Page 49 of The Iron Sword

She gestured, and the tangle of roots, vines, and thorns contracted like a fist closing, crushing the Evenfey within. I winced, but instead of being torn apart, the faery’s body shattered into fragments of light, like the reflection of the moon in a pool of water, and disappeared.

“No.” The tall sidhe stepped forward, examining the knot of vegetation. “A trick,” he exclaimed, shaking his head. “Curse the Evenfaery—we were talking to a shadow. The spy is gone.”

“Then there is no time to waste.” The Lady turned to the circle, her voice and expression grim. “If she informs the Nightmare King of our plans, the Nevernever will suffer his wrath. We must seal off Evenfey, and the Nightmare King, now. There is a site in the Between,” she went on. “A place of power, where the Veil is thin, and the emotions of mankind flow freely, strengthening it with glamour. I will meet you there, and we will do what must be done. Hopefully before the Nightmare King realizes what is happening.”

I blinked, and when I opened my eyes, the scene had changed, as had my memories.

The Nightmare King knew.

The Evenfaery had delivered her message, and unsurprisingly, the fey of the Evenfall had responded in kind. With violence, terror, and fury, trying desperately to stop the ritual from happening. The Nightmare King himself was on his way to the Nevernever, and his terrifying presence could be felt for miles, looming ever closer.

Wind whipped at my hair and cloak, as below me, my stag mount bounded madly through the forest. I was someone else now. The faery whose memories I had been inhabiting before was dead, killed before he could ever reach the ritual site. In fact, all the fey who had been at the meeting that night were being targeted. The faery whose head I was in didn’t know how they were being killed; the fey nobles were all very powerful, and the peasant fey of the Nevernever feared them, but somehow, impossibly, the Evenfey had managed to kill one of their numbers. This notion filled the faery’s heart with terror. She had never known the fear of death before. The decision to seal away the Nightmare King was a mistake; they never should have agreed to such a thing. It was that one faery’s fault, the youngest member of their circle. She was far too ambitious for her own good. But tonight, it would be over. If she could reach the meeting site, the Nightmare King and the Evenfey would be gone, and no one in Faery would even remember what had happened.

Something bright suddenly streaked out of the trees, and her mount gave a squeal as it toppled forward. She was thrown from the saddle and hit the ground hard, rolling to an undignified stop at the base of a tree. Grimacing, she pushed herself upright, seeing the stag lying a few paces away on the path. A thin shaft of moonlight pierced its throat, and as the beast gave a final shudder and was still, she could suddenly feel eyes on her from the shadows between the trees.

Terrified, she turned in a circle, gathering her power as she scanned the trunks, searching for enemies. Eyes appeared in the shadows, golden eyes the color of the moon, razor-thin blades of moonlight shimmering to life around her.

She screamed.

And I was in someone else’s memories.

There weren’t many of us left.

Of the circle of fey who had attended the meeting that fateful night, only three had survived, including the faery whose memories I was seeing. The rest were gone, mysteriously slain by the vengeful faeries of Evenfall. Two sidhe stood opposite him, the tall noble with silver hair, and the Lady. Around us, I recognized the dim, eerie light of the Between, all sounds and colors swallowed by the endless wall and curtains of mist. I stood on a large, circular stone dais, surrounded by huge columns and ancient pillars. Mist curled around the pillars and crept over the dais like ghostly fingers, seeking to hide the hundreds of runes and symbols carved into the surface of the rock. Gazing down at them through the faery’s eyes, I felt her shiver, as dread curled through her stomach. Something about the circle seemed ominous. She tore her gaze away so she didn’t have to look at them.

“Are we ready?” The Lady stepped forward, and her voice was calm, almost triumphant. A stark contrast to the cloud of fear and uncertainty swirling through the air around us. The Lady wore a silver white gown that glowed in the fog, and her pale wings cast a faint nimbus of light around her.

“Why here?” the faery whose memories I was seeing asked. “The Between is not a place I would normally set foot in. Why have you called us to this spot?”

