"Not Cernunnos' fault. The Ol'Stag don't want any more crashers. Leastways, not any that could get away." He rubbed his hands together in anticipation, the sound like rustling sheets of paper.
A sick dread settled into Freddy's gut, and she swayed behind her bush, dizzy with fear.
"Just you wait." A nasty smile contorted the fox-man's already menacing face. "I see that Greek whelp again, I'll slit his throat and pick my teeth with his big toe. What's he snooping about for anyway?"
The mention of someone Greek and the fact these things had the zombie-dogs on leashes sent a jolt through Freddy, part curiosity, part numbing worry. Are these guys after Deg?
Twiggy grinned, fierce and toothy. "Haven't you seen the new concubine?"
"Ah, yes. She's a tidy piece. Only caught glimpses of her at court, though. Why doesn't our lord show her off at the Revels?"
"If you had a sweet thing like that, would you flash her about? Especially with evil bastards like you around?" Twiggy fired back with a rustling laugh.
Foxy laughed. "You have a point."
"'Sides. I heard the Ol'Stag left her back home for this trip."
What the hell are they talking about? What the hell are they? Freddy shuddered in her hidden grove, trembling with primal fear at their wrongness and unable to stop herself shivering. Palms sweating, she clutched her sword and waited for them to leave. One of the hounds raised his head and looked right at her. She recoiled, retreating to the shadows behind the bush. The hound cocked its ugly head to one side, curious, almost inquiring.
Twiggy stopped and leaned over the dog, caressing its red-tipped ears. "Smell someone, pet?"
No, no, no. She chanted over and over in her mind as her nerves sparked with anxiety. Go away. Go. Away.
The hound turned his white eyes from her, snorted once, and walked on. Twiggy and Foxy exchanged shrugs and continued ambling down the path. The last hoof beat's echo died away, and the sound of their voices trailed to nothing.
Freddy unknotted her muscles and let out the breath she had held for too long, trying to process what she had seen. And failing.
Music and laughter assaulted her ears, interfering with her concentration. A noisy party seemed to be taking place in the forest canyon ahead. She shook her head to clear it but the melody shot back into her ears, piercing, consuming. The song haunted her, elusive and intriguing, louder than it should be in her mind.
Even as some subterranean part of her screamed in protest the rest of her body, her legs, her head, her heart carried her onto the road, and her feet trippingly led her down the way the riders had used. Into the open, onto the road.
She all but ran toward the tantalizing thrum of music. Its beauty cocooned her, weaving nets around her mind. Wrapped in the aching splendor of the music, her mind became blessedly empty, her worries soothed, forgotten--if she'd ever even had any. She skipped off the path toward the low canyon that belonged to the water district, laughing and spinning, yearning to join the party. Soon. Soon, the music sang.
Screened from view by a wall of hunched trees and dead bushes, a low glow rose from the bottom of the canyon. She danced her way through. The music, that ethereal, haunting music, filled her head and mind to drive her on. Pushing aside a tree branch, she peered down at the party.
Frolicking in the canyon below were creatures resembling those on the path, strange and nightmarish, twisted people that looked like animals or plants, like something from a fairytale, or like nothing she could ever have imagined. They danced and drank, spun circles around each other and laughed. The festivities below might have passed for a high school rave if more of the attendees were anything even vaguely resembling human. She hesitated on the brink of the canyon, arrested in awe at the sight of so many otherworldly creatures.
One man in particular drew her eyes as he sat cross-legged on an ornate wooden throne on a small hill across from hers. A pair of tall antlers, like a stag's, crowned his head. Fascinated, her eyes remained glued to him, and she warmed, happy that she was free to stare as much as she wanted from the hidden dark at the top of her hill.
He was a huge beast of a man¾broad-shouldered, tanned, and tall. He had hair of a deep red, and a matching beard grew thick on his chin to nearly cover the chiseled cheekbones that made his long oval face so striking. By his face, he looked to be in his late thirties, but an odd aura of profound age lingered about him, making her think he was much older than thirty.
The stag-man wore no shirt, just a pair of loose-fitting pants with a plaid pattern of deep yellow-greens shot through with lines of red. All of his face and upper body were painted with strange blue designs. A heavy golden necklace glinted where it hugged the lines of his brawny neck.
