Chapter 9

Marsha's POV

After a quick breakfast we packed our bags and were ready to go.

"So, where are we headed?" I asked Mrl, who had been yawning every time I looked at him.

"Not a clue." he answered with a grin. I resisted the urge to slap him over the head.

"Wonderful." Irena said as she threw her pack over her shoulders. "Where's Puck?" Mrl's grin stretched even wider. "Not a clue." A snowball hit him in the face. Puck walked out to join us on the porch while Mrl was attempting to scrape the packing snow off his face. He burst into laughter.

"Where are we going?" Irena asked him when the Summer fey had gotten his laughter under control.

"We're off to see the wizard, the wonderful wizard of Oz!" he sang brightly. "Who?" Irena questioned with ice in her voice. I didn't blame her. We'd known Puck for less than a day and he was already driving me crazy.

"We're going to a lovely manor house that is the home of a dear friend of mine." Puck translated, his voice dripping with sarcasm. Mrl suddenly looked as if he'd swallowed a toad.

"We're going to her?" he asked Puck incredulously.

"It is one of the last places the Prince was spotted." the Summer faerie said. "Have any better ideas?"

Irena and I shook our heads. Mrl muttered something about how New Orleans was nice this time of year.

"New Orleans is our next stop." Puck assured him. "There's a goblin market there in a few days that might yield some results."

Irena raised a slim eyebrow. "A goblin market?" A goblin market, one of the most dangerous gatherings of faeires to ever be invented. If you weren't careful you could end up bargaining away your courage or your first child without knowing it and they were always held in fey areas of the human world. In other words, a goblin market was one of the last places I'd want to go.

"Can we argue about our next destination after we safely leave our first one?" asked Mrl. "I for one would like to know how you plan for us to be able to enter and then exit Leanansidhe's mansion intact."

"Leanansidhe? The Dark Muse?" Irena questioned.

"The Exile Queen." I agreed.

"I can't wait." Mrl grumbled. Puck slapped him on the back.

"That's the spirit! Let's get saddled up!"

Mrl's POV

My brother is insane. Completely and utterly insane. Not that that's always a bad thing, his lack of good sense has gotten him out of as many tight spots as it has gotten him in to, but this time it felt like he was crossing the line from lacking sense to lacking self-preservation.

No, that's a lie. There is only one person he'd die for. I'll give you three guesses and the first two don't count, hint: it's not me.

"So, how is the love of your life?" I asked him a few minutes after we'd left. He had found a horse, I don't know where but I had a few ideas, and was riding beside me.

"Why, me, myself and I are quite well! Thank you for asking!" I heard Marsha snorting at his response.

"Very funny Jester, you know what I mean."

Puck rolled his eyes and plastered a fake smile on his face. "Of course I do Joker. She's fine, except for just about everything." He said this through his teeth, which meant 'Drop it before I turn you into a squirrel'.

"What about you, Icicles? Any secret lover that should worry us?"

Irena spluttered, her Winter static-ness dropped for a split second. "In case you've forgotten Myrtle, I've been locked up out of sight for my entire life."

"That's why I said secret." I grinned dangerously back at her. "And don't call me Myrtle."

"I smell a story!" Puck said with glee. "Nothing like a wondrous tale to pass the time, do tell."

I could see Irena's face, but I had the feeling that she was glaring at both me and Puck.

"I thought you were going to tell us how we're going to survive the day." Marsha said sweetly.

"That would be a wonderful idea." I agreed. Surviving was always a good thing. Puck sighed. I elbowed him.

"Ouch! Well, I was thinking that we make a quick jump into the human world-"

"No." Irena interrupted.

"Definitely not." I said at the same time. "Do you know how much attention we'd draw?

"- and then we'll skedaddle to the trod to Leanansidhe's before anyone even knows we're there." Puck continued, without acknowledging that we'd spoken.

"How close together are the trods?" Marsha asked. Puck started counting under his breath.

"Just a few hours, give or take. It depends on if I can get us on the right side of the ocean."

"Puck." I warned. He rolled his eyes.

"I'm joking! You have to admit that it'll be a lot safer than tramping willy-nilly through the Wyldwood."

The human world probably would be a safer, except for the bazillion things there that could kill faeries.

"Okay, and say that we do make it safely to Leanansidhe's, doesn't she hate you? How were you planning to talk to her?" Even though I didn't know if the Exile Queen actually hated my brother, it was still a valid question. Almost everyone I know of hates, dislikes, or holds a grudge against Puck. It would be just our luck if traveling with him got us turned into beavers.

Puck grinned.

"Weeeellll…I was thinking that I wouldn't be doing the talking." Everyone stopped their horses.

"No." I said.

"Please?"

"No."

"What are they talking about?" Marsha whispered. I turned around.

"Puck wants the three of us to try and get the location we seek out of wonderful Leanansidhe, who will probably be over the moon when she discovers who we are. And that would be bad."

The two girls looked at each other. "Let's do it." Irena said finally. "It can't be more dangerous than talking to any of the other queens."

If he were able to reach, Puck would have clapped her on the back. "That's the spirit Prin! And here I thought you were nothing like your brother!" He sent his horse galloping away and we hurried to catch up.

"Is there any way we could get there without going to the human world?" Irena asked once we were all back together. Puck stroked his chin. I sighed.

"There is one way, but it's really dangerous."

"I'm in." Puck said. "Where is it?" I scowled at him.

"You know exactly the place I'm talking about." I said.

"I'm hoping we're not thinking about the same place." he admitted. "It wasn't great, the last time I had there."

"Where are you talking about?" Irena asked. I grinned palely, even though she couldn't see my face.

"What do you know about hedge wolves?"