Moonways Pt 15

'Where' turned out to be a small, stately office; the kind that had been Victorian houses in a previous life, but were now usually occupied by solicitors or dentists or accountants. The particular set of stairs Lily limped her way up were fairly unassuming, but her heart thudded uncomfortably in her chest; she might has well have been walking into a pit of bears. In fact, bears would probably be less scary. She walked past a polished brass plaque on the gate post.

CROW ENTERPRISES

Now that was just tacky! She wondered if fairies bothered with last names in Fairyland. If they had palaces, then they probably had phone books, right? Not a word had been exchanged between the three since Lily had asked where they were going, and that included answering her question. She had snuck glances at her captors as they walked. The man was scowling, his hands jammed deep in his pockets, his eyes staring at the middle distance. The woman's expression was closed and carefully blank, but she too seemed preoccupied. Lily supposed they wanted to know what was going on with the Percontors as well, and she doubted they were consulted about matters of government these days.

The woman put her hand on the front door and gently pushed; Lily felt the air pressure change, as though it had grown denser. Tension crackled around the trio, and Lily realised with a start that they were both nervous too. She wondered who they were in the clan. If they were nervous about entering, they were probably not very high up. She had wondered what the king and queen might look like; she imagined stately gowns and lavish embroidery, or maybe soft silks and manicured fur? From what she understood, they had tried to use their position to rule the humans. She supposed they would be haughty and aloof in their finery. She wondered if she would have to bow.

The door led into a hall devoid of any decoration, bare walls smooth and unbroken all the way down to another single door at the other end. What is it with these people and hallways? She hesitated on the threshold, and the man turned to her.
"If you must be here, hurry up. Why are you so slow?" Without the spelled tongue, his voice was cold and rough around the edges, as though he had been at the wrong end of too many cigarettes and whiskey bottles. Lily looked at him derisively.
"So you're just now noticing that? My feet are hurt." The look did not go unnoticed, and his eyes narrowed.
"You should have said something."
"And why exactly would you care?"
"Good point. I wouldn't."
"Quiet!" The woman's voice broke through their heated murmuring. Sullen silence descended once more.
What a brat, Lily thought angrily as they neared the other door. The woman too. She was spoiled, he was petulant, they were both childish brats.

For a moment, the pair paused at the door. They seemed to grow straighter and taller, gathering the tension around themselves like cloaks until they radiated with it and it was suddenly uncomfortable to stand next to them. The damp steamed off them until they were nearly dry. Lily was left cold and soaked, but she was unsurprised. Then the woman pushed the door open, revealing a room much larger than the outside of the building seemed capable of. It had high, vaulted windows and was empty but for some spartan arm chairs and about thirty Fey of wildly varying appearance.

There were suits, and camoflage, and bright colours and sweeping blacks and green hair and red hair and shaved heads and pale skin and skin darkened by sun, but from what she could see they all had one thing in common; blue-green black tattoos of crows peeked out at her from every corner.

Before Lily could gather them all into her glance, they did something completely dumbfounding. They turned, as one, and bowed, then fell to one knee. Every single person in the room. It took a moment for her to realise that they were bowing to the man and the woman she had come with. They entered the room slowly, as everyone stood in stately silence. Seas of unspoken words washed around the room, but the silence was unbroken, and Lily felt a swelling of pressure inside her that filled all the empty spaces in her head until she couldn't think of anything but the impossibly beautiful pair in front of her. For the briefest moment, she saw a mantle of golden light about the man, and a pale, silver glow washed over the woman.

Then it passed, and the pressure was broken, and everyone in the room stood once more. Clarity didn't so much rush as it crawled back into Lily's head, but still, she was amazed. They had been, for that moment at least, undoubtedly the Queen of Midnight and the King of Noontime. Though most of it had gone, it still lingered there, demanding everyone's attention. When the former Queen of Midnight opened her mouth to speak, everyone held their breath, and Lily caught herself doing it too.
"Hello, kindred. It certainly has been a while."

