Brendan sped down the middle of the road. Charlie took a more adventurous route, leaping lightly along the roofs of the parked cars. Her footfalls were so gentle that she didn’t set off a single car alarm. The vehicles didn’t even shift under her weight. Brendan was so engrossed with watching her that he almost didn’t see the police car cruise around the corner ahead of him.
“Brendan!” BLT squeaked. Brendan snapped his head forward and saw the looming grill of the cruiser just in time. Without a conscious thought, he sprang into the air, clearing the flashers with a metre to spare. He skidded to a halt, his bare feet sliding on the icy pavement.
“Whoa. That was close,” he gasped.
He didn’t have time to dwell on his narrow miss. Red light bathed him as the police cruiser slammed on its brakes, slewing to a stop on the slippery street. The red lights on top began to spin and the driver’s door swung open.
“Stay right where you are!” the policeman shouted as he climbed out of the car.
Brendan froze. He’d never been yelled at by a policeman before.^ 33 He’d also never been out in his pyjamas and bare feet in the middle of the night before. How was he going to explain himself to the constable walking toward him, flashlight in hand? How was he going to explain this to his parents? Brendan blinked as the beam of the flashlight rose to glare into his face.
“Uh… ” He opened his mouth to say something, anything, but he didn’t know what to say.
In the end, he had no opportunity to speak. A dark shape flashed by between him and the policeman. The flashlight went spinning from the constable’s hand.
“Wha-?” Before the officer could register the flashlight smashing onto the pavement, the shape streaked by again. His weapon belt snapped open and the heavy leather holster bearing his gun, Taser, and walkie-talkie thudded around his ankles. The dark shape blurred by once more before stopping to reveal Charlie standing directly in front of the startled man.
“Evening, Officer,” Charlie said sweetly and pushed the man in the chest with both hands. The constable stumbled on the belt at his feet and fell backwards onto his butt with a loud whuffing sound. Charlie whirled around and dashed past Brendan, laughing merrily.
“Run, dummy!” she called over her shoulder.
Brendan and the shocked officer stared at each other for a few seconds in disbelief. At last, the policeman’s face registered anger. He scrambled to his feet. Brendan didn’t wait any longer. He turned and desperately warped away as fast as his Faerie legs could carry him, following the sound of Charlie’s laughter.
She led him south, blazing along residential streets where Humans lay sleeping in their beds, Christmas lights twinkling on their porches and windows. From one backyard a dog barked, sensing their passage, though by the time the bark came, the two Faeries were long gone. On and on, Brendan chased after Charlie’s blurred form, gaining slowly until they plunged under the expressway, into the parkland that bordered the lake. Brendan finally caught her at the running track that snaked along the waterfront. He fell into step with her. They loped easily along the trail, heading to the centre of town. In spite of his annoyance, Brendan had to admit that being out in the cold night, flying along with this strange Faerie girl was just a teensy bit enjoyable. But he suppressed that feeling, holding on to his anger as best he could.
“What are you doing? Are you trying to get me arrested?”
Charlie threw her head back and laughed. “You should have seen your face.” She pointed at him, giggling. “You looked hilarious!”
“Hilarious? I almost had a heart attack.” Brendan frowned. “I have to live among Humans. That means I have to obey their laws and not… assault police officers!”
Charlie managed to get her laughter under control. She looked sideways at him, puzzled. “You really do think that, don’t you?”
“Yes,” Brendan said.
“Okay. You have to be a law-abiding Human citizen. But you have a duty to your Faerie side, too. You’ve got to live up to your potential and use your gifts. And you have gifts. I have the spirit of the stag in my legs, Brendan. Not just anyone could catch me the way you did.” She turned north when they reached the docklands. Brendan matched her stride for stride. “Try to admit to yourself that you’re having a good time for once in your life, eh?”
Brendan didn’t answer. He didn’t know what to say to that. He was enjoying himself. His whole body sang with joy from the race they were running through the darkened city. He couldn’t deny how good he felt, but he didn’t want to show Charlie that he enjoyed any of it. “You’re fast,” he said with grudging respect. “Are you a Warper, too?”
“No.” Without missing a step, Charlie pulled up her right sleeve to reveal the tattoo of the stag. “I am a Shadow Dancer.”
“Shadow Dancer?”
“It’s a one-of-a-kind Art. I’m the only one of me. I can take on the traits of my Shadow Animals. Speed from the stag.” She bared her other arm to show a bear tattoo. “The she-bear gives me strength.” Pulling up her sleeve further, she revealed the boar. “And the boar, she gives me cunning. You don’t mess with the boar.” Smiling fiercely, she raced ahead, across the expressway, mercifully traffic free, and into the rail yards. Brendan willed himself to run faster.
“I don’t plan on having the chance,” he called to her back. Charlie jerked to a halt. Brendan drew up beside her.
“Brendan, please.” Charlie’s voice became softer. “I know my showing up was a shock, but I promise I’ll behave myself, honest! I just want to see what the big fuss is about you. Everybody is talking about you, you know.”
“Who’s everybody?”
“Births are rare among the Fair Folk. And you come from two very powerful parents from two powerful factions.” Charlie shrugged. “A lot of Fair Folk are coming to the Clan Gathering just to get a look at you. Powerful Ancient Ones. Some of them haven’t left their homes for many years, but they’re making the trip to see you.”
“Oh, crap. Why can’t people just leave me alone? All I want is to be left alone to figure out what’s happening to me. I just want to be normal.”
“Well,” Charlie said, smiling, “there are a lot of different kinds of normal. And you aren’t any of them, Brendan. Come on.”
“Where are we going?”
She pointed. “Up!”
They stood at the foot of Rogers Centre, the domed stadium that was home to the Blue Jays baseball team. The white curve of the roof glowed dimly in the moonlight.
“Up?” Brendan gulped.
“Up!” Charlie repeated, trotting toward the sheer concrete wall.
“You’re nuts!” he moaned.
After a moment’s consideration, Brendan shook his head and started after her.
^ 33 Policemen are trained to be calm and not raise their voices. If you are being yelled at by a policeman you have very likely done something very wrong or have frightened them badly. No matter what the reason, the situation cannot be good. Try not to get into situations that require the police to yell at you. Unless you’re hard of hearing.
CHARLIE’S STORY
The city spread out like diamonds strewn on a black velvet carpet below him. To the north, bank towers and condos loomed. Brendan could make out Old City Hall, the Queen’s Park legislature, and the weird angles of the Royal Ontario Museum Crystal. To the south, the dark waters of the lake stretched away, broken only by the occasional ship’s lights and the glow from Ward’s Island. The wind was stronger up at the apex of the dome. Brendan and Charlie sat on the edge of a shell-like section of the domed roof, dangling their feet over the rim.
“Pretty cool, non?” Charlie asked.
“I guess so.” Brendan watched as BLT flitted here and there, nimbly avoiding the lunges of Tweezers. The crimson-eyed ferret leapt playfully at her from the tiled surface.