by Holly Black
"Kaye? What are you doing here?" Mrs. Stone asked. "It's the middle of the night.”
"I—," Kaye started. A slight breeze signaled Lutie's blowing into the room. The little faery alighted on top of a Captain Kirk bust, causing one of the cats to take a swipe at it.
"I called her," Corny said. "She knew Dave.”
Knew Dave. Knew. Kaye turned to Luis, who was gripping his cup so tightly that his fingers looked pale. Papers rested on the floor beside him, a scattered stack of photocopied forms. She noticed his reddened eyes. "What happened?”
"Luis's brother overdosed on our steps." Mrs. Stone shuddered, looking like she might be sick. "They couldn't pronounce him dead because they're just volunteers, but they took him to the hospital.”
Kaye looked toward Corny for an explanation, but he just shook his head. She sank down on the linoleum floor until she was sitting with her back to the wall.
Mrs. Stone put down her mug in the sink. "Corny, can I talk to you for a minute?”
He nodded and followed her down the hall.
"What really happened?" Kaye asked Luis, her voice low. "He didn't overdose, did he? Where's Ethine?”
"I bargained with a faery to save Dave's life a long time ago. After my dad shot him. I tried to take care of him, like a big brother's supposed to— keep him out of trouble—but I didn't do such a good job. He got into more trouble. That meant more bargains for me.”
Dread settled into the marrow of Kaye's bones.
"When I called at that rest stop, he went right to them," Luis said. "He traded where I was at for more Never. Even though he's burnt up his insides with it. Even though I'm his brother. And you know what? I'm not even surprised. It's not even the first time. So now he's dead and I should feel something, right?”
"But how did he die—," Kaye started.
"I'm relieved." His words were a lash turned on himself. "Dave's dead and I feel relieved. Now, what does that make me?”
Kaye wondered if everyone felt like there was a monster underneath their skin.
Corny and his mother walked back into the room. He had his arm around her and was speaking softly. Kaye cried out at the sight of his bare hand on her arm, but the cloth under his hand was neither unraveled nor discolored.
"Sorry," she said, realizing how loud she'd been.
Luis looked around as though he'd just woken from a dream. He got awkwardly to his feet.
Corny's mom rubbed her face. "I'm going to wake up Mitch. You three go on and get what sleep you can.”
Kaye stopped Corny in the hallway. "Is she okay?”
He shook his head. "We missed Christmas, you know. My mom's been going crazy thinking about Janet and not knowing where I was. I feel like an ass. And now this.”
Kaye thought back to the handful of unopened presents sitting under the tree at her grandmother's. "Oh," she said, and caught his warm, dry fingers. He didn't pull away from her. "What about the curse?”
"Later," he said. "War council in my room.”
Kaye flopped on top of the tangled sheets of his bed, kicking her feet off one end. Luis sat on the floor and Corny sprawled beside him, close enough that their legs touched.
Lutie flew in, landing on Corny's computer. Luis must not have noticed her before, because he jumped up like a snapped cord.
"It's just Lutie-loo," Kaye said. "Don't freak.”
Luis looked at the little faerie with suspicion. "Fine, just . . . just keep it—her—away from me right now.”
"Kaye, here's the summary-in-ten-seconds version of what you missed," Corny said quickly. "The Seelie Court wanted to trade Luis's brother for Ethine. We traded, but Dave was already dead. They'd killed him.”
"And the curse?" Kaye asked.
"It got . . . accidentally removed," said Luis. He looked down at the threads of the carpet, and Kaye could see a worn patch that she didn't remember.
She nodded, since clearly neither of them wanted to talk about it. Lutie had crawled down onto the keyboard and was perched on a cell phone cradle.
"It's weird," Corny said, resting his head on his knee. "Silarial was looking for Ethine but not you. She could have sent her people to swoop down out of the sky and grab you, or at least try.”
"Maybe Sorrowsap is still watching over Kaye," said Luis.
Corny made a face. "Okay, but if you were the Seelie Queen and your plan was to use Roiben's name, would you waste your time getting one of your courtiers back?”
