Sean Cullen - The Prince of Two Tribes

“Brendan!”

He turned to see Kim pulling a set of the wings onto her back. The others were pulling straps and tightening harnesses. The wings could be folded in close to the body like a bird’s wings. Elaborate hinges and joints tensed and loosened as the fliers tested their contraptions.

Kim walked toward him. “There are a couple of extra sets of wings here. You wanna come?”

Brendan shook his head. “Are you kidding me? I’d totally kill myself. Or barf. It’s a mile to the ground.”

“C’mon! Don’t be a big baby!” Kim cajoled.

“No. No way! I’ll walk down and see you on the ground.”

“All right. Have it your way.” Kim suddenly pointed out toward the islands. “What’s that?”

Brendan turned to look. He saw only sky and the dark hump of the Toronto Islands. Lights twinkled here and there. “I don’t see anythioooof!”

Kim slammed into him from behind and pushed him out into space.

^ 47 It’s actually 553.3 metres tall. I don’t mean to be a stickler, but.

Brendan’s heart was hammering against his ribs. He wanted to scream in terror, but he couldn’t get any air into his panicconstricted lungs. He heard Kim’s hysterical cackle close to his ear. She had her arms wrapped tightly around his chest.

“Here we go! WOOOOOOOOOO!”

“Are you insane?” Brendan screamed, but the sound was whipped away by the air ripping past his face as they plummeted toward the base of the tower.

“Relax, granny!” Kim shouted. “I just need to find an updraft!”

The ground was rushing at them very fast now. The grey concrete was expanding to fill Brendan’s vision. He just had time to wonder if Kim had been hired to kill him when wings snapped open on either side, and with a crackle of taut silk they were swooping up again, skimming over the sidewalk at a height of about a hundred metres. The wind was lifting them steadily. They rose higher and higher up over the rail lines and the expressway, with its trail of red tail lights snaking by below. Then they were over the condos on the waterfront and the lake itself.

Brendan’s stomach unclenched. When he was confident that he wouldn’t lose the dinner he’d eaten earlier, he turned his head to see Kim’s madly grinning face. “What is wrong with you? Are you crazy?”

“Lighten up, Brendan. Isn’t this amazing?”

“It might be more amazing if I hadn’t wet my pants. I almost had a heart attack, you insaniac nutcase! Couldn’t you warn me?”

“Where would the fun be in that?” Kim tipped her right wing slightly, sending them curving out and banking even higher, moving out farther over the lake. “Look! They’re closing off the island.”

Brendan looked down and saw that the surface of the lake nearest the island, usually rolling with whitecaps, was still and smooth as glass. The flat area spread slowly out toward the city beyond. He suddenly understood. “They’re freezing the lake!”

“Yeah,” Kim confirmed. “It takes a lot of Faeries to weave some pretty intense weather Wards together, but it’s the best way to isolate the Ward’s Island.”

Brendan watched as the ice continued to radiate out from the island. He peered closer. He saw tiny figures out on the ice. “Who are they?”

“Fair Folk are starting to arrive. The Gathering starts when the sun goes down tonight. or tomorrow. You know what I mean.”

Kim tipped her wings forward and they rose higher. The island became more and more indistinct below. Brendan looked around and saw other Dawn Flyers dipping and diving, their wings silvered by the moonlight. The sky was remarkably clear, especially so high up and out of the reach of the city lights. The stars twinkled with cold brilliance.

Kim hung in the air, slowly turning in a circle, like a hawk lazily floating as it waited for prey to break cover below. Brendan became keenly aware of her arms wrapped around him. Her body was pressed against his back, and he could feel every tiny adjustment she made with her shoulders and legs to keep them aloft. For the second time in the past week, he was close to a very attractive girl. Even as he savoured the sensation, he felt a weird pang of guilt. Only a few days before he had held Charlie and comforted her, and now here was Kim with her arms wrapped around him. Why did he feel guilty? He didn’t know; he just did, that’s all.

“Are you sure this thing can hold two people?” he asked.

“The Artificers guarantee them. But don’t worry, if we start to lose altitude, I’ll drop you and save myself.”

“Thanks, Kim. I appreciate it.”

“No problem.”

They were silent for a long time. The wind whistled an eerie tune through the flier’s rigging. He took in the stars and the moon hanging almost full in the sky. He looked over his shoulder and saw the city shining below. Brendan suddenly laughed out loud.

“What?” Kim asked.

“Nothing,” Brendan said. “It’s just… this is awesome!”

Kim laughed. “Yeah.” After a moment she said, “I wanted you to see this. I wanted you to see… ”

“What?”

“I wanted you to see that there are great things about being one of us, Brendan. It isn’t all bad. It isn’t all Proving and tests and Quests and trouble. It’s beautiful, too.”

Brendan thought about that. He looked out over the lake and the city. He was seeing it in a way he never would have if he hadn’t met Kim and learned about his Faerie family. And it was beautiful.

He realized something else, too. He hadn’t been aware of how much he’d missed Kim. He felt bad.

“I’m sorry, Kim.”

“For what?”

“I haven’t been there for you at all.”

“You have a lot to worry about. Don’t sweat it.”

“I have a lot to worry about and so do you. But more than that… ” He swallowed. “I’ve… I’ve missed you these past few days.”

“Don’t be an idiot,” she said, but her grip around his chest tightened slightly. Brendan hadn’t thought she could hold him any closer than she already was.

“Holy stars,” Kim said sharply. “Look.”

Out over the lake, there was a loud rumble followed by a clap of thunder, reminding Brendan of a fighter plane at an air show breaking the sound barrier. An explosion of bright light erupted about a mile above the lake, igniting the sky in a flash. The glow started moving across the sky like a comet, cycling through every colour in the spectrum, a hot swirl of shifting light that grew in intensity as it approached. “What is that? A plane?”

“That’s no plane,” Kim called in his ear. “That’s the Wild Hunt! Pukh has arrived.”

“The Wild What?” Brendan cried. He was having trouble hearing Kim. He became aware of a high keening not unlike the sound of a jet engine.

“The Wild Hunt. When Pukh travels outside the realm of Tir na nOg, he always brings his retinue,” Kim explained. “They travel as the Ancient Faerie Lords once did. Pukh, or Lord Pukh as he prefers to be called, tries to keep the Old Ways alive.”

The light drew closer, descending from the sky like a comet with a rainbow tail trailing behind. As the Hunt approached, Brendan saw it was composed of many Faeries, at least fifty of them. They were attended by countless Lesser Faeries who swarmed around them in a glittering crowd.

The Faeries were dressed in clothing that Brendan thought wouldn’t have looked out of place in a fantasy movie. Cloaks and capes of brilliant hues streamed out behind them. The men wore tunics of rich brocade and beautiful patterns that changed as the light caught them. Elaborate jewellery of gold, pearls, and glittering gems dripped from their throats and wrists. They rode their mounts with casual grace that was beyond any Human’s ability to imitate.