Moonways pt 14

This time, when there was a knock on the door, Solaris was awake to hear it. He opened it a fraction, his lovely face sullen but resigned.
"Are they all coming?" His voice slid between the frame and the door and slunk down towards the floor in its reluctance. Niveus frowned at him, then darted her fingers in the gap and pulled the door open more. Her brows arched in surprise; Solaris appeared to have showered, and shaved, and was wearing a clean white button up shirt and dark jeans, with a fitted black jacket over the top.
"You look good," she commented drily, unable to keep the amusement from her voice. "You look like a human though. I think this is the first time I've ever seen you wear denim."
Solaris scowled, nodding to the skin tight leather pants and artfully torn white singlet she wore.
"You look like a whore."
She shrugged, lashes concealing her eyes, her lips pouting and sultry. "Brother, that's because I am a whore." She took a step closer, almost matching him for height in her towering heels, and leaned in, breathing hotly against his ear.
"You know what I do. I can do it for you too."
Angrily, Solaris pushed her away. "Just because I didn't stop you before doesn't mean I would hesitate to--"
Niveus was smirking. "To what brother?" Something like desperation flickered deep in her eyes for a moment. "To kill me?" Her laugh wasn't quite bitter. Not quite. Solaris pulled his apartment door shut and they began down the hall together. Around them, the air thickened and crackled like a gathering storm.

********

Lily trudged along, her face set with grim determination. Her feet were agonising now but still she resisted the urge to run, knowing it wouldn't do her any good to be a cripple. Several times she nearly turned around to head back, but the memory of the Fey woman's mouth full of huge, glistening teeth made her stop. She would only get herself killed, and she was sure Dusk could handle himself. Though why he would help her she still didn't quite know. After all, he had let her do something intensely stupid with the Finder of Lost Things, and was quite content to, until he learned that she and her sister were useful somehow. That wasn't very trustworthy, was it? Around and around her thoughts spun, and she jammed her hands in her pockets. With some surprise she felt something hard and cold, wrapped in paper. With a start she realised it was the thing Arthur had slipped into her pocket. Pausing, she pulled it out.

It was a ring, stained black and streaky. It was too big to fit on any of her fingers, and besides it was an ugly, raw looking thing, with no finesse at all. The paper it was wrapped in had small, cramped words on it; Arthur's, she presumed.

Girl

Wear this on your skin, but somewhere secret where they will
not see. Iron will protect you. Tell no one, and good luck.

Lily stared at the ring in bemusement. Certainly the Fey hadn't exhibited many of the traditional characteristics from the fairytales she remembered, but there was definitely something about them being allergic to iron. Interesting. She cast about for somewhere to put it before resigning herself to stuffing it in her bra. At least no one will find it there, she thought drily.



People were starting to filter into the streets for their morning business, but the day didn't seem to get any lighter. The rain slowed to a freezing, misty dribble that set beads of water all over Lily's hair and encouraged her already damp jacket to become sodden and cold. Still, she stuck her head down and limped onward. She was so immersed in her thoughts that she didn't notice the pair walking right towards her, and they might not have noticed her either but for the brief moment that Lily met the gaze of the black haired woman. Recognition flashed across the stranger's face and lightning fast a pale hand darted out and grabbed Lily's arm.

Stunned, Lily tried to free herself but the grip was like steel, despite such delicate fingers.
"You!" The stranger seemed surprised and delighted. She was gorgeous, with silky black hair pulled tight into a ponytail from her face; the rain settled across her hair like a scatter of diamonds, like it was meant to adorn that very place. It was difficult to break away from the stranger's pale, pearlescent gaze but Lily shot an angry look at the arm restraining her and then felt the blood drain from her face. A stylised crow swooped across the woman's thumb and first finger. Crowkin?

