The Iron Warrior
Page 62
The prince leaped over the balcony railing and dropped through the air to land gracefully on the flagstones. His eyes were already glowing as he rose, wind and glamour beginning to swirl around him, whipping at his hair. His smile was cruel as he stepped forward.
“And here you are.” Keirran’s voice was flat, his eyes cutting. “Just as the queen said you would be. You are quite predictable, aren’t you, Ethan?” His gaze flicked from me to the girls, pressed to either side of me, and narrowed. “You shouldn’t have brought Annwyl and Kenzie, though. I have no wish to hurt them. This is between you and me. And you...”
He gestured sharply. A blast of wind shrieked through the courtyard, tossing dust and leaves and making Kenzie’s and Annwyl’s clothes snap, though it wasn’t directed at us. But there was a cry, and the Thin Man suddenly slammed into a statue, his body winking into existence before collapsing motionless to the stones. Keirran gestured again, and the statue lurched and tumbled forward, crashing to the stones and pinning the Thin Man beneath it. The prince smiled coldly.
“Fool me once,” he murmured, and raised his arm again.
“Keirran, stop!” Annwyl stepped around me, her eyes tearful as she faced down the prince. “Please,” she begged, holding out her hands. “If you ever loved me, please, stop this. It’s not too late. You can leave this place, leave the Lady and return home.”
Keirran looked at her, his eyes softening. “Annwyl,” he said, and for a moment, his voice was almost like the Keirran I used to know. “How can you ask me that?” he whispered. “Everything I’ve done, everything I’ve sacrificed, was for you. The Lady, the exiles, the Forgotten—they were all dying, but what I cared about most was saving you.”
“I didn’t want to be saved,” Annwyl returned. “Not when it turned you into this. Not when it cost me everything I loved about you.” Her voice grew harsher, almost desperate. “I don’t want this, Keirran,” she said. “I want the old you back, even if I can see him for only a moment. Even if I must die for you to return.”
Reaching around her neck, she yanked off the amulet, holding it up so that it swayed and throbbed in the eerie un-light. Keirran went rigid at the sight of it. “This is the cause of everything,” she said. “Prolonging my life, at the cost of your soul. It is an evil thing, Keirran, can’t you feel that? I want no part of it anymore.” She thrust the amulet at him, making it swing and glitter on its cord. “You have to destroy it. I can’t do it myself.”
“No.”
“Keirran—”
“I won’t watch you die, Annwyl!” For just a moment, a spark of anger and grief crossed his face. Gritting his teeth, he closed his eyes. “This is my legacy,” he whispered. “Death, and betrayal, and destruction. This is destiny, what fate has decided. You are the only good thing I will leave behind. If I...kill you, as well—” he made a weary, hopeless gesture “—if you die, this will all be for nothing. Everyone I’ve betrayed, all the death I’ve caused, will be for nothing.” He raked a hand through his silver bangs, his eyes shadowed. “What do I care if the Forgotten and exiles are saved,” he whispered, “if you’re not in the world any longer?”
Kenzie’s voice was sympathetic. “You still love her.”
“I never stopped,” Keirran growled, giving her a cold look. “Maybe it’s foolish. Maybe that’s the only piece of my soul I still have left. But it doesn’t matter. The First Queen’s plan is nearly complete. It’s too late for me to stop it.”
“It’s not too late for you, Prince,” I snapped. “You can still end this. Walk out with us, and go home. Do you really want to keep fighting everyone? Your parents, the courts, the entire Nevernever?” I gestured back toward the front gate. “Ash is out there, right now, holding off the Forgotten. If he makes it up here, what are you going to do? Fight your own dad? Are you going to kill your whole family before this is over?”
For just a second, he hesitated. For a heartbeat, I thought we’d gotten through. But then his eyes clouded over, and his face became hard.
“No,” he said, his voice resolved. “I can’t stop now. Not when we’re this close. I’ve chosen my path, and I won’t falter. The prophecy has decided my fate, and I am what they call me—the Destroyer. The Soulless One. So be it.” His eyes went icy, that cold apathy settling on him like a mantle. “I will be their villain,” he murmured, raising his head, “but I will also change the world with the First Queen. And nothing will stand in our way.”
