Chapter 4
As we half walked, half slid down the hill into the clearing, the forest encircling the valley thinned, leaving us open to the snow that fell in huge, lacy flakes.
The village of Eleveanor was one of the most beautiful hamlets I’d ever encountered. Not that I had traveled widely, or seen many other towns. In fact, I had only ever been an hour or so away from Seattle, but the village looked exactly as I pictured a mountain hamlet would—covered in snow, cheerful lights filtering out through the windows, the scent of smoke spiraling into the air.
The houses in the village all seemed to be two story or under. Lamplights lined the walkways, candles encased within the steel lanterns affixed to the posts. The posts themselves were old, remnants of some ancient city that had been salvaged, with ivy trailing around their bases. I eyed it suspiciously. Wandering Ivy was dangerous, and it was difficult to tell the difference between it and its more benign cousins.
We couldn’t be more than thirty miles from Seattle, at least as far as the crow flew. We had definitely journeyed far longer than that, but it had been a circuitous route. Yet the hamlet felt a world away from the city. In fact, for the first time, I found myself thinking how precarious Seattle was. All the world’s bigger cities, actually—given the whims of Gaia and the vigor with which the wilds had rebounded after the World Shift.
None of us said much, but when we reached the bottom of the slope, we turned around. The Frostlings gazed down at us, sparkling silhouettes on the top of the slope. After a time, they vanished back into the forest, leaving us on our own.
Elan motioned us forward and, leaving the woods behind, we entered the village.
The streets of Eleveanor were laid out in a simple cross-patch fashion—running north–south and east–west. Intersections abounded, which meant I could jump to the Crossroads easily enough if I needed to. The hamlet wasn’t large, with a population of about a thousand people from the best I could estimate. However, though the town square seemed centralized, I had a feeling a number of the inhabitants actually lived out in the woods.
The lampposts weren’t the only thing that they had reclaimed from the past. The houses were made from brick and stone as well as lumber, and they had glass windows against the cold. Of course, the Woodland Fae could have bought their materials from the city, but everything had an aged patina to it.
As we approached the main thoroughfare, the dirt paths turned into cobblestone walkways, peering through the snow that had been shoveled away from the storefronts. The writing on the signboards was alien to me, as were the names on the street signs, but it was easy enough to recognize a grocer, and a clothing shop, and a dry-goods store.
Some of the businesses were still open, though it looked like most had closed for the night. Elan led us to a large building that nearly took up an entire block. She was smiling.
“This is my cousins’ inn. We can rest here.” She looped her arm through Laren’s. “Our family lives in another village, but our cousins moved here a hundred years ago. We don’t get to see them that often, so this will be a reunion for us.”
That was the most information I had ever heard her volunteer about her life. Laren caught my gaze and winked, and I thought I caught the wisp of a smile. That in itself was a miracle. We tied the horses to the post out front and followed them into the building, a massive two-story affair.
The main reception area was rustic and the atmosphere exuded a secure feel. I could sleep easy here, without worry. The large reception desk was manned by two people, a man and a woman, and both looked remarkably like Laren and Elan.
Must be their relatives, I thought.
My guess was confirmed when the woman let out a loud squeak of delight and raced around the counter as soon as she laid eyes on us. The man followed suit, though more slowly and with a shaded expression. They didn’t hug, but they touched hands, entwining their fingers. I couldn’t recognize the quick melodic words that flew between them but after a few minutes, the woman turned toward us.
“Come, you who are friends of our family. We will find rooms for all of you.”
“Meet Tera and Shay, our cousins who run this inn.” Elan motioned toward each one of us in turn. “Allow me to present Fury, Hans, Montran, and Tymbur. They’re Theosian by nature. Jason, his sister Shevron, and her son Leonard—hawk-shifters.”
Leonard shifted at that, but Shevron rested her arm on his.
“And Greta is a Valkyrie. And may I present Lord Tam, Prince of UnderBarrow.” Elan finished.
Tera and Shay both gave a little bow at that.
“We escaped from Seattle before they closed down the city.” Elan’s voice dropped and once again, the look of wariness returned.
“A bad business, that,” Shay said. “We have scouts out, hunting down information even now.” He dropped his voice and once again, the words flew in the strange, singsong language. A quick discussion ensued, then Laren nodded toward the front door.