"Sister, what are you doing?" The man, the other half of the pair, was equally as beautiful as his counterpart, though he was fair where she was dark. Lily noted with mounting panic the identical marking on his hand.
"It's her, brother! It's the girl that was with Dusk!" All of Lily's paranoia erupted into white hot fear which burnt her chest and filled her with enough energy to rip free. Without a second thought she fled, as Niveus glared and Solaris watched her in confusion.
"Catch her," Niveus said calmly. Solaris shot her a sideways glance that contained the edges of admonition but obediently he began taking long, loping strides. Lily was already limping and now fire raced up her legs but still she felt the unshakable compulsion to flee, to be away, to hide, to cry and scream and--

one large arm enveloped her shoulders, bringing her to a shuddering halt. Her momentum died, and she allowed herself one great sob before she sucked it all back inside and went limp.
"Now. You won't run away." His accent was foreign in a vague, continental sort of way, and his mellow voice warmed her limbs like summer sunshine. For a moment she was melting, but then the iron at her breast thrummed and the tide of warmth ebbed and flowed around her instead. He released his arm, but she decided not to run anyway, even though his spell hadn't worked. Lily turned to examine her captor, lips pressed shut, eyes narrowed and distrustful.

Solaris in turn looked her up and down - skinny, pale, bedraggled, limping, with a face full of suspicion, wearing clothes too old for her, barefoot, carrying worn out shoes. He met her eyes, and beneath that steely gaze he saw a bubbling pool of anger, just waiting to erupt. This girl was dangerous, like a cornered animal, and his sister was playing a very silly game. Niveus had sauntered over and now studied Lily with fascination.
"Do you know who we are?"
Lily weighed her options before settling on the path of least resistance - for now. Hopefully Dusk's trick with her name would hold up against these two. Still, she would have to be careful.
"Yes."
When she didn't elaborate, Niveus smirked with amusement.
"And who might that be?"
Lily paused a moment, just long enough. "Crowkin."
Niveus clapped her hands with delight, grinning wildly in that way that all the Fey seemed to do, somehow involving too many teeth, too sharply.
"Very good little girl! What is your name?"
"You called me little girl, that's a name."
The grin faded quickly from Niveus' face.
"Fine. Be that way. But you're coming with us."
"What?!" Surprisingly, it was Solaris who made the exclamation. Lily's expression set mulishly.
"I can't. I have somewhere to be."
But Niveus was smiling again, and it was an altogether different sort of smile.
"You have nowhere you need to be more than this, little girl. This is important, and I think you can tell us things. So you're coming with us."
It was like being caught in a rip, Lily thought miserably. And each passing moment she was being dragged further from the shore. But what else could she do? She looked from one Fey to the other, and sighed.
"Where?"

Moonways pt 13

Lily sat at her kitchen table, a sort of morose numbness stealing into her limbs, making her head heavy. Dusk sat opposite, his face sunk in shadows cast by his falling hair and the dank, miserable weather outside.
"What's going to happen?" Her words fell into the silence and sank heavily.
"I don't know. This is... not how things are supposed to be. The Balance... I should have seen it. I should have realised." Was that regret in Dusk's tone? It was difficult to say. For a moment, his eyes wavered blue, then green, then darkest brown, and his skin flickered across milky paleness to a weathered tan. "We should get going."
"Can we still look for the Moonways in this weather?"
Something like pity pulled at the corners of the Fey's mouth for a moment. "No, I'm sorry. We can hope that the weather clears up by tonight."
Lily felt the apprehension like a knocking in some distant hallway of her heart. It was muffled by too little sleep and too much emotion.
"Fine. What is it that's so urgent?"
"We should get you better prepared for crossing the--" He paused suddenly, head jerking to the side at a sudden, soft sound. Lily felt a tickle behind the back of her eyes, as though feathery fingers were brushing along the inside of her head. They seemed to be searching for something. She shut them out stubbornly, but they were persistent...
"Lily. Listen to me. You need to go to Arthur's house. Do you remember how to get there? Go there and stay there." Every muscle in the Fey's body was tight with tension. His voice was calm but pitched low, and his movements were slow and deliberate as he stood and seemed to draw a sword from some hidden place inside his jacket. Lily stared at the blade in fascination - it seemed to be made of some sort of black, shiny stone that glittered and flickered with silver fire deep in its heart. Just like starlight... she thought in a daze as the world erupted in slow motion around her.

