Keirran
“Screw that!”
I glared at Meghan, feeling the walls of the Iron Court close in. She watched me sadly, though her stance and the determined look on her face didn’t change.
“No way,” I said. “Forget it. You can’t keep me here. I have to get home! I have to find Todd. And to see if Mom and Dad are all right. You said it yourself—they’re probably going crazy by now.”
“I’ll send someone to explain what’s going on,” Meghan said again, her voice and expression unyielding. “I’ll go myself, if I must. But I can’t send you home yet, Ethan. Not when something out there is trying to kill you.”
“I’m fine!” I protested, somehow feeling like a toddler again, arguing to stay up one more hour. “Dammit, I’m not four anymore, Meghan. I can take care of myself.”
Meghan’s gaze hardened. Striding up to me, she reached out and pulled up my sleeve, revealing the filthy, bloody bandages wrapped around my arm. I jerked back, scowling, but it was too late.
“You’re not as invincible as you think, little brother,” Meghan said firmly. “And I won’t put Mom and Luke through that again. They’ve been through enough. I can at least tell them that you’re safe and that you’ll be home soon. Please understand, I don’t want to do this to you, Ethan. But you can’t leave just yet.”
“Try to stop me,” I snarled, and whirled around intending to stalk out of the throne room. A stupid move, but my anger—at myself, at the fey, the Nevernever, everything—had emerged full force, and I wasn’t thinking rationally. “I’ll find my own way home.”
I didn’t make it out of the room.
A figure melted out of the shadows in the corner, stepping in front of the door, a sharp silhouette against the light. He moved like darkness itself, silent and smooth, dressed all in black, his eyes glittering silver as he blocked my exit. I hadn’t noticed him until now, but as soon as he appeared, my gut contracted with hatred and the blood roared in my ears. A memory flickered to life: a scene of moonlight and shadows, and sitting on the couch with Mom and Meghan as the door slowly creaked open, spilling his shadow across the floor. Of this faery, stepping into the room, his eyes only for my sister. He’d said that it was time; he’d spoken of bargains and promises, and Meghan hadn’t resisted. She’d followed him out the door and into the night, and from then on, nothing was the same.
I took a deep breath, trying to calm my shaking hands. How many nights in kali had I imagined fighting this very demon, taking my rattan and smashing in his inhumanly pretty face, or stabbing him repeatedly with my knife? Wild fantasies—I stood no chance against someone like him, even I realized that. And I knew Meghan…cared for him. Loved him, even. But this was the fey responsible for the state of our sad, broken family. If he’d never come to our house that night, Meghan would still be home.
I raised my weapons and spoke through gritted teeth. “Get. The hell. Out of my way, Ash.”
The dark faery didn’t move. “You hate me, I can understand that,” Ash said, his voice low and soothing. “But you’re being irrational. Meghan is only trying to keep you safe.”
Rage and frustration flared, thirteen years of hurt, fear and anger, all bursting to the surface at once. “You know, I don’t remember asking her to!” I seethed, knowing I was way out of line and not caring. “Where was she when I was growing up, when I couldn’t go to sleep because I could hear faeries outside my window? Where was she when they followed me to the school bus, when they chased me into the library and set it on fire, trying to flush me out? Or when I ruined a girl’s life, because the damned fey can’t seem to leave me alone? Where was she then, Ash?”
“Enough.”
I shivered, looking back. Meghan’s voice had changed. It was now steely with authority, and the girl who faced me when I turned around was no longer my sister. The Iron Queen stood there, blue eyes flashing in the aura of power that glowed around her.
“That’s enough,” she said again, quietly, as the magic flickered and died. “Ethan, I’m sorry, but I’ve made my decision. You’ll remain in the Iron Court until we can find out what’s going on. You’ll be a guest in the palace, but please don’t try to leave the grounds.” She exhaled, her shoulders slumping wearily. “Let’s hope we can figure this out quickly.”
“You’ll keep your own brother hostage?” I spat at her. “Against his will?”
“If I must.” Meghan didn’t flinch as she stared at me, solemn and grave. “You can be angry with me all you want, Ethan. I’m not going to lose you.”
I sneered, lowering my weapons. “It’s a little late, sister. You lost me a long time ago, when you walked out on us.”
It was a low blow, meant to hurt her, and I was sorry as soon as I said it. Meghan’s lips pressed together, but other than that, she didn’t respond. I did feel a sharp chill at my back, and realized I was pushing Ash dangerously, as well, speaking to his queen like that. My relation to Meghan was likely the only thing keeping him from drawing his sword and demanding I apologize.
Good, I thought. How does it feel, Ash? Not being able to do anything? Being forced to just watch events unfold around you? Pretty damn frustrating, huh?
The Iron Queen turned back to the throne. “Grimalkin,” she said softly, and the cat raised his head from where he’d been curled up in the corner, blinking sleepily. “Will you be able to take Mackenzie home? You know the way, right?”
Crap. I’d forgotten about Kenzie. Again. What did she think of all of this—this morbid family drama, with me at my very worst, lashing out at everyone around me?
God, she must think I’m an absolute freak.
Grimalkin yawned, but before he could reply, Kenzie stepped forward. “No,” she said, and Meghan glanced back in surprise. I blinked at her, as well. “I’d like to stay, please. If Ethan isn’t going home, then I’m not leaving, either.”
“Kenzie, you don’t have to stay,” I muttered, though the thought of her leaving made me realize how alone I really was. “Go home. I’ll be fine.”
She shook her head. “No, it’s partially my fault that we’re here. I’m not going anywhere until we can leave together.”
I wanted to argue, but at the same time, a part of me desperately wanted her to stay. It was selfish, that small piece that didn’t want to be alone, even among those who were supposed to be family. Because, even though Meghan was my sister, she was still the Iron Queen, still fey, and I was a human intruder in her world.
