“No,” Shade huffed.
“Okay…” Soap waited, watching her as curiosity obviously ran across his face. He stood there for infinity, it seemed, before he turned to grab his own pack from where he had stashed it under a table, near the door. Returning, he dropped it by his feet. He now held a long sword covered snuggly in a leather hilt. Expertly tying the straps across his chest and adjusting its weight to his back, he then pulled his long hair out of its grip before offering Brisa some help with her remaining bundles. Shade swung her backpack over her shoulder and scurried out of the room before her emotions got the best of her.
She was practically running out of the meeting room by the time she reached the doors, feeling tears biting at her eyes, threatening to fill up her lids and spill over. She didn’t want Brisa, or Soap for that matter, to see her crying. Why couldn’t she hold it together? Her emotions were running rampant, and she was afraid they would run her ragged. She was the one pushing Soap so far away. He had the right to be happy, even if it wasn’t with her. Maybe it would be easier on both of them if she let him go.
Was she ready for that?
Turning the corner as she headed toward the courtyard, where the lush greenery and the overhanging branches of the willow trees would hide her, she hoped no one had followed her. She couldn’t take the humiliation of facing the others right now.
The sun was shining, bright and searing above the land. The air shifted softly with a cool breeze that made her shiver, even under her tunic and leather vest. Taking the stairs down into the alcove of a large palatial fountain made of carved stone which displayed two winged eagles dancing in the air together, she cherished the solace. The water sprayed out between them and arched over each eagle, slamming down in a torrent of splashes that misted up and wet Shade’s skin as she sat on edge. It made her colder, but she didn’t care. She welcomed the numbing cold, for it took her thoughts away from their current state.
“Needed some air?”
Shade jumped, jerking to the right where Dylan was coming around the other side of the fountain. He watched her with still, steel grey-colored eyes shining back to her.
“Oh, yeah, I just, you know…,” she stuttered. Groaning, she stopped trying to explain and just let the silence engulf her as she closed her eyes. The gurgle of water was noisy enough to swallow her torrential thoughts.
“I always wondered why the Teleen would choose to live so deep underground, in the cold, frigid and stale air, with walls all around.” Dylan slid down to sit next to her, staring up at the Glass castle, whose tall edifices hovered above the thick expanse of trees. “Since I’ve been gone for so long, whenever I return, it feels claustrophobic to me now. Any place with too many walls and too many people feels this way.”
Shade looked up toward the former Teleen Captain of the Guard. She met his eyes as he observed her every movement. She thought about looking away, but felt glued to his face. His long black hair was growing rapidly, and now graced his shoulders with thick waves fluttering in the cool breeze. It whipped at his eyes occasionally, making him blink. His eyelashes were thick and black, and his slightly tanned, but still pretty pale skin was smooth, flawless and had a gleam of blue undertones to it. As she shivered, she watched as he let his glamour slip away and a brilliant blue fire rippled along his body, flowing over his skin in a flickering wave of flames.
Dylan edged closer to her, bringing an arm around her shoulders and pulling her into a snug embrace. He adjusted the heat he radiated to toasty warm temperature which surrounded Shade; it was like being embraced by a warmed, thick blanket. She rested her head on his shoulder and enjoyed the warmth. Without words, he had soothed her, staved the cold and the craziness of her thoughts away until all she wanted was to just sit there and relish his touch forever.
“Do you love him?” Dylan’s voice came out soft and calm, breaking her from the cocoon she had curled up into. Sitting up, she looked up into his steely eyes, so filled with sadness and longing. A long thread of her hair flew between them on the wind, but his fingers curled around the strand, pushing it behind her ear in a tingling caress. It made her breath catch at the touch of his skin. It was fiery and pleasurable at the same time.
“Soap? Yes, but,” she gulped, hoping her words would come out right. “I don’t think I love him the way he should be loved. He has a special place in my heart, in my thoughts, but he deserves more than what I can give him. He needs so much more than me.” Shade tried to pull away, jarred by her admission of troubled thoughts she had kept so tightly locked inside. Dylan wasn’t so eager to let her go as he held firmly to her waist and reached up to touch her face.
