Iron Bones Read online

  I was furiously scribbling notes. We had a total of forty-three patients dead, another thirty-two sick, and nine of those had attended the Fae Day festival and eaten the ginger chicken.

  “Who was the catering company, if anybody knows?” I looked up from my notes.

  Val answered. “I asked. Apparently the Constantine Catering Express took care of the banquet. I don’t have any information on them. After I realized not all the patients had eaten the chicken, I moved on to the assumption that the disease had to be caused by something else. Don’t you think?” He looked puzzled. “I mean, if they didn’t all eat the chicken, then it couldn’t have been that.”

  Talia tapped the table with her pen. “I don’t know. Something feels very odd about this. Whatever the case, do you think it’s still spreading?”

  “Yes,” Jena said. “We took in another two patients this morning, so it’s definitely contagious, whatever is causing it. And it’s fatal. Which means if we don’t find an answer, then both Navane and TirNaNog are in trouble.”

  Herne was sitting quietly, rubbing the scruff of his beard. He looked troubled, and a chill ran down my spine as it hit me just how deadly this disease was. I might not like my people, but this could put a serious dent in the populace of the Fae nation. Granted, most of the Fae didn’t live in the two cities, but a great many did, along with the ruling courts. An infectious illness sweeping through the inhabitants could effectively put a dent in the entire Fae race.

  “I think we’d better move quickly,” Herne said. “We have to find out what this disease is, and then we have to find out how to stop it. My father’s best healer will set to work on the problem, if he hasn’t already. I assume you gave my mother your notes?”

  Both healers nodded.

  “Good. So we’re a leg up there. What have you been doing to quarantine those who are infected? And their families. We have to curb this now.”

  “We’ve taken that precaution,” Val said. “Trouble is, there are so many people the victims have come into contact with. And we suspect that the disease is contagious during the incubation period, which presents a whole new problem. In fact, given how few of our healing staff have come down with it, I’m beginning to think that the highest chance of contacting the disease is during the incubation period.”

  “That would make it even more lethal,” Yutani said. “If you don’t know you’re sick, then why bother avoiding others?”

  Jena nodded. “Right. We’ve been seeing that pattern, too. But this would mean putting both cities on quarantine, because we don’t know who has come in contact with the victims. By the time they show up at our doors, they’re already incoherent from the fever.”

  “Are any other races affected by this?” Talia asked.

  Jena and Val both shook their heads.

  Herne replied, “I don’t think so. Mother said it seemed to be strictly confined to the Fae community. So we’re facing a disease targeting the Fae, it’s lethal, and it spreads quickly.”

  “In other words, a plague,” Ginty said. “Or it might as well be that.”

  THE MEETING WOUND down from there, and we prepared to leave.

  Névé had led her contingent out already, with the promise that they would keep in touch if anything new was discovered, and they agreed to keep us updated on the number of the sick. I leaned against the table, waiting for Herne, who was talking to Ginty. Talia, Viktor, and Yutani were gathering up their notebooks.

  As I stood there, I realized that Saílle was heading directly for me. I straightened, reaching behind me to tug on Herne’s arm. Strictly speaking, we were still under the rules of the parley, but who knew what the Queen of the Dark would think to do?

  “Ember Kearney, I wonder if you would meet with us in another parley before you leave?” Saílle asked, looking vaguely irritated. Whether it was because of having to meet with Névé, or actually talk to me, I didn’t know.

  I frowned. “What about? What do you want?”

  Herne turned around, his gaze fastened on the Dark Queen’s face. “What do you want with Ember, Saílle?”

  She ignored him, her focus glued to me. “I brought someone with me who wishes to meet you. He’s attempted to get in touch with you for some time now, but you haven’t answered him.” Pausing, her lips curled into a feral smile. “I brought your grandfather with me, Ember. It’s time you met your family.”

