by Alicia Wolfe
Before I could go too far down that mental road, Davril said, “We’ll be fine, Your Majesty. Now, Lady Jade, I think we should leave. With all due haste.”
“There’s no time to waste,” I agreed. “We have an imp to save.”
Twenty minutes later saw us flying toward Central Park in Lady Kay. I couldn’t help but feel a nervous flutter in my belly, and an acrid taste had settled on my tongue. I can’t believe I’m doing this, I thought. I’m venturing into a place where even the Fae fear to tread. Davril was unusually silent. Not that he was normally a chatterbox, but his jaw was set grimly and his eyes had a distant look to them. I wondered if he were picturing the faces of the friends he’d lost.
Trying to lighten the mood, and also, I confess, a little curious, I said, “So, um, you and the Queen…”
His eyes stared forward. He didn’t seem to hear me, at least not at first, but then he coughed. “Yes, Jade? I’m sorry. What about me and the Queen?”
“Well … she was awfully concerned about you.”
“Of course. We’ve known each other for centuries. Our noble families have been allies and peers for as long as I can recall.”
“Come on, Dav. I mean, Davril. I saw the way she looked at you.”
He drew his brows together, and I sensed he was becoming uncomfortable. But at least the expression of doom on his features had softened, and I felt a little better, too. Mission accomplished. Of course he didn’t answer me, but then again I hadn’t really expected him to. It was entirely possible that there was something between him and Calista. Then again, it was possible I was simply projecting. A third possibility, and I had to consider this likely, was that Calista felt something for Davril, but he either didn’t return it or was unaware of it, maybe both. I was pretty sure I’d seen something in her eyes, but I was just as sure I hadn’t seen anything in Davril’s.
Of course, he was better at hiding his feelings than I would have liked. Don’t play poker with Davril Stormguard.
“Was there anything else?” he said. As he spoke, he shifted gears, bringing Lady Kay toward the ground. The gloom of Central Park grew larger before us, taking up most of my vision.
I hesitated. There was a topic I’d been meaning to bring up, but I wasn’t sure now was the time.
“What is it?” he said, evidently sensing it.
I made myself bat my eyes at him. He was still focused on bringing us in and didn’t seem to notice. Hiding an inner sigh, I said, “Well, it seems to me that I’ve been coming and going from high places a lot recently.”
“Yes? So?” He shifted another gear, his eyes scanning the ground for a place to park.
“Well, I’ve had to rely on others for my rides—you, Ruby, even taxis. It seems to me that at some point I’m going to need my own ride.”
He mulled on that. “There are aerial vehicles available in the magical bazaars, Jade.”
“Yeah, but have you seen the price tags on those things? See, I was thinking that, since I’m a knight now, the Order should provide me with a steed?”
He spared a moment to cast me a skeptical glance. “You, with a steed?”
I crossed my arms over my narrow chest. “What’s so funny about that?”
He found a parking spot and settled in, then cast a spell to make the car invisible. Around us were shabby buildings and out-of-control shrubbery.
“Where would you stable a pegasus?” he said. “And can you even ride?”
“Maybe not a pegasus,” I admitted. “Maybe something like Lady Kay. Although smaller would be good, and something I don’t have to parallel park.” I mustered my courage. “I was thinking a motorcycle. A flying one,” I added, as if that hadn’t been obvious.
“A flying motorcycle,” he said, switching off the ignition. He climbed out of the car, and I followed suit. Chilly wind tore at me, but I shivered and zipped up my black leather jacket. It wasn’t as nice as the one lost at Gavin’s fighting pit, but it was warmer. Besides, I wasn’t exactly going to the opera.
“Can you even drive?” he said.
I flipped him the finger. Then sighed. “Not legally,” I admitted. Like many New Yorkers, I’d never had my own vehicle. “But an ex-boyfriend taught me how. He had a chopper. A motorcycle.”
“Why am I not surprised?”
Now you sound like Ruby. “Well?” I pressed. “What do you think?”