“Keirran, please,” Annwyl whispered. “The realm is being torn apart. This war will obliterate everything. Please, you have to destroy the amulet. Just let me go.”
The Iron Prince looked at her blankly, all traces of the old Keirran disappearing as the icy stranger took his place. “Do I?” he mused, cocking his head. “Maybe I will. Maybe I will destroy it after all. But not until the Veil has fallen. Even now, the Lady works to weaken it.” He glanced at me. “There is only one thing missing, one thing that she needs for it to shatter and never re-form again.”
“You tried that once,” I growled at him. “It didn’t work. What makes you think this time will be any different?”
He gave me a chilling smile and gestured to the courtyard. “Look around you,” Keirran said. “Do you know where you are? Does any of this seem familiar?”
“Not even a little bit.”
“We saw it once, in passing,” Keirran insisted. “Don’t you remember? The first time I took you through the Between. It was just a ruin then, but I made note of where it was. A site of great power. A place that exists in both worlds.”
As usual, Kenzie got it before I did. “This is an anchor,” she guessed, and the prince nodded.
“Just a ruin,” he said. “A few stones. But it was enough. Enough for the Lady to build this kingdom and create a safe haven for the Forgotten. Not that it will be needed much longer.”
He turned to me, a smile playing across his lips. “We had it wrong before,” he almost whispered. “We know now why the Veil re-formed. The sacrifice must be done at the site of both worlds, not just the mortal realm.” His smile grew wider, more evil. “So, I guess it’s fortunate you didn’t die in Ireland after all.”
Horror flooded me, and Kenzie gasped with the realization. Keirran drew his sword, the raspy screech echoing over the walls. I backed away, shoving the girls behind me, and raised my own weapon. The Iron Prince stepped forward, the air around him turning frigid. “Well, now that you’re here, you can fulfill the true prophecy, Ethan Chase. You can die, again, and your blood will be the final force that will shatter the Veil for good.” He raised his sword, icy glamour beginning to swirl around him. “And this time, there will be no coming back.”
CHAPTER TWENTY
BLOOD AND SACRIFICE
He didn’t bother with magic this time. No lightning, ice darts, blast of wind, nothing. He just lunged at me, the curved steel blade slicing down at my neck. I leaped back, barely getting my sword up in time, and the screech of metal on metal rocked me and sent a chill racing up my spine.
“And here you are.” Keirran’s voice was flat, his eyes cutting. “Just as the queen said you would be. You are quite predictable, aren’t you, Ethan?” His gaze flicked from me to the girls, pressed to either side of me, and narrowed. “You shouldn’t have brought Annwyl and Kenzie, though. I have no wish to hurt them. This is between you and me. And you...”
He gestured sharply. A blast of wind shrieked through the courtyard, tossing dust and leaves and making Kenzie’s and Annwyl’s clothes snap, though it wasn’t directed at us. But there was a cry, and the Thin Man suddenly slammed into a statue, his body winking into existence before collapsing motionless to the stones. Keirran gestured again, and the statue lurched and tumbled forward, crashing to the stones and pinning the Thin Man beneath it. The prince smiled coldly.
“Fool me once,” he murmured, and raised his arm again.
“Keirran, stop!” Annwyl stepped around me, her eyes tearful as she faced down the prince. “Please,” she begged, holding out her hands. “If you ever loved me, please, stop this. It’s not too late. You can leave this place, leave the Lady and return home.”
Keirran looked at her, his eyes softening. “Annwyl,” he said, and for a moment, his voice was almost like the Keirran I used to know. “How can you ask me that?” he whispered. “Everything I’ve done, everything I’ve sacrificed, was for you. The Lady, the exiles, the Forgotten—they were all dying, but what I cared about most was saving you.”
“I didn’t want to be saved,” Annwyl returned. “Not when it turned you into this. Not when it cost me everything I loved about you.” Her voice grew harsher, almost desperate. “I don’t want this, Keirran,” she said. “I want the old you back, even if I can see him for only a moment. Even if I must die for you to return.”
Reaching around her neck, she yanked off the amulet, holding it up so that it swayed and throbbed in the eerie un-light. Keirran went rigid at the sight of it. “This is the cause of everything,” she said. “Prolonging my life, at the cost of your soul. It is an evil thing, Keirran, can’t you feel that? I want no part of it anymore.” She thrust the amulet at him, making it swing and glitter on its cord. “You have to destroy it. I can’t do it myself.”
