Reunion (38 page)

That never happened, of course. Renkavana arrived with Trása and messed everything up.

Her first few months in this realm had been exciting beyond words. This reality without magic had so many interesting things, such intriguing ways of doing things, that for a long while she didn't miss the magic at all. It was all well and good to be able to light a lamp with a thought or toss an underling across the room with a wave of your arm if they displeased you, but here they could record music and play it back over and over so the beauty of it was never lost. They had television and movie theatres that showed fabulous stories in 3D. They could fly thousands of people from one end of the planet to the other. They had visited the moon.

All this had come at the cost of the magic, of course. Technology and magic could not coexist; or so Teagan had believed before she came here and she'd clung to that belief for a long time after she arrived.

Until she learned of "the mission'.

Until she began to fully appreciate what the mission was planning to achieve.

Her role, she learned from Mother, was to ensure that her reality, along with as many other realities as possible touching this one, was filled with magic not hampered by Faerie who might object - or worse, have the power to stop - the
Matrarchaí
achieving Partition. To a large extent, Delphine achieved that aim in Teagan's realm before she had been killed and Teagan and Isleen had been expected to carry on her work by eradicating the lesser
Youkai
. When the time came, the magic from their world, and the thousands of others like it, would spill into this world and replenish its magic before it was severed from the others, leaving this reality with the best of both worlds - fabulous technology, and magic to boot.

There was a catch, Teagan soon learned, which made the
Matrarchaí
's mission more urgent, and perhaps explained why Mother was prepared to put aside her dreams of vengeance for the furtherance of the mission. The technology that made this world so special was eating it alive: the climate was warming at an alarming rate as a direct result of the development of all this fabulous gadgetry, and along with the ability to make beautiful music over and over, they'd developed weapons so powerful they could make this planet uninhabitable.

The
Matrarchaí
, who'd been content to let this world muddle along as it would until recently, were starting to worry that if they didn't force Partition soon it would be beyond redemption. The politics here, where they had chosen to make their headquarters, were becoming so volatile they feared the end was just around the corner. Thousands upon thousands of years ago when the
Tuatha Dé Danann
occupied Europe, the
Youkai
were spread out across what was now called Japan, the Dreamtime ruled Gondwanaland, the Pristine Ones watched over China, and the hero twins, Hunahpú and Xbalanqué - the first Undivided of this realm - ruled the Americas in remarkable harmony with Chaac, Kukulkan, and K'iche' ... the Mayan god responsible for liaison between the magical realm and the mundane one.

They were gone now, victims of the march of progress in this realm. But the
Matrarchaí
had not forgotten any of them and they had grand plans for this world's redemption, too. There was a void left by the gods. It was partly filled by this world's countless religions where they worshipped imaginary gods, who could never answer their prayers. In a post-Partition reality, the
Matrarchaí
would be the only ones capable of wielding the magic that would flood into this realm.

They would be the gods again.

They would bring peace.

They would bring harmony.

They would end the threat of starvation, poverty ... even global warming. SO they claimed.

It was only recently that Teagan realized that the process of Partition would devastate this world. Peace, harmony and an end to poverty and starvation would be in no small way achieved by the fact that several billion people would die as it happened.

This realm was rich in resources, she had heard Mother explaining to one of her minions. The problem was with the number of people trying to share them.

That wouldn't be a problem after Partition. There would be many less people and the
Matrarchaí
- every one of them able to use the replenished magic now filling the world - planned to bring order out of the chaos.

The scope of the
Matrarchaí
's mission was daunting. In addition to their plans to breed a set of twins "special" enough to force Partition, they were cultivating as many
kozo
and
washi
trees as they could cram into their hydroponics labs. When the realm was filled with magic again, they could sustain it with the magical trees brought here from Teagan's realm - the only reality with the special trees where they had successfully eradicated most of the Youkai and could harvest the necessary seeds.

