Bobo, Part 1

The sequel to Faerie Sight

Bobo

by Judith Espedal

"Good night, Misty. Do try to sleep tonight", Meg Donahue said as she kissed her nine year old daughter who had just been tucked into her little bed with its pink bunny bedspread.

"Tomorrow 's a big day, Pumpkin", Larry Donahue said as he too kissed Misty.

"I'll try to sleep", the little girl promised.

But her blue eyes brimmed with excitement.

The Donahues closed the bedroom door and went out to the living room where they put on a CD of old-fashioned sweet jazz. Soon they were dancing to the rhythmic music, something they did a lot of these days.

Usually the sound of her parents' dancing music, so much sweeter than the sounds of fighting that had once filled their home, lulled Misty to sleep. But tomorrow she was going to a horse camp at Crystal Lake Wildlife Sanctuary and she was just too excited for sleep to come. She sat up in and stared at her window where a light breeze blowing through the screened window panes fluffed out flowered curtains. Suddenly a bright circle of light appeared in the middle of her room then started to grow bigger. Misty gasped! It had been over six months since a temporary Faerie portal had appeared in the middle of her room.

Out of the circle of light stepped an outlandish little creature. His large round yellow eyes, long tufted ears, and beaked nose gave him an owlish appearance, but his cat-like pupils, spiky brown fur, and fluffy tail looked more like that of a little monkey. His bare feet were big with three long toes and he had four-fingered hands. Both his toes and fingers had long sharp talons that looked able to do serious harm. He was small, not even reaching the nine year old's shoulders. His big eyes held a mischievous gleam.

"Bobo! What are you doing here?"

"Ma and Da said I could visit you for a week. The Brown Man of the Muirs sent me through his gate to your room", the Spriggan child replied with a gleeful leap that took him into the startled girl's arms.

She gave him a hug. He gave her golden curls a pull.

"Ouch! Stop that! I am glad to see you, Bobo, but - what if my parents see you? And tomorrow I'm going to a horse camp."

"Your parents won't see me cause I'm invisible. Just learned how to maintain an invisibility spell which is why Ma and Da let me come. And why can't I go to the horse camp too? I like horses. Once a passing Sidh Lord let me pet his Faerie steed. The Sidh Lord was scary but the horse was really neat."

"Well -- OK -- I guess."

Misty remembered how rough and tumble Spriggan kids played and wondered if Bobo would fit into a horse camp.

"Michael Smith will be at the camp and he drinks primrose and wild thyme tea just like I do. He'll be able to see you."

"Oh", Bobo said, a look of disappointment in his yellow eyes.

"Maybe we can talk Michael into letting you stay", Misty finally said. "But you better hope the elf naturalist Deirdre Danann doesn't come to the horse camp. She'd never let you stay."

"I don't want to get near the big Sidhe. They scare me", Bobo admitted.

"Sometimes they scare me too. If you don't get into trouble we - should - be OK. Let's sleep. Gotta get up early tomorrow."

She created a bed on the floor for Bobo with pillows she threw onto her braided throw rug. Then she crawled back into her own bed and was soon fast asleep, dreaming of Faerie horses and the Brown Man's magic boat.

Earlier that same day four Crystal Lake Wildlife Sanctuary interns made their way from the creaky old park jeep to the Nature center.

"Is it just me, or does it also seem to you guys that all we do is attend meetings?" Carole Jamison grumbled. “And it's Sunday! Hoo Young and I had plans.”

Her fiance, Hoo Young Park, nodded. He knew it was best not to argue with Carole when she was in a grumpy mood.

"You have to expect extra meetings before something as big as the horse camp", Michael Smith replied as they entered the Nature Center, walking past the peat moss-lined box turtle display, the aquarium, and three occupied snake cages.

"Holding meetings is all most environmental and agencies do", Eric Johanson, the newest member of the intern staff said in a soft drawl.

Eric had arrived the day before. Already Michael thought that he did not like the tall handsome blue-eyd kid. Since Eric had not yet received his uniform, he wore blue jeans, cowboy boots, and a tee shirt showing an orangutan lifting a hairy fist with the words "Animal Power" below it. On arrival Eric had boasted about his membership in the radical "Sons of Gaea" environmental group and tried to recruit the others. What's more he'd hardly unpacked before hitting on cute little Carole Jamison. When she had showed him her diamond ring and coldly informed him she was engaged to Hoo Young, the tall blond had backed off, but he had given the young Korean man a very hostile look.

'I think this new intern is a closet bigot. Don't go messing with Hoo Young', Michael had thought at the time.'He's a third degree Taekwondo black belt and brave enough to stand up to a nine foot tall Tokkaebi. He'd wipe the floor with you.'

But the new intern at least had remained polite and cordial, so Michael had said nothing to him.

