"Iris." The woman got up and headed towards her.
"Thank you for agreeing to do this."
"Don't get your hopes up." Aeryn started walking and Iris fell into pace with her.
"You said that this Agatha asked you to protect me, right? She must have done that for a reason. I just want to ask her why."
"So did we. Many times."
"And?"
"She refused to tell us."
"Well, maybe if she sees me…"
"Maybe."
"Do you trust her?"
"She's very reserved, but she has helped us a few times with our mission."
They left the square and headed west along Magnolia Lane. Aeryn's step was light but decided, as if she was running an errand while taking a stroll. She seemed to be heading towards the higher part of town. Growing up, Iris and her friends were not allowed to wander around those parts because they surrounded a haunted mansion. With the real estate in that area being of so little interest to most families, the neighborhood became home to the poorer folks who couldn't afford a home in the more high-valued areas in town.
"What we did to Marion earlier," Aeryn said out of the blue. "By our laws, when we're exposed to a human, we have to inform the Council and they deal with it. That usually means the human and anyone they might have talked to about us die. We chose to save her life as a courtesy to you, because she's your friend."
"She's also Connor's friend. And Lorelai's," Iris said, trying to fight the shock of what she'd just heard. What she thought was a horrible thing that happened to Marion could have been worse.
"We don't have human friends," Aeryn said.
Iris felt an arrow pierce her heart, thinking of her own relationship with Connor and Lorelai. She and Marion grew up with them, they'd known each other their entire lives, they laughed together and shared birthdays. It couldn't possibly have all been a lie. Lorelai may have been cold and mean ninety per cent of the time, bet even she had moments when she was genuinely happy around Iris and Marion. And then Connor…
"Humans are fragile and live very short lives," Aeryn said, breaking Iris' train of thought. "By the time we decide that they can be trusted, they're already old and dying. They're of no use to us. I tried to teach my grandchildren that, just like my parents taught me. Lorelai understood it but Connor's heart is weak. We were asked to keep an eye on you and that forced our proximity but what he feels for you is genuine affection."
For a moment Iris wondered if Aeryn was able to read minds. The knot in her stomach started to dissolve a bit though. Perhaps not everything was a lie after all.
"I don't agree with this—what is it you humans call it? Dating? He hasn't said anything but I see the way he looks at you. It's not right. He's a Guardian." The knot was tightening again. "But he's been responsible and hasn't neglected his duties, so I let it slide for now. Still, you have to know that, as much as we wish to protect you, the mission comes first."
Iris felt like she was shot with an intermittent hot and cold water hose. Hearing Aeryn talk about Iris and Connor made her cheeks burn, yet the meaning of the woman's words turned her blood into ice water.
"Have you been doing this long? Your mission." She tried to change the subject, remembering the conversation they'd had earlier that day in the Elwoods' kitchen. We're Guardians. We were sent here to protect something.
"My whole life," Aeryn said, smiling.
They'd stopped at a crossing, next to half a dozen other people waiting for the green light, eager to reach the other side of the street. Iris wondered how much further Agatha's place was.
As soon as the crowd had dissipated, Iris resumed her questions. There was so much she wanted to know. "Aren't you tired?"
"No. I'm actually holding back for your sake. If I were alone, I'd go much faster."
Iris had no doubts about that. "I meant tired of being a Guardian."
"It's what I was born to do. Guardians are born into this life. It's their destiny. Saying that we get tired is like saying that we want to die."
"Is it worth it?"
"I don't understand what you mean."
"This job, does it have any rewards? I mean, you commit your entire lives to it. You put yourselves in danger every day in a world that isn't even yours. Do you get any satisfaction?"
"Do the guards that protect your world leaders get any satisfaction?"
"Are you saying that the Fountain is as important as the President?"
"Well, it is tied to a king. At least according to its legend."
Of course there was a legend, Iris thought. They were faeries. They probably had more legends and myths than the Holy Testament.
