“Take it off, please, May,” said the Devil calmly. Arachne moved away from me as I slowly lifted the cord over my head. He held out his hand and I passed the medallion to him, making sure to hold it out so he could avoid touching the iron. He hung it on a protruding tree root behind him, then turned back. As soon as the medallion was out of sight, Arachne moved in, wrapping the twine around various parts of my body while her spider legs sorted through bits of cloth on the table behind her. I watched, simultaneously fascinated and disgusted, in the mirror as she worked. When she finished measuring, she used the extra legs to hold eight different pieces of fabric up to my body at once, clicking her teeth and muttering under her breath.
“I have a suggestion or two,” said the Devil from behind his mirror. Vanishing it with only a snap of his fingers, he came and stood beside me—far too close, as usual.
“Ye might be able to weave that light, boy,” snapped Arachne, “but ye ain’t no spinner, so suggestions had better be sparse.” She went back to her table and continued talking to herself while she sorted through swatches.
“I am going to blindfold you,” said the Devil softly in my ear. “Is that alright?”
“Why?” I asked in a high voice.
“So you’ll be surprised,” he answered, then dropped his voice to a whisper, “and I can see that you do not like the mirror, though I won’t pretend to understand why.” I twisted my neck to look up at him, but was discomforted by his unusually soft expression.
“Very well,” I sniffed. “If it means I do not have to see that patchwork abomination you call a face.” He just let out a low chuckle and reached up. I expected some kind of mask or cloth, but all he did was drape his hand over my eyes. When he pulled it away, everything was dark. I blinked, then waved my own fingers in front of me. Nothing. My eyes were open, but they were unseeing, and a spike of panic ran through my stomach.
“What did you do? You blinded me!”
“I simply removed the light from around your eyes,” the Devil answered. “I can easily put it back. Don’t fuss so much, you obstinate creature.”
I let out a loud huff, but did not reply. My silence grew harder to maintain, however, when I felt his long, warm fingers slide over my arm and up to my shoulders. When he spoke to Arachne, it was in a language I could not understand, lilting and lyrical, pouring from his mouth like honey from the comb. The spinner replied in her own harsh voice, and I was forced to simply listen, heart in my throat, not knowing what was being discussed. They spoke this way for several minutes, each taking turns to lift my arms or tap my shoulders and neck. Then, I felt Devil’s hands close around my waist, and I became enveloped by a delicate, muted heat, from my neck down to my toes—like the first rays of summer sun after a cold spring rain. My body shivered and a sudden, soft haze overtook me. I wanted to lie down and sleep for hours. The sensation grew stronger and stronger, weakening my muscles, until my knees buckled.
I barely managed to open my mouth and gasp, “Devil!” before plummeting to the floor. The last thing I felt was his arms sliding around me and his muscles going taut against my skin.
When I came back to myself, I jerked forward and sat up, violently rubbing my eyes.
“Easy does it!” came a steady voice from nearby. I quickly realized that I could not see simply because it was dark, not because I was blind. Once my eyes adjusted to the faint light of a dying fire, I saw Aliena kneeling beside me, her moon-like eyes wide and worried.
“Where am I?” I asked, startled at the sound of my own hoarse, harsh voice.
“My house.”
I put a hand to my forehead and groaned. “What happened? We were at…”
“Arachne’s,” said Aliena gently, “being fitted for a gown. Robin said you fainted and he couldn’t wake you.”
“Robin…” I muttered, then realized she was talking about the Devil. “He blindfolded me with some kind of light magyk, but then…it was so warm and I was so tired.”
“And this was after you took off your iron necklace?”
“My medallion!” I choked, hand flying to my neck. Aliena pointed and I saw it sitting on the floor beside the little cot I was on. It appeared to be one of the straw mattresses from her bed, and I was covered in the softest silk blanket I’d ever felt.
“I told him not to let you take it off yet,” Aliena sighed, going to a small barrel with a spigot attached and filling a clay cup with water. “The Arden’s magyk can…affect human bodies. Overwhelm them. The iron was helping protect you from it.”
“But…I have a magyk gift,” I said, looking down at my hands.
“He only gave you as much as you could handle. Don’t worry, the longer you stay in the forest, the more you’ll adjust to it. But I wouldn’t put the medallion back on, since you certainly can’t have it at the revelry.”
“I probably shouldn’t be wearing it anyway. I haven’t been very faithful…”
Aliena smirked and sat on the end of my mattress. “You’re actually a believer, aren’t you?”
“Yes,” I said, looking up at her in surprise. “I mean, being raised by the Sisters…but I did come by my faith honestly.”
“I suppose a loving family that never abandons or turns on you would appeal to someone who doesn’t know how messy real families can be,” Aliena chuckled. “No offense meant.”
“None taken. You’re probably right. The faith, for me, has always been like…an anchor. When I got my gift, the healing magyk, I always pretended it was a gift from the Daughter. To make myself feel less guilty, I suppose, but also to convince myself that it was my purpose—healing, helping, giving everything to others.”
“It isn’t?”
“No,” I snorted. “I only asked for it so I could save one person. But Devil warned me there would be a cost, and I’ve certainly paid it.”
