“Please,” she said to it in soothing tones. The word came out a little malformed, so she tried again. “Please. I know you’re scared, but we can get through this.”
The unicorn didn’t seem to hear. It drew back from her, body hunched and ears flicking around like mad. Adren began to hum a lullaby. Her voice came out rough at first and she hit more than a few wrong notes, but she eased into it. As the melody smoothed out, she transitioned from humming to wordless song. The unicorn stopped and stared, nostrils quivering. It kept a wary eye on her as she walked to it and hugged its neck, as much to comfort it as to take comfort from the simple warmth of its body.
“Just hold on. You’re going to be fine.” The lie burned on her tongue.
When Nadin and Loram exited the mound to discover that Adren had gone, Nadin came close to hyperventilating and had to sit down.
“You really don’t like your family,” Loram commented as she put a hand on his shoulder.
“And you really don’t like the fairies in your mound.” He took a deep breath. “You seem pretty quick to work against them.”
“Fair point. Although it’s only a few I hate. Most of the rest are unpleasant enough that it makes the entire situation one I’d much rather get out of.”
“Because of your status.”
Loram drew back. “That was unkind.”
“I’m sorry.” Nadin pressed his hands into his forehead. “I have a hard time seeing any other reason why you’d want to leave when Hin asked. Especially when you all here seem more than happy to treat people awfully just to get what you want.”
“Some of us want to do better,” said Loram quietly. “But our monarchs’ rule makes it difficult.”
“I can understand that.” With a sigh, Nadin stood. “Now. Where do you think Adren is?”
“That depends. Is she the vengeful sort?”
“I— I don’t know.”
“If she is, she’ll go for Iraem, which means she’s in the town. If not, perhaps she went to find the monarchs and make a deal with them, in case you failed. Which, now that I think about it, would also mean she would go to the town. And, if she’s in trouble, we’ll want to bring something with us to help her get out of it.”
“Do you have anything like that on your cart?” asked Nadin.
“I like the way you think, part-fae.”
They went back into the mound and pulled out the cart. Although Loram wanted to pull it into town, Nadin talked her out of the idea. If Adren needed help, they needed to be there as soon as they could, and preferably not out of breath. So Loram worked out two enchantments for the cart: one to keep the wheels spinning, another to allow them to turn it when they needed to. After a quick test, they clambered on the cart. Loram stayed in the back to fiddle with the objects in the cart and make them more useful, while Nadin had the honour of making sure they didn’t crash into anything too badly.
“I hate enchantments, especially ones you have to cast every time,” Loram said. “They’re nowhere near as fun as spells.”
“Then why do you have a cart full of enchanted objects?”
“It’s a business.” She shrugged. “And most of them have spells waiting in them anyways.”
“What’s the difference between enchantments and spells? I always thought they were two words for the same thing.” Nadin stuck out his tongue as he kept the cart from wobbling after it hit a bump in the path.
Loram gave him a surprised look, then laughed. “You really don’t know? Spells are magic cast on living things. Enchantments are cast on, well, everything else.”
“That’s it?”
“That’s it.”
As Nadin grew less clumsy with the steering, they sped up until the wind of their movement rushed past faster than the trees. A few birds scolded them from the undergrowth.
“What about glamour and the Sight? Adren told me no one uses those words.”
“Humans call fairy magic glamour, especially the illusions, and most call a lot of other magic glamour. But anyone who knows anything about how magic is used, humans included, doesn’t use that word. It makes you sound ignorant and superstitious.”
“Oh.” Nadin made a show of inspecting his fingernails, at which Loram laughed again.
“Pay attention to where we’re going! The Sight refers to humans with fairy ancestry back far enough they don’t remember when, who can see magic like or almost like they can. As well as some other abilities some humans claim they have.”
“What kind of abilities?” Nadin frowned.
“No idea. Seeing the future? Knowing things they couldn’t possibly know? Things like that, I think. Some humans say it’s because one of their ancestors was a saint.” She snorted. “As if anyone would believe that. Humans.”
Nadin cleared his throat uncomfortably.
“Never fear, I don’t mean you.” Loram grinned. “You’ve got fae blood, after all.”
After some hesitation, Nadin gave a watery smile.
They raced through the forest, faster than the illusion on the pathway could open up for them, but it tried the best it could, causing the not-forest to flicker around them as they rode through it. When they arrived in town, Nadin glanced back at the pathway just as the illusion snapped back into place, almost as if telling them good riddance.
“Now,” Loram muttered, “where is Adren?”
Adren rubbed her forehead, but it didn’t make the stinging go away. Only the phrase “hold on” remained of the receding memory. Towering over her, Iraem smiled again, this time with warmth.
“Shall we end this useless talk and return to the mound?”
As the snakes writhed around her, Adren considered her options.
The first: go with Iraem, let the fairy call her pet and plaything until she finally learned how to do good for the unicorn. She could apply herself to that, and these fairies might find a way to help it. Perhaps she could even convince them to help Nadin, rather than capture him as well. And they would remove the last remains of the spell from Adren. This path held all the things she wanted, so did it really matter that she would be called things that rankled her?
