Page 5

CHAPTER FIVE

A va jerked awake with a start, thrashing. Someone was over her. “Get away!”

“Easy! Easy! We’re not going to hurt you.” Whoever they were sat back, hands raised. “You’re safe now.” It was a woman speaking.

“Safe.” Another voice. A man, from farther away. He huffed. “You needn’t lie, Ibin.”

“Come on, Nos. I’m trying to keep her from panicking.” The woman paused. “Worse.”

Ibin and Nos. The dream was real, and Serrik wasn’t lying. Fuck. Great. Awesome.

Ava sat up and pushed herself into the corner of whatever room she was now in. She honestly had no idea where she was. Not like that was anything new for the day she was having. She was back to being soaked, though.

Wherever she was, it wasn’t the huge and overwhelming Baroque hallways of twisting architecture and overgrown trees. She was in a smaller living space. It was maybe fifteen by fifteen feet square, with what she would expect for more Victorian style furniture, if it had been left outside for a year and…had done some acid. Everything, like what she had seen elsewhere, was warped and twisted, and overgrown with vines. She watched a small, brightly-colored bird fly from a shrub and up onto a small, sprouted tree in the corner.

Against one wall, a fire was burning in the marble hearth. It was a Victorian parlor that had been also turned into a greenhouse. Somehow. With a hard ceiling.

Magic. She had to stop trying to make any of it make any sense.

The woman sitting on her heels some five feet away from Ava was one of the most beautiful people that Ava had ever seen before in her life. She had long, wavy chestnut-brown hair that fell around her shoulders. Her lips were painted white and formed in a perfect smile. And her dress was almost entirely white as well, with a few layers of black at the bottom in the back, but all of it was made from flowing layers of gossamer that pooled around her on the floor.

Her ears were pointed, and once more, Ava knew the woman—Ibin—was distinctly not human.

The man who had spoken was almost Ibin’s mirror opposite, standing close to the fire. He almost looked like he was hiding from Ava, his head ducked, his long dark hair hiding his face. He was wearing an expensive-looking, dark burgundy suit that looked vaguely Victorian, though she couldn’t quite tell from where she was.

Lying on the floor next to her was the rusted, locked-up tome.

Ava pulled her knees up close to her chest. “Who are you—what do you want—please don’t hurt me— fuck ? — ”

Ibin laughed and shifted to sit on the floor. “Ye- eap. That’s exactly the right response to this place. That’s about the same as I had when I got turned into this mess.” She waved a hand down at herself. “Though I suppose I can’t complain too much.”

“You mustn’t speak of yourself in such terms. You know how it troubles me.” Nos folded his arms across his chest.

“I know, I know.” Ibin waved a hand over her shoulder at him, but never took her eyes off Ava. The woman’s eyes were a perfect shade of spring green, much brighter and more vivid than Ava’s own. “He doesn’t quite get it. He wasn’t born human. He doesn’t know what it’s like to suddenly have to grapple with having your whole concept of reality going all topsy-turvy.” She gestured with her hand in a loop-de-loop.

“You were human once?”

The woman cackled. “You could say that.” She shifted to sit against the wall closer to Ava. “Which is why, when I heard you screaming, I made Nos kick in the door. You were smart to make a deal with the hag to make sure you could leave whenever you wanted.”

“But foolish to close the door.” Nos sighed, clearly exhausted. “And now, we have to deal with that. ” He pointed at the book.

“It’s not her fault and you know it.” Ibin shook her head.

“I’m surprised you let me keep it.” Ava nudged the book a foot farther away from her. “It’s not like I want the stupid thing.” But she did though. Even as she said it, the words felt wrong as they left her mouth.

“Like we could do anything to keep it away from you.” Ibin laughed. The sound was genuine—pleasant—and full-throated. It wasn’t delicate like the rest of her. It belonged in a bar, not in a ballet. “Trust me. Where you go, it goes. Whether you like it or not.”

“Great.” Her instinct was to say that she wanted to go home. The urge was there, deep inside. To go to the one place in the world that was safe. Where she could shut the door and lock out everything that wanted to hurt her.

But she had no home to go to.

There wasn’t anywhere for her to belong.

