The Lost Prince (9 page)

“Oh, hey, Mackenzie.” Brian grinned at her, looking almost sheepish.
Taking your eyes off your opponent,
I thought.
Stupid move.
“What a coincidence. We were just talking about you to our mutual friend, here.” He shoved me against the wall again, and I fought down a knee-jerk reaction to snap his elbow. “He’s promised to be a lot nicer to you in the future, isn’t that right, freak?”

“Brian!”

“Okay, okay.” Kingston raised his hands and stepped away, and his cronies did the same. “Take it easy, Mac, we were just fooling around.” He turned a sneer on me, and I glared back, daring him to step forward, to grab me again. “You got lucky, freak,” he said, backing away. “Remember what I told you. You won’t always have a little girl around to protect you.” His friends snickered, and he winked at Kenzie, who rolled her eyes. “We’ll see you around, real soon.”

“Jerk,” Kenzie muttered as they sauntered off down the hall, laughing and high-fiving each other. “I don’t know what Regan sees in him.” She shook her head and turned to me. “You okay?”

Embarrassed, fuming, I scowled at her. “I could’ve handled it,” I snapped, wishing I could put my fist through a wall or someone’s face. “You didn’t have to interfere.”

“I know, tough guy.” She gave me a half smile, and I wasn’t sure if she was being serious. “But Regan is fond of the big meathead, and I didn’t want you to beat him up
too
badly.”

I glared in the direction the jocks had gone, clenching my fists as I struggled to control my raging emotions, the urge to stalk down the hall and plant Kingston’s face into the floor.
Why me?
I wanted to snap at her.
Why won’t you leave me alone? And why do you have the entire football team ready to tear someone in half for looking at you funny?

“Anyway,” Kenzie continued, “we’re still on for that interview, right? You’re planning on showing up, I hope. I’m dying to know what goes on in that broody head of yours.”

“I don’t brood.”

She snorted. “Tough guy, if brooding was a sport, you’d have gold medals with scowling faces lining the walls of your room.”

“Whatever.”

Kenzie laughed. Sweeping past me, she pushed open the library door, pausing in the frame. “See you in a couple hours, Ethan.”

I shrugged.

“I’m holding you to it, tough guy. Promise me you won’t run off or conveniently forget.”

“Yes.” I blew out a breath as she grinned, and the door swung shut. “I’ll be there.”

* * *

I didn’t go.

Not that I didn’t try. Despite the incident in the hall—or maybe
because of it—I wasn’t about to let anyone tell me who I could or could not hang out with. Like I said, I don’t respond well to threats, and if I was being honest with myself, I was more than a little curious about Mackenzie St. James. So after the last bell, I gathered my stuff, made sure the hall was clear of Kingston and his thugs, and headed toward the library.

About halfway there, I realized I was being followed.

The halls were nearly empty as I went by the cafeteria. The few bodies I passed were going the other way, to the parking lot and the vehicles that would take them home. But as I made my way through the quiet hallways, I got that strange prickle on the back of my neck that told me I wasn’t alone.

Casually, I stopped at a water fountain, bending down to get a quick drink. But I slid my gaze off to the side, scanning the hall.

There was a shimmer of white at the edge of my vision, as something glided around a corner and stopped in the shadows, watching.

My gut tightened, but I forced myself to straighten and walk down the hall as if nothing was wrong. I could feel the presence at my back following me, and my heart began to thud in my chest. It was the same creature, the one that I’d seen in the locker room that night, when the piskie found me. What was it? One of the fey, I was certain, but I’d never seen this kind before, all pale and transparent, almost ghostlike. A bean sidhe, perhaps? But bean sidhes usually announced their presence with hair-raising shrieks and wails; they didn’t silently trail someone down a dark corridor, being careful to stay just out of sight. And I certainly wasn’t about to die.

I hoped.

What does it want with me?
I paused at the library door, grasping the handle but not pulling it open. Through the small rectangular window, I saw the front desk, the librarian’s gray head bent over the computer. Kenzie would be in there, somewhere, waiting for me. And Todd. I’d promised I would meet them both, and I hated breaking my word.

