The Iron Knight (The Iron Fey 4)

CHAPTER ELEVEN

THE FERRY

“Prince.”

I groaned.

“Prince.” Something patted my chin. “Wake up.” Shifting on the mattress, I struggled to open my eyes. There was a solid weight sitting on my chest, but exhaustion was making my lids heavy and awkward. I was tired; I wanted to sink back into oblivion, despite the disturbing dreams that waited for me.

“Hmm. For such a well -trained, somewhat paranoid warrior, you are certainly difficult to rouse. Very well .” The weight on my chest slid off, much to my relief, and I heard a thump as it dropped to the f loor and walked away. “We shal have to resort to more drastic measures.”

Just as I was wondering what “drastic measures” were, a patter of footsteps scampered toward the bed. There was a brief pause…and then that solid, heavy weight landed square on my stomach.

“Oof!” I bolted upright with a gasp, the breath driven from my lungs in a painful, vicious expulsion. Instantly awake, I clutched my ribs and glared at Grimalkin, sitting on the bed with a smug, pleased expression on his face.

“All right,” I gritted out, breathing slowly to dispel the nausea, “you have my attention. What do you want, cat?”

“Ah,” he purred, as if nothing had happened. “There you are. I was beginning to think you had died in your sleep.” He stood, waving his tail.

“We have trouble. The boat is here, and I cannot wake anyone up.”

“Boat?”

The cat rol ed his eyes. “Yes. Boat. The ferry that you are so eager to take to the End of the World? Did you accidental y hit your head before I woke you?” He peered at me, suddenly serious. “There is something strange going on, prince,” he muttered. “I cannot wake any of the others, and it is not like you to forget something this important. How do you feel?”

I thought the strangest occurrence was Grimalkin asking about my health, but after a moment I frowned. “Tired,” I admitted. “Almost drained.”

Grimalkin nodded. “I thought as much. Something about this place is siphoning your strength, you glamour, even your memories.” He blinked and shook himself. “Even I am finding it hard to keep my eyes open. Come.” Turning suddenly, he leaped off the bed. “We must wake the others. If we do not make it to the ferry in time, it will leave, and you will be stuck here forever.”

I stood, frowning as the room spun around me. Rubbing my eyes, I started to fol ow Grimalkin, but a faint noise outside the window made me pause.

Bracing myself against the wall , I looked through the glass and drew in a slow breath.

The inn was surrounded by Forgotten. Hol ow-eyed, faded and fam-ished looking, they crowded the muddy road, shoulder to shoulder, staring up at me with slack, open mouths. How long had they stood there, sucking away our glamour, our memories? How long before we became like them, empty and hol ow, black holes drawing in every little bit of life?

I stumbled back from the window and into the hal , where Grimalkin waited for me, lashing his tail.

“Hurry,” he hissed, and trotted into the next room. I shook the cobwebs out of my head and fol owed.

A girl lay on the bed, shifting and moaning as if in the throes of a nightmare, her long silver hair spread over the pil ow. For one heart-stopping moment, I couldn't remember her name, though I knew she was important to me. The sudden worry and protectiveness I felt when I saw her proved it was true.

“Go to her,” Grimalkin said, backing away. “Wake her up. I will attempt to rouse Goodfel ow once more. Perhaps he will waken if claws are ap-plied in a strategical y important area. Then you can all tackle the dog.

I will certainly not partake in that endeavor.” He wrinkled his nose and padded from the room.

I knelt down beside the bed. “Ari,” I muttered, grabbing the delicate shoulders and shaking them gently. “Wake up. We have to go, now.”

Ariel a f linched away from me, raising her hands in sleep as if to reach out for someone. “No, Ash…no,” she whispered. “Don't…please, no.”

“Ari!” I shook harder, jostling her thin frame, but she only whimpered and sank deeper into sleep. Finally, I gathered her to me, lifting her in my arms.

She was so light, like twigs held together by wispy cloth. Clutching her to my chest, I stumbled from the room.

Grimalkin met me at the door, followed by a yawning Puck scratching the back of his head. He gave me a sleepy nod as we passed. Together, we ventured into the last room down the hal , where the huge form of the Wolf was curled in a corner, his rumbling snores vibrating the wall s.

“Okay,” Puck said, leaning against the doorframe, looking like he was fighting to stay on his feet, “I agree that we have to get out of here now, but… who wants to wake up the puppy?”

I nodded toward a corner. “There's a broom. I have Ariel a—I think you should take care of the Wolf.”

“Hmm, that's okay, ice-boy. I'm kinda partial to not having my head bitten off.”

“Goodfel ow!” Grimalkin spat, right before he disappeared, “Above you!”

I spun, stil holding Ariel a, as a Forgotten dropped from the ceiling—the innkeeper from before, only now her eyes were blank and glassy, her mouth an open hole as she lurched toward Puck.

The Wolf 's eyes snapped open. Without warning, he sprang to his feet with a roar and lunged through the doorway, massive jaws clamping over the Forgotten's spindly frame. The faery wailed and dissolved like mist in the breeze, and the Wolf shook his head, turning back to glare at us.

