Grim Prospects

I'm not sure I should go."

Jack rolled his eyes, stepping into my room all the way and letting the door close behind him. "Is this because of your jumpy boyfriend?"

Lend had texted me a couple of times since Monday, but he wouldn't get here until tomorrow night. It felt like I was betraying him again, going out on a mission Thursday afternoon. On the other hand, he knew I was working with IPCA. And I hadn't told him I'd stop.

"I don't know," I muttered.

"Look, if you don't want to come, no big deal. I'm sure those families being held captive as troll slaves will totally understand that you're moping because of your stupid relationship problems."

I glared at him. "Fine." I'd agreed to this troll mission from the very beginning when Raquel asked me to come back, and they'd finally pinned down the area of the city where they thought the trolls were. Jack had been there with a faerie the day before to scope out sites to make a door. It'd be low impact, in and out. I didn't have to confront anyone or anything, just see a troll, note the location, and report back to IPCA. I was helping people. It was important.

Feeling grouchy and sick to my stomach, I stood up and took Jack's hand. I resisted the temptation to close my eyes as we entered the Paths. Maybe if I pretended not to be scared, I'd get over it. Jack seemed unusually eager, pulling me along.

"Your hand is all sweaty," I complained, wishing I could take mine out of his to wipe it on my pants. "Nervous or something?"

He let out a quick, high laugh, but didn't answer. After a few minutes he slowed, frowning in concentration as he held a hand up and felt around the nothingness.

"Lost?"

A smile broke through his focus. "Nope. Here we are. I give you Trollhattan, Sweden." A door opened in front of us and I saw a glimpse of green trees and cloudy skies. I let go and stepped through.

Right into a free fall.

My scream was extinguished as I plunged into bitterly cold, dark water. It flooded my senses, finding its way into my eyes, nose, ears, mouth. Everything was gray and green and cold.

I gagged, struggling to push my way to the surface. My coat was soaked through, and I could barely drag it through the fetid liquid. I looked frantically through the murk for Jack, but he hadn't splashed down next to me, or maybe in the shock I missed it. He could be right by me and I'd never know it.

My lungs burned, but a glimmer of light above my head drew me. A few more inches and I broke the surface, swallowing a lungful of air, grateful and desperate. I was about twenty feet from the dirt banks of the evergreen-lined river. I turned my head and saw, to my horror, some sort of gate on the narrow, walled end of the waterway lifting. Lifting, and flooding my portion of the river with a torrent that spun me around and tumbled me back under, directionless.

I fought, kicking wildly, but I didn't even know which way was up. I was going to drown-oh, bleep, I was going to drown alone in Sweden-when a hand reached out and grabbed my arm.

Jack! If I could have, I would have cried with relief. I turned to face him and found myself looking at a strangely beautiful person. He matched the grays and greens of the water around us, with eyes that took up nearly half his face. Soulful eyes. Hungry eyes. His full lips parted in a smile, and I smiled back.

His voice moved through the water, achingly sweet and lovely. I closed my eyes, lost in the melody. I'd never heard music that powerful, that alluring. He pulled me forward and put his cold mouth to mine, his song somehow continuing as he gently parted my lips and kissed me, drawing my breath into himself.

We sank together, twirling languidly, until my feet rested against the soft, shifting silt at the bottom of the river. Between his lips and his song, the burning in my lungs faded into the distance, barely noticeable. I opened my eyes, sleepy and deliciously content, to see his eyes staring at me.

I pushed back, a scream bubbling out of my throat. Because now that I looked, I could see he was both this beautiful man and a horse-a horse with razor eyes, needle teeth, hair like wire weeds. The hair whipped forward, wrapping itself around my wrists as he pulled me in close again.

The melody had changed, becoming a haunting lullaby, filled with longing, sadness, and finality. Sleep. Cold, soaked, eternal sleep. I shook my head, terrified, but the beautiful man-horse smiled again, cradling me to his chest.

His mistake.

I slammed my palm against him, the channel between us opening with a flood more powerful than the river had ever been. Now his eyes were the ones opened in terror as he released me and struggled backward. I kept my hand to his chest, the roaring in my ears echoing through my whole body in an overwhelming deluge.

A stray current smashed into me and disconnected us. In an instant he was gone, and I was pissed. I screamed my rage into the water. He had tried to kill me-turnabout was fair play, as far as I was concerned. What a poor sport.

The water didn't bother me anymore. The currents were no longer forces working against me, but rather living things I could read and understand. I let them pull me up until my head broke the surface once again. I took a reluctant breath, a strange part of me wanting to sink back down and discover what mysteries the river had to whisper to me.

Instead I half swam, half let the water carry me to the bank. Climbing up, I collapsed onto the side and stared at the cold, gray sky. The air's bite was foreign and empty; it lacked the caress and touch of water.

