A Pinch of Moonlight

  Chapter 13. A Damaged Man

  Demi was woken a few hours later by Pefryn gently singing to her. She hadn’t intended to sleep, but Pefryn had given her what she called a ‘calming brew’, which, combined with the late hour - in Demi’s world, at least – had sent her into deep slumber. Demi’s head was full of fuzz when she woke, but Pefryn gave her another drink, which soon cleared her mind.

  ‘You’ve has a few hours sleep. I hope it was enough,’ Pefryn said. ‘The day will end in an hour or so; once night falls we can release Blackbird. He will be guarded by elves, but they cannot see by moonlight. Can you?’

  ‘Probably not as well as a fairy, but not too bad,’ Demi replied.

  Pefryn had made some little seed cakes whilst Demi was sleeping. They were dry, and nothing like what Demi normally ate, but she was starving, and ate all the ones she was offered. Then she put her trainers and jacket back on, and Pefryn cast the spell to open the path.

  The sun had dipped behind the mountain to their rear, but the peaks on the far side of the valley still basked in late afternoon sunshine. Demi assumed they were going to use the portal, but Pefryn sighed and said it was impossible; the elves guarding it at the other end would never let them through.

  ‘They would ignore me,’ she explained, ‘although they would also block my path. As an unknown human, your freedom would be at risk. Hafren distrust humans more than fairies, so it’s better if he doesn’t find out about you. But I’ll need your help to free Blackbird – your height will come in useful.’

  Pefryn was already picking her way along the narrow ledge which clung to the cliff-face, so Demi just had to follow her. Fortunately Demi had a good head for heights – in fact, she found it rather exhilarating to walk with her left hand on the rocks and wide open space at her right hand. Soon the path turned and the ledge joined broader, more level terrain. It was the vastest landscape Demi had ever witnessed. Huge, rocky, and silent apart from the wind whispering through herbs and shrubs. Apart from the plants, she and Pefryn were the only living creatures. They continued walking until they reached a place where the setting sun gazed between the peaks, painting a swathe of pink-gold light across the ground. It could have been pretty, but there was a bleakness to the scene which disturbed Demi. It felt abandoned, rather than just empty. They walked into the elongated shadow of a small group of trees to their left. Demi sensed something. ‘What’s over there?’ she asked. ‘I can sense magic.’

  Pefryn stared at the trees for a moment then, as if glad of a change of movement, leapt into the air and flew the short distance. After investigating for a few moments, she returned, and informed Demi there was a pool of water which seemed to have nixies in it. ‘I didn’t see any nixies, but it had a trace of their magic about it, and it looked suitable for them.’ She gave Demi an approving look. ‘That’s a useful talent. Not all groves and ponds have nixies within, but if you can sense the ones that do, it could save you a lot of walking in future.’

  After maybe half an hour’s walk they passed between two upright pillars of rock. The shadow of one rock ran straight to the base of the other and Pefryn, obviously using them as a natural sundial, announced they were making good time.

  Just beyond the rocks there was a small, dense wood. It was dark and gloomy beneath the trees, so that even the multicoloured orbs Pefryn cast into the air didn’t enchant Demi.

  Pefryn seemed to sense Demi’s disquiet, and reassured her it wasn’t much farther. ‘In a few minutes you’ll see Annwn for the first time,’ Pefryn said, and Demi tried to look interested. But Annwn was a lot nastier than she’d expected, and she had to admit to herself all she really wanted was to rescue Blackbird and get home as soon as possible.