I summoned the pharmacist in China and went to Shenzhen. I asked the pharmacist where I could get money exchanged before I went out into the streets. I shadow stepped while avoiding wards and found a place to hide a gateway. Then I went to the money exchange.

At the same brick paved intersection I was able to exchange money, get a wonderful meal, buy snacks, and find what I was looking for. As I stepped out with as much takeout food as I could carry from the cafe across from the money exchange, I saw two Daemon ladies stepping out of the exchange.

I smiled at them but they didn’t notice me. They walked down the street so I followed them at a distance.

I followed them for a good while before a male Daemon addressed me in English. “Boy, you’re not in lust, love, or anger, so why are you following the ladies?”

I turned and the handsome oriental gentleman radiated warmth and wealth.

I bowed and answered in Mandarin, “I was looking for a gentleman of your great distinction. I made the assumption that if I followed such lovely ladies I might encounter such.”

He said, “Well spoken, but there is a hint of distraction and twist to your words. Before I shoo you off, tell me what you are seeking. My eyes are open, and I am considered fast by my compatriots so please tell the truth.”

I bowed and smiled again. “I am looking for the name of someone who would answer a summons. Someone who dwells in France. I seek a fast passage to that country.”

He smiled at me. “I am at a loss to discern what sort of being I am talking with.”

I bowed again. “As you are what you are, I am what I am. It all gets complicated as we inquire further, and many of us treasure discretion. I am in a position to reward someone who did me a service, but at this moment I would like to maintain anonymity.”

He shifted position. I knew that stance from the memories of battles that I had seen recently so I took off to shadows. He was now in a low stance and making gestures that were clearly to call on magic. There was no point in staying around.

#

I placed a gateway in a spot with good shadows and considered what I was doing. I wondered about shadow stepping to France. If I started in the morning and the weather was good, I could travel with the sun. I went into the electronics market and found a place to setup my laptop and look at maps. Looking at France, I noticed a few towns that started with the word “La,” so I typed in the name of the place I had set a gateway at when I was lost: LA NEUVILLE en HEZ.

I had a gateway in France, but I didn’t speak the language. If I was going to try and get information from the local Goblins, I would need to learn the language first. I decided to try and find some Goblins first before I tried to find someone to gift me with French.

I looked up as a very young Chinese girl sat at the counter beside me. In English, she asked, “Child of Shadow?”

I looked at her ears, and she widened her eyes. “Felt you passing by. Knew you were here. This was the best place to sit.”

I asked, “What language do you prefer?”

She said, “Sichuanese.”

In Sichuanese, I asked, “Do you know old legends?”

She answered, “That is all I know well. How did you become a Shadow Child?”

I said, “My family didn’t have the time or money for me.”

She said, “Older brothers?”

I said, “Only child.”

She gave me a strange look. “America. Here a boy would matter. Most of the Shadow Children in China are girls.”

I asked, “Are there legends of Shadow Children fighting?”

She nodded. “We fall together. Sometimes we catch ourselves in the treetops and our enemy falls. I have not done it, but I have considered it.”

I nodded. “Any fights with more powerful beings?”

She leaned in and looked at the laptop I was using. “Mostly they come out of shadow with swords. Shadow Children have learned secrets and turned enemies on each other.

“Are you rich?”

I was being summoned. “Skins calling King Snipsnort and inviting him to play music.”

I closed my laptop and held it under my arm and took a bundle of Chinese cash out of my pocket. “I get by. Sorry, I have another conversation. Skins, bring me through.”

I handed the girl a small stack of Chinese money as Skins brought me to him.

#

In an office with windows all around and fenced gates that could be opened, Roy was with Skins. The little girl had held on to me, and she was here, too. I was looking for Goblin legends, and these were the oldest Goblins I knew.

Roy asked, “Wild Boy, who’s the girl?”

She slipped into shadow and left.

I asked, “Where are we?”

Roy said, “New York.”

