The Mammoth Book of Irish Romance (16 page)

Had Bridget ever talked of horses? Wait! Yes, she had!
I called him Neverwhere, because he
was never where he was supposed to be and wouldn’t do as he was told. He would just suddenly
appear and want to be ridden, already saddled. His hair was whiter than snow, with a coppery
mane that was the same colour as mine. He allowed no other rider than me, and none could
abide that – for a halfling to own the heart of the fastest of stallions. So deadly was he that they
kept him away from the others for fear of breeding his stubbornness by accident.

But if he al owed no other . . . no, he wouldn’t consider that. He trusted Bridget, at whatever cost.

The paddock was quiet as they approached, but then a wind pushed them forwards. An eerie sound began from within the building: it was part scream and part battle cry. Bryan’s blood chil ed in his veins and every hair on his body stood at attention. Yet Bridey was smiling with a child’s trust and love and he couldn’t help but be strengthened by her reaction.

As they approached the building, she began to look around. He stopped and waited, happy to abide her desire, and frankly fearing getting closer. She pointed towards a hawthorn bush nearby.

Was he to cut a branch? They were sacred, not to be harmed. Surely she wouldn’t suggest such a thing. Then she mouthed,
Under
, and he looked down. He set her careful y on the ground near the bush. She began to snap off thick toadstools and motioned for him to do the same. That’s right!

He remembered the story now.
He loved me best because I knew how much he loved the
mushrooms. They locked him up so he couldn’t eat them because they made him tipsy, like
drinking butter beer. But he did love them and would do anything I asked for even a wee piece.

He started snapping off the thick mushrooms until she motioned for him to stop. He stuffed them in his pockets and fol owed where she led. As they approached the door, he could hear the maddened screams turn to snorts and then snuffles before being final y replaced by an excited snicker. It was no smal trick to open the heavy paddock door but with her help the hinges gave way.

The steed was amazing to behold. It was easily half again larger than the other horses, of a white so bright it made him squint. “He’s a fine one, he is. Just as you described him, love.” Bridget smiled at him and then held out her arms to the horse. The beast came as far as the massive iron bars would al ow, stretching its neck so she could run her wrist along his nose. But then the horse’s attention was drawn to Bryan. The eyes flashed with a copper glow and it bared teeth unlike he’d seen in the mouth of a grass-eater. They were the teeth of a shark, rows of curved and vicious incisors that could easily cut flesh to ribbons. It lunged forwards, and would have taken a chunk from his arm if he hadn’t moved quickly enough. Instead of reacting with fear, Bridget actual y reached out and
slapped
the beast with the side of her hand.

It reacted more with surprise than anger, but cocked its head like a curious dog when she reached her arms around Bryan and held him tight. She kissed his face over and over, tiny touches of her lips that made him weak-kneed. Then she smiled at the horse and patted his jacket.

“Oh! That’s right. I have a treat for you, Neverwhere.” Bridget beamed that Bryan had remembered the horse’s name and even the steed looked interested. He pul ed out a few mushrooms and placed them on her upturned palm.

Oh, how that tail flipped with joy! It sent sparks dancing into the room. Neverwhere ate them one at a time, savouring them like the finest delicacy. His mane shook and his whole body shuddered in pleasure before taking another with the same gentle action. After the third mushroom he licked her hand to get the last taste, making her giggle wordlessly. Seeing the two friends together –

Bridget and her horse – made him realize how very hard it must have been for her to be rejected from this life, this world. There were things here he couldn’t give her in the outside world. The intel igence in the eyes of this animal said it was more than a mere beast of burden. He was a pet, a friend, and possibly more. Bryan had no idea whether Fae steeds were sentient, but he wouldn’t be at al surprised if Neverwhere started spouting poetry for Bridget’s pleasure.

Bridget motioned for him to offer more of the mushrooms to the horse. If he real y did get tipsy, he didn’t want to give the animal
too
many, but it was a fairly large horse, so it should be able to manage a few more. He reached into his pocket and pul ed out another of the tiny, fragrant treats.

“Would you like another, Neverwhere?”

