Page 34 of The Iron Vow

“If you’re willing to help us, we will be very grateful,” I told the other assassin. “But this is something that we have to do. We’ll need to be at our full power, or close to it, if we want to face the Nightmare King.”

She nodded gravely. “As you wish. Varyn...” She glanced at her husband, who straightened. “Go to the others. Explain what we’ll be doing. I’m leaving them all behind to guard the city, but you and I will go to help Gilleas and the Iron Queen.”

Varyn didn’t look entirely pleased, but he didn’t argue, slipping out the door and vanishing from sight.

Gilleas let out a long sigh and turned back to me. “If I am to embark on this journey to the palace, I will need time to prepare,” he said. “Allow me to refresh my knowledge of certain things, gather a few books, and I will be ready. I assume we will be heading to the Howling Peaks first?” he asked, looking at Other Nyx.

“It’s the closest lair of a named Nightmare,” the Evenfaery replied. “I’m not looking forward to it, either, but it seems time is of the essence. The Wailing One is one of the few Elder Nightmares I know of.”

“I will see if I can find anything on her.” Gilleas sighed. “The Wailing One has been around...for a very, very long time. I’m sure there are a few legends surrounding her.”

“Oh, great,” said Puck. He had been so quiet this whole time, I was starting to worry about him. “A Nightmare called the Wailing One. Why do I get the feeling I’m going to need earplugs?”

13

WHISPERS IN THE LIBRARY

The Great Library was well named, I found. After deciding our next course of action, Gilleas excused himself, saying he had research to do. He invited us to make ourselves at home but warned us not to venture too high up into the library.

I discovered what he meant by “high up” a minute later.

Following him through a small door in the wall, we entered the main library, and for a moment, all I could do was stare.

The room we entered was massive and circular, an enormous tube that went straight up. There was no ceiling, or at least, none that I could see. Instead, hundreds, maybe thousands, of ladders and catwalks crisscrossed the space overhead, looking like a spiderweb of wood and rope. Along the walls, spiraling up as far as I could see, were rows and rows and rows of books. Tiny figures moved along the catwalks and scurried up and down the ladders, too far away to see clearly, though I caught flashes of huge eyes and papery wings. On the ground floor, another maze of shelves loomed around us, dim and shadowy. Beyond the aisles, I could hear the rustle of paper, the whisper of books being slid back into place, and the soft pattering of feet, though I never saw the fey responsible.

“Hopefully this will not take long,” Gilleas said, weaving through the aisles to the center of the room. A massive pillar, filled with child-sized holes, rose into the air like an enormous termite mound. Gilleas walked around the pillar and tapped lightly on the walls with his long, pointed fingers.

“The Wailing One,” he said into one of the holes. His voice echoed, seeming to reverberate up the pillar and exit through the dozens of openings above us. “Named Elder Nightmare who makes her lair in the Howling Peaks. I need any information available—myth, story, or actual facts. As soon as possible, please.”

For a moment, there was nothing. Then, with the flutter of wings, a trio of creatures flew out of the pillar through one of the many holes. From the brief glimpse I caught of them, they looked like piskies, but more mothlike than the dragonfly-winged fey I was used to. Their green, softly glowing wings were wide and papery, their eyes black and bulbous, and feathery antenna could be seen curling from their foreheads. They flitted into the air, leaving trails of glowing dust in their wake, and disappeared into the endless space above us.

“The Keepers of Words,” Gilleas explained with a wave of his talon. “They know every book, every tome and scroll and tablet, that is kept within these walls. The only challenge is being specific enough in your request to make them understand what you are looking for.”

“Huh,” Puck remarked, watching the moth creatures fly through the room, a sly grin on his face. “So, what would happen if I just shouted ‘cats’ into one of these holes here?”

“You would be crushed under a virtual landslide of books and texts,” Gilleas said flatly. “And the keepers would be extremely annoyed. Please refrain from aggravating them—they have perfect memories and would remember your request forever.”

With a soft flutter, one of the moth creatures spiraled down, a leather-bound journal in its arms. Gilleas raised a hand, and the keeper dropped the book into his talons before flitting off again.

“Before we start out, I will do a little research on the Elder Nightmare we must face,” the spindly Evenfaery told me. “I don’t know how much I will learn, but even a little preparation is better than none.”

“Of course,” I told him. “Take your time, Gilleas.”

“Maybe nottoomuch time,” Puck echoed, and glanced at me. “I mean, I know certain people who can get lost in a book and completely forget they were supposed to meet their best friend that afternoon.”

“I will send a messenger for you when I am done,” Gilleas replied, and looked around at the rest of us. The naked deer skull did not give away any emotion, but I could feel his hesitancy. “Feel free to use the library, but remember, be as specific as you can when requesting aid from the Keepers of Words. I once spent the entire night trying to get out of my lab after the keepers dropped every book they had on ‘ritual knives’ in front of my door.”

Another pair of fey drifted down, one handing Gilleas a book, the other a rolled-up sheet of parchment. Tucking all three texts under one long arm, Gilleas nodded to us once more and glided off, the pointed tips of his legs making virtually no noise on the wooden floor. I glanced around and noted that Other Nyx had vanished as well. Grimalkin, unsurprisingly, was gone, so it was just me and those I had come into Evenfall with. Ash, Keirran, Nyx, and Puck.

Puck watched Gilleas leave, then shot an evil grin at the pillar once more. “How about cheeses, then?” he asked no one in particular. “How much information do you think this place has on cheese?”

“Puck.” I sighed, but at that moment, our Nyx let out a quiet breath and turned away, and immediately Puck’s attention shifted to the assassin.

“Nyx.” He took a step toward her, his joking demeanor gone. “You okay?”

“Evenfall is gone.” Nyx didn’t turn around, and her voice was flat. “It really did Fade away. None of this is real. I...” She paused, then turned to glance back at us, her expression carefully neutral. “I’m sorry. I...need some time to think.”

“Nyx, wait,” Puck began, but the Evenfaery slipped into one of the mazelike aisles surrounding us and vanished from sight, like her counterpart.

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