They grabbed cups of hot coffee and entered the conference room, sitting on the last available uncomfortable chairs. Near the head of the table sat the balding Nature Center director, John Koehl, Head Ranger Chris Parker, and the manager of the riding stable, Gloria Kemp. Sitting along the table, sipping coffee, were the three other rangers, the lovely naturalist, Deirdre Danann, the education director, and Tyrone Jones, Gloria Kemp's assistant. Tyrone was a veterinarian student at Central City University.

"Now that our interns have finally shown up we can begin", Director Koehl said. "First let me introduce the newest member of our staff. This is Eric Johanson from Waco, Texas, our newest intern."

"Glad to meet you", Eric stood up and said with an infectious grin.

Michael could tell that most of the others were favorably impressed by the new kid's good looks and easy charm. But he noted the thoughtful look that passed over Deirdre's emerald eyes.

'Our resident elf isn't fooled by his superficial charm.'

"I will let Miss Kemp detail the schedule for the horse camp this coming week, but first let me specify who will and will not be working with the camp", Mr. Koehl said. "We have a full slate of Nature Center classes in addition to the horse camp. This is also our busiest season at the picnic groves, swimming beaches, the marina, and canoe rental place. Our campground will also be full. We can't spare everyone for the camp."

He gave Gloria Kemp a piercing look. She responded with a flare of anger in her bright blue eyes. They had just been arguing about this very point.

"I believe our mounted ranger, Tom Clancy, is the only ranger who will be directly involved with the horse camp. -- Is that right, Chris?"

Head Ranger Parker nodded. "Yes, I need the rest of my rangers for other duties."

"Michael, since you have a horse stabled here I'm assigning you to work full time with the camp. The other interns will be assigned to other activities. But you four will be responsible for supervising the camp kids at night since they will be staying with you at the dorm."

The four interns groaned as one.

"Forget about sleeping this week", Carole moaned.

"I hope I have enough staff to handle the camp", Gloria Kemp said with a worried frown.

"There is a sixteen year old girl I'd like to bring in as a volunteer worker at the camp", Deirdre said. "She's planning on becoming a herpetologist someday. Working at the park will be good experience for her."

"There's a lot of difference between a lizard and a horse", Tom Clancy said.

"She rides. Tanya Swift doesn't just like snakes and lizards", Deirdre replied.

"I remember Tanya. She used to ride at local shows when she was little. But I haven't seen her at one in a long time. I can use the extra help. Be sure her parents sign all the consent forms and bring her along", Gloria quickly replied before John Koehl could think of a reason to deny the request.

"Very well. I will now turn this meeting over to Gloria who will give you details of this week's horse camp program", Mr. Koehl said.

"Now, this is what we have planned for the week -------", Gloria began.

Coran Danann leaned back in the leather padded chair pulled up to a sturdy oak desk and put his hands behind his head. His long red-gold hair slipped through his fingers and around his pointed ears, flowing over the back of the chair in silky waves. A smile touched the corners of cat-like emerald eyes.

"Any more questions? If not we'll end this counseling session and retire to the kitchen for a snack", he said to the dark-eyed punk teenager who sat curled up in another chair in front of the desk.

Tanya Swift smiled at the word "snack". The Danann family's idea of a snack was more like a feast. She suspected they were trying to fatten her up, a ploy she would have resented from her parents but which she tolerated from her Sidhe protectors.

"I'm all out of questions for the moment. Let's eat."

Coran was encouraged by Tanya's enthusiasm. The counseling were the result of Tanya supposedly having run away from home, hiding out in the nearby nature park. In fact she'd been kidnapped by Lord Niall Mac Aedh and held in his castle in the Twilight Lands of Faerie.

Two and a half days of forced semi-starvation as a hostage in the hands of the unseelie lord had changed the once anorexic girl's attitude towards food. Over a month of counseling sessions followed by Faerie feasts had changed Tanya's appearance from that of a "starving war orphan" to a healthier more rounded slenderness. She still wore her hair in spikes, although she'd changed its color from shocking purple to a bright burnished gold in honor of the Danann Clan. She wore a ring in her nose. Several more climbed up her earlobes. Tattooed snakes crawled up her slender arms.

The Sidh man and the petite teenager made their way to the spacious kitchen where the rest of the Danann family, Lord Cormac, his daughter, Deirdre, Lady Nora, and the youngest son, Connla, were already seated at the oval breakfast table. On the table were bowls of fresh fruit, a garden salad garnished with walnuts, a sweet brown rice and red bean dish, and a fondue dish filled with spicy cheese and apple slices on bamboo sticks. As she sat down Tanya helped herself to one of the apple slices, dipping it in the hot cheese.

"How was your counseling session today?", Lord Cormac asked.

"Fine. Your son was trying to explain Faerie politics to me, like why your sons cannot inherit your position as head of the Danann Clan just because they have their mother's red-gold hair instead of your pale gold hair."

Lord Cormac laughed.

