Page 27 of The Other Side
They pulled up close to a tree where the horses could be tied up in the shade. Osian pulled off the bags that hung either side of his saddle. Drum helped him spread out a blanket and they sat down. Osian handed him a bottle of water.
“We used to do this,” Osian said quietly. “From when we were seven, we came out on our ponies with a picnic and found a place to be alone. Mostly to get you away from your parents. One day, we fell asleep and it was dark when we woke. We were on our way back but your father appeared out of nowhere, yelling, screaming at you, and our ponies bolted. I pulled mine back but you didn’t. You kept going straight into the woods.”
Osian looked straight at him and Drum knew he was hoping that would strike some memory. Maybe not a specific one, but it made him think of what had happened when he’d mounted Dream.
“You got beaten harshly for that. I was grounded for a week.”
“I don’t remember ever having a mum and dad.”
Drum studied the man beside him. Osian’s profile somehow seemed familiar now. But was that his imagination?
“What happened between us?” Drum asked softly.
Osian closed his eyes for a second. When he opened them again, his expression was carefully controlled. “Between us? Everything and nothing. We were friends from the moment you and your parents moved into a house near ours. You used to get accused of leading me into trouble. Your parents were cruel. Nothing you did was ever good enough. They did awful things to you. I tried to help but it made no difference. I might have made things worse.”
“Do I have any brothers or sisters? Any relatives?”
“No brothers and sisters. Your parents are still alive. There are relatives. They never helped you.”
Drum’s heart ached. However his memory had been lost, he had parents who’d not tried to find him.
“What exactly did they do to me?”
“Beat you. Locked you in a box. Tied you up for hours and hours. Gagged you. Didn’t feed you properly. Killed—”
“Killed what?” Drum whispered.
“Animals you looked after when you’d found them hurt. You had a plan to save the world one-animal-at-a-time. Your parents didn’t approve. We found ways to keep them safe. Mostly.”
“Did they hurt Captain?”
“They tried to. You always stepped in. He was happy with me, but he missed you.”
“Thank you for looking after him.” The words came automatically for a dog he didn’t remember. “Where did we live? Somewhere in Derbyshire?”
“A long way away from here and yet closer than you might think.”
Drum didn’t know what that meant. “I thought it must be somewhere in the Peak District because I was found here.”
Osian breathed out deeply and stared straight at him. “We lived in Faeryland.”
For a moment, Drum didn’t take in what Osian had said. He repeated the words in his head thinking he must have misheard and the town’s name just sounded like Faeryland. But Osian was staring at him so intently, he knew that was what he’d said. Fuck. Drum had no idea what to say, so he didn’t say anything. Osian didn’t seem delusional but he clearly was. Should he play along? Or call him out? What?
“So we’re faeries,” Drum said finally.
“Yes.”
Shit. “Where are my special powers?” And my wings. And pointed ears? Drum stifled his laugh, though it could so easily have turned into a sob. Just as he was thinking he’d made a friend. Maybe more than a friend. Osian was bloody deranged.
“Faeries don’t mature fully until they’re teenagers. We didn’t have the ability to do much when we were together. A bit of magic, but…”
“I’m not a teenager now.”
“You’ve spent so long out of Faeryland, that any powers that did develop would have faded. Or maybe they were suppressed when you left. I don’t know.”
Drum thought of all the times he’d felt helpless when he’d been in care. How he’d tried to hide, but been found. When he’d tried to fight back and been beaten. When he’d been trapped in the dark and had no light. He’d had no powers. Christ, he’d been desperate. Pleading for any help he could get.
This had to be a lie. But he couldn’t understand why Osian would say something so crazy.
