Faery Worlds - Six Complete Novels (107 page)

“Marny,” Jennet said, “if you hear that again…”

She shivered, she couldn’t help it. The Hunt was loose in their world. And she and Tam were their prey. Please, let him be safe.

“What?” Marny asked.

“Just, stay inside. And, um, make a line of salt under your windows and doors.” She wasn’t sure that piece of lore about protection from the faeries was true, but every bit helped.

“Salt. Uh huh.” Marny gave her a searching look, and then shook her head. “I’ll see you around,” she said as she walked away.

Jennet took a deep breath as she watched the girl turn the corner. Tam was fine, he had to be. Maybe a little late to school, but she would see him soon.

Soon.

But soon never came. In Ms. Lewis’ World History class, Jennet couldn’t stop glancing at Tam’s empty seat. She looked over there so often that stupid Rod Dermont thought she was flirting with him. He wiggled his eyebrows and pursed his lips into a kiss, so Jennet stopped looking behind her.

All right. She had to find Tam, which meant going back into the Exe. The Hunt didn’t ride during the day, did they?

The last bell echoed behind her as she hesitated on the steps. George would be here soon to pick her up. Could she get him to take her to the Exe? Or should she call him and tell him to pick her up later? The rule was she had to be home by five. At least Dad trusted her enough to do what she wanted after school.

Well, if the Dark Queen opened the gate to their world, it would hardly matter. They had four days. Which meant she had to go find Tam.

She had her tablet out, ready to let George know to come by for her later, when the screen lit up. Message from Tam!

Her legs suddenly soft as dough, Jennet sank down on the steps to read. It was terse, like all his messages, but at least now she knew he was alive.

:Jennet, don’t worry. Need a day or two. Don’t come find me. Sorry. Tam:

Relief blurred into anger. Need a day or two? A day or two? They didn’t
have
that kind of time. What did he think this was, anyway? Some delusional fantasy of hers? She jumped up and paced to the street. How could he take this so lightly? She could
die
. Thomas had said as much, and Tam didn’t even care.

Ok, that was unfair. She tried to hold on to the anger, but it started tattering away. Behind its bright red curtain was a darker shape. Fear.

Whatever was keeping Tam, it had to be serious. Even more serious than defeating the Dark Queen. She had no idea what kind of trouble could be that bad. Didn’t even want to imagine.

Tam powered off his messager and shoved it into his pocket. Good thing the regular part of Crestview had reliable signal. He’d kept his text short enough that it couldn’t be tracked - he hoped. Even if it was safe to say more, he didn’t know how he could explain to Jennet that his life had fallen apart.

He grabbed his brother’s hand. Time to get moving.

“Hey, Bug. Let’s go look at the fountain again.”

It was on the far side of the park, right where they’d catch the bus back toward the Exe. No buses went into their neighborhood, of course, but they could get close, and both he and Peter were used to walking.

His brother smiled up at him, teeth ugly from the chocolate-coated ice cream he had just finished eating. “I like the fountain! Can I go in it?”

“No. That fence is there for a reason.”

Not that six feet of wrought-iron would stop his little brother if he really wanted in. But they had to stay under the radar, which meant no climbing fences and playing in forbidden fountains.

They were watching the water shoot and spray when Tam heard the distant cry of sirens.

“Alright, time to go.” He kept his voice even. Everything was fine. The cops could be going someplace else.

“But we just got here. Can’t we stay a little longer? Please?” His brother looked up at him with pleading eyes. “Extra please?”

Tam tilted his head. The sirens were definitely coming closer. “Nope. We’ve been here all day, anyway. Come on. Race you to those trees.”

Laughing, the Bug took off, with Tam close behind. He could feel the sirens wailing, prickling the back of his neck. When he reached the safety of the woods, he glanced over his shoulder.

The sirens abruptly cut out as two black and white grav cars pulled up to the fountain, lights strobing. Tam grabbed his brother’s hand and ducked behind the closest tree. He was aware of every sensation; the rough bark at his back, the warm, sticky hand of his little brother clasped in his, the breath rasping in and out of his throat. The Bug stayed quiet for once, as if sensing trouble. Which he probably did. Growing up in the Exe, you had to have decent survival instincts.

Tam counted to a hundred, then back down. Nobody had come for them. Were the cops gone?

Slowly, he peered around the tree. Empty grass. The fountain, oddly cheerful under the late-afternoon sky. No cars. No cops. He blew out a breath.

The Bug tugged at his hand. “Is it safe?”

“I think so.”

He surveyed the area again. The faint call of sirens moving away shivered through the air. It sounded like they were going to the other side of the park. Probably the cops weren’t after him anyway, but with the luck he’d been having, he wasn’t going to take any chances.

“Ready to go home?” he asked his little brother.