Bryan reached his arm forwards slowly, his hand stil closed into a fist. He liked his fingers a little too wel not to be cautious. The horse eyed his closed fist with distrust but looked back to Bridget who nodded and smiled. The horse snuffled the fist, the breath feeling as hot as the air from a furnace. Then it started moving its lips, trying to get the fist to open. The tail was moving again, showering Bryan in golden sparkles that made him laugh. Final y he opened his hand and the horse ate the mushrooms, just as careful y as it had with Bridget.

As he pul ed back his hand, the bright eyes of the horse fol owed, hoping for another taste.

Bryan was quite sure that Neverwhere would have leaped forwards and torn the jacket from his body if he thought there were more mushrooms hidden. He heard a thumping sound and realized Bridget was trying to get his attention. She was mouthing a single word, and he was having a difficult time understanding. It was short, just one syl able, but didn’t match any word he could think of. She seemed to realize that and spoke more words, glancing from him to the horse and back.

Oh! She wanted him to
ask
the horse if it would take them. Frankly, he was fairly certain they’d already lost the race. How could Elwich and the Queen not have already arrived by now? This had taken too long, but it was hard to deny Bridget any delay she wished.

But there was no harm in asking, nor in trying to complete the quest. He faced the horse and, just in case it could be insulted as other fae could, he offered a short bow of his head as an introduction. “Neverwhere, would you be so kind as to carry Bridget and I to the cave where the crown stars grow? We would gladly share more mushrooms as a reward.” Bryan glanced at his wife and she gave him a tiny nod with a smile that said he’d asked wel .

The horse stepped back from the fence and seemed to contemplate the question. It looked from Bridget to Bryan and back again before nodding its head three times and letting out a shrieking whinny.

But before Bryan could open the gate, the horse disappeared in a puff of smoke – just as the other horses had. Was it a trick? Were they being punished for rejecting the horses offered? Fear fil ed the pit of his stomach and even Bridget looked worried. Her eyes fil ed with tears and she mouthed,
I’m sorry
, over and over.

“’Twasn’t your fault, lass,” he said quietly, and pul ed her into his arms. “We’l just have to do our best.” Perhaps they were meant to walk after al . If they died, then so be it. They’d do so together.

She buried her face in his neck. He could feel her cool tears wet his shirt as her body shook with soundless sobs. “No matter, love. Don’t you think on it at al . If I must carry you the whole way, then I wil , and to the devil with their rules and their contest.”
Three

Let no food nor water pass your lips or they will own your soul.
The sun beat down on them like noon in the desert. Bryan’s tongue felt three times the size and he could barely swal ow from the effort and the heat. Did her warning mean
only
in the sithen? On foot, they would die without water.

It could be days before they reached the cave at the peak of the mountain. “Can we drink nothing at al , Bridey? We won’t make it without moisture of some kind.” She chewed at her lip, like she always did when she thought, and looked around the lush greenery. Suddenly her eyes lit up and she motioned him to the left. He went where she bid and came to the edge of a large red and green fern. The leaves were broader than his chest.
Nail
was the word she mouthed and he pul ed one of the two nails he’d kept from the construction site from his jacket pocket. He was surprised he’d been left with them, but perhaps this was al part of the King’s plan. Slow them, and then help them. He wondered if Elwich and the Queen were enduring the same sort of trials. Did their horse disappear from under them in mid-flight? He would have imagined they should already be there and have won if their horse was stil able to travel.

Bridget broke off one of the thick fern fronds then indicated that he should use the rusty nail to puncture the leaf so they could drink from the plant.

The moment he stabbed the end of the nail into the frond it began to leak green fluid. After a few moments, the fluid changed to the clearest water and Bridget opened her mouth for a drink. Bryan couldn’t have imagined it possible to love her more, but every moment that passed she proved she was smart and capable, al wrapped in a package of such beauty he could weep each time he saw her.

The flow of water seemed to go on far longer than it should have considering the size of the frond, but she seemed satisfied and he felt no odd sensation that he might be fal ing under a spel .

He careful y plucked the nail from the plant and the water immediately stopped. It withered and died in mere seconds.

