Passing Down the Swords
“Todd!” I called, rushing forward.
The dark figure jerked its head toward me, eyes going wide. I leaped up the steps, taking them two at a time, the others close behind. “Hey!” I barked, as the shadowy figure scrambled over the edge of the wall, landing on the deck with a grunt. “Todd, wait!”
I put on a burst of speed, but the figure raced across the courtyard, leaped over the edge and plummeted into the pond at the bottom with a splash.
“Annwyl,” Keirran said as we reached the spot the half-breed went over. He was swimming for the edge of the pond, drawing rapidly away. “Can you stop him?”
The Summer girl nodded. Waiting until the half-breed reached the shore, she immediately flung out a hand, and coils of vegetation erupted from the ground, snaking around him. There was a yelp of fear and dismay and the sound of wild thrashing as Annwyl continued to wrap him in vines.
“Got him,” Keirran muttered, and leaped onto the wall. He crouched there for a split second, balanced gracefully on the edge, then dropped the long way down to the ground, landing on a sliver of solid ground below us as lightly as a cat. Sheathing his sword, he started across the pond.
I scowled at the back of his head, as I, being a mere mortal, had to retrace my steps back down the stairs and around the pond. Kenzie followed. By the time we reached the place the half-breed was trapped, Keirran stood a few feet from the writhing lump of vegetation, hands outstretched as he tried to quiet him.
“Easy, there.” Keirran’s quiet, soothing voice drifted over the rocks. “Calm down. I’m not going to hurt you.”
The half-breed responded by howling and swiping at him with a claw-tipped hand. Keirran dodged easily. I saw his eyes half close in concentration and felt a slow pulse of magic extend out from where he stood, turning the air thick, making me feel sluggish and sleepy. The half-breed’s wild struggles slowed, then stilled, until a loud snore came from the vegetation lump.
Keirran looked up almost guiltily as I joined him, staring at the tangle of vines, weeds, flowers and half-breed. “He was going to hurt himself,” he murmured, stepping back as I knelt beside the unconscious form. “I figured this was the easiest way to calm him down.”
“No complaints here,” I muttered, using my uninjured hand to peel back the tangle of vines. A face emerged within the vegetation, an older, bearded face, with short tusks curling up from his jaw.
I slumped. “It’s not Todd,” I said, standing back up. Disappointment flickered, which surprised me. What had I been expecting? Todd’s last known location was Louisiana. There was no reason he would show up in New York.
Kenzie leaned over my shoulder. “Not Todd,” she agreed, blinking at the thick, bearded face, the blunt yellow teeth poking from his jaw. “What is he, then?”
“Half-troll,” Keirran supplied. “Homeless, by the looks of it. He probably made part of Central Park his territory.”
I stared at the half-troll, annoyed that he wasn’t Todd, and frowned. “So, what do we do with him?”
“Hold on,” Kenzie said, stepping around me. Kneeling down, she pushed aside weeds and vines, grunting in concentration, until she emerged with a small square item in her hand.
“Wallet,” she said, waving it at us, before flipping it open and squinting at it. “Shoot, it’s too dark to see anything. Anyone have a minilight?”
Keirran gestured. A small globe of heatless fire appeared overhead, making her jump. “Oh, well, that’s handy,” she said with a wry grin. “I bet you’re fun on camping trips.”
The prince smiled faintly. “I can also open cans and make your drinks cold.”
“What does the license say?” I asked, trying not to sound impatient. “Who is this guy?”
Kenzie peered at the card. “Thomas Bend,” she read, holding the driver’s license underneath the pulsing faery light. “He’s from…Ohio.”
We all stared at him. “Then what the heck is he doing here?” I muttered.
* * *
“Oh, you’re back, darlings,” Leanansidhe said, sounding faintly resigned. “And what, may I ask, is that?”
“We found him in the park,” I said, as Thomas the half-troll stumbled in behind us, shedding mud and leaves and gaping at his surroundings. After he’d woken up, he’d seemed to calm down, remaining passive and quiet when we spoke to him. He’d followed us here without complaint. “He’s not from New York. We thought he might be one of yours.”
“Not mine, darlings.” Leanansidhe wrinkled her nose as the troll blinked at her, orange eyes huge and round. “And why did you feel the need to bring the creature here, pets? You could have asked him yourself and spared my poor carpets.”
“Lady,” whispered the half-troll, cringing back from the Exile Queen. “Lady. Big Dark. Lady.”
“That’s all he’ll say,” Kenzie said, looking worriedly back at the troll. “We tried talking to him. He doesn’t remember anything. I don’t even think he knows who he is.”
