Forged Steel

by H A Titus

  David steered me down the path to the back wall. At the base of the wall, there was a huge well sunk deep into the ground, and above the well, I could see numbers, in familiar groups of five, carved into the stone.

  "Another cipher?" I muttered.

  "Been camped here for three days now, trying to decipher the dumb thing," Scyrril growled from behind me.

  I jumped away from him.

  He walked past, dragging Eliaster by one arm. Eliaster shot a glance at me, then looked down. He could barely stand. My heart sank to my gut. If he'd been useless in the cannibal fae's cage, he was doubly so now.

  Scyrril shoved Eliaster against the wall next to a tent, and the fae slowly sank down, leaning his head back against the rock surface.

  I glanced at Larae. She stood to the side, staring up the numbers with her lips pressed tightly together.

  "You told them what the document said, as soon as I decoded it. But you couldn't tell them how to decode it, because—"

  "They weren't there when you told Roe and me what the cipher was," Eliaster interrupted. He grinned at her. "So even if you did get a jumpstart on us, you've still been stuck here for three days."

  "So that's why you kept arguing that we should look for Marc," I said.

  Larae shrugged one shoulder and smiled. "Yeah. Thought I could appeal to your friendship, but I never counted that you'd be such a pansy." She looked at Eliaster. "And you are a mac cailleach, you know that?"

  Llew sauntered past, nudging her shoulder with his elbow. He waggled his eyebrows at me. "Not that it would've done you a lot of good, pansy-boy, stickin' around Springfield to look for your buddy."

  Eliaster groaned. "Oh no—"

  Two goblins reached behind a stack of large crates and dragged out a guy with hands taped behind his back and a hood over his head. My gut clenched. One of the little monsters yanked the hood off, revealing Marc, his eyes wide, mouth covered in duct tape. The goblin yanked the tape off, and Marc hissed in pain.

  "Marc!" I said.

  His head jerked up. "Josh? Thank the Almighty, I thought…" His voice choked out. He swayed as he stood.

  "You okay?" I asked.

  He nodded wearily. He was lying. I could see the haunted look in his eyes. Who knew what they'd done to him, trying to force the information of the document from him. The goblins cut the tape around his wrists, and Marc brought his hands forward, massaging his fingers.

  David pushed me out of his way. "Get to work. We'll be marching soon."

  "You been working on these?" I asked Marc.

  "Just a few hours. They moved me out of Springfield right away, but didn't bring me here until late last night." Marc glared at Larae, but I could see other emotions competing with his anger and bitterness. The d'anam fuinneog danced in his eyes.

  "I trusted you," he whispered. "I thought …"

  "Please don't, Marc," Larae said.

  "How am I supposed to turn away when my heart is still stuck?"

  "I'm so sorry." Larae stepped past me and brushed her fingers along Marc's jaw. The motion seemed to soften her, bringing a gentleness to her eyes that I hadn't seen her display before, even when she talked about him.

  Marc flinched away from her.

  Larae snatched her hand back, doubling it into a protective fist. Her eyes went hard and flat as ice. "I should have been more careful," she whispered, turning away. She walked back to David.

  As soon as she reached his side, he leaned toward her, his harsh tone reaching us. I couldn't hear the words, but the look on his face mirrored Marc's—mixed with anger.

  Marc snorted. "Looks like she cheated on one too many people."

  Scyrril shoved him into the wall. "Work." The monster stomped away.

  Marc folded his arms across his chest. "Right. Work. How long will this take you?"

  I ran my hands through my hair. My fingers were starting to shake, just a little, but I pushed the adrenalin away and took a deep breath, willing myself to stay calm. I looked over at Eliaster, hoping he had an idea. I looked over my shoulder at Eliaster. He shrugged, his eyes dull.

  "What's up with him?" I muttered. "This whole time he's been pushing us through this quest, to the point of plowing over anyone else's concerns. Now he's just giving up?"

  Marc groaned. "He didn't tell you?"

  Eliaster glanced at me out of the corners of his eyes and just as quickly looked away. He hunched his shoulders, making himself as small as possible.

  I turned my back on him and stared at Marc. "What?"

