Installment 42

I left the room and wandered down the stairs and out into the garden. The sun was shining brightly, but the February air was still crisp and cold. I took a deep breath and felt the air tingle in my throat.

"It's all a bit messy, ain't it?"
I jumped and turned to see Brin standing next to me.
"Oh, hi. I didn't see you there."
He smiled and nodded, "No, I don't suppose you did."
I turned and stood face on to him, "What have you got against me?"
He laughed. It was a smirky kind of laugh, "I ain't got nothing against you, girly. Not really," he leaned in close to my face, I could feel his breath on my cheek, "Thing is, you brought my sister back, didn't you?"

"I didn't... I didn't bring her back. She was just here."
"Because mum summoned her when she found out you had the pendant. I'd managed to keep that bitch out of the picture for 8 years, and then you show up and back she comes to get in the way of everything."
"I don't know what you mean."
"It took me years, but I managed it. I took the pendant and hid it. She just assumed that poor bastard was to blame. Get this, girly, I took it and I couldn't even see it, but I managed to get it to the car, then drove that to East Anglia and sent it over a cliff. I don't know how you even found it."
I stared at him, disbelieving what I was hearing, "I don't think you got it that far, Brin. I found it in Ogmore."
"In Ogmore?"
"Yeah, in the gift shop."
"The fucking gift shop?"
I smiled, slightly smugly, "The fucking gift shop."
"So... I..."
"So, you never got it out of Ogmore; guess you dropped it and didn't notice or something."
"And she never knew it was here?"
I shrugged, "I guess not."
He shook his head in disbelief, almost laughing.
"So," I asked, "Why were you so keen to get rid of your sister?"
"She's not my sister. She's... I dunno who she is."
"She's..." I laughed, "Nah, I don't know either. She's like Janet is. Whatever that is. An immortal?"

"Yeah, maybe, I guess. Me and ma, we're not human either, y'know?"
"So what are you?"
He shrugged, "I guess faeries is the closest way to describe it. Descended from the first Welsh folk; keepers of the castle in Ogmore, but there weren't no pendant originally."
"So, where did she come from?"
"I dunno," he said, "She just turned up one day, waving her shiny jewels around and ma got completely taken in. She seems to actually believe she's Arianwen's mother now, but me? I know better. I remember before."
"And Harry?"
"Angharad's father is mortal, as far as I know. Dunno what that makes her."
Brin looked over his shoulder, then briskly walked away from me. I turned to see where he was looking. Janet was walking toward me quickly.
"Hey love, what are you doing out here?"
"Just fancied some air," I smiled, "It's so beautiful out here."
Janet smiled, and I took her hand, "C'mon, I want to go in the maze."
She followed me, seeming slightly bewildered by my enthusiasm, but didn't mention my talking to Brin. I wasn't sure if she'd seen us talking, nor why Brin wouldn't want her to, but also, I really did want to go in the maze.