Chapter Four
There was nothing in this cart I could use as a weapon. Nothing that could saw through the rope, which had cut off the circulation in my wrists. My hands were numb and useless.
Caom and Idony ignored me. I tried to calm my panicked breathing as my gaze tracked over all the creatures in this procession as it trooped through the woods. The creature at the front of the cart was short and stubby, with bumpy brown skin and tusks. He held the reins attached to two huge, wolf-like beasts that had blue-white fur and completely white eyes.
Ahead of the cart was a small, hunched-over being with an impossibly large mound of stuff piled up on their back as they walked—fruits, sacks of nuts, leaves and furs. Eight lifeless rabbits hung from one side, strung up by rope.
Two tall, willowy women with long black hair and pale grey skin walked side by side, their steps soft and swaying, their heads together as they murmured.
Further back, behind the cart, was a cluster of small grey, hairy creatures with stubby horns.Puca.The word came to me with a jolt, and I licked my lips nervously, memories flooding back.
I’d seen them before. I’d seen other creatures in this procession before too, but I was trying very hard not to think about it.
I couldn’t see the front of the procession. It vanished into the morning fog that hung between the trees, only haloed dots of blue-white fire from lanterns piercing the thick mist. Even though the sun was rising beyond the thick trees, the air was getting cooler. I was only in shorts, my feet and chest bare. I shivered, toes curling against the wood.
“We’ll dress you when we get there.” I jumped when Caom spoke to me. His eyes were calmer and less leering now, as if he’d finally taken the hint that I wasn’t going to fuck him. “We’ll feed you too.”
“I don’t want anything from you.” I was exhausted, my voice hoarse. I’d been unconscious before, not asleep, so I didn’t feel at all rested. I had no idea what had knocked me out.
I looked at the two Folk in the cart with me.
“Did you take me from my garden?” I asked, remembering the freezing fingers wrapping round my ankle. The black cat frantically trying to tell me to go inside just moments before.
“Not us. Belial.” Caom jerked his chin towards the front of the procession, too far ahead for us to see. “Aside from the Carlin’s own sons, he’s the best at sneaking in the dark.”
I shivered at the thought of some unknown creature creeping towards me while I sat there, totally unaware.
“What’s the Carlin?” They’d mentioned her already, a few times.
Caom chuckled while Idony rolled her eyes.
“You really are clueless, aren’t you?” he asked me, making my cheeks get hot with anger and embarrassment. “The Carlin is the Unseelie Ruler.Ourruler.”
Unseelie? I remembered the term, from when I’d read up on everything fairy related when I was twelve. My stomach twisted into a tight knot as I thought back to the old book of folklore I’d borrowed from the village library.
The unseelie were the bad ones.
“She’s the Queen of Winter,” Caom continued, leaning forwards and giving me a sly smile. “The Lady of Elements. But it’s her sons you should worry about. The Carlin stays in her court, mainly, but they skulk all over, listening and watching. Hiding in the shadows.”
“Is… Is the Carlin the one who ordered you to take me?” I asked, remembering what Odran had murmured. I didn’t want to drop him in it by telling them he’d already told me, because I was pretty sure he shouldn’t have said anything.
“Oh yes.” Caom shot me a winning smile, all sharp white teeth and impossibly perfect face. “You are special, Ash. And she wants you in her court. On unseelie ground. She will protect you.”
I stared at him. “Protect me from what?”
He shrugged. “Others who want to take you.”
“Why wouldanyonewant to take me?” I looked around frantically with pinched brows. “I’m just—a normal guy. I’m only twenty-one. I haven’t…” I spluttered in disbelief. “Made any fuckingenemies, like a mobster.”
“You’re not normal, Ash.” Caom leaned even closer, rolling an apple between his hands.
“Yes, Iam.” I gritted my teeth, jerking my chin towards the procession behind the cart. “Okay, fine, the Folk are real. I get it. I could see you when I was a kid—fine. But I haven’t for years. I just… I thought—”
I shook my head, squeezing my eyes shut.
“I haven’t told anyone. I haven’t… told people you exist. You don’t have to do this.” I snorted without humour. “People would just think I’ve lost my mind if I said anything, anyway.”
“That’s not why,” Idony spoke up, staring at me with solid green eyes. “It’s not that you could see us. It’s that you are one of us.”