"We talked about it all night. We don't have the means to deal with the hellhound by ourselves. It's impossible to kill it."
"There has to be a way. I could help. I could control it and you could burn it or something."
"Get over yourself, Iris," Lorelai said. "You didn't control the hellhound. You just got lucky."
"You said it yourselves. No one escapes a hellhound attack. I did."
"Whatever. Either way, it's no good. It would sense us coming from miles away and it's impossible to shoot an arrow from that far. Even for me. Besides, do you think we're going to let this disaster in the hands of a—"
"A human?"
"A sixteen-year-old girl I was going to say," Lorelai explained.
"You're seventeen."
"Yes but I'm not—"
"A human?"
"Untrained."
"Oh, please."
"Yesterday you were a little girl scared to cross over a bridge and now you think you can go up against a magical beast from hell?"
"Lorelai," Aeryn stepped in.
Lorelai's fists were clenched to her sides, her knuckles white as paper. "No, Grandma. We have to deal with so much right now, between the Fountain and this damn hellhound and the Council who's breathing down our necks. The last thing we need is having to babysit a human who thinks she's one of us. Plus," she turned to Iris, "say there's a slight chance that the reason we were asked to protect you was indeed because you have some kind of dormant ability and that ability is to control hellhounds, do you have any idea what you'd be up against?"
Connor intervened. "Lorelai's right, Iris. Holding that kind of control over a hound for an entire night requires an outstanding amount of concentration and you don't have that."
"You could train me," Iris insisted.
"There's not enough time," Aeryn said. "Plus, we don't even know if the human mind is capable of such a feat. If it can overwhelm a Fae…" she didn't finish her sentence but Iris knew what she meant—if a Fae can go crazy in a matter of days, how long do you think you'll last?
Connor got up and went to Iris. He put his hand on her shoulder and when he spoke, his voice was gentle and calm, despite his ominous words. "Iris, if we don't act fast, the entire population of Forest Hills will be dead within a week, with or without the Council's intervention."
"I don't think so," she insisted. They all looked at her as if she was speaking Chinese so she explained. "Whatever this Fae's goal is here, it's not to kill everyone in town. Why would they do that? Why would anyone go to such lengths to destroy a town, or even the whole human world? There are easier ways to do that than to steal a magical artifact from Aldera, bring it here and summon a deadly, indestructible beast. I think the incidents in the woods were glitches. The master lost control of the hound for a while and, without a master, it went crazy on the hikers."
"I think that's just wishful thinking," Lorelai said.
"Think about it," Iris continued. "The master's been controlling the hound for a week at least. Why haven't there been any reports of dead people in and around Forest Hills until a couple of days ago?" She paused and when no one said anything she went on. "As long as the master can keep his control over the hound, even if for a few more days, I think the town's safe. But if the sheriff and his men go after it, it might see it as a threat and attack."
Everyone remained silent for a few moments, like they were deliberating, and Iris prayed that she'd managed to convince them, but then Aeryn spoke. "No. The protocol requires that we inform the Council of any kind of supernatural activity that would put our mission in danger."
"What about the Council having a traitor among them?" Iris said, barely holding back her rage.
"We'll just have to take our chances."
"I can't believe this."
"Iris, please," Connor pleaded, "if we mess this up we're all going to die. The Guardians who fail to protect the Amulet and let the Fountain be summoned are automatically executed as traitors."
"What about the rest of the people in this town? They don't matter? Doesn't anyone care that they'll be burned alive?"
She darted out of the room. Connor followed her. "Iris." He grabbed her arm, but she shook it loose.
"Let go of me. I'm not going to just stand by and watch you turn my hometown into a mass grave."
She was on her way towards the front door when the bell rang. She stopped on her heels while Connor passed by her to see who it was. Aeryn and Lorelai had already stepped into the foyer and stopped just a few feet away from Iris.
