Memory's Wake Omnibus: The Complete Illustrated YA Fantasy Series (81 page)

“You… saw that?” Mem said. The recollection of the deep sadness she’d felt in that moment, when she was ready to give everything up, filled her eyes with tears again. “That was… that was something else. I get what you mean though. In the other world people jump out of airplanes—big flying machines that go across the sky.”

“That is a myth.”

Memory wanted to laugh but she could see by Shonae’s face that she believed that something like an airplane was simply a myth. “In that world fairies and magic are myths.”

“We will be a myth in this world too, soon enough.”

Just that morning, Memory might have said good riddance. She wasn’t so sure now.

A loop of thin, dry wood hung low, spotted with thorns. Engaged in the conversation with Shonae, Memory ducked away too slow and a small sting flared on Memory’s cheek. She covered the cut with her palm. The tunnel walls felt closer than they did before, and again she had to dodge away from a branch extending close to her face.

“The path is getting smaller,” she said.

“And it will get smaller again,” Shonae nodded.

“And, why?”

“To start a journey is always easier than to finish one.”

Memory shot a glare at Shonae. When did fairy riddles start making so much sense?

“Frotz,” Memory swore as a thorny stick caught on her sleeve, pricking through to her skin beneath. “Is all the plant-life in Tearnan Ogh this bloodthirsty?”

“There is no plant-life in Tearnan Ogh. It is enchanted to move like it still lives, but it is all dead. The briar pathway is but a ghost. A ghost who takes payment in life to sustain itself.” Shonae folded her hands across her waist, protecting her Rump of Steel-skin web, but made no other attempt to protect herself from the thorns closing in on them. “It will take what it demands. Don’t fight it, and don’t use your iron to cut through. This is the price we pay.”

“No wonder this highway is so bare,” Memory grumbled.

“It once was full of life. Fae would travel the briar pathway all across our world and others. Now those who are left remain in Avall and their own courts only. All others have turned to dust.” Shonae kicked at the diamond sand on which they walked.

Memory’s stomach turned.
Please be speaking metaphorically, pretty please.

The tunnel had closed in until Memory and Shonae had to walk in single file. With every step, hooked thorns caught in Memory’s hair and clothes, ripping thin razor cuts where it met flesh.

Memory stopped trying to avoid them. There was no way to. This was the price she would pay.

The briars rustled, a mix of dry wood crackling and a low slurping, licking sound that Memory was sure was going to drive her crazy.

The briars dipped lower, closing in completely. Shonae pushed through, grabbing onto Memory’s wrist and dragging her behind. Scratches covered Memory’s face and hands, her red blood dripping into the ground. She thought she heard a contented sigh coming from the briars.

With a final push, Shonae and Memory broke through the thicket. Memory turned back to see the mess they had just fought through and saw instead a wide tunnel, looking just like the open mouth of the briar pathway they had entered on the other side.

“Typical,” she muttered. “Still, we made it.”

They had arrived at the court of the seelie fae.

Memory picked a thorn from the back of her hand as she took in the landscape before her.

Neatly shaped trees of silver and gold were spotted in careful arrangements across a smooth, level ground, entirely paved in polished gold-streaked marble as far as Memory could see. The trees held no leaves, only blossoms studded along the bare branches. The flowers ranged from lilies to roses, all crystalline and glittering. Everything was too vivid, and the scent drifting down from the blossoms too strong, unnatural. A sprite zoomed through some of the branches, which tinkled and sang in its wake as it vanished again.

Up ahead, a palace loomed. A confection of milky quartz and twisting silver created a series of pointed dome shapes and towers which combined into a massive structure, reaching higher into the sky than Memory could see.

Although she couldn’t see a sun in the mauve tinted sky, everything shone brightly, casting flares of light off every surface. Memory shaded her eyes with a hand. “I guess there’s a reason they call this the Summer Court.”

Shonae was squinting, her eyes barely open. She hunched, cowering away from the light. “I will wait for you here,” she said. “I cannot go any further.”

Memory could see the fear held in her black eyes and hear it in the break of her voice. Even if Shonae had been allowed into the seelie court, she was terrified, and with good reason. Shonae had brought an interloper smelling of iron into her opposing realm.

“Stay safe. I’ll be back soon,” Memory promised, and began her march to the palace.

The paved ground felt slick under Memory’s boots, and the warmth of light around her dried the cuts on her skin, making them pucker and sting.

