Page 2 of The Iron Sword

A fluffy gray cat sauntered into view, waving an exceptionally bushy tail. His golden eyes regarded us all with bored appraisal. “If Touchstone has disappeared, I would like to see it for myself,” Grimalkin said. “Someone with an ounce of intelligence should be there to make sense of things and point out the obvious. And to point you in the right direction should you become lost. Not that I doubt the Forgotten’s abilities, but you will need a guide should you happen to lose your way.”

The Iron Queen gave a decisive nod. “Then let us go,” she said. “I fear time is slipping away, and the longer we wait, the more difficult it will become to find Keirran. Nyx...” She gestured toward the Forgotten. “Whenever you are ready, take us into the Between.”

Nyx immediately stepped forward. Closing her eyes, she put out a hand, fingers spread wide, as if searching for something that could only be felt. “Keirran showed me how to enter the Between,” she murmured, taking a few steps forward. “He said that only the Forgotten remember how to do it, and that the Lady gave him the gift when she was alive. You have to find a spot where the Veil is thin.”

“Like a trod?” Puck asked, referring to the magical paths that led into the Nevernever from the mortal realm.

“Similar,” Nyx murmured, still walking steadily forward with her hand up. We trailed the Forgotten as she continued to search. “The Veil is like a mist,” she went on, “constantly moving and changing. Those weak spots you find might not be there when you return to them. But, if you search long enough, you should be able to find... There.”

She stopped. Paused a moment. And then, as I had seen Keirran do only once or twice before, pushed her fingers into the fabric of reality and drew it back like a curtain. A narrow gash appeared where she parted the Veil, and beyond that tear was darkness. A few tendrils of mist curled out of the hole and writhed away into nothing.

Standing at the mouth of the gash into the void, Nyx shook her head. “The Between,” she murmured. “It feels...different. Angrier than it was before. That’s not good.” She opened her eyes and looked back at us. I saw concern on her face, but it was overshadowed by a somber resolution. “Guard your emotions,” she warned. “Calm your mind, and your feelings. The Between can manifest physical representations of strong emotions. So, if you are not careful, we might be facing your worst fears, or the darkest parts of your anger.”

I took a furtive breath to quiet the tangle of emotions, searching for the cold, empty calm of the Winter prince. It didn’t come as easily as it did in the past. Before Meghan and Keirran, when I only had myself to worry about, I feared very little. I wasn’t afraid of venturing into the unknown. Whatever came at me, whatever monster, nightmare or horrific abomination I would face, the worst that could happen was that they would kill me. And I was exceedingly hard to kill. Fear for my own life had rarely been a concern.

Things were different now. I had a family. I had a wife, and a son; two people that meant more to me than anything, in any world. If they were in danger, my entire being was consumed with wanting to protect them, to utterly destroy whatever evil they faced so it could never threaten them again. I could feel that anger in me now, rising up to dominate my thoughts, and breathed deep to find my center. If Keirran was out there, we would find him, and I would cut down anything that stood in our way. Simple as that.

Puck gave a loud, noisy sigh and glanced at me. “Well, ice-boy,” he said, “here we go again. Another adventure through the worst Faery has to offer. Oh, wait, you’ve never been through the actual Between before, have you?” He grinned, green eyes shining with mischief as he stepped toward the gateway. “You’re in for all sorts of fun surprises.”

2

THE HALF-THERE CITY

Puck wasn’t entirely correct. Ihadbeen through the Between. A couple times, in fact. Both instances were with Meghan when we visited Touchstone, the capital of Keirran’s new realm. Keirran could no longer come into the Nevernever, but that didn’t prevent us from going into the Between to see him. Though more often than not, rather than take us into Touchstone, the Forgotten King preferred meeting us in the mortal realm. I suspected he didn’t want us to worry about him. It wasn’t that Keirran was ashamed of his kingdom or his subjects, but Touchstone, at least the few times I had seen it, was a city of perpetual night and shadow. It was bleak, gloomy, and had a somber, melancholy air that was evident in the many Gothic-inspired buildings that made up the city. Parapets, soaring archways, and leering gargoyles were common themes in Touchstone, and the Forgotten slid through the murky streets and along the rough stone walls like creatures from a child’s nightmare.

I would admit, Touchstone was a rather dismal place, which was why I suspected Keirran asked to meet us in the mortal world most of the time. But though the city was dim and shadowy, with a melancholy air that could practically be felt, it was still a city. It still had streets and buildings and recognizable structures.

