Marny (23 page)

“Hey.” He set his hand over hers, his touch
warm. “I’m not asking you to do that. You came in to help me, and
got hurt. I owe you for that.”

It was true, and she didn’t bother denying
it.

“So now what?” she asked.

It wasn’t a good idea to go back into
Feyland, anyway. No doubt the spriggans, plus reinforcements, were
camping the entry point, waiting for them to show up again.

“I might have another solution,” he said.

“What other solution?” She ignored the fact
of his hand over his, and how it made her feel. “We barely set foot
into Feyland before we had to run out again.”

“Yeah, but I got these.” He reached into his
jeans pocket and came out with a handful of leaves.

They were shiny dark green, with lavender
undersides. A faint sheen of silver caught the light as he tipped
his hand.

“Will they work?” she asked.

“I hope so.” He peered down at the foliage.
“I’ve never collected these kinds of leaves before, so I don’t know
what place they’ll conjure up, or where it will take us.”

“As long as it’s in the Realm somewhere, we
can figure it out.” And they wouldn’t have to use the interface of
the game. Which probably wouldn’t work anyway, since Emmie hadn’t
disappeared while playing Feyland. Right?

He stood, then gave her a wary glance. In the
dimness of the warehouse he looked suddenly vulnerable.

“Want me to leave while you do your magic
spell?” she asked, scooting to the front of the couch. Her arm
twinged, but she didn’t flinch.

He regarded her a moment, then shook his
head. “You’re already in deep—we both are. Might as well
watch.”

With a loose, easy stride, he went to the
wall near the back of the warehouse. She couldn’t quite see what he
did, but it looked like there was a built-in compartment. He moved
to the right-hand wall and pressed an invisible button. Sure
enough, a small drawer slid out, and he tucked some of the leaves
into it.

He repeated the action on the other side, and
the remaining leaves went into a secret spot in the floor.
Empty-handed, he came back to the couch.

“Now what?” she asked. “Don’t you have to
wave your hands and chant some mystical words?”

“Nope,” he said, settling on the cushions
beside her. “We wait a few minutes.”

“You missed an opportunity to be dramatic,
you know. Some fancy moves and a fake spell could have totally
impressed me.”

He gave a faint snort. “Yeah—somehow I don’t
think you’re that easily impressed, Marny Fanalua.”

She admired him more for knowing that, and
not playing things up. His calm confidence was one of his more
appealing qualities. That and the way he so clearly cared about his
sister. Not to mention—

Oh, dammit, she was
not
falling for Nyx
Spenser.

Marny resolutely turned her attention away
from him and stared into the dim cavern of the warehouse. She
didn’t need a boyfriend, and for sure she didn’t need a useless
attraction to a guy who lived hundreds of miles from her
hometown.

But you’re both here, in
Newpoint
, a treacherous part of her
whispered.

Maybe so—but they had a job to do, one that
couldn’t afford any complications like messy feelings.

Something glimmered at the back of the
warehouse, a silvery light that slowly brightened. As if it were a
holograph coming to life, a forest of pale-barked trees appeared,
first the outlines, then filling in until a stand of woods
populated the entire back third of the space. Leaves stirred in an
unfelt breeze, and dark green bushes with lavender-tinged leaves
filled in the spaces between the trees. The last part to appear was
a carpet of emerald moss studded with tiny white flowers.

Beside her, Nyx let out a relieved breath. “I
wasn’t sure it was going to work.”

“Well, it did. Good job, magician.”

“I dunno—the only magical thing I can do is
bring things from the game into the real world. I’d rather be able
to cast fireballs and levitate.”

“Wouldn’t we all.” She slid to the edge of
the couch. “I guess, now that your forest is back, we go into
it.”

“Not so fast.” He gave her a long, level
look.

“If you’re about to tell me I’m not in any
shape to do this, you can just shut it. We go in—together.”

He closed his mouth on whatever he was about
to say, and turned his head toward the forest. The trees looked
innocent, but beyond them were deeper shadows. Malevolent shadows,
waiting for them.

N
yx
clenched his fists, then made himself relax. Marny was hurt, and he
was pretty sure the med tech’s command for her to rest didn’t
include exploring enchanted forests, fighting magical foes, and
helping to rescue his kid sister.

But the determined light in Marny’s eyes
warned him he couldn’t dissuade her from coming, and the fact
remained that he needed her help. She’d saved his ass in Feyland,
and he was beyond grateful she’d shown up when she did. It had
taken a lot for her to overcome her fear and enter the game. His
respect for her—already high—was now practically off the
charts.

“We’ll need to get some supplies together,”
he said, glancing again at the glimmering trees.

“I need to let my friends know what’s
happening. And see why they couldn’t help us last time.” She pulled
her messager out of her pocket and began to write awkwardly, using
one hand.

He knew better than to offer his help, plus
he had the feeling she didn’t want him to see who she was
contacting. If she wanted assistance, she would ask—it wasn’t like
Marny to play coy games.

And how do you know what is
and isn’t like her?
He shrugged the
question away. In the few short days he’d known her, they’d already
shared secrets, not to mention an experience way outside reality.
With more to come.

“I’ll be in the kitchen,” he said, getting
off the couch.

They needed to eat, and not just a protein
bar and energy drink. It would be stupid to dash off into the woods
hungry and unprepared. No matter how impatient he might feel,
breakfast came first. Then he’d gather provisions: food, water,
weapons. Pain meds. Who knew how long it would take for them to
find Emmie?

What if you only wander
around in circles, like always?
his mind
said. He refused to listen. Besides, he had Marny with him this
time. She was his secret weapon. Maybe by themselves neither of
them had managed to cross into the Realm, but together, he felt
they were unstoppable.

