The Book of Secrets

Alex Dunne

Contents (30)

For my mother, who taught me to believe in fairies.

Title Page
Dedication
Prologue: When the Fairy Wind Blew In
Chapter One: Once a Witch …
Chapter Two: An Armour Against the World
Chapter Three: Iron, Bread and Salt
Chapter Four: The Book of Secrets
Chapter Five: Mischief in the Making
Chapter Six: The Not-Brother
Chapter Seven: The Hospital
Chapter Eight: How to Catch a Clurichaun
Chapter Nine: The Clurichaun’s Riddle
Chapter Ten: The Thrill of Chaos
Chapter Eleven: The Coachman
Chapter Twelve: Silver and Gold
Chapter Thirteen: A Lonely Voice
Chapter Fourteen: The Lake That Wasn’t
Chapter Fifteen: Spirits and Stone
Chapter Sixteen: The Green Rath
Chapter Seventeen: The Revels
Chapter Eighteen: Breadcrumbs
Chapter Nineteen: The Point of It All
Chapter Twenty: A Bad Bargain
Chapter Twenty-One: Through, Between
Chapter Twenty-Two: The Girl Who Sees What Others Cannot
Chapter Twenty-Three: The Last Stand
Chapter Twenty-Four: The End
Epilogue: The Most Fun He’d Had in Years
‘The NEW Book of Secrets’ by Caitriona Donnelly
Other Books
About the Author
Copyright

November Eve brings dangers untold

For those who tread the fairy road,

Who walk the line ’tween life and death,

And awaken beings that take no breath.

So, listen close and heed this tale

If your wish is to prevail.

When moonlight flees from darkest sky,

That’s when this spirit passes by.

A faceless rider you may see,

Who seeks to take thy life from thee.

Though his touch be cruel and cold,

He seeks silver, never gold.

A lonely voice leads travellers astray,

Her watery kingdom is where they’ll stay.

But as rivers into sea must flow,

So too must this maiden go.

And all souls shall be free to roam,

Once the maiden has gone home.

Dangers lurk where fae-winds blow,

And treachery you’ll find there when you go.

Open your eyes, look through, between,

Not all you see is as it seems.

The trickster knows more than he shows,

And all flee once the rooster crows.

Prologue

When the Fairy Wind Blew In

When the fairies arrived in Clonbridge town, the wind changed direction. It blew away the rain that had battered the town for weeks and brought with it a low, rolling mist and the promise of frost.

The fairies slipped through the streets in groups of two or three, spreading minor mischief as they went – tipping over rubbish bins, swiping spare keys from under flowerpots, and pulling spark plugs from cars. They did not linger long, for they had work to do before the night was through.

The sky was already beginning to brighten when the fairy troop arrived at their final destination – the crumbling ruins of an ancient fort that sat on a hill just outside Clonbridge, shrouded by a thick forest of oak and hazel. The locals called this place Cullane Fort, but the fairies had another name for it. It was an older name, a secret name – an Ráth Glas. The Green Rath. They whispered it into the early morning air and felt rocks and roots shift beneath their feet. As their magic wound its way across the hilltop, the earth began to stir its ancient bones. It had been many long years since the Revels were held in this place, but the land does not forget.