I looked at my empty hand. “She’s from China. She has a decent amount of cash, but it is Chinese. I don’t know how far she will get.”

Then I looked at Roy and realized I might be among enemies. I was going to have to play this carefully and be ready to run. “Skins, are we playing here?”

Skins said, “It’s a slow day for Roy, so I came to keep him entertained. We were talking about your rhythms, so we decided to see if you were available to play.”

There was a good shadow across me, cast by the frame of a window, so I decided to see if I could get a reaction and know where I stood. “Sirs, I may be trouble. I’m caught in a war between Titans, and I don’t think I’m safe.”

That got their attention, but they didn’t look like I had set them off or exposed them.

Roy asked, “Who’s after you?”

I said, “I think I was useful for a bit, but now I’m in the way of the Shadows Queen.”

That got both of their attention. Skins shifted his hand. I knew the gesture, it was a Goblin gesture, and it was often used as a warning, but it was also used as a threat. The gesture meant, “Run fast, change your name, and never trust shadows again.”

I nodded and took myself to Snipsnort.

#

In the seven-way crossroads surrounded by statues of Goldilocks, I didn’t know which way to go. I needed to find a safe place for Hubert. Fairies associated with Nia Gray had made an extension on the manor that Hubert was in. Nia Gray was the Goblin girl I had returned the purse to, and she worked for the Shadows Queen. I needed to warn Hubert. I needed to find a safe place for him. I sped up the Fairyland and shadow stepped to the manor.

#

Outside the manor, Effa the Goblin girl who was with Nia Gray the first time I met her was sitting on the hillside.

I smiled and waved as I thought. If Effa was here outside the manor, anyone could be inside. My speeding time in the Fairyland only protected us from things on the outside. If they were inside already, my options were few. Anthony, Caerwyn, and Hubert could all be in trouble. I went to the Fairyland where I had first been abducted and froze time on Snipsnort. I didn’t know what might have happened in the manor house, but what was done was done. To be able to manage what I could, I needed to up my game. I needed to up it a lot.

#

In the real world, I was rushing through shadows to get as far from anyone as I could possibly get. I shadow stepped deep into the swamp. There were places in the swamp that no one went. Places where cabins had been built and forgotten. Places where the hunting toys of a man who had gotten old or passed away were largely forgotten. Hunting blinds and shacks set up and abandoned. I was looking for one of those so I could spend a few days and recover from dehydration, stress, injury, and exhaustion.

I need to up my game, but first I needed to get my game back. I found a nice wooded isle with weeds grown up around a flat bottomed boat and a pier that was perfect for fishing from. Apart from my footprints and a few raccoon prints, the soil showed no signs of recent visitors. I was going to leave it clean and not take anything, so I figured I could borrow it for a while. I set up a gateway and walked out onto the pier.

Goldilocks summoned me, “Phil, darling Phil, this is Goldilocks. Can you come visit me?”

I went to where she was.

#

I had to shift forms to me clean and in nice clothing quickly. She was in a fancy department store looking at a jewelry counter.

She turned to me and crouched down to hug me. “My darling Phil. How did you ever convince people that you where experiencing GADS after seeing me. You wonderful boy. Everyone is talking about it. I mean, there is smitten, obsessed, and hopelessly in love, but having GADS over me is the best ever!

“So we need to take you to get some serious art gifting, not just the normal plain old art gifting, I mean Dutch Old Masters and the like. If we’re going to pull this off, your wonderful sculptures are going to have to get way more dramatic.”

I realized that with Caerwyn frozen in Snipsnort, there was only one way that she could have heard about GADS and me. Feile Griff, the woman who had almost managed to kill Hubert, had talked to someone.

Goldilocks held me at arm’s distance and said, “Wow, that is a sudden change. Who are we trying to kill?”

I said, “You may not want to be involved in this. I don’t want you in danger, and the people I may be facing are as dangerous as they come. Where did you hear about me and GADS?”

She gave me a serious look. “I was summoned by a friend and she told me. I haven’t seen this side of you before. What happened?”

