The Lost Prince

Page 7

 

  Guro’s eyes flicked to the corner again, narrowing. “Ethan,” he said in a low voice, “my grandfather was a Mang-Huhula—you know what that means, yes?”

  I nodded, trying not to seem impatient. The Mang-Huhula was the spiritual leader of the tribe, a faith-healer or fortune teller of sorts. Guro himself was a tuhon, someone who passed down his culture and practices, who kept the traditions alive. He’d told us this before; I wasn’t sure why he was reminding me now.

  “My grandfather was a wise man,” Guro went on, holding my gaze. “He told me not to put your trust in only your eyes. That to truly see, sometimes you had to put your faith in the invisible things. You had to believe what no one else was willing to. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

  I heard a soft slither behind me, like wet cloth over cement, and my skin crawled. It took all my willpower not to draw my rattan and swing around. “I think so, Guro. ”

  Guro paused a moment, then stepped back, looking faintly disappointed. Obviously, I’d just missed something, or he could tell I was really distracted. But all he said was, “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. ”

  The thing, whatever it was, slithered closer. I nodded, trying not to fidget. “I will, Guro. ”

  “Go on, then. ” Guro stepped aside, nodding. “Go home. I’ll see you at the tournament. ”

  I fled the room, forcing myself not to look back. And I didn’t stop until I reached my truck.

  * * *

  My phone rang as soon as I was home.

  After closing my bedroom door, I dropped my gym bag on the bed, listening to the buzz of wings from somewhere inside. It seemed the piskie was still alive, though it probably wasn’t thrilled at being zipped into a bag with used gym shorts and sweaty T-shirts. Smirking at the thought, I checked the trilling phone. Same unfamiliar number. I sighed and held it to my ear.

  “God, you’re persistent,” I told the girl and heard a chuckle on the other end.

  “It’s a reporter skill,” she replied. “If every newscaster got scared off by the threat of violence or kidnapping or death, there wouldn’t be any news at all. They have to brave a lot to get their stories. Consider yourself practice for the real world. ”

  “I’m so honored,” I deadpanned. She laughed.

  “So, anyway, are you free tomorrow? Say, after school? We can meet in the library and you can give me that interview. ”

  “Why?” I scowled at the phone, ignoring the angry buzzing coming from my gym bag. “Just ask me your questions now and be done with it. ”

  “Oh, no, I never do interviews over the phone if I can help it. ” The buzzing grew louder, and my bag started to shake. I gave it a thump, and it squeaked in outrage.

  “Phone interviews are too impersonal,” Kenzie went on, oblivious to my ridiculous fight with the gym bag. “I want to look at the person I’m interviewing, really see their reactions, get a glimpse into their thoughts and feelings. I can’t do that over the phone. So, tomorrow in the library, okay? After the last class. Will you be there?”

  A session alone with Kenzie. My heart beat faster at the thought, and I coldly stomped it down. Yes, Kenzie was cute, smart, popular and extremely attractive. You’d have to be blind not to see it. She was also obscenely rich, or her family was, anyway. The few rumors I’d heard said her father owned three mansions and a private jet, and Kenzie only went to public school because she wanted to. Even if I was anywhere near normal, Mackenzie St. James was way out of my league.

  And it was better that way. I couldn’t allow myself to get comfortable with this girl, to let my guard down for an instant. The second I let people get close to me, the fey would make them targets. I would not let that happen ever again.

  My bag actually jumped about two inches off the bed, landing with a thump on the mattress. I winced and dragged it back before it could leap to the floor. “Sure,” I said distractedly, not really thinking about it. “Whatever. I’ll be there. ”

  “Awesome!” I could sense Kenzie’s smile. “Thanks, tough guy. See you tomorrow. ”

  I hung up.

  Outside, lightning flickered through the window, showing a storm was on its way. Grabbing my rattan stick, I braced myself and unzipped the gym bag in one quick motion, releasing a wave of stink and a furious, buzzing piskie into my room.

  Not surprisingly, the faery made a beeline for the window but veered away when it noticed the line of salt poured along the sill. It darted toward the door, but an iron horseshoe hung over the frame and a coil of metal wire had been wound over the doorknob. It hummed around the ceiling like a frantic wasp, then finally drifted down to the headboard, alighting on a bedpost. Crossing its arms, it gave me an annoyed, expectant look.

