The Iron Warrior
Page 64
“Ethan.” Kenzie’s voice echoed somewhere above me, weak and tight with pain. “No. What about your sister and your parents? You can’t let him—”
Some of the limbs uncoiled, releasing her so that her legs swung out over the drop. Kenzie gasped, clawing at the vines to keep hold of them, and I nearly choked on panic.
“Nooooo!”
A tiny, furious cry rang out, and Razor landed on Keirran’s shoulder, beating him with his fists, teeth bared. “No, no, Master stop! Stop stop! No hurt pretty girl!”
“Razor!” Keirran snapped, sounding exasperated. He gestured sharply, and the little gremlin flew away with a blast of wind, tumbling to the ground. Before he could recover, a root snaked down, lifted the hissing, squirming gremlin into the air and tossed him over the wall. Razor wailed as he arched over the stones, a tiny speck of black against the sky, and dropped out of sight. Kenzie screamed his name in horror and outrage.
“Damn you, Keirran—”
“I could send her after him,” the prince remarked calmly, and several coils loosened, dropping Kenzie a couple feet. She cried out, desperately grabbing the branches, but her fingers slipped, and she plunged downward. Only one vine, wrapped around her wrist, kept her from plummeting to her death. Frantic, I whirled and took a step toward him.
“Keirran, stop! Dammit, you win already! Look!” I threw my swords aside, tossing them to the ground. “I’m done,” I choked out as he gazed at me. “I won’t fight you. Just kill me, if that’s what you want.”
My chest felt tight with failure, knowing I’d let everyone down. Meghan, my parents, Guro, my whole damn world. I’m sorry, Kenzie, I thought, as Keirran finally lowered his arm and turned away from her. I never thought he would go this far. But if I can save only one person out of this whole stupid ordeal, it’s going to be you every time. I love you. Please, take care of yourself.
Keirran raised his sword and pointed to the middle of the courtyard. “Here, Ethan,” he ordered quietly. “No more fighting. No more delays. We do it right here.”
Numbly, I walked to where the Iron Prince pointed, facing him across the stones. He stepped forward, his steel blade glittering in the darkness. “Kneel,” he told me.
I dropped to my knees on the flagstones. Small spatters of blood already dotted the ground where I knelt; in a moment, there would be a huge puddle spreading across the stones. Dead again, I mused. Only this time, I wasn’t coming back, and the Veil would be destroyed for good. Meghan, I thought as Keirran stepped in front of me, my skin prickling in the sudden chill. I hope you can forgive me.
“I’ll make it quick,” Keirran said almost gently, and raised his sword. I bowed my head but kept my eyes open, hearing my heart roar in my ears, bracing for the final blow. “You won’t feel anything, Ethan, I promise.”
Searing light flooded the courtyard.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
ANNWYL’S CHOICE
Keirran jerked, and I looked up as a brilliant light illuminated the darkness, driving back the shadows. It was hot and golden, like sunlight on a blistering summer’s day, blinding and intense. We both flinched back, and I shielded my eyes with a hand, squinting at the spot the radiance was coming from.
Annwyl.
Annwyl was glowing, a tiny sun that was almost too bright to look at. Around her, the Forgotten writhed and cringed away, shrinking back from the light, as the Summer girl stepped toward us, her hair floating around her like a halo. Her eyes glowed a savage green as she faced Keirran, who looked stunned.
“Enough, Keirran.” Her voice rang out over the courtyard, clear and confident. And pissed. She strode forward, and I scrambled away from her, feeling warmth wash over my skin as she approached. I looked closer and saw tears streaming down her face, even as she held her furious gaze on the prince.
“No more,” Annwyl said softly, and her voice was both resolved and incredibly sad. “This has gone far enough.”
“Annwyl,” Keirran whispered, incredulous. He staggered back and dropped to a knee, bracing himself on the flagstones. “How...? Your magic...you have no glamour anymore.”
“No, I don’t.” Annwyl stepped in front of me, putting herself between me and the prince. “This is your magic, Keirran. The amulet binds us together. Your glamour is what kept me alive all this time. I never used it before, because I feared draining you further and hastening your death. For so long, I denied myself magic, barely clinging to existence, because I was worried about you.” She breathed deeply, and the light expanded with her, pushing the darkness back. “I love you, Keirran,” she whispered, as the prince struggled to his feet. “But this cannot go on. I cannot stand here and watch you destroy everything you once loved. If you are willing to slaughter your own family, then the prince I knew is truly dead. And I...must make this right, for everyone.”
“Annwyl...” Keirran looked almost nervous as he backed away, skirting the light. “Stop. Don’t make me kill you, too.”
