The Iron Knight (22 page)

“Ari … I will always love you. I always have. Nothing will change that.” I squeezed her hand, then gently released it. “You’ll always be a part of me. But … I’m not
in
love with you … anymore. And, despite my promise, despite seeing you again, I do this because I want to be with Meghan, nothing else.” Ariella’s eyes glazed over, and I eased back, speaking as gently as I could. “I can’t be yours, Ariella. I’m sorry.”

For a moment, she stared at me with a completely unreadable expression. Then, unexpectedly, a sad smile crossed her lips.

“That’s it, then,” she murmured, more to herself than me. “For us, anyway.” I blinked, and she glanced up at me, her starry eyes clear. “I didn’t want you to have any doubts, in the end.”

“Is that what you wanted?” I stared at her, aghast. “Were you just forcing me into a decision?”

“No, Ash. No.” Ariella put a hand on my arm. “I meant what I said. I’ve always loved you, and I wanted you to know before …” She shivered, hugging herself as she stepped back. “I’m happy for you,” she whispered, though her eyes were glassy once more. “You know what you want, and that’s good. It will make it easier….”

“What are you talking about?”

“Oy, ice-boy!” Puck’s voice came, rough with disapproval, from farther up the stairs. “I think you’d better get up here now!”

I scowled at Puck, cursing his timing, and glanced at Ariella. She gazed up the steps, her cheeks dry, her expression resolved. I sensed she was making peace with herself, coming to some important decision.

“A r i …”

“It’s all right, Ash.” Ariella raised a hand, not meeting my eyes. “Don’t worry about me. I knew, eventually, it would come to this.” She took a breath, let it out slowly. “It’s time to move on, for both of us.

“So, let’s go,” she said, turning and giving me a brave smile. “We’ve finally come to the end. We can’t stop now.”

P
UCK WAITED FOR US NEAR
the top of the staircase, the Wolf growling low in his chest beside him. But Grimalkin was also there, calmly licking a front paw in between disdainful glances at the Wolf, so I relaxed a bit. When the cat disappeared, then I would worry.

Still, Puck looked grave as we joined him, nodding to the top of the stairs. “We’ve got company,” he muttered, and I looked up.

A figure stood at the top of the stairs, robed and hooded, and nearly eight feet tall. Its face was hidden in the darkness of the cowl, and a pale, bony hand clutched a gleaming staff of twisted black wood.

And, though I couldn’t see its face, I felt it was looking right at me.

“I know why you have come, knight of the Iron Court.”

The deep voice shivered into me, coming from everywhere, from the thorns and the river and the temple itself. It echoed in my head and in my bones, cold and powerful and older than the stars. It took all my willpower not to sink to one knee before the robed figure, and by Puck’s lack of an irreverent smirk and the hair standing up along the Wolf’s spine, I knew they felt it, too.

“Who are you?” I asked.

“I am the Guardian at the End of the World,”
the figure intoned.
“I am the keeper of the Testing Grounds, the one you will have to impress to earn your soul.”

“And you came out just to say hi? That’s awfully considerate of you.” Puck regained his grin and turned to me. “Don’t you feel special, ice-boy? We didn’t even have to go to the End of the World. Be polite to the nice hooded man, and maybe you’ll get a soul.”

“But first, to reach the End of the World, to prove that you are worthy, you must run the gauntlet.”

“I knew it.” Puck shook his head. “There’s always a catch.”

I ignored Puck, taking a step toward the hooded figure. “I’m ready,” I said, searching for a face behind that dark cowl, finding nothing. “Whatever you throw at me—gauntlets, tests, anything—it won’t matter. I’m ready. What do I have to do?”

The Guardian didn’t seem surprised.
“This trial is not only for you, knight,”
it said, sweeping a robed arm at the group behind us.
“Anyone who wishes to see the End of the World must first make it through the gauntlet. Alone, you will fail. Together, you might have a chance to overcome the challenges. But know this—not all who enter the temple will leave. Of that, you can be certain.”

My stomach dropped. I didn’t doubt his words, much as I hated to accept them. The Guardian was telling us that not everyone would survive the gauntlet. That one or more of us was going to die.

