Beyond the Iron Gate (The Faery Meadow Book 1)

Elaine’s mind was screaming at her to move, but her legs wouldn’t obey.

“You should get some rest,” Colt whispered suddenly.

Elaine saw he was still staring into the flames, but he stood up then and offered her his hand.

She looked back at the floor behind Colt where the inky shadow was crawling. Her eyes widened in fear as the menacing shadow was no longer there. It disappeared. She took a deep breath thinking the shadow had to of been just a...shadow.

“Okay.” She took Colt’s hand and he lead her back toward the front of the shop.

Colt walked to the middle of the room where Elaine came in the shop at and then reached up to the ceiling. At first, she was confused, but then noticed a tiny string. Colt pulled down it.

“Woah.”

A small wooden staircase lowered down. She thought it must be attached to the door. Colt adjusted the squeaky staircase so it was completely on the ground. She walked up next to him and give him a curious glance.

He began walking up the ladder, “Up we go.”

The steps were covered in a good amount of dust that fell down onto her face as she watched him go up into the attic.

She took a careful step onto the ancient staircase.

When she reached the top, she maneuvered her body up and onto the cold smooth stone attic floor. Colt switched on a light on a beam near the attic door. Elaine wiped the dust off her hands and looked around.

Colt saw her stay near the door while he walked over to the bed on the other side of the attic. He knew she was afraid and it bothered him that her mate hadn’t shown up yet. It was unusual for her to enter his shop alone and the moment she stepped inside he knew something was wrong.

He couldn’t help pitying her. He didn’t think she would steal from him. “You can sleep here. I will leave the ladder down, I’ll be sleeping on my chair.”

Elaine was glad for the bed. It had a rather comfy looking quilt on top of it. There was a simple rug beside the small bed. On the wall across from her was a square window. A simple black table rested in the corner diagonal of the bed.

A couple scattered iron hammers and weapons lay scattered over the floor. She kind of thought it was his bunker in case of an emergency. She knew it beat the forest floor by a million though.

“Thank you.”

I turn around and give him a quick hug to thank him. Feeling his tight muscles below his shirt, I quickly back away in embarrassment. What am I doing? If I make him angry, he could just snap my neck like a twig or toss me down the stairs easily. He does not look like the type of person that likes hugs. His face has been very serious ever since he showed me the locket, Elaine’s mind raced along with her heart as she backed away from the faery man.

Even though he had been kind to her she knew she still had to be cautious. Even so, she was tired and seriously beginning to think Lorcan had no intention to come get her.

She watched Colt and then folded her hand feeling awkward, “This bed is just right. ’Night.”

Colt nodded his head slowly still watching her. Finally, he turned around and walked back down the ladder.

“Goodnight,” he mumbled just barely over a whisper.

Elaine had to hold in a laugh wondering if he was always this grumbly. She heard Colt walked away and was grateful for the dim light that shined up into the attic from below.

She sat on the bed then, trying to convince herself she would be okay there for the night, but the only way she thought that would be is if she never fell asleep which she badly craved.

***

The howl of the wind outside nearly rattled her bones. She pulled the quilt off of her and scooted out of bed drowsily. Feeling parched, she shuffled her feet along the freezing cold floor of the attic until she reached the ladder.

She just needed a quick drink of water. She was still parched. Elaine went down the creaky steps of the ladder. By some miracle, she reached the bottom of the stairs without falling. Her feet padded quietly over to the door behind Colt’s desk and she opened it stepping out into the hallway. She felt like she was sleepwalking as she made her way to Colt’s workroom following the glow of the fire.

At the end of the hall, she paused in the doorway. She saw Colt sleeping in his chair. Unlike Lorcan, he didn’t snore too loud. She thought he probably wouldn’t be happy if she woke him up in the middle of the night just for a glass of water. She had already came all the way downstairs though.

“Colt?” Elaine whispered while stepping into the room.

He didn’t wake up. She looked over to the fireplace contemplating if she should really wake him up. Elaine thought he was probably bashing iron all day until she waltzed in his shop. He was probably way more tired than her.

She decided not to bother him about the drink and instead walked over to the fire. She just wanted to warm her feet for a minute before going back upstairs. She could get a drink of water in the morning.

Elaine was looking into the flames of the fire when a draft of cold air slithered down her spine. She got a bad feeling and quickly abandoned the fireplace. She walked back tot he hallway passing Colt. She wandered down the hallway and was about to reach the end of it when something dark ahead of her darted across the floor.

Her blood ran cold. She ran back down the hall the way she came -- toward the light of the fire.

She looked at his chair. It was empty. “Colt!”

She turned on her heels heading back into the hall since she didn’t see him anywhere in the room.

“Colt?”

hearing no response, she walked all the way back to the ladder to the attic and still didn’t see him anywhere. So she climbed up.

“Colt where are you?” Elaine whispered nervously.

When she reached the top of the stairs she saw a stream of moonlight coming in from the window flood the room of the attic. Its soft glow calmed her nerves a little. She thought Colt was probably in another room down there...maybe in the kitchen if he had one. She continued trying to fill her mind with positive possible scenarios.

She held the quilt tightly against herself like a safety blanket. After a few moments, her breathing became steady again as she snuggled deeper into her bed.

She heard a floorboard creak. Her eyes snapped open, but she refused to look in the direction of the sound -- the ladder.

She kept her gaze on the ceiling. From the corner of her vision she saw a dark shape pass by her bed. She sat up in bed as pins and prickles spread over her entire body.

A dark shadowy mass gathered at the end of her bed. The mass of dark shadows became heavier and heavier. It manifested together as more shadows came from all around the room helping it grow inside.

The end of her bed dipped as it gained more weight. She was frozen in shock as she felt the clump of inky shadows grow heavier on top of her legs.

The shadows blended into the shape of a figure. Slowly, the shape of someone kneeling facing her formed. Their weight was practically unbearable over her legs. Elaine started to try to pull her legs away so she could get out of the bed and away from it.

The darkness of the shadowy figure faded though and she went still again. A pale faery man with dark blue hair and pale white eyes looked back at her. His wings were pitch black -- complete darkness. In fact, his wings matched the exact color of the inky crawling shadows spewing onto the floor beneath him.

Colt smiled when she screamed.