Cursed Rebel, page 7
The half-blood Lord returned from the human world two days later with a human girl in tow. The King was thrilled. He was so fascinated by the human girl that he ordered the Lord of the Tangle to bring him more. So, the half-blood Lord became the King’s personal courier between the mortal world and ours. Thus, how you ended up here, my dear Lucy.” Pan yawned and scratched at one pointed ear.“Ach, I believe that is enough story-telling for one day.”
He lay down in the leaf litter, rolled over, and began to snore. I curled up and watched the flames of the campfire dancing, unable to shake the story from my head. I couldn’t help feeling sorry for Fin.
Ah, Fin. The half-blood Lord of the Tangle, whose Sithe mother had had his low-born father killed, who had grown up transplanted in another family, and then had lost his adoptive father, who had been forced to become the King’s errand boy because of his mixed blood and afterwards escorted human girls out of their world and into the Summer King’s clutches.
The sky above darkened to indigo, and the Tangle around me became shrouded in shadows. The trees were alive with noise; rustling leaves, whispers on the wind, the faint strains of music wavering through the branches. Hissing and laughter echoed all around, and chills crept down my spine. I wished Fin would come back, despite everything, I felt safer when he was around. I picked up a rock from the ground and folded it into my fist, the weight of it a reassuring weapon.
ButI didn’t need it. Though the whispers and laughter continued, and shadows flitted through the trees, nothing dared to come near me. I didn’t know if it was Pan’s sleeping presence keeping them away, the fire, or if they knew I was under their Lord’s protection.
Eventually, exhaustion overcame me. I fell asleep in the leaves by the warm glow of the fire and tumbled into dreams of cruel Kings, cold Ladies and a beautiful, broken boy hiding amidst the twilit leaves of a giant oak tree.
Chapter Eleven
** Lucy **
I woke up early the next morning to the sounds of a hushed argument. I rolled over, blinking my eyes open and squinting into the blurry light of dawn. The leaves above me looked limned in gold and blood, and the sky was a hazy pink-violet. The faint smell of smoke and wildflowers hung in the cool, crisp air. The fire had burned out, leaving a pile of grey ashes, and Pan was no longer lying near me.
Sitting up, I pushed my hair back, combing leaves from the tangles, and looked around. I couldn’t see Pan or Fin anywhere—but I could hear them. Their voices came, muffled, through the trees. Getting to my feet, I crept cautiously toward the sounds and peered around a thick oak. There they were; Fin was scowling, pacing and twitching in agitation while Pan watched him, frowning with his short arms crossed.
I pressed close to the tree to listen to what they were saying.
“…want me to do, Pan?” Fin hissed at the satyr.
Pan gave him a hard look that didn’t quite fit on his childish face. “I don’t know. How about not selling what’s left of your soul? I’ve watched you grow up. You’re like my brother. I’ve seen what this job has done to you, the toll working for the King has taken on you, and I’m begging you…don’t do this.”
Fin’s faced twisted, and he paused in his pacing to stare at Pan with an expression that looked close to pleading. Abruptly, he sat down on a rotting log and tore his hands through his hair. It was such a human gesture, a sign of frustration, and it startled me to see the faery boy so discomposed.
“I have no choice,” he said in a low, thick voice. “The King wants her. I can’t…I can’t disobey him. You know that!”
I blinked. Was he talking about me?
With a sigh, Pan stalked over the leaf-strewn ground and put a hand on Fin’s shoulder. “Please, Brother—”
But Fin shook him off and got to his feet, turning away. “Why? I’ve done this a hundred times. Why should this time be any different? Why shouldn’t I hand her over, Pan? What makes her so special?”
Hidden behind my tree, I flinched at the venom in his tone. Pan grimaced and waved a hand. “Shh, you’ll wake her. And I don’t know, Brother. I don’t know why she’s different, but she is. I can feel it. And so can you, I know you do. I haven’t seen you like this since…since before Father died.”
Fin gave the short faery a shrewd look over his shoulder. “Like this?”
Pan gave a tiny, wry smile. “This human,” he said softly.
