Vowed (46 page)

‘Until now. And you want to go there?’

‘I need to go there. If that’s where they’re taking the children.’

‘It’s going to be dangerous.’

‘I know.’ I sigh and sit forward so I can peer at his face. ‘There are three of us that need to get to the forest. Can you help?’

‘Yes, of course I will. It will be fantastic to have you back in the forest. The trees have missed you.’

‘You’re such a hippy, Crow.’

‘I don’t know what that means, but I’ll take it as a compliment.’

I laugh and hug him awkwardly.

It’s after midday when we meet Crow back at the Serpentine. He is easy to spot. He has a troop of little kids around him and he is letting them feed two squirrels that he
holds carefully on either hand. When he looks up and sees us he gives us a nod and speaks softly to the squirrels. They chitter at him and scamper off into the trees, their cheeks packed with nuts.
The kids complain loudly but their mums and minders sweep in and carry them off, thanking Crow for entertaining them. One woman hesitates and hands something to Crow. He looks down at the thing in
his hand in a bemused way and when the woman blushes, he gives a slow smile and I can almost see her knees buckle.

She says something to the little boy by her side and they hurriedly follow the group moving away.

‘Look at you, Casanova,’ I say. ‘Making friends and influencing people. What did she give you?’

He opens his palm and I see a piece of paper there with her name and number. Aiden sees it too and laughs. ‘Crow, you old dog.’

‘What do the numbers mean?’ Crow asks, after he’s let himself be thumped on the back.

‘She gave you her mobile number. To call her? To make a date.’

The Fae forester shook his head. ‘I don’t know what that means.’

‘She wants to go out with you. Courting? To dinner? To have food?’

‘Oh!’ He looks at Aiden in surprise and hands him the piece of paper. ‘No, you send her a messenger and tell her I can’t do that. It wouldn’t be proper. Human and
Fae do not mingle in that way, not any more.’ He notices Dante and takes a step back in surprise. ‘This is who you have accompanying you?’

Both Aiden and I look at Dante, who looks pale and worried, shifting under our scrutiny.

‘Do you know who he is?’ I ask Crow.

‘Well, no, but he’s not human.’ Crow inhales deeply. ‘Siren, possibly? And male. Interesting.’

Before Dante can be further mauled by more people being rude about his heritage, I introduce them. ‘Dante, this is my friend Crow. He’s one of the foresters in the Dark Forest. Crow,
this is Dante.’

‘There is a story here,’ Crow says slowly. ‘One I feel I need to hear before I take you to the Otherwhere.’

Dante looks troubled as he explains what we’ve figured out about his heritage, including the latest on his mother being a Sidhe noble and kami.

‘You have the ring? As proof?’ Crow demands, and when Dante nods, Crow looks at me. ‘And you’ve seen it for yourself – it’s real?’

I nod. ‘Oh yes, it’s very real. The ring looks exactly as Eadric’s ring was described to me.’

‘This makes things very interesting indeed. Apart from you being Eadric’s son, the kami are powerful nature spirits,’ Crow explains. ‘They are what you might call divine
spirits and in some instances they are revered as gods. I think that once we’ve found this Brixi and your missing children, we should look to reunite you with your mother’s
family.’ He claps a hand to Dante’s shoulder. ‘There is no need for you to look so concerned. They would be proud to welcome you home.’

Aiden jostles Dante. ‘Huh, check you out. What do you feel like most? A divine spirit or a revered god?’

‘Shut up, Aiden,’ Dante says but he’s laughing, and it makes me feel so much better. ‘I’d like nothing more, Crow,’ he says. ‘Thank you.’

Crow shakes his head as if he can’t quite believe any of it. ‘Let’s get going.’

Crow gives us a curt nod and walks away from the Serpentine, towards the north of the park where there are more trees. ‘We’re going through the trees,’ he tells us. ‘They
are easier to navigate. I will take you as far as I can. I warn you now that it’s going to be a strange experience.’

‘What do you mean we’re going
through
the trees?’

‘All forests are connected,’ Crow explains as we walk. ‘Wherever you find a small copse of trees, if you know how, you can travel between places. I’m taking you to the
Otherwhere, to the Dark Forest, in this way.’

