The Iron Warrior, Page 20

  “Are you going to return it to me, or is this something I must bargain for?”

  “Pah, I would not bargain for this cursed thing,” the witch said, curling a lip in disgust. “It is your burden to bear, not mine. I will, however, issue this one warning. The Iron Prince, as you knew him before, no longer exists. His soul has been missing from his body for far too long. The longer you use that amulet to sustain your own life, the more it is in danger of vanishing completely.”

  Annwyl shivered but nodded. “I understand,” she whispered, and the witch held out the cord. The Summer faery took it and carefully draped it around her neck, where the amulet pulsed like a sullen heartbeat.

  “Well,” the Thin Man sighed, as Razor crawled out of Kenzie’s shirt and waved to Annwyl, buzzing happily. “Here we all are.”

  “Yeah,” I muttered. “I get the feeling that was the easy part.”

  * * *

  “So, let me get this straight,” I said, as we left the witch’s house, heading back into the forest. “You came here hoping to destroy the amulet. Knowing that it would kill you if you did.”

  “Yes,” Annwyl said calmly. “After I heard...what Keirran had done to you in Ireland, what he brought about, I knew that something terrible had happened to him. He couldn’t be the same. The Keirran I knew would never do something like that. I knew the amulet had to be responsible. I could feel it, constantly eating away at him. I couldn’t stand the thought that by saving my life, Keirran had become that. What they’re calling him now—the Soulless One. The Destroyer of the Courts.

  “So, yes,” Annwyl went on. “I began searching for a way to undo the amulet. I first tried seeking out its creator, the mortal in the human world. But...it appears I cannot make myself visible to humans anymore. Maybe because I’m so close to the Fade, only the amulet is keeping me alive. But mortals in the human world can neither see nor hear me, so I could not ask your Guro how to break this curse.”

  “So, that was the presence Guro was talking about when we went to see him,” Kenzie said. “It was you.”

  Annwyl nodded. “I thought the human could sense me. But I still could not make myself known. And by that time, word of what Keirran had done had spread. My own kind would not help me. Leanansidhe might have killed me had she not been so preoccupied with her mansion’s disappearance. So, I went into the Nevernever, looking for anyone who might give me the answer I sought. Eventually, I heard that the Bone Witch had journeyed across the River of Dreams, back into the Deep Wyld again, so I made my way here.”

  “But...” Kenzie’s forehead scrunched up. “Weren’t you exiled from the Nevernever?” she asked. “Wasn’t that how this whole mess started? How did you get back?”

  “When the Veil disappeared,” Annwyl replied, “all of the old seals and barriers the rulers had placed on the trods vanished, as well. The exiled fey found they could suddenly return to the Nevernever, and many have. But it’s too late for me.” She lightly touched her chest, where the amulet was hidden beneath her dress. “I was too close to the Fade. I don’t know if I’m even really alive anymore, or if I’m just a memory that can’t die. Right now, the amulet is the only thing keeping me here. Even now, back in the Nevernever, without it I would Fade away completely.”

  “Annwyl.” Kenzie’s face was sympathetic and angry at the same time. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered, and her eyes glimmered. “This isn’t... It’s just not fair! You didn’t ask for any of this. It’s not your fault that Keirran went completely stupid.”

  “It’s all right.” Annwyl gave a small smile. “I’m...tired, Mackenzie. I’ve lived a long life, longer than most. I have fewer regrets than joys, fewer sorrows than happy memories.” She looked away, into the trees, her voice the barest murmur. “I’m not afraid. It’s time to stop lingering and move on. Keirran is the last piece I must take care of.”

  There was a ripple of movement in the darkness ahead, and the Wolf melted soundlessly out of the trees. Annwyl stiffened, eyes going wide with fear and awe as the huge creature padded toward us, but she didn’t panic, even when the Wolf swung his massive head toward her, sniffing the air.

  “I take it this is the one you came for?” he growled, his voice making the leaves vibrate overhead. “You didn’t tell me she was one of them.”

  “One of who?” Kenzie asked.

