"If you mean the handsome vampire, then yes. I managed to get a good look at him. But I haven't had a chance to talk to him yet".
"I hope there won't be a chance…" – Ashlyn muttered.
"Why?" – my eyebrow went up. Maybe he's not her type? I wonder what kind of taste the banshee has. I've never seen her flirting with anyone though …
"The appearance of a vampire is always a bad omen… It is always better to stay away from them".
There was something in her words that sent shivers down my spine. A banshee would know a thing or two about omens. Perhaps I should have listened to her, even though there was something so alluring about this vampire. Maybe it was just my natural curiosity…
We gazed at him for a couple more minutes and, having made sure that no danger emanated from him at the moment, finished our ale and returned to dancing.
* * *
"Ah… That's it… I can't take it anymore…" – Ashlyn was barely dragging her feet, finally leaving the dancing circle. I was following her at the same speed of a turtle.
"Yeah… that's definitely enough for today", – I agreed, breathing heavily.
Then I heard the flapping of wings and a few seconds later, which was quite expected, Finn landed on my shoulder.
"Hey, buddy! Where have you been?" – I asked the raven with a smile, lightly patting his feathered belly. – "Did you find anything interesting?"
Finn slightly raised his right leg, on which I noticed a small ring. I held out my palm, and he shook his finding into it.
"I hope you didn't steal it…" – I looked at my friend warily. Stealing the personal belongings of fairies, especially jewelry, was a big taboo in our world. These things absorb part of the owner's aura. A curse will fall on anyone who dares to steal this part…
The raven cawed twice and flapped its wings, clearly saying angry: "How dare you think that about me!"
"There, there. I'm sorry. I don't doubt you at all! It's just very strange… Who could lose a ring in the Fairy Meadow?"
I held the ring up to the moonlight to get a better look at it. The smith who made this ring clearly was skilled in jewelry. There was a beautiful ornate pattern all over the ring, successfully intertwined with small precious stones.
"Silver with sapphires. Very beautiful… Ashlyn!" – I turned sharply to the banshee.
"What? Do you know whose it is?" – she asked in surprise.
"No. But let's try to find out something from our guests today. Just don't mention the lost ring. You never know… There are many hunters for such beauty".
"Okay, I got it. I'll think of something", – the banshee nodded.
"And I'll hide it in a safe place until we figure something out. We don't need to bring any trouble upon ourselves…" – I said, hiding the ring in my dress pocket. – "Come on. We need to hurry to the pub. Otherwise, we won't have time to get ready for the guests".
I took Ashlyn by the hand and pulled her towards a huge hawthorn tree growing alone at the edge of the Meadow. We will go along the northern ley line. I had no strength left to run… Ashlyn immediately understood where I was leading her and didn't even think of arguing. It'll take us at least half an hour to walk normally, and two minutes along the ley line. Hmm… A difficult choice!
We approached an ancient tree, the branches of which were turned to the north. That is why the line was called the northern one. We turned our backs to the forest, touched the trunk and closed our eyes to tune in to the dimension of the portals. How long did this tuning take? It always varies. A minute, two, five… At some point, you simply begin to feel the flows of power where they seemed not to have been before. In fact, they have always been there, since the creation of the Earth. But not everyone can feel them, much less see them. Humans are definitely not capable of this. Well, maybe only druids can. They can see, but not walk on them. Only fairies can do this.
