The Hunt for Snow (15 page)

Belle stared at me like I just fell off the turnip truck, but Cyndi had a serene and calm look on her face.

Rumpel laughed out loud. “I have no desire for you.”

“Thanks,” I said dryly. “You can’t have Cyndi. If you insist on it, we’ll walk away.”

“No you won’t,” Cyndi said.

“Yes. I will.” I tried to will her to back down by just staring at her, trying to communicate without words, but if Cyndi got it, she wasn’t cooperating.

Rumpel sat back against his chair and contemplated her. “You bring with you an extraordinary gift. How do you know I won’t abuse it?”

“You’ll sign a contract,” Cyndi said with authority.

“Oh?” Rumpel looked enamored with her. What the hell did she whisper in his ear?

“Yes. I’ll stay with you for one year. In return, Naomi will be out of your hair. It’s a win-win for us all.” She let her fingers slide out of his hair as she walked back to her side of the table.

I held my breath. One year. Was that really so terrible? Maybe. The better question was why the hell did Cyndi even offer herself up? And why does she think she knows so much about what he wants or needs?

Cyndi and Rumpel stared each other down, and it was like the rest of us were no longer in the room. “Two years,” he countered.

She offered him a shark’s smile. “Fourteen months.”

His nostrils flared. “Eighteen months.”

I slammed my fist on the table. “What the hell is going on here? Cyndi, you can’t be considering this!”

She ignored me. “Sixteen months. Final offer. Refuse this and we’re all going to walk.”

“Let’s go,” I said and shoved my chair back. We’d figure out something else. We had to.

“Deal,” Rumpel said.

“Shit,” I murmured under my breath and sat back down in my chair.

I had no idea what happened. I felt blindsided and betrayed. “Can I talk to you privately, Cyndi?”

“No need for privacy,” she said. “I have something Rumpel wants. No,
needs
. I have something he needs, and he knows he can’t find it anywhere else.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose hard. “Every woman in the realm probably has what Rumpel wants.” She flinched as if I’d hit her. “I’m sorry. That was harsh.” What could she possibly have that Rumpel couldn’t get himself?

“It was. Sex is not what he’s after.” She flicked her gaze at him, Rumpel still staring at her with lion-like intensity. “I’ve never told you what my gift is, have I?”

My heart started beating in an erratic staccato. I’m not sure I wanted to know. I waited for her to go on.

“I can look at someone and know their heart’s desire. And,” her face fell, “I can give it to them.”

Belle and Robin sat up a little bit straighter and glanced at each other guiltily. My mouth dropped open. “Everyone?” I squeaked out.

“Everyone.”

Well, that explained some things. The wish firm she’d opened on Earth was booming in clients. People must have thought she was a miracle worker. Which, staring at her now, she kind of was.

Rumpel leaned forward and regarded us all. “The deal is done. The orphan will stay here with me for the period of sixteen months and, in return, I will gift you with the curse needed to defeat Naomi.” With a wave of his hand, he produced a large scroll. He unrolled it and handed us all feather pens. An inkwell appeared in the middle of the table.

It was do or die time, but I wouldn’t do anything without reading all the fine print first. This felt like I was selling Cyndi into slavery. Friends didn’t sell friends to evil sorcerers.

“What kind of curse?” I needed to know all the details.

He shrugged. “It’s entirely up to you. I’m just the magician here. I’m assuming you’re here because you don’t want to kill her?”

I nodded.

“Then before we go any further, you need to decide what it is you want to happen.”

My mind whirled. I’d had some time to think about this, but I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. She’d made me and my people suffer for so long that I wanted to reciprocate. I thought back to the worst day of my life—the day Max chased me from my home—and relived all of those horrible feelings. Not knowing where I was, how to fit in or what I was going to do to survive. All those years of struggling to survive, wishing for my life back home, worrying about my friends, and I made my decision.

