by Carrow Brown
“What language is that?” David said.
“It’s not,” Silence said. “It’s some code he made for making the device. At least, I think it is. His brain is getting all mushy now.”
I grunted. “Great. What about the smell?”
Silence shifted in the seat. “There’s a trap door by the stairs. He’s got stuff in there making the smell.”
My stomach twisted into unpleasant knots. “Stay tied up in the chair. We’ll go check it out.”
“Sure,” Silence called to my back. “Because I was totally going to get up and make a sandwich!”
David followed as I left the room and headed to the stairs. Without the glamour in place, I spotted the trap door in the floor immediately, and pried it open with a talon.
The pungent musk slapped my senses anew, and I leaned away from the hole to take a steadying breath. Even after being exposed to it in the past, it’d been a long time since I’d come across it in such potency. The wrongness of it left my hair shifting over my shoulders. Pulling a mini-flashlight from my jacket, I pointed it and my gun inside before taking the stairs down.
David remained a silent presence at my back until my foot hit earth. I did a cursory check of the room, noting it was the same size as the bottom floor of the house, but lacked anything to divide up the space.
Thin tables with stacks of notes and folders were pressed up against the wall. More shelves with neatly lined up rows of even more organ-filled jars, others with powders and liquids. Sprinkled among the jars were skulls of various sizes and shapes. I moved closer to inspect which species they belonged to. It took my brain several seconds to identify the skulls, since they weren’t human or animal. The first I found turned out to be an Orc with its pronounced forehead and protruding jaw with sharp teeth along the bottom. Another skull, twice the size of mine, turned out to be a Yeti. And the iridescent child-sized skull had belonged to one of the Fae. Grooves interrupted the natural shape of every skull—thin and precise marks. Something about them didn’t sit right with me.
I returned to the Orc skull and turned it to inspect the marks. They met in three places, forming a triangle. Then it occurred to me and I shoved it back on the shelf. “Stars and void! He cut into them when they were alive... and kept them alive afterward. The incisions are healed over.”
“Maybe checking to see how their brains work?” David offered. He turned his flashlight onto a reflective surface. “There’s a coroner’s table and drain in here, as well. Looks like our guy is really dedicated to his research.”
The sound of metal sliding across the ground caused us both to turn toward it with guns aimed at the source.
The light from my flashlight fell onto an aged iron cage pressed into one corner of the room. Inside, a dark form was sprawled, its sides rising and falling in short and shallow breaths. The form curled up tighter into itself as I walked over, covering its head with bony arms. Too small to be a human adult, I worried Patrick had locked up someone’s small child until I noted the skeletal differences to indicate the figure wasn’t a child, but a fairy. The source of the rotten smell became apparent as I spotted several other fairies piled up in the other still-dark reaches of the room. The scent and sight of it left my vision red. It threw me back into old memories I’d buried and locked away. Times when the idea of doing such as this to another being would’ve filled me with delight. Anticipation of my prey’s screams sent tingles along my spine. The feel and taste of their fear along my tongue—
“Shit,” I hissed and looked around for a key to the cage. I pushed the memories away, reminding myself I wasn’t like that anymore. Helping the person I could help became my priority. I needed to move on, help the people right in front of me now. Not seeing the key anywhere on the wall or table, I gave up trying to find it and knelt by the door of the cage. Wrapping my hand around the padlock on the door, I pulled and twisted until the shank snapped out of the body of the padlock. I opened the cage and reached inside for the fairy.
It curled itself into a tight ball, pulling away from my hand.
“Please,” it—she—whimpered. “Please, no more. Let me die.”
Along her ankle, an iron shackle burned into her flesh. I sucked in a breath as my flashlight illuminated her wings—or what was left of them. Out of four, only two remained, bent at cruel angles. I spied a stump where one wing should have been, but no hint at where I had expected the other to be. The surfaces of her remaining wings lacked the shimmering I’d often seen with fairies of the Winter and Summer courts. Instead, they looked dull and tattered. The skin color of the fairy was impossible to gauge by the limited light from my flashlight, with all the dried blood coating her pale flesh. There were layers on layers of scars around the shackled ankle.
