Brianna’s house was exactly as it had been earlier in the day. Liza got the impression that it never changed much. Brianna greeted each member of her family with a hug and kiss on the cheek. Liza felt a touch of jealousy at the closeness of the family. She stood off to one side, feeling awkward and out of place.

Brianna gave her a warm smile. “Thank you all for coming so quickly.”

“You didn’t give us much of a choice,” Fallon responded with a hint of amusement.

“No, I guess I didn’t. It was important that you all hear what I have to say. Please, sit.” Liza remained standing, as did Ana, while the rest of the family made themselves comfortable. They all turned toward the kitchen as an off-key voice began singing.

“Mom’s gone dancing,

Pop’s got gout.

I don’t know what gout is,

But it sounds bad,

And Mom never came back.”

“Paulie’s here?” Marcas said. “Is that a good idea?”

Brianna shrugged. “I don’t know. He said he needed to be here.”

“And you never could tell him no,” Fallon said.

Brianna turned her attention to Liza. “Like you, Paulie is something of a mystery. He’s simple—slow, if you prefer that term. He showed up one day many years ago. No one knows where he came from. The police chief at the time did everything he could to trace his origins, but no missing persons report matched him. It was as though he had been dropped off like an unwanted dog.”

“Paulie’s the sweetest,” Fallon said. “The whole town takes care of him. Sometimes he disappears for days at a time. He always comes back, though.” She winked at her sister. “He has the hots for Bri. He always comes back here.”

“Paulie and I enjoy one another’s company,” Brianna said as redness crept up her face.

“Okay, Brianna,” Cullen Finn said. “What’s got you so worked up?”

“Other than two dead Old Ones?” Fallon asked.

“Which is what we should be focusing on,” Ana reminded them.

“Believe me, Mother, I understand the severity of the situation. I already feel the shift in the town’s perception. Things are beginning to move, and I fear we have little time before it spirals out of control.”

“Who are the Old Ones?” Liza asked.

“Marcas has already explained to you some of what we do,” Brianna said. “There is still much you do not know. I do not have time to explain it all now, but, in brief, the Old Ones are those from the old land. There are—were—seven of them living around the perimeter of Halden’s Mill. The Old Ones wield ancient power and wisdom. They aid us in our task to guard Tír na nÓg. They also have an effect on the town’s residents, keeping their conscious minds from noticing some of the stranger things that happen around here. Of course, some of the people in town know about us and what we do—the chief of police, for instance, and some few others. Without the Old Ones to hold sway over the people, I fear our mission could be jeopardized.”

“That is a valid fear,” Cullen said. “My family and I are somewhat older than we look. The Old Ones are much older still. They have much wisdom and power. When they die, their power dies with them. They cannot be replaced. There will be no more Old Ones when these are gone.”

Liza gazed around the room at each member of the Finn family. She was having a difficult time accepting their story. They all looked so normal sitting around Brianna’s comfortable living room. That the murders were real and Conall was somehow involved was beyond question, but the rest of it sounded like something out of a fairy tale—literally.

“Mom’s been hunting.

Pop’s been mad.

Gremlins coming.

I been hiding.

My friend’s a long way away.”

Brianna frowned. “That’s new. Paulie’s songs are always strange and make little sense, but he’s never sung of gremlins or hiding before.”

“I should go back home,” Liza said. “I don’t belong here.”

“You doubt, and I cannot fault you for that.” Brianna pressed her fingertips together. “It is time for you to see the truth. Please, open the front door. Tell me what the day looks like.”

“It’s a beautiful day,” Liza said.

Brianna smiled. “Humor me. Open the door and look outside.”

Liza moved to the door and opened it. Nothing had changed. “Like I said, a beautiful day.”

“Come back over here, Liza, beside me. Marcas, would you be so kind as to open the blinds?”

Marcas hesitated before moving to the window and tossing the curtains open with a flourish. Liza knew that she should see the same view as she had from the front door, but what hid behind the now-open blinds was such a distorted version of what she’d seen before as to be almost unrecognizable. The scene that greeted her was one of nightmarish shadows and glistening flickers of muted light. The tree that stood in the front yard was still there, but now it was a dead thing, stunted and bare as it jutted from the barren ground.

