Sean Cullen - The Prince of Two Tribes

“The former nemesis?” Delia was confused. “Who could that possibly be?”

“Excuse me,” Harold interjected meekly.

“What?” Delia barked.

Harold swallowed. “I, uh… I think I might know who the nemesis is.”

^ 48 I’ve always wondered why they call them saw horses. Why not saw cows or saw pigs or some other four-legged saw creature. I mean, cows are much less skittish than horses. A cow would certainly stay still while you were sawing something. I wouldn’t expect any such cooperation from a horse. Still, I’m not in charge.

^ 49 A perogy is a Polish dumpling containing any number of fillings, ranging from potato and cheese to minced meats to pickled cabbage. I’ve heard rumours of a dessert perogy filled with chocolate pudding and even a Mexican-style perogy stuffed with candies and small trinkets, hung from a tree and beaten with a stick. Or it might have been a pinata. I don’t get invited to a lot of parties.

^ 50 A nemesis is a person’s arch-enemy. It’s an old Greek word. Every hero has his nemesis. Peter Pan had Captain Hook. David had Goliath. My personal nemesis is a parrot named Crackers who curses me every time I walk by the pet shop down the street. Curse you, Crackers! Curse you!

Brendan tried his best to meditate in the Faerie style. He didn’t have enough time to sleep before going to school. But he found he couldn’t settle his mind because of what had happened when he’d come back to the house this morning before dawn.

He had parted with Kim and come through the back gate to find BLT waiting for him. She was very upset.

“Where did you go?” she demanded, zipping up to his face and bopping him painfully on the nose with one tiny fist.

“Ow! That hurt!”

“Serves you right. I was worried sick!” the little Faerie sniffed. She crossed her arms and hung in the air, her wings whirring. “Well?”

“I… ” he stammered. “I needed some time to think.”

“Some time to think?” She whizzed in a circle. “And you left me out in the night alone again?”

“I thought you’d be able to handle yourself,” Brendan said, hoping to appeal to her pride.

“Of course I can. I was worried about you.” She seemed slightly mollified. “Where did you go?”

“Kim and I went Dawn-flying. We saw Pukh arrive.”

BLT’s eyes went wide. “You saw the Wild Hunt. Was it marvellous?”

“It was… pretty impressive.” Brendan had meant to say “terrifying,” but he didn’t want BLT to think he was afraid. “Anyway, it was nice to see Kim. I’ve missed her.”

BLT arched an eyebrow. “Oh you have, have you? She missed you, too, you know.”

“What do you mean?”

“Oh, he is blind,” she cried to the stars. “Well, obviously…”

Brendan expected her to keep speaking but she stopped dead, her entire body tense. She began searching the yard with her tiny eyes. “What? What’s the matter?” he asked.

Her voice came out in a tense whisper. “We are being watched.” Suddenly, she screeched and rocketed off into the air. She made a beeline straight for a telephone pole that overlooked the Clairs’ yard. She slammed into the pole and tore at something with her hands. It came away from the wood with a snap. Carrying it in her hands, she brought it over to Brendan. He held out his hand and she dropped a small webcam into his palm. It was cracked and broken but still recognizable. They could be bought at any electronics store.

“What was that doing there?”

“Spies!” BLT hissed.

“Who would want to spy on me?” Brendan asked in shock.

“Not a Faerie spy. This is Metal Folk work.”

On that note, they had gone inside. BLT refused to budge from her lookout spot by the window and stayed up muttering until she fell asleep and began to snore noisily. Brendan couldn’t stop worrying about the camera. As he tried to meditate, he turned the question over in his head.

Who would want to spy on me? Mum and Dad? Maybe. But no. His dad could do stuff with his amps and knew a little bit about computers, but he only knew music software. His mum didn’t know much about computers at all. She could type, but that was it. Besides, it wasn’t their style. They’d just ask him if they had a problem with him. They wouldn’t sneak around.

His sister. Oh yeah. Could be her, but she didn’t like computers and couldn’t have rigged up a webcam to save her life.

Maybe Harold and Dmitri. Would they resort to spying on him? He found it hard to believe. Had their friendship slid so far that they would do something like that? Maybe.

Or maybe it’s even worse. Maybe it’s someone I don’t know who’s trying to learn my secret.

That thought made him really worried. He gave up trying to calm his mind and got dressed.

At breakfast, Delia was behaving strangely. She refused to even look at him. There were dark circles under her eyes as though she hadn’t slept either. When Brendan asked for the jam, she passed it to him without a word or a glance. She was usually sullen in the morning, but this was a new level of frigidity. He decided he couldn’t be bothered figuring out what was wrong with her. His mind was buzzing with other thoughts. Last night, being with Kim had given him a little distance from Charlie. He now looked at the lutin more critically. The meeting with Merddyn had opened his eyes. She was Merddyn’s… what? Apprentice? Lackey? Servant? The Ancient Faerie had instructed her to befriend him. Was she really a friend? Her tears when she’d visited his dad’s music room had seemed genuine, but how could he know for sure? Although Kim was annoying, bossy, and disdainful of his attachment to his Human family, he was certain that everything she did was meant to help him adjust to his new life. With Charlie, he wasn’t sure if he was just a part of Merddyn’s agenda, a pawn in some larger game.

His father had just finished talking about a UFO that had supposedly been sighted in the wee hours of the morning over the lake.^ 51 Condo residents reported hearing a sonic boom and high-pitched shrieking, and seeing bizarre lights in the sky. Officials were saying the phenomenon was likely heat lightning or some other weather anomaly that was related to the unprecedented cold snap that had fallen on the city. Brendan knew that residents had actually seen the Wild Hunt arriving at the Ward’s Island, but he didn’t share his knowledge with the table.

“What are you going to do today, Brendan? Plans?” his dad asked.

“I don’t know. We only have a half day today. And there’s a Christmas assembly. Not much of an actual school day,” Brendan said. “I’m free for the afternoon. I was thinking of going out tonight.”

“With Charlie?” His mother’s face was eager for news on the Charlie front.

“Maybe,” Brendan conceded. Again, the girlfriend ruse was coming in handy. Having Charlie as an excuse was going to be helpful tonight when he had to attend the Gathering.

“I hear the Toronto Islands are a nice spot for a date,” Delia said suddenly, breaking her silence.

“That might be a no go,” Brendan’s mum said. “There was a cold snap last night. The harbour is frozen and the ferries aren’t sailing. They’re trying to break up the ice but they haven’t got an icebreaker heavy enough.”

Brendan stared at Delia. Why had she suggested the islands? It was weird. She was focused on her waffle again, studiously avoiding his gaze. She must know something, he decided. But what? Was she the culprit with the camera? He wouldn’t put it past her. He’d have to be careful. He tried to put it out of his mind. He had to concentrate on the Proving to come and save any worries about Delia for later… if there was a later.