His smile is sweet and he clearly doesn’t understand the panic we feel when he places his palm against one of the large oak trees and just steps into it as if he’s opened a door to a
house.

The sense of dislocation is tremendous. We pass through a dozen or more trees and I don’t know how far we’ve travelled but my body tells me it’s going to
break if I don’t stop soon. The air around me is rich with the smell of undergrowth and the scent of night-blooming flowers.

Crow rubs my back as I heave into some bushes. Dante looks fine, though a bit wide-eyed, taking in the thick forest around us. Aiden looks completely rattled at being back in the place that
holds so many bad memories.

‘We are literally on the other side of the world,’ Aiden says, taking deep breaths of air. ‘I can smell everything.’

Crow chuckles and passes me a canteen that he produces from somewhere. He walks towards the boys and claps them on the shoulders. ‘Welcome to my world.’ He gestures. ‘This is
Alba’s beating heart, the Dark Forest. The place where mysteries are born.’

I roll my eyes and hand back the half-full canteen. ‘You really are a hippy. How far are we from the abandoned palace?’

‘Not far, as the crow flies.’

I groan, remembering him using the exact same phrase the last time I was here and how it took ages to get where we were going.

‘I have arranged with one of my friends to meet you here. She will be taking you further, as I have reached the borders of my territory.’

As he is speaking, something large moves in the forest behind me and I scurry to his other side. A warning growl grows in Aiden’s throat but Crow holds out a calming hand.

I have
never
seen a bear in real life. They are frightening enough on TV, so when a giant bear the size of a truck comes lumbering into the clearing I want to turn and run and never
stop. Crow steps forward until he stands in front of the bear.

The bear bellows at him, shaking its enormous head from side to side. Crow speaks rapidly in a language I don’t understand. The bear rears up on its hind legs and I am horrified to see how
tall it is when it’s standing upright. It could eat all four of us and still be hungry. Just as I’m about to shout a warning, the bear starts shrinking and, as it does, it assumes a
human shape.

I’ve seen Aiden change shape before. It was a peculiar and intimate experience and it startled us both. He’d been hurt in a fight and I’d thought his arm had been broken. The
pain had been so severe that it triggered his change, much to the horror of the group of animal smugglers we were facing off against, and much to my own shock. One moment he’d been Aiden,
howling in rage, the next he was fully wolf and angry. Afterwards he assured me that for him the change took a long time, whereas for me watching it seemed like mere moments.

The woman who stands before us is big, built along broad lines. She accepts Crow’s cloak, shaking out her long thick hair, and smiling at him in thanks.

‘It will be my honour to travel with you the rest of the way,’ she says. Her voice is as rich as honey. ‘Please call me Nura.’

Her hand when I shake it is firm. ‘I’m Kit, and these are my friends, Dante and Aiden.’

The boys each shake her hand as Crow ducks out of the clearing and comes back with a bundle of clothes in his hands.

‘As promised,’ he says, handing it to her.

‘Thank you.’ She drops the cloak once more and I can actually hear Aiden swallow at the sight of so much perfect skin and voluptuous curves. ‘We don’t have far to go,
fortunately. I made good time in my bear aspect.’

I walk up to both boys and lead them some distance away so that Nura can get changed without them ogling her as if she’s the last bit of glazed doughnut in the shop. Crow watches us,
puzzled, but then grins wickedly at me when he realizes that human and Fae modesty mean very different things.

Nura’s pace through the forest is faster than Crow’s. She has no qualms about using her skill to clear a path for us and bends the forest to her will. Crow works
with the forest, listening and taking care. He coasts, like his bird namesake, whereas Nura makes her own way.

I’m grateful for the amount of running I’ve been doing and I do my utmost to keep up with the statuesque Fae forester. Aiden has that look in his eye that tells me he’s smitten
once more. He wears that same expression around Megan whenever she’s home, not that she ever actually notices. Dante’s incredibly quiet as he follows closely behind. His eyes are wide
and I can tell he has a million questions about everything around him: about Crow, about Nura, about the forest. For almost the first time since I’ve known him, he looks dishevelled and not
entirely in control. It’s a good look on him, as is the healthy flush that’s crept back into his face.

Nura took one look at him before we set off and with one hand on her heart she executed a small bow.