"The last thing we need right now is more visitors," Lorelai said exasperated. "Unless that's the Council, this day cannot get any worse." But then, when Connor opened the door and she saw who was standing on the other side of their threshold, she stood corrected. "I spoke too soon."
The boy smiled but it didn't touch his ebony-black eyes. They were deep and narrow, although the thin lines underneath them made Iris suspect that that was just the way he looked at the world—cautious and weighing. She wondered what their natural shape was. His artfully disheveled hair was dyed light silver blue and went in all directions, covering his ears and a small part of his cheeks, right under the sideburns. A few rebel strands danced over his eyes every time he moved his head. There was a beautiful contrast between his light skin and hair and his dark brows and eyes, a sort of yin and yang that probably made an impact on anyone who laid eyes on his face, making it unforgettable.
"Hi there, Elwood," he said, still smiling. He kept his hands in the pockets of his leather jacket, closed with a heavy zipper going from his left hip up to his right shoulder. There was something in his voice, something familiar that made Iris shudder. And then she remembered. Don't make a sound. She gasped but no one seemed to notice. Everyone was focused on the stranger at the door.
"Dorian," Connor said through his teeth. Iris couldn't see his face but his shoulders tensed and there was a clear mix of anxiety and rage in his voice. Everyone went silent, staring at the stranger.
"Come on, people," he said, "I mean, I know I'm irresistibly attractive but this is starting to get awkward. Especially in your case, Elwood. You know I don't swing that way." There was something in the way he smiled, cheeky and mischievous but also fascinating. He was young, probably around the same age as she and the Elwood twins, and yet the way he spoke and moved, the waves of confidence coming off him, made him seem a lot older.
The arrow whistled as it flew by Iris' ear. It blew a strand of her hair in her face, passed by Connor and lodged into the stranger's shoulder. He jerked and put his hand on the wound, blood seeping through his long, thin fingers.
Iris gasped and covered her mouth with her hands. She turned around and saw Lorelai holding up a bow, another arrow already in place, waiting to be launched. The girl's eyes burned with hatred. Next to her, Aeryn was watching motionless, her face set. Iris looked back at Dorian. He broke the arrow, wincing, and threw in on the floor.
"Lorelai," he said, fixing the girl with his gaze, "nice to see your skills haven't dulled with time." Iris thought she saw a shadow pass over his eyes but it only lasted for a split second. He turned to Connor's grandmother, who hadn't moved an inch the entire time. "Aeryn, you look stunning as always. Not a day over a hundred."
"What do you want, Dorian?" the woman asked, her eyes wary and unmoving.
"Yes, enough with the pleasantries," he said. "There's a special kind of dog infestation in town and, believe it or not, I'm here to help you get rid of it."
"I should have known you'd have a hand in this," Lorelai hissed. "We kept wondering who would be crazy enough to resurrect a hellhound and we couldn't come up with an answer. But you certainly fit the bill."
"Ah, it's alright, Lorelai," he said smiling. "You're pretty. You don't need the brains."
The second arrow left the bow before he finished talking but, despite the wound in his shoulder, he managed to shift to the side just in time. The arrow passed by him and split into little pieces as it crashed against
one of the massive marble columns sustaining the wide terrace on the first floor of the mansion.
"We don't need your help," Connor said.
"I noticed Lorelai said hellhound. Singular. Allow me to curb your enthusiasm. You're not dealing with just one giant puppy from hell. You're dealing with three. All summoned by a Dark Fae going by the name of Douchebag. And sometimes Vincent."
For a moment Iris had the feeling she could hear the air currents shift inside the foyer. Then Connor spoke. "We still don't need you."
"You do if you don't want to—what was it?—ah, yes, turn the town into a mass grave." He pointed at Iris. "Who's that by the way? Your human doll?"
Connor took a step back and slowly pushed Iris behind him.