The excitement down on the lawn seemed to be over. The pilot had secured the helo, the patient disappeared into the small but astonishingly well-equipped medical ward on the other side of the building, and Mother disappeared from view with the girl in the jacket.

They might tell Teagan what was going on tomorrow. More than likely they wouldn't. Teagan didn't get told much at all, really.

She wandered back to bed and climbed under the blankets, wondering if it would take her long to fall back to sleep. She'd been having trouble sleeping lately, and when she did fall asleep she dreamed of her twin sister, Isleen.

Where are you, Issy?
Teagan wondered, wishing she was allowed into the Enchanted Sphere with Mother on one of her trips. Perhaps then she could scry her sister out and learn what was happening.
Are you well?
Have you met a boy you like better than yourself
?

Like herself, Isleen would be nearly twenty now. Perhaps she was no longer a virgin. Teagan was still a virgin. Mother had yet to approve a match for her and her blood was too precious, so she'd been told, to allow her to waste her eggs on foolish liaisons that might damage her ability to carry the children the
Matrarchaí
needed for their breeding program.

Perhaps Isleen had a baby by now.

Teagan remembered thinking how nice it was to not have a twin around to share her glory when she first came to this realm. Lately she'd been missing her sister more than she thought possible.

When she'd heard of the
Matrarchaí
's mission, she'd thought she was one of the special twins. Mother let her believe it for a time, too, until it became clear she wasn't so special. She was an Empress twin, but there were Empress twins aplenty across all the realms the
Matrarchaí
dabbled in.

The twins Mother wanted, were something more again.

Teagan found herself just another cog in a very large machine and it made her angry.

She liked feeling special.

Back in her home realm, even after Renkavana and Trása arrived, she
had
been special.

I am Undivided. I am an Empress.

Here she was little more than a pampered breeding cow, waiting for the farmer to find the right bull to stand at stud.

Teagan pulled the covers up and turned on her side.
That's all I am to the Matrarchaí
, she thought, tears welling in her eyes
. A breeding cow.

It was then that Teagan realized something else.

She didn't want to help the
Matrarchaí
achieve Partition. Mother and her vengeance could rot.

I want to go home.

It was a startling revelation and, for the first time since she was a small child, Teagan cried herself to sleep.

"You'll forgive me for asking the obvious question," Annad said, as he poured a drink for everyone in the living room of his tidy suburban home. The house was not especially grand, but you could tell by the quality of the furniture and the eighteen-year-old whiskey they were served, that Annad and his wife were comfortably well-off. "Where the hell have you been?"

"Off with the Faeries," Logan said with a grin, accepting the glass Annad offered him.

"That's helpful," Annad said, after handing Pete his drink and taking a seat in the armchair by the fireplace.

"Helpful or not, it's true," Pete said, imagining how insane they must sound to a man who made his living diagnosing insanity. He took a sip of the whiskey and closed his eyes, savouring the taste.

There had to be a way they could sneak a couple of bottles of decent whiskey back with them when they left this reality.

"Would you care to elaborate?" Annad was a clever psychologist. And far too experienced to appear judgmental.

"Do you remember Darragh? The kid who turned out to be Ren Kavanaugh's twin? Ren was the actress's kid."

Annad nodded. "I not only remember him, I spoke to him the other day."

"Is he still claiming he comes from another reality?"

"I think Darragh has learned the foolishness of stating his belief out loud," Annad said. "I am not convinced he still doesn't believe it's true."

"He believes it's true, because it
is
true," Logan said, leaning forward with his empty glass. "Any chance of a refill?"

Annad pointed to the bottle on the sideboard. "Be my guest."

"We must sound completely mad," Pete said, resisting the temptation to gulp his drink down like Logan had.

"No," Annad said, "you
sound
quite sane. What you're saying sounds mad, though."

"How can we prove it to you?" Logan asked. He'd poured himself nearly half a glass of Annad's very expensive Kilbeggan single malt.

