Come, fly to the other side.

But my clothes--I can't wait that long for Chatter to bring them up and we don't dare chance him wearing himself out.

Then to the bottom of the gorge. Fly and land softly on the trunk near the cataract.

I gazed down, saw the trunk he was talking about. The tree had fallen along a series of small falls that were frozen over, on the other side of the stream. I swept down, spiraling, reveling in the feel of my wings on the wind. The horned owl hooted softly as we landed at the bottom. It waited beside me as I waited for Chatter. Within a moment, a blur raced down the hill and stopped on the shore beside me. He appeared, holding Leo around the waist. I turned back to my companion.

Thank you. Will you watch us on our way through the wood? Can I contact you when I'm in human form?

No, you cannot read my thoughts then--we are connected, but only when in owl form. But I will come with you, I will watch over you the best I can. Now change back and get dressed.

I shifted back, dressing quickly in the freezing air as the snow swirled around us. Chatter headed back up the slope, a blur in the deepening shadows, as Peyton gingerly made her way across the stream. Within a few minutes, we were all at the base of the ravine that would lead us to the Golden Wood and home again. As I stared up the slope, a noise behind us startled me.

Turning, I could see a group of the Vampiric Fae. They were making their way down the alluvial deposit. They were coming for us and both Heather and Myst were with them.

Chapter 26

"Hell! Move. They're on the way."

We scrambled for the slope of the ravine. Peyton didn't have much problem in her four-footed form, and Chatter was quick, but the rest of us weren't so nimble. I grabbed branch and limb, ignoring the brambles that pierced through my gloves, ignoring the needle-laden boughs that slapped me in the face as I half-crawled, half-climbed my way up the slope. The ravine was steep, but luckily had plenty of rocks and trees to gain leverage on. My breath coming in white puffs, I charged upward, trying not to focus on how close they were.

They are almost down the slope on the other side. Hurry.

Shit, they'd traversed the swath of rocks and boulders like they were skipping stones. I pushed ahead. And then, Chatter was at my side, and we were racing in a blur up the mountain. I blinked and found myself standing on the top of the ravine.

"Chatter--you're too tired--"

"Let me do this." He vanished again, a blur down the slope. I took a moment and glanced around. Nobody over here on this side, thank gods. Although I'd really love it if some hero came charging in to save us, but that wasn't going to happen. I pulled out my fan, gearing up for what I knew was coming. At that moment, Chatter appeared again, Rhiannon in tow. Peyton crept over the top, still in puma form. She slunk over to my side.

Kaylin was helping Leo, trying to drag him along faster. Chatter took a deep breath and--looking exhausted--headed down again.

"No--you can't bring them both." I stared in horror at Myst and her crew. They'd reached the bottom and were lithely crossing the frozen stream. This was going wrong. So wrong. Myst wasn't supposed to come with them. I knew in my heart we couldn't stand against her.

I turned to Rhiannon. "Go--get moving back to the house."

"No. I'm staying here with you." She pulled out her bag with the Molotov cocktails in it. "We go down together or not at all."

I took a deep breath. "Let's make a pact then. If they catch us, if they try to turn us, we do whatever it takes to avoid that fate. I'd rather be torn to pieces than work for them."

She nodded. "I know Heather did it to spare Peyton, but I wish she hadn't." She spoke softly, but I could hear the catch in her voice.

Chatter appeared at the top, Leo in his arms, as Kaylin dragged himself over the edge. We were all exhausted, and Chatter looked like he was going to pass out.

"How far are we from the house?" I tried to gauge where we were.

"Ten minutes as the crow flies. Fifteen on foot." He pointed toward a copse of cedar and fir. "There's the path that leads into the ravine, through that stand of trees over there.

I could vaguely see it in the approaching dusk. Nodding, I said, "Let's do what we can to make it hard on them and then run like hell. If we can get over the border to our land, then we should be safe for the night. That is, until Myst finds a way to break the barrier."

I opened the fan and focused on it. Ulean, what's the worst damage I can do with this?

You do not want to know. Each time you use the more powerful energies, the fan will own you a little more.

Tough. We need it. I'd rather be possessed by a fan than by Myst. Now, tell me. I focused on her energy, trying to drive home the urgency.

