Something warm touched my arm and I my eyes snapped open. I lifted my hand to my neck, where I still felt a stinging pain. "Geez what happened?"
I became aware of the crowd surrounding me. The rulers of the Nevernever were arguing, Kierran and Ash were grabbing the guy I had been dancing with before and Dad, Dad was holding my hand. I realized the music had stopped.
"Dad? What happened?" He grimaced.
"Someone threw a poisoned dart at you"
This kept getting better. I felt tired, I just wanted to go home and sleep. Was that too much to ask? It had been worth it, coming here and seeing Dad, but I definetely hadn't expected this.
I tried to stand up, but my legs were wobbly. The rest of the faeries were watching me like a hawk would watch a mouse. I shivered.
"Poisoned? I don't feel sick, and I'm not dead -"
"But you will be soon" A bored voice came out of nowhere.
Meghan, Mab, Oberon and Titania inmediately interrupted their talk. Their faces lit up in recognition.
"Grim!" Meghan smiled delightfully.
"Hi fur ball" Dad greeted him with a smirk.
A huge cat with grey fur and golden gaze rested near my feet. "Hello." He licked his paw.
"What are you doing here cait sith?" Ash asked, positioning himself beside Meghan, taking a protective stance.
"This will be good. Every time he makes an appearance, it's because there's a war or because he's going to collect a favor" Dad muttered.
The cat glared at him. "We could chat all day or we could save your daughter, who only has a week left of life "
I gaped at him. Did he just say "a week"? "Excuse me, a week? Why a week?"
"Because that's the time it takes for the poison to spread, when it does," he looked at my Dad "all the Nevernever will die with her"
Was it just me or the whole space went silence?
"What do you mean cat?" Oberon spoke with a demanding voice that gave no option rather than anwering.
"Goodfellow knows" was his simple reply. "When you are finished, call me" He evaporated, and for a moment I thought I had just imagined the whole thing.
Dad shifted and helped me stand up "We should talk about that in private"
"Let me get this straight. Mom was dying so you made a deal with Mother Earth, that you would give her your firstborn child" We were in the Summer's court throne room. I was beyond confused. If that was true then why had Mom died anyway?
Kierran guessed my thoughts. "Maybe she healed her then, but the sickness returned"
"But that's not -"
"Fair? Faery contracts aren't fair" Oberon said thoughtfully.
"I didn't think it would that would really happen..." Dad sighed and threw his head back "Arghh, she was so sick, I just wanted to make 'er better..."
"It's okay, Dad, I understand that"
"So," Mab stepped in "Mother Earth gave her some of her power, that means the half-breed is linked to the Earth. I don't understand what that has to do with us" she spat.
"It has to do everything with us" Meghan whispered "It doesn't just refer to the Mortal Realm, also the Nevernever, the wyldwood would spoil..."
"Do you know who did this? Was it that guy?" I asked to no one in particular.
"Yes, it was him, but I don't think it was his idea." replied Kierran.
"Bring him in" Titania ordered cluthing her hands. She was pretty nervous.
The faery refused to talk at first, but then Ash threatened him, and that was it.
"It was an Iron faery"
"I knew it" Mab yelled. "I knew you had something going on! You wanted to destroy the other Courts to be the only one left standing" She snorted "Since it's only the nature what would be involved, you thought you would get rid of us!"
"That's enough" snapped Ash "We will find a way of fixing this"
Meghan nodded, running a hand over her forehead. "If it was an Iron faery we will find out who was it and see he's properly punished"
"We must find a cure" Kierran moved to stand at my side. How had this happened to me? I planned to be home by now!
"At last, someone who has common sense" Grimalkin appeared suddenly, startling us. "Who will come then?"
"I'm going" Dad and I said at the same time.
I wasn't going to sit down and wait for my death, I wanted to do something useful.
Meghan looked at Ash. I could see the silent conflict, they wanted to help, but she had a Realm to take care of, and he was her knight, he could not leave her behind, it was the two, or none.
"I'll go" Kierran volunteered. What the hell had gotten into him? Yesterday he was... well, not like this.
I folded my arms over my chest. "You don't have to go if you don't want to"
He looked back at the faery lying on the floor. I had a pang of guilt, the guy was following some other's order, who knew why. I doubted it had been an Iron fey. During my stay there -a few hours- I had noticed their loyalty to the Queen, they seemed happy as long as they had someone to lead them.
"I want to" His words caused me goosebumps. He was the type of guy the girls of my high school would die for, the type any girl would die for. And he was going to come. This is just great.
The cat nodded. "Very well, this task will be hard enough, I would appreciate if your majesties allowed us free pass through the Realms, for the Nevernever's sake"
All heads turned to the Winter Queen. She raised her chin. "Just for this time. I give my word none of my fey will harm you" I laughed inwardly, Those words must have hurt her.
Oberon and Titania nodded, showing their agreement.
They went outside to calm down everyobody and to make the party continue. Mab flashed us an icy glare and trailed behind them. The Ice Queen was an interesting person.
Meghan waited until they were out. Her face was contorted in anguish; her royal facade, down. "I'm so sorry Summer, but I can't go, if someone from my Court caused all this then I have to figure out who he is..."
"I understand, don't worry" It had been my decision to come here in first place, so I'd just have to suck it up.
"Anything else you need?" She asked. I wondered what was the hidden story behind Meghan and my Dad, he had told me about her, but never abouthim and her.
I thought about it for a moment. "What about a pair of iron daggers?" A smile tugged at my lips, yeah, daggers would do.
Kierran cocked an eyebrow. "Sure you know how to use them?"
"Bring your sword one day and I'll show you princeling"
Dad laughed. "That's my girl"
"Oh please" Grim grumbled "Time is running"
"I'll have them made inmediately" Meghan assured. When I was a child, Dad used to practise with me, of course just with twiggs, but once, he showed me his daggers, and I couldn't imagine a better weapon. So after he left I took some lessons... Mom didn't understand it, but let me do it, she thought I just wanted to know how to defend myself, but it was more than that, it was the only think that made me remember him. Sometimes, after he had left us, it seemed like it had never happened, but then I would fight and the memories came to me.
I shook my head. "And where are we going first uh Grim? "
"The antidote has to be prepared, we need to get some ingredients first. The first one, we will find it at Leanansidhe's"
"Wait a minute, Lea?" Dad frowned "That woman is nuts! What's the ingredient we need to find? I don't think she'll hand it for free"
"It's a flower, one that only she has"
Ash narrowed his eyes at him. "And you, why are you helping us cat? Which is the price?" I knew everything here had an invisible price tag, even people. I had one, I had been traded for my mother's health, but the outcome had been different from what my father expected.
Grimalking set his golden gaze on me. "This favor has already been paid for. I'll wait for you where the Iron touches the wyldwood" He vanished again into thin air.
Ash excused himself and left to tell Glitch about what had been going on and our plans.
"Who's Leanansidhe?" I asked when we were back in the carriage. Dad had stayed behind and said he would meet us at the border as well as Grim.
"She considers herself the Queen of the exiled" explained Ash "her house is a space between our world and the mortal one, a safe shelter for them; it's called The Between"
"Do you think she will help us?"
"Grimalkin knows something we don't, I think it'll be best for now to trust him"