The Iron Warrior

  Leanansidhe was waiting patiently as I drew back, though Kenzie slipped her fingers through mine and held on, refusing to leave my side. There was a faint smile on the Exile Queen’s face as she watched us. “Have you decided, then, darling?”

  I nodded. “Yeah,” I husked out, willing my heart to calm down. “I’m willing. I agree.”

  “One year of your life, forfeit to me, whenever that time may come.” Leanansidhe raised a slender hand before I could answer. “Last chance to back out, darling. Once you commit, it is permanent. Your next words will decide this bargain, so be very sure. In exchange for use of the trod that will take you close to the Deep Wyld, you will agree to give up one year of your life to me. Yes or no?”

  Kenzie squeezed my hand. I swallowed hard, took a deep breath and answered, “Yes.”

  I braced myself, but I wasn’t prepared for what felt like a fist of ice plunging into my chest, grabbing something vital and ripping it out again. I gave a breathless cry and would have fallen, but Kenzie grabbed my arm, planting her feet as she took all my weight, keeping me upright.

  Panting, I caught myself and gave her a grateful look as I straightened. Leanansidhe hadn’t moved, though her eyes were closed and her hair fluttered and writhed as if caught in a strong wind.

  “You okay, tough guy?” Kenzie whispered.

  “Yeah,” I gritted out, as the pain faded and my muscles finally loosened. For a second, I felt the gaping hole somewhere deep inside, before I sucked in a breath, and it filled once more. “I’m all right. Thanks.”

  Leanansidhe opened her eyes and beamed. “Splendid, darling!” she announced, and it could’ve been my imagination, but she seemed brighter, more vibrant and alive. I wondered if I looked any different to the fey around me, if they could sense something wasn’t quite right. That I wasn’t completely whole.

  It didn’t matter, I told myself. It was one year, and nobody knew when they were going to die. I could give up a year if it meant saving my family, my friends and the rest of this crazy world. Whatever happened, whatever the future brought, I would just make the most of the time that I had. Kenzie had taught me that.

  Though a few short months ago, I would never have made this kind of bargain. Before Kenzie and Keirran crashed into my life, before the Forgoten and the Lady, before the Nevernever chose me as its human champion, I hadn’t wanted anything to do with the fey. I’d barely wanted anything to do with my immortal family. Everything was different now. I was willing to give up a lot more, even my own life, to save everything I’d once despised.

  I...sure have changed.

  “Well.” Leanansidhe clasped her hands. “I believe that concludes our business transaction. Grimalkin, darling...” She looked at the cat, who had curled back up on the piano bench with his tail over his nose. “Be a dear and show them the way to the trod. You know where it is, right? Oh, and if you’re going to bring that horrid thin Forgotten through my house, do not let him anywhere near...well, anything really. I don’t want him sucking the glamour off the walls. Ethan, darling?” She smiled at me. “I wish you luck. And if you do end up facing Keirran in the near future, be a love and kick his royal little ass for me, would you? I would appreciate it. Ciao, darlings.”

  A wind whipped through the foyer, tossing Kenzie’s hair and making the fire in the hearth flare up with a roar. When it died down again, the Exile Queen was gone.

  “Well,” said a high, familiar voice, as the Thin Man turned into existence from a corner. “I do believe I am offended.”

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  THE GNOME BRIDGE

  Back into the Nevernever yet again. I was beginning to feel a little run-down, as we’d been hopping from real world to wyldwood to Between and back again, with hardly a chance to rest or eat or catch our breath. At least Kenzie had gotten a few hours’ sleep that night in the tree, though she was beginning to show signs of exhaustion, too, despite trying to hide it. I was concerned about her health and trying hard not to be overbearingly protective as we trailed Grimalkin through several long, narrow corridors that led deeper into the mansion.

  Which didn’t seem entirely solid the farther we ventured into its halls. Corridors would waver in the distance, shimmering like heat waves. Or they would flicker like they were in danger of disappearing. We passed several large rooms that were completely empty and others where ghostly furniture faded in and out of existence, as if there wasn’t enough glamour to make them completely real. Once, Kenzie paused outside a door, and I peered over her shoulder to see everything beyond the frame floating in midair. Sofas, chairs, a coffee table, lamps, a bookshelf, all drifting lazily around the room like astronauts on a space station. Quickly, I pulled her away, hoping Grimalkin could get us to the trod without the floors vanishing or us falling through the stairs or something.

