by Dyan Chick
"That's too soon," Maggie said. "Can we get enough Sayges there by then?"
Adam jumped to his feet. "I'll put out the message right now. Doesn't sound like we have much of a choice."
"Can they teleport like you?" I asked Gia. "Will they get to Chicago fast enough?"
"Some of them can, but we won't have the numbers we could have," Gia said.
"Will it be enough?" I asked.
"We have to hope so," Aunt Kay said. "We've never had a shot like this with Terra before."
"I'll get the powders ready," Maggie said, leaving the room.
"I'll help you," Gia said, following her.
"What can I do?" Joe asked.
Joe was human. He had no power, no way to protect himself. A chill ran down my spine as I imaged Terra torturing him the way she had tortured me. Would she even bother with him? Would she just kill him outright? "You should go home, Joe."
"Like hell I am," he said. "I have a few more vacation days, and I'm here to help you. If this goes badly, it's not just us who can get hurt. It's the whole world from what you've all been saying. Unless that was just an exaggeration?"
"It's not an exaggeration," Brenon said. "Terra is your worst nightmare, and you're right, she won't stop with us if she gets what she wants."
"Which is why you should go somewhere safe," I said.
"You brought me into this, Ara. Don't send me away."
"I couldn't handle it," I said. "If anything happened to you. I can't lose you."
I looked over at Aunt Kay, hoping she'd back me up on this one. Hadn't she kept me hidden for most of my life to keep me safe? Surely if anyone understood how I felt, it was her. She shrugged her shoulders, and I scowled at her. Some help she was.
"You can come with me," Brenon said to Joe. "I'm going to get the Circus ready. I'm sure we can find a way for you to help us. They don't have magic, either. We had to get more creative."
My mouth dropped open, and I spun around to face Brenon. "What? You can't be serious. Taking him to the circus? He's human."
Brenon smirked. "Don't worry. They won't see him as a risk to the curse. He's not exactly my type."
The idea of Joe being anywhere around Evangeline and Miles freaked me out. They weren't exactly the welcoming type. It had taken a lot to get them to not want to kill me, and I wasn't sure they were entirely over that desire yet. "You sure that's a good idea?'
I looked at the two men who were currently occupying most of my heart. The only man in my life missing was Ryder. Thankfully, he was safely away from this mess. No matter the outcome of this attack on Terra, I was going to lose Brenon. I couldn't lose Joe, too.
"Ara, you trust this guy, right?" Joe asked. "Let me do this."
How could I argue with that? He was right. I did trust him. And at least Joe wouldn't be out in the open, unprotected. He'd be with us in the fight. I glanced up at Brenon. "Can you at least ask Goldie to keep an eye on him for me?"
Brenon brushed a stray lock away from my face. "Of course."
"Who's Goldie?" Joe asked.
"She's a friend," I said.
"Kay, do you know where the arrowroot powder is?" Gia asked as she walked into the room.
"I'll show you." Aunt Kay stood, then led Gia away from the room.
"Will you two be with the Circus until tonight?" I asked.
Brenon nodded, then slapped Joe on the back. "Don't worry. I'll keep him busy for you. I'm sure Goldie will have lots for him to do."
"Is the train nearby?" I asked, wondering if I could go with him and return in time. While there had been bad things that happened to me on the train, it felt more comfortable than my aunt's house. I felt like I belonged there. Which, I suppose made sense now that I knew I was half-Fae.
Brenon held up Gia's car keys. "We'll use the bug."
There had been too many goodbyes lately. As much as I wanted to lock down my heart and not let the Ringmaster back in, it hurt too much to fight it. I had hoped we'd have at least a little bit of time together before he returned, but now we were facing the attack on Terra in a few hours. Would they expect me to open the gate right away if we defeated her?
"Hey, we're all going to be fine." Joe pulled me into a hug. "This is going to be over soon. Then everything will be back to normal. We'll go back to my apartment. You can stay as long as you want. I can even get you a job at my company if you want. We always need people who are good with numbers."
