The Iron Warrior
Page 46
“It is not.” Annwyl did not look like she would calm down anytime soon. “But I did have it. It was in my possession when I came here.” She glared around the yard, her gaze lingering on the house, before turning on me again. “Where is it?” she almost whispered. “I need to find it now!”
“Enough!” The witch swept up, scowling, and Annwyl turned a furious gaze on her. But Kenzie and the Thin Man hurried across the yard toward us, and at the sight of the tall Forgotten, the Summer faery shrank back, more frightened of him than the old woman beside me.
“The Thin Man!” she seethed, and thorny vines erupted from the ground, coiling back like snakes. “Get back! I will not go with you! I must find the amulet and Keirran.”
“Annwyl, stop,” Kenzie implored, holding out a hand. “It’s all right, he’s with us now—”
“Why are you here?” Annwyl interrupted, ignoring Kenzie as she glared at the Thin Man. The tall Forgotten started to answer, but the Summer faery overrode him. “I know you’ve come for me,” she said. “I cannot go to your Forgotten town. I must get to Keirran before it’s too late, and you will not stop me!”
“I have no intention of taking you anywhere, my dear!” the Thin Man shot back. “If you would only listen to your friends, you would realize that. Calm down before you hurt someone.”
“Annwyl!” I shouted, grabbing her arm. “He’s telling the truth. We came here to get you and the amulet. Take it easy.”
She did not take it easy but turned on me again, eyes flashing. “Where is the amulet, mortal?” she demanded, sounding more like Titania than the Annwyl I had known. “Tell me now!”
“I said enough!” The witch waved her hand, and the vines and roots snaking around the Summer faery froze, then slithered back underground. Annwyl blinked, startled, as the wind died down, the grass stopped roiling, and the land returned to normal once more. Only the chickens fluttering about the yard still squawked and gibbered at the top of their lungs.
“Stop this foolishness,” the witch continued, glaring at the faery. “This is not helping anything. You are so blinded by your feelings for the Iron Prince, you cannot see what is at stake. Look at what you are doing to your friends who have traveled so far to find you.”
Annwyl went pale, and the scary light faded from her eyes. “Ethan,” she whispered, glancing at me. “Kenzie.” She shook her head, like she was just now recognizing us. “I’m sorry. Forgive me. I guess...I panicked.”
“Yes,” the witch agreed before we could say anything. “You did. And this is precisely why I changed you, girl. So ready to rush off to your destruction, to throw your life away. Even if you managed to reach the Iron Prince through the army of Forgotten, do you really think he would hear you now?”
I jerked in surprise, but Annwyl turned calmly, facing the witch down. “He would,” she said. “I told you before. He would listen to me. I would have made him see.”
“No. You would have died. And the prince would have lost his soul forever.” The witch narrowed her beady eyes at the Summer fey. “You could not have done this alone, but you would not listen to those older and wiser than yourself. So, I made the decision to keep you and that cursed bit of magic safe, for your own good, until someone appeared who could help.”
“What?” Kenzie turned from me to stare at the witch, frowning. “If that was the case, then why make us go through all this crap? Why not just turn Annwyl back and be done with it?”
Her thin mouth twitched. “Because I have a reputation to uphold, my dear. And if the boy could not figure it out, I did not have any hope that he could reach the Iron Prince. Besides, it was amusing. Living out here with almost no visitors, I take my entertainment when I can.”
She cackled, then reached into her shawl and drew forth a familiar copper disk on a leather cord. My skin crawled at the sight of it, and the Thin Man recoiled as the witch held it up. The amulet, the thing that had trapped Keirran’s soul, dangled from the cord, twirling in the breeze.
“I believe this is what you are looking for.”
For a moment, Annwyl looked like she might lunge forward and snatch the amulet from the witch’s crooked fingers. But she took a deep, calming breath, and when she spoke again, her words were steady.
“Are you going to return it to me, or is this something I must bargain for?”
“Pah, I would not bargain for this cursed thing,” the witch said, curling a lip in disgust. “It is your burden to bear, not mine. I will, however, issue this one warning. The Iron Prince, as you knew him before, no longer exists. His soul has been missing from his body for far too long. The longer you use that amulet to sustain your own life, the more it is in danger of vanishing completely.”
Annwyl shivered but nodded. “I understand,” she whispered, and the witch held out the cord. The Summer faery took it and carefully draped it around her neck, where the amulet pulsed like a sullen heartbeat.