It was nothing like the flat, empty void I found myself in now.

“The Between,” Meghan mused, her voice barely above a whisper. Around us, the featureless landscape of fog and mist stretched on until it vanished into the void. There was no source of light, no smells, no sounds except our own voices. “So this is what it really looks like.”

“Cheery, ain’t it?” Puck said, his voice ringing loudly in the total emptiness. “Oh, but don’t let the morbid peacefulness fool you—the Between can spit out some pretty horrific beasties if you’re not careful. Tell ’em, Furball.”

Grimalkin gave Puck a look of cat disdain, then turned to us with a sniff. “Goodfellow is correct,” he said, though he sounded annoyed admitting such a thing. “The Forgotten has already warned you of what could happen, but I suppose it is up to me to elaborate...again.” He raised his head in the cat equivalent of a sigh. “The Between is alive,” he began. “Not sentient—it has no particular feelings of malice or ill intent toward those who venture inside its borders—but it can bring things to life around you. The Between has the ability to manifest physical creations based on how you are feeling at the time. So, sentiments like anger, fear, grief, despair, and any strong emotions I would advise keeping at a minimum, as much as you are able, unless you want to run into a creature crafted from your own nightmares. Though I fear asking fey to control their emotions is like asking a dog not to drool.” The cat twitched his tail in an almost resigned manner. “Do give it your best shot, at least.”

I glanced at Meghan, and saw the veiled fear and anger in her eyes. Worry for Keirran, anger that something was attempting to take him from us yet again. Determination that we would find him no matter what. The Iron Queen, though she had grown wise in her rule over the Iron Kingdom, still struggled with burying and shutting off her emotions, particularly when it came to family. I had more practice, a lifetime of freezing out memories and emotions, and yet, I was finding it difficult to remain impassive. My son was missing. I needed to find him, but after that, I wanted nothing more than to track down whatever threatened him and destroy it completely.

I felt a chill at my back, and turned to see a section of mist curl away, revealing a bleak scene on the other side. Frozen bodies, both human and fey, were piled carelessly atop each other, eyes glazed and wide with terror. At the very peak of the grotesque mountain, a familiar sword had been shoved point-first into someone’s back. Standing brightly against the gloom, the blade glimmered with an icy blue light. As I watched, unable to look away, the corpses’ eyes opened, hard with accusation, all blankly staring at me.

I jerked up, but as I did, a curtain of mist fell over the bodies, hiding them from view. A moment later when the fog lifted, they were gone.

“Ash.” Beside me, Meghan let out a soft breath, and I knew she had seen it, too. “Are you going to be all right?” she asked softly.

Get a hold of yourself, Ash,Itold myself.The Between can bring your darkest fears and emotions to life. No one wants to see that, least of all you.

Anger stirred again, and I pushed it down. Focus on finding Keirran, then deal with the threat, whatever it was. Meeting Meghan’s gaze, I gave a faint, reassuring smile. “I’m fine,” I told her. “Don’t worry about me—let’s just find Keirran.”

Nyx stepped forward, her eyes glowing yellow in the eerie nonlight. “Touchstone is in this direction,” she said. “Follow me.”

We did, trailing the assassin silently through the void. I wasn’t certain how long we walked. The Between looked the same wherever you looked; a gray landscape of eternal fog and mist, coiling over nothing. Occasionally, the tendrils would curl back to reveal strange shapes in the fog; everything from trees and bushes to snowmen and bleached animal bones. But, while some of these were mildly disturbing, nothing came to life, nothing leaped out of the mist to attack us, and we continued through the Between without incident.

But, while the Between was silent and still, itwasangry. I could feel it, just as Nyx had said. Or perhaps these were my own emotions, reacting to the looming threat of this place and the uncertainty with Keirran. Why was my family continuously in danger? It seemed we had just finished a war where I not only had to fight an army of fey and one powerful ex-queen of Faery, I also had to watch my own son betray everyone he knew. And now, another threat had risen up, attempting to rip everything I loved away from me. Would I constantly be fighting to save my family knowing that, one day, I might fail and lose everything?

Anger shifted quietly into rage, but at that moment, Nyx paused, frowning as she stared into the nothingness of the Between.

“This isn’t right,” she muttered. Turning in a slow circle, she peered intently into the void and shook her head. “No, I’m not mistaken. Something is definitely wrong.”

I stared into the mist as Nyx had done, but could see nothing. “What do you mean?”

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