Snow's Lament (12 page)

I stepped outside, nervous at the silence. I slid my weapon out and held it down at my thigh. If I knew one thing about Belle, it was her legendary temper. The quiet made me wonder if I was going to find a mess of bodies. I blew out a breath.

Nonsense. Belle cared about us all. If she did anything to harm us, it would most likely be a slight maiming, not a full on murder. We tiptoed through the hall, Robin silent behind me. I peeked around the corner and let my shoulders fall as I saw nothing amiss.

Everyone still sat around the table, except for the marked absence of Red. Where she’d gone I couldn’t say, but right now, no one was smiling—which wasn’t a surprise. Familial bombshells were no laughing matter. I allowed a smile to cross my face slowly and moved to tuck my weapon back into my holster when I hesitated mid-step. There was something wrong with Cyndi’s face.

Blood streaked across her mouth and the normally cheery expression on her face had morphed into something akin to terror. My brow furrowed as my gaze swept across the table. Everyone sat frozen, mouths tight with fear. Maleficent’s gaze met mine and without thought, I immediately dropped to the floor and rolled.

An arrow whizzed above me and sank into the scarred wooden post next to me. I pulled a knife from my boot and flung it in the general direction the arrow had come from.

A soft
oof
and a masculine laugh reached me before I could see anything.

I came to my feet and pulled my gun. I knew that laugh like I knew my own soul.

“Max.” My gaze met his whiskey-colored eyes, and even though my heart dropped into the bottom of my feet, I stopped the familiar, traitorous tremble of my body. Every time I saw him, I wanted to shout to the heavens that he was mine. Stupid heart. Stupid feelings. I was so much better off before I started to
feel
things.

I sighed. “Why don’t you let everyone go? You don’t want them anyway.”

He grinned and my stupid lady parts wanted to stand up and salute.
Evil. He’s evil. And a killer. And sadistic,
I told myself, until that traitorous voice spoke up and whispered,
and so very, very hot
.
And good. And kind. And gentle…most of the time.
I blinked away the hot tears pooling at the back of my eyes. This was no time to feel. The odds of me having to kill him escalated with every second my friends were in danger.

“I do have to disagree, fair Snow. Naomi doesn’t just want you dead, my darling. She wants
all
of you dead.” He stroked his thumb over the edge of the knife he held in his left hand and my mind wandered a second as it contemplated how he had managed to fire an arrow and put his bow away before I’d managed to even stand up. I narrowed my eyes. I had to remember not to underestimate him this time. In the past, his feelings had always interfered with his duties. From the way he looked at me now, he still desired me, but I couldn’t see any of the love he had once professed.

He continued, stroking the blade like he’d once stroked my skin. “Imagine my queen’s delight if I brought back all of your heads.” He inhaled the air around us. “Delightful.”

The slightest squeak of leather betrayed Robin’s position. Max didn’t even bother to turn around. “And Boy Wonder back there doesn’t stand a chance either. Lay down your weapons and make this easier on yourself.”

Belle spoke then. “Five against one. I’d say you’re outnumbered and outsmarted.”

Max laughed. A genuine, hearty laugh with just a hint of derision. “Give it a try, then, daughter of Merlin.”

I would never forget the stricken look on Belle’s face as long as I lived. How long had Max known?

He tucked the knife back into his belt and turned to her, leaving his back exposed. How brave. Arrogant. And stupid.

How handsome he looked standing with his back to me. His familiar brown leather breeches encasing legs that had once twined through mine in passion. The back of his tawny hair shifted as he moved and an unbidden memory of a quiet time rolled through me as I remembered toying with it and allowing the silken strands to pour through my fingers. A quieter time where we still worried, but had no motives other than to take each moment with each other and cherish it. His smile, so unused, yet so incredibly beautiful.

Anger roiled through my body just as harsh as the feelings I was experiencing. Did he not think I would shoot him? Did he think he was safe from me only because I loved him?

My life had always been a series of difficult, deadly decisions, and I’d always been pretty foolhardy. I swallowed hard just as he spoke.

“You are unaware of the sheer amount of power rolling through your delectable little body, Belle. And for that, you will die today.”

I closed my eyes.

A gunshot rang out through the room as loud as the anguished cry from my throat.