When I told everyone, there were some surprised looks, but no one disagreed. With the decision finalized, I read over the contract and decided it was fair enough. Cyndi would stay with him for the agreed upon period once we defeated Naomi. After that, she was either free to stay or leave him. Studying her now, my heart sank. If I knew Cyndi at all, I knew she would stay with him. The stories I’d heard about Rumpel didn’t fit with the person I was seeing now, but for all I knew he could be acting on his best behavior. The contract addressed abuse and magical torture, both passages that made me cringe, but she’d be protected from all of that. I didn’t doubt she’d be able to take care of herself, but this deal left a bad feeling in my mouth. A person should never be used as a bargaining chip, but I’d done it with my best friend. Unwittingly, of course, but it didn’t feel like it mattered. I raised the quill above the contract and signed my name. Cyndi followed, and Rumpel signed last.

With a flourish, he said a few words over it, and the parchment disappeared into thin air.

I cleared my throat. “I’d like a copy, please.”

Rumpel let out an aggrieved sigh, but produced one for me. I folded it up and held it in my hand. “The curse?”

He nodded. “It will take me a few hours. You’re welcome to stay in this area while I go back to my lab. Cyndi, if you’d follow me?”

And so it began, even before we had Naomi under control. We watched her walk away with a satisfied smile on her face. This was a brand new side to her, and I’m not sure if I liked it or not.

Belle was the first to break the uncomfortable silence. “That event,” she waved her hand around, “put weird on a whole new scale.”

Robin looked shell shocked. “Rumpel may have gotten the better part of this deal, darling.”

I was afraid of that. With Cyndi’s gift, Rumpel’s job just got a whole lot easier. He wouldn’t need to dig to find out what people wanted. He had his very own trained bloodhound to scent it out.

“How long has she been able to do that?” I asked, not expecting an answer.

“Most children in the Enchanted Forest are born with a gift, Snow.” Robin flicked an arrow out of his pack. “Mine was the gift of archery.”

“And mine was technomancy,” Belle said.

Why did I not know this? I just figured that some people were born magical, and others were born ordinary. I was one of the ordinary ones. I could shoot, hide, and I had the mouth of a sailor sometimes, but I didn’t think I possessed any extraordinary gifts. “I wasn’t born with a gift,” I said, trying to sound flippant about it.

Belle looked down, almost as if she felt guilty about something.

“What?” I asked.

Belle stood up and walked over to Rumpel’s coffee pot. “Anyone want any more?”

Avoidance always led to great discoveries, at least in my dealings with her. “Belle?”

She busied herself with making us all new cups, even though Robin and I hadn’t said we’d take another one. When she’d finished and settled herself around the table again, she tried to change the subject, but I wasn’t having any of it.

“Do you know something about my gift?” Wouldn’t I know if I had one? Maybe it was the gift of making enemies. That seemed to be my strongest talent these days.

Her shoulders slumped. “You don’t have one,” she said.

I blinked. “Then why are you acting so weird?”

Robin’s interest perked up, hearing something in her tone I’d missed. “Did she have one in the past?”

Belle gave him a dirty look and snarled, “Yes.”

I sat up straighter. “Is this one of those stories I’m going to get angry about? Because if it is, I’m so over those.” I babbled in order to not get my hopes up.

“Naomi stole it,” Belle said shortly.

I took a sip of my coffee, saddened, yet not surprised in the least.

“Or, that’s what the word is around the village. No one knows for sure, Snow. I didn’t want to tell you because I wasn’t sure if it was true. A trusted member of Naomi’s court was overheard talking about you and what the queen had done.”

“What’s my gift?” I asked, curious now.

She shook her head and smiled sadly. “Only Naomi and your father know.”

Well, that was a dead end. I always felt like I was missing something inside, but chalked it up to it being my
entire kingdom
. This was just one more thing to get angry about, but I didn’t have the energy for more anger right now. What had I ever done to her? I was just a girl when she came into our lives, a whelp of a girl who was more interested in learning to hunt and fish than ever being queen. Naomi was the one who wiggled her way into our lives. She seduced my father, acted for a little while like a real mother, and then turned around and betrayed us all. She was the reason for all of this. Every day I felt like I was falling more and more down the rabbit hole.

