The Iron Legends: Winter's Passage\Summer's Crossing\Iron's Prophecy (22 page)

Prince Sage is the eldest and tallest of the three sons
of Mab. As gorgeous as his brothers, he is pale with high cheekbones, eyes like
chips of green ice, slender brows and long, black hair that ripples behind him
like a waterfall of ink. His constant companion is a large, golden-eyed
wolf.

Sage is killed by Tertius while defending the Scepter of the
Seasons. When he dies, his body turns completely to ice.

VIRUS

Virus is the second of King Machina’s lieutenants, and
when he is killed by Meghan, she sides with the false king against Meghan and
the rest of the Nevernever. She has poisonous green eyes, hair that appears to
be made of wires and thin network cables in green, black and red, and often
wears lipstick and nail polish in shades of blue and sickly green. She wears a
poison-green business suit and three-inch high heels. Virus controls small
insectlike creatures called drones, which burrow into a person’s head and gives
her the ability to control their actions. She is responsible for setting the
chimera loose in the Summer Court during Elysium, and is also the mastermind
behind the theft of the Scepter of the Seasons. While holding the scepter
hostage, Virus implants one of her drones in Ash and sends him to kill Meghan’s
human family. She is later killed by Ash, split in two after being distracted by
Meghan’s use of Iron glamour.

THE WOLF

(the Big Bad Wolf, the Eldest Hunter, Wolfman)

One of the oldest, strongest and most legendary of the
fey, Wolf is best known for his role in several oft-told mortal fairy tales. The
ultimate hunter, Wolf will sometimes take on a personal hunt for the right
favor. He first encounters Meghan and Ash when he hunts them at the request of
Oberon, in order to save Meghan from her supposed abduction into the Winter
Realm. He later accompanies Ash on his quest to find the End of the World and
prove himself worthy of a soul.

Underneath Wolf’s frightening exterior beats a loyal heart, as
he shows when he sacrifices himself to keep the door to the Gauntlet open long
enough for everyone else to get out. Wolf favors the openness of the Deep Wyld
and has a long-standing offer to eat Grimalkin, should the faery cat ever give
him the opportunity.

Glossary

amulet:
A pendant created with the
essence of an Iron fey inside it that protects traditional fey from being slowly
poisoned when they must go into the Iron Realm for any length of time. The Iron
fey dies in the creation of an amulet.

bean sidhe:
A faery that foretells
death with an eerie, loud and terrifying wail. Hope that you never hear
one.

boggart:
A faery that attaches itself
to a human household with ill intent, causing food to sour, animals to go lame
and playing other nasty tricks on the inhabitants. Rumor has it a boggart will
follow a family that tries to flee to a new home. You do not want one of
these.

bogey:
Often confused for a boggart,
this faery hides under beds and in closets and jumps out to scare
humans.

brownie:
A shy faery who does
household tasks in secret, often late at night, usually with other brownies.
Brownies are said to love porridge and honey. They are quite wonderful to have
around when you treat them well.

bug:
A tiny, insectlike flying Iron
faery that can be placed in a human’s or faery’s brain and used to control them.
Traditional fey are poisoned and driven mad by a bug.

cait sith:
A catlike faery often
reported to be black with a white spot on its chest. Some legends say a cait
sith is not a faery at all but a transformed witch. [Human, stop. You are
getting it wrong and the best thing to do with a cait sith is to let it remain a
mystery. Honestly. Black with a white spot? A witch? I despair.]

catoblepas:
A four-legged animal with
a bull or boarlike head that is so large and heavy, the animal can only look
down.

changeling:
A faery offspring that has
been left in place of a human child. The changeling takes on the look of the
stolen child, but may not initially show the correct characteristics, causing
confusion, consternation and even danger. Should you suddenly begin to display
mysterious, otherworldly behavior, you may be a changeling. Or a
teenager.

chimera:
A fire-breathing,
three-headed monster with various animal heads—often a goat, a dragon and a
lion—and the body of a lion.

dragon:
A huge, lizardlike creature,
with webbed wings, shining scales and sharp talons, that breathes
fire.

dryad:
A tree faery. Dryads depend on
the health of their trees for survival.

dwarf:
A short, stocky, strong being
often with a long beard (males) and hair, known for mining and thought to live
underground.