  I smiled nastily. “Feeling better, are we? You’re not getting out of here until I say so, so sit down and relax. ” The piskie’s wings vibrated, and I kept my rattan out, ready to swat if it decided to dive-bomb me. “I saved your life back there,” I reminded the faery. “So I think you owe me something. That’s generally how these things work. You owe me a life debt, and I’m calling it in right now. ”

  It bristled but crossed its legs and sat down on the post, looking sulky. I relaxed my guard, but only a little. “Sucks being on that end of a bargain, doesn’t it?” I smirked, enjoying my position, and leaned back against the desk.

  The piskie glared, then lifted one arm in an impatient gesture that clearly said, Well? Get on with it, then. Still keeping it in my sights, I crossed my room and locked the door, more to keep curious parents out than annoyed faeries in. Life debt or no, I could only imagine the trouble the piskie would cause if she managed to escape to the rest of the house.

  “Thistle, right?” I asked, returning to the desk. The piskie’s head bobbed once in affirmation. I wondered if I should ask about Meghan but decided against it. Piskies, I’d discovered, were notoriously difficult to understand and had the attention span of a gnat. Long, drawn-out conversations with them were virtually impossible, as they tended to forget the question as soon as it was answered.

  “You know Todd, then?”

  The piskie buzzed and nodded.

  “What did you do for him recently?”

  The result was a garbled, high-pitched mess of words and sentences, spoken so quickly it made my head spin. It was like listening to a chipmunk on speed. “All right, enough!” I said, holding up my hands. “I wasn’t thinking. ” Yes or no answers, Ethan, remember? The piskie gave me a confused frown, but I ignored it and continued. “So, were you following me today?”

  Another nod.

  “Why—”

  The piskie gave a terrified squeal and buzzed frantically about the room, nearly smacking into me as it careened around the walls. I ducked, covering my head, as it zipped across the room, babbling in its shrill, squeaking voice. “Okay, okay! Calm down! Sorry I asked. ” It finally hovered in a corner, shaking its head, eyes bulging out of its skull. I eyed it warily.

  Huh. That was…interesting. “What was that about?” I demanded. The piskie buzzed and hugged itself, wings trembling. “Something was after you tonight, wasn’t it? That thing in the locker room—it was chasing you. Piss off an Iron faery, then?” The fey of the Iron Queen’s court were the only creatures I could think of that could provoke such a reaction. I didn’t know what it was like in the Nevernever, but here, the old-world faeries and the Iron fey still didn’t get along very well. Generally, the two groups avoided each other, pretending the other didn’t exist. But faeries were fickle and destructive and violent, and fights still broke out between them, usually ending fatally.

  But the piskie shook its head, squeaking and waving its thin arms. I frowned. “It wasn’t an Iron fey,” I guessed, and it shook its head again, vigorously. “What was it?”

  “Ethan?” There was a kno
ck, and Dad’s voice came through the door. “Are you in there? Who are you talking to?”

  I winced. Unlike Mom, Dad had no problem invading my personal space. If it were up to him, I wouldn’t even have a door. “On the phone, Dad!” I called back.

  “Oh. Well, dinner is ready. Tell your friend you’ll call back, okay?”

  I grunted and heard his footsteps retreat down the hall. The piskie still hovered in the corner, watching me with big black eyes. It was terrified, and even though it was fey and had probably played a million nasty pranks on unsuspecting humans, I suddenly felt like a bully.

  I sighed. “You know what?” I told it, moving to the window. “Forget it. This was stupid of me. I’m not getting involved with any of you, life debt or no. ” Sweeping away the salt, I unlocked the window and pushed it open, letting in a blast of cool, rain-scented air. “Get out of here,” I told the piskie, who blinked in astonishment. “You want to repay me? Whatever you’re doing for that half-breed, stop it. I don’t want you hanging around him, or me, ever again. Now beat it. ”

  I jerked my head toward the window, and the piskie didn’t hesitate. It zipped past my head, seeming to go right through the screen, and vanished into the night.

  Chapter Four

  An Unexpected Visitor

  Storms always made me moody. More so than usual, anyway.

  Don’t know why; maybe they reminded me of my childhood, back in the swamps. We’d gotten a lot of rain on our small farm, and somehow the drumming of water on the tin roof always put me to sleep. Or maybe because, when I was very small, I would creep out of bed and into my sister’s room, and she would hold me as the thunder boomed and tell me stories until I fell asleep.

  I didn’t want to remember those days. They just reminded me that she wasn’t here now, and she never would be again.

  I loaded the last plate into the dishwasher and kicked it shut, wincing as a crash of thunder outside made the lights flicker. Hopefully, the power would stay on this time. Call me paranoid, but stumbling around in the dark with nothing but a candle made me positive that the fey were lurking in shadowy corners and darkened bathrooms, waiting to pounce.