  Chapter 5

  “SAY WHAT?” I stared at the brilliant queen. Her frost-chilled eyes frightened me, but even the power that emanated from her couldn’t scare off the anger that I felt. “You brought him here? No. I refuse. I don’t want to see him.”

  “Think carefully before you decide,” Saílle said. Her words were precise, and I had the distinct impression there was a threat hidden somewhere. The Fae Queen was tall than I was, but as I stared at her, I realized we had similar features.

  “Why should I see him? Your people—my family, on both sides, deny my existence. I’m a tralaeth. My parents died for their love. They were murdered because they dared to say ‘fuck you’ to the thrones and to the hatred and the incessant warring.” I was just getting warmed up. It felt like I had been waiting all my life for this moment. I wanted to rub her nose in my life, in the fact that I was one of the things she hated most and—too bad—I was still here, I was still alive.

  Saílle turned to Herne, who was watching the interplay cautiously.

  “Talk some sense into her, son of Morgana. You may be her lover and she may be protected under the covenant, but I think it wisest if she at least hears her grandfather out.”

  Herne wrapped his arm around my waist. “Ember can make up her own mind. But I guarantee you, if she does meet Farthing, at the first sign that he’s harassing her or threatening her, I will take action. And so will my mother.”

  The Fae Queen gave him a long, sultry look. For a moment, I thought she might be flirting with him, but then she let out a barely audible huff and turned back to me.

  “Will you please meet your grandfather and hear him out? He has much he wants to tell you, and I promised him I would try to get you to listen. If only for your own sake.”

  It was then that I realized that no matter how hard I tried, I’d never be able to shake him. Not until I actually sat down and heard what he wanted to say. I had been running from him since he first contacted me, not wanting to hear anything that might stave off my anger. Not wanting to let the bitterness in my heart go. But if he had convinced Saílle to bring him with her to a parley, then there must be something important he wanted to tell me.

  “Fine. I’ll talk to him. But he gets ten minutes to make his case. After that, if I decide to walk away, then he never tries to contact me again. Promise me this, Saílle? And we meet here. He can say what he has to say in front of everyone. I won’t be alone with him.”

  As I laid my conditions on the table, the Queen laughed, her voice rich and throaty. It wasn’t a comfortable laugh. It put me in mind of hidden secrets and dark rooms and the laugh of somebody who had already won the war.

  “Very well. I give you my word. Ten minutes. If you chuck him out after that, I will bind him to stay away from you.” She swept back toward the chair she had been sitting in. “This should be rich. And before you ask, I have no idea what he wants. I didn’t bother asking.” She said the latter as though she were tossing away an old tissue.

  “Are you sure?” Herne asked me, as Ginty went to fetch Farthing. “You don’t have to do this.”

  I stared at the table. “I’m not sure about anything right now. But if nothing else, this will get him off my back. I don’t want to talk to him, but if ten minutes can buy me a lifetime of peace…” I trailed off.

  Herne tugged on his collar, then kissed me on the forehead. “I’m here for you. And remember: You are under the Wild Hunt’s protection. If he tries to hurt you, I’ll break him in two.”

  “That’s what you threatened to do with Ray. Is that your standar
d fallback maneuver?” I laughed, grateful for the break in tension, as brief as it was.

  The next moment, the dwarf reappeared, and behind him was a man who looked scarcely older than me, although there were centuries of experience in his eyes. He felt old, rather than looked it, and old in that ancient way, not as in “old and feeble.” He was wearing a long black tunic over a pair of black trousers, belted by a silver sash. It was a simple outfit, but it looked expensive, and I had the feeling my grandfather was a man of means.

  He strode up to stand in front of me and I saw that his rich brown hair was sprinkled with silver. Not enough to notice right off the bat, but it belied his age. His eyes were emerald green, the same as my own, but his smile was pinched, and I thought he looked like a cruel man.

  “Ember, how are you?” He didn’t touch me, didn’t offer a hug or even a handshake.

  “You have ten minutes. What do you want?”

