Free The Quicksilver Faire by Gillian Summers

"Everyone in parade route order and we'll begin shortly. Master Johnny O'Hare will lead us. Are you ready?"
    Everyone bellowed at once that they were, and the rabbit leaped high over their heads, landing on a cinder road. He began to fiddle again, and the infectious music made Keelie want to dance.
    "Magic," hissed Sean.
    "I want to dance," Elia cried, and she bobbed ahead of them, doing a jig alongside a corseted pirate Amazon. Keelie and Sean hurried to catch up, not an easy task since everyone was dancing along behind the rabbit.
    As they moved forward, Keelie noted their surroundings like an explorer charting unknown territory. Beyond the stone-and-timber buildings of the town, she saw an enchanted forest of huge trees that glimmered with radiant magic, flowing with waves of light just like the aurora bore alis. It was as if they'd entered a version of the Northwoods forest that was hundreds of years older.
    The rooflines of the faire's tents and buildings, along with the other odd structures ahead of them, were silhouetted against the dazzle of a beam of spinning light. The beam seemed to be coming from the center of the faire, and it called magic to Keelie like a summons she couldn't resist: Come to me, come to me.
    She pulled her gaze away and tried to take in the whole faire at once. It was like stepping back in time to medieval market days in London or Paris, only it was a market filled with unimaginable treasures and inhabitants.
    A voice in the back of her mind whispered, Beware of the fairies, for they can hide their cruelty behind their beauty.
    Knot and Coyote ran along at the edges of the parading crowd like fuzzy little kids anxious to get to the fun. Keelie looked back anxiously, searching for a jester hat with dangling, discordant bells, but no one was wearing one, and relief flowed through her. Strange, how she'd rather face the High Queen of the Shining Ones than Peascod. She felt trapped between two dark problems now, when she'd only expected to confront one. Maybe the High Queen would know what to do about Peascod.
    Sean had removed his helmet and was looking around as if trying to take in everything at once. "This place is amazing, Elia. We may be the first elves to see it."
    "Stay close to me, Sean," Elia whispered loudly. "I smell only fairies."
    The man in front of her turned to give her a dirty look. Elia didn't notice. Instead, she pointed toward Knot and Coyote's bushy tails as they vanished around the corner of a half-timbered building. "Where are they going? Are they going to warn the queen that we're here?"
    "They're having fun," Keelie said. "It's good advice to stay close together, though, especially in this crowd." At least at this faire Keelie didn't have to sell furniture, so maybe she could shop when her mission was completed. She didn't know what currency the fairies used. Maybe it was based on magic. A thread of caution formed in her mind, weaving its way in her thoughts-always be careful when dealing with fairies. She would be.
    Sean walked alongside her, his fingers laced through hers, and she could feel his muscles tense as he resisted the urge to dance to Johnny O'Hare's magic.
    She was on her way to meet the Shining One's fairy queen. Images of the deadly Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland flashed through Keelie's mind. Echoes of "Off With her Head" swirled in tune with the fiddler's music.
    She tightened her grip on Sean's hand. He reassuringly squeezed back. "I'm here," he whispered in her ear.
    Knot and Coyote reappeared and paced in front of them, their paws stepping in equal, measured strides as if to present a united front to the fae.
    Coyote turned his head to Sean. "Stay with her. Don't let her out of your sight."
    "What did you two see? Do you know where we should meet the queen?" Keelie asked.
    "The queen won't be meeting us; she's sending an es cort," Coyote replied. Beside him, Knot's normally wide eyes were hooded. Not a good sign.
    The parade passed the end of a