Snow's Lament (11 page)

We skulked quietly to the edge of Maleficent’s property and peered into the pitch dark of the forest. With Naomi’s magic, it wasn’t a regular darkness. It was a thick, inky black, hopeless and still. I held up my hand and reached into the forest, only to see my hand disappear into the night.

I peered over my shoulder to look at Maleficent.

“I shouldn’t help you at all,” she said in a sullen tone. “This is foolhardy.”

Robin cleared his throat. “I would do the same,” he said quietly, and with conviction. I touched his leg in quiet thanks.

There was no use pretending I could see anything. We would have to go in. The silence was oppressive, haunting…sad. I pulled my Sig out of my back holster and held it close to my side. Robin pulled Bertie off his back and held an arrow tucked loosely between his thumb and forefinger. Red did nothing. Not that she had to. There was something about her I couldn’t quite put my finger on, but I’d rarely seen her carry a weapon. She’d never needed it. Red had the ability to kick serious ass using the only weapon she had: herself.

Maleficent stood off to the side, a thin shadow next to the pitch black darkness marking Naomi’s territory. I couldn’t make out the details of her face, but she stood rigid, her hands clasped around the jeweled staff she carried.

I nodded once, steeled my shoulders, and stepped into the village.

No insects chirped. No voices whispered. No fires crackled. An oppressive silence hummed through the air. I stilled, taking a moment to allow my eyes to adjust to the darkness. We still wouldn’t be able to see much, but we should be able to make sense of the shadows.

The smell of smoke and burning flesh caught me unaware. I inhaled sharply and reeled back, the evidence of Max’s deeds unseen but felt. Belle cursed under her breath and a soft sob broke out behind me. Robin muttered soothing words to Cyndi, but I said nothing. This was my fault. Had I never ran, none of this would have happened—or I would be dead. Neither of those were happy thoughts.

Maleficent’s robes brushed against me. “Do not wallow,” she whispered harshly. “We are here. Take your vengeance and let’s get the hell out of here.”

I swallowed hard. Nodded.

I stepped further into the village, my guns raised to eye level and ready to fire.

A torch flickered in the darkness. I headed toward the beacon, my steps unwavering, my breath harsh. Soft footsteps padded behind me. I stopped in front of the door. It was the town tavern. A faint smile broke onto my face. No matter what happened, solace could almost always be found, at least temporarily, within the bottle.

I pushed open the door. A
whoosh
of warmth hit me in the face. Hushed whispers halted and stalled. Wide eyes and fearful faces turned toward me. I lowered my gun and stepped inside, fully prepared for a less than warm welcome.

My friends filed in behind me and settled to the side of me, a vigilante gang of fairytale characters, their fingers hovering over their weapons, ready to fire at a moment’s notice.

The warm fuzzies rolled over me. This was my tribe.

A familiar, short, burly little body appeared from a wash of people standing over to the side of the bar.

Grumpy.

He looked just as foul natured as usual, but his eyes held something I’d rarely seen from him.

Approval.

He nodded once and gestured for me to come forward. I holstered my weapon and headed toward the bar.

“I knew you’d come back.”

I stopped in my tracks and stared at the back of his bushy head. “Say again?”

He paused and turned back to me, giving me a gimlet-eyed stare. “Don’t push it.” He shoved a chair and pushed it my way. I stopped it with the toe of my boot and turned it around so I could straddle it. Easier to stand if a fight broke out.

The bar was still silent and staring at us expectantly. I looked around at their hopeful faces. It felt like glass in my heart. This wasn’t a battle I was sure I could win. I tore my gaze away and accepted the glass Grumpy held out to me. My friends settled around me. Grumpy motioned to the bartender for a round. And we sat silent, studying each other. I broke first.

“I’m sorry.” It was the most uncomplicated thing I could think to say.

Grumpy grunted. “You might want to rethink your taste in men.”

Robin snorted with amusement. “The understatement of the year,” he quipped.

