AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Not to worry. I wouldn’t dream of jeopardizing your standing with Madame Thea.”
“Trust me, you don’t want to get on her bad side. She makes Kane look like a unicorn princess.” His pause had an ominous quality to it. “You’ll see.”
CHAPTER 10
As promised, Gunther drove me as deep into Wild Acres as his sporty car could squeeze, ignoring the ‘no vehicles beyond this point’ sign. He pulled to a stop when the trees grew too crowded to continue.
“You sure you’re okay going alone? Maybe come back with Claude. Stick him in your pocket where they won’t see him.”
“I’ll be fine.” ‘Alone’ was my default mode. From a young age, it had been seared into my brain that I was a danger to myself and those around me. I had an obligation to avoid entanglements and keep others safe—except the longer I lived in Fairhaven, the less sure I was of the necessity. Gun and Camryn were skilled mages. Professional killers. They could hold their own. Kane was a feared and mighty demon; he didn’t require protection from me—and even if he did, he’d made it clear he thought I was worth the risk.
As much as Pops loved me, he’d convinced me that the only life I could live was one of secrets and survival. My time in Fairhaven now had me questioning that belief.
I thanked Gun and exited the car. The forest made the usual noises—scampering, rustling, singing. Their familiarity put me at ease. I’d spent most of my childhood in the woods, either survival training with Pops or playing on my own. I felt protected by the army of trees, despite the looming threats. Pops used to warn me that Mother Nature was neutral and not to depend on her, but I couldn’t help myself. I’d wanted so badly to believe there was a force greater than us looking out for me. Ironic, considering that was how people viewed their gods.
After my visit with the Fates in New York City, I realized I hadn’t been entirely wrong. It wasn’t Mother Nature, however, but an unknown entity that had hidden my existence with the invisible mark. It wasn’t as cool as Harry Potter’s lightning bolt scar, but I’d take it. The attempt to hide me meant that some higher power cared if I lived or died.
That all these years, I hadn’t truly been alone.
I followed Gun’s instructions and turned right at the copse of silver birches. The mightiest oak tree in Wild Acres was even larger than its two cousins that flanked the crossroads. The base spanned the ground like a giant claw, its network of visible roots gripping the earth with a ferocious intensity. Its branches spread high and wide, a desperate reach for the heavens. A low-lying cloud hovered above the treetops, within sight but not within reach. The scene reminded me of Michelangelo’s famous frescoes on the Sistine Chapel ceiling—the finger of God stretched toward Adam’s. In this moment, I understood why certain cultures believed that trees served as the bridge to both the underworlds and the heavens.
I skirted the wide trunk until I located the notch. I pressed it and uttered the secret code, hoping it hadn’t changed. The brown bark darkened to a black doorway. I couldn’t decide whether to be relieved or unnerved.
I ducked and entered through the hollow. I wasn’t sure what I expected to see, but it wasn’t a spiral staircase carved into the earth.
I crept carefully, turning each foot slightly sideways as I maneuvered down the narrow steps. I counted one hundred steps before I abandoned the computation.
Two ripped figures awaited me at the bottom, one bald and one that seemed to be clinging to his remaining strands of hair with sheer willpower. Both trolls.
There were trolls right under my nose in Fairhaven. Who knew? Based on their menacing demeanors, bulbous noses, and larger sizes, they were jötunn rather than the smaller trolls known as huldrefolk.
My curiosity was piqued. Why have surly bouncers on top of a secret password-protected entrance?
I greeted them with a ready smile.
“Do you have a chip?” the bald one growled.
“On my shoulder? Absolutely.”
They exchanged looks. “You need a chip to enter,” the other one said.
Gun hadn’t mentioned a chip. “I used the secret password. I don’t know anything about a chip.”
“It’s a recent addition. An extra security measure,” the other one said. He seemed a smidge more agreeable than his partner, probably because he still had hair.
“You can’t enter without one,” the grouchy troll added.
“Fine. Where can I get my hands on a chip?”
“No chip, no entry,” said the grump, and pointed to the staircase behind me.
“Take me to Madame Thea,” I said. “I’ll sign whatever documents you put in front of me.”
“Madame Thea sees people by appointment only.”
“Then make me an appointment. Now.”
He glowered at me beneath a tangle of wiry eyebrows. “Why should we?”