  “Them. The Fading Ones. The Forgotten, as you call them.” The Wolf snorted in disgust. “She reeks of stolen magic, of forbidden glamour, yet she herself is not entirely here. And there is something else. Something...dark. Angry.” His muzzle curled, revealing fangs, and he pressed forward threateningly. “It sort of makes me want to bite her head off.”

  “Well, restrain yourself,” Kenzie snapped, stepping in front of the Summer fey. “No one is biting anyone’s head off. You, stay.” She glared at the Wolf who, while he didn’t look exactly intimidated, snorted and backed off a step. “We have to get back to the wyldwood and look for Keirran,” Kenzie went on, glancing at the rest of us. “Any ideas on how we’re going to do that?”

  “Quickly, would be my advice,” came a voice overhead. A pair of glowing eyes floated in the branches above, a moment before Grimalkin materialized on a tree limb. “I see you managed to locate the Summer girl and the amulet,” the cat said, sounding as if he had doubted our ability to accomplish that. “And the dog remembered his end of the bargain and did not bite anyone’s head off out of habit. I suppose wonders never cease.”

  I expected the Wolf to snarl and bare his teeth, but to my surprise, he only chuckled. “Don’t be a sore loser, cat,” he rumbled. “Remember, you had to ask for my help. I look forward to reminding you of that at every opportunity.”

  “Hmph.” Grimalkin sniffed, looking bored. “I suppose the less intelligent have to reassure themselves however they can,” he mused. “I, on the other hand, have been busy with important matters. Ethan Chase...” That gold gaze shifted to me. “The First Queen has invaded the wyldwood,” he said, making me jerk up. “The courts are now at war. A multitude of Forgotten stands between you and the Iron Prince, not to mention the Lady herself. Going after him now would be most unwise.”

  “Great. So what are we supposed to do?”

  “That I cannot tell you. However, the courts have set up camp at the edge of the wyldwood and Arcadia,” Grimalkin went on, curling his tail around himself. “The Iron Queen is among them, as are the rulers of Summer and Winter. Perhaps they will have a solution. One more feasible than charging headlong at the Iron Prince through a horde of Forgotten and getting yourselves torn to shreds.”

  Back to the wyldwood. Back to Meghan and the rest of the courts. I wondered if she would be angry with me; I had promised her I’d stay away from the battlefield if it came down to war with the Forgotten. But... I glanced at Annwyl, watching in somber silence. This is my family. I can’t stay away. I have to try to save him. The Summer girl gave a tiny nod, as if she knew what I was thinking, and my stomach turned. Dammit, I just wish I could save Annwyl, too.

  “All right,” I said, and looked to the Thin Man, who hadn’t said much since we’d left the witch’s house. “Back to the wyldwood, then. Can you take us there? Through the Between?”

  He raised a razor-thin eyebrow. “Not here,” he said slowly. “One can only part the Veil where it is weak, and I know of only one place in the Deep Wyld where the barrier between worlds is that thin. We would have to cross the River of Dreams to find a spot where I could take you into the Between.”

  I sighed. “I guess if that’s the only way,” I muttered. “But we’re running out of time. And call me cynical, but I can’t see us not running into some kind of trouble on the way back, either.”

  The Wolf shook his massive head.

  “There will be no trouble,” he stated in a deep, firm voice. “Nothing will dare come close. I’ll take you back myself.”

  Kenz
ie blinked. “You will? Why?”

  “I’m old, little girl.” The Wolf regarded her with solemn green eyes. “Older than the witch. Older than even your thin friend over there. I remember the days when the First Queen ruled. The courts have forgotten—purposely, I suspect—but those were chaotic, bloody times. The world lived in fear of us, terrified of the Good Neighbors and the creatures that lurked in the dark. She would bring those days back, if she could.”

  “I don’t understand,” Kenzie said. “All that fear and glamour and belief? Isn’t that what you want?”

  “Chaos and panic and mortals running around like headless chickens?” The Wolf barked a laugh. “It would be highly amusing. But the world has changed. Those days are gone. And I know what humans are capable of now. They no longer worship the things they fear. They try to eradicate them.” His eyes narrowed. “The First Queen would bring destruction to the Nevernever even as she tried to save it. The Veil cannot be allowed to disappear again. So if you need someone to carve a bloody swath through ranks of Forgotten to get to the First Queen and her little Iron pet, I’m the best one for the job.”