She kept a close eye on her surroundings, worried a troop of seelie soldiers would rush out and capture her. The trees she walked by really did seem not just silver and gold colored, but actually made of silver and gold. Just one branch would have been enough to retire on in the other world. But she knew enough now to know not to touch them. More than anything, the precious trees made her sad. There was nothing real here, nothing alive. No wonder the fae were so keen to trick the humans of Avall into sharing their land.

Memory reached the wavy glass walls of the palace and found the gate, formed from what looked like a single slice of a massive geode. It was open and she walked through into the grounds and there she started to see some life.

A range of seelie fae spotted the bright courtyard. Sprites, dryads, a couple of gnomes- Memory was starting to know the different types by name. She thought she even spotted what looked like a small horse shaped creature with a long curved horn on its forehead.

UNICORN!
Memory gave herself a mental high five.

All the creatures kept their distance, watching her warily. Some even turned to flee, shocked by her presence. Memory watched them warily in return. They were all beautiful in her eyes, but she couldn’t help wondering now what they really meant.

The courtyard itself was also beautiful, filled with a forest of columns that opened at their tops into more artificial trees. The sweet sound of running water and birdsong filled the space, and Memory saw the pristine fountains and caged earth birds those sounds came from. Small staircases and raised pathways disappeared in all directions around the courtyard, leading up and down and off into tunnels filled with light.

Memory kept on, straight up the largest, main path into the palace. She knew where she had to go, she had to find Aine.

Eloryn had explained that was the way to get Will back. Through the seelie queen, Memory could challenge Mina for ownership of Will.

Memory was glad of that. The palace was huge, and Will might not even be in it. He could be anywhere, but a queen should be in a fairly obvious place.

Memory climbed the steps and headed into the walls of the castle. Crystals in the shape of flowers were set within the ceiling, lit from within and showering down fine sparkles of fairy dust. Silver, gold, and emerald streaks ran in rich veins down the stone walls. The light glittered and danced off those precious trails, and bounced back into her eyes, blinding her slightly.

“Where’s a pair of sunnies when you need them?” Her voice echoed back to her and she shivered. The bravado was lost in the echo and her voice sounded as frightened as she felt.

It struck her that she missed having Shonae at her side. No matter what the faun was, she was company. Now, Memory was truly alone.

Not for long.

Memory’s feet twitched, impatient, the countdown to her friends’ deaths filling them with panic. Walking was too hard. She broke into a jog.

Chambers flashed by, some filled with fae, some empty. Will was nowhere to be seen.

Huge double doors ahead of her were carved in swirling patterns, pulsing with magic that made Memory dizzy. They opened as she approached.

Memory skidded to a stop along the silky floor.

The room she’d reached put any of the ballrooms at Caermaellan to shame. The chamber’s ceiling was so high Memory couldn’t see it, or maybe it had no ceiling, opening up to the bare lilac sky above. But there must have been something there, because chandeliers of diamond dewdrops hung down from impossibly long golden threads. The room spun with pearly colors and iridescent metallic glows, caused by the swirl and dance of the fairy-kind who filled the space. Though no music played, they moved together like an ocean, a surging tide of giggling, glittering bodies.

Memory faced the members of the Seelie Court. They peered back at her and whispers broke out around the room and the waving motion stopped.

Moving slowly, Memory walked in, and the fae separated around her as though she were a ship breaking through sparkling ice.

In the center of the room, on a throne atop a high pillar, sat Aine.

Memory’s pulse thundered and her breathing was too fast. She took a long slow breath and held it, willing herself to be calm, and then approached.

Although Aine’s face was turned to the side, Memory could see the seelie queen’s eyes tracking her as she crossed the floor to stand below the throne. The fairy’s long hair tumbled like living bronze down from her high perch, all the way to the floor, and swished when she shifted position to address Memory. Her gown seemed to be made of the same type of cobwebs Shonae had been collecting, woven into a tight fitting, barely-there slip that dangled around her, the tattered tips ringing with small bells. She was impossibly beautiful.

Memory knew her own hair had been torn loose from its ties and fell in ragged, tangled clumps, and that her coat and plain pants were stained with bloods, unseelie black and human red, and the soot, slime and dirt of her journey.

She steadied her stance and raised her chin to meet the seelie queen’s gaze.

“The human…” Aine let her eyes roam up and down Memory’s appearance, “
queen
has come into my realm? What an honor this is. What, no gifts for your host?”

“I am sorry for coming unannounced, and the gift I will give you is my quick departure, after I have what I came for.”

The fae around the room gathered closer, all eager to watch how their monarch dealt with the strange new human queen.