  Finally, the cat led us down a long flight of stone steps into Leanansidhe’s dungeon-like basement. Torches flickered in brackets on stone pillars, and the floors were cold and damp. It looked much smaller than when I’d been down here last, or maybe it just seemed that way because I couldn’t see past the sputtering torchlight. Beyond the circles of orange light, there was nothing but black.

  “Here,” Grimalkin said, sitting in front of a stone archway. A pair of gargoyle heads each held a flickering lantern on either side of the arch, but much like the rest of the room, I couldn’t see anything but darkness through the frame. “This is the trod that will take you to the border of the Deep Wyld,” the cat went on, angling an ear back at it. “From here, the River of Dreams is not far. I will issue this one caution, however. The Deep Wyld is not like the wyldwood. It is far more dangerous, far easier to become lost and far more likely for mortals to stumble upon things they should not touch. Do be careful, humans.” Grimalkin sighed, waving his tail as he turned toward the arch. “I would hate to have to explain to the Iron Queen how her brother was eaten by carnivorous mushrooms because he did not watch where he put his feet.”

  “Carnivorous mushrooms?” Kenzie looked back at me and grinned. “Kind of like the Goombas from Super Mario Brothers? Don’t worry, if you see any evil mushrooms, just hop on their heads—that’ll kill them.”

  I gave her a bewildered stare. “What?”

  “Super Mario Brothers!” Kenzie exclaimed, frowning. “Mario, Luigi, Bowser? It’s a classic.” When I still looked baffled, she rolled her eyes. “You’re a boy. How do you not know your video games?”

  I smirked. “Possibly because I was more concerned about real monsters that could eat me.”

  “Oh, whatever. When we go home, I’m going to borrow Alex’s Nintendo and introduce you to Super Smash Brothers.”

  “Mushrooms.” Razor, perched on Kenzie’s shoulder again, wrinkled his nose. “Bleh. Nasty, evil mushrooms. Like kitty.”

  The Thin Man shook his head. “Oh, this is going to be quite the experience,” he sighed, and followed us through the arch.

  * * *

  It took us a few hours to reach the river. The wyldwood was still as dark, tangled and uninviting as before, and I wondered how this mysterious Deep Wyld could be any worse. I had no doubt it was, of course. Because that’s how things in the Nevernever always worked. Things were never so twisted, awful and completely horrifying that they couldn’t get even worse.

  Well, that’s a cheerful thought, Ethan. You’re just a ball of sunshine today, aren’t you?

  My bad mood continued to worsen the farther we hiked, punctuated by occasional spikes of temper whenever I stumbled over a log, or a vine snaked around my foot and deliberately tripped me. Adding to my grievances, my many small cuts and gashes throbbed, making me even more irritable. I was, I realized, getting tired of Faery. I was tired of its wars and power struggles. I was tired of its stupidly dangerous landscapes that defied logic and sanity and would drive you nuts if you thought too hard about it. I was tired of faeries and
faery bargains and quests and impossible choices. I was tired of it all.

  “Hey,” Kenzie said when we stopped for a short break. Grimalkin was sitting on a log in a rare patch of sunshine, washing his tail, and the Thin Man had disappeared to somewhere or other. I was leaning against the trunk of a massive tree, feeling cranky and antisocial and wishing this journey was just done already, when Kenzie walked around with a granola bar in hand. Her eyes were worried as she gazed up at me. “You okay?”

  I took the offered bar with a short nod. “Yeah. I’m fine.”

  “You sure? You haven’t said much since we left Leanansidhe’s, and you’ve got that broody I hate everything frown going on. Are you—”

  “I said I’m fine,” I snapped, making her jump. Razor hissed at me and vanished down her shirt, and Kenzie’s eyes flashed.

  “All right, tough guy, point taken.” She stepped away, not quite able to mask the hurt and anger on her face. “I’ll leave you alone.”

