A Pinch of Moonlight

by A V Awenna

  Chapter 16. A Kindred Spirit

  Demi drifted awake as the full moon shone on her face. She longed for some cola, but something told her it would be difficult to find here. Where was she again? Moonlight flowed all over her, making her whole body tingle with magic. Bliss. But her thirst made her cough, which woke her some more. Half-opening one eye, she saw a sparkling glass of water, but as she reached for it her fingertips grasped at nothing. Just dreaming, then. She felt liquid trickling onto her borrowed nightie, and as she sat up, banging her head on the ceiling, and opened her eyes, the moonlight showed a weird distortion in the window, which faded away as she watched. But water was still dripping off a puddle on the windowsill.

  The bed was up near the ceiling, with storage underneath it – a sky-bed. Great if you were a fairy with a natural love of high places, not so good if you were a tall girl who thumped her head on the wooden ceiling every time she sat up.

  She was fully awake now, and buzzing from the power of the moonlight on her skin. Through the window beside her, a collection of tiny square panes, she could see fairies picking herbs in the moonlit garden beyond. She wondered if they’d let her help – she could learn so much. And, if people were up and working, maybe she could find something to drink. She decided to get something to quench her thirst, find Blackbird, then go and see what they could do together in the moonlight. It was chilly in the room, so she changed back into her Tanybryn clothes, and draped the nightie over a stool to dry.

  The Healers’ Lodge was a strange combination of travellers’ hostel, clinic and health spa. There was nothing like it in Demi’s world, but she kind of liked it. As a wingless human she’d been given a room on the ground floor. Fairies had no need for stairs, so the main corridor was three stories high, lit by moonlight filtering through small glass panes in its walls and vaulted roof. Once she’d worked out why there were no stairs, just landing ledges outside the upper floor doors, she’d realised the whole building had been built without scaffolding – everything was made from small pieces of wood, stone and glass which could be carried by a flying fairy.

  She padded barefoot along the moonlit corridor, silent apart from her quiet footsteps and the soft sounds of sleeping. And some distant giggles, which she followed until she found the night staff practising their juggling tricks. There were two of them, a woman balancing on her hands on the reception desk trying to juggle with her feet the balls the man was throwing to her.

  They told her they’d only just started their night shift, so they didn’t know if Blackbird was fit to be disturbed, but the woman went to check on him, while the man went to fetch Demi a drink.

  Demi-Lee paced about the lobby in a dreamy frame of mind, moving between different-coloured patches of moonlight, noticing the different way each colour made her feel. A knock on the door brought her back to the here and now. Who would be knocking the door in the middle of the night? Was it one of Hafren’s guards, come to arrest her? Or a traveller, anxious to get inside out of the cold? Whoever it was, they knocked again, louder. Demi really didn’t know what to do, but thankfully the female fairy was approaching. She hurried past Demi, telling Demi as she passed that Blackbird had received plenty of healing, but was unavailable right then. Demi assumed he was sleeping.

  The fairy peered through a spy hole in the door, and a big grin spread across her face. Opening the door wide, the fairy welcomed the traveller on the doorstep with a huge hug as they exchanged warm words. Holding the traveller’s arm affectionately, the fairy introduced her to Demi. ‘This is Owina Fairmount, a very wise woman from your realm. Have you met?’

  The newcomer was obviously human, but looked nothing like anyone Demi had met before. Her straight black hair was streaked with grey, long and thick, with a centre parting at her low hairline. Fairy green eyes stared from under level eyebrows, and her round, strong face was tanned and lined.

  Owina was looking at her with a level gaze, so Demi offered her hand and introduced herself.

  ‘I’m Demi-Lee Jenkins, from Newport, Wales. UK. Earth.’

  A tiny smile crossed Owina’s face, and in an American accent she said, ‘Same universe, different continent. I’m from New Mexico. Mescalero reservation.’

  ‘You’re an Indian?’

