Page 12 of The Iron Raven

I was still staring at Nyx. She stood over the rag-and-bone pile of dogs she had killed, her blades shining in the nonlight, her hair and cloak fluttering behind her. As the moonlight faded, the runes on her arms disappeared, and the hazy glow around her vanished as well. She straightened, the curved weapons shimmering into nothingness, and gave a satisfied nod.

“Yes, my king,” she replied. “We’re done here.”

I blinked hard. “Uh, okay. I think the only comment appropriate after that little display is wow. And possibly yikes.” I received another slightly bewildered look from the Forgotten, and I gestured to my arms where Nyx’s glowing runes had appeared across her skin. “I take it those shiny tattoos are not fashion statements.”

“I...receive my power from the moon,” the Forgotten replied, her brow furrowed. “When it waxes, I grow stronger and my magic becomes more powerful. I’m at my strongest when the full moon is directly overhead.”

“Ah, so you’re like a werewolf, fair enough. A very beautiful, nonhairy werewolf,” I added as she frowned. “I’m not even going to ask how the moon can appear in the Between, because I figure it’s just one of those things. Moving on.” I glanced down at a skeleton wrapped in a pile of rags and wrinkled my nose. “Can anyone clue me in on whatthesethings were?”

“Manifestations of the Between,” came Grimalkin’s voice, as the cait sith appeared, sitting a few feet away as if he had always been there. Casually, he licked a paw, then put it down and stared at me. “You were warned what would happen if you let your emotions get away from you here,” he said. “The Between will latch on to any strong emotion or memory and create a temporary representation of that thought. If you cannot control your emotions, you will very likely see them as manifestations of real things while we are here.”

“Really? Does it also twist your thoughts into even more horrible versions of themselves? Because I’ve never seen these things before.”

“No,” said Nyx, stepping away from the carcasses. “My apologies. These are mine.” She offered a rueful smile. “The Wild Hunt is a very old tradition. The Lady also had her hounds, and she would send them after those who angered her.” She paused, rubbing her eyes, and a faintly frustrated look crossed her face. “Though I can’t remember what they’re called anymore.”

Grimalkin sniffed. “Moonwraith hounds, I believe. Though they Faded and went extinct ages ago. Shall we continue, before more unpleasant things show up?”

He didn’t, I noticed, make any catty comments about Nyx’s sudden and unexpected transformation. Of course, after that whirling dance of death, I wouldn’t, either. As we continued into the fog, I looked back and saw the bodies of the dogs, the moonhounds or whatever they were, shiver into mist and writhe away into nothing.

4

TROUBLE IN PHAED

Iremembered when I first set foot in Phaed. It was several years ago, when Ash was just starting his quest to find a way to be with Meghan in the Iron Realm. Being a true-blooded fey, he couldn’t exist in the Iron Kingdom without being poisoned and dying, so logically, he made a binding vow that he would find a way to return to his love and be with her, no matter how long it took, no matter what he had to do.

I went with him of course, because it sounded like an adventure, and there was no way the love-struck idiot would’ve survived without me.

We’d been following our guide through the Deep Wyld, the darkest and most dangerous part of the wyldwood, when a thick fog had rolled in, and we’d stumbled upon this ramshackle little town in the middle of nowhere. The residents of said town were strange, faeries I’d never seen before, who seemed to drift in and out of existence at random. Back then, I didn’t know anything about the Forgotten, or Phaed, or what our presence would ultimately do. That first night, we discovered the Forgotten could drain the glamour of traditional fey like creepy faery vampires, and we had to beat a hasty retreat out of town before they sucked us dry.

But the Forgotten weren’t the only creatures in Phaed, and our, um...disturbance through town woke up something far older and far more dangerous than we could have realized.

The Lady. The ruler of the Nevernever before the existence of the courts. She had been sleeping in Phaed, forgotten by everyone, and was none too happy when she woke up and discovered everything had changed.

Of course, that led to the war with the Forgotten, the Lady’s rise to power as she tried to take back the Nevernever, and the whole mess with Keirran and his betrayal, but that was water under the bridge. As far as I was concerned, Ash and Meghan’s son was all right. He’d made some stupid mistakes, but hell, we all had. I certainly wasn’t one to talk.

Still, as the mist rolled back and we abruptly found ourselves at the edge of an ancient, run-down village, I caught the haunted look in his eyes as he gazed around. For him, this was the place where it all started.

“Strange,” he said quietly. “I don’t see anyone, but I can feelsomethingout there.”

I gazed into the town. It looked the same to me; wooden shacks abandoned and falling apart, sitting in the mud and fog. On the nearest porch, an old rocking chair creaked back and forth, swaying eerily in the breeze.

“It’s quiet,” I observed, and lowered my voice ominously. “Tooquiet.” Both Keirran and Grimalkin shot me exasperated looks, and I grinned. “Oh, come on, someone had to say it.”

The Forgotten King sighed and stepped gracefully onto the path, avoiding the worst of the mud. “Let’s go,” he ordered. “Everyone stay close, and keep your eyes open. If somethingisstill here, we don’t want it to catch us by surprise.”

“Right,” I agreed. “Surprises are bad. No one likes surprises. Unless it’s your birthday and everyone is throwing you a party, but I don’t think we’re going to turn a corner and have the town screamSurprise!while showering us with confetti.”

“Do people do that for fun now?” Nyx frowned, looking puzzled. “That sounds like a good way to be stabbed.”

“Um, yeah. Remind me never to throw you a surprise party.”

We headed toward the center of town, picking our way between puddles while trying to keep an eye on the houses lining the road. Nothing moved in the mist and shadows, no silhouettes appeared in windows and doorways, no eyes peered at us just beyond the light, but my skin started to crawl the moment we started down the path. It felt like we were being watched.

And there was something else. Something heavy in the air, making the hairs on my neck stand up and my fingers twitch for my weapons. It felt...angry. Not just angry. Hateful. Murderous. And it was getting stronger the closer we got to the center of town.

“Does anyone else feel that?” Nyx whispered, sounding strained.

Keirran nodded grimly. “It’s him.”

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