She was thrown backwards as the table shattered into splinters. There was a woman, impossibly beautiful, where her kitchen table used to be - I liked that table, a stupid voice protested weakly inside her malfunctioning mind - and the beautiful woman was holding short swords in either hand, turning towards Dusk with the grace of a ballet dancer turning en pointe. She had long, long hair that flowed and curled in its own liquid gravity, ignoring the laws of physics to float and swirl mesmerisingly about her head. It was a thousand gorgeous shades of green, from the deepest forest shade to the palest new spring shoots, and it framed a face that was like the morning sun, filling Lily's limbs with warmth and joy and... but there was something wrong with the apparition floating before her. It was the eyes. They were black, completely black, and as they turned on her the smile below them widened and the teeth...

Then the spell was broken and Lily scrambled backwards, Time rushing back into the room as the two Fey leapt simultaneously into action. Twin swords, cast in finest rippling metal, crashed into Dusk's strange blade and rang like a melody of bells. Dusk's expression froze in calm determination as he whirled around his attacker, the singing of their weapons creating discordant music that they danced to in perfect time. Though the new Fey had seemed to fix upon Lily in that one impossibly long moment, she was clearly interested in Dusk now. Her mouth opened again and she hissed, a long, forked tongue flickering between her extended fangs. Suddenly she didn't seem so beautiful any more. Frantically, Lily grabbed her backpack in one hand and shoes in the other, and burst through the front door into the rain outside.

She ran like she had never run before, the road beneath her feet disappearing in great swathes. From grey mist, into grey mist. Nothing into nothing.... The strange thought echoed down the halls of Lily's panicking mind and soothed her. She held onto the idea of darkness, of nothing, of sinking into cool depths where no sensation touched her and no fear could reach her. After a while there was an insistence she couldn't ignore - a frantic thumping that seemed to fill her entire body. Reality rushed into her darkness and she realised it was her heart beating and she was still running.

All at once she collapsed onto the ground, heaving and gasping for breath as her starved lungs shot agony through every corner of her body. For a horrible moment she thought her heart might burst and she clutched her chest desperately but then there was heat beneath her fingers and it settled back into an almost regular rhythm. With a creeping suspicion, she glanced inside her shirt. The snake mark had darkened a little more - it was about a third of the way full around its circumference. It had barely been a quarter full when she'd looked at it that morning. Did it save her? Was that how it worked? She stood up, realised it was still raining, and looked around. She had probably covered about two thirds of the distance into the city - about ten kilometres. No wonder she was hurting. She took a glance at the soles of her feet and winced. They were shredded from the assault.

Gingerly Lily slipped her shoes on and started trudging onward. Could she remember where the old man Arthur's house was? Probably. It was in that long street full of terraces... not too far, she realised, and turned toward it. The rain soaked deep down into her, cold filling her bones, until she was chattering and shivering. Her thoughts swung obsessively between Dusk and the terrifying reptilian woman and Mona and the mysterious Percontors. They had somehow imprisoned Dusk's partner in a dreamland, and they had her sister. Had they sent an assassin to take out their other opposition in the remaining Keeper of Laws?

Lily had struggled to understand the convoluted laws that bound the Fey, but weren't the Keepers of Law important? She supposed they were just positions, not people. They could be replaced, in the same way that the King and Queen had been replaced. But that hadn't exactly worked out well, as far as she could see. Now maniacal fairy priests were trying to destroy the world, and somehow her sister's blood would make that happen, because she was a bastard half fairy whose tainted bloodline was against their laws. Hot determination settled in next to the rain in her bones and she stopped shivering. Whatever happened, she would save Mona. She was all that mattered.

