“Dammit, let go!” I tried wrenching my arm back, tried to drag her out, away from the shadows closing in on all sides. “Will you stop? I’m trying to help you!”
“No,” she whispered again, her voice faint. “Listen. It is too late for me, Ethan Chase. The darkness has come, as I foresaw it would. This is my fate—you cannot stop it. But you must...see...this....”
The shadow creatures had almost freed themselves; several pressed forward, grabbing the Oracle again, covering her like ratty blankets. I snarled and hit at them with the branch, but they either slithered aside or accepted the blows, making no sound as they piled on the Oracle again. None of them retaliated against me, though the air grew painfully cold. In horror, I saw a corner of the Oracle’s rags, fluttering as though caught in a breeze, tear away and vanish into one of the shadow creatures. Right into it, like it had been sucked down a black hole. And then I felt that faint, sluggish pulling sensation coming from all around us, and I knew what these creatures were.
Forgotten. Of a kind I’d never seen before, but there was no mistaking what they were doing. Sucking away her magic and glamour, just like the rest of their kind. Draining away her life and her essence, and if I didn’t get her out of here now, she would be sapped away to nothing.
I yanked backward, trying to drag the Oracle away, but somehow her other hand reached through the swirling mass of darkness and touched the side of my head.
There was a stab of pain, like she had sunk those steely talons right into my mind, and a flash of something white across my vision. And for just a moment, I saw him.
Keirran. Covered in blood, staring down at something on the ground, his face full of grief and horror. Another flash, and I saw what he was staring at.
No. My mind went blank with shock. No.
The grip on my arm was released. Reeling, I fell backward, and the Oracle vanished beneath the pile of strange Forgotten. Scrambling upright, I lunged forward, yelling, kicking, beating them with my stick, until the dark mass of Forgotten finally drew back. Panting, pushing the last of the creatures away, I gazed down at the spot where the old faery had been.
A few dusty rags lay in the grass at my feet, fluttering like paper. The Oracle, whoever she had been, was gone.
Behind me, Annwyl made a strangled noise and sank to her knees. I backed toward her, glaring at the Forgotten, who surrounded us in a dark ring, their eyes glowing yellow in the gloom. But they didn’t attack. Silently, they drew away into the mist and faded from view. The fog broke apart, sunlight streamed into the grove, and everything was normal again.
My arms were shaking, and it was questionable whether my legs would continue to hold me up. I dropped the stick and leaned against a trunk, uncaring that it might be a dryad’s tree. That vision, that split-second flash the Oracle had shown me—it couldn’t be true. I refused to believe it. Of course, if it was true, then it certainly would explain some of the reactions I was getting from Meghan, the courts, the Thin Man, everyone. I understood Meghan’s fear now. I understood a lot more than I wanted to.
“I can’t believe the Oracle is...gone,” Annwyl whispered after a moment.
I didn’t reply. Truthfully, I wasn’t thinking of the Oracle. I was still reeling from the load of bricks she’d dropped on my head, unable to stop seeing it. The vision. Keirran covered in blood, staring at something on the ground at his feet. His face a mask of grief, despair and horror. And in the grass...a body, blood pooling from its chest, gazing sightlessly up at him.
Me.
Part II
CHAPTER TEN
THE FADE
I was going to die.
That was what Meghan was so afraid of. She knew. She knew something was going to kill me, and Keirran would be there when it happened. Was this the prophecy everyone was so worried about? How would it happen? Would Keirran and I end up fighting something too strong for us, something vicious and powerful, and it would end up killing me? Or had he just found me lying there in the grass? I hadn’t gotten more than a glimpse of him in the vision, but I did remember the blood streaking his face and arms, though I wasn’t sure if it was his or an enemy’s. We might have been in a fight; in that brief flash, I couldn’t remember if he had his sword out. Come to think of it, I couldn’t remember if I had my swords out.
I didn’t know, and at that moment, I didn’t really care how that vision had come to pass, only that it had. Would. I had just seen my own death. I was going to die, and Keirran would be there when it happened.
“Ethan?”
Annwyl rose and came hesitantly forward, her green eyes concerned. “You’re white as a sheet,” she remarked. “And you’re shaking. What did the Oracle show you?”
Damn, I was shaking. Clenching my fists, I pushed myself off the trunk, taking a deep breath to slow my pounding heart. “Nothing,” I told her, forcing myself to be calm. “I’m fine. It’s nothing, Annwyl, just adrenaline from the fight.”
And seeing my own death, of course. That’s always an eye-opener. Dammit, I’d never get that vision out of my head; it was imprinted on my mind like a brand, and would be there forever. Myself sprawled at Keirran’s feet, bloody, limp and most assuredly dead, Keirran looking down in horror. I started to shake again, but stopped myself. No. There’s no way I’m going to let that happen. If the Oracle wanted me to see that, there must be a way to avoid it. Otherwise, why would she show me at all? Resolved, I shoved back the fear spreading through me, determined not to turn into a basket case. Whatever. It hasn’t happened yet, and like Kenzie said once: I don’t believe in Fate. I am not going to die, not like that.
