Realm of Mirrors (The DeathSpeaker Codex Book 3) (11 page)

“Terrific.”

It wasn’t long before Sadie came out dressed in black and forest green. She looked amazing, but I couldn’t bring myself to tell her that. Compliments seemed inappropriate for an outfit designed to help rescue the love of her life from certain death. So I just waved a little as I passed by on the way to the guest room.

I changed quickly, and then glanced in the bathroom mirror, figuring I probably looked like Peter Pan in this stuff. But I was surprised to find my reflection seemed a little more intimidating than a Disney cartoon. In fact, it was almost threatening.

Must’ve been subconscious. I was probably still thinking about the wild ones, and it’d rubbed off on my perceptions or something.

When I rejoined the rest of them, Sadie gaped at me. “Holy shit.”

I frowned. “What?”

“Um. I’ve just never seen you look so…Fae before,” she said.

Will smiled. “It suits you.”

“Interesting,” Uriskel said. “And now if we could all end the fashion discussion, we’ve places to go, and miles to make.”

The silence that followed stretched into awkward territory, until Cobalt said, “Safe returns, then. All of you.”

“That’d be the plan.”

Uriskel moved to the center of the room, and Sadie and I followed. “I’ll put us near to the Trees of Ankou as possible, though we’ll still face a hike across the marshlands,” he said. “The Mists tend to be active there. I can’t risk stepping directly into them.”

I frowned. “What Mists?”

“Let’s hope you’ll not have to find out.” He raised a hand, paused, and then drew it down like a slow-motion karate chop.

The air rippled apart as his hand passed through, creating a slit that pulsed and gleamed with brilliant colors of every shade and hue—and some I couldn’t even name. The gap almost seemed to breathe, a slow and slumbering pace that calmed my racing heart.

“All right. You first, DeathSpeaker. Then the girl,” Uriskel said. “Don’t wander off. I’ll be directly behind you.”

I nodded and moved in front of the rip. This wasn’t the way I expected my first visit to Arcadia to happen—but I was going. No turning back now.

I stepped through before I could think myself out of it.

The first thing I noticed was the moon.

There’d been no bright lights or sudden darkness. No sense of time passing, no rush of air or weightless suspension. Going through the portal was like stepping from one room to the next—except the first room was completely gone, and the next one wasn’t a room. It was a vast, wide open space under a brilliant and impossibly huge moon.

But it wasn’t like any full moon I’d ever seen.

Pure blue steel, ringed by a shimmering corona like silver flames. The light eradicated every feature, erased the familiar shadows that textured the moon I knew. And there was something else off, something I only realized when I tore my gaze deliberately from the bright circle.

The sky was cloudless, velvet black with a faint purple hue.

And there were no stars. Not a single one.

A startled intake of breath behind me announced Sadie’s arrival. I turned toward her—and the hesitant smile on my face froze as alarms blared through my head.

Full moon.

A full moon was very bad for a werewolf. And this was the fullest damned moon ever to exist.

All thoughts of taking in the surroundings vanished. “Sadie,” I said carefully. “I think I figured out why you being here is not good.”

She didn’t seem to hear me. Her wide eyes saw the moon, and nothing else.

Just then, Uriskel stepped from the glowing gap in the air beside her. He gestured dismissively, and the jagged line of light vanished. “Well, at least that went smoothly.”

“I’m not so sure about that,” I rasped.

His brow furrowed, and he glanced at Sadie. Then he took a rapid step back. “Oh. Damn.”

“Yeah.”

Sadie shuddered violently. Her breath quickened, heaving in and out in rough gasps. “Gideon,” she panted—and her eyes flashed wolf gold as she looked at me. “
Run
.”

C
HAPTER 14

T
he wolf seemed to explode out of her.

I caught a brief flash of fur and fangs and claws, before Uriskel shoved me aside and threw an arm up. “
À dionadth!
”

Shield. I knew that one.

Sadie lunged at the exact time he spoke. She crashed into nothing, yelped and fell—but sprang right back up, fangs bared. A powerful swipe at the shield, and her claws sparked along the invisible barrier in a blue-white spray.

Okay,
that
didn’t happen back in our realm.

With an almost human snarl of frustration, Sadie pivoted and walked slowly to the left and dragged her claws along the shield, showering sparks. Looking for the end point. Her eyes glittered redly, her lips lifted away from her fangs in a constant low growl.

Uriskel raised a hand to cast another spell.

“Wait!” Somehow I knew that whatever he threw next, it’d be a hell of a lot more damaging than a shield. I cut in front of him and gestured at Sadie. “
Beith na cohdal.
”

My pendant flashed a blinding white that nearly rivaled the moon.

And I remembered that the sleep spell hadn’t worked on werewolf Sadie the last time I tried it.

But before I could panic properly, Sadie slowed almost to a complete stop. Her eyes dulled, and she took a single, staggering step. Then she slumped against the unseen shield and slid to the ground.

“Huh,” Uriskel said with something like approval. “I’d not have thought of that.”

“Yeah, well it’s one of like three spells I know,” I said, rushing around to Sadie’s still form. “And it shouldn’t have worked. It didn’t before.”

