Masquerade (Creepy Hollow, #4) (3 page)

*

I enter the Guild through the trainees’ entrance, not the main entrance I took Nate through the first night I met him. The faerie paths let me out into a small room off the main entrance, where I have to let Tank scan my trainee pendant with his stylus before he’ll let me in. I hurry past him with barely a greeting.

I head downstairs to the third floor below ground. There are closed doors down here I’ve never been allowed behind, but one place I’ve visited is the potions laboratory. After all, one of the guys who works here was my assignment last year. I feel that gives me the right to visit occasionally and check up on him. And ask for favors.

I pull the heavy door open and cough as acrid fumes greet me. It’s close to midnight, but I knew he’d be here; he’s overly dedicated to his work. I wave my hand through the air, clearing a path through the haze of blue smoke.

“Violet!” I jump as the urisk hobbles through a doorway on the other side of the lab. As always, his appearance startles me. No matter how many times I see him, I can’t quite get used to his bald, misshapen head and scrawny, wrinkled body. It always takes a second or two to remind myself I don’t need to be afraid of him. Despite the fact that he wound up on my assignment list, he would never intentionally hurt anyone; the poor guy just wanted a friend. Unfortunately, he almost scared a human girl to death in his search for friendship. “What a lovely surprise!” he says. He carefully places a cylinder of yellow liquid on a lab bench, then tilts his head to the side. “Did you shrink, dear?”

“What?” I look down at my loose clothing. “Oh. No, these aren’t my clothes. Anyway, that’s not important. I need your help, Uri.” Uri isn’t his real name, of course. It’s something ridiculously unpronounceable. Uri The Urisk seemed a lot easier to wrap my tongue around. He was cool with that.

“Of course, of course.” He climbs onto a stool on the other side of the workbench. “What can I do for you? Need someone else’s eyebrows turned orange?” I wish I could smile at the memory of Ryn and Dale’s orange eyebrows. They tried every spell they could think of to get rid of the color, but Uri’s special little charm refused to budge for an entire week. My mouth feels like it’s forgotten how to smile though. Trying to force my lips upward seems impossible right now.

“I need to forget about someone,” I say. “Well, more specifically, I need to forget that I loved someone. I mean,
cared about
someone. I didn’t love him. Love takes time to develop, right? And I barely knew him. Just a few weeks, really. That’s not love. Maybe it could have been, but he made sure that didn’t happen.”
Stop rambling, dammit!
I take a deep breath.

“Forget someone. Hmm.” Uri rubs his hands together. “Well, the ingredients for a potion like that are—”

“Rare and expensive. I’ve heard. But I’ve got this.” I pull the vial of
Forget
out of my pocket and place it on the workbench between us. “Maybe you can make use of it?” Uri eyes the vial with a raised eyebrow. He’ll be wondering how I came to be in possession of this particular potion. From his perspective there are only two options: Either I stole it, or I was supposed to use it on a human and didn’t. “And please . . . don’t tell anyone about this.”

“Well . . .” He sits back, rolling the tiny vial back and forth between his knobbly thumb and forefinger. “I can try and isolate the ingredients from this potion, but as I’ve never needed to do that before, I’m not sure I’d be successful. And, of course, I’d need something that belongs to this boy you’re hoping to forget about.”

“Here.” I hand over Nate’s torn and bloodied T-shirt that, for some reason, I never got around to throwing away after the labyrinth incident.

Uri takes the T-shirt, then begins tapping a finger against an empty glass jar. “Are you sure you want to forget about him? Whatever hurt you’re feeling right now won’t last forever, and surely it’s best to keep all your memories intact.”

I sigh. Uri’s probably right, but that doesn’t mean I have to listen to him. “I don’t want to completely forget about him. It’s in my permanent record that he followed me into the fae realm, so it would create complications if I forgot his existence entirely. But I would like to forget that I was ever stupid enough to care about him.” I lean forward. “And yes, I am absolutely sure about that.”

*

Tears burn behind my eyes the moment I step back into my home. I want to curl up in a corner and wait there until Uri’s managed to make a potion for me. I don’t care how long it takes him. I know I’m being completely pathetic, but I don’t want to face the world right—

Bang!

“What the hell?” Filigree appears in the kitchen and points his squirrel paw in the direction of my front door. Well, the area of my wall that could be called a front door if faeries homes actually had front doors. I hear the sound again and recognize it as the sound of the door knocker attached to the outside of my tree.

A muffled voice: “Come on, Violet, just open up.” It’s Ryn. I stride into the sitting room, cross my arms, and stare at the wall. Who the heck does he think he is coming over here and demanding to be let in? What does he want? Another fight?

He slams the knocker over and over again. “Dammit, Violet,
please.
I really need to talk to you.”

Well, you are the last person I want to talk to.