“The ritual must be held in the Between,” the Lady replied. “Holding it in the Between is the only way to affect both the mortal world and the faery worlds at the same time. Not only that, it will be difficult for something to stumble across the ritual site so deep in the Between. As long as the seal remains, the spell will be permanent, so it must never be tampered with.”

“And if the seal is broken?”

“If it is broken, not only will the way to Evenfall be opened once more, but it will also release all the memories of the Nightmare King and the Evenfey,” the Lady replied. “Obviously, we cannot allow that to happen. So we will hide it, and hope that it is never discovered.”

The silver-haired noble gazed down at the dais, frowning at the complex sigils and runes carved into the stone. “These are dangerous, complicated signs,” he said in a grim voice. “The glamour they require will be immense, and there are but three of us left. Will that be sufficient power for what we plan to do here?”

“It must be,” the Lady said. “Evenfall is here. The Nightmare King himself is at the threshold of the Nevernever. All of Faery is counting on us. We cannot afford to fail.”

“No, you cannot,” said a slow, familiar voice, coming from overhead. We glanced up, and two glowing golden eyes appeared in the tangle of branches above, peering down at us haughtily.

It took a step forward, and a large gray creature dropped out of the branches to crouch atop a broken pillar. A cat, but many times larger than a simple feline, with extremely shaggy fur and long tufted ears. Its legs and tail were banded with black stripes, giving it a wild look, and huge claws curled from its pads as it settled atop the column, watching us with primeval glowing eyes.

“Foolish two-legs,” the enormous cait sith said, as the shock of seeing a much older, wilder Grimalkin rippled through me. “We warned you about the danger of meddling with Faery. You have started something that cannot be undone. And now we must all face the consequences.”

“I should have killed the lot of you,” growled a deep voice, as a massive shadow prowled toward us through the shadows, stopping at the edge of the light. Even in the darkness, however, the terrifying head and muzzle of an enormous black wolf glared at us across the stones. Its fur was spiky, its fangs almost too big for its jaws. And the feral light shining from its green eyes could make even the oldest fey cold with terror. “You should have left well enough alone,” the Wolf told us. “Evenfall would have been content and peaceful had you not decided to antagonize them. But now the Nightmare King is aware, and on his way to destroy the Nevernever. The way to Evenfall must be closed. So be it.” The Wolf bared his fangs, sharp teeth gleaming in the darkness. “We will seal away the Nightmare King and doom the Evenfey to oblivion. You will get your wish, but you will need our strength to make it happen.”

“Yes,” agreed the cait sith, leaping up to perch on the rock. “A terrible decision, but one you have brought on yourselves. Evenfall must be closed, and the memories of the Evenfey and the Nightmare King stripped from the minds of every living creature. Such a task will not be easy—I have my doubts that you will be able to accomplish it.” He gave a sniff, sounding dubious. “I do not even think you have realized the true extent of your decision.”

“It will work,” the Lady insisted. “With your aid, the three of us together will be enough to complete the ritual. We will be able to save the Nevernever.”

“At what cost, though?” Grimalkin glanced down at the circle of runes and symbols, and the fur on his tail bristled. “Be aware—a spell of this power is dangerous, and the Nevernever itself might react poorly. It is possible that some of you may forfeit your very existence, but it cannot be helped now. You wished for this to come to pass, and now we must follow this road to the end. So...” Those eyes narrowed, glaring down at us all. “Shall we begin?”

And so, we did.

Beyond this point, the memories grew hazy, fragmented bits of color and emotion pulsing through my head. How long we stood there, chanting words I couldn’t quite understand, pouring glamour and magic into the circle at our feet, I didn’t know. It might have been hours, or days. I could feel my magic being drained, sucked away by the circle of glowing runes, as the symbols in the rock changed from white to blue to bloodred. I could feel my body fading, growing exhausted, and still, the circle demanded more. More magic, more glamour and energy, a seemingly endless amount.

I blinked, and suddenly, I couldn’t remember where I was anymore, or what I was doing. There were two figures standing to either side of me, chanting over a glowing circle of power, but I didn’t know them. With a start, I realized I didn’t know my own name. But, though I was aware of all of this, I knew that what I was doing was vitally important. I was compelled to finish, no matter the cost.

---