Iron Codex 2 - The Nightmare Garden Read Free

so full I thought it would burst, but I’d never had to trek through a swamp on top of that. More than anything I wanted to shut my eyes and lie down in a patch of soft moss.
    “I could use a break myself,” Dean said. “Hey, Connie!”
    Dean had taken to calling my brother Connie, and I could see from the twitch of Conrad’s shoulders how much he hated it.
    “Yes, Dean?” He turned his head slightly, but he didn’t slow his pace.
    “Looks like the group’s voted for a sit-down,” Dean called.
    Conrad turned fully to face us but continued walking.He’d always been quicksilver graceful, my brother, in a way I’d never been and never would be. It just wasn’t in me. I tried not to let it bother me as my holey boot filled up with water when I misstepped and put my foot in a soft patch of moss and muddy water. Back in Lovecraft, Conrad was the handsome one, the smart one, and I was, well, the shy, plain younger sister who was never quite as good at anything. Even according to the lore of the Gateminders, he was first in line, being the eldest son of the current Gateminder. I was just the girl. The second choice. The replacement, if neither my father nor Conrad could perform the duties, after all this was said and done—despite my being able to pass between Thorn and Iron, my being able to communicate with the Fae when Conrad had never even seen them. Still just the girl. It stung, and just once, I wanted him to figuratively fall on his face.
    “I don’t care what the group wants,” Conrad said to Dean. “We stop when I say we stop, and we need to get through these woods before nightfall. You don’t know the Mists, Dean, despite what you are. You’ve spent your entire life in the Iron Land. I’ve spent almost a year here. The Mists aren’t Thorn or Iron—they’re treacherous, and I don’t want to get caught in an ambush because my baby sister’s feet hurt, so why don’t you two toughen up and accept that I know what I’m talking about?”
    Dean snarled under his breath. To look at him, you’d never know he was only half human, but he was, and his other, Erlkin half had a bad temper when it was crossed. Conrad was like me, human blood poisoned with a drop of Fae. More than poisoned—saturated. But at least we weren’t like our mother, struck mad simply by virtue ofliving in the Iron Land, as all full-blood Fae like her would eventually be. Conrad and I, with our human father, were hopefully all right as long as we steered clear of iron. More than that, though, Conrad thrived and never seemed bothered by much. With his charm and force of will, Conrad could say anything and make it so. It merely annoyed me, but it made Dean furious, and to head off the fight that had been brewing for days, as the fog got thicker, the ground wetter and the food scarcer, I dropped Dean’s hand and jogged to catch up with my brother.
    “We’re all tired,” I told him. “If you keep up this pace we’re just going to stop following you. We can’t run from the Proctors and the Fae if we’re dead of exhaustion.” My brother listened to me very rarely; I hoped this would be one of those times.
    Conrad’s jaw twitched, and my hopes fell. “It’s not your call, Aoife,” he snapped.
    “You’re right,” I agreed, through gritted teeth to avoid outright angry shouting. “It wasn’t my call to leave Lovecraft looking for you, it wasn’t my call to run here when the Proctors came for us. But I followed you, Conrad. I’ve done what you said without complaining for almost a week, and now I’m telling you I’m tired. You can walk.” I stopped and plopped down on a mossy stump. “I’m not going another step.”
    The old Aoife would never have dreamed of disagreeing with anyone, but this new Aoife had no such compunctions. Her feet hurt, and I was glad she’d spoken up. She didn’t even care that Conrad was puffing up his chest, getting ready to chastise her like the father we’d never had. We stared at each