Free Bloody Fairies (Shadow) by Nina Smith Page B

height she hung onto the wall and leaned over to look in the cupped hands, but it was too dark to see anything. “I need light!”
    The torchlight flooded over the stone hands, lighting up ancient fingers, stone palms, an empty bowl.
    Hippy bit her lip. Pierus was going to be very cross. She gave a disconsolate sigh. “It’s not here.”
    Pierus was very, very quiet. “What?”
    “I said it’s not here.”
    “Are you sure?”
    “It’s completely empty.”

 
     
     
     
    CHAPTER SEVEN
     
     
    Pierus’s voice could have chilled a bearfly in the hive. “Look again.”
    “There’s nothing there,” Hippy said.
    “Look again!”
    Hippy made a face at him and leaned across once again. It was very awkward to hang onto the rock with one hand and reach across a stone shoulder with the other, but she didn’t feel it would be very respectful to climb on the statue itself. She reached into the cupped hands and felt around. Nope, still nothing. She checked all of the fingers, in case it was a very small treasure, with no success. Pierus was just going to have to accept it, the thing was gone.
    Something sharp scraped the palm of her hand.
    Hippy scrabbled for the object. She picked it up between two fingers and studied it in Poppy’s light. She blinked. “Freakin Fairies!” she yelled, and promptly fell backwards off the wall. She heard Poppy shriek just before she flipped, rolled on her back and landed at Pierus’s feet.
    “What do you mean, Freakin Fairies?” Pierus’s voice was positively icy.
    Hippy stood up and opened her hand. Poppy shone her torch on the object in it.
    “It’s a snake tooth,” Hippy said. “ Like the ones the Freakin Fairies who live in Quicksilver Forest wear in their hair.”
    Pierus cursed black and blue, turned on his heel and stormed back over the bridge.
    Hippy ran after him. “What does it mean? How do the Freakin Fairies even know about the treasure? What do we do now?”
    “We find them,” Pierus said.
    Poppy followed close behind them. “Are you two saying fairies took Pandora’s Box from a cave that’s been sealed for three thousand years?”
    “Who else?” Pierus demanded. “Three thousand years ago Pandora was the only one who could touch the Apple of Chaos. Now that gift lies with her descendants. I knew that traitorous creature was going to come back to haunt me.”
    “My God, you two really believe all this stuff,” Poppy said.
    Pierus whirled on her. “You! Did you have anything to do with this? Are you in cahoots with the Freakin Fairies?”
    “Back off!” Poppy planted a hand on his chest and shoved him. “See this? This is my personal space. I’m very particular about it. Don’t get in it. I’ll have you know I’m also very upset about coming all the way down here, at great personal risk, for nothing at all.” She pushed her glasses up on her nose, shoved past Pierus and stalked ahead.
    Hippy giggled. “I like her. She’s just like a fairy.”
    Pierus put a hand on her shoulder and matched his pace to hers. “If I were you my dear, I wouldn’t trust her.”
    “Why not?”
    “Just take my word for it. I know humans, and this one is not what she says she is.”
    “Oh.” Hippy’s eyes widened, considering this. “ Can we keep her anyway?”
    Pierus chuckled. “She’s not a pet.”
    “But she’s fun. And she knows stuff.”
    “You have a point there. She does indeed appear to know things.”
    They descended the steps together. Hippy balked at the sight of the stream. “Isn’t there another way out?”
    Poppy, who had just lowered herself into the water, looked back. “Actually no,” she said. “In fact the water may be our only way out, depending on whether your so-called vampire friends decided to cut my rope or not once we were gone.”
    Silence greeted this statement. Hippy shuddered. She’d forgotten, briefly, about the vamps.
    Poppy waded downstream.
    “Go on,” Pierus said. “I’m right behind you.”
    Hippy wasn’t