A Pinch of Moonlight

A Pinch of Moonlight

Copyright 2018 Leo Greene

Published by Leo Greene at Smashwords

Cover illustration copyright Patricia McKenna Jones 2016

Smashwords Edition

License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your enjoyment only, then please return to Smashwords.com or your chosen retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting my hard work.

Table of contents

Chapter 1. Three Girls Turning…

Chapter 2. About Your Great-Great-Grandmother…

Chapter 3. Everything You Didn’t Believe is True

Chapter 4 ‘Rabbit, Chicken, English, Fortune-telling…’

Chapter 5. Secrets Freely Given

Chapter 6. Techno-Fairy

Chapter 7. An Appropriate Oak

Chapter 8. A Spell From a Smell

Chapter 9. Missing and Wishing

Chapter 10. Demi-Lee Gets Charming

Chapter 11. Reunion

Chapter 12. Blackbird Swallows his Fire

Chapter 13. A Damaged Man

Chapter 14. Deception and Defiance

Chapter 15. Meanwhile, Back in the Real World…

Chapter 16. A Kindred Spirit

Chapter 17. Dragons and Angels

Chapter 18. The Coldest Hour

Chapter 19. A Strange Encounter

Chapter 20. Dahzen in action

Chapter 21. Everything’s Going to be Fine…

Part 1: Terra

Chapter 1. Three Girls Turning…

A full moon, 21st June, near midnight

On the edge of Cardiff in the human world

‘Webs and snares,’ Blackbird cursed as his left wing snagged on a twig, almost dislodging him from the ivy he was climbing. He dipped down a little, shifted over, and squeezed himself between the overhanging oak tree and the masonry. These borrowed wings were the problem; less manoeuvrable than his real wings, but those were lost to him now. He gained the top of the wall and stood on the ruined stonework, comparing the view with his memories. This was the place. In front of him, just beyond the tower’s motte, a sturdy wooden fence and gate marked the garden of the houses on the edge of the city Beyond them, myriad lights marked the roadways as the city swept downhill, past the castle in the centre, to the sea, a half-day's walk away. Between two small islands in the channel, the full moon laid a silver path on the water.

And there, right in front of him was the house where Demali slept. A solid, pleasant house, attached to its mirror twin, on a street of similar buildings with gardens front and back, and trees along the pavement. The moonlight warmed him, and provided all the light his fairy eyes needed. But the magic in it was beyond his reach. A full moon on the summer solstice, and he was senseless to it as if he was stone. Or the average human. He hoped that Demali, who was a far from average human, would respond to the magic in the air. All he had to do was glide across the garden, scramble over the roof to her window facing the sea, and charm her into letting him in. He rehearsed the words he would say. How much easier it had been when he had his wings and his magic, and Demali had been a trusting child. She was a cynical adolescent now, and he would have to use all his charm to distract her from his wretched appearance. Even her ripped jeans and faded T shirt were grand compared to his rags, and the difference in his wings would take some explaining. When he found the dried out remains of the blackbird, just the wings, tail and scalp remaining, he had planned to carry his namesake away for a decent burial. But as he hauled it onto his back it provided warmth and shelter, and a valuable disguise. Half mad with cold and hunger as he was, he decided to keep it - to become it. A fairy without wings is no fairy at all, and at least with the wingsuit he could glide. Could he persuade her that he'd always been like this, and the glossy black plumes that had allowed him to turn and tumble through the air were a false memory? As he watched the house, the kitchen on the ground floor became illuminated and three young women entered it. A clock on the wall indicated it was close to midnight. Demali had grown so much since he'd last seen her, but she was still recognisably Demali. Same long brown hair, same clumsiness, same scowl. Easily the tallest of the three, although clearly the youngest too. He recognised one of the older girls. Demi's cousin Vicky. More athletic than Demi in her movements, and despite the strong family resemblance her hair was short and fair. This was Vicky's family home, he remembered, where Demali stayed on occasion. The third girl was someone new, but she seemed the same age as Vicky. Much shorter and squarer, though, with a cap of brown curls. Blackbird watched as they talked animatedly. They put the mugs they were carrying on the table, and Blackbird assumed they would head to their beds. Instead, the door to the garden opened, and they walked through. Demali was talking, and as she emerged her words became clear. 'I want to see the tree dance,' she said. 'It won't take a minute'

'Why did you tell her that daft story, Heledd?' Vicky asked.

