“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Harold squeaked. “Let’s not jump right to ‘They must die!’ I mean, that’s a little over the top, isn’t it?”
Brendan couldn’t believe his ears. “Are you kidding me? Die? Isn’t that a bit extreme? And why are they bound? Untie them right now.”
“Our Laws are strict,” Ariel interjected. “The People of Metal are not permitted to attend our Gatherings.”
“Well, your little Gathering will end on a down note. Killing people’s a thing you just don’t do at parties.”
“This is not a joke, Brendan,” Pukh said. “These people must be dealt with according to our rules. They must be executed.”
“That’s barbaric! Can’t we just Compel them to forget?” Brendan suggested. “I did it before.”
“Is that what happened?” Harold demanded. “You made us forget that day? I knew it!”
Lugh lashed out with the toe of his boot, catching Harold in the ribs and knocking him to the floor. Brendan stepped between Lugh and the prisoners. He glared steadily into the pale, dead eyes of the tall Faerie and said with as much steadiness as he could muster, “You kick him again, I’ll snap your foot off and feed it to you, you creep.”
Lugh’s eyes widened slightly, then a slow smile spread across his pale, cadaverous face. “I await your pleasure, young Princeling.”
Kim stepped up, reaching for her stick. “We’ll give you a two-for-one deal.”
BLT fluttered down to Brendan’s shoulder, her fists cocked. “With a little extra.”
Ariel was about to shout for order, but Pukh refused to yield the spotlight.
“Such solidarity! Touching.” Pukh raised a hand and Lugh, with great effort, forced himself to step back. The Lord of Tir na nOg stepped into the centre of the room. Every eye followed him. “Fair Folk,” he said, addressing the Faeries crowding in around the prisoners. “This is an important moment. Our sacred Laws have been breached. These intruders show us that Humans have no respect for the Pact. Indeed, they have forgotten all about the bargain they made in the distant past. They keep the Pact only by accident, out of ignorance of our existence. The truth is, only we keep the Pact. We live on the fringes of the Earth, in the cracks, and try desperately to avoid the heavy, clumsy tread of the People of Metal. They take more and more, squeezing the life out of the Earth, choking her without remorse. We have imprisoned ourselves within the Pact.” There were murmurs of agreement from some of the gathered Faeries. Brendan looked to Merddyn and saw that the old man was merely watching Pukh, silently gauging the crowd’s reaction to his words.
Pukh waved a graceful hand at the four Humans huddled together on the floor. “These Humans must be punished. We must send a message. We have to begin clawing back what is ours.” The murmurs became more pronounced.
“They didn’t know what they were doing,” Brendan cried.
“Ignorance is nothing to be proud of,” Pukh scoffed. “But of course, you would take their side. You have a weakness for these creatures. You were raised by them, after all.”
“What a total wad,” Harold breathed.
“They aren’t creatures,” Brendan grated. “They are my friends and family.”
“I’ve read stories of children raised by apes and wolves.” Pukh laughed. “Very amusing. I suppose your case is similar.”
Brendan was furious. “If you dare to call my parents animals one more time I’ll make you sorry.”
“Will you, little man?” Pukh’s dark eyes were deadly calm. “Will you?”
Looking into that Ancient face, Brendan saw the dark, capricious, and cruel spirit that inhabited the space behind Pukh’s eyes. He saw the bitterness and the hatred that coiled there behind a facade of sardonic humour and elegance. He saw the power waiting to be unfurled, and his heart quailed.
“Humans!” Pukh mercifully turned his dark face back to the Faeries in the room. “They cannot be trusted. They are killing the Earth! They will be the death of us all.”
Some of the Faeries clapped and cheered, but many were silent, uneasy.
Brendan opened his mouth to speak, but Merddyn’s voice intruded. “There is a greater question we are overlooking.”
Everyone looked to Merddyn, who was sitting on a stool at the bar enjoying a small glass of wine. “How did they get here? The Wards and glamours surrounding the island discouraged all the other Humans, and yet these four are here. How is that possible?”
Brendan frowned. It was true. He looked at his friends and his sister huddled in a group on the floor. Delia was trying to work her mouth free of her cloth gag. Brendan went to her and pulled it from her mouth.
“I’LL KILL YOU, YOU FREAK!” Delia shouted. Maya, the object of Delia’s wrath, merely giggled and danced from foot to foot. “Cut me loose, Brendan, and I’ll kick her ass.”
“You’re not helping my case,” Brendan sighed. “How did you guys get here?”
Dmitri and Harold looked at Chester. Brendan’s former nemesis sat quietly on the floor. He looked up at Brendan. “You did something to me on that day you came to the hospital. From that day on I could see
… these people.”
Brendan shook his head in disbelief. “But what about the others?”
Dmitri spoke up. “We were following you. We were worried that you were into something bad. Well, at least Harold and I were worried about you. Your sister’s just a bit of a batch.”
Brendan opened his mouth to correct Dmitri, but one look at his sister’s angry face deterred him.
Dmitri continued. “We asked Chester to help us and he told us he could see things that we couldn’t see. We followed you to the docks and somehow he gave that ability to us when he forced us to see the Ferryman.”
“You took a ferry? With the dude with the creepy voice and the hat?”
“Yeah,” Harold confirmed. “Total zomboid.”
“Ah!” Pukh sighed. “I see! Brendan is responsible for this breach. Of course, this stands to reason. His foolish insistence on trying to live in both worlds has backfired disastrously. He’s not truly one of us despite his miraculous success at the Proving.”
“Oh, give it a rest, will ya,” Brendan groaned.