  "Idiot. I told him to trust you." Marc shoved his hands in his pockets. "Eliaster and I'd had this deal since the beginning. If I got caught—and we assumed I would eventually—then he wouldn't look for me and would focus on solving the cipher and finding the relic."

  I stared at him. "And my involvement was…?"

  "Because I didn't expect them to snatch me that night, when we were out together. I knew it would be soon, and I knew Scyrril was coming to talk to me that night, but I thought for sure I could stall for a few more days. You weren't supposed to be involved at all, but it all got out of whack because you were with me when it happened."

  My brain stalled. Sucker-punch. "What?" That was it?

  Eliaster's big secret was that he wasn't supposed to look for Marc and that my involvement had just been an accident? My mind still scrambled to connect the pieces, but all I was getting was a huge red error message. Why hadn't Eliaster told me? It would have made everything so much easier if I'd been on his side.

  But would I have been? Would I have just gone along with the plan and not tried to find Marc? Probably not.

  "I'm sorry, Josh. I never—I wanted to get rid of this problem, just get it over with. Move on." Marc's jaw clenched. "I never wanted to involve anyone else."

  "Not your fault," I said, my mind already moving on. How could we get out of this? There had to be a way to use this cipher to our advantage.

  I glanced over to Larae and David. They, Scyrril, and Llew stood at the edge of the well, staring down into it and discussing something in low voices.

  What if I just didn't decipher the carving? Or maybe I could make a bargain—our freedom for the key to the Fibonacci sequence. Eliaster and Marc wouldn't like the idea of abandoning the relic to the hands of the Lucht Leanúna, but I wasn't about to become a martyr for their cause.

  "What are you thinking?" Marc asked, his tone skeptical.

  He knew me well. I gnawed the inside of my lip. I couldn't tell him. He'd never agree to it. I stood, keeping an eye on the group by the well.

  Llew looked up and noticed that I was watching them. He started around the side of the well, flicking his bangs out of his face.

  Chapter 19

  Llew crowded me close to the wall, his lips curled to reveal his teeth. "Shouldn't you be working rather than just staring off into space?"

  I took a deep breath, then reached out and shoved him back.

  He staggered a few steps, his eyebrows going up and his chin tucking to his chest in shock.

  "I'm not doing this anymore," I said, raising my voice to Larae could hear. "I'm not helping the Lucht Leanúna."

  Llew snorted incredulously. He looked over at Larae.

  She raised her hand. "Wait, little brother."

  They were siblings?

  She stepped closer to me, her head tilting to one side. "I thought you were smarter than this, Josh. What do you think being stubborn will accomplish? You know this won't end well for you. The Unseelie, and especially the Lucht, are not at all squeamish about using torture to extract the desired outcome."

  Llew grinned, stroking the knife at his belt with his knuckles.

  Eliaster clenched his hands.

  Marc stepped between Larae and me, holding out his hands, palms toward Larae. "Give him slack, Larae. He's new…he doesn't understand—"

  I shouldered him out of my way. "I understand plenty. I'm not proposing to just leave you hanging, Larae. I want to bargain."

  Sh
e smiled. "A human bargain with a fae? This should be interesting."

  Eliaster groaned and thumped his head against the wall. "Don't be stupid, Josh. Just decipher the amadán carving."

  I ignored him. "If you let me, Marc, and Eliaster free, I'll give you the key to the cipher. And by free, I mean healthy, whole, with our weapons, and a guarantee of no pursuit." I shrugged, very carefully keeping my face passive. No need to let her see I barely had a handle on my panic. "Better yet, let me sweeten the deal. I'll decipher the carving and give it to you when we leave."

  She raised an eyebrow. "How do I know you wouldn't lie to us?"

  "How do I know you'd keep up your end of the bargain? The Unseelie have no honor, but apparently as a human, I'm not expected to have any either, so it's a risk for both of us." I held my hand out to her. "C'mon. We can make this deal work."

  Larae licked her lips, staring straight into my eyes. I stared back, willing her to shake my hand.

  She raised her hand and hesitated.

  C'mon. This could work. It had to. It was the only way I saw Marc, Eliaster, and me getting away from these nuts.

