So Very Unfae by A. A. Albright

Author:A. A. Albright [Albright, A. A.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-12-13T23:00:00+00:00

16. Our Saviours Or Our Doom

We stepped into a warm kitchen, where an older man had prepared us a hearty stew. He also handed me an enormous mug of black coffee, making him a friend for life.

As we sat down to eat, he explained who he was: my father’s grandfather, my great grandfather, the man who had made the cane which now trapped Brian inside. When he asked me to call him Granddad, I took a deep breath and said, ‘Okay, Granddad.’ Sure, he was technically my great grandfather, but I had a much easier time accepting my family ties with this man than I did with Arnold Albright.

Like the Queen, his power was palpable to me. When I looked, I could see it shining out of him. As beautiful as it was, it also made me feel more afraid than ever that I’d fail tomorrow night. If he and his daughter hadn’t managed to break Arnold’s spell, I wasn’t sure how I could. Criminy, anyway – just a couple of days earlier, I’d been so sure that this was going to work.

They chatted away with me, telling me all about my father, and the other members of my family. ‘Brian is the youngest of all my children,’ the Queen said. ‘By a great degree. The others had long gone on to the next stage in their journey when he arrived.’

As curious as I was about the next stage, I had the feeling that was something I wouldn’t be finding out about for a very long time. Instead, I asked her a question that was a whole lot more relevant to the current situation.

‘So … how many of your people have tried to break this spell of Arnold’s over the last thirty years?’ I asked as I dug into one of the star-shaped biscuits that my new grandfather had just brought to the table.

He and his daughter exchanged a glance. ‘Everyone,’ he said, finally. ‘And of course, all of the Púca and the others among us who are still free to come and go. It’s only the sióga who Arnold trapped here.’

The Queen’s father stood, moving into another room, and she reached for my hand. ‘I have done my best to see you, ever since my Púca friends brought me news of Arnold’s latest journalist. I was able to project myself once or twice, shortly after your arrival, just so I could see you. But that became too risky, so I stuck to Greg’s game instead. You were very hard to get to talk to, you know. As stubborn as your father. You look so like Abby, but your personality … that is all Brian.’

I smiled. Hearing that I took after someone was as wonderful as it was overwhelming.

‘That’s why I can almost understand what you’re about to do,’ she said. ‘With the cure.’

‘Almost?’ My smile slipped away. ‘I told you about this from the start. I mean, sure, Greg and I came up with an extremely awkward code in which to explain things, but I know you understood.

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