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.
“I like this city,” Charlie said, stretching her arms above her head. “I haven’t been here for a long time. They have been busy.”
Brendan shrugged. He had no idea how long it had been since Charlie’s last visit, but even in the last ten years, a lot had been going on. The banks were constantly vying to build the highest skyscrapers as their headquarters. Probably a hundred or more condos and hotels were under construction, and the waterfront was being developed from east to west. So many people crammed into one place. He recalled his trip under the lake with his Silkie^ 34 friend Oona and the devastation she’d shown him that the city’s Humans had caused. As she carried him under the waters of Lake Ontario to escape Orcadia, Oona had pointed out the lifeless desert the lake had become due to the pollution Humans poured into it. Unless something changed drastically, even more damage to the natural world was to come. He couldn’t subscribe to the violence that Faeries like Orcadia wanted to resort to in order to make that change, but he could understand her frustration and anger.
Brendan tried to shake off his gloomy mood. The city could be beautiful, too. The skyline was a jagged string of lights. Buildings had been strung with Christmas lights as well, adding splashes of colour to the night. The CN Tower soared only a few metres away. How many wonderful hours had he spent with his family at the ball games held beneath this very dome? No, there was good and there was bad. Over the last few strange weeks, he’d been grappling with his two natures. Trying to balance them was becoming more and more difficult. He wondered if he would ever reach a place of peace within himself.
Charlie broke in on his reverie. “You didn’t seem to have any problems using your warp abilities tonight.”
“Not until you tripped me, anyway.”
Charlie laughed.
“Who says I have problems with my powers?” Brendan asked defensively.
“Friends of mine,” she answered cryptically. “But you managed okay tonight. You almost beat me in that race.”
“Almost? I was gonna smoke you when you tripped me.”
“Yes, well. You go on dreaming.” She laughed. “Either way, my point is, you were able to use your powers with ease. Why is that?”
Brendan thought about that question for a moment, staring out over the lake to where Ward’s Island slumbered, a dark, low line. The airport beside it was lit up with spotlights, although no planes were allowed to take off and land in the wee hours of the morning.
