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thoughts. “But…where do you – I mean we – come from? And why do you live as if you’re the same as humans?”
    “In the beginning we called ourselves the ‘Fair Eyes’, because only we could see the golden circles in our eyes that made us different,” said Gwen solemnly. “Time went by, and the name became shorter. ‘Fair Eyes’ became ‘faeries’. But the secret of our existence was kept hidden. Any stories about us faded into legend.” She fixed Laney with her gaze. “You must give your word that you will keep this secret, always.”
    “Can we tell her the Tale of the First Faeries?” said Claudia.
    Gwen didn’t reply. She watched Laney unwaveringly.
    “I won’t tell anyone, I promise,” said Laney, wondering who would believe her anyway.
    “Be sure you keep to your promise. Bad things will happen if you choose to break it. Now…” Gwen’s tone lightened and her little-old-lady manner returned. “The Tale of the First Faeries, did you say, Claudia? Let me see if I’ve got any Spirit Smoke in the cupboard.” She got up and went down the passageway, returning a minute later with a dark-blue bottle. “I haven’t done this for a while.” She clicked her fingers and a long vine dropped down to hold the bottle suspended in the air.
    “What does it do?” said Laney.
    “It’s the tale of faeries from long ago,” said Claudia. “It’s a great story!”“It’s not just a story,” Gwen said seriously. “This is faerie lore, part of the ancient wisdom of our people.” She took the stopper out of the bottle and thin grey smoke began to curl over the top. It swayed from side to side and then spread slowly outwards, turning from grey to all the colours of the rainbow.
    Laney started to see shapes inside the smoke – mountains and people and trees. She wanted to reach out and touch them.
    Gwen cleared her throat. “For hundreds of years, faeries lived in their tribes far away from humans. The Thorns lived deep in the forest.”
    At Gwen’s words, Laney saw great green forests sprouting in the smoke. She could even smell the earth and leaves.
    “The Greytails ran with packs of animals,” continued Gwen, and Laney saw a pack of wolves running under a full moon. She could almost feel the earth beneath their feet, it seemed so real.
    “The Mist tribes dwelled by the water, loving the quiet ways of the pond and stream…” As Gwen’s voice tailed away, Laney saw dragonflies skimming across a river, the sapphire sheen on their wings catching the sun.
    “The Blaze and Kestrel tribes had their favourite places too.” At this, Laney saw the dancing flames of a fire and then a bird circling high in the air. Shecould feel the wind on her face.
    “But as time passed, the forests were cut down and the humans hunted the animals for food. Life became hard for the faeries, so they secretly began to live among humans in order to survive. They learned to disguise themselves, joining in with human ways until they couldn’t remember why they’d ever stayed apart.” Laney watched the scene change as all the faeries’ wings vanished and they blended in with other people. She felt a little sad.
    “Although they were hidden, the faeries never forgot what they were and each tribe forged a sacred object to hold the essence of their power. These were called the Myricals and they were very precious.”
    The smoke changed colour and formed five objects. There was a wooden arrow, a pale wolf figurine, a slim transparent bottle, a scarred grey rock and a bright mirror. Laney leaned forwards to look at them more closely, but the images faded. Then the smoke turned grey again and curled away into nothing.
    “And that’s how we came to be here, living with everyone else,” said Gwen. “That’s our faerie history and that’s how it’s told to each new faerie that Awakens. Although not many get to see the story by Spirit Smoke.”
    “Cool, huh?” Claudia jumped down off the tableand stretched.
    “But