Moonways pt 12

As she slept, Lily dreamed.
At first it was dark, and warm. But the darkness spun into gossamer pictures, woven lightly across her eyes, and as easily, they drifted away. There were trees, dark and strident, reaching for pastel skies with majestic limbs; Lily felt herself dwindle into insignificance in their presence. Then there were still, silvery pools in the distance that cut through the gloom of the forest with their delicate illumination. Details jumped in that staccato way dreams have, and suddenly she was leaning toward one, but her face would not form a reflection in their gentle mirror surfaces. Details of her own features would not stick in her mind; was her nose long and thin, or short and broad? Were her eyes blue or brown or green or grey? Sharp eyebrows or full lips or high cheekbones... In a panic, she splashed from pool to pool, sending ripples shivering outward. Why was her reflection so important?

The hairs on the back of her neck prickled with a sudden watchfulness. She wasn't alone. Breathing heavily, she spun around, and found herself face to face with Dusk. But no... that wasn't right. Though the man before her was tall and broad shouldered, and he too wore some sort of old fashioned double breasted jacket that shifted against the forest, absorbing its shades, she thought there were differences. This man, she realised, wore his hair much shorter than Dusk, it was an ashy blonde where Dusk's was a peppery brown, and his face seemed younger somehow, though all the Fey she had seen had a sort of agelessness about them.
"Who are you?" Lily's voice warbled through the air, flowing around thickly to her dreamy ears. The stranger seemed sad.
"I am sometimes called Dawn."
Lily felt a blurry recognition at the name, but it slipped away. Thoughts were hard to hold onto in this place.
"That's a pretty name. Why can't I see my face?" She gestured to the pools, which had finally settled now that she had stopped thrashing.
Dawn looked troubled. "I... don't know. This is a strange place to find yourself. You're lost, just like me."
"Oh. Why are we lost?"
"The Interrigators have found new and interesting ways to twist the Laws to their own end. I am lost because they made it so; they pulled me from my body, and hid it from me. You just wandered off your path. Though, I suppose, it's very lucky for me that you did." He smiled, and it wasn't the predatory grin that Dusk wore. It was a more mirthful gesture; though Lily still faintly noticed there was something wrong with his teeth. Sharp inscisors. It unsettled her, and she felt a distant echo, like someone far away shouting. It sounded important. As though Dawn too had heard the call, his smile faded and he stepped forward.
"This is quite important. I can feel Dusk near you, but in my current... predicament, I can't reach him. Tell him they've got me. Tell him they also have the Gate-- no! Don't listen to that! This is important! Stay with me!"
But Lily was distracted; over Dawn's shoulder was a shape, slinking through the deep green shadows. Its eyes glowed a deep, fiery gold, and flames seemed to flicker and lick down its tail and around its paws.
"I think I'd better go..." she murmured, fear crawling down into her belly and setting a jittery energy in her limbs. The creature in the shadows leapt forward, and Lily turned to run.
Lily...

"Lily. Time to wake up."
Lily sat up, gasping and panting, her heart thudding painfully in her chest, confusion setting her scrabbling away from the source of the noise, tangling sheets and limbs and clothes until she caught up with her waking body. Dusk was in his shirtsleeves, looking bleary in the morning light.
"You were dreaming." There wasn't much of a question in his tone. She nodded, trying to piece together the broken fragments of her dream.
"I was in a forest...." It was sliding away from her, details blurrying and hazing... but there was something important wasn't it?
"I think I saw Dawn. Your... your partner, or whatever." For the second time, Lily saw Dusk's face still its wandering and she saw it clearly in its surprise.
"In your dream?" Lily nodded and described what had happened. The look of surprise furrowed into a frown as she spoke, until his face was lined with worry.
"The Percontors play a dangerous game. I don't know what they hope to achieve by this..." He seemed to retreat deeper into himself, until Lily cleared her throat.
"Can you give me a minute? I need to... change and stuff."
He startled, then nodded. "Oh. Of course. I will be downstairs. We need to get going though, so please hurry."

