The Autumn Prince

34. Coming Home

"You don't seem very upset."

"I'm not. Most of my kind get freaked out away from their clan, but I lived with a clurichaun for years after Finn rescued me, just me and Callum, so I'm cool with being on my own for a night or two."

"What's a cluri..."

"Like a leprechaun, but with booze instead of gold."

"You're kidding. Beer fairies are a thing?"

She laughed. "Clurichauns can't metabolize nutrients without alcohol. Even their kids know how to brew ale and ferment wine, and the least competent adult would be a master by your standards. When they find a host, they're usually put in charge of the wine cellar."

I bent down again and pulled my laces tight. "You learn anything from him?"

"Of course. Not much else to do in a brewery."

"But you're working on computers now."

She nodded, "Knowing his craft doesn't mean I have the same gifts. I can make decent wines and liquors, but my particular magic, if you can call it that, is building and fixing things, like the rest of my people."

"How do you go from there to working on mainframes?"

"I didn't have anything to tinker with at the brewery except the vats and those almost never break down so I spent most of my time cleaning and that gets old real fast. When the owner of the place threw out an old laptop I swiped it, took it apart, and tried to get it working again. It took a few days, but when I finally managed it something clicked in my brain, and ever since then I've been obsessed with technology."

"Were you happy?"

She cocked her head at me. "As much as I've ever been. I was just a kid when I fell through the Veil, and it took a while to adjust. What's with all the questions?"

"Sorry, I'm just curious. You don't seem very excited about being with Grimble's clan. If you were happy where you grew up, why not go back?"

"Ah," Amy nodded. "I learned to tolerate being alone, but it didn't change my nature, and even Finn knew I'd eventually need a family. Some of the brunaidh are solitary, like Callum and Chloris, but the rest of us have social built into our DNA. We give birth up to a dozen at a time, and family and community are part of who we are, so I can't just run away from a rough situation. Besides, if I ever want to mate, I need to be around my own kind."

"Is that an option? Miss Gold told me Fae can't breed here unless its with a human, and you don't look like you could... well..."

She laughed again. "That's mostly true," she said, "but there are exceptions to almost everything. Goblins lay these disgusting gestation pods, and that seems to get them around the paradox. I think the only reason hobs have had any success is because we're so prolific that there are bound to be a few anomalies, but we still end up with a few hundred stillborn for each live birth."

"That has to be hard."

"It is, but that doesn't stop anyone from trying. You have to remember we're hunted as food in our own world. Every one of us that's still alive is a survivor in one way or another, and we try to celebrate that."

I nodded uncomfortably. That small look into the lives of Amy's people made all my complaints seem distant and small. "You're stuck in the clan then?"

"Unless I find another family that'll take me in, yes. If I go rogue, the next clan I meet will conscript me, but I'd have no status at all, and I'm not interested in..." she stopped suddenly, "sorry, Tom, I don't know why I'm spilling my guts to you."