Silver Hollow (27 page)

No candles or lanterns lit the inside of this vast cavern, but strange beacons hovered in rows down the many bridges. Here was a cave beneath the hill, one
possibly stretching
far into
the forest beyond
,
and somehow it was much bigger than she had expected. Already she could hear the abnormal roars and grunts that kept her from spending too much time near the stables and tried to follow the source of the cacophony until Eddie Cutterworthy nudged her gently to the side.

In this first part of the cave, wood had been laid down over stone, branching into what seemed a glowing round
-
topped cabin built against the wall. Never once did he let go, continuing the slow burning sensation crawling up Amie’s skin. Once they made it past the circular door, she began to wonder if there really were such things as hobbits.

Maybe Tolkien got stuck here on holiday once…would explain a lot.

What initially seemed miniscule was in fact a spacious apartment filled with warmth though none of the grandeur of the castle. Eddie only let her go to set her in a large rocking chair by an empty fire pit. Then he went to work, wrestling the coals from their ashen slumber, piling on the kindling and freshly cut wood, breathing the sparks back to life. For a moment his hair seemed to glow a bright copper, his skin glowed and from the tips of his fingers sparks dripped and caught the wood with magical flame. All this he did without a glance for her. Still the boy gave Amie the oddest feeling of being watched even when his eyes were focused anywhere but.

In silence he waited until the flames fanned brighter, higher. When he did look at her again he carried the heat of the fire within his blue eyes, glanced over her wet form and grimaced. Then Eddie did the one thing Amie had never expected, or heard once before.

He spoke. “You should take off your clothes, unless you want to die in them.” His voice was deep but still young and so matter
-
of
-
fact it was chilling. Amie froze.

Undress in front of the creepiest guy I’ve met so far?

Amie started when his eyes lifted briefly to hers, dark and emotionless, empty, and knew there was no argument here. With a half-hearted grin, she said, “I can make my own heat, thanks.”

“It’s not good enough,” he said.

The full force of Eddie’s attention was a bewitching thing, Amie decided. It pierced through you and grabbed at something
compelling
you to obey. Against her better judgment she found herself agreeing.

“Okay
,
but could you turn around at least? You’re making me nervous.”

He didn’t laugh with her, didn’t shrug, only turned back to the fire
,
hunched over his bent knees
,
and waited. Amie’s fingers trembled as she fumbled over the buttons at the back of her dress. She’d mastered the art of hooking the row herself over the last two weeks. Numb fingers were useless, however, wore at her patience because the hooks were soaked through and clung to each button. After her third frustrated attempt she stamped her foot and apparently wore out Cutterworthy’s patience too.

Glancing up at her from behind his auburn bangs, he rose and came behind her. Her hands fell lifeless at her sides while he unhooked her buttons for her far faster than she could have. The heat from his hands now pressed to her back from the space between them. His breath brushed the back of her neck, making her shiver. She pulled her thick wet locks over her shoulder, picked the twigs and leaves to keep her mind from the track of his touch. Lower, just to the end of her waist coat, above her backside, he fumbled and moved aside so quickly she was unprepared for the cold air left in his wake. Coming round to face her, he pulled the fabric over her shoulders and down her arms where it clung stubbornly.

Amie stared at him curiously, wondering why he said nothing, why she said nothing when her big fat mouth was infamous in her home town. The quiet did not seem forced, but natural, as much a part of him as
his
ridiculous woolen cap. She wanted him to look at her again now, to reconcile the difference she felt in him when he was apart from everyone else.

What he did next broke whatever spell she imagined he had, because he threw her coat on top of the fire. Sparks flew up the brick chimney, high above to a
metal
-
lined
hole
sticking
out of the hill itself, illuminating their tiny world.

“What the heck do you think you’re doing? That wasn’t even
my
coat
,
you know
.
” She dashed past him to save the fabric but he barred the way with his hard chest. “Ouch!” After bouncing off the button of his coat she lifted her chin to look at him.

When did he get so tall?

He was waiting for her with an eerily brilliant smile on his face, eyes still devoid of feeling. “It was ruined. The faerie leaves you rolled in out there do be lethal to hobgoblins.”

Amie’s eyes widened and she took a step back. “Excuse me?” Only because the last forty-eight hours were still very real in her mind did she not laugh. It wasn’t logical to not believe the impossible anymore.

He pointed to her skirts. “Better get rid of those too. Throw them in the fire. I’ll get you something else.” As he turned Amie reached out to stop him and hesitated just shy of his arm.

“Do I have to throw away my underwear too?” she asked.

Eddie’s grin was a mile wide. It split his face in two and this time nearly reached his eyes. Instead of answering his brow rose, and with a glance for the raging flames, he left for another room.

She made quick work of her clothes until she stood naked, save her shift. For a
modernista
of the twenty-first century, Amie felt seriously over-exposed. She wondered why she was listening to Eddie Cutterworthy of all people, the one person in the Hollow she had made an effort to keep away from. Once again her thoughts turned to Emrys…
stupid idgit…
and blamed him for getting her into this mess.

“Henry better get back a.s.a.p. because either we’re going to have some serious words
,
or he may find himself
with
one less guardian for hire.” She jumped out her skin when Eddie came from behind her with a pile of clothes in his arms.

“This should do.” His eyes took in the sight before him, because he
was
male even if he wasn’t technically
human
. Amie tried not to notice as she slipped the fabric at once over her shift.
Though it cinched
snugly at her waist
and
the sleeves were a bit short, the dress was an ideal match. She frowned as she pulled the striped stockings up her thighs. These were similar to the maid uniform except the green stripes were faded and the style subtly different. Amie wondered why Eddie would own woman’s clothes at all and eyed him from beneath her lashes as he held his hands out to the fire.