“I swear, if you don’t open up right now, I’m going to find my own way—”

I sweep my hand across the wall, opening a doorway. “What?” I demand. “Here for round two?”

He freezes, his hand still in the air, then sighs. “Look. I need your help.”

I hear the words, but they don’t make any sense. “I’m sorry, what?”

“I need your help,” he repeats slowly through clenched teeth.

And suddenly it all makes sense. He only saved me because he needs something. And from the look on his face, I’m the last person he wants to ask. Which is fine with me, because I sure as hell don’t feel like helping him. I cross my arms and glare at him.

“You going to make me beg?” he asks.

“I doubt it’ll help, but I’d love to see you try.”

He looks to the side and breathes out sharply, shaking his head. Then he closes his eyes, takes a deep breath, and slowly gets down on both knees. “Please,” he says, refusing to look up at me. “Please. You’re the only one who can help me.”

My mouth drops open. Maybe this is all a dream. Maybe I haven’t been on a date with Nate yet, and he hasn’t betrayed me, and I didn’t have to run from Zell, and Ryn isn’t really on his knees begging for my help. I press my fingernails into my arms. It hurts.

“Now that I’ve completely humiliated myself, will you let me in?”

I drop my arms to my sides and step back, still barely able to believe that Ryn would actually get down on his knees in front of me. Filigree shifts to snow leopard form and bares his teeth as Ryn gets to his feet and walks in. The doorway seals up behind him. I cross the room and settle myself on one of the couches. Hopefully we can get this over with quickly. “So what do you need help with?”

Ryn glances in Filigree’s direction, then follows me. After removing a bag from his shoulder, he chooses a seat opposite me and sits down. “It’s my sister. She’s missing.”

I narrow my eyes. “You don’t have a sister.”

“Half sister,” he corrects. “My father left, remember? Broke the union with my mother?” I do remember that. It happened soon after Reed died. “Anyway, he met someone else, and now, hey presto, I have a little sister.”

I imagine a miniature version of Ryn. A miniature
girl
version. Wow, I sure do pity the girls who’ll have to suffer through school with her one day. “And now she’s gone and you need me to find her.”

“Yes. They discovered she was missing on Tuesday morning, and I know you can find people faster than anyone at the Guild can, so I went looking for you. Now it’s Thursday night and they still haven’t found any trace of her, and I’m really—”

“It’s Thursday night?” I hadn’t expected that.

“Yeah, you’ve been asleep for the past two days, and I was going to ask for your help the moment you woke up, but—”

“Then you screwed that up by insulting me instead.” He runs a hand through his hair, and it reminds me so much of Nate that I have to look to the side quickly so he won’t see the tears I’m blinking away.

“Look, I know we don’t like each other, Violet, and I don’t expect you to give a damn about my little sister, but I
have to find her
. All you need to do is tell me where she is and then I’ll leave you alone.” He opens his bag and turns it upside down so that the contents tumble onto the couch beside him. A guardian emergency kit along with dolls, clothes, a blanket and a book.

“You know I only need one thing, right?”

He shrugs. “I wanted to make sure you could definitely find her.”

I stare at him. He looks like the same guy who’s been tormenting me for years, but this is a side of him I don’t recognize. The Ryn I know stopped caring about people years ago, but it’s clear he’ll do anything for this little sister of his. And while she’s probably a brat just like him, she doesn’t deserve to be kidnapped. And he did save my life.

“Okay.” I lean forward. “Give me the blanket.” He passes it to me across the low table between the couches. It’s small and well-worn; I’m guessing she’s had it since she was a baby. Before closing my eyes, I look over at Ryn. “Did you tell anyone I’d be able to help you?”

He shakes his head. “No. I remember your dad telling Reed and me to keep your little trick a secret.”

My little trick. Well, that’s one way of putting it. “Okay, let’s get this over with.”

“She’s still alive, right?” says Ryn the moment I open my eyes.

“Yes. She’s alone in a bedroom. I could sense that the house is really large, and I think it’s a human one. I couldn’t feel a glamour concealing it.” I leave out the part about the icy feeling of dark magic that pervaded my senses while looking through the girl’s eyes.

He leans further forward. “And where is it?”

“I’m . . . not sure exactly. I guess I’ll have to show you. Just let me change into my own clothes.” I stand up as Ryn flops back against the couch with a frustrated sigh. I put my hands on my hips. “What? You know it’s not always as simple as knowing the exact address.”

“I know, I know. Just hurry up, would you?” I roll my eyes as I head for the stairs. It’s obviously too much to hope for a ‘thank you’.

A few minutes later, feeling far more comfortable in my own clothes, I’m back downstairs holding the blanket once more. I send my mind out again, just to be certain I can sense where she is. I open a doorway on the wall while Ryn stuffs the blanket into his bag. “What’s her name?” I ask, sticking my foot through the doorway to keep it open.