“He was being chased through Central Park by our ghostly friends,” Keirran added, sounding grim and protective. He hadn’t let Annwyl out of his sight the entire way back to Leanansidhe’s, and now stood between her and Leanansidhe, watching both the Exile Queen and the half-troll. Razor peeked down from the back of his neck, muttering nonsense. “We fought them off with Goodfellow’s help, but we didn’t see anyone else there.”
“Goodfellow?” The Exile Queen pulled a face. “Ah, so that’s what Grimalkin was talking about, devious creature. Where is our darling Puck now?”
“He went back to the Seelie Court to warn Oberon.”
“Well, that is something, at least.” Leanansidhe regarded the half-breed with cool disinterest. “And what of the park locals, darlings?” she asked without looking up. “Did they mention anything about ladies and dark places?”
“There weren’t any others,” I told her, and she did look at me then, raising her eyebrows in surprise. “He’s the only one we could find.”
“The park is a dead zone,” Annwyl said. I could see she was shivering. “They’re all gone. No one is left. Just those horrible glamour-eaters. I think…I think they killed them all.”
Glamour-eaters. The term was catching on, though that was a good name for them. They couldn’t hurt me or Kenzie that way, because we had no magic. And Keirran was the son of the Iron Queen; his glamour was poison to them. But everyone else, including Annwyl, the exiles and the rest of Summer and Winter, were at risk.
I suddenly wondered what they could do to half-breeds. Maybe they couldn’t make them disappear like the regular fey; maybe a half-breed’s human side prevented them from ceasing to exist. But what would draining their magic do to them? I looked at Thomas, standing forlornly in the center of the room, eyes empty of reason, and felt my skin crawl.
Leanansidhe must’ve been thinking the same thing. “This,” she said, her voice cold and scary, “is unacceptable. Darlings…” She turned to us. “You need to go back, pets. Right now. Go back to the park and find what is doing this. I will not stand by while my exiles and half-breeds are killed right out in the open.”
“Go back?” I frowned at her. “Why? There’s nothing there. The park is completely dead of fey.”
“Ethan darling.” The Exile Queen regarded me with scary blue eyes. “You are not thinking, dove. The half-breed you found—” she glanced at Thomas, now sitting in a dazed lump on the carpet “—is not from New York. He was obviously taken and brought to Central Park. The park is empty, but so many half-breeds cannot simply vanish into thin air. And the normal fey are gone. Where did they all go, pet? They certainly didn’t come to me, and as far as I know, no one has seen them in the mortal world.”
I didn’t know what she was getting at, but Kenzie spoke up, as if she’d just figured it out. “Something is there,” she guessed. “Something is in the park.”
Leanansidhe smiled at her. “I knew I liked you for a reason, darling.”
“The glamour-eaters might have a lair in Central Park,” Keirran added, nodding grimly. “That’s why there are no fey there anymore. But where could they be? You’d think such a large population of exiles and half-breeds would notice a group of strange faeries wandering around.”
“I don’t know, darlings,” Leanansidhe said, pulling her cigarette flute out of thin air. “But I think this is something you should find out. Sooner, rather than later.”
“Why don’t you come with us?” Keirran asked. “You haven’t been banished from the mortal realm, Leanansidhe. You could see what’s going on yourself.”
Leanansidhe looked at him as if he’d just said the sky was green. “Me, darling? I would, but I’m afraid the Goblin Market rabble would make quite the mess while I’m gone. Sadly, I cannot go traipsing across the country whenever I please, pet—I have obligations here that make that impossible.” She glanced at me and wrinkled her nose. “Ethan, darling, you’re dripping blood all over my clean carpets. Someone should take care of that.”
She snapped her fingers, and a pair of gnomes padded up, beckoning to me. I tensed, reminded of the piranha-palmed creatures, but I also knew many gnomes were healers among the fey. I let myself be taken to another room and, while the gnomes fussed over my arm, considered our next course of action.
Return to the park, Leanansidhe had said. Return to the place where a bunch of creepy, transparent, glamour-sucking faeries waited for us, maybe a whole nest of them. Kenzie was right; something was there, lurking in that park, unseen and unknown to fey and human alike. The lady, Thomas had mumbled. The lady and the big dark. What the heck did he mean by that?
The door creaked open, and Kenzie came into the room, dodging the gnome who padded out with a bloody rag. “Leanansidhe is keeping Thomas here for now,” she said, perching on the stool beside mine. “She wants to see if he’ll regain any of his memory, see if he can remember what happened to him. How’s your arm?”
I held it up, drawing an annoyed reprimand from the gnome. They’d put some sort of smelly salve over the wound and wrapped it tightly with bandages so it no longer hurt; it was just numb. “I’ll live.”