  “Oh, goodie,” said Grimalkin, rising from the branch. “And now we have picked up the dog. I will inform the Iron Queen of your imminent arrival, and to prepare for the smell.”

  He waved his tail once and was gone. Razor bared his teeth in the direction the cat had been and hissed. “Evil, bad kitty,” the gremlin muttered. “Tie rock to tail and throw in lake, ha!”

  The Wolf chuckled in approval. “At least one of you has good taste.”

  * * *

  As the Wolf predicted, we did not run into any trouble on our way back through the Deep Wyld. Though there was one tense instance where a boulder uncurled and stood up, revealing it was actually a wrinkled gray giant with mossy hair, yellow tusks and arms down to its knees. Wolf and giant stared at each other for a few terrifying heartbeats, before the two-legged monster took a step back and shambled off into the trees.

  The bridge was waiting for us as we left the tangled forest, which was somewhat of a shock. And a very grumpy bridge gnome informed us that a bossy gray cat had already taken care of the toll, and that we were free to cross as we pleased. Why he couldn’t have done that the first time we crossed, I had no idea, but it was, after all, Grimalkin. Once we were back in the wyldwood, the Thin Man quickly found a spot where the Veil was thin, and we slipped into the blank grayness of the Between once more.

  “Hmm,” the Wolf remarked as the curtain of reality closed behind us. Like Razor, his eyes glowed a hazy green as he gazed around the lightless landscape. “So, this is the Between,” he mused, his deep voice echoing through the fog. “I was in a town very much like this, I think. It smelled of nothing, and its residents tried to suck the glamour right out of us.”

  “That was my town,” the Thin Man said flatly. “And you shouldn’t even have been able to find it. I still have no idea how the lot of you managed to stumble into Phaed, but it has caused quite the headache, hasn’t it? And now we must fix this mess a certain Winter prince has caused, or the Nevernever and the Between could be lost forever.”

  The Wolf growled. “Don’t blame me. He was the one who wanted a soul. I tried warning him.” His gaze slid to Annwyl. “You people and your souls. First, we had to find one, now we have to return one.” He wrinkled his muzzle in disgust. “What good are they, except to cause grief?”

  “I don’t know,” Annwyl said softly, touching the cord at her neck. “But Keirran’s always felt so bright. Perhaps if I had one of my own, I wouldn’t be Fading away. I guess I’ll never know now.” She sighed and gazed into the distance, her voice almost wistful. “It won’t be long before my time is done.”

  “Noooo,” Razor moaned from Kenzie’s shoulder. “No leave. Stay, pretty elf girl. Stay.”

  Well, I had picked up quite the party, hadn’t I? I wondered what Meghan would say when I walked into the faery camp with Kenzie, Annwyl, a gremlin, the Thin Man and the Big Bad Wolf trailing behind me. I wondered what the other rulers would think.

  Guess I’d find out soon enough.

  “How far to the border of Arcadia?” I asked the Thin Man.

  “Not far,” the tall faery replied. Gazing around the empty landscape, he sighed and turned away, raising a hand. “Follow me, and let’s try not to stumble upon any other realities this time.”

  “No arguments there.”

  We didn’t stumble into any pockets of reality, and when the Thin Man parted the Veil once more, we stepped into the familiar murk and tangle of the wyldwood.

  “Arcadia is that way, I believe,” the Thin Man said, pointing in a random direction. “Though I am not certain where the courts would set up camp. The cait sith only mentioned they were at the border of the Summer Court and the wyldwood.”

  The Wolf cocked his shaggy head. “I hear rushing water,” he stated, and lifted his muzzle to the wind. “And I smell...many fey. Summer, Winter—” his lip curled back from his fangs “—and Iron.”

  “That must be the army,” I said, ignoring the twist in my stomach. Meghan was close. As was the war and probably the First Queen. Soon, I would have to face both my sister and the Iron Prince, and I had no idea which one scared me the most.

  Nothing for it now.

