The Iron Cursed

by J. M. Briggs

  14

  Spring Unpleasantness

  It was a bright, sunny spring day in Ravenslake. Downtown was full of students and locals enjoying the chance to visit the shops and restaurants along Central and Main without having to worry about slush and snow. There were small banners and baskets of flowers hanging from the lampposts and chalkboard sidewalk signs in front of almost every door. It was an almost perfect atmosphere, and Lance was loving every moment.

  Something about having Jenny next to him made Lance feel taller. He was already a tall young man and knew it, but with her arm resting in the crook of his own his back was straighter, his shoulders were broader and he was stronger. It was a very cliché sentiment, but one that he was happy to acknowledge. Maybe it was because he was in love with her, or maybe it was some sort of happiness caused by there being no problem in being seen with her. Either one was valid, but he didn’t care which.

  In the last couple of weeks the rumors had finally begun to die down and while the other members of the football team and spirit squad still weren’t happy with either of them there was nothing for it. Still, Lance wasn’t sure if he’d even be bothering with football next year. Now that he knew the truth of the strange happenings in Ravenslake a sport seemed like a poor time investment.

  “Penny for your thoughts?”

  Smiling down at Jenny, Lance just shrugged. “Nothing important; just thinking about some random things.”

  “Such as?”

  “Well football for one,” Lance said. “I don’t know. With how weird things got and everything else happening I probably won’t bother with the team next year.”

  “You’re not on a scholarship, are you?” Jenny asked, her brow furrowed a little in concern.

  “Only for my first two years, and I’ve done that now,” Lance said. “I don’t think I’ll be offered another one. The coaches liked Arthur best of the younger players.”

  There was a flicker in Jenny’s eye at the mention of her ex-boyfriend, but irritation quickly took its place. “If they knew the truth,” she growled. “If they even knew a fraction of the truth about him they’d be grateful he was gone.”

  “Well evil and twisted or not, he was a good quarterback,” Lance said. He smiled and tried to lighten her mood, but Jenny wasn’t having it. “Hell of an arm.”

  “Probably cheated using magic just to make sure he fit all the stereotypes and expectations.”

  “Maybe.” Lance didn’t want to argue about Arthur. “But… uh, we haven’t really talked about it. Are you staying next year?”

  Jenny’s steps faltered for a moment and her expression softened. Heart racing, Lance found himself struggling to breathe as he waited for an answer. He braced for the bad news and started planning his own transfer.

  “I think so,” Jenny said. “Maybe it’s silly and if we were smart we’d transfer out of here together.” Lance couldn’t help but grin at Jenny’s assumption that they’d go together. “But if you’re okay with it I’d like to stay.” She dropped her eyes to the sidewalk and shuffled a little. “I just… I don’t feel right leaving Alex.” Then Jenny looked up at him, her eyes nearly frantic. “It’s not that I have romantic-”

  “I know,” Lance said. He reached over with his left hand to squeeze hers still cradled in his arm. “I know that’s not the reason, Jenny, and I have no problem with trying to be loyal to a friend.” Licking his lips, he took in Jenny’s grateful smile and gathered his own thoughts. “I’m glad you want to stay. I do too, but I would have left and followed you.”

  “You would have?”

  “In a heartbeat.” He smiled down at her, hoping that Jenny could see how sincere he was.

  She must have. The beaming smile she gave him brightened up the whole world. Jenny brought them to a stop and leaned up on her toes, curling a hand around his neck and tugging him down. Their lips met in a soft kiss that made his heart speed up. Her fingers brushed over the skin of his neck before she pulled back.

  Winking at him, Jenny gave him a sly smile and started walking, pulling him gently along. “We can’t block traffic,” she said. Her eyes were bright with mirth and behind them, there was a whistle of approval from someone on the street. “Besides, we have an audience,” Jenny added. He could see a blush creeping up her features.

  “Right, sorry.” Lance grinned as Jenny’s blush worsened, remembering that she was the one who had kissed him. “But that’s on you.”

  “I know.” Jenny cleared her throat. “Uh, so how your family doing?”

  Chuckling slightly, Lance humored her and recited some of the more recent news from his family. Jenny for her part listened with a small smile and giggled in the right places about Chris and Kelly.

  “How about you?” he asked. “Anything new with your dad?”

  “Nothing as interesting as getting himself tangled up in a net while skateboarding,” Jenny replied. She giggled again. “I don’t think something like that would inspire much confidence in clients. And I hate to say it, but Dad really tries to play up the stern no-nonsense lawyer thing at the office and the courtroom. Even most of the partners I’ve met don’t think he has a sense of humor.”

  “But he does, right?”

  “Of course!” Jenny paused and glanced around cautiously. “I’ll tell you something, but you can never reveal this to the lawyers of San Francisco.” Lance snorted a bit at that. “Dad has a serious fondness for really bad old B movies.”

  “What, like monster films?”

  “Exactly: the stupider and worse the science, the better.”

  “So he’s a geek like Aiden and Nicki?”

