“The Adirondacks heard you two. I’m a vampire. Super-speed, super-strength, super-hearing.”
Guilt washed over her. Could Nina die if she didn’t do this feed thing? She was still learning the particulars of this undead stuff, but the more she heard, the more it was becoming just like a movie.
Toni latched on to her arm, trying to slow her. “You’re out here because of me. I want to help. Tell me what I can do, Nina.”
“Got a spare vein?”
Toni blanched, looking helplessly to Marty. “Is that what it takes?”
Marty patted Toni on the back with one hand, using the other to tuck a long lock of her blonde hair back into the massive cone it had become. “It’s going to be all right. Jon says he knows a fairy who can turn water into wine—maybe she can do the same with blood. We’ll figure it out. Promise.”
Everyone was always so calm, so “oh, it’ll all be fine. We got this”. But now, this woman could die or turn to ashes or whatever vampires did when their undead lives were over and it was all because of Toni’s mistake. She couldn’t live with that. Not after everything else she already lived with. No more death.
As they traveled north toward the castle, the terrain had become hillier, rougher; her feet ached and her back was killing her. It was a stark reminder to do more cardio when she got back to Jersey.
Dannan again took the front, with Jon a mere two strides behind him, leading his horse Oliver on foot. Nina chatted with Dannan like they were old friends. She said he reminded her of her demon friend Darnell back in Staten Island.
As opposed to she and Jon who had spoken nary a word this morning as they’d packed up their camp and began the next leg of their journey. His jaw was rigid, his eyes focused on the road ahead, totally avoiding her.
Toni had stayed as far back in the lineup as she could, forcing her eyes to look anywhere but at his tight butt and his broad back. In all fairness, she’d overreacted to his question about her parents. She wanted to say as much and apologize, but maybe it was better if he was angry with her rather than his usual friendly self.
If they didn’t speak, he couldn’t ask any more questions she wasn’t willing to answer.
As morning turned to mid-afternoon and they approached this bridge Jon had spoken of, set far off in the distance beyond a tangle of vines, he held up a long arm and waved them toward him.
As they gathered around, he pointed to a thicker portion of the woods, the entry clotted with dark trees making the shape of an oval. Jon’s skin was ruddy from the cold, his eyes stoic as he spoke. “This is the Garden of Wings, fairies dwell here. We must forge through their playground in order to reach the bridge before late afternoon. Be warned, maidens, fairies are known for their playful though harmless pranks, but the queen’s henchmen are my true worry. They often hide in the thick of the gardens, attempting to snatch the winged goblins and wring their powers from them or force them to guide their black souls to the mines, where gold is allegedly hidden. You must beware. If there’s a price on Toni’s head, they’ll be especially keen today.”
Nina rolled her shoulders and lifted her chin. “Just might get that blood sooner than we thought.”
“Aye, maiden. Shall I carry ye? I am happy to do so,” Dannan asked.
Nina shook her head with a slow smile. “Nah, Papa Smurf, I got this.”
Jon planted a hand on Nina’s shoulder. “Do not tax yourself, maiden. This portion of our journey can’t be avoided if we’re to find what you need and the proper nourishment you require from the Blue Fairy, Elessandra. I would ask that you all stay close and ignore the whispers of the trees the henchman hide in. Their voices can grow loud and drive you to madness, but they seek only to steal your mind and cannot be trusted.”
Why talking trees surprised her after riding on the back of a dragon was a mystery, but it was like an aftershock now rather than a full-on earthquake of crazy. Still, Toni was determined to see that Nina got what she needed. She wouldn’t be here if not for her random wish. She’d keep that in the forefront of all future endeavors.
Rolling up the long sleeves of her gown, Toni merely nodded and began to follow Dannan and the others into the garden, only to have Jon stop her by capturing her wrist.
“I mean what I say, Toni. You, especially, must take great care.”
“Is this because of yesterday? Are you going to remind me how easily I was roped in by a cup of coffee forever? I told you just like I told everyone else—I don’t know why I got on the dragon. It was instinct or something I can’t explain. I can promise you, if I’d had all my wits about me, I would have never climbed on the back of a dragon. I’m not an idiot.”
“Then you must curb your foolish impulses.”
Foolish? The nerve. But she knew how to shut up when there were more pressing matters.