The Iron Warrior
Page 73
Todd wasn’t the only one affected. Everywhere I went, people seemed...less frantic, I supposed. Less cynical and jaded, and more willing to believe things lurked out there in the dark. The fey world, too, had changed, at least on this side of the Veil. The faeries I glimpsed in the mortal world were brighter now, more...real...than They’d been before the Between went down. I felt that, with just a little more glamour, a little more belief, They just might pierce the Veil and start becoming visible to those who wanted to see Them.
Or maybe I was crazy. Maybe seeing the fey for so long had skewed my perception of reality. But, ever since I’d returned from the Nevernever, I’d noticed that the world around me—both worlds, actually, were a little different than before. I suspected it would be a while before things truly returned to normal, if ever. Maybe that was a good thing.
“Ethan?” Mom tapped on the door of my room. “MacKenzie is here. Should I tell her you’re busy?”
I jerked up. “No! Be right out,” I called. Closing the suitcase, I zipped it shut, then put it on the floor next to the duffel bag and opened the door.
Kenzie smiled at me over the threshold. “Hey, tough guy,” she greeted, as Razor cackled and bounced from her shoulder into my room. Though her smile was cheerful, her eyes were shadowed. “Thought I’d get here a little early, seeing as I’m going to lose you tomorrow.”
I drew her into my arms, kissing her deeply. “You’re not losing me,” I said as we pulled back. “I just... I have to get out of here, Kenzie. You know that. Too many whispers. Too many rumors surrounding me and my family. I need to find a place where nobody knows me, where I can try to start again.” Kenzie sighed, and I held her tighter. “I’ll be back,” I promised. “I’m not leaving you.”
She sniffed. “I know.”
“Besides,” I teased, running my fingers through her hair, “you’ll be off to college soon, Ms. Scholarship Girl. And you’ll be so busy with parties and classes and sorority clubs that you’ll forget all about me.”
“I very seriously doubt that,” Kenzie said, her gaze flicking to Razor, chewing on one of my pencils on the desk. “Hard to forget what we’ve been through when there’s a gremlin staring you in the face all the time.” Her brow furrowed, and she shook her head. “I don’t know what’s going to happen when I leave for college, because there’s no way Razor is staying behind. When I told him to go back to the Iron Realm last week, he nearly short-circuited all the lights in the house with his tantrum. So, looks like I’m stuck with him.” She rolled her eyes. “Whatever happens, it’s gonna be interesting.”
Drawing back, she walked over to my bed and plopped onto the mattress, and I crossed the room to shut the door. “Hey, how are the therapy sessions going?” I asked, rescuing an ink pen from Razor, who gave me an irritated buzz and bounced over to Kenzie. She snorted, absently patting the gremlin’s head as he scrambled to her shoulder.
“Okay, I guess. Dad still doesn’t like talking about Mom, but this woman is persistent. He actually choked up during the last session.” Kenzie shook her head, amazed. “We finally had a sort-of conversation this morning, without any intervention. He doesn’t know about my...um...talent with invisible things, but I don’t think that will ever be in the cards. Still, I figure by the time I leave for college, he might actually treat me like a daughter and not a very breakable piece of furniture.” She sighed. “Though it will be nice to leave the house without hearing all the warnings about drugs and teen pregnancy.”
I chuckled. “He still hates my guts, doesn’t he?”
“Hate is such a strong word.” Kenzie grimaced. “It’s more of a strong revulsion now. And I’ve sung your praises, told him you got your GED over the summer, everything I could think of. The man is intractable.”
“Yeah.” I shoved the thought of Kenzie’s father out of my head, determined not to ruin this moment. “Hey, come here a second.” She frowned but stood up and walked to where I was leaning against the desk. My heart pounded as I turned, reached into one of the drawers and pulled out a small white box. “I...um...got you something,” I said, watching her eyes light up as I turned back. “Sort of a congratulations gift. Six months as of today, you’ve been in remission. I hope it’s for another six years. Longer than that. I hope its forever.”
A lump rose to my throat, and I swallowed hard. It might not be forever, I reminded myself. Remission wasn’t a cure, it was not a sure thing. Kenzie’s illness could come back someday. Who knew how much time we had? But that was the real world; Faery magic couldn’t make everything better. You couldn’t wave a wand and have all your wishes come true. Real life wasn’t a fairy tale.
