting out on the front sidewalk, watching the comb?"
Pit glared at her. "You what?"
"Oh, Ginnie, why didn't you say anything?" demanded Fuzz.
"Because before I had a chance to remember, Core came back…"
"You had time to eat an entire sesame cookie by yourself before she got here…"
"Enough!" Applecore quickly gave her roommates another hug. "Don't fight, you three. And if those fellas come back, don't let them in. In fact, call the superintendent and tell him the pixies are harassing you. Talk about it on the terrace, get some other folk paying attention to them. Chances are they'll get tired of watching for me, but for all your sakes I want you to make it uncomfortable for them to hang about here." Her wings hummed and she rose off the balcony.
"But where are you going?" asked Fuzz. "This doesn't sound good at all."
"It's not, so it's better you don't know. Don't worry, dear ones, I'll be fine. I've got my big, strong friend Theo, after all." She settled on his shoulder, leaned into his ear. "Let's get going. The Trees alone know who's watchin' us right this moment."
Theo gave Applecore's roommates a distracted wave as he stepped out into the alley. "Go where?" he asked. "You never really told me."
"I've been thinking. Walk that way, back toward the bus stop, and try to look normal, will ya?" When she had him facing the right direction, she settled on his shoulder again. "Is that your best normal? Then I'm sorry for you, fella."
"What are we worrying about — pixies? Aren't they little like you? But wingless? How the hell are they going to follow me, anyway?"
"They can ride, y'know. Ratback. Birdback. And pixies may not have wings, but not all sprites are sweet and helpful like me, either, so let's keep moving and keep our eyes open. I think we're going to be okay if we stay out in the lighted areas. Even if they have poison arrows, they'd need a lot of 'em to knock you down and keep you from getting away."
"Poison arrows? What the hell are you talking about?"
"But that doesn't mean they won't do their best to follow us, find out where we're goin'. So we've got to scramble around on the buses a bit, then get to a safe spot."
"But not Foxglove's place, right?"
"No, definitely not. Hang on here a moment till I have a look." The bus stop was in sight. She lifted off his shoulder and buzzed away into the darkness. She was back hovering in front of him before he reached the empty bench. "Don't see any sign of anyone watching, but that doesn't mean much. A pair of pixies with the right charms…" She let it hang as though Theo would know about this sort of thing already. "As to where we're going… see, I'm not a Flower. Tansy and those other gentry types, they think they've got more in common with each other than with anyone else, so when times are bad he'd rather send you to someone in his own party. But Tansy's party, they're deal-makers, and like I said, I've already heard a few things I don't like about Foxglove. I'd rather take you to someone who's got something to lose — someone who can't make a deal because they're mortal enemies with the folks who are trying to kill you."
"You want to take me to the… the Creepers, right? The ones who wanted me in the first place."