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.Lord Hairstreak would be dead and the Realm would have one less problem.But it was only avery idle speculation at this stage.He waited.Hairstreak said, 'In any case, I want you to deliver a message to your sister.'It occurred to Pyrgus that his sister might be wondering where he'd got to.The longer he stayedwith Lord Hairstreak the more worried she was likely to get.80Worried and irritated.He could live with worried, which was fun when it came to your sister.But she could get very stroppy when she was irritated.'What's the message?' he asked brusquely.'That the Faeries of the Nightside wish to negotiate,' Hairstreak said.'Negotiate what?' Blue asked.'A new relationship,' Pyrgus said.81SixteenHenry opened his eyes to find he was back on the road.It wasn't dark any longer, it was full daylight.He looked around, wondering how that hadhappened.The last thing he remembered, he'd been walking home late at night after spendingtime with Charlie.He'd stepped on to the verge to let a car go past and suddenly the carheadlights blended into daylight.Which didn't seem possible, yet here he was.But where was her elHe looked around again.The road he was on seemed way out in the country.It meanderedthrough a patchwork of small fields that didn't look at all familiar.The sun was shining.How did he get here? Clearly he'd walked all the way past the turning to his home and out intothe country.The spooky thing - the frightening thing if he was honest - was that he'd forgotteneverything between the car approaching and now.That couldn't be good.That had to be braindamage or something.Maybe the car hit him.Henry stopped and cautiously felt himself all over.Nothing seemed to be broken and there wasno sign of blood.All the same, a really bad jolt could affect your82memory.He was fairly sure he'd heard about boxers going a bit funny after they'd been batteredaround the head.They got punchy and talked to themselves and probably couldn't rememberthings.The problem was he didn't hurt.Not about the head and not anywhere.The side of his nose was abit itchy, but that wasn't something you'd get from a car knocking you down and mangling yourhead.Where was he anyway? There was a wall coming up and a sign that said Stud Farm.There werestud farms in the district, but none of them particularly close to where he lived.When he walkedpast his turning, he'd obviously kept walking.And walking.And walking.It was peculiar his legs didn't hurt.He'd been walking all night.The fear Henry felt sank to the level of a background ache.He didn't know where he was.Hedidn't know how he'd got here.Without very much emotion he realised he was going batty.Hehad to be going batty.First he saw fairies, then he got lost.He turned round and started to walk back in what he hoped was the direction of home.83Seventeen'What sort of new relationship?' asked Mr Fogarty suspiciously.Blue looked at Pyrgus who said, 'Lord Hairstreak thinks it would be in everybody's interests ifthe Faeries of the Night and the Faeries of the Light signed a non-aggression treaty.'Everyone in the room looked at each other.Most showed shock, with a liberal sprinkling ofdisbelief.After a moment.'On what terms?' asked General Vanelke.Pyrgus still wasn't sure how he felt about any of this.He mistrusted his uncle almost as much asBlue did, and the ease with which Hairstreak had snatched him left him more shaken than he wasadmitting.He shrugged.'Basically each side agrees not to go to war with the other.If there are disputes, we settle them bynegotiation or arbitration.He says the details can be worked out later, but if we agree theprinciple now it could open up a whole new era of cooperation that would benefit both sides andput our historic disagreements behind us.His words.More or less exactly.'Fogarty said, 'Do you believe him?'Tricky question.Nobody in their right mind would84trust Lord Hairstreak further than a perin's spit.But at the same time he'd seemed genuine.Pyrgus shrugged again.'I tell the tale as told to me.''What's your opinion, Gatekeeper?' Blue asked.'I'd want to think about it,' Fogarty sniffed.Then added, 'But as a general principle, I wouldn'ttrust Lord Hairstreak as far as I could throw a sack of dog crap.'Pyrgus glanced at him in admiration.Analogue World similes always seemed a lot morecolourful than the ones used in the Realm.'I think we should talk to Lord Hairstreak,' General Vanelke said, unasked.He glared at Fogarty.'As a general principle, I believe talking is preferable to war.''General Creerful?' Blue asked.'On balance, I agree with Vanelke [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]