Sarah was pulled from memory by the sight of two other joggers heading the opposite way. A man and a woman, and unlike most New Yorkers they gave her a brief wave, which she returned as they passed. It was getting close to the end of her break, so she slowed to a walk to cool down.
It was while she was walking, enjoying the feeling of honest exercise and enjoying even more the fact that she could get a quick shower in the gym before going back to work, that she saw someone she recognized. This part of Central Park had plenty of benches, but the girl with the spectacular green hair was sitting on the ground at the foot of an oak tree. It looked like she'd been eating a sandwich, and was now tossing bits of bread and french fries to the starlings, pigeons, and squirrels that had gathered around her.
The wildlife in the park was tamer than most, considering that they were often fed and rarely harassed, but one of the squirrels ran lightly up the girl's shoulder and perched there. That wasn't normal, and Sarah already knew this girl was fae. Jareth had told her how to summon him if she ran across the urban fae again…
But she wasn't going to do that just yet.
Instead Sarah strolled over calmly and folded herself into a sitting position a comfortable distance away. The squirrel flicked its tail at her and scampered up the tree, scolding, while the birds merely strutted away. The girl looked back at her calmly, wearing what was probably the same coat. "Hi," Sarah said. "I'm Sarah."
"My name is Alix," the girl told her. "And someone showed you how to hide the talisman you wear. Wise of him, or her."
Still not threatening, still as casually polite as ever, and Sarah decided to gamble that her instincts were correct. "He did it for me, actually. I don't have that good control of my magic just yet. But I'm learning."
Alix smiled. Sarah thought her hair was actually her natural color, but her lips were definitely lipstick – she had owned the same shade of plum, not so many years ago. "And is he your master, or your lover?" she asked.
"No one is my master," Sarah said, and felt the weight of the words. There was movement in the underbrush around them, and she hoped the goblins would stay out of sight.
The girl nodded. "I rather thought so. Anyone so bold as to approach an unknown fae, more or less alone, wouldn't accept servitude well enough to be allowed to run loose. So he's your lover, then. And … hmm. I doubt you'd take a goblin lover. You're far too beautiful for that. Who is king of Umardelin, these days?"
That startled Sarah badly, and she leaned back. The moment she did so, she felt a weight land on her shoulder, and Neesk growled at the strange fae. Before she could tell him to hold back, the assorted pigeons and starlings turned as one, ruffling their feathers.
"Peace," said Alix, waving her hand. The birds settled … and so did Neesk. Sarah couldn't tell whether that was the other fae's power at work, or just him reacting to her mollifying words. "I'm sorry to have startled you. My friends here told me there have been goblins in the park lately, and I could smell them when you came near. I have no quarrel with goblins or their king. Nor with you, Sarah."
"What do you want from me, then?" Sarah asked.
Alix laughed. "From you? Nothing. I'm not quite sure what you are, Sarah. Human, to start with it, that much I do know. But if I don't know what you can do, then I don't know what use you could be to me and mine. Or what threat you could be."
That wasn't an answer, and Sarah knew by now to keep pressing for one. "Why seek me out? You showed me your eyes on purpose."
Taking off the glasses, Alix regarded her with those strange eyes. "I'd seen you before at the cafe, and you were nothing unusual. Then you turn up one day smelling of magic, and wearing a talisman of power around your neck. That's the sort of change that could spell trouble, for those of us Above. If you'd stolen the talisman, its rightful owner would hunt you down – and either trample through us, or demand our help. Either way it would be … unpleasant. If you were given such a thing, then it might mean there's a new player in the game here in this city."
"I don't think Jareth wants anything in New York, except me," Sarah said dryly.
"Jareth, son of Deruthiel of Etaron?" Alix asked. "He still rules Umardelin? Well, well. He's either much luckier, or much smarter, than everyone thought."
"A little of both, I think," Sarah replied, not taking offense. It was probably best that strangers underestimated Jareth. For now, anyway.
"With Umardelin to rule, then no, there's not much here he could want," Alix said. "Better for those of us who do live here. With that aside, may I offer you some advice?"
Sarah arched a brow. "Sure."
"He may not be the best teacher for you. It might be better, and easier for you to learn, if you studied magic with someone who doesn't have access to quite so much of it."
That gave her pause for thought. Still, she remembered Jareth's warning, and asked warily, "Why?"
"If you don't know how to swim, you shouldn't start out by studying with a fish. What he knows, and the levels of power he's swum in all his life, would drown you." Alix gave her a measuring look, then continued. "There is magic here, Above, and even in a city the size of this one. You ought to begin your study here, with someone who knows how to work with small magics and limited power. Much less chance of catastrophe, that way."
Sarah had to admit, it made sense. And it was even to Alix's advantage. An untutored magic user running around with potential access to all of Umardelin's power could have very unpleasant, and very large-scale, results. She already knew that her magic, when she was stressed and furious and afraid for her life, could create something like an explosion. Suppose she got mugged in the park one day. Would there be a blast crater? How would she explain that to the cops?
She settled herself, feeling Neesk on her shoulder moving with her. The little goblin was quickly becoming a reassuring, familiar presence. "I'm guessing that you're volunteering to be my teacher, then?" she said to Alix.
"Yes. You're safer to be around if you have some control. And you're too well-protected for us to try chasing you off, so it's better to make an ally of you. If your Jareth is as smart as I think he is, he's told you that no fae will offer you anything freely."
"There's no such thing as a free lunch. I didn't need him to tell me that, but yes, he did warn me."
"I doubt he needed to. You have that skeptical look about you. I'm sure you'd prefer to consult with him first, but if you decide to take instruction with me, come to the club where you saw us that day."
"Imperiale, right?" Sarah said, recalling the sign above the door. "Do I just ask the bouncer if you're there, or what?"