“Those creatures.” Annwyl shivered, rubbing her arms as if cold. “They were Forgotten, weren’t they? Why didn’t they attack us?”
“I don’t know,” I muttered, gazing down at the limp pile of rags, all that was left of the Oracle. I found myself thinking that we had just witnessed something huge and terrible, and I wondered if the death of the ancient faery was an ominous sign for everyone. “I guess...they were just after her.”
* * *
We hurried out of the park, wary now for any shadowlike Forgotten as we fled back to my truck. This time, Annwyl scrambled inside without hesitation, and I fished my swords out from under the seat, laying them beside me on the cab. That was it—I was not going anywhere without them again.
I found a hotel fairly close to Bourbon Street—not on it, because the places located down that famous strip would probably be mega expensive—and paid for a room with cash. Even then, it cost way more than I wanted it to, and I tried not to cringe as I handed over the wad of money. I would definitely have to get another job this summer, as it appeared this trip was going to suck my limited funds dry.
Dammit, Keirran. You’d better be worth it.
At least the well-dressed man behind the desk didn’t ask any questions, such as why a seventeen-year-old with no parents in sight needed a room, alone, and handed me a key without hesitation. With Annwyl trailing invisibly behind me, I walked down the narrow orange-and-gold hallway until I found the right door, then pushed my way inside.
The room was small, but at least it was clean, and I tossed my pack on the bed. “Well, we’re here,” I announced, glancing at Annwyl, who was looking around the room curiously. “I guess we’ll just have to hang tight until tonight, unless there’s anything else you want to do.”
I suddenly wondered what Kenzie was doing, if she and her family were already here, walking around, soaking up the local history. All the things you were supposed to do on a family vacation. I wished I could’ve done that with her. This wasn’t a vacation or a pleasure trip for me, not by a long shot, but it would’ve been nice to take my girlfriend to New Orleans. We could go to restaurants, listen to jazz music, visit a museum or take a sightseeing tour; all the normal stuff that I’d probably never get to do.
Annwyl was giving me that appraising look that hinted that she knew what I was thinking or feeling. Maybe my glamour aura was giving me away again. “You miss Kenzie,” she said, confirming my suspicions. I shrugged, and she tilted her head. “Why don’t you call her?” she suggested. “You can do that, can you not? With your...telephones?”
I smiled at the faery’s confusion with the mortal world. She had been in the Nevernever so long, tech and modern conveniences like phones and computers were completely foreign to her. Just as quickly, though, the smile faded. “I can’t,” I said, scrubbing a hand through my hair. “She’s pretty mad at me. I don’t think she’s going to want to talk.”
“Why?”
“Because I don’t want her going into the goblin market. Not with that creepy thin faery stalking us, and especially not now, with those shadow Forgotten out there. It’s too dangerous.” I remembered Kenzie lying in the hospital room, pale and weak, and my stomach turned. “She’s sick, Annwyl,” I said in a near whisper, at the same time wondering why I was telling this to a faery. “I can’t put her at risk. Not like that.”
Annwyl gave me a very strange, unreadable look, and I frowned. “What?” I challenged, crossing my arms. “What’s that look for?”
“I’m sorry,” Annwyl whispered, and the peculiar stare turned to frustration. “I know you but, I...seem to have forgotten your name. Where...are we?”
And before my horrified gaze, she started to disappear.
* * *
“No!” I lunged for her, grabbing a slender wrist before it became transparent. “Annwyl, look at me,” I demanded, shaking her. She blinked and stared at me with glazed green eyes. “What’s my name?” I asked, holding her tightly. She felt so...fragile. I could see the dresser right through her head and gave her another little shake. “Annwyl, focus! Answer me. What’s my name?”
“I...I don’t know.” Her voice was barely a whisper, her eyes the only spots of color left. Everything else was becoming transparent and pale. “I can’t...remember...anything.”
“Dammit,” I growled. “Don’t do this. Not now.” My fingers slipped through her wrist, and I could only watch helplessly as she grew fainter and fainter. I was losing her. If she Faded out, I didn’t know if she would return. Annwyl stared through me, her expression blank, nearly gone. Desperately, I played my last card. “Keirran!” I burst out. “Do you remember him? The one we’re looking for, who’s out there fighting for you right now. Do you remember Keirran?”
A spark of recognition finally flashed over Annwyl’s face, and she jerked her head up. “Keirran,” she choked out, her eyes filling with horror. “Ethan Chase. Yes, I...remember...”
She shivered, and color returned, washing out the ghostliness, turning her solid again. I slumped in relief. Annwyl turned away, covering her face with her hands, trembling.
I let her be, not knowing what else to do. So this is what Keirran is fighting against, I thought, suddenly understanding him a lot more. Not just for Annwyl, either. For all of them. I remembered his words when we were leaving the Forgotten Queen’s chamber that night. You don’t know how horrible it is for exiles, for all of them, to face nothingness. Losing pieces of yourself every day, until you cease to exist.