Chester didn’t answer. He just chewed his lip, nervously. “Let’s wait for the others.”
Delia and Harold joined them a few minutes later, having shared a cab from College Street. When they heard that Brendan had given Chester and Dmitri the slip, they couldn’t believe it.
“He did it again,” Harold said in amazement.
“Where did he go?” Delia hissed, furious that Brendan had escaped their carefully planned tailing operation.
“Relax,” Chester grunted. He eyed the wall of fog before turning to them. “I’ll show you how they hide themselves. Dmitri, I want you to walk that way, into the fog.”
“What?” Dmitri squeaked. “I’ll fall into the lake.”
“You won’t,” Chester said. “It’s an illusion. There’s a dock out there. I can see it.”
Dmitri frowned. “I can’t see anything.”
“It’s there,” Chester insisted.
“Oh, come on!” Delia snarled. “I’ll do it.” She took a few steps toward the fog, her face rigid. With each step, her progress became more difficult. Suddenly, just as she reached the pole with the fluttering cloth, she stopped. Her face was a mask of confusion. She turned on her heel and started walking in the opposite direction.
Chester caught her by the arm. “Where are you going?”
Delia stared at him. “I’m… I’m going home.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know,” Delia said. She frowned. “I just suddenly wanted to go home.”
Chester turned to the other boys. “See? They make you see things that aren’t there. They make you do things that you don’t really want to do. Listen to me. I told you before, I can see things, all right?”
Delia was shaking off her daze. Her eyes shifted to the fog and the end of the boardwalk. “So? What do you see?”
Chester took a deep breath. “I see… a dock. It’s made of wood and looks really old. It juts out into the water a ways.”
“That’s impossible,” Harold scoffed. “There’s nothing but fog and empty water.”
“If that’s what you want to believe,” Chester said angrily, “we can just call this off right now. Otherwise, you’re just gonna have to trust me.”
Harold, Delia, and Dmitri exchanged glances. Delia spoke. “What do we do?”
“I don’t know what’s going to happen. I don’t know if this will work. It’s just a hunch,” Chester said. “But I think we should all join hands.”
“Why?” Dee demanded.
“If I see what’s there and I walk out onto that dock and you’re with me, maybe we’ll all make it onto the dock.”
“And if we don’t?” Dmitri shook his head. “We end up in the lake with hypotherminus.”
“Hypothermia,” Harold corrected.
“Whatever,” Dmitri retorted. “We could die.”
“That’s the only way I see us doing this together,” Chester insisted. “Either we try it my way or I go on alone.”
Delia rolled her eyes and stepped forward. “I’m in. Don’t be such little girls!”
She reached up and grabbed Chester’s hand, holding out her other hand to Dmitri. When given the chance to hold a pretty girl’s hand, Dmitri decided death by frigid drowning was a small price to pay. He grabbed the proffered hand. Harold reluctantly reached out and took Dmitri’s other hand. Thus linked, Chester faced the edge of the boardwalk and, smiling grimly, stepped past the pole with the red ribbon fluttering on top.
One by one, the little group followed him. Each in turn disappeared into the wall of fog.
They emerged on a rough wooden dock. The boards creaked beneath their feet. They were all alone. The frozen lake vanished into the fog.
“Holy crap,” Harold breathed. “This is amazing!” Dmitri gasped. “It worked!” Chester laughed. “Now what?” Delia demanded.
As if in answer, they heard a bell ringing out over the lake. The sound of waves slapping on wood came to them an instant before a boat emerged from the mist. The craft was like a boat out of a storybook with a high prow carved in the shape of a dragon.^ 58 A tall man in an old-fashioned rain hat and oilskin coat stood in the stern. They watched in trepidation and wonder as the boat glided, propelled by no obvious means, and bumped against the dock. The tall man placed one foot on the planking of the dock to secure the vessel before addressing them.
“The Ferry is here,” he rasped. “I am the Ferryman, Brother of the Ways. What payment shall you offer?”
“Payment,” Harold squeaked. “What kind of payment?”
“You must pay the fare. Gold. Silver or precious stones.”
Delia was the only one of them who seemed nonplussed by the situation. She dug in her jacket pocket and came out with a handful of change. She held it out for the Ferryman to see. “How much is it?”
The Ferryman shook his head. “Gold. Silver or precious stones.”
“But this is money!” Delia insisted.
He merely shook his head.
“I get it!” Dmitri said suddenly. “There’s no silver in coinage anymore. It’s mostly nickel and other alloys.”
“So it has to be real? Okay.” Delia fumbled at her wrist. She was wearing a charm bracelet. With a little effort, she managed to detach a silver snowflake charm. She held it out to the Ferryman, who plucked it from her palm with nimble fingers. He held it up under the brim of his hat. He sniffed the metal and nodded. “Board.”
“Great,” Delia said. “I have charms for everybody.”
The Ferryman raised a palm. “No. Each one must pay his way with his own coin. That is the Law.”
“What Law?” Delia demanded.
“The Law of the Brotherhood of the Ways. There are no exceptions. Each must pay the fare.”
Delia opened her mouth to argue but closed it again as if she suddenly realized whom she was talking to. She stepped off the wharf into the boat.
Harold reached into his backpack. After a bit of digging, he pulled out an old-fashioned fountain pen. Unscrewing the cap, he revealed a shiny metal nib. He held out the pen to the Ferryman. “It’s gold.”
The man took the pen, held it up, and sniffed. He nodded once. “Board.”
Harold sidled warily past him. Dmitri reached into his jacket and drew out a silver chain. He tugged gently, snapping the chain from his neck and holding it out. “My Saint Christopher medal.”^ 59
The Ferryman’s head tilted slightly to one side as he took the chain and held it up glittering before his face. “A Brother of the Ways. Board.”
Dmitri scuttled over to join Delia and Harold in the craft. Only Chester stood on the dock. Chester just stared evenly at the tall figure without making any attempt to search for payment.
“I haven’t got anything to pay you.”
“A Boon then,” the Ferryman rasped. “A Boon in exchange for passage.”
“Boon?” Chester frowned. “What’s a Boon?”
“A bargain,” the voice intoned. “A promise. I will ask for a service in the future and you must do what I will or thy life is forfeit.”
Chester didn’t say a word. He just stood on the wharf, thinking it over.
“Don’t do it,” Harold urged him. “Are you crazy?”
“It isn’t wise,” Dmitri agreed. “You have no idea what he’ll ask of you.”
Delia didn’t speak. She just stared at Chester, waiting. Chester returned her gaze. Something in her face made him decide.
“I agree,” Chester announced.
“Board!” The Ferryman instructed in his cavernous voice. Was there a hint of satisfaction in his tone? It was impossible to tell. Chester stepped past him onto the boat with his companions, and the Ferryman pushed away from the wharf into the fog.
“I was expecting more,” Brendan said as he walked along the path. He and Charlie were heading to the Community Centre where the Swan was hidden. So far, there had been a few stalls selling food, the kind of thing you’d see at a county fair, with sandwiches and cider, hot drinks and sweets.
“Just wait.” Charlie smiled. “We aren’t at the Faerground yet.”
“Fairground? There are rides and stuff?”
“Not fair with an i. Faer with an e.”
“What’s the difference?”