Marny (17 page)

“Won’t that cramp your style, big brother?”
Emmie had asked. “You know, hot dates with all the ladies who fall
at your feet.” Then she’d laughed at him.

“Shut it. I’m not opening Club Mysteria so
that I can be a stud.” Not that he would say no if he made a
connection with somebody—but the type of people on the club scene
weren’t necessarily the type he wanted to date, so he figured it
wouldn’t be an issue. At least not right away.

“Sula gets her license in a few months,
anyway,” Emmie said. “So I guess it’s okay. It’s not like you’ll be
open late every night of the week.”

He’d decided—for his own sanity, mostly—that
the club would only be live Tuesday through Saturday, closing at
nine on the weeknights. Maybe it was a terrible business ethic, but
he wasn’t interested in chaining himself to his work. And on paper,
when he ran the numbers with his dad, it had penciled out.

“Don’t stay up too late,” Emmie said.

“It’s already too late.” The adrenaline that
had lifted him through the evening was fading, and tiredness tugged
at his brain. But he had some research to do before he let himself
sleep.

After checking that the warehouse was secure,
he headed to his room, ignoring his bed in favor of the netscreen.
He needed to find out more about this Marny girl. Was she really a
threat to the club?

It was ridiculously easy to track her down.
Two keyword searches later a press release from Intertech popped
up, announcing their new interns. One of the chosen three was a
certain Marny Fanalua, from Crestview. He flicked to images, and
found a picture of the Crestview High Gaming Club at a tournament.
Though the image was fuzzy, there was no doubt the girl pictured
staring at her screenie game with grim concentration was the same
Marny he’d met that night.

Crestview… Something about the name niggled
at his memory.

He keyed in a few more search words, then sat
back, a chill gripping his neck as he read. Crestview—the new home
of VirtuMax corporate headquarters.

Ah, crap. When Marny said
she had connections, she’d been serious. VirtuMax
and
Intertech, in one
big, intense package.

Okay,
relax
. She was only an intern, and even if
she lived in Crestview, that didn’t mean she was all in with
VirtuMax. A senior in high school didn’t have that much power,
right?

He knew he was lying to himself, though.
After all, he’d amassed a fortune as a high school student, and the
second he left school he’d gone on to bigger projects. It would be
foolish to underestimate Marny.

Know thy enemy.
It was a quote from Sun Tzu, an ancient Chinese
general his dad had made him study before going into business.
Thousands of years later, the advice was still sound.

The next time Marny Fanalua set foot in Club
Mysteria, Nyx was going to know everything about her, down to her
game high scores and her favorite kind of peanut butter.

Marny grabbed a cab back to the Intertech
building, relieved that Anjah wanted to stay and dance. It would be
too hard for Marny to try and process the events of the night and
hold a conversation at the same time, even though Anjah was pretty
good at keeping a one-sided chat going without much input.

As soon as she was in her bedroom, Marny
locked the door, turned on the bedside lamp, and pulled out her
messager.

:So?
What’s going on?:
Tam asked the
instant she activated the group chat.

:Wish I
knew. It’s like the Realm, but not. Hard to
explain.:

:Are you
in danger? Should we come?:
Uncle Zeg
asked.

Marny thought for a minute. Although the
forest inside Club Mysteria looked magical, she was pretty sure it
didn’t lead directly into the Realm of Faerie. Despite trying for
the better part of two hours, she hadn’t been able to go anywhere
except around in circles. She’d walked past the same couple making
out about seven times, and kept ending up where she’d started.

That didn’t mean the forest was safe or that
the fey folk couldn’t use it as a gateway, but wouldn’t the Elder
Fey alert the Feyguard if they did?

:I think
the situation’s stable for now,:
she
wrote.
:Have you guys
gotten any warnings?:

:No,:
Jennet replied.
:Dad says there hasn’t been
any security breaks in terms of VirtuMax code. Spark and Aran
haven’t checked in yet, though.:

:They’re
even farther away than you are,:
Tam
typed.
:But they should be waking up soon.
I have a message in to them.:

:Do you want me to come to
Newpoint?:
Uncle Zeg asked.

He was pretty much the only one who could.
And Marny had to admit she’d like him there, but…

:Isn’t Grandma Harmony
arriving in two days?:
Without proof of
danger, Marny couldn’t haul her uncle a thousand miles away—not
when he had more pressing family obligations. And a business to
run, on top of that.
:How about once she’s
settled, you come. I can handle things until then.:

:You sure?:
her uncle typed, but she could tell he was
relieved. Also, that he trusted her to fly into the wide world on
her own, and handle whatever came up.

