Book Two Wylan: Chapter 7

Cold Iron

Chapter 7: Cold Iron

1993

It never stormed in Tamsin Thorncott’s realm. So when the pink sky turned a dark bruise purple with black bolts of lightning scorching across it, Wylan knew something was happening.

The cat-eyed boy was in his cat form, roaming around the village as usual, eager for any word about his siblings. With the bounty on Wylan’s head, the boys agreed it was best he go alone.

Wylan was close to the Severing Grove when it happened.

A dark column of black smoke dropped like a tornado. As it touched the grass, it disintegrated, leaving behind a tall woman. She had milk-white skin and wore a snow-colored lacy dress.

Wylan could tell immediately she wasn’t a fae but she wasn’t human either.

Bow in hand, he slowly approached her.

Her hair was bleached of all color, and she had piercing pale blue eyes. Her fingernails were shaped into sharp points and painted black.

“H-hello,” Wylan stammered out. “Are you a traveler?” He asked, knowing immediately that she wasn’t. But he also got the sense that she wasn’t going to hurt him.

The woman shook her head.

Wylan decided to take a different approach. “Why are you here?”

“To set things right,” the woman said. Her voice was deep and heavy. It sounded like it belonged to someone else.

“You can leave, right?” Wylan asked, suddenly feeling desperate. “Please take me with you.” He felt a surge of guilt over leaving the cat-eyed boy behind, but if this was his way out, he was going to take it.

“You don’t want to come to my world,” the woman said grimly, “But I can give you this.”

She slipped her hand into the white pouch hanging at her side and pulled out a silver metal-linked belt.

“Cold iron,” the woman said, “It’s yours.”

“Thanks?” Wylan said. He didn’t know what that had to do with anything. Maybe he could sell it? Barter with another traveler passing through?

In a blink, the woman transformed into the smoky black tornado again, whipping through the air in the direction of Tamsin’s mansion.

A few hours later, the cat-eyed boy returned to Wylan at the treehouse.

“An assassin hired by the family of one of the husbands Tamsin killed was just here,” the cat-eyed boy said breathlessly, “She didn’t get the job done, but she got close to it.”

“Was she all white?”

The cat-eyed boy nodded.

“She gave me this,” Wylan held up the belt. “She mentioned something about it being cold iron.”

“That’s toxic to fae!” The cat-eyed boy said brightly.

“That’s gotta be what’s hanging from the trees. I thought it was silver, but it must be iron!” Wylan enthused. Eagerly, he scrambled over to his backpack and dug around. The skeleton key from the garden of mirrors was still at the bottom of it. He held it up for the cat-eyed boy to see. “ Do you think this can hurt them, too?”

The cat-eyed boy held it and nodded.

“Good,” Wylan said, pocketing the key and looping the belt around his waist.

“I have something to show you, too. I noticed it on my way back from the village,” the cat-eyed boy ushered Wylan over to the window and pointed up at the sky.

Wylan cautiously crept over. As he looked out the window and up his jaw dropped and he gasped. It wasn’t the ordinary dark purple night sky with its smattering of pinprick stars. No. This time the two crescent moons were joined by larger stars that were arranging themselves into dazzling, fireworks-like formations.

“It’s just like the fourth of July back home!” Wylan enthused. “It’s always been my favorite holiday.”

“If we lay on the roof we can watch it better,” the cat-eyed boy pitched.

“Oh… yeah … I guess,” Wylan said nervously, “But what if I fall?”

“I’d never let that happen,” the cat-eyed boy said, taking Wylan’s hand in his. “It’s easier to get up there than it looks.”

Together, he and Wylan maneuvered their way up to the roof. The cat-eyed boy spread a blanket out and gestured for Wylan to lay down. Wylan hesitated until the cat-eyed boy held out his hand. Interlacing their fingers, Wylan watched the miraculous light show. For the first time, he saw true beauty in Tamsin’s realm.

* * *

“The fae have so many ways to hurt us. There have to be ways we can hurt them back. Iron can’t be their only weakness,” Wylan said, desperately racking his brain. It was twilight, and he was bathed in the shadows in Tamsin Thorncott’s garden. “London, have you seen anything? You’ve been here way longer than me.”

London thumped his fingers against his lips in thought. “I reckon some of ‘em,” London pointed to a part of the garden Wylan’d been avoiding. They were the flower beds with the flowers that liked to bite back. Some of them even cannibalized each other, leaving only shredded petals and splatters of syrupy, black nectar in their wake.

Tamsin planted them that way for a reason. Wylan quickly learned how zealous the fae woman was for bloodshed.

“Do they eat the fae too?” Wylan asked, trying to follow.

London shook his head. “Not those ‘uns. There are other flowers an’ plants there that can ‘urt ‘em.”

“That can poison them, you mean? Why would Tamsin grow flowers and plants that she knows could hurt the fae?” As Wylan wondered aloud, it hit him. She does it to poison other fae, or to threaten to poison them if they don’t act the way she wants them to. “London, tell me what they look like.”