It twisted a knife in her gut unexpectedly that brought tears to her eyes. With a snarl of sudden frustration, she wiped her eyes on her sleeve. “Sorry. It’s—it’s been—I just?—”

“No need to explain.” Ibin put her hand on her shoulder and gave her a gentle squeeze. The look of honest sympathy on her face was so tempting for Ava to believe. She wanted to believe that Ibin cared.

But Serrik’s warning rang in her mind. And these were the fae. She was surrounded by tricksters and monsters. She had to remember that.

“The mad bastard only takes those who have nothing left to lose.” Ibin rested her head back against the wall, her expression falling. “Or those who come here foolishly thinking they can control that thing. ” She gestured a hand dismissively at the book. “Gregor was one of the latter.”

Nos huffed a laugh. “He believed a lie. And the hubris required to believe that he could command such a thing? Humans. Always reaching beyond their capabilities.”

While Ava didn’t disagree with the sentiment, coming from him, it sounded offensive. “Okay, jackass.” She laughed. It was a weak laugh. But it was the best she could do.

Ibin snickered. “Don’t hold it against him. Too much.”

Studying the book on the floor for a moment, she realized she didn’t know what it really was. Only what Serrik had told her—that it was a key to the prison that she was stuck in. “Why was Gregor after that thing?”

“Oh, buttercup,” Ibin said through a long exhale. “There’s so much you don’t know.”

“That grimoire was created long ago by a…madman in search of access to power he had no business wielding,” Nos explained. “He, through his infinite wisdom , created a single book through which he could access all magical knowledge at once.”

Ava stared down at the locked tome. “Wait. It’s what?”

“He created a tome that can access all spells that have been, or ever shall be, created. Past, present, and future.” Nos finally turned to look at her, and Ava’s eyes went just a little bit wide.

The man was…stitched together. His face was made up of multiple faces, just like Frankenstein. Multiple beautiful inhuman fae faces, sure—but multiple faces, all the same. One part was pale blue, the other pale purple, another a different shade of blue. One of his eyes glowed faintly white, the other faintly orange.

“I—um—” Ava stammered. “I—wouldn’t—it seems—kinda thin—to—to—to—to be?—”

With a deep, and irritated sigh, he turned back to the fire. “If you were able to open it, you would find the pages blank. Only by knowing which spell you seek to cast, are you able to call it forward from its pages.”

“But I don’t know how to use magic.” She frowned.

“If we discover you are lying to us, human, it will end very poorly for you.” Nos glared at her.

“Oh, come on.” It was Ava’s turn to snort in disbelief. “If I had magic, don’t you think I’d have used it to deal with the witch who was trying to eat my eyes?” She groaned. “Oh god, I was eating eye stew. ” She covered her mouth. “Shit—I think I’m going to be sick?—”

“Bathroom.” Ibin pointed through a door.

Scrabbling up to her feet, she ran for the door. Luckily it was a bathroom, and a fairly modern one at that. It had running water and a toilet that had a tank up on the wall. She lost what little she’d eaten of the eye stew into the bowl. Drinking some fresh water from the tap—it tasted clean, which was glorious. She flushed the toilet and headed back outside, feeling better for having had some cold water.

“Here, you poor thing.” Ibin handed her a plate with some bread and cheese on it. “Sit. Eat. And don’t thank me.”

“I know.” She stared down at the plate. It looked like normal bread and cheese. “I…don’t trust you, though. And I certainly don’t trust your friend here.”

“Good.” Nos had gone back to staring at the fire. “Because I don’t know why we’re helping you. You are about to become exceedingly problematic.”

“Because I remember what it’s like to be human, and afraid, and lost.” Ibin flopped down onto a sofa by the fire. “You don’t have to stay with us. You can bugger off whenever you like, honey. But you’re welcome to stay with me. ” She shot a look at Nos.

“Why’s that?” Ava sat in the chair across from Ibin and put the tray of food down. She began to eat some of the bread and cheese. It looked normal. And it tasted normal. She was just not going to ask where the cheese came from. “Why’re you being nice to me, when it’s clear that I’m going to become a risk?” Serrik had told her things were going to start hunting her.

Looking down, she jolted in shock. The book was stuffed between her leg and the edge of the chair. She hadn’t put it there. She’d left it on the floor. “Sh— goddamn it. ”

“Like I said.” Ibin chuckled. “Where you go, it goes.”

