“Yes, I’m sure.” He eyed Gwen curiously, clearly taken aback by her reaction. “You know, Queen Isolde’s not that bad. She’s decent, although a little obsessed with novelty. And dancing, really too much dancing.”
Gwen closed her eyes briefly, shaking her head.
“She’s got my friend. My human best friend,” she added, and Bran raised an eyebrow. “She’s forcing her to dance all the time, with no rest, and punishing her with magic.” She gulped, tears springing to her eyes. “I don’t think she can last much longer.”
Bran looked a little perplexed.
“You really care about this human.” He eyed her with interest. “How strange.”
“I am human,” Gwen flared at him. She bit her lip, her brief anger retreating as quickly as it had come. “Part-human, I guess.” She looked at Aidan, shaking her head. “This is ridiculous.” She turned to Bran, throwing caution to the wind. Bran knew where they were from, now, so why hide anything else? “That’s why we’re here. We saw Ellie, my friend, get taken through a portal in a barrow by a Breenan named Corann, and we followed them through.”
“Oh, Corann’s slimy, isn’t he,” Bran said, wrinkling his nose. Then he frowned. “What did you come through?”
“A barrow,” Gwen said slowly. “A burial mound. That’s why we call your kind the ‘people of the mounds.’ Our—kind.” She briefly squeezed her eyes shut with the discomfort of admitting the relation.
Bran still looked confused, so Aidan added, “Because the barrows are supposed to be entrances to this world, the Otherworld. That’s how we got through.”
“Huh. So the portals are through some old person’s grave?” Bran digested this for a moment. “Weird.”
They all stared at each other for a minute. Bran broke the silence with a little laugh.
“I’ve wanted to meet a human since forever, but now I don’t know what to say.”
“I’ll start, then,” Gwen said, eager to learn whatever she could. “Tell me more about the queen.” She couldn’t bring herself to say the word ‘mother.’
“I don’t know much, really,” Bran said, shrugging. “Our kingdoms are allies, but not really friends. I know she never married—she only takes temporary lovers. Rumor has it she once had a human lover…” He caught Gwen’s eye and chuckled with embarrassment. “I guess that rumor’s true. Anyway, she doesn’t have any children, none here at least. Her mother died years ago, so she’s been ruling her realm ever since. That’s all I really know.”
Gwen gave a small sigh, unsatisfied with Bran’s answer.
“What about my father? What do you know of him?” Aidan stared at Bran, eagerness and wariness warring on his face.
“Oh, Declan? He’s a great laugh, he is. Going to his house is always a good time. Declan’s an excellent hunter, and his forests are well stocked. He let me ride his best stallion once,” Bran said dreamily. “A beautiful horse.”
Aidan looked at him expectantly for a minute, then breathed heavily out of his nose in exasperation. “Anything else?”
“I don’t know. I was a child when I last visited, and I mostly played with his many children. A lot of them aren’t his wife’s but she keeps a blind eye toward the others. They all seem to get along swimmingly, as far as I can tell.”
Aidan’s mouth worked, but when he spoke his voice was steady.
“So, just one bastard out of many.” He looked to the stars and gave a deep sigh. Gwen was moved out of her own fog of horror to put a hand gingerly on Aidan’s upper arm. He looked at her and gave her a tight smile.
“Revelations all around, hey?”
“Can we walk and talk?” Bran looked down the mountain at the retreating line of the newly-marked. “It’s just that I’ll be missed, and then you’ll be discovered, and all the fun will be over. My brother will probably send someone for me.”
“Who’s your brother?” Gwen frowned in confusion. She hadn’t seen Bran interact with any of the elders, least of all in a brotherly way.
Bran said, “Crevan, of course. He’s taking his marking duties very seriously. It’s his first year leading.” Bran laughed. “You should have seen the blood drain out of his face when I reminded him it was my marking year. ‘You’d better not mess this up, Bran,’” he mimicked in a falsely deep voice. His eyes lit up with glee. “He’s going to be livid when he finds out he had two half-humans in his group and he didn’t know.”
“Bran!” Gwen said, horrified. “You said you wouldn’t tell anyone.”