I couldn’t begin to guess how long she’d been locked up but guessed months at the very least.
The sight of the fairy’s weakness and vulnerability didn’t excite me but left me roiling with disgust. I pushed the door open farther and extended my hand. “How about I get you out of here instead?”
She jerked at my voice, looking up through her matted hair at me. The Fairy pushed herself up and reached for me with a shaking hand. “A-are you real?”
I took her hand carefully, feeling small and fragile bones. If I grasped her too hard, she’d snap. Her heart hammered in her chest, something I could see in her neck, as well as hear. “I’m real. Come on.”
With a sob, she shuffled toward me. The clinking of the chain followed her movements, while her wings fluttered out of reflex, making the pair of us wince. I was aware of David leaving the room, perhaps giving the naked fairy some privacy while I fiddled with the shackle bolt and pulled it off her. Her bony hands reached out to touch my hands and hair as I removed the lock and tossed it to the back of the cage.
“Can you stand?” At her head shake, I scooped her up in my arms and pulled her carefully out of the cage, carrying her over to the stairs where I set her down. I pulled my jacket off and set it over her shoulders. “What’s your name?”
“S-snowdrop.”
I gave my warmest smile, though she still flinched from me. Hard to look reassuring with pointed teeth. “I’m an enforcer. My name is Ghost.”
Her hand stilled over mine, her blood-shot eyes unblinking. “I’ve heard of you,” she whispered. “The Summer Court mentions you when Queen Mab puts on airs. Please.” Her hands balled up my shirt. “Please kill me.”
My hand pressed against her cheek. “That’s the ordeal you just went through talking. It’s not what you really want.”
“Yes, it is!” Her trembling hands wiped at her face. “After what he did to the others... he made me watch—”
I cupped her face and pressed my forehead to hers. “There have been many others I’ve met who went through similar ordeals. It was hard and painful, but they chose to be brave and live to overcome what happened. I need you to be brave like them.”
“I don’t know if I can.” Her small frame shook with her sobs. “I-I don’t have a home to go back to. I h-had to bind myself to the house just t-to—” Her face pressed into my chest, tears wetting my shirt.
I kept my arms about her, rubbing slow circles over her back. Without a forest or a home with a family, she’d bound herself to a building full of violence and pain, even as she endured it herself. The fact she could even form sentences or maintain her sense of self spoke volumes about her mental fortitude. I couldn’t believe she wanted to die when she’d done so much to stay alive.
When her trembling subsided, I tilted her head up to me. “I want you to unbind yourself from the house. Let me figure out your home problem.” I zipped up the jacket, her small form disappearing within the folds. “We’re leaving now, and I am going to carry you out of here.”
She nodded and looped a frail arm around my neck. I tried not to focus on how light she felt or the thinness of her limbs—her weakness. In the back of my mind, I became grateful Badb had given me something to eat. If I’d come hungry, I
would’ve killed her. Fae weren’t my first choice for food since they tasted like dirt-flavored Peeps, but hunger was the best spice.
“They’re wrong,” she murmured into my collarbone.
“Who’s wrong?”
“Everyone. They said you’re a cold killer.” Her words slurred. “But you feel safe.”
I paused and looked down at her. The fairy’s eyes closed and her breathing deepened as sleep took her. I’d promised to take care of her home situation, but I honestly had no idea where to take her. Not to mention with the way my luck had been doing, she wouldn’t survive the trip. The easy options all led to word getting back to the Fae Queens with disastrous results afterward. Every witch, healer, or Fae I could’ve gone to became a no-go. What she needed was somewhere to accept her.
I heard smacking sounds as I emerged into the hall. Peeking around the corner, my eyes went wide at the sight of Patrick’s bloodied and mauled face. One of his eyes was swollen, and blood covered half of his head.
