Snow's Lament (4 page)

I looked at him underneath my lashes. Belle cooked tonight and from the expression on his face, he was doubtful but enjoying it. Goodness knew how different the food was. Rumple was used to hunting and gathering, then making stew. We were blessed and a little spoiled with a massive abundance of food. Even without leaving the house, we were still blessed with groceries because of home delivery. She’d baked chicken with some sort of sweet sauce, fried potatoes, and mixed together a salad of greens with a mild vinaigrette. It was healthy enough for us not to regret it, but decadent enough for us to eat more than we should.

Once dinner was finished, we all said an awkward good night with plans to leave by 6:30 in the morning. Time didn’t run the same in the Enchanted Forest, so it was anyone’s guess what time it would be when we arrived.

Once I was in my bedroom, I slipped out of my regular clothes and into my trusty pajamas. A quick scrub of my face and I was ready to turn in for the night. I settled into bed and stared at the ceiling for a moment until I reached over for the letter I kept on my nightstand. I tried not to read it every night, but it wasn’t easy. Max’s words haunted me—the years of love for me he’d felt and never told me, the cruelty of Naomi.

As much as I was loathe to admit it, Max wasn’t the most important thing right now. As a future queen, I had to place the needs of many over the needs of myself. I hated it, but I knew it was the right thing. First, I needed to get Naomi off the throne.

Rumple’s words kept coming back to bother me. He kept calling the gem a “kingmaker”, but why would someone with royal blood need the gem to take the throne? And if I couldn’t activate it, was someone else meant to take the throne? It was confusing and disconcerting. Or maybe he was just playing games.

The soft parchment whispered against my fingers as I stroked the strong scrawl of Max’s name. The letter took ten years to reach me—ten long years where I could have changed things had I known. It was too late for self-recrimination. It was time for me to take action. With Naomi gone, things would fall into place…I hoped.

I read his letter one more time before I carefully placed it back on my nightstand and rolled onto my side. There would be plenty of time to think about things later. For now, I needed to get a good night’s rest. Tomorrow would be a busy day.

“I’m pretty sure I hate you,” Cinderella said as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.

“I’m pretty sure the feeling is mutual right now,” I muttered into my coffee.

There was a stillness to the house that didn’t happen often. It was still dark outside and we were all in a foul mood. One thing we’d gotten used to as virtual prisoners was sleeping in. There was no need to get up early when the only thing we had to look forward to was digging through dirty books for information. While that was enough to send Belle into fits of ecstasy, it wasn’t enough to get the rest of us even remotely excited.

So, here we were, 5:00 a.m., about to tear each other’s heads off. The only one who looked even remotely chipper was Rumple, but Gods only knew what his regular schedule was or even if he needed sleep. I could see him hanging upside down in his room, planning his nefarious deeds all night, and sucking the blood out of little children.

Rumple turned and quirked an eyebrow up at me. I hadn’t realized I was staring. I blinked and turned my attention back to my mug. I was packed. Double checked this time, just in case Cinderella hadn’t learned her lesson. All was well so far. Black skinny jeans, heavy boots, long-sleeved shirts, holsters, and weapons galore. Earlier this morning, I’d gone through our kitchen and packed non-perishable food just in case we were stranded anywhere; stranger things had happened to us.

Cyndi packed lighter than usual. I eyeballed her small duffel bag and gave her a nod of approval. She shook her head. “It wasn’t me. Rumple went through it this morning and threw out most of my clothes. Jerk.”

I sniggered. “He has a point. We’re going to be trekking through the woods for awhile. There’s no need for anything other than t-shirts, jeans, and hiking boots.”

She gave me a pitying look. “There is always time to dress up.” Cyndi glared at Rumple one more time before she picked up her duffel and dropped it in the living room. We would open the portal through there. It was the largest room and nothing in it was overly valuable just in case things went awry.

Belle and Robin were already in the living room, sitting across from each other, their posture stiff and conversation polite. It was like listening to strangers at a party. For crying out loud, those two needed to be smacked. We’d nearly died together…more than once—that deserved some familiarity at least, or some jokes in poor taste.

I dumped my bag beside Cyndi’s and
thunked
myself down beside Belle. “You two need to get a grip. We don’t have time to deal with this bullshit right now, but as soon as we have some free time, I’m taking your weapons and locking you two in a room so you can get your crap straightened out.”

Belle sat up straighter. “You wouldn’t.” But from the look on her face, she knew I would. Robin didn’t move, but he did grin at me. He knew I would, and I didn’t think he’d mind getting shut in a room with her.

“I’m game,” he said.

“You’re an ass.” Belle sighed and crossed her arms, her posture closed to any further conversation.

“As you keep telling me,” Robin said dryly. “Snow, everyone ready?”