“Don’t go,” Dylan whispered and eased her back into his arms, closer to his chest and face, where she could feel his heart racing under his hot, fiery skin. She was captivated by his softened eyes, luring her back to him, swallowing her up into their depths as time seemed to slow down and the air around them stilled.
“I’m still here.” She studied his eyes, finding nothing but the love she yearned for in all this time. “You’ve been gone for so long. It’s been so cold, so strange.” Shade’s breath was stolen by the warm air, her soft voice loud enough for only Dylan to hear. His sadness resurfaced as he took in her face, pulling her even closer, their lips nearly touching.
“I’ll never leave you again; that I swear. Nothing will ever harm you again. I will never allow it.” With that, his lips slipped onto hers, soft and sizzling. She kissed him back, letting the intoxication of his scent and skin overwhelm her. Her resistance was gone, and the world spun into a blur. There was nothing else now but his lips, his face, his arms, and his heart beating in her head. Her own heart thumped inside like it would burst. His lips were sweet, like a drizzle of honey, and she hungered insatiably for them.
Their kisses deepened until each wanted to consume the other. Blue flames erupted from his skin until embers snapped off the wisps of fire that ignited the morning breeze, sending the spray of fountain water into a sizzling cloud of steam. One hand was laced through her long, dark hair while the other caressed the small of her back.
Slowing the passion, they kissed softly, opening their eyes as they melted into each other. Shade felt elated. For the first time in an eternity, her heart did not feel dull or emptied, but full and happy, even more so as his fingers traced a line down her cheek. This was heaven, at least for a moment this one day. She finally had what she’d been waiting for, longing for, needing in every way one could need another person. For one moment, Dylan made her heart sing. He never let his grip slacken, and she doubted he ever wanted to let her go. She knew this only because she felt the same. To leave him now would be like cutting off a limb, trading in satiated pleasure for tormented pain. She wasn’t willing to let go, and she hoped he wouldn’t mind that. In that moment there was so much hope for so many things.
A tiny crunch on fallen leaves demanded their attention, and she turned to see Brisa standing partially behind a willow tree. It’s long, swaying branches had been trimmed but some had still grown enough to caress the ground beneath, hiding her small figure fairly well.
Shade stared in surprise at her oldest friend. Brisa’s face was full of pain, full of resentment, a look that Shade wanted to wipe away with every morsel of her being.
“Brisa?” Shade called out as the blood drained from her face. Her human friend had already turned and was running toward the castle so fast it seemed she was running from death itself. Shade groaned, letting go of Dylan’s warm embrace as she jumped up and sprinted behind her. Brisa was already gone, and a search of the meeting room and hallways left no clues for Shade. Her friend was gone, at least momentarily, and it felt like an enormous rock hardening in Shade’s stomach. Shade realized the implications of what she’d done. Would Brisa run to tell Soap? What would she say to him? He was, after all, still Shade’s boyfriend.
Oh my gosh. What’s going to happen now?
Whatever occurred, she’d have to deal with it as it came. Slump
ing her way back to her room on the upper floor, she pondered the events of the day. Feeling lost at being ripped from Dylan’s arms and yet feeling such guilt banging inside her, it was as if every step she took was the wrong one. It was all her fault; everything was so wrong.
This place is cursed. Or so it seemed.
Chapter Seven
LETTING GO OF Camulus’ hand, the wide expanse of concrete and glass buildings loomed overhead like giants of masonry and stone. The alley he’d brought them to was not too shabby, but even so, it was littered with windblown debris and fast food wrappers. She pulled her jacket tighter around her body to shield herself from the cool breeze in the northern east coast. The air still felt balmy, like back home, but the sea air was a different kind of frigidness. It infused itself all the way into Shade’s bones, like gripping fingers of stifling cold.
