The Iron Legends: Winter's Passage\Summer's Crossing\Iron's Prophecy (4 page)

I felt Ash move behind me, so close that I could feel his
breath on the back of my neck. He didn’t touch me, but his presence, quiet and
strong, calmed me somewhat. Though the logical part of my mind told me he might
be the one I should fear the most.

“So, how will this work?” I asked casually, trying to keep the
accusation from my voice. It crept out, anyway. “Am I a prisoner of the Winter
Court? A guest? Will Mab toss me in a cell, or is she planning something much
more interesting?”

He hesitated, and I could hear the reluctance in his voice when
he finally spoke. “I don’t know what she intends to do,” he said softly. “Mab
doesn’t share her plans with me, or anyone.”

“It’s going to be dangerous for me there, isn’t it? I’m
Oberon’s daughter. Everyone will hate me.” I remembered the redcap’s hungry gaze
and rubbed my arms. “Or want to eat me.”

His hands lightly grasped my shoulders, making my skin tingle
and my heart flutter in my chest. “I will protect you,” he murmured, and his
voice went even lower, as if talking to himself. “Somehow.”

Grimalkin appeared abruptly, leaping onto a stool by the fire,
making me jump and Ash withdraw his hands. I mourned the loss of his touch. “Get
some rest,” the Winter prince said, moving away. “If nothing else happens, we
should reach the Winter Court by tomorrow night.”

Gingerly, I lay down on the bed beneath the window, trying not
to imagine the last thing that used the mattress. Ash claimed a chair by the
fire, turning it so he faced the door, and drew his sword into his lap.
Surprisingly, the bed was warm and comfortable, and I drifted off to the outline
of Ash’s profile keeping watch by the fire.

I must’ve woken sometime in the night, or perhaps I dreamed,
for I remember opening my eyes to see Ash and Grimalkin standing before the
hearth, talking quietly. Their voices were too low to hear, but the look on
Ash’s face was scary in its bleakness. He raked a hand through his hair and said
something to Grimalkin, who nodded slowly and replied. I blinked, or maybe
drifted off again, because when I opened my eyes again Grimalkin was gone. Ash
stood with his hands braced on the mantel and his shoulders hunched, staring
into the flames, and didn’t move for a long time.

Chapter Four

THE HUNTER

“Get up.”

The cold voice was the first thing I heard the next morning,
cutting through layers of sleep and grogginess, bringing me fully awake. Ash
loomed over me, his posture stiff, regarding me with empty silver eyes.

“We’re leaving,” he said in a flat voice, and tossed something
on the bed, where it landed in a cloud of dust. A thick, hooded cloak, gray and
dusty, as if all color had been leeched out of it. “Found that in the closet,”
Ash continued, turning away. “It should keep you from freezing. But we need to
go, now. The sooner we reach the Winter Court the better.”

“Where’s Grim?” I asked, struggling upright, reeling from his
sudden change in mood. Ash opened the door, letting in a blast of frigid
air.

“Gone. Left early this morning.” He waited, still holding the
door, as I swirled the cloak around my shoulders. When I drew up the hood, the
prince nodded briskly. “Let’s go.”

“Is something coming?” I asked, jogging after him through the
snow, my breath puffing in the air. Everything was covered in a new layer of
ice. “Is the Hunter getting close again?”

“No.” He didn’t look at me. “Not that I can tell.”

I swallowed. “Did I…do something wrong?”

He hesitated this time, then sighed. “No,” he said in a softer
voice. “You did nothing wrong.”

“Then why are you being like this? Ash? Hey!” I lunged forward
and grabbed his sleeve, bringing us both to a halt.

“Let go.” Ash’s voice held the subtle hint of warning. I shook
off my fear and stubbornly planted my feet.

“Or what? You’ll kill me? Haven’t you already made that
threat?”

