Shadowspell (16 page)

It was time to start planning Operation Rescue Ethan.

That sounded real good. Now, if only I had some clue how to go about it … How was I, a sixteen-year-old girl, supposed to defeat the ancient leader of the Wild Hunt? A leader even the Queens of Faerie were afraid of? I fought not to let myself drown in the apparent hopelessness of the task.

I spent several hours mulling over the problem, not coming to any helpful conclusions. My mind kept insisting that the only way to convince the Erlking to release Ethan was to offer to take the Wild Hunt out into the mortal world. I can’t say there weren’t times I was tempted to give in, but I knew I could never live with myself if I did. The Erlking, with all his magic intact because of my presence, would make Jack the Ripper’s reign of terror seem small scale.

The phone rang late in the afternoon. I checked caller ID, but there was no name displayed and I didn’t recognize the number. I figured it had to be a wrong number, but I couldn’t help hoping it was Ethan, escaped from the Erlking’s clutches, maybe calling from a pay phone or a borrowed cell.

“Hello?” I said, knowing my hope was wishful thinking, but unable to suppress it. I held my breath as I waited for the caller to speak.

“Hello, Faeriewalker,” said the Erlking, and I gasped in shock.

“How did you get this number?” I demanded, although that was hardly important.

“My Huntsmen keep no secrets from me,” he answered, sounding amused.

My heart lurched in my chest. I didn’t know exactly what happened to people who were captured by the Hunt, what the Erlking did to them to keep them bound, but I should have guessed that anything Ethan knew about me, the Erlking would now know. Like my phone number.

Thank God Ethan didn’t know the location of my safe house!

I wished I could think of something clever to say, something that would cut him down to size and show him I wasn’t afraid of him. Instead, I just stood there like an idiot, holding the phone to my ear, my tongue glued to the roof of my mouth.

“He is quite the catch, your Ethan,” the Erlking said. “Not as exalted as your brother, but his bloodline is more than respectable, and his powers are formidable.”

My hand clenched around the phone. “Did you call just to gloat, or do you have something important to say?” My voice came out hoarse and raspy.

“A little of both,” he replied. “But then, I suspect you know exactly why I’ve called, don’t you, Faeriewalker?”

“My name is Dana!” I snapped, not sure why I cared what he called me.

“Dana. Of course. Do you know why I’ve called, Dana?”

There was only one reason I could think of. “Now that you’ve got Ethan as a hostage, you want to set up a trade.” A trade my conscience wouldn’t allow me to make, no matter how much I wanted to save Ethan.

“Very good. In the old days, before Avalon seceded from Faerie, I could have taken you by force. Of course, in the old days, I was free to hunt in Avalon to my heart’s content, so I wouldn’t have needed to. In these modern times, neither I nor my Huntsmen can hurt you even slightly, so I cannot use you to enter the mortal world without your consent. Give me that consent, and Ethan will be free to go. He would be the first person ever to be released from the Wild Hunt by anything but death.”

I took a deep breath to steady my nerves. If I had any sense, I’d end this call immediately. I don’t know if I ever would have been in any shape to negotiate with the Erlking, but I certainly wasn’t at that moment. The grief and shock of losing Ethan were still too raw.

“You know I can’t do that,” I forced myself to say.

“I know no such thing. Perhaps you would not be able to stomach granting me unlimited access, but I would be happy to negotiate. I am not an unreasonable man.”

No, because he wasn’t really a
man
at all.

“Make me an offer,” he said.

“Unless your plan is to go into the mortal world for sightseeing, I can’t do it. I saw you kill that man when you first rode into Avalon. There’s no way—” My voice choked off as I tried to block out the image of the Erlking bearing down on the fleeing Fae, sword raised and ready to strike.

“I am a hunter, Faerie— Dana,” the Erlking said, his voice gentling. “That is the essential core of my being. I’ve no interest in visiting the mortal world for sightseeing. If we strike a bargain to go there together, I will hunt, and I will kill. Let there be no illusions between us.”

A little sound, almost like a whimper, rose in my throat.

“I’m sorry that distresses you,” he continued. “I bear you no ill will. But I don’t think sugarcoating the truth will make it any more palatable. I am willing to consider making certain concessions in order to convince you to ride with me, but a hunt is not a hunt if the quarry does not die in the end.”

