The Lost Prince

by Julie Kagawa

Page 57

 

  “Kenzie!” Reaching her, I took her arm and very gently felt along the limb, checking for lumps or broken bones. Miraculously everything seemed intact, despite the massive green bruise already starting to creep down her shoulder. Badge of courage, Guro would’ve called it. He would’ve been proud.

  “Nothing’s broken,” I muttered in relief, and looked up at her. “Are you all right?”

  She winced. “Well, considering today I have been stabbed, poked, pummeled and threatened with having my throat cut open, I guess I can’t complain. ” Her brow furrowed, and she glanced around the cave. “Also, I thought there was… Did you see…?”

  I nodded, remembering the shadow that had appeared, deflected the killing blow, and vanished just as suddenly. It had happened so fast; if Kenzie hadn’t mentioned it, too, I might’ve thought I was seeing things.

  “Oh, good. I thought I was having some weird near-death hallucination or something. ” Kenzie looked at the place the huge Forgotten had died and shuddered. “Any idea what just happened there?”

  “No clue,” I muttered. “But it probably saved your life. That’s all I care about. ”

  “Maybe for you,” Kenzie said, wrinkling her nose. “But if I’m going to have some sort of shadowy guardian angel hanging around me, I kind of want to know why. In case I’m in the shower or something. ”

  “Kenzie?” A faint, familiar voice drifted from the darkness before I could answer. We both jumped and gazed around wildly. “Ethan? Are you up there?”

  “Annwyl?” Kenzie looked around, as Razor hopped to her shoulder. “Where are you?”

  “Here,” came the weak reply, as if muffled through the walls. I peered along the edge of the cave and saw a wooden door at the far corner of the room, nearly hidden in shadow. A thick wooden beam barred it shut. Hurrying over, we pushed the heavy beam out of the way and pulled on the door. It opened reluctantly, creaking in protest, and we stepped through.

  Kenzie gasped. The room beyond was full of cages—bronze or copper by the looks of them—hanging from the ceiling by thick chains. They groaned as they swung back and forth, narrow, cylindrical cells that barely gave enough room to turn around. All of them were empty, save one.

  Annwyl huddled down in one of the cages, her knees drawn to her chest and her arms wrapped around them. In the darkness of the room, lit only by a single flickering torch on the far wall, she looked pale and sick and miserable as she raised her head, her eyes going wide.

  “Ethan,” she whispered in a trembling voice. “Kenzie. You’re here. How…how did you find me?”

  “We’ll tell you later,” Kenzie said, looking furious as she gripped the bars separating them. Razor buzzed furiously and leaped to the top of the cage, rattling the frame. “Right now, we’re getting out of here. Where are the keys?”

  Annwyl nodded to a post where a ring of bronze keys hung from a wooden peg. After unlocking the cage, we helped Annwyl climb down. The Summer girl stumbled weakly as she left the cage, leaning on me for support. The Forgotten had probably drained most of her glamour; she felt as thin and brittle as a bundle of twigs.

  “Are there others?” I asked as she took several deep breaths, as if breathing clean air once again. Annwyl shuddered violently and shook her head.

  “No,” she whispered. “Just me. ” She turned and nodded to the empty cages, swinging from their chains. “When I was first brought here, there were a few other captives. Exiled fey like me. A satyr and a couple wood nymphs. One goblin. But…but then they were taken away by the guards. And they never came back. I was sure it was just a matter of time…before I was brought to her, as well. ”

  “The lady,” I muttered darkly. Annwyl shivered again.

  “She…she eats them,” she whispered, closing her eyes. “She drains their glamour, sucks it into herself, just like her followers, until there’s nothing left. That’s why so many exiles are gone. She needs a constant supply of magic to get strong again, at least that’s what her followers told me. So they go out every night, capture exiles and half-breeds, and drag them back here for her. ”

  “Where’s Keirran?” I asked, holding her at arm’s length. “Have you seen him?”

  She shook her head frantically. “He’s…with her,” she said, on the verge of tears. “I’m so worried…what if she’s done something to him?” She covered her face with one hand. “What will I do if he’s gone?”

  “Master!” Perched on Kenzie’s shoulder again, Razor echoed her misery, pulling on his ears. “Master gone!”

  I sighed, trying to think over the gremlin’s wailing. “All right,” I muttered, and turned to Kenzie. “We have to get Todd and the others out of here. Do you remember the way they brought us in?”

