Athane.
That was what Lysander called her. She was the beast that roosted in The Hollow's highest branches in the realm where the two faerie kingdoms met, a land of perpetual autumn.
Athane's head bobbed excitedly around us, taking us in at all angles. Her face was so near I could feel the heat radiating off her skin. So disgustingly human her face was. I could see her pores, the blemishes and age spots.
"So lovely you are," She cooed, her dark eyes smiling. "That golden hair shines so brightly." With a rush of pounding feet, she circled us. The few strands of silver hair that fell by her cheeks brushed against my arm, sending a horrific chill through my very core. I bit my tongue and swallowed the scream bubbling up in my throat. Those eyes, large and colorless, as dark as twin voids, were trained on me. "I will have to find a nice sunny spot to put you on display so you can shine in your full glory." I felt her gaze roam, taking in my full ensamble of leather armor and fur. She clicked her tongue dissaprovingly, "We will have to change you out of that garish outfit though. I hope I have a gown of a nice sapphire color in my collection. With your complexion, it would look so much better than those drab old skins."
"I'm afraid I wouldn't make a very good doll." I sneered, discreetly baring my teeth in what I hoped passed as a normal prideful half grin.
She began to laugh. It was a low, slow chuckle, akin to a predator's hungry growl. "Oh, but you will once I've gotten rid of those nasty insides." She snapped forward, her mouth opening and closing just as rapidly as a beak.
"Run!" Snorri leaped before me, slashing at her nose with his claws. She grabbed him by his middle and slung him away. His body tumbled through the air, smashing through limbs with god awful snaps.
I ran, my feet quick and flying with her right on my heels, snapping with that horrid tooth filled mouth. All the while, I could hear her laughter over the pounding of my own racing heart. She had wings. She could have caught me very easily. She chose to chase. I was being toyed with and with every desperate stride, I grew angrier.
She meant to kill me, to gobble me up and spit whatever was left back out to make into some atrocious trophy to decorate her nest with. I'd be damned if I let her rob me of everything and hinder me from obtaining that which my hands greedily reached for. Mab dead at my feet, goblin banner's flying high over her castle and a future where the world trembled in our wake.
It was then, as her mouth came dreadfully near, that I realized that I had not yet properly introduced myself.
I halted abruptly, spun with an all too goblin screech, and I flung myself at her, digging my knife deep into the wrinkled flesh of her sagging cheek. She screamed at the pain of ripping, tearing flesh. She shook the entire Hollow with her screams as she thrashed about, but I clung to her, digging my fingers into the folds of her wrinkles, and I took the opportunity to twist my knife around in the open wound. "I am Matilda! Queen of Goblins and Empress of the Underground!" I bellowed, driving the knife in deeper, "I will make you and all your disgusting kind learn not to cross me!"
Her screaming stopped. Her whole body stilled. "Oh?" She chuckled in a breathless voice. "Do you truly mean that? That is a very bold claim." She said, her tone soft and raspy. "Do you even know what my 'kind' is?" One eye shifted towards me. It met my glare and peered in, pushing past my snarling mental defenses until it reached the raw human soul beneath. I felt her in my mind. Her talons scraped across my inner being, digging up foul things to expose and pick at like a carcass. "Ah, I see." Her eye widened with awe at the wonders she found. The innermost darkness, the center of those pits, began to glow with golden light. It was so bright it burned my eyes yet I could not look away. Something about their light drew me in, commanded me to look back. Everything besides those lights was blurred by a thick fog. "How very interesting. Interesting indeed." She breathed.
"Time to go." A strong arm looped around my middle and tore me from Athane's cheek, tearing my knife from its new resting place and snapping me out of the strange fog as Snorri zoomed through the canopy.
"Let me go!" I hissed, thrashing. I clawed at his arm, trying to unpin myself from his side. "I'm not finished! Put me back!" Down below, Athane was growing smaller and smaller as the distance between us grew. Those glowing eyes remained trained on me, but she made no move to follow. Instead she smiled and gave me a little wave. It was not a gesture of a final farewell.
