Assassin of Truths(15)

I sidestepped to avoid colliding with an older woman hunched over by age, her ears long and pointy. Her cloak and dress were as green as the leaves. Her sleeves were flared, the hem of her skirt dragged across the ground, and thin gold cords made a swirling design sewn to the material. Another woman, much younger, passed wearing a similar outfit except in midnight blue. Most likely, that was the style in the faery realm.

As we approached the emerald glass doors of the castle, they slowly opened. Somber men and women with pointy ears met us. The castle and the way the faeries were dressed reminded me of a modern-day court in Versailles, less the corsets and bustles.

A young woman with a long neck and platinum hair gathered in a loose braid broke from a large group of faeries. Her ears were like bat wings sticking out of her hair. She couldn't have been much older than I was. "Good day," she said. "I am Queen Titania. Welcome to Tír na nÓg."

Are you kidding me? She was actually the queen of the Fey realm. And her name was the same as in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. I glanced at Afton. The shocked look on her face matched mine. Maybe we were dreaming.

Emily slid a look at me and then down at the bag hanging across her stomach. She was thinking the same thing as me. If they knew what was in it, would they take the Chiavi away?

"Gianna Bianchi," Titania continued. "It is my great pleasure to meet the presage. Agnost was my half brother. He had dreamt of you since he was a boy. It is sad he cannot be here for this momentous time."

What does a girl say to something like that? It was odd and uncomfortable for people to put all their hope in me. My biggest fear was that I'd fail at whatever I was destined to do. Besides, I was just a seventeen-year-old girl, and barely, at that.

"You haven't faith in yourself." Her eyes, the color of coal, studied me. "That is good. If you have too much faith, you will not try as hard. Don't lose your fighting spirit, Gianna. We all need you."

Titania's stare found the eight-year-olds. "Aetnae, who are these children?"

Aetnae lifted off my shoulder, flew over to the queen, and bobbed on the air in front of her. I couldn't hear what Aetnae said. It must've been about the children, since Titania's eyes kept darting to them as she listened.

After Aetnae had finished, Titania waved a man over. He was your typical tall, dark, and handsome type, except for the large ears with sharp points. She said something to him, and he strode over to Afton and the boys.

"The children are to come with me," he said, clipped and direct.

Peyton looked up at me, her face a mask hiding her fear, but I could see it in her eyes.

"What will you do with them?" I asked, hoping to get answers for the little girl.

"They will be well cared for and protected." Titania went to Peyton and knelt to look into her eyes. "I won't let anyone harm you, dear one. Your friends need a curer."

I squeezed Peyton's shoulder. "It'll be okay."

"All right." Her lips pressed together, and she extended her chin, that brave look returning to her face.

Peyton gripped the boys' hands and the man escorted them down a long hallway.

"Our guards will take you to Katy Kearns," Titania said as she turned to leave. The group of faeries followed her down a different hallway.

Three faeries, two men and a woman, wearing some sort of uniforms with capes lined in gold, led us down a long stairwell and escorted us into a laboratory. The lab was like others I'd seen-white and sterile.

My heart soared to the ceiling. Nana bent over a tall table, staring into a contraption with a copper arm holding a large oval glass. Her short, silver-gray hair fell in waves around her jawline. She had her favorite pair of dark jeans on, and a white button-down shirt. On either side of her were two older women, one tall and lanky with a thin face and long nose. I recognized the shorter one grasping a cane with a slight hunch to her back. Morta. She had taken care of me after I'd returned from the Somnium.         

     



 

"Nana?" My voice sounded shaky, and tears spilled over my lashes. All the warmth from my childhood came rushing in, and though we were in unfamiliar surroundings, I felt like I'd just come home. Nana always said a place or town wasn't a home until it was filled with people you loved.

She spun from the table and charged over to us. "Oh, my dear Gia. I've been so worried."

I met her halfway and threw my arms around her. The familiar scent of her lavender soap and floral perfume filled my nose. "It's really you."

"Now, now." She patted my back. "It's okay. You're safe."