‘Your mother was a great lady, young Dante. She did not deserve the death that came for her.’ Dante tried asking questions but Nura shook her head. ‘Afterwards, there’ll
be time for talking. Now, I have to lead you to the palace.’

We walk at a punishing pace but Nura ensures that we take regular breaks, drinking water and snacking on the fruits and nuts she scavenges. I watch Dante as he becomes aware of the residual
power of the forest. He drops his glamour gradually and I grin at him when the small horns rise from his forehead once more. He spends a lot of time talking quietly to Aiden when we walk, and he
seems to have shrugged off Aiden’s artless remarks about his father. There are real smiles there now, an easiness between them that makes me feel I’m seeing the start of true
friendship.

The forest is verdant and teeming with wildlife, some of which I’m pretty sure has never been featured on National Geographic’s nature programmes. We stop briefly near midnight for a
few hours’ sleep and Nura stands guard before hustling us on again.

When dawn comes round, we step out into a clearing and I let out a gasp as I look up – on the rise ahead, I see the edifice that’s been in my dreams for weeks now. It’s bigger
than I’d imagined. It looks more like a fortress from down here than a palace, with a sturdy outer wall. Built of gold-coloured stone, the place looks warm and inviting and yet lonely. For
all its solidness, its lines are elegant and beautiful, and I release a breath of relief that we’ve finally arrived. The town at its base, with its winding roads, is deserted. The buildings
look a little Middle Eastern, a little Mediterranean.

‘What happened here?’ Dante asks as he draws level with us. ‘Where are all the people?’

‘They were all put to death for supporting the murder of their fellow Fae,’ Nura replies. ‘Those who weren’t killed were left behind to bury the dead. Most eventually
died too, overcome with illnesses from handling the thousands of bodies of their dead. Few survived that, and those that did were shunned by Fae trying to rebuild their lives – after the
destruction the Elder Gods and their followers had wrought. This place has been cursed ever since.’

‘No one comes here?’

Nura hesitates. ‘Those who come here are usually people who do not want to be found.’

‘Oh great.’ Aiden sighs. ‘So we have to fight them too?’

‘Maybe, it depends on this Faceless you seek. If he’s keeping the children up at the palace, he might have secured the town first.’

‘Let’s go,’ I say and motion for her to lead the way but she shakes her glossy head.

‘No, Lady Blackhart, this is as far as I go. My jurisdiction is the forest. I have no powers in the town. I will wait here for you as Crow asked me to. If you aren’t back by tomorrow
night, sunset, I will leave.’ She turns and walks towards the forest and as she does she morphs back into her bear shape. Although I’ve seen her do it the other way around, a shiver
still passes over me.

‘That does not stop being the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen,’ Aiden says, shaking his head. ‘Do you think that when we come back she’ll be naked again?’

I shove him hard and he staggers dramatically, falling over his own feet, and is helped up by Dante, who looks both amused and horrified. ‘Stop being an idiot. Let’s get
going.’

We climb through the town’s deserted streets. An eerie feeling that we’re being watched settled over me when we walked through the gate almost an hour ago, and I
can’t shake it. I carry my sword and still feel exposed and uncomfortable. The town is much larger than I expected from the clearing. Probably several thousand people lived here before they
were killed. As we pass the empty houses I’m struck by the personal items I see left behind. Pots and pans, a vase, someone’s loom.

It’s like a fairytale village caught in a hundred-year sleep. I almost expect to see heavy rose vines keeping us out of the palace, but the doors and windows are all gone and the only
vines belong to thick growths of ivy. I gingerly step through the doorway and a weird sense of déjà vu overcomes me.

Here’s the palace I’ve dreamed of so often. It feels odd being here in reality when I’ve been here so often in my dreams, exploring its abandoned rooms and meeting with Thorn.
I remember the presence I felt whenever we met up here and how he kept urging me to ‘keep her safe’, whoever ‘she’ was.

‘If you were a bad guy hiding kids, where would you hide them?’ Dante asks me.

He’s carrying his taser and I wonder if it will even work here. I consider passing him one of my knives but think he probably has a few of his own. Even so, he looks uncomfortably
under-armed. Aiden, by comparison, is carrying a kukri and I am a bit jealous at how prettily the curved blade reflects the light.