“Hazel,” she said. “Are you ready to take on the position as Gatekeeper?”
“Don’t you dare!” she screamed.
“The only way to close the gate is to surrender its magic to the next Gatekeeper.” Her face was set. “It’s the only way to end this.”
The gate… it belonged to our family. When it passed on, it’d be reset. The link to the god’s world would be gone.
The Seelie Queen lunged at her—and smacked right into the Erlking’s staff. He’d caused no damage here, because everything was already dead.
The gate stopped trembling. Mum dropped to her knees, the Gatekeeper’s symbol gone from her forehead.
The Erlking whirled on her. “You—what have you done?” he demanded.
“You come to cast judgement on me now?” said Mum. “It’s too late. You could have stopped her.”
“She’s the one thing I cannot destroy.”
I stared at him. He was touching the Seelie Queen, and she was wilting, but she didn’t die. She must have super-charged healing powers. Holy crap.
“There must be a Gatekeeper.” His eyes brimmed with power. “If nobody steps up to take this power, the gate will be the enemy’s to take.”
“I’ll take it!” Hazel shouted. “I’m the next in line. I accept the position.”
Her forehead lit up, and the circlet glowed with renewed life.
“You fools,” snarled a familiar voice. The Winter Gatekeeper appeared on the path. She looked awful. Her skin was literally falling off, showing the bones beneath. She really hadn’t considered the possible downsides to being Sidhe. The more powerful the magic, the worse effect iron had. An iron knife stuck out of her spine, yet she kept walking.
The Seelie Queen pushed against the Erlking, who held her back with both hands. If he let go, she’d lunge for the gates again. Hazel was unprotected. But nobody could take their eyes off the Winter Gatekeeper’s walking, Sidhe-like corpse.
A word flew from her lips, and everyone fell to their knees. Even the Erlking.
Everyone except me.
I smiled at her. “You just can’t keep me down.”
“Give me that book,” she growled.
“Let me think about that. No.”
At my words, the gates opened behind me, a whirling curtain of darkness. The half-faerie ghosts began to drift through. Morgan grabbed Hazel, while River tightened his grip on my body.
“You should be dead,” snarled the Gatekeeper, her eyes burning pits of electric blue light.
“Here I’m as alive as you are,” I told her. “Or you’re as dead as I am. Take your pick.”
“That book is my family’s by right,” she roared.
“You forfeited that right when you tried to kill my mother.”
When the truce had been put into place after their major argument. I’d been too young to really think about what’d happened, but given what the Winter Gatekeeper had done since, it was plain to see Mum had come up with that story to hide the fact that the other side of our family wanted us all dead.
“Then your friends will pay the price,” she said softly.
Her hands glowed blue, and undead swarmed the path behind her. Reanimated faeries of all types, ranging from redcaps to trolls—all revived, under her control. She might no longer be a necromancer, but she used the corrupt version of Winter magic, which came close to necromancy and blood magic.
My own body climbed down from River’s arms, glowing with the same light. He exclaimed in alarm.
“Don’t you dare,” I growled at the Winter Gatekeeper. Death’s gate remained open, a torrent of roaring darkness beckoning, but even the call of death wasn’t enough for the Winter Gatekeeper this time around. The rising dead glowed with Winter power, even my reanimated body.
River faced not-Ilsa, his whole body trembling. A single tear fell from his eye, tracing down his cheek. His blade glowed bright green, and I knew he was giving his own life force to fuel its power. “Get the fuck away from her or I’ll make you regret you ever came back into this world.”
“River!” I shouted. “Behind you!”
The undead swarmed. Ivy leapt into action, talisman slashing off limbs and slicing throats, a whirl of faerie magic and light. Morgan ducked his head and several undead collapsed, the wraiths that possessed them screaming from the psychic assault.
Summer’s gate stood forgotten. The Erlking’s hands remained locked around his wife’s throat, but she wouldn’t die, and he couldn’t help us. Being able to break everything you touched made no difference when everything was already broken.
