by C. J. Anaya
My eyes narrowed. “That’s impossible. There is no way to predict whether or not we’ll succeed.”
“There is,” Kheelan said. “We’re planning a trip to The Fates.”
“The Fates?” I searched my memory, trying to dredge up a picture of that particular race of Fae, but nothing came to me…as usual. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. Are The Fates a fortune telling race?”
“They aren’t actually a race, considering there are only three of them. The women are very old, very wise, and very nearly goddesses in their own right.”
“We’re going to visit three deities who can see the future?”
“Yes. That’s exactly right. You’re father is hoping they will be able to foresee our success and offer their support to our cause.”
“But…I mean…how does one visit a deity? You can’t just show up at their house and invite yourself in. Do they even live in a house? Do they even live in this realm?”
Kheelan chuckled. “I keep forgetting how much you have to learn still.”
“You mean how much I have to remember.”
His eyes shadowed for a moment as some dark thought took hold. He cleared his throat as he shifted in his seat.
“Yes. There is much to remember.”
The tension that suddenly descended between us unnerved me. I wasn’t sure what I’d said, but it must have triggered something unpleasant for my…er…fiancé.
“When do we leave?” I asked.
“Just as soon as we eat. We will apparate to the base of Goblin Mountain, and then we must travel to the very top.”
“Goblin Mountain, huh? Why can’t we just apparate to the top of it and save ourselves the hike? And what exactly is a Goblin?”
Kheelan’s lips twitched in amusement. I figured all the things I wanted to know were things faeries learned at an extremely young age.
“Goblins are mostly ugly dwarf-like creatures who use their magic to inflict harm on others. They are quite mischievous now that I think about it, but they won’t attack us so long as we follow the rules and stay on the mountain path. The mountain, as the name would infer, is infested with Goblins of varying races. They don’t take kindly to other races using magic within their territory. We will have to hike to the top to reach the altar where The Fates can be called upon.”
I raised an eyebrow in question.
“The Fates don’t live at the top?”
“They don’t exist in this realm necessarily. As deities they watch over the destinies of every being in every realm, but they can be called upon when needed.”
“Why is their place of contact on top of Goblin Mountain?”
“Because, dear Crysta, they used to be Goblins themselves.”
I sat back in disbelief. “How did a few Goblins manage to become deities?”
“Not every Goblin is created equal, Crysta.”
Hmm. I’d have to mull that one over.
My father suddenly arrived with plates of food and drinks. I let out a heavy sigh of relief. I hadn’t realized how nervous I’d become while he was away from our table. The idea of Jareth apparating within the tavern and snatching away those I loved before I could reach them was an obvious sign of PTSD.
Geez, I was a mess.
I studied his features altered by the glamour he held in place. His long, silver hair was now a rich forest green. His skin had an orange cast to it. His eyebrows, cheeks, and chin were ridged with sparkling gems. He’d disguised himself as forest nymph with a fetish for precious gems. I guess adorning yourself with valuable stones was a mark of your social cast within the various Nymph races.
I was also disguised as a Forest Nymph, and man was I grateful the glamour wasn’t a tangible disguise. I didn’t imagine the gems on my face would have felt all that great in reality.
My father nudged my plate of food, encouraging me to eat. Now that I’d had time to recover from my encounter with Jareth, I realized I was absolutely starving. I gratefully munched on the apples and nuts.
“You explained to her where we’re headed?” my father asked.
“She knows,” Kheelan said around a mouthful of food.
“No magic,” my father stated. “We can’t risk getting on the bad side of Goblins. We simply don’t have time for their antics.”
I tried to enjoy my meal after that, but this trip we were planning seemed like a risky move to me. My father must have noticed my apprehension because he laid a comforting hand on my shoulder.
“Just do what we do, follow our lead, and everything will be fine. We’re going to create a better version of this realm, Crysta, one where you’ll be safe to exist within it. This is an important step for us.”