As he took Bridge’s hand again, they heard the thunder of hooves. It seemed to come from everywhere at once and he couldn’t decide where to move to get out of the way of the herd of animals that sounded ready to trample them.

Neverwhere appeared in a burst of tawny light. He bore a saddle made for two on his back.

Bryan eagerly stepped towards the horse, but just as he reached for the reins, they were jerked from his grasp and the stal ion disappeared again. Bridey’s coppery eyes flashed with the same anger he felt. “So, he hopes to taunt us, does he?” He raised his face to the cloudless blue sky.

“You’l not humiliate us, Highness. We require no animal to win this contest and your efforts only embolden us more.”

Bridget nodded firmly, echoing his statement with her movements. But they hadn’t taken more than a handful of steps before Neverwhere appeared once more. This time, it was clear the horse would not disappear so easily. It fought against whatever magic tried to snatch it away, kicking and thrashing as its reins were pul ed into a sparkle of gold-white magic. But with a final throw of his massive head, it roared in anger and landed on the ground with such force that two trees were torn from the ground, narrowly missing Bryan and Bridget. If they hadn’t moved quickly, the contest would likely have ended at that moment.

The horse shook his head, eyes flashing with the same fire that flew from his mane and tail. He looked around suspiciously, as though expecting to be pul ed from them once again, but remained in place. Final y, he snorted, flipped his head in a very self-satisfied manner and trotted over to where Bryan and Bridget were standing. Neverwhere snickered softly and nuzzled Bryan’s jacket pocket. He couldn’t help but smile. “You real y
can’t
get enough of these, can you?” Two mushrooms disappeared into the horse’s mouth before an audible sigh and a bluster of lips. When the horse’s eyes opened again, he turned to the side and offered the saddle to them.

While Bryan was leery and feared the horse being taken from them again, the King had promised they could ride. He would have to take him at his word, for woe be to the fae, even the King, that went back on his word.

After making certain Bridget was secure in the saddle, he threw a leg over the steed and commanded firmly, “To the cave of the crown stars, Neverwhere. Be off with ye.” The world dissolved into light and motion such that he’d never experienced before. He loved to ride fast on his motorcycle, but nothing could compare to the stomach-churning rol er coaster that was a fae flying steed.

“Isn’t it wonderful? Can you see why I love this horse?” Bridey’s voice from behind him made him turn so suddenly he was dizzy.

“You can talk!”

She smiled and then laughed. “Why do you think I insisted on Neverwhere? He’s nearly completely resistant to magic. It’s why he’s untrainable.”

The landscape slipped by, but Bridget seemed completely at ease with it, even though the back of the motorcycle had always made her nauseous. She nudged him with her chin and motioned down. The ground was so far down and moving so fast that his stomach lurched with vertigo.

“Look, Deathknel is below, with loose reins and no rider. I was surprised Elwich chose him. He’s fast, but never did like the Queen. I’l wager he threw them.” Sure enough, a black horse with fiery blue mane was pawing the air below them, headed back to where they started.

“Of course, he could simply have dropped them off at the cave which means they’re about to win.”

Bridget slipped her hands around his waist and hugged him tight, resting her cheek against his back. “Elwich is a strong warrior, but has little patience with man or beast. He couldn’t even grasp the idea of
asking
a steed to bear them, any more than he could ask a woman to accompany him back to the sithen.”

He should know the answer, but doubt had filtered in at her ease in this world. “Would you have gone? If he had
asked
?”

Outrage painted her voice when she shouted over the rush of the wind in his ear. “Bryan Patrick Murphy! How dare ye even
think
that.”

He could only helplessly shrug. “But how could you not love it here? The food and drink, the animals that love you, the beauty al around? Why wouldn’t you stay, given the chance?” She dug her legs into the side of the horse and it responded by leaping even faster into the wind, so quick now that it stole the breath from his lungs and made his eyes sting. “Endless song and wine grows old, as does the politics, Bry. I dinna lie when I said I grew tired, even before I was told to leave. It was likely the
reason
they chose to exile me.” Their angle changed so rapidly she had to hurriedly hang on to the saddle. “Whoops. Hold on now, ye hear? Neverwhere’s landings are a little abrupt.”