Meghan nodded. “I won’t force you,” she said, annoying me that Kenzie had a choice and I didn’t get one. “Stay if you wish—it might be safer for you here, anyway. Though I’m not sure when this issue will be resolved. You may be with us for some time.”
“That’s all right.” Kenzie glanced at me and smiled bravely. “It’s been several days in the real world, right? I might as well stay. I probably can’t dig myself any deeper.”
Ash moved, gliding into the room to stand by Meghan’s side. I noticed he watched her carefully, as if she were the only person in the room, the only presence that mattered. I could be a gnat on the wall for all he cared. “I’ll tell Glitch to send a message to the other courts,” he said. “With Elysium approaching, we’ll need to call this gathering soon.”
Meghan nodded. “Grimalkin,” she called, and the cat sauntered up, blinking lazily. “Will you please show Ethan and Kenzie to the guest quarters? The rooms in the north wing over the garden should be empty. Ethan…” Her clear blue eyes fixed on me, though they seemed tired and weary now. “For now, just stay. Please. We’ll talk later, I promise.”
I shrugged, not knowing what to say, and when the silence stretched between us, the queen nodded in dismissal. We followed Grimalkin out of the throne room and into the hall, where the motionless Iron knights lined the corridor. I glanced back at my sister as the doors started to close and saw her standing in the center of the room, one hand covering her face. Ash reached out, silently drawing her into him, and then the doors banged shut, hiding them from view.
You really are a jackass, aren’t you? Guilt and anger stabbed at every part of me. You haven’t seen Meghan in years, and when you finally get to talk to her, what do you do? Call her names and try to make her feel guilty. Yeah, that’s great, Ethan. Pushing people away is the only thing you know how to do, isn’t it? Wonder what Kenzie thinks of you now?
I stole a glance at her as we made our way down the halls of the Iron Court. Gremlins scuttled over the walls, laughing and making the lights flicker, and Iron knights stood like metal statues every dozen or so feet. I could feel their eyes on us as we passed, as well as the curious stares of the gremlins and every other Iron faery in the castle. If I wanted to get out of here unseen, it was going to be challenging to impossible.
Kenzie saw me looking at her and smiled. “Your sister seems nice,” she offered as Grimalkin turned a corner without slowing down or looking back. “Not what I was expecting. I didn’t think she would be our age.”
I shrugged, grateful for the shift of focus, the chance to talk about something other than what had happened in the throne room. “She’s not. Well, technically that’s not right. I guess she is, but…” I struggled to explain. “When I saw her last, several years ago, she looked exactly the same. She doesn’t age. None of them do. If I live to be a hundred years old, she still won’t look a day over sixteen.”
“Oh.” Kenzie blinked. A strange look crossed her face, that same look I had seen back in Grimalkin’s cave; thoughtful and excited, when she should have been disbelieving and terrified. “So, what about us? If we stay in the Nevernever, do we stop aging, too?”
I narrowed my eyes, not liking this sudden interest or the thought of staying here. But Grimalkin, sitting at a pair of doors facing each other across the wide hall, raised his head and yawned.
“Not to the extent that you are immortal,” he explained, eying us lazily. “Humans in the Nevernever do age, but at a much slower rate. Sometimes countless years will pass before they notice any signs of decay. Sometimes they remain infants for centuries, and then one day they simply wake up old and withered. It is different for everyone.” He yawned again and licked a paw. “But, no, human. Mortals cannot live forever. Nothing lives forever, not even the immortal Fey.”
“And don’t forget time is screwy here,” I added, frowning at the contradiction but deciding to ignore it. “You might spend a year in Faery and go home to find twenty years have passed, or a hundred years. We don’t want to stay here any longer than we have to.”
“Relax, Ethan. I wasn’t suggesting we buy a vacation home in the wyldwood.” Kenzie’s voice was light, but her gaze was suddenly far away. “I was just…wondering.”
Grimalkin sniffed. “Well. Now, I am bored.”
He stood, arched his tail over his back as he stretched, and trotted off down the hall. Even before he turned the corner, he vanished from sight.
I eyed the guards stationed very close to the “guest suites,” and resentment simmered. “Guess these are our rooms, then,” I said, crossing the hall and nudging a door open. It swung back to reveal a large room with a bed against one wall, a fireplace on the other and two giant glass doors leading to a balcony outside. “Fancy,” I muttered, letting the door creak shut. “Nicest jail cell I’ve ever been in.”
Kenzie didn’t answer. She still stood in the same spot, gazing down the corridor where Grimalkin had vanished, her expression remote. I walked back, but she didn’t look at me.
“Hey.” I reached out and touched her elbow, and she started. “You all right?”
She took a breath and nodded. “Yeah,” she said, a little too brightly. “I’m fine, just tired.” She sighed heavily, rubbing her eyes. “I think I’m gonna crash for a bit. Wake me up when they announce dinner or something, okay?”
“Sure.”
As I watched her walk toward her room, amazement and guilt clawed at me, fighting an equal battle within. Kenzie was still here. Why was she still here? She could’ve gone home, back to her family and friends and a normal life. Back to the real world. Instead, she’d chosen to stay in this crazy, upside-down nightmare where nothing made sense. I only hoped she would live to regret it.
“Ethan,” Kenzie said as I turned away. I looked back, and she smiled from across the hall. “If you need to talk,” she said softly, “about anything…I’m here. I’m willing to listen.”
My heart gave a weird little lurch. No one had ever told me that, not with any real knowledge of what they were getting into. Oh, Kenzie. I wish I could. I wish I could…tell you everything, but I won’t do that to you. The less you know about Them—and me—the better.
