The Iron Legends: Winter's Passage\Summer's Crossing\Iron's Prophecy (26 page)

Rudy

Rudy is a pudgy half satyr. He owns a pawn shop that
hides a trod into the wyldwood. He has had past dealings with Grimalkin, and
allows Ash, Puck and Grim passage through his trod as payment for a favor he
owed the cat.

Seedlit

This tiny piskie agrees to lead Meghan and Ash to the
entrance to the Iron Realm in New Orleans. She is blue-skinned, with dandelion
hair and gossamer wings.

Shard

Shard is an Unseelie fey who lives in the human world,
guarding a trod to the Winter Realm. She is small and slight, with pale skin and
neon-blue lips, spiky hair that sticks out at every angle and is dyed shades of
blue, green and white, resembling ice crystals. She wears tight leather pants, a
midriff tee and a dagger on one thigh. Her face and ears are covered in
countless piercings, all silver or gold, and she has a silver bar through her
bellybutton with a tiny dragon pendant dangling from it.

Shard’s arrogance causes her to be outwitted by Meghan in a
faery deal. When she tries to kill Meghan by luring her into the clutches of her
imprisoned ogre, Grumly, Meghan outwits her again by agreeing to free the ogre
in exchange for his protection.

THE END OF THE WORLD

Very few fey have ever seen the End of the World. In fact, none
in recent memory outside of Ash and his intrepid company have made it that far.
Here, in Ash’s words, is what they saw in
The Iron
Knight:

The vast emptiness of space stretched before us, endless and
eternal. Stars and constellations glimmered above and below, from tiny pinpricks
of light to huge pulsing giants so bright it hurt to look at them. Comets
streaked through the night sky, and in the distance, I could see the gaping maw
of a black hole sucking in the surrounding galaxy, billions of miles away. Huge
chunks of rock and land floated, weightless, in empty space.

At first, I thought I was looking at a continent floating
beneath us; I could see lakes and trees and even a few houses scattered about.
But then the continent twisted around with a flash of scales and teeth and
drifted toward us, a leviathan so huge it defied belief. It spiraled up beside
the bridge, a mountain of scales and fins and flippers, rising out of the void.
Its eye was like a small moon, pale and all-seeing, but we were insects beneath
its gaze, dust mites, too microscopic for it to know we were there. An entire
city was perched on its back, gleaming white towers sitting at the edge of a
glistening lake. Smaller creatures, as big as whales, swam beside it, looking
like minnows compared to its bulk. As we stood gaping at it, unable to move or
look away, it twisted lazily through the air and continued into the etherealness
of space.

What you will find if you reach The End of the World:

The Testing Ground

The Testing Ground floats in the void at the End of the
World, an enormous castle beyond a treacherous stream of jagged rocks. The
castle is dim and empty, with torches set into brackets and candles flickering
along the walls, void of all life, frozen in time. Like the void, the castle is
endless. Guest rooms are provided for those who make it to the Testing Ground,
filled with food, clean beds and lit fireplaces. The rooms contain bookshelves
filled with forgotten tomes, some of which wail if opened, others written in
languages that hurt to look upon.

It is not known whether the Testing Ground changes based on the
visitor, but when Ash visited, it contained an ice-covered garden with
crystallized, skeletal trees and a fountain in the middle spouting frozen water.
Above the garden, a stone bridge crosses the void to a huge, jagged mountain,
the top of which was the site of Ash’s first trial.

The Guardian

The Guardian at the End of the World is an
eight-foot-tall, robed figure, its face hidden in the darkness of a cowl. Its
pale, bony hand clutches a gleaming staff of twisted black wood. It has a voice
that echoes through bone and into the heads of all who listen.

The Guardian is the keeper of the Testing Grounds, and master
of the Gauntlet. It is the being that tests Ash and deems him worthy of
receiving a soul.

That brings us to the end of your tour of
the realms of the Nevernever. We hope you enjoyed the journey—and that you
will return again—to the worlds between the pages of THE IRON FEY
series.

The Iron Quotes

How well do you know the characters of the Iron Fey? If you can
name every speaker without peeking at the key, Grimalkin might say, “Not bad,
human. Not bad.” Give yourself bonus Grim points if you can name the scene each
quote comes from.

Quotes

1. “And to think, I lost you that day in the forest and
didn’t even know what I was chasing.”

SAID BY:

SCENE:

2. “Oh, we’re playing nice now? Shall we have tea first?
Brew up a nice pot of kiss-my-ass?”