“Yes, you will,” muttered the gnome with a warning glower at me. “Though you’re lucky it didn’t get your hand—you might’ve lost a few fingers. Don’t pick at the bandages, Mr. Chase.” Gathering the supplies, it gave me a last glare and padded off with its partner, letting the door swing shut behind them.
Kenzie reached over and gently wrapped her hand around mine. I stared at our entwined fingers, dark thoughts bouncing around in my head. This was getting dangerous. No, forget that, this was already dangerous, more than ever. People were dying, vanishing from existence. A deadly new breed of fey was on the rise, killing their victims by draining their glamour, their very essence. Half-breeds were disappearing, right off the streets, from their homes and schools. And there was something else. Something dark and sinister, hidden somewhere in that park, waiting.
The big dark. The lady.
I felt lost, overwhelmed. As if I was a tiny speck of driftwood, bobbing in a huge ocean, waiting for something to swallow me whole. I wasn’t ready for this. I didn’t want to get pulled into this faery madness. What did they want from me? I wasn’t my sister, half-fey and powerful, with the infamous Robin Goodfellow and the son of Mab at my side. I was only human, one human against a whole race of savage, dangerous faeries. And, as usual, I was going to put even more people in harm’s way.
Kenzie ran her fingers over my skin, sending tingles up my arm. “I don’t suppose there’s any way I could convince you to stay behind,” I murmured, already knowing the answer.
“Nope,” said Kenzie with forced cheerfulness. I looked up, and she gave me a fierce smile. “Don’t even think about it, Ethan. You’ll need someone to watch your back. Make sure you don’t get chomped by any more nasty faeries with sharp teeth. I didn’t gain the Sight just to sit back and do nothing.”
I sighed. “I know. But I don’t have anything to protect you with anymore. Or me, for that matter.” Gingerly, I clenched my fist, wincing at the needles of pain that shot up my arm. “If we’re going to go look for this nest, I don’t want a stick. It’s not enough. I want my knife or something sharp between me and those faeries. I can’t hold back with them any longer.”
Cold dread suddenly gripped me. This wasn’t a perverse game; me playing keep-away with a redcap motley in the library, or trying to avoid getting beaten up by Kingston’s thugs. These fey, whatever they were, were savage and twisted killers. There would be no reasoning with them, no pleas for favors or bargains. It was kill or be torn to shreds myself.
I think I shivered, for Kenzie inched closer and leaned into me, resting her head on my shoulder. “We need a plan,” she said calmly. “A strategy of some sort. I don’t like the idea of rushing back with no clue of where to go. If we knew where this lair was…” She paused, as I closed my eyes and soaked in her warmth. “I wish I had a computer,” she said. “Then I could at least research Central Park, try to figure out what this ‘big dark’ is. I don’t suppose Leanansidhe has any laptops lying around?”
“Not a chance,” I muttered. “And my phone is dead. I checked back in the real world.”
“Me, too.” She sighed and tapped her finger against my knee in thought. “Could we…maybe…go home?” she asked in a hesitant voice. “Not to stay,” she added quickly. “I could check some things online, and you could grab your weapons or whatever it is you’ll need. Our folks wouldn’t have to know.” She snorted, and a bitter edge crept into her voice. “My dad might not even realize I’ve been gone.”
I thought about it. “I don’t know,” I admitted at last. “I don’t like the idea of going home and having those things follow me. Or waiting for me. And I don’t want to drag your family into it, either.”
“We’re going to have to do something, Ethan.” Kenzie’s voice was soft, and her fingers very gently brushed the bandage on my wrist. “We’re in way over our heads—we need all the help we can get.”
“Yeah.” Frustration rose up, and I resisted the urge to lash out, to snarl at something. Right now, the only someone around was Kenzie, and I wasn’t going to take out my fear and anger on her. I wished there was someone I could go to, some grown-up who would understand. I’d never wanted to be the one everyone looked to for direction. Keirran wasn’t here; this was my call. How had it all come to rest on me?
Wait. Maybe there was someone I could ask. I remembered his face in the locker room, the way he’d looked around as if he knew something was there. I remembered his words. If you need help, Ethan, all you have to do is ask. If you’re in trouble, you can come to me. For anything, no matter how small or crazy it might seem. Remember that.
Guro. Guro might be the only one who would understand. He believed in the invisible things, the creatures you couldn’t see with the naked eye. That’s what he’d been trying to tell me in the locker room. His grandfather was a Mang-Huhula, a spiritual leader. Spirits to faeries wasn’t that big of a leap, right?