Max fell.

I dropped my gun with shaking hands and brushed past the horrified faces of my friends. The decision between life and death had come with a single trigger pull and the split second choice of following my heart or the greater good.

Max, nor I, were the greater good today.

The doors of the tavern swung open of their own volition—or perhaps, that of Maleficent’s, who quite rightly sensed I no longer had the strength to do anything that required willpower or thinking.

I stepped outside into the shadowy night, my thoughts jumbled and thick, my heart jagged and bloody.

There was no winning today. No epic villain speeches. No heroics. Just someone who saw both an easy and horrifically difficult way out. And took it. No questions asked.

I hitched in a shaky breath and clasped my hands together as I walked blindly through the village, not seeing anything other than my own anguish. An angry crack of red lightening cascaded through the sky, signifying Naomi’s rage.

I let out a halfhearted sob and rubbed my hand over my face. The land shook underneath my feet, tremors forcing me to concentrate on my balance. I kept walking. She could show up here and I’d shoot her too.

Not that it would do any good. I’d probably have to chop her head off and burn her body before she’d actually die.

I sighed again. I was sick of this. Sick of being responsible. Sick of being screwed around at every turn. And sick of seeing the people I loved hurt.

The soft pad of footsteps from behind alerted me to someone’s presence. They were unhurried and light. I stilled and turned my head back to see who was brave enough to approach me right now.

Maleficent.

Her shadow fell over me even as she reached out for my hand. My face crumpled and I fell to my knees. The soft touch of feathers brushed my skin and darkness swept over my body.

I opened my eyes to see nothing but black. Deep, ebony black surrounded me, but above me, the stars swept out into a never-ending canopy.

“I call this my chapel of mourning,” a dry voice said beside me.

“Your decorating palette is right on point, then,” I quipped.

Maleficent shifted beside me. “It takes a true queen to make a terrible decision like that, Snow,” she said quietly.

“I don’t feel like a true queen.”

“You are truer than any I’ve ever seen.”

I gazed at her out the corner of my eye. She wore a robe I’d never seen before, one covered in blueish-black feathers, and a headdress akin to the stories I’d read of the Triple Goddess. A sickle moon lay on its side to where the two points lay like horns pointing to the sky. She looked beautiful. And slightly terrifying.

“I’m digging the new style.”

She sighed and pulled her feather cloak closer around her. “These clothes are for war. Your sacrifice has started it. Naomi will never back down now.”

I leaned my head back against the cold stone wall. “Do you think he’s really dead?”

Maleficent’s cool, thin hand curled around me. “Sometimes, a battle does not have to be bloody or violent to be won.”

I snorted. “Your non-answers are super.”

One thin shoulder lifted. “I know not. If Naomi thought ahead, she would have saved some of his life force just in case something like this happened.”

“She seems pretty smart to me.”

“Being smart and being strategic are two different things. It’s possible Max still lives.”

A tiny ray of hope bloomed in my chest, but I quickly squashed it down before it could get very far. “Who would have thought I’d ever depend on Naomi to actually have her shit straight?”

“Sometimes, the villains are responsible for their own demise. At any rate, if he is alive, he will be out of commission for awhile.” She paused and swallowed hard. “A bullet to the head is not so easy to recover from.” My hands trembled and I shut my thoughts down. It was a picture I never, ever wanted to see again. Maleficent cleared her throat. “Now is the time to strike.”

I thought about how our plans had gotten so skewed and sat up straighter. Now that Max was out of the way, it would be easier to sneak into the castle and get Giles. I wanted to slap myself in the forehead.

“Can you whip up a glamour spell for us?” I realized I’d never gotten around to asking for her help before I went and killed my first lover.

A light frown etched itself onto her pale forehead. “I can. Pray tell, what for?”

A ghost of a smile drifted onto my face at her archaic speak. “I need to sneak into Naomi’s castle and employ a new agent of good.”

Realization dawned on her face. “Giles. You want Giles to work as a double agent.”

I nodded. “I think he’ll do it.”

“I think he will.” She paused. “Even if it gets him killed.”

I bowed my head. “It’s the only way I can think of to get the gem back.”