The Winter Gatekeeper beckoned to me. “Give me the book and I’ll stop this. Lives fuel life, deaths fuel death,” she said. My reanimated body turned towards River.
Dammit. I am still alive in there.
I drifted downward, pulling all the book’s power into me. The dead faltered, and the banishing words rose to my tongue. I spoke them aloud into the echoing silence, finishing with a single word. The name. Arden’s true name.
The space beyond the gate of Death turned to blackness. The Winter Gatekeeper screamed in fury, magic springing to her hands—pure Winter magic, Sidhe-strong and deadly.
No. I concentrated on my body as hard as possible, imagining the hands moving under my own control. The Winter Gatekeeper’s spell locked around my body in a vice grip. Ice shot from her hands, only to crash into Hazel’s shield. With a hoarse yell, Hazel lunged and threw a handful of iron filings into her face. Aunt Candice screamed, holes appearing in her skin as the iron burned through to the bone.
I raised my ghostly hands, and pulled the book’s power back into myself again, this time reaching not for the gates, but for the kinetic power I’d rarely used. I aimed at the iron shards, and pushed.
The Winter Gatekeeper choked, falling to her knees, as the iron shards left the container in Hazel’s hands, piercing her neck, her hands, her legs. With a final burst of power, I found my waiting body and called the book’s power to fuse me back into mortal skin.
My human hands moved, taking the iron dagger from my pocket and stabbing her in the chest.
The Winter Gatekeeper fell, blood pooling onto the ground. The glow in her eyes dimmed, and the undead faltered as her magic lost its grip on them. River lowered his blade, catching my gaze, relief etched on his face.
Holly ran up the path behind her, holding a pair of iron handcuffs. She stared around at us, at her mother’s limp body at my feet. The Winter Gatekeeper shuddered, bleeding rapidly, her skin decaying.
“I’m sorry,” Holly said, her voice breaking on the words. She dropped to the ground beside her mother, grabbing her hand as though feeling for a pulse.
Half-faerie ghosts hovered above her, accompanied by the Sidhe I’d thought had already passed into the realm of death. They grabbed onto the Winter Gatekeeper’s spirit as she floated out of her body, staring in confusion.
“Did you really think you couldn’t die in that form?” I said to her.
She let out a scream of rage, but the dead grabbed her, swarming her, dragging her along the path and out of sight. Leaving the living behind.
The Erlking held his wife in a death grip, a grim expression on his face. The gate… wait a second. Summer’s gate had gone. I bloody hoped it was back at the Lynn house where it belonged.
Mum had her arm around Hazel. Morgan stood staring at the fallen dead. And River’s arms came around me in a crushing hug, his tear-streaked face brushing my cheek.
Nobody moved for an instant. Then Ivy shook droplets of blood from her sword. “I don’t know about you guys, but I reckon we need to get her—” She jerked her head at the Seelie Queen—“into jail before someone else starts breaking things. Deal?”
I couldn’t have agreed more.
24
The Erlking took us all back to his territory in a flash of light, still holding onto his struggling wife. Everyone except the Winter Gatekeeper, who he left dead on the path. Ivy stared at the throne and the dead tre
es with an expression of interest—I hadn’t had time to explain the Erlking’s talisman to her before my impromptu trip into Death, but she’d surely drawn her own conclusions. As for River, he was more interested in keeping as close a grip on me as possible. I had the impression he’d have happily carried me out of there on his own, except someone had to give the explanation to the Sidhe. Mum and Hazel stood close together, while both Morgan and Holly hung back as though expecting someone to throw them out.
Another flash of light heralded the arrival of two Sidhe on horseback. As luck would have it, one of them was Lord Daival.
“Take her,” the Erlking growled at them. “She is to be put on trial for treason.”
“Speaking of treason,” I said, eying Lord Daival. “He conspired with her. Lord Daival did.”
River finally released me with one hand and said, “She’s right. Lord Daival is a traitor to the Seelie Court.”
Lord Daival looked at him with narrowed eyes. “Mistreating mortals does not make one a criminal.”
