Page 15 of The Iron Vow

Anira nodded. “I am sorry. But it is the only way. The king’s offerings are terrible and dangerous, but if you are able to slay one, they do release an extensive amount of magic and glamour. Enough for me to grant all of you the ability to fly.”

Puck groaned. “Oh, great. That’s what I wanted to do with my weekend—fight a nearly unkillable monster in a world where I don’t have the ability to heal.” He gave the rest of us a mock disgusted look. “You know, I blame all of you for this. Why haven’t any of you learned how to become a bird? It’s so useful.”

“So we have to kill a Nightmare,” Keirran mused. “Do you know where we can find such a creature?” he asked Anira. “I know they wander the land, but will we have to travel all the way to the Sunken City to run into one?”

She shook her head. “There is one...not far from here,” she said, in a voice that made Ash narrow his eyes. “It makes its lair in a nearby park, but sometimes it comes aboveground to prey on us. Many years ago, I lost my mate to this Nightmare. I have wanted it destroyed ever since, but neither I nor the crows who live here are strong enough to kill it ourselves.”

“So that’s why you’re willing to help us,” Ash said. “You want us to kill this Nightmare for you.”

“I want to help you,” Anira said, looking straight at Ash, “because this world is dying. Or perhaps it is already dead. I have not known another existence, but...” Her brow furrowed, her eyes becoming haunted as she gazed at us. “But I see you, I hear your stories, and for the first time, I feel something else. I feel hope.” She shook her head, feathers ruffling softly against her face. “I don’t even know what I hope for,” she admitted. “I cannot imagine a world that is different. But whatever it is, whatever that looks like, it has to be better than this.” She raised an arm, indicating the walls around us, the sickly moon peering through the shattered windows. “We are but shadows,” she whispered. “Everything in this world is Fading or losing itself. Deep down, I have always sensed that there was something missing. That this can’t be all there is.” She stood straighter, chin raised, gazing at Ash. “That is why I want to help.”

He gave her a solemn nod of respect and looked at me. I stepped forward, drawing her gaze. “We will kill this Nightmare for you,” I told the crow woman, who slumped in relief. “And you will give us the ability to fly into the Sunken City, is that the bargain?”

“Yes,” whispered the crow woman. “A favor for a favor. Those are the right words, yes? That is how it works in your world, as well?”

Puck sighed. “More or less,” he groaned. “Just give me a second to powder my nose so it can be smashed in a second time tonight.”

6

ANIRA’S NIGHTMARE

We left the stargazer’s tower, heading down the creaking stairwell and back into the city streets. The crows were waiting for us, perched on rooftops and crumbling walls and the dozens of broken statues scattered everywhere throughout the city. Low mutters and guttural caws filled the air as we emerged from the tower, and baleful eyes glared down at us from every angle.

“Feeling a bit unwelcome again,” Puck said, frowning at a pair of birds watching us from the branches of a dead tree. “You sure we can’t come to an understanding? If you guys just got to know me, you would like me.”

“Why are you so concerned about the crow population in this city?” Nyx wanted to know. Despite her serious look, she sounded amused. “This is not the Nevernever, Puck. And those are Evenfey, not normal crows.”

“I know that. It’s the principle of the thing.”

“Anira said she’d meet us when we reached the ground level,” Keirran said, gazing around at the slowly gathering birds. “I hope she gets here soon—we seem to be attracting a lot of attention.”

A lone crow suddenly swooped down from atop the tower and landed on a broken fence post with a caw. Ruffling its feathers, it gazed around at the mobs of other crows perched everywhere and let out a very harsh, guttural cry. Several of the other birds took to the air, flapping away over the rooftops, and the rest of them turned their gazes from us, as if interested in other things.

I smiled and nodded at the crow, which cocked its head at us in a familiar, birdlike manner. “All right, Anira,” I said. “Lead on. We’ll follow you.”

The crow turned, raised her wings, and fluttered away down the street.

We trailed Anira through the city, keeping our gaze overhead as she flitted from statues to pillars to corners of ruined buildings. None of the other crows bothered us, though they still watched us with barely restrained hunger and hostility, muttering or growling under their breath as we passed. As we went deeper into the city, however, the crows disappeared. I wasn’t quite sure when it happened, just that we were walking down an alley, following Anira, and when I looked up again, every branch and rooftop was empty.

“The crows are gone,” Ash muttered at about the same time. “They’re scared of this part of the city.”

“Yes,” Nyx agreed. “We’re close.”

We came to what looked like it had been a small city park. Buildings and ruins disappeared entirely, and the ground became overgrown, weeds and brambles pushing up and choking everything. In the center of the overgrown park, a pond glimmered in the moonlight, but the waters were scummy, covered in algae and slime.

The crow that was Anira landed on a snapped tree limb, ruffled her feathers, and smoothly changed into her more human form. “There,” she whispered, pointing with a trembling finger at the glimmering black waters. “That’s where the Nightmare makes its lair.”

“The lake?” Puck asked.

She nodded. “When you have killed it, bring me its head. It should hold enough glamour for me to complete the ritual that will allow you to fly.”

“You’re not staying, I take it,” Ash said.

“I...” She trembled violently. “I am not a fighter. And I have seen what this Nightmare is capable of. I am sorry, but I must leave this fight to you. Please do not die.”

“Die?” Puck grinned. “Obviously, you don’t know us very well.”

A cold wind blew across the pond, rustling the brambles around us. I smelled rot and decay and mold, but also something that reminded me vaguely of...wet fur.

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