Yet she wasn’t a child anymore; if she needed teaching, that should be her choice, not theirs. Except Iraem hadn’t given an ultimatum. She’d asked a question. So suppose Adren said no and decided to go home to be taught instead, among fairies she knew and who knew her. She could find someone else to remove the spell threads, someone to help Nadin. Nothing for the unicorn.
A flash of steel deep within her refused to let this sway it. She didn’t need to learn anything. She had her morality straight and Iraem and the other fairies didn’t. This steel couldn’t pin down any specifics as to why this might be true. Or none where Iraem’s morality gone awry was the only plausible explanation. All it could offer was stubbornness.
The unicorn stamped and shook its mane.
Maybe it really was so terrible to be called a plaything.
“Silence for too long becomes boring,” said Iraem. “You should keep that in mind.”
“I won’t. I’m not going back to the mound with you.”
“You should reconsider. I’m offering you an opportunity you won’t find again.”
Adren snorted. “You’ll have to try better than that.”
With a collective hiss, the snakes stopped their undulation and poised to strike. Iraem had said it would hurt worse next time, that it would leave marks. Iraem had also said the unicorn wasn’t a unicorn. She had likely already decided it couldn’t heal.
Adren looked Iraem right in the eyes—not the eyes of her tall illusion-self, but at the place where Adren knew her real eyes would be—and walked through the snakes.
Iraem hadn’t lied. Where she passed through the serpentine barrier, Adren’s skin felt on fire. She gritted her teeth and forced her way through to the sound of the unicorn screaming as it charged Iraem. If the fairy had had a defense planned, she didn’t put it up in time. The unicorn’s horn tore right through her illusion
, breaking it. The white spear missed Iraem’s true body, but the creature behind it did not, and knocked her over.
Like steam, the snakes melted into the air. Adren’s pain gone, the unicorn halted. It kept its horn lowered and had turned to prepare itself for another charge. Where or how Iraem lay on the ground, Adren couldn’t tell through the mist, so she backed away just in case. The spell in her mangled the coordination of the muscles of one leg and it failed her. Down she went, into the white surround.
The cart clattered through the streets as Loram scanned the town for Adren. They didn’t see any fairies in that part of town, but both Nadin and Loram had several magic objects nearby, rigged to release spells without much fuss. Loram hadn’t said exactly what all of them would do, but she seemed pleased by the few she held. When Nadin had asked about then, she’d refused to answer. He kept giving her nervous side glances after that until the roads became twisty enough to need his full attention.
“Do you think you could slow this down a bit?” he asked after they almost took the siding off a house. “I really don’t have as much experience with this kind of thing as you seem to think.”
“Shh,” said Loram as she waved at him. “Did you see that?”
“What?”
“Towards the market, I think in it, a spell collapsed. It wasn’t far above the mist, but I caught it. Might it be Adren?”
“Might it be?” Nadin snorted. “I’d bet money that’s Adren.” He turned the cart onto the south-going main road and they headed into the market.
Chapter Ten
Before Adren could get back to her feet, someone grabbed her by the ankle and pulled her down.
Iraem.
Adren kicked and the fairy let go with a cry. But when she stood again, Adren found herself surrounded by thick mist. Panic shuddered its way to her from the unicorn. No pain, not yet, but Adren’s throat closed as she tried to make her way to where the unicorn had been.
The multi-headed form of a dragon took shape in the mist.
“Really?” Adren said. “Is that the only terrifying creature you fairies can think of?”
Its eyes glowed as its ghostlike body charged at Adren, only to dissipate a moment later as if blown by the wind. The sparks from its eyes scattered, forming a ring around Adren. She readied herself for an attack. Around each spark, the mist formed into grotesque shapes: gaping maws, hollow eyes, claws extended and quivering as if they might strike of their own volition if given a chance. The horned heads of these creatures rose above Adren’s, higher than Iraem’s illusion-self had. Demons, every last one of them. And they were hungry.
“No, you can’t step on the stair like that, or else it’ll creak,” a little girl said in Adren’s memory. “Which means you’ve woken the demon under it and now it’s grumpy. And we wouldn’t want to know what happens if it’s grumpy for too long, now would we?” There came a giggle. “Of course I know demons aren’t real, but it makes for a fun game, doesn’t it?”
Adren smiled.
The unicorn opted for greater panic, which made Adren grow serious again. If Iraem took proper advantage of the opportunities that came to her, she might trick the unicorn into hurting Adren without Adren knowing what hit her.
Or she would try. So long as Adren kept close enough attention to her sense of the unicorn’s location, Iraem wouldn’t succeed. Such small changes wouldn’t be easy to notice, but if these demon-illusion—
As if they’d heard her think about them, the demons lunged at Adren.
As soon as they arrived in the market, Loram removed the enchantment that kept the cart going. This, of course, wasn’t the same as stopping, so Nadin still had to keep it from hitting things as it rolled to a halt. Which it didn’t do quickly. When they spotted Adren, Iraem, and the unicorn, and tried to get next to them, the cart opted instead to pass right by with a clatter and plow into the stall behind them instead.