I said, “A friend of mine was almost killed by the woman who is the only possible source for the story about my GADS. She ran and took off with some equipment—” I realized just then that if the armored spider excavator was for me, and she ran off with it, I was probably not facing a battle with the Shadows Queen. I couldn’t be entirely certain, but there was more to this than I thought.

Goldilocks looked closely at me. “Wow, all sort of confusing depths in my apprentice. I really, really need to get you trained. As far as I know the source of the story was from a Dwarf named Feile Griff, don’t even think about getting any art lessons from her. We want classic and modern lin,es but we want them bold and wild, not confusing and disturbed.

“I wonder if she has GADS and is projecting. Doesn’t really matter, you just gave me the best brag ever and now we need to be able to keep it going!”

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

She looked at me and then put her hand on my forehead. “Are you okay? You don’t feel feverish.”

I said, “A lot has happened in too short a time. I have been healed, and I am mostly good, but I haven’t had a chance to recuperate.”

She said, “Silly apprentice, follow me.”

She led me up a few escalators and then purchased several beds. She got sheets and blankets and pillows. She looked around and pointed to an embarrassing long pillow with a cartoon girl’s figure on it. “We need to get one for you with my likeness.”

I shook my head.

She said, “You don’t have to sleep with it, it’s just to maintain the story.”

I shook my head again.

She pouted at me. She was still beautiful even when she pouted, but I still shook my head.

She sighed. “Well, be that way. So here is the thing. We will set you up with a nice little Fairyland, and you can speed time and rest there. Nothing fancy, but it would be nice if you made a few statues of me for your bedroom.”

I said, “No. No statues in the bedroom. How could a boy possibly sleep with your image in the room?”

She smiled. “Perfect. You’re absolutely perfect.”

Goldilocks distracted the staff while I used a gateway to take our purchases.

I asked, “Can we summon your friend so I can track down Feile?”

Goldilocks said, “Get some rest. Summon me in thirty minutes, but make sure you are in good health first. We’ll set you up with a good Fairyland for this later. Right now, just use what you have.”

I didn’t bother to set up a bed. I just put a mattress down in a storage world and used one of the pillows. I slept and got up. I realized that I had just slept surrounded by sculptures of Goldilocks. I went to the island with the cabin on it so I could relieve my bladder. I had just finished when I felt someone slide through shadow nearby. I walked around to the front of the cabin, and a young woman was sitting on the pier.

Most Goblins keep growing baby teeth. I still had some of my first baby teeth when I became a Goblin. I have had most of the adult teeth that came in fall out and baby teeth have replaced them. My mouth is a bit awkward but in another thirty years, I’ll probably have a full set of baby teeth, and my dental issues will probably be okay. That happens for most Goblins. It didn’t happen for this girl. She had extra teeth come in and push teeth in odd angles. She had scars. She was wearing a T-shirt and shorts, but she was wet so I could see she was wearing a swimsuit under that.

I’m not an adolescent yet, so I don’t turn into an idiot around girls. Most Goblins can take or leave the opposite sex anyway. Not all, but a lot of us can. I don’t think this young lady had to worry about much attention. She had clearly had a rough life.

She smiled at me. “I was three hundred a year ago. I noticed you about twenty years ago while you were working trout lines. Now everyone has noticed you, and everyone is trying to have you do their bidding. They can wait in line. I saw you first.”

I sat down on the pier a distance from her. The nice thing about a good pier is that you can easily slide into shadow on one. The girl had a scary vibe.

She said, “So first off, don’t kill the Dwarf girl. She’s a fool. Steal her computer, steal the stuff attached to the computer, but don’t worry about the art. Don’t worry about the Shadow Queen, she’s beset by prophets trying to twist her fate, just as you are. She’s on your side, but she can’t plan past all the twists and turns, and her advisers are distracted by their own issues.

“Soon you have the advantage, soon you will have two prophets smoothing your path. Soon your path will be uphill brambles, a much easier climb than you would otherwise face.