Once he was gone, Lily opened the curtains and stared outside in dismay. Rain hammered down on the window, making the view run and dribble away down the window in a streaky mess. How would they find the Moonways if it was raining? Didn't they need the light of the full moon to bring the gate forward? She would have to ask Dusk. Apprehension settled on her chest next to the snake mark and dulled her senses. She was still horribly tired but felt energy borne of impatience and fear for Mona. For reassurance, she pulled out the mirror shard and watched her sister sleep for a while. Finally she sighed, and got on with getting ready before heading downstairs.

Moonways pt 11

The hall was stark in the deepening shadows, its huge windows stretching several stories up to reveal twilight's pastels in the sky. Its splendour could only belong to a grand palace, but around the edges lurked decay; the creeping signs of neglect showed in dusty corners and cracking plaster. The two figures who walked down the hall were dwarfed by its immensity, but one wore about him a cloak that seemed to swell and fill the surrounding space with golden brightness. It snapped and curled like fabric but it was clearly made of light; nonetheless he seemed agitated by it and flicked it off one shoulder in irritation.

"I thought he would have come by now. We've had Dawn for three days." He was dark, with smooth black hair and charcoal eyes though his skin was pale in the way of the Percontors. At that moment, his lovely face was misshapen by a scowl that made shadows in the corners of his eyes and lips, somehow making him more sinister. His companion was dressed in the traditional white, his arms bare in the cool evening, revealing three thin red ring marks around his wrist to indicate his rank; number three. His hair was cropped very short; it dusted across his skull like gold. He folded his arms behind his back and smiled faintly.

"Dusk is in the mortal realms, my lord. Have patience. You know the link between them grows tenuous when one crosses without the other." His tone was soothing. "He will know we have taken the girl by now, which means he will be back soon enough to try and save her. Once he realises what has happened to Dawn, then I'm sure he will be more... agreeable. Have no fear, my First."

His pacification seemed to be working. The Percontor in the cloak made of light sighed a short, sharp sigh of frustration and then took a few deep breaths. "And the other?"

A secret smile crossed the Third's face as he considered for a moment. "Oh yes. Everything will work out just fine. The Balance restored." The last part was intoned reverently.

The First nodded, his eyes shining with fervour. "The Balance restored."

Moonways pt10

Lily swam upward through thick treacle layers, reaching for her body, floating on the surface what seemed to be a mile above. Her limbs were heavy and unresponsive, and she couldn't remember why she was swimming... just that it was important. Urgent, even. She struggled harder, until after an eternity of slow strokes, she reached herself, and opened her eyes.
“Lily.” Her name, cutting through the grogginess like a knife, brought Dusk's face blurrily into the darkness. “Lily Patterson.” Now it pealed and clanged like bells, filling her with jangling energy, and everything came into focus again. She realised Dusk was crouched next to her, and the old man Arthur was peering down at her from over the couch. She sat up, and groaned as her head burst with stars.

“I fainted.” Dusk straightened, and nodded, and Arthur pushed a fresh cup of tea into her hands which she took shakily. All of a sudden memory crowded back into her head, hammering with its urgency. “Mona!” The tea was dumped hastily on the table as she took out her shard of mirror and huffed on it anxiously. There was the same ornate room, its lush interior seeming overbearing and somehow rotten to Lily's view, but there was Mona, still in that unnatural sleep on the soft bed. Lily sighed, and let the mirror go clear again. A hot spike of pain as it brushed over the snake mark reminded her that she needed to keep moving. Panic had been replaced with a kind of dull horror; all her passion had been blunted by the constant assault.
“How long was I out?” She had precious little time to waste being squeamish; she would simply have to get used to the strangeness, the darkness. Her sister would not die, and that was that. There was no other alternative.

