by RM Walker
“Fairy tales have been sweetened up,” Drew said. “You should read the original Grimm’s documents. They weren’t writing stories, they were collecting folklore, writing down experiences they’d seen for themselves or heard from others. They were never about storytelling, but about documenting fact.”
“Well, that’s one way to cheer her up.” Matt snorted. “Just piss all over Disney for her.”
“Yeah, but if she stops comparing real life to fantasy, she’ll be able to cope more,” Nate remarked.
“Nate, you’ve just said the second most intelligent thing I’ve ever heard from you.”
“Second? What was the first?” Nate arched an eyebrow at Drew.
“When you asked me how we keep Lily safe. Now, do you know how to use protection spells on the doors and windows?”
“We can’t go drawing chalk patterns everywhere. Mum will have a fit,” Lily pointed out.
“Fair enough. I’ll charm them to let us know if anyone comes by. But another visit is highly unlikely. They’ve seen what they set out to see.”
“You?” Lily asked.
“Yes, and you, but mostly to make sure I’m not slaughtering half the village in a murderous blood bath.” He got up, dropped a kiss on her head, and went to the door. “Call me if you need me and let me know when the teacher gets here.” He went out, shutting the door behind him.
“I guess this is where we say sorry to you, especially me.” Nate sighed heavily.
“He hasn’t explained it yet. We won’t know anything until we talk to him.” She picked at her fingernails.
“But whoever was in that car was here to check on you and Drew.” Matt flopped back against the sofa. “Which means Drew was telling the truth about a Council.”
The twins got to their feet. “We’ll clean up the cups,” Josh muttered before following Jake into the kitchen.
“Are they okay? Are you okay?” she asked.
“No, not really.” Matt shoved his hands into his hair.
“I don’t think any of us are,” Nate added.
“I wish I could take it all away from you.” Lily’s heart sank for them. “I’d do anything to stop this.”
“The only way that would happen is if you’d never come here,” Nate said. “And that’s not something I even want to think about.”
“Thing is.” Nate caught her attention. “Even if we’d never met you, it wouldn’t change any of this, we just may never have known until it was too late.”
She knew what he was saying was right, but that didn’t stop her anger at Jonas from welling up. He’d better have an excellent reason for not telling him, or she’d...she’d...well, she hadn’t worked that bit out yet, but he wouldn’t like it whatever it was.
“Who’s staying with you?” Josh came back in with Jake. They stood shoulder to shoulder, hands in their pockets, with identical looks of vulnerability on their faces that tore at her soul.
“Would you mind if you all stayed?” she asked. “I’m being selfish, I know. It’ll be a squeeze, on the floor, but I want you all close to me.”
Jake nudged Josh, and they smiled at her. “We want to stay, but what about your mum?”
“We’d need to be sneakily quiet,” she replied. “You don’t have to, you can all go if you’d rather. I’ll be fine here.”
“I’m not going,” Matt said.
“Neither are we,” Josh agreed as they came to kneel on the floor in front of her.
“We’ve camped out in Nate’s room enough times, we can squeeze into yours. You have less junk so there’ll be more room anyway,” Matt said.
“Junk?” Nate raised his eyebrow at Matt.
“Yes, brother, junk.” Matt smiled at him.
“Thanks. I don’t want to be alone,” Lily admitted.
“Right, well, let’s stop yapping and get to bed. You two better slip away before Lynda wakes up tomorrow,” Nate ordered.
She was relieved the twins were staying as well. She knew they had each other, but they were hurting just as much as Nate and Matt. They needed to be together. The four of them. Five including her.
For Lily
“I have to go soon, I don’t want to get caught in traffic.”
It was an unholy hour, and Lily was half asleep. She’d heard her mother moving and she’d left Matt and Nate to sleep while she went down. The twins had already left earlier, whispering they loved her before climbing out of the window.