I gave him a smile to show my support and my understanding, but it didn’t reach my eyes.
Goblin Mountain.
I tried to put a positive spin on this as I continued to eat my meal. Maybe being out among the locals would help jog my memory. Maybe I would finally recognize a race of Fae and follow the memory back to the rest of my hidden past.
Maybe everything would be just fine.
And maybe I should have knocked on some wood while I was at it.
A slight commotion at the entrance to the inn drew our attention, and in walked the source of my nightmares, the very man hunting me.
Jareth.
I sucked air in shallow gasps as Kheelan reached for my hand.
“Calm yourself,” Kheelan said in a low voice as he inched his head closer to mine. “You’re glamoured. He won’t recognize you.”
Then a very distinguished looking gentleman walked through the door. His features were similar to my father’s.
Regal bearing, nice looking threads, and the dude was hovering next to Jareth.
Had to be King Roderick.
I squirmed in my seat, feeling a hot flash of adrenaline shoot through my system. I could not catch a break here.
We stayed quiet, keeping our heads low as my nemesis and his partner conferred with one another. Their voices carried over the white noise of the Inn.
“You’re certain they made their way here?” King Roderick asked in a terse voice.
Jareth nodded, eyes scanning the room, searching for me.
“I tracked Crysta’s biological scan. It is no longer blocked by magic.”
My biological scan? That couldn’t be good.
“Dammit,” Kheelan said. “I forgot he had that when he was assigned to kill you.”
Assigned? Hadn’t killing me been his choice?
“That’s not a mistake we can afford, Kheelan,” my father said.
Kheelan opened his mouth to argue, but my father waved it away, glancing surreptitiously at Jareth and King Roderick as the other two men conversed near the door. They were drawing some obvious interest, and the innkeeper, a thin looking man with glistening wings, nearly fell over himself to get to them. Two royals probably didn’t pay his inn a visit very often.
“Never mind,” my father said. “Mine and Kheelan’s magical signatures are masked. They won’t be able to tell who we are, but if he has a scan of your biological signature he will be able to find you almost anywhere, Crysta. The glamour is throwing him off, but he will sense you any second. It’s a very good thing you were hidden within the sprite mines this entire time. Otherwise, he would have found you much sooner. We have to get out of here. Goblin Mountain is shielded by magical wards. He won’t be able to track us once we’re on the mountain.”
“We can’t just get up and leave at the same time. It will draw attention, and apparating out of here will give them a trail to follow,” Kheelan said.
“I’ll go first since I’m the least likely person they’re looking for,” my father said. “Both of them think I’m dead. I’ll make my way to the back of the inn and disapparate.” He turned to me and grabbed my hand. “I want you to reach down as if you’re grabbing something you dropped. You’ll need to disapparate once you’re below eye level. Kheelan will disapparate the same time you do.”<
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“I can’t,” I said, trying to bend even lower as I felt Jareth’s eyes scanning the large room again. The cyclops blocked his view of me just as Jareth looked in our direction. I let out a relieved sigh. “I’ve never been to Goblin Mountain, and I’ve only ever apparated to Kheelan once.”
“You’ll have to momentarily apparate back to the dwelling in the mine with Kheelan then, which isn’t a bad idea since having Kheelan apparate you both directly to Goblin Mountain right after that will distort the trail and throw them off a bit.”
“Why can’t Kheelan disapparate us both out of here at the same time?” I asked.
“It takes a lot of power for one person to disapparate two people. Everyone would notice. To disapparate by yourself barely creates a ripple effect with the magical energy in the room.”
I nodded.
My father gripped my hand.
“It will be fine, dear girl. Picture the little home within the mine. See the living area and draw the details as accurately as you can. Then picture yourself within the room and pull on your core just enough to take you there. Just keep calm and do as I say once I’m out of sight.”