  ‘I prefer First Nation. But yes, Chiricahua Apache and a touch of fairy.’

  ‘And you’re a witch, aren’t you? I can sense it.’

  ‘Witch isn’t the word I’d use, but yes, I’m a magician. A proper one, not a Vegas one.’

  The male fairy returned then, with a gourd of water for Demi. He greeted Owina warmly, and told them both there was food available should they want it.

  Owina led Demi to the dining room. It was warm and cosy, with small wooden tables, some with chairs beside them, others near the kitchen with food and drink on them - if you could accept that cakes made out of leaves and petals counted as food. Still, cakes for breakfast was Demi’s kind of diet.

  To drink, there was a choice of liquids in jugs – one pale blue, with petals floating on the surface; one rose pink and cloudy, with a stick – an actual stick from a tree, not a plastic stick – for stirring, and one amber coloured and steaming.

  Owina took charge, pointing out what was good to eat and drink. The pink stuff turned out to be sweet berry juice, which suited Demi’s sweet tooth. Owina was a meat lover like Demi-Lee, and had shown her the cakes with a chewy texture and salty taste which were the closest they would get in Annwn.

  They sat and ate quietly for a while, but Demi was buzzing with things she wanted to ask. She wanted to know whose side Owina was on, and in the end she just asked.

  ‘Whose side? What do you mean?’ Owina said.

  ‘Tefyn or Hafren,’ Demi replied. ‘It’s like they’re at war or something!’

  ‘Oh, I stay out of that,’ Owina said. ‘It’s just politics and male egos, and I wouldn’t want to encourage either. Tefyn won the last election because he was born the Prince of Annwn, and, people here are really stuck in their ways. He’s trying to introduce democracy, but ironically most people here don’t want it. And now Tefyn’s injured, and nobody can heal him, and the old laws say a damaged man cannot rule.’

  ‘That’s well harsh. Don’t they have the Paralympics here?’

  ‘I’m afraid not. In some ways this society is really backwards. If Tefyn doesn’t heal soon, he’ll have to stand down and call an election – and Hafren’s bound to be elected. He’s the Chancellor anyway, but he would love to be leader.’

  ‘But the fairies will never vote for Hafren – he hates them!’ Demi exclaimed.

  ‘Didn’t you know?’ Owina said. ‘Fairies can’t vote.’

  ‘But that’s so out of order!’ Demi said. ‘When did they bring that in?’

  ‘It’s never been allowed,’ Owina explained. ‘Most elves think fairies are barely people – they certainly wouldn’t give fairies any power.’

  ‘But Tefyn married a fairy – and he’s the leader!’ Demi said.

  ‘Tefyn may seem like a wimp,’ Owina said, ‘and he’s nowhere near as charismatic as Hafren, but he’s tough, fair and caring. How many leaders in our world would put justice and freedom over their own interests?’

  Demi just snorted at that – she knew the answer was probably, ‘none’.

  ‘Marrying Pefryn was probably the bravest thing any elf has ever done,’ Owina continued. ‘That Pefryn. For a Nothing, she sure is something, huh? Of course, it wasn’t a full elfish wedding; they just exchanged a promise the way fairies do, but it was a brave move all the same. There’s plenty of elves take a fairy as a lover, but marrying one just isn’t Dahzen.’

  ‘What was that you just said?’ Demi asked. ‘That weird word.’

  ‘Dahzen?’ Owina said. ‘Elfish culture progresses in these big leaps they call Dahzen. When enough elves do something for it to become the norm, it’s Dahzen, and those who do things the old way become “E
twender” – “ones who stand alone”.’

  ‘I don’t get it – sorry!’ Demi said.

  ‘I don’t really get it either, but that’s the best way I can describe it,’ Owina said. ‘I’ve heard it said that if two elves tell another he’s dead, he’ll just go and lie in a coffin. It’s a weird joke, but it shows how elves go with the herd.’