The Summer faery shook her head. “I’m already gone, Keirran,” she said quietly. “I have been for a long time now. But I plan to take you with me when my essence returns to the Nevernever. And maybe someday, when we’re reborn, we’ll meet again.”
Now Keirran looked angry. He raised his arm, but Annwyl’s light flared hotter, brighter. The ground at her feet cracked, and grass began to emerge, crawling over the barren stones and spreading around her. The prince staggered, his color leaching away, as light continued to pour from Annwyl. Where it touched, flowers and ferns appeared, shocking bits of color in the dead gray courtyard.
“Ethan,” Annwyl continued, without taking her gaze from Keirran, “go help Kenzie. I will deal with the prince.”
“Annwyl—”
“Go, Ethan Chase!” The Summer faery’s voice rang with authority, and I went.
“No,” Keirran snarled, as I dashed for the wall. I saw him start after me, but there was a burst of heat from Annwyl, and the prince gave a cry of dismay and rage. I didn’t look back. Snatching one of my dropped swords from the ground, I raced to the wall and leaped onto the tangle of roots and vines, climbing my way toward the top.
“Kenzie!”
She looked up at me, dangling over the vast precipice, one arm still tangled in vines. “Hang on,” I told her, and sank my blade into one of the vines coiled around her arm. Kenzie clung doggedly as I cleared most of the knot, then reached out an arm. “Here!” I yelled, straining for her. “Kenzie, take my hand.”
Gritting her teeth, she lunged for it, clamping on to my wrist. I pulled her from the coil of roots, then carefully lowered her to the courtyard below. Relief stabbed through me as she hit the ground. Safe.
But before I could relax, the roots beneath me went nuts, writhing and swaying like something on fire. Startled, I grabbed wildly for a vine, but with a sudden heave, the branch bucked me off, thankfully in the direction of the courtyard. For a few seconds, I was airborne and saw the ground rushing up at me.
I hit grass instead of stone, which was a blessing, though it still clacked my teeth together and sent a flare of pain up my side. Dazed, I looked up to see Keirran and Annwyl in the center of a magical whirlwind, leaves, twigs, rocks and ice shards swirling around them. Keirran had his sword raised, and Annwyl was unarmed, bursts of magic erupting all around them. The Iron Prince looked pale and weak, somehow less of himself, while Annwyl still blazed with her stolen glamour, her hair whipping around her head.
Some of the limbs uncoiled, releasing her so that her legs swung out over the drop. Kenzie gasped, clawing at the vines to keep hold of them, and I nearly choked on panic.
“Nooooo!”
A tiny, furious cry rang out, and Razor landed on Keirran’s shoulder, beating him with his fists, teeth bared. “No, no, Master stop! Stop stop! No hurt pretty girl!”
“Razor!” Keirran snapped, sounding exasperated. He gestured sharply, and the little gremlin flew away with a blast of wind, tumbling to the ground. Before he could recover, a root snaked down, lifted the hissing, squirming gremlin into the air and tossed him over the wall. Razor wailed as he arched over the stones, a tiny speck of black against the sky, and dropped out of sight. Kenzie screamed his name in horror and outrage.
“Damn you, Keirran—”
“I could send her after him,” the prince remarked calmly, and several coils loosened, dropping Kenzie a couple feet. She cried out, desperately grabbing the branches, but her fingers slipped, and she plunged downward. Only one vine, wrapped around her wrist, kept her from plummeting to her death. Frantic, I whirled and took a step toward him.
“Keirran, stop! Dammit, you win already! Look!” I threw my swords aside, tossing them to the ground. “I’m done,” I choked out as he gazed at me. “I won’t fight you. Just kill me, if that’s what you want.”
My chest felt tight with failure, knowing I’d let everyone down. Meghan, my parents, Guro, my whole damn world. I’m sorry, Kenzie, I thought, as Keirran finally lowered his arm and turned away from her. I never thought he would go this far. But if I can save only one person out of this whole stupid ordeal, it’s going to be you every time. I love you. Please, take care of yourself.
Keirran raised his sword and pointed to the middle of the courtyard. “Here, Ethan,” he ordered quietly. “No more fighting. No more delays. We do it right here.”
Numbly, I walked to where the Iron Prince pointed, facing him across the stones. He stepped forward, his steel blade glittering in the darkness. “Kneel,” he told me.
I dropped to my knees on the flagstones. Small spatters of blood already dotted the ground where I knelt; in a moment, there would be a huge puddle spreading across the stones. Dead again, I mused. Only this time, I wasn’t coming back, and the Veil would be destroyed for good. Meghan, I thought as Keirran stepped in front of me, my skin prickling in the sudden chill. I hope you can forgive me.