Normal. What was that like? Could I even go back to normal? Not long ago, it seemed like the only thing I wanted was a return to normalcy. Boring, even. I looked over at Brenon. He was far from boring. He was nothing like what I thought I wanted in my life, but right now, he was feeling like everything I needed. What would I do when he and the rest of the Fae went home?
"I'll meet you outside," Joe said, leaving Brenon and me alone in the room.
"I should get going," Brenon said.
"We sure say goodbye a lot," I said.
He leaned down and pressed his lips against mine sending tingles through my body. Since our first kiss in the shower, I'd wanted more from him. Leaving him had been one of the most painful things I'd ever done, and with each moment that drew us closer to the gates being open, I knew I'd have to experience that again. I pressed back into the kiss, hoping to burn this memory into my mind forever. Something that I could recall when I was missing him in the future. No other man had ever made me feel the way he made me feel. Not that I'd let many men try, but still, I had the sense that no kiss would ever live up to even our fleeting moments together.
He pulled away. "We'll have more time after you're safe."
I nodded, unable to vocalize the tangle of thoughts surrounding his return to Faerie.
After a quick kiss on my forehead, he left. I stared at the door, watching the place where he'd been just moments before, feeling more confused and overwhelmed than I had when I'd simply been angry at him. Maybe that would have been easier. I shook the thought away. I knew it was impossible to stay away from him.
"You and the Ringmaster," Aunt Kay's voice sounded from behind me.
I turned to look at her.
"Your grandmother is probably turning in her grave."
I ran my hand through my hair. "I don't need this right now, Aunt Kay."
"Magical beings are often drawn to magic that is similar to our own. It brings a sense of comfort. It's why so many Sayges live in the same communities. I suppose I should have expected this from you."
"And why I never felt like I fit in anywhere when I was younger?" I added, surprised at how bitter I sounded.
"I've said I was sorry." She looked it, too.
"I know." I sighed. "I'm sorry, it's just been a long few days. And..." I couldn't finish the thought. The biggest thing bothering me wasn't Terra or our impending battle, and it was sending a surge of guilt through me. Shouldn't I be more concerned about the fate of the world or my own life than a relationship?
"You're worried about saying goodbye," she said.
I nodded. "It's stupid, I know. Please don't lecture me."
"There's no harm in it, I suppose," she said. "Other than the heartbreak when he goes. If you were human, we'd have to worry." She winked at me.
Was my aunt referencing my nonexistent sex life? "Okay, I'm done talking about this. What can I do to help us get ready?"
Chapter 20
I found Maggie and Aunt Kay in the basement in a room that looked like it belonged in a mad scientist's house. Bottles and containers of things I didn't recognize lined the walls. On the table, there were glass vials and a set up of glass bottles, rubber tubes, and measuring tools. It reminded me of my high school chemistry lab. I thought setups like this only existed in the movies. Or drug dealers houses. "What are you guys doing down here?"
Maggie looked up from where she was weighing something on a scale. "We're making iron powder. You really have been cut off."
I stepped completely into the room and looked at the small piles of shimmery silve
r powder on the scale. "Iron powder? Like shaved nails?"
Aunt Kay laughed. "Something like that. There's a Sayge supplier we purchase specialty supplies from."
I shook my head. There is a special supplier just for Sayge spells? How big was the Sayge community? From what they all had been saying it sounded like it was a small group of people. And now I find out about hidden villages and special mail-order services. Part of me wanted to learn more about this community and part of me wanted to get as far away as possible.
I leaned in closer to an iron powder, and Maggie jumped shoving me away from it. "What are you doing?"
"I was just trying to get a closer look."
"You do realize your half Fae," Maggie said.
"I don't understand any of this. What does that have to do with anything?" I said.
Aunt Kay let out a sigh. "Good catch, Maggie."
"What is going on here? Can somebody please explain this whole iron powder thing to me and how it has anything to do with me being half-Fae?"