“The thing you have to worry about is the one with the bow. Listen to his half-truths, and he will tell you more than he knows himself. Don’t kill him. You will wish you had but don’t. Wheels have to turn, and he’s one of the ones that has to turn them. You have bigger enemies.”

I looked down at the water my feet were making ripples in. As I spoke, she said my words just before I said them. “How do you know this, why, how?”

“Phil, those who see what might be eventually start trying to choose what might be. There’s a battle going on and you are the wild card that will decide who wins the pot.”

I asked, “What side are you on?”

She pointed out to the water. A fish jumped. “Your side. You’ll know it soon, though you have no reason to believe it now. For now, bring me fish to eat from your Fairy kingdom.”

I looked out to the trees. “Do you want to die?”

She slid into the water and went under. She stood up and brushed the water from her face with a single stroke of her hand. “Your fish will not kill me, but yes, I do. I die coughing in two years if I don’t die as a hero first. Not much of a hero as these things are measured, but unless you count vision as a decent helping, my measure has always been from the bottom.”

I winced at the thought of her death. She kicked the water with her bare feet. “Don’t you think three hundred years is enough? Three hundred years of seeing the future and knowing it never quite pans out. For poor Etta, it just gets worse from here. You have possibilities, you can change things. I die coughing if I don’t die sooner. I would rather die a meaningful death.

“Bring me fish then rest. For now, Phil, only kill those who try to possess you. You have a busy day ahead of you.

I asked, “Your name is Etta?”

She said, “Call me ‘Swamp Witch” or call me ‘Swampy,’ when you have time. Right now, go.”

I sped Snipsnort back up and went there.

#

Both the cats were waiting.

Fuzzy said. “There are strangers inside the manor. Get them out.”

White Gloves looked away as if I was a thing of disgust before disappearing into shadow. Fuzzy disappeared right after so I was alone at the intersection. I sped time and went to the manor.

Effa was sitting by the walk and stood as I started walking up from the woods I had shadow stepped to. “Good to see you Phil.”

I smiled. Etta had said that I could trust the Queen of Shadows, or at least that she was on my side. At this point, I still didn’t know for sure and I wasn’t entirely sure about Etta. If Etta could be trusted that the Queen of Shadows could be trusted then perhaps I could trust Effa.

I said, “It’s a bit hard for me to know who I can trust right now.”

Effa nodded. “I don’t have a good way to assure you.”

I said, “Unfortunate.”

Effa said, “Please don’t kill anyone.”

I realized I might not have time if anything was happening to Hubert, so I left her without saying goodbye.

Hubert was in the largest chamber of the manor house, and there were cables running from patches on him to equipment surrounding him. Caerwyn was arguing with a short stocky man. Around them, Goblins were busy running cables.

Anthony said to me, “Phil, you know how Hubert likes his kitchen arranged. Can you go make sure they aren’t making a mess of things?”

Hubert said, “Please, Phil, they have me wired in place, so I can’t check on my own. As long as my work area is the same, I don’t have any issues, they can do what they want.”

Since Hubert didn’t seem stressed or hurt, I went to the kitchen. Flying Fairies were arguing about placement while Goblin girls were posing in the illusions of kitchen areas like they were cooking.

I got rid of the illusions near the windows and made illusions of Hubert's work area, and what I had imagined my own ideal work area in the kitchen would be. Then I made an illusion of the spot that Anthony liked to sit.

The Fairies all stopped. One of them flew up close and looked down at me but right in my face. “You’re messing up our plans.”

I said, “You might end up arguing with the king of this Fairyland or at least the former king.”

The Fairy gave me a sarcastic look. “What would King Snipsnort know about cooking?”

I said, “Not a lot, but he has cooked with Hubert, and this house is his.”

The Fairy dispelled the illusions I had made and shouted, “Someone get this mortal out of the kitchen.”

I made a horseshoe and held it up. I made the Fairy back up.

I looked at one of the Goblin girls. “What are you doing here, anyway?”

