front of a large, gleaming television set. Her skin was wrinkled, but herbrown eyes were shining and alert, and they immediately fixed on Danny.
“You have brought us a guest, Beth,” she said. Her voice was low and musical.
“I found him down a ditch, Nana,” Beth said with a laugh. “I didn’t know what to do with him. Then I saw the face on him.”
“Step closer, young lad,” Nana said. Danny moved nearer. As he did he realized that there was a theme to the collection of china, to the decorative plates on the walls, to the brightly colored stuffed cushions scattered over the sofa.
Each item was adorned with a picture of a raven.
“The blue and the brown,” Nana said, wonder in her voice. “The ravens spoke of it.”
“The ravens.” Danny glanced nervously toward the door, but Fionn stood there, a growl in his throat.
“They speak to me,” Nana said, “of other lands, dream places, perhaps. They said there would be a sundering. That evil would come wandering. There would be a boy with eyes like yours who does not know if he is the future of the world or the ending of it.”
“What else did they say?” Danny asked.
“Nothing that is fit for your ears,” Nana said sharply. “But they did give instruction about you.”
“What was that?”
“That we must look after you and hide you, for you are to be hunted like a dog, and those hunting you do not come to offer you their mercy. That you are a knife whichmight turn in its wielder’s hand, a grief bringer, full of treachery, but we must help you all the more for that.”
“He doesn’t look all that treacherous to me,” Beth remarked with a sniff.
“And yet betrayal wells up in him,” Nana said. Her words were harsh, but her expression was full of compassion.
“Maybe if we feed him, he won’t be as treacherous,” Beth said, grinning. In a few minutes she had stew in a pot in the compact kitchen. When it was ready, Danny tucked in. Nana looked on in approval.
“When all is done,” she murmured, “a hungry boy is a hungry boy.”
There was a firm knock on the door. Beth opened it. Danny heard a brief, angry conversation; then a man pushed past Beth into the caravan. He was tall and thin, with a straggly beard and inquisitive darting eyes. He stopped dead when he saw Danny.
“What stranger is in the camp without me knowing?”
“A stranger who gets a welcome in my caravan whether you know about it or not, Sye.”
“These are bad times, Nana. Outsiders bring trouble, and there’s trouble enough without them.”
“Be that as it may, I will do as I am bid by the ravens.”
“Ravens! What do they want? Ravens interfere.”
Nana got to her feet and moved stiffly across the caravan until she was standing directly in front of the man. She was shorter than he, but such was her authority that Danny thought she looked at least a foot taller. The man took a step back.
“If you want to tell the ravens how much trouble they bring, then do,” Nana told him. “If you want to lie awake at night listening to ghost voices whispering, then I will cede all these things to you. Do you want to listen to the ghosts?”
Nana cocked her head to one side as though listening. For the first time Sye looked uncertain.
“They are coming,” Nana said.
“No!” Sye said. “Stop. We will keep the boy. I don’t want to listen to the dead!”
Danny could see that Sye was genuinely frightened.
“I’m not afraid,” Danny said. “I’ve talked with the dead lots of times.”
This was too much for Sye. His eyes rolled in his head and he started muttering very fast, backing out of the caravan and bowing in the direction of Nana and Danny. Within seconds the caravan door slammed and he was gone.
“What was he saying under his breath?” Danny said.
“Prayers and invocations against evil. Powerful enough in their own way, but not as powerful as a well-told lie.”
“A lie?”
“Of course. I cannot summon the dead like that. They come and
“You have brought us a guest, Beth,” she said. Her voice was low and musical.
“I found him down a ditch, Nana,” Beth said with a laugh. “I didn’t know what to do with him. Then I saw the face on him.”
“Step closer, young lad,” Nana said. Danny moved nearer. As he did he realized that there was a theme to the collection of china, to the decorative plates on the walls, to the brightly colored stuffed cushions scattered over the sofa.
Each item was adorned with a picture of a raven.
“The blue and the brown,” Nana said, wonder in her voice. “The ravens spoke of it.”
“The ravens.” Danny glanced nervously toward the door, but Fionn stood there, a growl in his throat.
“They speak to me,” Nana said, “of other lands, dream places, perhaps. They said there would be a sundering. That evil would come wandering. There would be a boy with eyes like yours who does not know if he is the future of the world or the ending of it.”
“What else did they say?” Danny asked.
“Nothing that is fit for your ears,” Nana said sharply. “But they did give instruction about you.”
“What was that?”
“That we must look after you and hide you, for you are to be hunted like a dog, and those hunting you do not come to offer you their mercy. That you are a knife whichmight turn in its wielder’s hand, a grief bringer, full of treachery, but we must help you all the more for that.”
“He doesn’t look all that treacherous to me,” Beth remarked with a sniff.
“And yet betrayal wells up in him,” Nana said. Her words were harsh, but her expression was full of compassion.
“Maybe if we feed him, he won’t be as treacherous,” Beth said, grinning. In a few minutes she had stew in a pot in the compact kitchen. When it was ready, Danny tucked in. Nana looked on in approval.
“When all is done,” she murmured, “a hungry boy is a hungry boy.”
There was a firm knock on the door. Beth opened it. Danny heard a brief, angry conversation; then a man pushed past Beth into the caravan. He was tall and thin, with a straggly beard and inquisitive darting eyes. He stopped dead when he saw Danny.
“What stranger is in the camp without me knowing?”
“A stranger who gets a welcome in my caravan whether you know about it or not, Sye.”
“These are bad times, Nana. Outsiders bring trouble, and there’s trouble enough without them.”
“Be that as it may, I will do as I am bid by the ravens.”
“Ravens! What do they want? Ravens interfere.”
Nana got to her feet and moved stiffly across the caravan until she was standing directly in front of the man. She was shorter than he, but such was her authority that Danny thought she looked at least a foot taller. The man took a step back.
“If you want to tell the ravens how much trouble they bring, then do,” Nana told him. “If you want to lie awake at night listening to ghost voices whispering, then I will cede all these things to you. Do you want to listen to the ghosts?”
Nana cocked her head to one side as though listening. For the first time Sye looked uncertain.
“They are coming,” Nana said.
“No!” Sye said. “Stop. We will keep the boy. I don’t want to listen to the dead!”
Danny could see that Sye was genuinely frightened.
“I’m not afraid,” Danny said. “I’ve talked with the dead lots of times.”
This was too much for Sye. His eyes rolled in his head and he started muttering very fast, backing out of the caravan and bowing in the direction of Nana and Danny. Within seconds the caravan door slammed and he was gone.
“What was he saying under his breath?” Danny said.
“Prayers and invocations against evil. Powerful enough in their own way, but not as powerful as a well-told lie.”
“A lie?”
“Of course. I cannot summon the dead like that. They come and
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