13 Secrets by Michelle Harrison Page A

them.”
    “Like I said,” Tanya answered. She unbuttoned her jacket and gestured to her T-shirt where, at the side, the label was visible. The T-shirt was inside out. “Go ahead. I’m older now, and wiser. If you want to punish me you’ll have to get past the deterrents I use first.”
    Gredin stepped closer to her, his golden eyes flaring as he stared down into her face. She could smell the woodland on him—from his clothes, his hair, even his breath.
    “Here’s the thing with deterrents,” he said softly. “Each one has its weakness. Turning your clothes inside out? Only a matter of time before someone pulls you up on it and you have to turn the garment the right way. Wearing red? Not possible all of the time. An iron nail in the pocket? Small, sharp, pointed things can easily work their way through clothing and get lost. I could go on, but I think you get my point. It takes a lot of concentration to employ deterrents all the time. In fact, it only takes a moment’sdistraction, and you can forget all about them.” He paused and stepped back a little. “It’s only a matter of time before you slip up. And then, I’ll be waiting.”
    “Don’t count on it,” said Tanya.
    “Come on, Gredin,” said Raven. With her right hand she reached up and massaged her ear with long, thin fingers. Tanya watched and saw that her ears, and Gredin’s, normally pointed at the tips, were rounded into a human-like shape. Both fairies were using glamours to disguise their fey appearance, something that caused them discomfort. “Let’s go.”
    But Gredin wasn’t quite finished. “Of course, there’s one major flaw with using deterrents. Can you guess what it is?”
    “I can hardly take the suspense,” Tanya snapped.
    Gredin smiled without warmth. “The flaw is that you’re presuming any punishments will involve magic. Which, in fairness, I can’t blame you for. I mean, up until now, magic has been the most convenient method of controlling you. But you’ve just proved to me that I may have to change those methods.”
    Tanya went cold as she digested Gredin’s words. The thought that he would punish her without magical means had never occurred to her before.
    “What kind of… punishments?” she said hoarsely, her bravado crumbling.
    “Oh, you’d like an example?” Gredin said brightly. “Well, let’s see. There’s that odious hound you’re so fond of. Suppose, for instance, he runs off and gets lost somewhere….”
    “You wouldn’t…” Tanya choked out as his words sank in. “You wouldn’t harm Oberon….”
    “I’ll do whatever it takes to get the message across to you,” said Gredin, his voice harsh. “The sooner you realize that, the easier both our lives will become.”
    “Why?” Tanya said, her voice cracking. “Why do you do this?”
    “I thought I’d made that perfectly clear—”
    “No, that’s not what I meant.” It was dark now, and around them the tents glowed with little lanterns lit up outside. In the moment before she spoke next she heard the drone of gnats buzzing around their heads and the sounds of laughter further away. “Why are you my guardian? Why do we have guardians, if neither of us wants it? And why… why do you hate me so much?”
    Gredin gave her a long, hard look. “ ‘Hate’ is a strong word,” he said at last. “I don’t hate you. I just hate what I have to do.” He broke his gaze and shook his head, then turned to Raven. “Let’s go.”
    Raven pulled her cloak tighter around her and followed Gredin as he stepped away.
    “Wait,” said Tanya.
    Gredin paused, but did not turn round. “Yes?”
    “Aren’t you going to tell me why we… I mean, why second-sighted people have guardians?”
    She saw Gredin’s shoulders tense.
    “Ask your grandmother,” he said. As he and Raven moved away, merging with the throng of thecrowd, Tanya was aware that Rowan and Fabian had come to stand on either side of her.
    “Oh, I will,” she whispered to the