Liza couldn’t believe what her eyes were telling her. “That’s not real. It can’t be real.”

“It’s real,” Ana said as she moved to stand in front of the large window. “What you are seeing is Tír na nÓg, the land of the fae.”

“I thought Marcas said it was in the forest at the farm.”

“It is everywhere and nowhere,” Ana said. “The forest you saw is much more than it seems. If you were to look upon it from the sky, it would look like nothing more than a few dozen acres of woodland. Someone without knowledge of the fae may pass through it in minutes, never suspecting the power that surrounds them. However, there are those to whom Tír na nÓg calls, those of great evil who hear the summons and seek its source. They are drawn to the forest. They seek the fae, though few of them know that. The fae seek them as well. They seek to give them power, to use them in this world.”

“I thought the fae couldn’t possess people?”

“They can’t, lass,” Cullen said. “But they can live through those who accept their power. They cannot control the person, exactly, but those who seek them offer little resistance to their influence, an influence that seeks to wreak havoc in this world.”

Liza struggled to grasp it all. “I still don’t understand. How can we see two completely different scenes out the window and the door? Is this house some kind of gateway or something?”

“Not the house, “Ana said. “Brianna is the gate.”

“You look out the window and see Tír na nÓg,” Brianna said. “But you can walk out the door and be in the mortal world. I cannot. What you see out that window is the only world I know.” She pointed toward the dim world outside the window. “If I walk out the door, I am there.”

“If she were to go out, the fae would tear her apart and use her soul as a gate to this world.” Fallon stared at the window.

“I can never leave this house,” Brianna said.

“Never?” Liza could not imagine such a thing.

“We all have our purpose. This is mine. It isn’t so bad. As you saw in California, I have my ways of communicating with the outside world. That was only one of them.”

Marcas’s voice interrupted them. “Something’s happening out there.”

Everyone turned to the window. Liza saw a form moving in the shadows, slithering along the ground toward the house. As it moved closer, its front rose up, and a forked tongue licked the air. Liza flinched back, terrified by the strange creature that was repulsive yet somehow familiar.

She felt the world tilt as a dim memory tried to force itself into her consciousness. The snake-thing stopped a dozen yards from the house and rose until it took on the form of half snake and half man. The scratch on Liza’s leg throbbed, and she put a hand on the wall to steady herself.

“What is that?” Fallon whispered.

“That’s Darius,” said a voice from behind them.

Liza turned to see a young man dressed in tan cargo shorts and an Iron Man t-shirt. His face had the classic features of Down’s Syndrome.

“Hi Paulie,” Ana said. “How are you today?”

“Right as rain,” Paulie said.

“I’m glad to hear that.” Ana motioned toward the window. “How do you know Darius, Paulie?”

The young man shrugged. He looked suddenly shy and stared down at the floor.

“It’s okay, Paulie,” Ana continued. “I was just wondering.”

“I see him in the dark sometimes. He’s in some of my dreams. I’m sorry.” Paulie continued to gaze at the floor, as though ashamed that he knew of the creature.

Fallon rubbed Paulie’s back. “Nothing to be sorry for, Paulie.” The young man blushed, but a smile lit his face.

Everyone in the room turned their attention back to the snake-thing in the window. “Can he see us?” Liza asked.

“Oh, yes, that’s why I keep the curtains closed. All kinds of vile creatures come to pay me a visit. This one is new, though.”

Darius stared in the window and swayed back and forth hypnotically. Liza found herself unable to look away. His eyes locked onto hers. His thin lips curled into a smile as his tongue darted in and out. The throbbing in her calf grew to a burn that moved up her leg, pulsing with the rapid beat of her heart. Then Darius performed a deep bow toward the house.

“Why would he bow to you, Brianna?” Cullen asked.

“He didn’t bow to Brianna,” Paulie said. “He bowed to her.” He pointed at Liza.

All eyes turned to Liza. She tore her gaze from the serpent outside. “What?”

Ana Finn gave her a quizzical look. “Why would one of the fae bow to you? Who are you, Liza McCarthy?”