The Iron Warrior
Page 22
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Suddenly wide-awake, the gremlin bounced to his feet, nodding furiously. “Razor help!” he exclaimed, thankfully in a buzzing whisper. “Razor guard pretty girl, not let anything happen to her.”
“Good,” I whispered, sheathing my sword. Not perfect, but the screeching of an alarmed gremlin would certainly let me know if anything went wrong. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
I walked past the gremlin, pushed myself through the curtain of glowing moss and stepped into a moonlit grove full of fey.
Dryads. Dozens of them, as far as I could tell. Tall and willowy, with bark-like skin and huge black eyes, their slender bodies resembling the trees they were attached to. My heart beat faster, and I forced my hands away from my swords. Dryads had never harmed me in the past; the tree spirits usually kept themselves aloof and distant from the politics of the courts, only intervening when something big was at stake. Seeing so many of them here, staring at me with shiny black eyes, filled me with dread.
Especially when I drew closer and realized not all of them were dryads. Mixed in with the Summer tree spirits were several tall, pale faeries with long white hair and ice-blue eyes. Similar to the dryads, perhaps, but definitely Winter fey. Which made this even more disturbing. I couldn’t think of anything that would bring a bunch of Summer and Winter faeries together unless it was huge.
“Okay,” I said, warily gazing around the clearing. “You called me, and I assume this little gathering isn’t to discuss the weather. What do you want?”
One of the dryads stepped forward. Her hair was short and spiky, bristling atop her head like pine needles. The smell of sap and pinecones drifted through the air as she regarded me with dark, unblinking eyes.
“The Forgotten hunt for you, Ethan Chase,” she said, her voice like the whisper of wind through the pines. “Even now, they scour the Nevernever, the tangled corners of the wyldwood, even the human realm, looking for you. It is dangerous for you to be here, alone. Why do you not stay in the Iron Queen’s realm, where they dare not venture?”
“I’m looking for something,” I said evenly. “Something that might put an end to this stupid war. I can’t sit back in Meghan’s realm and hide. This is my fight, too.”
One of the Winter faeries came forward. Its hair was as fine as spiderwebs, drifting around its sharp, pale face, and tiny flurries fluttered from its skin as it moved. The dryad shivered, leaning away as the other faery stepped toward me, but did not retreat.
“The wind whispers to us,” the Winter faery said, her voice sharper than the dryad’s, reminding me of ice crinkling in a glass. “Tells us things, hints of events beyond our knowing. You search for something that will bring you close to the soulless one. The prince who commands the magic of all three courts. Who leads the Forgotten, and is never far from the Lady’s side.”
Keirran. I felt a lump of ice settle in my gut, and swallowed hard. “Yeah.” I nodded. “I am. What about it?”
“If you go to the Iron Prince now,” the dryad said softly, “you will die.”
I stared at her. She shook her head sadly. “He is not the same, Ethan Chase. Nothing remains of the Iron Prince you once knew. The loss of his human soul has unleashed the demon of prophecy, and he will not stop until the Lady, the First Queen of the Nevernever, regains what she believes has been stolen from her.”
“He has grown infinitely more powerful,” the Winter faery added. “Even as an outside force drains his glamour, his sense of self, the Lady’s magic—and her anger against the courts—sustains him. He has become her champion, and she has become a force to rival that of Oberon, Mab and the courts she wishes to destroy.”
“I don’t get it,” I said, frowning as I tried to follow along. “The last time Keirran and I saw the Lady, she was barely hanging on to existence. She was hardly more than a Forgotten herself. How’d she get so powerful, so quickly?”
“The ritual, Ethan Chase,” the dryad whispered. “The sacrifice, your sacrifice. When your blood was spilled in the Faery Ring that night, the Veil lifted. For a few minutes, the world could see us. All that power—all that fear, panic, wonder, belief—flowed directly into the Lady, restoring her completely. She is now as she was before. Before the Summer and Winter courts ever came to be, before Oberon and Mab, when there was but one queen who ruled the entire Nevernever.”
“The wind remembers,” the Winter faery said, its voice low and grave. “Even if we do not, the wind remembers those days of blood and fear. The Lady will destroy us, remake the Nevernever in her own image, bring back the terror and bloodshed of those early days, before the land rose up to overthrow her. She must be stopped, but the Iron Prince stands between her and anyone who would try.”
