“If I say yes, how long is this going to take?”
“Not long,” the Winter faery said. “But we must begin the ritual soon, while the moon is high overhead. So, the question remains, Ethan Chase. Are you willing? Is this something you wish to do?”
I hesitated, thinking. Not long ago, I would’ve jumped at the chance. Being immune to magic and glamour and all the nasty spells the fey could throw at me? Seemed like a no-brainer. But after I’d met Keirran, magic had saved my life and Kenzie’s life, on more than one occasion. It had gotten me out of trouble, kept me from freezing to death, and allowed us to avoid some very unpleasant circumstances. I had just gotten to a point where I would, begrudgingly, admit that not all fey magic was pure evil and was actually very helpful in some situations. Glamour itself wasn’t the problem; it was really just a tool. An extremely dangerous tool where you had to be on guard the whole time or risk it blowing up in your face, but the real threat came from the creature using it, not the magic itself. To never experience it again...was I ready for that?
I sighed. Again, this wasn’t about me. As much as I hated to admit it, I knew the dryad was right. I was no match for Keirran if he decided to use magic against me. I wasn’t even certain I could defend myself from his sword; we’d “fought” once before, and were pretty evenly matched when it came to swordplay. But if Keirran used any of that power I’d seen only glimpses of in the past, I’d be blown apart with a thought.
“Yeah,” I answered, slumping. “I’m willing. I want to do this. What do you need from me?”
The ring of faeries closed in, gliding across the grove with a rustling of leaves and branches. “Not much,” the dryad whispered, as I tensed and forced my hands to remain still, off my swords. “Only stand in the middle of the circle as we commune with the Nevernever. If it chooses to bestow the gift, you need only spill a few drops of your blood to the ground to accept. There is nothing you can do beyond that. This decision is Faery’s alone. Are you ready, Ethan Chase?”
“Yes.”
“Then we will begin.”
The faeries closed their eyes, and each one, both Summer and Winter, took the hand of its neighbor, forming a ring around me. Crossing my arms, I stood uncomfortably in the center as they began to sway, moving like saplings in a strong wind. The forest around us was silent and still, but I suddenly felt like something was approaching, coming closer through the trees, from the very ground itself. Something...huge.
The dryad I’d been speaking to opened its eyes, its stark black gaze fixed on me. “It accepts,” she whispered in a low, inhuman voice, and a chill raced up my spine. Though from terror or excitement, I couldn’t tell. “Spill your blood onto the ground, Ethan Chase,” the faery went on, holding my gaze as the others continued to sway, “and the ritual will be complete.”
I drew my sword, hesitated for half a breath, then sliced the edge across the meat of my thumb. Blood welled, pooling in my palm, before I tipped it over and let the liquid stream to the dirt.
A collective sigh seemed to go through the ring of fey as my blood hit the ground, and a gust of wind swirled around us, tossing leaves into a cyclone, whipping at my hair and clothes. The branches overhead rattled, trees bouncing up and down, as if the entire forest was coming alive.
The land under my feet gave a violent lurch, like a giant drawing in a deep breath. I lost my footing and dropped to my knees, the earth cold beneath my palms, and felt something sucking at me, like it was trying to pull me under. I gasped and tried to fight it, but it was like trying to drag a car out of a hole with your bare hands. My hands disappeared into the earth, held in place by the massive force, and I couldn’t budge an inch as something, whatever it was, continued to pull me down. My legs vanished into the dirt, and the ground continued to slide up my arms, past my elbows, toward my shoulders and head.
Trying not to panic, I looked up at the circle and saw they were still swaying in the same place, fingers interlaced, eyes closed, as I continued to be sucked into the earth.
“Hey!” I yelled, looking at the dryad who’d spoken to me earlier. Her eyes were shut again, and she didn’t stop swaying. “Sort of being swallowed whole by the Nevernever, here! Is this a normal part of the ritual, or should I just start panicking about now?”
Of course, there was no answer. I had now sunk in nearly to my shoulders, with no signs of slowing down. I thrashed again, trying to free my arms at least, to grab my swords, futile as that was, but I couldn’t move a finger. Cold earth tickled my neck and slipped down the collar of my shirt, and my stomach writhed in fear. Dammit, why do faeries never tell you all the details? I thought, furious with myself for agreeing to this. Why am I even surprised?
Dirt pressed against my jaw, oozing up my cheekbones. Panting, I craned my head back, feeling it cover my ears, muffling all sound. As it inched up my face, I took several deep, final breaths and closed my eyes as the force finally dragged me under, covering my head and plunging everything into darkness.
I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t move. I could feel the weight of the earth, crushing me from all sides, and my own rapid heartbeat, thudding frantically in my chest. I’m going to die here, I thought numbly. Buried alive by the Nevernever, and Kenzie and Meghan and my parents will never know what happened. How could you be so stupid, Ethan?
And then, as I waited in the suffocating darkness, wondering when my breath would give out, I felt a presence. One that tied my stomach in a knot and made my heart nearly stop with fright. Massive wouldn’t quite cover it. Ancient didn’t even begin to scratch the surface. I was underground; I could feel cold earth against my skin, my closed eyelids, filling my ears and nose. But this consciousness surrounded me, engulfed me like the ocean or the sky, eternal and depthless. I was like a grain of sand, a speck of dust. I felt if I dared open my eyes, I could be floating in the vastness of space, surrounded by galaxies and planets and stars, and this presence encompassed all of it.