Page 39 of The Other Side

“So where do we go?”

“Follow me.”

Osian set off and Drum followed.

“How can you see where you’re going?” Drum asked as he lost his footing for the third time. It wasn’t completely black but seeing humps and hollows was tricky. “Can I use my flashlight?”

“I’ve got good night vision. But yes, use your flashlight.”

Osian didn’t appear to be carrying a weapon. Maybe he was taking him to a place where others had weapons. Oh God. Drum didn’t want to be suspicious but this roller-coaster of a day had changed him.

He was beginning to wonder if Osian was leading him anywhere, or maybe to a hole in the ground, when he stopped in front of a rocky outcrop. He couldn’t even see any lights from distant villages.

“We’re here,” Osian said quietly.

Drum shone his flashlight over the outcrop. It looked like nothing more than a small wall of weathered stone. A glacial erratic maybe. It wasn’t large enough to hide a gang of people. But it was big enough to hide a weapon.

“Watch.” Osian stepped forward and placed a hand against the rock. For a moment, nothing happened. Then pale silver light seeped through the cracks and there was a flash of blue.

How was Osian doing that?

The stone seemed to soften, its edges blurring like fresh paint in rainwater. The entire face of the outcrop rippled silently, becoming a curtain of liquid moonlight.

“What the hell?” Drum whispered.

Osian glanced back at him. “Come on. We don’t have long. Seconds. I told you.”

“We’re going through that?”

“Yes.” He held out his hand.

Every instinct told him this was a terrible idea. But… Drum wrapped his fingers around Osian’s and as Osian stepped through the shining surface, he pulled Drum with him. One step into darkness. The next into sunlight. Drum staggered to a halt. The flashlight slipped from his fingers, so did Osian’s hand.

Above him stretched a sky so blue it looked unreal. Golden sunlight poured across rolling green hills and forests of silver-leafed trees. Flowers larger than dinner plates nodded in a warm breeze, their petals glittering as if dusted with diamonds. A river wound through the valley below, shining like molten gold. Birds wheeled overhead, their wings flashing every colour imaginable. He could see a castle. A castle from a fairytale. Oh my God.

For a second Drum simply stared. It was day. Not dawn. Not morning. Full daylight. Yet only moments ago it had been night. His mouth went dry. The air itself felt different—cleaner, lighter, carrying the scent of wildflowers and something sweet he couldn’t identify. Every colour seemed brighter than it should have been. What’s happening to me?

Osian swore softly. “Long enough. We need to go.”

Drum tore his gaze away from the impossible landscape. “Wait, that’s it? We just got here.”

Osian grabbed his arm. “Now.”

“I can’t…” Drum felt panic hit him, it was like being attacked by a tiger. His heart raced and breathing became impossible. The sense of danger was so overwhelming that he couldn’t cope and his body shut down. As he collapsed, he felt Osian’s arms wrap around him and pull. The sunlight vanished. Cold night air slammed into him. He stumbled onto the damp grass and looked back to see the silver curtain collapse, hardening back into ordinary stone.

Silence returned. For several seconds Drum could only stare at the rock.

Then he looked up at Osian. “That was Faeryland?”

“Yes.”

“It was real.”

“Yes.”

Drum swallowed hard. “Oh my God.”

Osian dropped down at his side. Drum began to breathe heavily again.