Maybe looking sinister will help. “She displeased me,” he said coldly.
The fae soldier’s eyes narrowed angrily. “You dare?” When Will took a step toward the congruence, the fae threatened him with the spear. “Don’t move.”
Keeping his eyes cool, Will responded, “Don’t interfere with our bargain, or your fate will be worse.”
The horned man studied Will’s face, focusing on a point just above his eyes. “You’ve been marked.” His features showed uncertainty. “Who are you?” he challenged, regaining his resolve.
“Abelund, don’t,” warned Tailtiu from her position on the ground. “He’ll destroy you.”
“My name is not for your lips,” said Will arrogantly, warming up to his role. “You need only know that I am Arrogan’s student. If that name means nothing to you, I will be glad to teach you one of his…lessons.”
The fae soldier took a step back, and before he could say anything else Will stepped into the congruence and shifted back to his own world. Once there, he drew his sword and waited. If one of the fae followed, he would see just how effective iron really was against them.
A quarter of an hour passed before he relaxed. The adrenaline had worn off, and his body began to shake as the stress of all that he had been through sank into him. I never should have left home, he thought. Mom was right. A few seconds later, he chuckled nervously. Damn, I was cool, though. Even Grandfather would have been impressed.
In his mind he could almost hear the old man’s reply. Yeah, I was always impressed—by what a witless dumbass you are.
It was late afternoon already, and Will’s need for rest was starting to make itself known to him again, but he didn’t want to sleep near the congruence point, so he headed north again. After thirty minutes he stopped and decided to make a fire. The forest was thick enough that there were still plenty of areas that hadn’t received much snow beneath the boughs, and he was able to find enough dry grass and small twigs to kindle a flame.
He was far enough from Barrowden that he hoped whatever smoke rose from the trees wouldn’t be noticeable. Even so, he stuck to using deadwood and avoided fuel that would tend to smoke a lot, such as leaves or greenwood. Once he had a good bed of coals, he used a spit to roast the meat he had brought. It wasn’t until the first bite that he understood just how hungry he really was. His appetite came flooding back to him, and he wound up roasting the rest of the meat and two carrots before he felt full. All he had left now was dried peas.
He regretted the peas. Without a pot or a container of some sort he couldn’t make porridge with them. Since they were his only remaining food, he would have to eat them dry the next day. The past two days had shown him just how little he really knew about surviving in the wilderness.
Belly full, he began to grow sleepy. The padded gambeson was sufficiently warm, so he removed his cloak and hung it by the fire. Melting snow had gradually soaked it, and while it still felt dry, the wool was many times heavier than normal. That was one of the nice things about wool. It could absorb a great deal of moisture before it felt wet. He hoped the fire would dry it out somewhat while he slept.
Leaning back against a tree, he let his eyes close.
Sometime later he woke. The darkness was thick and suffocating. His fire had burned out long ago, and the moonlight couldn’t reach beneath the canopy of the trees. Will’s body felt cold and sore. And he was hungry again—of course.
With a groan, he got to his feet and checked his cloak. If it had dried by an appreciable amount, he couldn’t tell. It still felt as though it was made of lead.
Unable to see the sky, he had no idea what time it was, or which direction was which. Rather than stumble through the dark, he took down the cloak and wrapped it around himself. Then he tried to find a more comfortable position to sleep in.
It didn’t feel like he slept any, but the sun surprised him, tickling his eyes as it danced between the shadows of leaves on his face. When he opened them, he was startled out of his wits, for just a few inches away were two green eyes staring back