I was in shock for a while after that. Kind of kept to myself. I don't think anyone noticed, since they were all still scared that Fin was going to them. Oh, fuck, for turning into birds and wolves! Seriously! WTF?

For the rest of the day I wondered if Fin was the baby in the picture. I mean, probably, but I really hoped he wasn't, you know? I mean, I'd always believed in weird stuff and I guess he had told me that fae had spoken through him all his life, but damn! I don't know why, but I was really creeped out! That was some messed up shit!

I backtracked, tried to think of something I knew that was comforting. An harm ye none, do what thou wilt. The Rede. I tried to think of how this might harm anyone. I mean, yeah, it was just a baby, but it was fine! Fin was fine! Those people probably got some really wise advice from those spirits.

I shouldn't judge.

These people around me— I'd been looking down on them because I'd thought they were obsessed and a little crazy. But they'd invited me into their home and treated me like a member of their family. It wasn't that they were weird. They were just childlike. They'd never lost their sense of awe.

And hell, why not? They were part of something big.

Why wouldn't I want to be a part of this?

I went outside. Needed air. Seeing me, one of the elders invited me to come hunt for chicken's eggs. I was glad to have a distraction. And you know what, chickens are funny. My hand got pecked a lot, but the guy helped me out. I love the way people talk to you here— they give advice without sounding like they're giving advice.

This was really real. This… family …had already built their own world; they just needed a place to plant it. And it would be wonderful. They were all about love. The more time I spent with them, the more I realized I'd only been a little girl playing with wands and candles. That's why my love spells hadn't worked, I guess: It had never, for a second, been about anyone but me.

And I realized, as the old man and I brought our eggs back to the kitchen— that even if the thought of leaving with the druids still terrified me— I knew more than ever that I had to. They were the home I had always been looking for. Fin was th…

Well, anyway. A few days went by, and I fell in love. With the clan, I mean! They were all so open with each other, so understanding, that it was easy for me to open up to them. I didn't mind how cramped the house was anymore, or the fact that I had to share my room with Susan. Susan was quickly becoming like a sister to me.

And those videotapes, with that baby… I guess I just sort of purposefully forgot them.

At least, until Fin drew me aside a few days later and said, "We're contacting the fae after supper. I want you to be there."

"Uh, okay." I remembered that Faerie I'd channeled so long ago, and instantly started shaking. I hoped Fin wouldn't notice.

I didn't eat that night. I sat on Susan's bed, fidgeting, praying to whoever would listen to make me calm. The door creaked open. I looked up to see Fin.

We didn't say a word. He crossed the room, drew me to my feet, and put his arm around my shoulders for a comforting squeeze. Then he let go. "Follow me."

I did follow him, downstairs, outside, and across the lawn. Maybe seven of the oldest druids were waiting by the cellar doors. When they noticed me walking behind Fin, they made curious faces.

"She needs to see it," Fin explained.

Some of the elders looked uncomfortable with that idea, but nobody spoke a word. They nodded obediently.

Fin pulled a key out of his pocket and handed it to one of them. She bent to unlock the cellar doors and then, as they were pulled open, returned the key to Fin. I thought there was something weird about that, but I couldn't put my finger on it.

The sun was already hidden, and the cellar stairs descended into pitch blackness. The elders went down first, and when the first one reached the bottom, a light bulb flicked on. I felt a little better then. I realized I'd been afraid of the dark, and smiled a little.

"Shut the doors behind you, Ember."

I did, and crept down after them.

The cellar was small and bare. Just an old oak chair in the center, carved to look like a living tree. One of the walls had a bunch of white robes hanging on it, with long staffs between them. The staffs were pointed with curved sickle blades.

I had always thought it was a myth that druids wore white robes. But then, nobody knew about these druids. And I guess they called themselves the White Planet.

Fin and the others pulled the robes over their normal clothes. Feeling useless, I retreated to an empty corner and watched. The floor was dank and cold, the air was still, and I wished I could turn invisible. Then, looking around, and realized this was the room where that video had been filmed. I shivered.

Fin pulled up his hood and lowered a crown of gold oak leaves over it. I don't know if they were real or not, but they looked beautiful. Like I'd expected him to, he walked over to that big cool chair and sank into it, cradling his old staff in his arms. I guess it was mostly symbolic. The elders sat on the floor around him.

They didn't chant or sing or say any magic words. But I felt the air getting thick, kind of tingling like it was alive. My flesh crawled, cold, and I looked at Fin.

His beautiful eyes dimmed, like an emptying glass. When he straightened and looked around, he wasn't Fin anymore. His face… I don't know. Was just different somehow. His eyes glittered like… I don't know. I don't.

But I didn't like it.

He spoke in a voice I had never heard before. "I am Arizellane."

The elders sighed in relief and gasped in excitement. "Welcome, Arizellane," someone murmured.

"My compeers tell me your numbers are now great. Do you still seek to enter our world?"

"Yes," was the whisper. "Tir na nOg!"

"In the language of the fae, its name is Lenovra."

I couldn't take my eyes from Fin. He almost hovered over his chair like a marionette. Now I wished I had watched the end of that tape. Was Fin going to be here when the fae left?

"Lenovra!" an elder sighed.

"A beautiful name!" another agreed.

"Ssshh!"

The fae had held up Fin's hand for silence. Fin's eyes were narrow and grim. "We will be glad to send you a guide to our world. But that will only be the beginning. You will yet have much blood to shed."

Nobody breathed.

"The fae are not as they once were. Some of us have broken away from our original forms. They are now physical, mortal… and evil. Since their alteration, they have brought chaos and war to Tir na nOg."

Everyone wilted in despair. One of the elders was ready to cry.

"They can be killed," Arizellane reminded us, "and this will banish them from our world. We will gladly help you. We will lend you still more power. But there will be great loss. Are you willing to sacrifice?"

"We'll do what we have to," said one daring elder. "If the one whose body you're in… if he agrees."

There was a pause. "It pleases him," Arizellane said finally, using Fin's lips to say it. Oh Fin, please be in there. I'm all alone! "We have been with him and in him since before he was born. He is wise. Only one thing, then, remains. You must amass your druids from across the earth. Bring them here. Step through the portal."

Fin's face went blank again, and his head fell hard against the back of the chair. When he blinked, I almost cried. It was him. Already the cellar felt warmer and wider. Arizellane was gone.

But nobody else was excited about it.

"Wait, that can't be all?!"

"What portal?!"

"She's gone," Fin said. He looked confused. He also looked like he was trying to hide it. I just wanted to tell him how good it was to see him.

"Finian, what are we supposed to do?" an elder cried.

"Send for the others, obviously," he retorted. "Trust that the fae know what they're doing."

A voice echoed from the stairs. "Hello? Excuse me!"

Everyone scrambled to their feet. "Ember, I thought you closed the doors!"

"I did!" I cried, horrified to see them holding their staffs ready like they were spears. Someone was coming down the steps, slowly, hesitating. A young man peeked at us, and slowly raised his hands in surrender.

He might have been Asian, but if he was, he definitely had some white heritage, too. He was cute. Not very tall or built, but he still had a sort of athletic look. The tips of his longish black hair were dyed bright red. He wore fingerless gloves, a form-fitting leather jacket, durable tan pants and leather shoes. A few belts looped around his waist and legs, where dozens of charms and amulets jingled softly. I recognized an Egyptian one. But they all seemed to be from different eras and cultures.

He wasn't armed. That was obvious, but the druids didn't lower their staffs.

"Um. My name is Dom Thorne?" He had a sort of British accent. "I was sent by someone named Arizellane."

Fin was grinning.