For the first time, the humor in Ethan’s eyes dimmed. Kimber, who’d been standing to the side as if trying to stay out of the middle, came over and knelt by Keane’s side.
“Are you all right?” she asked Keane, giving her brother a scathing look. She laid her hand on Keane’s shoulder, and I could see in her eyes that she really cared.
Keane nodded. “Will be, in a minute or two.” He fixed me with a stern look. “Don’t you dare let this make you hesitate.”
I didn’t like his commanding tone, and I honestly didn’t think this little episode had done any permanent damage to my psyche or anything. I might hesitate to hit Keane if I knew Ethan was watching, but if it was just our normal sparring session, or if I was being attacked by a bad guy, I was pretty sure I’d act normally. Still, I didn’t want to let Ethan off the hook—not when doing so might encourage the stupid feud between him and Keane—so I put a hint of uncertainty in my voice when I answered.
“I’ll try not to,” I said. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ethan grimace. Then, he made a beeline back to the house without another word.
chapter eight
By the time my friends and I returned to the house, people were stirring. In fact, from the looks of the servants rushing around carrying luggage, our caravan was going to be heading out pretty soon. Not before I hit the shower, though. I was covered with mud and filth from my sparring session. Still trying to keep the Erlking’s mark hidden, I waited until the bathroom was completely empty before I took my turn, hurrying as best I could, though I had to wash out my clothes as well. The pants, being black, were salvageable despite my roll in the muck, but the mud stains on the T-shirt were never going to come out. I threw the sopping shirt into what I hoped was a wastebasket, then rushed back to the room to pack the few items I’d taken out.
Servants were already leaving the room when I arrived, one of them carrying my suitcase. I figured whatever I’d left out I could just stuff in my backpack, but when I entered the room, Kimber informed me that our bags had been packed when she’d arrived.
I made a face. “I don’t like the idea of someone pawing through my things,” I said, uncomfortable at the invasion of my privacy.
Kimber shrugged. “It was probably Brownies, and I’m sure they left your suitcase more neatly packed than ever. Now come on. We’ve apparently missed breakfast and we’re leaving in about fifteen minutes.”
Being reunited with Phaedra was not the highlight of my day. My butt started aching the moment I set eyes on the saddle, and when I patted her shoulder like I’d seen my dad do, hoping to make friends, she stomped her hoof, barely missing my toes. I narrowed my eyes at her.
“It’s not my fault I’m a city girl and don’t know how to ride,” I told her, like I thought she’d understand. She tossed her head in what looked suspiciously like disdain.
Ethan showed up at my side to help me into the saddle. I blushed when his help involved him giving my butt a boost. I guess he was over his chagrin about having potentially sabotaged my self-defense instincts. When I gave him a dirty look, he winked at me, showing me a glimpse of the playful side I thought he’d completely lost since his time with the Wild Hunt.
* * *
Once again, my friends, my father, and I were directed to travel near the very end of the caravan. My dad didn’t look any happier about it today than he had the day before, but I suppose he had to pick his battles. I was glad he’d chosen to put his foot down about my friends being housed in the servants’ quarters instead of about our place in the procession.
As we made our slow progress, the land around us changed. The road began to rise and fall over gentle hills, and the trees thinned out. I caught occasional glimpses of woodland creatures, some very like those I’d seen in the mortal world, some very much not.
By early afternoon, the trees had thinned out so much that there were only patches of them, the rest of the terrain brush-covered hills and rock outcroppings.
“Troll country,” my dad told me.
I knew a troll, though I sometimes had trouble thinking of him as one because he wore a human glamour. His name was Lachlan, and he was a really nice guy, even if his size made him seriously intimidating. Sometimes, he served as an extra bodyguard when my dad thought I needed more protection, so I felt safe around him. Still, I’d never seen Lachlan without his glamour, and if trolls were anywhere near as ugly as Brownies, I’d rather not know about it.
I must have looked alarmed. My dad smiled at me. “Don’t worry. I highly doubt we’ll meet any. They’re very clannish and tend to keep to themselves.”
