"What is going on here? Can somebody please explain this whole iron powder thing to me and how it has anything to do with me being half-Fae?"
Maggie wiped the iron dust off of the scale and into a small container and set it on a shelf behind her. "Iron is deadly to the Fae. It's like their kryptonite or something. I don't really know how to explain it, but we do know that it can kill them."
"That can't be," I said. "I mean, if I'm half-fae, why aren't I dead yet? I've touched iron many times during my life."
"You've touched earth iron," Maggie said. "This is iron from Faerie. There's a few Sayges who stockpiled it before the gates closed."
"It's the only thing that can kill them," Kay said. "We have several different recipes for iron powder, depending on what we're going to use it for.
"We can use it in spells, or make weapons," Maggie added.
"Weapons?" I looked around the room, half expecting to see cross-bows hanging on the wall. All I saw was a washer and dryer in the corner. Not exactly unusual.
"There isn't much in the way of Iron weapons or iron dust weapons anymore," Aunt Kay said. "We haven't had a reason to use them in a long time."
I walked over to the shelf where Maggie had set the powder. "So what's your plan for this?" I pointed to the container.
Aunt Kay took a few steps over to where I was standing and picked up the container. She poured it into a small glass container, then added in a scoop of something purple and shimmery.
"What's that?" I asked.
Maggie wrinkled her nose. "You don't want to know."
Aunt Kay looked up at me. "She's right. You probably don't."
I sighed. "Fine."
"Hand me that vial," Aunt Kay said without looking up.
Maggie pushed a tray of a dozen glass vials over to my aunt.
Carefully, Aunt Kay poured the newly mixed powder into each of the vials. When they were all filled, she stood back and put her hands on her hips, then looked up at me. "These are made of fragile glass. They'll shatter on impact, then explode."
"They're iron dust grenades?" I asked.
She considered. "Yeah, I guess so."
Before I could stop myself, I reached out and picked up one of the vials. The substance inside shifted as I moved it and a tiny bit spilled on my finger.
Aunt Kay tore the vial away from me as I started screaming. Intense pain shot through me, and for a moment, I couldn't focus on anything but the searing feeling in my hand. Then, almost as quickly as it had come, it subsided.
Gasping, I held my hand, staring at it. I'd never felt anything like that. "I'm sorry. I don't know why I did that."
Aunt Kay grabbed my hand and ran her fingers over it. "You didn't get much in you. I think you'll be okay. But from now on, let's avoid touching Faerie iron."
"Do you think it could kill me?" I asked. "I'm half Sayge, after all, and it doesn't seem to hurt you."
"I'm not sure," Aunt Kay said. "You're the only half-fae, half-Sayge I've ever met. I would hope that the Sayge part of you would keep you protected from iron, but we don't know for sure."
Either way, I wasn't willing to experiment. If that small amount had caused that much pain, I didn't want to know what it would feel like to try it with more. I took a few steps away from the table. "I think I'll go wait upstairs."
Chapter 21
Every drip of water, every car that drove by in the distance, every shuffle of movement sent me on edge as we crouched in the alleyway near the warehouse. I tugged the ends of the long sleeve black shirt Maggie had lent me over the black leather gloves. Most of my skin was covered with clothing or scarves to protect me from any iron dust that might accidentally come my way. It was too warm of a night to be wearing this much clothing, but I knew I didn't want to experience the feeling of iron dust on my skin ever again.
It was dark already, sometime after eleven and we'd all arrived in waves through various teleporting cars. If we survived this, I wanted one of those but now wasn't the time to consider what I'd do with a teleporting car. Maggie pressed against me as she adjusted her grip on the bag of bottled powders in her hands. I hoped they were going to be as effective as they said they would be against Terra.
While the idea of Terra vanishing forever was not one I object to, I worried that one of the members of the Circus might be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
I looked over at her and caught a glimpse of the other forty or so Sayges that had joined us. It wasn't a lot of people, but if Terra was true to her word, between us and wherever the Circus was hiding, we'd have her more than surrounded.
Even with her ability to control lightning and the elements, she was limited inside a metal warehouse with no access to the outdoors. I wanted to ask how much longer we'd be waiting. The seconds were dragging by with no way of knowing what was happening. Was the Circus in place? Was Joe safely tucked away with them? Was Brenon already with Terra?
A wave of terror spread through me and my heart raced, what if something was wrong? What if we were waiting here for nothing? What if Terra did bring Tristan? What if the two of them already took out Brenon and Gia?
A siren wailed in the distance as an emergency vehicle passed the warehouse district. It broke me from my momentary stress, and I strained to figure out the direction. Was it headed our way? The sound faded and we were left sitting in silence again.
Heart still racing, I closed my eyes, trying to recall my role in all of this. I was to stay toward the back of the group of Sayges. They didn't want to risk Terra seeing me right away or risk me getting nailed with iron powder. In reality, they hoped everything would be done by the time I entered the warehouse behind them all.
The other Sayges were going in first. They'd attack her with the iron powders. The Circus was here to block the exterior exits in case she got out. I was the failsafe. If Terra was able to use her magic, I was to channel it like I did at the Fire Festival and send it back to her. We didn't want her to get away, and that much magic would cause a lot of chaos. So it was the last resort. I was only needed if we were losing.
A low howl punctuated the quiet and all at once, the Sayges around me stiffened, then began to move. That was our signal. I held back for a moment, watching as Maggie and the others with their iron powder raced for the warehouse door. The same one I'd gone to the first night I'd met Brenon. The night I had unknowingly changed my whole life.
I blew out a breath as a hand squeezed mine. I looked over to see my Aunt Kay smiling at me. "Ready?"