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The colours of the room melted together then spread glowing sparks of light in cascading showers. Sara’s arm tingled as though she’d gripped hold of an electric fence and couldn’t let go. Bridget’s screams echoed in her head, louder and louder, then, abruptly, they were gone.
The spill of colours resolved into a scene of two women in the woods. Sara knew somehow that she was watching memories.
The women were hunched down in a circular clearing, marked by smooth river stones. One was an old woman, her grey hair tied back in a bun. The other was young, perhaps nineteen or so. When she turned her face slightly, Sara realized it was Bridget, decades before her death, in the prime of youth. Several cats were scattered around the clearing, drawn by the magic here. They lay in the grass or pounced on insects.
“Nan, are you sure this is a good idea?” The young Bridget fidgeted as they sat, waiting. Her voice as a living girl was much stronger than her ghost self and the Irish accent thick. “You’ve always told me the fae were not to be trifled with.”
The older woman nodded. “Aye, that’s true. But you’ve heard your father. There’s nothing left for us here. We’re better to try our luck in a new part of the world and that’s dangerous. If we can make a deal with the fair folk, we can gain their protection.”
As Sara watched, a shimmer of light appeared in the centre of the circle. It expanded to the size of a doorway and then vanished, leaving behind a tall, incredibly beautiful man. His hair was golden and down to his shoulders, his eyes were green like oak leaves in spring. Vines and leaves wrapped around his limbs, climbed around his body and formed a crown on his brow. He held out a hand and a ball of twisting, crackling lightning formed there. He bounced it idly on his palm as he stared at the two women on the grass.
“Madam O’Neill,” he said in a voice as deep and earthy as tree roots. “Why have you summoned me?”
The older woman stood and bowed her head in greeting. Bridget scooted backward a few steps. Sara could feel the shiver of awe that ran through the younger woman.
“My lord Jereth of the forest,” Bridget’s Nan began. “We are both of an old time and old ways but this world is beginning anew. My granddaughter and I wish to propose an arrangement between our family and yours, so that both our peoples can thrive in the new world.”
The fae lord stared into the ball of lightning in his hand. “Why should I be concerned about what humans call a new world?”
The old woman shrugged. “Iron.”
Jereth looked up sharply. “What about it?”
“There’s too much of it in the world these days. Too much for both of us by far. Progress and industry are spreading iron and other metals throughout our country. Machines and electricity are taking jobs from honest men and the metal that goes with them are a problem for your kind’s magic. There will be less iron in the new countries across the sea. Your people would be safe there. We could help you get there.”
He tilted his head to one side. “An interesting proposal. What would you desire in return?”
“Protection for the trip,” Bridget’s Nana said. “And help establishing a new home. We want a fresh start. My son has no work here anymore.”
Jereth laughed, a sound like a rockslide of precious stones. “And the people in your village have named you witch. They see the signs of magic around you. The cats that flock to your side, the parsley that grows like wildfire in your garden. They are afraid of you. This new, modern world is more dangerous for you than it is for us.”
“Really?” The old woman pulled out a metal rod and stuck it point first into the earth. The ball of lightning leapt from Jereth’s palm and struck the rod, sizzling into the dirt and burning the grass around it. “Iron hurts your powers. You fae manipulate energy and there’s too much energy and iron in this new industrial world.” She gestured to the circle of stones. “The fae can only enter the human world through these special portals and there are fewer and fewer of them all the time. Before long, you will be trapped in your own realm. Will that be enough for you? Denied the power and beauty of this world? I don’t believe that it will be.”
The fae lord scowled. “Perhaps.”
“Protect me and my family on our journey to New Zealand and we will create a portal for you there. A circle in a new country. A fresh, unsullied country with no metal machines, no towns, and where yours is the only energy to be manipulated. It will be just like the old days for your kind.”
Jereth looked from her to Bridget and back again. Sara felt the thrill in Bridget as the fae’s gaze met hers. “Very well. I agree. I will come with you on your journey. We will work and create opportunity for us both in this new country you speak of. When do we leave?”
The scene split apart into sparks once more and swirled like embers in the wind. They reformed, creating shapes and figures. Bridget and Jereth, standing on the beach at sunset. Kauri and punga formed a backdrop in the dwindling sunlight. A large sailboat was at anchor in the bay and several longboats shared space with waka on the shore.
“We can’t hide this from my family much longer,” said Bridget. “There will be nowhere to hide when we begin building our new home.”
Jereth nodded. “I know, my love. When the circle is created and I can speak to my people again, we will face them both together.”
Bridget sighed. “Do you think it will be very difficult to convince them? Surely when they realize how much we care for each other...”
“I do not know, Bridget. All I know is that I will not live my life without you. The time we spent on that unbearable ship was crafted into a thing of beauty because of your presence. I never thought I would love a human, but now I cannot think of loving anyone but you.” He pulled a ring from his pocket and held it out to her. “My dearest Bridget, I know I must get the permission of your family and my own, but first I must ask for your own heart. Will you wear my ring? Will you be my bride?”
Bridget clapped her hands together, her eyes wide and moist. Sara could feel the girl’s elation. “Yes! Oh, of course, Jereth. Yes!”
