From some unseen location, Vi, like a street magician, produced a key. The key looked as though of crystal with a bronze-rimmed hole in its bow, and it glowed, covering the side of the bell in a pale, rainbow ripple. Vi pulled back his arm and then swung. The key struck the bell, and the clearest sound Eibhlin had ever heard sang through the air. Clear, sharp, like pure glass, but hard as diamond, unbreakable, immortal. Eibhlin’s legs gave out.

As soon as the sound stopped, Vi looked back down, waving the key in the air. “Pretty bell! Small bell. Vi cannot ring big bell. Too heavy, but Vi can ring small bell. Pretty bell.”

Vi struck the bell again, and Eibhlin shivered as the sound passed through her again. The creature laughed. Eibhlin tried to speak, but her voice would not come out, as if banished by the sound of the key upon the bell. She couldn’t move, couldn’t speak. Fear resurfaced. What if, on a third ring, she wouldn’t even be able to breathe? She did not even have the energy to be startled when Melaioni’s voice rose above Vi’s exclamations.

“That key, Son of Star’s Shadows, my lady seeks that key,” it said. “It is our purpose in coming to this tower.”

Vi stopped and stared. “Sunstrands did not come to ring bells?”

“N-no.” Eibhlin managed, though she sounded a few pitches higher than she had intended. “No. I- we didn’t come here to ring the bells. We came looking for any hint to find Mealla’s key.”

“Mealla?”

“The Lady of Gates and Roads,” answered Mel.

At the description, Vi’s speck-like eyes enlarged. “Lady of Doors?”

“Yes.”

“Sun’s Faithful?”

“Among many other titles.”

“Lady of Keys who gave Vi this key?” the creature asked, holding out the key in question.

“Yes. That key,” Eibhlin said. “Please, Vi, give it to me! I really need it.”

Vi swung himself up and scurried back over to and down the bell rope until he was only a few feet from Eibhlin. At that closeness, he seemed even less defined than from a distance. He held up the key. “Sunstrands wants Vi’s key?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“Vi cannot ring small bell without key.”

“Ah. W-well…”

“Vi cannot ring big bell. Too heavy. But with key, Vi can ring small bell. Pretty bell. But if Sunstrands has key, Vi cannot ring small bell, either.”

A chill crept into Eibhlin’s heart. She remembered climbing the stairs and its fear and the terror of facing the dark elf. This new feeling was somewhere between, though she wasn’t sure to which it was closer. She spoke slowly, “Vi, I need that key.”

“Even if Vi cannot ring small bell?”

Eibhlin nodded. A moment later, she wished she had not. Vi’s eyes grew till the glowing orbs filled most of his smoky form, and his mouth stretched across his face, thin as the first sliver of moonlight after a new moon. Starting from her chest and spreading to the rest of her body, Eibhlin froze, as if her heart were pumping ice.

Vi spoke. “If Sunstrands wants Vi’s key, then bring Vi something else. Bring something else to ring small bell. If Sunstrands brings something good, then Vi will trade.”

“And if I don’t?”

“Then Vi will eat your thieving heart.”

Eibhlin’s voice withered to a squeak.

Melaioni yelled, “Eibhlin, wait! Don’t spea—”

“She has already spoken, Child of the Knowledge Speaker. Now, Sun’s Daughter, Vi will wait three days. Bring Vi new ringer of bell, and Vi will trade Vi’s key. Come tomorrow or tomorrow’s tomorrow or to-morrow’s tomorrow’s tomorrow and ring bell. Vi will answer and see what you have brought.”

With that, the creature dashed back up the rope and was lost amongst the shadows. When the creature did not appear again for several minutes, Eibhlin stumbled to her feet, picked up Mel, and hugged the instrument close as she began down the stairs. Halfway down, it vibrated against her fingers as it said, “Be careful of the steps, Milady. There is very little light.”

In almost a whisper, Eibhlin asked, “Are you talking normally to me again?”

“Would you rather I keep silent?”

“No. Thank you.” She went down several more steps before she spoke again, grabbing the first topic that came to her thawing thoughts. “You called Mealla ‘Lady of Gates and Roads’ and ‘Sun’s Faithful’ and stuff like that. What did you mean?”

“Mealla, or rather the fairy you call Mealla, is one of the eldest in both the Mortal and Fae Realms. Some believe she might even be one of the few remaining who were born at the Dawn of Time, though there is no way to know for sure. As for her titles, powerful immortals tend to get those. If you ever wish to hear the related stories, just ask. I cannot play myself, but I can at least tell the stories,” replied Mel.

Eibhlin’s voice trembled. “I made a deal with a pretty powerful fairy, didn’t I?”

“Yes.”

Gripping the instrument tighter, she asked, “And what about Vi? What kind of creature or power is he?”

“I am not sure,” came the answer. “The full nature of the Fae and its creatures are still unknown to me. Honestly, Milady, the Fae itself is beyond me. But in this case, it does not really matter how powerful or of what race he is, does it? Either you satisfy him, or you die.”