Was the crown worth this battle? My people were, but was my palace? Would I be a good queen, benevolent and wise? I didn’t feel it. I was brash, impulsive and angry almost all of the time. The few times I’d gotten close to someone all hell broke loose. Now I cared deeply about a man who might not have the capacity to care back, and I was stuck in a deep political game that could lead to my death.

Good times.

I let Belle off the hook. “No use missing something you never knew about, right?”

Her mouth twisted. “We can get it back.”

“What is
it
? It doesn’t matter. We’ve come this far. The gift hasn’t helped me ever, and it won’t help me now.”

Robin reached over and patted my hand. “If it helps, I think you’re still a hell of a gal.”

I snorted in amusement. “Thanks. Now let’s drop all this maudlin talk and discuss something fun. If you were stranded on a desert island, name the top five things you’d bring with you.”

The discussion kept us busy for awhile, hooting with laughter at some of the outrageous suggestions brought up, ranging from Les Stroud to Budweiser Models. Footsteps soon sobered our brief levity. We watched as Rumpel and Cyndi walked out of the back area. They both were looking surprisingly…rumpled—pun
way
intended. But at least he was holding a small glowing bottle.

He handed it over with caution and offered us a padded leather satchel with it. “Break this and you will be in a world of hurt.”

I took it, a little fearful and a whole lot nervous. This was the thing that could save us. We could live in peace, at least until the next great super-villain surfaced. I placed the bottle inside of the satchel and closed it securely.

Hours later, we were at last finished. If Maleficent wasn’t outside waiting for us, we might have to impose upon Rumpel for another favor, and since he’d taken one of my best friends I hoped to the gods that it didn’t happen.

“Where will she go when the curse is enacted?” I asked against my better judgment.

Rumpel flicked a hand. “Exactly where you wanted her to go. Her own personal hell. Throw it on her and run like hell.”

Which didn’t exactly answer my question, but again it may be one of those things I was better off not knowing. “Thank you, Rumpel.”

His eyes flashed then, those swirling ancient depths filled with more knowledge than I’d ever have. Fear settled deep in my belly, and I sent up a silent prayer for Cyndi. With a wolf’s smile he answered, “No, thank you.” With a possessive hand on Cyndi’s arm, he showed us to the door.

As we stood on the rustic wooden porch, he released Cyndi. “I will expect you back soon.” His tone rough and authoritative.

She nodded as she turned away. “I will keep my end of the bargain.”

I tried not to walk a little faster as we left him.

Maleficent was leaning against an ancient tree trunk, waiting for us. As we came into sight, she stood to her full height, her staff upright by her side. She stared at us a beat too long before she spoke. “Cinderella has sacrificed much for you, Snow. Do not fail.”

I bowed my head, feeling like the weight of the world was upon my shoulders. For all of my bluster, my weapons, my sacrifices and hard-ass attitude, it wasn’t equal to what Cyndi had done for us. Even though she’d put on a brave face, I couldn’t help but wonder if she was terrified on the inside.

She’d seen what Rumpel needed and gave it to him for us at the expense of her own life. She appeared at peace with her decision, perhaps even a little excited, but did she really think she could tame a man like him? Did Cyndi truly believe Rumpel was lonely? Perhaps he was, but why was she the one to cure it? If we’d bargained for longer I’m sure we could have come to an agreement, a different one that would have left us all together.

I nodded after a moment and placed a hand on Cyndi’s arm. She leaned over and whispered, “Do not fret. It was my destiny.”

Tears filled my eyes. I wanted to rage at her, to scream and rail against this decision, but I could never see what she saw. I would never know the depths of someone’s desire like Cyndi did. This made me fearful for her and sad at the same time. What did she see when she looked at me? Or even Belle who had her own demons?

At least she was here with us now. We’d have at least the next few days to say our goodbyes. And it wasn’t forever. It was sixteen months. I’d watched Netflix for longer periods than that.