  ‘I thought they were creepy when I met some of them last night,’ Demi said. ‘They were all checking each other like they all wanted to act exactly the same. They beat up my friend because he’s a fairy.’

  ‘Poor guy,’ Owina said. ‘Unfortunately, if one started abusing him, not joining in would make you Etwender – and beating up fairies has been Dahzen a long time. At least killing isn’t Dahzen – that’s one way they’re more civilised than us.’

  ‘I don’t think they’re civilised,’ Demi replied. ‘They’re just a bunch of bullies.’

  ‘It’ll change eventually,’ Owina said. ‘Look at the way things have changed in our world - but there’ll be a lot of broken hearts and bones and windows along the way.’

  There was silence for a while, then Owina asked Demi to tell her a little bit about herself. ‘You’re a witch, aren’t you?’ she said. ‘I can sense your magic, although it’s very new and raw. How did you end up in Annwn?’

  Demi-Lee gave Owina a brief summary of her story, and her new magical skills. ‘I still can’t do much unless I’m standing in full moonlight, though,’ she added.

  ‘Maybe you should keep that quiet for now – people will assume that as you’ve got to Annwn you must be pretty powerful already,’ Owina said. ‘But you say the moonlight woke the magic within you – that could be why the nixies brought you here. I can’t prove it, but I’m pretty sure they take magic from travellers as a form of payment. They’re the most magical of people. Fairies can generate magic, but nixies are almost pure magic, just the smallest amount of substance. I think they feed off magic, and use it to hold themselves together.’

  ‘They eat magic? How come?’ Demi asked.

  ‘Not sure exactly,’ Owina said, ‘but magic is a form of energy, and they use it to exist, just as we use the chemical energy in food to exist.’

  So the nixies had brought her to Annwn, not because she was the Chosen One, but just because she had something they could use. That sucked! Demi went to refill their glasses with the berry juice, and when she returned Owina explained why Annwn’s times and seasons mirrored Tanybryn’s. It was nothing magical – Owina was sure that both places were located on planets in parallel universes, but on different parts of their globes. Annwn was in the southern hemisphere, which explained why the sun and moon rode the ‘wrong way’ across the sky, and winter mirrored summer. It was much closer to the equator than Cardiff, and on the opposite side of the world.

  ‘I suppose you’re wondering how I know all this,’ Owina interjected, but Demi-Lee hadn’t been – she’d just accepted it as fact, the way she did when she was told something in a particular tone of voice, and decided there was nothing she could do about it anyway. ‘I’ve done a lot of research,’ Owina said, ‘and made comparative notes – but I guess you’re not interested in that. Let me tell you how I came to be a magician instead – you want to hear that story?’

  ‘Definitely,’ Demi said. ‘If you’ve got the time.’

  ‘Little else to do in the middle of the night, so get comfy and listen.’ Owina began. ‘My Ma and Granma were good with herbs and healing, and when I was a little girl I showed a lot of promise. As well as learning about herbs I was good at interpreting of dreams and analysing nature’s signs – the movements of birds and animals, the ways of the weather, of winds and clouds.

  ‘I’m good at noticing details and remembering patterns, and spotting the things others may want to keep hidden. I didn’t do any real magic for a long time. Fortunately people remembered all the times I was right, and forgave all the times I was wrong. Still, it was a lot of pressure – I was young, barely started on womanhood. I used to ride my horse into the mountains to get some peace, it felt better when there weren’t other people around.’

  ‘Didn’t your parents mind? Wasn’t it dangerous?’ Demi asked.

  ‘No more dangerous than living in a big city if you know what to look for and what to avoid. Anyways, learning to survive the wilds is just part of growing up where I live, like learning to drive or shoot straight.’ Demi-Lee blinked at the mention of shooting, but Owina didn’t notice.

