Page 20 of The Iron Raven

Nyx, who had been watching the conversation in silence, turned her attention to Keirran. “What do we do now, Your Majesty?”

Keirran raked a hand through his hair. “I think we need help,” he said reluctantly. “Whatever this monster is, it’s too powerful to take on by ourselves. The rulers of the other courts have to know about this new threat. If it can change someone like Puck just by touching him...” His worried gaze went to me, and I smirked in reply.

“Don’t worry about me, princeling. This isn’t the first time I’ve been slapped with a curse. You think this is bad?” I made a dismissive gesture. “Try having carrots for fingers. Bunnies become the most terrifying things in the world.”

“The other courts must be warned,” Grimalkin agreed, ignoring me. “The rulers of Summer, Winter, and Iron are perhaps the only ones with the power to defeat this creature, as your glamour seemed to have little effect. I will go to Arcadia and warn Oberon. The Seelie King will listen to me, as he seems to be rather annoyed with you right now, Goodfellow. It appears Titania is pressuring him to exile you from the Nevernever again, and if you show up looking likethat, you will remind him of everything you have ever done as Robin Goodfellow. I would avoid them both, were I you.”

I shrugged. “Don’t need to tell me twice, Furball. I was planning to do that, anyway. I guess I could sneak into Winter and try to warn Mab. That’s always a fun time.”

“No,” Keirran said. “I need you and Nyx to go to Mag Tuiredh and warn the Iron Queen. I’m still banished from the Nevernever,” the Forgotten King went on at my surprised look. “I can’t go into Faery myself, but my parents need to know what’s happening. Go to the Iron Realm. Find the queen and tell her what you saw here. She’ll know what to do, or at least, she has more resources to deal with this threat. But she needs to be made aware of it first.”

Nyx’s golden eyes narrowed. “I am your hidden blade,” she told the Forgotten King in a quiet voice. “I am sworn to protect you, as I did the Lady long ago.”

“I’m perfectly fine in the Between, Nyx,” Keirran answered. “You won’t help anyone by staying here with me. Go with Puck. Watch his back. If that monster attacks again, one of you needs to make it to the Iron Realm.”

The Forgotten thinned her lips, obviously not relishing the idea of leaving Keirran alone. Or traveling with me. But she gave a stiff nod and a bow. “As you say, my king. It will be done.”

“Uh, that’s great and all,” I broke in. “But there is one teensy problem.”

Reaching into my shirt, I pulled out an amulet on a silver chain, holding it up for all to see. It was a stylized metal raven, wings spread in flight, its eyes tiny green gems that glinted as the bird spun on its chain. “She doesn’t have one of these,” I announced, as Nyx flinched back from the pendant like it was a poisonous snake. “And without one, it’s going to be a very short, unpleasant trip that will probably end with someone’s face melting off.”

“That talisman...” The Forgotten’s voice was caught between horror and wonder as she stared at it. “It’s made of iron. How is it not burning you?”

“It is a protection amulet.” This from Grimalkin, sounding bored even as his gaze followed the pendant as it swayed back and forth. “The Iron Queen desired a way for traditional faeries to be able to survive the Iron Realm without harm. There was already a technique in place to craft such amulets, but that method was deemed undesirable.”

“Because for it to work, you had to kill an Iron faery and seal their essence within the amulet,” Keirran broke in, sounding angry. “That technique has been forbidden for years. I’m told Mab slaughtered dozens of gremlins to make the first protection talismans. Obviously, that didn’t sit well with the rulers of the Iron Realm. So, the queen had her smiths and inventors figure out another way, one that didn’t involve killing.”

“Yep, and guess who was the first faery to get their hands on one.” I grinned and tucked the pendant back into my shirt. “But these babies are rarer than hens’ teeth. You can’t just order them off Amazon. If you’re going to be traveling through the Iron Realm, you’re going to need your own shiny to survive. Lucky for you...” I grinned as Nyx’s face darkened “...I happen to know where to get one.”

The Forgotten regarded me for a moment, gold eyes assessing. “And what is the price for such knowledge, Goodfellow?” she asked. “What would you have me do?”

Typical faery response; nothing was free, and everything came with a price. I was about to shock her entire world. “Nothing.”

Her brows arched, but she did a fair job of hiding her amazement. “Nothing?”

“Nothing, tra-la-la.” I smirked at the impatient glare Keirran was shooting me. He wanted us to get moving, but first I had to convince this deadly, beautiful killer I wasn’t pulling her chain. “I’m not like Furball,” I told the Forgotten. “I’ve made enough deals and bargains to last me several lifetimes, and the novelty has sort of faded. I figure Icouldmake you sing and dance and jump through hoops, but that would take forever, and we don’t have a lot of time. So, here’s the deal—I get you one of these babies...” I hooked the chain under my shirt “...and you help us send that monster back to whatever hole it crawled out of. Deal?”

Which she was already going to do, so it wasn’t much of a bargain. But it did make her nod in agreement. “Yes. Agreed.”

Keirran nodded as well. “I’ll return to Touchstone and rally the Forgotten,” he said, referring to his own capital in the Between. His gaze flickered to me. “Maybe one of them will know what this creature actually is, and how to reverse whatever happened to you.”

“Doubtful.” I shrugged. “If Furball doesn’t even know what we’re dealing with, none of the courts will, either. But I do agree with one thing—that monster needs to die. No one makes me shaggy and horny without my permission.”

7

IN THE HEALER’S HOUSE

Well, today sucked on all kinds of levels.

“Goblins,” Nyx muttered as we peeked around a tree, watching the not-tiny group of green, bat-eared fey squabble and laugh around a campfire. “I guess some things never change. If it is all the same to you, I’d rather avoid them.”

“What? And miss out on their lovely welcoming tactics, like biting off your kneecaps and trying to shove a spear up your ass? No trip through the wyldwood is complete without it.” I made a grand gesture toward the goblins, being sure to keep out of their line of sight. “And hey, if we hang around long enough, they might start singing about dismembered babies—that’s always an experience.”

“I’ve heard it.” Nyx wrinkled her nose. “It’s comforting to know some things never change.” She turned away, but not fast enough to hide a grimace of pain. “But I’m not feeling up to taking on a whole tribe of goblins at the moment, so I suggest we go around if we can.”

“Yeah.” Truthfully, I wasn’t feeling the greatest, either. My everything ached, and the spot where those tentacles had stabbed me burned with an icy cold that still hadn’t faded. I felt like a used punching bag, and was grimly aware that, if the thing hadn’t left on its own, we might all be dead. Add the sudden acquisition of hooves and goat horns to the mix, and I was feeling...very not right.Taintedwould be a good word for it.Pissed offandvengefulwould be a few more. Normally, I didn’t hold grudges, but if that thing wanted to bring out the old Robin Goodfellow, then so be it. It was going to see exactly what that meant.

And who knew? Maybe if I focused all my thoughts on anger, revenge, and bringing the monster down, I could forget that, for the first time in centuries, something had scared the crap out of me.

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