“One of ‘em is yellow. It’s shaped like a star with five big round petals. They have lots of yellow sticks popping out from the middle. You can seem ‘em right there,” London pointed to the patch. “Then there are those red ones with petals like a heart, and the light blue ones with the yellow middles. Their petals are not much bigger ‘en a button.”

“Star flowers, heart petals, button flowers,” Wylan chanted to himself under his breath. “Any other trees or plants?”

“That one there,” London gestured to a tree with mint-like leaves and clusters of tiny red berries.

It was a rowan tree just like the ones in the Severing Grove. “D’you think the whole tree is toxic to the fae? Or just its berries?”

London shrugged, “Dunno, jus’ tha’—” He froze.

“London?” Wylan whispered.

London pulled a finger up to his lips.

Fae were coming.

Struck by crazy courage, Wylan rushed into the toxic garden. He snatched up flower after flower of the ones London described, filling his pockets with the torn blooms. As fast as he was, he couldn’t sprint off to freedom without being seen.

He’d need to stay in the shadows until the fae went on their way. He cursed himself for not thinking to bring along his bow and arrows. He still didn’t want to have to kill fae, but he needed to be prepared to protect himself.

Wylan hid himself behind one of the trees interspersed between the manicured flower beds. He hoped the fae wouldn’t be able to sniff him out.

“Who were you talking to?” a woman’s voice demanded. It was Tamsin.

Wylan’s heart leapt into his throat and pounded in his eardrums.

“Meself,” London said.

“Yourself,” Tamsin said skeptically.

“Meself,” London confirmed.

“Don’t. Lie. To. Me,” Tamsin hissed.

Her words were ice cold. Wylan shivered.

“Not lying, mistress,” London said obediently.

Wylan edged around the tree ever so slightly to get a peek at Tamsin. Fear spasmed through him. He hadn’t seen Tamsin up close since he head-butted her.

Tamsin snatched London by his chin and pulled his face into hers. She looked deeply into his eyes and released him with a piercing scream. She stomped her heeled shoe into the stony path.

“You don’t belong to me alone anymore!” she snarled and stormed off, making her way back to the manor house.

Is that because of me? Did giving London a new name take away some of Tamsin’s power over him? That’s new. Wylan thought with a thrill of excitement. Maybe the fae weren’t as all-powerful as they seemed.

Silent in the shadows, Wylan bolted for the Severing Grove.

***

The next morning, Wylan laid out the crumpled flowers and heaping handful of rowan berries in front of the cat-eyed boy. “London, the boy in Tamsin’s garden, told me these are toxic to the fae. Iron isn’t their only weakness.”

“Oh? What are you going to do with them?” The cat-eyed boy asked excitedly.

“I’m not sure yet,” Wylan said honestly. “I don’t know when I can get back to Tamsin’s garden. I had a close call with her. So I need to be careful.”

“Maybe you can mash them up,” the cat-eyed boy said, imitating pounding his long-nailed fist.

“Make them into a paste? But then what would I do with that? I guess I could dip my arrow tips in it, but the arrows are strong enough to hurt the fae as it is.”

“Hurt, but not kill,” the cat-eyed boy said solemnly.

Wylan groaned. The cat-eyed boy was obsessed with trying to convince Wylan he absolutely had to start killing fae. It made Wylan double down harder on not wanting to.

To get the subject far away from the cat-eyed boy’s murderous musings, Wylan brought up something else that was nagging at him.

“I think it’s my birthday,” he said.

He noticed his reflection in the water when he was last bathing. He was older again. His voice and body were changing. The cat-eyed boy too. He was taller and his voice was deeper.

“I miss cake,” Wylan groaned.

“What’s cake?” the cat-eyed boy asked.

“I’ll draw it for you,” Wylan said. He grabbed his sketchbook and colored pencils and sketched out all of his favorite cakes.

“Why are there candles on them?” the cat-eyed boy cocked his head.

“On your birthday, you put one candle for every year you are, and when you blow them out, you get to make a wish,” Wylan said excitedly.

“That sounds very fae,” the cat-eyed boy said skeptically.

“Nope. It’s human through and through,” Wylan insisted. “What I’d do for cake and candles right now.”

“Don’t let the fae hear you say that,” the cat-eyed boy warned.

“Maybe today will be the day I find the cave,” Wylan said wistfully. “That’d be the best birthday gift. To find a way outta here.”

“You get gifts too?” The cat-eyed boy asked.

“In my world, birthdays are kind of a big deal,” Wylan smiled. He packed his sketchbook and some pencils in his backpack and put the fletching of arrows in there. He wouldn’t go out without his bow this time.

“Good thinking,” the cat-eyed boy nodded at the weapon. “I’ll go with you. There are some boys like the one in the garden at the stables now.”

“Humans like me?”

“Most are human, but some are fae,” the cat-eyed boy said.

“Do they know anything about your little brother or sister?”

“That’s what I’m going to find out,” the cat-eyed boy said fiercely.

Together, they left the treehouse and made their way through the Severing Grove. The cat-eyed boy transformed into his cat form again and went in the opposite direction from Wylan, heading back to the fae town.