There was just a hint of disdain in his voice, as there always was when he talked about trolls, making it clear that they were considered low-class. Dad trusted Lachlan and was polite to him to his face, but when Lachlan wasn’t around, Dad didn’t hesitate to let his snobbishness shine through. He claimed that he was too old and set in his ways to change, but that generally didn’t stop me from trying to bring his attitude into the twenty-first century.
“Gee, I can’t imagine why they’d rather keep to themselves when the Sidhe are so kind and gracious to them.”
Dad’s smile disappeared and he regarded me with annoyance. “We aren’t in Avalon, Dana. You may not like or approve of how the Fae interact with one another, but you’d best learn to respect it, at least until we get home. I sincerely doubt Henry or his people would appreciate being lectured or judged.”
“I’m not lecturing or judging them,” I said, the already long day in the saddle making me grumpy. “I’m lecturing and judging you. You’re supposed to be a citizen of Avalon, not of Faerie.”
This was becoming an old argument. Dad seemed perfectly happy to rehash it with me, even though neither of us was likely to convince the other. He didn’t get a chance, however, because his retort was cut off by a shout of alarm from somewhere up the line.
Dad went on instant alert, his magic flaring up faster than I could turn my head to see what was going on. Phaedra sidestepped and made a nervous little sound not quite like a whinny. The caravan came to a screeching halt, the Knights in Henry’s entourage drawing their weapons and converging on their prince. They formed a circle around him as he rose in his stirrups, looking for the cause of the disturbance.
We were still near the back of the caravan, with only one Knight and a baggage wagon behind us. That Knight spurred his horse forward, heading toward the prince—and leaving us behind.
“Go,” my dad said to me, pointing for me to follow the Knight. “Get as close to Henry as possible. It’ll be the best-defended area.”
“What’s happening?” I asked, my heart hammering as I kept glancing around, looking for the threat.
“I don’t know,” Dad said. “But move!” He turned to point at Kimber. “You, too.”
Ethan jumped off his horse, a silver knife appearing in his hand. Keane followed suit, but he had two knives. I supposed it was hard to fight with knives on horseback, but I didn’t like the idea of them being on foot when everyone else was on horses. I wouldn’t put it past Henry to run like hell and take his people with him.
Kimber was quicker to follow my dad’s order than I was. She slipped past me, beckoning me to follow.
“Better go with her,” I said to Phaedra, giving her a light kick in the sides for extra emphasis. She snorted and shook her head, showing no sign of wanting to follow Kimber to the relative safety of the center. Stupid horse!
There was another shout from someone ahead of me. And then something sprang out from behind one of the outcroppings of rock. Something that looked suspiciously like a monster, though I had no idea what it was. It was squat and vaguely humanoid, but it was covered in black scales and had a long, barbed tail. And, of course, impressive claws and fangs. It reminded me of a reptilian chimpanzee, though it was wearing leather armor and a helmet that suggested it wasn’t just an animal. It also wasn’t a troll, because trolls are supposed to be huge, and this thing was the size of a small human.
r /> Whatever it was, it roared, the sound much louder than such a small body should have been able to produce. Up ahead, a woman screamed, and there was another roar. Horses everywhere began making sounds of alarm as the shouting increased.
Things went to hell in less than five seconds. The creature I’d spotted leapt through the air, landing on the seat beside the driver of the baggage wagon behind me. He was not a Knight, but he wasn’t completely defenseless. The creature swiped at him with a clawed hand, but the claws grazed off of an invisible shield as the driver dove off the wagon’s seat.
“Get to the center!” Dad shouted at me as he unleashed some kind of spell at the creature.
The spell knocked the creature down mid-leap, but it didn’t seem to hurt it. Finn charged forward while it was still stunned, putting his sword through its torso.
“Move, Phaedra!” I urged, giving her another kick as two more of the creatures popped out from behind the rocks.
