Page 19 of The Iron Vow

“Grimalkin!” I exclaimed, as Ash pulled me gently to my feet. The cait sith sat on a large rock, out of the mud and wet grass. Though his voice was calm, his tail flicked agitatedly from side to side, and his claws were fully extended. “You’re here. I’m glad you’re all right.”

“Mm? Why would I not be?” Grimalkin twitched an ear, then cast a disdainful glance at where the Nightmare had fallen, the bleached cat skull still lying in the weeds. “Surely you did not think thatIcould be a part of that abomination,” he said, curling a lip with a flash of sharp fangs. “I find that rather offensive.”

Gazing down at the giant skull, Keirran sheathed his sword. He had politely ignored or pretended not to see the three of us talking, knowing Puck and Ash were the only ones who could chastise the Iron Queen and get away with it. “Anira said to bring her the Nightmare’s head,” he stated, glancing up at us. “Do you think this is what she meant?”

Puck gazed at the monstrous feline skull and wrinkled his nose. “If it is, I think we’re gonna need a cart.”

“No.” Walking a few paces away, Nyx paused and knelt in the weeds, fingers reaching for something hidden in the grass. When she rose, she held a much smaller skull between her fingers. Even from here, I could feel the glamour pulsing from it. Dark tendrils rose from between the fangs and empty eye sockets as Nyx held the skull at arm’s length, observing it solemnly. “I think this is what she was looking for.”

7

GROWING WINGS

When we pushed our way through the trapdoor into her chambers at the top of the tower, Anira was sitting on the armchair. She was not seated in the actual chair, however, but perched on one of the arms, looking tense as we climbed into the room.

“You’re back!” she cried, straightening quickly. “I’m so relieved. I thought I might have sent you to your deaths. Did you...” She blinked quickly, looking around at all of us. “Did you really manage to slay that horrible Nightmare?”

“After getting nearly clawed to death? Yeah,” Puck replied, grimacing a little. He held up his hand, where several long, thin scratches could still be seen, crisscrossing his skin. “Cat scratches are the absolute worse, by the way. Like death by a thousand paper cuts.”

Anira shuddered. “But it is gone now,” she whispered. “The Nightmare is gone.” She took a deep breath, closing her eyes. “My mate has been avenged. I can rest easy at last.” Opening her eyes, she cocked her head once more. “Did you get the skull?”

Keirran stepped forward, solemnly holding out the cat skull. It still throbbed with an almost menacing air, ragged wisps of glamour curling off it to coil into nothingness. Anira’s eyes widened, and she very reverently took the skull from Keirran, holding it in both hands.

“The king’s offering,” she murmured. “I will make good use of it.” Glancing at me, she cocked her head in that curious, birdlike manner. “When do you wish to go to the Sunken City?” she asked.

“As soon as we can,” I told her, and the crow woman nodded.

“It will take me a little while to prepare the ritual,” she said, and gestured to the sofa behind us. “Please, make yourselves at home. I will call for you when it is ready.”

Clutching the skull, she hurried away, climbed one of the ladders that led to the hanging platforms high overhead, and disappeared from sight.

Puck let out a tired groan. “I don’t know about you all, but I could sleep for a month,” he said, turning toward the couch Anira had indicated. “Assuming we do stop the Nightmare King, I think my next destination is somewhere sunny and cheerful. Maybe a nice beach where the scariest things to worry about are sand fleas.” He started to drop onto the sofa, saw the suspicious white spatters on the end, and moved to the other side, only to find Grimalkin had claimed that end and was lying there with his feet tucked beneath him. “Oh, hey, Furball, you’re here. Glad you decided to join us this time. Did lurking in the shadows with all the grumpy city crows get to be too much for you? Or did you finally decide you missed our company?”

Grimalkin sniffed. “I simply did not wish to alarm the crow Evenfaery, who had been traumatized by cats,” he stated. “If she panicked and flew away because she saw a predator in her sanctuary, I doubt that would have benefited our mission. Birds are rather flighty creatures, you know.”

Puck snorted a laugh. “That was a terrible pun, Furball. I approve.”

“I was not...” Grimalkin sighed. “Regardless,” he went on, looking at the rest of us, “I did not wish to say anything until I was sure, but...” He gazed around the chamber, his tail beating thoughtfully against the cushions. “I am almost certain I have been here before. Not in this room, per se, but in this city. It has changed, of course, but some parts of it feel...familiar.”

“How is that possible?” Ash wondered.

“I am older than you, Winter prince,” Grimalkin said in a serious voice. “Older than any in this room, save perhaps the Evenfaery. I have been around for a long time. And there are things that even I have forgotten. You were not yet realized when the Lady ruled Faery. You were not there when the way to Evenfall was closed. Evenfall and the Nevernever were not always separated. There was a time when fey from both realms traveled back and forth between them at will.”

“Yes,” Nyx confirmed. “He is right. I myself got stuck on the Nevernever side when the Lady closed the way to Evenfall. It makes me wonder—did any fey from the Nevernever get trapped here in Evenfall? Did they also lose their homes and their world?”

“I doubt we will ever know,” Grimalkin said. “Unless they, too, have adapted to survive in a world without glamour. The point is, memories are starting to surface again. The longer I am here, the more familiar this becomes.”

“Well, wouldn’t that be a twist,” Puck said. “If our dear old Furball turned out to be an Evenfaery all along.”

“I amnotEvenfey,” Grimalkin went on with certainty. “I know that for a fact. The Nevernever and the wyldwood have always been my territory. But I am starting to realize that I have been to Evenfall before. And that certain places are becoming more and more recognizable. I suspect it is only a matter of time before we remember everything.” He looked to Nyx as he said this, then yawned. “In any case, do what you must here—grow wings, turn into sparrows, whatever it is the crow has planned. Rest assured, when the time is right, I will find you in the Sunken City. Do not worry about me.”

Before I could answer, there was a flutter of wings overhead. We all glanced up as Anira landed nearby and became human in a flurry of feathers and dust.

“It is almost ready,” she announced. Furtively, I shot a glance at the end of the couch, but Grimalkin was no longer there. Anira didn’t seem to realize there had been a cat on her furniture moments before as she stepped forward and held out a hand. “I just need a strand of hair from each of you,” she said. “And then we can begin.”

“Ooh, strands of hair,” Puck said. “How very classic. This sounds like a transformation spell. At least it’s not calling for toe or fingernails—I always found that slightly disgusting.” He waved an airy hand with a grin. “Again, don’t worry about me. I’ve got just enough glamour left to make myself a bird one more time.”

Anira didn’t answer, waiting patiently until we had all placed our own hair strands into her palm. Black, white, silver, blond. Closing her fingers around them like bird talons, she took a step back. “This way, please,” she instructed us. “We need to go to the topmost platform, closest to the open windows.”

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