A Pinch of Moonlight

  ***

  Vicky’s mum and dad had left for their Sunday morning swim long before Demi-Lee came downstairs. Demi had hardly entered the kitchen before she restarted the previous night’s argument. She was still furious that Blackbird was ‘bailing out’ at the start of the summer holiday, and leaving her with just Aelwen as a tutor.

  But the fairy was adamant – Demi’s charming was good enough to get Tom’s life into an egg, and now that Blackbird knew how to lift the curse on Tefyn, there was nothing to gain by remaining in Cardiff in such a vulnerable state. He tried to pacify Demi by reminding her he’d be man-sized when he returned. He gave her his most appealing look. ‘You’ll like me more when I return, I promise you,’ he said. ‘And I won’t be such a burden. I can teach you more when I return, and you can teach me how this world works.’

  ‘So you’ll be back then?’ Demi asked. ‘You’re not going to Annwn forever,’

  ‘I don’t belong anyplace now. Here or there. I may look for somewhere I can make my own life, or try to make a place for myself here,’ Blackbird replied.

  ‘There’s always a place for you here.’ Vicky was fighting to keep the wobble out of her voice. ‘We’ll shelter you. And without your wings you could pass as human – provided you’re more than a few inches tall.’

  ‘When I come back, I’ll be tall as you,’ he replied. ‘But I need my wings, I’m nothing without them. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life crawling on the ground. There has to be some magic somewhere that will let me fly again. And this isn’t just for me, it’s for Tefyn and Pefryn too – I need to make things right to protect all of Annwn from Hafren.’