Wylan was nearing the edge of the woods when he heard the yowling. It was the sound of a cat in agony.

The cat-eyed boy was in danger.

Wylan didn’t think twice. As quickly and quietly as he could, he bolted through the woods in the direction of the cat-eyed boy’s distress. By now, he could navigate this forest in his sleep. He speedily, but still stealthily, chased the yowls.

Crouching behind a tree, he watched as three young fae, teenagers by the looks of them, tormented the cat-eyed boy.

“I told you they were living out here!” one of the fae said.

“Transform back, beast,” another fae mocked.

These fae were so young they either didn’t know about the Severing Grove or, more likely, they double dog dared each other to see if the rumors were true.

Damn. I thought we were so careful. How long have they known we’ve been living out here?

“The other one can’t be far behind,” the third fae said, baring his shark-like teeth into a huge grin. “Imagine how mistress Tamsin will reward us when we bring him back. Just end this one already,” he aimed at kick at the cat-eyed boy. “She doesn’t need them to come back to her alive.”

Wylan’s breath burst out of him in a heavy rush. They were going to kill the cat-eyed boy. His heart raced and his breathing was rapid and shallow. He started to feel dizzy. This couldn’t be happening.

With trembling hands, he unzipped his backpack and fumbled for his arrows. He nocked one in the bow, pulled and released. It whistled through the air but thunked into a tree trunk. The fae, completely oblivious, continued to hurt the cat-eyed boy.

Fighting to steady his breathing and calm the shakiness in his hands, Wylan aimed and released the second arrow. It was too low and hit one of the fae in his shin.

The fae swore and looked around as he yanked the arrow out and tossed it off to the side. One of the fae screamed. The shark-toothed fae grimaced, then sneered.

“You want to play games, bug-eater?! Let’s play!” He screamed, “Now your kitty cat dies!”

“No, now you die,” Wylan seethed. He drew the next arrow and aiming for the shark-toothed fae’s throat, and released it. It sliced through the air and found its target, ripping through his throat. Eyes bugging out, he coughed wetly and collapsed.

Wylan aimed the next arrow at the second fae’s throat. The one he didn’t shoot in the shin. He was also struck in the throat. Unlike the shark-toothed fae who died on impact, this one writhed on the ground gurling and gagging, goopy blue blood spurted and pooled out.

The third fae screamed and ran for his life, leaving the cat crumpled on the ground.

“NEVER COME HERE AGAIN!” Wylan screamed at his retreating back. He aimed for the fae’s back, but the arrow thunked into another tree trunk instead.

Ignoring the dying fae still drowning in his own blood, Wylan scooped up the cat. “Please don’t be dead, please don’t be dead, please don’t be dead,” Wylan murmured. The cat slowly blinked open his sea glass green eyes and leaned into Wylan’s touch. Holding him against his shoulder like a baby, Wylan rounded up his arrows. He wiped the ones dripping with fae blood on the mossy ground.

“You need to rest,” Wylan said in the treehouse as he settled the cat on the pallet of blankets they slept on every night. “I’ll be back later.”

The cat gave his feline version of a nod and lay unmovingly where Wylan placed him.

Fueled by fury, Wylan spent the rest of the afternoon trying to track down the cave. Unsuccessful again he swore and stormed back through the Severing Grove.

“The cave has to be out there!” Wylan seethed as he climbed through the entrance to the treehouse.

Usually by now, the cat-eyed boy had “dinner” waiting for them in the copper pot. Wylan peeked under the lid. Nothing.

“Maybe there’s one fae who is, I dunno, guarding the cave against being found. The fae can do glamours on themselves. I bet they can also use them to disguise things and places,” Wylan wondered aloud.

Silence. An uncanny, unnatural silence.

“Did you hear me?” Wylan asked. He expected to see the cat-eyed boy, still in his cat form, snoozing on their blankets and cushions.

Instead, there was a note written on the back of one of the sketches Wylan made of the cat-eyed boy in his human form.

“Went to village,” the cat-eyed boy wrote in a clumsy hand with one of Wylan’s charcoal pencils.

“Shit,” Wylan hissed. “How could he be so stupid?!”

There was a time and place for the cat-eyed boy to look for his little brother and sister. After he just survived a close encounter with a trio of fae that were gleeful about trying to kill him wasn’t an ideal time to walk right back into their hands.

“And now I have to bring him back,” Wylan snapped. He dropped his backpack on the ground and changed into a cloak, strapping on his quiver of arrows. He shoved a handful of rowan berries in his pocket and grabbed his bow.

Uh oh. What sort of danger is the cat-eyed boy getting himself into now?! Not-so-young Wylan and the cat-eyed boy will return in Tamsin Thorncott’s perilous dark fae realm in Chapter 8 on Friday May 15th! 🧚🏻✨🪞🗝️

Thrilled by this latest installment in Wylan’s adventure? I’d be grateful if you clicked the heart icon to “like” this, drop a comment below, and tell a fantasy lover in your life about it! 💖