Or maybe he was just deluding himself. They’d
find out, soon enough.

In the kitchen, he rummaged around in the
fridge, assembling the ingredients to make omelets. There was
something soothing about chopping up scallions and tomatoes,
cracking the eggs and beating them. Little tasks he could
concentrate on to keep the edge of panic at bay.

He put water on for coffee, too. Nerves were
keeping him wide awake, but he could feel the effects of too little
sleep pulling on his brain.

Marny came in just as the toast popped and he
was sprinkling grated cheese over the cooked eggs. She snagged the
bread out of the toaster, one-handed, and buttered the pieces while
he slid their omelets onto plates.

“Smells good,” she said, sitting at the
table. “I’m starving.”

“I still owe you a waffle breakfast.” He set
her plate in front of her, then settled in the other chair and
began to eat. She wasn’t the only one who was hungry—the eggs
tasted delicious. He was going to have to make seconds, for both of
them.

“After we rescue your sister, I’m holding you
to that,” she said, finishing off her toast.

She sounded so confident.
Half of him wanted to lean into her quiet strength, but the other
half was beating its fists desperately, about to freak out.
Stop it
, he told himself
fiercely.

“Another egg?” he asked. “I think I’ll just
scramble this time.”

“Sounds good. And I’ll take a cup of coffee,
too. Hey, don’t look at me that way.” She gave him a faint grin.
“It’s not poison, like that Haydeez stuff.”

“I thought you were a tea drinker.” He filled
a mug for her, then grabbed the carton of cream and set it on the
table.

“Mostly. But coffee has its time and place.”
She poured a splash of cream into her coffee. “Anyway, I got ahold
of my Uncle Zeg. He’ll keep trying to get to us in-game.”

Nyx heard a trace of doubt in her voice. Her
friends hadn’t shown up when he was in trouble, after all.

For a second, he thought about asking Durham
to come with them—but no. The amount of explanation needed would
take too long. It was just himself and Marny.

“Will that work?” He gave the eggs in the pan
another stir. “I thought you said we wouldn’t be able to rescue
Emmie unless we followed her into the forest.”

“Maybe.” Marny didn’t sound too sure. “Thing
is, I’m not a Feyguard, not officially. I can’t move across the
boundaries between the worlds like they do. So it’s possible they
can come help—but it might also be entirely up to us. It depends on
where they took Emmie.”

She trailed off, staring into her mug.

“Meaning?” He dished them up the scrambled
eggs, and put more toast on while he was at it.

Marny swallowed. “Meaning if Emmie’s in the
Dark Court, it’s going to be incredibly dangerous to try and get
her out.”

He
so
did not like the sound of that.
“And if she’s not there?”

“Then she’ll be in the Bright Court—which,
frankly, isn’t that much better. The fey folk don’t play by human
rules.”

“So either way, my sister’s in trouble.” He
pushed the last few bites of egg around on his plate, appetite
gone. “How do you know so much about the Realm of Faerie?”

“My friends, and some research on folklore on
the ’net. And most of all, this ancient paper book of Jennet’s
that’s full of information. It’s basically become the manual to use
when dealing with the fey folk.”

“Sounds useful.”

She made a face. “It’s a start, but that’s
about it. There’s a ton I don’t know.”

“Well, that’s more than I do. You ready?”

“Yeah.” Marny got up and rinsed off her
plate. “Do you have any cloaks lying around? They could be useful
disguises, not to mention help keep us warm.”

“Actually, I do.” He and Durham had gone
through a hardcore cosplay period, and for some reason he’d brought
the box of costuming stuff when he’d moved into the warehouse.

Ten minutes later, each of them cloaked and
carrying a backpack of supplies, they stood in the warehouse and
faced the enchanted forest.

Marny had one of his Shaolin spears—the one
not covered in raspberry syrup—and he’d decided on an array of
throwing stars, a long knife, and a pair of nunchaku tucked through
his belt for good measure. She’d watched him assemble his arsenal
from his weapons collection, one brow raised.

“How come you don’t play a Fighting Monk
in-game?” she’d asked.

“I’ve been practicing martial arts for over
ten years. Doing something different for a change sounded fun.”

“Well, I’m glad you’re a black belt in real
life. I hope those moves work on fey creatures.”

“They should.”

He refrained from mentioning he was actually
a third-degree black belt. No point in boasting. Either his skills
would be up for the task, or they wouldn’t.

They’d find out soon enough. He glanced at
Marny standing beside him, her face partially shadowed by the hood
of her cloak. The curve of her cheek was illuminated by the soft
silver light coming from the forest, and her expression was
determined.

“You’ll tell me if you need a rest,” he
said.

“That’s what we packed Haydeez for.” She sent
him a wry look. “I don’t intend to slow us down.”

“Yeah, well, you falling over would do that,
so don’t push yourself too hard. You’re recovering from a stab
wound, remember?”

“I’ve got my trusty walking stick.” She
lifted the spear a few inches.

He’d shown her a couple moves, though she
didn’t have a lot of power one-handed. Still, she could poke
things, and use the haft for support and balance.

“Ready?” he asked.

“Yes.” The clarity in her voice steadied
him.

He gave the quiet warehouse one last glance,
then strode into the forest. The moss cushioned his steps, and he
could barely hear Marny following close behind. Overhead, the
silvery leaves stirred. It seemed to be the same enchanted woods as
ever—which was a bad thing if it meant they’d be stuck in a bubble,
going around in circles.

And after several minutes, he felt like that
was exactly what they were doing. Marny didn’t say anything, but
her expression grew more and more serious.