The Iron Raven

by Julie Kagawa

  Nyx watched the iron raven spin on its cord a moment. “I am guessing they are fairly difficult to procure,” she said, “since the Iron Realm has the best border defense simply by existing. If no traditional fey can survive the realm, the Iron Queen does not have to worry about war with the other courts. She and her people can simply retreat within their territory, and no one else can follow.”

  “Right on both counts.” I tucked the amulet into my shirt again. “These babies are very regulated and extremely difficult to get ahold of. The rulers of the courts each have one, because they’d all be super offended if they didn’t. But beyond them, only trusted allies and friends of the Iron Realm are given these amulets. So, they’re fairly rare, and you need the queen’s permission to have one made for you.” I grinned. “Luckily, I happen to be the queen’s best friend.”

  “Is there no other way to survive the realm?” Nyx wanted to know.

  “Well, there was the old way, but sacrificing an Iron faery and trapping its essence inside a protection amulet didn’t sit too well with the queen,” I said. “But she wanted a way for normal faeries to travel safely through the Iron Realm without harm.” I scratched the back of my head. “Also, there might’ve been some whining from a certain Summer faery about never getting to see her and ice-boy unless they left Mag Tuiredh. So, she had her tinkers and smiths come up with something that didn’t require killing to make.”

  Apparently it hadn’t been easy; our reaction to iron was so ancient and primeval, baked into our very nature, that it was hard to overcome.

  “It took a while,” I went on, “and there were lots of failed experiments with magic and tech, but eventually, they did come up with something.”

  A strange expression crossed Nyx’s face, making me pause. “Interesting,” she murmured. “The Iron Queen already had the means available to make the amulets, and yet she chose an alternative way to spare her subjects. The Lady would not have done the same.”

  “Yup, like I said, Meghan isn’t like the other queens. She won’t even stomp an iron cockroach without good cause.” I wrinkled my nose. “It’s a cockroach. That’s cause enough, I say.”

  “And you believe I am going to be granted one of these special amulets.” Nyx sounded dubious, eyeing the guards at the bridge entrance. “A Forgotten assassin who used to work for the Lady, being granted an amulet that will let her travel anywhere in the Iron Realm. And were you planning to just stroll up and ask for one?”

  “Pretty much, yeah.”

  She sighed, shaking her head, as we left the woods and started toward the edge of the chasm. “I think we need to have a discussion about proper planning, Goodfellow.”

  “Planning?” I grinned back at her. “Plan is a four-letter word. I do my best work on the fly. Besides...” I shrugged “...my best laid plans always seem to backfire on me, so better not to have any to begin with.”

  The knights straightened as we came out of the trees and made our way down the road toward the bridge. I raised my arm in a cheerful wave, letting them know it was me and everything was fine. But the knights didn’t respond; I didn’t get a return wave or even an eye roll. And as we drew closer, I began to sense something was wrong.

  “They’re on high alert,” Nyx observed, sounding wary herself. “Are they normally like this, or is the Iron Realm having conflicts with the other courts?”

  “Not that I’m aware of,” I muttered back. “And no, normally they’d see me coming and I’d at least get a salute. Wonder what’s got everyone so cranky? Is the first lieutenant on the warpath again? Maybe he dressed down the whole squad, and they’re still sulky about it.”

  “We’re about to find out,” Nyx mused as we approached the first pair of guards, who had stepped forward to meet us. Like the faeries of Summer and Winter, they were tall and slender, with pointed ears and the aristocratic features of all sidhe. These two were nearly twins, with dark hair, pointed chins, and steel-gray eyes that were currently narrowed with suspicion, glaring between me and Nyx.

  “Hey, boys,” I greeted cheerfully. “Why the long faces? Glitch working you too hard? Or are the piskies being obnoxious again? Need me to convince the piskie population that it really isn’t cool to fly by and drop things on your heads when you’re trying to do your job?”

  “Goodfellow.” The guard on the left spoke calmly, his voice flat. “Why are you here?”

  “Oh, you know, I was in the area and thought I’d pay a visit to my good friend Queen Meghan.” I waved my hand in the general direction of the Iron Realm. “You know, the one who granted me an open invitation to the palace, whenever I want?”