David held the bound Patrick by the front of his shirt, his bloodied fist pulled back for another strike.
“David!” I snapped. “You’re going to kill him!”
The Marine lowered his fist and faced me with calm eyes. “Isn’t that the point?”
Silence let out a laugh, exposing a jaw with missing teeth. “You’re so fucked up. I love you!”
“You can’t kill him,” I said over Silence’s laughter. “We may need him to figure out where the rest are.”
David reached down and undid Silence’s bindings. “What are we supposed to do with her?” He waved a hand at the limp figure in my arms. “Do I have to clap my hands and say I believe in fairies?”
I adjusted Snowdrop’s light form in my arms and followed David and a limping Silence out the kitchen door. “No, that doesn’t work. If I knew where she was from, I’d take her there. Not that it would help.”
David pushed the gate open for me. “Why?”
“I can tell she’s been gone too long to still have a connection to her wood. And I’m not sure it would accept her if we brought her back, given her mental state.”
Once out of the village and heading down the back road toward the water, Silence skipped in front of us, turning with a maddening bloody grin. “You should just kill her. No sense in letting her suffer if she’s gonna die anyway.”
I was saved from explaining my actions by the buzzing in my pocket. Passing the Fae gently to David, I pulled out my cell and looked at the caller I.D. “How did he get my number?” Hitting the answer icon, I placed the cell to my ear. “Hello, Mr. Leafstorm, what can I do for you today?”
“Hello, Ghost. Forgive the call, but I was wondering if I could have an update on your progress.”
Part of me wanted to snap with a, “Well, in the few hours since our meeting, I haven’t been able to do much. How about giving me a little time to actually do my job rather than wasting my time and yours by asking?”
I pushed down the answer I wanted to give and forced a smile to my face. “Absolutely! We are currently in the planning stages and have an eye on our mutual friend. I suspect in a day or two we’ll be able to give you some good news.”
Caldrin said, “Excellent. I hate to badger you for details, but I am sure you can understand how this is a sensitive matter.”
Pulling in a breath, I mentally chanted, Be sincere, sympathetic, use names. “I completely understand your stance on this situation, Mr. Leafstorm. If I were you, I’d feel the same way. We promise to bring this matter to a mutually acceptable conclusion in the near future. At the moment we need to head to home base and get things ready before proceeding. I promise results in the next few days.”
A sigh sounded from the other end of the line. “Perfect. I look forward to seeing your work.”
The line cut off, and I glared at the phone.
David handed Snowdrop back to me. “Impatient fuck, isn’t he?”
“He is, but I’ll worry about him later. We have a damsel to save right now.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Grave Wood’s Choice
Ilaid Snowdrop down a few hours later on the soft earth of my garden. She didn’t stir and I checked her pulse to make sure she was still alive.
From the door, Vainya’s voice rumbled, “You do realize this isn’t an inn.”
“I’m sorry, Master. I didn’t have anywhere else to take her.”
He ambled over and came to a stop next to me. “I could provide you a list of places.” He lowered his head to inspect the fairy. “Crude. Intentionally done. She’ll never fully recover from it without assistance.” His gaze lowered, seeing into her. Magic danced along my skin while Vainya continued inspecting the frail female. His red eyes slid toward me. “I take it you didn’t wish to enrage the Summer Court with this madness.”
“No, I...,” My words died in my throat as I looked down at the fairy. She’d never fly again, forever doomed to be a land walker. Nothing but nightmares awaited her in sleep for years to come. I’d asked her to be brave while condemning her to suffering. And why? It was the right thing to do? Being able to say I saved her instead of ending her life? Could I have been any more selfish?
“I didn’t know what else to do,” I finally said. “She’s been absent from her forest too long for it to reconnect and help her.”
“And you thought Grave Wood would be the better option? These are not trees born of seed and soil. It is impossible to say what will happen.”