Phaedra whinnied and tossed her head, dancing nervously sideways, her eyes ringed with white. All around us, people were screaming and shouting. The monsters roared, and I heard sounds of battle as the Knights protected their prince.
Kimber turned back, calling to Phaedra in an encouraging voice, although even I could hear the fear in it. She knew Phaedra and I weren’t the best of friends. Maybe Phaedra objected to the way I shouted at her, but I couldn’t worry about her delicate feelings while we were under attack.
Phaedra didn’t seem any more moved by Kimber’s coaxing than she was by my attempted bullying. She whinnied again, then reared, her front hooves slashing the air in front of her. I squeezed my legs tight around her and clung to the saddle with everything I had.
One of the creatures went flying, its head split open where Phaedra had apparently kicked it in mid-leap. I’d have thanked her for taking out one of our attackers, except at that moment, she finally leapt into motion—running away from the center of the battle and the safety of the Knights.
“Dana!” my dad cried, reaching out to me.
“Phaedra, stop!” I yelled, still clinging to the saddle, but she ignored me, dodging past the baggage wagon until there was nothing but open road in front of her. I tried pulling back on the reins, but she just jerked them out of my hands.
I looked over my shoulder and saw my dad trying to follow, but one of the creatures jumped in front of him, and he had to stop and fight. Behind him, Ethan and Keane stood back to back, fighting three of the creatures as Finn took on four all by himself. The caravan was completely overrun, and there were enough creatures that some of them could chase after Phaedra and me while still leaving my dad and my friends overwhelmed with enemies.
“Go back!” I pleaded with Phaedra, tears streaking my cheeks as I tried not to imagine those creatures tearing the people I loved apart.
Phaedra paid no attention to me, galloping down the road as fast as she could, her hooves pounding the packed dirt and throwing up a cloud of dust that made it hard to see how many of the creatures were chasing us.
The dust also hid the battle from view, so I had no idea if we were winning or not. What I did know was that I was in deep shit if Phaedra couldn’t keep up her breakneck pace, because even though I couldn’t see them clearly, I was painfully aware of the horde of dark shadows that was still pursuing.
Phaedra kept running, and I kept clinging, as we left the rest of the caravan behind, putting more and more distance between us and them. Unfortunately, the distance between us and the monsters wasn’t getting any bigger. They didn’t look like they should be able to run so fast, but they were keeping up.
More than keeping up. They were gaining!
“Faster, Phaedra!” I urged, and for once she actually did what I asked and put on another burst of speed.
But horses, even Fae ones, aren’t made for long-term galloping at top speed. She was tiring, and even her fear of the pursuing creatures wasn’t enough to fuel her into outrunning them.
Glancing over my shoulder, I saw at least half a dozen shadows moving in our dust cloud. They were much closer than they had been the last time I’d looked.
I doubted any of the self-defense tactics Keane had taught me was going to help against these creatures. I had the gun in my backpack, but with Phaedra’s jarring gait, I figured there was no way I could dig it out without dropping it or falling on my head. Besides, the gun only held two bullets. That left me with only one weapon.
Closing my eyes and trying not to hyperventilate in my fear, I started humming. I was too panicked to think of an actual song, so I hummed a scale. A bit off-key, and very wobbly due to the constant bouncing of Phaedra’s gait, but the magic didn’t seem to care anymore how well I sang. It came immediately to my call, making its presence known by prickling at my skin in what felt like a series of small static shocks.
I kept humming, kept summoning the magic, drawing it to me desperately. I didn’t know exactly what I’d done when I’d used the magic against Aunt Grace. I hadn’t been thinking very rationally, and had been reacting on pure instinct. I had no idea if I’d be able to re-create whatever I’d done now. And no idea if doing so would help me. My spell hadn’t exactly dropped Aunt Grace in her tracks, and if it hadn’t been for Ethan and the Erlking, it wouldn’t have done any good at all. But I had to try something.
Phaedra screamed and stumbled.
My eyes flew open as I almost toppled from the saddle. Terror gave me the strength to hold on, but the situation had gone from bad to worse.