“Oh, yeah.” Bran’s shoulders drooped a little, and then he brightened. “Maybe later? When you’re gone?” He paused. “Or are you planning on staying here?”
“No!” Gwen and Aidan said in unison. Bran raised his eyebrows. Gwen clarified. “I just mean, our home is in the human world. And from what I’ve seen, I don’t think we’d be too welcome here.”
Bran shrugged. “I don’t know. Lots think that humans are inferior, sure, but back when the portals were all open, there were more half-humans around. In some realms they were welcomed, because they were often poets and bards. They were preferable to full-humans because they could handle our food and drink, and didn’t get so dazed here.”
“Well then,” Aidan said, “Maybe we should stay, Gwen. You any good at singing?”
“Ha, right.” Gwen shook her head at Aidan, half-smiling.
“So you’re here to rescue this human of yours?” Bran said, scooping up one of the yellow flames beside the path and tossing it from one hand to the other. “How are you going to do that?”
“Well, we need to get away from this group for starters, then we have to get back to the castle.” Gwen was suddenly very tired. There were so many obstacles between her and Ellie, and she still didn’t know how to get Ellie away from the castle, nor how to get back to their world afterward.
“What’s your plan? Are you going to storm the castle? Or make up disguises and sneak in? Or confront your mother and rely on the element of surprise?” Bran showed his excitement by tossing the flame back and forth rapidly. Gwen wondered how he had hands available to juggle as she slid down a rock face on her bottom, but his agility seemed unhampered.
“I don’t know,” Gwen replied. “Cross that bridge when we come to it, I guess.” She pushed down the dread that rose with the thought, and focused on keeping her feet. She said, “We can’t do anything until we escape your people.”
“Yeah, we’ve been trying all day,” Aidan added.
“Oh, that won’t be a problem,” Bran said dismissively. “I can distract them.” He rolled the ball of flame down the hill, where it bounced against rocks and eventually collided with another flame, resulting in a small explosion of light. A few shrieks told them it had been noticed. Bran gave a small grin of satisfaction and turned to Gwen and Aidan.
“I want to come help rescue your human.”
Gwen was puzzled.
“Why would you want that?”
“It’d be such a great prank. Probably the best ever.”
“But you don’t even know Ellie. Why would you risk it?” Gwen looked at Aidan, puzzled, and he returned a perplexed shrug.
“I don’t care about your human. No offense. But to steal her away from under Queen Isolde’s nose, helping her own half-human daughter, now that’s the stuff of legend. Crevan would kill me,” Bran said, a beatific smile on his face.
Gwen gave a little laugh of disbelief. She said, “Hey, if you can get us away from here and then find us later, you’re certainly welcome to help.” She caught Aidan’s exasperated glance. She said defensively, “Hey, he knows a lot more about this place than we do. He might have some good ideas for rescue. Goodness knows I have none.”
“Excellent.” Bran rubbed his hands together. “That’s settled then. Now let’s get you out of here.”
***
The fire blazed high and hot when they neared the camp. Shadows on the willows flickered tall and strange, accompanied by the sound of noisy chatter and the smell of roas
ting meat. Gwen’s stomach gave a long, deep growl.
Aidan groaned.
“I could eat a horse. I think the last time we ate properly was at Loniel’s bonfire.”
“You shouldn’t come to the fire,” Bran said at once. “People are going to want to read your marks if you do.”
“Dammit,” Gwen muttered. She frowned with a sudden thought. “Can you read them at a distance? How careful do we have to be?”
“Oh, no, you have to get close and really want to read it,” Bran assured her. “But people are going to want to do that here. Everyone has a new mark, so they’ll want to compare.”
Aidan’s stomach grumbled loudly. She looked at him and gave a sympathetic laugh at his woebegone expression.
Bran said, “Okay, here’s the plan. We come up behind the trees, you both sneak in and grab your bags, and we’ll meet at that rock.” He pointed at a lumpy boulder on the far side of a nearby willow. “Then we’ll try to avoid Ula over there.” He nodded to their left where a young elder paced, arrow notched loosely in a bow by her side.