  I sighed. “Kenzie, wait.” She turned back warily, and I raked a hand through my hair. “I’m sorry,” I offered, dropping my arm. “I didn’t mean to snap at you. I’m just...tired, I guess.”

  She blinked, watching me in concern. “You gonna be okay?”

  “Honestly? I don’t know.” I looked down at my hands, fiddling with the wrapper of the bar, feeling her gaze on me. “It’s just...everyone is counting on us, you know? And there’s a lot that could go wrong. We have to find Annwyl, who could be anywhere right now, convince her to come back with us, and somehow make it to Keirran, who is probably on the other side of a freaking army. And if we do manage all that, if we somehow make it to Keirran without dying, we have to convince him to destroy the one thing that’s been keeping Annwyl alive. So that she can die. So that he can get his damn soul back.” I scrubbed a hand across my eyes, shaking my head. Kenzie continued to watch me, saying nothing, though her eyes were sympathetic now.

  “I haven’t seen my parents in months,” I muttered. “I don’t know what they’re doing, what’s going on in the mortal world or how much time will pass before we’re finally done here. Everything is so screwed up. My sister is going to war with my nephew, my best friend killed me so the Lady could rise to power and the only way to stop all of this is to let another of our friends die. And I...” Have somehow become the champion of Faery itself. No pressure there, right?

  Leaning my head back, I stared up at the canopy of the wyldwood, feeling the ugly truth steal over me. I was exhausted, I was sore and my head ached, but truthfully, I was just scared. So much rested on us finding that amulet and destroying it, but what if we couldn’t? What would happen to my family if I couldn’t bring Keirran back? If the First Queen actually won?

  I heard Kenzie take off her backpack, set it on the ground and pick her way over the roots to stand beside me. Putting her hands behind her, she leaned back against the wood, gazing into the forest. Razor climbed out of her shirt, muttered, “Grumpy boy” in my direction and scampered up the trunk, disappearing into the branches.

  “I’m scared, too,” Kenzie said after a moment. Surprised, I glanced down at her, but she was staring into the trees, her gaze distant. “I know I’m not as close to this world as you are, but I do know what’s at stake. I’m worried for you, my parents, Alex, Razor and...and I can’t even think about Annwyl right now. I keep hoping there’s another way, that we’ll find another solution, so Annwyl doesn’t have to...” Her voice shook a bit on that last part, before she took a quick breath and turned back to me.

  “It sucks,” she admitted, her eyes going dark. “Sometimes the world is like that. Sometimes we just have to play with the hand we’re dealt. But let me ask you this—would you trust this to anyone else? You said the Nevernever itself chose you, a human with no special powers, no magic or glamour or anything. There has to be a reason for that, and I think it’s because no one else can do it. It has to be you, tough guy.”

  “I thought you didn’t believe in fate or destiny.”

  “I don’t.” Kenzie shrugged. “There’s always a choice, Ethan, even if between running away and facing the thing that scares us head-on. Even if all paths lead to the same place.” She paused a moment, staring up into the canopy, her voice going soft. “How we get there, and what we do on the way, that’s always up to us.”

  “Humans.” Grimalkin appeared on a moss-covered stump. He didn’t saunter around the tree; I hadn’t seen him hop onto the log. He was just there. “I am going on ahead,” he stated, blinking at us languidly. “Our thin friend should be able to take you the rest of the way.”

  “What?” I scowled at him. “You’re leaving? Now? Why?”

  “I must meet with our contact and make the necessary arrangements for your crossing into the Deep Wyld, since it appears I must do everything around here,” the cat said in a weary tone of voice. “Worry not, human. We will meet again soon.”

  Leaping to the ground, he stuck his tail in the air and trotted toward the brush. “I trust you will be able to go on without getting into too much trouble,” he said as he slipped beneath a clump of ferns and disappeared. “The River of Dreams is not far. If you could refrain from tedious human chatter and the tendency to fall all over each other, you might reach it before nightfall.”

  * * *

  Night did fall before we reached the River of Dreams, and it fell quite suddenly. As in, one second we were walking through the hazy gray twilight of the wyldwood, the next, it was dark. Like someone had flipped a switch. Kenzie startled, and I immediately went for my swords, certain that whatever had killed the lights was waiting in ambush, and we were seconds away from an attack.

