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I
looked down, avoiding her eyes.
“I
think … it's the Pravus Elders.”
I
could see her out of the corner of my eye; she turned her head back
to stare ahead, then she shook her head smiling slightly.
“Not
quite that bad, you might say! Can you think of the other creatures
which were trapped with them?”
I
gritted my teeth searching for an answer, distracted by my
embarrassment of getting it wrong at the same time. I thought,
slowing down as I did.
“Are
they equally dangerous?” I stopped and looked at her.
"A
little less dangerous in some ways," she replied.
Some
ways?
She
nodded.
You
can read my mind?
I thought. Suddenly I had it.
“They're
the Abyduses!” I exclaimed.
Loom
rushed a finger to her lips. “Sshh!”
“Oh, sorry," I said.
“Yes,
it is them. They've been lurking around earth lately and the
eventides have been trying to find out why.” Loom began flying
slowly again.
“But
if they've escaped, doesn't that mean the Pravus Elders might have
escaped too?” I said, shivering at the thought. She managed not to
make eye contact with me.
“The
Abyduses only just escaped the day before yesterday, so nothing has
been written in the Fairy Times yet. But … there are rumours going
around that the two clans worked together to escape.”
“Well! Let's get my wife before they get any further,” I said,
keeping my voice low. We sped up, and for a while there was nothing
except the sound distant cars as they drove past on the highway. The
dot in the distance was getting bigger. A tiny thing, in comparison
to the others, was struggling in the midst of it all. What was that?
I shook my head and looked again to see a spyglass in front of my
face. I stared through the blurry glass and was bewildered to find
that the small creature was my wife. But who else would it be? Then
I saw a smaller creature also struggling, but it was like a worm
pinned between the larger creature's thumb and fore finger. I
wondered and marvelled at this strange thing until Loom took the
spyglass back.
“What
was that?” I asked.
“It
doesn't matter.” The way she said it only made me more interested.
“It
does matter, actually,” said Kanoko. “It's the reason you were
summoned by the Imperial Court
in the first place.”
I
blinked, remembering the day. “But you said you didn't know why I
was summoned!" I said, accusingly.
Kanoko
shrugged and said, “I lied.”
“Why?” I asked. I heard my anger rising rapidly in my voice,
like feeling the change in temperature as you step out of a cool
house into the burning heat of a summer day.
“The Imperial Court
wanted to explain themselves.”
Kanoko
and Loom glanced at each other. I tried to calm down. I could just
imagine them having a silent conversation while I was looking away,
it felt uncomfortable.
“Ok,”
Loom said to me. “That is your son.”
It
took a long moment for me to take it all in.
“The
thing the size of a worm?” I asked.
“No,
not that,” Loom said as she shoved the spying glass in front of me
again.
“That.”
I
peered through the spyglass and saw the thing which I thought was a
worm was my wife. So small, it seemed unreal ... The others were so
huge. Then I saw a small dot wriggling against her chest shining so
brightly I couldn't believe I’d missed it. It could only be one
thing. I felt my heart jolt as it all suddenly fell into place.
“Him?”
I asked. It just felt right to call it a “him”. I knew somewhere
deep down that I was right. “But,” I said to Loom. “Forest
fairies don't glow that bright.”
“Lux is ... different. He's special.”
“How
do you know he's named Lux?” I asked.
Loom
grinned. “I know everything. I just accepted that as a fact.”
“Word
spreads quickly with eventides,” Kanoko piped in.
“Mm,”
I said, and decided to change the subject. “Why is he so special?
Apart from the glow, I mean.”
“It's hard to explain; I'll leave that to your wife.” Loom
smiled secretively.
“But
here's a clue," said Kanoko. “That spyglass shows magic.”
I
only had a little time to think because we were so close to the
creatures that I swore they would be able to hear us. Then Loom
said,
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