  I wasn’t about to stand on ceremony. This wasn’t some long-desired family reunion. He was an enemy, as far as I was concerned, although I recognized that I nursed an uncomfortable hope that perhaps something would shift, that he would offer me proof that he hadn’t been part of my parents’ deaths, that he had been locked in a tall tower, unable to contact me until now. The fairy tale of Rapunzel was alive and living in my heart.

  He glanced around. “I see we have an audience.”

  “It’s either this, or no meeting,” Saílle spoke up from her chair. “And I admit to a certain amount of curiosity as to what you are up to, Farthing.” The way she said his name was far too familiar for my tastes.

  “As you will, Your Majesty.” He shrugged and turned back to me. “I’ve come to offer you an olive branch, from your grandmother and me. Your grandmother is ill.”

  “Does she have the…” I started to say “plague” but stopped, not sure of how much he knew about what was going on.

  “She has a bone disease that is destroying her mobility. She isn’t on her deathbed, but there’s no returning to health from this condition.” He paused, and I detected only a flicker of movement to indicate that this upset him at all.

  I thought over my response. I probably should say I was sorry, but that wasn’t really true. The truth was, I felt numb as he spoke, and I knew I had gone into self-protection mode.

  “What do you want? Do you want me to see her? Does she even want to see me?”

  Only then did he shift, just enough to tell me that he was more nervous than he let on. “When she dies, I will be the only one left in our family, other than you. We have amassed a fortune. I have been doing a great amount of research and I have discovered a possibility that would benefit us all.” There was the faintest hint of hesitation in his voice.

  He started to reach out and I quickly took a step back. I needed space, I needed to be out of his grasp. I felt like I was a nice plump fly being courted by a mealy-mouthed spider. His energy wasn’t evil per se—not in the way I had come to think of as evil, but it was grasping and greedy, and self-centered.

  I glanced at the clock. “You have seven minutes left.”

  “Well, then, I’d better get on with it.” He backed away to one of the chairs and sat down, motioning to the one opposite him. “Please, sit.”

  Reluctantly, I joined him.

  “I’ve been doing research and have come across an arcane ritual. It requires a powerful sorcerer, but we shouldn’t have too much difficulty finding one.”

  “What kind of ritual?” I asked, still not trusting him.

  “When properly performed, the ritual can strip away parts of your heritage. We can eliminate the Light Fae side and cleanse you, leaving you solely with the blood of your Dark Fae ancestors. My family’s blood. Then, Ember, you can enter the Court. And you would become my sole heir, after your grandmother.”

  EVERY LIFE HAD its defining moments…marriage proposals, weddings, deaths, and funerals. Even great success or failure, every major event changes us. But when my grandfather told me he wanted to reach inside of me and rip out my mother’s blood, it left me reeling.

  I stumbled out of my chair, almost falling over it in my haste to back away from him. The echo of his words ricocheted through me.

  “You might as well offer to tear off my skin, to put me in a different body. You want to make me into someone I’m not.” I stared at him, loathing the sight of him.

  “You’re not just offering to transform my blood, but to change the core of what makes me, me. Regardless of the difficulties, regardless of the way I’ve been treated, I have never in my life wished I wasn’t tralaeth. I have never been ashamed to be who I am, except when I see people like you claiming a connection to me.” I stared at Farthing, unable to mask my disgust. “I can’t believe you’d ask me to forsake my mother, to purge my blood of her history?”

  He blustered, his eyes narrowing as he jumped up.

  “Well, I’m not about to ask you to purge your father’s blood, am I? Face facts. Wouldn’t life be easier if you were to cross over to one side? Of course your grandmother and I want you to follow your father’s footsteps. You could be the daughter we never had. Our son fell so far, like a star crashing to earth, when he lost his head over that tramp.” His eyes glittered as he took a step toward me.