“To my whining?” I snorted, forcing a half grin. “Very generous of you, but I think I’ll be fine. Besides, this is just another way of wheedling an interview out of me, right?”
“Darn, I’ve become predictable.” Kenzie rolled her eyes and pushed her door open. “Well, if you change your mind, the offer still stands. Just knock first, okay?”
I nodded, and her door swung shut, leaving me alone in the hall.
For a moment, I thought about exploring the palace, seeing what my sister’s home looked like, maybe checking for possible escape routes. But I had the feeling Meghan was keeping a close eye on me. She was probably expecting me to try something. I caught the impassive gaze of an Iron knight, watching me from the end of the hall, heard the gremlins snickering at me from the ceiling, and resentment boiled. She had no right to keep me here, especially after she was the one who’d left. She had no say in my life.
But they were watching me, a whole realm of Iron fey, making sure I wouldn’t do anything against their queen’s wishes. I didn’t want a pack of gremlins trailing me through the palace, ready to scamper off to warn Meghan. And truthfully, I was exhausted. If I was going to pull something off, I needed to be awake and alert to do it.
Ignoring the buzz and snickers of the gremlins, I pushed my door open again. Thankfully, they didn’t follow.
The room seemed even larger from inside, the high windows and arched balcony doors filling the air with sunlight. I spared a quick glance outside, confirming that the garden was several stories down and crawling with fey, before flopping back on the bed. My rattan dropped to the carpet, and I left them there, still within easy reach. Lacing my hands behind my head, I stared blankly at the ceiling.
Wonder what Mom and Dad are doing right now? I thought, watching the lines in the plaster blur together, forming strange creatures and leering faces. They’ll probably stick an ankle bracelet on me after this. I wonder if they’ve called the police yet, or if Mom suspects that I’m here. I remembered my last words to Mom, snapped out in frustration and anger, and closed my eyes. Dammit, I have to get back to the real world. Meghan isn’t going to look hard for Todd. I’m the only one who has a chance of finding him.
But there’d be no getting out today. Beyond this room, Meghan’s Iron fey would be watching my every move. And I didn’t know any trods from the Iron Court back to the real world.
My eyes grew heavy, and the faces in the ceiling blurred and floated off the plaster. I closed my eyes, feeling relatively safe for the first time since coming to the Nevernever, and let myself drift off.
* * *
A faint tapping sound had me bolting upright.
The room was dark. Silvery light filtered in from the windows, throwing long shadows over the floor. Beyond the glass, the sky was twilight-blue, dotted with stars that sparkled like diamonds. I gazed around blearily, noting that someone had left a tray of food on the table on the opposite wall. The moonlight gleamed off the metallic plate covers.
Swinging myself off the bed, I rubbed my eyes, wondering what had woken me. Maybe it was just a lingering nightmare, or I’d just imagined I’d heard the tap of something against the window....
Looking through the glass, my skin prickled, and I snatched a rattan from the side of the bed. Something crouched on the balcony railing, silhouetted against the sky, peering through the glass with the moonlight blazing down on him. It glimmered off his silver hair and threw his shadow across the balcony and into the room. I saw the gleam of a too-bright eye, the flash of perfectly white teeth as he grinned at me.
It was the faery from the courtyard, the gentry who had been practicing with the knight this afternoon. He was dressed in loose clothing of blue and white, with a leather strap across his chest, the hilt of a sword poking up behind one shoulder. Intense, ice-blue eyes glowed in the darkness as he peered through the glass and waved.
Gripping my weapon, I walked to the balcony doors and yanked them open, letting in the breeze and the sharp scent of metal. The faery still crouched on the railing, perfectly balanced, his elbows resting on his knees and a faint smile on his face. The wind tossed his loose hair, revealing the tips of the pointed ears knifing away from his head. I raised my stick and gave him a hard smile.
“Let me guess,” I said, sliding through the door onto the balcony. “You heard about the human in the castle, so you decided to come by and have a little fun? Maybe give him nightmares or put centipedes in his pillowcase?
The faery grinned. “That wasn’t very friendly of me,” he said in a surprisingly soft, clear voice. “And here I thought I was dropping by to introduce myself.” He stood, easily balancing on the rails, still smiling. “But if you’re so sold on me putting centipedes in your bed, I’m sure I can find a few.”
“Don’t bother,” I growled at him, narrowing my eyes. “What do you want?”
“You’re Ethan Chase, right? The queen’s brother?”
“Who’s asking?”
The faery shook his head. “They said you were hostile. I see they weren’t exaggerating.” He hopped off the railing, landing soundlessly on the veranda. “My name is Keirran,” he continued in a solemn voice. “And I was hoping we could talk.”
“I have nothing to say to you.” Alarm flickered. If this faery had come by to propose a deal, I was beyond not interested. “Let me save you some time,” I continued, staring him down. “If the next sentence out of your mouth includes the words deal, bargain, contract, favor or anything of the sort, you can leave right now. I don’t make deals with your kind.”
“Not even if I’m offering a way out of the Iron Realm? Back to the mortal world?”
My heart jumped to my throat. Back to the mortal world. If I can go home…if I can get Kenzie home, and find Todd… I’d accomplished what I’d come here to do; I’d alerted Meghan to the threat of these new fey, and I doubted she was going to bring me into her inner circle anytime soon, not with her being so adamant about keeping me “safe.” I had to get home. If this faery knew a way…
Shaking my head, I took a step back. No. The fey always offered what you wanted the most, tied up in a pretty, sparkling package, and it always came at a high, high price. Too high a price. “No,” I said out loud, firmly banishing any temptation to hear him out. “Forget it. Like I said, I don’t make deals with you people. Not for anything. I have nothing to offer you, so go away.”
