Shadowspell

“What’s going on?” I asked her as my dad continued with his calls. “Who were those guys?” I really hoped they’d turned around and galloped back into Faerie after they’d … I tried not to think about what had happened.

My mom shook her head. “That was the Wild Hunt,” she said in a breathless whisper, as if saying the words aloud would somehow make them appear out of thin air.

I waited for her to explain, but she didn’t. Maybe I was supposed to know off the top of my head what the Wild Hunt was, but there was a lot I didn’t know about Faerie. Mom was born and raised in Avalon, and sometimes she forgot that Avalon wasn’t like other places.

“What’s the Wild Hunt?” I asked.

We’d entered the tunnel system to begin the trek back to my safe house, and I guess Dad must have lost his signal, because he finally put his cell phone away.

“They are the nightmare of Faerie,” he said in a tense, clipped tone. “A pack of horsemen who live only to hunt Fae and mortals alike. Their leader—the Erlking—is the only man the Queens of Faerie are said to fear.”

“That would be the guy with the sword?” I asked in a small voice.

Dad dipped his chin in a curt nod. “Yes. All the Huntsmen are dangerous, but none more so than he.”

I frowned, belatedly hearing the nuances of what my dad had said. “Wait a minute. You said the Queens of Faerie fear him, plural. But he’s Unseelie, right?” All of Faerie is divided into two Courts, each with its own Queen. The Seelie Court had the reputation of being the good guys (though since Aunt Grace was Seelie, it’s obvious the reputation doesn’t always hold true). The Unseelie Court is the Court of monsters and bad guys, but that was a generalization, too. Ethan and Kimber were Unseelie, and they were pretty decent most of the time. The Erlking seemed to fit the Unseelie stereotype to a tee. “If he’s Unseelie, surely the Unseelie Queen isn’t scared of him.”

“He is neither Seelie nor Unseelie,” my father said. “He is outside the Courts altogether, a power unto himself. He considers himself a king, although he has no actual kingdom.”

“And he’s allowed to just ride into Avalon whenever he feels like it and kill people in broad daylight?” I’d seen evidence before that the border between Avalon and Faerie was dangerously porous, but I had at least hoped that it was better defended than that.

“No. He is not allowed to hunt in Avalon. It’s just that if someone he’s hunting in Faerie comes over the border, he’s allowed to pursue.”

We were moving so fast I was beginning to be a little short of breath, so I decided to hold my questions for the moment. When we passed out of the populated section of the tunnels and into the lightless path that led to my home, Dad cast some kind of spell that created a ball of light, which hovered over our heads and showed us the way. My neck kept prickling, and I kept looking behind me. Not that I really expected to see the Erlking bearing down on me on his fearsome black horse, but I was completely freaked out. I’d never have admitted it, but I was glad my mom had covered my eyes. I’d already seen enough things here in Avalon that would haunt my sleep. I didn’t need one more.

When we finally got to the safe house, Dad asked my mom if she would make us all some tea while he and I waited in the guardroom for Finn to arrive. It came out sounding more like an order than a request, but my mom didn’t object.

The guardroom wasn’t as cozy as the living room in my suite, but there was a reasonably comfortable sitting area. I plopped down heavily on the couch, but my dad was too agitated to sit.

“Okay,” I said. “What’s the scoop on the Erlking? Why did we have to head for the hills as soon as you saw him? You said he wasn’t allowed to hunt in Avalon.”

“It’s complicated.”

I snorted. “Like anything in this place is simple. Come on, Dad. Tell me what’s going on. Don’t I have a right to know?”

He let out a frustrated sigh, which seemed to release some of his tension. He stared at the floor as he spoke, and his jaw was tight with strain.

“Once upon a time, the Erlking and his Wild Hunt were the scourge of Faerie. This was a long, long time ago. They would hunt the members of both Courts, slaughtering them at will. Those they didn’t kill were forced to join the Hunt, slaves to the Erlking’s will. Sometimes, the Hunt would ride out into Avalon and wreak havoc among the mortals living here. Mortals who were forced into the Wild Hunt invariably died, their bodies pushed to the breaking point as they tried to keep up the relentless pace of the Hunt.”

My mom entered the guardroom, carrying a tray with the tea. I was more of a coffee girl myself, but the people of Avalon apparently couldn’t live without their tea. I was learning to tolerate it in the interest of being polite. Mom put the tray on the coffee table, then poured out three cups as my dad continued.

“Eventually, the Queens of Faerie were able to make a deal with the Erlking, a deal they sealed with magic. The Erlking agreed that he would no longer hunt members of either Court without permission of that Court’s Queen. Ever since, he and his Wild Hunt have been the Faerie Queens’ assassins and executioners. Still a nightmare, but a leashed nightmare.”

I frowned as I thought that over. “What did the Erlking get out of this agreement?”

Dad stirred his tea with studied intensity. “He gained the privilege of hunting the Courts’ outcasts.”