“Calla. She’s six years old and probably completely terrified.” He slings the bag over his shoulder and holds out his hand. “Let’s go.”

Reluctantly, I wrap my fingers around his. I can’t help thinking that the last hand I held was Nate’s. The dull ache in my chest intensifies, and I have to bite my lip as I struggle to push it away.
Don’t think, don’t think, don’t think.

Ryn’s hand tightens. “Come on, what are you waiting for?” The urge to kick him overwhelms the pain in my chest. I dig my fingernails into his skin as I pull him into the faerie paths after me.

It could be that I’m distracted by my anger, but when we emerge from the paths, there isn’t a house in sight. We’re in a forest, but it’s nothing like Creepy Hollow. It feels dead somehow. Boring. No magic. Ryn looks around. “Large human house that isn’t concealed, huh? You sure your little talent still works properly?”

“Shut it,” I snap. “I’m perfectly happy for you to find the house on your own if you’ve decided you don’t need my help anymore.”

He holds his hands up, indicating surrender. “You need the blanket again?”

“Uh . . . give me something smaller that I can hold onto.”

He digs around in his bag and produces a simple silver bracelet. “She wears this quite often.”

Moonlight glints off the silver as he drops it into my hand. I close my eyes, and it only takes a moment to sense the direction she’s in. I point through the trees. “That way.”

“And she’s still okay? There’s no one else with her?”

“I think she’s asleep. I can’t see anything through her eyes.” I push the bracelet into my pocket. “I’ll leave once we’ve found the house.”

Ryn lets me lead the way. I can tell that my pace isn’t fast enough for him, but, miraculously, he doesn’t say anything. “Do you know why somebody would want to kidnap your sister?” I think of the young girl Tora asked me to find earlier this week and wonder if that incident is related to this one.

“No,” says Ryn. “I have no idea. She’s just a normal child.”

“Okay. And . . . how did you find me? On Tuesday night, I mean.
I
didn’t even know where I was.”

“Well, you weren’t at your house, and you weren’t at the Guild, and the Seers told me you weren’t out on assignment. So then I checked Tora’s house. After I remembered she’s away, I just started wandering around, trying to figure out where you might be. I came across you soon after that, quite close to Tora’s.”

“Oh.” I wonder if I would have survived if he hadn’t found me. I’m guessing the chances are slim. “Yeah, um, I kind of fell out the side of a mountain and wasn’t thinking too clearly when I dropped into the faerie paths.”

“Oh yes. Halfling boy betrayed you. Did he take you up there just to push you off? Seems a bit excessive to me. I’m sure there are easier ways he could have got rid of you.”

“I’m sure there are, but I’d prefer not to talk about it.”

“Oh, wait, you mentioned another faerie. Halfing boy betrayed you to someone else, right?”

“Ryn.”

“So we know there is at least one person out there who wants you, for whatever reason. Oh, is this it?” We slow down as we near a tall brick wall. Excellent timing, as I was beginning to feel an urgent need to hurt Ryn. I stop walking. Looking left and right, I see that the wall extends out of sight in both directions.

“Guess it could be.” I wrap my hands around the lowest branch of the tree beside me. “We’ll have to get higher to find out.” I pull myself up, then continue climbing from branch to branch. I hear Ryn following me; he’d never trust me to just tell him what I see.

When I’ve climbed as high as the tree will allow, I stop and lean back against the trunk. The forest continues on the other side of the wall, but where it comes to an end I can see the outline of a massive house. A mansion, humans would call it. “Yes, that’s it.”

Ryn pulls himself onto the branch beside mine and whistles. “Wow, that’s an impressive home.”

“I’ll say.” Whatever they want with Calla, it certainly isn’t ransom money. I make sure I have a clear path to the ground, then jump. I land easily, bending into a crouch to absorb the impact. I stand, place my hands on my hips and look up at the wall. “I don’t think you’re getting over that.”

He drops beside me. “I’m a faerie; I can get over anything.”

I roll my eyes. “Not because of the height, you idiot. Because it’s protected by magic. Can’t you feel it?”

“I’m a guardian; I fight magic all the time. A single wall isn’t going to hold me back.” He walks over and kicks the wall with the edge of his boot. Very mature. It probably doesn’t even occur to him to wonder why a human home would be surrounded by a wall of magic.

“Fine. All I’m saying is that you shouldn’t make a stupid and potentially life-threatening mistake just because you’re desperate to get to your sister.”

“Whatever.” He steps back and looks up, his eyes scanning the trees. “I wouldn’t expect you to understand.”

“Of course not. What could I possibly know about wanting to save family members?”

He looks at me over his shoulder. “Just get out of here before you cause me to lose another sibling.”