“Great. Well, I guess I don’t have to worry about forgetting it somewhere.” She picked it up out of the crevice and put it on the coffee table. She didn’t want to whack her elbow on it.

“To answer your question, two reasons.” Ibin’s jovial expression faded. “One, I’d honestly like the company.” She shrugged. “I’m curious how Earth has changed since I left it. I…miss being human, if you really must know. I miss having a human around. These bastards”—she gestured at Nos, who shot her a look in return—“oh, kisses, darling, you know how you lot are. These bastards are all pomp and circumstance, all highfalutin drama and self-important schemes. No one just wants to crack open a beer and just chat. It’s exhausting.”

“And…the second reason?” Ava was pretty sure this was going to be the one she wasn’t going to like hearing. She focused on the bread and cheese. She wasn’t sure when her next meal was going to happen. Or what it’d consist of. So she was going to take what she could get when she could get it.

“Let us begin with this—what did that mad bastard put before you for a contract?” Nos kept his back to her, choosing instead to stare into the fire. Now that Ava had seen what he was, and considering her poor instinctual reaction to it, she didn’t honestly blame him.

Ava felt kind of like a douche about having stammered at the sight of him. But she had a rough day. She tried to cut herself a little slack. “I’m not sure I should tell you.”

“Then allow me to guess.” Nos sounded like he was on the razor’s edge of losing his shit and shattering things. “In exchange for your freedom from the cage he placed you in, need I remind you, he asked for your help in breaking the seals that keep him locked within the center of the Web.”

Well, fine. Shit. “In not so many words.” She paused. “Yeah.”

“And did he tell you why he was put here to begin with?” Nos’s hands clenched into fists. “And what he intends to do if and when he escapes this place?”

“He left that part out. I was too busy having a panic attack and reeling from the fact that I’d smacked my head and—” Ava broke off. “Do you think I have a concussion? Should I be worried?”

“ No , human. You cannot die. You cannot become ill. Are you dense?” Nos turned to face her, finally unable to take it anymore.

“I am not dense. ” This time she kept from blanching or reacting to the sight of him. “And I don’t appreciate your fucking tone. ” Ava stood, deciding she’d had it with Nos.

She’d had it with everyone, to be fair. “For the past five years of my life I have watched my mother slowly die. For the past two, I’ve taken care of her on my own, because my father walked out on us. Then, as soon as she’s dead and buried? He waltzes back in with his new wife and three kids. Which— by the way —are his. I gave up everything to take care of her. My college degree. My friends. My career. My future. And he took all the rest I had. Kicked me out on the street like I was nothing. Because to him? I was!” Now she was screaming. And crying.

Fuck, she hated crying. But now she was angry crying, and at least that was cathartic in some way. “And now what do I have to put up with? I get trapped in this fucking hellhole! And now I have a bunch of you fae assholes stomping around telling me that I’m stupid and worthless! Well, guess what, you kitchen sink reject, I have news for you! Don’t you think I already fucking know that? ”

Ibin and Nos stared at her in stunned silence.

Before Ibin started laughing. At least it didn’t seem to be in a mocking way. “Oh—oh shit, Nos—the look on your face. Oh, honey—I like you.” Ibin stood, her gossamer dress flowing around her as she did. “You and I are going to get along just grand.”

Before Ava could do much of anything, Ibin was hugging her. Just strolled right up to her and pulled her into a hug. She was warm, and soft, and despite how much Ava hated it and knew she shouldn’t—it felt nice. She needed it.

It actually calmed her down.

After a moment, Ibin let her go, and rested her hand on her shoulder. “I’ll just tell you, then, shall I? Skip all the nonsense. What Nos was trying to say, before he went and insulted your intelligence”—she shot another glare over at the other fae—“which isn’t a great way to get her on our side, by the by—is that Serrik should stay trapped here for a very, very good reason.”

“Which is?”

“Well, you see…” Ibin’s expression was one of sadness and worry.

“He plans to rip Tir n’Aill, the fae realm, away from Earth. Separating the two forever.” Nos returned to the fire.

That didn’t sound so bad. The fae were dicks, as far as she could tell. “And? What would that do?”

“Oh, nothing major.” Ibin’s smile was halfhearted and didn’t last. “Only bring about the mass genocide of the entire fae race.”