The Iron Warrior
Page 67
“We have come so far,” the Lady whispered. “So very far. We have survived being forgotten, a war, having the memory of us purged from the Nevernever. We have clung to existence by a thread, and now the instrument of our salvation is standing right there.” The long, elegant finger suddenly pointed right at me. “Kill him, Prince,” she urged, as I tensed. “Once more. For the future of us all. Your hands are already stained with his blood. It should not matter now.” Keirran hesitated, and the Lady’s voice grew triumphant. “You cannot escape destiny, Prince,” she said. “This is what was prophesied from the beginning. This is what you were always fated to do.”
“Fate?”
Keirran looked up at the queen, and a hard smile twisted his lips. “You speak of that so easily, as if I have no choice in the matter,” he said. “But you knew about the amulet, and what it was doing to me. I was soulless and empty, and your magic kept me alive even as it filled me with anger toward the courts and everything they had done. I was easy to manipulate, but even then, I knew I had a choice. Even though I believed in your cause and wanted to save the Forgotten, I knew I didn’t have to wage war on the other courts. I chose to become the enemy. Just as I have a choice right now.”
He drew his sword, giving me the briefest of looks before turning back to the Lady. “I have much to answer for,” he said in a pained voice, “but I finally know where I stand, and it’s with my family. If you want Ethan, or anyone in the Nevernever, you’ll have to get past me.”
The First Queen’s eyes shifted completely to black.
“As you wish, Prince Keirran,” she said in a deadly calm voice. “I am sorry that it has come to this. But the Veil will fall tonight. And if I must spill your blood as well as his, then so be it. It will be a small price to pay for our salvation.”
She swept her wings forward. I felt a blast of wind toss my hair, just as a flurry of black feathers sped toward us like darts. I grabbed Kenzie, shielding her with my body, and Keirran flung out an arm with a burst of Winter glamour. The feathers veered away with a hiss, sticking into the walls and stones, glittering like shards of onyx.
Crap.
“Kenzie,” I warned, and she nodded. As Keirran sent a small blizzard of ice daggers toward the queen, she broke away and sprinted toward the wall. To the statue where the barely visible form of the Thin Man still sprawled under the rock.
Good. Get out of sight, Kenzie. This is going to be ugly. I turned back, raising my sword, as the Lady’s wings swept down, and Keirran’s ice daggers shattered against them. She laughed.
“You are not the only one with multiple glamours, my dear prince,” the Lady mocked, rising higher into the air. Around us, the Forgotten were a silent audience, watching the battle with glowing yellow eyes. The queen held up her hands, ice and lightning swirling between her fingers. “Before there was a Summer and Winter court, before Arcadia and Tir Na Nog, I ruled the Nevernever! Both Summer and Winter bow to me, as will you all, in the end!”
She flung out her arms, and a maelstrom erupted around us. Tornado winds shrieked, lightning flickered, ice and rock fragments spun madly in a circle, sparking off each other. Half-blinded, I raised my arm, searching for Keirran. Though the wind yanked savagely at my hair and clothes, and I felt the charge of electricity raising the hair on my skin, nothing actually touched me, not even the frozen shards and pebbles swirling through the air. Though Keirran was a different story.
I spotted the prince and lurched toward him, just as a pair of lightning bolts streaked down, catching him in a deadly cross fire. Keirran cried out, arching back in agony, then collapsed to his knees on the flagstones.
I lunged at the prince, managing to put myself between him and a razor chunk of ice spinning toward his head. It zipped past me, close enough to make my ear burn with cold, and went spinning off as I huddled over him.
“Keirran.” I reached out and grabbed his shoulder, trying to see the damage. He was panting, smoke curling off his back, his face tight with pain. Wind shrieked around us, lightning flickered, and debris flew everywhere, but it was calmer in the center of the storm. I hunched closer to my nephew, sword drawn to deflect any sharp objects that came at him, trying to protect us both.
“It’s no good,” he muttered through clenched teeth. “She’s too strong. This isn’t even half of her power. She was...a queen of Faery, after all.” He looked up at me, blue eyes full of pain and regret. “You can still...run, Ethan. Her glamour can’t touch you now...but if she orders the Forgotten to attack...”