"I'm sure it seems silly to you, but hair color is part of one's clan designation. Even though Coran and Connla are part of the Danann family, their red-gold hair makes them members of my wife's clan, the Mac Brian de Frouds. Did my son mention that while my brother, Sir Colm, would become Lord of the Danann Clan should something happen to me, they are members of one of the two royal clans and could conceivably become King of Faerie someday?"

"No! He did not mention that fact."

"It's a very remote possibility", Coran said.

As Tanya helped herself to some grapes Deirdre spoke.

"I just returned from a meeting at the wildlife sanctuary, Tanya. They are OK with you helping out at the horse camp. Did you get your parents to sign the necessary permit forms?"

"Yeah. Lord Cormac has them. My parents are happy about my being a volunteer worker at the camp. They think it's a sign I'm improving."

"I hope it is a sign our counseling sessions are doing some good", Coran said.

Tanya nodded as she had just stuffed a large piece of the rice and bean dish into her mouth. She was looking forward to a week of volunteer work at the wildlife sanctuary's horse camp.

On a cloudy August Monday the registration for the Crystal Lake Wildlife Sanctuary's horse camp began promptly at 8:00 AM. It was supposed to end and at 10:00 AM. Deirdre joined Ranger Tom Clancy and Michael Smith at a table set up in the large common room of the interns' white frame dorm. Suitcases, sleeping bags, riding helmets, and boots were being dumped in heaps near the room's large fireplace. Parents were hugging and kissing children, or arguing with the registration workers over their offspring's level classification and room assignment. Lines formed at the table where the three workers tried to quickly process the paperwork.

Michael looked up and smiled when he saw the Donahues kissing little Misty good-by then he returned to the fidgeting boy whose paperwork he was processing. The boy's older sister was already in a cluster of other young horsewomen, laughing and giggling.

"I see that unlike your sister Janice you are a complete beginner, Jimmy", Michael said.

"He'll learn fast though", the boy's mother, Mrs. Applegate, said.

"Didn't even wanna come. Just have to cause Janice is", ten year old Jimmy Applegate complained.

"You'll have fun", his mother said. "Anyway your father and I are going on a second honeymoon so you have to stay here."

Michael repressed a sigh.

Why do some parents think a horse camp is a baby-sitting service? And Jimmy has proven himself a troublemaker during previous nature programs he's attended.

"Billy Andrews is coming to the camp too", Ranger Clancy whispered to Michael after the Applegates left the registration table. "If the two of them team up you know there'll be trouble."

"I believe you", Michael groaned.

Michael glanced at the Donahues who were leaving and did a double take. What was that thing hiding behind Misty Donahue? Large yellow eyes, furry body, beaked face -- a Spriggan child! An invisible Spriggan child if the lack of reaction from those around the pair was any indication.

"You can't stay in my room. It's a girls' room."

Misty was arguing with her little Spriggan friend.

"You have to stay in a boys' room."

"I don't know the boys. They can't see me. I'll have no one to talk to."

"Misty is talking to herself! Who you talkin' to?", Jimmy Applegate taunted.

"Misty is crazy. Misty is crazy", the freckled red-head Billy Andrews called.

He and Jimmy had already teamed up.

Bobo headed towards the two boys, his clawed hands balled into fists. Misty caught his arm.

"No!", she cried loudly.

The 'no' was meant for Bobo but the two boys thought she was yelling at them. They ran off, giggling and calling back taunts.

'We've got a problem here', Deirdre said telepathically to Michael. 'Let's get Misty and her little friend into the kitchen and sort this out.'

"Can you hold down the fort a few minutes, Tom?", Michael asked the busy ranger. "Deirdre and I have a little problem we need to discuss with Misty Donahue before it becomes a big problem."

"I'd think it's the two boys you'd be wanting to talk to, not Misty", the ranger said with a shrug.

But he agreed to handle registration solo while they dealt with Misty. He'd learned not to ask too many questions where the Danann family was concerned.

"Oh-oh. We're in trouble", Bobo said as he saw the elf approaching them.

'You two -- into the kitchen, pronto!', Deirdre said telepathically to the two children.

Misty and Bobo scooted into the kitchen. Michael and Deirdre followed, closing the door behind themselves.

"Misty Donahue, why did you bring a Spriggan child to this camp?"

Deirdre's green eyes glowing dangerously.

"Bobo came to visit -- and I was coming to camp, so --- he came too. He can't go home. His parents aren't expecting him till Saturday", Misty pleaded.

Deirdre sighed.

"Typical Spriggan irresponsibility. We would have to send an escort with him. A Spriggan child can't travel from the Brown Man's gate to Spriggan Town alone."

"I won't cause any mischief", Bobo promised. "And I like horses."

"Most Spriggan children don't like horses. Can you ride?", Deirdre asked.

"No, but a Sidh Lord let me pet his horse one day. And he taught me how to talk to horses", Bobo eagerly replied.

