After the day at the lake, Ferry lost his peace. He tried to find all sorts of explanations for Billy's birthmark. Maybe it was just rotten grass from the lake since it hadn't been cleaned in decades. Maybe it was a scar Billy had gotten who knows how. Or maybe it was just a coincidence, though Ferry was beginning to understand that there were no coincidences in life as his father said.

But one thing was certain — he needed proof that Billy was Andrew Donovan. And the proof could only be found in one place — the Pride Mansion.

At the mansion, the preparations for the Quest were in full. The whole place was cleaned, brushed, rubbed, trimmed. The employees of the mansion worked like ants in an anthill. In the kitchen, special menus were being decided. Mr. Pride was more agitated and nervous than usual. And Ferry found out that evening the reason for his anxiety: the mysterious guest appeared in the last room on the third floor.

Ferry was paying attention to everything and everyone. He found himself secretly watching Billy. The boy looked just as gloomy. But the sadness in his eyes seemed strangely familiar to Ferry. So did the way the sun shone in his hair. And so was the smile in the corner of his mouth. He had seen them all before. And the longing for his mother became even more excruciating.

He decided not to tell anyone until he was sure. During the lunch break, he followed Mrs. Pride's nurse, and when she left her patient's room, he snuck inside. He found Mrs. Pride sitting on a chair in front of the window. She looked as weak and absent-minded as last time he saw her. The tray with food next to her was untouched.

Ferry easily came closer. "Mrs. Pride," he whispered.

She shuddered, looked up at him, and smiled. "You came ..." she said.

"Mrs. Pride, "Ferry dared," I want to ask you something about Billy."

She frowned, "Billy?"

"Yes. Your son ..."

"Billy, that little brat! He's not my son! " she shook her head.

"Does that mean he's adopted?"

"Adopted ... Yes ... Albert ... can't have children ..."

"Do you know when he was adopted?"

She seemed lost in the memories again. "When he was adopted ..." she repeated.

Ferry felt impatient. He didn't have much time left. "Mrs. Pride, please try to remember."

"He was brought before Albert and I met ..."

Ferry felt like he reached a dead end again. Now it was no longer about the secrets of the Pride family. Now it was about his mother's son.

"I tried to get him out of this place," she continued, and a tear ran down her cheek.

Ferry became alert again.

"I tried to get out of here myself. But I couldn't. Once you get in here, you can't go out. It's too late. There is no escape. People come to this town thinking it's a new chance. A new beginning. But they don't know they will stay here forever. They think they are the owners of their own lives. But they can't see what's hidden in the shadows. How their lives are already drawn and they become the puppets of a single puppeteer ..." she said, staring out the window in front of her as if Ferry wasn't even there. "All the suffering, all the pain, all the deaths that happened in this place have to do with him," she continued with the same stare of a woman haunted by the ghosts of the past.

"Who?" Ferry asked.

"The monster," she hissed, grabbing his hand. Now she stared at him with her haunted gaze. 

"Get out of this place! Run! " she cried, becoming agitated.

Ferry tried to free himself from her hand which became like a claw on his arm, but failed."Mrs. Pride, calm down," he tried to calm her down. "What place are you talking about? This town?"

She grinned, not letting go of his hand or taking his eyes off of him. "Can't you see? It's not about this town. It was never about this town. It's the forest. It's always been the forest," she hissed.

Ferry got free of her grip and ran out of the room, his heart pounding. He heard Mrs. Pride  repeating behind him,  over and over "It's too late! It's too late!"

He managed to catch his breath when he got outside. He leaned against the fence by the lawn, coughing. When he looked up, the curtains of the last room on the third floor moved.

*Ferry waited until dark, hidden in the tool store. The lights in the mansion windows went out one by one. Except for the last room on the third floor.

The servants at the mansion retreated to their rooms so there was no one around. Ferry went up the back stairs to the third floor, then slipped against the walls of the empty hallways to the forbidden room. No sound came from inside. He pushed open the door and entered. The room was empty. Ferry hesitated for a moment. The crossbows with arrows on the walls were giving him the shivers.

He hid behind the big clock in the corner and waited. The clock struck nine in the evening when the door opened and Albert Pride Jr. came in with a tray of food. He set it on the table, then threw himself in an armchair and lit a cigar. One of his legs was shaking. He put out his cigar and began walking around the room.

After a few minutes, the mysterious guest appeared. He grinned at Albert Pride and poured two glasses of gin, then handed him one. Mr. Pride took it but didn't touch it.

"Is everything arranged?" he asked.

"Yes," replied Albert Pride.

"When does the cargo arrive?"

"In a few days," he said in a low voice.