“It's impossible to sleep with the pair of you around,” he growled, baring his teeth. “Now, are we leaving, or are you two going to stand there barking at each other all night?”

Forgotten were beginning to drift up the stairs like zombies, faces slack and mouths open. Puck and the Wolf met them side by side, teeth and daggers f lashing in the dim light, cutting a path to the exit.

Ariel a sighed and murmured in my arms, and I held her close, determined that no Forgotten would touch her.

We burst through the door of the inn and stopped, staring at the huge mob of Forgotten surrounding the building. The Forgotten stared back, silent and motionless, mouths gaping like landed fish. The Wolf snarled and lunged forward, snapping at the air, and the Forgotten drew back, offering no resistance. But they were so starved for glamour, for memory and emotion and life, that the Wolf stumbled and nearly fel , his strength siphoned away.

The ground lurched, and I nearly sank to my knees, fighting to stay upright. “Keep moving!” I cal ed, as Puck swiped at several Forgotten that pressed closer, driving them back. “Get to the dock! We have to make it to the ferry!”

The Forgotten parted for us like waves, not resisting, forcing no confrontation, but their hunger was a constant thing, draining our life, making it harder and harder to move. I glanced over at Puck and saw him turning as gray and washed-out as the Forgotten around us, his once-bright red hair dul and colorless. I couldn't see Grimalkin, and hoped the cat wouldn't simply fade into nothingness while invisible, which we would never know.

The dock loomed before us, a lifeline in the dark, and on the River of Dreams, I saw the faint edges of a ferryboat through the mist. Puck and the Wolf, staggering and nearly leaning on each other, reached it first, and Puck yel ed at me to hurry, before vanishing into the fog.

Just as I reached the dock, something latched on to my arm. I felt a stab of pain, an emptiness so strong it was physical, and went to my knees as the sharp thin man appeared before me, his long fingers grasping my arm.

“I figured it out,” he whispered, as I struggled to make my body move, respond, anything. But I was numb, drained, only barely conscious, as the thin man continued to draw out my life. I felt my glamour slipping away with my strength, sucked into the black hole that was the sharp thin man. Ariel a slumped against my chest as my grip failed, and his gaze followed her.

“My, you're strong,” he continued in an amiable voice. “So much life.

Such powerful memories and glamour and emotion. You do not be-long here.

Not yet. Upset the balance, you have. Even those who are nearly faded have come back, and now they will linger even more. Because of you.”

“Not…yet?” I could barely get the words out. The crowd of Forgotten had gathered again, surrounding us with open mouths, their combined pul so strong I nearly col apsed. The thin man looked at me, surprised.

“You do not know?” He tilted his head, and for a moment, it vanished.

“Your essence is unraveling. Bit by bit. Soon, you will be unable to remember your name, your promise, who you are, and you will be consumed with fil ing the emptiness inside. But it will never be enough. In time, you will find your way to Phaed, to remain here with the Forgotten, and the Promise-breakers.” He nodded, a sharp gesture in the coiling fog. “But not yet.”

“Then…you'l let us…go?”

“Of course you will go,” the sharp thin man said, as if that was obvious.

“You will go, and life will return to normal. Everyone will forget, as is their way.

You do not belong. But, her—” his gaze sharpened, staring at Ariel a “—she must stay. She is the reason you found this place. No essence.

No life.

She is empty, like we are. She remains.”

I felt a f lare of anger, but it was immediately drained away by the thin man. “No,” I muttered, trying to find the strength to pul back, to resist.

“I…need her.”

“She remains,” the thin man whispered again, and reached to take her from me.

No! A fierce protectiveness roared to life, drowning out everything else. She would not be taken away. Not again. I would not fail her again.

With the last of my strength, I lunged to my feet and drew my blade, pressing it to the thin man's neck.

He seemed surprised that I could stil move. “She does not belong with you,” he said, watching calmly as I fought to remain on my feet, keep the blade steady and hold the girl to myself with one arm. “She belongs here, with us.”

“I don't care,” I told him. “I'm not letting her go.”

A roar shattered the stil ness, and the Wolf came bounding out of the fog, scattering Forgotten like wispy birds. Shoving his huge body between myself and the thin man, he bared his fangs at the crowd and snarled. “Get going, prince,” he snapped, as the sharp thin man turned to the side and disappeared. “The boat is already leaving. Go!”

Sheathing my sword, I gathered Ariel a in both arms and staggered onto the dock, where Puck met me halfway. “Geez, you love to wait til the last dramatic moment, don't you, ice-boy?” he muttered as we hurried over the planks. At the end of the dock, a smal , faded paddleboat covered in moss and vines was pul ing away, easing back into the River of Dreams. Grimalkin sat on the railings, watching us with glowing yel ow eyes.

“Hurry!” the cat urged as the boat pulled farther away. “They are coming!”

Behind us, I heard the Wolf 's growls as he backed onto the dock, and felt the emptiness of the Forgotten sucking at me, even from this distance.

And then they were crawling onto the dock from beneath the water, reaching for us with ghostly fingers, mouths gaping like dead fish.