Fin snorted, a sound of disgust, but Pan’s smile widened.
“Look at yourself! You’re all over the place! And yesterday…yesterday you were smiling—”
“I always smile. I’m a happy person.”
That time, Pan snorted. He shook his head, the leaves in his long brown braids rustling. “No. Yesterday, those were real smiles. Not the empty smiles you show everyone, not those lunatic grins you use to scare the Court Sithe, or the cool, charming smiles you use to pick up girls. Real, genuine smiles.”
Fin shrugged. “What can I say? I was happy to see you, Brother.”
“Oh no. It wasn’t me you were staring at every five minutes. Don’t lie to me—”
“Ha! I can’t lie, you know that.”
Pan rolled his eyes. “Yes, yes, Sithe blood. But you’re a master at working around the truth. I saw you work your words on Father too many times when we were younger. Remember that time you snuck off with Honey to snog by the Silver river, and when you came back, he asked you where you’d been? I still don’t know how you wormed your way out of trouble, especially considering your shirt was on backwards and her smell was still on you.”
Fin grinned fondly at the memory. “Ah, yes. Honey. That was a good day.”
“Indeed. But that’s beside the point. The point is I know you, Brother. And I know this girl affects you—”
Throwing up his hands, Fin said, “Yes, she affects me. She is immensely annoying, and I’d like to throttle her, but I don’t think the King would appreciate it.”
Pan made a sound of exasperation. “Fine. You may not be able to lie to me, but you can still lie to yourself, obviously. Keep telling yourself that’s all it is. But I’m begging you, Brother, for your own sake as much as hers, do not give her to the King. Use that talent of yours and weave him some magical story of how I stole her from you or something. I’ll take her and hide her, keep her safe.”
Fin shook his head. “I don’t understand, Pan. What is it about her? Why do you want to protect her so much?”
A solemn expression settled on Pan’s small, round face. “I told you, it’s just a feeling. There’s something about her…”
Fin opened his mouth to argue, but Pan held up a hand.
“Ask yourself, why her. Huh? Haven’t you wondered why the King asked specifically for her, when, usually, he only sends you off with vague instructions? ‘Oh, today I think I’ll have a blonde one who can play the fiddle,’ or, ‘I want a tall human girl with green eyes. Make sure she can sew.’ But this time…this time he gave you her name. He told you where to find her. He told you to watch her, and to be sure it was the right girl. But why, Brother? Why does he want this girl so much? Why her?”
“You think I haven’t asked myself that every day since he told me to find her? You think I don’t wonder? Well, I have, and I do, but I don’t have any answers, Pan! All I know is he wants her, and I have to bring her. What he wants with her…it’s not for me to ask. I’m just his bloody servant, Pan, as much as any of those I’ve brought him. I hate it, you know I do, but I don’t have a choice! If I don’t bring him Lucy, you know what’ll happen.”
“Yes, but—”
“No. No, buts, Pan. I’m taking her to the King, end of discussion.”
Fin turned and I realised he was about to come looking for me, thinking I was still asleep. Hastily, I stumbled back toward the ashes of the campfire and curled up on my side, facing into the trees and pretending to be asleep.
Seconds later, I heard Fin stomp through the bushes behind me. I tried to keep my breathing even and slow as his shadow fell over me. I could feel him standing over me, watching me, and for an awful moment I thought, He knows I’m not asleep. He knows I heard him and Pan arguing.
Then he sighed softly and muttered, “Gods damn him.”
I didn’t know if he meant Pan, the King, or someone else entirely. I didn’t dare move.
Finally, I felt a touch on my shoulder, and Fin murmured, “Lucy. Lucy, it’s time to wake up. Come on, up.”
Feigning sleepiness, I opened my eyes and groaned. Fin was crouching in front of me, and he grinned when he saw I was awake.
“Up you get, Snowdrop. We need to get moving. You might want to brush your hair first, though. It looks like a Snatchit made a nest in it.”
I didn’t know what a Snatchit was, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to know. So I got to my feet and asked, as innocently as possible, “Where’s Pan?”