Aine’s eyelids drifted closed and opened slowly as though bored. “And tell me, Your Majesty, what have you come for?”

“A fairy from your court has stolen what doesn’t belong to her, and I’ve come to claim him back.”

Aine settled into her throne, arching her back like a cat waking from a long nap. “I know the boy you mean. You speak nonsense. The human has long belonged to Mina. I saw her bring him here myself, long before you walked this world.”

“But I have owned him since before he came to this world.” The words tasted wrong on Memory’s mouth. But she had to say it. The only way to free Will was to claim ownership of him.

A buzz of gossip spread through the assembly of fae.

Aine straightened up into a formal position. “A challenge it is then. Mina? Would you bring your pet here?” Aine called sweetly, the grin on her face dripping with venom.

Memory straightened to attention as well. Will was already here, and Mina too, in this room? Her eyes darted through the crowd, trying to spot him. Some movement to her right caught her attention, and the other fae parted to allow Mina to come forward, Will at her side.

Memory bit her tongue to keep her expression neutral and hold back her gasp. Will wore barely any clothing, his skin covered with rich gold paint, smeared in finger-painted patterns across his chest and shoulders. His eyelids were low, hooded, and looked only at Mina with a warmth that made Memory shiver.

Mina flared when she saw Memory, lips curling cruelly.

“Why is
she
here?” Mina asked. Her wings jittered, sending rainbow colored splashes across the faces of the onlookers.

Memory stared at Will, daring him to look up at her, to see her and remember her. To remember himself. His face was slack and his eyes held no emotion. His mouth hung open slightly, lips glossy and an aching color of red like they had been kissed hard and long.

Memory turned her attention to Mina. “I have come for my possession.”

“Yours?” Mina’s eyebrow raised high. She ran a fingertip up Will’s thigh, smearing the gold paint there. Will’s shoulders rolled with pleasure. “Will is mine. He ate food from my hands and is pledged to me forever.”

“Too bad. He was mine before that, so any claim you have to him doesn’t count.” Seeing Will like this, so vacantly lustful, threw Memory. Her voice trembled and she realized she was close to tears.

Lock it down, girl.

Aine sounded greatly amused when she said, “If he is yours, it will be proved.”

“I have proof.” Memory began to speak, telling the court of the time that she and Will had shared in the other world, how she had saved his life and the promise he had made to her that day.

“Will owes me a life-debt, he is mine until I release him. I have proof Will promised to be mine—forever.”

Memory walked close to Will and lifted his arm. It was heavy and warm and he barely reacted to her touch. Memory held his arm high, to show his wrist and the tattoo that was on it to the crowd around them, putting her wrist and matching tattoo beside it.

The gossip and murmuring in the crowd quietened.

“A story and a marking. That means nothing,” Mina scoffed. She wiped her finger across Will’s lips, the paint she’d smeared off his thigh leaving them tinted gold. Then she swiped cross-hatched scratches along Will’s chest. “I have marked the boy too.”

Mina turned, her eyes daring Memory to respond. Memory almost responded with her fist.

Mina leaned back, purring softly as she nuzzled into Will’s chest. He brought his arms up around her, spreading his palms on her belly and dipping his face to her neck. “I think everyone here can see that this boy is mine.”

He. Is. Not. Yours!
Memory screamed inside herself, but she knew she had run out of ideas.

“Will? Will, look at me. Please just look at me!” Memory yelled, starting to panic.

He lifted his eyes lazily, barely passing them over her before burying his head back into Mina’s fiery hair. Those eyes were cobalt blue, deep and rich and dark.

Memory blinked. Her lips curled. “You think you own him? You don’t even know what color his eyes are. Will’s eyes flash bright, like lightning in a snow storm.” Memory backed away from the man. “I don’t know who this is, but it isn’t
my Will.
”

Mina reared back, fairy dust shooting like sparks from her skin.

The fairy queen clapped slowly. “How entertaining! Seems you do own the boy, human queen.”

The glamour dropped like a curtain. Will, the imposter Will, vanished.

Memory looked around desperately. “It was a test? Where is he? Where is Will?”

Aine flicked a limp wrist toward the nearby wall, and there, Memory saw a cage that wasn’t there before. Or more like a box, with thick silver walls checkered with small clover-shaped holes. Those walls clattered and shook as though something struck them.

“Will?” Memory tried to push through but Mina blocked her way.

“Don’t even,” Memory spat. In a swift movement, Memory clutched a fistful of the sprite’s hair in one hand, yanking her down as she kicked out her feet from under her.