  “Don’t panic, Ethan Chase,” the Thin Man said as I turned in a wary circle, scanning the darkness and shadows. “This is perfectly normal. Do you hear that?” He tilted his head, and at that moment, I heard it, too. A dull murmur filtering through the trees, the sound of moving water in the distance. The Thin Man smiled. “We are very nearly there.”

  I didn’t know what to expect from something called the River of Dreams, but whatever I had imagined—stars and dreamers and pirate ships floating down a lazy current—it was nothing compared to the real thing.

  “Wow,” Kenzie breathed a few minutes later, her gaze awed as she stared over the water. “That’s just... I think wow covers everything.”

  I didn’t answer, feeling like my eyes weren’t big enough to take everything in. We stood on the bank of an enormous black river, the inky surface reflecting the night sky, until they seemed to merge together. The water was full of stars, moons, constellations, and the longer I stared at it, the more I felt like I was in danger of tumbling into the void. I couldn’t even see my own reflection in the glassy surface. Though I could see other things beneath the water or floating along the top. A violin, a stuffed bear, a huge fat goldfish the size of a basketball. A log drifted past, spinning lazily in the current, and a red fox peered out at me with bright orange eyes. Spheres of light, either balls of faery fire or gigantic lightning bugs, hovered over the surface as well, only adding to the dazzling confusion.

  “The River of Dreams,” the Thin Man said, standing at the edge of the water with his hands clasped behind him. He sounded...not sad, but contemplative. Wistful. Eyeing me and Kenzie, his mouth twitched into a smile. “Do you know how many mortals have stood on these banks, Ethan Chase? How many have seen the River while awake? None in my lifetime, and I have lived a very, very long time.”

  “It’s amazing,” Kenzie whispered, unable to tear her eyes away. Razor, perched on her shoulder, seemed entranced, as well. The Thin Man blinked as she took a step forward.

  “I would not stand too close to the edge, my girl,” he warned. “This is not the nightmare stretch, but that does not mean you want to lean too far over the water. If you fall in, the river might be unwilling to let you go.”

  A loud gurgle interr
upted him. I looked up, just as a portion of river boiled, and a freaking house rose out of the water, pointed yellow roof stabbing into the air. The house was perched on the back of an enormous turtle, which turned its head to stare at us with glassy black eyes. I was frozen, but the massive reptile blinked lazily, as if we were beneath its notice, turned and swam off, carrying itself and the house down the river, until it sank into the depths once more and was lost from view.

  I swallowed the dryness in my throat. Okay, that was terrifying. Stepping back from the edge now.

  Kenzie, too, had moved a few swift paces away from the water. “The Deep Wyld is on the other side, isn’t it?” she asked, as the ripples from the monstrous turtle began to die away. “How are we getting across? Is there a dock close by? Somewhere we can catch a boat?”

  “No.” The Thin Man turned to stare at us, frowning. “There is only one ferry that travels the River of Dreams,” he said, somewhat mysteriously, I thought, “but it is not for crossing the river. I doubt we will see it here, and even if we do, it will not stop for us, I’m afraid.”

  “Okay.” Kenzie gave the water’s edge a leery glance. “I hope you don’t expect us to swim.”

  “Patience, my dear.” The Thin Man held up an impossibly slender finger. “The River of Dreams is very long, and we are not the only ones who wish to cross it tonight. Worry not. Hopefully, it will be here soon... Ah, there it is. Perfect timing.”

  I turned, hearing Kenzie gasp in surprise.

  Spanning the length of the River of Dreams, where nothing had been before, was a bridge. A very old bridge, made of wood, stone and rope, creaking softly in the wind like it would snap at any moment.

  I stared back at the Thin Man. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

  “No, Ethan Chase. That is the bridge to cross the River of Dreams,” the Thin Man said, seemingly baffled by my reaction. “You should consider yourself lucky. Sometimes the bridge does not appear for several hours. Sometimes it does not appear at all. Like I said before, the River of Dreams is very long. You can’t expect the bridge to just appear with a snap of your fingers.”