Brisa had let go of Camulus the same moment she had. Spinning around, she marched to the end of the alley to peek at the surroundings. As she regained her bearings, she turned back and stood next to Soap. “We’re close to where this Stanis lives, but we have to go north down this street and past that bookstore at the end. It’s around the deli in one of those apartments above the shops.” She avoided Shade’s eyes as she barked out the directions.
Glancing at Dylan, Shade gave him a nod as they headed off behind Brisa. Camulus took the rear as their shield of glamour solidified and tightened around them. Nothing was worse than having your best friend mad at you. Obviously she’d kept her opinion about the kiss with Dylan to herself because Soap was his usual, cheerful self. What a relief that had been to Shade. Yet why did she still feel so ashamed, so guilty?
The sun filtered down from above, giving them a bit of warmth as they hurried down the sidewalk. The morning rush made it difficult to keep together in one group, so they separated as pairs with Camulus trailing behind. Hunching over, Shade felt so vulnerable with so many people around. It was dangerous to go out in the open like this. Aveta’s minions could be anywhere, even in a place as distant as New York City. The openness felt more suffocating than anything else, and the noise was overwhelming.
Men and women rushed by in blurs. Long trench and winter coats wrapped around their bodies with thick scarves and knitted hats pulled over their frozen ears. Some braved the cold with nothing but thin sweaters and jackets but acted like it didn’t bother them whatsoever. Smells ranging from the cooking food and yummy coffee from a café to the foulness of car exhaust snaked past Shade’s nose, making her keenly aware that she had not eaten breakfast today. Her stomach rumbled under the many layers of clothes that didn’t seem to keep the cold out. It drifted through the clothes and through the tiny holes in the fabric, easily permeating her skin and freezing her enough that it hurt to breathe.
Dylan noticed her chattering teeth and shivering and pulled her to his side. He carefully emitted some heat from underneath his glamour, warming her up and making it easier for her to walk. It slowed them down somewhat as they weaved through the crowd, hurrying to keep up with Brisa and Soap, but it was better than her muscles locking up from the icy weather. Her breath puffed out in front of her like thick, misty smoke, but she relished the personal heater next to her.
The city sights were amazing and captivated her attention as they continued on. Turning down busy streets and crossing the clogged-up rivers of people, they finally came to stop before a decrepit, run down brick tenement. The exterior looked like it had not been cleaned or redone in a long time−some bricks were broken or missing altogether. The cement steps were in no better condition, and one of the handrails was missing on one side. The door was a faded green with aging spray painted tags etched long ago. It was hard to believe anyone lived here now.
Brisa waited at the bottom of the steps as Dylan knocked on the door. When no one answered, Shade noticed the small buttons in a call box near the side of the door. After pushing the one that said S. Ryker, the buzzer rang loudly and made Shade jump. Immediately, they heard a crackle as the speaker powered on.
“Go away!”
She turned to Dylan, wondering if this was going to be easy or not.
“Um, Mr. Stanis? I need to speak with you. It’s very important.”
“I said get out of here! Leave me be!” The voice was rough, like he’d smoked too much his entire life. Still, a slight, frantic desperation leaked into his words, and everyone looked at one another as they waited.
Shade cleared her throat, hoping to come up with the right words to convince him to open up. “Look, I’d love to go away, but Prince Lotinar sent me, you know… Ursad. He said you could help me. He said you owed him a favor.”
She waited as a crash sounded above them and through the speaker. The gritty voice cursed, obviously having broken something. After that, only static and silence greeted them.
“Hello?” Shade asked. She was beginning to think he wouldn’t come to the door. Maybe this was a huge mistake, and he wasn’t as good a friend to Ursad as Ursad had thought he was. So much for that. Now what?
A series of thumps followed by a huge crash against the door and a rattle of chains and locks preceded the door flying open to an older-looking man with wild grey streaked hair. He had partially tied his hair back in a disorderly ponytail. His face looked like he was maybe in his fifties, but the leathery look of his skin made him seem even older. He wore a pajama top with a stained blue shirt under it and a pair of hole-ridden jeans.