“We have horses out front. Can you make sure they’re taken care of and bring in our gear?”
Shay rang a bell and a young man entered. Though, really, he was probably older than most of us, given they were Fae. Shay gave him directions, and the boy nodded and headed out the door.
“He will send up your things and make certain your horses are fed, watered, and rubbed down.”
“We need to wash up, then we’ll talk.” Elan glanced at Tera.
The innkeeper’s impassive look morphed into one of deep sadness as she led us up the long staircase to the upper story. She walked as though she had the weight of the world on her shoulders.
Near the end of the hall, she pointed to three rooms. “Here are your rooms. Restrooms are at the end of the hall, and I’ll send up hot water so you may wash your faces and hands. If you want a bath, our bathhouse is across the street. It’s open twenty-four/seven. The baths are situated over a thermal pool so the water’s always hot and clean. When you’re ready, come downstairs to the dining room. I’ll have dinner waiting and we’ll talk.”
With that, she left us to ourselves. Shortly after, a couple of servants brought up our gear. They left it in front of the three rooms, and departed just as silently.
Elan pointed to the rooms. “Montran, Tymbur, Hans—why don’t you take that room? Tam, Jason, Leonard, and Laren can take the second. And Fury, Greta, Shevron, and I will share the third.”
I peeked in the various rooms. Each had two sets of bunk beds, which meant we’d all have a bed and nobody would have to sleep on the floor. It was also rather toasty, and those two facts were enough to keep me content. We divided up.
A serving woman carried in a large bucket of hot water and filled a bowl on the center table. She left, carrying the bucket over to the next room.
Shevron brought out another bowl, pouring half the water into it. “We’ll have some to rinse off the soap this way,” she said. “What I wouldn’t give for a long, hot bath. I suggest that before we turn in, we visit the bathhouse your cousin mentioned.” She held up a bottle of raspberry-scented hand soap. “We can share this.”
We washed our faces and hands, and the steaming water felt wonderful.
I stripped off my wet clothes—soaked from plowing through the snow—and toweled off, then after standing in front of the crackling fire to warm up, slipped on one of Elan’s long, warm skirts. I had added a rough side slit so I could reach my whip, and a turtleneck sweater. The bruises under my ribs on my side were mostly healed. The exercise of walking for days had actually kept me from stiffening up. I was used to working out at least four days a week, and hadn’t realized walking might do as much good as it had.
Shevron, Elan, and Greta all changed clothes as well, then Elan tugged on the bell pull by the window. Besides the bunk beds, the room had a table and four chairs, a sofa, and a large armoire. There was a small closet in the corner. By the time we had stowed our gear and packs, the serving girl arrived again. Elan handed her our clothing from the past couple days.
“Please have these cleaned and dried.”
“Yes, ma’am. They’ll be ready by morning.” The girl dipped her knee, curtseying. Then, after exchanging a few words in the singsong language with Elan, she left.
“Your language is lovely. What is it?”
Tam spoke a different language with his people—Gaelia, a mix of the original Fae language and Gaelic. Sometimes I asked him to read to me in it. While I could only understand a few words, they sounded like honey dripping off his tongue. But Gaelia was more earthy than whatever Elan was speaking.
“It’s called Melwien. It’s an offshoot of the original language of my ancestors, blended with Swedish. I’d wager all the Fae languages spoken today are blends.” She handed us each a towel and washcloth. “We’ll need these at the bathhouse. Let’s go. Once we’re clean, we’ll eat. Then Tera wants to talk to us about helping her with a problem.”
“She seemed on the verge of tears.”
“I saw. It’s something to do with her daughter, but she wouldn’t elaborate. Tera and Shay built this village based on their…beliefs.” She sounded almost unsure, as though she wasn’t sure about what she was saying. “They’re pacifists. They won’t defend themselves. To be honest, their stance bothers me, and it infuriated our families back in Verdanya.”
With that, she led us down the stairs. We hurried across the street, huddling against the blowing snow, and entered the building opposite. The steam immediately fogged my vision and I wiped my eyes. There were five main tubs, each large enough to fit eight or nine people, and then ten individual tubs. Most of the larger ones were filled, except for one, which had a sign on it.
