grumbled Will.
“And you—with her—you—?”
“No!”
They got back to their beds just in time, and while Dave was as talkative as usual, Tiny said not a word until after the fire was extinguished. Will was beginning to drift off to sleep when he heard the big man mutter to himself, “She’s not my aunt, though.”
Chapter 47
In his sleep, Will found himself running through a forest, chased by a foe he couldn’t see. Whenever he turned to look, all he saw behind him were golden cat’s eyes, and no matter how he raced he couldn’t escape the beast. Near the end he could feel its breath on his neck, until he turned a corner and found himself face to face with a dark-haired woman. It was Isabel. She put a finger to his lips to keep him silent, and he found himself sinking into her gaze. Like pools of clear water, her eyes threatened to swallow him, and he realized he couldn’t breathe.
“William Cartwright,” she whispered, and he found himself wondering how to answer. “William Cartwright, you will be mine.”
Run, said a voice deep within. Run before it’s too late.
“William Cartwright,” she said again. “I’ve bought and paid for you. You will be the finest slave to serve me. Show me the limnthal.”
“Thrice called,” said another voice, and Will’s eyes shot wide open. Tailtiu was leaning over him, her nose mere inches from his own. She had her hand over his mouth. “Shhh. Don’t wake them.”
Will turned his head, but quickly realized he couldn’t even see the closest bedroll, aside from Tiny’s, where the big man’s body made a darker shadow against the mist that covered everything. “How?”
“No one will see me in this fog,” said his aunt, “so long as you don’t wake them.”
“You did that?”
Her eyes crinkled into a smile and she nodded. “Of course. It made it much easier to search the pass without being seen.”
“What did you find?”
“Men,” she said simply. “Lots and lots of men, as far as my eyes could see. Were there always so many of your kind?”
“How many did you find?”
“As many as there are in your camp and half again more,” she answered. “Most are on the other side of the pass, waiting just beyond the high point. A third are hidden in a camp in the rocks several miles south of here.”
“Hidden?”
Tailtiu nodded. “No fires. They sleep clustered in small groups among the rocks that cluster along the side of the mountain to the south. Is that what you wished to know?”
“Yes. Thank you,” said Will gratefully. “This resolves your debt for the favor.”
She shook her head. “You still have another half day left, plus two more unbounded favors, but tonight could be free if you let me have the big one for an hour.” Her eyes turned to focus on Tiny’s sleeping form.
“No.”
“Half an hour,” she countered. “He’ll thank you for it.”
“No,” said Will firmly. “Besides, he’s his own man. I have no right to barter him.”
Tailtiu’s features showed surprise. “Oh, but you do! Or didn’t you know?”
“Pardon?”
“The accord between Faerie and the mortal realm,” she said matter-of-factly, “is held in trust by your kind. Or rather, it’s held in trust by you, since you’re the last one.”
“The last what?”
“Wizard, silly,” she answered. “Once you’re gone, we can do as we please, for the accord will no longer hold force. Any humans that seek to deal with us will have to negotiate with their own strength—the strength of power—and from what I’ve seen, most of them have none. Didn’t Father tell you?”
“I’m barely a wizard.”
“But you’re marked as one,” said Tailtiu, “and that’s all that counts. The limnthal proves it. It’s a shame you didn’t give it to Mother. Then I wouldn’t have to ask.” Her eyes flashed. “I could just take what I want.”
“What about the wizards in Wurthaven?”
She cocked her head to one side. “Do they have it?” Tailtiu smiled. “I don’t think so.”
The simple, uncaring malice in her features made his mouth go dry. “I don’t need anything else,” he told her. “You should go.”
“Very well. Take good care of yourself, nephew. When you’re gone we will devour them.” With those parting words, she disappeared into the mist.
Will lay quietly in his bed, but the warmth was gone, replaced by an empty coldness that chilled him to his bones. He tried to sleep, but his mind was spinning. If mankind was protected by some ancient accord, what did that mean exactly? The fae couldn’t take humans without his permission?