  Llew darted past me and grabbed Marc's wrist. A knife flashed in his hand. Marc twisted and kicked at him. Llew's strike missed his arm and slashed across his ribcage.

  Marc staggered back, pressing a hand to the wound, a deep grunt huffing from his lungs.

  "Llew!" Larae shrieked.

  I grabbed Marc's shoulders and steadied him.

  "I'm okay. Just a scratch." Marc brushed the blood away. His knees buckled and he hit the ground, catching himself with his free hand.

  I knelt beside him, pushing his hand away from the wound. He was right—the cut was a shallow graze along a rib, barely enough to bleed. Why had he collapsed? What had Llew done to him?

  Llew cackled.

  I turned to see him holding up a knife, the blade orange with rust, the edge glazed in Marc's blood.

  Larae screeched again and shoved her brother. "Crow-bait! What did you just do?"

  "Rust." Marc's voice sounded like he was being strangled. His face was pale.

  Eliaster burst into a torrent of Gaelic, scrambling to his feet. His eyes ran a gamut of shades, from muddy-green to a piercing emerald, in a split second. Scyrril grabbed his neck and held him back from charging at Llew.

  Llew sheathed the knife without bothering to clean it. "Iron makes full fae sick, and rusted iron is poison to half fae. You have eight hours to get Marc to a cure before the convulsions kill him. I'd get working on that cipher if I were you."

  A sick feeling spread through my gut. My face and hands went numb. I pressed a hand against the wall, steadying myself. "Marc?"

  "Well done, genius!" Eliaster yelled at me. "Well done!"

  I closed my eyes and gritted my teeth. Breathe slowly. Stop panicking. My mind spun. Llew laughed again, and I heard him and Larae walk away. She was hissing at him in Gaelic.

  "Josh." Marc grabbed my shoulder.

  I opened my eyes.

  He forced a grin. "I'm not dead yet."

  I glanced over at Eliaster. The fae's jaw was tight, his hands and arms tensed like he was ready to hit someone. Probably me.

  I was beyond scared, beyond angry. Instead, it felt like I'd

  flatlined. Every emotion went cold. I'm gonna get out of this, and I'll make sure Marc does too.

  I stood up and counted the numbers on the wall, then glanced at Marc. "I can have this done in an hour. Two at the most."

  He grinned, a spark of blue in his eyes showing that the Unseelie hadn't taken all the fight out of him. "Of course you can. Have at it, genius."

  I backed a few steps from the wall so I could see it better. 1832142. T. 38493. N.

  As I worked to decipher the numbers carved into the cavern wall, a cold draft rose from the well behind us, making the dust on the cavern floor swirl in spirals. It sent a cold prickle down my spine. That well was the only exit from this cavern, and I could bet that the instructions I'd find would lead us down it.

  "So what are we looking for anyway?" Marc asked, his voice low. "Did you guys ever figure it out?"

  I glanced over my shoulder at Larae. "Yeah. Roe thinks it's something called a pathstone."

  Marc sucked in a sharp breath. "Mallaithé. A pathstone? You're sure?"

  I nodded.

  He shook his head and closed his eyes. "Almighty help us."

  I blew out a deep breath and looked back at the cipher. C'mon, Josh. Focus.

  It took a little longer since I had to do everything in my head, but finally I finished deciphering the last number. I stepped back from the wall, running the message over in my head.

  To any who have come searching for this relic, may I remind you what a dangerous thing it is that you're doing. Taking this stone will change the balance of power in the world, and it won't be for good. Please, reconsider what you are doing, and walk away from this place. Leave the cursed stone to rest where it has been hidden.

  "I'm done!" I called to Larae, stepping back from the wall.

  She came over to my side. "What's it say?"

  I repeated the message.

  "Feel stupid now, Genius Josh?" Llew yelled. "Nothing substantial, and yet you're gonna get your friend killed over it."

  "Why don't you find something to do!" Larae snapped at him. She turned back to me and Marc. "I'm so sorry. I didn't even know Llew had that knife." She reached out to touch Marc's arm.