As far as I knew. Rumple was still in the kitchen, but he came with little, so I didn’t think he had much to pack. Plus, he probably had some kind of magical apparatus for packing no mere mortal could understand. Us puny humans were limited to carrying our own duffle bags. I shrugged. “Think so. Just waiting on Rumple.”

Speak of the devil, the man himself came into the room, immediately taking all the oxygen with him.

“Ready?” he asked in an abrupt tone. “If not, get that way. We don’t have much time to waste.”

He was looking more like the Rumple I knew this morning. Dressed in buckskin and leathers, he looked decidedly wild. If he walked outside, he’d get picked up by the police. In his hand, he held a small, green, dyed leather pouch. Ignoring our mumbles about being ready to go, he busied himself by placing what appeared to be crystals around the area of my living room. I was dying to ask him what they were for, but I knew better than to interrupt someone when they were working. Plus, he threatened death way too often for me to ask.

It was different watching a master work. When Belle performed technomancy, a sheer look of concentration and a brow furrow would steal over her face. She looked like she was working and trying to keep up so she didn’t lose control over the magic. But Rumple, he looked like he was born to be a sorcerer. His face relaxed, he moved with grace and ease around the room as he set up his circle. Each sharp click of the stone he set down caused me to blink. My heart rate sped up just a little bit more each time because every stone he put down meant we were one step closer to going back.

And one step closer to Max.

I forced myself to breathe calmly and watched Rumple with a close eye. Not that I would know if he was trying to screw us over. I didn’t know much about magic. I’d been on Earth for so long, I’d gotten used to life without it. Belle didn’t use hers much that I could tell, unless she was working, and Cyndi’s magic was so secretive, I wasn’t sure I’d ever seen her use it.

Rumple looked out of place in my house, wild and supernatural. His buckskin leathers clung to his powerful thighs and with each move of his body, they stretched and outlined his lithe frame. He was something to look at, that’s for sure. I just didn’t think he could be trusted.

Cyndi watched him with rapt attention, a hunger in her eyes I’d never seen before. I hoped she knew what she was doing because there was a good chance I wouldn’t be able to get her out of this deal. Rumple was no fool and was renowned through the Enchanted Forest for his ability to screw you over with one of his hard-to-resist deals.

The atmosphere changed as soon as Rumple set the last stone down. It popped into place with an audible click and lit the room with a soft green glow.

The portal would soon be opened.

Rumple turned to us. “Be sure you have provisions for at least the next five days. I’m dropping you close to the village where Simeon’s paramour was last seen.”

Something wasn’t right with his statement. I held up a hand. “Wait. Dropping us?”

He nodded.

“What about you?”

One imperious eyebrow rose. “What about me?”

“Are you getting ‘dropped’ too?” I was apprehensive about his motives and a little concerned he was going to drop us somewhere we’d never be able to find our way out of.

He just smiled. “Is everyone ready?”

I nodded and opened my mouth to ask him to elaborate on his plan, but he snapped his fingers and the world dropped away.

#

I had a mouth full of dirt and a warm hand on my ass. I hitched my hip over, trying to get said hand to move, but it was dead weight. I sat up slowly and waited for the world to stop spinning. Robin lay beside me, his hand now lying next to my hip. He was out cold.

I leaned over and spit as much dirt out of my mouth as I could. “Belle?” I looked around and saw no sign of my two other friends, but that wasn’t abnormal. Portal travel was notoriously fickle.

“Cyndi?” I scanned the area we’d dropped into. Unsurprisingly, we were surrounded by forest. Ahead in the distance, I saw what was probably the village we were supposed to be at. Rumple was good to his word…so far.

“Snow!” The shout came from the west and I scrambled to my feet. Vertigo and nausea swept over me, so I stood there for a few seconds, trying to get my bearings. I nudged Robin with my boot, but the poor bastard was still out cold. I left him there and headed in the direction of what sounded like Belle’s voice. I drew one of my daggers.

“Belle?”

“Snow!” Belle crashed through the underbrush and stood beside me. Sticks and leaves intertwined in her long, chestnut hair, making me chuckle. I rarely saw Belle disheveled.

“Where’s Cyndi?”

I shrugged. “I’m assuming she’s here somewhere.”

Belle drew in a deep breath. “I-I don’t think she’s here.”

My gaze flew to her face. “Why not?” My heart started thumping erratically. There was only one reason she wouldn’t be here.

“Rumple,” we both said at the same time.

I cursed under my breath and grabbed her arm. “Robin is out. Let’s rouse him, get to the village, and try to find our way out of this place.”

During the short walk back to him, my mind spun with a thousand different thoughts. Cyndi trusted Rumple. She liked him for reasons only known to her. I was one who could appreciate a pretty face, but I was suspicious and skeptical enough of everyone to always be wary. There was no sign of Rumple anywhere in our area. Either he was coming later—hopefully with Cyndi—or he had lied to all of us and my friend was in danger.