“One thing more.”
The Guardian raised a hand in the silence of that revelation.
“You do not have long to find me, knight. Once the doors open, at both ends of the gauntlet, they will not remain that way forever. If you are still in the temple when they close, you will be trapped there until the end of time, joining those who have already failed. Do you understand?”

“Yes,” I said numbly. The cowl nodded once.

“Then I will see you at the End of the World, knight. Where, if you make it through, your real trial will begin.”

And just like that, it was gone. It didn’t fade away or vanish
in a puff of smoke or even disappear like Grimalkin, becoming invisible. It simply wasn’t there anymore.

I stood at the top of the stairs, feeling my companions’ gazes at my back, and raised my head.

“Anyone who wants to turn back, should,” I said quietly without turning around. “You heard what the Guardian said. Not all of us will make it out of here. I won’t hold anything against you if you want to leave.”

I heard Puck’s snort of disgust as he climbed the last of the stairs and stood before me, crossing his arms. “What, and let you have all the fun? You should know me better than that, ice-boy. Though, I will admit, the thought of being trapped with you forever makes my skin crawl. Guess we’ll have to make sure that doesn’t happen, huh?”

“I’ve come this far,” the Wolf growled, padding forward to stand behind Puck. “No good turning back now. I said I’d see you to the End of the World, and I will. The cat can leave if it wants. That would be in tune with its cowardice. But the story must go on.”

“Please.” Grimalkin trotted up the steps and turned to glance back at me, twitching his tail. “As if I would allow myself to become trapped with the dog until the end of time.” He sniffed and curled his whiskers. “Fear not, prince. There is no doubt that I will leave if I think that you are close to failure. But these gauntlets always have some sort of ridiculously aimless puzzle or mind game to solve, and you will likely need someone with intelligence before it is done. Besides, you still owe me a favor.”

I nodded at them all and turned to Ariella, still standing a few steps down, gazing through me at the temple. “You don’t have to do this,” I told her gently. “You got us this far—you’ve done more than I could’ve asked for. You don’t have to go any farther.”

She smiled that sad little smile and took a deep breath. “Yes,” she whispered, meeting my gaze. “I do.” Climbing the stairs, she came to stand beside me, taking my arm. “To the end, Ash. I’ll see you to the very end.”

I put my hand on hers and squeezed. Puck grinned at us, and the Wolf snorted, shaking his head. With Grimalkin leading the way, the five of us approached the massive stone doors to the temple. With an earth-shaking rumble, they slowly opened, showering us with pebbles and dirt. Beyond the doors, everything was cloaked in darkness.

We didn’t stop. With Ariella and Puck beside me, the Wolf loping behind us, and Grimalkin leading the way, we crossed the threshold and entered the gauntlet.

As I expected, the temple, though huge from the outside, didn’t conform to normal space. The first room we came to, past the long, narrow hallway, was a large, open courtyard, surrounded by walls and covered in moss. Strange beams of light slanted down from somewhere above, and broken statues, pillars and enormous stones were scattered throughout. The chamber looked like a miniature labyrinth of crumbled walls, archways and columns, covered in vines and shattered with the weight of time.

Ahead of us, a pair of huge double doors stood atop a platform, guarded by two hulking stone creatures, one on either side. The statues looked like a cross between a lion and some sort of monstrous canine, with broad heads, curling manes and thick, clawed forepaws.

“Fu dogs,” Puck mused as we approached the doors, hopping over shattered pillars and crumbling archways. “You know, I met a Fu dog once in Beijing. Persistent bastard chased me all over the temple grounds. Seemed to think I was some kind of evil spirit.”

“Imagine that,” Grimalkin muttered, and the Wolf snorted with laughter. Puck flicked a pebble at him.

“These aren’t like the standard variety,” Puck continued, making a face at the stone guardians. “They’re bigger, for one. And older. Good thing they’re not real Fu dogs, eh? We’d be in big trouble if—”

And of course at that point, a loud grinding sound echoed through the room, as both statues turned their heads to stare at us.

I sighed. “You should know better by now, Goodfellow.”

“I know. I just can’t help it.”

With snarling roars, the pair of massive stone guardians leaped from their bases, landing with deafening booms on the rocky floor, shaking the ground. Their eyes burned with an emerald fire in their craggy faces, their paws crushed the stones beneath them and their bellowing voices filled the chamber. Grimalkin vanished, the Wolf added his own howling roar to the cacophony, and the Fu dogs lowered their heads and charged.

