Faerie (20 page)

“Because he will try to turn them against you, Lily. How much more could he hurt you than to have them grow to love him and hate you?”

“That will never happen,” Lily said, her voice like sulphuric acid.

“I hope not, but you need to act quickly.”

Virginia picked up Sarah’s drawing tablet and made rapid and deliberate movements across the screen. Even upside down, Lily could see that it was a map.

“As I said before, you and Connor must come to me. This map will take you most of the way, but as soon as you get close to the entrance to my home you will feel the magic and it will guide you the rest of the way. Look for an ash tree with an even number of branches on each side.  We need to make a healing wand that we can use to restore Connor to health. Cut a straight branch about two feet long from it and bring it to me.

When you get there you must place your hands one over the other on the door and it will open and let you through to my domain. Once you are here with me, then I can remove the curse from Connor and send you back home.”

“You make it sound so easy. I have a feeling that it won’t be quite as simple as that.”

Virginia gave a smile that sat very uncomfortably on Kieran’s face.

“You will manage. There is one more thing – the shawl – place it around Connor’s shoulders and it will help him to see this world more clearly – not as good as the ointment, but better than nothing.”

It all sounded just a little bit too convenient, just a little bit too good to be true, but what choice did Lily have? Her options were zero.

Lily had a sudden thought.

“Can we bring Kieran with us? We can’t leave him here. They’ll think that he’s hurt the children, we can’t leave him behind. He’ll be lost on his own.”

Virginia hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

“If he wants to come, yes, bring him, but you must come to me today. There’s no time to waste.”

Kieran tottered slightly, then slumped, bending forwards and suddenly seeming to be in pain.

“I can’t stay much longer,” Virginia said. “This is draining me.”

“I’ll go and get Connor and we’ll come now,” Lily said.

Kieran let out a long sigh, sagging and almost toppling.

“Then come, come soon.”

Kieran’s head dropped forwards onto his chest and he slumped to the floor, lying in a crumpled heap at Lily’s feet. She bent over him and turned him over gently. He seemed to be out cold. She gently tapped his cheek, but there was no movement, so she picked up the little Mickey Mouse cup containing Liam’s juice, took off the lid and gently splashed Kieran’s face with it.

After a moment or two he lurched upright, bewildered and bobbing his head around like a mere cat on full alert for danger.

“What happened?” he asked.

“It’s okay. Someone borrowed your body for a few minutes to give us a message. Are you all right?”

He had to think about it for a few moments, looking down at his body as if he expected to see some signs of occupation. He patted himself down, as if checking to make sure that no limbs were missing.

“Yeah, okay. I think I just passed out for a minute. What's going on?”

Lily groaned her misery.

“Kieran we have to leave here, today. The Black King has taken the kids, but they’re okay for now, apparently. I only wish I could believe it. I can’t even think about it. We have to go and find them, get them back. Someone is going to help us.”

She almost broke down again, but forced herself to stay strong. Kieran put his arms around her, and gave her awkward comfort, patting her back and mumbling platitudes.

“You mean me as well? You want me to come with you?” he asked.

“Yes, you can’t stay here – they’ll make your life a misery, they’ll think that you had something to do with the disappearances.”

She sniffed and blew her nose on the corner of the sheet.

Kieran grunted.

“Not if you’re missing they won’t. They’ll think you took them.”

Lily just stared at him, blank faced. She hadn’t even considered that.

“But you don’t want to stay here do you?” she asked.

“Not really, but what if he brings them back? He might decide that once you’re back in your own world then they won’t be any more use to him.”

Lily didn’t want to state the obvious – that if the Black King had no further use for them, then he would simply kill them. Perhaps he was right, though, perhaps it was better if she and Connor did this on their own. She had no idea what danger she would be taking him into.

“Perhaps you’re right. Stay here if you want. The police will think it was me that took them – you’ll be all right.”

