The Iron Traitor (The Iron Fey: Call of the Forgotten 2)

“Why is he doing this?” Annwyl continued. “He knows there’s no way to halt the Fade.”

“He loves you,” I said, shrugging. “Love can make us do stupid things sometimes.”

“My existence is nearly done.” Annwyl picked up the book and held it in her lap, staring down at the cover. “There’s nothing I can do to stop it. But I want to see Keirran before I’m gone. Before I Fade completely, I want to make sure Keirran is safe, that he won’t get himself bound to a contract he’ll regret forever.”

“We’ll find him,” I told her. “Tomorrow. We’ll head up to New Orleans, find out where the goblin market is being held and look for him there. And if he’s not there, we’ll just keep asking around until we find out where he’s hiding.” Someone had to know something about the whereabouts of the Iron Prince, even if the price for such information would probably be very high.

She gave a faint smile. “It’s...easier with you around, Ethan Chase,” she murmured, making me frown in confusion. “Your belief in us is very strong. Your emotions are very powerful. I think I can hold out against the Fade, at least until I see Keirran again, if you are with me.”

And then what? I wondered. What are we supposed to do after that—watch you cease to exist? You think you’ll be able to convince Keirran to just let you go?

Collapsing into my computer chair, I jiggled my computer to life and stared blankly at the screen, my mind in several places at once. I tried to focus. Find Keirran. That was the first issue. All the other stuff we’d worry about later. We would figure out this thing with Annwyl, Meghan and the Thin Man after we tracked down the Prince of the Iron Realm. And I smacked him on the back of the head for all the trouble he put me through.

The prophecy cannot come to pass without him, the Thin Man had said, causing a chill to crawl up my spine. Great, one more thing to drive me crazy. What kind of prophecy? Did it involve me? Annwyl? Kenzie? Was Keirran meant to do something, or were certain events destined to unfold around him? I suddenly felt like Glinda the Good; is it a good prophecy, or a bad prophecy? Could it be avoided if I stayed away from him, or would that just make certain it came to pass? Whatever it was.

Argh. I scrubbed my hands down my face. This sucked, big-time. Like I needed a reason to be more neurotic. One thing was certain, though: I had even more cause to find Keirran and ask him what the hell was going on. Or at least warn him about this prophecy thing. If it had to do with both of us, maybe we could figure it out together.

“Ethan Chase?”

I glanced back at Annwyl. She sat on the bed with her knees drawn to her chest and her arms wrapped around them, long hair spilling over her shoulders. Her eyes were solemn as they met my gaze.

“If I...disappear...before we find Keirran,” she began in a halting voice. “If I vanish forever, will you...will you let him know that I love him? I haven’t told him, and I don’t want him to think that I don’t care for him.”

“No, Annwyl,” I said gently, and she raised her head, eyes widening. “I’m not going to tell him anything. You’re going to tell him yourself. Don’t give up before we even get started.”

She blinked, her forehead creasing as if she’d never thought of that. Before she could answer, my phone rang, the screen flashing Kenzie’s name. I slipped into the hall to answer it.

“Well, we’re all set,” Kenzie said when I picked up. “The whole family is ready to go—Dad hired a car to take us and everything.”

“Kenzie—”

“Oh, and I have the hotel address where we’re staying.”

“Kenzie...I don’t want you coming with me. To the goblin market.”

A long pause on the other end. I swallowed and braced myself.

“Come again, tough guy?” Kenzie’s voice was cool, but I could hear the fury beneath it. “Care to say that again? I don’t think I heard you the first time. Did you just tell me you don’t want me going to New Orleans?”

I bit my lip. You can retract it, Ethan. She’s giving you the chance to take it back. This will not go well for you if you don’t. Abort, abort!

I hardened my feelings. No, this was necessary. The goblin market was dangerous, full of conniving fey that would trick you into giving them your own heart if they could. Not only that, now a faery assassin was skulking around, and I did not want that creepy Forgotten anywhere near my girlfriend. Kenzie had followed me into the Nevernever and ended up in the hospital. She was still gravely ill. This was for the best. Even if she disagreed, even if she hated me for it, I wanted her to be safe.

“No, I don’t want you to come.”

I heard her take a quick breath, as if holding back a sharp reply. “And all the plans we made?” she asked in an overly quiet voice. “Agreeing to meet in New Orleans? Looking for the market together? Me convincing my dad to take my whole family on vacation, just so I can find you there? That doesn’t mean anything to you.”

I could feel her anger through the phone line and knew I was on dangerous ground, but still stuck with my convictions. “Kenzie, you’re sick. You just got out of the hospital. If we go to the goblin market and something happens to you, your dad will kill me. It’s not that I don’t want to see you,” I went on, trying to be reasonable. “I’m just trying to keep you out of all this craziness. If you get hurt again, I’ll never forgive myself.” I paused, then added the final nail to my coffin. “I don’t want you following me this time. Stay with your family.”