"Relax, Elwood," Dorian said on a mocking tone. "It's not as if I can get in and do all the horrible things you think I might do to her." Iris didn't think Connor's muscles could get any tighter and yet she could see his shoulder blades spasm under his shirt. "Hey, doll," Dorian called, and Iris tilted her head to look at him from behind Connor. For a fraction of a second she had that strange feeling of familiarity again. There was something about him that worked like a magnet on her, a sort of pull that she couldn't control. He threw something towards her but Connor was faster and caught it before she could. "You dropped this last night."
Iris could feel everyone's eyes on her. Connor's were wide and full of questions as he handed her her phone. Dorian must have noticed it too because he broke the silence. "Oh, you didn't know," he said, his face covered with delight. "Your doll and I had a close encounter last night. That's quite a catch you've got there, Elwood," he said pointing at her with his head. "A bit scrawny for my taste—I mean, I could feel her ribs under her skin—but other than that, quite alright. Such a shame that she's a human, isn't it? You know, forbidden fruit and all."
He barely finished his sentence that Connor was already heading towards him. Iris didn't even see him move—one minute he was next to her, the next he was writhing under Aeryn's firm hand, holding his arm in a tight grip.
"Leave, Dorian," the woman said through her teeth.
He looked at her for a few seconds. "Well, I'm staying at the Millers' summer house off Palm Road in case you change your minds. Also, you'll find my number in your doll's phonebook." He put his index and middle fingers to his temple in a mock salute, took two steps back, and then turned around, heading down the front steps. The Elwoods kept looking at him walking away, Connor still trembling under his grandmother's strong hold. Eventually, Aeryn let go of him and closed the front door.
"Would somebody tell me why you walked away from maybe the only chance to solve the hellhound problem without killing the entire town?" Iris broke the silence, and her voice sounded like thunder echoing off the walls of the foyer.
"Because Dorian never does anything for free and when he offers you something, it usually comes at an enormously high price," Connor said.
Iris clenched her fingers around her phone. "It can't be higher than the lives of an entire town."
"The town is already dying," Lorelai said. "You've seen the paper."
"Exactly. So why not listen to what he has to say?"
Aeryn tried to reason with her. "You don't understand. If Dorian's here it means he has something to do with this."
"Well, I don't know your history with him, but what I do know is that he's offering you the chance to save thousands of lives and you're turning him down." She darted towards the door. Connor grabbed her arm but she jerked free.
"Iris, you can't leave. It's not safe for you out there." He was angry. She could tell from the sound of his voice. She'd never heard him shout but his voice got rougher, cold as the blade of a knife, whenever he was mad at someone and in that moment he was. Still, it didn't matter to her.
"I'm not sure it's safe here either. I'm human and apparently the safety of a piece of rock is more important to you than a thousand human lives so I'll take my chances out there."
13
Plans
Iris walked out the massive front door of the Elwood mansion without looking back. When she got in the car she finally allowed the tears that were welling in her eyes to fall. She sat there for a few minutes, crying, frustrated by everything and everyone. She'd just managed to bring her life to a decent amount of normalcy, learned to live without her parents and face the world as the orphan girl with a ridiculous fear of water. And now it was all falling apart. She'd been thrown into a world that barely made any sense to her, she'd turned out to be something that no one had any idea what it was, and if everyone who wanted her for an ability she didn't even know how to control didn't kill her, she would eventually burn to death with the rest of the town. And the worst part of it all was that there was nothing she could do about it. If only she could convince the Elwoods that she was strong enough to control the hellhounds, then maybe they would agree to let her help them and not involve the Council.
She took her phone out of her pocket. Nine missed calls, five from Connor, four from Marion. She suddenly remembered they were supposed to meet. She looked at her watch and realized she was late. She called Marion.
"Hey."
"You found your phone."
"Yeah. I'm sorry. I know I'm late. I'm on my way now."
"It's okay." She didn't seem upset but rather cheerful, which, strangely, made Iris feel guilty. "I already gave my statement. It wasn't so bad. I'd expected it to be a lot worse."
"Oh. That's good."
