Marny (26 page)

The sprite slowly rose into the air and
floated above their heads, just below the earthen ceiling. His next
words carried an edge of darkness Marny had never heard in Puck’s
voice before.

“When you brush up against magic, the path of
your life is changed. I have neither the skill nor the desire to
peer deeply into Fate’s web to see what awaits you. But you are
here, two mortals in the Realm of Faerie, and that will mark you
both. Forever.”

He gestured, his long fingers scribing runes
into the air. The symbols hung there, first glowing white, then
shading to gold, then to deepest indigo. The sound of chimes filled
the small cave. Despite herself, Marny scooted a bit closer to Nyx,
grateful for his warmth. He reached out and set his hand on her
knee.

The runes dissolved into a rain of glitter,
falling over them. It felt like cold droplets, like fire, like
regret. Something flared in Marny’s injured arm, and she inhaled
sharply.

“What?” Nyx asked, his eyes concerned.

“I have healed Mistress Marny of the injury
she sustained from the spriggan guard,” Puck said.

He drifted down to settle cross-legged before
them. Although there was still a touch of purple glow in his hair,
his grin was the same as ever.

“What else?” She peered closely at the
sprite.

“Imbued you both with the magic to leave the
Realm. In order to trigger the spell, I need a lock of hair from
each of you, a bit of mortal food, and something you wear about
your person.”

“Sounds creepy,” Nyx said.

Puck simply shrugged.

“All magic is creepy,” Marny said. “But what
else can we do?”

She dug through her sack and pulled out a
protein bar. For a second, the image of Korrigan flashed before her
eyes—the hideous changeling creature she had volunteered to
babysit, and ended up strangely fond of.

“You are not without allies in the Realm,”
Puck said, again seeming to read her mind.

“I thought Korr was a creature of the Dark
Court,” she said. “Aren’t we headed into the Bright?”

The sprite gave her a conspiratorial wink as
he took the protein bar. “Who knows?”

She rolled her eyes. There was no getting
straight intel from Puck.

Nyx fiddled with something at his neck, then
offered Puck a cord with a Chinese character hanging from it.

“Here,” he said. “I basically never take this
off. Will it do?”

“Indeed.” Puck grabbed the cord and held it
up, studying the symbol.

“What’s the character mean?” Marny asked.

“Luck.” Nyx gave her a sideways smile.
“Appropriate enough, given the circumstances.”

They’d need more than just luck, of course.
Magic, and smarts, and certainly his fighting skills into the
bargain. She was not looking forward to whatever came next.

Marny pulled off her sling, glad to find the
movement didn’t hurt. She stretched her arm back and forth a few
times, but Puck had spoken the truth.

“I don’t suppose you’d take this?” She
indicated the useless sling.

Puck’s response was a sniff of disdain.

“Okay then.” She held her now-healed arm out
to Nyx. “Could you untie my bracelet?”

It had been a gift from Grandma Harmony, the
last time she’d gone to Samoa. Marny suspected the woven band
decorated with seashells had been a cheap tourist souvenir, but
she’d still loved it.

Nyx’s nimble fingers made short work of the
knot, and Marny slipped the bracelet off and handed it to Puck.

Another sacrifice. Another tiny scar.

“Now, your hair,” the sprite said.

“You might want to shield yourself,” she told
Puck. “Cold iron, coming right up.”

“Your warning is timely.” He tucked their
jewelry away, then flicked his fingers.

A crystalline cocoon folded about him, and he
nodded to Marny. She pulled the knife from her calf sheath and the
sprite flinched a bit, but other than that seemed fine.

“So,” Nyx said. “I notice you’ve got a knife.
Know how to use it?”

“Yes, my uncle insisted on it. Here, bend
your head and I’ll get some of your hair.”

He didn’t seem at all nervous about letting
her wield a blade right by his neck. Still, she was extra careful
as she lifted a strand from the back of his head and neatly sheared
it off.