"He's right," Kaye said. "It doesn't make any sense. Killing Dave ..." She glanced quickly at Luis. "It's like she'd already gotten everything she wanted. She had time for pettiness.”
"So Silarial needs Ethine? What for?" Corny asked.
Luis frowned. "Didn't you say that Ethine would get the throne if Roiben won the duel?”
Kaye nodded. "He said something about how his sister would probably just hand back the crown, since she's so loyal. Maybe Silarial needs her to do that? I mean, it was odd that Silarial agreed to that bargain in the first place.”
"I don't know," Corny said. "If there was even a chance I had to forfeit my crown, I'd be pretty happy if the person I had to give it to went missing. Of course, my crown would have lots of rhinestones spelling out 'tyrant' so not everyone would want to steal it either.”
Kaye snorted. "Idiocy aside, you're right. You'd think she'd want Ethine dead.”
"Maybe she does," Luis said.
"So, what, Silarial kills her and puts the blame on us? I don't know. ...”
They sat in silence as the moments ticked by. Corny yawned while Luis stared at the wall, bright-eyed. Kaye imagined Talathain dueling Roiben, his sister grim-faced on the sidelines, the Queen smiling as though she'd eaten the last tart off the tray, Ruddles and Ellebere watching. There was something she was missing, something that was right in front of her.
She stood up with a gasp. "Wait! Wait! Who is Roiben fighting?”
Luis squinted up at her. "Well, we're not sure. I guess Silarial's knight or whatever courtier she thinks can kick his ass. Whoever's going to wield her secret weapon.”
"Remember what we were talking about in the diner—how it seemed like Roiben had a good chance at beating Talathain? How it all seemed too simple?" Kaye shook her head, the thrill of discovery fading to a jittery nausea.
Corny nodded.
"I don't think there is a secret weapon," Kaye said. "No armor, no unbeatable swordsman. Getting his true name out of me—she never needed it.”
Luis opened his mouth and then shut it again.
"I don't get what you're saying." Corny said.
"Ethine." Kaye said, feeling like the name was a slap. "Silarial's going to make Roiben fight Ethine.”
"But. . . Ethine's not a knight," Luis said. "She couldn't even get away from us. She can't fight.”
"That's the point," said Kaye. "There is no contest of skill. If he doesn't murder his own sister, Roiben dies. He has to choose between killing her and killing himself.”
She wanted to stay angry with Roiben, to hang on to the feeling of betrayal so that it pushed back all her hurt, but at that moment she couldn't help pitying him for loving Silarial. Maybe more than she pitied herself for still loving him.
"That's ..." Corny stopped.
"And if he's gone, there'll be no one to stop Silarial from doing whatever she wants to whoever she wants," Luis said.
"And charm an army of endless people," Kaye said. "Scores of frozen sentries.”
"You were a distraction," Luis said. "A red herring. Keep Roiben looking at you, wondering if Silarial's going to get his true name, so he doesn't notice what's right in front of him.”
"Neither fish nor fowl," Kaye said softly. "Good red herring. That's right, isn't it? Kind of funny. That's what I was. A good red herring.”
"Kaye," Corny said. "It's not your fault.”
"We have to warn him," she said, pacing the room. She didn't want to admit that it bothered her that she wasn't going to be carried off for the Tithe, she
wasn't the key, she wasn't even important. She'd just made things worse for Roiben, distracted him. Silarial had played them both.
"We don't even know where he is," said Corny. "The hollow hill in the graveyard isn't even hollow anymore.”
"But we know where he will be," she said. "Hart Island.”
"Tomorrow night. At this point, basically later today." Corny walked over to his computer and jiggled the mouse, then typed in a few words. "It's an island off of New York, apparently. With a giant graveyard. And a prison—although I don't think it's in use. And—oh, perfect—it's completely illegal to go there."
All three of them slept squished into Corny's bed, with him in the middle, his arm over Kaye's back, and Luis's head pillowed on his shoulder. When he woke, it was late in the afternoon. Kaye was still curled up beside him, but Luis sat on the rug, speaking softly into Corny's cell phone.