You have a point. Very well. Vortex force. But be prepared to run. It will not be safe and you cannot control the power once you've set it loose.

Taking a deep breath, I said, "I'm going to unleash a tornado. Whatever you have, start it now and move back. This thing is dangerous."

Without a word, Rhiannon lit the bottles with a lighter and tossed them into the ravine. She held out her hands and a stream of flame came searing out to explode the gas-laden bombs, sending a flash flood of fire down the slope. She jumped away, as did the others as I swept the fan twice and whispered, "Vortex force."

Ulean slipped up beside me and I felt her joining in, helping warm the air around us so that it collided with the cold. I kept my focus on the currents as they began to whip into a counterclockwise spiral, creaking and moaning as they picked up speed. Another few seconds and there was a roar as the monster came to life.

With the sound of a freight train rattling by, gusts of dark clouds began to spin. The funnel cloud engulfed Rhiannon's fire and swept down the slope, a blanket of swirling flame on a deafening ride. My ears popped from the changing air pressure.

"Run. Now!" I turned and headed through the trees at breakneck speed, following the others who'd already taken off. Ulean howled along beside me, buoying me up and along. I leapt over a fallen tree trunk and hit the path, veering toward the house. We ran like the hounds of hell were after us, not looking back, not knowing whether Myst and her followers were on our heels or if we'd staved them off.

And then, breaking through the tree line, we were across the border, onto our land, and a soft glow lit up the perimeter of the yard. Anadey stood on the porch, watching anxiously as we skidded to a halt. We were home and Peyton was with us.

I turned, gasping for breath, in time to see Myst and Heather come to the edge of our property, followed by a half dozen guards. My heart in my throat, I watched as they traced the border, but did not set foot across it. Whatever Anadey had done, it was holding.

Straightening my shoulders, I faced them--the Mistress of Mayhem and her Court. She gazed at me, steady, her luminous eyes sparkling like stars, her skin the color of sky on a clear, late evening before twilight fully hits. Her gown flowed into the shadows, diaphanous shades of blue and black and gray and silver. Beautiful, I thought. She was so incredibly beautiful and terrifying.

Myst cocked her head to the left, then the right, and let out a slow laugh.

"Cicely Waters. You think you have won?"

I shook my head. "If we'd won, you'd be dead."

"Good, then. Don't underestimate me. Child, do you even have a clue as to who you are? As to who you were?"

The great horned owl circled overhead, coming to rest in the oak behind me. I cleared my throat and returned Myst's gaze, willing myself not to flinch.

"I am Cicely Waters, born of the magic, born of the Uwilahsidhe. I know who I am. And I know what you are." It was foolish to challenge her, but I wanted her to understand that I understood she was a vicious monster. A crazed Queen out for blood. "I walk with the Crimson Court at my back."

She inclined her head gently and, turning to Heather, lightly traced her hand down my aunt's cheek, softly caressing her. Then, without a second thought, she back-handed Heather so hard that my aunt went sprawling to the ground. Heather lay there, staring up without a protest. I heard Rhiannon stifle a cry, but I didn't turn, didn't show any emotion.

"A thought," Myst said, turning back to me, her gaze narrowing in on me. "If I treat my friends thus, consider how I treat my enemies. Then decide which side you wish to be on. Your precious Grieve is mine."

"No!" I jerked, unable to stop myself. "What do you mean?"

"I claim him for my own. He will be my consort. And you, my dear . . . Don't you remember who you used to be? Think, think very hard." Her eyes begin to swirl and I felt myself falling deep into her spell.

A glimpse . . . standing deep in the forest, and Grieve was beside me only he was not Grieve but Shy. And I was there . . . I was Cherish . . . and this time I looked down at my hands. They bore a faint cerulean cast. With wonder I reached up and touched my teeth. Razor-sharp and two small fangs. And I turned to Shy, who smiled at me, loving me, and I knew that I was a traitor to myself, to my race, to my mother.

"No," I whispered. "I wasn't one of you! I was Cambyra Fae!"