"I own it," Alix replied. "All the staff are mine. They will know to bring you to me."
That raised Sarah's brows a little, but she knew that Alix wasn't as young as she looked. Being fae, she could've been centuries old. And besides, there probably were a few teenagers out there in the world who owned clubs, anyway. She'd read somewhere about a fifteen-year-old boy who made himself a millionaire using eBay.
Their conversation seemed concluded, but Sarah couldn't resist one final question. "Just out of curiosity, what would you have done if I'd decided to try threatening you? I mean, I have goblins, you have pigeons."
Alix laughed, and it was friendly amusement, not sarcastic at all. "Oh, Sarah, give me more credit than that! I have lived as a fae in New York City as long as you've been alive. I keep more than pigeons around to defend me, though you shouldn't discount the deleterious effects of a dozen birds trying to peck out your eyeballs. Look behind you."
She did, and startled. The goblins had formed a tight group around her, hiding in the shrubbery nearby, but they'd accidentally let themselves be outflanked. Behind Sarah, sitting in neat ranks on the path, were a horde of rats, a dozen raccoons, three stray dogs, and a very shifty-looking coyote. "Holy shit," Sarah said, and then laughed.
Alix said a few words in some other language, and the animals dispersed. "It's always worth cultivating allies," she said. "Even allies from the 'lower' species. Something we Above have learned all too well, while those Below tend to cloister themselves in their kingdoms."
"Smart," Sarah said, and was glad she hadn't called Jareth. She had the feeling that Alix wouldn't have sicced rats and pigeons on the Goblin King … but this fae was too canny for her to want to start making enemies. "You know, Jareth's pretty progressive … for a king. He always does this little sneer when he talks about how the high fae treat the low fae."
"Yes, well, he rules goblins," Alix pointed out. "And he's high enough born, if I remember my genealogy right, that he can afford to be generous."
"His grandfather's an owl. I think some of it is honest lack-of-pretension, although I never thought I'd ever accuse him of lacking pretension."
Alix chuckled. "The high fae really only have their pretensions to distinguish them. Well, that and their unbridled use of magic. I have errands to run, Sarah, and I'm sure you do as well. Come to Imperiale when you've spoken to your king."
"He's not my king," she shot back, and quickly amended, "Well, okay, he's my king but he's not my king. There's an important difference there."
Alix grinned. "I suspect I know what he sees in you, then. Pretty mortals are a dime a dozen, but defiance like yours is refreshingly rare."
"Yeah, yeah, he loves a challenge, he says. And sulks like a damn teenage boy when he loses. Good thing he's handsome." Sarah stood up, brushing off the seat of her pants, and realized Neesk was still perched on her shoulder. "Do not tell Jareth anything I said here," she added.
"Right on, yer majestickiness!" Neesk agreed, and hopped down to run away.
Alix rose too, and slipped her glasses back on. "Fare thee well, Sarah," she said with a slight inclination of her head, turned away and … disappeared. Fae, Sarah thought, and headed back to work.
…
As it turned out, Neesk kept his word, and Sarah was the one to tell Jareth about her meeting with Alix.
Though she didn't get very far before he said, in dangerous tones, "Stop."
Sarah looked at him, and saw his eyes had gone stormy, flickers of iridescence gleaming within them. Jareth stared at her for a long moment, then said slowly and levelly, "So. Despite my warning, you went to speak to a strange fae. Alone."
"Not entirely alone, I had the goblins," Sarah pointed out. "And I didn't seek her out. She happened to be in the park, so I went to talk to her. Also: not fifteen anymore. And didn't need to be protected from fae when I was fifteen."
Jareth steepled his fingers and sighed heavily, his eyes slowly going back to their normal colors. "All right. Point taken. You are the Champion, after all. And since you are sitting here before me, unharmed and without a host of angry urban fae behind you, I must concede that your instincts were correct. But my beloved Sarai … why take such a risk? Surely you do not believe you must continue to prove yourself the equal of any fae."
"Eventually I'm gonna be living among fae, Jareth. I'd better not be scared of your kind. According to you, I'm gonna be doing this for a long while."
Jareth huffed. "And when you are Queen and wife as well as Champion, you will have my power to draw upon when you face them."
Sarah dropped her face into her hands. "I'm not going to depend entirely on you to come and rescue me. What kind of Queen would that make me? I'm not a coward, Jareth. I've got my own wits and my own strengths – and yeah, I did think about the fact that I could call you in if I had to."
His eyebrows went up. "Did you?"
"Yes! I'm not stupid. Jareth, I had the goblins for backup, but if she'd been the least threatening, I would've called for you. As it was, Alix was being cool, so I was, too. If I'd called you in without provocation, you might've scared her off. She strikes me as being too smart to stand and face a pissed-off faerie king."
"Then she is wise, indeed," Jareth replied, his eyes flashing. "Lucky for her that you were correct in your character assessment this time."
"I usually am," Sarah sniped back.
Jareth leaned back with another sigh. "So. What is it she wants from you?"
Sarah laid out Alix's offer for him. "And it makes sense. From what she didn't say, there are multiple factions among the urban fae in the city. Having you come stomping around up there would only make things worse for all of them. And if I'm not trained in magic, then one of the others might try to use me as a hostage, which wouldn't go well for any fae in New York."
"No, it would not," Jareth said with a feral grin, his eyes aglow. "It seems quite sensible. I can even admit, however grudgingly, that I may not be the best tutor for you. Perhaps it's best that you learn the basics from one who has had to make use of smaller magics."
"See? So it all turned out for the best, and you didn't have to glitter-rage all over the Manhattan skyline." Sarah spread her hands and smiled smugly.
She would not have been so gleeful if she'd known the plans Jareth was making, even as they spoke.
