“Yeah?” it growled, baring crooked fangs. “Whaddya want?”
“I’m here to see Mr. Dust.”
Mr. who? I wondered, but the redcap blinked slowly and nodded, stepping aside. As I crossed the threshold, I felt a pushing sensation, as if I was being shoved back. A tall figure in a hooded cloak, the head I’d been hijacking, I guessed, stepped away from me, walking through the frame and leaving me behind. I tried to follow, but I couldn’t move without my host body, and the redcap slammed the door in my face.
I jerked, opening my eyes, to find Kenzie and Annwyl staring at me anxiously. The bird faery, too, peered at me from beneath its hood, silent and waiting. I rubbed my eyes, trying to shake the creepy feeling of being in someone else’s head.
“You okay?” Kenzie asked, and there was a note of real concern in her voice, not just a courtesy offered to a friend. I nodded.
“Yeah. I’m fine.” Turning around, I stared at the tent flaps, remembering the way they’d parted for the figure, his path through the goblin market and the unmarked black door at the top of the steps. “Better yet, I know where to find Keirran.”
* * *
“Well, that’s just all kinds of ominous,” Kenzie remarked as we stood at the bottom of the steps, gazing up at the black door. “Didn’t I see this once in American Horror Story?”
“This place feels wrong.” Annwyl gave the buildings and especially the door a suspicious glare and shook her head. “Why would Keirran come here?”
“Let’s go ask him.” I double-checked to make sure my swords were still in place, then walked up the steps and knocked twice on the wood.
It creaked open to reveal the same redcap on the other side, who gave me an astonished look as he peered through the frame. “Well, well,” it mused as the shock faded and was replaced by eager hunger. “What do we have here? You lost, human? You can obviously See me, so you should’ve known not to come here.”
“I’m looking for Mr. Dust,” I said, and the redcap snorted.
“How do you know that name? And why would a human need to see Mr. Dust? He ain’t got nothing for the likes of you.” The redcap bared its fangs. “Beat it, mortal. Don’t waste his time.”
“Not an option.”
“I’m warning you, boy. Get lost, before I bite your tasty little head off.”
I drew my sword. “My head isn’t the one in danger here.”
“Hold.”
A soft hand touched my elbow, making me pause. I blinked in surprise as Annwyl joined me at the top of the steps and faced the redcap calmly.
“I am Annwyl, former handmaiden to Queen Titania herself,” Annwyl stated in an even, almost regal voice as the redcap eyed her curiously. “And I wish to see Mr. Dust. The mortals are of no consequence—they are here to accompany me. The boy is only doing what he has been trained to do. Let us pass.”
“Ah.” The redcap smirked and gave me a disgusted look. “Why didn’t you say so in the first place?” he growled, opening the door and stepping back for Annwyl. She nodded and swept by without looking at him. I swallowed my astonishment and followed with Kenzie as the redcap’s guttural voice trailed us down the hall. “Keep your pets under control next time, lady. I might’ve eaten your little guard dog on principle.”
“I apologize,” Annwyl said quietly as we walked down the long, narrow hallway on the other side of the door. “I thought that it would be better to try to get through without bloodshed.”
“No arguments here,” I told her. “In fact, I think you should act like that more often. I mean, I don’t want you to go snooty aristocratic faery on me, but you were part of Titania’s circle. You were kind of important.”
“Once,” Annwyl said with a faint smile. “Not anymore.”
The hallway ended at another unmarked black door, and when I opened it, an even longer, thinner alleyway wound off into the darkness.
“Seriously?” Kenzie muttered. “Good thing I’m not claustrophobic. Somehow, I don’t think Keirran is here to buy unicorns and rainbow dust.”
The corridor was just wide enough for us to walk through single file. I drew one of my swords, just in case anything came at us, and motioned the girls forward. Kenzie stepped behind me, taking the back of my jacket like she was afraid we’d get separated, and Annwyl brought up the rear. Carefully, we ventured into the darkness.
The alleyway grew even more winding and narrow, until it seemed we were weaving our way through a crack between buildings. Cold, hard stone scraped my chest and back, as if the walls were slowly drawing together, crushing me until I popped like a grape between them. My heart pounded against my ribs, and I imagined it was getting harder and harder to breathe. And just as I was beginning to think we should turn around before we all got stuck, I finally spotted a thin black door at the end of the crazy, twisted passage and hurried toward it.
Spitefully, the door retreated, or at least it seemed that way, drawing farther back even as we rushed forward, keeping the same amount of distance between us. Finally, after chasing the door for several minutes, I lunged forward, and my hand finally latched on to the glimmering brass knob.
Panting, I looked over my shoulder to see if Kenzie and Annwyl were still with me. They were; Kenzie still had a tight hold of my jacket, and Annwyl pressed close behind her, gazing up at the door in fear.
“I can feel the glamour through the walls,” she murmured, drawing back slightly, both hands going to her chest. “This whole place is pulsing with it. But...it’s wrong, somehow. Dark.” She shivered, rubbing her arms. “There is something evil through that door.”