I was okay with that, though. I didn’t need magic to solve everything. However long I had with Kenzie, I wasn’t going to waste it.
She blinked, and her eyes went a little glassy. “It’s not much,” I warned, holding out the box. “Just a reminder that, even though I’ll be away from you, I’ll always be yours.”
Carefully, she opened the box. Inside was a simple necklace with two hearts, one gold and one silver, intertwined in the center. They were engraved, the silver one reading tough guy, the other simply saying forever.
“Ethan,” Kenzie whispered, sounding awed. “It’s beautiful.”
Gently, I drew it out and fastened it around her neck, and she gazed at me with huge dark eyes, the hint of a smile playing on her lips. “I never thought you could be such a romantic.”
I smiled. “Well, then, let me convince you beyond all doubt,” I said. Brushing back her hair, I drew closer, gazing into her eyes. “I love you, Kenzie,” I said. “You’re my partner, and my sanity, and my saving grace. We’ve gone through so much, more than any normal person could dream of, and you’ve always been there for me. Someday, when you’re ready, it’ll be a ring in that box instead of a necklace. I can’t think of anyone else I’d rather have at my side. And someday, if Faery calls me back, I want you with me. Fighting dragons and bargaining with faery queens and arguing with talking cats.” She was crying now, smiling broadly through the tears, and I brushed her cheek. “So you don’t have to worry about losing me tomorrow,” I told her. “Because there’s no way I’ll ever leave you behind.”
She kissed me then, and it went on for a long while. Not even Razor’s cackles of kissy-kissy could distract me from the girl in my arms. Only the sound of the doorbell ringing broke us apart. Curious, I pulled back, listening as it rang again. We didn’t have many visitors. Other than Kenzie, who never rang the doorbell, no one really visited the house.
Leaving the room, we wandered hand in hand down the hall, meeting Mom in the kitchen. She looked as puzzled as I felt. Dad was home tonight as well, and was walking across the tile to answer the door. As his hand closed on the knob, Razor let out an excited cry and, abruptly, I knew.
Pulling the door back, Dad stared in surprise as Meghan smiled at me through the frame. My heart jumped, and Mom gasped.
“Meghan!”
She rushed forward, and Meghan stepped inside to be engulfed in a hug. Stunned, I could only watch as Mom drew back, her face alight with questions. “We didn’t know you were coming!” Mom exclaimed, taking her hands. “How have you been? Will you be staying long—”
Or maybe I was crazy. Maybe seeing the fey for so long had skewed my perception of reality. But, ever since I’d returned from the Nevernever, I’d noticed that the world around me—both worlds, actually, were a little different than before. I suspected it would be a while before things truly returned to normal, if ever. Maybe that was a good thing.
“Ethan?” Mom tapped on the door of my room. “MacKenzie is here. Should I tell her you’re busy?”
I jerked up. “No! Be right out,” I called. Closing the suitcase, I zipped it shut, then put it on the floor next to the duffel bag and opened the door.
Kenzie smiled at me over the threshold. “Hey, tough guy,” she greeted, as Razor cackled and bounced from her shoulder into my room. Though her smile was cheerful, her eyes were shadowed. “Thought I’d get here a little early, seeing as I’m going to lose you tomorrow.”
I drew her into my arms, kissing her deeply. “You’re not losing me,” I said as we pulled back. “I just... I have to get out of here, Kenzie. You know that. Too many whispers. Too many rumors surrounding me and my family. I need to find a place where nobody knows me, where I can try to start again.” Kenzie sighed, and I held her tighter. “I’ll be back,” I promised. “I’m not leaving you.”
She sniffed. “I know.”
“Besides,” I teased, running my fingers through her hair, “you’ll be off to college soon, Ms. Scholarship Girl. And you’ll be so busy with parties and classes and sorority clubs that you’ll forget all about me.”
“I very seriously doubt that,” Kenzie said, her gaze flicking to Razor, chewing on one of my pencils on the desk. “Hard to forget what we’ve been through when there’s a gremlin staring you in the face all the time.” Her brow furrowed, and she shook her head. “I don’t know what’s going to happen when I leave for college, because there’s no way Razor is staying behind. When I told him to go back to the Iron Realm last week, he nearly short-circuited all the lights in the house with his tantrum. So, looks like I’m stuck with him.” She rolled her eyes. “Whatever happens, it’s gonna be interesting.”
