He had to stop them. Ray ran to give chase, but he didn’t get more than a few feet when someone stepped from the shadows of the manor house. Lord Thornton had the look of his predecessors. Though Ray could not say they’d ever exchanged any words.
“I’m afraid I cannot let you interfere,” Lord Thornton said.
“I’m not stopping. Your wife is in danger!” He gestured toward the direction Lady Thornton had gone.
“She is not in danger. In fact, it is you who should be worried.” He stalked closer to Ray, and as he did, his body transformed, claws bursting from his fingertips and fangs pressed against his bottom lip as hair grew in thick bunches all over his body. “I think it’s time we finished what I started in Faery.”
* * *
Mrs. Rosewood ledCatherine away from the manor and toward the forest. The closer they got, the stronger the call became. She clamped her hands over her ears to try and block it out. But it was no use; the song was in her veins. It had seeped into every fiber of her bones. It took all of her self-control to not give in to the call and let it draw her into the forest and oblivion. She lowered her hands to her sides. Distant lights bobbed among the shrouded trees. It absorbed her vision; she wanted to dance until her feet gave out. To taste of the sweet wines and savory platters of delicacies she had seen at the feast. If she left the human world behind, she could have it all. No more worry, no more having to pretend.
She took a step toward the trees. The gateway was there just among the trees. The intertwined vines, with spikes that were no longer ominous but were budding with green leaves as if they were about to bloom. She reached out a hand to touch it, but before her finger could caress it, someone pulled her back.
Catherine snapped back to reality. Mrs. Rosewood’s concerned expression filled her vision, and the song faded to a dull buzz.
“It’s worse than I feared. Did you eat anything in Faery or drink there?” Mrs. Rosewood asked as she looked her up and down.
All Catherine could manage was a slow shake of her head. Her mouth felt very dry. The ache to return to the forest had started to fade to a dull pain. Not gone but easier to ignore.
“You cannot give in to their call. Do you understand?”
“I understand,” Catherine said in a croak.
Mrs. Rosewood removed a gold pocket watch from her purse and checked the time, and then looked to the sky splattered with stars. “It’s nearly time.”
Catherine was beginning to find her grounding again. When she was conscious of the forest’s call, she could keep it at bay, shoving it to the back of her mind in the way she would ignore the ghosts and fae she used to see.
“Time for what?” Catherine asked in a trembling voice.
Mrs. Rosewood set her satchel down on the ground gingerly and then took both Catherine’s hands in hers. “When I asked you if you wanted to be freed of the fae, you said you did.” She paused as if waiting for Catherine’s confirmation.
“Well, I didn’t tell you before, but I was taken into Faery when I was your age. But unlike you, I spent much longer than a few days bewitched. When I woke up from my nightmare, I escaped and swore I would find a way to stop them from ever hurting another girl like me. But that wasn’t until I could find you, Catherine. You see, I cannot do this alone. I need your power to close the gate.”
Catherine tensed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She tried to pull away from Mrs. Rosewood’s gasp. What had happened in Faery, it had to be a mistake. She couldn’t have made the flowers bloom... But how did Mrs. Rosewood know?
“You don’t have to pretend with me, Catherine. I can feel it in you. The same power which created these portals can be used to close them for good.” Mrs. Rosewood stared into her face, her expression so earnest.
Even now, knowing all she did: knowing how Mr. Thorn had killed those women, how they tricked Mrs. Rosewood into their realm, she didn’t want to close it off.
Catherine pulled back. “That place, it was terrifying. But it felt right...” Catherine couldn’t look Mrs. Rosewood in the eye when she said it.
Mrs. Rosewood grasped her shoulders, and Catherine gasped. “That’s their spell. Once the gateway is closed, you will see what Faery is. A wicked place of death and deceit. We have only one chance, Catherine. You must help me close the gateway. If not, then more people will suffer. Is that what you want? For more women to die like Edward’s mother?”
Catherine bit her bottom lip. What choice did she have?
“What should I do?” Catherine asked.
“I will do everything. You just need to stand here and help me connect with the gateway.”
Catherine nodded.
She went to work. She pulled out various items from her satchel: a bundle of fragrant herbs, four white candles, a stone bowl worn smooth along the center, and three wrapped parcels. The third one was coated in a dark stain that soaked through the wrapping. The hairs on the back of Catherine’s neck stood on end.Mrs. Rosewood sprinkled powder on the ground, forming a circle around Catherine and then a square to intersect that and then a triangle. Its points brushed the edge of the sigil and pointed at the gateway. At the corner of each square, she set a white candle before lighting them one by one. As they were lit, a breeze blew over Catherine and sent a chill down her spine.
She rubbed her arms and tried not to worry about what was happening. This was for the best, to protect humans from the fae. Her eyes were continually drawn to the small packages. In particular, the stained one. What could it be?
“What does this all do exactly?” Catherine asked between chattering teeth.
Mrs. Rosewood had lit the herbs on fire and was burning them in the stone bowl. Flickering smoke obscured her face, and she looked like a stranger, a haggard, old woman with sunken eyes and cheeks. Catherine blinked and the illusion dissipated like the smoke on the wind.