  The knight’s expression didn’t change. His gaze swung to Nyx, standing quietly beside me, and those steel-colored eyes narrowed even farther. “And who is this?”

  “This is my good friend Nyx,” I introduced, still attempting to be polite. Beside me, Nyx gave a solemn bob of her head. “She would also like to go see the queen.”

  “Where’s her amulet?”

  “Ah, well, that’s the thing.” I offered a sheepish, disarming grin. “She...uh...doesn’t have one—”

  “Then she doesn’t get in.”

  “—but we were hoping to procure one before we went to Mag Tuiredh,” I finished, and frowned at the knight. “Okay, what’s going on here? You guys know me. What’s with the third degree?”

  “We know you, Goodfellow,” the Iron faery agreed, then glanced at Nyx again, his jaw set. “We don’t know her. She’s not from Summer or Winter. I’ve never seen her type before. What kind of fey is she?”

  “My apologies,” Nyx said calmly, taking a step up to stand beside me. “I’m a Forgotten, and I serve King Keirran in the Between. He asked me to deliver an important message to the Iron Queen, since he cannot be present himself.”

  “A Forgotten?” The other knight gripped his spear in both hands, not exactly pointing it at Nyx, but definitely ready to. I scowled at him and stepped between him and Nyx.

  “Oy, bucket head, the Forgotten aren’t our enemies,” I said, staring him down. “They’re part of the Nevernever, and they’re included in the peace treaties, same as the rest of the courts. Incidentally, their king is the son of your queen, so maybe you can point that spear somewhere else.”

  “The Forgotten served the Lady,” the first knight accused, glaring at Nyx. “As did Prince Keirran. We are of Iron, but we do not forget.”

  “Funny, I seem to remember a time when you guys once served a guy called the Iron King. Remember that? Remember how he was trying to destroy the Nevernever, way back when?” The Iron faery shot me a poisonous look, and I smirked. “Strange how everyone only remembers what’s convenient.”

  The knight set his jaw. “She’s a Forgotten,” he said flatly. “Our orders are clear. I am sorry, Goodfellow, but we cannot let a strange faery into the realm without an invitation.”

  Well, this was an unexpected hiccup. I didn’t think it would be this hard to get Nyx into the Iron Realm. The knights usually trusted me, or at the very least they knew I wasn’t going to go on a wild murder spree once I was past the border. Granted, I didn’t normally bring strange friends with me, but this level of suspicion was weird. Keirran had been part of the Iron Court, and I knew most of the Iron fey still considered him their prince, even though he couldn’t return. But it seemed these two weren’t going to budge, even if I asked nicely.

  Then maybe it’s time for some not-so-nice tactics.

  I smiled, letting my Summer magic rise up within, feeling the heat of the glamour collect in my palms. Let’s see how well these two guarded a gate if they were suddenly turned into fat little pigs in armor.

  “What’s going on here?”

  The familiar voice interrupted my thoughts. A faery came striding up, causing the guards to straighten immediately. He wasn’t dressed like a knight, and certainly didn’t look like one. With his dark jeans,
leather jacket, and iron-studded bracers, he resembled a punk rocker more than anything else. His spiky black hair looked like he’d jammed a finger in an electrical outlet, and the neon purple lightning strands flickering through it only added to the effect.

  “Sir!” Both knights saluted as Glitch, first lieutenant and commander of the Iron fey army, came striding up in his combat boots.

  I relaxed, shooting Nyx a reassuring grin, though a part of me was disappointed. It would have been fun seeing these stiff-necked knights bounce around on all fours and squeal like skinned pigs.

  Glitch spotted me, and the severe look on his face dissolved, replaced by amused exasperation. “Oh,” he commented, as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening. “It’s you. There’s a ruckus at my gates and the guards are suddenly whispering about an intruder. Of course it’s you.”

  I grinned. Meghan’s first lieutenant and I went way back—well, as far back as the Iron fey war, when he’d helped us defeat the false king. “Hey, socket-head,” I greeted. “Still terrorizing the tin cans, I see.”