“I think it won’t be too noticeable,” she
said, handing him the lock.

“No worries. It’ll grow back, and I’m not one
of those super-vain guys.”

“Only medium-vain?” She sent him a wry smile
to take the sting out of her words.

He merely raised an eyebrow, which, dammit,
made him even cuter. Trying to ignore the pull in her stomach when
she looked at him, she grabbed a piece of her own hair from behind
her ear and sliced it off. Compared to his smooth strand, her hair
seemed wild and frizzy.

As soon as she slipped her knife back into
its sheath, Puck dissolved the crystal shield around him. Nyx
handed his hair to the sprite, but Marny hesitated.

“Are you sure you need it?” she asked. “And
it’s not going to be used to harm us in any way?”

There had been some issue with Jennet having
to give the Bright King a lock of her golden hair, which later he’d
used to summon her to the Realm. Marny wanted no part of that.

Puck gave her a serious look, his face
suddenly wizened and old. “On the moon and stars, the sun and rain,
I swear that the trinkets I am about to craft cannot be twisted to
do harm to either yourself or Master Nyx.”

That was reassuring, as far as fey promises
went.

Puck waved his hand and two wooden bowls
appeared, so finely crafted they almost seemed made of porcelain.
One was paler than the other, with a wavy grain. Puck held this
bowl out to Marny, and she dropped her hair in.

Her bracelet joined it, and then he crumbled
a bit of the protein bar into the mix. When he was done he set the
bowl to one side, where it hung motionless in the air, then used
the second bowl for Nyx’s items.

“Now I create the spell.” Puck handed her
back the unused portion of the bar. “Speak not while I perform this
magic.”

“Got it,” Nyx said, and Marny nodded her
agreement.

The sprite placed Nyx’s bowl in the air
beside hers. From somewhere he produced a thin, thorny stick that
looked like a rose stem without the flower. He snapped it in half
and added it to the bowls, then with a touch of his fingers sent
them spinning.

“Widdershins turn, a lock and a key,” he
chanted. “These mortals return to their world in safety. Ash and
oak, sup and briar, the portal opens into fire.”

Bright golden-green light flared up from the
bowls. The light flickered in the cave, and for a second Marny saw
an arched doorway outlined against the back wall.

As quickly as it had appeared, the brilliance
faded. She blinked, spots of fire imprinted on her retinas.

“Did it work?” Nyx leaned forward to peer
into his bowl.

“Indeed.” Puck lifted the cord. “Your
talisman is complete.”

The Chinese character for luck had been
replaced by a twining Celtic symbol fashioned of wood and metal. It
gleamed softly, flickering green and gold around the edges.

“Wear these until the proper time.” Puck
handed the necklace to Nyx, then plucked up Marny’s bracelet and
gave it to her.

The seashells had been turned to the same
twisty Celtic talisman as Nyx’s charm. Despite a lingering glow,
the bracelet was cool in her hands.

“What
is
the proper time?” Nyx asked,
slipping the cord over his head.

“And are these things safe to wear?” she
added, though mostly just to annoy Puck.

At Nyx’s gesture, she held out her wrist and
he fastened her bracelet back on. It struck her how in accord they
were, both of them understanding what needed to be done without
having to talk about it. It was comfortable and a little scary all
at once.

She wasn’t sure if their connection—and there
was one, she couldn’t deny it any longer—was a threat to her
self-sufficiency. While they were in the Realm of Faerie, though,
it was definitely a good thing that they were on the same
screen.

“Best if you tuck the trinkets out of sight,”
Puck said. “They will remain quiescent until you need to return to
the mortal world. Then throw them into the fire, and you will be
transported home.”

Marny shot the sprite a look. “One problem.
What fire?”

“Another problem,” Nyx said. “What about my
sister?”

Puck let out an exasperated sigh. “You
mortals are so prosaic. There is always a fire at court—Bright or
Dark, regardless. Anything you are holding fast to will be taken
with you when you cross between the worlds.”