“Right here,” said Pan, stepping out of a bush, smiling as if nothing was amiss. As if he hadn’t just been arguing with Fin about me.
I stared at him for a long moment, and he blinked those big, liquid brown eyes at me. “What? Is something wrong?”
I considered several responses to that question, most of them unpleasant, and discarded them all quickly. Mutely, I shook my head. Pan frowned but didn’t press it.
Fin tossed my backpack at me. “Get up already. Move it,” he snarled, and then stalked off ahead.
Pan looked after his friend with a concerned expression and sighed. Then he turned to me and held out a small hand, smiling wearily. “Come on then. Better hurry before he decides to leave us both to the trees.”
Remembering what he’d said last night about the Tangle fighting back, I glanced warily at the trees around us and saw the branches were writhing in a non-existent breeze, and the roots were lifting themselves slowly from the dirt.
With a squeak, I grabbed my backpack, and Pan and I hurried after a sulky Fin.
Eventually, the trees began to thin, and the land began to slope at a sharp angle. The grass fell away to jagged rocks, and we rose above the Tangle. It spread out below us in a sea of waving leaves, splashes of amber and violet glimmering amongst the green. The sun hung low in the lilac sky, a glowing golden orb, and right next to it, a smaller orb of glacial blue flames. I stopped to stare at the odd beauty.
Fin glanced back and noticed I’d stopped moving. He came back to me and followed my gaze. “The orange sun is Tiene,” he said, pronouncing the unfamiliar word Chen-nuh. “It means Fire. The blue sun is Deigh. It means Ice. There is a sun for each of the Courts, Summer and Winter. Since we’re in the Summerlands, Tiene looks bigger to us, but if we were to cross into the Winterfields—like we’re about to do—Deigh would look bigger. ”
“It’s beautiful,” I whispered.
He nodded. “Aye, it is.”
Then part of what he’d said caught up with me, and I blinked. “Wait…you said we’re crossing into the Winterfields? Why?”
He kept staring straight at the suns as he answered, the orbs reflected in his pupils. “It’s the only way to get where we’re going. Just over this mountain is the part of the Tangle where Summer and Winter overlap.” He looked at me then, a small smile curving his lips. “You’ll see.”
Eager to see what he was talking about, I started walking again. That time, he didn’t stride off ahead. He stayed by my side, though he didn’t say anything. I looked for Pan, but I couldn’t see him. The Satyr had disappeared.
When I mentioned it to Fin, he grinned and said, “Pan will be fine. It’s us you should be worried about.”
That sounded ominous, and I gave him a wary look. “What? Why?”
“Crossing into Winter territory will be dangerous. The fae there aren’t nearly as polite and friendly as I am.”
I snorted, and he scowled at me.
“You know, you should be nicer to me, Snowdrop. I could leave you to get eaten by a Wraith at any time.”
“But then your King would be pissed that you didn’t bring me to him.”
He shrugged, as if his King’s feelings meant little to him. “He’d get over it in a couple of decades, I’m sure.”
Curious, I asked, “What would he do to you if you didn’t bring me to him? If you just…you know, let me go home?”
Fin sighed. “Not this again.”
I scowled. “I’m not asking you take me home, I know you won’t. I’m just asking what would happen to you if you did.”
He paused and looked at me, as if searching for something in my face. Then he frowned and said, “I’m not sure. I’ve never disobeyed him. But it wouldn’t be pleasant. I’d likely be chained in cold iron and left to rot in a dungeon cell for a few decades…or centuries. Depending on the King’s mood.”
I gaped, horrified. He gave a humourless smile. “Or I could be stripped of my wings and banished to the human world.”
If possible, my eyes got even wider. “You have wings?”
He grinned. “I do.”
I frowned at him. “Then how come I can’t see them?”
He shrugged. “Because I’m Shielding them from you.”
“Let me see. Please,” I said hopefully, fascinated by the idea of him having wings I couldn’t see.
He shook his head.
I pouted. “Why not?”
Fin didn’t answer. I grabbed his hand, and he stumbled, staring at me in surprise.
I quickly let go, blushing, and covered by asking, “Why won’t you let me see your wings?”