“You misunderstand me.” The faery smiled, holding up a hand. “I’m not here to bargain, or make a deal or a trade, or anything like that. I simply know a way out of the Iron Realm. And I’m offering to lead you there, free of charge. No obligation whatsoever.”
I didn’t trust him. Everything I knew was telling me this was some sort of trap, or riddle or faery word game. “Why would you do that?” I asked cautiously.
He shrugged, looking distinctly fey, and leaped onto the railing again. “Truthfully? Mostly because I’m bored, and this seems as good a reason to get out of here as any. Besides—” he grinned, and his eyes sparkled with mischief “—you’re looking for a half-breed, right? And you said the exiles and half-breeds are disappearing from the mortal realm.” I narrowed my eyes, and he made a placating gesture. “Gremlins talk. I listened. You want to find your friend? I know someone who might be able to help.”
“Who?”
“Sorry.” Keirran crossed his arms, still smiling. “I can’t tell you until you’ve agreed you’re coming along. You might go to the queen otherwise, and that would ruin it.” He hopped onto one of the posts, inhumanly graceful, and beamed down at me. “Not to brag, but I’m sort of an expert at getting into and out of places unseen. But if we’re going to leave, it should be soon. So, what’s your answer? Are you coming, or not?”
This still seemed like a bad idea. I didn’t trust him, and despite what he said, no faery did anything for free. Still, who knew how long it would take Meghan to figure out what was going on, how long before she would let me go? I might not get another chance.
“All right,” I muttered, glaring up at him. “I’ll trust you for now. But I’m not leaving Kenzie behind. She’s coming with us, no matter what you say.”
“I’d already planned for it.” Keirran grinned more widely and crouched down on the pole. “Go on and get her, then,” he said, looking perfectly comfortable, balanced on the top. “I’ll wait for you here.”
I drew back, grabbed my other stick from under the bed, and walked to the door, feeling his piercing eyes on me the whole way.
I half expected to find my door locked, despite Meghan’s assurances that I was a guest in the palace. But it opened easily, and I slipped into the obscenely bright hallway, lit by glowing lanterns and metallic chandeliers. The guards were still there, pretending not to notice me as I crossed the hall to Kenzie’s room.
Her door was closed, but as I lifted my knuckles to tap on it, I paused. Beyond the wood, I could hear faint noises coming from inside. Soft, sniffling, gasping noises. Worried, I reached down and quietly turned the handle. Her door was also unlocked, and it swung slowly inward.
Kenzie sat on the bed with her back to me, head bowed, her delicate shoulders heaving as she sobbed into the pillow held to her chest. Her curtains had been drawn, except for one, and a thin strand of moonlight eased through the crack and fell over her, outlining the small, shaking body.
“Kenzie.” Quickly, I shut the door and crossed the room, coming to stand beside her. “Are you all right?” I asked, feeling completely stupid and awkward. Of course she wasn’t all right; she was crying her eyes out into her pillow. I fully expected her to tell me to leave, or make some snarky comment that I totally deserved. But she wiped her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to compose herself.
“Yeah,” she whispered, hastily rubbing a palm over her cheeks. “Sorry. I’m fine. Just…feeling a little overwhelmed, I guess. I think it’s finally caught up to me.”
I noticed her keys then, glinting on the mattress, and a small photograph encased in a plastic keychain. Looking to her for permission, I picked it up, making the keys jingle softly, and examined the picture. Kenzie and a small, dark-haired girl of maybe ten smiled up at me, faces close together. Kenzie’s arm was raised slightly as if she was holding a camera up in front of them.
“My sister,” she explained as I glanced back at her. “Alex. Or Alexandria. I’m not the only one in my family with a long, complicated name.” She smiled, but I could see her trying to be brave, to not burst into tears again. “Actually, she’s my stepsister. My mom died three years ago, and a year after that Dad remarried. I…I always wanted a sibling....” Her eyes glimmered in the darkness, and her voice caught. “We were supposed to go to the lake house this weekend. But…I don’t know what’s happening to them now. I don’t know if they think I’m dead, or kidnapped or if Alex is waiting up for me to come home—” She buried her face in her pillow again, muffling her sobs, and I couldn’t watch any longer.
Putting down the keys, I sat beside her and pulled her into my arms. She leaned against me and I held her quietly as she cried herself out. Dammit, here I was again, thinking only of myself. Why had it come to this before I realized Kenzie had a family, too? That she was just as worried for them as I was for mine?
“You never said anything,” I murmured as her trembling subsided, trying not to make it sound like an accusation. “You didn’t tell me you had a sister.”
A shaky little laugh. “You didn’t seem particularly open to listening, tough guy,” she whispered back. “Besides, what could we do about it? You were already trying to get us out as fast as you could. Me whining about my home life wasn’t going to speed anything up.”
“Why didn’t you go back this afternoon?” I pulled back to look at her. “Meghan offered to take you home. You could’ve gone back to your family.”
“I know.” Kenzie sniffed, wiping her eyes. “And I wanted to. But…we came here together, and I wouldn’t have gotten this far…without you.” She dropped her head, speaking quietly, almost a whisper. “I’m fully aware that you’ve saved my life on more than one occasion. With all the weirdness and faery cats and bloodthirsty snake monsters and everything else, I would’ve been dead if I had to do this by myself. It wouldn’t be right, going back alone. And besides, I still have a lot to see here.” She looked up at me then, her eyes wide and luminous in the shadows of the room. Her cheeks were tinged with color, though she still spoke clearly. “So, either we get out of here together, or not at all. I’m not leaving without you.”