“Shut up,” I told him, and smacked down a rock streaking for his head. “I’m still breathing, so it’s not over yet. We’re getting out of here...somehow.” Glancing desperately around, I saw that the Forgotten had edged closer, many dropping from the wall to the flagstones below. A black swarm waiting at the edge of the courtyard.
Abruptly, the wind sputtered and died. The lightning flickered out, the ice shards and rocks dropped to the ground with faint clinks, bouncing away or shattering on the rock. I straightened, still standing over Keirran, as the First Queen cocked her head, regarding me with cold black eyes.
“Ethan Chase.” Her voice was no longer soft or soothing; now it was merely annoyed. “You are either the luckiest or most stubborn mortal I have met in my long existence. How many times must I kill you for it to take? You just will not die like you should.”
I smirked, raising my sword and stepping in front of Keirran. “People keep telling me that. I guess I’m just that cockroach you can’t get rid of.”
She sent a dozen gleaming thorns at me, foot-long and deadly sharp. I stepped back to protect Keirran, and the barbs curved around us, flying into a couple Forgotten instead. They jerked and writhed away into shadow, and the First Queen scowled.
“Very well, Ethan Chase. I was going to give you a quick death, but you refuse to cooperate. Therefore...” She raised her arms and soared higher into the air. “You can be torn to pieces by my Forgotten. You and the prince both. Kill them!” she shouted at the swarm of fey around us. “Rip them apart! Spill their blood across the stones, and let the Veil finally fall!”
The black mass of Forgotten leaped from the walls, pouring into the courtyard and sliding toward us like ink. I spun as Keirran lurched to his feet and raised his sword. For a moment, standing back to back with the Iron Prince, surrounded by Forgotten in a place of power, I had a surreal flash of déjà vu. The last time this had happened, Keirran had turned around and run a sword through my middle.
“Ethan.” His voice was quiet, just like last time. I tensed and forced a raspy chuckle.
“Keirran, if you’re about to stab me, I swear I’m going to claw my way out of the grave and drag you back with me.”
“No.” A shiver went through him, and he took a deep breath. “Just...thank you. And, I’m sorry. For everything. I just... I wish I could talk to my parents one more time.” He shifted back and raised his sword, his voice going hard. “But I’ll be proud to die fighting beside you.”
I grimaced. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.” But...it looked pretty hopeless from where I was standing. There were a ton of Forgotten, in the courtyard, on the walls, with even more sliding into view. Even with Keirran’s help, I couldn’t fight that many. Though I’d give them a hell of a hard time before I went down.
“Fate?”
Keirran looked up at the queen, and a hard smile twisted his lips. “You speak of that so easily, as if I have no choice in the matter,” he said. “But you knew about the amulet, and what it was doing to me. I was soulless and empty, and your magic kept me alive even as it filled me with anger toward the courts and everything they had done. I was easy to manipulate, but even then, I knew I had a choice. Even though I believed in your cause and wanted to save the Forgotten, I knew I didn’t have to wage war on the other courts. I chose to become the enemy. Just as I have a choice right now.”
He drew his sword, giving me the briefest of looks before turning back to the Lady. “I have much to answer for,” he said in a pained voice, “but I finally know where I stand, and it’s with my family. If you want Ethan, or anyone in the Nevernever, you’ll have to get past me.”
The First Queen’s eyes shifted completely to black.
“As you wish, Prince Keirran,” she said in a deadly calm voice. “I am sorry that it has come to this. But the Veil will fall tonight. And if I must spill your blood as well as his, then so be it. It will be a small price to pay for our salvation.”
She swept her wings forward. I felt a blast of wind toss my hair, just as a flurry of black feathers sped toward us like darts. I grabbed Kenzie, shielding her with my body, and Keirran flung out an arm with a burst of Winter glamour. The feathers veered away with a hiss, sticking into the walls and stones, glittering like shards of onyx.
Crap.
“Kenzie,” I warned, and she nodded. As Keirran sent a small blizzard of ice daggers toward the queen, she broke away and sprinted toward the wall. To the statue where the barely visible form of the Thin Man still sprawled under the rock.
Good. Get out of sight, Kenzie. This is going to be ugly. I turned back, raising my sword, as the Lady’s wings swept down, and Keirran’s ice daggers shattered against them. She laughed.
