The Autumn Prince

23. Détente

"M—Miss Gold?" Becca said from behind me.

"Yes, child?"

"What kind of fairy was Tom's great-grandmother?"

Miss Gold stopped and turned, contemplating her. "Leanan sidhe," she said after a pause as if it were an answer, and Becca gaped at her.

"Which means what?" I asked

"It's a vampire," Becca said.

Katherine shrieked, "A vampire!? Are you fucking kidding me?"

"Of a kind," Miss Gold said calmly, still looking at Becca, "I cannot remain, but the Glim will tell you what you need to know. Study it this time, Thomas. Its pages hold more answers than I."

Her eyes turned to me before she left, and for a fraction of a second, that connection returned. "Thomas, I will not prohibit you from exploring your power, and indeed you must, albeit with care, for understanding will be critical in the coming days. A geas must be kept simple, a single act, a single thought. The narrower the goal, the more effective it will be, and the less damage it will cause. Subtlety is key."

Then she was gone, shutting the door behind her.

Nobody moved or spoke for a long time, shaken by Miss Gold's appearance, her story, and the nuclear bomb she'd dropped into our laps. Becca seemed least affected, and the only reason I could give myself was her quirky nature, or because it was new to her. Perhaps she just didn't understand.

Eventually, we moved into the living room and began to talk, and that was more awkward than comforting. Katherine took subtle shots at Becca who remained thankfully oblivious to them, and all Becca wanted to discuss was the world I belonged to but knew nothing about.

"She said it's all in the Glim," Katherine nodded to the corner where we'd shoved the trunk, artifacts and all except for the hagstone, which Becca held protectively.

"Except it took us an hour to read one recipe. How long do you think it'll take to learn everything I need to know about... lee..." I struggled with the pronunciation.

"Leanan Sidhe," Becca finished enthusiastically, hanging the stone around her neck, "They're kind of like Irish vampires. I think they are anyway, they're in a lot of books and anime. They make people more creative, but then they suck out their blood or their life force. The stories are all different."

"That's not actually helping," Katherine scowled at her, "he doesn't need another monster in his family."

Becca blinked, "But he's not a monster."

"Tell him that."

"Why?"

Katherine rolled her eyes and angled herself away rather than retort. She knew I was getting irritated with her sniping and wasn't ready to turn it into a full-blown argument.

"Do you think you're a monster?" Becca asked, her wide eyes now on me.

"I don't know," I answered truthfully.

"But you're not," she insisted. "I mean—think of all the bad stuff you can do."

"Not. Helping." Katherine muttered.

"But why?" she sat down next to Katherine on the sofa, "In this last whole week, how many people could you have had sex with?"

"None!" I said immediately, "That's not an option."

"Yes it is," she shook her head, "if what you said is all true, you could make hundreds of girls do it with you and you wouldn't even get in any trouble for it so nothing is stopping you except you. A monster wouldn't stop himself just because someone else got hurt."