Her breath quickened and heat flooded her body with a crazy kind of anticipation. Her legs tensed, longing to spring forward and run to the stag-man. Even if all the other fairies scared her to pieces, the stag-man called out to some secret, profound place in her soul.
She sensed someone behind her the instant before her arms were pinned to her sides by an iron grip. Terror bubbled up, all her nerves firing to attention, and a hand clamped over her mouth to stifle her scream.
Chapter Eight
Freddy's attacker wrestled her backward, half-dragging-half-carrying her into the bushes, away from the party in the clearing. Pumped with adrenalin and fear, she threw her weight forward and popped her arms out straight to break his hold. His arm loosened around her. She jabbed her elbow backward and up, right into his solar plexus with a satisfying, meaty thunk.
With a grunt of pain, her attacker released her and fell. Savagely pleased, Freddy whirled to finish the fight, but his voice, low and silky--though a trifle breathless--murmured from the dark, "I thought you would be glad to see me, Frederica."
Relief flooded her, though some of her shocky jitters remained as startled adrenaline still pumped its way through her blood. "Deg." She grinned hugely and knelt beside him in the dirt, touching his arm to be sure he was real.
He searched her face in the dim light. "What are you doing here? I told you not to venture out after dark."
"I wanted to find you." She wet her lips, anxious and excited. "I saw the weirdest stuff. Go look--"
"I have seen the Fairy Revels." A guarded look flitted over his face. "As I would wish you had not."
Exasperation ripped through her, and she hissed an annoyed breath out. "I'm supposed to be there. The music--"
"Has ensnared many mortals besides you in its net. Fairy tunes are meant to sing out to mortal blood. Makes it easy to catch them for sport."
Irritation dampened all the joy she had felt at finding him. "You don't understand." She chewed her lower lip in anxiety, wildly curious but half frightened what Deg would say. "You've seen the man with the antlers?"
"He is their leader." Deg's features hardened into a mask of anger, of hate.
"Deg?" She brushed his hand with her fingertips, a little hesitant to touch him when he looked so pissed.
Deg pushed aside the mood and, rising, lifted her with him by her elbow. He sneered when he saw her bow and sword. "Ah, my Amazon, those toys will avail you nothing against the Wild Hunt." He plucked one of the arrows from her quiver and raised his eyebrow at her. Then he snapped the arrow in two. "Aluminum." He grimaced.
"Hey. Those cost ten bucks a piece." If she could get away from him, she could check out the crazy party. She didn't believe in fairies, couldn't believe in them, but something amazing was happening in that canyon. She wasn't going to miss it because Deg had become a fussy old woman. Prickling with annoyance, she stepped pointedly away from him. "Look, if you're tired or frightened or whatever then go home, but I want to check this out."
He shook his head in outraged disbelief. "By Zeus and all the gods, I'll not leave you here to be picked clean by that rabble. You're coming away with me, and I'm going to have words with your clever watchdog. How he could let you out of his sight on the first night of the full moon I cannot begin to understand
."
Then Deg rushed her, quick and low, and slammed his shoulder into her stomach.
"Hey," she wheezed, her gut throbbing from the blow, her breath coming hard and labored. The world rushed around her, loose strands of hair falling across her face as he hoisted her high up onto his shoulder.
Deg grunted and settled her weight more securely over his shoulder. "Hold your tongue, or I swear I shall make you be quiet until we reach your home."
The quiet menace of his voice silenced her, sending a brief thrill of fear along her spine. Momentarily defeated, she flopped loose on his shoulder, relaxing her body so her head nearly pressed against his back as she dangled. He tramped a few paces, then nearly stumbled, and Freddy cursed herself. He's injured, you dummy. "Deg, put me down."
He snorted.
"This is stupid. Your leg must be killing you. Put me down, and I'll go home." She meant it, too. The ethereal music's lilting chords had faded, and images of the fox-fairy's shining, sharp teeth danced in her head, pouring a heavy dread into the pit of her stomach. She wouldn't like to meet that fox-thing in some shadowy corner of the canyon.
