'Good story,' Max said warmly.
They wound their way up for a while until they looked back and saw the lights of the town coming on before them. They all found it uncannily comforting; Richmond looked bright and at peace in an inky sea.
Tom followed the lines of blue fire as Church had done at Arthur's Seat until he located their confluence on an open spot on the hillside. The sparks flew like molten metal as he pressed his hand down hard. Within seconds, to Max's obvious amazement, the grass, soil and rock tore apart with a groan, revealing a dark path deep into the hillside.
Max peered in nervously. 'Are you sure it's okay?'
'No,' Tom said, and gave Max a shove between the shoulder blades that propelled him into the shadows.
Otherworld was bathed in the crisp, creamy light of an autumnal morning just after sunrise. Swathes of mist rolled across the wet grass at calf height. The air was rich with the perfume of turning leaves, fallen apples and overripe blackberries. Melodic birdsong floated out from a nearby copse that was painted gold, red and brown in the dawn light.
Max looked around, disoriented. 'I don't get it.'
'Time moves differently here.' Church strode out towards gleaming white Doric columns he could just make out through another thick copse. 'Sometimes faster, sometimes slower. It's not fixed.'
Max's face showed his difficulty in grasping the concept of this new reality.
'Here are the rules,' Tom said curtly. 'Eat and drink nothing. If you are offered anything, politely refuse. Treat everyone you meet with respect. Never, ever raise your voice in anger. It would be best if you said nothing at all. Try to stay in the background.'
'I'm getting a little nervous now,' Max admitted.
'Just pretend you're in a different country with a culture you don't know,' Church said. 'You have to be cautious until you know the rules of the society, right?'
They moved quickly through the trees, the curling leaves crunching underfoot. Beyond, they had to shield their eyes from the glare of the sun reflecting off the polished white stone of their destination which rested in majesterial splendour among intricately laid out gardens. The Doric columns supported a portico carved with an astonishingly detailed tableau showing aspects of the history of the Tuatha De Danann. Behind it, the Court of the Final Word spread out as far as the eye could see, like some Greek temple reflected in infinite mirrors.
'It's enormous.' Max's voice was laden with awe.
'It would seem.' The door was made of polished stone. Tom was there first and hammered on it. His fist barely seemed to make a sound, but they could hear the echoes rumbling through the structure into the distance.
When dim footsteps approached Church and Ruth both caught their breath. Despite all they had seen, they were not inured to the wonders and terrors of Otherworld. The life forms were myriad and astonishing in their complexity; even with the Tuatha De Danann, one could never quite be sure what would present itself.
The door swung open silently, as if it weighed no more than a feather. It framed two figures standing in a cool, enormous hall dominated by a large, tinkling fountain and tall trees which oddly seemed to be part of the structure. The young man and woman looked barely in their twenties and were dressed in what appeared to be gleaming white togas, edged with gold braid. Church and the others' eyes had no trouble adapting to their appearance, which meant the Golden Ones were of low level and low power.
'Frail Creatures?' the young man said curiously, his beautiful face like marble, his heavy-lidded eyes moving slowly, like a lizard in the sun.
'I am True Thomas,' Tom began. 'You may have heard of me. I have been granted the freedom of your realm.'
The woman bowed courteously but a little stiffly, her long, black hair shimmering as she moved. 'Greetings, True Thomas. We are aware of your prestigious position.'
Tom winced at this, although there was no irony in the woman's words. 'My companions and I seek the aid of the Council of the Final Word. Are any of them present this day?'
'All the council members are concerned with the business of study, True Thomas,' the man said. 'A great deal was lost in the storm that followed the Wish-Hex and now so much has been opened up to them once more. The Fixed Lands for one. I am sure you understand.'
Tom nodded slowly; Church was puzzled to see a grey cast fall across his face. 'They are not involved in any dissections?' The young man said nothing. Tom composed himself and continued, 'With the freedom granted to me, I would wish to wait.'
'It may be some time. In your perception.'
'If you would inform the council of my attendance I am sure one of the Venerated Ones would eventually find a way to greet me.'
The man nodded and stepped aside so they could enter. They were led to a room off a long, lofty atrium. It was filled with marble benches and sumptuous cushions piled alongside rushing crystal streams cut into the gleaming stone floor.
'I wish I'd brought Laura's sunglasses,' Ruth said feebly.
'How are you feeling?' Church gave her a hug.
'Still sick.'
They arranged some of the cushions in a circle and lounged. 'They're like the worst kind of arrogant aristocrats,' Max whispered. Tom made a silencing move with his hand. Max nodded and continued, 'How long are they going to keep us waiting?'
'Hours. Perhaps days. Maybe even weeks.'
'Weeks!' Ruth said dismally.
Yet it was only twenty minutes before they heard movement in the corridor without. 'Looks like you've still got some clout,' Church whispered.
A deep, unfocused light glimmered across the white walls, as if whoever was approaching held a lantern, but when the figure emerged he carried nothing. And this time Church did experience the unnerving shift of perception; faces seemed to float across the figure's head, some of them sickeningly alien and incomprehensible, others cultured and sophisticated. Eventually he settled on a set of educated, aristocratic features that centred on a Roman nose and a high forehead with piercing grey eyes and full lips; his hair was long and grey and tied at the back in a ponytail. There was a sense of tremendous authority about him that made Church almost want to bow, although he was loath to debase himself before any of the invaders.
Tom, however, was already down on one knee. 'You honour me, master.'
'True Thomas. It pleases me to see you so hale and hearty after everything.' His smile was broad and warm; Church felt instantly at ease. 'And these companions, are they as resilient as you, True Thomas?'
'Oh, more so by far.' Tom stood up and gestured to Church and Ruth. 'A Brother of Dragons, a Sister of Dragons.' Tom introduced them by name, studiously avoiding bringing any attention to Max. Then he motioned to the gentle, kindly figure while keeping one eye on Ruth. 'You are honoured. This is Dian Cecht, High Lord of the Court of the Final Word, seeker of mystery, master healer, supreme smith, builder of the silver hand of Nuada-'
Dian Cecht waved him silent with a pleasant laugh. 'There is no need to trumpet my successes unless you also tell of my many failures, True Thomas, and those I would rather leave to the shadows. I would thank you, Brother and Sister of Dragons, for the part you played in freeing us from the privations of the Wish-Hex.' Church winced at the memory of how the Tuatha De Danann had manipulated them, made them suffer in the extreme, just for such an occasion. Dian Cecht gestured magniloquently. 'Now, tell me your request.'
Tom laid a hand on Ruth's shoulder and pressed her forward. 'The Night Walkers have inflicted their corruption on this Sister of Dragons, Good Lord. We ask your favour in helping to remove it.'
Dian Cecht nodded thoughtfully. 'I sensed the whiff of the Night Walkers' presence. Their vile trail is too distinctive to hide. I would not have thought a Sister of Dragons would have allowed herself to be so tainted.'
Ruth felt as if she had failed in his eyes.
'There is nothing ignoble in this suffering,' Tom said in her defence. 'This Sister of Dragons has proved the most hardy of her companions. She succumbed only in the face of overwhelming force.' He paused, then added, 'Much in the way the Tuatha De Danann succumbed to the first onslaught of the Fomorii.'
There was a flicker of coldness in Dian Cecht's eye as he cast it suddenly in Tom's direction. 'Ah, True