“Shall we?” Maleficent asked.

At our nods, we all joined hands and waited for her to kick our asses again with her magic.

Once we had hurled the remnants of our stew up in the bushes and listened to Maleficent’s hysterical laughter, we studied our surroundings. The castle,
my castle
, stood several hundred feet in the distance. Its spires hit the clouds, the light gray stone matching the color of the sky above it. It looked much the same as it did a decade ago, but vast differences had marked the time. Whereas my mother was possessed of a green thumb and surrounded the castle with roses and sun-loving flowers, Naomi’s presence made them wither and die. Now there was nothing but brambles and shade plants scattered around the castle, their presence untended to and ignored.

Guards dressed in black littered the area, searching for anyone who dared to venture too close. We had a plan for that, and it involved a half-naked Belle and shitloads of flaming arrows from Robin Hood. He balked at the plan at first, and I had a feeling it had more to do with everyone seeing Belle unclothed than the danger involved. Belle was all for it though. Such a team player, but I also suspected she liked getting a rise out of Robin. Those two were perfect for each other. If he made it through this without murdering anyone, I’d be surprised.

We scoped out the area for a while. Maleficent opted to hang back until the end. If we ended up in dire circumstances she would intercede, but for now her presence would be our ace in the hole. Magic users met untimely ends around Naomi, and if this all went to hell in a handbasket, we were all going to die anyway so Maleficent didn’t mind jumping in then.

I kept psyching myself up and repeating like a mantra,
All you gotta do is
not
miss. Don’t miss. Don’t miss. For the love of the gods. Don’t miss.
I patted the vial strapped onto my waist. The leather strap was still secured and the bottle was still nestled inside. We’d storm the castle in the middle of the night. It was still daytime right now, so we had several hours to go.

We crept out of our hiding places and opted to head back to the village for a few hours of desperately needed sleep. I trailed behind everyone, keeping a careful eye on my surroundings, looking for traps or guards. Maleficent, Belle and Robin plowed ahead, seemingly unworried about the events to come.

I, however, was terrified. There were only two endings to this I could see—either Naomi would win, or I would. Maybe three—we’d all die. I ran a hand through my dirty hair and cringed as I pulled away spider webs and other unsavory things. A hot bath was first on my to-do list once we found a place to stay back in the village.

I found myself lost in thoughts of what ifs, so I didn’t hear the soft crack of the twig behind me until it was too late. I flew off my feet and into the hard chest of someone very male. A large warm hand covered my mouth, but left my nose open to breathe. A courteous kidnapper. Nice.

“If you scream, I will slit your pretty white throat.” The whisper against my ear did delicious things to my insides. Max had found us. I wasn’t sure whether to be delighted or terrified.

I nodded once, but Max’s grip didn’t loosen. Instead, he picked me up like I weighed no more than a sack of potatoes and slung me across his back. I grunted in pain as my stomach hit his shoulder, which alerted Robin. His horrified shout rang out, but Max had already taken off running back to the castle, jarring my teeth with every step he took.

“Stay back!” I managed to shout. “Remember our plan!” Of course, our plan wasn’t much good if Max found the vial strapped to my waist, but I’d deal with that when the time came. I reached to my back and felt one of my hands ensnared by his.

“Don’t you even dare,” he said with a growl as he continued to haul ass through the brush.

Secretly I was thrilled he found me. I felt very Jane versus caveman, but the self-preservationist inside of me was racking my brain for a way to get out of this. The sounds of pursuit faltered and stopped behind me. Robin would figure this out. He always did.

Max slowed his pace after a few more moments and slid me off his shoulder. We were in a heavy cover of woods behind the castle, no guards or Naomi in sight. Instead of letting me go, he pulled me against him and ran his fingers through my hair and down my shoulders. I was starting to get excited, but when he forced my arms up in the air and ran his hands down my waist, I realized the bastard was looking for weapons. He unhooked the satchel from my waist, took a cursory glance inside and not seeing any weapons, he tossed it to the ground beside him. I kept my face blank, but my knees almost buckled in relief. Rumpel’s curse was still intact and safe. As long as he didn’t look too closely, and I was able to retrieve the satchel when I managed to get the hell away from him, all would be well.