“It’s not that I don’t want to go with you. I’m not scared or anything,” he said, a bit too quickly.

“No, I know that. I didn’t think that for a minute, but to tell you the truth Connor and I are going to be lost ourselves, not much point you getting lost with us.” She looked at the clock. Claire would be in soon, she really didn’t have any time to waste. If she was still here when Claire got back then all hell would break loose. “I’m sorry, I really have to go. Claire will be getting back and you need to call the police.”

Kieran gave her owl eyes.

“Oh shit, I hadn’t thought of that. How will you manage? I thought you said that this Connor was on the run from the police. As soon as he sets foot outside they’ll grab him.”

“It’s okay, I’ve already thought of that. Come through with me to my bedroom while I pack. We need to get your story straight.”

“They must be terrified, poor little sods,” Kieran said, following her into the room and sitting on the bed. “I can’t even imagine what's going on in their little heads.”

Lily slapped his shoulder, harder than she had intended.

“Stop that, stop that right now! You’re just tormenting both of us. There’s nothing we can do for them right now, and imagining the worst is only going to weaken our resolve and make it harder to cope. We both have to stay strong. They’re fine for now, and they’re together. Just leave it at that.”

Lily stormed across to her wardrobe and pulled out her mother’s Book of Shadows, dumping it on the bed beside him.

“What the fuck’s that?” he asked, “Some sort of spell book?”

“Exactly – it’s my mother’s Book of Shadows, spells, potions and charms collected over generations by her family.”

He opened the book and stared down at the spell to cure club feet.

  “You’re not going to take that are you? It weighs a ton.”

“This is the one thing I can’t leave behind. I need every scrap of magic I can get my hands on right now.”

She thrust it into the holdall, having trouble wedging it in and found that it filled most of it. She threw a few clothes in on top, basics that could get through most terrains, jeans, tee-shirts, a couple of jumpers and a few bras and pants.

“I need to change,” she said. “Turn your back.” Surprisingly he did, without fuss, and she put on jeans, a tee shirt and thin hoody. “Okay, you can turn back now.”

“I still can’t believe any of this is happening,” he said, disconsolately.

“I know, but you really do need to stay strong. We have to deal with this. I’ll get them back, I promise.” She cast a glance around the room at all the things she’d be leaving behind. “When they see how much stuff I’ve left behind, they’re going to be convinced that I’ve done a runner with the kids, aren’t they?”

Kieran gave a grim nod.

“I can look after anything you can’t take with you, just in case you can get back any time. I can take some of the stuff into my room before they get here, if you like.”

“No point, they’re bound to search your room as well, so get rid of anything you don’t want Claire to see pronto. And I am coming back, trust me on that. You haven’t seen the last of me.”

“I hope so.” He sounded so forlorn, Claire felt obliged to go and give him a hug.

“The police are going to pull everything apart, aren’t they?” she said. “They’ll look at the stuff in the wardrobe, my ointments and potions and think that I’m totally nuts. They’ll think I’m into black magic.”

“Nah, I’ll tell them that you’re into herbal medicine. I won’t let them think you took the kids. I’ll say I think you were all kidnapped or something. You know what a good liar I am.”

That was true – Kieran had always been a consummate liar.

She pulled out the box under the bed and took out her fey shawl, laying it reverently on the top of the bag.

All that was left to do then was collect her toiletries and she was done. She zipped up the bag and slung it over her shoulder. It was heavy, but she could manage it.

“So it’s goodbye then?” Kieran said, standing up and facing her.

“Only for a little while. You know what you have to say to the police?”

A nod.

“Yeah, the kids were playing upstairs, I was looking after them, I went to the loo and when I came back they were gone. I haven’t seen you since.”

“That’s just right – the truth really. You can never go wrong with the truth.” She adjusted the bag on her shoulder and half turned towards the door. “I’m really going to miss you.”

Kieran’s face twisted into a little grimace that made him look ten years younger than his age – a small child, terrified of being left alone.