He pressed his lips together. “Because.”
“That’s not an answer,” I pointed out.
“Because I don’t want to,” he said curtly.
I glared at him, oddly stung. “Fine. Be like that.”
We walked the rest of the way up the mountain in a tense silence. I wished Pan would come back and break it, but wherever he’d gotten to, he didn’t seem to be coming back.
Finally, we reached the summit. The sky was still light, though the temperature had cooled considerably. I was shivering, and my legs were aching from the hike. I sat down in the long, waving grass, and sprawled on my back, staring up at the clear lilac sky, and the two glowing suns, Tiene and Deigh. We were high above the trees, and only scraggy, grey rock and wild grass and thistles filled the space around us. It reminded me of home, of the hiking trips I’d taken with my mother to Clachnaben and Glen Tannar.
Suddenly, my eyes stung, thinking of home. Of my mother. God, she was probably frantic worrying about me by then. She’d probably called the police and everything, and Nat would be freaking out. Ryan would be helping search for me, maybe putting up posters all over town.
“Snowdrop? You okay?”
A shadow fell over me, and I opened my eyes. Fin was standing over me, his outline slightly blurry from the tears in my eyes. I shook my head. He sighed and sat down in the grass next to me. He tucked his knees to his chest, looking out over the Tangle, his red hair blowing in the cool wind.
“I know this probably means nothing to you, but, for whatever it’s worth, I’m sorry. I wish I didn’t have to do this.”
Surprised by his apology, I sat up and looked at his profile. I opened my mouth to tell him he didn’t have to do it, that he could let me go. Then, I remembered what he’d said earlier about what the King would do to him, and I stopped. Despite everything, I didn’t want that to happen to him, for him to be trapped in a dungeon for hundreds of years because of me.
So instead, I just said, “Thank you.”
He tilted his head in acknowledgment. I sighed and wiped the tears off my face.
He got up and held out a hand. “Ready to go?”
I nodded and took his hand, letting him help me to my feet. A tingle ran through my fingers from the contact, and as soon as he let go, I swiped my hand on my shirt, wanting to be rid of the odd sensation.
If Fin noticed my reaction, he didn’t say anything. Instead, he turned around and swept his hands out in a grand gesture. “Welcome to the Edge of the Winterfields.”
I turned, looking down the other side of the mountain, and gasped. It was a field of glittering white and blue trees, sparkling like a sea of diamonds under the cool light of the blue sun. Fin had been right about the suns. Deigh looked huge, and Tiene was a small orange glow beside its looming blue flames. The mountainside was slick with frost, and giant ice crystals protruded from the land like spiked boulders. Down below, amidst the snowy trees, I could see the shimmering surface of a river, a ribbon of ice and frigid water winding its way through the valley.
Amazed, I turned around and looked back the way we’d come. The Summer part of the Tangle looked just the same as it had before, all lush green and ambers and a lilac sky. The sky over the Winter Tangle was the coolest, palest blue. The difference was amazing, like looking at two opposite lands that had been stuck together, forming a ridge between them.
“The mountain we’re standing on is called Beinne-Conocht. It literally means Mountain of the Equinox,” Fin said.
“Because the equinox is when day and night are equal. Here, Winter and Summer are equal,” I stated.
Fin nodded. “Aye.”
A gust of icy wind blew up the mountain from the Winterfields, and I shivered, wrapping my arm around myself.
Fin looked at the suns and frowned. “We should get moving. It’ll get colder as the suns go down.” He started down the icy mountainside, and held out his hand. “I’ll help you down. It’s tricky terrain.”
I hesitated, eyeing his hand, remembering the tingle I’d felt before. Then I glanced at the uneven, slick land, and I knew I had no chance of getting down without falling on my own. So I took his hand, his warm fingers wrapping around mine, and followed his footsteps as he guided me down the mountain.
By the time we reached the bottom, my fingertips were blue from the cold, and my ears and nose were aching. My butt also hurt from repeatedly slipping and landing on it on my way down the mountain. Fin had done a good job of helping me, catching me twice when I fell, but there was so much ice and snow, it had been a treacherous journey.
