His sister. Oh yeah. Could be her, but she didn’t like computers and couldn’t have rigged up a webcam to save her life.
Maybe Harold and Dmitri. Would they resort to spying on him? He found it hard to believe. Had their friendship slid so far that they would do something like that? Maybe.
Or maybe it’s even worse. Maybe it’s someone I don’t know who’s trying to learn my secret.
That thought made him really worried. He gave up trying to calm his mind and got dressed.
At breakfast, Delia was behaving strangely. She refused to even look at him. There were dark circles under her eyes as though she hadn’t slept either. When Brendan asked for the jam, she passed it to him without a word or a glance. She was usually sullen in the morning, but this was a new level of frigidity. He decided he couldn’t be bothered figuring out what was wrong with her. His mind was buzzing with other thoughts. Last night, being with Kim had given him a little distance from Charlie. He now looked at the lutin more critically. The meeting with Merddyn had opened his eyes. She was Merddyn’s… what? Apprentice? Lackey? Servant? The Ancient Faerie had instructed her to befriend him. Was she really a friend? Her tears when she’d visited his dad’s music room had seemed genuine, but how could he know for sure? Although Kim was annoying, bossy, and disdainful of his attachment to his Human family, he was certain that everything she did was meant to help him adjust to his new life. With Charlie, he wasn’t sure if he was just a part of Merddyn’s agenda, a pawn in some larger game.
His father had just finished talking about a UFO that had supposedly been sighted in the wee hours of the morning over the lake.^ 51 Condo residents reported hearing a sonic boom and high-pitched shrieking, and seeing bizarre lights in the sky. Officials were saying the phenomenon was likely heat lightning or some other weather anomaly that was related to the unprecedented cold snap that had fallen on the city. Brendan knew that residents had actually seen the Wild Hunt arriving at the Ward’s Island, but he didn’t share his knowledge with the table.
“What are you going to do today, Brendan? Plans?” his dad asked.
“I don’t know. We only have a half day today. And there’s a Christmas assembly. Not much of an actual school day,” Brendan said. “I’m free for the afternoon. I was thinking of going out tonight.”
“With Charlie?” His mother’s face was eager for news on the Charlie front.
“Maybe,” Brendan conceded. Again, the girlfriend ruse was coming in handy. Having Charlie as an excuse was going to be helpful tonight when he had to attend the Gathering.
“I hear the Toronto Islands are a nice spot for a date,” Delia said suddenly, breaking her silence.
“That might be a no go,” Brendan’s mum said. “There was a cold snap last night. The harbour is frozen and the ferries aren’t sailing. They’re trying to break up the ice but they haven’t got an icebreaker heavy enough.”
Brendan stared at Delia. Why had she suggested the islands? It was weird. She was focused on her waffle again, studiously avoiding his gaze. She must know something, he decided. But what? Was she the culprit with the camera? He wouldn’t put it past her. He’d have to be careful. He tried to put it out of his mind. He had to concentrate on the Proving to come and save any worries about Delia for later… if there was a later.
“We’ll probably go to the movies or shopping or something.”
“Yeah,” Brendan’s dad agreed. “It’s a real freak weather system. So wear your heavy coats, guys. It’s gonna be super cold.” He picked his parka off the hook and pulled it on. “And don’t lick any frozen pipes!”^ 52 With that advice, he opened the back door and was gone.
“I gotta go, Mum,” Brendan said. He lifted his backpack off the floor and bent to kiss his mother. “See you tonight.”
Brendan and Charlie walked along College Street, past the hospitals and the cafes that served the university.
“What’s the matter with you?” Charlie said finally. She’d appeared at his side moments before. “You haven’t said two words in a row since I showed up.”
“I don’t know,” Brendan mumbled. “Don’t feel like talking, that’s all.”
Brendan’s father was right. The city was gripped in an arctic chill. BLT took refuge in Brendan’s parka pocket, refusing even to poke her head out. The very air seemed to crystallize around them. He focused his Faerie Sight and saw the minute particles of ice glittering in the clouds of his breath. All the people around him were bundled up against the cold, only their eyes peering out between scarves and hats. The clouds hung low and grey with the promise of more snow.
They turned up a side street, cutting across to the Spadina loop.
“Merddyn likes you,” Charlie said. “I can tell.”
“Good for me,” Brendan grunted.
“Come on,” Charlie chided him. “It’s quite a thing to impress that guy. He’s seen everything, that one.”
Brendan stopped and faced her. “Why should I care? I have enough people who like me. I have my family and my friends. And they don’t expect me to save the world for them, either.”
“So angry all the time.” Charlie shook her head. “What have I done?”
“It’s not what you’ve done, it’s why you’re doing it.”
“I’m just trying to show you how to use your power.”
“Because Merddyn told you to.”
“Oui,” Charlie agreed. “He told me to get close to you and help you. But after a while, I did it for me. I envy you, Brendan. I don’t know who my family is, or if they’re even alive. I like your family.”
“Do you?” Brendan said angrily. “You’ve come into our lives and told them lies and they believe you. They don’t even know who you really are. What’s worse, I think they want to believe you for my sake, to make me happy.”
Charlie hung her head, her dark hair hiding her face. When she raised her head again, he saw that she was crying. Tears shimmered on her cheeks. “You’re right. What you say is true. I’m sorry, Brendan.” She turned and walked away.
Brendan suddenly felt ashamed of himself. So what if she was helping him to help herself? Did that make her so terrible? Did that give him the right to attack her? He reached out his hand, about to call her back…
“BRENDAN!” A voice suddenly pierced his head like a spike driving between his ears. He cried out and fell to his knees. “BRENDAN! COME TO ME NOW!”
Brendan fell on his face on the frozen sidewalk. When he rolled over onto his back, he saw that he was in front of Lord Lansdowne School. The black rock loomed over him. It seemed huge, about to topple down and crush him with its infinite weight.
“No!” Brendan cried out. “NO! Get away from me!”
“BRENDAN!” the voiced howled in his head. “YOU MUST HELP ME! I’M TRAPPED IN HERE!” The voice filled his whole mind and soul. It was rife with need and pain and anger. There was something else. Beneath the pain and anger was blackness, an abyss of unnatural hunger.
“LEAVE ME ALONE!” Brendan shouted at the top of his lungs. He could feel something clawing at his consciousness, trying to unravel the edge of his mind like a cat tugging at a ball of yarn. It was a sickening feeling.
“Brendan! Brendan!” A voice spoke nearby. “Brendan? Are you all right?”
“LEAVE ME ALONE!” Brendan screamed, pushing the speaker away. Suddenly, the voice was gone and he could think again. Charlie had fallen over the low fence that surrounded the stone. He must have pushed her without realizing. Instantly, he reached for her hand and helped her to her feet again.
“I’m sorry,” Brendan said automatically. “I heard a voice. That rock… It spoke to me.”
“Spoke to you?” Charlie said in surprise. She turned and cast an appraising eye on the rough surface of the stone, her focus suddenly on it rather than Brendan. “Has this happened before?”