The Iron Knight (27 page)

Leaping carefully from rock to rock, wary now of the monsters at the End of the World, we finally reached the gates of the castle. Past a courtyard filled with statues and twisted
trees of a kind I’d never seen before, up another flight of steps flanked by snarling gargoyles, Grimalkin waited for us at the hallway into the castle.

He was not alone. A familiar robed, hooded figure stood beside him, watching us as we walked up the stairs.

“You have come far,” the Guardian intoned, nodding his head. “Few have made it to this point, and fewer still can keep their sanity intact at the End of the World. But your journey is not yet over, knight. The trials await, and they will be more harrowing than anything you have encountered thus far. No one has ever survived what you are about to face. I give you one last chance to depart, to turn around and leave this place alive and whole. But know this—if you leave, you will remember nothing of what brought you here. You will never find the End of the World again. What is your decision?”

“I’ve come this far,” I said without hesitation. “I’m not backing out now. Bring on your tests. When I leave this place, it will be as a human with a soul, or not at all.”

The Guardian nodded. “If that is your choice.” It swept out an arm, and a ripple of power went through the air, freezing me in place. “Let it be known, before these witnesses, that the former Winter prince Ash has accepted the trials of the Guardian, the prize for completing the tests being a mortal soul.” It lowered its arm, and I could move again. “Your first trial begins when dawn touches the outside world. Until then, the castle is yours. When the time comes, I will find you.”

And it was gone.

Grimalkin yawned and looked up at me, cat eyes blinking. “I am supposed to show you your rooms,” he said in a bored voice, as if the very idea wearied him. “Follow me, then. And do try to keep up. It would be vastly annoying if you became lost in here.”

T
HE CASTLE WAS DIM
and empty, with torches set into brackets, and candles flickering along the walls. Except for the flames and candlelight, nothing moved; there were no insects scuttling over the flagstones, no servants prowling the halls. It felt frozen in time, like a reflection on the other side of a mirror—perfect, but lifeless.

And it was endless, much like the void that floated just outside the windows. I got the distinct feeling, following Grimalkin down its many halls, that I could wander its chambers and corridors forever and not see the entirety of the castle.

Regardless, we found the guest rooms easily enough, on account of the open doors and the crackling fireplaces along each wall. These rooms were fairly well lit, with food, drink and a clean bed already laid out for us, though there were no servants to speak of. Puck and Ariella each vanished into their separate chambers, though each room was easily big enough for the three of us and I was wary of being separated in this huge place. But Puck, after peering into a room, whooped when he saw the food-laden table and vanished through the door with a hasty, “Later, ice-boy,” slamming the door behind him. Ariella gave me a tired smile and said she was going to turn in for the night, declining my offer of staying through dinner. Grimalkin, of course, trotted down the hall without any explanation of where he was going and vanished into the shadows, leaving me alone.

Truthfully, I was relieved. There were so many thoughts swirling around my head, and I think the others recognized my need to be alone, to process all that had happened and to prepare for what was to come. Or perhaps they were weary of me, as well.

I ate a little, prowled my room, and tried to read some of the huge tomes on the bookcase in the corner to pass the time. Most were written in strange, ancient languages I didn’t recognize, some oddly blank, some with runes and symbols that
made my eyes burn just from looking at them. One book let out a chilling wail when I touched it, and I quickly withdrew my hand. I finally discovered, of all things, a small book of poems by the mortal author e.e. cummings, and leafed through that for a while, pausing at the poem, “All in green went my love riding,” one of my favorites. I smiled wistfully as I followed the stanzas, reminded of all the hunts Ariella and I had been on and their sudden end.

Guilt gnawed at me, though it wasn’t quite as sharp as before. I’d finally come to terms with what I felt, both for Ariella and Meghan. I would always love Ariella, and there was still a part of me that longed for the past, for those days when it was me and Ari and Puck before—before her death and my oath and the decades of duels and fighting and bloodshed. But those days were gone. And I was tired of living in the past. If I managed to survive here, I would actually have a chance at a future.