We stared at each other. Time seemed to slow around us, the moonlight freezing everything into a cold, silent portrait. Kenzie’s face still glimmered with tears, but she didn’t move. Heart pounding, I gently brushed a bright blue strand from her eyes, and she slid a cool hand up to my neck, soft fingers tracing my hairline. I shivered, unsure if I liked this strange, alien sensation twisting the pit of my stomach, but I didn’t want it to stop, either.
What are you doing, Ethan? a voice whispered in my head, but I ignored it. Kenzie was watching me with those huge, trusting brown eyes, solemn and serious now, waiting. My heart contracted painfully. I didn’t deserve that trust; I knew I should pull away, walk out, before this went too far.
A loud tap on the window made us both jump apart. Rising, I glared out the one open window, where a silver-headed face peered in curiously.
Kenzie yelped, leaping up, and I grabbed her arm. “It’s all right!” I told her, as she looked at me in shock. “I know him. He’s…here to help.”
“Help?” Kenzie repeated, glaring at the fey boy, who waved at her through the glass. “Looks more like spying to me. What does he want?”
“I’ll tell you in a second.”
I opened the balcony doors, and Keirran ducked into the room. “So,” the faery said, smiling as he came in, “Here we all are. I thought something might’ve happened to you, but if I’d known what was going on, I wouldn’t have interrupted.” His gaze slid to Kenzie, and his smile widened. “And you must be Kenzie,” he said, walking over and taking her hand. But instead of shaking it, he brought her fingers to his lips, and she blushed. I stiffened, tempted to stride over and yank him away, but he dropped her hand before I could move. “My name’s Keirran,” he said in that soft, confident voice, and I noticed Kenzie gazing up at him with a slightly dazed look on her face. “Has Ethan told you the plan yet?”
Kenzie blinked, then glanced at me, confused. “What plan?”
I stepped between them, and the faery retreated with a faintly amused look. “We’re leaving,” I told her in a low voice. “Now. We don’t have time for Meghan to decide to send us home—we have to find Todd now. Keirran says he knows a way out of the Nevernever. He’s taking us back to the mortal world.”
“Really?” Kenzie shot the fey boy a look, but it was more of curiosity than distrust. “Are you sure?”
The faery bowed. “I swear on my pointed ears,” he said, before straightening with a grin. “But, like you said, we should leave now. While most of the castle is asleep.” He gestured out the window. “The trod isn’t far. We’ll just have to get to it without anyone seeing us. Come on.”
I snatched my weapons, gave Kenzie a reassuring nod, and together we followed the faery out the balcony doors onto the veranda. The night air was cool, and the silver moon seemed enormous, hovering so close I could practically see craters and ridges lining the surface. Below us, the garden was quiet, though the moonlight still glinted off the armor of several knights stationed throughout the perimeter.
Kenzie peered over the ledge, then drew back quickly. “There are so many guards,” she whispered, looking back at Keirran. “How are we going to make it through without anyone seeing us?”
“We’re not going that way,” Keirran replied, hopping lightly onto the railing. He gazed up at the roof of the palace, at the great spires and towers lancing toward the sky. Putting two fingers to his lips, he blew out a soft whistle.
A knotted rope flew down from one of the towers, uncoiling in midair, dropping toward us with a faint hiss. Keirran glanced back at me and grinned.
“Hope you’re not afraid of heights.”
* * *
Even with a rope, it was difficult to scale the walls of the Iron Queen’s palace. This high up, most of them were sheer metal or glass, making it hard to get a foothold. Keirran, unsurprisingly, moved like a squirrel or a spider, scrambling from ledge to ledge with the obnoxious natural grace of his kind. I had a hard time keeping up, and Kenzie struggled badly, though she never made a sound of complaint. We rested when we could, perched on narrow shelves that gave a stunning view of the city at night. Mag Tuiredh sparkled below us, a glittering carpet of lights and polished edges that reflected the moon. Even I had to admit, Meghan’s kingdom was strangely beautiful under the stars.
“Come on,” Keirran said encouragingly from a ledge above us. “We’re almost there.”
Heaving myself up the last wall, I turned and reached over the edge, pulling Kenzie up behind me. Her arms trembled as she took my hand and dragged herself onward, but as she reached the top, her legs gave out and she collapsed.
I caught her as she sagged against me, backing away from the edge. She shivered in my arms, her heart beating way too fast, her skin pale and cold. Wrapping my arms around her, I turned so that my body was between her and the slicing wind, feeling her delicate frame pressed against mine. Her fingers tangled in my shirt, and I wondered if she could feel the pounding beneath her palm.
“Sorry,” Kenzie whispered, pulling away, standing on her own. She still kept a slender hand on my chest to steady herself, a tiny spot of warmth in the cold. “I guess a career in rock climbing isn’t in my future.”
“You don’t have to do this,” I told her gently, and she gave me a warning look. “You can stay here, and Meghan will send you back home—”
“Don’t make me push you off this roof, tough guy.”
Shaking my head, I followed her across a narrow rooftop flanked by a pair of towers, the wind whipping at our hair and clothes. Keirran stood a few feet away, talking to what looked like three huge copper and brass insects. Their “wings” looked like the sails on a hang glider, and their long dragonfly bodies were carried on six shiny jointed legs that gleamed in the cold light. As we stared, the creatures’ heads turned in our direction, their eyes huge and multifaceted. They buzzed softly.
“These,” Keirran said, smiling as he turned back to us, “are gliders. They’re the quickest and easiest way to get out of Mag Tuiredh without being seen. You just have to know how to avoid the air patrols, and luckily, I’m an expert.” He scratched one glider on the head as if it was a favorite dog, and the thing cooed in response.
Standing beside me, Kenzie shuddered. “We’re flying out of here on giant bugs?” she asked, eyeing the gliders as if they might swarm her any second.