Luis said something about "ashes" and "afford," but he shook his head when he saw Corny watching, and then turned to the wall. Padding past, Corny went out to the kitchen and turned on the coffeepot. He should have been worried. They were hours from heading into danger. Still, as he measured out the grounds, a smile spread over his face.
He immediately felt guilty. He shouldn't be so happy when Luis was mourning his brother. But he was.
Luis liked him. Luis. Liked. Him.
"Hey," Kaye said, scrubbing her hand through her tangled hair. She'd stolen one of his T-shirts and it hung on her like a dress. She grabbed a blue cup out of the cabinet. "Here's to the sweet balm of coffee.”
"By the grace of which we'll accomplish the task before us.”
"Do you think we will?" Kaye asked. "I don't know if Roiben will even listen to me.”
The coffeepot gave a death rattle, and Corny poured three cups. "I do. He will. Honest. Drink up.”
"So . . . you and Luis?" Her mug almost hid her grin.
He nodded. "I mean, not now with everything happening, but yeah.”
"I'm glad." Her smile faded. "You don't have to go tonight. I'm not trying to be a martyr; it's just that with Luis losing his brother and you guys having something . . . This is my problem. They're my people.”
He shrugged and put his arm around her shoulder. "Yeah, well, you're my problem. You're my people.”
She leaned her head against him. Even just risen from bed, she smelled like grass and earth. "What about your fear of megalomaniacal fiends? I didn't think our recent trip was the ticket to getting over that.”
He felt crazy with confidence. Luis liked him. His curse was gone. Everything seemed possible. "Let's get the fiends before the fiends get us.”
Luis came out of the bedroom, closing the phone against his chest. "I saw your mom this morning. She said that she wanted to talk to you when she got home from work. I didn't tell her anything.”
Corny nodded, reminding himself to seem calm. Reminding himself not to kiss Luis. He hadn't brushed his teeth and it didn't seem like great timing anyway. Luis was probably feeling grim.
"I'll leave a note. Then we'd better go. Luis, if you have to stay here and sort out stuff—”
"What I need is to stop Silarial from hurting anyone else." He looked Corny dead in the eye, as if daring him to act pitying.
"Okay," Kaye said. "We're all in. Now what we need is a map and a boat.”
"Hart Island is in the Long Island Sound, off of City Island, which is off of the Bronx. But it isn't exactly within paddling distance." Corny held out a mug to Luis. When he took it, their fingers brushed, and he felt a different kind of power.
"So we could get a boat with a motor," Kaye said. "There's a boating store on Route 35. I could turn a pile of leaves into money. Or we could find a marina up there to filch a boat from.”
Luis busied himself adding sugar to his coffee. "I've never steered a boat or read a navigational chart. Have you?”
Kaye shook her head, and Corny had to admit that he hadn't either.
"There's mermaids in the East River," said Luis. "Probably in the Sound, too. I don't know much about them, but if they don't want us to get to Hart Island, they could pitch us into the water. They've got vicious teeth.”
Corny shuddered at the thought. His mind went to Janet, held underneath the waves by a delighted kelpie. "We could trade them something, maybe," he said. "They might drag us there for a price.”
Kaye looked over at him warily. He figured she was remembering how they'd traded an old carousel horse to that same kelpie for information. Before they knew how dangerous the kelpie was. Before it murdered Janet.
She nodded slowly. "What do mermaids like?"
Luis shrugged. "Jewelry . . . music . . . sailors?"
"They eat people, right?" Corny asked.
"Sure. When they're done with them."
Corny smiled. "Let's bring them a couple of big steaks."
They bought an inflatable green raft and two oars at the boat store. The clerk looked at Kaye strangely when she counted out hundreds of curled and tattered dollars, but her smile charmed him into silence.
They got back into the car.
Luis rode shotgun and Kaye rested in the back with her head on the cardboard box. As Corny changed lanes on the highway, he looked over at Luis, but Luis looked out the window, his eyes not focused on anything. Whatever he saw, it wasn't something Corny could share. Silence filled up the car.
"Who was it?" Corny asked finally. "On the phone?”
