The Changeling's Ghost (Thirteen Gates #1)

Leaving the Past Behind Us

This is one of the most idiotic things I've ever done, but luckily I'm the only one who can tell. My hands tremble as I clutch the handle of my crossbow, slick with sweat, pain lacing up my hip as I precariously balance on my one good leg.

Herne is lying on the ground, an arrow sticking out the bullseye of his skull.

"Mess with someone else's idiot next time," I breathe, and catch Gus's impressed look out of the corner of my eye.

It fills my chest with warmth.

"Okay, someone help me," I beckon, sliding back against the wall of the cave and letting some of the weight off my hip.

"Whoa there," Gus scrambled to his feet and caught me just before I hit the ground.

For a moment it was just us in the darkness, our heavy breathing, the sound of the thunderstorm outside and my arm around his shoulder as he pulled me up. For just a moment. I spot my leg brace a few feet away, thank God, and made quick work of limping over there and strapping it on.

"Are you okay?" I ask, as he pulls me back up to my feet.

"M-me? I'm fine. What about you?" He seems surprised that I asked.

"I'm in my perpetual state of hanging in there." I remember vaguely that I'm mad at him. "This is kind of all your fault, buddy."

I can see the faint outline of his stupid grin. "Aw, we're buddies again."

"Oh shut up," I frown. "Speaking of, where's Conway?"

The cave is absent of the significantly more leafy Northcott, and it only takes a few seconds for me to realize it's also absent of light. Gus meets my eyes, we figure it out at the same time; Greta.

The air outside is thick with smoke. Half of the trees are burning pathetically before immediately being doused by the force of the storm, which has both of us soaked within minutes. Greta is standing half within the shelter of the trees, fire dripping and bubbling off of her like lava. She screams with anguish and rage, and I can feel the heat from it. She's a terrifying catalyst of rage and heat; she's the sun.

Conway is positioned just before the lip of the cave, burns lacing down his wooden limbs. He's shaking violently, whether from the cold or the fear, it doesn't seem to matter at this point. He's in the middle talking to her.

"I'm sorry... I didn't want to hurt you!" It comes off as begging. "I just... I got so overwhelmed. You were going to kill me."

"You were going to kill me." She lets out a hiss. "Hackfresse."

"Conway!" I call out to him, letting go of Gus and taking steps in his direction.

He turns on his heels to find the source of the noise. I limp towards him with one hand out and he shrinks away from me. His ears flick back and the roots on the ends of his appendages curl into themselves, resembling a fist. I realize the last thing he wants me to do right now is touch him.

"I was just..." He presses his fists against the sides of his head. "Nobody could find out, I had to keep the family safe... from me."

"What do you know about family!" Greta cries, more lava pouring out of her eyes, like she's crying. "Look what you did to your own brother."

"He's... he's not..." Conway glances over at me, eyes flicking down to my bad leg. "Did I... did I do that?"

I wince. "Don't listen to her, Con."

"You did." Greta's voice is dripping ice. "It's your fault. You're a monster. You're a pathetic loveless faerie. Your parents favor your crippled brother over you."

"Shut up!" I seethe, my crossbow formed in my hand. "You can't talk to him like that."

"I'm dead, Asher," she snaps. "The faerie bastard murdered me. Do you know how much pain and suffering he caused me? My family? Everything I've worked for. All my sacrifices. All of your sacrifices. It's his fault. Remember what you told me?" Her eyes glisten with an inhuman sheen. "You wouldn't have had to marry me if Conway was human."

I pull the trigger and an arrow flies across the field and embeds itself in her shoulder. Greta screams, the arrow is alight and gone within seconds but she slaps her flaming hand across the blaze where it pierced flaming flesh and squeezes it tightly. Gus, taking my lead, drops into an offensive stace from his spot of hanging back awkwardly from our family drama.

"Asher, Gus, stand down." Conway croaks out.

"I will not!" I gape at him.

"If Asher is attacked, I'm legally allowed to throw down," Gus adds.

"Stand. Down." he says through gritted teeth. His eyes glisten with hurt. "She's right."

I meet his gaze, which is as filled with exhaustion as the Atlantic ocean is filled with water. I try to take another step towards him and find I can't move my feet. There's roots scattered across the ground, presumedly emanating from Conway himself. I look up at his face again, disbelief in my eyes, as he tethers me down and takes a step towards the flaming menace.

"A trade, Greta," he says. "Parallel in your agreement with Herne the Hunter, only this time, with my conditions."

Greta floats towards him slowly, her head tilted ever so slightly. She looks like every infamous horrific specter crudely mashed together then set aflame. Her eyes are wide and you can only see the blue colour where the lava has hardened and crusted in tear-streaks down her face. She doesn't say a word. I'm half convinced she can't form human speech anymore, even as the seconds tick by I feel like I can watch her humanity being slowly sucked out of her.

"Kill me, if that's how you want your revenge," Conway's voice shakes. "Rip out my 'faerie heart' and bring it along to your afterlife."