They'd turned the corner to Alder Street, which was going uphill. Iris was already panting but Aeryn didn't seem affected by the added effort and kept the same pace as before, breathing as quietly and regularly as if she was still sitting on the bench near the Town Square water fountain.
"How much further?" Iris asked. She'd stopped for a moment propping her arms on her knees to catch her breath. Her lungs burned with every intake of air.
Aeryn turned around smiling. "I forget how frail the human body is."
"So this Agatha," Iris said in between gasps, "is she one of yours?"
"If you mean Fae, then yes, she is."
"Dark or… Light, I guess?"
"Neither." Iris raised her eyebrows in a frown demanding further details. The woman conceded. "She used to be the Council's High Seer."
"What's a High Seer?" Iris asked, hurrying up to fall into step with Aeryn who had already started walking again.
"A very powerful Fae who can look into the future. But Agatha was special. She could also make prophecies. Her gift made her an important asset to the Council for hundreds of years."
Iris was still shocked every time she heard of someone's life being quantified in centuries, although at this point she thought nothing should shock her anymore. She wondered how old Aeryn was. She had two adolescent grandchildren and she didn't look older than fifty maybe, but Iris suspected her real age was at least in the three-digit range.
When they'd finally reached the top of the hill, the muscles in Iris' legs pulsed under her skin. In front of them, Garden Square, a popular ground for chess enthusiasts and artisans who displayed their crafts from behind beautifully decorated stalls along the sides of the square, was swarming with people, despite the threatening sky. It was so crowded that Iris felt the impulse to look around and make sure no one would hear their conversation.
"You said she used to be. What happened?"
"She prophesized the fall of the Council."
"I take it that's a bad thing," Iris said.
"Not if you have enough information to prevent it. But Agatha didn't. Or maybe she did and wouldn't tell them. There are many in Aldera who don't agree with the Council's iron fist ruling. Perhaps Agatha was one of them. The point is that, as punishment for her refusal to provide any details, the Council took out her eyes and issued an order for her execution. She fled into the human world and has been hiding here ever since."
"So she's neither Light, because she is no longer a standing citizen of Aldera, nor Dark, because she hasn't been stripped of her powers and banned here." Iris shuddered at the thought of Agatha's eyes being taken out. "So how did she manage to stay hidden all this time? It's not like she can use her powers anymore to see the Council coming after her in time to flee."
"Just because she doesn't have her eyes anymore doesn't mean she can't see. Her powers didn't lie in her eyes. But the moment she uses them the Council will find her. So she spends her life as a human and every two decades she disappears for a few weeks, nobody knows where."
"Every two decades? Let me guess. Around the time the Amulet reveals itself?"
"Exactly. That's when the Council's presence in the human world is more active. It's when the autumn equinox coincides with a full moon."
Iris remembered Marion's words. I heard on the news that the next full moon is goi
ng to be huge. The biggest we've seen in the past twenty years."That's this year. The Amulet reveals itself this year. In fact, in less than two weeks' time."
Aeryn didn't comment but Iris could see a small crevice forming between the woman's eyebrows. She fell behind to let Aeryn pass through the crowd. The stallholders jumped in front of her with eye-catching items and Iris smiled politely as she turned them down. Looking at the objects on display, she lost sight of Aeryn and found her a few seconds later heading up a narrow street, very easy to miss between the artisan stalls.
"So how come you work with Agatha? Wouldn't the Council oppose?"
"They would if they knew. But sometimes our mission requires alternative measures." The woman stopped to a halt in front of the small entrance to an old building that looked like it was about to collapse. "We're here."
Iris massaged her sore legs. "We could have driven here, you know."
"I'm not fond of cars. I prefer to walk."
Iris waited for Aeryn to push one of the buttons on the intercom to the left of the main door, but the woman just stood there. "Are we waiting for something?"
"We're early." A minute later the church bells rang five o'clock. Aeryn pushed the only intercom button that didn't have a name on it. "Agatha never sees anyone before five o'clock."
They waited for the familiar buzzing sound that signaled the front door unlocking but it never came. Iris saw a shadow passing over Aeryn's eyes but only for a moment.
