The Iron Witch (14 page)

Lying motionless on her bed, eyes closed in concentration, Donna’s first impulse was to go to Maker’s workshop to see if he was still acting strangely. If he was, well … she was increasingly certain that she knew why. It seemed Navin
wasn’t
the only one with a doppelganger walking around in his place.

The thought filled Donna with dread, but this would explain the subtle quirks in Maker’s recent behavior, the nagging feeling she’d had that something was just a little bit
off
. And then there was the pain in her hands—she’d attributed it to the wood elf in the bathroom, but now that she thought about it, the sensation had started up again while she was standing with the old alchemist outside the workshop.

It was almost as though the iron in her hands and arms was reacting to fey magic.

She shivered. Perhaps going to the workshop alone wasn’t such a good idea. It was too quiet there, too hidden away, with a potential for attack.

Pushing herself up off the bed, Donna squared her shoulders and made a decision. She would get a cab to Ironbridge High and see if there was any sign of “Navin” at school. Perhaps the elf would show up for homeroom and then leave. If that was the case, she might be in time to catch up with it—maybe even follow the thing.

If she had to, she would confront it.

Navin—the
real
Navin—needed her. Donna would do whatever it took to get him back.

Standing outside the gates of Ironbridge High, Donna experienced a rush of nerves that threatened to melt her resolve. The school was the site of many painful memories. She certainly didn’t relish being anywhere near it, yet now here she was, contemplating walking through those gates to search for Navin. But she would do
anything
for him, and walking into a place that had become like hell on earth for her was nothing compared to the possibility of losing Nav.

The first period of classes had already started, so Donna was able to walk to the main office without having to speak to anyone who knew her. She kept her head down, just in case, moving quickly and with a sense of purpose she didn’t feel.

The office was the same bustling, friendly place it had always been. Through the large window at the counter, she could see two women juggling piles of paper, and she recognized one of her old teachers battling with the photocopier behind them. Donna hoped he wouldn’t recognize her voice; she wasn’t in the mood to have a polite conversation with Mr. Jackson about how she was doing. Then one of the receptionists looked up from her filing and smiled.

“Oh, hello dear. Didn’t you ring the bell?” The middle-aged woman approached the window and slid the hatch wider. She had a round face, with lines that crinkled the corners of her eyes in a way that made Donna feel more at ease.

“I only just got here,” Donna said. “I’m still a student, but I’m mostly home-schooled now. I do my exams here.”

“Can I see your I.D.?”

Donna pulled out her laminated pass, giving a barely audible sigh of relief when the woman glanced at it and nodded.

“I’m waiting for my friend to finish his class. We’re attending an appointment together and he’s late.”

“What’s his name?”

“Navin Sharma. He’s a senior.”

The woman went over to a computer terminal and started tapping on the keys, squinting as she followed the information on the screen.

Donna tried not to show her impatience, but, nice as the receptionist was, she was taking her sweet time.
Couldn’t she tell how important this was?
Just as Donna was seriously contemplating putting her fist through the window, climbing across the counter, and pushing the woman out the way so she could look up Nav’s schedule herself, the receptionist turned and walked slowly back to the window.

“He’ll be with Mrs. Kramer, I think. Room 203. Wait, you need a hall pass—”

Screw the hall pass
, Donna thought savagely, racing to the north stairwell and up to the second floor in the oldest wing of the school. There were only five more minutes until morning break.

She crept as close to the door of Room 203 as she dared and peered through the criss-cross pattern stamped onto the glass window, doing her best to think invisible thoughts. If anyone saw her standing out here, she was just going to hope that the floor would swallow her up. Melanie Swan would most likely be in this class with Nav, and that was one confrontation she could do without.

Scanning the heads of the students bent over textbooks and hoping that Mrs. Kramer wouldn’t notice her, Donna almost shouted with relief when she saw the back of Navin’s head and his bony shoulder blades poking through his white T-shirt. His ever-present jacket was slung across the back of his chair. Then she had to remind herself that it
wasn’t
Navin. Although it might be just as well to check before leaping on him and yelling “elf.”

Heart pounding, Donna stepped back from the window and waited in the corridor, wondering what on earth she was supposed to do now. The “enemy” was right there, sitting in a
school classroom
as though it didn’t have a care in the freaking world. Just for a second, Donna considered barging into the Mayor’s office and telling Aunt Paige everything; but how could she explain why she hadn’t said anything before? Sure, Maker—if it really
was
Maker—had encouraged her to keep quiet about what happened at his place, but what about the next day? On Monday she and Xan had been attacked by a stray on Ironbridge Common, yet she’d chosen to keep it a secret.

