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Chapter Thirteen
“Or, if there were a sympathy in choice, War, death, or sickness did lay siege to it.”
—Lysander, Act 1,A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Ever since they passed the Scottish border, Brigid felt more and more alive.
Her blood thrummed within her veins, practically singing. Her vision seemed to sharpen behind her spectacles, her irises soaking in more light.
Everything sparkled and glistened around her, as if constantly touched by starlight. A hauntingly eerie and ethereal magic.
Even at night, all of her senses were stronger. She was more aware of her surroundings. The whispers of leaves on every branch. The scratching of insects and other small creatures. The distant coos of owls and flapping of wings. The whistle of wind and the tinkling of every dust particle in the air.
They seemed to be speaking to her. They welcomed her home.
At the same time, they sent her warnings she could not ignore, no matter how she wanted to.
They are here, fair Queen. The Dark One. The Master…
Beware, fair Queen, of the One you love most. Beware of betrayal…
Protect yourself. Protect your Heart…
Only Brigid heard the voices. None of her friends noticed anything different. They merely commented on the beauty of Scotland that surrounded them from all sides—
The grayish blue skies that seemed painted in oil on a canvas of rich greens and browns. The clear rivers and lakes they passed by. The fields of wildflowers, forests of gnarled oaks and twisted elms.
Sometimes, Sai shared knowing looks with her. As if he felt the magic pulling them deeper. But he didn’t see what she saw.
More and more, the waking world began to blend and shift into her sleeping world.
She started to see faces in tree trunks smiling or frowning at her as their carriage rolled past. Dragonflies, butterflies and hummingbirds became fairies that filled the air with buzzing song and magic dust that sparkled in shafts of sun and moonlight.
Sometimes, she could even see the unicorns as they really were, if rays of light caught them just so. Devotedly and tirelessly pulling her carriage, trotting in perfect synchronization.
Their coats were a pristine white, far silkier than normal horses. Dirt never stained them. Their long, flowing manes and tails never tangled, simply waving with the breeze. And those shiny, spiraling horns on their heads, like the raised lances from knights of old.
They could never be simple beasts of burden, though they performed their current role without complaint. They were protectors. Helpers. She knew that they would be on her side when she needed them.
Other fae creatures revealed themselves to her newly awakened senses. Made themselves known when before they’d been hidden from her mostly human sight.
When they stopped at farmers’ houses along the way for brief respites, she saw Brownies working the land and helping vegetables grow big and healthy in the back gardens.
No more than three feet in height, with large, childish faces, gleaming black eyes and big, triangular ears that stuck out the sides, they looked and played like wee ones from afar, their laughter contagious and full of innocence. They made friends with the pets and animals, and she even spied one cuddling with the barn cat.
Humans never saw them, even though they were always underfoot, helping with chores from an endless store of generosity. They loved the families they chose, it was clear. The farmers whose homes were protected by Brownies were fortunate indeed, for their crops would always bear fruit, and their animals would always be hale and hearty.
Brigid smiled at the small, childlike creatures with encouragement and gratitude. They always swept the caps off their hoary heads in reverence when they saw her.
And they gave her this message:
The One you love can hurt you most
The One you fear intends to take host
Darkness and Evil are not the same
Know the difference to win the Game