A memory flashed: one of myself, fleeing the redcaps, taking refuge in the library. Pulling a knife as I hunkered between the aisles, waiting for them. The sadistic faeries setting fire to the wall of books to flush me into the open. I escaped, but my rush to get out was taken as me fleeing the scene of the crime, leading to my expulsion from school.

I drew in a quiet breath, pausing in the door frame, anger and fear spreading through my stomach. No, I couldn’t do this. If I went in, if They saw me talking to Kenzie, they could use her to get to me. I didn’t know what They wanted, but I wasn’t going to draw another person into my dangerous, messed-up life. Not again.

Releasing the handle, I stepped away and continued down the hall. I felt the thing follow me, and as I turned the corner, I thought I heard the library door creak open. I didn’t look back.

I walked out to the parking lot, but I didn’t stop there. Getting in my truck and driving home might lose my tail, but it wouldn’t give me any answers as to why it was following me. Instead, I passed the rows of cars, stepped over the curb, and continued on to the football field. Thankfully, it was empty today. No practice, no screaming coaches, no armored jocks slamming into each other. If Kingston and his friends saw me sauntering casually across their turf in a very blatant show of
Screw you, Kingston,
what are you gonna do about it?
they would try to bury me here. I wondered if anyone else could see me, and if they did, would they tell the quarterback I was figuratively pissing on his territory? I smirked at the thought, vaguely tempted to stop and make it literal, as well. But I had more important things to deal with, and a pissing contest with Kingston wasn’t one of them.

Behind the bleachers, I stopped. A fence separated the field from a line of trees on the other side, so it was cool and shady here. I wished I had my knife. Something sharp, metal and lethal between me and whatever was coming my way. But I’d been caught with a knife before, and it had gotten me in a
lot
of trouble, so I’d left it at home.

Putting my back to the fence, I waited.

Something stepped around the bleachers, or rather,
shimmered
around the bleachers, barely visible in the sun. And even though it was a bright fall afternoon, with enough sunlight to melt away the chill, I suddenly felt cold. Sluggish. Like my thoughts and emotions were slowly being drained, leaving behind an empty shell.

Shivering, I gazed stonily at the thing hovering a few feet away. It was unlike any faery I’d seen before. Not a nymph, a sidhe, a boggart, a dryad,
anything
I recognized. Not to say I was an expert on the different types of faeries, but I’d seen more than most people, and this one was just…weird.

It was shorter than me by nearly a foot and so thin it didn’t seem possible that its legs could hold it up. In fact, its legs ended in needle-sharp tips, so it looked as if it was walking on toothpicks instead of feet. Its face was hatchet thin, and its fingers were those same thin points, as if it could poke its nail right through your skull. The skeletons of what used to be wings protruded from its bony shoulders, broken and shattered, and it hovered a few inches off the ground, as if the earth itself didn’t want to touch it.

For a few seconds, we just stared at each other.

“All right,” I said in an even voice, as the creepy fey floated there, still watching me. “You followed me out here—you obviously wanted to see me. What the hell do you want?”

Its eyes, huge and multifaceted like an insect’s, blinked slowly. I saw myself reflected a hundred times in its gaze. Its razor slit of a mouth opened, and it breathed:

“I bring a warning, Ethan Chase.”

I resisted the urge to cringe. There was something very…wrong…about this creature. It didn’t belong here, in the real world. The faeries I had seen, even the Iron fey, were still a part of reality, sliding back and forth between this realm and the Nevernever.
This
thing…it was as if its body was out of sync with the rest of world, the way it flickered and blurred, as if it wasn’t quite there. Wasn’t quite solid.

The faery raised one long, bony finger and pointed at me.

“Do not interfere,” it whispered. “Do not become involved in what will soon happen around you. This is not your fight. We seek no trouble with the Iron Court. But if you meddle in our affairs, human, you put those you care about at risk.”

“Your affairs? What
are
you?” My voice came out raspier than I wanted it to. “I’m guessing you’re not from the Seelie or Unseelie Courts.”

The faery’s slitted mouth might’ve twitched into a smile.

“We are nothing. We are forgotten. No one remembers our names, that we ever existed. You should do the same, human.”

