Page 23 of The Iron Vow

More hands broke through the surface, snaking out wildly. Puck gave a yelp as one snagged the back of his shirt. Another pair latched on to Ash’s shoulders, making him duck his head as they started to drag him under.

Something flashed by us, a glowing streak that cut through the tentacles clinging to Ash. Another zipped by Puck, severing two more. And then the air was filled with spinning circles of light, flying through the air and striking the Nightmare worm. The monster reared back and wailed, the tentacles along its body flailing as the glowing disks cut them apart.

The things dragging me down abruptly let go, and the tension in my arms and shoulders vanished. Ash pulled me out of the ground, yanking me to him, as the Nightmare worm gave another shriek and disappeared into the sinkhole.

Silence fell. The five of us stood there, panting and gazing around in wary confusion, waiting for whatever had released that storm of spinning daggers to reveal itself.

“Are you all right?” Ash whispered to me. I could feel his heart racing beneath his shirt, the tension in his arms, which were locked around me.

I nodded. “I’m fine,” I whispered back. “I’m okay, Ash. Still here.”

“Well, I guess now we know what those ‘snatchers’ are,” Puck said, still gazing around warily. “That’s one mystery solved. Now we just have to figure out whose light show made the big caterpillar go away. It was kinda weird how they all looked like Nyx’s...”

He trailed off. I pulled back from Ash and gazed around, then stiffened. Feeling him go rigid as well.

Several fey had melted out of the shadows and were now surrounding us, though they were so still, it was hard to see them at first. They were slender and graceful, with black leather armor, silver hair, and curved blades seemingly made from moonlight. Golden eyes shimmered in the darkness between us, and they all appeared to be staring, not at me, or Ash, or Puck, but at Nyx.

“Who are you?”

Nyx let out a ragged breath and took a halting step back, eyes widening, as a single faery stepped away from the rest, coming to stand before us. Even before she turned to face us, my stomach dropped away with the shock.

Another Nyx stared at us, the look in her golden eyes one of suspicion and disbelief, her deadly moonlight blades gleaming in her hands.

9

OTHER NYX

Istared at the faery before us, momentarily unable to speak. It...was Nyx. Not someone that looked like Nyx, a twin or a sister or something like that. No, thiswasour Evenfaery assassin. The two of them looked identical, but it was more than that. It was the way she moved, the calm, lethal air surrounding her that was indistinguishable from our own Nyx. This wasn’t a look-alike; this was the real thing.

Which was completely and utterly confusing. To everyone.

“What...the hell,” Puck breathed.

The group of silver-haired fey ignored him. All were staring at our Nyx, looking just as confused and wary as the rest of us. The second Nyx stepped forward, golden eyes hard.

“Who are you?” she asked again.

“I...am Nyx,” the assassin replied simply. “Member of the first unit, leader of the Order of the Crescent Blades.” She paused, tilting her head at her clone. “But I assume that is the answer you would have given me, had I asked first.”

One of the other fey came forward, his expression stony. He was lean and handsome, with golden eyes like Nyx and silver hair that reached his shoulders. “She’s an imposter,” he said to Other Nyx. “Maybe this is some kind of new Nightmare that takes our own form. We should kill them all, before more show up.”

Seeing the other faery, a tremor went through our Nyx. Not because of his words. Because she knew him. I saw the recognition in her golden eyes, right before the blood drained from her face, something I had never seen happen to her.

Puck noticed as well and stepped protectively closer, his own expression suddenly dangerous. But Other Nyx shook her head.

“No,” she almost whispered. “They’re not Nightmares, but they’re not Evenfey, either. They remind me of...of the Lady and her circle.” She looked at us again, and the sudden, desperate hope in her eyes was heartbreaking. “Did...did you come from the Nevernever?” she whispered. “Is the way finally open?”

My throat closed. “I’m sorry,” I told her. “The seal was broken, very briefly, but we had to close it again.”

“You sealed it.” This did not come from Nyx, but from the male standing beside her. “The way out of this hell was open, and you closed it again. Do you know how long it’s been?” he asked me. “How long we’ve been trapped here, slowly dying, fighting the Nightmares just to exist?” His gold eyes narrowed, and he indicated the ruined city around us. “Do you like what you see? This is the world you created. When your kind sealed us away and forgot about us!”

“Varyn.” Other Nyx put a hand on his arm. “If they’ve come from the Nevernever, then something must’ve happened,” she reasoned. “That they remember us at all means that the Lady’s spell is broken. That itself is reason to hope.”

Other Nyx’s gaze was on Varyn, so she didn’t see Puck stiffen. His hands clenched at his sides, and a hard, dangerous look crossed his face. A nervous flutter went through my stomach. Puck and Nyx knew this faery. Or had at least heard of him. And judging from what I was seeing here, he was part of Nyx’s past.

I suddenly had a terrible, sinking suspicion of who Varyn was.

Thankfully, neither assassin seemed to notice the sudden change in Robin Goodfellow. Other Nyx’s gaze shifted to me, and she looked so much like our Nyx that I forgot it wasn’t her for just a moment. “Why are you here, fey of the Nevernever?” she asked. “Why have you come to Evenfall?”

---