I felt my stomach drop. I knew...I knew deep down in my bones that I hadn't seen the last of Athane.
Snorri threw his head back in whooping laughter, ignoring me as I clawed at him like a feral cat. "Incredible! Absolutely incredible!" He cackled. A grin stretched his mouth grotesquely. "You stabbed the beast in the face and you still want to go at her? How can one so tiny be so fearless?"
"Let go, Snorri!" I hissed, my nails scraping away the skin on his forearm. Something in me...I don't know what, instinct perhaps, was screaming at me to turn around and finish what I'd started. Athane was a threat. A fox in a chicken coop. I was going to regret letting her live. I just knew it.
"Are you mad?" Snorri scoffed. "Can you not see that that beast...that thing, whatever she is, is more than you or me? She is on a different level from anything you've fought. She'll gobble you up like a big fat rat and I do not want to be the one to tell King Knut that you got eaten." His large eyes narrowed as his expression turned more serious, his gaze settling on the brightening sky. "Strange though, that she did not come after us. Did you hurt her that badly?"
"No." Athane was out of sight now and my panic was beginning to wane. I allowed myself to relax a little. My struggling ceased. I hung in his hold like a wet noodle. Boneless. "I didn't hurt her at all. She's letting us go. I don't know why and honestly, I don't want to know." I suppressed a shiver. I could still feel the ickiness of her lingering in my mind. "I thought you were dead."
"She didn't bite very hard." He said. Looking down I could see punctures in his clothing, but nothing was leaking out. She hadn't even bit hard enough to break the skin. That fact did nothing to ease my discomfort.
I turned in his arms and he helped me to crawl onto his back where I clung to his clothing between his powerful leathery wings. "Fly fast. Put as much distance as possible between us and her." I ordered.
"Yes, My Queen. As you command." With rapid strong movements, he obliged. We rocketed up and up out of the red and gold leaves and into the clear sky. We flew low just above the branches, keeping them within easy access should we need to hide. "You didn't get much sleep last night. Why don't you take a nap. I'll wake you once we near The Winter Branches."
"So I can fall off again?" I muttered.
"I've got an idea that might remedy that problem. Take my belt. Wrap it around us both. It should keep you from slipping off while you snore."
"Are you trying to be funny, Snorri?" I asked. I had to admit, it was a good idea. I was kicking myself for not thinking of it myself. It was such a simple solution. I undid his belt and looped it around us, fastening it tightly. I was lucky I had a slight frame. The belt almost didn't reach.
I lay facing the sky. Its pale blue color was bright and inviting. A year ago, a sky like that would have made me think, "It's a good day to pick pockets." The good weather would mean more people at market, more pockets to pick, and crowds to lose pursuers in. Now, it only made me long for home. Not my old hovel with its rotting walls, but the cool dim halls of the goblin palace.
Heavy from lack of sleep, my eyelids slowly closed. In my dreams I was back there, standing on a balcony overlooking the glittering goblin city. My body was draped in pale pink, soft slippers adorned my feet and there were posies in my hair.
A tall, lean man came to join me, draping a long arm over my shoulder, pulling me tighter against his side. I didn't shake him away nor twist my face with disgust when I looked up and realized just how horrid he looked. Instead, I smiled and he smiled in turn.
"How are things going?" He asked.
I jolted awake at the sound of Knut's voice. If not for the belt, I'd have tumbled over. "Knut?" I gasped. My brain still foggy with sleep, I looked around for him stupidly.
"You're looking for me aren't you?" He laughed in my head. I blushed and ground my teeth. "I promised to keep in touch when I could, remember?"
"Knut, are you okay?" I asked the air, my teeth chattering loudly. The sky had turned gray, the air chilling against my skin. I reeled in my excitement and continued the conversation mentally. "Are you safe?"
"Safe isn't a word I'd use." He answered. "I'm still in the Summer Branches. Mab's men attack us in waves. It's like I've kicked a bee hive." He laughed. "Luckily though, no Seelie have arrived yet. I'm dealing with them. Nothing I can't handle. They haven't pushed me back an inch." He said with pride ringing in his voice. "Anyway, I'm more interested in what's going on with you. From what I could feel through my connection to Snorri, you ran into something mighty strong. Was it that creature Lysander warned us of?"