Luis looked toward him too quickly. "It was the hospital. They were upset about me not having a mailing address or a landline phone and him being under eighteen. And even though they didn't know if I'd be allowed to claim him, they started talking about my options. Basically, I have to come up with the money for cremation.”
"Kaye could—”
Luis shook his head.
"We could sell the boat when we're done with it.”
Luis smiled, a small lift of his lip. "I want him to have a good burial, you know.”
At Janet's funeral there had been a coffin and a service, flowers and a stone. Corny had never asked about the cost, but his mom wasn't rich. He wondered how much she'd gone into debt for his sister to be buried in style.
"My parents—they're out where we're going." Luis's finger turned his lip ring.
"Hart Island?”
He nodded. "That's where potter's field is. Where they bury the 'friendless' dead. Which basically means the dead with no living relatives, who are renters and in credit card debt. My parents. I was underage, so I couldn't claim them. If I'd even tried, they'd probably have hauled Dave and me off to child services.”
The possible replies scrolled in front of Corny's eyes. Wow. Are you okay? I'm so sorry. All of them inadequate.
"I've never been there," Luis said. "It'll be good to go."
• • •
They drove over the drawbridge, to the very edge of City Island, and parked the car behind a restaurant. Then, sitting in the snow, they took turns blowing up the raft, like they were passing around a joint.
"How are we going to attract those mermaids?" Corny asked, while Luis huffed into the little tube.
Kaye picked up a receipt from the floor of his car. "You got something pointy?”
Corny searched through his backpack until he came up with a discarded safety pin.
She poked her finger and, wincing, smeared her blood onto the paper. Walking to the edge of the water, she dropped it in. "I'm Kaye Fierch," she said firmly. "A pixie. A Seelie Court changeling on a quest for the King of the Night Court. I come here and ask for your help. I ask for your help. Three times I ask for your help.”
Corny looked at her, standing in front of the water, her green hair pulled back from her glamoured face, her battered purple coat blown by the wind. For the first time, he thought that even in her human guise she had somehow grown formidable.
Heads bobbed in the black water, pale hair floating around them like sea grass.
Kaye went down on her knees. "I ask that you bring us three
to Hart Island safely. We have a boat. All you have to do is pull it.”
"And what will you give us, pixie?" they answered in their melodious voices. Their teeth were translucent and sharp, like they were made of cartilage.
Kaye walked back to the car and brought out the ShopRite plastic bag full of meat. She held up a raw and dripping shank. "Flesh," she said.
"We accept," said the mermaids.
Kaye, Corny, and Luis dragged the boat onto the water and pushed off. The mermaids swam around them, pushing the boat and singing softly as they went, their voices so beautiful and insistent that Corny found himself dazed. Kaye appeared tense, sitting at the prow like a ship's figurehead.
Looking over the side, Corny saw a mermaid coming up through the water, and for a moment it seemed like she wore his sister's face, blue with cold and death. He looked away.
"I know who you are," one of them said to Luis, coming up to the side, her white, webbed hand reaching up onto the side of the boat. "You brought my sisters the troll's potion.”
He nodded, swallowing.
"I could teach you how to heal better," the mermaid whispered. "If you came with me. Under the water.”
Corny put his hand on Luis's arm, and Luis jumped as if he'd been stung.
The mermaid turned her head toward Corny. "What about vengeance? I could give you that. You lost someone to the sea.”
Corny choked. "What?”
"You want it," she said. "I know that you do.”
The mermaid reached up, her webbed hand settling on the side of the raft, near Corny. Scales skived off, shining on the rubber. "I could give you the power," she told him.
Corny looked down at her gelatinous eyes and her thin, sharp teeth. Envy curled in his gut. She was beautiful and terrible and magical. But the feeling was distant, like being envious of a sunset. "I don't need any more power," he said, and was surprised to find he meant it. And if he wanted vengeance, he'd get it on his own.
Kaye made a soft noise. Corny looked up.
There on the far shore, behind heaps of mussel shells, a great crowd of beings had gathered. And beyond them, abandoned buildings stood near rows and rows of graves.