Page 27 of The Iron Raven

“Hmm.” Now that the initial shock was over, Nyx regarded the knights. “There aren’t very many guards,” she stated as she scanned the bridge entrance. “I could probably sneak past the lot of them if I wanted to.”

“I have no doubt you could,” I said truthfully. “I could, too, now that you mention it. But the problem isn’t getting past the guards. See that bridge?” I pointed. “Once you cross to the other side, you’re in the Iron Realm proper, and without a protection amulet, any traditional faery will start feeling the effects of the iron sickness immediately.”

“Is it really that bad?” Nyx wondered, and I remembered she came from a time where modernization wasn’t a thing yet. Not like today, with cars and computers and technology everywhere you turned. She had never experienced the nausea of riding in a mortal vehicle, felt the fear of having a gun pointed at her, or recoiled whenever some human tried handing her a phone, a can of soda, a pocket knife, anything of metal and technology.

I imagined she had faced swords and holy symbols, fire and protection charms to keep our kind at bay. But her world had been simpler and more primal, not suffused with the iron of mankind’s progress.

I offered a smile that was mostly grimace. “Okay, so imagine the most sick you’ve ever been,” I told her, “vomiting, nausea, the works—and then imagine someone pouring acid directly down your lungs.” Her noise wrinkled, and I shuddered at the memory. “Trust me, it’s not fun.”

“It does not sound very fun.”

“Which is why you need one of these things,” I went on, pulling the amulet from under my shirt again. The stylized raven glittered as it spun on its cord, pulsing with a faint green light. “And why we are going to get you one, right now. It’s the only way you can survive the Iron Realm without throwing up your insides.”

Nyx watched the iron raven spin on its cord a moment. “I am guessing they are fairly difficult to procure,” she said, “since the Iron Realm has the best border defense simply by existing. If no traditional fey can survive the realm, the Iron Queen does not have to worry about war with the other courts. She and her people can simply retreat within their territory, and no one else can follow.”

“Right on both counts.” I tucked the amulet into my shirt again. “These babies are very regulated and extremely difficult to get ahold of. The rulers of the courts each have one, because they’d all be super offended if they didn’t. But beyond them, only trusted allies and friends of the Iron Realm are given these amulets. So, they’re fairly rare, and you need the queen’s permission to have one made for you.” I grinned. “Luckily, I happen to be the queen’s best friend.”

“Is there no other way to survive the realm?” Nyx wanted to know.

“Well, there was the old way, but sacrificing an Iron faery and trapping its essence inside a protection amulet didn’t sit too well with the queen,” I said. “But she wanted a way for normal faeries to travel safely through the Iron Realm without harm.” I scratched the back of my head. “Also, there might’ve been some whining from a certain Summer faery about never getting to see her and ice-boy unless they left Mag Tuiredh. So, she had her tinkers and smiths come up with something that didn’t require killing to make.”

Apparently it hadn’t been easy; our reaction to iron was so ancient and primeval, baked into our very nature, that it was hard to overcome.

“It took a while,” I went on, “and there were lots of failed experiments with magic and tech, but eventually, they did come up with something.”

A strange expression crossed Nyx’s face, making me pause. “Interesting,” she murmured. “The Iron Queen already had the means available to make the amulets, and yet she chose an alternative way to spare her subjects. The Lady would not have done the same.”

“Yup, like I said, Meghan isn’t like the other queens. She won’t even stomp an iron cockroach without good cause.” I wrinkled my nose. “It’s a cockroach. That’s cause enough, I say.”

“And you believeIam going to be granted one of these special amulets.” Nyx sounded dubious, eyeing the guards at the bridge entrance. “A Forgotten assassin who used to work for the Lady, being granted an amulet that will let her travel anywhere in the Iron Realm. And were you planning to just stroll up and ask for one?”

“Pretty much, yeah.”

She sighed, shaking her head, as we left the woods and started toward the edge of the chasm. “I think we need to have a discussion about proper planning, Goodfellow.”

“Planning?” I grinned back at her. “Planis a four-letter word. I do my best work on the fly. Besides...” I shrugged “...my best laid plans always seem to backfire on me, so better not to have any to begin with.”

The knights straightened as we came out of the trees and made our way down the road toward the bridge. I raised my arm in a cheerful wave, letting them know it was me and everything was fine. But the knights didn’t respond; I didn’t get a return wave or even an eye roll. And as we drew closer, I began to sense something was wrong.

“They’re on high alert,” Nyx observed, sounding wary herself. “Are they normally like this, or is the Iron Realm having conflicts with the other courts?”

“Not that I’m aware of,” I muttered back. “And no, normally they’d see me coming and I’d at least get a salute. Wonder what’s got everyone so cranky? Is the first lieutenant on the warpath again? Maybe he dressed down the whole squad, and they’re still sulky about it.”

“We’re about to find out,” Nyx mused as we approached the first pair of guards, who had stepped forward to meet us. Like the faeries of Summer and Winter, they were tall and slender, with pointed ears and the aristocratic features of all sidhe. These two were nearly twins, with dark hair, pointed chins, and steel-gray eyes that were currently narrowed with suspicion, glaring between me and Nyx.

“Hey, boys,” I greeted cheerfully. “Why the long faces? Glitch working you too hard? Or are the piskies being obnoxious again? Need me to convince the piskie population that it really isn’t cool to fly by and drop things on your heads when you’re trying to do your job?”

“Goodfellow.” The guard on the left spoke calmly, his voice flat. “Why are you here?”

“Oh, you know, I was in the area and thought I’d pay a visit to mygood friendQueen Meghan.” I waved my hand in the general direction of the Iron Realm. “You know, the one who granted me an open invitation to the palace, whenever I want?”

The knight’s expression didn’t change. His gaze swung to Nyx, standing quietly beside me, and those steel-colored eyes narrowed even farther. “And who is this?”

“This is my good friend Nyx,” I introduced, still attempting to be polite. Beside me, Nyx gave a solemn bob of her head. “She would also like to go see the queen.”

“Where’s her amulet?”

“Ah, well, that’s the thing.” I offered a sheepish, disarming grin. “She...uh...doesn’t have one—”

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