“But conspiring against the Courts does,” River said, his voice clear. “Question him. He can’t lie.”
Lord Daival turned on both of us, thorns springing from his hands. “You accuse me of treason?”
“Actually,” Ivy said. “I’ve seen that before. Where did that magic come from?”
Lord Daival scowled. “What—”
“Heard of the princess of thorns?” Ivy asked. “How about the Lady of the Tree? Both were Vale outcasts, and stole that magic. You couldn’t have got it any other way. Lord Daival is a traitor.”
The others moved in a blur, surrounding both Lord Daival and the Seelie Queen. I was too tired to take in their shouted arguments, while the Erlking yelled his version of the story from the opposite side of the clearing. Nobody seemed to want to go near him. Hazel and Mum conversed in whispers, probably trading Gatekeeper secrets. For once, I didn’t mind that I couldn’t hear them. Feeling River’s warm hand on my back was enough.
“I think we’re done here,” said Mum. She sounded tired, but there was that Gatekeeper steel in her tone all the same. Her eyes were on the Erlking. “I would like to return home with my family. I trust the Summer gate has been returned to its rightful place?”
The Erlking looked at her. I’d forgotten until now that she still hadn’t technically upheld her end of the bargain and found whatever he’d sent her to find in the Vale—but with her title gone, that vow no longer existed.
“Yes,” the Erlking said. “I sent the gate back to where it belongs. Take care of your family. I will call for the heir when the time is right.”
A shiver ran down my back. Hazel would be Gatekeeper next. She’d go through the Summer Gatekeeper’s trials… and I didn’t know what came next. Mum hadn’t told us, because her vow forbade it. Only the current Gatekeeper knew all their secrets. Hazel would have a hell of a lot to learn. But after all this, she was ready for it.
I couldn’t get used to seeing Mum as human. Her forehead was smooth skin not marked by magic. Still young-looking for her age, but more vulnerable than I’d ever seen her. She and Hazel looked so much alike now. Complicated feelings rose when I looked at her, so I turned to River instead.
“I hope Hazel’s ready for it,” I muttered. “We never did break the curse.”
“Doesn’t mean we can’t,” said a voice I didn’t expect… Holly. She stood apart from the others, the circlet on her forehead glowing faintly. “What’s wrong with his magic?” She jerked her head at the Erlking.
“If I told you, he’d probably have to kill you,” I said. Holly being here was blatantly against the rules of the Court, but nobody appeared to have noticed her.
“I think you should have left her alive,” said Ivy. “The Winter Gatekeeper. She deserved to see the inside of a Sidhe’s jail.”
“Guess that’d be fitting for someone who wanted to live forever,” I admitted. “But you can’t take your eyes off these people without them causing more mischief.”
“Can’t argue with you there,” Ivy said.
White light flared around us, and in the next instant, we stood at the end of Summer’s garden. The Lynn house sat at the end, flowers back in bloom, and magic hummed in the air as though it’d never left.
Except with one difference.
Mum finally turned away from Hazel to look at me. Then Morgan.
Holly cleared her throat. “I should go home and make sure the Winter Gatekeeper didn’t wreck anything else. I—thank you. All of you.”
She hurried off. All of us watched her leave to avoid looking at one another. Morgan shifted to the right like he was trying to hide behind River, who still held onto me as though afraid I’d keel over.
Ivy spoke next. “Is there a way back to Edinburgh from here? Because I should update the council. And the Mage Lord. Before he sends his messenger into Faerie and pisses them all off again.”
“Sure, the Path should still be there,” Hazel said. “I’ll show you.”
“Traitor,” Morgan said under his breath.
River released me and made to follow Ivy and Hazel, but I grabbed his arm.
“Don’t you even think about it,” I said. “You kept me alive on her orders. Also, I’ve met your family. Mum, this is my boyfriend, River.”
Surprise flashed in her eyes. “We’ve met.”
“I know,” I said, “but I wanted to make it official that I don’t hold it against him for keeping secrets on your orders.”