"That's odd. Useful but odd. Who was this Sidh Lord?"

"I don't know, Lady Elf. His hair was silver and blue and the horse was silver too."

"One of the woodland elves, a member of the Oakleaf Clan", Deirdre said. "OK -- You can stay under these conditions, Bobo. You MUST remain invisible. Don't let anyone who can't see past Faerie spells see or hear you. If you get into trouble someone from my family will escort you home and they won't be happy about doing it. Also, Misty will be sent home from the camp. -- Understood?"

"Understood", the two children said in unison.

"So how is this invisible kid going to ride?", Michael asked Deirdre.

"Let me think. I know. Bobo, at the stable you will see a chestnut mare with a two year old foal who still follows her. The mare is Spice Girl and the colt is called Tagalong. Talk to them and see if you can get Spice Girl to choose Misty as her rider. I think Miss Kemp will allow Misty to ride Spice Girl if Spice Girl shows a preference for Misty. Then you can ride Tagalong and no one will be the wiser. Oh -- and Misty. You would have been assigned to the intermediate class, but since Bobo is a beginner, you'll have to stay in the beginners' class to look out for him."

"Aw �" nuts."

"That's the price you pay for bringing him", Michael said. "Bobo, you can sleep with me in my room. That way I can keep an eye on you at night and you'll have someone to talk to."

"That solves the 'where do you sleep' problem", Misty said to Bobo.

She was happy he was being allowed to stay at the camp even if there were a lot of rules and restrictions.

Registration finally ended �" long after 10 AM. Doting parents left. Room assignments were confirmed and the campers' personal gear was hauled up to their assigned rooms. Tom Clancy began the camp with an orientation session for the eight boys and sixteen girls attending this year, then all piled into a bus and were driven to the stable where they would be assigned their horses.

"These horses will be your responsibility for the week", Gloria Kemp told the students assembled outside the corral . "That means you will put your horse's needs before your own. You will get up at daybreak to catch your horse, bring it to the stable, feed and water it. Only then will you be allowed to eat your own breakfast."

Jimmy Applegate and Billy Andrews groaned but some of the more experienced junior horsemen and horsewomen looked enthusiastic at the prospect.

"You will learn to groom, tack, and care for your horses. And everyone will help clean the stable", Gloria continued.

Jimmy and Billy groaned again.

"OK, now we will assign everyone their horses", Gloria said.

Everyone clapped and cheered.

"I will call the names of the beginning students first. By the way we will be testing your riding skills to make sure you are in the right class. My assistant, Tyrone Jones, will be teaching the beginning class. Michael Smith and Tanya Swift will also be helping with the beginners."

The three instructors stood up and waved at the children.

"OK -- Jimmy Applegate -- Billy Andrews ------"

Misty, Bobo, and the other beginning class campers approached the horse corral, one of three outdoor exercise areas.

"There's the mare with the big colt following her. See if you can call her", Misty whispered to Bobo.

Bobo fixed his owl-like eyes on the horse, squinting in the bright August sunshine, and whispered in a strange language so softly it sounded like the wind to the other children. But the two horses heard. Spice Girl and her foal trotted over to Misty and Bobo. The chestnut mare nudged Misty then put her head on the girl's shoulder and whinnied.

"This one seems to like me, Mr. Jones", Misty said. "Can I ride her?"

Tyrone frowned.

"We were planning to assign Spice Girl to one of the more advanced students because Tagalong still insists on following her. Still -- She does seem to like you -- Misty is it? OK. You can ride her but you will also be responsible for taking care of the colt."

"I don't mind", Misty said as she ran her fingers over the mare's head.

Bobo was beside the colt talking to it in a soft Faerie tongue which Misty was sure was not the language of the Spriggans. It sounded more like the tongue of the Daoine Sidhe.

'I wonder if the little girl's invisible friend will assume some responsibility for the colt's care?', Tanya Swift thought.

Tanya had almost blurted something out when she saw the bizarre looking Faerie kid who accompanied the girl with the blonde curls.

'Deirdre has to know about him. She helped out with registration', Tanya reminded herself.

She decided to keep silent and see what happened.

This Misty must also have Faerie sight. She seems to be handling it better than I did.

"We have three ponies and three eight year olds", Tyrone told the waiting campers. "We are assigning Bad Boy to Bettina, who is in the intermediate class, because he's a bit of a handful. So that leaves Little boy and Buck for Tina and Susie."

"Aw! I wanted to ride a big horse", Tina complained.

"We don't have enough big horses. You can have Buck. The buckskin pony is 14 hands high and almost big enough to be a horse", Tyrone told her.

"OK -- I guess."

"That leaves the hackney pony, Little Boy, for you, Susie. He's a high stepper, trained to be a three gaited show pony. I think you'll like him."

"Oh, he is pretty", Susie said as the nut brown college student brought over the fancy looking brown pony. "I won't mind riding him."

