Free The Unicorn Hunter by Che Golden

drawingthe attention of an irate librarian, who shushed them into silence.
    â€˜Maddy?’ whispered Roisin a few minutes later.
    â€˜Mmmm?’
    â€˜What if you are the Hound?’
    Maddy glanced up at her quickly. ‘Don’t you start!’
    â€˜But it would explain a lot, wouldn’t it? Why all this stuff with faeries started happening when you came to live in Blarney … why they all seem drawn to you in a weird way.’
    â€˜Ro, do I really look like some ancient Celtic warrior with mythical powers of strength, who can sort out a war between faeries and humans?’
    â€˜Honestly? No.’
    â€˜There you go then. Trust me – this is someone else’s mess to sort out. There is nothing we can do about it.’
    At 5 p.m. it was time to go home. Aunt Fionnula had left an irate message on Roisin’s mobile to say she was being picked up for her dinner
right now
, so Maddy helped her put the books back on the shelves.
    â€˜Granda will sort everything out,’ said Roisin. ‘They can’t leave it all up to us.’
    â€˜I hope so,’ said Maddy, although her insides warmed a little at the fact that Roisin had said ‘us’.
    Aunt Fionnula was waiting at the school gates and she honked her car horn with impatience as soon asshe saw Roisin. She did not smile or wave or give the slightest sign that she could see Maddy. Maddy knew that she did not have a chance of being offered a lift, so she said goodbye to Roisin and walked off quickly in the direction of home.
    Autumn was really biting down. The air was crisp and clear with the smell of rain. The last of the light was already fading from the sky and the trees had ragged holes in their russet and gold finery. Maddy hunched her shoulders as the wind looked for gaps in her clothes with long cold fingers.
    The walk home was divided into light and dark. On her left-hand side the castle rose into the sky, its grounds guarded by a gloomy line of mature evergreens, thick and impenetrable. Only the occasional street light punctured the gloom, but on her right was an inviting pavement lined with houses where families were getting ready for dinner in glowing rooms. Maddy walked quickly toward the heart of Blarney village, forcing her eyes not to flick to the silent trees on her left. The thought that the barrier was breaking down between this world and Tír na nÓg gave her the creeps. If any faerie was watching from beneath those dripping branches, she was not going to give them the satisfaction of thinking that she cared.
    She did dart a quick glance as she passed theentrance to the estate where Seamus rented his house, but his was the only one dark and silent. She wondered if a Tuatha could ever feel comfortable in that modern box or if he was just sitting there in the dark while another world played out in front of his eyes. Or perhaps he was somewhere else, finding a way to trap Maddy into doing what he wanted. She shrugged off the prickle of apprehension that tiptoed down her spine on spider’s legs and hurried on.
    She tried not to give into the temptation to run on the wet pavement, all the while straining her ears and watching from the corners of her eyes for any sign of faeries around her, but all was quiet and perfectly normal. There was the usual traffic around the village, cars pulling into the supermarket to get last-minute shopping, a coach laden with out-of-season tourists trying to squeeze its bulk around the narrow country corners of the village square. She could see the waiting staff in the local hotel setting up the restaurant for dinner and a smattering of customers in the local pub having a quiet game of pool.
    She turned left and could see a little plume of smoke coming from the chimney of her grandparents’ house. She was feeling chilled to the bone now and was looking forward to a cup of hot chocolate in front of the fire and a bit of TV before dinner. Granda would be home soon.
    She