Feyland: The Dark Realm

Chapter Thirty

Ok, that was unfair. She tried to hold on to the anger, but it started tattering away. Behind its bright red curtain was a darker shape. Fear.

Whatever was keeping Tam, it had to be serious. Even more serious than defeating the Dark Queen. She had no idea what kind of trouble could be that bad. Didn’t even want to imagine.

 # # #

Tam powered off his messager and shoved it into his pocket. Good thing the regular part of Crestview had reliable signal. He’d kept his text short enough that it couldn’t be tracked - he hoped. Even if it was safe to say more, he didn’t know how he could explain to Jennet that his life had fallen apart.

He grabbed his brother’s hand. Time to get moving.

“Hey, Bug. Let’s go look at the fountain again.”

It was on the far side of the park, right where they’d catch the bus back toward the Exe. No buses went into their neighborhood, of course, but they could get close, and both he and Peter were used to walking.

His brother smiled up at him, teeth ugly from the chocolate-coated ice cream he had just finished eating. “I like the fountain! Can I go in it?”

“No. That fence is there for a reason.”

Not that six feet of wrought-iron would stop his little brother if he really wanted in. But they had to stay under the radar, which meant no climbing fences and playing in forbidden fountains.

They were watching the water shoot and spray when Tam heard the distant cry of sirens.

“Alright, time to go.” He kept his voice even. Everything was fine. The cops could be going someplace else.

“But we just got here. Can’t we stay a little longer? Please?” His brother looked up at him with pleading eyes. “Extra please?”

Tam tilted his head. The sirens were definitely coming closer. “Nope. We’ve been here all day, anyway. Come on. Race you to those trees.”

Laughing, the Bug took off, with Tam close behind. He could feel the sirens wailing, prickling the back of his neck. When he reached the safety of the woods, he glanced over his shoulder.

The sirens abruptly cut out as two black and white grav cars pulled up to the fountain, lights strobing. Tam grabbed his brother’s hand and ducked behind the closest tree. He was aware of every sensation; the rough bark at his back, the warm, sticky hand of his little brother clasped in his, the breath rasping in and out of his throat. The Bug stayed quiet for once, as if sensing trouble. Which he probably did. Growing up in the Exe, you had to have decent survival instincts.

Tam counted to a hundred, then back down. Nobody had come for them. Were the cops gone?

Slowly, he peered around the tree. Empty grass. The fountain, oddly cheerful under the late-afternoon sky. No cars. No cops. He blew out a breath.

The Bug tugged at his hand. “Is it safe?”

“I think so.”

He surveyed the area again. The faint call of sirens moving away shivered through the air. It sounded like they were going to the other side of the park. Probably the cops weren’t after him anyway, but with the luck he’d been having, he wasn’t going to take any chances.

“Ready to go home?” he asked his little brother.

The Bug nodded. His eyes were wide, but not with fear, or excitement. Knowledge, maybe, and the good sense to not ask any questions. Had he heard the Wild Hunt last night? Tam could have sworn his brother slept through it, but now he wondered.

They stayed backed-up to the bushes until the bus arrived, then got on, no problem. It was a quiet ride to the outskirts of the Exe. The few other people who shared their ride didn’t pay any attention to the two of them, and the driver was supremely uninterested. The Bug didn’t make a ruckus of any kind, but as soon as the bus turned the corner out of sight, he started hopping on one foot.

“Ow, ow!”

“What?” Tam’s patience was melting like ice-cream.

“I stubbed my toe getting off the bus.”

“Can you walk? Because I’m not going to carry you.”

His brother hopped around a little more, then slowly put his foot down on the cracked sidewalk.

“It feels better. Can we go home? Not to our fort, but really home?” His voice tipped up, and Tam felt the yearning in it. It mirrored his own.

“Not yet. But tell you what. We can walk past it - as long as we stay out of sight.” It was too early to check for the sign that Mom was home and it was safe. But maybe…

“Do we have to go to jail with Mom for the rest of our lives?”

“Mom isn’t going to be in jail much longer. She’ll be coming home soon.” He hoped with everything in him that it wasn’t a lie. He put his hand on his brother’s shoulder. “Things are going to work out, Peter. Just a couple more days.”

He couldn’t promise that they were going to be fine. There was never any guarantee of that. Things were going to change though, one way or another, and he and his family were going to wash up on some shore. Whether it was a midnight faerie realm or the hard edges of the Exe remained to be seen.

They cut through the ragged alleys until Tam could see the ramshackle place they called home. See the empty window too. No point in getting closer.

“Tam? How will we know when Mom is home?”

“She’ll hang a yellow shirt up in the window. If she hangs a red one, we’ll know she’s there but it’s not safe.” If she could understand the hints he’d left in his note. If she made it home at all.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

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