He stood up then and made his way toward the back of the inn. I had to admire how he walked, slow and even. No one in a million years would have pegged him as a rogue royal. The moment he was out of sight, I slowly bent over, pretending to reach for something.
“On three,” Kheelan said. “One, two, three…”
At the very moment Kheelan disappeared from sight, Chuck peeked out of my pack and perked his ears up, making a happy gurgling noise loud enough to draw attention. I panicked when Chuck’s cooing drew a few eyes my way. I tried to push his head back in the pack, but the sound of Jareth’s voice brought me up short.
“Chuck? Is that you?”
My eyes shot from Chuck to Jareth in alarm. Jareth recognized my pet? He knew I had a Fae Dragon?
Crap.
Then Jareth’s eyes landed on me and he stared in amazement. A slow smile of joy spread across his face.
“Crysta.” He said it like a soft prayer carried on the wind. The way his lips lovingly caressed my name made me freeze in confusion.
The room went deathly still.
Double crap.
King Roderick moved forward and broke my immobility. My jerky movements as I pushed away from the table gave him pause.
“Crysta, you don’t have to be afraid. We’re here to take you home,” King Roderick said.
I snorted in disbelief. Jareth took two more steps, but I scrambled back.
He stopped, taking in my terrified expression and his eyes filled with pain.
His reaction didn’t make sense to me. I was so used to the menacing anger, the murderous glint in his eyes from my nightmares. This version of Jareth was so different.
Chuck flew out of my bag and came up behind me, giving my shoulder a nudge as if to urge me toward the danger. I gave him my best, are you nutso, look before taking a deliberate step back just to show him how stupid I thought his whole, let’s face our worst fears, plan actually was. He snorted at me.
“What?” I said to him momentarily forgetting the guy who wanted me dead. “Do you really think I’m ready to take this dude on?”
Speaking of…I whipped my head around, taking in Jareth’s bemused look.
Whatever. Arguing with pet dragons was completely normal. I hardened my gaze and took another step back.
Jareth shook his head in frustration, but then real sorrow gripped his features.
“I didn’t mean it, Crysta. I was ill. I was out of my mind and had no idea the Stargis were being used to poison me.”
His words were so unexpected it shocked a response from me.
“What are you talking about? The Stargis would never hurt anyone.”
Jareth looked confused for a moment as he took another step forward. I took another step back.
“I told you if you broke the soul link we were through. That I never wanted to see you again. It wasn’t true. I never felt that way. The illness took hold of my mind and forced me to say those things. I never meant them. I know you left thinking the very worst of me. Thinking I’d rejected you.”
I had no idea what he was babbling on about, but I was willing to let him talk himself blue while I fought to dredge up some of the details of my old room to make my escape. Where was Kheelan? Didn’t he sense something was wrong by now?
“I don’t blame your anger or your hurt, but I nearly went mad with grief when I couldn’t find you. I didn’t even know if you were alive. We didn’t have much time left to remove the death trap and break the binding spell, but you managed it. Every day I waited for the mark on my temple to fade, but it was still there, proving to me you weren’t dead, and I kept searching, afraid that any moment the mark would disappear. How did you do it?”
I missed most of what he said until the question part of his monologuing. At that point, I didn’t know how to answer. I was way too busy trying to remember what my recent home looked like.
“Do what?” I asked, stalling for more time.
Where was he going with this? Did he think confusing me was a good way of capturing me again?
Maybe.
I was so out of sorts and terrified of being face-to-face with him, I couldn’t drum up any details of my safe little haven within the sprite mines. I searched my mind for the details, but my panic caused everything to go blank. I wasn’t disapparating anywhere. Which meant I’d have to get out of here some other way.
I looked around the inn and stopped short at all the varied races of Fae looking between Jareth and me with shocked expressions. I might have found it hilarious if I wasn’t so sure I was about to die.