Shade’s mouth was on the floor, but she clamped it shut just as fast when Camulus’ voice broke the silence. “Stanis Ryker, it’s a pleasure to meet you. His Majesty, Prince Lotinar, sends his deepest regards and would love to have you visit him in the Glass Castle anytime you would like.”
Stanis stared at the elven-pixie, narrowing his wild eyes filled with distain. Shade gulped as she watched him. She was pretty sure that he would slam the door right in their faces. Instead, he opened the door wider while his eyes darted nervously around the street. “Get in, quick!”
Scurrying in, the five of them squeezed into the narrow hallway which led to an equally tight staircase. After Stanis slammed the door and locked a series of chains and deadbolts, he turned, squeezed past them and took the stairs two at a time. Shrugging, Dylan motioned to them to follow after the crazy man. Shade felt her gut tighten as they ascended after him, feeling that this was not going to go as they wanted it to, and it overwhelmed her senses. She tried to breathe in deeply in an attempt to relax the tension building within her.
Entering an apartment at the end of the hall off the stairs, they shuffled in and watched the man quickly lock another ridiculous amount of chains and locks on his door. Once he was done, he turned and eyed them once more. His lips quivered in disgust, but he waved to them to sit down on his thread bare couches. They took up the walls on the left side of the sparse, filthy room.
“Well you might as well make yourselves at home. Not like I can make you leave now,” he muttered, hurrying off to the open kitchen on the other side of the room facing the large, grimy windows that let in the bright sunlight streaming in in rays through the filth. Crumbled fast food wrappers littered the dirt streaked wooden floors along with cups and bowls stacked in odd places along the floor and in the middle of the room. Book stacks lined the walls near the door and were also randomly placed throughout the apartment and down the hallway.
The place should be condemned, Shade thought. She studied a dark moldy stain that was slowly spreading across the ceiling in one corner and the cobwebs that hung around it strung through the light fixtures. It made her shudder to think of what sort of little bitty creatures shared the apartment with Stanis.
He grabbed a chair from the small breakfast table, which was piled up with books and old paper cups, and brought it over to sit facing them. Sipping on a soda, he raked his eyes over each one of them, sizing them up quickly.
“So, why did Ursad send you my way? Faeries hate the city stench.” He wrinkled his nose and pulled out a used handkerchief, blowing out h
is nostrils before returning it to his shirt pocket. Shade held back a gag as she averted her eyes from his disgusting habit.
“We seek the Winter Ancient’s dwelling. Prince Lotinar stated that you, of all people, would know where to find his location,” Camulus answered.
Stanis cracked a smile where a few missing teeth left gaps in his yellowed array of enamel. He started cackling, letting it turn into a wheezing cough as he stood up and hunched over, hacking up a lung. Shade was left wondering how on earth this being was anything close to being a faery.
Once his fit had ended, he straightened and glared at Shade, letting his stare sear into her as she fidgeted under the weight of it. A sudden quiver in the air around him made the air ripple and send a whoosh of air throughout the room. Blinking, Shade laid her eyes upon a very handsome but tired looking faery man with brilliant brown wings neatly folded on his back and long grey brown hair tied back.
“This city stench is impossible to tolerate without glamour. I’m exhausted and tired of the iron that spills into my nostrils and wrecks my joints.” He rolled his shoulders and back, grimacing as though the room smelled of garbage, which it pretty much did. “What do you offer for this information? And, why exactly do you need it so badly?” He snickered.
Shade was really beginning to dislike Stanis.
“I need to find him. He bound my magic to him, and left me powerless. I need to get him to unleash his grip on me so I can claim the Summer Seelie Court; I’m the rightful Queen,” Shade stated. She kept her gaze focused on him. His good looks were not intimidating, which she thought was the reason he had shed his scruffy exterior. If he wanted to charm her, this wasn’t the way to do it.
He laughed sitting back down on the chair. His wings parted to allow him to lean on the back of the chair. His sinister eyes darted to Brisa and then back to Shade, making Shade’s skin crawl. They were a dark brown in color, nothing too faery about them, making her wonder if he had some human in him.