  ‘I just told them I was going to meditate in the wilderness, and they were fine with it. Anyways, this one day I went in a direction I’d never tried before. It was a cloudy winter’s day, and the sun had hardly shown his face, but it was good weather for just being in. I rode for hours, until I realised my horse must be thirsty, so I took him over to a pool to drink. It was spring-fed, and looked pure, but he just refused, shied away from it. There was a little gully nearby, so I led him into that, thinking there may be some other water in there. It was steep-sided, and gloomy inside, but I could see light gleaming along the bottom. There was a seam of crystals, glowing as if they were about to burst into fire. The whole valley was fair humming with magic. Had I been older and wiser I’d have been afraid, but I was young and green, and greedy too. I actually burned my fingers on the first crystal I touched.’ She showed Demi-Lee her fingertips – instead of the usual swirling fingerprint, they were flat and scarred.

  ‘Still, I got such a kick out of that magic, when I’d picked myself out of the dirt I went back for another look. I couldn’t get near those crystals without burning myself again, but, like I said, I was good at noticing and remembering, so I went back the next day, and the day after that, until the magic in those crystals had quieted enough for me to touch them. About a week after full moon, I managed to get near those crystals and place my hand on them without being thrown across the ground, and I could feel the power flowing through me, making my skin tingle and my hair frizz.

  ‘Anyways, the next full moon I wanted to stay out overnight in that gully and see what happened when the moonlight charged up those crystals and made them sing with magic. I asked my Pop for permission to camp out for a night; he said he’d think it over. I didn’t mention any magic crystals, of course. They were my secret. But my brothers knew something was up, and they beat it out of me – they could be a mean pair when it suited them. They could have been magicians too, if they weren’t so lazy. But my brothers thought maybe if they could get some of those magic crystals – well, ‘Instant Wizard’, you get the picture. So my eldest brother took his horse and his gun and rode out to that gully on the first night of the full moon. He came back the next day with no crystals and no gun, skulked into the house, didn’t want to talk to nobody. But I’d made him promise to tell me all that happened, and he daren’t break his promise to a witch like me.

  ‘He said he’d been dozing in the moonlight when the water in that pool - the one my horse wouldn’t go near – started bubbling up, and two figures climbed out of it. He was scared out of his wits, and pulled his gun on them, but they just vanished into the air then reappeared behind him and tied him up in no time. They left him there, all trussed up, his gun lying useless beside him, and walked back into that pond. He was scared he’d starve to death, all tied up and alone in the middle of nowhere, but as soon as the sun rose those ropes that tied him just evaporated. But his gun melted into nothing too, leaving just the faintest shadow on the ground.

  ‘It sounded like a crazy story, but he showed us the rope burns on his wrists, and his gun was missing – he’d never go anywhere without his gun. My middle brother was furious, he wanted revenge, and he pressed my oldest brother for a description of those guys, but my older brother couldn’t give one. Said it hurt his brain when he tried to picture them. All he could remember was, as they were about to step back into that pool, one of them turned and gave him a filthy look. He remembered that guy’s eyes were the
brightest green he’d ever seen. Freaky green eyes, just like mine, that was what he said. Well, we’d always been told there were fairies in our bloodline and that’s where my green eyes had come from, so we thought maybe they were fairies. Tricksy types, anyway, and dangerous.

  ‘So the next night – when the moon was properly full – my middle brother took his horse and his knives and went out to the gully. He hid himself and waited for those two guys to come bubbling up out of that pool. He waited all night, until the sky was just starting to get light in the east, and his eyes were just starting to close when he heard the water start to agitate, and two guys stepped out of the pool. He saw them walk over to the crystal beds, and as they bent over them he threw his knives.’

  Demi-Lee shuddered. She knew what iron could do to a fairy. But Owina continued. ‘He said those guys just disappeared into nothing, then popped up right behind him and tied him tight, just as they had with my older brother. Then they hefted him into a tree and left him hanging there over his knives, with the blades pointing straight up. Well, it wasn’t long until the sun came up, and those ropes just went into nothing, and my middle brother went falling onto his knives – but they vanished into nothing just before he hit them.