:Yeah. For now, things seem okay. Tell Spark
and Aran to message me if they know anything.:

Having the Feyguard spread all over the world
in different time zones was frustrating. On the other hand, it
meant there was always a Feyguard awake somewhere. Not that it did
Marny much good at the moment.

She said good night to everyone, then turned
off her messager and flopped back on her bed. The lamp cast a
circle of light on the ceiling and she stared at it, trying to
still her whirling thoughts.

All she knew for sure was that Nyx Spenser
was messing around in matters he didn’t understand. Even if the
forest seemed benign at the moment, faeries were tricky
creatures.

With the rest of the Feyguard unable to come
to Newpoint right away, it was up to her to keep an eye on things.
She desperately hoped that all hell—or Faerie—wasn’t about to break
loose.

Perched on his golden throne, grasses
glimmering beneath his feet, the Bright King watched as something
pale approached his court. A creature the color of moonlight, its
nine-pointed rack of antlers made of purest ivory. The White
Stag.

The gemmed trees twinkled more brightly as
the stag passed, and the pixies chimed with laughter, swooping
about the creature in a dizzying display.

Satisfaction moved like a wave of deep amber
through the king, and he leaned forward with a gesture of
welcome.

Long it had been since the stag had set foot
in either court. Longer still since it had borne a human between
the worlds on its broad back. But all of that was about to
change…

***

June 27

T
he
next night, Marny Fanalua showed up again at Club Mysteria. Nyx
nodded in satisfaction when she stepped through the door. Not that
he’d been a hundred percent certain she’d come, but the odds had
been high.

She was wearing jeans and a purple top made
out of some flowy material, and this time she didn’t have her
glammed-out friend with her. When she went to the juice bar to
order a drink, Nyx could tell that Emmie totally recognized her,
but his sister stayed calm and professional. From the sharp look in
Emmie’s eye as she set a dark blue concoction in front of Marny,
though, he’d have to answer some questions from his inquisitive
little sister later on.

But first, he had questions of his own for
Marny. She was a smart one, and he was looking forward to verbally
sparring with her again—though not quite yet. He wanted to observe
her in his club a little longer and see what she did.

As she had the night before, she prowled the
boundaries of the enchanted forest. She stepped in and out of the
woods, her expression growing more thoughtful every time. Although
the club was crowded, Nyx angled his way around people and never
lost sight of her.

Finally, she stood against the wall, arms
folded, and watched as brightly dressed people flowed into the
forest. The patrons of Club Mysteria exclaimed in wonder at the
silver-leafed trees and soft mosses underfoot. Happy voices and
laughter drifted between the pale trunks.

It was the reaction he’d been looking forward
to ever since he first got the idea to open the club, but he
couldn’t fully enjoy it. Not with the distraction of a certain
large-boned girl whose eyes were filled with suspicion.

Marny Fanalua was a puzzle. One he was going
to solve.

Quiet as a shadow, Nyx moved to stand beside
her. She smelled faintly of coconut and flowers.

“You don’t like my forest?” he asked in a low
voice.

She didn’t jump, only turned her head like
she’d been aware of him all along.

“I’d like to know where it came from,” she
said.

“Trade secret.”

Her gaze narrowed and she regarded him for a
long moment. Not admiringly, not angrily, just with an assessing
stare that made him uncomfortable. He didn’t know what to do with
it. Flirting with her wasn’t going to work, which left
confrontation.

“I understand you’re from Crestview,” he
said.

That made her look away for a second, but not
before he saw surprise flash across her expression.

“So?” She shrugged.

“So, you’re working for VirtuMax.”

“Actually, no.” There was a touch of
irritation in her voice. “Why does everyone assume that?”

Good. Emotion was leverage he could use to
crack her calm façade. He’d never met anyone so self-possessed.
Even after he’d caught her snooping around last night, she hadn’t
seemed frightened or intimidated by him. Annoying as that might be,
he also admired it.

“I know you’re working for Intertech,” he
said. “So don’t bother trying to deny that one.”

“I’m not a corporate minion, here to slap you
with fines or sue you for infringement. Even if it’s warranted.”
She glanced at the enchanted forest. The silver light illuminated
the round curve of her cheek.

“Why are you here, Marny Fanalua?” He moved
to stand in front of her.

She met his gaze, only having to tilt her
chin up a fraction.

“Because even if you deny it, I recognize
your forest,” she said. “And you might be a badass, but you really
have no idea what you’re messing around with.”