'It's an ancient legend particular to this location,' the third girl replied. 'It may be a mistranslation. The tree dance could mean people dancing around the tree, not the tree itself dancing. '

'We'll soon find out what it's about. I won't hold my breath though. Probably some medieval 'shroomer telling tales.'

'It's the wrong time of year for magic mushrooms, and the legend did specify it was the full moon on a summer solstice. A once in a generation occurrence, supposedly the best time to gather herbs for magic spells.'

'I've lived in that house over twenty-one years and I've never heard any of this before. I'm not likely to get kicked in the face when the tree lifts its roots, am I?'

'You're such a grumpy old cynic,' Demali said.

'I thought I was a tree-hugger,' Vicky replied. 'Make your mind up.'

'You are a tree hugger,' Demali said. 'You're always telling me to switch things off and put them in the recycling.'

'Not the same things, surely,' Vicky laughed. 'And I'm only trying to keep this world habitable for when I'm older. It's science, not superstition.'

'It's folklore, not superstition,' Heledd said. 'We're here, so we may as well see what happens. It could be a trick of the light or something like that, or maybe it's a reference to a fertility ritual. I'm being scientific, too. There's a difference between studying ancient legends and actually believing in elves and dancing trees.'

Vicky gave a short laugh. 'Do you know, when this one was a kid she started telling us about this guy who came in through her bedroom window at night and told her how special and wonderful she was. But just as mum was about to call the police, Miss Thing tells us not to worry, he's a fairy and he's going to teach her magic. Jeez, we didn't know whether to laugh or scream. She'll never live that down.'

'You're such a cow!' Demali yelled, lunging at her cousin.

Vicky laughed and darted out of Demali's reach. She went out of Blackbird's view too, behind the garden fence. He heard the gate being unlocked from inside. Demali stayed where she was, in full moonlight with her hands on her hips and a scowl on her face. Blackbird paid no attention to the others as they left the safety of the garden and approached the motte. Demali's anger was a catalyst, and the sparks thrown off by her moonshadow showed how much magic she was generating. There was a faint crackle in the air, and a smell like gunpowder. Wonderful. If he could only get her on his side. But how? He could hear Vicky and Heledd climbing up the path through the brambles to the top of the motte. Within moments they emerged at the base of the tower and walked through a breach in the ancient stones to stand among the ruins. Blackbird had already slipped into the shadows on the eastern wall, the giant oak filling the space behind him where the northern wall had been, it's stones long ago crushed and separated by the tree. Demi was still enjoying the sensations of moon magic, turning slowly in the moonlight and rippling her fingers as if soft water was flowing over them.

'Look at that idiot,' Vicky said. 'Up past bedtime, and drunk on her first beer. I knew I should have made her drink shandy.'

'At least she didn't throw up on the Deputy head's car bonnet.'

Vicky laughed again. 'That wasn't even me. I don't know who it was. I just let people think it was me because I was tired of being so boring.'

'It did seem rather out of character.'

'It wasn't you, was it?' Vicky teased.

'No, I saved that experience until I'd been at Uni a while. I threw up my chips into the sea off Aberystwyth pier and a seagull came and ate them.'

'That's very Heledd. Come on Demi.' Vicky raised her voice. 'Demi-Lee Jenkins, are you coming up here or what? It's nearly midnight.'

Demali came back to herself and walked dreamily across the lawn and through the gate. There was a yelp as Demi made her way up the path, and she emerged a moment later holding out her index finger so the others could see the dark bead which welled from her insides.

'Something bit me,' she grumbled.

'Just a thorn on the brambles,' Vicky replied. 'I'm sure it won't kill you.

Demi wiped the drop of blood onto the tree trunk then began to walk slowly around it, inspecting it.

'What did you do that for?'

'Just didn't want to get it on my clothes.'

'Is it me, or...' Heledd asked.

Blackbird could sense it too. The tree was a-quiver, and the agitated sound of leaves rustling intensified.

'There's no wind,' Vicky said. Was that a touch of fear in her voice?

'Maybe we're just sheltered from it here,' Heledd replied.

'The tree,' Demi said, placing her palms against the bark. 'It's getting ready to dance.'