“Please tell me you’re not doing this.” Her voice cracked a little, making me wince. “After everything I confessed, about borrowed time and my mom and wanting to live my life, please tell me you’re not going to ignore that like everyone else.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Fine.” Her words were stiff, cold and sent a fiery lance through my stomach. “If you don’t want me there, Ethan, fine.” A tiny sniffle echoed over the receiver, worse than if she had screamed or yelled or cussed me out. “I guess I was wrong about you. You are just like everyone else.”

“Kenzie...”

She hung up.

I lowered my arm, not knowing exactly what I felt, apart from pretty lousy right then. Wandering back to my room, I saw that Annwyl had fallen asleep on my bed, her hair spilling in waves over my pillow. Unable to relax, I sat in my computer chair and opened my laptop, but I didn’t do anything with it. I just sat there and stared vacantly at the screen, replaying Kenzie’s last words over and over, and wondering if I had just sabotaged what I had with her beyond repair.

CHAPTER NINE

THE SHADOW FORGOTTEN

Early the next morning, I woke up two minutes before 5:00 a.m. and instantly turned off the alarm set to buzz at the top of the hour. Stifling a groan, I threw back the cover and sat up, already dressed, stretching my stiff limbs. I’d gotten maybe a couple hours of sleep on the floor of my room, lying in my old sleeping bag, and my neck ached as I stood and looked around for Annwyl.

She was awake and standing at my window, gazing out into the early-morning dark. The brightness around her, that faint sunlit glow that was present even in the darkness, had faded a bit, and she looked small and fragile as she drew back from the glass with a shudder.

“He’s still out there,” she whispered.

“He’ll have to get past me,” I replied, reaching for my duffel bag, already packed and ready to go. Atop the bag lay my twin swords in their slightly curved leather sheaths, the hilts glimmering in the dim light. I picked up both and slipped them through my belt, letting the kali blades rest against either hip. Looping the bag over my shoulder, I glanced at the Summer faery, waiting by the bed. “Ready to go?”

She nodded.

“You’re certain you can make the drive up to New Orleans?” I gave the faery a serious look. “It’s not going to be very pleasant, Annwyl. We’ll be in my truck the whole way, nearly two hours.”

“I know.” Annwyl looked like someone getting ready to march out to the gallows. “But we have to do this. I don’t know of any local trods to New Orleans, and I don’t dare go back to Leanansidhe’s. I can endure two hours of iron sickness if it gets us closer to Keirran.”

The desperate hope in her voice made my stomach tighten. Turning away, I opened the bedroom door a crack and peered into the hallway. The rest of the house was dark; both parents were still sleeping. Guilt and fear raised goose bumps on my skin; I didn’t want to do this, but I didn’t have much of a choice. I couldn’t let Dad drive me to New Orleans. He didn’t understand the fey, and I refused to drag my family into the hidden world. This was something I had to do myself.

I glanced over my shoulder at Annwyl. “Stay close,” I warned in a whisper. “It’ll be most dangerous when we go outside. Creepy Thin Man shouldn’t be able to get past the wards, and once we’re in the truck, we should be safe. Still, let’s do this quickly and quietly.”

“I’m ready,” Annwyl whispered, and we stepped into the hall.

Tiptoeing through the silent house, I paused in the kitchen just long enough to grab a soda and leave a quick note on the counter.

Mom, Dad, I’ve gone ahead to New Orleans. I’m sorry, but I have to do this alone. Will call you this afternoon from the hotel. Please don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine. Back in a couple days.

—Ethan

They would be pissed at me for certain, and I’d probably get an angry phone call from Mom as soon as she found the note, but I couldn’t wait. Annwyl needed help, and I didn’t trust Creepy Thin Man to stay on the other side of the wards. Even if he did, I certainly didn’t want him hanging around my house, watching us, waiting for someone to step outside.

Outside.

The front door creaked softly as I eased it open, peering around the front lawn and my old truck parked in the driveway. Annwyl pressed close behind me, her warmth and the smell of new leaves at my back.

“I don’t see him,” she whispered.

I didn’t, either, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t watching us. “Hurry,” I growled and slipped onto the steps, jogging lightly down the walk toward the driveway. Annwyl followed, making absolutely no sound, as graceful as a deer bounding through the trees.

And then he was there at the end of the driveway, turning suddenly into existence, pale eye gleaming with wicked intent. Annwyl gasped, and I snarled a curse, drawing my sword in one smooth motion. He didn’t step forward, couldn’t cross the driveway, but his mouth opened impossibly wide, like a snake unhinging its jaws, revealing a gaping black hole within. I felt a faint pull in the air, a cold, sluggish feeling in my limbs, and my heart shrank with fear. Not for me; I’d felt this before and knew it couldn’t hurt mortals. But Annwyl stumbled like she was fighting a sudden typhoon, falling to her knees on the pavement. She flickered, nearly blinking out of existence, as the thin Forgotten sucked away her glamour, magic and everything she was.