One of them said, “Trying to make up for some possible issues with Phil, the King of Snipsnort.”

I said, “So far you’re not doing a good job of it.”

I shadow stepped back out to where Effa was standing. “Get the crew out of the kitchen.”

Effa winced. “This is all part of the plan.”

I said, “Effa and Etta both told me not to kill anyone. It seemed strange at the time, but I can see the value in the warning right about now. Hubert seems to be okay with what is going on. Anthony and Caerwyn seem okay with it. But Hubert wants to be sure his work area in the kitchen is the way he likes it. I have a few ideas about my own work area, and there is a place that Anthony likes to sit in our old kitchen that I would like to reproduce. I made an illusion of what I wanted. It was just over a small part of the kitchen, but it was dispelled, and I was made to feel unwelcome.

“You’re a Goblin so you might understand the feeling of being unwelcome in your own home. I’m going to leave now since I don’t want a confrontation.”

Effa touched the side of her neck. “Tendra, please let Lord Soupstone know that King Snipsnort was not happy with his treatment in the kitchen. Ask him if he really wants to face gallus mutabilis.”

I asked, “What is gallus mutabilis?”

Effa said, “Mutabilis was an unfortunate Fairyland. King Mutabilis was quite famous for transforming and breeding creatures. He was also famous for his love of cockfighting. Unfortunately for him and his Fairyland, he bred a rooster that proceeded to depopulate the entire Fairyland and then pass away since it had no chicken large enough to breed with. Your first transformation was to that form.”

I said, “I thought it was some sort of dinosaur.”

Effa said, “Maybe it was bred back or reverted, but from all evidence the egg’s mother was a chicken and its father was a rooster. When Fairy breeding is involved though, it is nearly impossible to tell which came first.”

Effa gestured for me to follow and lead me back into where they had surrounded Hubert with electronic equipment.

Caerwyn gestured for me to come over. “Phil, can you get us all something to eat?”

I went back up to the kitchen. Fairies and Goblins were arguing. The kitchen area was dismantled and the equipment pushed against the wall, blocking the doors to the time coolers. I made the illusions of how I wanted the few sections of the kitchen that mattered and left since I wasn’t going to be able to get food here.

I summoned Farren at Realmsedge, “This is King Snipsnort. Is this a good time to get some fish?”

#

The proprietor of the fish shop brought me through the summons. “Long live King Snipsnort!”

The other workers and patron knelt. “Long live King Snipsnort.”

I said, “Please rise.”

Farren asked, “And what would you like today?”

I said, “Anything would do, fish and chips would be great. I have a lady in Real that wants to have some fish from Snipsnort and friends at a manor by Leidingstad who are hungry. The kitchen is a mess there, and flying Fairies are moving things around in the manor making it a worse mess.”

A Fairy at a table put down his mug of beer. “We don’t need outside Fairies coming here and making a mess of things.”

The Fairy at the table with him said, “Sit down, Oatis, you’ll pass out before you march a tenth of the way to Leidingstad.”

Oatis sat down. “I’m just saying that outside Fairies cause trouble.”

Farren said, “Great King, take these orders now. The rest of the customers can wait. I’ll summon you when a large order is ready.”

I started to bow and remembered that I wasn’t supposed to. I smiled and had to change into several versions of me to manage all the platters of food.

#

Caerwyn grinned at me as I set down a plate of food for him, “You’re going to have to hand feed poor Hubert. He’s connected to many wires to move.”

Anthony said, “I’ll manage it. Phil, go back to the kitchen have them gift you so you can design the kitchen. Tell them the old plan has been canceled.”

I looked at Anthony and winced. “I have been told by two girls with similar names that I need to not kill anyone. I’m not a prophet, but I can tell that the kitchen might be a scene of violence if I go back there.”

One of the Goblin girls in the room touched the side of her neck. “We need a de-escalation team in the kitchen to make sure no one pisses off King Snipsnort.”