My nails bit into my palm while I stared at the fairy. “I know. Grave Wood’s not right if you want to compare it to other woods and forests. I... I have to try something. Given everything she’s gone through, I don’t think a normal forest would accept her.”
Vainya remained silent. His eyes shifted from me to Snowdrop to the woods. “If she survives, you will have to face the possibility she may hate you for binding her here.”
Swallowing, I lowered my gaze to my dirtied hands. “I’ve done worse things.”
He turned his head back to the Fae, staring at her for long moments. “This road to redemption you walk is interesting. And she may be able to prove a theory I developed. Run inside and fetch the items needed to call the Four Corners. I shall help you with the ceremony.”
My brows drew together as I rose and trotted into the Manor. How would helping the fairy assist in his research? Maybe in using magic to help a magical creature he’d identify some correlation or form some hypothesis or synthesis? Even then it would have to be tested repeatedly for it to be certain. And what if there wasn’t enough magic to actually help her? The worry nagged at my belly while I shifted through the various storage bins for the components Vainya would need.
“How is she?”
I looked up from the bin to David. He’d changed out of his blood-stained clothes and into a black tee and a pair of jeans.
“Hard to say. I can tell you more when we’re done.”
David followed me into the hall. “What are you going to do?”
“We’re going to bind her to Grave Wood. If the trees accept her, they can help her recover physically.”
“Wait, you’re really going to bind her to those creepy-ass trees? Is that smart after everything she’s been through?”
I forced myself to count to ten instead of screaming. “If we take her to a hedge witch, the Little People they have will tell one person about the tortured Fae they saw, and then they will tell someone else, and next thing we know, the Fae Queens will send envoys and then it all goes to shit. We can’t risk that right now.”
“So instead of doing the logical thing, you’re doing the bat-shit crazy thing?”
I kicked a bin onto a hallway table and rounded on David. “Look, you are four days in my world. I’ve been doing this since before writing was invented. Don’t make assumptions about what the best course of action is when you’re little more than a baby in comparison to me.”
David held up both hands, his voice soft. “Easy, easy.”
; Grabbing the bin I’d been searching for, I turned and stormed down the hall. “I don’t have time for this.”
Vainya’s ear flicked toward me, but he kept silent as I set the open bin next to him. I withdrew the bottle of blue powder and the wooden bowl. I measured the powder out and mixed it with a bit of the water while Vainya waited. Using my finger, I wrote the Norse runes for peace along Snowdrop’s forehead and those for healing across her chest bone, shoulders, and ankle.
“Give her berkana for birth as well. If she is accepted, she will be reborn in the image the wood gives her.”
I did so without a word. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed David leaning against the door frame, observing everything. Dismissing him, I laid out items around Snowdrop while Vainya walked in a slow circle around the fairy.
“Are you certain you still wish to try this?” When I nodded, he looked back out to Grave Wood. “Very well.” His tail rose and tapped the ground in a slow rhythm.
Neither of us moved as the rhythm continued. Working with trees and tree spirits was a test of patience. To an immortal, waiting days and weeks wasn’t much of an issue. All we had to lose was a bit more time. But Snowdrop didn’t have that luxury.
My eyes tracked to the fairy and her shallow breaths. I worried she didn’t have the time needed for the trees to decide they wanted to respond to Vainya.
A light tapping close by fell into rhythm with Vainya’s tail. I lifted my gaze from Snowdrop to see a tree branch tapping against another. It continued, spreading as one, then another, joined in the still air until more trees swayed, hundreds of branch taps becoming thunderous when combined. The sounds appeared chaotic until more joined and the trees of Grave Wood created a woodland song of thuds and groans. Even the distant raven cries fit the rhythm of the song. The thudding of Vainya’s tail became a deep drumbeat, guiding the rhythm of the trees. Wind ruffled my hair, creating a whistle through the branches. My flesh broke out into goosebumps as the sensation of being watched pressed against my senses.