“I will make him a jewel similar to Max’s. I cannot guarantee it will work, however. I haven’t had the chance to study him and see how deep her influence is.”

“It will have to work. If it doesn’t, we’ll fly by the seat of our pants like always.”

She chuckled and gathered her robes about her. Maleficent stood and offered a hand up to me. I took it and brushed off the seat of my pants. The place she had us in was both beautiful and terrifying. I studied the tapestries on the walls, all done in black and silver. Scenes of battle and glory littered any available space. There was no roof, only a glorious canopy of stars above us.

“What do you do when it rains?”

“It never rains because I don’t allow it to.”

“Ooookay,” I said, and shut my face.

I followed behind her as she led me down a long, desolate hall and pretended not to hear her creepy chuckle.

Our footsteps echoed like gunshots in the corridor. Someone would have a difficult time sneaking up on her if they were foolhardy enough to do so.

“Where is everyone else?” I asked, watching in fascination as the feathers in her robe shimmered and swayed as if they were alive. Although the only light in the place was from what the stars provided, it was enough to give me a good lay of the land. And from how it looked, it seemed impossible. The first area was a long, round room, like a tower, and now we were in this wide corridor I hadn’t even seen until she led me down it. I shook my head, nonplussed.

“They are staying in the village until we get back. I had to…” She paused and shook her head.

“You don’t have to say it. I’m fine.”

Her shoulders fell. “Friend, you are not fine. You allowed yourself one small break and now you’re pretending you don’t have feelings.” A swipe of her hand opened an area of the wall right in front of us. Warm light spilled out to greet us. She ushered me in and I stopped in my tracks.

Rumple sat at the small, rectangular table, looking handsome and relaxed as all get out.

I wanted to slap the smirk right off of his beautiful face. But…he had told me about Max—or warned me, I supposed. I was the one who’d chosen not to believe him at first. Maybe I should thank him.

I’d rather slap him.

Instead of doing either, I offered a sharp nod and pulled out a chair to sit down. I was bone-achingly tired and the day was long from finished. Rumple gave me a slow nod back, his appraising gaze sharpening, no doubt picking up something major had happened.

Maleficent waved her hand again and the opening behind us disappeared seamlessly into the wall. “Rumple,” she acknowledged, “I’m grateful you’re here.”

“My pleasure, Sorceress.”

My gaze felt like it was in a tennis match. Why were they being so unfailingly polite to one another?

Rumple spread his long, tan hands out, as if to say, why not? “When enemies have a mutual enemy, it is beneficial to work together, is it not?”

I supposed that was decent logic. “‘A strong foe is better than a weak friend,” I murmured.

Rumple’s mouth dropped open. “Color me surprised. I doubted you’d ever picked up a book. Seemed more like Belle’s territory.”

I snorted a laugh. “I like Dahlberg. And Hemingway. And some others. I read.” I shrugged. “Just not often and usually not where someone can see me.”

Rumple’s eyes glittered. “It is not a folly to appear weaker than you are.”

A menacing grin split my face. “Just ask Max.”

My heart split into two as soon as the words left my mouth, but Rumple sat up a little straighter. “Little tigress,” he murmured under his breath and sat back in his chair, studying me.

I shifted under the intensity of his gaze. Maleficent shook her head at my cruel remark, but said nothing.

“May I ask why you’re here of all places?”

Rumple steepled his fingers as he stared at me, the maelstrom of magic swirling in his multi-colored eyes. He said nothing for a moment, but sat up a little straighter. “There was a magical disturbance over the village in the Enchanted Forest. I should have known it was you.”

I shrugged.

“Your time to strike is now. Get in. Get the gem, get the blood, and get out. You will strike her powerless if she cannot control the portals.”

My lips thinned. “Powerless?” Naomi was far from powerless, even without the gem. She’d almost kicked our asses last time we went head to head with her. I didn’t want to think about what she’d do now that we’d taken out her main henchman.

“Emotion makes people weak.” He waved a hand at me. “You of all people know this. And you know it well.”

I would not cry in front of him. Weakness would do me no good. As far as I was concerned, Max was dead, until I saw otherwise. “I agree.” And I did. I steeled my shoulders. “What do I need to do?”

