in my right ear. I did not know, my brother. The ways of the Fairie are as foreign to me as the ways of the living. I did not know who I was when she and I traveled…

Aye, she’s still as comely as ever, I thought as much when the bard visited the Brugh. Perhaps we even had a liaison, Dubhglas speaks into my left, and I scowl in response. My brother’s ghost always seems more material than the rest of my dead, more present. Sometimes I believe he is actually haunting the world of men, and not just a thing of my imagination. He continues. Don't get angry with me, my brother. She is not my sister. I am the Black Oak’s seed. You two come from one of Cearbhall’s brood…

“Who is he? You know who my father is!” I demand, looking for him now, forgetting for a moment that I am in human company.

Ladee must believe me mad, she is staring at me in pity, reaching out to take my hand. I hear my dark-haired brother laughs, appears for a moment behind Ladee, his hands salaciously holding her neck. She shudders, almost proving to me that the ghost is actually there, and then he vanishes. “I jest felt…” she says, in wonder, looking at me in askance.

I will not be engaged in self pity or introspection any longer. I respond as casually as I can. “Would’ve been any number o’ being, newfound sister. There’re creatures aplenty here in the…”

The hair on the back of my neck is suddenly prickly. I haven’t heard anything, but in an instant I know that we’re being watched. Ladee seems to sense it too, I can tell as she looks at me. Without moving my head, I turn my eyes to the direction of the lake, to let her know from whence I believe is the source of our voyeur. She nods briefly and we both turn at once.