He strode toward the towering darkness of Central Park, and I trailed behind. It was still day, but in there, it was eternal night, or at least that’s how it looked from outside. It appeared as if a low-lying thunderhead had just set up permanent shop on the park. I relished the sunlight on my skin while I could. I only wished it were a warmer day.
“I think,” he said, “that you have to finish your training. Only true knights are awarded steeds, not honorary knights in training.”
“What about honorary knights who have completed their training?”
He snorted, looking wryly amused. “If you start showing up for training, we may have something to talk about. Till then, why don’t you worry less about getting around town and more about fulfilling your duties?”
“You’re no fun.”
Sounding annoyingly patient, he said, “I’m not supposed to be fun, Jade. I’m supposed to be your teacher.”
“I had some fun teachers, I’ll have you know. And I learned more from them than the un-fun ones.”
“You’re not getting a flying motorcycle, Jade.”
I pouted, but it had no effect on the iron man that was Lord Davril Stormguard. As we spoke, we passed hollowed-out shops and burned-out cars. Finally, we reached the street bordering the Park on this side and saw the ruins of the old police wall ahead. The cops had originally tried to wall off Central Park to prevent the horrors that lived there from overrunning the city. Unfortunately there had been nothing preventing them from overrunning the wall, and the mages and witches on the city payroll hadn’t been enough to hold back the tide.
As Davril and I neared the splintered, blackened wall, which was all that was left of it, we paused and turned our heads, hearing sounds coming from the right. An armored police patrol was making the rounds—three SWAT trucks and several witches flying their police-grade broomsticks above, giving the SWAT Team constant updates. It was still weird to see witches wearing police uniforms.
“Guess they haven’t completely given up on policing the park,” I said.
“Perhaps we should have a word with them before we enter.”
“What for? They would just hold us up.” Besides, I never liked to talk with cops. I always felt like they were looking at me funny—as if they knew I was a thief.
I’m on their side now, I told myself. Shit, I’m kind of a cop now, too. The thought had never occurred to me before, for some reason. At the realization, I shivered.
“What’s wrong?” Davril said.
“Nothing. Let’s just go.”
He didn’t argue. We found a crack in the ruined wall and passed through it, then moved toward the other barrier, the one made of dark mist and cloud. It reared overhead, stretching from side to side as far as I could see. Are we really doing this?
“Last chance to back out,” Davril told me, as if reading my mind.
I sniffed. “Last chance for you to back out.”
He grinned at me, and I felt heat fill my belly. I loved the sparkle in his eyes when the prospect of action arose. When that happened, when his blood got going, he stopped being Teacher Davril and became Warrior Davril. And Warrior Davril worked for me. Like, really really worked.
Without another word, he moved forward, passing into the cloud.
I followed.
Instantly, inky banks of darkness enfolded me. I’d expected it to taste like smoke or something, but nope, it just tasted like cloud. It was cold, though, and I felt frigid drops of moisture settling all over me. I shivered again, no longer feeling randy but scared.
“Davril,” I called. My voice came out distorted and somehow m
uted by the mist.
“I’m here,” he assured me.
After a moment, his sword of light blazed. He’d drawn it so that I could see where he was and know that I wasn’t alone, trapped in the darkness. Letting out a breath I hadn’t even know I’d been holding, I followed the light. Shortly, the mist thinned, then dissipated altogether, and we found ourselves standing at the edge of a primeval forest. Huge, gnarled trees lifted to lofty heights overhead, their tangled branched creating a dark labyrinth below.
“Whoa,” I said. “Central Park had a makeover. Only it didn’t go so well.”
“Keep close.”
I nodded. He pushed forward, entering the massive forest that had once been a stately park. Before I followed, I glanced at the sky. Sure enough, it was night here. The cloud was no longer visible. Just like Voris Cemetery, I thought.
“Are we in another bubble dimension?” I said.
“Perhaps.”
