Moonways pt 7

Lily pressed her hand against her chest, then winced. Giving Dusk a wary look, she turned around and peered down inside her shirt. There was a symbol burned into her chest; a snake curled in a circle, biting its own tail, bubbling her skin with black just above her heart. Dusk was looking at her inscrutably, and she blushed.
"It's a snake. What does it mean?" His response was flat.
"It means you have a contract with the Finder of Lost Things. It's so she can keep an eye on you. What you did was very rash."

Lily felt like she would burst with rage.
"What did you want? You didn't warn me about anything! I did what I had to!" Her voice cracked with the pressure of her rage, and she swallowed a sob. With great strength of will, she forced everything back down until she was stony still again behind her wall.
"If I'm going to get my sister back, I need some answers." She realised she was still clutching the shard of mirror. "Like what this is, for example. And why they call you Law Keeper. What are you? Where did the.. the Percontors take my sister? And why do you care? And why do they hate you so much?" Lily felt strangely bare, asking so many questions, but Dusk gave her a small, wry smile.

"Nothing for nothing, girl. You know that much at least. I will tell you nothing until you tell me your name." Remembering Amber's long ago tales, Lily hesitated. Dusk sighed.
"You just handed over your heart in exchange for a piece of junk. I should think your name would be a small price to pay for such illumination."
"But... you can use it to.. to control me, can't you?" Despite the escalating strangeness of her evening, the question still sounded stupid in her ears. She blushed again. He shrugged, and then abruptly started walking again.
"That's a risk you'll have to take, if you want your sister back." She gave out her name with no trouble to anyone else, what difference would it make? The mark on her chest throbbed dully, reminding her with a pang that there were worse things.

"Lily. My name is Lily Patterson." The words hurt her mouth unexpectedly, gusting out heavily into the evening until they hung in front of Dusk like mist. He reached out and gathered them into his hand, and put them in his pocket. Lily watched, confused and frightened again, but he merely nodded.
"Now I can keep it safe from the others."

Somehow, she didn't feel comforted by the idea of Dusk having her name under his control, but he hadn't done anything really to suggest he would misuse it. Still she felt thrills of danger in his very presence; there was something about all of the strange people she had encountered that made her deeply wary. She resolved to hold her own counsel; but it was difficult when she knew so little about what she was getting herself into.
"Alright, you know my name. Now will you tell me what the Hell is going on?"

Dusk continued walking a little way until they were at a bus stop, and then sat down, crossing his legs at the ankles with lazy grace.
"The mirror can be used to see your sister. Breathe on it." Heart thudding in sudden excitement, Lily did as she was told. The glass fogged over as it should have, but then it turned a strange, warbling marble black.

Lily watched it, hardly daring to breathe, until after long moments, it cleared again. It was no longer reflective; instead, Lily could see a small, ornate room as though she was looking through the ceiling. Its walls were circular, and painted with some grand mural of a forest, filled with details of animals and people she could barely make out. The carpet was a deep shade of green, making it look like the room was floored with thick moss. Against one wall was a low, squashy looking bed, spread over with russet brown covers, and laying gently on it was Mona. Tears filled Lily's eyes as she watched her sister sleep, her dark, messy hair fanning out around her head. Mona was breathing steadily, but she was oddly still; normally, she slept curled in a ball or tossing this way and that with restless energy even in her dreams.

Lily didn't want think about why she was so still; instead, she angled it down so Dusk could see it. He peered into it, brows furrowing deeply.
"Do you know where that is?" Lily asked anxiously. Dusk nodded.
"It's the former palace. The Percontors live there now, though most of it goes unused. Your sister seems unharmed, though her sleep is clearly unnatural."
"What have they done to her?" Fear and anger made her words sharp.
"Just kept her sleeping, by the looks of it." He grunted softly. "I don't know what they want with your sister, but I can't imagine it's good." When Lily opened her mouth to interject, he held up a hand.

"Let me answer your questions as you asked them. They call me Law Keeper because that's what I am. I keep the Laws, the sacred rules that bind my kind. I believe traditionally, men have called us Fey. That's well enough, if you want a word. The Percontors are law enforcers of a kind as well, but they enforce their own laws, not those that keep the very Balance of existence in check. They enforce the laws of our kingdom, now that the Queen of Midnight and the King of Noontime are gone. They took your sister past the Gate Man, and now she sleeps in the old palace, for what end I don't know." His rough voice seemed unused to so many words, and he cleared his throat."Now, maybe you can tell me what thing it is in your past that makes you tremble at the mention of the Gate Man."

Lily was taken aback. Was it that obvious? She hunched defensively, but told him about Amber and the Moonways. A single, fine eyebrow shot up.
"You can find them? You can use a compass to find the Moonways? Interesting." He glanced at her sideways.
"Fey who cross over into this realm without permission can't find the Moonways themselves." Lily digested that information, still thinking of the Gate Man's terrible vengeance.
"So everyone here... is trapped?" Dusk shrugged.
"More or less. Most of them are exiles. Most of them are Crow kin."
"What does that mean?"
"There was a war. The Crow kin didn't win. They paid the price, and now they're exiled here."
"What was the war about?"

Dusk's expression grew stormy, and his face swirled in a dizzying array of different features.
"That's a story for another time. We should be going. There's someone else we need to see tonight." With that, he stood again, stretching slightly, and continued walking. Lily followed in silence, processing everything the Fey - fairies! She was definitely going crazy - the Fey man had told her. It certainly was a lot to think about.