“Not as much as I’m going to miss you. You take care of yourself, promise?”

“I promise.” she said.

“I wish that git had taken me as well, at least I could have made sure the kids were okay.”

Lily didn’t have to be a telepath to see how much he was hurting. He was so lost.

“Try not to worry too much, I’ll get word through to you if I can.”

They hugged, and both gave way to tears, but Lily couldn’t allow herself that luxury not now. She turned her back on him and made for the door without looking back.

Chapter Seventeen.

There was still a police car and a few sundry civilians loitering around outside Hawthorn Lodge  – a couple of reporters she supposed, but the furore seemed to have died down, with just a few stragglers milling around in the forecourt of the lodge. As Lily approached the first of the gaggle of onlookers, who were still there hoping to see something of interest, Lily felt her heart do a little somersault in her chest. She’d never really tested her perception glamour like this before. Sneaking past one person unnoticed was one thing, but to go through a group of them like this? What if one of them was psychic and could see through her glamour – some humans could.

As she moved closer the large labrador turned to look at her, following her with his doleful gaze as Lily walked past its owner. The dumpy, tweed-dressed woman didn’t blink an eye, but just carried on chatting to another woman, but Lily could sense the dog's thoughts – mild intrigue at the odd two legs walking past it. She willed it not to bark. It didn’t, and Lily carried on through, holding her breath as she passed a couple of policemen to get to the front door of number one.

Lily waited until everyone was looking the other way and opened the door, and to her horror, found Connor hovering just inside, pacing up and down; she almost bumped into him. She pushed him back into the room, slamming the door.

“For God’s sake, do you want to get caught?” she snapped.

He gave her an apologetic look, and she relented.

“Sorry, I’m a bitch,” she said. “It’s just been a hell of a day. You know what’s happened?”

The expression on his face made it quite evident that he knew exactly what had happened.

Lily, sweat covered and desperately thirsty, dumped her holdall onto the floor and slipped into Connor’s waiting arms, laying her head on his shoulder and letting him comfort her.

“They are... safe for now. I can see them.”

This was a revelation to Lily and she grasped the implications instantly.

“You can really see them? What are they doing? Where are they?”

“They are... with the Black King... in his home... he...” He gave a frustrated grunt and pulled out his iPad, typing the rest:

He does not look like smoke in his home  he looks like man  and he is being kind to them  he wants them to like him  he wants to turn them against you

“That’s what Virginia said, exactly what she said. I just hope you’re both right.”

“Trust me,” he said. And she did.

“I used a glamour to make sure that no-one saw me. Are you okay?” she asked, pulling back and looking up at him. He was a good foot taller than she was and she had to crane her neck to look into his eyes.

“Okay, but... frighten... We must go...” he said, kissing her on the nose. He managed a weak smile.

“I know.”

Lily suddenly remembered the shawl. Lily opened the holdall and took out the shawl, draping it around Connor’s shoulders; it looked extremely odd over the Superman vest and khaki shorts, but as Lily was fervently hoping that no-one other than herself was going to see him anyway, being labelled a fashion victim was the least of their worries. He looked bemused for a moment, but then almost the instant the cloth fell around his neck he gave a little gasp, his eyes widening.

“What is this?” he asked. “I c... can... feel magic.”

“Virginia told me it would help you. Does it?” He only had to nod and smile to answer her.

“It is good... better.”

He fingered the fabric, a look of awed wonder on his face.

“Did Virginia visit you, tell you what we have to do?” Lily asked.

He nodded again.

“She said... we m... must go to her now.”

Lily pulled out Sarah's drawing tablet and looked down at the map that Virginia had drawn for her, showing it to Connor. Virginia had done quite an impressive job on it, considering it had been scrawled in seconds on a child’s toy.

“This looks as if it’s taking us to Farthingale woods. But there’s nothing there, no houses, nothing.”