'Don't touch it,' Vicky said, reaching out to pull her away. 'There could be lightning in the air.' Vicky had reached out with her right hand and grabbed Demi by her left, pulling her back around the tree. Demi stumbled over a root and the two of them fell onto the ground. Heledd reached out and offered Vicky her right hand, then, as Vicky got to her feet, began to pull her around the tree so she could reach Demali, who was sitting on the ground giggling. She hauled Demi upright, and they staggered a few paces in the other direction.

Sweet sunlight, be careful, Blackbird thought, but before he could stop them, they had completed a turn widdershins around the tree. The three skipped and stumbled around the tree in the full moon light, oblivious to the effects. Blackbird leapt to the nearest place of safety, with not a moment to spare. Demi returned to the moonlight for the third time, her shadow throwing off sparkles, and as it touched the smear of blood on the oak, a cold silver flame ignited. In moments the whole trunk was blazing, and the branches thrashed as if something was trying to break free. It was Vicky who broke her hold, and began to run back towards her house, with the others close on her heels. The blazing tree threw wild shadows on the wall and Blackbird hunched over to protect his eyes from the glare. There was a tearing sound, then the light and noise dwindled.

Blackbird turned back towards the tree.

Atop the motte, a tall figure stretched her arms to the sky and flexed her fingers. Uprooting her feet from the earth she blinked her leaf-like eyelids. She saw Blackbird, and offered her hand. For a moment they gazed at each other, until, in an ancient language, each asked the other, ‘What in the world are you?’

***

Demi didn't bother to hide her disdain as Vicky locked and bolted the door, pulled down the blind and turned on every light she could reach. Just a little bit of magic, she thought, no need to freak out. Heledd was talking in that quiet low voice people always used when they thought someone was about to flip out, guiding Vicky to a chair at the kitchen table. Vicky kept casting nervous glances at the window, but the night was now dark and quiet, and Demi knew that whoever was outside wasn't going to come bursting through the glass. Heledd was alright, in a sensible, wholegrain cereal kind of way. She even looked like a Weetabix, short and square in a knobbly brown cardigan. But she was keeping Vicky calm, so Demi decided to leave them to it. She took some cola from the fridge, and announced she was going to bed. Heledd actually called after her as she climbed the stairs, telling her to brush her teeth or the cola would rot them. As if Demi had nothing better to do...

Demi closed the bedroom door and slid the bolt. Kneeling on the bed, she drew back the curtains and opened the window, careful of the bottles and make-up she’d arranged along the window ledge. As the moonlight streamed through, once more she felt the tingle and smell of magic. Fabulous! Closing her eyes, she tilted her face to the moon, letting its power flow into her. As she gripped the windowsill, she felt the moonlight tickling her knuckles, and looking down she noticed the sparkling edge to her shadow. She rippled her fingers in the eerie light, watching their shadows dance and throw off sparks. She turned and tried to make a rabbit shape on the bedroom wall, but it looked deformed, so she linked her thumbs instead, and flapped her hands like wings. The cosmetic bottles cast a tiny Manhattan on the wall, and she flew her shadow bird above its fake skyscrapers. The giant bird paused. Among the shadows was another bird shape. She moved her hands down until the shadows touched. She realised where, and what, it was. Slowly she turned her head, until she saw the figure on the windowsill beside her. A huge smile spread across her face.

'Blackbird?’

She held out her hand to him and he took her index finger, kissing it gently where she had earlier caught it on the brambles.

‘Hello, Demali,’ he replied.

‘What the hell happened tonight? What did you do?’ she asked.

He slipped from the windowsill onto her pillow, and told her a story.

Chapter 2. About Your Great-Great-Grandmother…

‘In this place, but in another time,’ Blackbird began, ‘your people lived in a village by the tower, and my people lived in the woods on the hill. This was before the smoke and the machines, before your people built this city, road by road, house by house. Back then fairies and humans shared more of the world, but even then we hid from most of you.

‘Aelwen was one we didn’t hide from. She was a clever healer, gentle and wise, and one day she healed a man who’d travelled a long way for a cure, as he’d been told she was the only one who could help. His name was Tegwyn, and he was clever like her, strong and hardworking too. They ended up married, with a little cottage in the fields nearby. Soon they had a daughter, a bonny girl with big green eyes.

‘At sunrise on the first new moon following the daughter’s birth, there was a knocking at the door, and when Aelwen opened it, she saw a small man, the size of a boy, with wings folded behind his back. She had seen fairies before, but never on her doorstep.

‘This fairy told Aelwen his name was Rowan, and that he and Tegwyn were related. Rowan had gifts for his baby cousin, and had come to weave spells of protection around her.