Even Maleficent couldn’t help but grin.

Gallows humor was the only thing we could tolerate right now. “He’s under the control of Naomi.”

Grumpy stared at me, unblinking. “He’s always been like that.”

I shook my head in denial. “No. Not always.” I ran a hand through my shaggy hair. “He’s gone this time.” I took a deep breath and said the words I hoped I’d never have to say. “Maybe for good.”

Red’s sympathetic emerald gaze swept over me. “This is the Enchanted Forest, Snow,” she chided me gently. “This is where the impossible was created. Have hope.”

I fingered the smooth, hard ridges of my Sig. It was hard to be hopeful when someone you loved had gone Charles Manson on a village of innocents. But Red was right. Things impossible on Earth occurred on a daily basis here. And magic was unpredictable. I took a sip of my ale, grimacing as the sour taste filled my mouth. I asked the question I didn’t really want the answer to.

“Is Max still here?”

Grumpy laughed, a harsh crack of humorless noise. “For the long haul, it appears.”

Maleficent straightened in her seat. “And Naomi?”

Grumpy shook his head. “That’s why she has a minion. She’s safely ensconced in her castle, leaving Max to do her dirty work.”

I set my glass down with a
thunk
. “Where is he?”

Robin put his hand on my forearm. “Easy, lass. Emotion cannot be part of this, as hard as it is. Gather intel first and then assess.”

I choked off a short retort. Robin was right, as much as I hated to admit it. “Fine.”

I leaned forward and motioned to Grumpy. “Tell me everything.”

Max and Naomi rolled into the village a few days prior, not unexpected. At least once a month, Naomi came in, threatened people to keep them cowed and generally caused havoc. She’d never followed through on killing anyone until my recent appearance back in the Enchanted Forest. After demanding fealty and receiving a less than enthusiastic response from the villagers, Naomi had disappeared in a shower of red smoke, leaving Max behind. But it wasn’t just Max. It was Max with the leash off. Whatever she’d done to him had made him a complete psychopath, according to Grumpy. In my dealings with Max, he’d always been a bit of a psycho. I’d almost been murdered by him…twice. However, he’d always held on to a thread of his humanity, I suspected due to his daughter.

Something had happened to make him lose it. I wasn’t one hundred percent sure Naomi’s magic was enough to control him fully, especially with Maleficent’s interference. If I had to guess, I bet it had to do with his daughter. It was the only thing he cared about. Well, me too, but he was a parent. I knew where I fell on his priority list, especially since we were on opposite sides.

I stopped his tale. “Were you able to speak to him?”

He gave me a sympathetic look. “Whoever you think he was is gone. You should prepare yourself.”

I frowned. “He just killed them?”

He nodded. “No fanfare. No long villain speeches. Here one second and gone the next.”

I swallowed hard, an acrid taste burning my throat. It was time to lay my feelings aside and cut out the heart of Naomi’s power.

I steeled myself. “What weapons is he carrying? Give me as much information as you can about him, even if you think it’s insignificant.”

Maleficent sat back heavily in her chair. “Oh, Snow.”

Grumpy took a sip of his ale and fell silent, a rare flash of empathy crossing his face. After a moment of tense silence, he set his glass down. “A bow. One handgun, that I could see. He never used it, so assume the chamber is full. A large hunting knife strapped to his right side.” He paused. “And a strange ring he kept fidgeting with on his left ring finger.”

Maleficent spoke. “Undoubtedly a link to Naomi’s magic.”

I was thinking the same thing. “If we managed to get it, would it loosen her hold?”

One thin shoulder lifted. “Perhaps. It could be worth a shot. But do not get your hopes up, child. Rumple is well-versed in magic, more so than I. If he says he is beyond hope, then I think you need to brace yourself for the worst.”

Cyndi, sitting quietly the entire time we’d been here, finally spoke. “I can tell you what he wants most.” She shook her head. “Possibly. If the link between Naomi and Max is too strong, it could get jumbled, but it could work. I can tell you if he is beyond hope.”