  She winced, trying to shush the tiny Iron fey. “Barely. But the cave is crawling with Forgotten. We’d have to fight our way out. ”

  Annwyl straightened then, taking a deep breath. “Wait,” she said, seeming to compose herself, her voice growing stronger. “There is another way. I can sense where the trods are in this place, and one empties under a bridge in the mortal world. It isn’t far from here. ”

  “Can you lead everyone there? Open it?”

  “Yes. ” Annwyl nodded, and her eyes glittered. “But I’m not leaving without Keirran. ”

  “I know. Come on. ” I led her out of the room, back to the chamber that held the giant pit. Dragging the ladder from the wall, I dropped it down into the hole.

  “All right,” I mumbled, peering into the darkness. Mutters and shuffling footsteps drifted out of the pit, and I winced. “Wait here,” I told Kenzie and Annwyl. “I’ll be right back, hopefully with a bunch of crazy people. ”

  “Wait,” Kenzie said, stopping me. “I should go,” she said, and held up a hand as I protested. “Ethan, if something comes into this room, I won’t be able to stop it. You’re the one with the mad sword skills. Besides, you’re not the most comforting presence to lead a bunch of scared, crazy people to safety. If they start crying, you can’t just crack your knuckles and threaten them to get them to move. ”

  I frowned. “I wouldn’t use my fists. A sword is much more threatening. ”

  She rolled her eyes and handed me the gremlin, who scurried to my shoulder. “Just stand guard. I’ll start sending them up. ”

  A few minutes later, a crowd of ragged, dazed-looking humans clustered together in the tunnel, muttering and whispering to themselves. Todd was among them. He gazed around the cavern with a blank expression that made my skin crawl. I hoped that when we got him out of here he would go back to normal. No one looked at Annwyl or Razor, or seemed to notice them. They stood like sheep, passive and dull-witted, waiting for something to happen. Annwyl gazed at them all and shivered.

  “How awful,” she whispered, rubbing her arms. “They feel so…empty. ”

  “Empty,” Razor buzzed. “Empty, empty, empty. ”

  “Is this everyone?” I asked Kenzie as she crawled back up the ladder. She nodded as Razor bounced back to her. “All right, everyone stay together. This is going to be interesting. ”

  Drawing my weapons, I walked to the edge of the tunnel, where it split in two directions, and peered out. No Forgotten, not yet.

  “Ethan. ” Kenzie and Annwyl joined me at the edge, the group following silently. Annwyl gripped my arm. “I’m not leaving. Not without him. ”

  “I know. Don’t worry. ” I shook off her fingers, then turned and handed a sword to Kenzie. “Get them out of here,” I told her. “Take Annwyl, get to the exit, and don’t look back. If anything tries to stop you, do whatever you can not to get caught again. ”

  “What about you?”

  I sighed, glancing down the tunnel. “I’m going back for Keirran. ”

  She blinked. “Alone? You don’t even know where he is. ”

  “Yes, I do. ” Raking a hand through my hair, I faced the darkness, determined not to be afraid. “He’ll be with
the lady. Wherever she is, I’ll find him, too. ”

  “Master?” Razor perked up, eyes flaring with hope. “Razor come? Find Master?”

  “No, you stay, Razor. Protect Kenzie. ”

  The gremlin buzzed sadly but nodded.

  Dark murmurs echoed behind us. The group of former half-breeds were shifting fretfully, muttering “the lady,” over and over again, like a chant. It made my stomach turn with nerves.

  “Here, then. ” Kenzie handed back the sword. “Take it. I won’t need it this time. ”

  “But—”

  “Ethan, trust me, if something finds us, we won’t be fighting—we’ll be running. If you’re going back, you’re going to need it more than me. ”

  “I’ll come with you,” Annwyl said.

  “No. ” My voice came out sharp. “Kenzie needs you to open the trod when you get there. It won’t work for humans. Besides, if something happens to you, if you get caught or threatened in any way, Keirran won’t try to escape. He’ll only come with me if he knows you’re safe. ”

  “I want to help. I won’t abandon him—”

  “Dammit, if you love him, the best thing you can do is leave!” I snapped, whirling on her. She blinked and drew back. “Keirran is here because of you! That’s what got us into this mess in the first place. ” I glared at her, and the faery dropped her gaze. Sighing, I lowered my voice. “Annwyl, you have to trust me. I won’t come back without him, I promise. ”

  She struggled a moment longer, then nodded. “I’ll hold you to that promise, human,” she murmured at last.

  Kenzie suddenly took my arm. “I will, too,” she whispered as I looked into her eyes. She smiled faintly, trying to hide her fear, and squeezed my hand. “So you’d better come back, tough guy. You have a promise to keep, remember?”