Dusk shrugged, settling his coat back on his shoulders and buttoning it up.
“About an hour. Let's go. Thank you for your help Arthur.”
Lily hadn't even realised he had been in his shirtsleeves; as with the rest of his clothes, his shirt was plain and somehow colourless, though Lily knew it had a colour and she was looking right at it. With sudden insight she looked at him sideways, not quite bringing him into her direct field of vision. His shifting cleared immediately, and she saw that he had a face in its mid thirties, sharp and stern but undeniably handsome. His hair was a dusty brown, short and shaggy, and his skin was pale and smooth. His jacket was dark and velvety still, but it no longer shimmered under her gaze. He caught her look and nodded, a small smile plucking the corner of his mouth.

“It's called a glamour. It makes moving about much easier. But you can look through it, if you try hard enough.” He headed for the door and Lily was about to follow when Arthur brushed past her. His gnarled hand pushed something into her pocket so gently Lily barely even realised what had happened. Keeping her face impassive, she kept walking. Whatever he had given her, he didn't want Dusk to know about it, so she would examine it later in private.
“Goodbye Arthur. It was nice to meet you,” she called as they headed down the stairs. When she turned back to look at him, his expression was hard, and his eyes shone fiercely.
“I'm sure we'll meet again, girly. Good luck with your sister.” He closed the door with a dull thud that Lily found ominous. A part of her registered dreamily that she wouldn't see him again. The Finder had numbered her days to a bare handful. For some reason, Lily found it difficult to care. She followed Dusk into the grey pre-dawn darkness.

“Why would the Percontors want to open the doorways between your world and mine?” Her head still felt a little heavy but she fought to understand. Ignorance had proven to be very dangerous.
Dusk's forehead wrinkled in a thoughtful frown.
“I'm really not sure. After the War of the Crows the Percontors were appointed by the other Firstborn kin to protect the Balance. But they have taken to that task with great zeal, which has been causing me growing concern.”
Lily struggled with all the unfamiliar terms, but continued, “but... isn't it your job to protect the... the Balance?”

“Yes and no. The best way to understand the difference between the Balance and the Laws is by thinking of them like your religion and your legislation. They are the priests who are supposed to guide the spirituality of the Fey, which is irrevocably linked to all living things and natural forces in your world. Me and my counterpart are more like your policemen, protecting the Laws by which everything is bound and kept in order.”
“The Crows... they broke the Law and upset the Balance? And who is your counterpart?”

Dusk nodded solemnly.
“They broke the Laws very badly. I fear the damage they did will never be undone.” He hesitated for a moment before continuing, “my counterpart is called Dawn.”
Lily mused on that information as it slotted into place next to the rest.
“Midnight, Dawn, Noontime then Dusk. If you two were the Keepers of the Law, then the King and Queen must have been the Keepers of the Balance.”
“Yes. But they could not keep it. So they were exiled. It seemed the only way at the time.”
“You think it was a bad idea now?”
“Yes... no... maybe. I don't know. We'll have to see.” His face became closed, and Lily got the distinct impression that was the end of the conversation. She noticed they were coming up to a bus stop.

“Where are we going now?”
“Somewhere we can rest. It's been a long day, and tomorrow will be even longer.”
Though she felt like sleep was wasting precious time, she realised she was beyond exhausted and it was probably for the best. The bus pulled up with creaky punctuality and they boarded.

Lily led them back to her house, so alien to her now, like a stranger lived there. It made her think about her mother. She didn't doubt that it was possible her mother had been seduced by a Fey, she just wondered why. The Percontors must have been planning for a very long time, why choose a woman so unreliable? And why wait, why not take the baby and... A sudden thought occurred to her. Someone had tried to take Mona as a baby. Amber. But Amber was an exile, wasn't she? And the exiles weren't involved with the Percontors. Or were they?