"It was," I said, trying not to picture Athane's bright eyes again, but of course I did anyway. Her face flickered across my memory, reminding me of the awful feeling that had followed her as she rummaged through my head. "We got away though."
"You stabbed her, didn't you?"
"Right in the face," The words held humor, but my tone held none. I couldn't even muster a chuckle. "Listen to me, Knut. The only reason we got away was that she let us get away. Don't underestimate her. She isn't like the other beasts we've dealt with and it isn't just because she's smart." I bit the inside of my cheek, willing away every memory of her. "I don't know what she is. Move quickly through the place where the two faerie kingdoms meet. Don't stop. Just keep going."
He was a quiet a long moment. Too long.
"Knut?" I called to him mentally. "Did you hear me?"
Another heartbeat, then three. "I heard you." He finally answered. I let out a relieved breath. "I will be careful and move as quickly as I'm able. However, it's hard when we're constantly getting pecked at. Have you caught sight of The City of Thorns yet?"
"Not yet, but I have an idea of how to find it. I'll let you know if something changes."
"Please do. Do you need anything? I'm sure you've lost something."
"I...may have left my cloak and helm behind." I hesitantly admitted. I hadn't even realized it until he'd mentioned it. My things were still sitting at our abandoned camp. Before I'd even completed my sentence, my skull like helm and midnight blue cloak conjured themselves into place. I pulled my cloak in around me, sighing at the delicious feel of the soft, warm fabric on my skin. "Thank you."
"You're welcome, but please try not to lose them again." He said.
"I'll try," I replied, even my thoughts quieter than before. I wished I could see him. I clutched my cloak tightly at my breasts, my chest aching with longing. "Are you really okay, Knut?" I asked.
Another long pause followed my question. "I'm well enough, Matilda. Like I said, it's been difficult, but I'm managing. It may be small, but we're making progress. We've made it close to the border, so we aren't too far behind you." I could hear a smile. His tone became softer. "I'm not as far away as it may feel."
"What makes you think I miss you, you scrawny flea-bitten rat?" I jabbed, my whole face hot and red.
"You've made it pretty obvious. You're not as good a liar as you think you are."
I swallowed the bile rising in my throat. "Neither are you," I said. Twisting my cloak around me, I held my hands to my mouth blowing hot air into them to warm them up. I stared up into the sky as I waited for his answer, already knowing and dreading what it would be.
"I swear I'm as safe as I can be. I promise you, I am." He said. I squeezed my eyes shut, wishing I hadn't just heard him lie to me.
"Liar," I hissed. "Something's wrong and you won't tell me what." I twisted in the belt, returning to my hands and knees. I gripped Snorri's shirt like the reins of a horse. "Forget The City of Thorns! I'm turning back!" I angrily shouted these thoughts at him.
"No!" His shout shook through my brain. "Matilda, you will continue on! You will! Do not fight me on this! I need you to take the city! It's the only way you can help me! If you come back now, they'll drag you out of the sky!" The pitch of his voice dropped, softening to almost a breath. "Don't worry about me. You have to trust me. I can take care of myself. You just focus on what you have to do and ensuring your own safety. Promise me you'll keep going."
My hands fisted in Snorri's clothing. The goblin looked back over his shoulder at me, puzzled at the look of distress on my face.
"I-I'm scared, Knut." I shuttered as the confession left my lips. I was ashamed for feeling that way, of being so weak. I hated myself for it. I wished I could be as fearless and vicious as he thought I was, but right then as awful images rolled through my mind, I was feeling especially vulnerable. "Aren't you afraid? So much could go wrong...I may even die."
"I'm not even slightly worried." He said with a short deep chuckle. "The thing about you is that you tend to snap when backed into a corner. When you're at your lowest point, you find a way to bite and claw your way out of it. When you've truly set your mind on something nothing can stop you. You'll do fine. Ah," He cut off, snarling in anger or maybe pain, "they're back again! I need to go! I'll contact you again as soon as I'm able."