My fingers clenched around my glass. I was still unsure of Cyndi’s powers or exactly how they worked, but for this, I was willing to let her try. “How close do you need to get?”

Her gaze flickered with fear. “I have to be touching him.”

“Super,” Belle muttered under her breath. “Maleficent, can you tell us as much as you can about Naomi’s powers?”

A frown furrowed the sorceresses’ brow. “Well, all powers are different. They’re passed down by familial line.” She paused, deep in thought. “I do not know who her father is, but I do know her mother.”

Her gaze flew to mine as she sucked in a hesitant breath. “Fire. She’s strongest in fire. But I’ve seen her use the weather, too.” She looked up and gestured at the sky. Even though we were inside, we all knew how much the weather had affected the Enchanted Forest, and that Naomi’s magic was causing it.

Several emotions flickered over her face until they settled on stricken. “Merlin,” she whispered. “Dear, sweet goddess.”

I blanched. This could not be happening. I schooled my face into blankness.

Maleficent continued to stare in horror at Belle. After a second, Belle turned to me. “Snow? What’s going on?”

I closed my eyes. I couldn’t continue to lie to my best friend. I shut my eyes for a moment, offered up a quick prayer, and opened my mouth to speak.

“It appears you and Naomi have a lot more in common than we ever realized.”

“Sisters?” Belle blanched and looked close to being sick all over the table.

“Half,” Maleficent clarified.

Belle stared at her, suspicion all over her face. “How do you know only half?”

“Shit,” I muttered under my breath. My gaze flicked over to Robin. His face was impassive, his jaw tight. He was utterly furious—quite possibly at me.

Maleficent looked like she wanted to be anywhere but here. Red had crossed her arms over her chest and propped one of her legs up on the table, looking thoroughly enthralled with the sudden Jerry Springer turn our intel gathering session had taken.

“Maleficent?” Belle’s voice turned deadly. Sparks collected on her fingertips and her hair was floating an inch off her shoulders.

She raised a placating hand. “It wasn’t my secret, Belle. Your mother was a…complicated woman. I was sworn never to reveal this. And I’ve failed. The things that have happened lately are all interconnected.”

Belle inhaled and closed her eyes. After a second, the sparks calmed down and her chestnut hair settled quietly on her shoulders. “So, my father is Merlin.” She held up a finger. “And,” she pushed her glasses up her nose, “my sister is Naomi?” Her voice was quiet. Deadly. I clenched my thigh muscles and poised myself to bolt. I’d only heard her use that tone a couple times and when it came out, someone was about to experience some serious pain.

“Half-sister,” Maleficent clarified. Again. Not that it mattered anymore.

“Tell me who my mother is,” Belle said in the same deadly tone.

Maleficent’s hand stroked her staff. The large amethyst on top glimmered. My hand moved to the shaft of my gun out of instinct.

Grumpy pushed his chair out, shattering our tense standoff. “You work this out while I clear the bar,” he said in a no nonsense tone.

Hopefully, it wouldn’t come to an old fashioned bar fight. I wanted to follow after him to get away from this craziness, but some of this was my fault. I should have told her when I had the chance, and instead, got caught between my friends.

Robin stood and unceremoniously jerked me up by the elbow. I didn’t protest and allowed myself to be dragged across the room and shoved into one of the extra rooms inside the tavern.

I stumbled to regain my footing as the door slammed behind us.

“What the bloody ever-loving hell, Snow?”

I sat on the tiny cot. Robin ran a hand through his tawny hair, making it stand up in a hundred different directions.

“Do you know how bloody dangerous secrets like this are?”

I sighed. “Yes,” I said simply.

“Yes? Yes? Is that all you have to say?” He paced back and forth in the room, the tension in his shoulders curled tight. “We are walking around with a bloody fucking time bomb!”

He lashed out with his leg and kicked the old, wooden dresser in the corner, shattering the side of it into several pieces. Wood flew through the air, a piece of it clipping my cheek. I hissed in pain and covered the wound, only to feel blood pouring through my fingers.

