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To the north wall, within the glass I could see a tangled forest with mountains rising in the distance. The Elemental who stepped forward was wearing a frosty cloak over a green robe beneath, and the faint scent of spring clung to the dryad look-alike.
“Lady of the Land.” I nodded to her.
Lastly, I turned to the east and a ray of early-morning sunlight came shimmering through the glass as a stalwart man flew into the picture, astride the back of an eagle. They landed on the craggy mountaintop and he dismounted and fell to one knee, his leather armor brown against the flaxen strands of his hair.
“Master of the Winds, I am glad to see you again.” I wasn’t ever sure what to say, but the ritual didn’t seem set in stone. And I truly was becoming fond of them. Even though I’d seen them only a few brief times, I could feel them with me whenever I carried the horn.
I turned to the center of the room and waited, and sure enough, within a few moments a man appeared. Tall—nearly seven feet; his skin was as brown as an oak, and his hair long and dark. He could play with his shape and form, however, and I had never ascertained what his true looks were. I smiled when I remembered the earrings he’d been wearing that I’d fallen in love with. He’d given me a pair just like them.
“Eriskel.” I paused, wondering how to frame my request.
“You have need of our help? I assume we are not in the middle of battle or you would be calling on the powers of the horn from out there.” He motioned to the table and slid into one of the chairs.
I hadn’t yet figured out whether the jindasel liked me or just tolerated my presence, but whatever the case, he was bound by his nature to help me. He was part of the horn; he would not exist without it. When the Black Unicorn died every thousand or so years, his horn and hide were shed and made into ritual artifacts, and a small fragment of the Black Unicorn’s spirit became trapped in the body of the horn, acting as the mentor for whoever ended up wielding the weapon.
Jindasels were formed by a number of creatures, offshoots spinning out of the main spirit like an avatar. They took on an essence of their own—but the jindasels of the horn were unique in their ability to function autonomously, without the original creature that spawned them being near.
I leaned forward, elbows on the table, chin propped on my hands. “Can you or the Elementals of the horn sense into other realms or through portals?” I ran down what had happened and where we were.
Eriskel blinked, his eyes so wide they were surreal. He folded his arms across his chest and shook his head. “You need to get out of here. Now. This place is not safe. Not for you. Not for the horn. Do you know what would happen if one of the Elder Fae got hold of this artifact?”
“That thought has crossed my mind. Nothing good, I’m sure.”
“Then go. Get your pretty ass out of here and protect the horn. If one of the Elder Fae gets hold of it, all hell will break loose. You think the Bog Eater’s bad? You have no clue how ruthless and powerful some of these beings are. They may be your relatives in name, but you are like a dust mote compared to them. You could probably take one down in a fight if you brought all the powers of the horn to bear, but it would be dicey, and you—my lady—would not come out alive.”
And with that, Eriskel ejected me from the horn. I blinked, the feel of his concern weighing heavy on my shoulders. Jumping up, I turned to Delilah.
“We have to get out of here. Now.”
“But why?” She frowned, but one shake of my head spurred her into action. As we headed away from the mushroom ring, she looked around nervously. “What’s going on?”
“Eriskel convinced me it’s a very bad idea to have the horn here with me,” I whispered. “I wish we could move faster—well, me. You can. I wish I could run faster. Now I’m going to fret until we’re back out of the portal.”
“I’ll watch your back, never fear for that.” Delilah didn’t question, just held tighter to the iron blade. She winced. “I can feel the iron through the glove, but it’s not too bad. Tingles in a really unpleasant way.”
“Yeah, I know.” We stumbled our way back through the forest toward the strip of shore between the bog and the woodland. As we stepped out onto the open strip of land, I stopped and looked around. “Notice anything odd?”
She paused, listening. “No birds.”
“Yeah.”
Not only had the birds stopped chirping and crowing, but everything else had gone silent and I could feel an undercurrent—something rumbling so low I could barely make it out. It was coming from across the bog in our direction.
I turned toward the fens. The marsh was quivering—or at least one line of reeds running through it was. My heart in my throat, I made sure my gloves were on and pulled out the iron flail from the bag I was carrying.
And then, the rumbling grew louder as an oh-so-tall creature erupted from the water, spraying peat and detritus and stinking fen water every which way. The man—was it a man?—rose up, a good eight or nine feet tall, and his eyes were spinning with the brilliance of sunlight bouncing off mirrors. He gave one long laugh, turned my way, and leaped from the bog.
Chapter 8
���The Bog Eater?” Delilah jumped toward me, trying to intercept.
“No, I don’t think this is him!” I scrambled to one side, managing to avoid the Elder Fae’s long arms, but in my haste, I tripped over a root hidden under the leaf mould and went sprawling. Coming to my feet, I swung around, iron flail outstretched. “What the fuck are you?”
He said nothing but lunged again for me, and this time, he caught my ankle as he dragged himself onto land. My feet slipped out from under me as I went flying back to the ground. As I landed, I saw then that his legs were bound together with a finned tail. Merman! A Meré—one of the Finfolk! Oh fuck—even if he turned out not to be one of the Elder Fae, he was all too dangerous. But his energy spoke of ancient times and deeds.
Terrified—his grip was unrelenting—I sprang to a sitting position and brought the iron flail down across his arm.
With a screech that pierced my ears, he let go and jerked his arm away. Fae—definitely Fae. Before he could reach for me again, I scrambled away and, at that moment, felt Delilah grab one of my wrists. She dragged me out of his reach and to my feet.