“Don’t tempt me.” But his voice had lost its coldness—now it
just sounded tired. He sighed, raking his free hand through his hair. “It’s not
important. Just…something Grimalkin said. Something I already knew.”

“What?”

He turned. “Meghan…”

In the distance, a howl echoed over the trees.

I jerked, and Ash straightened, his gaze sharpening. “The
Hunter,” he muttered. “Again. How could it catch up so quickly?”

The howl came again, and I shivered, drawing closer to Ash.
“What
is
it?”

The prince’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t know. But this stops now.
Come on!”

Ash kept a tight hold on my hand as we sprinted through the
snow. I thought of the bridge and the impossible chasm that Hunter had, somehow,
cleared, and hoped this plan would work out better. It didn’t seem likely that
we would outrun whatever tireless beast was behind us.

The forest thinned, and jagged cliffs rose up on either side of
us, sparkling in the sun. Huge blue-and-green crystals jutted out from the
sides, sending fractured prisms of light over the snow. Ash led me through a
narrow canyon, sheer cliff walls pressing in on either side until it opened up
in a snowy clearing surrounded by mountains.

The howl rang out again, echoing eerily through the gully we
had just come through. Whatever it was, it was closing fast.

“This way.” Ash tugged on my hand and pulled me toward the far
side of the clearing. Between two pine trees, a dark blot in the cliff face
marked the entrance to a cave, icicles dangling from the opening like teeth.

“Go,” Ash said, pushing me forward. “Get inside, hurry.”

I scrambled through the opening, being careful not to stab
myself on the icicles, and straightened, looking around. The cave was huge, a
vast, ice-covered cavern, sunlight slanting in through the holes in the roof
far, far above us. The ceiling sparkled, every square inch covered with sharp,
gleaming icicles, some longer than I was tall. A breeze howled through the cave,
and the icicles tinkled like wind chimes, filling the cavern with song.

“Ash,” I said as the Winter prince came through the opening,
shaking snow from his hair. “What—”

“Shh.” Ash put a finger against my lips, shaking his head in
warning. He pointed to the skeletons scattered about the cave, half-buried in
snow. The bones of some large animal lay sprawled on the ground nearby, a fallen
icicle jutting through its ribs. I winced and nodded my understanding.

And then something black and monstrous exploded through the
cave mouth, snapping at my face.

Ash jerked me backward, his hand snaking around my mouth to
stifle my shriek, as the snap of teeth echoed inches from my head. If Ash’s hand
hadn’t been pressed hard against my lips, I would’ve screamed again as two
burning, yellow-green eyes peered at me from the face in the door.

It was a wolf, a huge black wolf the size of a grizzly bear,
only longer and leaner and a thousand times more frightening. This wasn’t the
majestic creature you saw on the nature channels, loping through the snowy
wilderness with its pack. This was the rabid beast in every horror movie about
wolves: dark shaggy fur, slavering muzzle, glowing, pupil-less eyes. Its lips
were curled back to reveal shiny fangs longer then my hand, and ribbons of drool
dripped from its jaws, crystallizing in the snow. Only its head fit through the
opening, but it turned its muzzle in my direction, and I swore it grinned at
me.

“Meghan Chase. I finally found you.”

Ash pulled me back farther, toward the far end of the cave, as
the enormous wolf thrashed and wriggled in the doorway, somehow, impossibly,
sliding through. My heart thudded as the creature rose to its full height inside
the cave. He seemed to fill the chamber. Ash shoved me behind him, pressing me
against the wall beneath a rocky overhang, and drew his sword. The wolf
chuckled, the deep tone making my skin crawl, and bared his teeth in a savage
grin.

“Think you’re going to hurt me with that little thing?” His
guttural voice echoed through the cavern, and icicles clinked above him, swaying
dangerously. “Do you know who I am, boy?” He lowered his head, peeling his lips
back. “I am
Wolf
. I am older than you, older than
Mab, older than the most ancient faery to walk this realm. I was in stories long
before the humans knew my name, and even then they feared me.” He took one step
forward, his huge paw sinking into the snow. “I am the wolf at the door, the
creature that stalked the girl in the red hood to Grandma’s house. I am the wolf
who becomes a man, and the man who is a beast inside. My stories outnumber all
the tales ever told, and you cannot kill me.”

