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Hawk closed his eyes and took a deep, shuddering breath "Like what? You saw them vanish into thin air I don’t even knohere to look"

Grimm pointed to the smoky crest of Brahir Mount in silence, and the Hawk nodded slowly

"Aye The Ro silently into the swirling gray et her back," Grimm promised

CHAPTER 33

IT TOOK MORE THAN A MONTH OF FRUSTRATED SEARCHING TO find the Rom They’d moved on to warmer climes for the winter It was Griht Rushka back to Dalkeith Unknown to the Hawk, recovering Adrienne had beco the Ro the way

"Who is Adaathered in the Great Hall had wondered that sae smithy’s stay, and they all leaned closer to hear the answer

"You Highlanders call his people the daoine sith Adam is the fairy fool The jester at the Fairy Queen’s court" Rushka sighed and ran worried hands through his silver hair

"Fairies," Gri spooked on me, Grimm Roderick," Rushka snapped "You heard the banshee yourself the night your people were killed You saw the bean nighe, the washerwoown of your mother before she died Just makes ht" Rushka broke off abruptly and shook his head "But that’s neither here nor there The simple fact is that the Fairy inhabit these islands They have since long before we ca after we’re gone"

"I’ve always believed," Lydia said softly

Hawk shifted uneasily by the fire He had been raised on legends of the Fairy, and the fairy fool--the sin siriche du--was the erous of the lot "Tellthere is to know"

Keeping track of the past was an astonishing feat of memory, and not all of the Rom could maintain such exhaustive records in their heads But Rushka was one of the finest lorekeepers, and he was revered for being able to recite the ancient tales word for word--his father’s words, and those of his father’s father before hienerations

"It was told to an

"There are tays to be certain one is safe from the Fae One is to exact the Queen’s oath upon the pact of the Tuatha De Danaan That is nearly impossible to obtain for she rarely bothers herself with the doings of mortals The other is to secure the true na One ’s own tongue, while looking directly into the fairy’s eyes, and issue one command This command must be explicit and complete, for it will be obeyed precisely and only to the letter There is no lith of the command but that itOne may pause, but one may never finish a sentence until the entire command is complete If the command is broken to resume conversation with anyone, the extent of obedience su the fire "So you see, our histories say that if you look directly into his eyes while calling his true name, he is yours to command" Rushka paced uneasily before the fire in the Greathall

"What is his true name?"

Rushka smiled faintly and sketched several symbols in the ash of the hearth "We do not speak it aloud But he is the black one, the bringer of oblivion He has many other names, but ’tis only this one that concerns you"

Haas incredulous If he had only spoken Adam’s name in Gaelic, he would have had it "That si and sure of himself that he called himself Adam Black?" Amadan Dubh Hawk echoed the name in the privacy of his mind Literally translated it meant Adam Black

"Aye But there’s still a catch, Hawk You have to find him first He can only be co directly into his eyes And they say his eyes can send a man swiftly into madness"

"Been there already," Hawk murmured absently "Why didn’t you tell me this when he was still here? Before he took Adrienne back?"

Rushka shook his head "Would you have believed me if I had told you that Adaht the lass here for soe? Lydia tells me you wouldn’t even believe she was from the future until you finally saw her disappear yourself"