“So what do we do now?” Brin asked, staring at the smartly dressed faerie they’d locked in Lennie’s rusty old bird cage.
The honey they’d used to lure the faerie into the trap was all over the creature, sticking its wings down.
“Shake it,” Lennie said excitedly, reaching for the cage. “Faerie dust doesn’t just come off by itself.”
Brin pulled the cage aside. “It’s all sticky. We need to clean it up first.”
The faerie crossed his arms and glared at the pair until Brin got the hose and sprayed him.
High-pitched squeals answered the drubbing. Afterward, the faerie picked itself up, still glaring, but now both sodden and sticky. It shook itself, one wing eventually coming unstuck, and then the other.
“We’re going to have to wait for it to dry out now,” Lennie said, completely unimpressed. “And it’s still a bit sticky. Maybe you should hose it again?”
The faerie began looking worried.
“And risk washing all the faerie-dust away?”
“It’ll make more. Go on, hose it. It’s your fault there was too much honey in there anyway.”
“Maybe we could give it a bath?”
The faerie looked really worried now. He reached into a pocket and pulled out a phone. After giving it a shake to make sure it wasn’t water-logged, he dialled a number.
Brin and Lennie stared at each other in surprise.
“Hey, Tink?” The faerie said. “Peter about? There’s a couple of snotty-nosed brats that need some time aboard Captain Hook’s ship. Great! See you soon.”
Lennie swallowed.
“Maybe we should let him go now,” Brin said, opening the cage door.
Faerie Blues first appeared on Antipodean SF, and is now archived at the National Library of Australia. There’s also an audio version of Faerie Blues you’re welcome to download and listen to.