Black City

“I have never done that,” I said. “I only blow up people who are mean to me first.”

“If Madeline is not ruthless, she will never survive, gargoyle,” Nathaniel said. “Her enemies have no mercy, and neither should she.”

“Well, then, if you want to be a monster like everyone else,” Beezle said.

“I don’t,” I said. “But I don’t want anyone thinking they can have a go at me—or my friends—without consequences.”

The air was getting colder, and as we got closer to the peak, snow began to blow. Nathaniel did not seem even remotely bothered by the weather, but after a few moments I was shivering. I was wearing nothing but the stupid leather pants and the flimsy sweater that Puck had given me. Even Nathaniel’s body heat wasn’t helping.

After a while the snowflakes became a blizzard, and we could barely see a few feet in front of us.

“Stay close!” I shouted to the others. I didn’t want to lose anyone in this mess.

Everyone clumped up so tight that it was difficult to fly. Wings tangled together; people bumped and snarled. Beezle climbed into my lap and huddled there with his wings over his head.

“There’s the top,” Nathaniel said.

I don’t know how he could see anything at all except snow, but since his hearing had been enhanced by the discovery of his legacy, it wasn’t that far-fetched to think his vision would be as well. At least we knew we were still heading in the right direction.

Samiel was a little ahead of the rest of us. Jude was a snow-covered length of fur on his shoulders. The snow swirled for a moment, and we could all see the gray wasteland that was the end of Titania’s kingdom a few feet in front of us.

Then Samiel seemed to smash into an invisible wall in midair, and fell to the ground. Luckily, the ground wasn’t very far away.

“Samiel!” Chloe and I both cried.

Nathaniel and the others flew down to the place where Samiel and Jude had landed in a snowbank beside a large cave opening. Jude shook the snow off his fur. Samiel sat up, rubbing his head. Chloe ran to his side.

“How many fingers?” she asked, holding up her hand.

Two, Samiel signed, looking sheepish, as we crowded around him. What happened?

Nathaniel placed me on my feet. Beezle climbed up to my shoulder and settled in. Nathaniel walked toward the sharp edge where the snow ended and the wasteland began. He reached toward the space, palm out. And was stopped.

“There is a wall here,” Nathaniel said.

“There, see, you aren’t a klutz,” Chloe soothed Samiel. “There was a wall there. What’s a wall doing there?”

“This is a faerie kingdom,” J.B. said. “You didn’t think it would be easy for us to leave, did you?”

“We were chased by a spriggan and a horde of harpies. You call that easy?” Chloe asked.

“Easy is a relative concept,” I said, thinking of the Maze and the Hob and all of the other horrible faerie things I’d encountered.

I joined Nathaniel by the wall, and J.B. followed me, standing on my other side.

“What do you think?” I asked. “Could we take it down with magic?”

“You could, I’m sure,” Beezle said. “Just make with the explodey-thing.”

“Possibly,” J.B. said. “But it would likely be difficult and draining, and there’s a very good chance that the wall will make sure that anyone who tries to destroy it will pay the price.”

“Maddy might just blast the whole thing into oblivion, including any booby traps,” Beezle said.

“And us, too?” J.B. said. “If she unleashes that much power at such a close range, it’s unlikely to be good for any of us. And there’s still no guarantee it would work.”

“What can we do, then?” I said, looking through to the wastes on the other side. They were so frustratingly close. “Tunnel under?”

Nathaniel shook his head. “It will be like this world is encased in a snow globe. If you tunnel under, you will still find the same barrier.”

“Well, there’s got to be a way out,” I said.

“Not necessarily,” J.B. said. “Usually when creatures come and go from this land, they have the power to transport themselves across dimensions, or are at the very least accompanied by someone who does.”

“I refuse to believe that we are going to be stuck in this godforsaken place because of a piece of glass,” I said.

I stared at the barrier, trying to will it to come down, and that was when I noticed it. There was a cave on the other side of the wall. I glanced back at the cave that was beside the place where Samiel had landed, and then to the other side again. The two openings were mirror images of each other.

“That’s the way out,” I said, pointing at the cave on the wasteland side.

J.B. followed my gaze, and then looked over at the cave on our side. He nodded. “You’re probably right. It’s got the feeling of a faerie solution.”

“That means that the cavern will be some kind of obstacle course or proving ground,” Nathaniel said.

“Of course,” I said. “Nothing is easy, especially when faeries are involved.”

“Hey,” J.B. said mildly.

“You’re only half-faerie,” I said. And nothing is ever easy with you, either, I thought, but I didn’t say it aloud.

We walked back to the others and explained what I had found.