Of course, I might be reading too much into it. He might think that I’d finally gone off the deep end and call the people in the white coats.
“What are you brooding over?” Kenzie murmured, her breath soft on my cheek.
I squeezed her hand and stood, pulling her up with me. “I think,” I began, hoping the others would be okay with a detour, “that I’m going to have to ask Leanansidhe for one last favor.”
* * *
She wasn’t entirely happy with the idea of us running off to Louisiana again. “How will I know you won’t just decide to go home, darlings?” the Dark Muse said, giving me a piercing stare. “You might see your old neighborhood, get homesick, return to your families, and leave me high and dry. That wouldn’t work out for me, pets.”
“I’m not running away,” I said, crossing my arms. “I’m not going to lead those things right to my home. Besides, they might already be hanging around my neighborhood, looking for me. I’m coming back. I swear, I’m not backing out until this is finished, one way or another.”
Leanansidhe raised a slender eyebrow, and I realized I’d just invoked one of the sacred vows of Faery. Damn. Well, I was in it for the long haul, now. Not that I couldn’t have broken my promise if I wanted to; I was human and not bound by their complex word games, but making an oath like that, in front of a faery queen no less, meant I’d better carry it out or unpleasant things might happen. The fey took such vows seriously.
“Very well, darling.” Leanansidhe sighed. “I still do not see the point of this ridiculous side quest, but do what you must. Since Grimalkin is no longer around, I will have to find someone else to take you home. When did you want to leave?”
“As soon as Keirran joins us.”
“I’m here,” came a quiet voice from the hallway, and the Iron prince came into the room. He looked tired, more solemn than usual, with shadows crouched under his eyes that hadn’t been there before. Annwyl was not with him.
“Where are we going?” he asked, looking from me to Kenzie and back again. “Back to the park already?”
“Not yet.” I held up my single rattan stick. “If we’re going to be walking into this lady’s lair or nest or whatever, I’m going to need a better weapon. I think I can convince my kali master to lend me one of his. He has a whole collection of knives and short swords.”
And I want to talk to Guro one more time, let him know what’s going on, that I didn’t just drop out. I owe him that much, at least. And maybe he can tell my folks I’m all right. For now, anyway.
Keirran nodded. “Fair enough,” he said.
“Where’s Annwyl?” asked Kenzie. “Is she okay?”
“She’s fine. The fight—the glamour-eaters—it took more out of her than we first realized. She’s sleeping right now. Razor is with her—he’ll come to me when she wakes up.”
“Do you want to wait for her?” Kenzie asked. “We don’t mind, if you wanted to let her sleep a bit.”
“No.” Keirran shook his head. “I’m ready. Let’s go.”
I watched him, the way he looked back nervously, as if he was afraid Annwyl could come through the door at any moment. “She doesn’t know we’re leaving,” I guessed, narrowing my eyes. “You’re taking off without her.”
Keirran raked a guilty hand through his bangs. “You saw what they did to her,” he said grimly. “Out of all of us, she’s the one in the most danger. I can’t take that risk again. She’ll be safer here.”
Kenzie shook her head. “So you’re just leaving her behind? She’s going to be pissed.” Putting her hands on her hips, she glared at him, and he wouldn’t meet her eyes. “I know I’d kick your ass if you pulled that stunt with me. Honestly, why do boys always think they know what’s best for us? Why can’t they just talk?”
“I’ve often wondered the same, darling,” Leanansidhe sighed. “It’s one of the mysteries of the universe, trust me. But I need an answer, pets, so I know whether or not to call a guide. Are you three going to wait for the Summer girl, or are you going on without her?”
I looked at Keirran, questioning. He hesitated, looking back toward the door, eyes haunted. I saw the indecision on his face, before he shook his head and turned away. “No,” he said, ignoring Kenzie’s annoyed huff. “I want her to be safe. I’d rather have her angry at me than lose her to those monsters. Let’s go.”
* * *
It took most of the night. Leanansidhe’s piskie guide knew of only one trod to my hometown; Guro’s house was still clear across town where we came out, and we had to call a taxi to take us the rest of the way. During the half-hour cab ride, Kenzie dozed off against my shoulder, drawing a knowing smile from both Keirran and the driver. I didn’t mind the journey, though I did find myself thinking that I wished Grimalkin was here—he would have found us a quicker, easier way to Guro’s house—before I caught myself.
Whoa, when did you start relying on the fey, Ethan? That can’t happen, not now, not ever.
Careful not to disturb Kenzie, I crossed my arms and stared out the window, watching the streetlamps flash by. And I tried to convince myself that I still wanted nothing to do with Faery. As soon as this business with the glamour-eaters was done, so was I.