“Well, I’m certainly going to try,” I growled, ignoring the shivers crawling up and down my spine. “And I’ll do it by talking, pounding or beating some sense into Keirran. I don’t care if he’s become her champion or whatever. We’ll make him see, somehow.” Both faeries gave me a very solemn, dubious look, and I crossed my arms. “I have to try. I promised Meghan, and Ash, and everyone, that I would bring Keirran back.”
“You are no match for him,” the Winter faery insisted. “He will blast you apart before you get within twenty feet of him. But,” it added, as I took a breath to argue, “if you insist upon this course of action, if you truly intend to face the Iron Prince, there is something we can do for you.”
I instinctively recoiled, fighting the urge to back away. Never make bargains with faeries, that was my number one rule. I’d lived my life by that code, refusing to compromise, knowing faery bargains never turned out the way you wanted.
But this was bigger than me now; an entire world ready to plunge into chaos and destruction. Could I really let fear stop me? Even if it screwed me royally, if it meant I had a chance to save the ones I loved...
A chill crept over me. That was exactly what Keirran had been thinking when he started down this path. “No,” I rasped, and now I did back away. “No bargains. No contracts. I can’t promise anything, I’m sorry.”
“Not a bargain, Ethan Chase,” the dryad said, holding out a twig-thin hand. “An agreement. An understanding. We will hold you to nothing, except the promise that you will find the Iron Prince and do your best to stop him, whatever that might mean.”
“This war affects us all,” the Winter faery added. “And the Iron Prince is the piece that determines which direction the balance of power will sway. As the prophecy says, he will either unite the courts or destroy them. And you, a mere mortal with no magic or power of your own, might hold the fate of the Nevernever in your hands.”
I blew out a shaky breath and pressed my forehead into my steepled fingers, thinking. Dammit, this isn’t about me anymore. This is for Meghan, and Kenzie, and everyone. I need all the help I can get. I just hope I’m not making the same mistakes he did. “What are you offering?” I asked without looking up.
A pause, as if the two faeries were sharing a glance with one another, and then one of them stepped close again. “The Iron Prince commands the magic of Summer, Winter and Iron,” the dryad said. “Before, his human side tempered his power a bit. Now, as a full-blooded fey, nothing is holding him back. If you are to face him, Ethan Chase, you must prepare for him to bring his full might against you. Summer lightning, winter’s death chill, turning the very land against you—Keirran can control it all.”
“Good,” I whispered, sheathing my sword. Not perfect, but the screeching of an alarmed gremlin would certainly let me know if anything went wrong. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
I walked past the gremlin, pushed myself through the curtain of glowing moss and stepped into a moonlit grove full of fey.
Dryads. Dozens of them, as far as I could tell. Tall and willowy, with bark-like skin and huge black eyes, their slender bodies resembling the trees they were attached to. My heart beat faster, and I forced my hands away from my swords. Dryads had never harmed me in the past; the tree spirits usually kept themselves aloof and distant from the politics of the courts, only intervening when something big was at stake. Seeing so many of them here, staring at me with shiny black eyes, filled me with dread.
Especially when I drew closer and realized not all of them were dryads. Mixed in with the Summer tree spirits were several tall, pale faeries with long white hair and ice-blue eyes. Similar to the dryads, perhaps, but definitely Winter fey. Which made this even more disturbing. I couldn’t think of anything that would bring a bunch of Summer and Winter faeries together unless it was huge.
“Okay,” I said, warily gazing around the clearing. “You called me, and I assume this little gathering isn’t to discuss the weather. What do you want?”
One of the dryads stepped forward. Her hair was short and spiky, bristling atop her head like pine needles. The smell of sap and pinecones drifted through the air as she regarded me with dark, unblinking eyes.
“The Forgotten hunt for you, Ethan Chase,” she said, her voice like the whisper of wind through the pines. “Even now, they scour the Nevernever, the tangled corners of the wyldwood, even the human realm, looking for you. It is dangerous for you to be here, alone. Why do you not stay in the Iron Queen’s realm, where they dare not venture?”
“I’m looking for something,” I said evenly. “Something that might put an end to this stupid war. I can’t sit back in Meghan’s realm and hide. This is my fight, too.”
One of the Winter faeries came forward. Its hair was as fine as spiderwebs, drifting around its sharp, pale face, and tiny flurries fluttered from its skin as it moved. The dryad shivered, leaning away as the other faery stepped toward me, but did not retreat.