“Then we have nothing to talk about,” I said, though it was practically killing me. Bad enough that I already felt so guilty about what had happened to Ethan. Now the Erlking was rubbing my face in the fact that I could save him—if only I didn’t mind sacrificing who knew how many strangers for the privilege.

“Perhaps you need some time to think it over. I’m not demanding that you make a decision this instant. You have my phone number now. If you decide you might like to negotiate after all, don’t hesitate to call me.”

Once again, I found myself at a loss for words. I expected the Erlking to hang up, or maybe give an evil laugh or something. But I obviously hadn’t come close to figuring him out yet, because he did no such thing.

“Remember what I told you when we first met,” he said. “I am not your enemy, even if we do at times find ourselves at cross-purposes.”

I remembered him saying that, though he’d also pointed out that he wasn’t my friend, either.

Thinking about our first meeting, I remembered the Erlking warning Finn and me that we had an imposter in our midst. A “token of goodwill,” he’d called it.

“It’s been a pleasure speaking with you,” he said, and I realized he was about to hang up.

“Wait!” I said, surprising myself.

I thought I was too late, but a moment later the Erlking said, “Go on.”

“Why did you warn me about the imposter the other day?”

“I suspect you’re clever enough to figure it out on your own. But then I’ve put you into a stressful situation, and I suppose that isn’t conducive to clear thinking.” He managed to say that without sounding particularly condescending, though I don’t know how he managed it.

“I want something from you, Dana,” he continued. “I want it very badly. If your enemies should kill you, they will ruin my chances of getting it. I am highly motivated to keep you alive.” He laughed a little. “You may not feel it, but you are safer now than you have been from the moment you first set foot in Avalon. I will not let any harm come to you.”

What the hell was I supposed to say to that? Thank you? Uh, no.

It didn’t occur to me until after he hung up that the Erlking was suggesting my life had been in danger when I’d been out with Fake-Lachlan. But the imposter had been meaning to kidnap me and take me to Aunt Grace. Aunt Grace wanted me alive, so she could use my powers to usurp the Seelie throne.

Either the Erlking was lying to me, or Aunt Grace’s plans had changed.

chapter fourteen

Over the course of the next few days, I tried to act as normal as possible under the circumstances. On Thursday morning, I had my regularly scheduled lesson with Keane. I still sensed a bit of strain between us, but on the whole it wasn’t too bad. I manufactured reasons to leave my safe house at least once a day, craving the sunlight and fresh air. Well, this was Avalon, so I got rain, fog, and fresh air instead.

I still hadn’t nerved myself up to calling Kimber, and every day that passed without me calling just dug the hole deeper. In my gloomiest moments, I wondered if I’d been wrong when I’d blamed my mom and her embarrassing addiction for my inability to make friends in the past. Maybe I just wasn’t good friendship material.

On Friday, I started my morning with a trip to Starbucks to replenish my coffee supply. Even though the Erlking had already done his worst, my dad still insisted I not leave the safe house without two guards, so I had Finn and Lachlan with me. I wondered resentfully if it had ever occurred to Dad that I’d had two guards with me when the Erlking had taken Ethan, and that those guards had proved useless.

My mood had sunk to an all-time low. I’d spent hours trying to figure out how I could help Ethan, and I didn’t have a single workable idea to show for it. My mind kept circling back to the same territory, the same useless ideas playing endlessly in my brain. I didn’t know who I thought I was kidding, how I thought I could defeat the Erlking when no one else could. It all seemed so hopeless …

While I was waiting for the nice lady at Starbucks to ring up my purchase, I heard the rumble of motorcycles approaching, and my day went from bad to worse. My stomach clenched with dread.

How did the Erlking keep finding me? Avalon is small, but it’s not
that
small. It couldn’t be a coincidence that of the handful of times I’d left my cave since he’d arrived, I’d run into him three times.

The other customers all fell silent, as did the baristas. Everyone turned to stare out the large picture windows that looked out onto Avalon’s main road. Finn’s magic prickled over my skin as he and Lachlan closed ranks around me.

