“Mary and Marybeth,” the man greeted the woman and smaller child that stood there watching Devin curiously. The old man hobbled to them to retrieve the pitcher in the woman’s hands.
Devin stood at the cart and watched as the old man returned to fill the pitcher from one of the full bottles in his cart. White liquid dripped from his ladle as he scooped several times to fill the pitcher. Placing the cap back on the container, the old man limped back to the woman and gave her the now full jug. She smiled graciously at the old man.
“Thank you. New assistant?” the one named Mary asked, still looking Devin over. He was out of place in the village, but it was a good feeling to be out of place and questioned rather than feared and avoided.
“Nah, just a young lad with manners. They don’t raise them like that anymore,” the man replied with a chuckle.
The lady nodded and pulled the little girl inside the house. That was enough of an explanation for her. Devin could feel already that his place was amongst the common sidhe. They didn’t fear him, and they didn’t pry. They were fine with him just being a day human and someone that wanted to know more. The old man began walking again. Devin took the cart to follow beside him.
“You deliver milk?” Devin asked, incredulous that the liquid in the jars was milk and not blood.
The old man laughed so hard he had to stop walking. Devin didn’t find his question funny. He had seriously thought the old man was delivering blood when he’d heard liquid sloshing around in the canisters. In the night human world, people lived on blood. Therefore if there was something that needed to be delivered, Devin assumed it would be blood, not milk. The old man wiped a few stray tears away.
“What sort of world do you come from, lad? That much blood? We are civilized people here,” the old man replied. He smiled as he talked because he found Devin very amusing.
“I lived at a dearg-dul estate out west before coming here,” Devin replied. They were quite civilized, too, and needed blood daily, like any night human.
The old man stopped laughing and nodded as they began their walk again. That was enough of an explanation for the man to understand. While the sidhe purposely kept themselves isolated from the rest of the night human world, they knew much about the other clans. The old man, no doubt, knew about the dearg-dul night humans that raised Devin.
“Not been here long, I take it,” the man said, starting to hobble along the path again and leading the way.
“A couple of days,” Devin replied, picking up the cart and following alongside.
“Yet you have been around night humans before,” the man added. Devin nodded. “Yes, milk. What did you think was in there?” the man asked, but his tone hinted that he knew the answer. He wasn’t done teasing Devin yet.
Devin shrugged, a little embarrassed by his assumption. The old man halted, waiting for Devin to answer. The silence was uncomfortable. Suddenly, the man laughed again, throwing back his old, thinly haired head in the process. He was having an amusing time with Devin’s assumptions.
“I bet you thought it was blood, right, day human?” the man guessed. “What did you think? We’re savages that need a pitcher of blood a day? Isn’t that a bit excessive?”
It wasn’t in Devin’s eyes. He had watched as Arianna—the girl he’d spent his life protecting until he met Nessa—consumed more than that a day after she changing into a night human. “That would be nothing compared to what the night humans that raised me used,” Devin replied with a shrug. There was nothing to be embarrassed about since the old man had guessed his answer.
“Raised by night humans. As in you were treated as one of them?” the old man questioned. Devin nodded. He was more than one of them. He had been Lord Randolph’s right-hand man for years. “That explains a lot. I did wonder why a day human would wander freely amongst us without fear.”
It was true. Devin didn’t fear night humans, nor did he fear the sidhe … even before he’d gotten his new power. The dearg-dul clan of vampire-like people that raised him could drink a pitcher of blood per person every day. They all preferred fresh blood from live day humans. Devin should have been scared being a day human and thus food, but he was not. He didn’t fear them—as he was never the one they were looking to drink from—but they still needed a lot of blood to survive, especially right after they turned on their sixteenth birthday. Devin couldn’t pinpoint when his fear went away, exactly, yet night humans were no longer scary as they were when he was a child.
The man looked Devin over again, like he was searching for a clue to tell him why Devin was the way he was. He wouldn’t find it. Devin didn’t even know why he was the way he was.
“Raised with the dearg-dul, and you’re still standing? I thought they killed all of their victims.” The man stopped at another hidden house. A woman similarly dressed as the other, in the greens and browns of the forest, was waiting for them. The man filled her pitcher before returning to the cart to continue talking.
“They do need quite a lot of blood, but they typically only kill on their changing night. Otherwise, they just use multiple donors per week to stay fed, or at least the elite do. The commoners feed once a week from supplies given to them,” Devin replied. The dearg-dul were not as scary as everyone thought they were. They had saved him and raised him after his family was killed. They had a system, and it worked.
“So you were the elite?” The man had made the assumption from Devin’s comment. He was perceptive for his old age and run-down body.
“Kind of,” Devin replied. He wasn’t big on talking about himself.
The old man got the hint and didn’t ask any more personal questions. Devin followed alongside him silently. They kept walking, stopping every now and then at specific doors to deliver the milk. The man would fill whatever jug they brought him with milk before moving on. Each person stared at Devin, but none were afraid. It made it easy to feel like he could fit into the sidhe world as long as he was outside of the palace. As the path began to have fewer houses along it, the old man was ready to talk again.