“The wind whispers to us,” the Winter faery said, her voice sharper than the dryad’s, reminding me of ice crinkling in a glass. “Tells us things, hints of events beyond our knowing. You search for something that will bring you close to the soulless one. The prince who commands the magic of all three courts. Who leads the Forgotten, and is never far from the Lady’s side.”
Keirran. I felt a lump of ice settle in my gut, and swallowed hard. “Yeah.” I nodded. “I am. What about it?”
“If you go to the Iron Prince now,” the dryad said softly, “you will die.”
I stared at her. She shook her head sadly. “He is not the same, Ethan Chase. Nothing remains of the Iron Prince you once knew. The loss of his human soul has unleashed the demon of prophecy, and he will not stop until the Lady, the First Queen of the Nevernever, regains what she believes has been stolen from her.”
“He has grown infinitely more powerful,” the Winter faery added. “Even as an outside force drains his glamour, his sense of self, the Lady’s magic—and her anger against the courts—sustains him. He has become her champion, and she has become a force to rival that of Oberon, Mab and the courts she wishes to destroy.”
“I don’t get it,” I said, frowning as I tried to follow along. “The last time Keirran and I saw the Lady, she was barely hanging on to existence. She was hardly more than a Forgotten herself. How’d she get so powerful, so quickly?”
“The ritual, Ethan Chase,” the dryad whispered. “The sacrifice, your sacrifice. When your blood was spilled in the Faery Ring that night, the Veil lifted. For a few minutes, the world could see us. All that power—all that fear, panic, wonder, belief—flowed directly into the Lady, restoring her completely. She is now as she was before. Before the Summer and Winter courts ever came to be, before Oberon and Mab, when there was but one queen who ruled the entire Nevernever.”
“The wind remembers,” the Winter faery said, its voice low and grave. “Even if we do not, the wind remembers those days of blood and fear. The Lady will destroy us, remake the Nevernever in her own image, bring back the terror and bloodshed of those early days, before the land rose up to overthrow her. She must be stopped, but the Iron Prince stands between her and anyone who would try.”
“Well, I’m certainly going to try,” I growled, ignoring the shivers crawling up and down my spine. “And I’ll do it by talking, pounding or beating some sense into Keirran. I don’t care if he’s become her champion or whatever. We’ll make him see, somehow.” Both faeries gave me a very solemn, dubious look, and I crossed my arms. “I have to try. I promised Meghan, and Ash, and everyone, that I would bring Keirran back.”
“You are no match for him,” the Winter faery insisted. “He will blast you apart before you get within twenty feet of him. But,” it added, as I took a breath to argue, “if you insist upon this course of action, if you truly intend to face the Iron Prince, there is something we can do for you.”
I instinctively recoiled, fighting the urge to back away. Never make bargains with faeries, that was my number one rule. I’d lived my life by that code, refusing to compromise, knowing faery bargains never turned out the way you wanted.
But this was bigger than me now; an entire world ready to plunge into chaos and destruction. Could I really let fear stop me? Even if it screwed me royally, if it meant I had a chance to save the ones I loved...
A chill crept over me. That was exactly what Keirran had been thinking when he started down this path. “No,” I rasped, and now I did back away. “No bargains. No contracts. I can’t promise anything, I’m sorry.”
“Not a bargain, Ethan Chase,” the dryad said, holding out a twig-thin hand. “An agreement. An understanding. We will hold you to nothing, except the promise that you will find the Iron Prince and do your best to stop him, whatever that might mean.”
“This war affects us all,” the Winter faery added. “And the Iron Prince is the piece that determines which direction the balance of power will sway. As the prophecy says, he will either unite the courts or destroy them. And you, a mere mortal with no magic or power of your own, might hold the fate of the Nevernever in your hands.”
I blew out a shaky breath and pressed my forehead into my steepled fingers, thinking. Dammit, this isn’t about me anymore. This is for Meghan, and Kenzie, and everyone. I need all the help I can get. I just hope I’m not making the same mistakes he did. “What are you offering?” I asked without looking up.
A pause, as if the two faeries were sharing a glance with one another, and then one of them stepped close again. “The Iron Prince commands the magic of Summer, Winter and Iron,” the dryad said. “Before, his human side tempered his power a bit. Now, as a full-blooded fey, nothing is holding him back. If you are to face him, Ethan Chase, you must prepare for him to bring his full might against you. Summer lightning, winter’s death chill, turning the very land against you—Keirran can control it all.”