Oops. Apparently I still held some pent-up anger after all, even though Mum had doubtless not wanted to worry us into following her into the Vale.
River pulled his arm free. “I should go with them. The council requires a report, and they’ll want to hear from a witness from this side.”
“Yeah. You should know, Ivy wanted to talk to you about joining the council as well.”
He blinked. “The council? On earth?”
“They need half-faerie representatives, apparently.”
He ran a hand through his hair, as though suddenly conscious of his dishevelled appearance. I probably looked worse, but I’d died. Technically.
Mum’s attention was on Morgan. Oh no. Maybe it was for the best that River didn’t witness the fallout.
“I’ll see you soon, Ilsa,” River said. “You can come back to Edinburgh from here, right?”
“Yeah, I can.” Kissing him in front of Mum would be too weird, so I briefly hugged him. “Soon, I hope.”
Because I think at least one of us is about to get disowned.
River walked swiftly to catch up with Hazel, while I looked at Mum.
“I could have died,” I said, drawing her attention from Morgan. “You and that damned book nearly got me killed a thousand times.”
She didn’t say anything. Tears fell down her face. I hadn’t seen her cry since Morgan had run away from home.
“I didn’t mean…” The words stuck in my throat. “I get that it wasn’t all your fault. Faerie vows. But really? This?” I lifted the book, my hands shaking.
I didn’t expect her to break down. I didn’t know how to handle it. She never had, not in my lifetime. The moment she’d taken on the mantle of Gatekeeper, nothing else mattered.
“You knew,” I said to Mum. “You knew exactly what you were handing over to me, didn’t you? Or was it all Arden?”
“I shouldn’t have run away,” said Morgan.
Mum looked like she didn’t know where to turn.
Hazel walked back towards us, eyebrows raised. “Nobody’s screaming. Is it good news?”
Mum hugged her, somehow pulling Morgan and me in as well. Nothing in our family was simple or easy. Words weren’t adequate. They couldn’t encompass years lost or promises broken, or impossible vows, or ancient gods. Under everything, we were human. Whatever the Sidhe did to us, whichever talismans we claimed, it’s what we’d always be. Human. Mortal. Not lesser. Not better. Just… us.
“Tell me what happened,” Mum said, her voice hoarse, w
iping her eyes with the back of her hand.
It took some time to get the story out. Or parts of it. I still didn’t know everything about the years Morgan had been gone, nor while I’d been away. Nor how long Mum had wandered through the Vale alone, looking for something that might not even exist.
“I didn’t want you to have to do this so early,” she said to Hazel, when we’d moved from the garden into the living room.
“You didn’t have to give up your circlet.” Hazel shrugged one shoulder, leaning back on the sofa. “We Lynns have the self-sacrificing thing down, right? Ilsa’s still the expert at that. She freaking died.”
“I know,” she said, her eyes glittering with unshed tears. “I didn’t know about the book. I only knew it existed because of the bird… where is he, anyway?”
“Dead,” I said. “It was his magic in this book.”
By the time I got to the part about the gods, she looked about ready to faint. Morgan continued to lurk near the living room door like he planned to make a quick exit.
“I knew of the Ancients,” Mum said softly. “I didn’t know the Sidhe took their power.”
“Pretty sure there isn’t anything the Sidhe haven’t tried to take,” said Morgan.
“They’re not so keen on mortality,” I commented. “Pity. The world behind the gates of death… it’s really not that scary.”
“Change is what they fear the most,” Mum said. “That much is obvious.”
I thought of the Erlking in his empty clearing, the destructive magic inside him kept under control. He could destroy so much with that power, yet chose not to. I could live a thousand years and never understand the Sidhe. As for their gods… maybe I understood a little of why they’d been exiled.
“If you don’t want to take on the position, we can try to find a way around it,” Mum said.
“Are you kidding?” said Hazel. “Who else in all the realms is qualified for this? Until we can get the Sidhe to stop killing everything they see, I’m sticking with the position. It’d be nice if it was a voluntary thing, though. Just saying.”
Hereditary Power Page 22