“Don’t worry, Dana,” Finn said. “Neither Lachlan nor I will fall for any tricks he might pull.”

That wasn’t what I was worried about, but I didn’t bother to correct him. My instincts told me that the Erlking wasn’t going to attack anyone today. He’d already made his move when he’d captured Ethan. And I knew he was going to rub my face in it, remind me just what my refusal to make a deal with him was costing Ethan.

I should have closed my eyes, turned away, ducked into the ladies room. Anything to avoid letting the Erlking’s strategy work. Instead, I stood motionless by the window and watched as the Wild Hunt came into view.

The Erlking was at the head of their pack, as usual, though he wasn’t wearing his helmet. His hair blew free in the wind, and even though he was the enemy—no matter what he claimed—I couldn’t help noticing for just one moment the wild, masculine, dangerous beauty of him.

Then my eyes were drawn to his Huntsmen. Unlike their leader, they were all wearing their helmets, faces obscured behind the darkened visors. My eyes roved frantically from one to another, wondering if one of those nameless, faceless Huntsmen could possibly be Ethan. At first, they all looked the same to me, the differences in height and build not enough of an identifier. But then my eyes caught on the rider bringing up the rear. The height and the build were right for Ethan, but that wasn’t what drew my eyes to him. What drew my eyes were the wisps of blond hair that trailed from under his helmet.

There was not a hint of skin or hair showing on any of the other riders. Their bodies were completely encased in their leathers, and if any of them had long hair, it was kept under their helmets. Except for that one rider. It was not a coincidence.

The Hunt drove slowly by. The Erlking gave me a jaunty wave as he passed, but he didn’t stop, and the rest of his Huntsmen looked straight ahead. Except for the last one, who turned his head toward the window as he rode by.

My throat ached. Was that really Ethan? Unless he raised the visor on his helmet, I couldn’t be sure. I felt the pressure of his eyes on me, though I couldn’t see them. He made no gesture, and he didn’t slow down, his bike maintaining a perfect, uniform distance from the one in front of him.

Who was I kidding? Of course it was Ethan! The Erlking had gone out of his way to make sure that one Huntsman let his hair stray from underneath the helmet, giving me the clue I needed to differentiate Ethan from the rest.

Ethan turned to face front again. Even without seeing his face, I knew that look had been a cry for help. Maybe a cry the Erlking had forced him to make, but one I couldn’t refuse.

Everyone in the shop kind of held their breath for a minute or so after the Hunt had passed us by, wondering if they were going to come back and make trouble, but they didn’t. Finn and Lachlan were both visibly relieved that the Erlking and his Hunt were gone. I don’t know if either of them had realized the point of the Erlking’s display, or if they’d even realized that one of those faceless riders was Ethan. They might feel like the Erlking had left without attacking, but I knew better.

Seeing Ethan bound to the Hunt like that was a shock to my system; a shock that woke me up, shook me out of my despair.

*   *   *

I was having no luck trying to figure out how to defeat the Erlking. All well and good to label myself the only reliable person in my life, but clearly I couldn’t do this on my own, no matter how much I wanted to.

As Finn and I returned to my safe house, I thought long and hard about who I could approach for help. My parents were, of course, out of the question. Dad had already written the cause off as hopeless, and neither he nor Mom would let me take even the slightest risk to help Ethan. Finn and Lachlan were out for the same reasons. After Keane had told me exactly how he felt about Ethan, I could hardly expect him to want to help me launch or even plan a rescue. That left me with only one option.

Once back at the safe house, I retreated to my suite and closed the door behind me. Then I retreated even further, to my bedroom. I grabbed the phone, then sat cross-legged on my bed and willed myself to make the call I so dreaded.

It took me forever to scrape up the nerve, but eventually I turned on the phone and dialed Kimber’s number. It would have served me right if she hadn’t been home and I’d had to spend hours upon hours working myself into even more of a nervous wreck, but fate—for once—took pity on me.

Kimber picked up on the third ring, although she didn’t say anything. She had caller ID, too, so she had to know it was me. Her accusatory silence made me cringe, and at first I couldn’t force myself to speak.

“Hey,” I finally said, then cursed myself for being so lame. Unfortunately, my brain had gone on strike, and I couldn’t think of what else to say.