“Trouble is,” Edgan said, “no one really knows what their business is, so it’s easy to get on the wrong side of them.”

Mother Crone gave him a sharp look.

“Have our people been having trouble with them again?” she asked.

“Not like when the mall was being built.”

That had been a bad time. The developers had bulldozed a crow roost to make the mall and the corbae had been furious, doing their best to make the building process as unprofitable as they could. But the fairies had been delighted with a new safe incursion into forbidden lands and made a point of helping the builders, all of which had caused no end of trouble between the two. It took a meeting between the oldest of the local corbae and the Queen of all the Newford fairy courts to finally set the matter to rest. With the accusations and demands that flew back and forth between both sides, it had not been an easy task, even for such level heads as Lucius Portsmouth and Tatiana McGree.

Mother Crone gave a slow nod.

“Was there anything in the database about this Grey the bogans and Odawa spoke of?” she asked.

“It’s a common speaking name,” Edgan said, “among our people as much as among theirs.”

“So we only know that he’s corbae. Fair enough. Are you willing to go to Sweetwater to see what else you can learn?”

“Of course.”

“And you’ll be careful?”

“I’m always careful. It’s how I’ve come to live as long as I have.”

She smiled. “Only be doubly so tonight, as a favour to me.”

Edgan stood up and gave her a little bow.

“I will,” he said.

Then he stepped into the between and was gone.

Geordie

I’m never happier than when I’m playing music and this gig at the Custom House was the perfect venue to simply fall into the music and let it take me away. The afternoon crowd was large and appreciative, but the room was packed wall-to-wall with people for the evening show, and they greeted us with a roar of approval as soon as we took the stage. We hadn’t even played a note yet.

The kids were great to play with—okay, they’re in their late twenties, early thirties, but they seemed like kids to me. Young and full of energy and sass. I’d played with Con before, but Lizzie was a revelation on the fiddle and, next to Miki Greer, I decided that Andy was the best accordion player to come out of the Newford Celtic music scene. Their arrangements were inventive, but never so far out that you lost the magic of the tune, and they kept me on my toes. Which is good, because if it’s not challenging, what’s the point in playing?