Once. Part 17

Of course, humans have always been aware of the existence of faeries - their mention in scholarly and religious works, in fiction or folklore, in Arthurian legends and fantasy tales, in poetry and soliloquy, philosophical treatise and contention, in alchemical explorations and in Jungian dreams, all bears witness to this fact. And even though no physical proof has ever been found, or at least, disclosed, the intuition that the faerefolkis exist lies deep within the human psyche.

'But you must beware of us,' Jennet had continued. And, when he asked why that was so, she replied, 'Because some of us are playful and some of us are wicked. The worst of us mean you harm.'

Again, Thom asked: 'Why?'

The answer was as simple as the question.

'For fun,' she said.

Further they journeyed into the woods and Thom soon realized he had lost his bearings. He had thought he was familiar with every inch of his woodland home, but now he found himself practically a stranger. Perhaps he had considered this part of the forest too dense to explore when he was younger; yet Jennet was leading him along an almost imperceptible path that was nearly as straight as it was true. A heavy clump of shrubbery ahead seemed to have an invisible path through it, the leaves easily parted, the roots set wide on either side; a fallen tree with a barrier of branches was easily cleared in three short steps; what appeared to be thick bracken was casually pushed aside with each footstep forward. Sometimes he had to follow close behind the lithe girl, but mostly they walked alongside each other.

'Sprites and goblins are the worst,' she advised him as they went. Try to avoid them, they'll only cause you trouble. Not all of them, mind.'

'How will I know the difference?'

'By their smiles.'

'Oh.'

'Brownies or elves are always helpful and usually good-natured. Rigwit is really a brownie, but he doesn't mind being called an elf.'

'You've spoken to him about me?'

She nodded, but continued as if it wasn't important. 'Brownies like looking after homes for people, especially when the owners are away a lot. They like you humans. But look out for the elves called cacodemon, afrite, deev, bogle, dwerger, pigwidgeon and flibbertygibbet - they can be very nasty. And also bogeys, boggarts, buccus, bugaboas, clob-bies and kelpies are bad spirits especially to be avoided.

Fortunately, you'll rarely meet them, because they've been banished by our queens.'

'You've got more than one queen?' A few days ago, Thom would have felt foolish asking the question, but events had changed everything.

'Oh yes, lots. In these woods, it's Aeval, who used to be queen of Munster - that's in the country you call Ireland -but she left because of the Disharmonies and came here. Faeries just hate wars and famines because disbelief and lack of faith always abide with them.'

'And d'you have a king?'

Her expression became sad. 'Not any more. He and Aeval had their own disharmonies and, because her power is stronger, he was deposed. No one knows where he went.

It all happened over a hundred years ago, long before my time.'

'Really? So, how old are you, Jennet?'

'Our years aren't the same as yours. To be truthful, we don't even have them. Time isn't the same for us.'

'But you just said your king went away over a hundred years ago.'

Yes, in your time, not in ours. I'm trying to make things easy for you to understand, Thom. A lot of what I'm saying would make no sense at all if I didn't interpret it for you.'

'Ah, so this is meant to make sense to me.' Tour own insights are helping. And our minds are working together so that you can sense my meaning, because my language is not entirely like yours.'

'I seemed to tune in after a while to the eh0, this Rigwit.'

You learned quite fast, actually. Mostly, you were remembering.'

What?'

You played with the faeries all the time when you were a child. Bethan allowed you to.'

He stopped dead among a group of tall ferns. 'My mother knew about the ... the ...' he could not help but stammer '... the faeries? She let me play with them?'

Slightly ahead, she turned to face him.

'Oh Thom, I didn't realize. It hasn't occurred to you yet, has it? Bethan was only part-human. She came from us and her lover caused her to change. It was of her choosing, but she really couldn't help herself.

She was so much in love with your father.'

He almost sank into the ferns. That's impossible. I would have known, I would have remembered.'

You did know, she kept few secrets from you. And you were too young even to question it, it was all perfectly natural to you. Before Bethan died, she made sure that all memory of that part of your life was erased.'

Then she knew - ?'

'Your mother was on limited time once her lover, your father, was gone.'

He shook his head vigorously. 'No, that's impossible. It just couldn't be.'

Jennet reached out a hand once more. 'Come on, let's keep walking. There's so much more to explain than I thought.'

He moved forward, but this time he did not take the offered hand.

She walked alongside him. *You never knew your father, did you, Thom?'

'You're not going to tell me that you did.' His tone was curt, his mood changed.

She laughed, that same tinkling sound that had charmed him before. It almost did again.

'I'm not that old, Thom, especially not in your years. Rigwit told me everything.'

Then he was around even before my mother died.'

'He was there at your birth. Rigwit is a Venerable, he's always been here. He knew both your motherand your father.'

'Why didn't he tell me?'

There was only so much you could absorb last night. You were confused enough.'

You got that right, he thought, but did not say.

Thom, your father was a human. He and Bethan fell in love and were meant to be together. Their love was strong enough for it to be so.'

'Of course he was human. I'm human. My mother was human.'

Jennet was patient with her response. 'No, Bethan became part-human. That's how strong was the love between them. But our kind can only exist on your level when love is there to sustain them.'