  ‘Well, I was furious with my brothers – those fairies could have been kin; they could have been willing to teach me something useful, but with their guns and their knives my lazy, thoughtless brothers may have scared them away for good. It was the last night of the full moon, and I was determined to go see for myself what happened in that gully.

  Of course, my brothers wouldn’t have it, reckoned it wasn’t safe for a girl to be out by herself.

  ‘“You’ll get bitten by a rattlesnake,” the eldest said. “Did you see any rattlesnakes?” I asked him. “No! So why should I?”

  ‘The middle one said, “What if you get raped, out there all on your own?” I said, “Did you see any rapists? No! So why should I?”

  ‘But they wouldn’t let up. “You’ll get lost on the way” the oldest insisted. “Did you get lost? No! So why should I?”

  ‘They kept on and on at me, but I didn’t see how I’d fare any worse than they did, so I just saddled my horse and went – making sure I had plenty of water for us both. I took extra food too, just in case. It was still daylight when I got there, and I scouted around for a good place to hide. I found a nice little spot in an overhang – sheltered from the rain and the cold night sky; somewhere it would be dark when the moon was shining outside. I tethered my horse out of the way, ate a cold supper – no way I was lighting a fire in that place – and settled down to wait. That place was crackling with magic when I got there – those crystals had been in the moonlight for two long, clear nights - but when the moon rose and those crystals started to soak it up, boy was it pretty. At first they just reflected the moonlight, sent it sparkling in all directions, throwing pale rainbows on the rocks, but then they started to glow, and hum with this eerie sound. It sounds a bit freaky, but it didn’t bother me, I just went out and sat cross-legged in it, and soaked it up, until I was probably glowing myself. You should try it if you get the chance, it sure was something. After a while I was feeling light-headed, and got up to go back to my night-shelter. I tell you, my footprints were glowing as I walked across the sand. I was buzzing too much to sleep by this stage, so I just lay there for the rest of the night, enjoying the sound and light show from those crystals.

  ‘Then, just as the moon was about to dip behind the hills, I heard the water in the pool start bubbling, and two people stepped out. They were wary – couldn’t blame them after the previous two nights. But they looked all around them, seemed to decide they were in no danger, and started prising crystals out of the beds with little stone daggers. I tell you, they looked so pale and delicate, but they moved over that rocky, jaggedy ground as if it was soft carpet. I could see they were strong, see the muscles working under their skin. I could see their wings too –they were fairies all right! They worked hard for an hour or so, ‘til the colour started coming back into the world. I was getting nervous then – wondering if they’d soon be able to see me, although I was wrapped in desert camouflage, and sitting quiet as a spider.

  ‘So they finished collecting those crystals, straightened up, then one of them looked me in the eye and walked straight over. My heart was pounding, but that was when I realised he’d known I was there all along. Maybe you know by now, fairies have excellent night vision, and they’d seen me as soon as they’d walked into the gully. But they couldn’t smell any iron on me, so they knew I was no threat.

  ‘I could see them both clearly, too – whatever spell they’d used to hide themselves from my brothers, they weren’t using it with me. They came over and asked if I had anything to trade. I said no, but I had food and water they were welcome to share.

  ‘So I sat in the dawn light with these two tiny men, with the most splendid wings, and wished I’d brought better food for them. They were thin and hungry-looking, and grimy from working so hard, but, boy, were they something! They were real polite, and grateful for what I shared with them, and when I apologised for my brothers’ behaviour they just laughed.

  ‘When we’d finished eating they gave me a piece of crystal. They said they’d be back at the next full moon, and asked me to bring human things to trade – matches, band-aids, things like that. They explained my horse wouldn’t drink from that pond because it had nixies in it – first I’d ever heard of those people, but I got to know the nixies soon enough. As they took their leave each of them gave me a blessing – a little touch of magic tingle. Well, that was over 40 years ago, and I’ve kept in touch with those guys ever since, and been through the portals many a time, but I’ve still never been inside Annwn proper. The fairies are happy to trade with me, the nixies are happy to transport me, but there’s no way the elves would let me through the gates of their precious city.’