Watching Maleficent and Rumple work together was a little bit disturbing. It was good villains were mostly solitary, power hungry creatures because if they ever pooled their powers and banded up against us, I remained convinced we’d be completely screwed. Not that Maleficent was a villain. Well, she was sometimes, but she’d proven time and time again that she was on our side. Rumple on the other hand…I still didn’t quite know what to make of him, but I couldn’t help wonder what his end game was. If Maleficent didn’t trust him, I knew better than to give him an inch.

He’d helped me only when it was convenient for him, and the more I thought about it, the more I thought maybe he was after the gem and using me as a tool to get it for him. Instead of going head to head with Naomi, he’d rather someone else do the dirty work for him so he could still pretend to be neutral in our war.

It was a good game, but I did not intend to hand over my family’s pendant to him—now or any other time. He’d have to take it from my cold, dead hands. Sitting here watching these two stir up all kinds of magic made me think he wouldn’t have any problem doing it either.

The gold of Rumple and the violet of Maleficent’s magic swirled through the room as they both peered in utter concentration at the small gem sitting in front of them. In reality, it looked quite innocuous. A pretty little bauble good for looks and nothing else. But I knew better, and from the amount of magic pouring from the both of them, they were making sure Giles would be well and free of Naomi’s control for at least the next several weeks, if not permanently.

I studied Maleficent’s thin frame and wondered about her willingness to go so far for us. She’d been with us from the beginning, steadily working to keep Max as safe as she could and willingly going into battle with us. She was one of the most steadfast friends I had—and one of the scariest.

Rumple, on the other hand, was a man with an agenda. I saw some traces of human emotion when he looked at Cyndi, but I needed to be careful to remember one thing: I was pretty sure Rumple wasn’t actually a human. If he were, he’d been walking this world for so long, much of his humanity had been brushed away, like old stone on an ancient temple.

The magic abruptly stopped and the blue-green gem shuddered and spun like a pendulum until it eventually tipped onto its side, still and silent. Maleficent exhaled deeply and wiped sweat from her brow. She’d long since removed the sickle moon crown and her ebony hair spun around her waist in a riot of tangles.

Rumple looked like he’d taken a leisurely stroll on the beach, which only served to heighten my awareness of him even more. That much magic should have taken a toll on anyone, but he was surprisingly unaffected.

Curious.

Rumple picked the gem up and carelessly tossed it to me. I scrambled out of my seat, my heart in my throat, and snatched it out of the air, clutching it to my fist.

“Ass,” I gasped. Glaring at him and ignoring his manly chuckle, I tucked the gem into one of the smaller pockets of my weapons belt.

Maleficent tsked under her breath, but seemed too worn out for much else. “Give us until tomorrow for the glamour spell,” she said weakly.

I nodded. Although I would have liked to have gone to the castle tonight, I wasn’t sure I was mentally prepared for it after everything that had happened. Max was at the back of my mind, a small thought I’d tucked deep back into the recesses so I wouldn’t have to think about the horror of what I’d done.

Rumple leaned against the table. “I’ll make the charm.”

My spidey senses were on high alert at this announcement, and even Maleficent seemed perturbed.

“It can wait, Rumple,” she said with ill-conceived impatience.

He turned those maelstrom eyes to her. “Ah, but it can’t. Even as we speak, Naomi plots against us. Snow took away something precious to her. She will act quickly, and, if I know her like I think I do, with savagery.”

There was a ring of truth to his words. As much as I distrusted him, his advice was sage. As tired and fragile as I was, I’d rather get this over as soon as possible. I deferred to the sorceress.

“Maleficent?”

She sat down heavily, her eyes never leaving his. “You are quite eager for this to be done.” She summoned her staff with a slight wave of her hand. “And for someone else to do it.”

An arrogant grin crossed his handsome face. “A true leader knows how to delegate.”

“You aren’t my leader,” I said, a note of annoyance creeping into my voice.

“I never said I was,” he responded quickly. “But think back to the people who have helped you along the way.”

He was right. He had been instrumental in our success…and some of our failure. I still didn’t trust him, but I nodded. “All right. We go tonight.”

He nodded in approval. “Get some rest, Maleficent. Dark magic isn’t for the weak. I’ll see you in a few hours.”