The Lost Prince

Overhead, a thin crescent moon grinned down at me behind ragged wisps of cloud, and a cold autumn breeze sliced right through my jacket, making me shiver. That nagging, cynical part of me hesitated, reluctant to take part in this insanity. Why are you getting involved? it whispered. What’s the half-breed to you, anyway? Are you willing to deal directly with the fey because of him?



But it wasn’t just Todd now. Something strange was happening in Faery, and I had a feeling it was going to get worse. I needed to know what was going on and how I could defend myself from transparent ghost-fey that sucked the life right out of their victims. I didn’t want to be left in the dark, not with those things out there.



Besides, Mr. Creepy Faery had threatened not only me but my family. And that pissed me off. I was sick of running and hiding. Closing my eyes, hoping They would leave me alone wasn’t working. I doubted it ever had.



Hopping on my bike, I started pedaling toward the one place I’d always avoided until now. A place where, I hoped, I would get some answers.



If the damn fey wanted me as an enemy, bring it on. I’d be their worst nightmare.



* * *



Even in gigantic, crowded cities, where steel buildings, cars and concrete dominate everything, you can always find the fey in a park.



It doesn’t have to be a big park. Just a patch of natural earth, with a few trees and bushes scattered about, maybe a little pond, and that’s all they need. I’m told Central Park in New York City has hundreds, maybe thousands of faeries living there, and several trods to the Nevernever, all within its well-groomed perimeter. The tiny park three and a half miles from my house had about a dozen fey of the common variety—piskies, goblins, tree sprites—and no trods that I knew of.



I parked my bike against an old tree near the entrance and gazed around. It wasn’t much of a park, really. There was a picnic bench with a set of peeling monkey bars and an old slide, and a dusty fire pit that hadn’t been used in years. At least, not by humans. But the trees here were old, ancient things—huge oaks and weeping willows—and if you stared very hard between the branches, you sometimes caught flickers of movement not belonging to birds or squirrels.



Leaving the bike, I walked to the edge of the fire pit and looked down. The ashes were cold and gray, days or weeks old, but I had seen two goblins at this pit several weeks ago, roasting some sort of meat over the fire. And there were several piskies and wood sprites living in the oaks, as well. The local fey might not know anything about their creepy, transparent cousins, but it couldn’t hurt to ask.



Crouching, I picked up a flat rock, dusted it off, and set it in the center of the fire pit. Digging through my pack, I pulled out a bottle of honey, stood and drizzled the golden syrup onto the stones. Honey was like ambrosia to the fey; they couldn’t resist the stuff.



Capping the bottle, I tossed it into my pack and waited.



Several minutes passed, which was a surprise to me. I knew the fey frequented this area. I was expecting at least a couple of goblins or piskies to appear. But the night was still, the shadows empty—until there was a soft rustle behind me, the hiss of something moving over the grass.



“You will not find them that way, Ethan Chase.”



I turned, calmly. Rule number two: show no fear when dealing with the Fair Folk. I could have drawn my rattan sticks, and in all honesty I really wanted to, but that might have been taken as a sign of nervousness or unease.



A tall, slight figure stood beneath the weeping willow, watching me through the lacy curtain. As I waited, a slender hand parted the drooping branches and the faery stepped into the open.



It was a dryad, and the weeping willow was probably her tree, for she had the same long green hair and rough, bark-like skin. She was impossibly tall and slender, and swayed slightly on her feet, like a branch in the wind. She observed me with large black eyes, her long hair draped over her body, and slowly shook her head.



“They will not come,” she whispered sadly, glancing at the swirl of honey at my feet. “They have not been here for many nights. At first, it was only one or two that went missing. But now—” she gestured to the empty park “—now there is no one left. Everyone is gone. I am the last.”



I frowned. “What do you mean, you’re the last? Where are all the others?” I gazed around the park, scanning the darkness and shadows, seeing nothing. “What the hell is going on?”



She drifted closer, swaying gently. I was tempted to step back but held my ground.



The dryad tilted her head to one side, lacy hair catching the moonlight as it fell. A large white moth flew out of the curtain and fluttered away into the shadows. “You have questions,” the dryad said, blinking slowly. “I can tell you what you wish to know, but you must do something for me in return.”



“Oh, no.” I did step away then, crossing my arms and glaring at her. “No way. No bargains, no contracts. Find someone else to do your dirty work.”