"Evie!" Jack's voice drifted toward me. He knelt next to me, concern twisting his features. It was a new look for him. "Evie, are you okay? I didn't know! You stepped out too soon, and then I had to find a door to the bank, and I couldn't find you. Are you okay?"

I sighed, my sodden coat chilling me to the bone. "Peachy. Made a new friend."

He pulled me up by the hand, unzipping my coat and yanking it off me. "Shirt, too, please."

"No!"

"It's only fair. I seem to recall you making me strip the first time we met. Besides, it's going to get a lot colder, and we don't have time for a costume change."

Already trembling, I dropped my coat on the ground and peeled off my shirt, almost too cold to feel self-conscious of my barely there cleavage in a purple bra. Jack gave me his coat and I wriggled into it, grateful for the leftover body heat. I glanced at the water-it would be warmer in there, wouldn't it? Maybe just a quick swim.

What was wrong with me?

Jack frowned. "There's nothing we can do about your pants-mine probably wouldn't fit, and it wouldn't do for me to go around pantsless, much as it would be the best day of your life."

"It's fine." My teeth chattered violently and my sinuses sloshed like half the river had hitched a ride in them. "What is this place?"

"The Gota alv river. It's a lock system, with gates that change the level of the water. It has a rich history of trade and aided Trollhattan's industrial revolution."

"Let me guess: Raquel's got you in tutoring, too?"

"Only when she can catch me. You want me to take you back? We can try again tomorrow."

I shook my head. I was sure if I stopped to think about things, I'd have a meltdown, but I didn't want to have to come back tomorrow. Or ever, really, with Jack as a guide. Besides, tomorrow I'd be with Lend, and I'd make things okay. I just needed to finish the job and go home. I could lose it then.

"It's only a little way to the city," he said. "I can try another door, if you want."

"No! No, I'm good with walking, thank you very much."

We were quiet for a bit, picking our way through the evergreens and gray rocks. It was beautiful. Or it would have been, were I not soaked to the bone and freezing.

"What were you saying about making a new friend?" Jack asked.

A rush of cold swirled through my heart and veins, like an injection of river water. Maybe it would extinguish the tingling in my fingertips.

"Umm, yeah, if by friend I mean someone who tries to drown me. Ever heard of a fossegrim?"

He shook his head.

"Kelpie? Nix? No? All variations of the same lovely type of paranormal who hangs out in the water and drowns people for kicks." I'd learned about them from Lish. Different areas of the world had different breeds, varying from horselike creatures to dragonish things. Judging by the beautiful-man appearance and music, I'd run into a fosse-grim. Supposedly you could kill them by saying their name but a) how would you find it out in the first place, and b) it's a little hard to talk when your lungs are slowly filling up with water. Still, legend had it they were occasionally benign, giving music lessons and even marrying mortals every now and again.

I didn't get the impression this one had any intentions of taking vows.

"So you aren't going to be best friends."

"I dunno-he could be fun at a pool party. Assuming you hated everyone you invited."

We walked in silence for a while, both of us hunched against the evening's chill, until we entered the outskirts of a city that was far too beautiful and charming to be mistaken for anywhere in America. The buildings were red brick and wood, with a classical feel that made the cars parked out on cobblestone streets look ridiculously out of place. I half expected a horse-drawn cart to come prancing down the street, followed by villagers in braids, singing and dancing. Or maybe I watched too many musicals.

"The neighborhood is a few blocks this way," Jack said, after reading some street signs to get his bearings. Lamps flickered on and I added Trollhattan to the list of places I'd like to visit for fun someday. I could totally see myself in a traditional Swedish outfit, my hair in ribbons, walking hand in hand through the streets with Lend.

How would he look in lederhosen?

Come to think of it, no one here was wearing lederhosen. That didn't mean Lend couldn't, though. . . . Of course, first he'd have to forgive me for sneaking around behind his back. A celebratory trip to Sweden would be a nice way to make up, right? Tucking that idea away for a later date, I started looking-really looking-at the people we passed on the street as we got closer to the potential troll district. For once I blended in well, a much better fit in Scandinavia than most other countries.

"Anything?" Jack whined after we had been wandering for close to half an hour. It was nearly dark now, and we were both shivering. Blisters already claimed every available surface of my wet-socks-and-shoes-clad feet. If I didn't see something soon, this whole trip was a bust. I hated to think that the poor people kidnapped and forced into slavery by the trolls would have to wait until next week to be rescued, but there wasn't anything more I could do tonight.

"Nope. Not a-"

A young girl darted across the street in front of me. Cute thing with a pug nose, ruddy cheeks, blond hair, and . . . a little tail sticking out from under her skirt.