‘So the fairy stayed with them that night, but Tegwyn didn’t sleep much – he was already plotting. He had seen Rowan use a book of magic to weave the spell of protection around the baby, and he wanted that book for himself.

‘In the morning, he asked Rowan, Cousin, would you help me out? I need a favour.

‘And Rowan said, Yes, of course, so Tegwyn knew the fairy would do whatever he asked.

‘Tegwyn said he needed a blanket for his new baby daughter, as the nights were cold, so would Rowan fly around and collect all the wool that was caught in thistles and brambles, and spin it and weave it into a blanket?

‘And he added, I can look after that heavy book for you, to save you from having to carry it around.

‘So while the fairy flew around, collecting tiny scraps of wool from here and there, Tegwyn neglected his duties, and read through Rowan's book. But he could make nothing of it. Late that evening Rowan returned with a huge pile of wool. Aelwen, who had been working all day as well as caring for her newborn, fed them all, and thanked the fairy for the wool.

‘The next day Rowan spun and wove the wool, and in the evening he presented them with a blanket, soft and fine, a beautiful thing. Aelwen was delighted with the blanket. But Tegwyn wasn’t delighted. Again he had spent all day trying to make sense of the book of magic, and again he could make nothing of it. So all that night he schemed, and in the morning he asked the fairy for another favour.

‘This went on for many nights, until the moon grew round and full. Every day Tegwyn asked Rowan for another favour, and every day he neglected his work and tried to make sense of the fairy’s book, but he could get nothing from it. Then he would lie awake at night thinking up another task for the fairy. And every evening, Aelwen thanked Rowan for the work he’d done, and fed him a tasty meal. She was an excellent cook.’

‘Not like anyone in our family’, Demi interrupted. ‘Where is this going, anyhow? I thought you were explaining what happened tonight.’

‘Shut up with interrupting,’ Blackbird snapped. ‘Is a long story, and you did ask. Okay, so, when it was full moon, Tegwyn was in bed, scheming, and Aelwen was about to join him, when she looked out of the window, and something tugged at her heart. It was so beautiful out there, under the silver moonlight. She asked Rowan, could she borrow the book of magic.

Of course, said Rowan. Go out and read this book beside an oak tree, in the full moonlight, and if there is any magic in you, it will be woken tonight.

‘So she did all that, wrapping herself and her daughter in the beautiful blanket, and in a little while it all made sense to her. She studied that book from cover to cover that night, and by morning she knew everything within it. So she returned Rowan’s book, and thanked him for it. And he was glad, because he couldn’t leave without payment, and a thank you from the one he’d helped was all the payment he needed. Aelwen suggested he left before her husband woke up and asked him another stupid favour. She gave him some food to take with him, and he gave her a charm and told her if she ever needed help, just hold the charm up to the moonlight, and he would come to her aid.’

‘Wasn’t her husband annoyed when he found out?’ Demi asked.

‘Sure, he sulked a few days, but Aelwen’s magic had been awakened, so she could share her knowledge with him, and that shut him up a little. Everything was good for a few years. Aelwen became an even better healer, and people came from far and wide to see her. She didn’t have to spin or sew any more, or bake her own bread. Others did that for her in return for her healing them. Her daughter grew strong and healthy, and her husband worked hard beside her.

‘But then they came. The ones who want to enslave the weak and kill all difference. They spread their lies, and tried to make people mistrust the healers and wise women. They caught Aelwen when she was picking herbs in the silver moonlight, and locked her up in the tower.’

‘The tower? How long ago was this?’

‘Before I remember. The tower was old, but the walls were still strong. It was dark and damp, and despite all the other people, it was lonely. She knew in the morning they’d beat her, or worse, and burn her on a fire for being a witch.’

‘Poor Aelwen. What happened then?’ Demi asked.

‘She still had the charm from Rowan, and when she held it to the moonlight he came to her. There were iron bars on the window, so he couldn’t cast a spell past them. Fairies hate iron. It kills our magic.’ He fell silent, but just as Demi was about to prompt him, he continued.

‘Rowan had an acorn with him. An egg would have been better, but it was the wrong time of year for them. Rowan told Aelwen to climb up to the window, and reach out her hand, so he could guide her life into the acorn.