“So, find my sister, grab her, throw the
trinkets in the fire,” Nyx said.

“It sounds simple,” Marny said. “But it won’t
be that easy. These things never are.”

“Hey, I’m a gamer. I know my boss fights.
There’ll be adds and unexpected twists.”

“The Realm of Faerie is no game,” Puck
reminded him. “But the metaphor is apt enough.”

The faint sound of silver bells drifted on
the wind, and the sprite glanced up at the stone-enclosed opening
of their hideaway.

“I must depart,” he said. “Fare well,
adventurers. I wish you luck upon your quest.”

He sprang into a handstand, then tumbled into
a flip and was gone.

“Wait—” Nyx said, but it was too late. He
turned to Marny, frustration clear in his gray eyes.

“That is so like Puck,” Marny said.
“Abandoning us to our own devices.”

“I’ll take your word for it,” Nyx said. “Now
what?”

The thud of fast-approaching hoofbeats
vibrated though the little cave, and Marny felt her pulse
accelerate in response. The faerie guard had found them again.

“Now,” she said, “we’ve got trouble.”

T
he
sound of silver bells drifted into their small shelter. Marny
glanced at the light filtering through the stone-capped
opening—their only escape route. Too late now. They were
trapped.

“Ah, crap.” Nyx flexed his fingers and rose
into a fighting stance. “Get your knife out.”

Marny reached for her blade, but hesitated.
Could the two of them really defeat the Bright Lance and his
companion?

She glanced around the shallow cave. They
could stand and fight—which, considering they were mere humans
against armored magical faeries, could go badly—or they could get
the hell out. Hadn’t Puck said this was the beginning of a
passageway? She’d even seen the outline of a door…

“One sec.” She scooped up her sack and went
to the back wall.

Moving on instinct, she lifted her wrist and
touched her enchanted bracelet to the granite. A green-gold light
flickered over the surface of the stone, illuminating the edges of
the arched doorway she had glimpsed earlier.

Quickly, Nyx joined her and
pressed his talisman against the rock. The light from the entrance
to their cave dimmed as a body blocked it.
Come on, open.

With a single, clear chime, the door swung
wide. Marny ducked through, Nyx right behind her.

The second they were over the threshold, the
passageway thudded shut, cutting off the Bright Lance’s shout of
rage. That had been close.

The passage was dark and cool. She strained
her eyes, searching for any glimmer of light, but saw nothing. The
sound of her breathing grew loud, louder. She tried to quiet it,
but claustrophobia pressed in from all sides. She could feel the
first turn of panic screwing into her chest.

“Hey.” Nyx found her hand unerringly in the
darkness, and squeezed. “It’s okay.”

“Dammit.” Her voice was tight.

“One sec. I need both my hands.”

He guided her fingers up to his shoulder, and
she tried not to clutch at him, grateful beyond words that he
hadn’t just let go and left her alone in the dark. She heard him
rummaging through his sack, the clink of plasmetal. A moment later
he clicked on a flashlight, and her knees went soft with
relief.

The small white light showed they were
standing at one end of a passage hewn from the rock. Bits of mica
glittered in the stone, and the air smelled of dampness and
roots.

Thankfully the tunnel was big enough for them
to stand in. She didn’t know if she’d be able to hold it together
if they had to crawl through the earth, tons of soil and rock
overhead, waiting to collapse and smother the life from them…

Stop it.
She squeezed her eyes shut for a second, forcing
back the urge to vomit. Nyx took her hand again, and that helped.
Though she hated him seeing her weakness.

“I’ll lead,” he said.

She nodded, not trusting her voice. As he
stepped forward, she concentrated on the warmth of his hand in
hers, the way his amber hair curled under at the back of his neck.
When the panic threatened again, she began counting their steps.
She was concentrating so hard on not freaking out, she didn’t
notice that Nyx had stopped until she ran into him.