Broken (14 page)

Jonathan sat next to me, enveloping my hand in the warmth of his
own. “We’ll figure it out, Katherine. But we need to
take this one step at a time. I think you’re going to have to
go back into those visions to find out why she’s doing
this.”

“How?” I asked. “She took the earrings Aunt
Marigold gave me.”

“You let me worry about that. Faery charms are easy enough
to come by.”

I looked into those dark eyes of his. They were set with a
concern I hadn’t seen in ages.

“How do you know all of this?” I asked. “Why
didn’t Chris tell me?”

He lifted his eyes to glance at the other bed. Chris seemed to
still be sleeping quietly.

“He’s a puppy, like you — still new to this
world. He knows almost nothing. He’s been immersed in the
human world. That’s why Marigold gave us separate tasks.
Chris is a half-breed and knew your world well enough to bring you
here. I know the fey world, and was to help you find a way to
survive this.”

I nodded. It seemed to make sense.

“Who
are
you?” I asked. I really knew nothing about
him now. “Some of you seems the same after all these years,
but some of you has changed. What happened to you? And why did you
leave me?”

He patted my hand, and rose. “That’s a long story,
and you really need to get more sleep,” he said. “It
was a long time ago, and I was a foolish boy that didn’t know
a good thing when he had it. It was one of the biggest mistakes of
my life, and one I will probably regret forever. But I can’t
change what I did, Katherine. I can’t go back and undo
it.”

I felt a wave of fatigue flood over me, sudden and unexpected. I
fought it and looked at him.

“Don’t you dare try putting me to sleep,” I
said.

He had a curious look in his eye. “Stronger than I
thought,” he muttered. The fatigue wavered. “Fine, but
you really do need to sleep. We have a long day ahead of us and
you’ll need your rest. Morgana wants you, and it would seem
she’s willing to make deals with just about anything to get
you. You need to have your wits about you.”

I couldn’t argue with his logic. I hadn’t slept properly
in days.

“All right,” I said. “But what about warding
my dreams.”

“If you sleep next to him,” he said, motioning to
Chris, “you should be safe. Close enough to him, he can
protect your dreams, half-breed or not.”

“Are you sure?”

He hesitated, then nodded.

I wasn’t sure if I should do it, but after the one dream I
had on Aunt Marigold’s sofa I figured it was advice I had
better heed. I did what he suggested. I crawled into bed beside
Chris, feeling the warmth of his body next to mine. He rolled,
putting his arm around me. There was something safe about his
presence. I closed my eyes, and drifted off to the sound of his
breathing.

Then I slept.

When I woke, Jonathan was still by the window. I got out of bed
before Chris’s morning arousal turned into something
embarrassing.

We dressed and headed downstairs to find that breakfast was
going to be a lead weight in our guts: eggs, bacon, sausages, fried
bread, and mushrooms. I ate it anyway. I would have filled Chris in
on what Jonathan and I had discussed, but the place was crammed
with locals and other guests. We just ate our food in silence,
listening to stories of how the winds had ripped the roof from one
barn and how some sheep had gone missing. All seemed in agreement
that something unnatural was afoot.

When we stepped out into the wet cobblestone roads, I looked
around for signs of the howlers that we’d seen in the night.
There were no prints.

“You won’t find anything,” Jonathan said.
“They don’t leave tracks.”

“What?” Chris asked, as he approached.

“Howlers,” Jonathan said.

Chris nodded, yet grimaced. “Then we better get moving.
Her scent will be obvious.”

“No more than yours,” Jonathan said.

Chris glanced at him with that non-impressed look and moved on.
“Which way, tour guide?”

“We’ll cross the Cotswolds Way and then southeast
to the Kingley Vale. Her ancestors’ home is near
there.”

Chris nodded. “Yew trees. Good.”

“Glad you approve,” Jonathan said, and turned to
begin the trek.

I couldn’t help but wonder what was going on between
Jonathan and Chris. It was obvious they knew each other, or of each
other at least, but they didn’t seem to like each other much.
I hoped it wasn’t a jealousy thing, but it was shaping up
that way.

I let it go. At the very least, they were being somewhat civil
and I really didn’t feel like having an all-out dispute at
this point. I needed them working together to help me get where I
needed to go.

As we trekked across rolling hills, along centuries-old roads
and trails, and through a smattering of trees, I couldn’t
help but wonder about this world in which Chris and Jonathan were
immersed. Changelings, Nymphs, Howlers, Faeries — what else
was I bound to find?

I yanked on my hair. I felt so lost, so out of control.

I knew
my
world, and what to expect from it. Twenty-fours years
of knowing. This other world in which I was being thrown was a
mystery. Sure, I’d seen Brokk and some little winged people
through the course of my teenage years, but I’d been taught
that none of that had been real. Now I realized I could have been
learning about this other realm, and that knowledge might have
prepared me for what was coming.

I blamed Joan for that.

That made me wonder. What would Geoff do with all this if he
could witness what I was seeing? Would he believe it, or would he
check himself into an asylum?

Jonathan paused at a small stream that weaved under a bent, old
willow. Brokk was there.

He waved at me, and I couldn’t help but smile.

“Brokk,” I said. I picked him up. “I’m
sorry I didn’t pay more attention to you. All this time we
could have been friends.”

The little man stroked my face with his hand. He looked into my
eyes with his shiny black ones and smiled back at me. I was really
glad to see him.

I rose and let him climb onto my shoulder.

Jonathan gave Brokk a playful poke. “It seems he’s
forgiven you. He had a hard time reaching out to you when you were
on those meds. And when you moved into the city and refused to have
any plants near you, you made it almost impossible.”

“You know about the meds?”