“Well,” the Thin Man sighed, as Razor crawled out of Kenzie’s shirt and waved to Annwyl, buzzing happily. “Here we all are.”
“Yeah,” I muttered. “I get the feeling that was the easy part.”
* * *
“So, let me get this straight,” I said, as we left the witch’s house, heading back into the forest. “You came here hoping to destroy the amulet. Knowing that it would kill you if you did.”
“Yes,” Annwyl said calmly. “After I heard...what Keirran had done to you in Ireland, what he brought about, I knew that something terrible had happened to him. He couldn’t be the same. The Keirran I knew would never do something like that. I knew the amulet had to be responsible. I could feel it, constantly eating away at him. I couldn’t stand the thought that by saving my life, Keirran had become that. What they’re calling him now—the Soulless One. The Destroyer of the Courts.
“So, yes,” Annwyl went on. “I began searching for a way to undo the amulet. I first tried seeking out its creator, the mortal in the human world. But...it appears I cannot make myself visible to humans anymore. Maybe because I’m so close to the Fade, only the amulet is keeping me alive. But mortals in the human world can neither see nor hear me, so I could not ask your Guro how to break this curse.”
“So, that was the presence Guro was talking about when we went to see him,” Kenzie said. “It was you.”
Annwyl nodded. “I thought the human could sense me. But I still could not make myself known. And by that time, word of what Keirran had done had spread. My own kind would not help me. Leanansidhe might have killed me had she not been so preoccupied with her mansion’s disappearance. So, I went into the Nevernever, looking for anyone who might give me the answer I sought. Eventually, I heard that the Bone Witch had journeyed across the River of Dreams, back into the Deep Wyld again, so I made my way here.”
“But...” Kenzie’s forehead scrunched up. “Weren’t you exiled from the Nevernever?” she asked. “Wasn’t that how this whole mess started? How did you get back?”
“When the Veil disappeared,” Annwyl replied, “all of the old seals and barriers the rulers had placed on the trods vanished, as well. The exiled fey found they could suddenly return to the Nevernever, and many have. But it’s too late for me.” She lightly touched her chest, where the amulet was hidden beneath her dress. “I was too close to the Fade. I don’t know if I’m even really alive anymore, or if I’m just a memory that can’t die. Right now, the amulet is the only thing keeping me here. Even now, back in the Nevernever, without it I would Fade away completely.”
“Enough!” The witch swept up, scowling, and Annwyl turned a furious gaze on her. But Kenzie and the Thin Man hurried across the yard toward us, and at the sight of the tall Forgotten, the Summer faery shrank back, more frightened of him than the old woman beside me.
“The Thin Man!” she seethed, and thorny vines erupted from the ground, coiling back like snakes. “Get back! I will not go with you! I must find the amulet and Keirran.”
“Annwyl, stop,” Kenzie implored, holding out a hand. “It’s all right, he’s with us now—”
“Why are you here?” Annwyl interrupted, ignoring Kenzie as she glared at the Thin Man. The tall Forgotten started to answer, but the Summer faery overrode him. “I know you’ve come for me,” she said. “I cannot go to your Forgotten town. I must get to Keirran before it’s too late, and you will not stop me!”
“I have no intention of taking you anywhere, my dear!” the Thin Man shot back. “If you would only listen to your friends, you would realize that. Calm down before you hurt someone.”
“Annwyl!” I shouted, grabbing her arm. “He’s telling the truth. We came here to get you and the amulet. Take it easy.”
She did not take it easy but turned on me again, eyes flashing. “Where is the amulet, mortal?” she demanded, sounding more like Titania than the Annwyl I had known. “Tell me now!”
“I said enough!” The witch waved her hand, and the vines and roots snaking around the Summer faery froze, then slithered back underground. Annwyl blinked, startled, as the wind died down, the grass stopped roiling, and the land returned to normal once more. Only the chickens fluttering about the yard still squawked and gibbered at the top of their lungs.
“Stop this foolishness,” the witch continued, glaring at the faery. “This is not helping anything. You are so blinded by your feelings for the Iron Prince, you cannot see what is at stake. Look at what you are doing to your friends who have traveled so far to find you.”
Annwyl went pale, and the scary light faded from her eyes. “Ethan,” she whispered, glancing at me. “Kenzie.” She shook her head, like she was just now recognizing us. “I’m sorry. Forgive me. I guess...I panicked.”