“I’ll make it quick,” Keirran said almost gently, and raised his sword. I bowed my head but kept my eyes open, hearing my heart roar in my ears, bracing for the final blow. “You won’t feel anything, Ethan, I promise.”
Searing light flooded the courtyard.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
ANNWYL’S CHOICE
Keirran jerked, and I looked up as a brilliant light illuminated the darkness, driving back the shadows. It was hot and golden, like sunlight on a blistering summer’s day, blinding and intense. We both flinched back, and I shielded my eyes with a hand, squinting at the spot the radiance was coming from.
Annwyl.
Annwyl was glowing, a tiny sun that was almost too bright to look at. Around her, the Forgotten writhed and cringed away, shrinking back from the light, as the Summer girl stepped toward us, her hair floating around her like a halo. Her eyes glowed a savage green as she faced Keirran, who looked stunned.
“Enough, Keirran.” Her voice rang out over the courtyard, clear and confident. And pissed. She strode forward, and I scrambled away from her, feeling warmth wash over my skin as she approached. I looked closer and saw tears streaming down her face, even as she held her furious gaze on the prince.
“No more,” Annwyl said softly, and her voice was both resolved and incredibly sad. “This has gone far enough.”
“Annwyl,” Keirran whispered, incredulous. He staggered back and dropped to a knee, bracing himself on the flagstones. “How...? Your magic...you have no glamour anymore.”
“No, I don’t.” Annwyl stepped in front of me, putting herself between me and the prince. “This is your magic, Keirran. The amulet binds us together. Your glamour is what kept me alive all this time. I never used it before, because I feared draining you further and hastening your death. For so long, I denied myself magic, barely clinging to existence, because I was worried about you.” She breathed deeply, and the light expanded with her, pushing the darkness back. “I love you, Keirran,” she whispered, as the prince struggled to his feet. “But this cannot go on. I cannot stand here and watch you destroy everything you once loved. If you are willing to slaughter your own family, then the prince I knew is truly dead. And I...must make this right, for everyone.”
“Annwyl...” Keirran looked almost nervous as he backed away, skirting the light. “Stop. Don’t make me kill you, too.”
The Summer faery shook her head. “I’m already gone, Keirran,” she said quietly. “I have been for a long time now. But I plan to take you with me when my essence returns to the Nevernever. And maybe someday, when we’re reborn, we’ll meet again.”
Now Keirran looked angry. He raised his arm, but Annwyl’s light flared hotter, brighter. The ground at her feet cracked, and grass began to emerge, crawling over the barren stones and spreading around her. The prince staggered, his color leaching away, as light continued to pour from Annwyl. Where it touched, flowers and ferns appeared, shocking bits of color in the dead gray courtyard.
“Ethan,” Annwyl continued, without taking her gaze from Keirran, “go help Kenzie. I will deal with the prince.”
“Annwyl—”
“Go, Ethan Chase!” The Summer faery’s voice rang with authority, and I went.
“No,” Keirran snarled, as I dashed for the wall. I saw him start after me, but there was a burst of heat from Annwyl, and the prince gave a cry of dismay and rage. I didn’t look back. Snatching one of my dropped swords from the ground, I raced to the wall and leaped onto the tangle of roots and vines, climbing my way toward the top.
“Kenzie!”
She looked up at me, dangling over the vast precipice, one arm still tangled in vines. “Hang on,” I told her, and sank my blade into one of the vines coiled around her arm. Kenzie clung doggedly as I cleared most of the knot, then reached out an arm. “Here!” I yelled, straining for her. “Kenzie, take my hand.”
Gritting her teeth, she lunged for it, clamping on to my wrist. I pulled her from the coil of roots, then carefully lowered her to the courtyard below. Relief stabbed through me as she hit the ground. Safe.
But before I could relax, the roots beneath me went nuts, writhing and swaying like something on fire. Startled, I grabbed wildly for a vine, but with a sudden heave, the branch bucked me off, thankfully in the direction of the courtyard. For a few seconds, I was airborne and saw the ground rushing up at me.
I hit grass instead of stone, which was a blessing, though it still clacked my teeth together and sent a flare of pain up my side. Dazed, I looked up to see Keirran and Annwyl in the center of a magical whirlwind, leaves, twigs, rocks and ice shards swirling around them. Keirran had his sword raised, and Annwyl was unarmed, bursts of magic erupting all around them. The Iron Prince looked pale and weak, somehow less of himself, while Annwyl still blazed with her stolen glamour, her hair whipping around her head.