  “I’m not sure,” Jenny said. She looked thoughtful for a second. “Nah, I don’t think so. Personally, I think he just enjoys the ridiculousness of them. I’ve never seen him really watch anything else geeky per se.”

  “Well everyone needs something simple to take their mind off things. What about you? Do you watch them with him?”

  “Sometimes.” Jenny made a disgusted face. “But the women in them are so poorly written.” Shuddering, her expression became even funnier. “I mean they can start off the film intelligent and confident, but by the end they’re screaming and fainting.”

  “None of the women I know are like that,” Lance said. He chuckled at the truth of it. Most of his female friends were mages who could cause a lot of damage when they thought it necessary. And Jenny? He glanced back towards her and tried not to smile too widely. “Magic or no, you aren’t a damsel in distress.”

  “Yeah, well, screaming doesn’t solve anything,” Jenny said. “Though I wouldn’t mind being able to do a bit more to help.”

  “I understand.”

  He did understand, and he bent over to drop a quick kiss to her forehead. They fell into silence, but Lance didn’t mind. It wasn’t an uncomfortable silence. In fact, it was pleasant not suffering the need to keep talking, though the calmer conversation about nothing important had been nice. However, the idea of someone needing something simple made him think of Alex. Maybe he and Jenny needed to meet with the others and discuss some stress relief ideas for her. The loss of her parents and the dreams she didn’t want to talk about were taking their toll.

  A strange giggle echoed up the alley they were passing, breaking into his thoughts. Jenny didn’t react and Lance hoped that he’d imagined it. Yet he found himself looking down the shadowed alley. Something in the air was off, at least it seemed that way to Lance. Tightening his grip on Jenny’s hand, he glanced around the main street of Ravenslake. The tightly packed small buildings were bright with spring decorations meant to lure students and locals into the various stores. By all merits it should be a beautiful spring day and he was spending it with his girlfriend. Instead, something was coming after them. He knew it in his gut.

  “Lance?” Jenny’s voice was soft and told him that she was now on high alert. “Did you see something?”

  “No,” Lance said. “Uh, not exactly.” Shaking his head, he glanced into a nearby
alley. It was dark thanks to the angle of the sun, but seemingly clear of danger. “I’m not sure. Thought I heard… something in the air just seems… off.”

  It was a bad answer, but thankfully Jenny didn’t push for him to explain it. Her grip on his hand loosened as her right hand dug into her purse. Lance knew from experience that she was probably making sure that her iron dagger was close at hand. He could feel the weight of his own dagger in the small back holster tucked under his shirt. Lance tensed: he thought he heard something running in the back streets of the block.

  “Should we head to Professor Yates’?” Jenny asked. “We parked the truck a few blocks back.”

  “It may be nothing.”

  “The mages were going to make another Gate today,” Jenny reminded him. She didn’t need to. They’d gone out for the day to distract themselves from that. “Something might have-”

  “Don’t say it, Jenny.” Lance squeezed her hand tighter and they stopped in front of a small boutique window. “Don’t even think it.”

  “Too late,” Jenny replied. They began to walk in the direction they’d come from. “I’m thinking about it and worrying.”

  “The professors are with them,” Lance said. He wasn’t sure who he was trying to reassure. His brown eyes kept searching the area. “I’m not… I may just be overreacting.”

  “Paranoia in our lives isn’t a bad thing.”

  “Maybe.”

  They passed the Central Diner which was full to the brim with students enjoying lunch. The noise spilled out into the street and Lance looked in through the large windows. He wasn’t sure what he was looking for, but a sudden terrifying thought that Arthur was back in town suddenly hit him. Nothing was out of place. One of the other guys on the football team spotted him and waved. Lance forced a smile and nodded in return but kept moving.

  Bookend Coffee was only a few blocks away, and they’d parked right at the end of the block. In some respects, it had been a waste to even drive, but with the threat of Faeries, Old Ones, and Arthur hanging over their heads Lance hated to be too far from transportation. A couple of people from his and Jenny’s classes greeted them. Jenny smiled but didn’t wave back, keeping her hand in her purse.

  Around them, all the other people were completely unaware of the murderous creatures sneaking up on them. A crash down another alley made him grimace. Jenny pulled on his hand as they reached the opening of the small side street between two stores. Small figures were darting around in the shadows. Lance and Jenny stepped back from the alley, standing firmly in the sunlight.

  “They can’t go far.” Jenny sounded more confident than he felt. “It’s a sunny day and they don’t see well in bright light.”

  “Sunglasses,” Lance said. “Hats. Let’s not make assumptions.”

  “Thanks for pointing that out,” Jenny muttered. “I feel a lot better.” She tugged lightly on his hand. “Come on; they may not be violent. Let’s keep going.”

  “They shouldn’t be able to be in town,” Lance reminded her.

  “If they are the peaceful ones like Timothy then they’re fine,” Jenny said. “Alex adjusted the spell to only repel those meaning harm.”

  “Yeah.” Lance let out a soft sigh of relief and willed himself to relax. Jenny was right about the blood protection spell. “Okay, yeah, let’s go. We’ll let the others know that there are more Faeries in town.”

