Beyond the Iron Gate (The Faery Meadow Book 1)

“We’re being watched,” Lorcan whispered.

“Who is watching us? Did you see them?” Elaine questioned in a rush.

She thought they were probably being followed by guards again. She looked behind him then looked behind herself.

“No. This side of the forest has more creatures. We best be alert, we’re going to get trapped at one point or another. It is just a matter of time.”

Elaine muttered under her breath, “I don’t know if I can walk much longer in this high grass.”

The grass and weeds were up to her hips. The woods were getting thicker on this side and she thought it seemed quieter, vacant. According to Lorcan though, she was wrong.

“Are we in danger?”

“Not necessarily.”

***

“If you have wings can’t you fly us to my parents?” Elaine’s voice quickly turned cold, “If that’s where you’re taking me.”

“If you have legs, can’t you run?” Lorcan retorted.

Suddenly, Lorcan put his arm out in front of her halting her step forward.

“They’ve got us.”

“Who? Where?”

Lorcan pulls his hood up and she did the same. He indicated for her to get down below a bush in front of them. Then, he quietly lowered down next to her.

“For the past hour, they’ve been luring us into their hoard. Stay beside me and don’t utter a word if you wish to live, human. Pixies are not as you’ve read in your human faery tales,” he said with a creepy smile.

“Can’t we run away?”

“Maybe you should see what we’re dealing with here, human.”

Lorcan pulled aside some of the leaves in the bush her and he hid behind. She leaned her head in giving him an uneasy glance before setting her eyes on what waited ahead.

Her face paled at the disfigured creatures walking around what looked to be a huge pit. There was no doubt they lived down there. Above the pit, the trees were canopied in ropes with the so-called pixies crawling all over. She could just see inside the gigantic pit a pile of rusty swords sitting in the center while they opened and closed cages around it.

Lorcan was definitely right, they look nothing like she thought they would be. Their faces were relatively the same, to her they look more like trolls. Their faces were narrow with pointy noses and beady eyes. Most of them had no hair on their greasy looking heads. She could barely hear their raspy voices as they marched about their creepy home. She shuddered at the thought of them stalking her.

She scooted back taking a deep breath.

“You are going to have to do exactly what I say for us to get out of here,” Lorcan whispered to her.

Lorcan didn’t wait for her to reply and he jumped to his feet yanking her arm. He took off running with her toward the pixie pit.

“What are you doing?” Elaine yelled with fury.

Then she remembered what he told her. She tried to keep up with him, stumbling down the hill toward the pit. Lorcan gave her a grim look before they hopped down into the pit. Quickly, he shuffled her into his arms letting his wings expand. They floated to the ground. Then, Lorcan dropped Elaine. The pixies stopped what they’re doing and eyed them suspiciously.

“I’ve come for a trade,” Lorcan declared to the mass of pixies encircling them.

“Ah, our guests have arrived,” a deep voice said from above them.

The figure jumped down, revealing a very large pixie with just one arm. Elaine thought he was the one in charge of the disgusting place. Since they were closer now, she could see the cages were prisons holding creatures of all sorts are locked up. Their hands pried through the bars desperately.

Lorcan kicked her in the back gently.

“Get up slave,” he sneered.

She looked over her shoulder at him in panic. He pushed her roughly forward and toward the pixies.

“Ah, a fine slave fit for a fine king,” the pixie king gloated, “Tell me, what is this slave’s name.”

The pixies started to make room for the pixie king to walk. When he reached Elaine he walked around her as if evaluating her worthiness to be his slave.

“I know not, it is a mere human. Such a pain to drag the ugly excuse of a being with me all the way here,” Lorcan laughed.

“Something tells me you are special,” the pixie king muttered casually.

Elaine refused to look at him so she stared at the floor.

A cold finger touched her forehead and she forced herself not to jump away. The pixie king took his good old time dragging his dirty gross finger down her forehead. She felt her legs start to shake in terror at the pixie’s touch. The pixie king’s stench was enough to make he vomit. He smelled of dead animal and rotten eggs.

Finally, he removed his finger off her forehead and stepped away from her.

“Well, I don’t have all day. Name your price,” Lorcan demanded angrily.

“I believe I am king here, not you. I tend to just take what I like. Why else would I have sent my troops out to watch over you?” the pixie king began. His voice lowered, “Then again, I’m not so dumb as to tick you off, Lorcan. In exchange for the slave girl, I will grant you one of my highest trained were-trackers.”

“Deal.”

The king quickly snatched Elaine and she cried out. She reminded herself over and over this was all part of Lorcan’s plan. She took a last glance back at Lorcan. He was quietly watching the pixie king drag her away.

“Enjoy that tracker, raised him myself!” the pixie king hollered back at him.

Elaine followed quickly after the pixie king as they weaved through several narrow tunnels. She tried to keep track of the turns they made, but it was like a maze down there. Suddenly, she was shoved into a tiny cage where she had to crawl on her knees to fit inside. The door screeched to a close and was firmly locked behind her. She watched through the bars as the disgusting pixie king placed the key inside his shirt.

“I will see you tomorrow,” he whispered.

Elaine glanced up at the top of the pit and then to the walls. Some torches on them lit up her surroundings, but it might as well always be night down there from the depth she was at. The cages next to her were empty. She tried bending the bars of her cage, but they wouldn’t budge.

***

A good two hours passed and still no sign of Lorcan. Elaine only could hear the occasional murmur of pixies talking down the tunnel.

Her head was bent at an awkward angle. Her entire body was starting to get cramped up and she had no room at all to stretch. The exhaustion from her day was starting to weigh in on her. She tried to keep her eyes open. The last thing she needed to do was fall asleep down there.

She hugged her legs.

An ear piercing scream ripped through the air making her hit her head on the top of her cage. The noises of battle followed as steel hit on steel and more shouts and the thudding of footsteps rushed around somewhere above her.

All of the sudden, the noises stopped.

Her blood ran cold as Lorcan’s laugh rang through the air breaking the silence.

The walls, to her amazement, start to slightly shake as if something or someone was hitting against the walls of the pit. A torch on the wall to the right of her fell to the ground diffusing itself. Everything went dark around her.

“Evacuate the pit!” a pixie screamed from down the tunnel.