“Here, Shay reserved this for us.” Elan led us over to the bath and moved the sign. The tubs were raised, with a wide lip to sit on while getting ready. In the corner were three communal showers. “Rinse off first, and use the soap. Then you can enter the bath.”
Shevron handed me the bath gel and I was surprised to find running hot water. They had made full use of the geothermal energy here, it seemed. I luxuriated in the hot splash of water that rained down on my body. After washing up, including my hair, I padded back over to the tub and sat on the edge, swinging my feet over. Shevron and Greta joined me. Elan showered last.
Shevron was as thin and pale in the nude as she was clothed, but she didn’t look underfed. Her body was naturally waif-like, except for her height. She towered over me. On the other hand, Greta had ripe, full breasts and hips that were well-rounded. Her abs were firm from all her working out, but she was nicely cushioned in an hourglass sort of way. As for me, I wasn’t a waif, but neither was I statuesque. I had large breasts, a solid, muscled build, and felt like I was sandwiched between two skyscrapers, given how tall both of them were. Elan joined us. She was lean and fit, which came as no surprise. We sank into the tub, making room as Hans, Jason, Laren, and Tam entered the building. Tymbur, Montran, and Leonard were conspicuously absent.
“I think it would scar my son to see me naked,” Shevron said. “It’s not like he’s never seen me change clothes, but to soak in a tub with his mother? That wouldn’t be comfortable at all.”
“The priests of Hades are conservative. I know they wouldn’t feel comfortable here. I have a feeling they’ll sneak over here in the middle of the night when there are fewer people around.” I had known Tymbur for quite some time. He had never done or said anything forward to me or to any other person I had met. He once told me that while he wasn’t under a vow of chastity, intimate relationships and behaviors were frowned on in his order until permission to seek out a spouse or partner was given.
The men stepped into the tub after they showered. There was plenty of room and the circulating water was soothing.
I closed my eyes and leaned back, letting the gentle wash of the currents calm me. Tam reached for my hand, holding it softly as we recuperated from the long, icy hike. After a few minutes, I let out a soft, long breath and opened my eyes, hungry for food and for sleep.
“So Elan, your cousins own the bathhouse too?” I asked once she opened her eyes.
She nodded. “It’s connected to the inn. The townsfolk can use it free of charge if they make reservations.”
“I didn’t realize the village would be this large,” Hans said. “How many villages like this exist through the Wild Wood?”
“More than you might think. We don’t speak of it much in the cities.” Laren sat beside Shevron. As he stretched, it was impossible to ignore the muscles in his lithe, taut body.
Tam rubbed my hand with one finger as I inadvertently squeezed his palm and I blushed, ducking my head.
“You’ll understand that, given the nature of the Conglomerate, the Fae nation doesn’t offer its records to them readily. We don’t trust them, and we never will.” Tam shifted position, letting go of my hand as he leaned forward, ducking his shoulders beneath the water. “When they accepted the demands of Fae sovereignty, the Conglomerate neglected to mention they wanted to keep tabs on us. Once we found out they were sneaking into our lands, we went underground with our information. UnderBarrow can—and will, if necessary—withdraw into the otherworld.”
“Can the Woodland Fae villages do the same?” Jason asked.
“Yes, actually.” Tam lowered his voice. “Remember how we were discussing the Devani potentially being from another planet and how they might have come here? UnderBarrow can shift on the web so that the door to our thread closes, allowing no access. We can control the entrance and exit. In essence, we would still be in the space we inhabit near the World Tree, but we would bar the doors and they would be inaccessible. I can also shift the Barrow to open elsewhere on the planet.”
The thought of realm-hopping and dimension-traveling was intriguing me. I had never thought about how I did the same thing using the Crossroads, but now the possibilities seemed immeasurable. “Do you think that the entire universe is connected in this manner? If the Devani can go to other planets given the portals on the World Tree, can we go to…say…theirs?”
“Why, do you want to?” Tam snickered. “Seriously, though, the possibility exists.”