Once horses had been assigned to the beginners, the instructors led the children with their horses to an adjacent corral so the next class could be matched to their horses. They began their class with a lesson on how to bridle a horse, insert the rein bit properly in the animal's sensitive mouth, and saddle it.

"Make sure the saddle is cinched tightly and that your horse had not inflated its sides to prevent proper cinching of the saddle. We are going to see some spectacular -- and potentially dangerous -- falls if you do not get these saddles on correctly", Tyrone told the beginners.

While Tyrone demonstrated proper tacking techniques, Jimmy nudged Billy.

"Did you see the spiky-haired girl's arms? She has snakes tattooed on her arms."

"Yeah, I saw. It's neat", Billy replied.

"Jimmy -- Billy. Please pay attention", Tyrone called out. "I expect you two will be the first ones to take a spill. OK-- Everyone has their helmets on? --- Put it on, Jimmy. You cannot ride without a helmet. We will now all put the saddles on our horses and mount up. Tanya, Michael, and I will assist you if you need any help."

It took awhile for the beginners to get the hang of putting on the saddles properly. The instructors and volunteer helped those who were struggling then inspected each horse's saddle to make sure it was secure. The saddles on the mounts of both Jimmy and Billy had to be redone. Tyrone then borrowed Jimmy's brown gelding, Easy Rider, and demonstrated proper mounting techniques, how to hold the reins, and how to properly sit in the Eastern style saddles. Eventually everyone was mounted and ready for their first riding lesson.

"We will just walk the horses about the corral today", Tyrone told the class. "Concentrate on holding the reins properly, giving correct hand signals, and proper riding posture."

Tanya saw the little Faerie child leap on the back of the two year old colt. The colt wore only a bridle and the bizarre child squatted on its back, grasping with its three-toed feet like a monkey, its sharp talons retracting like those of a cat. It held onto the colt's mane and whispered something to the colt. Tagalong responded, getting into line behind his mother to walk sedately in a circle around the corral.

'A little Faerie horse-talker.'

Tanya saw Misty give the intermediate class an envious look as their horses were urged into a lively trot. The advanced students under Gloria Kemp were also trotting their mounts. Tyrone, Tanya noticed, was trying to keep all of the class in his sight, paying no special attention to the blue-eyed girl and the colt that followed her mare. But Tanya saw the intern Michael glancing at the supposedly riderless colt.

Does he have Faerie sight too? I wonder how many of us there are. And I thought I was the only one.

"The little blonde girl, Misty, rides too well for this class", Tanya finally said to Tyrone.

"I know", the young Afro-American said with a frown. "But Deirdre insisted she be placed in this class and Deirdre Danann usually gets what she wants."

So Deirdre does know about the Faerie kid. Misty is in this class because her friend is a beginner -- but a beginner who's a horse talker. This is going to be a very interesting horse camp

After the lesson tack had to be removed and the horses had to be groomed and fed. Then the children were bussed back to the dorm for a lunch of hot dogs, potato salad, carrot sticks, and fresh fruit. After a brief free time period, during which most of the children napped, the campers were returned to the stable for their first trail ride.

There was another flurry of putting on tack then mounting up. The instructors came out into the corral riding their own mounts. Ranger Clancy rode a big bay called Lucky Boy. Gloria Kemp came out on a champion five-gaited American saddlehorse named High Stepper. Tanya had been given a little white mare called Snowflake to ride. Tyrone was mounted on a bay called Morgana, whose four month old filly, Little Lady, followed close behind her.

"Aw." "Look at the pretty little filly." "Isn't she sweet?"

A chorus of admiring remarks came from the girl campers.

Michael came out riding bareback on a blue roan with feathered feet. The stable's mixed collie-German shepherd trotted at her heels. The mare moved like a shadow; her mane and tail like silver flames. Her bridle and reins were golden; her shoes were forged of silver.

"Wow!" "Beautiful!" "Why doesn't he use a saddle?"

"A Faerie horse!", Bobo whispered to Misty.

Tanya stared open-mouthed at the blue roan mare. She recalled the milk white horses with their golden bridles and silver shoes at the Mac Aedh castle. She remembered the Sidhe had always ridden bareback.

Curiouser and curiouser.

Gloria led the campers and instructors onto a broad bridle path that passed into a dense woods. As the woods closed around them Tanya pulled her white mare next to the beautiful Faerie horse.

"Shouldn't you be using a proper saddle like everyone else?"

"Blue Shadow won't wear a saddle. --- and she won't let anyone but me ride her", Michael said with a shrug.

Tanya pulled Snowflake yet closer to the Faerie mare so she could speak to the intern in a whisper.

"Someday, Michael, you must tell me how you acquired a horse from Faerie --- and how it is that you too can see Misty Donahue's invisible friend."