“Be nice,” Keirran warned. “They get their feelings hurt easily.”
“Master!”
A different sort of buzz went through the air then, and a second later, something small, dark and fast zipped by us, leaping at Keirran with a shrill cry. Keirran winced but didn’t move, and the tiny creature landed on his chest, a spindly, bat-eared monster with eyes that flashed electric green. Kenzie jumped and pressed closer to me, whispering: “What is that?”
“That’s a gremlin,” I answered, and she stared at me. “Yeah, it’s exactly what you think it is. You know those sudden, unexplainable glitches when something just breaks, or when your computer decides to crash? Say hello to what causes it.”
“Not all of them,” Keirran said mildly, as the tiny fey scrabbled to his shoulders, buzzing madly. “Give some credit to the bugs and the worms, too.” He held up a hand. “Razor, calm down. Say hi to our new friends.”
The gremlin, now perched on Keirran’s arm, turned to stare at us with blazing green eyes and started crackling like a bad radio station.
“They can’t understand you, Razor,” Keirran said mildly. “English.”
“Oh,” said the gremlin. “Right.” It grinned widely, baring a mouthful of sharp teeth that glowed neon-blue. “Hiiiiiiii.”
“He knows French and Gaelic, too,” Keirran said, as Razor cackled and bounced on his shoulder. “It’s surprisingly simple to teach a gremlin. People just underestimate what they’re capable of.”
Before we could say anything about this bizarre situation, Keirran plucked the gremlin off his shoulder and tossed it on the glider, where it scrambled to the front and peered out eagerly. “Shall we get going?” he asked, and the glider’s wings fluttered in response. “Gliders are easy to control,” he continued with absolute confidence, while I gave him a look that implied the exact opposite. “Steer them by pulling on their front legs and shifting your weight from side to side. They’ll basically do the rest. Just watch me and do what I do.”
He stepped to the edge of the roof and spread his arms. Instantly, the glider picked its way across the roof and crawled up his back, curling its legs around his chest and stomach. He glanced back at us and winked.
“Your turn.”
A cry of alarm echoed from somewhere below, making me jump. I peered down and saw a packrat on the balcony of Kenzie’s room, looking around wildly.
“Uh-oh,” Keirran muttered, sounding remarkably calm. “You’ve been discovered. If we’re going to do this, we need to do it now, before Glitch and the entire air squad is up here looking for us. Hurry!”
Without waiting for an answer, he dove off the building. Kenzie gasped, watching him plunge toward the ground, a streak of silver and gold. Then the glider’s wings caught the breeze, and it swooped into the air again, circling the tower. I heard the gremlin’s howl of glee, and Keirran waved to us as he soared by.
I glanced at Kenzie. “Can you do this? It’s probably just going to get more dangerous from here on out.”
Her eyes flashed, and she shook her head. “I already told you,” she said, her voice firm. “We go home together, or not at all. What, you think I’m scared of a couple giant bugs?”
I shrugged. She did look pale and a bit creeped out, but I wasn’t going to comment on it. Kenzie frowned and stalked forward, her lips pressed into that tight line again. I watched her walk to the edge of the roof, hesitate just a moment, and spread her arms as Keirran had done. She shook a little as the glider crawled up her back, but she didn’t shy away, which was remarkable considering she had a monstrous insect perching on her shoulders. Peering off the roof, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes.
“Just like Splash Mountain at Disneyland,” I heard her whisper. Then she launched herself into empty space. She plummeted rapidly, and a shriek tore free, nearly ripped away by the wind, but then the current caught her glider and she rose into the air after Keirran.
My turn. I stepped forward, toward the last glider, but a shout from below made me pause.
“Prince Ethan!” Glitch’s head appeared as the First Lieutenant hauled himself up the rope and onto the roof. His hair sparked green and purple lightning as he held out his hand. “Your highness, no!” he cried, as I quickly raised my arms. The glider inched over and crawled up my back, achingly slow. “You can’t leave. The queen ordered you to stay. Did Keirran talk you into this? Where is he?”
Glitch knows Keirran, does he? “I’m not staying, Glitch,” I called, backing up as the First Lieutenant eased forward. The glider gave an annoyed buzz, hastily wrapping its legs around my middle as I overbalanced it. “Tell Meghan I’m sorry, but I have to go. I can’t stay here any longer.”
“Ethan!”
I turned and threw myself off the roof, clutching the glider’s legs as it plunged toward the ground. For a second, I thought we would smash headfirst into the garden below, but then the glider swooped upward, climbing in a lazy arc, the wind whipping at my face.
Keirran dropped beside me, wearing his careless grin, as Glitch’s shouts faded away behind us. “Not bad, for your first time,” he said, nodding as Kenzie swooped down to join us. Razor cackled and bounced on his shoulder, huge ears flapping in the wind. “We need to hurry, though,” the faery said, glancing behind us. “Glitch will go straight to the queen, and she is not going to be happy. With either of us. And if Ash decides to pursue…” For the first time, a worried look crossed his face. He shook it off. “The trod isn’t far, but we’ll have to cross into the wyldwood to get to it. Follow me.”
The gliders were surprisingly fast, and from this height, the Iron Realm stretched out before us, beautiful and bizarre. Far below, the railroad cut through the grassy plateau, snaking between huge iron monoliths that speared up toward the sky and around bubbling pools of lava, churning red and gold in the darkness. We passed mountains of junk, metal parts glinting under the stars, and flew over a swamp where strands of lightning flickered and crawled over oily pools of water, mesmerizing and deadly.
Finally, we soared over a familiar canopy, where the trees grew so close together they looked like a lumpy carpet. Keirran’s glider dropped down so that it was nearly brushing the tops of the branches.