We fell into a communal silence again, and twenty minutes later, we were warmed up and ready to go. My hair was dry as well. When I was born, it had been jet black, but when I was bonded with Hecate, the strands had become streaked with a brilliant crimson. I brushed out my shoulder-length locks, and bound them back into a braid, revealing the other tattoo that marked me as belonging to Hecate. Three snakes, woven together in an endless knotwork triskelion, were inked on the right side of my neck.
We dressed and hustled back to the inn. Tam slid his arm around my waist as we slogged through the continuing snowfall.
“Are you all right, love? You seem lost in thought.”
I nodded. “My mind’s been awhirl with thoughts since we left Seattle. There are so many questions I have. Last night, when the Frostling asked me why my city was trying to wipe out her people, it struck me that there’s so much we don’t know. And now you tell me that the Conglomerate is trying to keep illegal tabs on the Fae sovereign nations? Just how far are they encroaching?”
“Farther than you think, Fury. I don’t often talk about it, because there are some things you just don’t air in public. But we’re not in the city and we can’t be tracked. I am not well liked by the Seattle officials—as evidenced by them throwing me out on the Tremble. They don’t like that UnderBarrow is in the city limits but out of their control.”
He stopped as we entered the inn again and followed the others into the dining room. Montran, Tymbur, and Leonard had already started eating. They waved us over and we took our places. Without a word, two waitresses began bringing out platters of bread and cheese, and bowls of piping hot stew. Shay and Tera joined us.
“There’s pie for dessert—apple, and cinnamon ice cream.” Tera motioned for us to dig in. “We ate earlier.”
We fell to the food, and for a few minutes, we ate in silence. Every time someone finished their stew, the serving girl would offer to refill it, and I was no slouch in allowing her to do so. Neither were the others. By the times we got to seconds, our focus shifted and we began to talk. We finished up dessert and Shay and Tera invited us to join them in a private meeting room.
As we settled into the seats surrounding the fireplace, Shay and Tera took their place on a bench in front of the crackling fire. Montran and Tymbur joined us, but Shevron sent Leonard up to his room. The teenager sullenly obeyed.
Elan cleared her throat. “Please, tell us what’s going on.”
“I need your help,” Tera began. “I’m at my wit’s end and don’t know what to do.”
“Let me guess, you’re up against someone who won’t talk things over?” Laren said. There was a hint of judgment in his voice, though it didn’t sound derisive.
Tera nodded, worrying her lip. “Yes, and we can’t take action because…you know why. But we may ask for help if the need is great.”
“What’s going on?” Elan reached over to press her hand to Tera’s.
“Sara, my daughter, was abducted.” Tera’s expression was stark, her voice cracking.
“What? Who took her?” Elan’s reserve dropped. She leaned forward, her eyes darkening. “Do you know if she’s still alive?”
“She’s alive, yes,” Shay spoke up, sounding oddly abrupt. “She was taken by the Fir Mountain Wolf Pack. Carn, the Alpha, asked for her hand in marriage. When Tera refused, he kidnapped Sara. I tried bargaining with him, but he refuses to negotiate. He’s not interested in ransom, but in her. There’s not much we can do at this point.”
“That’s what you’ve said since this started. I think we can do something.” Tera shot him a derisive look.
“Why would a werewolf chief set his eyes on one of the Woodland Fae in the first place? Aren’t they pretty xenophobic?” Shevron asked. “Most shifter clans outside the cities don’t tend to intermarry.”
“They are, but the clan’s numbers have dwindled, and they need new blood.” Shay tamped some tobacco into his pipe and lit up. “It makes sense, really. There aren’t many other werewolf clans out here.”
“Make sense?” Tera slapped the table. I had the feeling they had been over this argument before. “You call him kidnapping my daughter sensible?”
“I’ve told you before what I mean. While the Alpha paid lip service to falling for her, they need to increase their numbers. And you know, as well as I do, that Carn is looking for a convenient excuse to encroach on our space here. We have prime valley. The Fir Mountain pack has been eyeing our land for years. They haven’t forced the issue, but if they marry into the fold it opens up a path for them to ease in and take over our town.” Shay motioned to the serving girl. “Ale.” He cleared his throat. “I suppose we could have worse allies. They’re a powerful force.”
“Allies? You still call them allies after this.” The bitterness in Tera’s voice was so thick I could have spread it on bread like butter.