For some reason, though, her remarks amused Deg. As he swung her off his shoulder, his teeth gleamed in the dark.
"What?" she asked.
"Your concern for my welfare warms my heart."
She set her mouth in a prim line. "You can joke, but you should let my dad look at you again."
"Do you think so?"
"Yeah." She shoved him off-balance so he landed in the dirt where he wouldn't be able to fight her off as well. "Let me see your legs."
Deg's voice elevated to a fake feminine squeal and his eyes twinkled. "So forward."
"Shut up." She stooped to examine his legs. The light sucked, but her dad had taught her enough about first aid she would know if Deg needed further medical attention. His ill-advised carry hold had probably upset the stitches on his thigh at the very least.
Deg wore another of those strange tunics like the first day again, this one a pale cream. An overskirt of patterned wool in rich, earthy browns wrapped around his midsection, falling to his knees. He had a sword at his waist but no shoes.
Taking in his outlandish outfit, she shook her head. "Off to another reenactment, Mr. Smith?" She couldn't see any mark on his legs at all. Flesh that had been shredded to the bone last night had healed over, as if Deg had never been injured.
What had her dad said that morning…"You'll be amazed how quickly he'll heal." He'd known. Her dad had known Deg was different. She glanced at Deg's face and thought of the "fairies." But how different are you, Mr. Smith?
Deg watched her, his brow furrowed. "They still haven't told you anything."
"My parents?" She ducked her head so he couldn't see her blush start. "They told me to stay away from you."
His voice softened, "And you did not heed them?"
"I was worried." She shrugged and avoided his earnest gaze, ashamed she'd disobeyed her parents and embarrassed to be telling Deg it was for his sake she'd done it. "And…I wanted answers, too."
"Ah."
With her head ducked, she had an easier time talking to him about this. If he thought she was crazy, she didn't want to see it on his face. "You know what's happening down there." She nodded toward the canyon and darted a look at him, but he didn't say anything. Narrowing her eyes in frustration, she scrutinized the shadows of his face in the dark. "There's something going on. Something you won't tell me."
"It is not my place to tell you, and I cannot force your parents to."
She glared at him, but the tenderness in his eyes cooled her anger. She tried to sigh her frustration out but it clung, sticky and itching like a rash under her skin that she couldn't cure. Still, this mess isn't Deg's fault.
Her hood had fallen back in the scuffle. Deg picked himself up to kneel beside her and lifted her hood, tugging its edges into place over her cheeks to half-hide her face. Carefully, he tucked her braid inside too, until all her hair was covered. As he scrutinized the effect, leaning back while his eyes roamed absently over her face, she wanted to ask him what he was worried about--but she didn't think she'd like the answer.
He squeezed her shoulder. "Well, love, you found me, but here you'll leave me. Make haste home. I'll follow at a distance and do my best to draw them off if they come nigh. It would not be good if I led them to your door again."
Is he nuts? "But I still don't understand what's going on." She clung to his arms, unwilling to let him leave her. Again. If I let him go not I might not see him again. A sudden, sickening dread filled her as she thought of the fox-fairy and the twig-man and the dogs…"And what if those things catch you?"
He grinned at her. "I have tricks enough to evade capture, and more than a few to slip a noose if I should find myself caught."
A gnarled hand shot out of the dark and fisted itself in Deg's hair, wrenching his head back. The twig-man sneered at Deg. "Tell me what tricks those might be, maggot mouth."
Freddy sprang away and drew her sword. She slashed at the fairy's arm and cut him above the elbow. Amber goop leaked out. The fairy howled and released Deg.
She had never attacked someone for real before, never drawn blood on purpose. The sight of the syrupy fairy blood made bile rise in her throat, her mouth sour and burning with the taste of it. What did I just do?
Deg drew his sword and stabbed upward, impaling the fairy through his chest. Amber blood splattered Deg's face and tunic. Deg clawed himself upright in an awkward scramble and ran, pulling Freddy along with him as she stumbled and gagged. No. No. No. Freddy swallowed sourness, tears burning in her eyes as she stumbled through the woods, Deg hauling her forward so roughly her arm hurt.