As far as Lily knew Farthingale woods was a wild expanse of boggy marshes, thick heavy wooded clumps of trees and open meadows. There was nothing for miles around. The place had a reputation as being, not exactly haunted, but a dark place which most people avoided. She really didn’t fancy walking through the heavy shadows of its darkest places, with or without Connor.

“Not, in a house... Virginia is in... between place,” Connor said.

“Oh, she has her own realm?”

A nod.

Many of the fey lived in in between places, realities that were separate from the world of men, but still part of it somehow. It made sense that the Korrigan would have her own domain. Lily had some idea of where this journey might take them. Certain places were better than others for travelling between worlds. These magical doorways were always in remote places, and she supposed Farthingale woods was an ideal place for such a portal between worlds. The more undisturbed the countryside around it, the better. By right, both she and Connor should be able to travel between worlds freely and she had no idea why they were trapped here in Midgard. Perhaps the Korrigan would be able to tell her. These entrances always stood out from the landscape in some way or other though, a strange rock formation, a twisted tree, a fairy ring in the middle of a forest clearing.

Lily had a sudden brainwave – not a common occurrence, but when they hit, they usually hit with a vengeance. There was only a fifty-fifty chance that this would work, but she was so close to Hawthorn Lodge she was hoping that she could piggy back on their wi-fi. She picked up the iPad and went into the settings, and saw that it was already set up – Connor already had internet access and they were still in range. There was a child lock on it, but for what she wanted it was perfect. She checked the power levels – 99%, that was good; she downloaded Google Earth and typed in ‘Little Ostrey, Cornwall’.”

“We’re here.” she said, pointing to the image of the lodge and comparing the satellite shot to the map that Virginia had drawn them. Unfortunately the satellite image gave them far from good news. They were going to have to travel through several miles of open country, very dark and shadowed forest and a considerable amount of marshy bog to get to the ‘X marks the spot’. Lily took a screen shot of the map and a few more in close up. It showed up a surprising amount of detail and nothing she saw there gave her much comfort.

“We're going to have to use glamour, to get past the police outside,” she said. “But I got in all right without them seeing me.”

“I can hide... us... both,” Connor said. “My glamour is stronger.”

Lily was a bit piqued at being reminded just how weak her magic was in comparison to his. He must have seen her chagrin and pressed his lips to hers, kissing her through a smile. “Your potions... are better.”

She had to smile too. She let him hold her for a few moments, before gently easing him away.

“We should go.”

Connor nodded and picked up the holdall, grimoire and all, as if it weighed nothing, throwing it over his shoulder.

“We... will get... the children back,” he said.

“Yes, we will,” Lily replied. And in that moment she had no doubts at all that they would. “Ready?”

“Yes,” was all he said.

Lily opened the front door and they stepped outside.

They moved passed the police, the reporters and the few onlookers like wraiths, unseen, apart from the watchful gaze of the labrador and the tabby cat, sitting on the low wall, who eyed them with imperious disdain.

“Farthingale Woods is about eight miles in that direction – not that far, we’ll easily make it to Virginia’s before nightfall, as long as nothing unforeseen happens. I’m not so worried about getting there, but there are some awfully dark places between us and her and I’m not sure I want to go through them, even in daylight.”

“I’m afraid… as well...” Connor said, “but we are… together.”

He slipped his hand into hers and gave her fingers a reassuring squeeze, and the walked together, hand in hand.

The walk should have been a pleasant one – it was a lovely summer’s day, bright with sunshine, blue skies and just the hint of a breeze. In other circumstances she would have liked nothing better than to be walking hand in hand with Connor through these country lanes, just enjoying one another’s company. Instead, dark thoughts filled her head, making her feel sick and nerve jangled. All she could see in her mind’s eye were Liam and Sarah, huddled together and cowering in the Black King’s presence, terrified. Despite Connor’s reassurance, she couldn’t help but wonder what he was doing to them. Terrible images flashed into her mind of what had happened to her, and the thought of that monster touching Liam or Sarah made her stomach knot and her bladder weaken.

