Chapter four!
CHAPTER FOUR
Nezumi was almost out of Kronos when a shadow began following him.
Nezumi's body ached from the stench of the iron buildings burning all around him. The backpack thumped heavily against his shoulder blades. Nezumi didn't bother wondering what was inside. If it had to do with the Unseelie King's plans for the Autumn Equinox, it wasn't anything Nezumi wanted to bother with.
The harsh street lights flickered on the edge of the shadow's hair as it broke from the wall and began to walk down the sidewalk. Nezumi could just make out the shape of the figure: a tall, thin boy with long blond hair in a black coat.
Nezumi curled his hand around the strap of the backpack. His fingers itched for the silver knife strapped to his thigh, but he kept them still, glancing over his shoulder just enough to keep the figure in the periphery of his vision.
He slowed to a leisurely, disinterested stroll. If he let the human know he'd spotted him, then his pursuer might grow violent before Nezumi had a chance to seize control of the situation. Nezumi disliked his back staying exposed to a potential threat, but it would be best to get the human somewhere secluded, somewhere quiet, before needing to dispatch him.
He rounded a corner and watched to see if the human would continue down the sidewalk or turn to follow him. Nezumi was invisible to the mortal eye, his glamour settled around his shoulders like a comfortable cloak.
His stomach plunged as the human rounded the corner after him. His face was well hidden by the shadows; even Nezumi's heightened senses couldn't pick through the darkness and get a good read on the human's facial features. Something distorted them when Nezumi tried to focus, like staring at a tree through heavy rainfall. The edges blurred and expanded, never the size or color Nezumi was certain they had been.
A glamour, Nezumi realized, like a punch in the stomach.
A powerful one, at that.
He forced himself to remain calm. A glamoured human was following him. Probably a faerie hunter. Nezumi had crossed paths with them before. Where a human had seized a glamour powerful enough to elude even Nezumi's senses was beyond him, but Nezumi didn't waste time worrying about that now. He could report it to the Unseelie King later and get some knights on it. If there was a rogue faerie dealing out high-quality glamours to faerie hunters, the King would want to know about it.
Unless... he did know about it.
Nezumi rounded another corner, intentionally leading the human in circles. Kronos' inner belly was a matrix of mismatched streets and unmarked crossroads. A well-stocked playground for the darkest members of the Unseelie Court. The human might have a glamour and the advantage of the iron city, but Nezumi had the upper hand with his knowledge of the streets. He'd done enough errands in the mortal city to know exactly where he needed to lead his pursuer if he planned to dispatch him.
His ears listened for shifts in his pursuer's gait. The heavy thump of shoes against the cracked pavement―the soft click of the steel toes as they connected with the ground―let Nezumi know the human wore boots. A thick pair designed to deliver a nasty kick. Nezumi had a pair of his own, stolen from a mortal shop, the steel plates padded with cotton to protect his skin.
A golden bird with jeweled eyes perched on one of the streetlamps. Its head snapped in Nezumi's direction as he passed beneath the light. The bird took one look at Nezumi's pursuer, gave a metallic squawk, and disappeared into the crisp evening air.
Nezumi's stomach unclenched from its tight coil. The Unseelie King kept phoenix surveyors peppered throughout Kronos. Those glittering eyes had locked on Nezumi's stalker, and the beast would relay its findings back to the King.
I have something he wants, Nezumi thought, his mind shifting to the mysterious backpack pressed against his spine. He'll probably send someone.
Of course, Nezumi hoped to have the human stretched out on the pavement with his throat split open well before the cavalry arrived.
The sound of those boots thumping came to a jarring halt. "You know I'm following you," called the human. His voice was raspy and soft, as if he'd spent the day shrieking until his throat bled. "I don't intend to go where you lead me."
Nezumi stopped. The brick buildings of Kronos sat to his left. To his right, the buildings yawned open, revealing the thick ring of forest surrounding the town. The trees were packed with solitary Folk. Nezumi could hear their chittering, could smell the wildflowers woven through their hair. Those Folk had no loyalty to Nezumi or his court, but he expected their hatred of humans far exceeded their distrust of the Unseelie Court.
"Turn around," said the human. Nezumi heard silver scraping against leather, the telltale call of a weapon being unsheathed. "Face me like a warrior."
Nezumi scoffed. "You stalked me through the streets." He reached for his own knife, running his finger down the length of the black handle. "What sort of warrior's code is that?"
"Do not preach to me about a warrior's code. What would an Unseelie wretch know about any of that?"
The words were harsh, but there was no active hostility to the human's voice, and that unsettled Nezumi even more. The human spoke as if he were merely commenting on the time of day.
Nezumi unsheathed his knife. It was an extension of his body, as much a part of him as his eyes or his tongue. He inhaled, tasting the bite of the iron city and the cool freedom of the forest, and turned to face his stalker.
The first thing he noticed was the silver pin fashioned to the human's black coat. It shimmered in the brilliant glow of the streetlamps, so sudden that Nezumi almost couldn't make out the shape. Two little ears and a tiny snout peeked out from the lapel.
Nezumi's mouth went dry. He'd seen that fox pin before. As a child, he'd spent his time sparring and jousting with the other Seelie children in order to hone his skills so that one day, he too might be granted the honor of becoming a Seelie knight.
Not a human, then. Not entirely. The Unseelie Court didn't accept hybrids, but the Seelie Court had readily embraced the offspring of human-faerie trysts. Nezumi had grown up surrounded by hybrids with rounded ears and sharp eyes, creatures who could survive the magic of the Faerie world and walk among the iron cities of the humans without consequence. Hybrids were not immortal, not in the sense that pure-blooded Folk were, but the brightness of their existence, though brief, made them powerful allies and even deadlier foes.
"An unprovoked attack," Nezumi said carefully, "could start a war."
"Would he really start a war over you?" the Seelie knight inquired.
Nezumi didn't answer.
"It's not that I'm seeking to begin a war with the Unseelie Court," the knight went on. "Not at all. I don't intend to interrupt whatever nonsense he's planning."
Nezumi's lips quirked up at the corner. Hybrids could lie. That, too, made them deadly enemies. The vows that fell from their lips could be easily undone. Their promises were worthless. Only blatant trust kept their bonds intact, and Nezumi had never found comfort in such a paper-thin assurance. Nezumi trusted no one and nothing except himself.
The Seelie knight cocked his head to the side. Through the twisting haze of the glamour, Nezumi could just make out the roundness of his ear. A silver earring twisted up the shell.
"Not curious why I decided to follow you?"
"It doesn't really matter," Nezumi replied.
"No," the Seelie knight said. "No, I suppose it doesn't."
He took a step forward.
To Be Continued...