'But I loved her. Wasn't that enough?'

'No. It isn't the same kind of love that a man and woman

can have for each other. That goes beyond blood binding, for s.e.xual attraction plays its part to begin with. You humans still have no idea of how powerful the s.e.xual magic is, how awesome is the alchemy involved, the force it gives to body and mind. Unfortunately, when your father pa.s.sed on to his next dimension, Bethan was unable to return to her natural state. No faery who has given birth to a human can. And yet, she could not continue as one of you without her man's love. She had no choice but to leave you, Thom.'

His throat suddenly felt full, his eyes watery. 'My father ... who was he?'

'Don't you know? Isn't it obvious to you?' He shook his head, sadly this time. "Why would I ask?' She was silent, but only for a moment or two. 'Perhaps I'll show you later, Thom. It would be the kindest way.'

Onwards they went and Thom suppressed the question of his parentage by embracing the wonders she revealed to him.

Jennet told him why faeries were invisible to most people, explaining that the human eye lacks the ability to see the more subtle shades that existed before and after the perceived colour spectrum, as well as those in between, that if Man could only 'tune in' to the infinite vibrations discharged by such 'neverworld' beings who themselves were composed of ethereal structures, then he might just begin to learn and eventually accept. Faeries could easily present themselves by changing their resonance and bringing their tones within the human-accepted spectrum, but rarely chose so to do; on the other hand, certain 'enlightened' humans could raise their own game and meet the faeries half-way. Although he was not conscious of it, this was precisely what Thom had achieved. Sometimes it happened by chance or freakish accident, other times the phenomenon was faery-inspired.

Toil know those things you call Yufoses?' she said. The non-organic flying creatures?' 'You mean UFOs?' he replied.

'Yes, Yufoses.'

'Flying machines. s.p.a.ceships.'

"What ships?'

's.p.a.ceships. From another planet in another galaxy.'

'Oh, I see. The things that cross the s.p.a.ce between homes in the sky. But they don't have sails or oars.'

'It's just an expression, just a convenient name for them.'

's.p.a.ceships. That's nice.' She thought about it, smiling delightedly.

*What of them? You're not going to tell me they're real too, are you? You know, most of us think they're a joke concocted by over-imaginative idiots or attention-seekers. Or nutters.'

'Nutters?'

'It doesn't matter. What were you going to say?'

'You don't believe in Yufoses ... Yufose?'

"Why should I? I've never seen one.'

*You could now. Now that you're learning to perceive rather than just see.'

'Are you saying they work on the same principle?'

'Why do you think they appear, then vanish so quickly?'

'Well, we're told by the fools or hoaxers who claim to have seen UFOs that they fly off at fantastic speeds.'

'No. They appear to get smaller at fantastic speed. The Yufoses ... Yufose ... alter their vibrational pattern and disappear beyond your spectrum when they realize they're being observed.'

'But sometimes they're supposed to hang around for hours.'

They're not so smart.'

He was dumbstruck. Then: 'Have faeries made contact with them?'

'Goodness no. Why should we?'

Thom shrugged. 'No reason. Hey, I suppose you're going to tell me they really are responsible for cropcircles.'

She started to laugh, both hands held to her mouth as if to stop herself.

'What's so funny?' He was smiling and frowning at the same time.

'Crops circles are one of our games.'

'Faeries make them?'

She nodded vigorously through the laughter. 'Not to begin with. The Yufose caused the first magnetic patterns by mistake. The machinery of the ... s.p.a.ceships?' She looked questioningly, waiting for his nod.

The machinery of the s.p.a.ceships attracted the magnetic lines and motifs that lie beneath the earth, bringing them to the surface so that the corn collapsed. That might have been deliberate, just to let you know they were around in the same way we faeries steal from you or play tricks just to tease you and hint of our presence. Like us, they think the human race is too dangerous for them to introduce themselves properly.'

She was still grinning as she went on and her eyes seemed to flash and sparkle with inner energies.

'But then, just for fun, the pixies - of all of us, they're the ones who make the most mischief - decided to make their own designs in the corn. Some were quite good to begin with, then they became too complicated even for us to understand. After that...' she looked heavenward in mock despair '... after that, you humans started making your own patterns, which were even more mystifying than our own and beyond all logic. We never thought humans could be so funny.'

Thom was not as amused as his pet.i.te companion. They went on, Jennet sometimes skipping lightly ahead, wheeling round to face him with a remark or a new piece of information.

What the h.e.l.l is going on? he wondered. Am I going crazy? Do I really believe in faeries, me, a grown man, a pragmatist

in most things? Motherless since the age of ten, fatherless even before his birth, Thom generally had had to deal with life and everything it brought with it alone. Sure, he'd had a generous patron - generous in financial terms, that is - but he'd had to cope with the traumas and stresses of growing up very much on his own. Realism had been forced upon him and coping had quickly become second nature. Perhaps it was that very aloneness and the necessity of getting on with life that had stifled fanciful notions and absurd memories; perhaps over the years they had been beaten into submission.

But still it was not cynicism that was now prompting him to doubt all that he had seen, heard, and learned over the past few days, for Thom was no cynic. Rather it was the sober voice of reason that was forcing him to think rationally.