The Borderlands
Meanwhile
Michael shouted when he felt the thing jump on his back. He tried to keep the panic out of his voice because it was wrong for an experienced cop to be more frightened than two old ladies, but this was beyond anything he’d experienced. Facing enemies he couldn’t see and couldn’t defend himself against was scarier than confronting armed thugs.
Amelia raised a hand and he felt the thing leave his shoulder. The area around them suddenly grew quieter. “There, that’s better,” she said with some satisfaction. “I don’t know how long it will hold, so we’d better keep going.”
They’d almost made it to the light when a great whirring roar surrounded them. “What’s this, the flying monkeys?” Michael asked.
“Can you run?” Athena asked in reply.
“To get away from this? I’ll try.” He felt things pulling at his clothes and his hair.
“Then run!”
They took off, Beau putting on more speed than Michael would have believed possible. The sound dimmed as they drew closer to the light, but he still felt like some of those things were attached to his clothes. He wanted to keep running when he ran straight into Athena, who had stopped.
“It’s okay, it’s over, I think,” she said, sounding only slightly out of breath. He gasped for air while an invisible vise clamped down on his chest. It was a forcible reminder of why they didn’t even want him working at a precinct desk yet.
A voice calling, “You!” caught their attention. Michael looked up to see a silver-haired man approaching.
“I think this is the guy who kidnapped Emily,” Michael said between gasps, wishing he had his gun with him.
“Yes,” the man said matter-of-factly. “I am Eamon. And you are Sophie’s friend, the man with the badge of office. Where is Sophie?”
Michael shook his head in confusion. “You kidnapped Emily and you’ve talked to Sophie and you’re still alive?”
“I am trying to help. I explained myself to Sophie. Where is she?”
“She’s here. We were coming to help her. I think she’s gone to Maeve.”
Eamon looked alarmed. “She was warned to stay away from Maeve,” he said. “She’s the one Maeve needs.”
“She knows that, but she’s trying to protect Emily,” Athena said.
“Do you know how to find Maeve?” Amelia asked. “I believe that would be the best starting point.”
“I believe I know where Maeve will go if she has Sophie.” Michael noticed that his wrists were horribly burned. He wasn’t sure exactly how fairy people were supposed to look, but this guy looked like hell.
“You’ve found the palace?” Amelia asked.
“Maeve did. Emily found her map, and I think I can locate the palace now. If Maeve has Sophie, we must get there first.” He turned to go, the others falling in behind him. Michael hadn’t had nearly enough time to catch his breath, but he forced himself to continue.
When they left the woods, they came out into a parklike land dotted with trees. Michael wasn’t sure how fairyland was supposed to look, but this wasn’t it. Everything was drab and brown. “Try not to get too caught up in it,” Athena warned. “It can be very alluring.”
“Only if you’re into winter.”
The others turned to stare at him. “Is that what you see?” Amelia asked.
“Yeah. You don’t?”
“He has a four-leaf clover,” Athena said. “Sophie said the Realm was dying.”
“What does it look like to you?” Michael asked.
“It’s bright and colorful, like a Technicolor movie,” Amelia said.
“It’s a glamour to hide the true state of things,” Eamon said. “Most of us prefer not to see the truth.”
They stopped at the edge of a forest, beyond which a grassy expanse sloped down to a river. Across the river was a towering wall of thorny vines. Michael started to ask why they’d stopped, but then he saw that they hadn’t arrived first. Maeve was already there in what looked like a showdown with Sophie. Michael felt a pang when he saw Jen and another red-haired girl with a bedraggled-looking Emily between them. Not only was Jen not trying to escape, but she was helping hold Emily. She couldn’t possibly realize what she was doing, he told himself. More fairies dressed in that Rat Pack style were part of the group.
“Now what?” Michael asked Amelia. He doubted that two old women, a sick fairy, a wounded cop, and a bulldog would be able to free the captives, but he felt like they ought to do something.
Amelia frowned in thought for a moment before giving a very Sophie-like smile. “Let’s see what happens.”