SAID BY:

SCENE:

3. “Follow me. And do try to keep up.”

SAID BY:

SCENE:

4. “It speaks, as if it knows me. As if being Oberon’s
throwback will protect it from my wrath.”

SAID BY:

SCENE:

5. “Meghan Chase. Welcome. I’ve been expecting you.”

SAID BY:

SCENE:

6. “I’m not stupid. I know the daughter of the Erlking
when I see her. So, the question is, what do I get out of this?”

SAID BY:

SCENE:

7. “THOUGHT YOU GOT RID OF ME, DID
YOU?”

SAID BY:

SCENE:

8. “Oh, I don’t think so, little brother. When Mab finds
out, you’ll
both
be decorating the courtyard.”

SAID BY:

SCENE:

9. “Wow, icy reception here. And to think I came back
from the dead for this.”

SAID BY:

SCENE:

10. “Yes, I know, darling. But if you don’t leave, I’ll
have to turn you into a harp. Go on, now. Shoo, shoo.”

SAID BY:

SCENE:

11. “Summer and Winter share many things, but love is
not one of them.”

SAID BY:

SCENE:

12. “Come off it, prince. You really think I would hurt
her? I’m the one who doesn’t want her running off on a suicide mission.”

SAID BY:

SCENE:

13. “I will be here. You cannot win without me, Meghan
Chase. Until we are one, you are destined to lose this war.”

SAID BY:

SCENE:

14. “I have no idea why two-legs wish to stand around
and talk so much.”

SAID BY:

SCENE:

15. “There is no pass or fail. There is only endure.
Survive.”

SAID BY:

SCENE:

16. “Nothing like a little attempted murder to feel
close to someone, right?”

SAID BY:

SCENE:

17. “I can’t let you die because of me. I won’t allow
it.”

SAID BY:

SCENE:

18. “Why should individuals have to bend to the
prejudices between the courts?”

SAID BY:

SCENE:

19. “Don’t remember! Don’t remember! The rats scream,
but I don’t remember! Go away, go away.”

SAID BY:

SCENE:

20. “So, either you say, ‘sure, I’d love to have you
along,’ or you have a big bird dropping things on your head the whole trip.”

SAID BY:

SCENE:

21. “I waited for this day for so long—please don’t walk
out and leave me behind. Not again.”

SAID BY:

SCENE:

22. “When I said I’d follow you to hell and back, I
wasn’t trying to be literal, princess.”

SAID BY:

SCENE:

23. “Give me your solemn vow, or be damned to the mortal
world forever. Make your choice.”

SAID BY:

SCENE:

24. “You’re going away again, aren’t you? You didn’t
come back to stay with me.”

SAID BY:

SCENE:

25. “Her desires are mine. Her wishes are mine. Should
even the world stand against her, my blade will be at her side.”

SAID BY:

SCENE:

Quotes Key

1. The Iron King:
Ash to
Meghan, during their first Elysium.
2. The Iron
King:
Puck to Meghan regarding Ash, after their escape from
Ironhorse.
3. The Iron King:
Grimalkin to Meghan, when they first strike the bargain for him to take her to
Puck.
4. The Iron King:
Titania, just
before attempting to turn Meghan into a hart.
5.
The Iron King:
Machina to Meghan, when she enters his throne room on
the Iron tower.
6. The Iron King:
Shard
to Grim, as he and Meghan bargain to use the trod in Blue
Chaos.
7. The Iron King:
Ironhorse to
Meghan and Ash, upon catching them infiltrating the Iron
Kingdom.
8. The Iron Daughter:
Rowan
to Ash, upon discovering him trying to help Meghan escape from
Winter.
9. The Iron Daughter:
Puck to
Meghan and Ash after he returns, recovered from his injuries in
The Iron King,
to help them fight off the attacking
wiremen.
10. The Iron Daughter:
Leanansidhe to “Charles,” Meghan’s father, after Meghan first sees him in the
Between.
11. The Iron Daughter:
Oberon to Meghan, just before Mab banishes Ash from
Winter.
12. The Iron Queen:
Glitch to
Ash, just before he shows Meghan the extent of the false king’s army via
glider.
13. The Iron Queen:
Machina,
in Meghan’s dream, the first night in the Iron Realm as she, Grim, Puck and Ash
go in search of the false king.
14. The Iron
Knight:
The Big Bad Wolf to Ash, Puck and Ariella, after Ash recovers
from the hobyah venom.
15. The Iron
Knight:
The Guardian to Ash, before he begins the second
trial.
16. The Iron Knight:
Puck to
Ash, after they escape the Forgotten.
17. The
Iron Queen:
Meghan to Ash, as she releases him from his
vow.
18. The Iron Knight:
Keirran,
Meghan and Ash’s future son, to Ash, during his trial vision of being
human.
19. The Iron Queen:
Paul,
Meghan’s human father-figure, as he begins to regain his memories in the
cabin.
20. The Iron Queen:
Puck to
Ash, as they set off together to begin Ash’s journey to earn a
soul.
21. The Iron Knight:
Ariella to
Ash, offering to show the way to the End of the World.
22. The Iron Queen:
Puck to Meghan by the magma lake,
after they escape the false king’s attack on Machina’s old
tower.
23. The Iron Daughter:
Mab,
giving Ash his final ultimatum.
24. The Iron
Daughter:
Ethan to Meghan, after she and Puck stop the bugged Ash
from attacking her home.
25. The Iron
Queen:
Ash, making the knight’s vow to Meghan.