"Good. Good, "the stranger grinned again.

Then he examined Albert Pride. "You seem preocupied. What is it?"

Mr. Pride looked away. "Nothing..."

"Oh, come on, Al, I know you too well. Tell me what's on your mind."

"Billy..." said Mr. Pride with a sigh. "I've been thinking... Maybe he shouldn't take part in this year's Quest. Maybe we should wait."

But the stranger shook his head. The smile disappeared from his face. "We can't. We failed seven years ago. And now we are so close to succeeding. The stone is here, Al. I feel its strength grow. We couldn't find it. But we will, soon. It will come to us."

"I don't want Billy to be a part of this," said Mr. Pride staring at his guest.

The stranger stepped closer to him. His low voice sounded threatening, "Listen, Albert. Seven years ago, everything went wrong when those children went to look for the missing boy. The Quest was no longer held because of this. I lost so much money. My business and yours have suffered. The people of this town have suffered because of it. Believe me, people don't care where the money comes from as long as they keep coming. I will not let your pathetic sentimentalism mess up my business, this time. Besides, the boy wants to participate."

"Because he doesn't know what it's all about!" Albert Pride shouted.

"But we agreed from the beginning to prepare him for this moment. And now, the time has come. And more, the supplies are running out," the stranger shouted back.

"That's because you used them for yourself!" cried Albert Pride, his face red with rage. "Because you wanted to be young and powerful forever!"

The stranger grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. "Because youth is power," he said between gnashed teeth. "But you can't know that. You've always been so weak, " he said, then let go of him in disgust.

But Mr. Pride was not intimidated. "I won't let you, do you hear me! I won't let you use my son for your bloody games!"

"He is not your son! He never was!" cried the stranger, barely breathing. Then he seemed to calm down. "We just have to find the stone. If we find the stone, I won't need anything else. If we find the stone, the Quest will never be held again. You have my word."

Albert Pride said nothing more. He left the room, slamming the door behind him. The stranger drank up the gin, then took a key from his pocket and opened the secret room. Ferry saw through the doorway the refrigerators and the hospital bed. He could  hear him rummaging inside, then he went out and left. Ferry was now alone in the forbidden room.

He got out of his hiding place on his fingertips and went inside the secret room. Somewhere, near the ceiling of the room, there was a narrow window where the moonlight went through. The room was small, with no furniture. Only a hospital bed with an empty infusion bag. The walls were completely covered with refrigerators, but different from the one he had at home. He opened one of them and saw some glass containers. Inside, a silvery-gray viscous liquid. Ferry's heart skipped a beat. He quickly closed the refrigerator, barely breathing. It was fairy blood. He headed for the hospital bed and studied the transfusion bag. A wire was tied to the bag on the stand. Ferry thought it was a thin tube at first, but when he touched it, he realized he was wrong -- it was fairy wool.

He felt the need to get out of that room as soon as possible. But the door opening in the next room stopped him. The stranger had returned. Ferry froze for a moment. He looked desperately everywhere. He had nowhere to hide. The moonlight was the only one that crept into the room. Ferry stepped into the light. He crouched against the wall, letting himself be enveloped in it. He remembered what Parsley had told him. He squeezed his eyes and tried to forget where he was. Slowly, his heart went back to its normal beats.

And soon, he was somewhere else. He was riding his bike along the path that led to the tall grass near Lavender's house, in the warm sunset light. In front of him, Matilda rode her old bike. From time to time, she turned to him to see if he could keep up with her. She smiled, then continued to pedal, kissed by the touch of the calm wind. Then, when resting under the old hazelnut tree, he saw her face through the autumn grass. Her freckles touched by the sun; her dry lips moisten by the tip of her tongue every now and then... Her white teeth when she turned to him, smiling...

Then, her image faded. Ferry opened his eyes. The man was now in the room, looking for something in the safe. Ferry held his breath. The man suddenly turned his head towards him. He looked across the room. But he didn't see him. And Ferry knew he made it -- he was invisible. He got up and approached quitely. The man was reading something. Ferry looked over his shoulder, but he folded the paper before Ferry could read it. Then he closed the safe and made the combination of numbers. This time, Ferry saw it.

The man left the room, without even suspecting he was not alone. Ferry waited for a moment, then made the same combination of numbers. The safe opened with a light click. Without knowing why, Ferry hesitated to look through the papers piled inside. But it was his only chance. With shivering hands, he searched through some old papers. He recognized the handwriting -- it was Mrs. Cobbs'; he had found the missing pages of her diary. He folded them up and put them in his pocket. Then he saw the same handwriting on old envelopes, Mrs. Cobbs' love letters to the mysterious man. 

