“Yeah, yeah, I’m coming,” I managed, though my head pounded.
I continued to climb the ivy-covered stairs until the fresh air thinned, and as I reached the top of the hill and settled within the treetops, a small, dilapidated cottage covered in tangled vines appeared. I didn’t pause. Didn’t stop to give myself time to turn around. I charged forward and slammed the door open.
“You’re late.” A cloaked figure, hidden in shadows, folded her hands and placed them on the round table before her.
The cabin held a faint stench, reminding me of my parents and a time I would rather forget. Perhaps it was the Soul Repository, but it reminded me of the death and decay of the forest. The room was completely bare apart from the simple table with three chairs. Mine, hers and presumably one for Fen. The female’s silky smooth skin was the antithesis of ancient, but her face was covered with a beautifully woven scarf and a hood that covered her hair. Her eyes glowed from within, and I wasn’t fooled for a second. She could murder me with a single thought.
“I didn’t realize I had a schedule to keep.” I pulled out a chair and plopped down like I owned the place.
“There’s always a schedule, child.”
“I won’t bore you with the details. You wanted me, so here I am, Nealla. Tell me what I need to know.”
“Where is your mate?” she asked, cocking her head sideways.
“I don’t have a mate.”
“So you say.”
I ignored her response. Maybe she didn’t know everything then. “I’ve come for answers. I got rid of the book just like Aibell told me to. I traveled through The Mists. Tell me what I need to know. Tell me everything.”
“Ah, the book. Simply a conduit,” she said as her eyes flickered.
I pulled away from her. “What do you mean?”
“You’ve gotten rid of a means for those beasts to enter this world, but not the beasts themselves. Should another door be opened, they would still come.”
“Fantastic.” I swung my feet up onto the small table and leaned back in my wooden chair. “Also not my problem.”
“Yet. But perhaps we should start from the beginning.” She looked pointedly at my feet and then the two legs of my chair still on the ground.
Without so much of a flinch, my chair went flying, and I crashed to the floor, landing hard on my backside.
“Respect will be given in this home, child. I’ve done much for you.”
“What specifically?” I stood and dusted myself off, threw my hair over my shoulder and raised an eyebrow, waiting for her telling response.
“Sit,” she said as the third chair moved away from the table.
I sat and leaned forward, resting my elbow upon it. “Happy?”
“It’s a wonder your mate and his friends made it this far with you. You have always been a selfish brat. I am timeless. The laws of magic don’t even apply to me, yet you still test my patience.”
I sighed. “You’re the one who told me to leave them behind in the first place. Can we get on with it?”
“As you wish,” she said, standing. “Come.”
She walked out of the cottage, and I followed her. The island changed into a flat, sandy desert with nothing in any direction for as far as the eye could see. I turned back to look at her, and she was no longer the hooded female from the cottage. She was not a female at all. That was when I realized the stories had gotten it wrong. Nealla did not ride a beast through the night, she was the beast. Massive black paws with razors for claws moved toward me. I looked up to see the face of a creature plucked from my nightmares. Distorted face and corded veins, she had clawed herself from the depths of hell and stood in her beast form, ready to devour me.
She roared, and I took several steps backward. She stood on four feet but towered over me. Her thighs were the size of my entire body. Horn-tipped wings ripped from her back, and the only remnant of the fae she had presented herself as was the glowing yellow eyes staring down at me. She leaned over as saliva dripped from her razor-sharp fangs.
“Is this because I put my feet on your table?”
Show me that you are worthy of your title.
“I’m not in the mood for games.”
She roared once more and batted a long claw at me. It shredded the skin on my chest and I was thrown backwards. Warm blood poured over my abdomen.