"Why are you here?" I drew back to look into those soft gray eyes of hers. The eyes that had always shown so much love and care for me. But they were stormy, her lids heavy from fatigue. Something was wrong.

"I was summoned." She let me go. "Emily, you did a great job. She's a little battered, but looks well."

"I had a good teacher," Emily said. "She wouldn't stay still. Kept opening the wound in her shoulder."

"Let me see." Nana eased the right side of my trench coat off my shoulder and inspected the wounds. "Ena, we'll have to stitch this."

"Stitches? Do I really need them?"

"You do. Now, sit over there." Nana pointed at one of the stools.

I collapsed onto the seat, teeth clenching in anticipation.

The glances Nana and the other women were giving each other concerned me. They were keeping something from us.

Ena clopped over to a table, grabbed some supplies, and joined us. She lined up the items on a table. Nana tied a rubber tourniquet around my arm and inspected it. "There's a nice vein."

Ena passed her a silver syringe with a long needle attached.

My eyes narrowed on the sharp needle as Nana aimed it at my arm. "I don't think- Ow! Nana, you didn't even give me a count-to-three warning."

"It's better to get it over with than to think on it too long, dear." Nana pushed the plunger, delivering the clear liquid into my arm. Her lips were pursed tight as though she wanted to say something but held it back. It didn't take long for the pain in my shoulder to subside, and she began stitching up the cut.

Nana turned to Afton. "Thank you for getting them out of that house in time. I couldn't risk calling. Not after I learned Conemar discovered the location of our hideout."

"I'd do anything to keep Gia safe," Afton said.

"I know you would." Nana rested her hand on Afton's cheek. "We need your help here."

"Certainly. What can I do?"

"There are so many sick and not enough hands to aid them." Nana tied the final stitch in my skin and lowered her hand. "The curers could use your skills. Ena, please get Afton clean clothes and show her to the infirmary. She'll need instructions, but she's helped the curers before."

After Ena and Afton were gone, I followed Nana to the contraption she was using when we arrived. Nana definitely wasn't herself. It was as if a dark cloud hung over her.

Emily dropped onto one of the stools surrounding the work area.

"Why did you need me here?" I leaned my back against the counter, watching her. "I have to get back to the hideout in Ireland. Have you heard from Arik?"

"She has." His voice, with that English accent of his, sounded foreign in contrast to the sterile room. His dark hair was messy, and his Sentinel uniform looked like he'd been in a war.

"Arik?"

Emily straightened her back and brushed her dark hair from her face. When we were hiding out in Branford, Conemar had put an evil witch spirit into Emily that had forced her to place a charm on Arik that made him like her. He'd broken up with me because of it. She was supposed to get information about Nick and me from Arik and feed it back to Conemar, but she had resisted and helped us during the battle on my front lawn. By her actions, it seemed she definitely liked him in a more-than-friends way.

Arik crossed the room. "You look quite a bit better, Gia."

I look better? "How do you know how I looked?"

"I came to the house in Jamaica Plains to see you." His eyes went to the bandage on my face. "You were completely out. Peaceful. Disturbing you would have been cruel. I would have stayed, but I was called away." A sadness hung on his face, and he had dark circles under his eyes.

"Why are you here? What aren't you telling me?" I pushed myself away from the counter and walked over to him. "You're keeping something from me."

He lowered his head. "While I was gone, our hideout was attacked."         

     



 

It felt like everything collapsed around me. "What? Where is everyone?"

Arik's hesitation scared me.

"Was anyone hurt?" Tears burned the back of my eyes as I searched his eyes for answers.

He bit his bottom lip and lowered his head.

Oh no.

"Are they dead?"





Chapter Seven


The suspense was killing me. "Arik, please, what happened?"

Nana startled me when she came up to my side and wrapped her arm around my back. She was preparing me for what Arik said next.

"The night Veronique attacked you," he said, "Lei and Jaran went missing. I searched, but there wasn't any sign of them. It was as if they'd vanished. There was nothing for me to do, so I returned to the hideout." He grabbed the back of his neck, his pause warning that he was about to hit me with more bad news.