He flicked a gesture and stepped across where the shield had been. I couldn’t help noticing how calm he was for someone who’d almost been mauled by a werewolf. “Presumably, you were in the human realm when you last attempted it,” he said. “There’s far more magic here, and your stone enhances the power.”

“That wasn’t exactly intentional,” I said. “I have no idea why it did that.”

Uriskel sighed. “You know even less than I suspected. I’d not thought that possible.”

“Don’t worry. I’m a fast learner.” I crouched beside Sadie. Definitely unconscious…but still a werewolf. We couldn’t just keep putting her to sleep the whole time we were here. “How long does your full moon last?” I said.

“In human terms, roughly two weeks.”

“Great. What are we supposed to do with her?”

He shrugged. “Send her back.”

“Not happening.”

“What do you suggest, then?” he snapped. “Perhaps we should craft her a muzzle and leash, and drag her about the realm like a rabid dog.”

“You’re not helping.” I rubbed my forehead, as if I could massage an answer from nothing. “There has to be something. A spell, a fancy glamour, something to…keep the light away from her,” I finished slowly.

Something that would absorb it.

Like a stone that sucked up moonlight.

I grasped the cord around my neck, and hesitated. Not once in over a decade had I taken the pendant off. I’d promised to keep it safe, long before I knew that promises could be deadly to the Fae.

But it would be safe with Sadie. I had no doubt of that.

“What in blazes are you doing?” Uriskel said as I slipped the moonstone over my head.

“The stone absorbs moonlight to recharge.” I lifted Sadie’s heavy, furred head and eased the cord into place. “Maybe if she wears it, it’ll draw enough light to keep her from going wolf.”

He snorted. “Interesting. Perhaps you’re not as thick as I believed.”

“Gee, thanks.”

I moved back a little and held my breath. The moonstone took on a milky glow—and a faint shadow washed over Sadie like dark, spreading water. Her fur and fangs started to retract.

Holy shit. It was actually working.

Then I remembered what would happen when she finished transforming, and stood between her and Uriskel. “How about you turn away for a minute?” I said.

“What are you…oh.” A tiny smile graced his lips. “I’ve little interest in the female form,” he said. “But if you insist.”

He turned and walked a few steps away, and I thought of Cobalt saying
what am I supposed to tell Trystan?
The way Uriskel’s voice broke when he said
I’ll tell him myself.

So Trystan was more than a relative. And I’d taken Uriskel away from him.

Just when I thought I couldn’t feel like any more of an asshole.

Uriskel shrugged his pack off, opened it and removed a rolled blanket. He handed it back without looking. “For the moment,” he said. “Once you wake her, we’ll decide what to do about clothing her.”

“Thank you,” I said. “Listen, I’m sor—”

“Don’t apologize to me. I’ll not tolerate grousing.”

For some reason, his gruff tone didn’t make me as angry as it should’ve.

I shook the blanket loose and covered Sadie, then knelt next to her. “
Diúsaegh.
”

Her eyes opened. She gasped and clutched involuntarily at the blanket. “Oh, God,” she whispered. “Did I…hurt anyone?”

“No. We’re all fine.”

“That moon. I’ve never felt anything like—” She jerked upright and stared in horror at the sky. “It’s still up! Get away from me,” she said, trying to scramble back. “I can’t control it. Please…I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Whoa. You’re okay.” I smiled and pointed at the pendant. “Something to keep the wolf at bay.”

She glanced down. “Your moonstone,” she said hoarsely, touching the glowing gem with trembling fingers. “Gideon, I can’t…are you sure?”

I nodded. “As long as we’re here, it’s yours.”

“Thank you,” she said. “I promise I’ll keep it safe.”

“I know you will.”

Uriskel cleared his throat. “If you’re through mooning at one another, perhaps you’d consider moving. We cannot stay in the open for long,” he said. “Just dress in whatever you have. We’re leagues from our destination yet, and we risk discovery the longer we remain still.”

I managed not to snap at him—because unfortunately, he was probably right.

C
HAPTER 15

I
had to admit, Uriskel had a point about the clothes. Dressed in a normal human outfit, Sadie stood out in this place like a phone booth in ancient Greece.

At least her backpack hadn’t been destroyed by the unexpected transformation, but both straps had broken. She’d tied them together and slung the bag across a shoulder without comment.

Despite the fast pace Uriskel set as we moved across the marshlands, I couldn’t help gawking at everything. The moonlight should’ve washed out most colors, especially since it was so bright—but the landscape was starkly vibrant. At first the impossibility, the
wrongness
of the dark light made my head ache, but I got used to it gradually.

The terrain consisted of tufts, patches and long banks of grass in variegated greens, purples and reds, interspersed with sweeping curves and swells of black water that glinted blue with the moon. The occasional sketch of a lone, skeletal tree dotted the landscape, and an abrupt line of thick forest smudged the distant horizon. And some kind of shrub grew in thickets from stagnant pools of water—gnarled and twisting branches, glossy midnight-blue leaves shapes like teardrops, and dime-sized emerald green berries.