She now had the intern from Detroit's complete attention. She held the reins in her left hand and held out the right one to show him the elf-silver ring she wore. She was not surprised when he recognized the unicorn and gryphon seal on the ring.

"You wear the Danann crest!"

"Lord Cormac is my protector -- kind of a 'Faerie Godfather', but don't tell him I said that", Tanya whispered.

A look of amusement crossed her face when Michael's mouth fell open. Then she moved her mare away from the intern's side and went back to keeping an eye on the youthful riders.

The bridle path led to the south end of Crystal Lake where the oaks and maples gave way to sycamores, willows, and birch. They passed the rookery where a graceful trumpeter swan mother led seven fluffy brown cygnets in a leisurely swim.

"Oh, look at the cute baby swans', Tina called out.

"They are cute -- not at all like ugly ducklings", Misty said.

"Who said they were ugly ducklings, Crazy Misty?", Jimmy taunted.

"Don't you ever read fairy tales?", Misty asked him.

"Naw. Fairy tales are for girls and sissies."

Misty looked at Bobo, knowing that if Jimmy and Billy could see him they would flee screaming for the hills. Yet there were things a lot scarier than Bobo in Faerie. She started laughing so hard she almost forgot to control Spice Girl and the mare broke into a trot.

"That's what you think, smarty pants", Misty said to Jimmy once she had the chestnut mare back under control.

"Weird", Jimmy and Billy both said together.

A little later Bobo rode Tagalong up beside the colt's mother.

"Faerie's not the only place that's dangerous", Bobo whispered. "There's something from Faerie in these woods and I think it's something scary."

"I wonder if the elves know", Misty whispered back.

When they brought the horses back to the stable to groom them and turn them loose in the pasture, Tanya watched the little Faerie boy. He perched on a bale of hay while Misty did her work and his. After the horses had been turned out the children had to clean up the stable. The stable dog, Shep, ran from one child to another, begging for petting and distracting them from their dirty jobs. But Bobo simply wandered out into the pasture with the horses.

'I better get Bobo. We'll be going back to the dorm soon', Misty thought once she'd completed her chores.

She took after him. Tanya watched her go.

"Let me fetch the two wanderers", Tanya whispered to Michael. "I want to have a talk with the little furry boy."

"Good luck. Spriggans are not known for their obedience", Michael whispered back.

Tanya found the two children petting Blue Shadow who stood docilely while they did so.

"You two need to get back to the stable; we'll be leaving soon. But first I want a word with you, little man."

She looked directly into Bobo's startled yellow eyes as she spoke. Misty gasped.

"Do you drink primrose and wild thyme tea too?", Misty asked.

"Primrose and wild thyme tea? Never have had any. Why?"

"So you can see Faerie folk like Bobo. Michael and I drink it every day."

"I don't need to drink your magic tea to see Bobo. I was born seeing Fairies", Tanya replied. "So -- Bobo is it?"

Bobo nodded.

"Bobo, let us talk about responsibility and fairness. You are here at camp -- without paying for it I'm sure. You are riding Tagalong. But Misty is doing all your work. Just because you're invisible doesn't mean you get out of all the work."

"But if he grooms Tagalong or shovels horse poop the others will see it", Misty protested.

"You two find a way so he can do his share of the work without being noticed. I think he should do his fair share", Tanya insisted.

"I'll try", Bobo promised.

Then he looked up at Blue Shadow and patted her arched neck.

"This is the second Faerie horse I've been able to pet. They are so beautiful", Bobo said.

"Only Michael can ride her", Misty told her goblin friend.

"A Faerie horse will let a kid ride if there's true reason -- like the kid was in danger or something", Bobo said.

"I didn't know that", Misty replied.

The two children left the blue roan and followed Tanya back to the stable parking lot and the waiting bus.

After everyone had showered the stable muck off, dinner was served at a long pinewood table in the dorm. The other three interns joined Michael, Tanya, and Tom Clancy in supervising the lively children. The girls and older boys were discussing the day's lessons and other riding experiences. Some of the younger boys required closer attention from the adults.

"I'm never going to have children", Eric Johanson said after he'd stopped a food fight between Jimmy, Billy, and two other boys.

"Hoo Young and I are planning to have a lot of children -- aren't we?", Carole said, glancing at her fiancé.

"I may have to rethink that after this camp", Hoo Young replied.

After dinner everyone moved to the other side of the room where couches, chairs, and wooden coffee tables clustered about a roaring fire in the big fireplace.

"Now we are going to tell scary stories. I will start with a ghost story my grandmother told me", Tom Clancy announced.

Twenty-four children groaned.

'I could tell them a real scary story about being kidnapped by a mean elf and held hostage in his castle', Tanya thought.

But of course she did not.

'I could tell a spooky tale about fighting fierce Bogles, being led astray by Will-o-the-wisps, and being almost crushed by a mad willow', Michael thought.

But he also had to keep quiet.