  He moved out of her reach. "Pardon me if I don't believe you."

  She shrugged and walked away, yelling at the goblins to get moving.

  Eliaster got up and came over to us. He had to keep one hand on the wall to stay steady on his feet.

  "Any plan?" I asked him.

  He shrugged. "I don't know. You seem to be a well of inspiration lately, why don't you have a go at it?"

  "Hey, I got us out of the cannibal faes' cage, in case you don't remember."

  "Any points you earned just got trashed. Besides, one time out of many? Stop thinking you know it all. You don't know anything, not about the Underworld."

  My ears and face grew warm. "Oh yeah, and this is all my fault, right? Maybe if you hadn't gotten me involved in the first place—"

  "You got yourself involved."

  I talked over him. "And hadn't asked me to solve the cipher, we wouldn't be in this mess now!"

  Eliaster flinched. "Yeah," he muttered. "We wouldn't be here at all." He dragged his hands through his hair and clasped them at the back of his neck. "Look, I'm sorry. But if I hadn't gotten to you, Blodheyr would have. You were already in the line of fire, whether you knew it or not. And I didn't know who else to go to. I couldn't trust David and Larae—they just felt off. You were the only person I knew who had a chance at solving that cipher."

  The heat in my chest and head started to subside. He was right. He'd probably saved my life. But that just made the sharpness of what I'd just done worse. I'd probably just condemned Marc to death.

  Marc cleared his throat. "Well, now that you're done bickering like a couple of schoolgirls, can we get down to business? They're not going to let us go now, so we need to figure out another plan."

  I shoved down a flare of panic. Of course they wouldn't. If there was another cipher somewhere in the well, they'd need me. And they weren't going to pass up any chance to use Marc, or even Eliaster—as much as I wanted to kill him myself at the moment—as leverage against me.

  "We'll make it," Eliaster said in a low voice. "If I don't keep believing that, then I'm going to cut my wrists right now and be done with it."

  Marc nodded. "We have seven hours."

  "We'll just see what happens when we find the relic," Eliaster said.

  How could they discuss it so calmly? I knew what would happen when that relic was in Larae's hands. They'd kill us. It was a classic bad guy move for a reason: it worked. At least, in theory. In fiction, the good guys always found some way to survive, even if it was the tiniest, chanciest sliver.


  As this nightmare was making painfully clear to me, real life wasn't fiction. The good guys didn't always win. But Eliaster was right—if I didn't keep believing that we could, somehow, survive, I'd be tempted to step right off the edge of the well. Except that would be too easy for Larae. If she won, it would be a hard win, because I was going to kick and scream every step of the way.

  I didn't want to die down here, buried under tons of rock.

  "Eliaster." Larae tossed him a climbing harness and a flashlight. "You first."

  Eliaster pulled on the harness and buckled it tightly around his waist. He turned and gripped my shoulder.

  "You're right, I should have been honest with you. I should have trusted you. I'm sorry."

  I hadn't expected an apology from him. For a second, I stood still in surprise, staring at him. Eliaster dropped his hand and turned away.

  I cleared my throat. "Yeah, I should've listened to you too. Sorry."

  He nodded grimly and walked to the edge of the well. A goblin started to tie a rappel line into the carabiner on his harness, and Eliaster swatted him away. "I can tie my own lifeline, thanks."

  He quickly threaded the line into his harness and tied it off, then spun around and leaned back. Another goblin began paying out the line, and Eliaster disappeared from sight.

  Larae tossed Marc and me two more harnesses. I sorted out the tangle of webbing and stepped into it, pulling it over my hips.

  "Trusting our lives to a couple of goblins," I muttered under my breath, nodding to the two sidhé setting up more rappel lines. "It just feels wrong."

  "Shows you how limited our options are." Marc winced as he buckled his harness.

  "I don't want to die down here, Marc."

  "Neither do I. I wanted to escape this place, remember?"

  That conversation seemed such a long time ago. Goose bumps washed over my skin. I straightened and crossed my arms, rubbing my hands up and down the sleeves of my jacket.

  Marc stepped toward the well and stopped, pressing a hand to his wound.

  "You okay?" I asked.