He smiled, lips parting just enough to show canines more sharply pointed than most human’s. “You have made me very happy, my love. When you wear this ring, know that it was made in a fae smithy and the gem is crafted in the other realm. It holds the key to my heart and my power. Wear it and I will be with you always. My magic is yours to command now, as well as your own. It is the best I can do to protect you from all harm.”
“Thank you, my love.” Bridget stood on her toes and kissed him.
Jereth slipped the ring onto her finger. Sparks fountained around them like sea spray and they laughed, a happy, delighted sound, and walked into the trees hand in hand.
The spray of sparks swirled again and the scene changed once more.
Bridget and her Nan dug into the earth, scooping handfuls of dirt with their bare hands. The pit was a perfect circle. When the rains came, it would fill with water. Saplings were already planted at the points of the compass and key-stones placed around the edge. The magic of the portal hummed just on the outer edge of the world, nearly close enough to touch.
As the sun came out from behind a cloud, something on Bridget’s finger caught the light.
Her grandmother snatched her hand and rubbed away the dirt. “What’s this?”
Bridget tried to pull her hand away, but the old woman’s grip was strong.
“That’s a fae ring. Did Jereth give you this?”
Bridget lifted her chin. “Yes.”
Nan dropped her hand as if it burned. “What have I always told you about accepting gifts from fae? You fool. You have no idea what you’ve been bound to by taking it.”
“But I love him.” Bridget reached for her grandmother, pleading for her to understand. “And he loves me. We’re going to be married. I wanted to tell you and Papa about it but Jereth needs to talk to his people first. Oh, Nan, I’m so happy!”
“Aye,” the old woman snorted. “And the Spring lamb is happy ‘til the knife’s at his throat. You’d best keep that ring hidden from your father.”
The sound of soft, ghostly sobs filled Sara’s ears as her vision was again obscured by swirling sparks of light. “Bridget?” she called gently. “What happened?”
The ghost continued to cry as the sparks cleared and the younger Bridget paced on the porch. The wood of the house was unpainted, newly hewn and hammered into place, sanded carefully smooth. There was dirt under the girl’s fingernails and she chewed on her lip and fiddled with the ring on her finger as she paced.
A young man sat on the porch steps and watched her, his face solemn. Sara somehow knew this was Bridget’s brother. Neither of them noticed the ghost’s sobs or Sara’s presence.
An older man burst out of the bush, running at full speed toward the house. “Help! Get help. We are betrayed!”
Bridget froze. “Papa? What happened? Where’s Jereth?”
Her father’s face was red and wet with sweat. “Jereth betrayed us. He’s killed your Nan and he’s bringing an army of fae through the portal to destroy us all!”
“What?” Sara could feel the paralyzing cold in Bridget’s veins. “No, Papa, no! He would never do such a thing!”
“See for yourself,” her father snapped. “Your Nan slowed him down, but he’s going to break free. Patrick, get the Maori woman. Now!”
The boy on the steps leapt to his feet and Bridget lurched forward. The scene dissolved into a blur of leaves as she ran, at last bursting out into the clearing with the portal.
In the centre of the circle, Jereth was frozen, half in and half out of the water, his body twisted and his beautiful face snarled with rage. Lightning crackled from his fist, spinning a web of burning power across the circle. It sizzled and twisted, making shadows dance among the trees. The water in the pool swirled around him. Lights like fireflies glowed beneath the surface.
“Jereth!” Bridget called. “What have you done?”
“What have I done?” His eyes flashed fire. “What was necessary!”
She ran forward, her heart sinking in her chest. “Jereth, please stop.”
Her foot struck something soft. She looked down. The still form of her Nan lay in the grass, her skin blackened with burn marks. She was dead.
“No. No!” The horror of it choked the words in her throat.
Jereth growled, his muscles straining against whatever held his lower half in the water, trapped in the realm on the other side. “Set me free, witch! Set me free!”
The lightning spilling from his skin trembled and flexed. A strand of it touched Bridget but she felt nothing. The ring on her finger glowed brightly, its power protecting her against his magic.
She stood up tall, wiped her eyes and squared her shoulders. She would not let this man, this murderer, this creature of fae deceive her again. “No!” She pointed her fist at the portal and the gemstone in the ring he’d given her flared bright. She drew on all the magic her Nan had taught her, everything of the Earth, and everything she could access of fae magic through the ring and flung it all at the fairy circle she and her grandmother had created, slamming it closed.
A blast of energy washed over the clearing and knocked her from her feet. She hit the ground in a painful thud that rattled her bones. When she looked up, Jereth was gone. In his place was a twisted, stunted kauri tree growing in the centre of the circle’s pool.
A hand touched her shoulder and she gasped. When she turned, it was the older Maori woman, the one they called kuia. “You did well, girl,” the old woman said kindly. Her moko was a dark pattern of ink against the brown of her skin. “It is done.”
Bridget felt her eyes fill with tears. “Why?” she wailed. “Why did he do that? I loved him so much.”
The kuia pulled her into an embrace. “I know, child. But he was a spirit creature. An ira atua. He did not belong in this place. You did right to shut the gate to his world.”
“I don’t think it will hold,” Bridget choked out between sobs. “I couldn’t force him back before I closed it. He’s still half in our world. I think he’ll escape.”
The Maori woman lifted her chin with her hand, her dark eyes searched Bridget’s, then, seemingly satisfied, she nodded. “Then we will help you keep him there. He must never be allowed into this world or he will kill us all.”