Aliena winked at me and then spoke out loud to the men, who were now working to fix our cart wheel onto their wagon. “Perhaps something different…
Be still, child, listen well,
I have a tale that I must tell.
A faerie story, this is not,
So heed my warning, as you ought.
The Devil lives in Arden Wood,
A painted demon in a hood.
This monster, lurking deep within,
the seed of evil, born of sin.
If you step beneath the trees,
You’ll find no mercy for your pleas.
He shows no pity, shows no fear,
For human sorrow, sheds no tears.
Poisoned arrows on his bow,
A gruesome face he will not show.
If your coins he does not steal,
The wounds he leaves may neverheal.
Hear me, child, when I say:
Make no bargains with the fay,
And stay away from Arden Wood,
Far from the demon, Robin Hood.”
I held my breath as she finished the song, looking around at the men’s slack faces. With the magyk gift she’d bargained from Titania, Aliena had enchanted them. Every single one either leaned up against a wagon, or sat in the dirt, staring at her with wide, blank eyes. Quiet and unassuming as always, Aliena strummed her fingers over the strings one more time, playing a strange, resonant chord which went out like a wave, causing each man to drop where he was—fast asleep in the dirt. The horses whickered anxiously, and Briony went to try and soothe the officer’s palfrey as it pranced.
There was a tense silence, then Devil’s little band appeared from between the trees—Larch at the front, carrying a pair of hatchets, followed by Jon in his bear form. They were accompanied by a faun couple, a pair of twin fay men with blue dragonfly wings, a young woman with pale, green skin and thorn-like protrusions on her shoulders, and a small, hunched man with spines like a hedgehog, among several others. Devil emerged last, wings at his back and a red-fletched arrow set on his bow. As Jon and Larch directed the others to begin uncovering the wagons, he walked between some of the sleeping guards, crouching down to rob them of daggers, wedding bands, coin purses, and other trinkets. One man twitched, groaning loudly, and Devil landed a vicious kick to his face before walking away.
“Unnecessary,” I told him when he came to stand beside me.
“Is it?” He produced a small steel knife in a beautifully embroidered leather sheath, which I’d just watched him pilfer off a sleeping man, then tucked it into my belt. “For you, my darling.”
“How romantic,” I snorted, even though I couldn’t help smiling.
Aliena crossed her arms. “I play his very favorite song and see how he thanks me. Ungrateful beast.”
“Well done,Al,” said Devil, leaning forward to drop a stolen signet ring into her pocket. She batted him away and we all watched as the wagons were revealed. Each one looked like an enormous safe box made of dark wood, with iron fittings. They were taller than the horses themselves, with rounded tops, but a wave of unease overtook me when I saw that thin, haphazard slits had been cut into the top of one box. Just as Jon raised his massive paw to slash the lock off the wagon’s door, I gripped Devil’s arm.
“Something isn’t right…” I moved over to stand behind Larch and murmured, “I don’t think there’s gold in this one.”
The faun gave me an alarmed look and called, “Jon, hold! Not yet!”