“Stop it!” Connor said, holding the tops of her arms just a little too tightly and giving her a little shake. “Do not... think those.. things. They are safe for now.”

“I’m sorry. I told Kieran off for doing the same thing.”

And she forced her mind to other things, even though it broke her heart to do it.

They reached the edge of Farthingale woods at just after seven according to Connor’s Spiderman watch, and there were still a good few hours of daylight left. The blue skies had dulled, though, a sudden promise of rain which seemed to have come from nowhere, clouds had begun to form and Lily eyed them with suspicion.

“Is it my imagination or do those clouds look just a little bit unnatural? Blue skies one minute and clouds the next – something really doesn’t feel right about this.”

“Is not right. Is... djinn.” Connor said, gazing up at the ominous sky. As they watched, the clouds grew thicker, more menacing, forming a great shroud that seemed to cover the whole world. The sunlight landscape suddenly became that dull yellow colour that comes as a prelude to a thunderstorm, and within minutes everything lay in semi-darkness.

“This is so not good,” Lily said. “It was bad enough going into those woods in sunlight, but like this...”

“We will be... okay. Trust me,” he said, more urgently, but Lily caught his thoughts, and could see that he was as scared as she was.

“I want to, I really do, just try to make your thoughts lie a bit better,” she said and managed a smile that matched the clouds.

Before them was a murky landscape of heavy trees and deep shadows as the great twisted trees merged together to form a great canopy that blotted out what little light there was left. These old trees had been there for hundreds of years, and seen the comings and going of both men and fey. When these trees had first taken root, the countryside around had been filled with peasant farmers, serfs and feudal estates owned by the local warlords. Most of these trees were saplings when the English Civil War was still raging, some of them might even have been there when William the Conqueror had claimed the land as his... could there even be trees here that had seen the Romans trudging across the English landscape? She wouldn’t have been at all surprised.

They both moved towards the darkness with trepidation, clutching one another’s hands, hearts thumping wildly. Despite Connor’s bravado, his heart was pounding every bit as much as hers was. Lily pulled the most powerful torch she had from her hold all, and flipped the switch. It barely made a dent in the darkness, stretching just a couple of feet in front of them and providing them with little comfort. Between the trees Lily could see nothing but darkness, and she knew what was hidden within it. As they moved into it, Lily pressed just a little closer to Connor, and as their bodies touched she felt him shiver. It was cold in here where the sunlight never reached, even on the brightest and sunniest days, but she knew that it wasn’t the cold that made him tremble.

“Lions and tigers and bears, oh my,” Lily whispered, raking the torch around and realising that it was pathetically useless against the overwhelming darkness that closed in around them.

“What?” Connor asked.

Lily rolled her eyes.

“Wizard of Oz, you know...”

He smiled then.

“I am... Scarecrow. I have no... brain,” he said, and gave a little laugh. It sounded so out of place here in this oppressive place.

“There’s nothing wrong with your brain, it’s the rest of you that’s messed up,” Lily said, and giggled. They both started laughing and it seemed to relieve the tension somehow.

They stayed close together as they passed beneath the ancient oaks, listening for the comforting sounds of animals, lurking in the undergrowth. There was nothing but silence, as if whatever small creatures there were hidden here could sense that something dreadful lurked in the shadows and they cowered in its presence. Lily, on tenterhooks, looked into every dark corner and shadow, expecting an attack at any minute. 

“He’s here, isn’t he? I can sense him somehow,” Lily said. “And so can the animals. They’re all hiding.”

“I think... so.” He stopped in his tracks, thoughtful. “We need more light.”

Connor lifted his palm and Lily watched, entranced, as a small ball of white light appeared in it, floating just above his hand. He gently tossed it into the air, and it hovered in front of them, bathing them in a cool white light and illuminating the area around them in silver.