But his attention was drawn to something else -- a shiny material, crowded on the bottom of the safe. He slowly unfolded it . It was as if time went back, transporting him  to his beginnings in this town that was never what it seemed. Ferry closed his eyes and caressed the fine material coming from another world. In a corner, he discovered the seam with his fingers. He opened his eyes and read the embroidery sewn with gold thread. It was in Elvian -- Garrett of Akna, he read. Under his name, he discovered Akna's emblem. He was seeing it for the first time. It was a crescent moon.

A tear slid down his cheek. He had found the evidence he was looking for, although he felt wasn't ready for this. He had found his mother's lost son. It was Billy.

He folded the blanket and put it back on. He didn't need any other evidence. He wanted to close the safe, but something shone in the darkness inside. It was an old parchment, tied with a silver thread. The secrets of the Pride family were all piled up in that dark, cold place. He untied the thread of the parchment and read it. His eyes widened, his heart began to race. The more he read, the better he understood. Thoughts began to run through his head. He hid the parchment under his shirt . He locked the safe and slipped out of the secret room.

The man was still there. He was resting on the couch next to the cabinets full of objects from the world of fairies. The World of the Unseen. As he was now. Ferry crossed the room without making the slightest noise. But its rapid movement created a draft. The man felt it. He jumped to his feet, searching the room with his dark-blue eyes. Ferry held his breath. He saw the gleam of evil in the man's eyes.

"Who's there? Show yourself! " he shouted.

Ferry's heart was racing. He headedfor the door. He couldn't wait any longer. He opened it to the wall and came out like a whirlwind, running down the stairs, the man's laughter echoing behind him, filling the old walls of the mansion.

*

"Mighty Winds and Holy Moon," Lavender whispered as she read the parchment. She then handed it to Parsley. He read it, too and his only remaining eye widened in horror.

"Is that what I think it is?" Ferry asked softly.

Lavender nodded. "Yes. And worse. Saraid made a deal with Albert Pride's father... Ten old fairies, every seven years, for a young man or a human child ..."

"But why?" Parsley asked. "Why this trade?"

"For the Quest," Ferry said, staring at the fire in the fireplace. "Mr.Pride and his partners hunt fairies."

"For fun?" Parsley asked, unable to believe it.

"For their blood," Lavender replied. "Fairy blood cures any disease. And rejuvenates. They change their blood with fairy blood. That's how Albert Pride's father made his fortune. "

They were all speechless, their eyes staring at the fire.

"How? How do they do that? " Ferry asked in a low voice.

"With the help of the fairy wool. They're draining the blood out of them," Lavender said softly. "To the last drop. Every drop is precious. Every drop of fairy blood is a fortune in the world of human ... "

Ferry shuddered. "What a terrible way to die ..." Then he got to his feet. "We have to stop this!"

Lavender looked at him. He had never seen her so serious. "We can't."

"What do you mean we can't?" Ferry revolted.

"How could we do that?" she said. "Parsley and I have limited powers. We can't rely on Oona. She doesn't even remember being a fairy. You have not yet revealed your powers. And there are too many of them. We ourselves could become their source of blood. Besides, they are fairies from Tenalach. They're not really our friends. "

"So what? We can't let them die!" cried Ferry. "There must be a way. We have to help them!"

Lavender rose from her chair. "Ferry! Stop that! WE CAN'T HELP THEM! " she shouted, hitting the floor with her cane.

Ferry gnashed his teeth with tears in his eyes. "What if it was me?" he asked. "What if I was in their place? Would you let me die?"

Lavender came closer to him. "That's exactly it. If you try to help them, you could die, Ferry. And our hope with you."

That was it -- he had to live for Akna. Only for Akna. So he decided to keep the fact that he could now become invisible from them. Or that Billy was the lost son of the Donovans.

"Can't we send news to Akna?" Ferry tried again. "To Lord Stephan. He already has an army, right? He could send some of his soldiers to help us."

Lavender shook her head. "Lord Stephan has much bigger problems than this. Akna slowly falls prey to the enemy without even knowing it ... "

"Then maybe Thyme?"

"He's being late. The doors between the worlds are hard to find and harder to cross. As for Sage... We don't know anything about them... I hope the winds bring everyone back safely, "she sighed.

Ferry turned silent, watching the flames cast flickering lights on everyone's faces.

"Ferry, you have to promise us you won't go to that place again, at least until Quest passes," Lavender said softly.

Ferry avoided looking at them. "I'm sorry. I can't promise you that ..."

*

"Where have you been?" he heard his father's voice as he entered his house. "It's three in the morning. I couldn't close one eye because of you. "

Ferry passed him and entered the living room, beginning to prepare his couch for going to bed.