  He smirked and appeared about to say something, but faltered, purple eyes widening as he stared at me. “You...seem a little different, Goodfellow,” he stated, his suddenly wary gaze on my forehead. “Are those new, or did you get yourself cursed somehow?”

  “Oh, the horns.” I stifled a grimace. “Yeah, that’s part of the reason we need to see Meghan. There’s sort of a new threat running around that could put all the courts in danger and destroy life as we know it, you know, the typical stuff. Unfortunately, your tin cans are making it very difficult to cross over.”

  Glitch shot a questioning look at the knights, who paled under that glare.

  “Sir,” one protested, stepping forward. “We were not trying to prevent Robin Goodfellow from entering the Iron Realm. He is, of course, free to come and go as he pleases. But his companion has no amulet and has not been authorized to cross the border. We did not think it prudent to allow her the means to enter the kingdom.”

  “She is a Forgotten, First Lieutenant,” the second guard chimed in. “And she claims to have served the Lady.”

  I expected Glitch to smile and put them in their place; for being an Iron faery and the commander of the knights, he could snark almost as well as me, which I appreciated. But the faery’s violet eyes shifted to Nyx and narrowed in suspicion.

  “You served the Lady?” he asked.

  “Once,” Nyx replied without hesitation. “A long time ago, before the rise of the courts, before Summer and Winter were even imagined, I was at the Lady’s side.”

  “And what did you do for the Lady?”

  “I killed for her.” Again, without any hesitation, though I thought I could hear a hint of regret in her quiet voice. “I killed for her, and I protected her with my life. I cannot tell you more, because that is all I remember.”

  Glitch’s jaw tightened, and he turned to me. “And you expect me to let a Forgotten assassin into the Iron Realm?” he asked. “To give her free rein, and the means of traveling wherever she wants within the kingdom?”

  “Okay, did someone slip manticore piss into your canteens this morning?” I demanded, waving my arms at the whole trio. “What is wrong with you? All of you? It’s me, socket-head. Do you really think I would let anything bad happen to Meghan, or put her in danger in any way? You know me better than that.”

  “I don’t know,” Glitch said, completely serious. “I haven’t seen you in a while, Goodfellow, and now you show up with horns and a strange Forgotten who was an assassin for our greatest enemy. Shouldn’t I be a little cautious?”

  “I serve Keirran now,” Nyx added before I could reply. “The Lady is gone, and the Forgotten King is my liege. I bring a message from the king to his mother, the Iron Queen, and I must deliver it.” She hesitated a moment, then sighed. “If you wish me to swear a binding oath that I will harm no one while within the borders of the Iron Realm, I will do so. But I must reach Mag Tuiredh to see the queen before my mission is complete.”

  “An oath.” Glitch pondered that a moment, then nodded. “Yes,” he mused. “Perhaps that would be for the best.”

  “Uh, no. You shouldn’t have to swear anything,” I said angrily. Oaths and promises were a very serious business in the Nevernever. Once a faery gave their word, they couldn’t break it. Even if it meant their death. Nyx had done nothing to warrant this amount of suspicion, and it was pissing me off that Glitch, of all faeries, was the obstacle preventing us from getting to Meghan.

  “No one is going to make any oaths,” I protested. “It shouldn’t be this hard to get a freaking amulet.” The urge to unleash my glamour, to turn this peaceful little outpost into a hub of chaos and pandemonium, rose up again. If the gates were suddenly overrun with rabid monkeys, I bet no one would notice two faeries sneaking into the Iron Realm.

  I tried one more time to be diplomatic. “Glitch, you know this isn’t going to make the queen happy. If Meghan were here, right now, what would she say?”

  The first lieutenant of the Iron fey glared at me a moment, before he sighed, and the lightning in his hair changed from neon purple to blue. “Fine,” he said. “I trust you well enough, Goodfellow.” He pointed a slim finger at Nyx, frowning. “But if that Forgotten causes any grief while she’s here, she can try surviving the Iron Realm with no protection amulet. My job is to keep this realm and the Iron Queen safe, from any threat, no matter who or what it is. Even if it comes from the queen’s own kin.”