Drawing back, she walked over to my bed and plopped onto the mattress, and I crossed the room to shut the door. “Hey, how are the therapy sessions going?” I asked, rescuing an ink pen from Razor, who gave me an irritated buzz and bounced over to Kenzie. She snorted, absently patting the gremlin’s head as he scrambled to her shoulder.
“Okay, I guess. Dad still doesn’t like talking about Mom, but this woman is persistent. He actually choked up during the last session.” Kenzie shook her head, amazed. “We finally had a sort-of conversation this morning, without any intervention. He doesn’t know about my...um...talent with invisible things, but I don’t think that will ever be in the cards. Still, I figure by the time I leave for college, he might actually treat me like a daughter and not a very breakable piece of furniture.” She sighed. “Though it will be nice to leave the house without hearing all the warnings about drugs and teen pregnancy.”
I chuckled. “He still hates my guts, doesn’t he?”
“Hate is such a strong word.” Kenzie grimaced. “It’s more of a strong revulsion now. And I’ve sung your praises, told him you got your GED over the summer, everything I could think of. The man is intractable.”
“Yeah.” I shoved the thought of Kenzie’s father out of my head, determined not to ruin this moment. “Hey, come here a second.” She frowned but stood up and walked to where I was leaning against the desk. My heart pounded as I turned, reached into one of the drawers and pulled out a small white box. “I...um...got you something,” I said, watching her eyes light up as I turned back. “Sort of a congratulations gift. Six months as of today, you’ve been in remission. I hope it’s for another six years. Longer than that. I hope its forever.”
A lump rose to my throat, and I swallowed hard. It might not be forever, I reminded myself. Remission wasn’t a cure, it was not a sure thing. Kenzie’s illness could come back someday. Who knew how much time we had? But that was the real world; Faery magic couldn’t make everything better. You couldn’t wave a wand and have all your wishes come true. Real life wasn’t a fairy tale.
I was okay with that, though. I didn’t need magic to solve everything. However long I had with Kenzie, I wasn’t going to waste it.
She blinked, and her eyes went a little glassy. “It’s not much,” I warned, holding out the box. “Just a reminder that, even though I’ll be away from you, I’ll always be yours.”
Carefully, she opened the box. Inside was a simple necklace with two hearts, one gold and one silver, intertwined in the center. They were engraved, the silver one reading tough guy, the other simply saying forever.
“Ethan,” Kenzie whispered, sounding awed. “It’s beautiful.”
Gently, I drew it out and fastened it around her neck, and she gazed at me with huge dark eyes, the hint of a smile playing on her lips. “I never thought you could be such a romantic.”
I smiled. “Well, then, let me convince you beyond all doubt,” I said. Brushing back her hair, I drew closer, gazing into her eyes. “I love you, Kenzie,” I said. “You’re my partner, and my sanity, and my saving grace. We’ve gone through so much, more than any normal person could dream of, and you’ve always been there for me. Someday, when you’re ready, it’ll be a ring in that box instead of a necklace. I can’t think of anyone else I’d rather have at my side. And someday, if Faery calls me back, I want you with me. Fighting dragons and bargaining with faery queens and arguing with talking cats.” She was crying now, smiling broadly through the tears, and I brushed her cheek. “So you don’t have to worry about losing me tomorrow,” I told her. “Because there’s no way I’ll ever leave you behind.”
She kissed me then, and it went on for a long while. Not even Razor’s cackles of kissy-kissy could distract me from the girl in my arms. Only the sound of the doorbell ringing broke us apart. Curious, I pulled back, listening as it rang again. We didn’t have many visitors. Other than Kenzie, who never rang the doorbell, no one really visited the house.
Leaving the room, we wandered hand in hand down the hall, meeting Mom in the kitchen. She looked as puzzled as I felt. Dad was home tonight as well, and was walking across the tile to answer the door. As his hand closed on the knob, Razor let out an excited cry and, abruptly, I knew.
Pulling the door back, Dad stared in surprise as Meghan smiled at me through the frame. My heart jumped, and Mom gasped.
“Meghan!”
She rushed forward, and Meghan stepped inside to be engulfed in a hug. Stunned, I could only watch as Mom drew back, her face alight with questions. “We didn’t know you were coming!” Mom exclaimed, taking her hands. “How have you been? Will you be staying long—”