He doesn’t look like a cross-dresser.

What remained of her clothes was melted in a sudden fit of multicolored flames. When nothing but ashes remained, the tea kettle sounded.

There was no gold and silver here, no elaborate mosaic or tapestries adorned its walls like the castle. Instead every piece of furniture and accent had been hand
-
carved a time apart. What caught her eye was the mant
el
above the hearth, great bat
-
like wings wrapped around it, forbidding and enveloping at once.
Pure artistry,
the former art major mused within her.

Eddie brought all the usual ingredients in on an ornately carved wooden tray. “How many gooseberries you want in your tea?” His accent was so peculiar, closer to Slaine’s brogue yet not
as crass, so distracting to her, he had to repeat himself. Annoyance flickered in his eyes again before it was beaten back down.

“Two, please,” she said, taking the cup shoved beneath her nose. She drank nervously while he merely watched, hands folded beneath his chin. The tea was perfect of course. Gooseberry was the sweetest thing Amie had tasted in her life, hands down. She was convinced they could market this and sell it if they wanted to.

“You spend too much time with the Trapper.”

“Excuse me?”

“The Merlin, we don’t trust him.”

“Well
,
that’s no surprise.
You people
act like he’s got the plague or something. I’ve seen less of y
’
all
in the couple of days and way more of him than I’d ever wish to.” Her mouth twisted bitterly as she recalled his lessons. Being abandoned in the woods had been enough to kill all fantasies of the dark and handsome stranger in her head.

She didn’t know she was hungry until Eddie disappeared again and returned with a plate of Cook’s finest. “How did you…” she said, pausing to look up at him. Slaine was constantly bringing Eddie his meals. Seem
ed
the boy had an aversion to company. Or maybe it wasn’t people in general but one person? “What’s this?”

Reclaiming his seat, propped against the hearth, Eddie turned away with an ironic smile.

“This is your supper
,
isn’t it?” she said. “Eddie
,
you can’t give this to me.” He didn’t move, not until Amie at last gave in and devoured the cold meal in front of her. It was only after she had finished to the point of licking her fingers
that
she realized this was the first time she’d eaten all day. Letting the plate idle in her lap she sank back into her chair and rocked. “Oh man, that was so good…I really need to spend more time in Cook’s kitchen.”

Amie knew she was supposed to take her meals in the dining hall with Emrys, a scheme of
Underhill
’s to force her to learn proper etiquette. But right now she was royally peeved with him and eating in the stables with Eddie Cutterworthy was rebellious enough to satisfy her bitterness.

“So why don’t any of you trust him?” she asked. The way he studied her in return was so dispassionate yet full of measure. Whatever he was looking for in her open expression, Amie hoped she passed the test.

Without blinking he replied, “You should get inside the house. Everyone’s been mad sick with worry since
he
came back without you.”

Amie
was
afraid to tear her eyes away from his, too curious to do otherwise than dumbly stare back. “You know if you don’t give me the answers I want I’ll only haunt the stables until you tell me.” Clear
l
y the idea was horrifying to a hermit like him.

Narrowing his eyes in on her, he said, “You don’t frighten me.”

“I could learn real quickly. What are you afraid of?”

“You,” he said. His lips twitched, hiding a grimace or a grin
,
she was uncertain.

“You have a funny way of showing it, if you really are afraid of me.”

Resting his chin in his hand, he gave her a straight answer. “I’ve been watching you.”

Unlike Emrys
,
there were no mocking glances or cruel intentions. Sarcasm was something Amie ate and breathed, something from her world she understood. So Eddie’s brutal honesty was a refreshing change for her. “Why does everyone hate Emrys so much?”

“Maybe he isn’t as kind to us as
to
you.” Amie’s laugh startled the severity out of his eyes and he watched her curiously, like a scientist studying something he
did
not yet understand. She laughed so hard she snorted, until tears escaped their ducts, because her nerves were shot and she was exhausted.

“Oh man! If that’s what you call kindness then I’d like to see how he treats y’all!” Amie realized as her laughter died how much she had gained and lost in a single afternoon. She wasn’t cold anymore, but she felt very much alone, drank her tea to fill her emptiness with something. “Sorry I lost it there.”

“I find your mood swings fascinating,” he said.

“Glad somebody does, because I’m wearing myself out. I seem to be losing it a lot lately and it’s not even
my
time…”

“What have you lost?” He leaned forward, set his tea on the antler table between them, settled his elbows on his knees and peered up at her through his golden bangs.

My laptop, my watch, my sanity, my life...

“Nothing…I just—
have
been trying to figure this place out, you know? When Henry said he wanted me to learn the family business I wasn’t expecting this. I mean it’s not like I’m ungra
teful for him going to all that
trouble
bringing
me here. Not like I have much to go back to
even if I wanted to. For all I know my wannabe murderer is still hanging around my apartment, waiting for the next round.”

Chancing a glance, she found his eyes schooled to the rug instead. Somehow this gave her more courage she desperately lacked. “I want to learn who I am. I always knew
F
ather was different from other people, tried to deny I was anything like him. But I was hoping Henry would actually be here to teach me. Didn’t think he’d leave me so everyone else could lead me on some wild goose chase. And now the only person who seems willing to give me answers is the one person I trust the least.” Twiddling her thumbs, Amie noticed how long and uneven the nails had grown.