‘Aelwen told me she doesn’t remember what happened next. Next time she knew what was happening, it was spring, and she was inside a tree. Her life stayed in that tree, growing year by year, until a girl came seeking one day, and she knew this was her daughter. The girl would talk to Aelwen, and Aelwen would talk back to her. The daughter said, on that night when she’d been a tiny baby wrapped in a blanket with her mother, her own magic had been woken too. She was a witch, and understood things others didn’t. Aelwen’s life stayed in that tree year after year, as her daughter grew and became a mother herself. The tree became known as the Wishing Tree, because magical things sometimes happened there, and all Aelwen’s line became clever healers. But although Aelwen could hear the people talking to her, most people couldn’t hear her talking back, and that made her sad. Then the world changed around her, the fields became houses, and people started talking in a new language, one she didn’t understand. People forgot about the Wishing Tree, and she got lonely. But tonight, you came along – and you are one of the daughters of her line – and you smeared your blood on the tree, and danced widdershins in the moonlight, and that made so much magic that she made a new body for herself, from the tree, moonlight, and your blood. That is what happened tonight. That is what I saw, and that is what she told me.’

‘So…what’s all that got to do with you? Why are you back?’ Demi asked.

‘Too many questions!’ He snapped. Then, more gently, ‘It’s late, you should sleep now. Aelwen wants to meet you tomorrow, to teach you magic.’

‘Will you stay here tonight?’ Demi asked. 'Oh, please.'

Blackbird hesitated. It was hard to see his expression, with his back to the moonlight and that weird hood over his face.

'It's been years since I've seen you,' Demi pleaded. 'Vicky went away to study, and I always went to visit her in Manchester. I've really missed you.'

'Maybe it's time I met your cousin.'

'Wicked! She never believed in you. I can't wait to see her face. She'll freak.'

'Goodnight then. Do you have somewhere I can sleep?'

'Umm, how about I put this scarf in a shoebox? Will that do for tonight?' Demi placed the box on a desk, where it should be safe.

'It will suffice. Sweet dreams.'

He kissed the end of her nose, then climbed into the box. Demi’s nose was wet where he had kissed her, and filled with his musky, masculine scent. She closed the curtains, ignoring the lightness in the east, and closed her eyes. There was a soft sound as Blackbird slipped out of the wings, followed by his quiet snoring.

Chapter 3. Everything You Didn’t Believe is True

Vicky woke some hours later with a stiff neck from dozing in an armchair, the events of the previous night still with her. She knew it was useless to dismiss them as dreaming. It wasn’t just the sudden cold blaze on the mound, terrifying as that had been. As she fled, a strange sensation had overtaken her, igniting something which flared for a moment then faded. But its memory was still there, and it troubled her.

Thankfully, Heledd had stayed over. Solid, dependable Heledd, as down-to- earth as a gardener’s boot. True, Heledd had a head full of myth and legend, but she was calm in a crisis, and her chattering had helped pass the time until the sun rose, and bleached away the fears of the night. Unlike Vicky, who’d snapped out of every dream that night, Heledd was sound asleep on the sofa, wrapped in a blue fleece blanket, snoring gently.

They’d been in the same year at school, and even worked on a GCSE science project together, but had never really been friends. They’d lost touch once they left school and gone to different Universities. But a few weeks before, their passed crossed at their local library. Vicky had gone into to sign the petition to keep it open, and to savour the memories while it was still there, and there was Heledd, showing an old man how to use the Internet. The ancient computer had frozen, but Vicky the IT graduate soon solved the problem. The girls recognized each other, and soon got into conversation. After that they went for a coffee, neither admitting how lost and lonely they felt back in Tanybryn, the garden suburb where they'd both been odd-ones-out, but never similar enough to connect before. It didn't help Vicky that her boyfriend, Dave, was in Australia for a year. The long-distance relationship was already fraying at the edges.

They discussed their achievements and social activities at their respective universities, and for a while the gulf between them seemed too vast to bridge, but then Vicky mentioned the Freediving club she'd joined at Manchester Uni.

'We could go to the beach,' Heledd suggested. 'To Gower, maybe. I'm not much of a swimmer, but I could relax whilst you swim.'

So a few days later, when the tide was right, they took the bus to Swansea and spent the day at a tiny rocky cove. Heledd sat on the warm cliffs, reading, looking for dolphins, and daydreaming – a perfect afternoon for her - while Vicky put on her goggles and practised fetching shells and pebbles from the sea floor. Neither actually said much to the other all day,