The creatures were gaining on us, just barely out of leaping range. Or, judging by the bleeding red furrows on one of Phaedra’s hind legs, maybe not out of range after all.
Shaking with terror, I kept humming until I was sure I had as much magic as I could possibly hold. Then I let out a shrieking high note, the kind that would probably shatter glasses if there were any around. I imagined that note carrying my magic out to the creatures and turning them into stone. Not that I really expected that to happen, but visualizing the effect I hoped for seemed like the thing to do.
The magic wasn’t visible—I wouldn’t have even known it was there if it weren’t for that Fae magic sense I wasn’t supposed to have—but I could almost see it as it bowled into the pursuing creatures, flinging them back so far they disappeared into the dust cloud, so I couldn’t tell if they were hurt or not. The spell hadn’t had so violent or obvious an effect when I’d used it on Aunt Grace, so I wondered if something drastically different had just happened.
The good news was that even if my spell hadn’t hurt them, it had flung a handful of my pursuers back so they were no longer in pouncing range. The bad news was there were more than a handful after me. The remaining creatures howled in rage and put on another burst of speed.
I started humming again, meaning to call more magic, but we were out of time. Phaedra’s hide was flecked with foam, and I could hear her labored breathing as she struggled to keep running despite her exhaustion. Our pursuers had more stamina, and if they were tired from the long run, they showed no sign of it. One of them swiped at Phaedra’s legs with its claws.
Phaedra couldn’t quite manage a scream—I didn’t think she had enough air for it—but her cry of distress still made me wince in sympathy. She stumbled again, and this time, the stumble was her undoing, allowing the creatures to cross the last little bit of distance between us.
Another swipe of claws to Phaedra’s legs, and instead of just stumbling, she fell. I tried to jump off before she hit the ground. Almost managed it, too, although it no doubt looked more like a fall than a jump.
Phaedra landed so hard I felt the vibration through the hard-packed earth, even as I slammed into it myself. My foot was tangled in the stirrup, though at least I’d gotten clear enough that Phaedra hadn’t landed on me.
She thrashed frantically, trying to get back up as the creatures swarmed her, sinking fangs and claws into her haunches. One hoof flailed dangerously close to my head as I struggled to free myself from the sti
rrup.
I was too out of breath from the fall to manage a hum, and I doubted I’d be able to gather enough magic to save us anyway. We were doomed!
One of the creatures jumped over Phaedra’s flailing legs and landed directly in front of me. It bared bloody fangs, then swiped at me with razor-sharp claws, and there was nothing I could do to defend myself, not when the stirrup had me trapped.
Something thwipped through the air over my head, and the creature jerked away from me, falling over backward. I blinked in momentary confusion until I saw the black-feathered arrow sticking through its throat.
Another arrow sailed over my head, taking another creature in the throat. Then, there seemed to be a veritable storm of them, zipping through the air, each one finding its target.
“Stay down, Faeriewalker,” shouted a familiar voice.
I froze in my struggles to free myself from the stirrup and glanced over my shoulder to see if I’d really heard what I thought I’d heard.
On the road in front of me were a band of horsemen, all masked and armored, each one armed with a bow. Most of them were firing away, taking out the last of my attackers. But one sat silently on his massive black horse, and though I couldn’t see his eyes behind the camouflage of his terrifying horned mask, I knew he was watching me with predatory fascination.
How long had the Erlking and his Wild Hunt been following me? And should I be happy they had just saved my life, or terrified of whatever was going to happen next?
chapter nine
I managed to get my foot out of the stirrup while the Huntsmen finished off the rest of the creatures. I lost my shoe in the process, but I didn’t much feel like crawling closer to Phaedra to get it. Her body was streaked with bloody gashes. There was so much blood I could hardly believe she was still alive. However, her sides were heaving, so she was obviously breathing.
The Huntsmen stopped firing, and I both felt and heard the thud as the Erlking slid off his horse and hit the ground. He was not a small man, and his mask and armor made him even larger and more intimidating.