  “Good plan.”

  They were moving away when another crash in the alley drew their attention. A dumpster had been knocked away from the wall and small purplish eyes were looking out at them. Lance pulled Jenny further away from the opening. A rotting smell hit his nostrils and he checked the street. Someone passed them, holding their nose and complaining about alley cats without stopping to look.

  Then four little figures stepped out from behind the dumpster. Lance knew what they were on sight. Red Caps. The ugly little creatures had been a problem before, and at this point the mythology surrounding them was well known to him. They were small and vaguely misshapen, with sharp corners and gangly limbs. Dressed in cast-off rags that in only a few cases had been tailored at all, they might have been dismissed as a pile of trash. But the worst part of their appearance wasn’t the sharp vicious eyes or long pointed teeth: it was the blood red hats they wore.

  One had a beret, two wore a simple cloth caps and another had a ripped-up ski mask. Tightening his fingers around the hilt of his dagger, Lance told himself to stay calm. A Red Cap smiled at them nastily, baring long needle-like teeth. Their dark eyes glinted and Lance’s heart dropped to his stomach.

  “Not friendly!” Jenny pulled on his arm. “Not friendly, come on!”

  He didn’t move fast enough. Two Red Caps lunged forward, swinging some sort of chain over their heads. Confusion hit Lance first, but then the chain wrapped around his leg. Jenny cried out in alarm, but his feet were suddenly pulled out from under him. Throwing the top of his body forward, Lance adjusted his fall just enough to keep his head from hitting the ground. The Red Caps giggled loudly and dragged him into the shadows.

  Jenny was right behind him, pulling out her dagger. Lance struggled to roll on his side and get his own dagger out as the Red Caps surged forward. Stabbing down, Jenny caught one of the Red Caps in the arm, but the drastic height difference put her at a disadvantage. Lashing out with his unbound leg, Lance kicked one of the Red Caps away and swung his dagger at another one. He slashed through the light clothing and silver blood spurted over his hand. There was noise behind them in the street and Lance feared that more people were about to show up. One of the Red Caps looked towards the street before Jenny kicked it across the alley.

  Lance grabbed the odd chain around his leg and ankle. It had small weights attached like a bola, which explained how he’d been caught. Jenny’s small hands joined his in untangling it. Then they were on their feet just as the remaining Red Caps dashed deeper into the shadows. A couple of students were at the mouth of the alley looking confused. Their expressions changed when they looked down at him and Jenny.

  “Someone tried to mug us,” Jenny said sharply. She pulled off the last links of the chain and tossed it to the side.

  Lance grabbed her hand and they climbed to their feet. The students look confused, but Lance didn’t want to wait around. They started to run. Lance managed to slip his dagger back into its sheath and dug out his keys without releasing Jenny’s hand. Behind them, the giggling grew louder, making a dark suspicion that there were more than four Red Caps in town form in Lance’s brain. People jumped out of their way and a couple shouted at them for almost knocking them over. Someone shouted their names, but they didn’t stop until they reached his truck. Lance unlocked Jenny’s side first, finally releasing her hand so she could climb in.

  “They aren’t following us,” Jenny said.

  “At least not where we can see.” Lance glanced around the sunny street, but then his eyes dropped to a nearby manhole. “Uh… Jenny, do you know anything about sewers?”

  “No,” she answered. “And this isn’t the time to find out. Let’s just go.”

  Lance climbed in and started up the truck, locking the doors. Slamming his foot on the gas, Lance became aware of his hands shaking. The last traces of silvery blood were gone. The Faery creatures left no traces, no evidence of their existence in the world, but the memories remained. He began to slow down as they merged into traffic alongside the University and eased his death grip on the wheel.

  “You okay?”

  “I’m fine,” Jenny said. She was panting and shaking. “Little shaken up, but I’m fine.”

  “They attacked us even though the spell is broken,” Lance said. It was obvious, but his mind was a mess of worry, fear, and adrenaline. “They don’t have to attack us anymore.”

  “The spell only made them attack the mages.” Jenny shifted her purse and dug out her cell phone. “So attacking us was a strategic choice.” Lance watched as she took a fortifying breath. He almost smiled. Even a touch sweaty and
with her long dark hair messy, she was stunning. “Anyway, those were Red Caps, and according to the books they have always been the most violent of the Faery creatures.”

  “I’m not sure,” Lance muttered. Forcing his eyes back to the road, he shook his head. “A lot of them seemed to only exist to kill humans by dragging us into water or something else horrible.”

  “I don’t even want to think about it.” Jenny’s phone beeped as she brought up her contacts. “I know the others are making a Gate, but they need to know about those Red Caps.”

  “Yeah,” Lance agreed. “Alex won’t be happy.”

  “I know.” Jenny sighed loudly. “She’ll be angry that they came after us.”

  As the phone rang, Lance glanced towards Jenny again. Her features were set with determination and he could see the anger burning in her eyes. He didn’t blame her. Part of him wanted to turn around and find those Red Caps. Knowing that you’d only been attacked as a way of hurting a friend was a bitter pill to swallow.