The Emerald Staff by Alison Pensy

the table and dabbed at his shirt.
    “Faen, you are home!” Janessa squeaked with
excitement as she took off her gloves, rubbed her hands on her
apron and moved towards her son, arms outstretched.
    Faen pushed himself away from the brick
archway and entered the garden, meeting his mother halfway. She
threw her arms around him and hugged him tight.
    “Hello, Mother.” Faen laid a kiss on the top
of her head. She only reached his chin in height. “Mother, if you
hold on much tighter, I think you may cut off my circulation,” he
joked and looked over to where his father was getting up from his
chair.
    His father raised his eyes heavenward at
Faen’s remark and shot him a knowing smile.
    Suddenly a warm palm was holding either side
of Faen’s face, encouraging him to divert his gaze back to his
mother. She gave him a smile that stretched from ear to ear. Her
cheeks were flushed from working with her plants, which just made
her look even more radiant and beautiful.
    “Let me look at you. Oh, my darling boy, you
have not aged at all.”
    Faen chuckled at his mother’s outburst.
“Mother, I have not been gone that long.”
    “Twelve years in the World of Men is a long
time my boy.”
    His father, who had now reached him, came to
his rescue. He clapped an arm around his shoulder. “It is good to
see you, Son.”
    “You too, Father.”
     
    After dressing in something more suitable,
Faedra rushed down the stairs and headed into the kitchen. She
needed an infusion of sugar water and a lot of it. Her legs were
feeling weak and useless. She hadn’t dared look in the mirror to
see how gray her skin was. She grabbed a tall glass from the
cupboard, poured in a large helping of sugar and filled it with
water. After stirring until the sugar dissolved, she downed the
whole glass in one long draw.
    The familiar feeling of energy rushed through
her system and she started to feel the strength come back to her
limbs. She grabbed a couple of empty plastic bottles and filled
them with the same sugary concoction, threw them into a backpack
and headed out the door, determination of finding her father
coursing through her blood.
    She arrived at the church just a few minutes
later and parked her car in the corner away from the security
lights. She stepped out of the car and could feel the chill in the
air that seeped through to her bones; winter was just around the
corner and they were getting a preview this early morning. She
closed the car door with a quiet click and looked around, though
why, she wasn’t sure; there wouldn’t be anyone around at that time
in the morning. She tiptoed across the gravel car park, trying to
make as little noise as possible, stepped through the gate and
started towards the portal. Jocelyn was in her dog form sitting by
the church, and Faedra stopped dead. Realizing at this point that
she hadn’t really thought this through. Jocelyn may not open the
portal for her; she had only given a thought to where she was
headed, and not how she was going to get there.
    The black and white collie stood up and
walked towards her with pensive steps, her tail doing a half-wag
with uncertainty.
    Faedra took another step forward. She felt
awful inside. Jocelyn had become a good friend and now the poor
girl looked scared of her. Faedra didn’t know what to say to her.
She swallowed hard.
    “I need to get through the portal.” Faedra’s
voice was blunt and to the point. It came out much harsher than she
planned and she felt a pang of guilt at how cold she sounded. The
collie’s ears drooped and she put her tail between her legs.
    “Oh come on, Jocelyn, don’t do that.”
    The collie lowered her head submissively.
    Faedra hung hers in shame, her chilly resolve
melting by the second. “Please, Jocelyn, I need your help. I need
to get through the portal.”
    Jocelyn shimmered into her fae form and
Faedra took a step back in surprise.
    “Where are you going?” Jocelyn asked.
    “I can’t tell you.”
    “Then I