The Bug nodded. His eyes were wide, but not with fear, or excitement. Knowledge, maybe, and the good sense to not ask any questions. Had he heard the Wild Hunt last night? Tam could have sworn his brother slept through it, but now he wondered.

They stayed backed-up to the bushes until the bus arrived, then got on, no problem. It was a quiet ride to the outskirts of the Exe. The few other people who shared their ride didn’t pay any attention to the two of them, and the driver was supremely uninterested. The Bug didn’t make a ruckus of any kind, but as soon as the bus turned the corner out of sight, he started hopping on one foot.

“Ow, ow!”

“What?” Tam’s patience was melting like ice-cream.

“I stubbed my toe getting off the bus.”

“Can you walk? Because I’m not going to carry you.”

His brother hopped around a little more, then slowly put his foot down on the cracked sidewalk.

“It feels better. Can we go home? Not to our fort, but really home?” His voice tipped up, and Tam felt the yearning in it. It mirrored his own.

“Not yet. But tell you what. We can walk past it - as long as we stay out of sight.” It was too early to check for the sign that Mom was home and it was safe. But maybe….

“Do we have to go to jail with Mom for the rest of our lives?”

“Mom isn’t going to be in jail much longer. She’ll be coming home soon.” He hoped with everything in him that it wasn’t a lie. He put his hand on his brother’s shoulder. “Things are going to work out, Peter. Just a couple more days.”

He couldn’t promise that they were going to be fine. There was never any guarantee of that. Things were going to change though, one way or another, and he and his family were going to wash up on some shore. Whether it was a midnight faerie realm or the hard edges of the Exe remained to be seen.

They cut through the ragged alleys until Tam could see the ramshackle place they called home. See the empty window too. No point in getting closer.

“Tam? How will we know when Mom is home?”

“She’ll hang a yellow shirt up in the window. If she hangs a red one, we’ll know she’s there but it’s not safe.” If she could understand the hints he’d left in his note. If she made it home at all.

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

T
hat night Tam’s sleep was broken again by the low call of the Wild Hunt’s horn, the baying of demon hounds. They seemed closer this time, and he hunkered down in his sleeping bag and tried to think invisible thoughts. Not here. Nobody here.

Cold light was leaking into the sky when he finally fell asleep.

The Bug woke him up early, asking where they were going to go that day. For a moment, Tam thought about dropping him off at school and spending the day sleeping. But no - they had to keep together and out of sight for another day or two. The Bug was way too conspicuous, and the system could easily get to him at school. All it would take was one call from a teacher and, poof - little brother whisked off.

He was
not
going to let that happen.

So he pried his eyelids open and dug up a couple protein bars for breakfast, then took the Bug to the mall. Peter amused himself by looking in the windows of all the stores, and talking about everything he saw. Even though the money was running low, Tam bought them both ice-cream bars.

If - he swallowed hard - if Mom didn’t get free of the system, he’d need to get a job. Not the errands he ran here and there, but something more serious. A steady job, that also gave him time to look after the Bug.

Sure. And money would just drip down on him from the trees, too.

At least there weren’t any cops around at the mall. He didn’t message Jennet, though he wished he could. Wished he could dive into Feyland with her and fight free of everything, the two of them emerging strong and victorious. Wished he could tell her how crappy his life was, how tired he was of being the glue in his family. Wished he could take her hand and touch the softness of her hair. He needed to feel something soft, in a life that was so full of hardness.

But the messager stayed at the bottom of his bag, silent and dark.

His sleep the next night was filled with restless dreams. The Dark Queen, so beautiful she made his breath freeze, stood before him.

Tamlin
, she whispered, in a voice like smoke and snowflakes. She reached out, and her hand was cool on his cheek, her fingertips tingling along his skin.
I am waiting for you.

His body yearned forward, but his feet were rooted fast. Frustration climbed up his throat. Why couldn’t he go? He was ready, more than ready to obey her summons.

Laughter chimed about him, a shimmering silver light that coalesced into three faerie maidens, dancing. They pulled scarves made of cobwebs and moonlight behind them. Whenever one brushed against him he felt it, bright and aching. The touch made him shiver with fear, with longing.

The queen stood farther from him now, watching from the shadows, her eyes luminous with mystery.
I am waiting.

Tam wrenched forward, but the faeries were gone. Instead, the Black Knight was coming at him, his sword raised. With a shout, Tam lifted his hand, unsurprised to find his own sword there. The two blades met with a furious clang - and he was suddenly awake, heart racing, in the darkness of their makeshift shelter.

A different kind of noise jolted through him - a clatter of metal. The alarm he had cobbled together, a precarious balance of metal scraps across the door, had fallen. Beside him he felt the Bug stir, and he knew his brother was awake, too, and listening.

He groped under his pillow for the knife. Slowly, silently, he drew it out and shifted his grip on the handle. Breath barely stirring in his lungs, he listened. No footsteps. No light. No sound.