"Short of taking me to another reality with you and showing it to me in person, I'm not sure you can."

"Ah, that's going to be a problem," Pete admitted. "You see, we're kind of stuck here at the moment."

Annad smiled. "Really? How convenient."

"I know what it sounds like -" Pete began.

"Given your own qualifications, Pete, I'm quite sure you do. I'm interested that you both appear to believe this remarkable tale, which makes me wonder: are you sharing this delusion or playing a prank on me?"

"Annad, do you really think the first thing I would do on reappearing after being missing for a decade is come around here to play a practical joke on you?" He swallowed the last of his whiskey and stood up. Best to get another before Annad decided to call the Gardaí, throw them out or Logan drank it all. "Now that
would
be insane."

"No crazier than what you're expecting me to believe," the psychologist replied, watching them both closely.

"Why were you visiting Darragh?" Logan asked, as he filled Pete's glass with an equally generous dose of Annad's whiskey. "Are you treating him for something?"

"I'm not at liberty to say."

"Unless you're working for the prison service now, he's not your patient," Logan said. "They have plenty of their own psychologists on staff."

"Is it because Hayley came back?" Pete asked. He suspected the only way they were going to secure Annad's assistance was by proving they knew things they could not have knowledge of by normal means. Perhaps then, even if they couldn't convince him of the truth of their tale about alternate realities, they could at least convince him there was more than meets the eye to it.

Annad paused for a moment, and then nodded. "It's been in the papers so it won't hurt to discuss that, but yes, that's one of the reasons. Hayley's family were about to have her declared dead when she miraculously reappeared claiming to have been gone only a week."

"You've spoken to her?" Pete asked.

Annad nodded. "I spoke to her the day she turned up out of the blue, right at the same place where she was last seen."

Pete and Logan shared a knowing look before Pete turned to Annad. "And she thinks she's only been missing a week? What does she look like?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean she's been gone ten years. Does Hayley Boyle look seventeen or twenty-seven?"

Annad swirled the whiskey around in his glass before he answered. "In truth? I'd have to say she still looks and acts seventeen."

"There," Logan said, "you have your proof!"

"What I have is a young woman who has aged remarkably well, with amnesia, probably brought on by PTSD."

Logan grinned at the psychologist. "I like our explanation better."

"I'm sure you do."

"How's Darragh doing?"

"He has his ups and downs."

Annad was hedging, which meant even if he wasn't treating Darragh directly, he still considered him enough of a patient that he wasn't about to discuss him. Perhaps, if the psychologist could be persuaded they knew things they couldn't possibly otherwise know, he might be a little more forthcoming.

It was urgent they find a way to secure his aid. The only way they were going to find Ren and get out of this reality was to be there when he turned up looking for his brother.

"Has he been self-harming again?" Pete asked, playing a hunch. He remembered Ren telling him about the reaction to injuries he'd received as a child. He guessed the reaction to Darragh and Ren's most recent communication would have attracted much the same unwanted attention.

"Why do you ask?"

"Is that why you're seeing him?" Logan asked, jumping to the same conclusion as Pete. "Because he carved 'get me out' across his belly?"

Pete saw the surprise flicker across Annad's normally serene face before he could hide it and knew he was on the right track.

"Do you know why he did it?" Pete asked, not taking his eyes of Annad.

"I have a feeling you're going to tell me," he replied, still refusing to confirm or deny anything.

"Darragh was sending his brother Ren a message. He's had enough, and he wants out."

"Hardly a brilliant or insightful diagnosis," Annad said, "given the words
get me out
featured heavily in his handiwork."

"Aha!" Logan exclaimed. "You
have
seen the message."

Annad refused to comment on that.

Pete smiled. He could pretend to know nothing, but it was obvious he knew plenty, a bonus really, because Pete had been hoping merely that Annad might be able to get them in to see Darragh, not that he might already have unrestricted access to him. "Aren't you going to ask how we know what he did?"