  ‘How come?’ Demi asked.

  ‘Because I’d have to Walk the Walk to do that,’ Owina replied, ‘and it’s never been important enough to risk my neck.’

  ‘Is it really that bad?’ Demi asked. The look on Owina’s face began to mirror the horror on Demi’s.

  ‘Sweet child, you weren’t planning to Walk the Walk were you?’ Owina said. ‘You’re nowhere near ready. You’ve barely enough magic to tie a knot, and you need enough to weave a blanket before you can consider Walking the Walk. Come back in a few years and maybe you’ll be ready.’

  ‘It’s too late,’ Demi said. ‘Hafren tricked me into agreeing to it. But no-one’s explained what it is.’

  ‘It’s only been done a few times since I’ve been coming to Annwn,’ Owina said. ‘As far as I know, it’s a test – of everything – strength, endurance, cunning, wit, and magic of course. Like an obstacle course, with enemies to defeat and puzzles to solve along the way.’

  ‘Like a game!’ Demi-Lee was thinking of the video games she loved.

  ‘It’s no game!’ Owina said. ‘This is deadly serious! You’ll be lucky to escape with no broken bones, although you’d have to be very careless to die. About 20 years ago, a young boy was killed – it seems he was allergic to something he encountered. There was terrible mourning, although some said it was a good thing he hadn’t lived long enough to breed and pass on his defect.’

  ‘That’s well harsh!’ Demi said.

  ‘People here are tough. They’ve had to be. A lot of things have happened here you know nothing about. Ever wondered why they don’t eat meat?’ Owina asked.

  ‘I thought they were all vegetarians, or it was a religious thing.’ Demi replied.

  ‘They got no religion.’ Owina said. ‘And I think most of the folks here wouldn’t eat meat even if it was available. But, truth is, they don’t eat meat because there’s no meat you’d want to eat. No farm animals, nothing worth hunting. I tried asking why, but they won’t talk about it. This isn’t some paradise; it’s beautiful but i
t’s tough. Walking the Walk used to be a rite of passage, to weed out all the elves who weren’t strong enough, but elves are precious few now – those who weren’t tough enough didn’t survive whatever happened.’

  Demi-Lee was starting to feel she was being lectured, so she turned the subject back to the walk, and asked Owina if she’d help her prepare.

  ‘How long have you got, kiddo?’ Owina asked.

  ‘I dunno. I asked for a burger for my last meal – how long d’you think that will take?’ Demi said.

  ‘Well, flippin' a burger don’t take more than a couple of minutes,’ Owina said. ‘But they got no beef here, so they’ll have to go to Earth to get one. An elf will have to go fetch it, and they can’t see at all well in darkness. Amazing colour vision, but blind as moles at night. When did you accept the challenge?’

  ‘Last night, just before dark.’

  ‘Okay, so Hafren will have taken his time choosing someone. Knowing him, they’ll have gone through the portal at midnight – just for the effect. That explains why the gate was open when I got here. First they’ll have to find enough money to buy the meal, then they’ll have to find a burger joint and buy one. It should be with you by morning.’

  ‘Burger for breakfast? Awesome! This stuff doesn’t do it for me at all,’ Demi said.

  ‘I know what you mean. What did you ask for?’ Owina said.

  ‘A MegaMeal from Burg-A-World,’ Demi replied. ‘It’s this tiny little chain of burger places in my home country.’

  ‘Have to say, I’ve never heard of it,’ Owina said. ‘Is there one near a portal?’

  ‘There’s one not far from where I left Earth, at the motorway junction,’ Demi said. ‘I always used to make my mum stop there if we were going on holiday to West Wales – and on the way back. Their Krispi-Twist Chips are disgustilicious. They’re to die for.’