Somehow, I knew it wasn’t going to be that simple.
The taxi finally pulled up to Guro’s house in the early hours of the morning. I paid the driver with the last of my cash, then gazed up the driveway to the neat brick house sitting up top.
Hope Guro is an early riser.
I knocked on the front door, and immediately a dog started barking from within, making me wince. Several seconds later, the door opened, and Guro’s face stared at me through the screen. A big yellow lab peered out from behind his legs, wagging its tail.
“Ethan?”
“Hey, Guro.” I gave an embarrassed smile. “Sorry it’s so early. Hope I didn’t wake you up.”
Before I could even ask to come in, the screen door swung open and Guro beckoned us inside. “Come in,” he said in a firm voice that set my heart racing. “Quickly, before anyone sees you.”
We crowded through the door. The interior of his home looked pretty normal, though I don’t know what I was expecting. Mats on the floor and knives on the walls, maybe? We followed him through the kitchen into the living room, where an older, scruffy-looking dog gave us a bored look from the sofa and didn’t bother to get up.
“Sit, please.” Guro turned to me, gesturing to the couch, and we all carefully perched on the edge. Kenzie sat next to the old dog and immediately started scratching his neck. Guro watched her a moment, then his dark gaze shifted back to me.
“Have you been home yet?”
“I…” Startled by his question, I shook my head. “No, Guro. How did you—”
“The news, Ethan. You’ve been on the news.”
I jerked. Kenzie looked up at him with a small gasp.
Guro nodded grimly. “You, the girl and another boy,” he went on, as a sick feeling settled in my stomach. “All vanished within a day of each other. The police have been searching for days. I don’t know you—” he nodded at Keirran “—but I can only assume you’re a part in this, whatever it is.”
Keirran bowed his head respectfully. “I’m just a friend,” he said. “I’m only here to help Ethan and Kenzie. Pay no attention to me.”
Guro looked at him strangely. His eyes darkened, and for a second, I almost thought he could see through the glamour, through the Veil and Keirran’s human disguise, to the faery beneath.
“Who was that at the door, dear?” A woman came into the room, dark-haired and dark-eyed, blinking at us in shock. A little girl of maybe six stared at us from her arms. “These…” She gasped, one hand going to her mouth. “Aren’t these the children that were on TV? Shouldn’t we call the police?”
I gave Guro a pleading, desperate look, and he sighed.
“Maria.” He smiled and walked over to his wife. “I’m sorry. Would you be able to entertain our guests for a moment? I need to speak to my student alone.” She looked at him sharply, and he took her hand. “I’ll explain everything later.”
The woman glanced from Guro to us and back again, before she nodded stiffly. “Of course,” she said in a rigidly cheerful voice, as if she was trying to accept the whole bizarre situation. I felt bad for her; it wasn’t every day three strange kids landed on your doorstep, two of whom were wanted by the police. But she smiled and held out a hand. “We can sit in the kitchen until your friend is done here.”
Kenzie and Keirran looked at me. I nodded, and they rose, following the woman into the hall. I heard her asking if they wanted something to eat, if they’d had breakfast yet. Both dogs hopped up and trailed Kenzie as she left the room, and I was alone with my master.
Guro approached and sat on the chair across from me. He didn’t ask questions. He didn’t demand to know where I’d been, what I was doing. He just waited.
I took a deep breath. “I’m in trouble, Guro.”
“That I figured,” Guro said in a quiet, non-accusing voice. “What’s happened? Start from the beginning.”
“I’m…not even sure I can explain it.” I ran my hands through my hair, trying to gather my thoughts. Why had I come here? Did I think Guro would believe me if I started talking about invisible faeries? “Do you remember what you said in the locker room that night? About not trusting what your eyes tell you?” I paused to see his reaction, but I didn’t get much; he just nodded for me to go on. “Well…something was after me. Something that no one else can see. Invisible things.”
“What type of invisible things?”
I hesitated, reluctant to use the word faery, knowing how crazy I already sounded. “Some people call them the Fair Folk. The Gentry. The Good Neighbors.” No reaction from Guro, and I felt my heart sink. “I know it sounds insane, but I’ve always been able to see them, since I was a little kid. And They know I can see them, too. They’ve been after me all this time, and I don’t think I can run from them any longer.”
Guro was silent a moment. Then he said, very softly: “Does this have anything to do with what happened at the tournament?”
I looked up, a tiny spring of hope flaring in my chest. Guro didn’t smile. “You were being chased, weren’t you?” he asked solemnly. “I saw you. You and the girl both. I saw you run out the back door, and I saw something strike you just as you went outside.”