“Can I ask why you’re here? We don’t get too many day humans.” The man was curious. That much Devin could answer.
“I was only planning a short visit, and now it seems I can’t leave,” Devin replied, not giving away too many details. If the old man knew who Devin really was, there was no possible way he would continue talking to him. Devin already knew what the elite sidhe thought of him, as they ran in fear. Devin had no clue about the common sidhe, therefore he was trying to avoid the same reaction.
When the old man paused at the end of the road, Devin could make out a hidden house. It was getting easier because he had a chance to study each house that opened their doors for the old man on their walk. Behind a fence, which looked more like hedges that happened to grow side-by-side, animals roamed in a clearing in the woods. It seemed like they were free to wander, but the fence was expertly crafted to blend right into the scenery. Devin pulled the cart to the house and let go of it.
“Your guide here forgot to tell you that no one is allowed out, I suppose,” the man commented.
“No, she didn’t mention that,” Devin replied, shaking his head with a smile. Nessa had left out that detail, but that wasn’t what was keeping him now. He’d have to ask her later about that rule. It seemed like she left out most of the rules when she brought him into her world.
“Oh, it was a girl.” The man chuckled. “Always a girl.”
Devin nodded in agreement. He couldn’t deny that it was Nessa. She was the reason behind everything now. He was in the sidhe world because of Nessa, but more than that, he was alive because of her. She had saved his life … more than once.
The old man walked over and unlatched a hidden door through the hedge fence.
“How do you get your blood?” Devin asked the question that had been playing on his mind. If the old man was delivering milk, how much blood did a sidhe even need? Nessa told him they didn’t need much, and their magic came from nature not bloo
d. He had only once given her his own blood, and he had never seen her drink it otherwise.
The man smiled. “I wondered if you would ask. Once a year there’s a festival. The elite bring in the blood for us, and we hold a feast. That’s all of the blood we need to survive. Nothing like the world you come from.”
“Once a year?” Devin inquired. That was a bit extreme for any night human, but it did explain the man’s age. He had never seen an aged dearg-dul before, at least physically aged. No matter the night human species, blood kept them young. The man who had saved him as a child was already an old man by the time he’d found Devin, yet he never looked any older than the day he saved him.
“Yes, just once a year,” the man replied like it made complete sense.
“And the sidhe don’t need more blood than that?” Devin asked in disbelief. It was really an odd concept for him.
“Need?” the old man replied, and then shrugged. “We are only commoners here. Our needs are regulated by those that know better.” He sounded a little bitter, but he kept his words formal.
Devin got the hint. One more thing the elite sidhe regulated in their village. Devin understood then that sidhe needed blood more than once a year, but they just weren’t allowed to have it. The elite weren’t gaining any points in Devin’s opinion. He had yet to find any redeeming qualities in the men and women he was supposed to lead. Devin mentally noted the lack of blood as one more thing he needed to change. The dearg-dul lived on greater quantities of blood and they were fine. They didn’t have to kill for it, and there was always more than enough to go around. Devin would have to change that for the common sidhe. There had to be a solution.
The man returned to Devin and took the cart up to the fence opening.
“Thank you, lad, for your help. I do the best I can, and the people around here depend on me,” he explained. “If my mare would get better, it would be easier, but that isn’t the problem. We all do our part to keep the village running. If you must stay, remember to find your place in this world. No matter day or night human, there is room for everyone here, and everyone can help each other.”
Devin nodded and turned to walk away back the way they came. He was beginning to understand the common sidhe a bit more.
“I don’t know where I can fit in with the elite,” Devin replied before walking away. “They aren’t quite to my liking.”
“Let me change that advice, then.” Devin paused and turned back. The old man’s eyes hardened. “The first chance you get, run as far away from here as you can. The sidhe elite are horrible to day humans. There is room for a day human in the village, but there isn’t in the palace. You would do better in the woods than under their roof.”
Devin nodded his head and walked back down the path. He would run away if he could. Even if he could leave Nessa behind, he was stuck in the sidhe village. Devin had considered kidnapping Nessa and whisking her away, but that wouldn’t work, either. The sidhe needed Nessa with her different views. Before Devin implemented his new rules on assassins, the elite were slowly killing each other off. The sidhe needed change, and Devin was the one who had to figure out how, not just for his own sake, but for Nessa’s.
The old man’s opinion would change suddenly when he found out that Devin was living in the palace. Devin would be sure to keep it a secret as to whom he really was. The commoner sidhe didn’t seem to like the elite as much as the elite liked to pretend they did. Devin could see where he needed to start with change, and it wasn’t the commoners. Now he just needed to make a plan to do so.
Devin meandered back down the pathway he had come from. Every now and then, he paused at the houses he remembered giving milk to as they’d passed. He was trying to see more and understand the sidhe. It was hard to make out the outlines of most of the doorways. The world was hidden, even in their normal environment. Devin was unsure how you would even change people who hide from each other. As he passed the first doorway he had stopped at with the old man, the door cracked open. The little girl from before appeared, staring up at him.
“Day human,” she said shyly in her little girl voice. She couldn’t have been more than five or six years old. “Mommy said to make sure and give you this on your way.” The little girl stayed in the doorway, watching Devin, holding out a cloth with something wrapped inside it. She didn’t fear him, but she also was very tentative.