A pack of the hideous dogs bounded toward them from the front. Deg shoved her behind him with one arm, shielding her as the dogs approached.
Someone yanked her head back by her hood, momentarily choking her as the fabric pulled tight. Her attacker spun her to the ground, and as she fell, the bones in her neck twisted and clicked twice. Her body landed hard, her breath rushing out in a small, pained choke, but her training clicked in with a snap, her muscles moving before her brain could order them to. Rolling away from the kick Foxy aimed at her side, she leapt to her feet, her muscles burning now with braced tension, her nerves firing with adrenaline. She faced the fox-fairy, who looked a lot shorter off his horse. But, even shorter than her, he was still plenty scary. Several hundred pounds of muscle, teeth, claws and a glinting, murderous delight. This thing had obviously killed before, and happily--and happily would again.
And I've never been in a real fight. Never fought anyone but Dad before. Her hands shook with fear as they gripped her sword.
Behind her, the white dogs charged Deg. He wounded several and sent them yelping into the night. But how much longer could Deg hold out? He didn't have the best luck against those things.
The foxy-faced man feinted at her with his sword. She dodged away, stumbling over a tree root. "You're a dainty treat." Foxy licked his chops and eyed her head to toe.
She straightened and glared back at him, trying to keep a tight rein on the fear cringing through her body. "And you are the ugliest thing I've ever seen."
Foxy barked out a laugh.
Sweat trickled in streams down her face and the back of her neck. I'm glad Dad always took training so seriously.
Her dad's words, his advice, the lessons he'd hammered into her body, rushed through the memory of her muscles.
You're fighting for your life now, Fred. She let her breath out slowly through her teeth as sweat beaded her temples. Don't screw up.
The fox-man stepped toward her, long claws clicking against the ground cover of branches and small rocks. "Come on, ducky, we only want your lover for our sport. No reason for you to get involved. I'll let you walk away. Now isn't that generous?"
I doubt the sincerity of that offer, since he's drooling just looking at me. She thrust at him with her sword, her grip firm, her arm strong, ev
en as her insides roiled with fear.
Foxy retreated, flinging his hands up with a grin. "You wanna have a dust-up? He twirled his long, notched blade, the movement sure and fluid. "Happy to oblige, darlin'."
Freddy's stomach dropped low, weighted with fear as she made another lumbering, ungraceful thrust. The fox easily parried it and swung wide with a blow she just managed to block, but he pressed her until the flat of her sword was nearly touching her own chest.
Freddy glimpsed a troop of horsemen galloping down the path, led to the fighting place by one of the dogs.
At sight of the column of riders, a look of horror passed over Deg's face. His gaze met hers, and a stony calm settled over him. Beheading the nearest dog with a heavy downward arc, he ran to her and knocked away the sword of the fox fairy with his own. Deg pushed her ahead of him and tugged her hood over her hair again. "Run."
She had no desire for a closer look at any of these riders and needed no other prompting. Everything will be all right if we can make it home. Somehow.
The riders cut across the path and pinned Freddy and Deg in. The dogs, urged by the fox-fairy, moved to close the circle.
Deg stopped and spun. Freddy pressed her back tight against his for a better defensive position. His clothes were clammy with sweat, his shoulder blades poking into hers as his back bumped against her. Freddy set her teeth, flexing the muscle in her jaw until her eyes stopped prickling with terrified tears.
Nightmares ringed Freddy and Deg on all sides, dogs and horsemen eyed her hungrily. Deg's shoulders sagged, the small of his back rolling into her as he folded up. He turned to her and clasped her hand with his heated, sweat-slicked palm, his face a study in despair. "Frederica, I am so sorry--"
"Here's good sport already for this night's hunt."
Freddy looked at the speaker--the stag-crowned man of the canyon party. The stag-man and a few of his train dismounted, stalking toward her and Deg.
Her first close-up impression of the stag-man was one of immense and intimidating size. Taller than her, taller than Deg even, the man was as well muscled as a prize bull. She shuddered with terror, her bones actually hurting from the force of her shivers. Freddy's desire to know this man better died a quick and premature death.
Heir to the Underworld Page 9