“How—”
“Your blood was on the door frame.” Guro’s voice was grave, and I heard the worry behind it. “That, if anything, told me what I saw was real. I followed you out, but by the time I reached the back lot, you were both gone.”
I held my breath.
“My grandfather, the Mang-Huhula who trained me, he would often tell me stories of spirits, creatures invisible to the naked eye. He said there is a whole unknown world that exists around us, side by side, and no one knows it is there. Except for a few. A very rare few, who can see what no one else can. And the spirits of this world can be helpful or harmful, friendly or wicked, but above all, those who see the invisible world are constantly trapped by it. They will always walk between two lives, and they will have to find a way to balance them both.”
“Do they ever succeed?” I asked bitterly.
“Sometimes.” Guro’s voice didn’t change. “But they often have help. If they can accept it.”
I chewed my lip, trying to put my thoughts into words. “I don’t know what to do, Guro,” I said at last. “I’ve been trying to stay away from all this—I didn’t want to get involved. But they’re threatening my friends and family now. I’m going to have to fight them, or they’ll never leave me alone. I’m just… I’m scared of what they’ll do to my family if I don’t do something.”
Guro didn’t say anything for a moment. Then he stood and left the room for several minutes, while I sat on the couch and wondered if he was calling the police. If my story was still too crazy for him to accept, despite his apparent belief in “the invisible world.” I was wondering if I should get Kenzie and Keirran and just leave, when he reappeared holding a flat wooden box. Setting it reverently on the coffee table between us, he looked at me with a serious expression.
“Remember when I told you I do not teach kali for violence?” he asked. I nodded.
“What do I teach it for?”
“Self-defense,” I recited. Guro nodded at me to go on. “To…pass on the culture. To make sure the skills don’t fade away.” Guro still waited. My answers were correct, but I still wasn’t saying what he wanted.
“And?”
I racked my brain for a few seconds, before I had it. “To protect your family,” I said quietly. “To defend the ones you care about.”
Guro smiled. Bending forward, he flipped the latches on the case and pulled back the top.
I drew in a slow breath. The swords lay there on the green felt, nestled in their leather sheaths. The same blades I had used in the tournament.
Guro’s gaze flickered to me. “These are yours,” he explained. “I had them made a few years after you joined the class. I had a feeling you might need them someday.” He smiled at my astonishment. “They have no history, not yet. That will be up to you. And someday, hopefully, you can pass them down to your son.”
I unstrapped the swords and picked them up in a daze. I could feel the balance, the lethal sharpness of the edges, and I gripped the hilts tightly. Rising, I gave them a practice twirl, hearing the faint hum of the blades cutting through the air. They were still perfectly balanced, fitting into my hands like they’d been waiting for me all along. I couldn’t help but smile, seeing my reflection in the polished surface of the weapons.
Okay, now I was ready to face whatever those glamour-sucking bastards could throw at me.
“One more thing.” Guro reached into the box and pulled out a small metal disk hanging from a leather thong. A triangle was etched into the center of the disk, and between the lines was a strange symbol I didn’t recognize.
“For protection,” Guro said, holding it up. “This kept my grandfather safe, and his father before him. It will protect you now, as well.”
Guro draped the charm around my neck. It was surprisingly heavy, the metal clinking against my iron cross as I tucked it into my shirt. “Thank you,” I murmured.
“Whatever you have to face, Ethan, you don’t have to do it alone.”
Embarrassed now, I looked down. Guro seemed to pick up on my unease, for he turned away, toward the hall. “Come. Let’s see what your friends have gotten themselves into.”
* * *
Keirran was in the kitchen, sitting at the counter with his elbows resting on the granite surface, a mug of something hot near his elbow. The little girl sat next to him, scrawling on a sheet of paper with a crayon, and the half-faery—the prince of the Iron Realm—seemed wholly intrigued by it.
“A…lamia?” he asked as I came up behind him, peering over his shoulder. A squat, four-legged thing with two heads stood amid a plethora of crayon drawings, looking distinctly unrecognizable.
The kid frowned at him. “A pony, silly.”
“Oh, of course. Silly me. What else can you draw?”
“Hey,” I muttered, as the little girl huffed and started scribbling again. “Where’s Kenzie?”
“In the office,” Keirran replied, glancing up at me. “She asked if she could use the computer for a little while. I think she’s researching the park. You should go check on her.”
I smirked. “You gonna be okay out here?”
“There!” announced the girl, straightening triumphantly. “What’s that?”
Keirran smiled and waved me off. I left the kitchen, nodding politely to Guro’s wife as I wandered down the hall, hearing Keirran’s hopeless guesses of dragons and manticores fade behind me.
