Iron & Wine

by Candace Osmond

  ***

  "Lattie?" I cried, bursting through the door. "Lattie?"

  She came fluttering out of my room in a panic. "What, what's wrong?"

  "Lattie, I need a favor. Can you find Moya for me? I need her help."

  "Yes, of course, I can. Avery, what's wrong?"

  "Max went missing after she left here on Friday night. I think Evaine may have her."

  "Why would Evaine kidnap Max?"

  "Because it's leverage. If she has Max, someone she thinks is my friend, then she knows I’ll go with her to see the Queen in order to get Max back." I slumped down on the couch. I needed to calm myself down or something. I was no good like this. "Lattie, can you just go find her? Please?" I begged.

  "Yes, yes of course. I'll go right now." She kissed my cheek and then flew out the window. I just hoped that Moya could give me the help I needed.

  I paced around the apartment, for what seemed like hours. When I glanced at the clock in the kitchen, only twenty minutes had gone by.

  I made myself sit down on the couch; I was practically burning streaks in the rug from pacing so much and put my head between my legs to try and breathe. The big scary problem that I thought could be avoided had just become very unavoidable.

  I had to find Evaine in order to get Max. And if I went looking for Evaine then I knew seeing the Queen was inevitable. I just hoped that she wasn’t as scary as the bat-like fairy, she couldn't be. Nothing was as scary and creepy as Evaine. The image of her eyes dripping tar flashed through my head and I jumped off of the couch like a crazy person.

  "Oh, I’m sorry. I didn't mean to startle you," spoke Moya, appearing out of thin air.

  "Oh, Moya, I'm so happy to see you!" I cried and ran to give her a hug. "Thanks for coming."

  "Well, Lattie said that it was very urgent. That you were in trouble."

  "Yes, sort of, well my friend is in trouble, and I have to help her," I began. "Hey, how did you get here so fast? And how did you get in?"

  Moya smiled. "Magic, my dear, magic." She waved her hand as she spoke, leaving colorful waves in the air as she did.

  "You never cease to amaze me, Moya."

  "I could say the same for you, Avery. Now, how can I possibly help?"

  "Well, you know pretty much anything that goes on in Iron World or Faerie, right?"

  "Yes, anything that is worth knowing."

  "Remember my friend who showed up at the party on Friday, the one who I got into an argument with?" She nodded. "Well, she went missing after I told her to leave. I think Evaine may have taken her."

  Moya looked very surprised. "Why would Evaine take your human friend?" she asked.

  "Well, I told you about most of it before. She has tried on two occasions to take me to the Queen but failed. Now, I think she’s going to extreme measures to coerce me to do what she wants."

  "Well, for her, that would not be extreme. Trust me, it can be worse," she assured me. I shivered at the thought.

  "Moya, have you heard anything at all about the kidnapping of and Iron World girl, anything that could help me?" I begged.

  "Hmm," she thought out loud. "I haven’t heard of anything unusual in the Seelie court, but I can see what I can find out from the solitary fey. Give me an hour."

  "Okay. But what can you find out in an hour?" I asked skeptically.

  She stood up from my couch and closed her eyes like she was concentrating. The air around her began to hum and vibrate, and then she disappeared right before my eyes. I looked around for any sign of her but found nothing; it was like she’d been sucked into an invisible black hole. Just then, Lattie came flying in through the window, all out of breath.

  "Wow, Moya is fast. I wish I could teleport like her." she huffed out between quick breaths and plopped down on the sofa next to me. "Where did she go?"

  "I’m not sure, but she said she’d be back in an hour. Do you need something to drink?"

  "Yes, please," she squeaked out.

  I went over to the kitchen and poured some water into a bottle cap and brought it to Lattie. She chugged it back in seconds.

  “Thank you.”

  "No prob.” I anxiously rubbed my hands against my legs. “Lattie, do you think Max is okay?"

  "Oh yes. Absolutely," she replied.

  "Seriously?"

  "No," she admitted. "I'm just trying to have hope."

  "Thanks," I muttered and rested my head on the arm of the sofa. I had the biggest headache in the world. All of this stress was killing me. Lattie came over to lie on the sofa arm next to my face and, soon, we found ourselves drifting off to sleep.

  CHAPTER TWENTY NINE

  SUICIDE MISSION