“This way,” I heard him call, and he dropped from sight, vanishing into the leaves. Hoping Kenzie and I wouldn’t fly headfirst into the branches, I followed, passing through the canopy into an open clearing. Darkness closed on us instantly as the light of the moon and stars disappeared and the gloom of the wyldwood rose up to replace it.
I could just make out the bright gleam of Keirran’s hair through the shadows, and spiraled down, dodging branches, until my feet lightly touched the forest floor. As soon as I landed, the glider uncurled its legs and pulled itself up to an overhanging limb, clinging there like a huge dragonfly.
“Well,” Keirran said, as Kenzie landed and her glider did the same, hanging next to mine. “Here we are.”
An ancient ruin rose up before us, so covered in vines, moss and fungi it was nearly impossible to see the stones beneath. Huge gnarled trees grew from the walls and collapsed ceiling, thick roots snaking around the stones.
“The trod to the mortal realm is inside,” Keirran explained, as Kenzie pressed close to me, staring at the ruins in amazement. I was tempted to reach down and take her hand, but I was glad I hadn’t when Keirran abruptly drew his sword with a soft rasping sound. I glared at him and drew my weapons as well, putting myself between her and the faery. He glanced over his shoulder with a faintly apologetic look.
“Forgot to tell you,” he said, gesturing to the ruin, “this place is normally unoccupied, but it is right in the middle of goblin territory. So, we might run into a few locals who won’t be happy to see us. Nothing you can’t handle, right?”
“You couldn’t have told us earlier?” I growled as we started toward the ruins. Keirran shrugged, his curved steel blade cutting a bright path through the darkness. Razor chattered on his shoulder, only his eyes and neon grin visible in the gloom.
“It’s just a few goblins. Nothing to—whoops.”
He ducked, and a spear flew overhead, striking a nearby tree. Kenzie yelped, and Razor blipped out of sight like an image on a television screen as a chorus of raucous voices erupted from the ruins ahead. Glowing eyes appeared in the stones and among the roots. Pointed teeth, claws and spear tips flashed in the shadows, as about a dozen short, evil fey poured from the ruins and shook their weapons at us.
“A few goblins, huh?” I glared at Keirran and backed away. He grinned weakly and shrugged.
The goblins started forward, cackling and jabbing the air with their spears. I quickly turned to Kenzie and pressed one of my sticks into her hands.
“Take this,” I told her. “I’ll try to keep them off us, but if any gets too close, smack it as hard as you can. Aim for the eyes, the nose, whatever you can reach. Just don’t let them hurt you, okay?”
She nodded, her face pale but determined. “Tennis lessons, don’t fail me now.” I started to turn, but she caught my wrist, holding it tightly as she gazed up at me. “You be careful, too, Ethan. We’re going home together, okay? Just remember that.”
I squeezed her hand and turned back to the approaching horde. Keirran was waiting for them calmly, sword in hand.
I joined him, and he gave me a curious look from the corner of his eye. “Interesting,” he mused, smiling even as the horde prepared to attack. “I’ve never seen anyone fight goblins with half a broom handle.”
I resisted the impulse to crack him in the head. “Just worry about yourself,” I told him, twirling my weapon in a slow arc. “And I’ll do the same.”
A bigger, uglier goblin suddenly leaped onto a rock and leered at us. “Humans,” he rasped with a flash of yellow teeth. “I thought I smelled something strange. You sure picked the wrong spot to stumble into. Trying to get home, are we?” He snickered, running a tongue along his jagged fangs. “We’ll save you the trouble.”
“We don’t have to do this,” Keirran said mildly, seemingly unconcerned about the approaching horde. “Surely there are other travelers you can accost.”
The goblins edged closer, and I eased into a ready stance, feeling an almost savage glee as they surrounded us. No rules now; no teachers, principals or instructors to stop me. I felt the old anger rise up, the hatred for all of Faery bubbling to the surface, and grinned viciously. There was nothing to hold me back now; I didn’t have to worry about hurting anyone. I could take my anger out on the goblins’ ugly, warty skulls, and there would be no consequences.
“And miss out on three tasty humans, wandering through my territory?” The goblin chief snorted, shaking his head. “I don’t think so. We eat well tonight, boys! Dibs on the liver!”
Cheering, the goblins surged forward.
One charged me with its spear raised, and I swung my rattan, felt my weapon connect beneath the goblin’s jaw. It flew back with a shriek, and I instantly slashed down again, cracking another’s lumpy green skull. A third goblin scuttled in from the other side, stabbing its spear up toward my face. I dodged, snaked my free arm around the spear, and yanked it out of the faery’s grasp. It had a split second to gape in surprise before I bashed the side of its head with its own weapon and hurled it away.
Beside me, Keirran was moving, too, spinning and twirling like a dancer, his sword flashing in deadly circles. Though I couldn’t see exactly what he was doing, he was inhumanly fast. Goblin body parts flew through the air, horrific and disgusting, before turning into mud, snails or other unpleasant things.
Three more goblins came at me, one of them the big goblin who’d spoken before, the chief. I shuffled away, blocking their attacks, whipping my rattan from one spear to the next. The frantic clacking of wood echoed in my ears as I waited for an opening, a chance to strike. The goblin’s size was actually a handicap for me; they were so short, it was hard to hit them. A spear tip got through my defenses and tore through my sleeve, making me grit my teeth as I twisted away. Too close.
Suddenly, Kenzie was behind them, bringing her stick smashing down on a goblin’s head. It met with a satisfying crack, and the goblin dropped like a stone. Kenzie gave a triumphant yell, but then the chief whirled with a snarl of rage, swinging his spear at her legs. It struck her knee, and she crumpled to the dirt with a gasp.