“Yes,” the witch agreed before we could say anything. “You did. And this is precisely why I changed you, girl. So ready to rush off to your destruction, to throw your life away. Even if you managed to reach the Iron Prince through the army of Forgotten, do you really think he would hear you now?”
I jerked in surprise, but Annwyl turned calmly, facing the witch down. “He would,” she said. “I told you before. He would listen to me. I would have made him see.”
“No. You would have died. And the prince would have lost his soul forever.” The witch narrowed her beady eyes at the Summer fey. “You could not have done this alone, but you would not listen to those older and wiser than yourself. So, I made the decision to keep you and that cursed bit of magic safe, for your own good, until someone appeared who could help.”
“What?” Kenzie turned from me to stare at the witch, frowning. “If that was the case, then why make us go through all this crap? Why not just turn Annwyl back and be done with it?”
Her thin mouth twitched. “Because I have a reputation to uphold, my dear. And if the boy could not figure it out, I did not have any hope that he could reach the Iron Prince. Besides, it was amusing. Living out here with almost no visitors, I take my entertainment when I can.”
She cackled, then reached into her shawl and drew forth a familiar copper disk on a leather cord. My skin crawled at the sight of it, and the Thin Man recoiled as the witch held it up. The amulet, the thing that had trapped Keirran’s soul, dangled from the cord, twirling in the breeze.
“I believe this is what you are looking for.”
For a moment, Annwyl looked like she might lunge forward and snatch the amulet from the witch’s crooked fingers. But she took a deep, calming breath, and when she spoke again, her words were steady.
“Are you going to return it to me, or is this something I must bargain for?”
“Pah, I would not bargain for this cursed thing,” the witch said, curling a lip in disgust. “It is your burden to bear, not mine. I will, however, issue this one warning. The Iron Prince, as you knew him before, no longer exists. His soul has been missing from his body for far too long. The longer you use that amulet to sustain your own life, the more it is in danger of vanishing completely.”
Annwyl shivered but nodded. “I understand,” she whispered, and the witch held out the cord. The Summer faery took it and carefully draped it around her neck, where the amulet pulsed like a sullen heartbeat.
“Well,” the Thin Man sighed, as Razor crawled out of Kenzie’s shirt and waved to Annwyl, buzzing happily. “Here we all are.”
“Yeah,” I muttered. “I get the feeling that was the easy part.”
* * *
“So, let me get this straight,” I said, as we left the witch’s house, heading back into the forest. “You came here hoping to destroy the amulet. Knowing that it would kill you if you did.”
“Yes,” Annwyl said calmly. “After I heard...what Keirran had done to you in Ireland, what he brought about, I knew that something terrible had happened to him. He couldn’t be the same. The Keirran I knew would never do something like that. I knew the amulet had to be responsible. I could feel it, constantly eating away at him. I couldn’t stand the thought that by saving my life, Keirran had become that. What they’re calling him now—the Soulless One. The Destroyer of the Courts.
“So, yes,” Annwyl went on. “I began searching for a way to undo the amulet. I first tried seeking out its creator, the mortal in the human world. But...it appears I cannot make myself visible to humans anymore. Maybe because I’m so close to the Fade, only the amulet is keeping me alive. But mortals in the human world can neither see nor hear me, so I could not ask your Guro how to break this curse.”
“So, that was the presence Guro was talking about when we went to see him,” Kenzie said. “It was you.”
Annwyl nodded. “I thought the human could sense me. But I still could not make myself known. And by that time, word of what Keirran had done had spread. My own kind would not help me. Leanansidhe might have killed me had she not been so preoccupied with her mansion’s disappearance. So, I went into the Nevernever, looking for anyone who might give me the answer I sought. Eventually, I heard that the Bone Witch had journeyed across the River of Dreams, back into the Deep Wyld again, so I made my way here.”
“But...” Kenzie’s forehead scrunched up. “Weren’t you exiled from the Nevernever?” she asked. “Wasn’t that how this whole mess started? How did you get back?”
“When the Veil disappeared,” Annwyl replied, “all of the old seals and barriers the rulers had placed on the trods vanished, as well. The exiled fey found they could suddenly return to the Nevernever, and many have. But it’s too late for me.” She lightly touched her chest, where the amulet was hidden beneath her dress. “I was too close to the Fade. I don’t know if I’m even really alive anymore, or if I’m just a memory that can’t die. Right now, the amulet is the only thing keeping me here. Even now, back in the Nevernever, without it I would Fade away completely.”
