Page 69 of The Iron Raven

ANOTHER LAST STAND

It’s here.

Cold flooded my veins, as my insides immediately turned themselves into a tangle of knots. I looked at Nyx, who remained very still as the echo of the howl reverberated through the walls and floors of the castle. On the floor, the Forgotten collapsed into soft but incessant giggles, covering its glowing eyes with both hands.

With a growl, our shaggy host turned and gazed out one of the tiny barred windows in the wall. “What is that?” he asked as the echoes died away. “Is something coming onto my land? Intruders will not be tolerated. Stay here,” he told us. And before we could stop him, he lowered his head, shouldered his way to the stairwell, and vanished through the frame.

“Wait!” Meghan rose swiftly, but the beast was already gone, his thunderous footsteps fading down the stairs. The Iron Queen gave an exasperated sigh and stepped out of the cell, her gaze falling on me as she came through the doorframe. “Puck? You’ve faced this creature before. Is it...?”

I gave a solemn nod. “It’s him, princess.” The way my insides were churning, the sudden rage and dread coursing through my veins...it couldn’t be anything else. My voice was shaking, and I couldn’t tell if it was from fear or a sudden, gleeful anticipation. “The big bastard has either tracked us down, or is after our giggly friend.”

Meghan returned the nod. “Then it looks like we have no choice but to face it.” Her blue eyes continued to gaze at me, worry and concern shining through. “Puck...are you going to be all right? You don’t have to fight now. The rest of us can take care of it—”

“Not a chance, princess.” My words sounded strange; cold and flat, even as I felt a big, toothy grin stretch my face. “I owe that bastard a little retribution, so if you think I’m gonna sit this one out, I’m afraid I won’t be doing that.” Raising my daggers, I gave them all a hard smile. “It brought out the old Robin Goodfellow. Let’s see how it likes dealing with him now.”

I could see the worry on the faces of both Meghan and Ash, and felt Nyx’s steady presence beside me. The howl came again, closer this time, and a chill crept through the air, coating the stones with frost for a split second before it melted away. I shivered and blinked ice crystals from my lashes, as the Forgotten in the cell curled into itself, making hopeless, nonsensical sounds. Fragmented bits of “it’s here, it’s here,” drifted out between giggles.

Meghan closed her eyes. “All right,” she said, and her voice turned steely. Opening her eyes, she gazed at all of us. “Let’s do this. Be careful. Watch out for each other. We don’t know the extent of what this thing is capable of.”

Ash drew his sword, and Nyx called her light blades to her hands. “We’re ready, Your Majesty,” she said. “We follow you.”

“You can’t stop it,” the Forgotten moaned as we turned to leave. “No one can stop it. The end approaches. Evenfall has come. The world will crack, and the abyss will swallow us whole.”

And on that cheerful note, we walked down the stairs, back through the castle, and into the courtyard, where a monstrous shadow appeared at the edge of the Briars.

I took a deep breath, forcing back the fear, the rage, and all the other emotions that came rushing to the surface. It was him, all right. The big bad himself. The monster with a capital M.

It towered over the wall, a horrible conglomeration of animal parts twisted together into the ugliest mofo that ever walked the Nevernever. It was even bigger than last time, and the shadowy tendrils on its back and shoulders were everywhere now, making it look part squid as well. It stepped over the wall, and as it did, black tentacles sprouted from the ground and stones around it, writhing and snapping at the air.

A challenging roar rang out as we reached the edge of the courtyard, not coming from the big Monster, but from the shaggy beast we’d met earlier. The lord of the castle stomped forward, bristling, the spiky hair on his back and shoulders standing straight up. “Intruder,” he snarled. “You are not welcome here, creature! Leave my castle, or I will be forced to tear you apart!”

The Monster turned its antlered head toward the smaller beast, pinning it with that cold, blank-eyed stare. Raising its head, it howled, making my gut contract and the tentacles surrounding it thrash wildly.

The beast gave a roar of his own, dropped to all fours, and charged the Monster.

“That’s not good,” I muttered.

The Monster also dropped to all fours as the beast came in and leaped fearlessly for its head with its claws and fangs bared. The Monster didn’t move, but the tendrils rose up, a black tide that intercepted the lunging beast, wrapping around him and dragging him from the air. The beast gave a snarl, fighting and ripping several tentacles from the ground, but the Monster continued to lift him, and he eventually vanished beneath a tangle of darkness.

“That’s also not good,” I said as we all hurried forward.

Another roar echoed over the courtyard, and the beast burst from the knot of tentacles, landing on all fours in front of the Monster. He was bigger now, his horns longer, his paws huge and tipped with massive talons. Growling, he swung a thick, blocky head toward us, fangs curling from his muzzle, his eyes empty of reason.

“Trespassers,” he rumbled, ribbons of saliva dripping from his fangs to the ground. “Kill you. Kill you all!”

“Oh, that’sreallynot good!” I said as the beast growled and sprang toward us, huge jaws gaping wide.

With a bellow of flame, Coaleater reared up into his stallion form. “Nyx,” he cried, and Nyx immediately leaped onto his back. “Stop the creature,” the Iron faery told us. “We will deal with the beast.”

Nyx met my gaze, her golden eyes shining with several emotions I couldn’t place. “Be careful, Puck,” she said firmly. “Don’t lose yourself completely. I still want to see the Nevernever when this is all over.”

I swallowed the sudden lump in my throat and grinned back. “Count on it.”

Coaleater whirled and galloped straight for the beast bounding over the courtyard toward us. I watched them go, feeling my heart leave with the silver-haired faery assassin, my insides a tangled mess. Coaleater charged at the beast, swerving aside at the last minute, and Nyx’s swords lashed out, scoring the shaggy hide. The beast roared in fury and whirled, chasing them toward another section of the courtyard, away from the rest of us.

I breathed deep, trusting my assassin would come through this just fine, and turned toward the real problem at the edge of the Briars.

The Monster let out a bellow and prowled forward, and the carpet of tentacles began creeping toward us as well. The closer they got, the colder the air became, and the more my own stomach churned with fear and anger. I could feel the taint now, the roiling mire of rage and hate, emanating from the Monster and seeping into the ground. The ruthlessness in me stirred, responding to the glamour aura, as unwelcome thoughts and memories began flickering through my head.

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