The chief lunged forward, raising his spear, but before either of us could do anything, a tiny black form landed on his head from nowhere. Razor buzzed like a furious wasp, hissing and snarling as the goblin flailed.
“Bad goblin!” the gremlin howled, clinging like a leech. “Not hurt pretty girl! Bad!” He sank his teeth into the goblin’s ear, and the chief roared. Reaching up, the goblin managed to grab the tiny Iron fey, tear him off, and hurl him into the brush.
With a snarl, I kicked a goblin into a stone wall, snatched Kenzie’s rattan from the ground, and attacked the chief. I didn’t see the other fey. I didn’t see Keirran. I forgot everything Guro taught me about fighting multiple opponents. All I knew was that this thing had hurt Kenzie, had tried to kill her, and it was going to pay.
The goblin scuttled backward under my assault, frantically waving his spear, but I knocked it from his claws and landed a solid blow between his ears. As he staggered back, dazed, I pressed my advantage, feeling the crack of flesh and bone under my sticks. My rattan hissed through the air, striking arms, teeth, face, neck. The goblin fell, cringing, in the dirt, and I raised my weapons to finish it off.
“Ethan!”
Keirran’s voice brought me up short. Panting, I stopped beating on the goblin and looked up to see that the rest of the tribe had run off with the fall of their chief. Keirran had already sheathed his weapon and was watching me with a half amused, half concerned expression. Kenzie still sat where she had fallen, clutching her leg.
“It’s over,” Keirran said, nodding to the empty forest around us. “They’re gone.”
I glanced at my sticks, and saw that my weapons, as well as my hands, were spattered with black goblin blood. With a shiver, I looked back at the chief, saw him curled around himself in the dirt, moaning through bloody lips, his teeth shattered and broken. My gut heaved, and I staggered away.
What am I doing?
The chief groaned and crawled away, and I let him go, watching the faery haul itself into the bushes. Through the horror and disgust of what I’d just done, I still felt a nasty glow of vindication. Maybe next time, they would think twice about assaulting three “tasty” humans.
Keirran watched it go as well, then walked over to Kenzie, holding out a hand. “Are you all right?” he asked, drawing her to her feet, holding her steady. I clenched my fists, wanting to stalk over there and shove him away from her. Kenzie grimaced, her face tightening with pain, but she nodded.
“Yeah.” Her cheeks were pale as she gingerly put weight on her injured leg, wincing. “I don’t think anything’s broken. Though my knee might swell up like a watermelon.”
“You’re very lucky,” Keirran went on, and all traces of amusement had fled his voice. “Goblins poison the tips of their weapons. If you’d gotten cut at all…well, let’s just say a watermelon knee is better than the alternative.”
Anger and fear still buzzed through me, making me stupid, wanting to hit something, though there was nothing left to fight. I turned my rage on Keirran, instead.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” I snarled, stalking forward, wanting him farther away from Kenzie. He flinched, and I swung my rattan around the clearing, at the disintegrating piles of goblin. “You knew there were goblins here, you knew we would have to fight our way out, and you still brought us this way. You could’ve gotten us killed! You could’ve gotten Kenzie killed! Or was that your plan all along? Bring the stupid humans along as bait, so the goblins will be distracted? I should’ve known never to trust a faery.”
“Ethan!” Kenzie scowled at me, but Keirran held up a hand.
“No, he’s right,” he murmured, and a flicker of surprise filtered through my anger. “I shouldn’t have brought you this way. I thought I could deal with the goblins. If you had been seriously hurt, it would’ve been on my head. You have every reason to be angry.” Turning to Kenzie, he bowed deeply, his gaze on the ground between them. “Forgive me, Mackenzie,” he said in that clear, quiet voice. “I allowed pride to cloud my judgment, and you were injured because of it. I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”
He sounded sincere, and I frowned as Kenzie quickly assured him it was all right. What kind of faery was he, anyway? The fey had no conscience, no real feelings of regret, no morals to get in the way of their decisions. Either Keirran was an exception or a very good actor.
Which reminded me…
“The chief said he smelled three humans,” I told Keirran, who gave me a resigned look. “He didn’t think you were fey. He thought you were human, too.”
“Yeah.” Keirran shrugged, offering a small grin. “I get that a lot.”
Razor appeared on his shoulder with a buzzing laugh. “Stupid goblins,” he crowed, bouncing up and down, making Keirran sigh. “Funny, stupid goblins think master is funny elf. Ha!” He buzzed once more and sat down, grinning like a psychotic piranha.
“You’re a half-breed,” I guessed, wondering how I hadn’t seen it earlier. He didn’t look like any of the other Iron fey, but he couldn’t be part of the Summer or Winter courts, either; normal fey couldn’t enter the Iron Realm without harming themselves. (I was still trying to figure out how Grimalkin did it, but everything about that cat was a mystery.) But if Keirran was a half-breed, he didn’t have the fey’s deathly allergy to iron; his human blood would protect him from the ill effects of Meghan’s court.
“I guess you could say that.” Keirran sighed again and looked toward the trees, where most of the goblins had scattered. “More like three-quarters human, really. Can’t blame them for thinking I was the real thing.”
I stared at him. “Who are you?” I asked, but then the bushes snapped, and Keirran winced.
“I’ll tell you later. Come on, let’s get out of here. The goblins are coming back, probably with reinforcements.”
I started to reach for Kenzie, but then I saw my hands, streaked with blood past my wrists, and let them drop. Keirran took her arm instead, helping her along, and she gave me an unreadable look as she limped past. I followed them up the stairs and ducked through the crumbling archway as furious cries echoed from the trees around us. The angry sounds faded as soon as I crossed the threshold, and everything went black.