She wrapped her dressing gown tighter as she watched her mother pick up the giant canvas tote she used as a handbag and set it with the other bags by the front door. “Are we going to talk about the elephant in the room before I go?”
“Elephant?”
“Don’t be obtuse.”
Lily drew her feet onto the edge of the sofa and hugged her legs.
“You let him kiss you. I know you’re young still, I know things can be confusing. You may not settle with Matt or J... the twin, but I do know even puppy love hurts. If you like Matt, you need to tell...” She hesitated.
“Josh,” Lily said.
“Josh, you need to tell Josh that Matt is your boyfriend. Don’t play one against the other, you’ll get burnt. Those boys are closer than blood brothers, they will talk to each other.”
She didn’t know what to say. The last thing she wanted, or needed, was to try and explain their relationship. Her mother would never understand, and she might even put her foot down and say she couldn’t go camping with them.
Her mother sighed, rubbing her forehead. “That’s the elephant, now let’s deal with the skeleton. Are you really going to call him Dad?”
The pain in her mother’s voice made her heart clench, but she wouldn’t back down. “It’s who he is, Mum, whether you like it or not.”
“Those mugs aren’t wrong you know.”
“Mugs? What mugs?”
“Those gift mugs that say, ‘Anyone can be a father, but it takes someone special to be a Dad’.” Her mother poked the arm of her chair repeatedly. “He’s nothing more than a sperm donor. He didn’t bring you up, I did.”
“I know that. You’re my mum, and I love you. He just wants to be a dad to me. That’s why he bought me the phone, laptop and saved up for me.”
“Maybe he has saved for you, and maybe pigs have grown wings and are now flying transatlantic, who knows.”
“Oh, for goodness sake, what does he have to do to get you to change your mind about him?” Lily snapped.
“Turn back time and give back my sister.” She got up and went to the door, picking up her bags. “I need to get going. I’ll text you when I get there.”
A lump caught in her throat, she couldn’t let her mother walk away angry or disappointed. She had to try, just once more. “You’ll be too tangled up with Mr Pringle, emotionally and physically, to even think of me.”
“You’re a bad girl, Lilith May! Go on with you.” She laughed, a smile appearing on her lips, and it lifted Lily’s mood.
Her mother unlocked the front door and stepped out. It was still dark, but false dawn was creeping over the treeline. “I know you don’t want to hear this. But, please, be careful with Drew.”
“He said you view magic like cancer,” Lily blurted.
Her mother looked taken aback for a few seconds. “Why did he tell you that?”
“I thought you hated me, that you couldn’t love me because I was evil.” Tears formed, and she blinked them away, frustrated at her own weakness. “He said you don’t view the magic as being me.”
“Magic isn’t you, it’s just attached to you. I don’t hate you, I could never hate you, I love you, Lily. And I will keep telling you until you believe me. Everything I do, everything, is for you.”
Lily went into her, relieved when her mother dropped the bags and wrapped her arms around her.
“I’m so sorry. I should have told you, but I was scared, young, and I was selfish. You are my daughter, Lily, you are mine in everything except DNA.”
“I’ve felt so
adrift. It’s stupid, really.” Lily backed away, wiping at her face. “You’re my mum, nothing will change that. But so many other things are changing, and it’s overwhelming. So much to take in at the same time.”
“It’s going to be all right, I promise.” She picked up her bags. “Make sure you lock up at night. And don’t forget to eat properly, especially breakfast. Eat your porridge every day. Take it camping with you.” She went out of the gate and started down the road.
“I will. Drive safely, Mum.”
“Ring me if you need me,” she called.
Lily stayed in the doorway until her mother’s mini pulled up by the gate. The passenger window lowered. “I want to see all the porridge gone by the time I get back. At least I’ll know you’ve had one decent meal a day.”
“I’m not that bad.” Lily laughed.
“I mean it, Lilith. Oh, and try to remember how the washing machine works. I don’t want to come back to Mount Everest.”
“I’ll try, but it’s so complicated to use.”
