“Please tell me you’re not doing this.” Her voice cracked a little, making me wince. “After everything I confessed, about borrowed time and my mom and wanting to live my life, please tell me you’re not going to ignore that like everyone else.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Fine.” Her words were stiff, cold and sent a fiery lance through my stomach. “If you don’t want me there, Ethan, fine.” A tiny sniffle echoed over the receiver, worse than if she had screamed or yelled or cussed me out. “I guess I was wrong about you. You are just like everyone else.”
“Kenzie...”
She hung up.
I lowered my arm, not knowing exactly what I felt, apart from pretty lousy right then. Wandering back to my room, I saw that Annwyl had fallen asleep on my bed, her hair spilling in waves over my pillow. Unable to relax, I sat in my computer chair and opened my laptop, but I didn’t do anything with it. I just sat there and stared vacantly at the screen, replaying Kenzie’s last words over and over, and wondering if I had just sabotaged what I had with her beyond repair.
CHAPTER NINE
THE SHADOW FORGOTTEN
Early the next morning, I woke up two minutes before 5:00 a.m. and instantly turned off the alarm set to buzz at the top of the hour. Stifling a groan, I threw back the cover and sat up, already dressed, stretching my stiff limbs. I’d gotten maybe a couple hours of sleep on the floor of my room, lying in my old sleeping bag, and my neck ached as I stood and looked around for Annwyl.
She was awake and standing at my window, gazing out into the early-morning dark. The brightness around her, that faint sunlit glow that was present even in the darkness, had faded a bit, and she looked small and fragile as she drew back from the glass with a shudder.
“He’s still out there,” she whispered.
“He’ll have to get past me,” I replied, reaching for my duffel bag, already packed and ready to go. Atop the bag lay my twin swords in their slightly curved leather sheaths, the hilts glimmering in the dim light. I picked up both and slipped them through my belt, letting the kali blades rest against either hip. Looping the bag over my shoulder, I glanced at the Summer faery, waiting by the bed. “Ready to go?”
She nodded.
“You’re certain you can make the drive up to New Orleans?” I gave the faery a serious look. “It’s not going to be very pleasant, Annwyl. We’ll be in my truck the whole way, nearly two hours.”
“I know.” Annwyl looked like someone getting ready to march out to the gallows. “But we have to do this. I don’t know of any local trods to New Orleans, and I don’t dare go back to Leanansidhe’s. I can endure two hours of iron sickness if it gets us closer to Keirran.”
The desperate hope in her voice made my stomach tighten. Turning away, I opened the bedroom door a crack and peered into the hallway. The rest of the house was dark; both parents were still sleeping. Guilt and fear raised goose bumps on my skin; I didn’t want to do this, but I didn’t have much of a choice. I couldn’t let Dad drive me to New Orleans. He didn’t understand the fey, and I refused to drag my family into the hidden world. This was something I had to do myself.
I glanced over my shoulder at Annwyl. “Stay close,” I warned in a whisper. “It’ll be most dangerous when we go outside. Creepy Thin Man shouldn’t be able to get past the wards, and once we’re in the truck, we should be safe. Still, let’s do this quickly and quietly.”
“I’m ready,” Annwyl whispered, and we stepped into the hall.
Tiptoeing through the silent house, I paused in the kitchen just long enough to grab a soda and leave a quick note on the counter.
Mom, Dad, I’ve gone ahead to New Orleans. I’m sorry, but I have to do this alone. Will call you this afternoon from the hotel. Please don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine. Back in a couple days.
—Ethan
They would be pissed at me for certain, and I’d probably get an angry phone call from Mom as soon as she found the note, but I couldn’t wait. Annwyl needed help, and I didn’t trust Creepy Thin Man to stay on the other side of the wards. Even if he did, I certainly didn’t want him hanging around my house, watching us, waiting for someone to step outside.
Outside.
The front door creaked softly as I eased it open, peering around the front lawn and my old truck parked in the driveway. Annwyl pressed close behind me, her warmth and the smell of new leaves at my back.
“I don’t see him,” she whispered.
I didn’t, either, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t watching us. “Hurry,” I growled and slipped onto the steps, jogging lightly down the walk toward the driveway. Annwyl followed, making absolutely no sound, as graceful as a deer bounding through the trees.
And then he was there at the end of the driveway, turning suddenly into existence, pale eye gleaming with wicked intent. Annwyl gasped, and I snarled a curse, drawing my sword in one smooth motion. He didn’t step forward, couldn’t cross the driveway, but his mouth opened impossibly wide, like a snake unhinging its jaws, revealing a gaping black hole within. I felt a faint pull in the air, a cold, sluggish feeling in my limbs, and my heart shrank with fear. Not for me; I’d felt this before and knew it couldn’t hurt mortals. But Annwyl stumbled like she was fighting a sudden typhoon, falling to her knees on the pavement. She flickered, nearly blinking out of existence, as the thin Forgotten sucked away her glamour, magic and everything she was.