But she hadn’t wanted to tell Aunt Paige about Xan, and it was one of those situations that had just gained momentum on its own—Donna never would have guessed that an unplanned visit to Maker and the appearance of a lone dark elf in the city would have set all these events in motion. Sometimes the longer you left something without telling people, the harder it got to open your mouth and start filling them in on what they’d missed. She’d learned that the hard way after three years of keeping secrets from Navin. And of course, if she talked to Aunt Paige, her aunt would talk to the Order. Donna was convinced that this wasn’t the best idea.

The school bell rang, making her heart pound harder than ever. Glad that her palms didn’t sweat, she still reflexively rubbed her gloved hands against her jeans. She licked her dry lips and listened to the manic activity that had sprung up all around her. Chairs scraped back, doors opened and closed, and footsteps that were more like a herd of elephants clumped up and down the stairs.

Then the door to Mrs. Kramer’s classroom opened and students poured out in a steady stream of chatter. Donna had positioned herself just to the left of the doorway, her back to the wall, hoping that the majority of her ex-classmates would head in the opposite direction, toward the stairwell. She kept alert, waiting for the thing masquerading as Navin to leave the room.

Luckily, only a handful of students noticed her; they promptly turned their heads as if they’d just seen a mirage. That was fine by her. But it looked like her luck had run out when Melanie Swan’s glossy hair swung past. Turning the other way down the hall, away from the crowd of students, Melanie swept right by Donna, almost touching her. Then she did a double-take. It would have been funny if Donna had had the time to appreciate it.

“Underwood, what are you doing here? Are there
special
exams today?” A couple of Melanie’s hangers-on giggled.

“I don’t have time for you,” Donna replied calmly, looking around Melanie’s head and keeping her eyes trained on the door.

“Ah, waiting for your
boyfriend
, are we?”

“Melanie, don’t mess with me. I’m really not in the mood.”

“Oh
really
, is it that time of the month, freak? I didn’t think you’d even started yet.” Melanie laughed at her own joke, hands resting on her narrow hips as she pulled herself up to her full, willowy height.

A small crowd was beginning to gather around them as Donna saw the Navin-clone walk out of the classroom and head toward the stairs.

“Sorry, Mel, I’ve got more important things to do.” She pushed past the sneering girl and ducked between two other students, preparing to follow her only lead in finding Navin.

A hand grabbed her shoulder and pulled her backwards, causing her to stumble. Righting herself and whipping around, Donna came nose to nose with Melanie.

“We’re not finished here yet, Underwood.”

She couldn’t believe that Melanie Swan had actually laid hands on her. The girl’s cronies were watching eagerly, scenting an exciting interlude in their day, and a couple of other random students were loitering nearby. Trying to keep her already frayed temper in check, Donna glanced behind her, knowing that every second that passed took Navin farther away from her.

“I told you, I don’t have time for this bullshit.” Donna enunciated every word clearly. She turned to walk away, furious that a couple of the kids actually sighed with disappointment at the thought they might not get the fight they were hoping for.

“You’re not getting away this time,
freak
,” Melanie said. “Your little boyfriend isn’t here to protect you now.”

“I don’t need anyone to protect me,” Donna said as scathingly as she could. “Or have you forgotten?”

“Ooh, listen to her,” mocked Melanie. She reached out and grabbed the lapel of Donna’s jacket.

Instinct took over. Donna laid her gloved hand over Melanie’s wrist and squeezed, gently to begin with, then slowly forcing the hand to unlock from her jacket. She felt the power of her grip, pure steel wrapped in a sheath of satin.

“Ow, get off me!” Melanie shrieked, all the confidence draining out of her in a rush of intense pain.

Looking the girl in the eye, Donna kept hold of her wrist and continued to push her backwards, squeezing more tightly and all the while keeping a fixed smile on her face. “Don’t you ever lay hands on me again,
Mel
,” she said quietly.

Melanie Swan whimpered and tried to pry Donna’s hand away from her wrist, but there was no shaking the iron grip. Tears filled Melanie’s eyes; the other students started to mutter and look at Donna with fear. She’d seen those looks before, but this time the shame didn’t weigh so heavily on her.

Releasing Melanie’s arm, she turned and walked toward the stairwell, shoulders pulled back and head held high. She heard Melanie’s concerned friends and the other onlookers clustering around her, making sympathetic noises, and she tried to feel remorse for what she’d done.