I walked to the kitchen to make sure I had time to think and try to be calm.

There was shouting ahead of me, “What, so someone just gifted that can’t even cook beans can come in and ruin the design?”

“What’s with kitchen designers. I thought the drama and dance Fairies were the worst to work with, but you don’t even entertain. Kitchen designers are the worst.”

“Not according to the last survey of Fairylands dedicated to specific occupations, Lawyer Fairylands are considere—”

“Shut up, King Snipsnort is coming, and we don’t want to stress him.”

“Why would I care if the King of some backward Fairyland that still used aqueducts for plumbing gets stressed?”

I stepped in. Illusions on illusions showed kitchen layouts and the illusions I had made were gone. I made a stainless steel counter and sink right where I wanted it without even making an illusion or gossamer model first. The illusions around the sink and counter faded out. The sink was crafted in an Art Deco style with wonderful lines and swirls of hair, ribbons, and cloth around figures of Goldilocks. My first thought was that it was going to be hard to clean, but the look was probably worth it.

My next thought was that my subconscious was getting a bit dirty minded, and that I might be about to suffer through a voice change. It was good art though, and all the naughty stuff was covered by swirls of hair, ribbon, and clothing.

I turned and said, “No, I am reasonably certain that still mortal, Goblin, borderline adolescent, artist Fairy kings suffering from Gossamer Art Derangement Syndrome are the worst to work with. My kitchen, my rules.”

One of the Goblin girls in the room nudged another. “Hold me, Greta. You know I can’t resist a strong man.”

Greta put her arms around the girl that had nudged her. “And he’s an artist. Dee, do you think he does nudes?”

Dee looked at the sink and said, “Oh, yes. He does nudes. Exquisite nudes. Do you want to pose for him?”

I asked, “Are you two the de-escalation team?”

Greta smiled and nodded.

I said “Good work deserves a reward.” I made a pair of stone sculptures on short platforms, life-size with them hugging and nude. I made sure the dirty bits were hidden, though. The rest I left to my subconscious.

Dee said, “Just got a call, we have to go. Goldilocks is arguing with Fairies at one of our art colonies. None of the other de-escalation teams are available.”

Greta asked, “The one where all the Fairies from Dutch masters went?”

Dee started examining one of the statues I had made. “They say she visited them, but now she is wanting to get her apprentice gifted, and she is picking and choosing the artists in the modern art enclaves, and a lot of them are taking offense.”

Greta rolled her eyes. “She has an apprentice? Oh, my, what sort of scoundrel did she choose? Has she even had an apprentice before?”

Dee walked over to the sink and crouched by it. “I think King Snipsnort has met Goldilocks.”

Greta faced me. “You know that you can’t trust her?”

I said, “I love her and no one else understands her the way I do.”

Dee said, “Please, please, Creator of the Universe, please let me be off duty when they call for a de-escalation team after this one goes sour.”

Greta said, “We should go. I’ll call and get someone to take out statues. Dee, you try and find out who Goldilocks has taken for an apprentice and how much trouble this might end up being.”

Greta and Dee disappeared.

A gateway opened and a lovely little female Fairy flew out. She looked around the kitchen and then looked at me. “Well, they can’t all be clean and cute. How much gifting before we reach thy limit?”

I shrugged. “Who art thou?”

She smiled. “I’m Lady Kissykiss the kissing Fairy. Everyone was talking about having thee gifted so trouble could be averted, so I decided to find you and solve the problem before anyone made a mess of things by acting brashly. From all the things they were talking about gifting, I’m gonna have to kiss you ‘til you’re cross-eyed and then when your head clears, kiss you more. Can we go somewhere safe and speed things up?”

I looked around the kitchen. Several Goblin girls and several Flying Fairies were staying back, but they seemed to recognize Lady Kissykiss. I was exhausted and worn down. I didn’t think I had time to deal with another flying Fairy.

Farren summoned me, “Farren the Younger of Realmsedge is calling King Snipsnort.”

I said, “Bring me through.”