Calm down
, I thought. Those two were bound by a deal. When I thought about it, I wasn’t sure he actually
could
kill her. Plus, she had something he wanted. I wasn’t one-hundred percent sure of what it was yet, but Cyndi knew. Yes, she was pissed at him right now, but she was the most forgiving out of all of us.

Belle kicked Robin in the ribs and I pretended not to notice the small smile of satisfaction she got on her face afterward.

“Wake up, jerk,” she sang sweetly.

Robin groaned and his eyes blinked open to see Belle hovering over him.

“For god’s sake,” he muttered. “I don’t mind waking up to a beautiful woman, but I sure don’t like a shrew standing over me.”

Belle stood and kicked him again for good measure. “Uh huh. You’ve been out for ten minutes, Sleeping Beauty. You just lost your man card.”

I waggled my eyebrows as Robin glared at her. “She’s got a point there. We need to go. It’s possible Rumple still has Cyndi.”

Robin sat up and winced. “Did you really have to kick me twice?”

Belle grinned. “Usually, third time’s the charm.”

“Wench,” Robin muttered and brought himself to standing. He brushed off his breeches and unstrapped the bow and arrow from his back. “Let’s get this over with.”

I led the way into the village. The small amount of light coming from the mostly obscured sun dappled the rocks on the path in front of us. Even with Naomi’s darkness spreading across the land, it was still gorgeous. I continued to keep an eye out for danger as we walked. Belle strolled beside me and Robin trailed behind me, his bow notched, but pointed at the ground. There was no need to act threatening until we needed to, but the forest was too quiet for us to drop our guard.

“Lass,” Robin said quietly from behind us, “something isn’t right.”

Gooseflesh broke out across my skin. “I know,” I whispered. My spidey senses were tingling too, but I couldn’t put my finger on what was happening. The only sound was our boots crunching across the path and our breathing. There should have been birds chirping and the sounds of animals scurrying through the woods.

Instead, there was nothing.

As we approached the entrance to the village, shock stopped me in my tracks. The familiar smell of decay and blood reached my nose. We’d arrived too late.

“Shit,” I muttered underneath my breath as I forced my feet to move again. I drew my Sig, nose pointed down, and motioned Belle closer to me. She wasn’t defenseless by any means, but her technomancy wasn’t as strong over here as it was on Earth—something I promised myself I’d delve deeper into when we weren’t about to get ourselves killed.

On the surface, the village looked normal. Quaint, even. Small, wooden, round houses were scattered across the area. Some were obviously shops, their hand-painted signs swinging innocently in the gentle breeze. An errant wind chime offered a cheery musical note to the macabre sight I had a feeling we’d soon stumble onto.

I stepped slowly, one foot in front of the other, my gaze scanning the area as fast as my eyes could, looking for anything out of place—or, heaven forbid, Naomi.

Robin had his bow ready for battle, his steps quiet and measured. Belle walked beside me, her breathing ragged and a look of rapt fear on her face. I reached over with one hand and squeezed her arm.

“Breathe,” I whispered. “With any luck, this place will be deserted.”

I knew it wasn’t deserted. Blood has a memorable smell. The coppery tang filled my nose. By the smell, there was lots of blood, and by the look of it so far, any hope of finding anyone alive was dwindling by the second.

I stood in front of one of the small houses with my gun drawn, at the ready. The door was cracked open slightly. I turned and nodded to Robin. He stepped in front of me, readied his bow, and slammed the door open with his boot. I crouched down and scanned the room.

It was empty, aside from the two bodies lying on the floor.

Belle let out a gasp. “My God,” she whispered.

After making sure there was no one in the front room, I holstered my gun and motioned Robin in first. His bow remained at the ready.

“I’ll check the rest of the house,” he offered, and left me before I could agree.

I put one hand over my nose to tamp down the smell of blood and decay and stepped toward the two unfortunate souls. It was a man and a woman, most likely husband and wife. They lay on their backs, two identical holes in their chest. Their eyes were wide and sightless, their mouths open in a grimace of terror.

I blew out a breath and leaned down to close their eyes. As I did, I noticed a glint of red. Leaning closer, the telltale scent of Naomi’s magic surrounded me. The odds of me finding Simeon alive were down to virtually nil now. I wasn’t sure if Max had been here, but I wouldn’t doubt it if he had done some of her dirty work.

“Naomi?” Robin asked as he came back into the room.

I sighed. “Yep. It’s not our day to catch a break, I guess.”

He chuckled. “It’s never your day to catch a break, Snow.”

“You can say that again,” I grumbled.

I stood and glanced around the rest of the house. Nothing looked out of place that I could tell, considering I’d never been here before. There weren’t many signs of a struggle. That didn’t surprise me knowing how strong Naomi’s magic was and her terrifying persuasion skills. I glanced over to Robin.

“Anything in the other rooms?”

He shrugged. “Not that I could tell, lass. No mess, nothing obviously out of place. I think these two were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”