“I know who you are.” Ash’s voice shook slightly, which chilled
me even more. That Ash, fearless, unshakable Ash, was afraid of this thing
filled me with dread. “But you’re here for the Summer princess, and I have my
own vow to bring her back to my court. So I can’t let you take her.” He
brandished his sword, the faery glamour of Winter swirling around him. “You’ll
have to go through me first.”

The Wolf smiled. “As you wish.”

He lunged with a roar, jaws gaping wide, tongue lolling between
dripping fangs. Insanely fast, he covered the area in a single bound and leaped
at us, a dark blur in the air. I shrank back as the Wolf charged but Ash
whirled, glamour snapping around him, and slammed his sword hilt into the
wall.

A deafening crack echoed throughout the cavern, like a gunshot.
The ceiling trembled, icicles clicking wildly and then, like a million china
plates being smashed at once, collapsed in a deadly gleaming rain. The Wolf
paused for an instant, looking up…and was buried under a ton of pointed crystal
shards.

I turned away, covering my eyes as a single high-pitched yelp
rose over the clatter of smashing ice. The snow cleared, the cacophony died away
and there was silence.

I started to peek through my fingers, but Ash grabbed my hand,
blocking my view. “Don’t look,” he warned softly, and I saw a spatter of red
behind him, seeping through the snow, making my stomach curl. “Let’s get out of
here.”

Deliberately not looking at the dark mass in the center of the
room, we fled the cave, scrambling through the hole back into the clearing. Snow
was falling, light wispy flakes that danced on the breeze. I took a shaky
breath, and the cold burned my lungs, reminding me I was still alive. I glanced
at Ash, who was staring back at the cave mouth.

“The Wolf,” he murmured, almost to himself. “The Big Bad Wolf.
Few ever live to tell of seeing him.” He shook his head in wonder, glancing back
at me. “I wonder why he was after you? Who sent him, that he would track us this
far?”

“Mab?” I guessed. Ash snorted and his lips curled in a
smirk.

“Mab wants you alive,” he said, walking away from the cave
mouth, back toward the gully. I pulled my hood up and hurried after him, jogging
through the snow. “You’re no use to her dead. She was very specific about that.
Besides, she wouldn’t put me at risk like that.” He paused, frowning slightly.
“I think.”

He sounded terribly unsure. I felt a pang of sympathy, that Ash
didn’t know if his queen, his own mother, would send the Wolf after us, not
caring if it hurt him. I closed the last few paces and reached out to touch his
arm.

The Wolf’s giant, bloody head lunged between us with a roar,
knocking me back, sending me sprawling. Lightning quick, Ash drew his sword, a
second too late. The monster’s jaws clamped shut on his arm, and the Wolf hurled
him away. I screamed.

“I told you, you can’t kill me!” the Wolf snarled, stalking
toward Ash, who had rolled to his feet with his sword in front of him. The
thick, shaggy pelt was covered in blood. It dripped in a steady rain to the
ground, raising faint puffs of steam where it struck the snow. Icicles stuck out
of his body like a hundred jagged spears. Despite that, he moved smoothly,
easily, as if he felt no pain.

“Foolish boy,” the Wolf growled, circling Ash, leaving a
crimson trail behind him. “You will not win this. I am immortal.”

“Meghan, run,” Ash ordered, his eyes never leaving the Wolf.
His own blood dripped from his sword arm to stain the ground. “The Winter Court
isn’t far from here. You’ll be protected—tell whomever you meet that Ash sent
you. Run, now.”

“I’m not leaving!”

“Go!”