“It’s not—” Her mother shook her head when Lily poked her tongue out at her.
“Go on, Mum, Mr Pringle is waiting for you. He’ll pine away if you don’t hurry.”
“Bad girl! Remember, washing and porridge.”
“I will.”
She watched her mother drive away before going in and shutting the door. She might as well keep her promise about the porridge now she was up.
JONAS HESITATED BEFORE sitting on the chair by the fireplace. “Okay. Someone has definitely died this time.”
“No, no deaths.” Lily forced a laugh, but no one joined in.
The tension in the room rose when there was a knock on the front door.
“What’s going on?” Jonas’s deep voice resonated through the room.
“I’ll get it.” She raced from the room and closed her eyes briefly at the front door. If she was nervous, the boys must be on tenterhooks. They hadn’t shown any signs of nerves, but when the twins came back earlier, they were quieter than usual.
She opened the door, knowing who would be standing there.
“Hi, Lily, how are you feeling today?”
“I’m fine, thanks.” She stepped to one side to let Drew in. He closed the door and indicated for her to go first.
She went in, scurried over to her seat between the twins and collapsed into it. And then jumped up again, remembering her manners. “Oh, sorry. Who wants a drink? Tea, Coffee, Hot Chocolate? There’s some juice, and I think there may be some lemonade left.”
Josh tugged her belt loop. “We’re okay, babe, sit down.”
“Oh, okay, but if you want anything just say.” She sat down.
“What’s going on here? Who is this?” Jonas demanded as Drew took a kitchen chair and straddled it. “Is this who cast an Obscurus Arcanum and scared the life out of you, Lily?”
“I’m Lily’s father, Drew Wenlock. You seem to know me, but I’m afraid I’m at a loss as to who you are, other than the boys’ mentor,” Drew answered.
“Jonas Rutledge. Why are you here?” he snapped the words out, his eyes narrowed. “Boys, why is he here? Has he hurt you?”
“I haven’t hurt anyone. I explained myself to Lily, and it’s behind us. That’s not why we’re here though. How far have you got, boys?” Drew looked around at them.
“Nowhere,” Matt admitted. “We were waiting for you.”
“Fair enough. Let’s get one thing out of the way before we do anything else, Jonas. I know what you are, and I know you’ve been protecting the boys. None of them told me about you, so don’t get angry with them. I found out about you anyway.”
“I heard. By forcing your way into a boy’s memory,” Jonas drawled, clearly not impressed.
“Any means necessary when it comes to keeping my daughter safe.” Drew leant his arms across the back of the chair.
“What is this all about?” Jonas demanded.
“There was a power cut here last night,” Drew answered him.
“It happens several times a year, ask the boys, nothing unusual about that.”
“No, but we also had a visit. Well, Lily did, a close encounter if you will. The Council sent a witch-hunter and a vampire.”
Jonas turned to the fireplace, snapping his fingers, and flames caught the kindling roaring into life.
“The Council is still around, it always will be. You must know that,” Drew pressed him.
“There is no Council of One Purpose.” Jonas voice was flat, dead, almost disinterested.
Nate made a noise at the back of his throat and she looked at him. He was sitting opposite Jonas with Matt perched on the arm, both looking conflicted. Josh was fidgeting with his fingers and Jake was twitching. She couldn’t do much to help Nate or Matt, but she knew how to make it easier for the twins. She stood up and Jake didn’t need prompting. He shifted over until he was pressed against Josh from shoulder to knee. She sat down and rested her elbows on her knees.
Drew took in a deep breath. “Say it again. Say there’s no Council.”
“There is no Council.”
“Bullshit! Why are you here?” Drew demanded.
“None of your business. What are you doing here?”
“You know why I’m here. I need to know if you were sent here? Or was it purely coincidence?”
“Lots of things happen purely by coincidence. But I still don’t know why you think it’s any of your business.” Jonas sat back from the fire, still watching the flames.