I physically winced. "No, Knut, don't go yet! Knut! What's happening?" I called to him over and over but got no answer. There was nothing but silence hanging like a thick sludge between us.
"Is everything okay?" Snorri asked, his large eyes trained on my face, his brows pinched with worry.
At the feeling of wetness on my cheeks, I cringed. I hurriedly wiped the spilling tears away and bundled up in my cloak, throwing myself back into the blissful nothingness of sleep.
Six days passed and the air grew colder. We were still technically in the border zone, but we were nearing its end. The Hollow's branches were now a new brown shade of death and snow was gently falling here and there in spots.
I sat cross-legged in the middle of Snorri's back, nibbling a breakfast of berries I'd found stashed away among other goodies in a magic pocket of the cloak. I tilted my head back and caught the snowflakes on my tongue, gobbling up the first signs that we were crossing into the Winter Branches.
Over six days it had taken us to reach this far and it had been almost as long since I'd last heard from Knut. I'd been screaming at him mentally, trying to get an answer, any answer at all, but so far there was nothing. I chewed the berries slowly, trying my best to focus on their tart taste and not my worries. The berries turned to tasteless mush in my mouth regardless.
"I'm sure he'll contact you soon," Snorri assured me, just as he had all the previous days. "From what I can sense, he's been in constant battle. He probably just hasn't had a moment to catch his breath in between Unseelie attacks."
"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" I muttered, popping the last berry into my mouth and gnashing it to a pulp. "I'm out here on this wild goose chase while he's fighting Unseelie somewhere. I could have stayed. I could be helping him, instead of hunting a city that no one's even sure exists!"
"The Hollow told you it exists. I think that pretty much confirms it." Snorri said.
"I would take anything The Hollow says with a grain of salt." I hissed. "The old tree has a mean streak in it. It could have sent us this way just to mess with us for all we know."
"You think The Hollow would trick you just for fun?"
"I wouldn't put it past it, is all I'm saying. Just because it's a god doesn't mean it's pure of heart."
"You really don't trust anyone do you?" Snorri laughed. "Except Knut, I mean." Snorri's ears wiggled and his laughter abruptly died. His ears turned like those of a cat towards a sound. "Do you hear that?" He asked, sucking in a breath.
"What?"
"Listen."
I sat still. Snorri stopped flapping his wings and coasted on the chilly breeze. It took me a moment before I finally picked it up. Beneath the whistling of the wind was the faint sound of wood scraping against wood in an almost rhythmic tune.
"The City of Thorns sings as it moves through my branches." The Hollow had hinted. Now I understood.
"Follow it. Follow the sound." I commanded. Shifting to my knees, I held onto his shirt as he banked westward at top speed.
"It doesn't make sense. We're heading back into the borderlands." Snorri said, his brow furrowing in confusion as his ears continued to wiggle.
"Keep going!" I slapped at the back of his bald head. "Faster!" The sound was growing louder and louder. We were drawing near. I flattened myself against him, allowing him to pick up even more speed.
We zoomed across the sky with brown and red leafed branches beneath us until suddenly, there was nothing. Nothing but a gnarled tangle of thorny vines where The Hollow's branches should be. My ears rang with the rumbling scream of bark scraping against bark and the snapping of branches.
"Stop!" I pulled at Snorri's clothing, slowing him to a hover.
I shakily climbed to my feet. His wide back was easy for me to balance myself on. I stood there and gawked at what lay below me. I watched with wide eyes as tendrils shot out of the thorny tangle. They looped themselves around the next branches and pulled itself along, moving itself and what lay within it through The Branches slowly inch by inch.
The vines were thick and closely packed, but I could hear, carried on the wind, the faintest of voices mingling together. I heard merchants bartering with customers, mothers' scolding children and men arguing over the price of a cow. It was the sound of a city's heartbeat.
"What do you see?" Snorri asked.
"I see a city," I answered, a devilish grin spreading across my face. "A city of thorns."