Q&A with Julie Kagawa

Thank you, Julie, for taking your life into your hands
and entering the Nevernever to answer a few questions.

Q: When you first began writing
The Iron King,
what were your hopes for the
story? How do you feel about what The Iron Fey has become?

A: Honestly, I am utterly thrilled and delighted. When I
first started writing
The Iron King,
I was one of
those hopeful writers just looking to be published. I never dreamed it would
grow the way it did, but I’m so grateful for the readers and fans who made this
series what it is today.

Q: Did you plan out the whole Iron
Fey series before you started writing it, or did it develop organically as
you wrote each book?

A: I knew the basic plotlines for all the books, and
with the original trilogy (
King, Daughter
and
Queen
), I knew how I wanted it to end. Within
the individual books, I have “high points” that I know have to happen, but the
story usually develops as I go along.

Q: You’ve written Iron Fey stories
from Meghan’s, Ash’s and Puck’s points of view. How do you change
perspective and get into a new character’s head?

A: I think the key is knowing your characters, and
making sure each one is very different from the others. Voice, personality,
motives, desires—they should all have their own unique look on life, and once
you really know them, it’s fairly easy to switch to their voice.

Q: Grimalkin is another fan favorite.
How do you channel Grim onto the page?

A: LOL, Grimalkin is based on every cat I’ve ever known,
and his voice is actually pretty easy to write. (Don’t tell him that, though;
I’d never hear the end of it.) [I heard that. And you won’t.] He is bored,
blunt, proud, independent and says exactly what he means in any situation. He is
not afraid to tell the others they are being foolish, and doesn’t have anything
to hide. In his own words: he is a cat. ’Nuff said.

Q: You often create drawings of your
Iron Fey characters. What is your background as an artist?

A: I’ve always enjoyed sketching, doodling and painting.
(I often doodled in math class, when I wasn’t reading novels behind my
textbooks. My teachers despaired.) I haven’t taken any formal art classes,
though. I just enjoy painting and drawing. I suppose it’s like writing in a way;
you have to practice to get better.

Q: You’re an avid gamer. How has
gaming influenced your career as a writer?

A: I’m a firm believer that video games are just another
medium of storytelling, and the truly good games are just as compelling as a
book. Most of my inspiration comes from video games and anime, especially when
it comes to character and setting. The ending of some games (Dragon Age, Final
Fantasy X) made me sob my eyes out, I was so attached to the characters and
their stories. And some have been so inspiring and uplifting that all I wanted
to do was write a story as magnificent as that. If that’s not an argument
against “All video games do is rot your brain,” I don’t know what is.

Q: Tell us a little about you
personally. What do you do—besides art and gaming!—when you aren’t
writing?

A: I enjoy reading, painting, playing in my garden,
playing with my animals (dogs, cats and chickens), watching television with my
hubby and martial arts. My husband and I take both kung fu and Kali, which I
lovingly refer to as “Hit People with Sticks” class.

Q: What does the future hold for The
Iron Fey?

A: Well, the first book of the new Iron Fey trilogy will
be out this fall. It’s called
The Lost Prince,
and
it stars Meghan’s brother, Ethan Chase, when he is older. There will also be
cameos from several familiar faces, so be on the lookout for that!

Turn the page for an exclusive excerpt from Julie Kagawa’s next
Iron Fey novel
Book 1 of Call of the Forgotten, a new trilogy starring Meghan’s
younger brother, Ethan Chase!