  Ouch. He was still sore about that, then. Glitch had taken Keirran’s betrayal exceptionally hard, and even though the normally reasonable lieutenant was part of the Iron Court, he was still a full-blooded faery, with all the quirks and pitfalls of the gentry. Including the ability to hold a grudge forever. I guess he hadn’t quite forgiven the former Iron Prince for what he’d put them through.

  Glitch shook his head and turned to the pair of knights. “Send a message to the Tinkerer,” he ordered. “Tell him we have need of his services, right now. Tell him Glitch sent you.”

  One knight saluted, then pivoted on a heel and strode away. The first lieutenant watched him stride across the bridge until he was lost from sight, then turned to us again.

  “You’ll have to wait here until the Tinkerer arrives,” he told me. “The protection amulets aren’t something we can hand out to just anyone. They have to be specifically crafted to each faery. But he’s done this sort of work before, so it shouldn’t take long.”

  “Appreciate it, socket-head.” I smirked and crossed my arms. “Though, next time, a little faster would be nice. We’ve just got to deliver a vital message to the queen, nothing important. Don’t let us interrupt your busy day.”

  His brow furrowed, the strands in his hair going purple again. “Care to fill me in, Goodfellow? If there’s a danger to the realm, I think I should know about it.”

  I gave him a nasty smile. “I would,” I said cheerfully, “if my friend hadn’t been treated with such disrespect at the border.” I held his gaze, a challenging smile stretching my lips. “I don’t know if I want to share my news with you, socket-head. Maybe if there was more trust between us.”

  For a second, I wondered what I was doing. Glitch was a long-time ally, and Meghan trusted him completely with the safety of her realm. We had fought side by side against all kinds of enemies, and he was one of the first Iron fey I had considered a friend. But something bitter and spiteful was stirring in me, egged on by the hostility and fear in the air around us. And right now, despite years of camaraderie with Glitch, the friendly insults, and being on the same side since the day Meghan became queen, I suddenly didn’t feel like playing nice.

  The Iron faery’s eyes narrowed to violet slits, and the lightning in his hair glowed red. For a second, I thought he might draw the sword at his waist and swing it at me. Part of me hoped he would, but after a taut moment in which I could feel the ten
sion in the fey surrounding us, Glitch stepped back, an air of dismissal surrounding him.

  The knights relaxed, and Nyx discreetly lowered her arms under her cloak where, I was certain, two very lethal moonblades had appeared in her hands.

  “Very well, Goodfellow.” The first lieutenant’s voice was cold. Not ice-boy levels of cold, but definitely chilly. Turning, he pointed to a stone bench beneath a willow tree a few yards away. “You and the Forgotten can wait over there until the Tinkerer arrives,” he continued, sounding impatient. “It shouldn’t be long. And, Goodfellow,” he warned, “don’t try anything funny while you’re here. I’ll be watching you both.”

  Turning on a heel, Glitch stalked off, the strands in his hair snapping angrily as he left.

  “Well,” I commented as we moved toward the bench, a nice safe distance from the guards and the border. “That was... interesting.”

  “It seems they still do not trust the Forgotten after the war with the Lady,” Nyx said. “And Keirran.” She paused, frowning thoughtfully, then glanced at me. “This lieutenant. Glitch. Have you always been at odds with him?”

  “Not really.” I shrugged. “I mean, Glitch is a pretty cool guy most of the time. We fought together against the false king, and aside from his terrible fashion taste, I haven’t had a problem with him since.”

  She tilted her head. “That was not the impression I got,” she said in a soft voice. “I saw the way he looked at me, him and the knights both. I heard what he said about Keirran. If you hadn’t been there, they might’ve tried to detain me. Or worse.”

  I grinned evilly, as several nasty ideas sprang to mind once more. “That would’ve been a bad day for them.”

  But Nyx shook her head. “I am not here to start a fight with my king’s former kith,” she said. “This was once his home. And they are right to be suspicious of me. I was once a servant of their greatest enemy, the Lady who stole away their prince.”

  She raised her head, watching the knight who still glowered at us from a distance. “Keirran told me that much of the Nevernever was still furious at him,” she said quietly, “and that they would never forgive what he did. I suppose that extends to all of us. It seems I’m going to be as welcome in the Iron Realm as he is.”