Misty might have told a scary tale of being almost drowned by Jenny Greenteeth but she was too annoyed by the teasing of Jimmy and Billy to even care about scary stories.

While Ranger Clancy spoke, Carole and Hoo Young brought out pitchers of juice and homemade cookies. Several children immediately helped themselves to the snacks. Bobo snatched a cookie when no one was looking and stuffed it into his mouth. He had been forced to hide under the table and eat what Misty passed him during dinner and he was still hungry. Then he wandered over to the couch where Michael was sitting and crawled into his lap where he curled up like some kind of lap dog. Michael was startled by the little goblin boy's actions.

"He's missing his Daddy", Tanya whispered in his ear.

The intern naturalist nodded.

Misty helped herself to some orange juice and cookies. Billy and Jimmy followed her, grabbing their own cups of juice. As they passed near her Jimmy gave an exaggerated fake trip, deliberately spilling his juice all over Misty's clothes.

"Oops. Sorry, Misty", he said, giggling. "I must have tripped over your invisible friend."

Both boys practically fell all over themselves they laughed so hard. Misty stood there, soaked with juice, her face red with embarrassment and anger.

Bobo jumped off of Michael's lap, ready to run over and defend his friend, but Michael grabbed the Spriggan's shoulder, stopping him. Nearby Hoo Young's eyebrows rose as he noticed Michael's gesture in what looked like empty air.

"Jimmy! Billy!", Michael called. "Another stunt like that one and you two will be going home."

"You can't send me home. My parents are in the Bahamas", Jimmy replied with a smirk.

"We can kick you out of the horse camp -- assign someone to baby-sit you. Maybe we could make you work with the maintenance crew, picking up trash and cleaning park latrines."

Everyone but Jimmy and Billy laughed. Michael was pretty sure the maintenance crew would not want to be saddled with an ornery boy all week but Jimmy and Billy couldn't know that. The two boys quieted down. Tanya and Carole went to Misty's rescue.

"Come on", Carole said. "I'll take you up to your room so you can change clothes."

Misty nodded, still too angry to speak. After she and Carole left the other children quieted down. Tom Clancy got up to speak to them.

"What just happened will NOT be tolerated at this camp. We do not play malicious tricks on each other here. We are here to learn about horses and have fun, not to make fun of others. Is that understood!"

"Understood", the campers replied in unison.

After the fireplace storytelling the campers had free time until lights out. Most just went to bed. It had been a hectic first day; they were tired.

Tom Clancy and Tanya left for the night, Tanya getting a lift in Deirdre's bright red 2000 Mustang. The supervision of the twenty-four horse camp participants, plus one invisible child, was left to the four interns who lived in the dorm.

Misty shared her room with Tina, Susie, and Jimmy Applegate's big sister, Janice. As the oldest Janice got to sleep on the room's one bed while the others slept on the floor in sleeping bags.

"So why do you talk to yourself, Misty? You do, you know", Tina asked as she unbraided her dark hair and brushed it out.

Misty shrugged. She could not tell her roommates that her invisible friend was real and a goblin child from Faerie.

"I don't know. Just a habit”

Misty had once been a very honest child but knowing the denizens of Faerie seemed to force her to lie a lot.

"Everyone has some kind of bad habit"

Janice offered her twelve year old wisdom to the younger girls.

"My brother's bad habit is that he's a brat. You should just punch him, Misty, when he bothers you. Works for me at home."

"Then they'd send me home", Misty replied.

She hoped Bobo didn't punch Jimmy and Billy and get them both in trouble.

Michael's room was cluttered with textbooks, music sheets, acoustic and electric guitars, and other musical gear. Bobo curled up in the one comfortable reading chair.

"So, how was your first day of horse camp?", Michael asked the inhuman child.

"OK.-- I love riding Tagalong. It's fun riding a horse."

"That Sidh Lord must have known what he was doing when he taught you to talk to horses", Michael said with a smile.

He was beginning to see why Misty liked the Spriggan boy.

"But ---the bright light hurts my eyes. Then it gets so dark it's almost scary."

Of course. Bobo had lived all his life in a world where it is always twilight. Both Noon and Midnight would be strange to him.

"And if those two bad boys don't stop picking on Misty -- I'm going to -- I'm going to---"

"You are going to do nothing, Bobo, or you will be in big trouble. You must not let them know you exist. Let the grown ups deal with the 'Terrible Twosome', understand?"

"Yes, Michael. But Billy and Jimmy are as mean as Spriggan kids, and I can beat up Spriggan kids to make them behave better."

"Towards Misty you mean?", Michael said with another smile.

He knew Bobo had beaten up some Spriggan kids who teased Misty when she stayed at his village in Faerie. It was obvious the owl-eyed boy had a big crush on the human child. Michael took a blanket and tucked it around the child.

"Try to get some sleep, Bobo. Tomorrow will be another big day."