I found Kenzie in a small office, sitting at a desk in the corner, the two dogs curled around her chair. The younger lab raised his blocky head and thumped his tail, but Kenzie and the older dog didn’t move. Her eyes were glued to the computer screen, one hand on the mouse as it glided over the desk. Releasing it, she typed something quickly, slender fingers flying over the keys, before hitting Enter. The current screen vanished and another took its place. The lab sat up and put his big head on her knee, looking up at her hopefully. Her gaze didn’t stray from the computer screen, but she paused to scratch his ears. He groaned and panted against her leg.
I eased into the room. Reaching into my shirt, I withdrew Guro’s amulet, pulling it over my head. Stepping up behind Kenzie, I draped it gently around her neck. She jerked, startled.
“Ethan? Jeez, I didn’t hear you come in. Make some noise next time.” She glanced at the strange charm hanging in front of her. “What’s this?”
“A protection amulet. Guro gave it to me, but I want you to have it.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah.” I felt the weight of the swords at my waist. “I already have what I need.” Looking past her to the computer screen, I leaned forward, bracing myself on the desk and chair. “What are you looking up?”
She turned back to the screen. “Well, I wanted to see if there was a place in Central Park that might be the nest or something. Thomas said something about a ‘big dark,’ so I wondered if maybe he meant the underground or something like that. I did some digging—” she scrolled the mouse over a link and clicked “—and I found something very interesting. Look at this.”
I peered at the screen. “There’s a cave? In Central Park?”
“Somewhere in the section called the Ramble.” Kenzie scrolled down the site. “Not many people know about it, and it was sealed off a long time ago, but yeah…there’s a cave in Central Park.”
Suddenly, both dogs raised their heads and growled, long and low. Kenzie and I tensed, but neither of them were looking at us. At once, they bolted out of the room, barking madly, claws scrabbling over the floor. In the kitchen, the little girl screamed.
We rushed into the room. Keirran was on his feet, standing in front of the girl, while Guro’s wife shouted something over the racket of the barking dogs. Both animals were in front of the refrigerator, going nuts. The younger lab was bouncing off the door as it barked and howled, trying to reach something on top.
A pair of electric green eyes glared down from the top of the freezer, and a spindly black form hissed at the two dogs below.
“No! Bad dogs! Bad! Go away!” it buzzed, and Keirran rushed forward.
“Razor! What are you doing here?”
“Master!” the gremlin howled, waving his long arms hopelessly. “Master help!”
I cringed. This was the last thing I’d wanted—to pull Guro and his family into this craziness. We had to get out of here before it went any further.
Grabbing Keirran’s arm, I yanked him toward the door. “We’re leaving,” I snapped as he turned on me in surprise. “Right now! Tell your gremlin to follow us. Guro,” I said as my instructor appeared in the door, frowning at the racket, “I have to go. Thank you for everything, but we can’t stay here any longer.”
“Ethan!” Guro called as I pushed Keirran toward the exit. I looked back warily, hoping he wouldn’t insist that we stay. “Go home soon, do you hear me?” Guro said in a firm voice. “I won’t alert the authorities, not yet. But at least let your parents know that you’re all right.”
“I will,” I promised and hurried outside with the others.
We rushed across the street, ducked between two houses, and came out in an abandoned lot choked with weeds. A huge oak tree, its hanging branches draped in moss, loomed out of the fog, and we stopped beneath the ragged curtains.
“Where’s Razor?” Kenzie asked, just as the gremlin scurried up and leaped onto Keirran, jabbering frantically. The Iron prince winced as Razor scrabbled all over him, buzzing and yanking at his shirt.
“Ouch! Razor!” Keirran pried the gremlin away and held him at arm’s length. “What’s going on? I thought I told you to stay with Annwyl.”
“Razor did!” the gremlin cried, pulling at his ears. “Razor stayed! Pretty elf girl didn’t! Pretty elf girl left, wanted to find Master!”
“Annwyl?” Abruptly, Keirran let him go. Razor blipped out of sight and appeared in the nearby tree, still chattering but making no sense now. “She left? Where—?” The gremlin buzzed frantically, flailing his arms, and Keirran frowned. “Razor, slow down. I can’t understand you. Where is she now?”
“She is with the lady, little boy.”
We spun. A section of mist seemed to break off from the rest, gliding toward us, becoming substantial. The cat-thing with the old woman’s face slid out of the fog, wrinkled lips pulled into an evil smile. Behind her, two more faeries appeared, the thin, bug-eyed things that had chased Kenzie and me into the Nevernever. The screech of weapons being drawn shivered across the misty air.