  Taking a deep breath, I started forward, toward the camp, my sister and maybe the final fight with my nephew.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  UNDER IRON’S BANNER

  There were probably a few thousand tents camped along the river’s edge.

  “Wow,” Kenzie murmured, gazing into the valley, which looked like some sort of crazy circus or refugee camp. Nearly all available space had been taken up by tents, and fey of every description wandered the narrow paths between. However, I noticed a distinct separation in the tents belonging to Summer, Winter and Iron. The three courts kept solely to their sides of the field, not mingling or interacting with the other territories. At least, that’s what I assumed, based on the different colors of tents clumped together: shades of green and brown for Summer; black, red and blue for Winter. The Iron court was easy to spot. Not only did it sit far away from the other courts; the area around it looked slightly sick. Trees were withered and bent over, plants were in the process of dying, and even the grass looked dead. I figured such a large amount of Iron fey sitting in the middle of the wyldwood was slowly poisoning the land around them, but nothing could be done about it. Meghan’s court was too powerful an ally not to participate in the war with the Forgotten. Of course, once the fighting was done, Summer and Winter would probably waste no time kicking the Iron fey out of the wyldwood and back to Mag Tuiredh. I wondered how Meghan had been able to put up with them for so long.

  “Ugh,” the Wolf growled as he stared into the valley. He backed away from the edge. “Too crowded for my taste,” he said. “You four go ahead. Meet with your rulers, do whatever you have to do. I’ll stay back, keep an eye on the perimeter. Make sure there are no Forgotten sneaking around the edges.”

  “You sure, Wolf?” Kenzie asked. The Wolf panted a grin.

  “Oh, trust me, it’s better this way. There’d probably be a panic if I went strolling down there now.” He shook himself, then turned back into the forest. “I’ll be close. If there’s trouble, just scream.”

  Loping into the trees, he disappeared.

  Stepping out of the forest, we headed toward the river and a wooden bridge that spanned the bank. Two sidhe knights guarded the entrance of the bridge, tall and slender, in blue-and-white armor with icicles growing out of the shoulders and helmets. The Winter knights glared at us as we approached, gauntleted hands dropping to their icy swords.

  “Hold,” one growled as we stopped a few feet from the posts. “Identify yourselves, humans. This camp is off-limits to your kind.”

  “My name is Ethan Chase, brother to Her
Highness the Iron Queen,” I said, cringing at how douchy I sounded. But, as I discovered, the fey responded better to rank and pomp, and usually bowed to protocol. “Let us pass. I have an important message for my sister.”

  The Winter knights eyed each other. It was obvious they didn’t care to be bossed around by a human and were stalling for a way to refuse. I crossed my arms and tried to look impatient and important. The knights finally dropped their hands from their sword hilts.

  “Very well,” one of them said reluctantly, and stepped aside. “You may pass, Ethan Chase. The Iron Queen’s tent is on the east side of the camp.”

  “Wait,” the other said, just as I relaxed. His gaze slid past Annwyl and Kenzie—thankfully, Razor had hidden down her shirt—and fixed on the Thin Man, waiting quietly behind us. The knight’s cold blue eyes narrowed, and he suddenly drew his sword.

  “Forgotten!” he snarled. “That is a Forgotten! Traitor!”

  He started forward, a murderous look in his eyes. I drew my swords and stepped between them, blocking his path.

  “Not another step,” I warned.

  Smirking, he tried shoving me aside using brute force; I dodged his arm, stepped in and put the tip of my sword against his breastplate. The icy armor frayed apart where it touched the steel, dissolving in the air like colored mist, leaving a small hole behind. The knight froze, staring at his ruined breastplate, and I smiled coldly.

  “Last time I’ll ask nice.”

  “How dare you bring that abomination here!” the knight spat, switching to indignant rage now that raw violence had failed. “How dare you bring a Forgotten into our very midst? The rulers will never stand for it.”

  “Will you relax? He’s not with the First Queen.” I spared a split-second glance back at the Thin Man to make sure he was still there. He was, watching the knights calmly, an almost amused expression on his narrow face. I supposed if he was in any real danger, he could essentially make himself invisible. As long as he faced his opponents head-on, he couldn’t be seen.