unfortunate Humans. Since his initiation into the Faerie world, he found that the weather didn’t bother him anymore. His Faerie heritage was proof against most extremes of cold and heat. He found, instead, that he relished the coming of winter in a way he never had before. His senses were awakened to the subtlety of the natural world. He could smell the rain. He could hear the approach of the winter. He felt the ground settling and steeling itself against the encroaching frost. Brendan marvelled at the newfound depth of his perception. He found it confusing and exhilarating at the same time.
One hazardous element of the change was that he had to be on guard at all times around his family and friends. Already, he had slipped up on a couple of occasions, walking out the door wearing only a T-shirt on sub- zero mornings or making comments on the voice of the wind or the minute cries of dying leaves to Dmitri and Harold. The way he could hear these things was often quite distracting.
He was learning to filter them out when need be. They became like a background hum or white noise most of the time. If he did get lost in the world’s secret sounds, Kim was usually quick to kick him on the shin under the table or glare a warning at him. Brendan was aware, though, that he wouldn’t always have her there to catch him when he slipped up.
Thinking about Harold and Dmitri depressed Brendan. He missed the easy friendship they’d shared before he found out about his Faerie nature. Only a few short months ago, Brendan, Harold, and Dmitri had found one another on their first day at Robertson Davies Academy. As they skulked together through initiation week, hiding from the worst of the hazing, they formed a bond. They were the nerdiest of the nerds. Harold, overweight and sensitive, was a brilliant artist, rarely seen without a sketchpad under his arm and charcoal smudges on his fingers. Dmitri, small and cheery, was the object of many a bully’s attentions, with his strange accent and trusting nature. But together, they covered each other’s backs.
That’s what they used to be like. Now their relationship was strained. Brendan no longer had to wear braces or glasses, and his acne was largely gone.^ 23 He was no longer clumsy, thanks to heightened Faerie awareness of the world around him. And along with the physical changes had come a change in their relationship. Brendan had to maintain a safe distance from his friends in order to keep his secret. Having a secret was lonely, and Brendan’s loneliness was even deeper because they had shared an adventure that Harold and Dmitri could no longer recall. Dmitri and especially Harold were wary of him in a way they’d never been before. Brendan had no idea what to do to alleviate the problem. He hoped their friendship would survive the strain.
Brendan felt himself sinking into self-pity. To distract himself, he looked around the cafe. Though he’d had weeks to get used to the idea, he was still shocked at how the Faerie world existed in the cracks of the Human world. The cafe they sat in was a good example. Before his awakening to his Faerie side, he’d walked by this corner many times. Where Roncesvalles split with Dundas Street West stood a bank building that was now occupied by a coffee chain. Brendan had shared a hot chocolate with his father a couple of months ago and never suspected that a cafe catering to Fair Folk existed on the same spot.
Kim had arrived at the park in good humour to find Greenleaf trapped in his wooden prison. After a few minutes spent savouring his predicament, she’d made the roots of the tree narrow slightly so that Greenleaf could wriggle out. Mission accomplished, the three of them had walked over to the cafe for a hot drink. But instead of stopping at the coffee bar, Kim and Greenleaf continued through to the hallway that led to the washrooms. Brendan was puzzled.
“Aren’t we going to have a drink?” Brendan asked.
“Yeah,” Kim said. She jerked a thumb at the ceiling. “Upstairs.”
“Upstairs?” Brendan hadn’t noticed any upper floor. He followed Greenleaf and Kim into the hallway. Brendan expected his friends to go to one of the restroom doors or the employees’ entrance. Instead, they walked directly into a blank wall between some stacked boxes of paper cups and vanished through the solid surface. Brendan stopped short.
“Hey!” The wall looked completely solid to him.
A young woman in a green apron came out of a door marked EMPLOYEES ONLY and found Brendan staring at the wall. “You looking for something?”
“Uh,” Brendan stammered. “I, uh. ” How could he explain? My friends just disappeared through a wall.
Suddenly Kim’s head popped out of the solid surface. Waves spread out from her like ripples in a pool. “You coming?” Seeing the young woman, Kim smiled. “Hey, Cassie. What’s up?”
“Not much,” Cassie replied. She smiled at Brendan. “You must be Brendan.”
“Yeah.” He nodded, still a little confused. “You’re… one of us?”
Cassie winked and grinned. For an instant, Brendan glimpsed her true appearance, her dark hair sparkling with silver streaks and her golden eyes. The moment passed and Cassie returned to her glamour as a mousy- brown-haired Human woman. “First time at the Pot?”
“I guess so,” Brendan answered.
“Have the hot chocolate,” Cassie suggested. “And good luck with the Proving Challenges. I’m sure you’ll be awesome!”
Cassie turned before Brendan could answer and went back through the employees’ entrance. Brendan stood looking at the door. “Proving Challenges?” Brendan didn’t like the sound of that. “What’s she talking about? Proving what?”
Kim ignored his question. Grabbing his elbow, she pulled him through the wall.
He found himself at the bottom of a stairwell. Golden light shone down from above as he mounted the stairs. Lively conversation, laughter, and the hissing squeak of a milk steamer greeted his ears as he rose into a warm, airy room.
Brendan stood at the top of the stairs and looked around. Tall windows lined the walls, looking out over the street. Rain pattered on the skylights above, mixing with the mutter of conversation to create a pleasant buzz. Small, round tables were filled with Faerie patrons of every description. Here and there, Lesser Faeries flitted in the air, some delivering drinks or pastries, others merely visiting with friends. Behind the counter, its wood polished to a golden lustre, a male and a female Faerie worked swiftly, steaming milk, drawing espresso, plating delicious-looking cakes and pastries.
“Brendan!”
Kim and Greenleaf had found a table by the window and were waving him over. He wended his way through the small forest of tables. He was so distracted, gawking around the room, that he bumped into an old man.
“Excuse me,” the old man said. For an instant, Brendan’s eyes were gripped in the bluest, most intense gaze he’d ever encountered. The old man smiled.
“Forgive me, lad. I’m awfully clumsy.”
“No problem,” Brendan mumbled. He was about to apologize himself, but the man moved on. Brendan turned and watched him go to the stairs and disappear. He was struck by the sudden realization that he’d never seen an old Faerie before. He was about to go after the old man when Kim called again.
“Brendan? Come on!”
Brendan shook his head and went to the table.
“What’s the matter?” Greenleaf asked.
“Nothing.” Brendan shrugged. He was about to tell them about the old man, but something made him reluctant to mention him. He sat down, his mind’s eye still full of that blue stare that seemed to come from a million miles inside the old man’s head.
“Hey!” BLT’s head popped out of his breast pocket. She had taken shelter from the rain on the walk over and now looked about eagerly. “The Hot Pot? They have the best pastries here.” The Diminutive Faerie began to climb out of her perch.
“No way!” Brendan said. “You aren’t allowed any sugar.”
“Come on,” BLT pleaded. “Just a little bit. I need a pick-me-up.”
“Uh-uh! It’s for your own good. We’ll see if they have any fruit.”
BLT mimed barfing and dropped onto the tabletop. She began hunting for stray crumbs or grains of sugar.
Kim stood up. “What’ll ya have? My treat.”
“Cafe au lait,” Greenleaf said.
“Uh… ” Brendan shrugged. “Hot chocolate, I guess.”
“With plenty of whipped cream,” BLT chimed in.