The cat-thing hissed, baring yellow teeth. “Strike me down, and the Summer girl will die,” she warned. “The Iron monster speaks the truth. We watched as she entered the real world again, looking for you. We watched, and when she was away from the Between, we took her. She is with the lady now. And if I perish, the Summer faery will become a snack for the rest of my kin. It’s up to you.”
Keirran went pale and lowered his weapon. The faery smiled. “That’s right, boy. Remember me? I watched you, after you killed my sister with your foul poison glamour. I saw you and your precious Summer girl lead the humans to the Exile Queen.” She curled a withered lip. “Pah! Exile Queen. She is no more a true queen than that bloated slug Titania, sitting on her throne, feeding on her ill-gotten fame. Our lady will destroy these silly notions of Summer and Winter courts.”
“I don’t care about Titania,” Keirran said, stepping forward. “Where’s Annwyl? What have you done with her?”
The cat-faery smiled again. “For now, she is safe. When we took her, our lady gave specific orders that she was not to be harmed. How long she remains that way depends on you.”
I saw Keirran’s shoulders rise as he took a deep, steadying breath. “What do you want from us?” he asked.
“From the mortals? Nothing.” The cat-thing barely glanced and me and Kenzie, giving a disdainful sniff. “They are human. The boy may have the Sight, but our lady is not interested in humans. They are of no use to her. She wants you, bright one. She sensed your strange glamour while you were in the park, the magic of Summer, Winter and Iron. She has never felt anything like it before.” The faery bared her yellow fangs in a menacing smile. “Come with us to meet the lady, and the Summer girl will live. Otherwise, we will feed on her glamour, suck out her essence, and drain her memories until there is nothing left.”
Keirran’s arms shook as he clenched his fists. “Do you promise?” he said firmly. “Do you promise not to harm her, if I come with you to see this lady?”
“Keirran!” I snapped, stepping toward him. “Don’t! What are you doing?”
He turned on me, a bright, desperate look in his eyes.
“I have to,” he whispered. “I have to do this, Ethan. You’d do the same if it was Kenzie.”
Dammit, I would, too. And Keirran would do anything for Annwyl—he’d proven that already. But I couldn’t let him march happily off to his destruction. Even if he was part fey, he was still family.
“You’re going to get yourself killed,” I argued. “We don’t even know if they really took her. They could be lying to get you to come with them.”
“Lying?” The cat-thing growled, sounding indignant and outraged. “We are fey. Mankind has forgotten us, the courts have abandoned us, but we are still as much a part of Faery as Summer and Winter. We do not lie. And your Summer girl will not survive the night if you do not come back with us, now. That is a promise. So, what will it be, boy?”
“All right,” Keirran said, spinning back. “Yes. You have a deal. I’ll come with you, if you swear not to harm my friends when we leave. Promise me that, at least.”
The cat-faery sniffed. “As you wish.”
“Keirran—”
He didn’t look at me. “It’s up to you, now,” he whispered, and sheathed his blade. “Find us. Save everyone.”
Razor buzzed frantically and leaped from the tree, landing on Keirran’s shoulder. “No!” he howled, tugging on his collar, as if he could drag him away. “No leave, Master! No!”
“Razor, stay with Kenzie,” Keirran murmured, and the gremlin shook his head, huge ears flapping, garbling nonsense. Keirran’s voice hardened. “Go,” he ordered, and Razor cringed back from the steely tone. “Now!”
With a soft wail, the gremlin vanished. Reappearing on Kenzie’s shoulder, he buried his face in her hair and howled. Keirran ignored him. Straightening his shoulders, he walked steadily toward the trio of glamour-eaters, until he was just a few feet away. I noticed that the two thin faeries drifted a space away from him as he approached, as if afraid they would accidentally catch his deadly Iron glamour. “Let’s go,” I heard him say. “I’m sure the lady is waiting.”
Do something, I urged myself. Don’t just stand there and watch him leave. I thought of rushing the glamour-eaters and slicing them all to nothingness, but if Annwyl died because of it, Keirran would never forgive me. Clenching my fists, I could only watch as the fey drew back, one of the thin faeries turning to slash the very mist behind them. It parted like a curtain, revealing darkness beyond the hole. Darkness, and nothing else.
“Do not follow us, humans,” the cat-faery hissed, and padded through the hole in the fog, tail twitching behind her. The thin fey jerked their claws at Keirran, and he stepped through the hole without looking back, fading into the darkness. The two fey pointed at us silently, threateningly, then swiftly vanished after him. The mist drew forward again, the tear in realities closed, and we were alone in the fog.