* The Fiction Awards 2020 Winner *
In Goodharts, the small town beyond the hills, nobody knows how Ferry Donovan looks. His mother has been keeping him out of sight for over nine years. When the boy finally begins school, the people are not only int...
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"How do you know where to find her?" Ferry wondered.
"I only have to follow the smell of cookies and shoe polish," Shadow laughed, leading the way. The others followed, too. Just like Oona, they walked side paths, away from curious fairy eyes.
"Say, Master, how long did you know we were fairies?" Baldie asked Ferry as he removed the brambles and shrubs on their way.
Ferry shrugged, "Since always, I think. I knew you weren't ordinary pets from the moment I saw you."
"Couldn't you think of a better name for me?" Baldie laughed. "The others got decent names. Not names of heroes or warriors, to be fair. Yet, far better than mine."
"That was because of your head," said Ferry. "What happened to your head?"
"Well, I was attacked by a Nihil," said Baldie. "Fortunately, it only hit a feather on my head. But their charm is so powerful, my whole head was left bald."
"You should be grateful you were under the raven's shape when he attacked you," Izzy laughed. "Else you would've had some glorious baldness. "
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Baldie skewed at Izzy and he stopped laughing. But Ferry had something else in his mind. "What's a Nihil?" he asked.
Baldie hesitated, then said, "A Nihil is a creature born out of nothing. He can't feel anything, whether love or hate. But he can be terribly dangerous if he obeys an evil power. Because once he becomes the slave of evil, nothing stops him. And since they have no heart, they become merciless creatures. You need to stay away from Nihils, Master! In the hands of evil, they are simple objects of perdition."
"Have I met a Nihil before?" Ferry asked. "And why are you calling me Master?"
Baldie looked away, "It is not in our power to tell you," he said in half voice. "You will find out when the time shall come..."
Ferry felt discouraged, "I keep hearing that," he mumbled. "Is there ever going to be the time for finding the truth?"
Rosemary--or better yet, Harry, since May didn't know her pet was a girl--who's been silent all this time, stepped closer. "Say, Master, how do you like Tenalach so far?" She was obviously trying to turn the conversation. "The tuck-ins at The Hornless Unicorn are a delight, aren't they?"