Myst laughed. Deep and rich, her voice echoed through the night. "You are Cambyra Fae now . . . but oh yes, I can see you remember. Good-bye for now, child. We will meet again. Soon. And you will remember how you turned on your family. Grieve isn't the only one who's been searching for you through the years. Remember this: I never forget a grudge." And then, she turned and like a shadow in the night, she and her companions were gone.

I turned back to the others, who stared at me, silent and waiting. With a sickening feeling that things had just gotten a whole lot worse, I nodded to the house. "We're safe for now. We need rest."

And we went inside and shut the night and the snow and the demons out.

Chapter 27

I plugged in an e-mail to Lannan, demanding to see Regina, Geoffrey, and him the next night. There was too much I needed to report for me to type it all out. I also told him in no uncertain terms that Lainule should be present, and that I'd be bringing my friends. We were all in this together now.

Peyton was downstairs, reunited with her mother, and we left them alone for a bit to enjoy their homecoming. We still didn't know what the Indigo Court had done to Peyton, but she'd tell us when she was ready. She seemed okay, and I hoped they'd just roughed her up a little.

Rhiannon and Leo were cooking dinner. Kaylin was working on some magical charm--I didn't know what. A knock at my door sounded and I pushed myself away from the desk and called, "Come in."

Chatter entered the room. He joined me on the bed, crossing one leg over the other. "Thank you, for letting me stay here."

"You're on our side now, like it or not. At least they won't beat you anymore. Grieve never . . . he didn't . . ." I wasn't sure I wanted to know, but he shook his head.

"Grieve never laid a hand on me. I told you before, he did what he could to fight his nature. Now though, who knows what's going to happen? And with Myst claiming him, how long can he hold out against his Shadow Hunter side?"

I winced. "She can't have him. He's mine. And I'll do everything in my power to stop her. To free him." A sob choked up in my throat and Chatter pulled me into his arms, holding me softly as I wept. After a few minutes, I sat back and rubbed the tears from my eyes. "Crying won't help."

"What did Myst show you that made you so angry?" He gently tipped my chin up, his eyes soft and doelike in the dim light of the candles I'd lit.

I bit my lip. How could I tell him what I suspected? How could I admit that once, I'd been on the other side, as vicious as she was? Grieve and I had switched sides this life, but a gulf a mile wide still divided us. I only knew that I loved him, and I'd do whatever it took to kill Myst and free the Golden Wood. Even if it meant trucking with vampires, aligning myself with Lainule, slicing throats . . . whatever we needed, I'd do it.

Anything to keep Myst from winning.

I shook my head. "Never mind that. Leave it for tomorrow. For when it's light again and the Indigo Court hides in pain."

He nodded, standing to go. I watched him silently leave the room.

After I'd logged off my computer, I patted the pendant around my neck. The reassuring pulse of magic beat through my body. Beyond vampires and Fae and Vampiric Fae and magic, there was this--my legacy. My father was Uwilahsidhe, and I had his blood in my veins. And perhaps someday, I would meet him.

I stripped off my clothes and opened the window. A swirl of flakes flew in from the snow-covered night. It was beautiful, a blanket of sparkling white. I stared down, eager to let go of the day's events. My fan hanging around my wrist, I leapt lightly to crouch on the sill. I let out a smile as a fierce, feral pride rose up.

Lannan could suck me dry. The Vampiric Fae could enslave my family. The vampires could start their war. We'd won our battle today: We'd rescued Peyton and Chatter. It was time to celebrate. Small victories were important now.

Tomorrow, I'd have to face the stark reality of what had happened, but tonight--tonight I could escape.

And nothing they could do would change who I was--or what I'd discovered about myself. I stared up at the swirling storm. Winter had moved in with Myst, a vengeful winter out to blanket us all with the chill of the Indigo Court, but we weren't done yet. We had lived and would fight another day.

The owl tattoo on my arm let out a piercing screech as I let go and fell toward the ground. In the blink of an eye, I twisted, shifting, and went gliding up into the night sky, free from everything and everyone.

The great horned owl met me, gliding in from the oak. Silent shadows, we flew over the house, riding on the currents provided by Ulean, who chased by our side, laughing. And her breath gave us a tailwind that propelled us onward as I left war and blood and death behind.