Devin slowly walked over to the girl. She was analyzing him. Devin realized that it wasn’t fear that made her hesitant; she was just taking in every detail about him. He was probably one of the first day humans she had ever met. Devin took the cloth and unwrapped it. Unexpectedly, two warm buns were carefully waiting for him.
“Momma wanted to thank you for helping Old Man Winters,” the girl said as she sat down on the stoop.
Feeling that the girl wanted to talk more, Devin sat next to the child. She didn’t shy away from him, and continued to take in every detail.
“You dress funny,” the girl said, looking closer at his clothing, especially his jeans. Devin wasn’t dressed the same as the sidhe, and it didn’t bother him. He wasn’t one of them—at least not completely.
“Ah, but to me you dress funny,” Devin replied, taking a bite of one bun. It was sweet and hot from the oven. He hadn’t been that hungry, but now found it was a nice morning treat to have.
The little girl laughed. “I’m not funny. Everyone dresses like this.” The girl patted her light green dress proudly. All of the sidhe did dress like her, and in her world that must have been everyone.
Devin smiled with his full mouth. Her laughter was great to hear. In fact, he couldn’t think of any other laughter he had heard since he’d come into the village. It was refreshing to be away from the palace. The commoner sidhe were much more normal in Devin’s eyes. There wasn’t the evil behind them. They were continuing on and making daily life work for them.
Devin looked at the girl as he ate. He saw nothing about her that even made him think of a night human. She was as close to a normal day human as any day human he had met. It could simply be that she hadn’t changed into a night human yet, or it could be that they weren’t different from day humans in their normal form. Devin had to wonder when they transformed into night humans. In other clans, some were at birth, and others later in life. He tried to find an image of a commoner sidhe that reminded him of a night human, but he could think of no one he had passed on his walk thus far that was a scary night human.
“I’ve never seen a day human before,” the little girl told him.
“I’d guess not,” Devin replied after he swallowed what he was chewing on. “I haven’t seen any since I’ve been here, either.” That was true. The sidhe village seemed devoid of any human not sidhe.
“Why are you here?” the girl asked. It was obvious that Devin was a new source of wonder for the young girl, and therefore she was full of questions.
Devin shrugged and took another bite. Why was he there? There were over a dozen answers, but they were all too complicated to give as an answer to a child.
“Do they treat you well?” she asked before he could come up with an answer for the last question.
Devin smiled. Her interest amused him. Most of the sidhe just passed by and never gave him a second thought in the village. This child wanted to know more than anyone else had asked. Devin saw the promise in the younger sidhe; they were worth saving if he could figure it out.
“I’m doing fine. It isn’t like my home, but I can adjust,” Devin replied. She sounded like she was trying to be adult, and so he gave her a grown-up answer.
“You’re from the outside?” the girl asked, her eyes twinkling at the thought.
“Yes, but now I’m from here,” Devin answered.
“As in you’re staying?” she asked, disappointed. Maybe she was already dreaming about the adventure Devin could take her on outside of the sidhe walls. Smiling, he shook his head. Thousands of thoughts were passing through her young mind. He had forgotten what children were li
ke.
“Yes. The girl I love is here, so I’ll be staying,” he explained, sorry to disappoint her.
“A sidhe?” the girl asked in a whisper. She’d latched on to what he’d said like it was a big secret.
“Yes, she is,” Devin replied, also in a whisper, though he had no idea why.
“You need to be careful,” the girl added in hushed tones. “They don’t allow sidhe and day humans to fall in love.”
Devin had to grin at her response, and quickly tried to hide his reaction. He didn’t choose to fall in love with Nessa … it just kind of happened. To have a young child tell him about love was a bit amusing.
“They don’t even allow people from different sidhe families to marry,” the girl continued, not noticing his quick smile. “You’ll end up with my older brother in the castoff camp. He’s been there three years since he married the wrong family. Now we can’t even see him.”
“Castoffs?” Devin questioned. He as pretty sure they weren’t on an island.
“That’s where they force people to live if they break the rules, like falling in love with the wrong person,” she explained. She was quite young, yet very sure of the rules.
Devin had begun to think the common sidhe were fine and actually lived in harmony until he had heard that. She didn’t seem to support, or understand, the silly rule, but it was already ingrained in her, and that was a scary thought. She was too young to have to think, or worry, about falling in love. He’d believed the commoners were better, but maybe not. He couldn’t imagine forcing people apart for something such as love.
“Who sends them there?” Devin asked. He wasn’t even sure how the commoner sidhe community was set up, government wise. It was all too new to him. Did they have a council, like the elite?
“The elite elders,” the girl whispered again.
Devin nodded. No. The common sidhe were living a good life, but the elite were the ones messing everything up. Why did it even matter to the elite who a commoner married? It seemed silly and petty, like they were just doing things to assert their power. Devin had no clue how he was going to change the sidhe, but he knew it would have to be start with the elite. They were set on their ruling, and didn’t seem to care who it hurt. The change had to come from within the palace for the good of all the sidhe.