Beyond the Iron Gate (The Faery Meadow Book 1)

Elaine came to on the grassy floor of the forest. She watched Lorcan swiftly grab a knife by the fire pit and step out in front of her.

“Where are we?” her voice trembled.

Lorcan’s ears perked up hearing the sound of a were’s guttural growl, “In the faery realm...”

The faery man crooked his head to the side and Elaine stood up. She watched nervously as his broad shoulders tensed. Then, she backed up a few steps giving him room to fight the beast for it jumped out of a bush ahead of them and as far as she was concerned it could be her chance to escape. While Lorcan easily evaded to werewolf by jumping up and flying away Elaine ran loudly through the woods.

Elaine’s voice shook as she shouted up at him, “W-what?”

“I told you, I’m taking you home! My name’s Lorcan by the way. The greenman let us through.”

“G-greenman?” Elaine sputtered thinking him speaking nonsense. Then again, she was staring down a very real looking faery. Her voice hardened as she grew bitter and ran faster, “I don’t care! You kidnapped me and almost got me killed,” Elaine retorted.

The were pursued the young woman with a howl alerting its other friends nearby. Meanwhile, Lorcan wondered why she held such anger. Did she really not know she was of the fae?

At some point, I need to learn to protect myself..., the girl thought in annoyance while rounding another tree. However, the fallen logs ahead of her slowed her down. Lorcan waited patiently for her to release her wings and drop her glamour, but she did no such thing.

Could she truly be human? He didn’t know.

“We will survive!” Lorcan hollered above her while eyeing the beast behind them, or more accurately, her.

There was no more time to waste. He flew downward and hoisted her up with him back into the air. Below, the were stood on its haunches snapping its canines as they faded away in the distance.

“You stupid human.”

“You’re insane! Let me down, now! I just wanted to get away from you and that dog.”

He shot her a cold glare. “Sure you did, but that was no dog. Why didn’t you use your wings?”

She didn’t answer him much because she knew he was the reason she almost died to begin with. Lorcan got bored of the silence while he carried her with him closer to Aeringdal by each second. So he began to tell her of the other larger predators that were more troublesome out there than weres.

Elaine still struggled against him, jerking her arms and kicking. She didn’t know if falling to her death was better than being kidnapped by him. However, she didn’t trust him and hoped if she could escape his arms that she’d be lucky and land on a tree branch again. After much flying, he and the girl descended to the earth and began trudging through the forest.

I asked him where we’re going a couple of times, but all he would do is retort ‘silence human’ or just ignore me. I’m really getting tired of him calling me human too. I don’t think he’s taking me to my parents, Elaine continued to mull over Lorcan’s behavior and motives.

“What are you going to do about your wounds?”

She knew the were managed to bite his arm before he got the chance to fly away.

Lorcan gave her a sideways glance, “Nothing until I deliver you.”

Elaine scowled.

“They will eventually heal and you will eventually forget about me,” Lorcan added while watching the young woman stumble to keep up with him.

His stride was quicker than hers, but he thought he was doing her a favor walking the remaining distance to the city.

She refused to keep still while flying with him and he was betting on her being more obedient to his wishes while they walked. He was sorely mistaken.

“Let go of my hand, I...won’t run,” Elaine mumbled.

Lorcan laughed, but it quickly died out when she started dragging her feet on the ground when he wouldn’t let go.

I can barely see the sky through the thick foliage above us. I’m hungry. Are my foster parents wondering where I am right now? I don’t even know where we are or where we’re going. Lorcan said we’re in the faery realm. How long will it be until I can go back if he lets me leave or is he waiting to kill me? Is he really taking me to my parents? Elaine’s mind buzzed more and more until it became too much.

She slumped to the ground behind Lorcan and when he turned around he let go of her hand. He was not surprised to watch her run away. She would eventually seek his help. He would watch over her and he really was in no hurry to reach Aeringdal. Her parents never gave him a deadline...

So he flew upwards and perched on a large boulder scoffing as she tripped over an unearthed tree root. Quickly, she recovered and eventually ran out of his line of sight just like the sun overhead of him. Night would draw on soon and she would have no way to see. Nevertheless, she would be easy to find though because she left a noisy trail to follow and something else too.

***

The evening sun finally set and Elaine plopped down on a flat rock with a racing heart. Her movement startled a couple of birds on the dead tree limb just above her head and she leaned back against the base of the tree hugging her arms. The shadows above the birds disappeared as they squawked while flying away somewhere above her and she closed her eyes feeling sleepy.

The woods around her were quiet. Not a sound could be heard save for the slight rustle of foliage above her. The bottom of her gown was torn up and shredded with a coating of dirt and tiny pebbles sticking to it. It was made of cheap material that didn’t help her keep warm in the cold of the night. She felt alone and lost. She was already scared the moment the faery man had stolen her away. Now, the darkness brought on a terror of its own. So did the were...that could still be out there.

The world around her was foreign and she was made vulnerable. She itched the side of her face and withdrew her hand seeing it coated in a layer of the red glittery goop the faery seemingly vomited on her.

“Disgusting,” Elaine whispered while hastily wiping it off on the grass. After rubbing her face again she managed to get most of the faery dust off.