As one Fu dog barreled past, I vaulted aside, cutting at its flank as it thundered by. My blade screeched off the stony hide, leaving a trail of frost and a shallow scratch, but the monster didn’t even notice. It plowed headfirst into a stone pillar, smashing it to rubble, before it whirled around, completely unharmed, and lowered its head for another charge.

An ice arrow shattered off the broad muzzle as the Fu dog galloped toward me, as Ariella tried to catch its attention, but it didn’t slow the dog. I dodged as it roared by, plowing straight through a wall like a furious bull, showering itself with rocks. A quick glance showed Puck bound onto a pillar to avoid the second statue, which simply rammed its head into the stone base to knock the pillar down. Puck managed to
hop onto a second column as the Wolf lunged at the Fu dog, fangs flashing for its thick neck. He bounced off the stony hide with a yelp that was more anger than pain, and the Fu dog whirled around to attack.

This wasn’t working. And we didn’t have time to play keep-away with a pair of murderous stone giants. “Retreat!” I called, ducking behind a headless statue to avoid being trampled by the first guardian, which grunted and spun around before hitting anything. “Puck, get to the doors, we don’t have time for this!”

“Oh sure, prince! You make it sound so easy!”

The Fu dog attacking me rumbled a growl and stalked forward. Apparently it had given up blindly charging forward in the hopes of smashing me into paste. From the corner of my eye, I spotted Ariella pulling back her bow for another shot, and waved her back without taking my attention from the dog.

“Ari, don’t worry about me. Just go.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes! Get to the doors—I’ll be right behind you.”

Ariella slipped behind a wall and out of sight. The Fu dog glanced her way, growling, but I hurled an ice dagger at its face, smashing it right between the eyes, bringing its attention back to me with a roar.

It lunged forward, teeth bared, claws raking deep gouges in the floor. As it pounced, I leaped up, vaulting off its snout and landing on its broad shoulders. For a split second, I saw a flash of gold on its bright red collar, but then I was hurtling off its back and running toward the doors, where Puck and Ariella waited for me.

The Wolf was keeping the other Fu dog busy, dancing around and snapping at its back feet as it whirled on him. As
I bounded up the stairs, the guardian turned on me with a snarl, but the Wolf lunged forward and slammed his shoulder into it, rocking it back, keeping its focus on him. I reached Puck and Ariella, who looked grave as they turned to me.

“No good.” Puck frowned and punched the stone door, making a hollow thump. “The sucker won’t budge. I think there’s a key or something to open it. Look.”

He pointed to the doors, where two indentations side by side formed perfect half circles that met where the two doors came together, making a full sphere. A key of some sort, which probably meant it was lost or hidden somewhere in the room. With the two Fu dogs. I sighed in frustration.

“The collars, you fools.” Grimalkin appeared on one of the statue bases, ears back, lashing his tail. “Look at their collars. Must I do everything around here?” He vanished again, just as a Fu dog charged up the steps and lunged at us.

We dove aside, and the dog rammed into the doors with a boom that shook the ceiling. Shaking its head, it backed off, and I saw that same flash of gold around its neck, like a tag. Or a globe that had been cut in half …

I glanced at Puck. “You take one, I’ll get the other?”

“You’re on, ice-boy.”

We scattered to different corners of the room, Ariella following me, Puck leaping down to help the Wolf. As I’d hoped, my Fu dog stalked us persistently through the labyrinthine ruins, shattering pillars and bursting through walls to give chase.

“What’s the plan?’ Ariella whispered as we ducked around a corner, pressing our backs against the wall. A few feet away, the Fu dog stalked past, growling, so close I could’ve reached around the corner and touched it. Several aisles over, somewhere
in the maze, I heard a crash and saw a cloud of dust billow into the air; the second guardian was close.

“Stay here,” I told Ariella. “Get out of sight. I want that thing to focus on me and nothing else. If Puck does what he’s supposed to, this should be over soon.” A pillar toppled over nearby, followed by a frustrated snarl. “Head toward the door and wait for us,” I continued. “Find Grim and the Wolf if you can. We’ll be there as soon as we can with the keys.”