But searching inside, all Donna could feel was a cold, hard fury. There was no way she could catch up to that creature now.

She had as good as lost Navin.

T trying to swallow her anger and disappointment, Donna walked up and down the street outside Ironbridge High. There was a bitter taste in her mouth that she couldn’t get rid of.

The day stretched ahead of her, unfilled hours where she could be
doing
something to find Nav. Tugging her cell phone out of her jeans pocket, she dialed and waited, still pacing back and forth in front of the school railings.

“Yes?”

“Xan, it’s Donna.”

“I know.” She heard the smile in his lazy voice and tried to ignore the warm feeling spreading through her chest.

“Xan, I need your help.” There, she’d said it. She couldn’t go back now.

“What can I do?” No hesitation in his voice, just a steady certainty that he was there for her.

Donna closed her eyes for a moment, allowing herself to bask in the feeling that she wasn’t alone, even with Navin gone. “My friend Navin is in trouble and I have to find him. I was following the thing that might be able to lead me to him, but I lost it.”

“‘Thing’? I assume we’re not talking about a person.”

She gave a shaky laugh. “No, obviously not. Look, Xan … this could get dangerous. You don’t have to do it.”

“I don’t even know what I have to do yet, do I?”

“I’m sorry, I’m not making any sense. I need—”

His reassuring voice cut her off. “Where do you want me to meet you?”

Overwhelmed with relief, Donna told him where she was and settled in to wait.

He arrived in a sturdy-looking Volvo. Its faded crimson bodywork shone in the thin sunlight, and the various dents and rust spots made it look sort of homey and familiar. Donna had never wanted to learn to drive a car (what with the whole super-strength-kicking-in-under-pressure thing), but she could picture learning in this one. Maybe with Xan sitting by her side and patiently coaching her on how to handle a stick.

She had to shake herself out of the daydream and concentrate on the very real emergency they faced.

Xan listened patiently while the words tumbled out of her mouth. She told him of her new suspicions about Maker, and filled him in on Navin’s doppelganger and how she’d seen through its glamour on the bus. She knew Xan was probably most concerned about Maker, given his hopes of getting help from the old alchemist in the future, but he was careful not to focus on that. He took everything in stride.

But then, what had she expected? After what he’d been through in his own life—and what he
was
—he surely was already her friend, even though they’d only met three days ago. And to be honest, she knew they were more than friends now. Not just because of the awful truths they’d shared, but because of what had happened on the way home last night. Donna thought of the kiss and her stomach tightened.

Xan hadn’t kissed her yet today. After he’d parked the car (which his father had been intending to scrap, he said), he’d swept her into a bone-crushing hug and then just set her away from him and looked at her.

“Is there anything you can do?” Donna asked. They were standing across from the school, leaning against the red brick wall of an old apartment building as the sun moved slowly above them in a surprisingly blue sky. She was trying not to sound as desperate as she felt, but she didn’t think she was doing too good a job of it. Her eyes kept burning with unshed tears, and then she’d feel irritated with herself for letting her worries get the better of her. She needed to focus if she was going to find out what had happened to Navin; she rubbed a hand across her face. “Could you maybe, I dunno … track the wood elf, somehow? That’s why I wanted you to come here—this is where I last saw it.”

Xan looked doubtful. “I don’t know, Donna. Any real magic I might have had—or
should
have had—got totally messed up after they took my wings. I’m only half faery. I can do a few things, but they’re not much more than pretty tricks.”

She let out a frustrated breath, temporarily pushing aside her curiosity about what “pretty tricks” he might be able to do. “But there must be
something
we can try. I can’t just let it go like this. That creature was right
here
.”

He looked at her with the lazy green eyes that made her heart beat faster. “There is something, but I don’t know if it will work. It’s been a long time since I tried to find one of the Old Paths.”

Donna’s eyes lit up. “You know how to get into the
Elflands
?”

“Don’t get too excited. I used to know. I’m not sure any more, but it might be worth a try.” Xan’s eyes clouded for a moment, as if trying to capture a memory. “When I was younger—after I was first adopted—I had a lot of dreams. Dreams about the wood elves and what they did to me. It was all just a confused mess. My adoptive parents had me seeing a child psychologist by this time, and I was encouraged to think of the dreams as symbolic. Not actual events.”

Donna touched his arm. “But they were. Real, I mean.”

“Yeah. And one of the recurring dreams is of me running out of the Ironwood, following a path I’d seen the elves walk many times before while they held me captive.”