“Because that’s my daughter sitting by your protégés!” Drew pointed at her, still glaring at Jonas. “It’s most definitely my business if you feed her lies! All I care about is her safety. You’re protecting those boys; why?” Drew didn’t raise his voice, but she heard his anger.
“You know why,” Jonas snapped.
“Tell me again. If the Council isn’t around anymore, what difference does it make?”
“Non-magical people would rip him apart if they got their hands on him, you know that. You know how rare it is, but if they find him—” He let out a grunt and closed his eyes.
“You do know they exist!” Lily cried. How could he do that to them? How could he lie to them?
“You just said ‘if they find him’.” Nate’s voice was muffled, his head in his hands, elbows on his knees. Matt was staring at Jonas as if he’d never seen him before. The twins didn’t react at all, but she knew they were saying a lot inside. They’d all been clinging to the hope that Jonas hadn’t lied, and with one sentence, that hope had been ripped away.
Jonas looked across at Lily, catching her gaze. “There is no Council.”
“But you lie—” She stopped abruptly, something was wrong. She didn’t know what, but there was just something in the way he looked directly at her, and not the boys. It wasn’t her he needed to grovel to.
He took a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his mouth and she saw a red stain before he folded the cloth. She made herself think clearly, to push down her anger with him and think about the whole picture.
“Are you lying?” she asked.
“I’m telling you what I can,” he replied.
“What about the car last night? Do you deny there was a witch-hunter and a vampire here?” Drew demanded.
“I only have your word for who was in that car. Did you see them?” Jonas asked.
“We saw how Lily was. She was freezing, and it wasn’t a natural cold.” Matt’s voice was emotionless, his eyes looked dead.
“I’m telling you what I can,” he repeated.
“Oh, for Merlin’s sake. If you’re hiding something and it puts my daughter in danger, I will take you apart bit by bit.” Drew slammed his hand onto the back of the chair.
Jonas looked stricken but turned his face away, shrugging helplessly. “I’ve told you what I can.”
“Jonas.” Lily caught his attention. “Please, give me something else.”
He held her gaze, silent for so long that she thought he wasn’t goi
ng to help. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath and then met her gaze. “Lon.” He brought his handkerchief to his lips and coughed into it, his other hand was white knuckled on the arm of his chair.
“What?” Drew was mystified as he looked at Jonas. “What the hell is that? Why won’t you help us here?”
“I seem to have picked up a cold,” Jonas said, wiping at his mouth.
“We trusted you, we still do, we still will, just tell us, please,” Nate begged, and her heart twisted in her chest at his desperation.
“Well, then you’re a moron.” Drew sneered at Nate.
Nate swore at him and then true to form, they were trading insults at the top of their voices. Lily shut them all out, trying to work out what he was telling her. She’d asked, and he’d given it to her.
Lon.
All she needed to do now was work out what it meant.
London? Long? Longitude?
It made no sense, there was no word that seemed relevant at all. She took out her phone and type the word into a search engine. Nothing came up that made any sense to what was happening here. Frustrated she racked her brains, she had to figure this out.
Maybe Lon was the meaning of something, not a place or object. She searched the meaning and scrolled down, confusion growing, until something caught her eye.
L.O.N. League of Nations.
How on earth did the League of Nations have anything to do with it?
It seemed like a long shot, a stab in the dark, but it was worth a try. She looked at Jonas, who was watching her intently. “League of Nations?”
He closed his eyes, his shoulders slumped as he nodded his head once.
“What are you talking about?” Matt looked at her.
Lily ignored him, going through all she knew about the organisation. “League of Nations. Set up in 1919 to try and settle disputes before they erupted into open warfare. In the early years it had good success but began to falter when it couldn’t prevent conflicts that led straight into the second world war. It was dismantled until after the war when it was resurrected, with a few changes, to be the United Nations. The UN had most of the same ideals— Oh, oh! What else is the Council known as? What other names does it have?” She looked over at Drew and saw his instant realisation.