The Wolf shook himself, sending blood, foam and icicles flying.
“I will deal with you momentarily, Princess,” he growled, lowering himself into
a crouch. Muscles bunched under his shaggy pelt, and the icicles gleamed as they
stuck out of his thigh and bony ribs. “Are you ready, boy? Here I come!”

He leaped. Ash brought up his sword. And I charged the
Wolf.

The Wolf hit Ash with the full weight of his body behind him,
driving them both into the snow, ignoring the sword that slashed into him. His
massive paws slammed into Ash’s chest and arms, pinning the sword beneath them.
They hit the ground with the Wolf on top, those huge jaws gaping wide to bite
off Ash’s head.

I slammed into the Wolf with every bit of strength I had,
aiming for one of those gleaming ice spears, driving my shoulder into it. The
sharp edge sliced into me, cutting my skin through the cloak, but I felt the
spear jam farther into the Wolf’s ribs. The huge creature let out a startled,
painful yelp and swung around, pinning me with a blazing yellow glare.

“Foolish girl! What are you doing? I’m trying to help you!”

Shocked, I stared at him, panting. Still pinned beneath the
Wolf, Ash tried to get up, but two giant paws held him down. “What are you
talking about?” I demanded. “Let Ash up, if you say you’re helping me.”

The beast shook his head. “I was sent to rescue you and kill
this one,” he replied, shifting his weight to better lean on Ash, who gritted
his teeth in pain. “You are a prisoner no more, Princess. Just let me finish him
off and you can return to the Summer Court.”

“No!” I lunged forward as the Wolf turned back, opening his
jaws. “Don’t kill him! I’m not a prisoner. We made a deal, a contract—I would go
to the Winter Court in return for his help. He’s not keeping me here by force. I
chose
this.”

The Wolf blinked slowly. “You made a contract,” he
repeated.

“Yes.”

“A contract with this one.”

“Yes!”

“Then…your father was mistaken.”

“Oberon?”
I stared at him, aghast.
“Oberon ordered you to do this?”

The Wolf snorted. “No one orders me,” he growled, baring his
fangs. “The Summer Lord thought you had been captured. He asked me to find you,
kill your captor and free you to return to the Summer Court. He thought the hunt
might be difficult, so deep within Winter’s territory, and I could not pass up
the challenge.” The Wolf paused, scrutinizing me with intense yellow eyes, a
flicker of irritation crossing his face. “However, if you have made a deal with
the Winter prince, that changes things. The agreement with Oberon was to rescue
you from your captor, and you do not have a captor. Therefore…” He snarled in
annoyance and reluctantly stepped back, freeing Ash from beneath his paws. “I
must honor the contract and let you go.”

He glared at us as he moved aside, the Hunter so close to his
prey only to have it ripped from his jaws. I stepped between him and Ash, just
in case the Wolf changed his mind, and helped the prince to his feet. Ash’s
sword arm bled freely, and the other was wrapped around his ribs, as if the
Wolf’s weight had crushed them. Sheathing his blade, he faced our pursuer and
gave a slight bow.

The Wolf nodded. “You’re very lucky,” he told Ash. “Today.”
Backing off, he shook himself once more and glared at us with grudging respect.
“It was a good chase. Pray we do not meet again, for you will not even see me
coming.”

Throwing back his head, the Wolf howled, wild and chilling,
making the hairs on my neck stand up. Bounding into the trees, his huge dark
form vanished instantly, swallowed up by snow and shadows, and we were
alone.

I looked at Ash in concern. “Are you all right? Can you
walk?”

He took a step and winced, sinking to one knee. “Give me a
moment.”

“Come on.” I slipped an arm under his shoulder and carefully
eased him upright. The clearing looked like a war zone: trampled snow, crushed
vegetation and blood everywhere. It could attract Unseelie predators and, though
I was sure none were as scary as the Big Bad Wolf, Ash was in no shape to fight
them off. “We’re going back to the cave.”