Elder Dryad:
The oldest, most powerful
and respected dryad in a forest.

Elysium:
The yearly gathering of the
most powerful fey at either the Summer or Winter court. Elysium is a time of
wary accord when the court rulers meet to discuss any concerns affecting the
Nevernever. A great feast is held with music, dancing and performances, with
much pomp and ceremony. Traditionally, a prince of one house will lead a
princess from the opposite house in the first dance.

faery death:
The end of a faery’s
life, when it fades from existence. Because faeries do not have souls, if a
faery is killed, its body soon disintegrates.

faery fire:
Glowing blue light created
in a faery’s hand. Often used to light the way in darkness, or lure unsuspecting
humans into danger.

faery knight:
A faery that has pledged
an oath to serve and protect a ruler or another being above all others. Once the
vow is made it cannot be broken and ends only if the being pledged to releases
the knight.

favor:
A task granted in return for a
promise to reciprocate, at a later time, in whatever way is agreed upon. Faeries
always collect on favors. It is best never to owe one.

Fomorians:
An ancient race of giants
said to have been defeated and made extinct in war with the fey.

the Forgotten:
Faeries mankind has
forgotten that have nearly faded from existence. The Forgotten can exist by
siphoning glamour from other fey, leaving the “donor” weak or possibly
dead.

glamour:
A faery’s magic and the
essence of its being.

glider:
An insectlike Iron faery that
carries passengers by attaching to their back and flying through the air.
Steered by pulling on the front legs and shifting body weight.

goblin:
A nasty creature with warty
yellow-green skin and a bulbous nose, about two to three feet tall, that eats
anything it can catch and is known for being sly and unreliable. Goblins are
opportunists and always dangerous to be around.

gremlin:
A small Iron faery with
batlike ears and glowing, electric-green eyes and teeth, known for wreaking
chaos. Gremlins are loyal to and under the command of the Iron ruler. Their
presence may be heralding by buzzing noises.

the Grim:
A graveyard spirit, in the
form of a large, frightening dog, that guards the dead and does not take kindly
to being disturbed.

hag:
A water faery with green skin and
hair thought to live in ponds and to pull in humans and drown and eat
them.

hart:
The faery term for a
deer.

hedge wolf:
A wolflike faery that
takes the form of a hedge and waits for its prey. Hedge wolves live and hunt in
packs. Avoid them unless you have mad fighting skills and a sharp fey
weapon.

hobyah:
A pale, slimy-looking faery
with bulging eyes that attacks with poisoned spears and eats humans and other
faeries if it can catch them. Hobyahs live in villages. To outside ears, their
speech seems to be simply “Hobyah! Hobyah!” Should you be captured by hobyahs,
chances are they will boil you alive and have a feast.

iPod:
A small metal and plastic
music-playing device—a formidable weapon in traditional Faery and a valuable
bargaining chip in the Iron Realm. A good thing to bring with you so long as you
don’t mind that it will likely never work properly again.

jabberwock:
A monster that lives in
Faery. According to legend, one can only be permanently slain with an artifact
known as the Vorpal Sword.

kelpie:
A black, horselike faery with
needle-sharp teeth that lives in the water and preys on humans and other beings
foolish enough to swim near it. Do not be fooled by their
beauty.

manticore:
A creature with the body of
a lion, the face of a human and wings, with three rows of very, very sharp
teeth. Their tail is also spiked on the end, and they can hurl these spines at
enemies or potential prey.

nixie:
A water faery that looks nearly
human but has shimmery scales around the throat covering its gills, needle-sharp
teeth, webbing between the fingers and toes and sharp claws. Known to sing a
mesmerizing song to humans to lure them underwater and drown them. Should you
see one, plug your ears.