"She's gone."
"Now what?" Iris asked, disappointment burning in her chest.
"Now we go in." The woman reached into her pocket and took out a sphere, identical to the one Lorelai had.
"You just said she's not home."
"Yes, but she might have left us a message." Aeryn looked around to make sure no one was watching them and then activated the sphere. When it opened up, she picked a crystal with a dark grey pellet inside and let it drop on the door handle. Before the sphere reassembled itself, the lock clicked and the door opened.
"So we're breaking and entering? Wouldn't she have phoned you if she wanted to leave you a message?"
"We don't rely on your technology as much as you do." Aeryn slipped the sphere back in her pocket and entered the building. Iris followed.
Inside the foyer the air was stuffy and stale. The whole place smelled like bad food and cat urine. Iris covered her nose with her hand instinctively, though it didn't help much with the sudden feeling of nausea building up in her stomach. There was a pile of crumpled newspapers under the stairs and when it moved, Iris gasped. A hand appeared from under it and Iris nearly bumped into Aeryn running up the stairs.
"That's just Billy Kane. I believe he also goes by the name 'town bum,'" the woman said on a calm, matter-of-fact tone, although Iris was anything but calm remembering that he was the one who'd jumped in front of Marion's car screaming at her that evil was going to get her. Looking back at what had happened to Marion that morning, his words sounded more like a prophecy come true.
The steps were narrow and squeaky under her weight and Iris reached out her hand to grab the handrail but changed her mind when she saw the stains that covered it from one end to the other. Instead, she focused on keeping her balance so she wouldn't need support. She breathed a sigh of relief when she reached the landing, although it seemed that the quality of the steps didn't improve as they went up.
When they reached the first floor, a retching stench of sewage and month-old garbage hit them like a tidal wave. Aeryn seemed unaffected but Iris swallowed back nausea and was grateful to see the woman pass by the two doors with chipped yellow paint and black stains around the handles and go higher up the stairs. She couldn't stand the idea of getting closer to the source of that disgusting odor.
On the second landing, the foul smell began to dissipate and by the time they reached the second floor it was just a fading memory. Here the air was just stuffy and stale again.
Aeryn stopped in front of a door that looked just like the ones on the floor below, except that it had an extra coat of old, dark red paint. Iris could see the yellow layer underneath where chips of the new one had fallen off. She expected Aeryn to take out the sphere again and unlock the door but instead the woman just grabbed the handle, propped her shoulder against the door and pushed it open with a force unnatural for a regular woman her age.
Inside, the apartment smelled like old books and linoleum, which was the first thing Iris noticed when she stepped over the threshold—white and black squares everywhere, as if the whole floor was a human-sized chess board. Two coats were thrown on a hanger by the door on the left, strategically placed to hide a massive tear in the flower-patterned wallpaper. To the right, an old cabinet with rusty door hinges and scratched legs that looked like they were going to give under its weight. On it, a bunch of odd-looking knick-knacks—a purple-and-blue glass fish, a set of five Russian dolls, a porcelain elephant… One of them, however, caught Iris' eye. It was an odd-looking statue of a warrior woman with a sword in her right hand and an eagle resting on her left forearm. She was sure she'd seen it before but couldn't tell where.
"What is this?" she asked Aeryn, who was already entering a room to the right.
The woman turned around. "It's the statue of Artris, our Goddess of Protection. The eagle sees your enemies and the goddess slays them with the sword."
Iris took another look at the statue and followed Aeryn into what turned out to be Agatha's living room, a small space with an old couch, an even older wooden tea table in the middle, and walls covered in bookcases. The room was dim-lit, with the windows almost entirely covered by heavy blinds.