Maggie wiped the iron dust off of the scale and into a small container and set it on a shelf behind her. "Iron is deadly to the Fae. It's like their kryptonite or something. I don't really know how to explain it, but we do know that it can kill them."
"That can't be," I said. "I mean, if I'm half-fae, why aren't I dead yet? I've touched iron many times during my life."
"You've touched earth iron," Maggie said. "This is iron from Faerie. There's a few Sayges who stockpiled it before the gates closed."
"It's the only thing that can kill them," Kay said. "We have several different recipes for iron powder, depending on what we're going to use it for.
"We can use it in spells, or make weapons," Maggie added.
"Weapons?" I looked around the room, half expecting to see cross-bows hanging on the wall. All I saw was a washer and dryer in the corner. Not exactly unusual.
"There isn't much in the way of Iron weapons or iron dust weapons anymore," Aunt Kay said. "We haven't had a reason to use them in a long time."
I walked over to the shelf where Maggie had set the powder. "So what's your plan for this?" I pointed to the container.
Aunt Kay took a few steps over to where I was standing and picked up the container. She poured it into a small glass container, then added in a scoop of something purple and shimmery.
"What's that?" I asked.
Maggie wrinkled her nose. "You don't want to know."
Aunt Kay looked up at me. "She's right. You probably don't."
I sighed. "Fine."
"Hand me that vial," Aunt Kay said without looking up.
Maggie pushed a tray of a dozen glass vials over to my aunt.
Carefully, Aunt Kay poured the newly mixed powder into each of the vials. When they were all filled, she stood back and put her hands on her hips, then looked up at me. "These are made of fragile glass. They'll shatter on impact, then explode."
"They're iron dust grenades?" I asked.
She considered. "Yeah, I guess so."
Before I could stop myself, I reached out and picked up one of the vials. The substance inside shifted as I moved it and a tiny bit spilled on my finger.
Aunt Kay tore the vial away from me as I started screaming. Intense pain shot through me, and for a moment, I couldn't focus on anything but the searing feeling in my hand. Then, almost as quickly as it had come, it subsided.
Gasping, I held my hand, staring at it. I'd never felt anything like that. "I'm sorry. I don't know why I did that."
Aunt Kay grabbed my hand and ran her fingers over it. "You didn't get much in you. I think you'll be okay. But from now on, let's avoid touching Faerie iron."
"Do you think it could kill me?" I asked. "I'm half Sayge, after all, and it doesn't seem to hurt you."
"I'm not sure," Aunt Kay said. "You're the only half-fae, half-Sayge I've ever met. I would hope that the Sayge part of you would keep you protected from iron, but we don't know for sure."
Either way, I wasn't willing to experiment. If that small amount had caused that much pain, I didn't want to know what it would feel like to try it with more. I took a few steps away from the table. "I think I'll go wait upstairs."
Chapter 21
Every drip of water, every car that drove by in the distance, every shuffle of movement sent me on edge as we crouched in the alleyway near the warehouse. I tugged the ends of the long sleeve black shirt Maggie had lent me over the black leather gloves. Most of my skin was covered with clothing or scarves to protect me from any iron dust that might accidentally come my way. It was too warm of a night to be wearing this much clothing, but I knew I didn't want to experience the feeling of iron dust on my skin ever again.
It was dark already, sometime after eleven and we'd all arrived in waves through various teleporting cars. If we survived this, I wanted one of those but now wasn't the time to consider what I'd do with a teleporting car. Maggie pressed against me as she adjusted her grip on the bag of bottled powders in her hands. I hoped they were going to be as effective as they said they would be against Terra.
While the idea of Terra vanishing forever was not one I object to, I worried that one of the members of the Circus might be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
I looked over at her and caught a glimpse of the other forty or so Sayges that had joined us. It wasn't a lot of people, but if Terra was true to her word, between us and wherever the Circus was hiding, we'd have her more than surrounded.