nymph:
A female faery, descended from
gods, that is attached to a certain natural area. Less likely to bother humans,
so long as you do not disturb their homes.

ogre:
A huge, strong creature that
feeds on human flesh. Avoid.

packrat:
One of the small, gentle Iron
fey that carry all their worldly belongings—which is a lot of stuff—on their
backs. Befriend the packrats. They are loyal and may help you unexpectedly when
you need it most.

phouka:
A shape-shifter faery. In
their original form phoukas have furred ears and pointed canine teeth. They
don’t pay much attention to social rules and, in fact, take great pleasure in
breaking them. Fun to be around, but never trust one.

piskie:
A small, flying faery with
gossamer wings and bright-colored skin and hair.

prophecy:
A prediction of the future
from an oracle. Often an unpleasant one that you will wish you had not
heard.

redcap:
A malicious faery bent on
constant murder that wears a cap dipped in the blood of its
victims.

satyr:
A faery with goat horns and
legs and a humanlike aspect that revels in physical pleasure.

Scepter of the Seasons:
The staff that
passes from Summer to Winter every six months to herald the changing of the
season to either summer or winter. If the staff is not passed, weather is
affected worldwide and chaos will ensue.

sidhe:
The gentry—the aristrocrats of
Faery.

soul:
The essence of humanity that
faeries lack.

sphinx:
An intimidating creature with
wings, the body of a lion and the face of a woman, known for requiring the
answer to a riddle. Failure to answer correctly results in being denied passage
or possibly a terrible death.

spider-hag:
A spiderlike Iron faery
with a bulbous body, spindly metal legs and a gaunt, womanly torso and head.
Spider-hags spin webs of razor-sharp, thin wires that cut as well as contain
prey. They are the assassins of the false king.

summerpod:
A succulent Summer Court
fruit that tastes like honey, nectar and everything delicious, and causes
hallucinations in humans.

sylph:
A faery with an elemental
connection to air.

tatter-colt:
A horselike faery with a
shaggy coat and eyes like hot coals, known for luring humans to watery places
and leaving them to drown.

Thornguard:
One of Winter prince
Rowan’s deluded knights who believes that by wearing an iron ring and pledging
loyalty to the Iron Court he will become immune to the effects of iron and
flourish when the Iron Court takes over the Nevernever.

token:
An object given power by a
faery to be of use to the bearer, whether it be to transport him to Faery,
protect him or cash in a favor owed by another fey.

Token:
An object that has been infused
with powerful glamour by its bearer, usually by an overwhelming and powerful
emotion of its owner, such as true love.

trod:
A passage between Faery and the
human world, often found in places that inspire imagination in humans, such as
children’s closets, nightclubs and parks.

troll:
A large, ugly, drooling,
not-so-bright creature that may live in the mountains, in caves, under bridges
or on rocks.

unicorn:
A white, horselike creature
with a single white horn growing from its head and cloven hooves. Legend says
that a unicorn may be captured only by a virgin. Its horn may purify poisoned
water.

wild hunt:
A faery hunt led by fey
hounds that does not end until the prey is run down and killed. No mortal has
ever escaped a wild hunt without fey intervention.

will-o’-the-wisp:
A small faery seen
as a glowing light, famous for luring unwary humans into danger and probable
death.

wiremen:
Spindly Iron fey whose bodies
are made of twisted wire. They are fast, nimble and have lethal talons that can
slice through most anything.

wire nymph:
A shy Iron faery that
lives in places where there is lots of technology.

Witchwood arrow:
The arrow created
from the heart of the Elder Dryad’s tree and given to Meghan Chase to kill
Machina, the Iron King.

wood sprite:
A small, lively faery
that dwells in the woods.

wyvern:
A cousin of the dragon, not as
large or intelligent, but extremely dangerous and ill-tempered. They are covered
in scales and have a poison stinger at the end of their tails that is highly
potent.