Chapter 18

He rambled down the slope of the hill, deciding that he might as well walk in the forest for a while. He knew how to call a house sprite to lead him home if he got lost.

“Will you come and play with us, mortal child?” A wild sprite danced a circle around his head as he neared the end of his descent. “There is music, and revelry, and delights beyond mortal ken! Come, come play.”

“No thank you,” said Oisin, smiling at the little creature. This one was golden, an earth sprite. They were the least flighty and absent-minded of the sprites, but they shared the same essential nature, and were certainly not to be trusted.

“We would let you go when the revelry was done,” the little sprite said, twirling exuberantly in the air.

Oisin chuckled. “And when would that be? After a hundred years?”