Chapter Nine
Old habits died hard, it seemed, and I evidently hadn’t learned any lessons from the night before, because I was sitting outside the cottage in the dark with another bottle of wine.
A scratchy blanket was thrown over my shoulders, but the stone was rough through the fabric as I leaned back against the cottage, staring into the forest. I knew it was probably dangerous to be outside in the dark, but I couldn’t bring myself to care. The bottle was already half empty, but I’d eaten more today, so I wasn’t feeling the alcohol’s effects just yet.
Was this it then? Was this my life now? Was I just stuck here forever with no way of leaving? I still had no idea what the Carlin wanted with me. I didn’t believe a word she’d said about just wanting to give me a nice life here, because my “Folk mother” had abandoned me. She didn’t seem particularly maternal, despite claiming her sons lived in luxury and wanted for nothing. They hadn’t exactly looked doting and flushed with motherly love when I’d seen them.
The forest was a solid wall of darkness in front of me. Unnaturally still and quiet, like the ambience of it couldn’t permeate the Carlin’s land. I thought about what Caom had said, about what lived in there. Solitary Folk. Dangerous Folk. Weren’t all Folk dangerous to mortals? What did that say about the ones who chose to live in a wild place, away from the courts and civilisation?
My mind drifted to the beautiful Odran in his lake in the forest. Caom had said he sometimes came to the water on unseelie land. If I found him, would he help me? Would he be able to tell me how I could escape? I decided to take Caom up on his offer to explore in the morning, if he came back. I had no other options except the kelpie at this point. I hadn’t seen Nua’s big green eyes again, and no other notes had appeared on the tree trunks.
Hot tears filled my eyes abruptly. It felt like all I’d done for weeks was cry, but I couldn’t stop them. I took another sip of wine as wetness dripped onto my cheeks, feeling more hopeless than I ever had in my life. Even more than when those police officers stood in my kitchen and I wept uncontrollably onto the shoulder of the kind bereavement officer, Beth. Even more than when I’d stared at my father’s casket from my seat at the funeral.
A low chuff sounded directly to my right, and I jumped in fright before freezing when I turned my head and saw the muzzle of an enormous wolf just inches from my face. My heart gave an almighty thud in my chest, stomach bottoming out in terror. I hadn’t heard it approach at all. It had been utterly silent, and now its sharp, gleaming teeth were inches from my throat.
I sucked in breaths in tiny gulps, too terrified to move. The wolf was huge, with long legs and jet-black fur. It had unnatural black eyes that sucked up the moonlight that reflected from those sharp teeth.
The bottle fell from my trembling fingers, splashing wine over the grass when it lowered its head. I gasped as its muzzle pushed into my neck, just beneath my ear, and I heard it snuffling as it scented me.
Fuck. Fuck.My heart pounded wildly in my throat, the wolf’s coarse fur abrading my skin. My chest spasmed when I felt the hard edge of a fang brush against my neck.
But it didn’t tear out my throat. It let out a soft whine and pushed its muzzle deeper, then lifted its head and gazed at me with black eyes. I jumped out of my skin when its nose snuffled against my cheek. Its tongue was rough and raspy as it lapped up the tears still wetting my skin.
When it let out another low whine and moved its head back to gaze at me mournfully, I exhaled a slow, trembling breath. My hand shook as I raised it, wondering if I’d lost my mind. When I tentatively scratched under the wolf’s muzzle, its tongue lolled out as it panted with delight.
A tiny, watery smile tilted my lips. If only this had been the craziest thing to happen to me recently. More confident, I scratched behind its ear, letting out a weak laugh when its back foot thumped in time.
“You’re huge,” I murmured, smiling again when its head tilted in a very dog-like way at the sound of my voice.
It pushed its muzzle back against my cheek, giving my jaw a rough, grateful lick as I continued scratching behind its ear. I jumped a little when it shifted forwards, sitting down on its haunches beside me and leaning heavily against me. I grunted under its immense weight, wrapping an arm round its back to steady us both.
The wolf’s fur smelled earthy and faintly of smoke. Wild and natural. It panted beside me, basking in the attention as I scratched behind its ears and over the back of its thick neck.
“Did you come from in there?” My voice was scratchy as I nodded at the forest. “Can you take me back with you?”
The wolf whined, rubbing its muzzle over the side of my head. That sound somehow held more sympathy than any other I’d heard over the last few days, even Caom’s kind words. Biting my lip, I tried to stem the fresh flood of tears that blurred my vision, but I couldn’t.
The wolf whined again when I sniffed, licking my cheek. It lowered itself onto its front paws, resting its huge head on my thigh as it gazed up at me with mournful black eyes.
“Did you sleep well?”
I grunted in response to Caom’s question. I’d fallen asleep outside, the wolf’s head still on my leg, and woken up alone, shivering and damp, with sticky wine soaking into the tail of my shirt. Luckily, Caom had brought me several, so I’d pulled on a clean one when I got dressed.
“I’ll take that as a no.”
Feeling bad, I gave him a small smile where he sat in the armchair. He hadn’t come with Idony today, and I was glad she wasn’t here scowling at me.
“I slept okay,” I told him, my scratchy voice saying otherwise. “Can you show me around today?”
His face lit up, and he nodded eagerly. “Yes. Of course. Do you want to go into the village? Or—”
“Not the village,” I said quickly. “Just round the… unseelie land, I guess.”
To the lakes,I didn’t add. I was fervently hoping we’d spot the sombre kelpie I’d met in the forest. I was almost certain he’d been referring to Nua when he told me he’d “let him know”in a hushed voice. And it appeared that he’d followed through, because Nua had been here and left me that note, and the dagger, which was hidden once again under the mattress.
We set off a short time later, Caom chattering about the preparations for the celebration that the Carlin was holding for me. I didn’t want any celebration. I didn’t want to go anywhere near the village, with all the Folk and her lurking sons.
“So… how big are the unseelie lands?” I asked as we walked along the edge of the forest. The sky was a milky purple and pearly mist still hung low over the grass in patches.