Montran interrupted. “What do you think they’d do if someone were to rescue her? Would they attack your village? Won’t that spark off the same thing you’re trying to avoid?”
Tera shook her head. “I don’t know. I only know my daughter’s their captive.”
It seemed hypocritical to refuse to even stand up for yourself but ask for the help of others, but it wasn’t my place to point out the discrepancy.
Shevron, however, wasn’t quite as discreet.
“You’re unwilling to fight for your daughter, yet willing to let us risk danger in order to rescue her?” She shook her head. “If my son were in danger, I’d be there in a second. I’d offer my life for him in a heartbeat.”
Shay’s eyes narrowed. “The fact remains we are a pacifistic people and cannot go after her. I would never ask strangers to go in our stead, but Tera insisted. As I said, my negotiations came to naught.”
“He plans to marry her on the next full moon.” Tera hung her head. “Please help us, even if you think we’re weak.”
“Of course Laren and I will help you.” Elan shrugged. “As to my friends, they owe me no favors and I won’t ask them to get involved.”
I closed my eyes, not wanting to deal with yet another fight. But I knew what it was like to be kidnapped. My mother and I had gone through it the night she died. And while Sara wasn’t on the chopping block to be killed, the fact that she wasn’t willingly going to her marriage bed made me want to clock the Alpha a good one.
I ducked my head. “I’ll help, too.”
Jason nodded. “Count me in, although I won’t allow my sister and her son to be involved. They don’t have the experience needed.” He shook his head at Shevron, who started to speak. “No, you will not take part in this.”
“Very well. But don’t tell Leonard what you’re doing, please. I don’t want any false heroics.” Shevron let out a long sigh.
“Leonard needs to get over himself,” Jason said. “A little hard work would do him good.”
“If you like, Leonard can help out in the stables.” Tera turned to Shevron. “We could use an extra hand right now. We’ll pay him so he doesn’t feel taken advantage of.”
Shevron gave Tera a long look, then nodded. “All right. He can start tomorrow morning. But no payment. We owe you for your hospitality.”
“Count us in,” Greta said, taking Hans’s hand.
Hans punctuated her words with a brusque nod.
Montran and Tymbur glanced at one another. “We must pass. We have spells to work on and it’s vital that we communicate with Hades as soon as possible. This is not our fight. But allow us to pay for our lodging. We cannot take your hospitality and refuse to help in return.”
“I don’t want your money,” Tera said. For a moment I thought she was angry, but the cloud passed. “I understand your decision and respect it. This is not your fight.”
The two rose and silently left the room.
“I still don’t see the use of this. What are a handful of travelers against an entire village of shifters?” Shay sucked on his pipe. “But if you want to give it a try, I can’t stop you.”
“Shay, we’re talking about my daughter. Your niece!” Tera shot him a venomous look. My dislike for the man grew another notch.
“Easy, Tera.” He held her gaze and she backed down. “Why not take a moment to give them news from their home? That is more to their concern.”
I still didn’t like him, but the lure of an update from Seattle was too much to ignore. “What’s going on?”
“Apparently, the research and development division of the Homeland Defense Department has come up with something to kill the zombies.”
Shevron perked up. “You mean we can go home?”
“I wouldn’t advise it,” Shay said roughly. “It seems that they plan on spiking the water supply with it.”
“How will that help?” Jason asked. “Zombies don’t stop to drink water.”
“They don’t need to. If they eat human or animal flesh that contains the formula, it will kill them.” Shay let out a rough laugh. “Get the picture?”
The realization hit me, slowly at first, then it rammed home. “They aren’t letting people leave. They’re counting on the zombies to kill themselves off by…”
“By feeding on the populace. They’ve pulled the Devani from the streets and are using them to cordon off the exits. Meanwhile, the Regent’s proclaimed that anyone caught on the wrong end of a zombie shish kabob is acceptable collateral damage.”
As he finished speaking, a flash of the horror that must be racing through the streets hit me and it was hard to shake it off. The thought of people being offered up on a silver platter to stop the zombies churned in my stomach and I thought that if the Regent were in front of me now, I’d happily wring his neck.
“You have to be fucking kidding me.” I stood, pacing. “The Elder Gods have to be told. I doubt they know.”