“No.”
“Keirran—”
“I won’t watch you die, Annwyl!” For just a moment, a spark of anger and grief crossed his face. Gritting his teeth, he closed his eyes. “This is my legacy,” he whispered. “Death, and betrayal, and destruction. This is destiny, what fate has decided. You are the only good thing I will leave behind. If I...kill you, as well—” he made a weary, hopeless gesture “—if you die, this will all be for nothing. Everyone I’ve betrayed, all the death I’ve caused, will be for nothing.” He raked a hand through his silver bangs, his eyes shadowed. “What do I care if the Forgotten and exiles are saved,” he whispered, “if you’re not in the world any longer?”
Kenzie’s voice was sympathetic. “You still love her.”
“I never stopped,” Keirran growled, giving her a cold look. “Maybe it’s foolish. Maybe that’s the only piece of my soul I still have left. But it doesn’t matter. The First Queen’s plan is nearly complete. It’s too late for me to stop it.”
“It’s not too late for you, Prince,” I snapped. “You can still end this. Walk out with us, and go home. Do you really want to keep fighting everyone? Your parents, the courts, the entire Nevernever?” I gestured back toward the front gate. “Ash is out there, right now, holding off the Forgotten. If he makes it up here, what are you going to do? Fight your own dad? Are you going to kill your whole family before this is over?”
For just a second, he hesitated. For a heartbeat, I thought we’d gotten through. But then his eyes clouded over, and his face became hard.
“No,” he said, his voice resolved. “I can’t stop now. Not when we’re this close. I’ve chosen my path, and I won’t falter. The prophecy has decided my fate, and I am what they call me—the Destroyer. The Soulless One. So be it.” His eyes went icy, that cold apathy settling on him like a mantle. “I will be their villain,” he murmured, raising his head, “but I will also change the world with the First Queen. And nothing will stand in our way.”
“Keirran, please,” Annwyl whispered. “The realm is being torn apart. This war will obliterate everything. Please, you have to destroy the amulet. Just let me go.”
The Iron Prince looked at her blankly, all traces of the old Keirran disappearing as the icy stranger took his place. “Do I?” he mused, cocking his head. “Maybe I will. Maybe I will destroy it after all. But not until the Veil has fallen. Even now, the Lady works to weaken it.” He glanced at me. “There is only one thing missing, one thing that she needs for it to shatter and never re-form again.”
“You tried that once,” I growled at him. “It didn’t work. What makes you think this time will be any different?”
He gave me a chilling smile and gestured to the courtyard. “Look around you,” Keirran said. “Do you know where you are? Does any of this seem familiar?”
“Not even a little bit.”
“We saw it once, in passing,” Keirran insisted. “Don’t you remember? The first time I took you through the Between. It was just a ruin then, but I made note of where it was. A site of great power. A place that exists in both worlds.”
As usual, Kenzie got it before I did. “This is an anchor,” she guessed, and the prince nodded.
“Just a ruin,” he said. “A few stones. But it was enough. Enough for the Lady to build this kingdom and create a safe haven for the Forgotten. Not that it will be needed much longer.”
He turned to me, a smile playing across his lips. “We had it wrong before,” he almost whispered. “We know now why the Veil re-formed. The sacrifice must be done at the site of both worlds, not just the mortal realm.” His smile grew wider, more evil. “So, I guess it’s fortunate you didn’t die in Ireland after all.”
Horror flooded me, and Kenzie gasped with the realization. Keirran drew his sword, the raspy screech echoing over the walls. I backed away, shoving the girls behind me, and raised my own weapon. The Iron Prince stepped forward, the air around him turning frigid. “Well, now that you’re here, you can fulfill the true prophecy, Ethan Chase. You can die, again, and your blood will be the final force that will shatter the Veil for good.” He raised his sword, icy glamour beginning to swirl around him. “And this time, there will be no coming back.”
CHAPTER TWENTY
BLOOD AND SACRIFICE
He didn’t bother with magic this time. No lightning, ice darts, blast of wind, nothing. He just lunged at me, the curved steel blade slicing down at my neck. I leaped back, barely getting my sword up in time, and the screech of metal on metal rocked me and sent a chill racing up my spine.
