Richelle Mead - Shadow Heir

Indecision warred on Pagiel’s face. He didn’t know who to trust, and I didn’t blame him. I’d been in that position. In a chaotic world, he’d carved out this outlaw niche for himself, one that at least gave him control of something.

“Pagiel, please,” I said. Panic was building in me. I was afraid it was going to come down to a fight, and I really didn’t want that. “I know what you’re going through. I’ve been fighting the destiny that was allegedly laid out for me too. You are your own master, not some prophecy made before you were born.”

Pagiel still didn’t respond. It was Jasmine who cracked him. “Pagiel, please,” she said, echoing me. “Please come with us.”

His gaze flicked to her, and I saw a new pain cross his features. Like her, he’d come to realize the family connection that had killed their romance. Nonetheless, I knew that as he studied her, he still cared about her and probably always would.

“All right,” he said at last. He turned his attention back to me. “I trust you, Eugenie.”

It was the first time he’d called me by my given name, and I smiled. It was fitting, since we were related. A few of his followers grumbled about this decision, but again, a command from him silenced them. I also noted that a few of them actually looked relieved. I wondered if maybe what had started off as a fun, madcap adventure had become too much for some.

Pagiel glanced back to where a couple of horses simply carried packs and supplies. “Distribute those goods among everyone so that my aunts can ride,” he ordered.

His riders jumped to obey. I hoped desperately we could work out all of this because he had so much potential. He was powerful in presence and personality. If he was put on the right path, he could become the kind of leader who did great things in the Otherworld. He could inherit a kingdom someday.

I hoped my abandoned car would be okay and crossed with Pagiel’s riders into the Otherworld. It wasn’t one of the strongest gates I’d ever used, but none of his party seemed to have difficulty with it. He’d picked a strong group. We reached the Thorn Land and then turned down the road for the Oak Land. As we rode, I occasionally saw the other gentry going through the packs of stolen goods. A few of them started munching on candy bars, like Butterfinger and Heath. Once Pagiel’s stopped his raids , I thought, this will all be funny someday.

It was still weird seeing the Oak Land so green. The trees held the fruits of both summer and autumn now, and I hoped Pagiel would soon realize there was a lot to love here in the Otherworld. He and his followers didn’t need the human world. This was where they belonged.

We reached a part of the road that I knew well, a bend that would soon put us in sight of Dorian’s castle. I breathed a sigh of relief. We had done it. We would bring Pagiel home and fix all of this.

Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, an arrow zinged by Pagiel, only just barely missing him. It was followed by two more, one of which took one of Pagiel’s riders in the chest. I pulled out my athame and gun. The air swelled around us—a result of both my magic and Pagiel’s—and his riders drew weapons. Shouts from the trees around the road told me we were rapidly being surrounded, but I couldn’t see by whom yet. I looked around frantically, trying to decide how we could best defend ourselves.

Before I could say anything, Pagiel gestured to me and Jasmine with his sword. “Seize them! Use them as hostages! They’ve led us into an ambush!”

“What?” I exclaimed. “They aren’t with us! I don’t know who they are!”

Pagiel didn’t seem to hear me. Neither did his followers. A few of them advanced on me, which was pretty foolish on their part. I held out my silver athame in a warding gesture and summoned a sudden rush of dark clouds and flickering lightning above us that was mostly for show. I didn’t want to hurt them, not when a third party was attacking us. The trick worked, and his riders hesitated.

“I’m not your enemy,” I told them. “Deal with me later. Worry about them .”

Our attackers conveniently chose that moment to finally show themselves. They were a mixed group of warriors, with no real uniformity to their attire. They could have been ordinary brigands, but on a few of them, I caught the flash of a golden willow tree pin. To round out the mix, they’d recruited a few wandering spirits and trolls.

“They’re Maiwenn’s people,” I said to anyone who would listen.

Finally, one of the riders was smart enough to realize the danger. “The Willow Queen has sent her assassins to kill our lord!” he exclaimed. “Attack! Defend Pagiel!”

Many of his followers were his age. So young , I thought sadly. But from the fierce looks on their faces, they were more than willing to defend their leader. I respected that. Me, I didn’t have much concern for Pagiel. He could take care of himself, so I left it to others to fret over him as I charged forward to help thin out the opposition.

Most of Pagiel’s warriors could handle one-on-one physical or magical combat with the Willow attackers, so I focused on the monsters and spirits. A lot of them I could dispatch with shamanic magic, keeping my distance and ousting them before they even realized what was happening. I traded my athame for my wand. It was a real wand, not the homemade contraption from the Yew Land—though I had kept that as a souvenir.

Some of the spirits sensed what I was doing and attacked me directly. It occurred to me then that I hadn’t really been involved in a true fight for a while. Despite all the dangers we’d faced on the Yew Land journey, there’d been very few physical confrontations. The closest had been when I freed the monarchs, but even then, my storm magic had kept most of them at bay. I hadn’t gotten down and dirty in a while.

Like so much after the birth of the twins, I was excited to see that I really had recovered. Part of my fear when pregnant had been that my body was lost to me forever. Time had healed everything, and I was just as fast and effective as I used to be. Sure, I got a few bruises and burns from the spirits (this group had an acidlike touch), but I took it in stride and fought my way through.

Our group was making good progress when a group of Oak Land warriors, led by Dorian himself, came charging down the road. That pretty much cinched the odds for us, and in a very short time, Maiwenn’s people were either dead or had fled.

I wiped sweat off my brow and put away the wand as I rode over to Dorian. Having come at the end, he looked remarkably fresh and energetic, though I saw blood on his sword. “Well, well,” he said. “What’s all this?”

I grimaced. “Ambush. I found Pagiel in Arizona and convinced him to come back with me to see you. Then these guys showed up. Kiyo acted like he’d be hunting Pagiel, but my guess is he knew I’d have better luck and simply had Maiwenn’s forces stake out likely places we’d return.”

Dorian glanced around, a small frown creasing his features. “Where is Pagiel?”

“He’s right—” I turned around and stared. There were all of Pagiel’s riders, alive and well. But no Pagiel. “Where the hell is he?” A moment later, I noticed something else. “Where’s Jasmine?”

His disappearance was as much a surprise to his followers as it was to me—well, most of them. A couple exchanged knowing looks, and I could see mild guilt on their faces.

“What is it?” demanded Dorian. “What happened?”

One of them gave a half bow from his saddle. “Forgive us, sire. When the attack started, we thought ... well, we thought it was a betrayal.” He shot me an apologetic look. “We urged Pagiel to leave since we knew he was the target. And ... we, uh, encouraged him to take the Lady Jasmine with him.”