Gwen nodded tightly and the three of them strolled toward the willows. Gwen tried her best to look casual. Bran jerked his head to the closest willow. She nodded back once and ducked under its skirt.
The room created by the tree’s branches was empty, save for the pile of brown sacks. Gwen’s heart sank when she looked at them. Which one was hers? She picked up the nearest bag and peered inside. Even in the dim light the fabric of a red dress was evident. The next one was a pale yellow. Her heart leapt at the third one, but the green fabric was wool, not velvet. She rummaged more quickly, aware of the Breenan party underway on the other side of the curtain of leaves.
She opened one of the sacks and was more than relieved to see green velvet and a distinctly human-world bra nestled inside. She grabbed the sack and jogged to the edge of the room. As she ducked out, two people burst into the tree. She just caught a glimpse of the figures entwined together in an embrace as the branches swung across her vision. The girl giggled, and Gwen let out her breath in relief.
Aidan waited at the rock, dancing from one foot to the other in impatience.
“There you are,” he said as she arrived. “I promised myself we wouldn’t separate again, and then we just did.”
“Where’s Bran?” Gwen peered toward the willows, the bonfire visible between trees. She jumped as a drum began to pound. Figures started to dance and leap around the fire.
“More dancing? Seriously?” Aidan shook his head. “Is that all these people do?”
Bran trotted up to the rock, a sack swinging from his shoulder.
“Here, take this.” He passed the sack to Aidan. Bran reached up to his own head, grabbed a few hairs, and pulled. “Ow,” he said, rubbing briefly. He took the hairs and twisted them between his fingers, staring intently at them. Gwen stared too, curious. She noticed with astonishment that the red hairs were turning thick and metallic under Bran’s fingers. Once completely transformed, he deftly twisted them into a ring and passed his fingers around it one last time. He held it up for them to see.
It was a brilliant copper ring, smooth and unblemished. Gwen’s mouth gaped in astonishment. Bran grabbed her hand and slipped the ring onto her right thumb.
“There. Wear that and I’ll be able to find you.”
“That was amazing.” Gwen said. Bran looked pleased with himself, then looked around.
“Okay, Ula is right over there. I’ll cast a deflection enchantment on you so you can get away from the firelight. It’s not perfect, but if I distract Ula at the same time, you should be able to reach the trees. Follow the forest edge to the right and you’ll come across a small stone hut. You can stay there overnight. We’ll be leaving in the morning heading west, so we won’t pass it. You should be safe there.”
“How do you know about the hut?” Aidan said, a hint of suspicion in his voice.
“My brothers have explored this area on hunting trips. I’m good at extracting information.” He grinned. “Okay, ready?”
“Thanks, Bran,” Gwen said suddenly, realizing they were parting. “Thanks for everything.”
He winked at her.
“Don’t worry, you haven’t seen the last of me.” He reached out and put a hand on her forehead and on Aidan’s. He closed his eyes for a few seconds. Gwen stole a glance at Aidan, who watched Bran intently. She was shocked when Aidan started to fade. His body wavered like a reflection on a pond, and then his color faded to mere shadows. Gwen gasped and looked at her own hands, which had dimmed to a similar ghostly grey. Bran took his hands away and beamed at them.
“There. That should do for a few minutes. I knew that spell would come in handy one day. Now go, quick! Before it wears off.” He wiggled his eyebrows at them, then turned and strolled purposefully toward Ula. Gwen grabbed her sack and Aidan’s arm and together they stole across the darkened meadow.
As they tiptoed through the grass, Gwen overheard Bran speaking to Ula. He engaged in a little light chitchat, and then moved quickly into, “So you know I’m of age now, and you’re the prettiest woman here. Can I ask you to dance?” Gwen suppressed a snort of laughter and glanced in their direction. Ula’s back was to them, and Bran reached out and played with her hair. Gwen looked at Aidan, who raised his shadowy eyebrows incredulously.
“Smooth.” He shook his head.
***
They met with no further obstacles crossing the meadow, and arrived at the forest’s edge just as they started to regain solidity and color.