Still, I couldn’t sleep; my mind worried at the situation like a dog with a bone and my body was too hyped up to relax. I was sitting in the window with my back against the frame, watching the stars and bits of rock drift by, almost close enough to touch, when my door creaked open and footsteps padded into the room.

“Don’t you ever knock?” I asked Puck without turning around. He snorted.

“Hi, I’m Robin Goodfellow, have we met?” Walking up beside me, he leaned against the frame and crossed his arms, staring out at the End of the World. After a moment, he shook his head. “You know, out of all the places we’ve seen, and we’ve seen some weird places, this probably takes the cake for Most Crazy Landscape Ever. No one will believe the stories when we get home.” He sighed and shot me a sideways glance. “Are you sure you’re up for this, ice-boy?” he asked. “I know
you think you can handle anything, but this is some serious stuff you’re going to face. Crazy Ash just doesn’t have the same ring as Don’t-bother-me-or-I’ll-kill-you Ash.”

I smirked at him. “You’re awfully concerned for an archnemesis.”

“
Psh,
I just don’t want to have to tell Meghan that you turned into a vegetable while trying to gain a soul. I don’t see how
that
would turn out well for me.”

Smiling, I gazed out the window again. In the far distance, something like a giant manta ray soared lazily by, fins rippling like water. “I don’t know,” I admitted softly, watching it vanish behind an asteroid. “I don’t know if I’m ready. But it’s not just Meghan that I’m doing this for now.” I glanced down at my hands, resting in my lap. “I think … this is who I’m supposed to be … if that makes any sense.”

“Nope, that’s just screwed up.” I shot him an annoyed look, and Puck grinned to soften the words. He raised his hands. “But, if that’s the way you feel, then more power to you. At least you know what you want. Just thought I’d make sure.” With a grunt, he shoved himself off the wall, tapping my shoulder as he passed. “Well, good luck to you, prince. There’s a bottle of plum wine and a fluffy down pillow calling my name. You need me, I’ll be in my room, hopefully well into a stupor.”

“Puck,” I called before he could leave the room.

He turned in the doorframe. “Yeah?”

“If I … don’t make it back …”

I felt him nod. “I’ll take care of her,” he promised quietly. “Both of them.” And the door clicked softly behind him.

I didn’t sleep. I stayed in the window and watched the stars, thinking of Meghan, and Ariella and myself. Remembering those bright, shining moments with each of them … in case I didn’t see them again.

“It is time.”

The Guardian’s voice cut through the silence, and I jerked my head toward the robed figure in the middle of the room. It stood expectantly, gripping its staff, watching me through the darkness of the cowl. The door behind it was still closed.

“Are you ready?” it asked without preamble. I took a deep breath and nodded.

“Then follow me.”

Puck and Ariella joined us as soon as we left the room. Together, we trailed him through the vast halls of the castle until he led us outside, into an ice-covered garden. Skeletal trees stood encased in crystal, sparkling with icicles, and a fountain in the middle spouted frozen water. For a moment, it reminded me of home, of the Winter Court, before I shook that thought away. Tir Na Nog was not my home any longer.

Above us, across a stone bridge over nothing, a huge jagged mountain rose up from the depths, the peak barely visible through the haze that surrounded it. Wreathed in ice, it glittered in the cold lights of the stars, slick and sharp and treacherous.

The Guardian turned to me. “Your first trial begins now. From here on, you must do this alone. Have you prepared yourself?”

“Yes.”

The cowl nodded once. “Then meet me at the top.” And it was gone, leaving us to stare at the mountain for a few moments of silence.

“Well,” Puck remarked, gazing up at the looming obstacle with his hands on his hips. “As tests go, climbing a mountain isn’t that bad.”

Ariella shook her head. “I seriously doubt that’s all there is to it.” She glanced at me, worried and solemn. “Be careful, Ash.”

I glared up at the obstacle before me. The first thing that stood between me and a soul. I clenched my fists and smiled.

“I’ll be back soon,” I muttered, and sprinted across the bridge. Leaping onto the base of the mountain, I started to climb.

P
ULLING MYSELF ONTO A NARROW
ledge, I sat down with my back against the wall to catch my breath. I didn’t know how long I’d been climbing, but it felt like days. And I was still a good way from the top.