“Uh-huh. So, you make a point of making certain I know you’re there, of tracking me down and threatening my family, to tell me I should forget about you.”

The faery drew back a step, gliding over the ground. “A warning,” it said again and tossed something at my feet, something small and gray. “This is what will happen to those who interfere,” it whispered. “Our return has just begun.”

I crouched, still keeping a wary eye on the faery, and spared a glance at what lay on the ground.

A piskie. The same one I’d seen earlier that day with Todd, I was sure of it. But its skin was a dull, faded gray, as if all the color had been sucked out of it. Gently, I reached down and picked it up, cradling it in my palm. It rolled over and blinked, huge eyes empty and staring. It was still alive, but even as I watched, the faery’s tiny body rippled and then…blew away. Like mist in the breeze. Leaving behind nothing at all.

My insides felt cold. I’d seen faeries die—they turned into leaves, branches, flowers, insects, dirt, and sometimes they did just vanish. But never like this. “What did you do to it?” I demanded, surging back to my feet.

The thing didn’t answer. It shimmered again, going transparent, as if it, too, were in danger of blowing away on the wind. Raising its hands, it gazed at its fingers, watching as they flickered like a bad television channel.

“Not enough,” it whispered, shaking its head. “Never enough. Still, it is something. That you can see me, talk to me. It is a start. Perhaps the half-blood will be stronger.”

It drifted back. “We will be watching you, Ethan Chase,” it warned, and suddenly turned, as if glimpsing something off to the side. “You do not want even more people hurt because of you.”

More
people?
Oh, no,
I thought, as it dawned on me what the faery was implying
.
The dead Thistle, the “half-blood” it mentioned.
Todd.
“Hey!” I snapped, striding forward. “Hold it right there. What are you?”

The faery smiled, rippled in the sunlight and drifted away, over the fence and out of sight. I would’ve given chase, but the sound of movement behind the bleachers caught my attention, and I turned.

Kenzie stood beside the benches, a notepad in one hand, staring at me. From the look on her face, she’d heard every word.

Chapter Six

Vanished

I ignored Kenzie and strode quickly across the football field, not looking back.

“Hey!” Kenzie cried, scrambling after me.

My mind was spinning.
Todd was right,
it whispered.
Something was after him. Damn, what
was
that thing? I’ve never seen anything like it before.

My chest felt tight. It was happening again. It didn’t matter what that thing was, the damned faeries were out to ruin my life and hurt everyone around me. I had to find Todd, warn him. I just hoped that he was okay; the half-breed might be annoying and ignorant, but he shouldn’t have to suffer because of me.

“Ethan! Just a second! Will you please hold up?” Kenzie put on a burst of speed as we reached the edge of the field, blocking my path. “Will you tell me what’s going on? I heard voices, but I didn’t see anyone else. Was someone threatening you?” Her eyes narrowed. “You’re not into anything illegal, are you?”

“Kenzie, get out of here,” I snapped. The creepy faery could still be watching us. Or creeping closer to Todd. I had to get away from her, now. “Just leave me alone, okay? I’m not doing the damn interview. I don’t give a crap about what you or this school or anyone else thinks of me. Put
that
in your article.”

Her eyes flashed. “The parking lot is the other way, tough guy. Where are you going?”

“Nowhere.”

“Then you won’t mind if I come along.”

“You’re not coming.”

“Why not?”

I swore. She didn’t move, and my sense of urgency flared. “I don’t have time for this,” I growled, and brushed past her, sprinting down the hall toward the library. The girl followed, of course, but I wasn’t thinking about her anymore. If that faery freak got close to Todd, if it did something to him like it had the piskie, it would be my fault. Again.

The librarian gave me the evil eye as I burst through the library doors, followed closely by the girl. “Slow down, you two,” she barked as we passed the desk. Kenzie murmured an apology, but I ignored her, striding toward the back, searching for the half-breed in the aisles. Empty, empty, a couple making out in the history section, empty. My unease grew. Where
was
he?

“What are we looking for?” Kenzie whispered at my back.

I turned, ready to tell her to get lost, futile as it might be, when something under the window caught my eye.