The sky was still flush with the orange and pink glow of sunrise when the twenty-four campers plus one invisible goblin boy were herded onto the bus and driven to the stable. Misty sat next to Tina, who had managed to get up early enough to neatly braid her hair before they got onto the bus. Bobo sat on Misty's lap because there was no empty seats near her. Michael was busy riding herd on the "Terrible Twosome."

"This is better -- pretty like home", Bobo, who was appreciating the twilight glow of dawn, whispered to the blonde girl.

"What did you say, Misty?", asked Tina who had heard the Spriggan's squeaky voice.

"I said the sunrise is really pretty", Misty said.

"Oh, yeah. It sure is", Tina agreed.

Misty put her hand on Bobo's mouth to warn him to keep quiet. He stopped talking but kept bouncing enthusiastically on his friend's lap which wasn't very comfortable for Misty. She was glad when the bus pulled into the stable's parking lot and Bobo jumped off of her lap.

They were given ropes and sent out into the pasture to catch their mounts. Shep came with them, loping enthusiastically, first by this child then by another, collecting lots of pets and attention as he did so.

Some horses, like Spice Girl and Tagalong, came right up to their riders. Others, like Bad Boy and Wild Thing, seemed to delight in leading their riders on a merry chase. The dog Shep and Michael's blue roan now proved their usefulness. Working in tandem the shepherd dog and the mare rounded up the flighty horses and drove them towards their frustrated riders.

"Oh, thank you Shep", Bettina said as she finally got her rope over the Welsh pony's neck.

"Good show, Blue Shadow", an experienced rider who had been given Wild Thing to ride, said as he slipped his looped rope over the gray gelding's neck.

Eventually all the horses and ponies were in the stable munching oats and hay or drinking water from buckets. The students then had to get back on the bus and ride back to the dorm for a pancake breakfast of pancakes, with coffee or tea for the adults. Misty also got some tea, slipping her special herbal bag into the cup in place of the black tea bag.

Once they were bussed back to the stable they had to groom their horses, brushing sleek coats, currying manes and tails, and digging small stones out of their frogs.

Spice Girl and Tagalong were in the same stall so Misty positioned the mare towards the front so she blocked others' view of the invisible hands that groomed the colt. Tanya walked by the stall, noted the clever arrangement, and nodded her approval. Her gesture did not go unnoticed by the observant Tyrone. He unobtrusively shifted his position as he groomed his own bay mare so he could see through the slatted gate into Spice Girl and Tagalong's stall.

A colt being brushed by invisible hands! Most curious. And I do believe our snake-tattooed girl knows what is going on.'

Once the horses had been groomed, bridled, and saddled, the three classes were separated into the three adjacent outdoor corrals. Tyrone, Michael and Tanya taught the beginning class the proper seat in the saddle at different gates, reviewed how to hold the reins, and how to move smoothly from a walk to a trot to a canter. Tom Clancy put the intermediate class through their paces in the ring then, during the second hour of the class, got out low hurdles to work with them on jumping. Gloria Kemp worked on advance jumping techniques with the experienced riders.

Misty glanced with envy at the intermediate riders, wishing she was practicing jumping with them.

I like Bobo but couldn't he have come to visit after the horse camp was over?

Bobo was having a ball on his chestnut colt. His riding stance was bizarre but the colt responded like a seasoned horse to his whispered Faerie-tongue commands. There was no doubt Bobo had the makings of a future Faerie equestrian, but how would a lowly Spriggan child ever find a horse to ride in Faerie?

After the lesson the horses again had to be groomed, fed, and given water. Tyrone again noticed the magic comb and brush grooming the two year old colt with no one holding them. He said nothing.

They all went to the beach for a late morning swim in the lake's clear waters, watched over by the park's three summertime lifeguards. Bobo was an excellent swimmer who couldn't resist splashing Misty, Tanya, and Michael, then diving under water to grab their feet.

"Let's get him", Tanya said to Misty

They dove in after him, caught him underwater and tickled his till he rose sputtering and laughing to the surface.

"Cut that out", Bobo cried out in a squeaky voice.

A couple of other nearby campers glanced at the two girls but assumed it was one of them that had cried out.

Because the public beach was crowded with teenagers and vacationing families it was hard for Michael, Tanya, and Tom Clancy to keep track of the active children. No one noticed when the "Terrible Twosome" wandered away from the beach and into the nearby woods. The two boys had decided to hike over to the rookery and look at the baby swans. Before they reached the rookery a noise in the woods caught their attention.

"I bet it's a deer", Billy said.

"Maybe it's a bear", Jimmy said with a nervous giggle as they left the path and scrambled into some overgrown honeysuckle.

"Don't be silly. There are no bears in this park", Billy said.

He knew the largest predators in the park were a small pack of coyotes that hung out in the Upland Woods.

They heard a rustling in some nearby brush.

"What was that?", Jimmy asked.