Even with her ability to control lightning and the elements, she was limited inside a metal warehouse with no access to the outdoors. I wanted to ask how much longer we'd be waiting. The seconds were dragging by with no way of knowing what was happening. Was the Circus in place? Was Joe safely tucked away with them? Was Brenon already with Terra?
A wave of terror spread through me and my heart raced, what if something was wrong? What if we were waiting here for nothing? What if Terra did bring Tristan? What if the two of them already took out Brenon and Gia?
A siren wailed in the distance as an emergency vehicle passed the warehouse district. It broke me from my momentary stress, and I strained to figure out the direction. Was it headed our way? The sound faded and we were left sitting in silence again.
Heart still racing, I closed my eyes, trying to recall my role in all of this. I was to stay toward the back of the group of Sayges. They didn't want to risk Terra seeing me right away or risk me getting nailed with iron powder. In reality, they hoped everything would be done by the time I entered the warehouse behind them all.
The other Sayges were going in first. They'd attack her with the iron powders. The Circus was here to block the exterior exits in case she got out. I was the failsafe. If Terra was able to use her magic, I was to channel it like I did at the Fire Festival and send it back to her. We didn't want her to get away, and that much magic would cause a lot of chaos. So it was the last resort. I was only needed if we were losing.
A low howl punctuated the quiet and all at once, the Sayges around me stiffened, then began to move. That was our signal. I held back for a moment, watching as Maggie and the others with their iron powder raced for the warehouse door. The same one I'd gone to the first night I'd met Brenon. The night I had unknowingly changed my whole life.
I blew out a breath as a hand squeezed mine. I looked over to see my Aunt Kay smiling at me. "Ready?"
I nodded, and the two of us walked toward the warehouse. It was an odd sensation as if I was moving in slow motion as the rest of the world raced by me.
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed another group running toward us. As they neared the dim light around the warehouse, I recognized some of the members of the Circus. They stationed themselves near the doors as the Sayges ran through, forming a wall of bodies in front of the entrance. If anyone came through, they'd block them. I knew that each of the four entrance points was similarly guarded. Evangeline, Miles, Goldie, and Joe had to be at one of the other doors.
The group of Fae nodded to
Aunt Kay and me, stepping aside for us to walk through when we approached the now closed door. There was no way of knowing what we were walking into. If everything went smoothly, Terra would be under Sayge control by now at a minimum, dead if we were lucky.
One of the performers who usually walked the tightrope touched my arm lightly as I passed her. "Good luck."
"Thanks," I said as I pulled open the door and stepped inside.
The second we entered, something grabbed me and threw me to the ground. I smelled the foul breath and heard the growling before my vision focused enough to realize there was a wolf on top of me, teeth bared. Panic seized me, and for a moment, I froze staring up at the narrowed yellow eyes. I wasn't very good at distinguishing features on wolves, but I did a quick search of the face, hoping to find something that would let me know that this was Jasper.
The wolf snapped at me, teeth right in front of my face, drool landing on my cheek. I let out a cry that was somewhere between fear and being completely grossed out. Then, I turned, trying to knock the beast off of me. The wolf lost his grip for a moment, then pinned me down again, claws biting into my shoulders. I screamed as burning pain shot through me.
"Get off of me," I yelled at the creature. Tears streamed down my cheeks as it tightened its grip on my shoulders. I cried out again, every movement I made caused the claws to go deeper into the wounds.
Nearby, I heard another growl and turned to see another wolf, haunches raised, staring down the wolf who was claws-deep in my flesh. I was breathing too fast now as anxiety and fear took total control of me. Were they going to tear me apart?
The wolf on top of me retracted its claws, causing even more pain to sing through my body. Black spots danced in my vision, and I fought against the darkness that wanted to take over as my head spun from the pain.
When my attacker growled back at the newcomer, I realized the new wolf was not his friend. The new wolf snapped at the creature on top of me, then pulled back, as if daring the one on top of me to attack.