The light of his sword reflected off the dark, knotty boles of the trees. They were thick and misshapen, some seeming to move with a life of their own. Their limbs swayed, slowly, but to no wind I could feel. Their limbs moved like tentacles.
“This is no place for a city gal,” I quipped. Raising my voice, as if talking to the forest, I said, “This area could sure use a good bistro.”
The trees moved, making low groaning noises, as if admonishing me. I traded a look with Davril.
“I wouldn’t antagonize them,” he said. “Who knows how alive they are. In the Fae Lands, there are places where the trees have a life of their own.”
We continued to thread our way through the dense maze of twisted trunks, grasping limbs and cancerous boles. The world outside the park was starting to feel very far away. I kept tripping over roots and rocks. Davril’s sword provided some light, but his body shielded some of it. Annoyed, I reached into one of my pouches and withdrew a certain stone.
“Gaila uncar,” I said. The stone glowed with a pale radiance, casting light on the trees and rocks around me. It wasn’t much, but it helped.
“There should be a path,” Davril said. “Look for one.”
“Why do you think there’s a path?”
“Because the denizens of this place wouldn’t be able to get around otherwise. And we might well need one to find our way out.”
“You mean … we could get trapped in here?”
“People get lost in forests all the time.”
“You’re real reassuring.”
He turned back to me, giving me another one of his charming, damn-the-torpedoes grins. “Don’t worry, Jade. I’m here.”
I wanted to say something snarky, like Great, I’m real reassured now. But the fact is that I was. And I loved the glint in his eyes.
But that’s when I noticed it: the glints of other eyes. My glow-stone’s light revealed them, pinpricks in the darkness between thick trunks. I let out a gasp and stopped. Davril paused, too, lifting his sword to shed more light on the owners of those eyes. They were all around us, burning like faint embers amongst the twisted boles and undergrowth.
I was alerted by the sound of growling even before Davril’s sword revealed what manner of creatures surrounded us. But I still felt sick when his light showed huge wolves on either side of us.
Their lips drew back from their teeth, exposing gleaming-white fangs. Drool ran off them.
“Shit,” I said, smelling them. “Wolf shifters.”
Before I could brace myself, the wolves attacked.
Chapter 11
I screamed as a huge black shape launched straight for Davril’s throat. His sword flashed out, blood spurted, and the giant wolf fell dead to the ground. Two more sprang at him, and his sword lashed out even as he ducked and dodged.
I yanked out my crossbow and took aim at one of his attackers, but a fourth wolf lunged at me. I reeled back, my trigger finger firing off a shot by reflex, embedding a bolt in a tree.
As if an order had been given, the rest of the pack sprang out of concealment and onto us.
“Ambush!” Davril said, his teeth bared in a snarl just as ferocious as the wolf that was currently snapping at his neck. He stabbed it in the heart, booted the body off his blade, then whirled to face the next foe.
The wolf that had caused me to miss my shot spun to launch itself at me again, but before it could, two more wolves beat it to the prize—me. They both lunged toward me at the same time.
I stumbled back. Tripped on a root. My butt hit the ground and both wolves passed overhead, right where I’d been standing. Fingers shaking, I reached into a pouch, grabbed a pinch of powder and hurled it at the first wolf, the one who’d made me miss my shot, as he finally got around to trying to eat me.
“Sivecta!” I cried when the powder coated him.
He turned to ice in mid-air, then crashed into the ground, exploding into pieces.
Another wolf snapped at my arm. I rolled to the side, then leapt to a crouch. He missed. Another lunged for my throat. I dodged. My crossbow had fallen, and so had my glow-stone. I ripped out my knife and slashed open the nose of the next wolf that came for me. He yowled and slunk away.
“Climb a tree!” Davril yelled. He cut down one wolf, then another, and I realized he was trying to carve a path to my side. The wolves were too thick, though.
“I’m not going to abandon you,” I said, kicking a wolf in the face.
More massed between us. There was no way to get to him. I knew if he had to, Davril could use his Fae power to knock the wolves back, but that would weaken him and they could just get right back up again. Whoever they served, they were willing to die to bring us down.