“Please, Ethan Chase.” The dryad held out an impossibly slender hand, mottled and rough like the trunk of the tree. “As a favor, then. You must go to the Iron Queen for us. Inform her of our fate. Be our voice. She will listen to you.”



“Go find Meghan?” I thought of the coin lying abandoned on my desk and shook my head. “You expect me to go into the Nevernever,” I said, and my stomach turned just thinking about it. Memories crowded forward, dark and terrifying, and I shoved them back. “Go into Faery. With Mab and Titania and the rest of the crazies.” I curled my mouth into a sneer. “Forget it. That’s the last place I’ll ever set foot in.”



“You must.” The dryad wrung her hands, pleading. “The courts do not know what is happening, nor would they care. The welfare of a few half-breeds and exiles does not concern them. But you…you are the half brother of the Iron Queen—she will listen to you. If you do not…” The dryad trembled, like a leaf in a storm. “Then I’m afraid we will all be lost.”



“Look.” I stabbed a hand through my hair. “I’m just trying to find out what happened to a friend. Todd Wyndham. He’s a half-breed, and I think he’s in trouble.” The dryad’s pleading expression didn’t change, and I sighed. “I can’t promise to help you,” I muttered. “I have problems of my own to worry about. But…” I hesitated, hardly believing I was saying this. “But if you can give me any information about my friend, then I’ll…try to get a message to my sister. I’m still not promising anything!” I added quickly as the dryad jerked up. “But if I see the Iron Queen anytime in the near future, I’ll tell her. That’s the best I can offer.”



The dryad nodded. “It will have to do,” she whispered, shrinking in on herself. She closed her eyes as a breeze hissed through the park, rippling her hair and making the leaves around us sigh. “More of us have disappeared,” she sighed. “More vanish with every breath. And they are coming closer.”



“Who are they?”



“I do not know.” The faery opened her eyes, looking terrified. “I do not know, nor do any of my fellows. Not even the wind knows their names. Or if it does, it refuses to tell me.”



“Where can I find Todd?”



“Your friend? The half-breed?” The dryad took a step away, looking distracted. “I do not know,” she admitted, and I narrowed my gaze. “I cannot tell you now, but I will put his name into the wind and see what it can turn up.” She looked at me, her hair falling into her eyes, hiding half her face. “Return tomorrow night, Ethan Chase. I will have answers for you, then.”



Tomorrow night. Tomorrow was the demonstration, the event I’d been training for all month. I couldn’t miss that, even for Todd. Guro would kill me.



I sighed. Tomorrow was going to be a long day. “All right,” I said, stepping toward my bike. “I’ll be here, probably some time after midnight. And then you can tell me what the hell is going on.”



The dryad didn’t say anything, watching me leave with unblinking black eyes. As I yanked my bike off the ground and started down the road, hoping I would beat Dad home, I couldn’t shake the creeping suspicion that I wouldn’t see her again.



Chapter Eight



The Demonstration



The next day was Saturday, but instead of sleeping in like a normal person, I was up early and in the backyard, swinging my rattan through the air, smacking them against the tire dummy I’d set up in the corner. I didn’t need the practice, but beating on something was a good way to focus, to forget the strangeness of the night before, though I still couldn’t shake the eerie feeling whenever I remembered the dryad’s last warning.



More of us have disappeared. More vanish with every breath. And they are coming closer.



“Ethan!”



Dad’s voice cut through the rhythmic smacking of wood against rubber, and I turned to find him staring blearily at me from the patio. He wore a rumpled gray bathrobe, his face was grizzled and unshaven, and he did not look pleased.



“Sorry, Dad.” I lowered the sticks, panting. “Did I wake you up?”



He shook his head, then stepped aside as two police officers came into the yard. My heart and stomach gave a violent lurch, and I tried to think of any crimes I might’ve committed without realizing it, or anything the fey might’ve pinned on me.



“Ethan?” one of them asked, as Dad watched grimly and Mom appeared in the door frame, her hands over her mouth. “Are you Ethan Chase?”



“Yeah.” I kept my arms at my sides, my sticks perfectly still, though my heart was going a mile a minute. The sudden thought of being arrested, being handcuffed in my own backyard in front of my horrified parents, nearly made me sick. I swallowed hard to keep my voice steady. “What do you want?”



“Do you know a boy named Todd Wyndham?”



I relaxed, suddenly aware of where this was going. My heart still pounded, but I kept my tone light, flippant, and I shrugged. “Yeah, he’s in a few of my classes at school.”