“You are not the only one with multiple glamours, my dear prince,” the Lady mocked, rising higher into the air. Around us, the Forgotten were a silent audience, watching the battle with glowing yellow eyes. The queen held up her hands, ice and lightning swirling between her fingers. “Before there was a Summer and Winter court, before Arcadia and Tir Na Nog, I ruled the Nevernever! Both Summer and Winter bow to me, as will you all, in the end!”
She flung out her arms, and a maelstrom erupted around us. Tornado winds shrieked, lightning flickered, ice and rock fragments spun madly in a circle, sparking off each other. Half-blinded, I raised my arm, searching for Keirran. Though the wind yanked savagely at my hair and clothes, and I felt the charge of electricity raising the hair on my skin, nothing actually touched me, not even the frozen shards and pebbles swirling through the air. Though Keirran was a different story.
I spotted the prince and lurched toward him, just as a pair of lightning bolts streaked down, catching him in a deadly cross fire. Keirran cried out, arching back in agony, then collapsed to his knees on the flagstones.
I lunged at the prince, managing to put myself between him and a razor chunk of ice spinning toward his head. It zipped past me, close enough to make my ear burn with cold, and went spinning off as I huddled over him.
“Keirran.” I reached out and grabbed his shoulder, trying to see the damage. He was panting, smoke curling off his back, his face tight with pain. Wind shrieked around us, lightning flickered, and debris flew everywhere, but it was calmer in the center of the storm. I hunched closer to my nephew, sword drawn to deflect any sharp objects that came at him, trying to protect us both.
“It’s no good,” he muttered through clenched teeth. “She’s too strong. This isn’t even half of her power. She was...a queen of Faery, after all.” He looked up at me, blue eyes full of pain and regret. “You can still...run, Ethan. Her glamour can’t touch you now...but if she orders the Forgotten to attack...”
“Shut up,” I told him, and smacked down a rock streaking for his head. “I’m still breathing, so it’s not over yet. We’re getting out of here...somehow.” Glancing desperately around, I saw that the Forgotten had edged closer, many dropping from the wall to the flagstones below. A black swarm waiting at the edge of the courtyard.
Abruptly, the wind sputtered and died. The lightning flickered out, the ice shards and rocks dropped to the ground with faint clinks, bouncing away or shattering on the rock. I straightened, still standing over Keirran, as the First Queen cocked her head, regarding me with cold black eyes.
“Ethan Chase.” Her voice was no longer soft or soothing; now it was merely annoyed. “You are either the luckiest or most stubborn mortal I have met in my long existence. How many times must I kill you for it to take? You just will not die like you should.”
I smirked, raising my sword and stepping in front of Keirran. “People keep telling me that. I guess I’m just that cockroach you can’t get rid of.”
She sent a dozen gleaming thorns at me, foot-long and deadly sharp. I stepped back to protect Keirran, and the barbs curved around us, flying into a couple Forgotten instead. They jerked and writhed away into shadow, and the First Queen scowled.
“Very well, Ethan Chase. I was going to give you a quick death, but you refuse to cooperate. Therefore...” She raised her arms and soared higher into the air. “You can be torn to pieces by my Forgotten. You and the prince both. Kill them!” she shouted at the swarm of fey around us. “Rip them apart! Spill their blood across the stones, and let the Veil finally fall!”
The black mass of Forgotten leaped from the walls, pouring into the courtyard and sliding toward us like ink. I spun as Keirran lurched to his feet and raised his sword. For a moment, standing back to back with the Iron Prince, surrounded by Forgotten in a place of power, I had a surreal flash of déjà vu. The last time this had happened, Keirran had turned around and run a sword through my middle.
“Ethan.” His voice was quiet, just like last time. I tensed and forced a raspy chuckle.
“Keirran, if you’re about to stab me, I swear I’m going to claw my way out of the grave and drag you back with me.”
“No.” A shiver went through him, and he took a deep breath. “Just...thank you. And, I’m sorry. For everything. I just... I wish I could talk to my parents one more time.” He shifted back and raised his sword, his voice going hard. “But I’ll be proud to die fighting beside you.”
I grimaced. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.” But...it looked pretty hopeless from where I was standing. There were a ton of Forgotten, in the courtyard, on the walls, with even more sliding into view. Even with Keirran’s help, I couldn’t fight that many. Though I’d give them a hell of a hard time before I went down.