I kicked and chopped and punched. Without my shifter strength and speed, I would’ve been toast.
“I’ll draw them off,” Davril said, cutting off another wolf’s head. As soon as the body fell, Davril edged back. The wolves followed him, snapping and lunging. They obviously knew he was the greater threat. He moved further back, and more pulled away from me to go after him.
Soon he was far away. The three wolves that were left glanced to the rest of their pack, hard to see now beyond the trees, then to me. Drool running down their fangs, they advanced on the closer prey—me.
“Shit,” I said.
A wolf sprang at me. I punched him in the throat. Ducked as another came at me. The third rushed me, snapping at my calf. I just barely danced aside.
Breathless, gasping for air, I was forced back, then back some more. When another wolf lunged for my belly, I stabbed him in the shoulder. My blade lodged there, and I couldn’t get it free before the wolf fell back, yapping. Great, now all I had were my spellgredients.
Time to ditch these jerkwads.
“Come and get me, assholes,” I said, then turned on my heels and ran. Not very heroic, I know, but these bastards were tough, and I’m no superhero.
My chest burned as I ran. Tree limbs whipped past me. One raked my neck. Roots grasped at me, and I leapt over one, then another. A wolf snapped at my heels, another at my thigh. I wanted to mix some spellgredients together and cast a spell, but if I slowed enough to do that, they would be on me.
They would be on me soon, anyway. I was getting tired. Sooner or later, I would trip and that would be it.
Climb a tree, Davril had said.
When the next low branch came along, I sprang, grabbed it and hauled myself onto the branch.
Below, the wolves lunged and snapped.
“Ha!” I said, and flipped them the finger.
One jumped so high he almost bit the branch. My blood turned to ice in my veins. Blinking sweat out of my eyes, I climbed higher, one branch and then another. Soon I was far above the wolves, and my arms burned with exertion. I half expected them to shift and come after me, and I was preparing a spell to use against them if they did, but nope, they just stayed right there at the base of the tree, slavering and growling. Waiting me out.
Screw that.
I advanced along a stout limb to where it passed clos
e to an equally solid branch of another tree and jumped to it. Then I crossed to the next tree and the next. As I went, I cast a spell to make me blend in with the shadows. The wolves followed me for a while, but eventually I lost them. Still hearing them howling in the distance, I made my way back toward where the pack had ambushed us. I wasn’t sure I was going in the right direction, but then I saw half a dozen bodies and knew I had. The bodies had shifted back to human, as shifters usually did when they died.
I was dirty and tired, and the rough bark of the trees had scraped my palms. At the moment, a nice hot bath was sounding pretty good. But we’d only just begun. I had to find Davril and together we still had to save Federico before Angela got whatever she wanted out of him. If it wasn’t too late.
When I was sure the wolves were far away, I dropped to the ground, retrieved my knife and crossbow, then picked my way through the forest in the direction I thought Davril had gone. I sniffed the air, but all I could smell was the reek of wolf. It had overpowered Davril’s more subtle Fae scent. Great.
“Hang in there, Davril,” I muttered. “I’m coming for you.”
Fear for him put a sour taste in my mouth, but I told myself he was stronger than any pack of wolf shifters and pushed on.
“Are you lost, little girl?”
I spun. The voice had come from my left. Grabbing my crossbow, I squinted into the darkness between trees. I saw a shape.
Its eyes burned in the dark.
“Show yourself,” I said, my finger curling around the trigger.
A figured emerged, still half draped in shadow. He was a lean man, sinewy and muscular. I could see this because he only wore a black leather vast and jeans that hung low on his narrow hips. He sported a crooked grin, tangled black hair falling over his eyes. It was too dark to tell for sure, even with my shifter eyesight, but I thought they might be blue.
“Call me Ringo,” he said.
He stepped forward, and suddenly he was too close. I backed up a step. Trees were right behind me, halting my escape.