They hadn’t disrupted the illusion surrounding Adren, but they had almost hit Iraem. She had set an illusion around herself as well to make herself look like Adren, and had been approaching the unicorn. That hadn’t been working well. The unicorn kept lashing out at her with its hooves and backing away, ears flat against its head. It seemed for a moment they would run into her, but she must have heard them coming and stepped neatly out of the way.
Shaken by the crash, neither Nadin nor Loram got out of the cart right away. Nadin groaned and, under the pretense of doubling over, checked his pocket to make sure the wooden hand hadn’t fallen out. It hadn’t. He almost let out a sigh of relief, but caught himself mid-inhale and checked to make sure Loram hadn’t heard. By this point, though, Loram had left the cart and headed straight for Iraem, two magical objects in each hand. Grabbing a couple to put into his other pocket, Nadin got up.
Most of the illusion surrounding Adren, being mist, made it impossible to tell if any other magic had also come out to play. That said, the demons and the sparks in their chests were visible, as was Adren. Without even a pause, Nadin ran right into the illusion.
Adren ducked under the demons’ attacks, dodged between their legs, and made a general nuisance of herself. The more complicated she made this for Iraem, the harder it would be for the fairy to keep up both this illusion and whatever she might be doing to the unicorn.
Of course, the lingering spell threads made this difficult. She had already sustained a burn on one arm when it had locked up, and a tail had hit her in the stomach when she’d almost tripped over her own feet. None of this prevented her escape. It didn’t need to; she couldn’t leave. No matter how she tried, she kept finding herself heading back to the circle of demons over and over again.
Her latest attempt ended in her ducking as a demon swung at her, followed by Nadin appearing at her side.
“Hell, hell, hell, hell, hell,” he said, shaking his arms as if they’d gone to sleep. “The magic blocking the way in here stings. Also: Hi, Adren.” His smile left his face the moment he saw her. “What happened to you?”
Rather than respond, she pointed at the demons, two of which were about to skewer her and Nadin with their claws. Adren and Nadin leapt in opposite directions, and Adren scrambled to get out of the way of the rest of the demon coming her way.
“Magic in an illusion? What for?” muttered Nadin, much to Adren’s amusement. “Adren, how can I help?”
“Getting me out of here would be useful. I keep getting turned around.”
“Got it. Uh. Could you come to me first?”
The demon which had missed Adren turned to face her again.
“Sure. Just keep talking so I know where you are.” He wouldn’t have a problem with that.
“Uh. Okay.” At which point, he launched into an extraordinarily detailed monologue about how he’d convinced Loram to help and how the two of them had rigged the cart to get to town faster. Adren couldn’t help but chuckle. Who knew verbosity could come in so handy? And, miracle of miracles, he’d hit on a topic Adren found fascinating indeed. She wasn’t sure what it meant that Loram had decided to go against Iraem, but she liked what it did for their chances.
“All right, shut up,” she said once she’d reached him. He obliged. “Get me out of here.”
Her hand on his shoulder, he led her away from the demons. Before the illusion could interfere with her sense of sight, she closed her eyes and listened. The sounds of the demons kept moving, as if she was circling them instead.
What she wouldn’t give to be able to close her ears. It really was too bad that Nadin either couldn’t or didn’t know how to make illusions of his own.
“Careful,” he said. “We’re about to walk through a barrier. It’s going to hurt, but it won’t last long.”
“Fine with me.”
It was worse than the snakes. Adren squeezed Nadin’s shoulder hard enough that she was sure she left bruises. But he kept going and she followed until the mist above her shoulders had cleared to its previous state.
Not far from them, Loram and Iraem faced
each other next to a burning stall. At least, Adren thought it was Iraem. Her appearance had changed, as if she’d shrunk and the colour in her skin and hair had been almost completely leached out. Behind her, the unicorn did a nervous dance, its confusion loud in Adren’s mind.
“Do I really look like that?” Adren asked.
“Someone’s going to need to put that out,” Nadin observed at the same time.
They gave each other a look.
“Haven’t you seen yourself in a mirror before?” Nadin asked.
“Not often.”
He shrugged.
Loram swung at Iraem, her fist made odd by whatever she held in it. The blow landed on the side of Iraem’s head with more force than Adren had thought Loram could muster. Iraem crumpled.
“I would have blocked that,” Adren commented. “Or grabbed her arm, sidestepped, thrown her to the ground. That would have been even better.” Aside from her own entertainment, saying this kept her calm. If the unicorn believed that Iraem was Adren, and if it believed Adren was in distress, it would try to help. Which meant attacking Loram. Adren wasn’t interested in losing any allies.
“Shouldn’t we do something?” asked Nadin. “I have these.” He pulled out of his pocket some of the items Adren remembered from Loram’s cart.
“What do they do?”
“I’m not sure.”
Adren sighed. “Then don’t use them. We don’t want to hurt the unicorn or Loram by accident. Does Iraem look like she’s going to get up?”
“Maybe? She’s not moving very quickly.”
The fact that Loram hadn’t moved in to attack Iraem made Adren hesitant. But the fact that the unicorn hadn’t yet caught on to her and Nadin’s presence meant she would have to act soon.
Like Mist Over the Eyes Page 9