“Excuse me?”

“I said GO! I don’t need your help anymore.”

Sometimes I wonder if I’ve imagined the intensity of Ryn’s hatred for me. I tell myself that he began to dislike everyone equally after his brother died. That there’s nothing special about me. But no. The venom in his eyes tells me otherwise. It’s a wonder I’m not poisoned just by meeting his gaze.

I should leave. He doesn’t need my help now that we’ve found the house, and I don’t want to spend any more time around him than I already have. I want to go home. I have more important things to grieve than a friendship that disappeared years ago. But I’m tired of not understanding. I fold my arms tightly across my chest. “Tell me.”

“Tell you what?” he spits, turning to face me.

“Why you hate me.”

The expression on his face is incredulous. “Are you serious?”

“What? Am I supposed to know without you telling me?”

“Just get out of here, Violet.”

I can’t help it. My hands connect with his shoulders, pushing him hard. “What did I do to you, Ryn? WHAT?”

He reacts instantly, shoving me so hard I fall backward onto the ground. “YOU TOOK HIM AWAY FROM ME!”

I scramble up, furious and yet fighting the instinct to reach for a weapon. “What are you talking about?”

“The only reason—the
only reason
—Reed was on the Tip-Top Path that day was because he visited you. He had to give you some stupid box that was apparently more important than staying to welcome our father home after two months of an undercover assignment. He said you needed it urgently and that the two of you would come back as soon as he’d given it to you. That you’d come together on the Tip-Top Path because it’s quicker than walking along the ground. But you didn’t come back with him, did you, Violet? Oh no.” Ryn points at me. “You let him go off on that dangerous path all by himself. That path we all knew we weren’t supposed to travel on alone. So while I was promising my father that his other son would be home to see him soon, Reed was slipping, with no one to help him, and
falling to his death
! And
that
is why I hate you—because if it weren’t for you he’d still be here.”

If it weren’t for you he’d still be here.

Ryn’s face swims before me. Anger and confusion stick in my throat and make it hard to speak. “What box? I didn’t—He never visited me.”

“What?” Ryn’s voice is harsh. “Of course he did. He must have.”

I shake my head. This is really why Ryn’s hated me for so long? For something that didn’t even happen? “No. I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“But when they found his body he didn’t have the box with him anymore. I assumed he’d given it to you.”

“You assumed?” Blood throbs in my ears. “You’ve hated me for nearly eight years because of an
assumption
?”

“Well—”

“And even if he had visited me it wouldn’t be my fault that he died. It was an
accident
, Ryn! He slipped and fell and that had
nothing
to do with me.”

“Vi—”

“I can’t believe this is why you hate me. Did you forget that you weren’t the only one who cared about him? That I knew him almost as long as you did? That my heart was breaking just as much as—”

“Shut up! You didn’t love him like—”

“Everyone loved him, Ryn, you
know
that. There was just something about him, something that drew people toward him. And I get that he was your brother and you guys had this special bond, but come on. It’s been eight years. Don’t you think it’s time you—”

“Stop it!” His hand sweeps through the air between us, calling up a gust of wind that forces me back a few steps.

“Oh, you want to fight?” I advance on him, pushing both hands into the air so hard the magic throws him back against the wall. “Bring it, Ryn, BRING IT! I’ve been waiting years for this fight.”

With an almost animal-like snarl, he strikes out at me. I duck and swing my fist, landing a punch to his stomach. But he’s already twisting out of the way, grabbing my shoulders, forcing my back against the wall. He clamps a fist around my throat as I bring my leg up and kick his chest. A heavy breath escapes him as he stumbles backward. I kick again, harder, and he goes down. I throw myself on top of him, but before I can even aim a punch, he flips me over, pinning me beneath the weight of his body. I slam the heel of my hand up against his jaw. His head jerks backward, and I shove him off me.

And then we’re both on our feet again, circling each other, striking out with hands and feet. Kicking, hitting, kneeing, scratching. An unspoken rule exists between us: No magic. No weapons. Just like in the Fish Bowl.

Ryn lunges toward me. I dart out of the way, always faster than him. I swivel and kick, but he grabs my leg, unbalancing me. I hit the ground with a yelp. Before he can pin me down again, I sweep my leg out in front of his ankles and trip him. He falls heavily and rolls toward me. But I’m already up and dancing out of reach.

Time to make you run.

I set off between the trees. Faster and faster. He does a good job of keeping up, but he’ll never catch me. I aim for the tree straight ahead. My feet hit the trunk, and for one crazy second I’m running vertical. Then I somersault backward—and land behind him. He throws his arms out against the tree to stop himself, spins around, and grabs at me. Caught by surprise, I don’t have time to move backward. He raises me above his head, as though I weigh little more than a sack of pixie dust, and throws me.