“This episode only proves that he is powerful,” Merddyn interjected mildly. “Which probably upsets you more than the trespass of these humans.”
Kitsune Kai chose that moment to walk into the Swan. “Dear Kitsune,” Merddyn said, rising to his feet. “I’m glad you’re here. We seem to have a dilemma. These four Human children have managed to trespass upon our Gathering.”
Kitsune’s dark, almond-shaped eyes narrowed. “Oh. That’s not good.”
“Pukh, in his predictably dramatic style, has suggested we execute these Humans out of hand. I believe that’s a little extreme. I have another idea that may satisfy all involved. I suggest we retire to a suitable table and discuss my idea.”
“Okay, good,” Kitsune agreed with a flick of her tail. Deirdre nodded and Pukh reluctantly shrugged. Together with Ariel, the four judges went to a table in the corner of the room to deliberate, leaving Brendan with his friends under the baleful gaze of Lugh and Maya.
“Why did you guys do this?” Kim demanded of the prisoners. “You have no idea how much trouble this is gonna cause.”
“Back off. Who are these people?” Delia hissed, her eyes darting from Faerie to Faerie. “What are you?”
Something about the way she asked the question and the fear in her eyes made Brendan pause. How could he explain this to her? He looked at Dmitri and Harold and saw the same fear there. Chester just gazed back at him evenly. Brendan decided he had to explain who he was, as much for himself as for them. He made a decision about his future.
“I never wanted to lie to anyone,” Brendan told them. “And I didn’t want anyone to get hurt. I thought that the only way I could keep you all safe, Mum and Dad, too, was by keeping it to myself. Dealing with it myself. But by doing that, I’ve cut myself off from the support I needed the most. I’m not going to do that anymore… ”
“Brendan, you can’t… ” Kim interrupted.
“No,” Brendan said. “This is the way it has to be from now on. I want to be honest. I owe it to them.”
As quickly as he could, he told them about being a Faerie. He told them about the day when he first knew who he really was. He told them about Orcadia and the lost day he’d stolen from them all. He told them of the world within their world, of Faeries and Trolls and the Quest and his other family and how he tried to balance the two. They sat listening and didn’t interrupt. As each detail unfolded, he saw flashes of recognition in their faces as the memories he had suppressed were allowed to surface again.
Kim stood by, arms folded, looking slightly pained. Obviously, she didn’t agree with Brendan’s choice, but he didn’t care. He didn’t want to live without his friends and family anymore.
At last, he reached the Gathering and his Proving and the point where they found themselves together again. He finished and waited for their reaction.
Delia was the first to speak. “Mum and Dad are gonna freak.”
Brendan actually laughed. “Yeah, I think they are. But you know what, I should have told them right away, ignored the rules. I’ve really missed their advice.”
“I know we’re kinda totally screwed here,” Harold said. “But this is all pretty awesome. I mean, Faeries? Trolls? It’s totally amazing! I wish I had my sketchbook.”
Dmitri nodded. “Yes. This is very sweet. I wish I’d listened to my babka more. I always thought she was just crazy. Well, she is crazy but she obviously sees things that I can’t. The idea that there’s a world we can’t see, right under our noses… it’s really bombed!”
“It’s the bomb! Not bombed,” Chester laughed.
Brendan laid a hand on Chester’s shoulder and looked him in the eye. ‘“I feel worst about what I did to you. I didn’t mean to cause you all that pain. I hope you can forgive me.”
Chester shrugged and smiled. “I should thank you. I was a total ass before you did what you did. My dad died and I lost it for a while. The only way I could deal with his death was by punishing people. You opened my eyes. I’m glad.”
“So,” Delia said. “We’re all BFFs now. Forgive me if I don’t dance around but I’m tied up and someone’s promised to kill me. So, if we can move on here, what’s going to happen?”
Brendan straightened up. “I’ll get you out of this. It’s up to me.”
Kim touched his elbow. “They’re coming back.”
The judges filed into the room and stood in the empty patch of floor facing the little group of prisoners. Ariel addressed the crowd.
“After much debate, we have come to a decision. The prisoners shall not be punished for what they have done.” Brendan breathed a sigh of relief, but his heart fell when Ariel continued. “The true guilt lies with Brendan Morn. Through his reckless use of powers that he did not understand or control, these Humans were able to intrude upon our Gathering. He is now one of us, subject to our Laws and penalties. He must stand in their stead and face the consequences.”
“No!” Kim tried to speak in Brendan’s defence, but Ariel cut her off sharply.
“Silence!” The room was utterly quiet. No one breathed. “Brendan must face a trial to pay the penalty for this crime. We have debated the form this trial should take. In the end, we have decided that Brendan must enter the Circle and undergo a trial of combat.”
“Are you kidding me?” Harold cried. “Are you people for real?”
“SILENCE!” Ariel’s voice was a force of nature, rattling the entire building. Harold quailed. “You have no voice in this, Human! Be grateful that you are still alive. There were those who argued for your execution. Be thankful that more moderate voices spoke in your defence.” Ariel’s voice softened as he nodded to Merddyn. “Brendan will face an opponent of the judges’ choosing and enter the ring. The fight will continue until one or the other is unable to continue. It is our custom and our creed to respect life. We never use the death penalty on our own people. When one combatant cannot continue, the fight is ended.
“According to the Ancient Law of Trial by Combat, should Brendan prevail, he will have paid his dues. If Brendan fails, he will be Exiled. Either way, his friends may go, under a Compulsion of Forgetfulness.”
The Swan erupted into chatter and cries of outrage or delight. Brendan let the noise wash over him. He tried to settle his mind for the ordeal ahead.