Demon Day (6 page)

“
We are fairy,” Conall said
as if that would explain everything. “We recognize no other
names.”

“
But why? I understand
there are few of us, but only having a first name seems …
incomplete.” I shrugged.

Conall tilted his head thoughtfully.
“That is a good way to describe it. Incomplete.” He sighed,
something I was beginning to notice he did a lot, like he had the
weight of the world on his shoulders. “Family names have power so
we stopped using them many years ago. We are powerful yet
vulnerable in many trivial ways. Nick us with an iron blade and we
bleed for days. Feed us the Rowan berry and we become violently
ill. Too much and we die unless healed under the full moon. Force
an oath of suicide and we’ll cut our own throats or drop dead if we
do not comply.” He frowned. “We must be fierce to protect ourselves
from those who would hurt us for our trusting nature.”

“
It still seems extreme.
Why should we feel incomplete in fear of power?”

“
There was a time when our
family names were secret, and known only to the kin. It was a way
to bind us together and keep us strong. In that strength was our
greatest weakness.”

Fascinated, learning about the fairy
culture – my culture – I urged him on and leaned forward. “Please,
go on.”

“
You know there has been a
bonding before?”

I bobbed my head. “Ana told me, yeah.
She said that it didn’t end well.”

At the time I had sensed ‘well’ was a
massive understatement, but had not pressed the issue as it had
made the white witch agitated. Then again everything made Ana
agitated. The term ‘highly strung’ came to mind when I thought of
the petite blonde Seer. How she handled her Sight without going
completely nuts was beyond me.

Conall looked away, face tightening.
“They were consumed by each other and out of control. They were
born into two of the larger and more powerful families. They broke
with tradition, with sanity, and they….” He was unable to go
on.

Breandan stiffened beside me and
tension radiated across the space between us. I glanced at him
under my lashes and saw his face, plainly upset.

My brother cleared his throat and
squared his shoulders. “They gave each other their family
name.”

My lips twitched but I managed to
remain quiet. That was the monstrous thing these two lovers did?
For the love of gods, these fairies had melodrama down to a fine
art. I tried to keep the laughter from my voice. “And?”

Both boys’ head’s snapped up. The twin
expressions of astonishment told me my reaction was way off. I
looked between them and shrugged sheepishly.

“
She does not understand,”
Breandan murmured.

Resting his hands on his knees, Conall
opened his mouth then closed it again.

At times, there was a language barrier
between these fairies and me. They said things and expected me to
simply grasp the significance. There seemed to be two meanings in
every sentence, a thousand ways to interpret what was
spoken.

It hurt my head.

I focused and tried to work through
it, use logic.

Family names held power and were
secret. Histrionic and strange, if they’d ask me, but voicing such
a thought we only get me in trouble, and I kept it as my own.
Fairies breathed tradition. Every five seconds it was tradition
this and tradition that. I guess it helped them retain their sense
of purpose, of meaning. Just like the belief that every being had a
purpose and a destiny – that our lives were set, and it was a
matter of time before fate had its way. I wondered what that meant
in isolation. Was Lex never meant to die, and was Maeve supposed to
be dead in her grave? Was Tomas trying to save a Nest that needed
to die out for a greater purpose? Was it time for the human race to
fade away into legend?

I could not believe it. I knew the
notion of having a purpose made sense, as it attributed to how the
Wylds were structured and the royal family determined, and combine
that with bloodlines; surely you would create a sovereignty that
would stand the test of time.

But I just … it seemed so …
coincidental. They let their lives and decisions be based on small
happenings and signs that could mean and pertain to
nothing.

I rubbed my head becoming aware
mentally I was off track. Conall was still stumped, and Breandan
stared at me in that intense, blink-less way he did when he was
trying to see inside my head. He smiled; a small thing that passed
over his lips.

I eyed him, rubbing my nose
absentmindedly. How odd. It was like he knew I thought of
him.

Cocking his head, he grinned
broadly.

Frowning at him, I went back to
mentally taking apart what I had learned and translating it into
something I could understand. The fairies believed names had a
physical power, a contextual hold over them. So…. Giving someone
your family name meant they had your power? Was that it? Was Conall
saying that by giving each other their family name…? “They
relinquished complete control to each other,” I said and looked up,
ready to be praised for figuring it out by myself. “They gave each
other something sacred to prove their love.” Well, by the blank
look on their faces I would be waiting a while for all that praise.
I sighed. “That would not go down well with their families, I’m
guessing.”

“
It was seen as punishable
by death,” Conall explained.

My eyes got wide. “They were put to
death?”

He shook his head again. “They ran,
and were found, of course. They too were young, and like I said
consumed in each other, unable to think straight or function
properly. They were brought back for judgment, after all their bond
was clear.” His eyes flicked over Breandan and me. “It is something
anyone deeply attuned to magic can sense and feel, unique. There is
no faking it.” He sighed heavily, and muttered something to himself
too low for me to hear despite my acute hearing. “A bonding is
sacred, since you become a living embodiment of the Source. It was
agreed it was not up to the High Lord to decide their fate, and so
they turned to the spiritual leader. The Priestess. She ordered
them separated and kept apart until nature took its
course.”

My heart became heavy with grief.
“They died alone?”

The wind whipped through the grass as
if in lament.

“
They took many lives with
them, in the end,” Breandan said. “When bonded ones are kept apart
the power builds between them. It grows with each passing moment
building momentum and force. It is believed if they are kept apart
and unable to come together to release the buildup of power that
eventually the bond will simply consume them.” He stopped, checking
I was following him, measuring my reaction.