His father followed him. "I asked you something," he snapped.

"It's none of your business," Ferry snapped back.

"As long as you're under my roof, it is my business," he shouted.

"Is that what you want?" Ferry shouted back. "You want me to leave? I knew it wouldn't work. Not with you. People don't change. Not after they've been jerks all their lives. Fine. I'll go!" he said, and ran up the stairs to the attic, his former room, to pack his things. He could barely breathe and his sight turned blurry. He saw on a shelf the jar of colored balls  his mother bought him from the grocery store when he was little. And he could feel the tears gather in his eyes again. But he gritted his teeth and wouldn't let them flow, starting to stuff his things into a bag. Then he heard a light knock on the door.

His father went in quietly. He sat down on the bed. Ferry tried not to mind him, continuing to pack up.

"Listen, Ferry, I know it's not easy," he said in a low voice. "I know you have every reason in the world not to listen to me and not give a damn about what I believe or say. But I'm trying. I know I could never really be your father. And that has nothing to do with the fact that you don't have my blood. But she-- She loved you, in spite of everything. And she always saw you as her child even if she knew you weren't. So I will keep on trying to make things work between us. For her sake... And I would be very happy if you could try, too ... "

Ferry stopped packing. He sat on the bed next to his father. "I wish she was here... Everything would be easier if she was here ..." he said softly.

"I wished she was here, too ..." his father said and slowly got up from the bed. "Why didn't you take your old room back?" he asked before going out.

"Because he was there," Ferry said.

His father nodded. "I saved a sandwich for you in the kitchen, if you like," he added, then left.

*

The next morning, Ben and Matilda were sitting on the couch, their jaws dropped as Ferry was walking in front of them, telling them his latest discoveries.

"Are you saying the Quest is actually a fairy hunt?" Matilda asked, her eyes wide with wonder and horror.

"Exactly. And we have to stop it. Only us. No one else can help us. We can't rely on our fairy friends anymore. "

"But it's too dangerous, Ferr," Ben said. "This time, we could die. Those people are hunters. They know how to use weapons. What makes you think they wouldn't use them on us?"

"Besides, people from outside the town are brought in to guard the place. Now we know who they are guarding. How are we going to get in there? " added Matilda.

"Well, I can go invisible," Ferry said. He thought he should tell them.

Matilda frowned and watched him closely. "How did that happen?"

Ferry turned his back on her because he could feel himself becoming flusttered under her gaze. Her mere presence there, even in this complicated situation, made him extremely happy. But now he had to focus.

"It just happened," he said. He couldn't tell her the thought of her revealed one of the greatest powers of the fairies.

Ben shook his head. "It's not enough, Ferr. We need more to help the fairies escape. Then we have to take them back to the forest safely. Unless..."

"Unless what?" Ferry and Matilda asked at the same time.

"Unless we become invisible ourselves," he said.

"People can't go invisible, Ben," Matilda said.

"No. But they can hide behind the shield of invisibility, "Ben grinned.

"Is it possible? To create a shield of invisibility? " Ferry asked.

"In theory, yes," Ben said. "If it helps light to bend around a target, in this case a human being, that target becomes invisible. With the right materials, we can build invisibility shields."

"What materials do we need?" Ferry asked.

"Plastic," Ben replied. "But not just any kind of plastic. A more special one. Do you know those postcards that seem to move? "

"I have cards like that, but with football players," Matilda said.

"Exactly. It's actually a thin sheet of plastic with cylindrical edges on one side called lenticular lenses. Two such sheets with a thin layer of water or oil between them can create a shield of invisibility."

"Could you build them, Ben?" Ferry asked, his eyes sparkling.

"I'm afraid I can't find so much plastic in such a short time," he said. "In a few days, the town will close. I'm sorry, Ferry ..."

Ferry slowly took a seat on the couch next to his friends. He put his head in his hands."I can't let them die, Ben. I'll go alone."

"You can't go alone, Ferry," Matilda said, turning towards him. Ferry saw the concern in her pretty eyes. "It's too dangerous. If something happens to you, I just--" she added, and her voice trembled.

The backyard door opened and everyone stopped talking. Peter Donovan came in, slowly walking closer to them.

"I couldn't help but hear," he said. "I can get you the materials you need. And I can help you build them. It's time for all the terrible things that happen in that place to come to an end."

Thank you for reading yet another chapter of this story! As this book is coming closer to an end, I am getting more and more anxious. It's hard putting all the pieces of the puzzle together, and I hope it will be a satisfying end for everyone. Thank you for being part of this journey!