The Prince of Two Tribes by Sean Cullen Page A

acute Faerie Sight he could see the intricate shape of each one. He could almost hear the tinkling as they collided with the ground.
    “Beautiful,” Brendan breathed softly.
    “You can keep it,” came BLT’s tiny, grumpy voice from his coat. “Cold. Wet. Blah!” She snuggled deeper.
    Brendan was looking forward to spending the day doing normal (and by normal, he meant Human) things. He hadn’t been able to set aside any time for Christmas shopping. He wasn’t really sure if Faeries observed Christmas, but he decided he would get gifts for his new family, too. That meant double the gifts that he’d had to buy last year. Luckily, he had a little extra money saved.
    He took the streetcar to Queen Street West and wandered in and out of the shops, searching for the right things for everyone on his list. His dad was easy: CDs. Mum was easy, too: she always wanted some new tool for the kitchen. Delia he could fob off with a gift card at a clothing store. The real difficulty was buying for his Faerie family. What did one buy as a gift for an immortal? A tie? Some tea? Nice-smelling soap?
    He searched and searched but came up empty. The sun was already going down when he headed back to the subway. He was frustrated and tired from fighting the crowds, but most of all, he was a little worried. He couldn’t shake the feeling that somebody was following him. He found himself looking over his shoulder, stopping and turning around suddenly or even ducking into shops and watching the people passing by on the street. But no matter what he did, he couldn’t catch anyone tailing him. Perhaps the anxiety and pressure of the coming Challenges were making him paranoid.
    He’d just decided to let go of his fears and head home on the subway when he came out onto the platform and found Charles waiting for him again.
    She was leaning against a pillar, a latte in her hand, smiling.
    “Fancy meeting you here,” she said.
    “So you were following me!”
    She frowned in confusion. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
    “Leave me alone,” Brendan said flatly, walking past her.
    “But I like you,” she giggled, following him.
    “Well, I don’t like you,” Brendan snarled.
    “You have to get to know me,” the girl said, tossing her empty cup in a trash can. “I’m really quite fun.”
    Brendan felt the rush of air that announced the arrival of the subway train. Light shone from the tunnel and the squeal of metal wheels on the tracks filled the air. He whirled, waving a finger in the girl’s face. “I’m not interested in getting to know you, and I don’t like being followed.”
    Before Brendan could pull his finger away, the girl nipped his fingertip.
    He yelped in pain and snatched his hand back. “You bit me.”
    “It’s not polite to point!” She smiled, revealing strong white teeth.
    The train arrived. Brendan stepped through the doors as they whooshed open. He turned and said angrily, “Leave me alone.”
    She frowned prettily as the doors closed.
    “That ain’t no way to talk to a girl.” A homeless man sitting on the train, bulging shopping bags piled around him, gave Brendan a reproachful look.
    Brendan ignored him. No one else was on board so he had his pick of seats. He plunked down on a bench facing the platform, well away from the homeless man. The train started to roll. The girl jogged along until she was even with him, waving as she ran alongside. Brendan tried to ignore her. The train picked up speed. The girl kept pace, running with ease and grace. She puffed out her cheeks and pretended she was having trouble keeping up. Despite his annoyance, Brendan found her performance amusing. A small smile tugged rebelliously at the corner of his mouth.
    Suddenly, she threw up her hands in alarm and dropped headlong from sight. Brendan leapt up to see if she was okay, pressing his face against the window beside the homeless man. The girl popped up and banged on the glass, scaring Brendan so that he