Aeryn went straight to the bookcase on the wall facing the door and ran her fingers along a row of thick tomes on the bottom shelf. A little after she passed the middle of the row, her fingers stopped. She took out a book in a worn leather case and held it on her palms. For a few seconds nothing happened but then the book opened on its own and the pages started flipping as if a breeze was blowing straight at them until eventually they stopped towards the middle of the book. Iris took a few steps closer to see what was written on them and was surprised to see that they were blank. She was just about to ask Aeryn what that meant when a page dislodged from the backbone and rose a few inches above the book. It remained there a few moments and then a few golden dots started to form on the page. The dots turned into lines, the lines into letters and the letters into a message, written in the same strange language Iris had seen at the Elwoods' mansion. Then, the page caught on fire and disappeared, like it had never been there.
"What does it say?" Iris asked, noticing that Aeryn's face had become a bit paler as she closed the book and placed it back on the shelf. "Mrs. Elwood, what does the message say?!"
"Protect the girl. They're coming for her. That's what it says."
Iris' blood dropped to her feet. "I'm assuming the girl is me," she said, her voice half broken, "but who's they?"
"Everyone."
11
Beware
Iris hadn't realized when they'd left Agatha's apartment building. When reality started to set in again, they were already in Garden Square. Her head was heavy, her feet felt like she had weights attached to her ankles, and the day seemed like it was never going to end. She'd gone from a regular sixteen-year-old, whose only problems were which colleges to apply to and what to wear at the prom, to a hell beast controlling human that everyone in a supernatural world she never even knew existed wanted a piece of. She had no idea how to even begin to defend herself and the only people—well, beings really—who could do that had even worse problems to deal with.
Aeryn's words resounded in her head. Humans are fragile and live very short lives. They're of no use to us. We were asked to keep an eye on you and that forced our proximity. But you have to know, as much as we wish to protect you, the mission comes first. The woman hadn't said a word since they'd left the apartment. She was walking, looking ahead, deep in thought.
"Mrs. Elwood," I
ris said eventually, but even she wasn't sure what she was about to say. She was just looking for a way to kill that oppressive silence between them.
"For now, go home," the woman said and Iris jerked at the sound of her voice after so long. "Elizabeth will be worried. I'll have Connor watch your house tonight. And tomorrow we'll see how we can deal with this."
"My grandmother's out of town. Her sister is dying."
"I feel regret. But this is a good thing. She might be spared."
Iris shuddered at the thought that her grandmother, the only family she had left, might be caught in the crossfire of whatever was coming and, as ashamed as she was for even thinking that way, for the second time that day her aunt's illness felt like a good thing.
The sun had completely hidden behind the mountain tops and Magnolia Lane was lit only by the streetlamps and the bright store windows lining up on each sidewalk. The street was crowded now, with people going home from work and teenagers out and about. Iris could see the Town Square, with its blue lights set in the pavement and the water fountain sparkling like a rainbow in the middle.
"Would you like a ride home?" she offered, although she clearly remembered Aeryn telling her she wasn't too fond of cars.
"That's kind of you but unnecessary. I'll walk. It will give me a chance to think. But first I have to make sure you leave alright."
"That's okay. My car's over there." She pointed at Elizabeth's Ford, resting at the end of the narrow street where she'd parked it an hour before. Aeryn watched her for a few seconds as if she was trying to discern whether Iris was telling the truth or not. Iris reassured her. "Really, I'll be fine from here to there."
"Very well then," the woman said and touched Iris' forearm. "It will be alright. We'll do our best to protect you."
With the sun having set and the heavy sky resting on the mountain tops, it had gotten a bit cold and Iris put her arms around her waist to warm herself up. After she said goodbye to Aeryn, she turned around one more time to watch her leave but the woman was already out of sight. When she turned back, her eyes stopped on a tall figure on the other side of the street, in the corner of the square. Although the sidewalk was crowded, somehow he stood out. He was looking in her direction from in front of a lit store window and she couldn't make out his face in detail. Still, she couldn't help notice his eyes, dark and scrutinizing behind a few stray strands of silver hair. He was just standing there, like a statue, dressed in jeans and a leather jacket but then a town buss blocked him from her view and, by the time it passed, he was gone. Had he been watching her or was paranoia finally setting in? It wouldn't have surprised her, after the day she'd had.
The Fountain of Truth (Tales of the Dark Fae Book 1) Page 10