“Ah, Christ,” Robin groaned and rushed over to me.

I held up a hand. “Deserved it.” I pulled my hand back and winced when it came back covered in red.

Robin leaned down and tore off a piece of the bedspread.

“Ooh,” I mocked.

“Shut up.” He held the cotton piece against my cheek and I sucked in a pained breath.

“Hold still, wimp.” He pulled it back and pulled at my cheek. A long splinter of wood came away.

I whined like a wounded puppy.

A pained expression crossed Robin’s features. “I’d get a tetanus shot if you get home, love.”

I snorted a giggle. “I love the word ‘if’ used there.”

He picked up my hand and placed it over the cotton strip. “Just keeping it real.”

He stood and sat beside me on the bed. A long pause followed. I knew he was gathering his thoughts, because I was gathering mine as well. How would I be able to answer his questions when I couldn’t answer my own?

“How could you keep a secret like that?” He no longer sounded angry, more curious.

I shrugged. “I shouldn’t have.” I flung myself back on the bed. My cheek throbbed like hell. “Having friends is hard.”

He patted my leg. “Not having friends is worse. You should be counting your lucky stars.”

I wasn’t so sure he was right. It was much less complicated. “Maleficent asked me not to say anything. She saw Belle’s power growing.” I sighed. “It was only a matter of time.” I gingerly pulled the cotton away and dabbed at the spot. The blood flow had mostly stopped, but it throbbed like a bitch.

“Did you know about Naomi?”

I laughed without humor. “No. And to be honest, I’m not so sure how I feel about that one.”

Robin plopped back beside me. “Aye. It does complicate things.”

“The master of understatements, as always.” I hadn’t heard any gunshots or blasts, so either Belle had already murdered Maleficent or they were talking like rational adults.

It didn’t stop the pit in my stomach. Belle wasn’t exactly known for being so rational. But Cyndi was there, and she was the most rational out of all of us. Perhaps she could be the voice of reason. Goddess knew none of us had been that voice lately.

“Do you think I’m going to have to kill Max?” I wondered out loud. For everything that had happened, it seemed that was the only direction we could go if we hoped to claim the Enchanted Forest back and save the kingdom. He was too powerful right now, and if he was fully under Naomi’s control, he would be the one we needed to take out if we hoped to gain access to the castle so we could find Giles.

Robin sighed. “I’m sorry, love.”

His non-answer said it all. “This blows,” I murmured.

Robin shifted slightly beside me. “I will say this. If there is any way out at all, any way he could be saved, I’d wager you’d be the one to find it.”

His confidence shook me. I wasn’t so sure. “It would probably be easier just to shoot him.”

Robin’s shoulders shook with laughter. “Aye, you’re always good at finding out the easiest, bloodiest solution to a problem, aren’t you?”

“I know nothing about magic. Not really.” I didn’t know how it worked, how it functioned, or how it could be reversed.

“You have one of the most powerful sorceresses in all the land out there fighting a battle she doesn’t have to and you haven’t once thought to ask her about it?”

I stilled on the bed beside him. He was right. Absolutely bloody right.

“Why didn’t I think of that?”

“It’s not all good looks and brawn behind this pretty face.” Robin was amused.

I, on the other hand, felt like an idiot. “I’ll have to wait until their brawl is over.”

The silence outside was beginning to bother me. Was everyone dead? I hitched myself up off the bed and headed quietly over to the door. I gently clicked the door open and peeked outside. Nothing. Pure silence greeted my ears.

Hmmm. It was unlike Belle to have a fight without screaming. I motioned for Robin to follow and stepped into the hallway. I needed everyone alive if we were going to get through this.

And, it was time I stopped avoiding Max. I needed to confront him. The time for wasting time had long past. It was time to dance with the devil. Or, in my case, the dude ‘roided up on Naomi’s magic juice.

My life was weird sometimes.