The seven of us rolled the wreckage away from the door, then Ash stepped up to it first.
“Fuck,” he hissed, and I quickly understood his reaction. The door had no knob, the entrance seamlessly part of the wall. I had only come out of here, not in. I had no idea there wasn’t an actual door handle on the outside.
“Do you guys have a knife blade?” I peered around. “I can jimmy locks with a flat blade.”
Warwick snorted, reaching for the one he kept in his boot.
“Doesn’t matter.” Ash shook his head, curving to us. “I can feel it. It’s magic-locked. Goblin-made.” Ash blew out a breath in irritation.
Goblin-made was pretty much impossible to break through. It was expensive, hard to get, and used very little here, but I was not surprised the lord of the fae would have access to it.
“Fuck,” Warwick barked, running his hand through his hair, his feet moving. “Now what?”
“I don’t know,” Ash exclaimed, tensions rising. “There is no way we can get in... unless you have one of those fae lock picks handy.”
I used to. In my thieving days, I learned quickly that “magic-locked” items were impossible to crack unless you had one of those black-market devices, and sometimes those didn’t even work.
Knotting my hair in my fingers, I let out a frustrated growl, understanding none of us could break through the door.
“So that’s it?” Tracker threw out his arms. “Your entire plan was based on whether we could get through this door.” He scoffed. “And, Luk, you said to let them lead. Idiots.”
Fury exploded through Warwick, his body curling, ready to lurch at Tracker.
“No!” I leaped in front of Warwick, his aqua eyes set on his target, his body pushing forward like I wasn’t even there.
“All of you are idiots!” A gruff voice sighed, and a tiny body, not even reaching the top of their boots, strolled between the two guys about to tear each other apart, his outfit flapping around like he was on some runway. “Broomsticks... seven brains among you, and not one of you thought about us.” Opie cocked his head over his shoulder to Bitsy on his back. “Why should we be surprised? No one thinks about us measly sub-fae.”
Chirp! Her fingers flew up, scowling at us.
“Oh my gods.” Ava jumped back, her eyes widening. “Is that—is that a brownie? And an imp?”
“Master Fishy, you hang out with such brainiacs.” He rolled his eyes, folding his arms, crinkling his new creation.
“A kutya fáját!” The dog’s tree! Ash hissed, pointing at Opie. “Where the hell did you get that from?”
Instead of all the drab fabric I could find at Povstat to give Opie for a project on the way back, he was dressed in a parchment gown, folded like a fan. A page circled his waist like a long skirt, another folded up in an off-the-shoulder origami top. Two fanned pages were attached to his back like wings and one on his head like a crown. Bitsy had a matching crown and wings on her back.
“Oh gods, Opie.” I cringed. “Please don’t tell me that’s from the book in Ash’s bag.”
The fae book.
“Like I could put anything together with what you gave me,” he huffed, stomping his feet, which were also covered with paper. “I’m brilliant, but that was even beyond my talents.”
“You...” Ash heaved in and out. “You. Made. A. Dress. From. The. Book?”
“You act like it’s a big deal.” Opie waved him off.
“Big deal?” Ash’s voice pitched. “A big deal? The book is thousands of years old! It contains more history and knowledge in the first sentence than you will in your entire life!”
“Ugh. You should thank me; it sounds positively dull. I made it exciting again, brought it to life. Took me the whole trip. Don’t you like it?” He spun around, the paper flaring up like thick fabric. Honestly, if I didn’t think Ash was about to pass out, I would have admitted it was very creative and stunning. “It’s pretty... just admit it.”
“Oh my gods!” Ash exclaimed. The string of swear words, both in Hungarian and English, even had Bitzy’s eyes widening with awe. “You used an ancient, irreplaceable piece of history to make your dress?”
I covered my mouth, not sure if I wanted to laugh or cry, while Kek howled next to me.
“I think I found my soulmate.” She wiped her eyes. “His outfit literally will go down in history.”
“Wait.” A thought clicked in my head. “How were you able to get into the book? I thought it only opened for those it chooses. And those with good intentions.”
“Except sub-fae.” Warwick dropped his head in a huff, his hand rubbing his face.
“What do you mean?” I didn’t know a lot about sub-fae. It wasn’t something Istvan even considered to be worthy of my time.
“Sub-fae, which include brownies and imps, were always considered beneath fae. They were pets, slaves, irritating creatures... like you’d think of bees or squirrels.” Warwick shrugged one shoulder. “Part of our world but not worthy of much thought. Never considered a threat... so they don’t have the same limitations we do.”
“Arrogance and entitlement are always man’s downfalls. Fae and human.” Opie stopped near my boot, winking at me. “Don’t underestimate and misjudge the underdog. Am I right, Fishy? We bite back.”
A grin tugged my mouth, and I bobbed my head.
“Move out of my way, inferior creatures!” Opie waved off Ash, Kek, and Luk dramatically, heading for the door. Bitzy sat in her pack, wagging her middle finger around like she was the queen of Hungary passing her minions on the street. “Let the experts through.”
Chirp!
“What is going on?” I glanced back at Warwick; his mouth was curved with humor.
“You’ll see.” He flicked his chin for me to follow my friends. I watched as Opie neared the door, his head tipping back at its colossal height.
“Some help, peasants?” He sighed like he was greatly put out, gesturing up the door. “Must I do everything myself? My gods, Bitz, you simply can’t find good help these days.”
Chirp! Bitzy rolled her large eyes in agreed dramatic annoyance.
“Just because you amuse me.” Kek leaned over, picking him up and holding him near where the lock might be on the other side.
“Thank you, my sapphire servant.” He nodded at Kek before turning to the door. Opie’s hands flattened against it, his tongue sticking out as he put his ear up to the door. “Hmmm... this is a gooey one.” His eyes twitched, his tongue changing sides. We stood there watching him for a full minute before he spoke again. “Alllllmost have it...” He grunted. Another thirty seconds passed. “Allllll mooooossstt thhheerree,” he stressed, his nose wrinkling. “Ah-ha!”
Clink! The sound of the lock broke, the door cracking open.
“Ta-da!” He threw up his hands, waving to the door like it was a prize.
“Holy shit!” I exclaimed, my mouth dropping.
“Sub-fae,” Warwick replied, his body heat pressing into me, herding me toward the entrance. “We might be a hundred times more powerful than them, but they slip under the radar of most magic, allowing them to do things we can’t.”