Sean Cullen: The Prince of Two Tribes

“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… ”