  “How dare you speak of my mother that way?” I shoved a chair between us. “How dare you call her that? Don’t you taint her memory with your slurs! The only thing you know is that she was your enemy because she was Light Fae. You not only persecuted her, but you turned your back on your son. On me. Did you also play a part in their murders?”

  The anger of all the past years came sweeping back and I threw the chair to the side, feeling a wave of power rise up. I wasn’t sure where it came from, but it buoyed me. I could hear the crashing of ocean waves.

  “Tell me,” I said, lowering my voice to a growl. “Tell me, how did you manage it? Did you work alone, or in concert with the Light Fae? Who made the decision on how they were to die? Was it you? Did you give the orders?”

  Farthing paused, an uncertain look in his eye. He cocked his head, cautiously eyeing the distance between us. “What does it matter? It’s been fifteen years.”

  “It matters. Trust me, it matters. You stand there, talking about your son without a tear in your eye. Why this interest now? Why not when I was young? Why not when my parents died? Where were you then? Why so eager for me to join you now?” I wanted to slap him, but I kept my hands to myself. We were still under parley rules.

  He flared. “Confound it, girl, just do as we ask. Cease with the infernal questioning. You don’t need to know. You just need to obey.”

  I forcibly restrained myself, gripping the back of a nearby chair to keep my hands occupied. “Answer me!” I held his gaze, forcing myself to stand steady.

  Farthing raised the ante. He slowly approached, raising his hand. I wanted to squirm away, but held firm. I refused to flinch. I refused to let him best me.

  He slowly stroked my face, his fingers cool against my cheek. As he gazed down into my eyes, the challenge grew. We were in a battle of wits. A battle of courage. But I had one thing my grandfather didn’t have. He might have experience, but I had very little to lose. I had already lost so much.

  I reached up and grabbed his hand, holding it tightly, squeezing hard. He was strong, but I was stronger. His eyes narrowed as I tightened my grip.

  “So, are you going to tell me what part you played in their deaths, and why you’re coming to me now? If you don’t, you might as well turn and walk out the door.” I could feel Herne’s eyes on me, but he didn’t interfere. A sideways glance told me Saílle was watching, an avid look on her face. She was enjoying this.

  “Are you so certain you want to know?” he asked, his voice unwavering even though I was seconds away from breaking his hand.

  “I want to know the truth.” I gripped his hand even harder and felt a faint snap as a small bone gave way.

  Farthing did
n’t blink, didn’t wince or budge. “Very well, but remember, you asked.”

  I let go of his hand and stepped back.

  “Your other grandparents worked in tandem with us. For once, the Light and the Dark worked together, and we agreed that our children had disgraced not only both families, but both Courts. Your maternal grandmother and I hired the sub-Fae to rid our families of both stains. Only you weren’t there. Oh, we would have killed you too, if you had been. And that would have been an end to it. But you lived, and now you are here, and I offer you redemption.”

  And there it was, out in the open. Everything I had always suspected, laid on the table for everyone to see. My grandparents had worked together to kill my mother and father, and they would have killed me, too, had I been home.

  I circled Farthing, a seething knot of emotions. Everything in the room felt distant except for the man who stood in front of me. It was as though we were the only two in the room, and everyone else fell away. I came to stop in front of him again.

  After a moment, I finally found my tongue. “If we were not in parley, in a Waystation, I would kill you. The next time I see you, once parley is over, you’re fair game. That is my answer to you.”

  He blinked, a look of surprise cracking the self-assurance. “Think carefully, Ember. Your grandmother and I are worth a fortune. You would have a noble seat in the Dark Court.” He glanced over at Saílle. “Your Majesty?”

  Saílle didn’t bother standing, but from her seat, she gave an impassive nod. “You would. If you undergo what he’s suggesting, you will be accepted into the Dark Fae Court as his heir, and that includes his seat in the nobility.”

  I couldn’t tell what she was thinking about all of this. She had been watching closely, but her expression wasn’t exactly that of a cheerleader. It was more like she was…weighing the proceedings, searching them for something.