Far below, the castle looked comically small, like a child’s toy, even as large as it was. The mountain was proving harder and more treacherous to climb than I’d expected. The jagged obsidian rocks were as sharp as a knife’s edge in places, and the ice refused to honor my Unseelie heritage. I had never slipped or stumbled on ice before, but here, it seemed all bets were off. My hands were cut open from gripping the rock, trying to balance myself, and I left smears of blood against the mountainside where I passed.

I shivered, rubbing my arms. It was also freezing up here,
which was a complete shock for me, as I
never
got cold. The sensation was so alien and unfamiliar I didn’t know what it was at first. My teeth chattered, and I crossed my arms, trying, for the first time in my life, to conserve heat. So this was what it was like for mortals and Summer fey in the Unseelie realm. I’d always wondered why they looked so uncomfortable in the Winter palace. Now I knew.

I licked dry, cracked lips and pushed myself to my feet, staring up at the top. It was still so far away. I started climbing again.

The jagged cliffs went on. I lost track of time. I lost more blood as the bitter cold ate into my limbs and turned them heavy and clumsy. Eventually, I wasn’t thinking anymore, my body moving on its own, just putting one limb in front of the other. Exhausted, bleeding, and shaking with cold, I finally pulled myself onto a ledge, only to find there was no mountain left. A flat expanse of rock and ice stretched out before me. I had finally reached the top.

The Guardian waited, patient and motionless, in the center of the plateau. Panting, I pushed myself to my feet and walked toward it, forcing myself not to shiver, to ignore the cold. It didn’t move or say a word as I came to stand before it, the blood from my hands dripping slowly to the ground.

“I’m here,” I rasped into the silence. “I passed the first of your tests.”

A deep chuckle. “No,” the Guardian said, making my stomach sink. It lifted its staff a few inches into the air, and a ripple of power erupted from the tip, spreading outward into space. “You have only found the location of the first testing ground. We are not done yet, knight. The real test begins … now.”

It brought the staff down, striking the point on the rocks. Cracks appeared from the tip, spreading outward, as a rumbling
shook the ground. I dove away as part of the earth collapsed beneath me, revealing gaping holes deep into the mountain. A hellish red glow spilled out of the craters, and a wild shrieking filled the air, along with the sound of wings.

“Survive,” the Guardian told me, and disappeared.

Creatures poured from the opening in a mad rush of wings; scaly, furry, feathered and smooth. They looked like dragons, or wyverns, or monstrous birds, a chaotic mass of wings and claws and teeth, none of them the same. Except for one thing. Their chest cavities were open, and where their hearts would lie, there was only a void, a black hole filled with stars and black spaces of their own. The beings exploded from the gash, wailing in voices that seemed to echo across the emptiness of time, and dropped from the sky to attack.

I drew my sword, startled by how cold the hilt was, and slashed at the first creature, cutting through a spindly neck. It shrieked and collapsed on itself, the hole in its chest seeming to draw it in. Crying, it was sucked into its own black hole, and I leaped back as the rest of the flock descended on me all at once.

I stumbled, my limbs heavy with cold, and one of the creatures struck out with a furry talon, catching my shoulder and ripping a gash down my chest. Pain erupted through me, greater than any I’d felt before, and I clenched my teeth to keep from screaming. My body wasn’t moving as it should, too clumsy and awkward, as if it belonged to someone else. Another creature slashed at me as I retreated, striking my face and leaving deep claw marks across my cheek.

Half-blinded by pain, I lurched backward, bringing up my arm to unleash a hail of ice daggers into the swarm. If anything, it would at least slow them down. But as I swept my hand out as I had done thousands of times before, nothing happened. Only a few spits of ice, instead of the deadly flurry
I was used to. Stunned, I opened myself up to my glamour, trying to draw it from the air as I’d always done.

Nothing. No glamour, no magic, no swirling emotions or colors. I felt a deep stab of terror and loss as I backed away, trying to think. Had a binding been placed on me, locking away my glamour? Was there a seal over the area, preventing magic use? I realized with horror that it was none of these. Even through a binding or a seal, I would have been able to sense my glamour. I felt only emptiness. As if I had never had magic in the first place.