There was something odd about the way she was speaking, but Timothy was too tired to question it. He slumped down on the edge of his bed, stuck his key in the locker, and pulled out his backpack for the night.
He was unzipping the top of the pack when realization struck: There was no one else in the room with them. He’d expected to have one or two roommates at least, but the cubicle was still empty, the other bunks and lockers bare. And when Veronica put her back to the door and gently pushed it shut, he felt a stir of misgiving.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
She walked toward him, still smiling. “Such a sweet boy,” she said, and with that she bent swiftly and pressed her lips to his.
Her mouth was icy cold, and Timothy flinched away as though she had burned him. Veronica’s brows arched. “You’re stronger than I thought,” she said. “One might almost think you were…protected.”
Timothy rubbed his hand across his mouth, shaken. “Stop it,” he said hoarsely, though a part of him didn’t want her to. “Get away from me.”
“Oh, I will,” she said, sounding amused. “Just as soon as I’ve taken all that lovely music you carry inside you. But don’t worry, by the time I’m done, you won’t even miss it.” And with that her long fingers curled around the back of his neck, nails stinging bloody crescents into his skin. Timothy yelped, but Veronica gripped him with inhuman strength, and though he struggled, he couldn’t pull away…
“LEAVE HIM ALONE!”
Timothy’s backpack erupted, shooting socks and underwear in all directions. Suddenly there was another girl in the room with them, her hands shaping light and hurling it through the air. Veronica staggered back as the flash hit her, the brown tones melting away from her skin and her braids unfurling into a silky blonde crop that looked nothing like Miriam’s at all. She cursed and fled, leaving the door open behind her.
Timothy sat up slowly, staring at the strange new girl. She was small but shapely, with a round face and brown curls tumbling about her shoulders. The light she had flung at Veronica still glowed on his retinas when he blinked. “Who are you?” he demanded.
“My name is Linden,” she said, dropping to a crouch and looking up at him with earnest hazel eyes. “But never mind that just now. Can you move? We have to get out of here.”
Five
It had been a long ride from Oakhaven. Hidden away in Timothy’s pack, Linden could see nothing of the journey, and her heart had trembled at every unfamiliar noise she heard, every new smell that filtered in to her. This city was so loud — full of screeches and hisses and thumps, the blare of raucous music and the growling voices of more humans than she’d ever heard in her life. She had felt every jolt as Timothy walked, and when he’d swung the pack off his shoulders and let it drop onto the floor of the hostel, she’d had to clap her hands over her mouth to keep from shrieking. It was a relief to finally be free.
And yet it was also terrifying. She was still learning to use the magic the Queen had given her, and compared with the easy power of someone like Veronica her own skills seemed hopelessly puny. It had taken all her concentration to cast two glamours at once-one to make herself large and the other to startle the other faery away-and her head still ached from the effort. Nor had Linden ever taken human shape before, and standing so tall with no wings to balance her, she felt as though she might teeter over at any minute.
Meanwhile Timothy still sat motionless, staring at her. Of course he was in shock: He’d never seen her before, and here she’d popped up suddenly out of his backpack. But she had no time to explain, not now.
“Please,” she said. “We can’t stay here, we have to get away before it’s too late!” Snatching up his discarded pack, she stuffed his clothes back into it and tossed it against his chest. “Come on!”
“But…where did you come from?” Timothy said slowly.
“I’ll tell you everything, I promise, but just come!” She pulled at his wrists, but he still wouldn’t move. How could she get him to obey? In desperation she looked around-and saw the guitar case sitting by the door.
“Hey!” he protested as she snatched it up and ran with it.
Linden didn’t look back, didn’t hesitate. If he didn’t come now, there was no hope for either of them. But the subtle herb fragrance of her fellow faeries was everywhere in this place, and she could only pray that when she reached the end of the corridor she would find only humans there, and not Veronica or one of her allies.
She could hear Timothy pounding down the corridor behind her, shouting at her to stop; her plan had succeeded, but they were far from safe yet. Linden burst through the doorway and collided with a stranger on the other side, a young man with jutting cheekbones and feathery dark hair. He stumbled back, knocking into another boy who looked just like him, and she stammered out an apology before ducking past and looking around wildly for the exit.
Merciful Gardener, where was it? There seemed to be doors everywhere, and the scent of faery was stronger than ever. Would she never find her way out of this place? But then a whisper of cool air touched her cheek, and she caught a glimpse of starlight as another human came blowing and stamping in from outside. Linden plunged past him and threw her weight against the outer doors until the metal bar gave way and they flew open. Still dragging the guitar, she stumbled down the steps to the edge of the road and waited for Timothy to join her.
It was only a few seconds before he emerged, a tall figure silhouetted against the light. “Give me back my guitar,” he warned, stalking down the stairs with his hand outstretched. “Or I’ll call the police.”
“You don’t understand!” she pleaded with him, backing away. “You have to come with me! Now!”
“Don’t listen to her, Timothy,” said Veronica’s throaty voice from the doorway. “She’s a thief and a liar.” Her face softened as she walked out onto the step. “This has all been so confusing for you. I’m sorry. Why don’t you come back inside with me, and we’ll talk about it?”
Linden watched Timothy waver, his gaze shifting from her to Veronica and back again. The other faery’s magical disguise was back in place, and her words were laced with enticement. Though Linden’s head still throbbed from the spells she’d cast already, she knew what she had to do: She grabbed Timothy’s hand, and willed him to see Veronica as she truly was.
One glimpse of the face behind the glamour, and he recoiled. No longer an enticing twin of the girl in his mother’s photograph, but a pale, sharp-faced blonde whose beauty was far from human…
Linden handed the guitar case back to Timothy, a silent pledge of her good faith. If he didn’t come with her now, he never would.
“Run,” she whispered. “Please.”
He ran.
“We need a place to hide,” Linden said breathlessly as the two of them dashed down the street. “Somewhere with lots of people, where she won’t dare to try anything even if she finds us…”
Timothy barely heard her: His head was still reeling from all that had just happened to him. How could Veronica have made herself look like Miriam, when in reality the two girls were nothing alike? What had she meant about taking his music, and how had Linden shown up so suddenly to rescue him? The guitar case thumped against his leg as he sprinted along, shivering. He’d left his jacket back at Sanctuary, but there was no way he was going to turn around and get it now.
“I can’t see her anymore,” Linden said after a few minutes, slowing to a trot. “Maybe we’ve lost her, or else she’s given up-”
“This way.” Timothy panted, grabbing her arm and yanking her beneath the glow of a fast-food restaurant sign. Through the window he could make out a scattering of diners and a boy in uniform mopping the tile. Not exactly lots of people, but it should be safe enough. Timothy tugged the door open and wrestled himself and his luggage inside.