Lily could only imagine the tangles of fairy politics. They were sly and deceitful to their bones, and she couldn't fathom their strange rules and codes, so she stopped trying. All she cared about was saving Mona. They could wage their wars until every last one of them was dead for all she cared. Once they were inside, Dusk declared he would sleep in the living room. Lily's eyes were drooping already, and she merely nodded before shuffling up the stairs and collapsing into her bed fully clothed. She was asleep in minutes.

Moonways pt 9

Nothing. Blessed nothing, a warm, gentle place, a safe place... but the tide was rushing back in, and sensation returned to Solaris' body with the same jolt it always did. He cracked one eye open with difficulty as gummy sleep rimmed his lashes, and examined his surroundings resignedly. He had made it back to his apartment well enough, but obviously his bed had been too much effort, because he was on the floor. His back ached, and he permitted himself a small groan. Peeling his cheek from the floor, he rolled onto his back and let out a grunt of surprise. Niveus was sitting on his old, grubby couch, watching him with a small frown on her face. He glared at her balefully.

"What are you doing here?" His voice was thick with sleep and the sour taste of last night's whiskey. He sat up warily.
"I saw Dusk." It was a simple statement but it coursed through the room like electricity. Between them hung the unspoken fear, the memory of that terrible day...
"What was he doing?"
"He was with some human girl in the city. They got off a bus. That's all I saw."
"A human girl. How strange." He paused. "Is that all?"
Niveus arched her eyebrows, "You're not concerned about what he's doing here?"
Solaris gave no response, instead going into the bathroom and closing the door. He stared into the small, splotchy mirror, and shuddered. Whatever had brought Dusk back into the mortal realm only meant trouble for him. He washed his face and changed his shirt with another that hung on the back of the bathroom door, and went back out into the tiny, bare living room. Niveus was still there, absently plucking loose threads on the arm chair. She looked up at him, and her eyes were the cold silver he remembered. He looked away, scowling.
"What would you have me do, Niveus? What can he do to us that is worse than this?" His arm jerkily swept in the peeling wallpaper, the bare floorboards, the dank mould creeping in the cornices and the dirty morning light creeping in through the one stained window.
"You live like this of your own accord, Solaris. You know things could be better for you."
"I don't deserve better."
"We need to do something. We failed our kin before. Will you let it happen again?" Silence stretched out between them, thickening the air until the tension crackled. Finally, Solaris nodded.
"We won't fail them again. Bring the kin together."
As Niveus left, she cast one last look at her brother. He was leaning against the kitchen counter, his face obscured by his shaggy golden hair. His fingers curled and uncurled in small spasms, sending little flexes up the crow on his hand. She snorted softly under her breath and closed the door.

Once Niveus was gone, Solaris collapsed down onto his knees, breathing hard. What did the Keeper of Laws want with the human realms? And what was he doing with one in his company? He wasn't known for consorting with the cattle, so to speak. But then it had been a long time since he had seen or heard of either of the Keepers; maybe things had changed. It was odd, to think of the Keepers changing, though he supposed that was their nature; they were the ones who walked between the worlds, they were the ones who were supposed to dance with Time, to keep the Laws, to hold the Balance. It had never meant to be he and his kin who felt Time's embrace. And a cold embrace it is too, he thought bitterly.

He had wanted it though, once upon a time. He and his kind were born without Time, and in the Kingdom the Balance was perfect, as long as the Laws were kept. That was the duty of the Fey; they would forever watch over the earth's heart, its soul: the trees and the grass and the animals and the wind and sky, and verything in the mortal realm was linked by the Laws to the Kingdom. But then came Man, and the Balance had to change to accomodate His needs. Solaris supposed that he and his kin, so tied with the Balance were they, had changed too, and not for the better. It was the power of men to take and transform, to turn everything to their own ends. Solaris had only wanted to bring them back into the Balance, to stop them from spoiling everything...

But those thoughts were not helpful. He would pull himself together; he would redeem himself, and his family, just as Niveus said.