He nodded. “Marigold told me that your parents had
medicated you and that it killed the Faery Sight. It’s good
you’ve got it back. You’re going to need it.”

We continued on the walk. Chris took stride next to me.

“I have the Faery Sight?” I asked. A part of me
wished I could get rid of it.

Jonathan nodded. “But if a Faery doesn’t want to be seen, even with the
Faery Sight, you’d have a hard time finding it. Faeries can
hide even from themselves when they want to.”

I looked at Chris.

He nodded.

“What about the howlers last night?” I asked.
“Why would they want me to see
them?”

Jonathan’s eyebrows furrowed. “I’m still
trying to sort that out. If they wanted to be seen, they must be
very confident in what they’re tracking.”

Chapter 17

The day was bright and sun-filled. It made for a warm walk, but
it wasn’t the heat that bothered me. It was the shoes I was
wearing. They were old runners. I hadn’t really planned on
hiking across England while trying to save my own skin.

The breaks were few. So each time I took a moment to remove my
shoes long enough to massage my aching feet.

Jonathan advised that we take the roads and trails to continue
to look like tourists. It would draw less suspicion now that we
were far from Aunt Marigold’s house. Besides, it was unlikely
anyone would be looking for a group of three.

Now whether this Morgana woman knew there were three of us was
another matter. Although if I had to guess, those howlers had
probably figured it out. If they were like dogs in their ability to
smell, they’d probably know my last meal as well.

The day was fairly non-eventful, Chris and I focusing pretty
much on just trying to keep pace with Jonathan. The boy could
move.

Along deserted, single lane roads and trails he led us. We
passed some little towns and villages, smiling and offering polite
hellos to those we passed. If we hadn’t been in such a rush, it
would have made for a scenic vacation.

Chris took stride next to me, mostly quiet, until Jonathan was
quite some distance ahead.

“I don’t trust him,” Chris whispered.

I kept walking, not looking at him. I didn’t have the
heart to tell him I wasn’t sure I trusted either of them.
Other than his past transgression, Jonathan had not given me any
reason not to trust him, and Brokk, who rode upon his shoulder now,
seemed to gravitate towards him.

“What makes you say that?” I asked.

“Because he’s a Nymph. He’ll try to send me
away so he can have his way with you. Right now, with me around, he
won’t try anything. He’s having to restrain himself. I
can tell.”

“Are
you
having to restrain yourself?” I asked. I
really shouldn’t have said that. It was petty. But honestly,
I was still a little pissed and confused as to what had actually
happened between us.

“I’ve already told you what happened. I didn’t
charm you into bed,” he said. There was exasperation in his voice. “Marigold told me to find a way to get you here,
by any means possible. So I
did
try when I first met you because I
figured it would be the easiest way to bind you to me, but it
didn’t work. Your meds or something blocked it. And as time
went on, I was getting worried I wouldn’t be able to do it.
Your birthday kept getting closer, and all I could do was be your
friend. Then when you said you were never really with Tony and
those papers showed up, I figured it was the only chance I had. I
tried using my human charms. What I offered you was me. It was
real, Katherine. What I feel for you is real. And what happened
between us was real.”

I nearly tripped over a rock on the path. Chris caught me before
I fell. He took my hands in his.

I took a step back. “Chris,” I said. “I
don’t know what to believe or who to trust anymore. I
can’t make any of my own judgments because I know nothing of
your little world. I don’t know who’s what, I
don’t know what’s who — I don’t know shit.
I practically need an encyclopedia to keep up. Do you have any idea
how powerless I feel? I can’t make any kind of rational
decision about my own survival. I have to leave everything to the
two of you. You’re asking me not to trust him and to trust
you, but you seem just as lost as I am. Not to mention you
weren’t honest with me. So what am I supposed to
do?”

Tears welled up in my eyes. I hated feeling vulnerable.

He pulled me towards him. He whispered in my ear. “I hated
not telling you who I was. I wanted to, but I needed to get you to
safety first. I’m sorry.”

I closed my eyes and leaned in closer to his chest. The tears
flowed faster. Although it was just two little words, they helped.
I don’t know exactly how I knew it, but the sincerity in his
voice was true. I put my arms around him.

“You’re not off the hook yet, Chris Silver.
You’ll need to prove it.”

“I will,” was all he said.

I let him hold me until I heard some foot shuffling down the
path.

I backed away from Chris. I was pretty sure I had a grasp on him
now. Jonathan was another matter entirely, and I didn’t like
being torn between the two.

Jonathan walked up beside me. He looked at each one of us,
assessing the situation. “If this little love fest is
finished we need to get moving,” he said. He nodded towards
the setting sun. “We don’t have a lot of time. When
night strikes, we need to be indoors. Out here in the open, we
don’t stand a chance.”

He didn’t look hopeful. And as I looked out from the hill
upon which we stood, sunset would happen in about half an hour, and
there was nothing but open green space. There wasn’t even a
barn to hide in.

Jonathan started walking. My aching feet followed with Chris at
my side.

The pace was fast, and I felt like one of those women I see
power walking their way to a slimmer body.

Then Jonathan changed to a light jog. I looked at Chris, but his
attention was all about the land around us. I kept up, my feet
screaming at me.

Five minutes into the jog, I felt a sickening fear settle in my
gut.

Jonathan called out. “Run!”

I ran. But, to where I had no idea. I could see nothing to run
from, nor had I heard anything behind us. All I knew was to follow
Jonathan and that was becoming more difficult to do as the night
sky overtook us. The bumps in the ground were harder to see,
causing me to stumble repeatedly. Chris caught me, lifting me up
and running with me for a few strides like I weighed nothing to
him, before he placed me back on the ground with ease.