"Listen. The sheriff still wants you to stop by his office and give your version of what happened."
"I will."
"Where are you now?"
"Oh, at the Elwoods. Lorelai called me. She said she had an emergency. Turns out she just needed my help with some outfits," she lied but as soon as the words came out of her mouth she realized what a terrible excuse that was. And apparently so did Marion.
"Lorelai takes fashion advice from you?" the girl said incredulous, because Connor's sister always dressed in tone with the latest fashion trends and Iris wore T-shirts with butterfly patterns on them.
Iris laughed. "No. She wanted to know what clothes I liked from her closet so she could throw them out."
"Oh, that makes more sense." They both laughed. "Hey, you want to do something toning? Maybe watch some of those do-it-yourself videos?"
Iris felt overwhelmed by the events of the past two days and thought a bit of time spent together with Marion doing something normal would be good for both of them. "Sure," she said. "Your place or mine?"
"Mine. Mom's cooking dinner and you're invited." She hung up abruptly, as always.
"We have to inform the Council," Aeryn said. "We don't know what we're dealing with here."
"We know more than we did an hour ago," Connor argued.
Lorelai's hands tightened into fists. "Please don't tell me you trust anything Dorian says."
"I have no doubt he's working an angle. It's Dorian, after all. Clearly, he's after something. But why would he lie about this?"
"To throw us off track while he's doing God knows what, to mess with us, to take revenge on us. Take your pick. For all I know, he could be behind all this. He could be working with this Vincent guy. Hell, he could be Vincent."
"I don't think so. I think that he got himself in trouble and now that this Vincent and the hounds are on his tail, he needs us to clean up his mess."
Lorelai crossed her arms over her chest. "Then the solution to our problem is simple. Vincent wants Dorian, we give him Dorian."
"And then what? Let him be on his merry way with three of the most dangerous creatures known to Fae loose into the world? What do you think will happen when he loses control over them completely? How long will it take before they wipe the continent clean? No. We need to deal with this," Connor said, his eyes on the newspaper in front of him on the kitchen table.
"We can't do it alone," Aeryn said. "We're dealing with three hellhounds out of control."
Lorelai was unmoved.
"We're not working with Dorian."
"No. We need to bring in the Council."
Connor remembered the horror in Iris' eyes as he told her about the Council's way of dealing with the hounds. His heart ached at the thought of her and everyone she knew being swallowed by flames along with the beasts. "Not yet. Grandma, give us one day."
"To do what?"
"Catch Vincent. Think about it. If we catch him while he still has a bit of sanity left, we can force him to trap the hounds and we can kill them without having to burn down the entire town."
Aeryn deliberated for a moment, while Connor prayed that she would consent. "No. It's too dangerous. You could get killed."
Her words hit him like a punch in the stomach. He leaned forward over the table. "Please!"
"Say I agree. How do you plan on catching him?"
He was working on an answer when his sister jumped in. "At the search party."
"What?" Connor jerked in his chair. "Are you crazy? There will be dozens of people there."
"Exactly."
"No. We risk too much exposure, not to mention numerous human lives."
"This fascination of yours with humans will be the end of you. The end of us."
"Connor is right, Lorelai. It's too risky. Besides, what makes you think he'll even be there?"
"Two incidents where the hound—or hounds—were involved. Both on a ten-mile radius. Clearly, he's hiding somewhere in the area. If he's losing control, and with so many people roaming the woods, the hounds are bound to come out for a feast."
"You're willing to risk the lives of perhaps a hundred people on a hunch?"
"Better a hundred than the whole town. I mean, if you still want to save the town for your precious little Iris."
"Lorelai—"
"It's the only way. Unless you'd like to partner up with Dorian. Or, even better, the Council." She turned to Aeryn. "Come on, Grandma."
"One day. That's it. Then I'm calling the Council. Also, I'm coming with you."
The Fountain of Truth (Tales of the Dark Fae Book 1) Page 12