“The death trap, Crysta. The binding spell. How did you find your guardian? Where have you been? I understand your anger with me, but why would you continue to stay away from the palace and leave your uncle behind? He’s done nothing wrong. Why are you hiding and running?”
“Are you serious? I’m not a fan of being attacked or killed, Prince Jareth.”
This guy had some nerve.
Jareth finally seemed to be at a loss for words, looking at me as if I was the one talking gibberish.
“Jareth,” King Roderick said, laying a hand on his shoulder. “Look at her face. She has no idea what you’re talking about.”
“What do you mean?” he barked.
“We have no way of knowing how the severing of the soul link affected her.”
While those two made the mistake of conversing with one another, I decided to make a run for it. I bolted to the side where a small door led into a private dining area. Chuck let out an annoyed screech as my movements dislodged him from my shoulder.
Well, hang on, dummy! Haven’t you figured out that I won’t be having any magical duels with my nemesis today?
“Crysta,” Jareth shouted.
Too late, I realized I’d managed to trap myself in a room with zero exits. I swung around, hoping I could get out before Jareth closed in, but I ran smack dab into his muscled chest and nearly landed on my backside before his hands grabbed me by the shoulders and held me upright.
My nightmares came right to the forefront. All the evil ways he tortured and killed me, every cruel smile and hateful word he said. My fear overrode my ability to think clearly and I completely forgot every defensive spell Kheelan taught me. I forgot I even possessed any magic at all.
Instead, I fought like a wildcat, thrashing and biting, kicking and screaming, but he locked his arms around me and pressed me to his chest. I was suddenly immobile, some sort of spell holding me in place. I flicked my eyes up, ready to scream again, but the anger I thought I’d see on his face wasn’t there.
Only despair and sorrow so deep it took the fight right out of me.
His liquid blue eyes held enormous pain.
Blue eyes. Familiar blue eyes.
What was going on?
He lifted his hand and gently caressed my face, drinking in my fe
atures as if he thought to memorize them.
“Crysta,” his voice broke on a sob. “I don’t know what’s wrong, but I promise to help you. Please, don’t be afraid of me. I can’t bear it.”
I shook myself.
Mentally, I shook myself since my arms and legs were currently frozen in place. He was putting on one hell of an act. Pretending to care. Pretending he’d never meant me any harm. If he didn’t want me to be afraid of him then he never should have tried to kill me. Did he think I actually believed this?
Chuck fluttered forward and landed on Jareth’s shoulder this time.
“That’s it, Chuck. Use some of that dragon magic I keep hearing so much about. Kick his arse.”
Chuck’s expression let me know how supremely stupid he found me to be.
“Your familiar would only hurt me if I intended to hurt you,” Jareth said in surprise.
“Exactly.”
I looked from him to the dragon perched on his shoulder, waiting for either one of these bozos to get a clue. When no response was forthcoming, I let out a resigned sigh.
“You are the worst familiar ever, Chuck. You couldn’t be any less helpful if you’d been dipped in cement and tossed into a very deep body of water.”
Chuck’s mouth split into a wide grin. Completely inappropriate, all things considered.
“You just keep smiling, reptile. I hope my imminent death lands you an eternity of guilt that keeps you up at night.”
The look on his face told me he had every intention of sleeping like a baby whenever he got the chance.
“Crysta, what the hell are you talking about? You’re not going to die.”
“So torture is now the new game plan? Since I have absolutely no ability to kick you where it counts, I’d like you to know that I pretty much hate you.”
His expression morphed into the worst kind of grief, his eyes flashing hurt and pain.
I blinked away my surprise, almost feeling guilty for my harsh words.
“You don’t mean that. I don’t know what’s happened, what the severing of our soul link did to you, but I know you don’t really mean that.”
Soul link? He was the last man on earth I’d ever have a soul link with…whatever that was.
I opened my mouth to blast him with another angry retort even though I was terrified to provoke him, but he quickly touched my lips with his fingers and shushed me.