“One of the Old Paths,” Donna breathed, trying to control her mounting excitement. She was surprised to find her thoughts wandering toward her aunt and the Order. If
they knew
how to get into the Elflands, it could mean an end to the standoff that had been in place for so many years. The alchemists could drive the wood elves out once and for all.

Xan’s lips thinned. “I can see what you’re thinking, but I’m really not sure my memory is reliable. And you must know that any sort of door to
any
faery realm, even a temporary home here in our world, will be protected. The doors move, too, once they’re discovered. One door could be in a hundred different places, depending on the day. We just have to hope that the one I know of is still there—it could be, if it’s been untouched for the past decade or so.”

Donna nodded. “It’s okay; I’m not planning on riding into battle against the wood elves quite yet. I just want to find Navin. And Maker.”

“
If
they’ve got him as well.”

“I’m certain of it.” And she was. “Nav’s my best friend, Xan. I just can’t imagine a day going by where I don’t speak to him. I have to find him. It’s selfish of me, I know that.”

He shook his head slowly. “No, no, I understand. I lost a friend like that. Our friendship was the only reason I know anything concrete about my past.” Xan swallowed. “It just happened last year.”

“Oh my God, I’m so sorry.” Donna laid a hand on his arm, feeling sadness burning in the center of her chest.

He shook off her hand, his jaw tightening as he stared straight ahead. “I couldn’t change things, and I
should
have been able to.”

She didn’t know what to do. “I’m sorry,” she repeated, feeling miserable and useless.

Xan shoved his hands into his coat pockets, his shoulders slumped. Donna could only guess at how much this must be costing him, and she wondered at his willingness to come back into contact with the dark elves. She knew it was because of her—he was doing it
for
her—but she didn’t know what to do with that knowledge. She bit her lip, thinking she should apologize again.

“Forget it,” he said, his voice unbearably grim. “I guess we’re heading into the Ironwood.”

They took the most direct route out of the city and parked just a short walk from the dark green Ironwood. It was lunchtime, and the late autumn sun had climbed high above them; it warmed Donna’s face despite the chill in the air. She closed her eyes for a delicious moment.

“Come on, I don’t think you’re going to catch much of a tan out here.” Xan raised a golden eyebrow.

She shrugged. “I know that. It’s just so beautiful. I love autumn and winter—I always have. Don’t you think there’s something magnificent about it?”

“It’s magnificently cold, is what it is. Let’s get moving.” He turned and strode toward the woodland.

Donna sighed and ran a few steps to catch up.

The low fence surrounding the trees was old and rotten in places, as though there hadn’t been any maintenance in a long time. Just outside of it was a row of sturdy iron streetlights encircling the whole woodland like sentries—a steel fortification designed to create a prison of what remained of the Elflands.

Donna followed Xan through the gateway marking the entrance, glancing back at the traffic passing by on the main road. It felt a little bit like walking out of one world and into another. The leaf and needle strewn pathway opened up ahead of them, under a varied canopy of wintering branches and evergreens.

It was much quieter in here. The sounds of the road were muffled behind the tree trunks, and all of a sudden seemed very far away. Donna took a deep breath, momentarily
forgetting what they were supposed to be doing and just enjoying the freshness and fragrant smells of the woods. She was soon snapped back to reality.

“We have to go further in,” Xan said. “I’ll know it if we get near the Old Path.”

She touched his arm. “Wait a second. How will you know?”

“I honestly have no idea. It’s like there’s something in my chest, sort of tugging me toward it. I can’t explain it any better than that.”

“Like a magnet?”

“Yeah, something like that.” Xan shook his head, clearly frustrated and not liking the fact that he had to rely on something out of his control.

They walked in silence for a while. Donna listened to the sounds of the wildlife, wondering how the place that featured so strongly in her nightmares could seem almost beautiful now that she was actually in it again. It had been ten long years since she’d set foot beneath these trees. She repressed a shiver and pulled her thin jacket more tightly around her.

She wished that Xan would hold her hand like he had last night, but he seemed lost in his own thoughts.

Leaves and branches crackled underfoot. It grew darker as they walked farther and deeper along the straight path. Despite the fall of leaves, the evergreens were plenty big enough to blot out the blue sky. The sun could only be seen in slivers of yellow light falling briefly between the trees before disappearing, only to reappear for a moment in another shadowed gap.

Donna slowed her pace and frowned. “Look, the path splits off here. Which way do we go?”