“They don’t,” a strange voice behind me said. “At least, I don’t think they do.”
Two men and a woman entered the room. Theosians, I thought.
Tera busied herself with introductions. “May I present Kendall, Dorn, and Tyrell. They came seeking sanctuary last night. They escaped from Seattle as well.”
“Actually, Kendall and Tyrell escaped Seattle. The Devani had just captured me and were about to transport me to their ‘research’ facilities when I managed to get away,” Dorn said. “I ran into Kendall and Tyrell as they were sneaking out the same city gate I was. We decided traveling together was safer than traveling alone.” Dorn looked pretty beat up, now that I took a long look at him. His skin was mottled with bruises and scrapes, and there were thumbprints around his neck.
“The Devani do that to you?” I motioned to his throat.
“Yeah. Luckily for me, a swarm of zombies broke through the gate before they could throw me in their armored transport. The Devani began fighting them and I took the opportunity to run away.” He looked me up and down. “You’re Fury, aren’t you? We’ve heard of you. You do know the government is looking for you? They want to know how you kill Abominations.”
Crap. I hadn’t known that. I didn’t even know if Hecate knew that. “No, I’ve managed to fly under the radar for a long time.” I wasn’t about to mention my altered chip. At least, not yet.
“Good for you. Otherwise, you’d be sitting in a cell right now.” Kendall, who was a striking redhead, sat down in a chair next to me. “I’m bound to Athena.”
Back in Seattle, out on the Peninsula of the Gods, the temples of the various pantheons were situated on a tiered rectangle, complete with shops and restaurants. They housed a good share of the gods who had played into history throughout the years—at least when they were in the office. Naós ton Theón, the temple for the Greek gods, was a four-story complex of cool white marble with gray veins. Hecate’s office was located on the third floor and I had been in that office more times than I could ever count. Athena’s office was on the second floor, I thought. Right now, I missed all of it. I missed being able to talk to Hecate and ask for her guidance.
“You say that they’re looking for me? The Corp-Rats? How do you know?”
“Because,” Dorn said. “The Devani started questioning me the moment they had hold of me. One question they asked was if I knew where to find you. When I refused to talk, they started to choke me. The Devani was dragging me toward one of their armory units. He asked me again, ‘Do you know Fury and where can we find her? How does she eradicate the Abominations?’ I was about to pass out when the zombies came pouring through the blockade. The Devani let go and I scrambled away. They were so busy they ignored me. I don’t know what they are, but they’re butt-strong and deadly.” He rubbed his throat, wincing.
“I know too much about that,” Tam said softly.
I glanced at Kendall. “She’s bound to Athena. To whom are you and Tyrell bound?”
Dorn cleared his throat. “I belong to Odin.”
Hans perked up. “Thor, here. I think I’ve seen you at some of the festivals.”
They clasped hands and slapped each other on the back. I grinned. The Norse liked to party down with their own.
“And I’m bound to the Dagda,” Tyrell said. “The father of the Tuatha de Dannan.”
“What I’d like to know,” Kendall said, “is why, if they want you so bad, don’t they just trace you down by your chip?” She gave me a long look.
I let out a slow breath. “I don’t know.” Then, to forestall any further questions on the subject, I added, “So the Corp-Rats of Seattle are using people as a weapon. We can’t let it happen, can we?”
“But it’s already happening. People have already died,” Shay said.
I turned to him. “You really don’t give a rat’s ass about anybody but yourself, do you? I have to question this pacifistic stance of—”
“Enough on that,” Elan interrupted, giving me a short shake of the head. “Let’s not argue.”
“Well, I have to go back.” Jason shook his head. “I have family there. We all have friends. But what can we do, though? How do we take on the entire army of Devani stationed there to keep everyone prisoner? Would it do any good to broadcast this? To let other cities know?”
“The Conglomerate owns the country. They own every council of every city worth noting. They’re not going to do a damned thing. We have to figure out a way to get in there and…” I hesitated. What I was about to say was treason, and even though I had no problem with the idea of it, once said, I couldn’t take it back. Finally, I looked up at the others. “I think we have to go in and take over control of the city. And then we’re going to have a real fight on our hands.”