Page 9 of Fairies Don't Fall

When the stranger smiled, showing fangs, I gasped and grabbed Max’s hand, squeezing it hard.

“I don’t like vampires,” I hissed, not taking my eyes off the new threat. I definitely, very much, did not. He wasn’t handsome anymore, not to me.

Max squeezed my hand back. “The Scholar is hardly a common, mindless vampire. He’s one of the most stable monsters in the city. Notice how when I badmouth vampires, he doesn’t even twitch?”

The Scholar shot Max a look. “I’ll get your drops. Why don’t you take the fairy that dislikes vampires out of my laboratory before she insults any other common, mindless vampires?”

Max pulled me out of the booth, tugging me behind him, so that the vampire would have to go through him to get to me. I kept close to Max’s broad back, thinking of the best way to kill the vampire. Probably, if I ripped the heart out of its chest, that would slow him down.

Yes. I’d start with that.

We left the café and went back into the main hall, with labs on either side with windows that showed the bizarre work that went on down here. All of it was creepy. I kept glancing over my shoulder, making sure the vampire hadn’t decided to pursue us while our backs were turned.

Everyone else nodded at Max, like they knew him and had respect that wasn’t too stiff. Of course not. He had potential for destruction, but wouldn’t ever use it until that softness had been worn down by time and experience. I’d been like that too. So soft, so stupid, so optimistic. No one stayed that way forever.

We passed an ogre who sniffed large nostrils and looked at me like I was appetizing. I looked down at my bare knees and shoulders, where the jagged rocks had shredded my skin. My blood was sparkly, but didn’t drip much. Fairy blood was thick, dark, closer to purple than red. And mine was all poison.

I smiled at the ogre. “Do you want to taste my blood? Just a lick?”

Max shot me a look before he growled at the ogre. “Don’t even think about it. One taste would kill you.”

I wrinkled my nose at him. “Do you delight in stealing candy from babies as well? I see. That’s why you wouldn’t let Ruin keep the egg. All happiness must be vanquished from the world, or Max’s duty would shrivel up and blow away.”

He shook his head at me. “I’m Ruin’s guardian. That means if she hatches an owl egg, I’m the one who has to take care of it. I’m busy taking care of her and the rest of her crew.”

“The crew?” I mused as we approached a large metal grate that was all curlicue. It looked like iron. When we got close, yes, definitely iron. My skin was already a mess. I didn’t need pockmarks from corrosion. I needed more clothing. I couldn’t brush up against iron accidentally, and my feet were still gooey from the owl droppings. I needed at least boots, sleeves, and pants. That would be much better than the gauzy layers I’d stuck around myself with my saliva. My saliva was very sticky when it wasn’t pure poison.

I looked up at Max. “Do you happen to have a cloak I could borrow?”

Max shook his head. “Not on me. Are you cold?”

I shivered, but it didn’t mean anything. I’d been cold for a century. “Iron is to be avoided. Also owl droppings. I don’t think I’m dressed for a dissertation.”

With a blur, the vampire appeared in front of us with a slight smile, holding up a bottle of blue-glowing liquid. “We have a lost and found. I’ll see what we have and then send it up to you. How long will you be in the library? Also, we could stop by the infirmary to take care of your wounds,” he said, giving me a look that made me very uncomfortable, like he was dying to have me behind one of those windows to dissect me and find out what made me tick.

Max took the drops, tucking them into his pocket. “You have my thanks for these, but the cloak isn’t necessary.”

The Scholar raised his brow. “No? Interesting. Her blood is very tempting. Not to me, but to those around us.”

“Which is why we’re leaving,” Max said, opening a door and escorting me into the iron elevator, careful to stay on both sides of me so I didn’t accidentally bump a wall. I stepped onto his boots because the floor was suspicious.

The position was slightly awkward as we stood so close together, looking through the bars at the vampire.

“With thanks.” Max wrapped an arm around my waist and then offered the vampire a small bow, which the vampire returned. The next thing I knew, we were rising at a brisk pace. Happily, Max’s arm stayed where it was, so I did too.

Chapter

Four

Ilooked around as we walked through the library, peering at the tables where people stared at stacks of books, like they were looking into a magical world that I couldn’t enter. The whole thing was enormous, light-filled, glowing with a sense of contentment and peace laid into the very soul of the building. Gold chandeliers with glittering crystal tinkled every time the enormous front doors opened. In the center was a large marble desk where two people were sorting books into piles and taking notes while weaving very subtle magics into it.

“This place is interesting,” I said, watching a woman carry a stack of books taller than her head with a bold stride, like she could see through them.

“For readers,” Max said.

“Are you not a reader?” I looked up at him, and he narrowed his eyes at me, thinking how to answer such a suspicious question. Or he was thinking about something else entirely. I couldn’t read his mind. If I could, I could easily plant the knowledge that fairies were going to kill him and all of his people so that we could have his caves.

The awfulness of that reality made me stop walking. I stood in the middle of the wide lobby, fabulous light fixtures abovecasting a golden hue over Max, making him look like one of the noble knights in the stained glass windows above the courtyard of death, where my mother and her court were slaughtered.

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