“Do you think we’re in the clear?” Gwen whispered.
“Let’s keep a low profile, just in case,” Aidan replied.
They crept along the forest’s edge. The full moon lit their path like a spotlight. After a few minutes of walking Aidan touched Gwen’s arm.
“Just ahead,” he said quietly.
A small stone hut stood at the forest’s edge, painted by moonlight. It was tiny, no more than one small room, but it was shelter. They made straight for it.
There was no door, just a gaping black hole for an entryway. No windows illuminated the interior. They paused before the threshold and Gwen looked at Aidan.
“I’ll make a light, shall I?” Aidan flicked his fingers and his usual blue flames sprang to life. He leaned down and rolled it like a bowling ball through the doorway. The flames slowed to a stop in the center of the room, lighting up bare stone walls and a packed earthen floor.
Gwen nodded in approval.
“Nice trick. You’ve been taking notes, I see.”
“You like that? I think the biggest thing that’s been limiting me is my imagination.” He walked forward cautiously and Gwen followed, looking up for spider webs. The room was bare and moderately web-free, and Gwen sank down on the ground.
“Wow, what a night.” She stretched her legs out and wiggled her toes as Aidan flopped down next to her.
“It’s been ridiculous,” Aidan agreed. “But I’m starting to expect the unexpected, these days.” He peered into the sack that Bran had thrust upon him. “Hey, Bran snuck us some food and drink. He’s now been upgraded from minor annoyance to best friend.” He opened the bag and offered it to Gwen. “Dig in.”
She reached in and pulled out pieces of the roasted meat she had smelled earlier, along with an earthen jug sealed with a cork. Her mouth started watering, and she tucked in with gusto. She hoped the meat was pork, but it was wild and gamey compared to pork at home. Were there still wild boar in these woods?
The moon had moved around to filter through the doorway by the time they finished eating. Aidan lay back on the dirt floor with a groan.
“This feast and famine diet takes getting used to.” He rubbed his stomach. “I was hungry enough to eat a horse earlier, and now it feels like I ate one. A large one, that’s still kicking.”
Gwen chuckled and leaned back against the stone wall, cool against the skin of her bare shoulder. She stared out of the doorway at the moonlit landscape, full of silver and sh
adows. Her mind threatened to get back to the topic of Isolde. To delay, she tried to focus on Aidan.
“Are you okay?” she asked him. He lay on his back staring at the ceiling, hands on his stomach. His bare chest rose up and down rhythmically, but paused when she said, “About your father, I mean.”
He let out his breath in a whoosh.
“I don’t know. It explains everything—my magic, why he didn’t stick around, why Mum never talked about him. I never had a great opinion of him, so I guess I’m not shocked that he’s got so many kids with and without his wife. I just don’t know what it means to be a—half-breed, or whatever we’re called.”
Gwen gave a humorless laugh.
“Do you think the Breenan are a different species?”
“Mmm,” Aidan said. “When we get back I’ll look up their taxonomy. I’m sure someone’s done a study.”
Gwen poked at him with her foot. They fell silent again. Gwen’s fingers found the ring Bran had made, and started idly playing with it.
“How do you think this ring works?” she asked casually. Aidan looked over at her hands and frowned.
“It’s a piece of him, or was, so he probably has some sort of connection to it. But do you think it’s a great idea to keep it? If he can follow us, it means he can lead people to us.”
Gwen held up the ring and looked through it to the moonlit meadow out the doorway.
“I don’t see that we have another option. Last time we tried to rescue Ellie, we ended up here. We desperately need the help of someone who knows the Otherworld. Sometimes you just have to trust people.”
“I guess,” he said doubtfully. He turned his gaze to the ceiling again. “I usually manage fine on my own. And Bran’s such a loose cannon.”
“I know,” Gwen said, putting the ring back on her thumb. “But if he can help us rescue Ellie from—from my…”
She couldn’t finish the sentence. Her hands balled into fists, and she took deep breaths to calm herself. Aidan looked at her then scrambled over to sit beside her against the wall.
Breenan Series Box Set Page 13