I thought on what they were saying and
a chilling realization passed over me. “They came together,” I said
and wrapped my arms around myself. “Somehow, they managed to come
together and the nexus opened.”

Conall nodded sadly. “There were once
three Wylds on this region, not two. The Golden Glades was where
the royal family reigned. It was destroyed the last time a bonded
pair came together and it shook the foundations of what defined us
as a people. That love could cause such pain and destruction … it
was a reality many struggled to come to terms with.”

I remembered the intense light that
had blasted from Breandan’s body and mine when we had finished
healing. Conall and Lochlann had fought so save us yet forgotten to
ensure that we touched skin to skin. The light that erupted as we
did touch, as if his skin had been touched by sunlight, had burned
Tomas.

What would happen to a bonded couple
separated for a long time – say days – across such a vast distance
who came together in a passionate reunion?

The thought was terrifying and
exhilarating.

“
How?” I whispered. “How
could that have happened?”

“
It is said the male was
guarded by her family and she guarded by his. Such a simple mistake
can cause devastation. The Priestess was more concerned with
showing mercy than dwelling on the cause of their situation. The
bonded female commanded the guard to set her free. And they did –
they had no choice.”

My mind boggled by the intricacy of
it. How such a small action rocked the foundation of a species and
altered a fundamental way of life. The lovers had given each other
their family names as a token of devotion, and in one selfish act
they shattered the faith of so many. “That’s why you stopped giving
them?”

“
It was considered best. It
was not the only reason, but the beginning of the end. We let the
old names of power die and the bonding became seen as a taboo.
There are many who would try to hurt you in fear of what you and
Breandan share.” The warning in his voice was clear. “Long lost
Priestess or not they will try to harm you. If I had known … if the
white witch had warned me of what might happen if you were to meet
and touch I would never have–”

“
Enough,” Breandan said
flatly.

My head swung back and forth between
them, more than concerned now. They were being openly disrespectful
to each other. Breandan ran a hand down my arm and I shuddered. Who
knew how many he had killed with those hands. How many he would
kill to get back to me if ever we were separated? I knew he was
trying to distract me from what I had passed between him and my
brother, but it would not work. I could not ask them what was
wrong, somehow I knew they would not tell me and would have a
mutual agreement to keep it between them. But I would figure it
out, oh yes; I would work it all out.

Leaning back on my elbows, I kicked my
legs out in front of me to cross them at the ankles. “I
understand.”

“
This is a good thing. We
are beginning to hear each other clearly, little sister.” He looked
so proud I swallowed a disagreeing snort. Conall slapped his knees,
face lightening, and becoming fair with a beauty I had not known a
male could possess. “And now you learn our family history. Our
mother was Sorcha. A fairy of such beauty and grace there was
nothing she could not have or command from anyone. When I was a
boy, I watched our father rule our people when the forests covered
the earth. As a young man I watched him keep us safe when the
humans built their cities and destroyed our forests.” His voice
became thick with emotion. “We learned to blend. To glamour
ourselves to look and move like them so we could be safe. We would
convene in parks and woodlands to frolic and tend to the nature
that was left. Our numbers dwindled and we became myth and legend
to a race that once lived with us in harmony.” Conall’s face was
tight, strained. “The other races spawned from us were not so
amenable to change. They were not content to hide.”

I sat up and blinked. “Wait,
spawned?”

Conall shook himself and focused on my
face rather than the middle distance. “I am sorry. I forgot you do
not know the history of such things. Rae, we all came from one
Source.” He cupped his hands together. “At the beginning of all
things there were fairies. From them the species diversified. Over
the year’s genetic quirks and mutations created whole other species
to walk the earth. We loved and guided them, loved them despite the
differences, and their lines flourished.”

“
That’s why the Priestess
guards the balance. Fairies were the first beings.”

Conall nodded. “We are honor and magic
bound to take care of this world. It is why we feel so connected to
it. To nature.”

I slumped. “Ana told me Sorcha broke
the balance. I had hoped she was overreacting.”

Conall bowed his head. “Our family is
… we are the only purebloods left from our line. We must fix
this.”

He sounded so tired when he said that
I crawled forward and placed a hand on his knee. “Must? It’s our
choice. We can choose to leave this region. Find a new
home.”

He gave me a small smile. “If we do
not make our stand here where in the world could we hide? This is
our purpose and we shall meet it with pride and
courage.”

I leaned back on my heels, plucked at
the shorter grass by my sides. “It’s not fair you’re dumping all
this responsibility on me. I understand that by blood this
Priestess thing was unavoidable, but why can’t I pass my title on
to someone more worthy. More … responsible and suitable. Like,
abdicate, or something.”

“
It does not work that
way,” Breandan said. He stared at his hands as if they held answers
to all questions. “We are chosen, and we do the best we can with
what we are given.”

“
I don’t want this,” I said
firmly. Biting my lip, I fisted my hands on my knees. Screw it.
“What I’m asking is for you both to leave the region with me. We
can find a new home.”

I did not look at either of them. Yes,
I was ashamed, but I was more afraid of not asking. The power and
strength I had felt that morning when I had used the amulet of
power that morning was gone. And though I knew what my purpose was,
I was terrified of it. How could I do this? I barely knew how I was
feeling half the time. I did not think five minutes past my own
nose, and more often than not concluded running away was the best
way to resolve my problems. Okay, yes, I was getting better at
standing and fighting, no doubt if Breandan or Conall was in danger
I would give everything I was to save them. It was everything else
that worried me. Could I stand and fight on behalf of a race I had
yet to come to love?