Rhianna followed Gran and Teasel into the woods. When they reached the stone marker the brownie visibly relaxed, no longer looking like her was walking on glass. The glow of his chain faded as well.
Gran paused at the marker and crouched down to trace the spirals etched into its surface. "I haven't been here since the burial."
Rhianna wasn't sure what to say. Sorry the girl who isn't me died? The stab of jealousy made her feel guilty. The girl had been her sister. What would it have been like to have a sister—to not grow up rambling all over the country with a crazy mother?
Teasel bowed his head in respect, and Rhianna did the same.
"These patterns were not here before, did your kin make them, Teasel?"
"No, Blessed One."
"No need for titles. And it's been a long time since my horse ranch was blessed by your queen."
Teasel shrugged and tossed his hair out of his face.
"Is the stone haunted?" Rhianna asked.
Teasel squinted at the stone. "Not by a spirit as you humans like to think. But the magic and the potential, they are tied to the stone."
"The deal our ancestors struck, Rhianna, was that each new girl child born into our family would trade a part of her essence with Fairy, giving life to this world in exchange for the magic and blessing of the horse goddess.
Making Rhianna just a part of a whole that was long gone. The world began to grow dim again, but in the dimness she saw something glowing on the forest floor.
"Do you see that?" she whispered.
Gran spun around on her heel, not knowing which direction to look.
Rhianna pointed at the glow under the ferns. "It looks like a glowing seed."
"I don't see anything," said Teasel, "but that doesn't mean it's not there. You should pick it up, it must be a gift from the gods or a benevolent land spirit.
Rhianna bent down to pick it up. As soon as it lay in her hands the glow faded. It was a small choke cherry pit. She couldn't imagine what she was going to do with it, but she didn't want to be rude. She tucked it in her pocket.
"Let's keep moving," Gran said, kissing two fingers and laying them on the stone.
Teasel led the way and they moved through Fairy on a strange path. The landscape changed abruptly in places, as if a single step had taken them miles.
Finally they came to an enormous body of water. It was still and calm like a lake, but extended as far as the eye could see, like an ocean. Teasel stood by a swathe of sand churned up by hoof prints, which lead straight into the water.
"Is there a boat?" Rhianna asked.
He shook his head.
"Where did they go?"
"Under most likely." Gran shaded her eyes looking out across the expanse.
"Under!? They've drowned her!" Rhianna balled her fists up. The next time she saw Grayson or any of his darklings...
"Probably not, Fairy operates by different rules, remember. They have just taken her to their nest."
Rhianna walked to the waters edge, noticing for the first time the water was black like a sea of ink. As she stands there, the eerie quiet if broken by a musical sound. High above her a vee of white swans flapped their wings producing a lilting harmony. A single feather detached from the last swan and sailed down toward her, glowing like the seed.
It drifted a little too far though and she had to stretch on her tip toes, reaching out over the water, to snatch it before it landed in the black lake. Her toes touched the water though.
"Rhianna get back," Gran cried. But it was too late.
A chilly wind howled across the lake, whipping up small foamy black crests out on the black surface. The water continued to churn until the black foam grew so big it looked like a charging herd of horses.
Then it was a charging herd of horses.
The darklings thundered onto the shore, surrounding Rhianna, Gran and Teasel. After running around them in an endless circle for a terrifying few moments, the lead horse transformed and Grayson stood before her.
The herd stopped at his raised hand, standing in a ring, staring with unblinking eyes.
"You got my invitation! But I don't think this dance is suitable for old grannies." Grayson's smile spread smugly across his face.
Before Gran could respond, Rhianna said, "I demand you return my friend."
Grayson laughed. "Is this how humans barter in your world? Perhaps I should just have my kin drag you all down into the Underlake?"
Barter? What could she offer him? Was it even right to barter for a person's life, weren't you not supposed to negotiate with terrorists or give in to kidnappers demands? "Do you want the mask back? If I knew how to take it off I would..."
"In a manner of speaking. But I don't require you remove it. I require you."
Teasel stepped between Rhianna and Grayson.
Gran hugged her tightly, shouting, "No!"
Grayson waved his hand and suddenly Rhianna was alone. She heard muffled cries and looked up to see Gran and Teasel bound and gagged over the backs of darklings. Another bound and gagged figure, one who was not struggling and showed no signs of consciousness; it must be Jenny.
"I will let them go, if you agree to give yourself and your magic to me." The leader of the darklings gave a sickly sweet smile.
"You're a vile creature!" She couldn't believe she once thought his smile was charming.
"Is that any way to speak to your father?" He wagged his finger back and forth. "Obviously your mother hasn't raised you with any manners."
"You aren't my father. I'm the Fetch; I have no parents."
"But I created your sister, which created you. Darkling magic mingles with the Queen's magic inside you. With your power, I will rival the Queen. I will become a god."
"I'm not giving you that kid of power."
"Then I will take whatever power I can from your friends here. I'm afraid there won't be much left of them." He yanked Jenny's unconscious head up by her hair, producing a knife.
"Please, don't!" She didn't know what else to do. He would probably use the power she gave him to destroy her friends anyway, but she couldn't just watch them die. "I'll do it. It's a deal."
He pulled the knife back from Jenny's throat, leaving a tiny red line of blood, and licked it clean. "Honestly, my offer is very generous. I don't have to offer anything at all, considering you would not exist without me. You owe me a life debt."
"Too late to take it back now, Demonsprite. We made a deal. I expect you to honor it.
He waved his hand again. Gran and Teasel appeared at her side, Jenny collapsed between them and they grabbed her before she could hit the ground.
"Now, your end of the bargain," he said. A slick black rock appeared in the sand between them.
"What do I do?" she whispered. It called to her. She could feel the stone's promise in her heart. Kinship. Family. Never to be alone again. Never to be afraid again. All enemies of the family would be destroyed.
"Cut your hand and wet the stone." Grayson offered her his blade, taking a step toward her. "The stone is hungry."
She felt repulsed and drawn to the stone at the same time.
"No." Gran had fallen to her knees to help Jenny, and reached up to grab Rhianna's arm. "They are only a small part of you, you can resist."
"She just wants your power for herself so she can raise horses again. She doesn't care." Grayson advanced on them, but stayed on his side of the stone, holding the knife over it for her to take. "You made a fair bargain, she wants you to break your word for her own selfish gains. As soon as she has your power she will abandon you, like your mother."
Rhianna walked to the stone, standing within reach of the knife..
"That's not true, Rhianna. I love you." She crawled after her her hands clutching at the sand. "I want you to stay with me at the ranch and be my family. It's where you belong. Not used up and wasted like these creatures!"
Gran flung her arm in an arc and cast the sand she had gathered in her fist. The sand spattered against the muscular black bodies of the horses, and instantly transforms them into something else. Twisted bodies covered in black oil, writhing as though in pain, hands clutching toward her greedily.
The repulsion she felt when she first saw the stone returned ten fold. What was she doing? She dropped the hand that had been reaching for the knife. "I'm sorry, Gran. I want to stay with you!"
Grayson snarled. "I will have you!" He leapt onto the rock plunging the knife down at her with all his might.
Gran leapt up, pushing her out of the way. The blade drove into her grandmother's heart instead of hers.