His hands cupped my breasts, lingering long enough to tell me he wasn’t unaffected by his thorough search, and slipped down to the undersides. He lifted them up, my mouth going dry as he took his time. His hands spanned my waist again and stalled when he reached the small of my back. He took out my Sig and tossed it to the ground, silent in his examination.

He lifted my shirt up, his warm hands again at my waist. I shivered against him and when his gaze met my own, his eyes were the normal forest green I expected them to be, although I wasn’t foolish enough to believe he’d broken Naomi’s hold. It was only dormant for now.

His head inched closer to mine. “Where are the rest?” he whispered. I tried to knee him in the groin, but he sidestepped me and tightened his grip on my waist. His lips were barely an inch from mine, and I studied them, remembering exactly where those lips had been just a little while ago. I eventually looked up at him.

Knowing and answering heat reflected back in his gaze. “There are no more,” I said, lying through my teeth.

He chuckled. “I’ll strip you naked if I have to. Where are they?”

I glared at him, refusing to be cowed. “If you’re so good, find them.”

He pulled me so close our bodies melded together. My thighs were trapped in between his, and I felt the heat of his want resting in my apex. I swallowed hard and dared him silently.

In answer, he tore my tunic down the front. I gasped in outrage, and pulled the ragged cotton together to cover myself. The familiar tinge of red in his eyes was more evident than it was before. “Show me your weapons, Snow, or I will hurt you.” His face filled with silent pain, and he shook his head once as if to clear it. “The binding grows stronger when I’m close to you. I will not be able to fight it much longer. Do as I say and I might be able to let you walk away from here.”

I pulled a wicked knife from my boot and the pepper spray from my bra, and tossed them down on the ground in front of him. I spread my hands out in front, the remnants of my shirt dangling. I had another small knife in my other boot, but I’d die before I’d give it up.

“Take off your boots.”

I stood my ground. “Why?”

“Because I know you. Take off your boots and stop arguing.”

I bent over and slid one boot off, then the other. “Satisfied?”

“Turn them upside down and shake them out.”

I stifled a curse word as I did what he asked. My last hope made a soft thump in the grass. Max bent and scooped it up. He twirled the small knife around in one hand as he studied me. “Would you really have stabbed me?”

Yes. No. “Maybe.”

“Good to know. I guess you’ve already shot me, so what’s a little stabbing among friends?”

“Looks like you’ve healed just fine.” No doubt due to Naomi’s ministrations.

His face darkened. “There are…perks to my situation.”

“No doubt,” I murmured. Silence fell between us. The sky was beginning to darken even more so as the sun began to set. Max barked at me to put my boots back on.

I slid them on, but wondered why I should have even bothered. My shirt was torn in half and I had no weapons. The odds of me outrunning him were low, but the odds of me wounding him were even lower. All I had now were my bare hands and my wits, one which was stronger than the other. Once I was somewhat dressed again, Max tied my wrists in front of me with rope he secured from the leather pack he carried at his waist. If I was in a better mood, I would have made fun of him for carrying what looked suspiciously like a fanny pack. Instead, I just glowered and allowed him to tighten the ropes so hard they chafed like a too tight pair of underwear. He leaned down to pick up my satchel and, to my surprise, fastened it around my waist before he took hold of the rope and pulled me forward. With that small action, Max had almost assuredly signed Naomi’s death warrant.

He led me with ease through the woods, comfortable enough in his surroundings to know where we were going. I, on the other hand, was lost. The castle was still in view, though, which I found strange. Why hadn’t he just taken me to the front and paraded me in front of everyone? After walking and stumbling around for what fell like forever, we made it to the back end of the castle. There were no guards around this time, and I filed that away for future use. I didn’t think Robin would make a move when he wasn’t sure where I’d been taken, so if I managed to break away, we might be able to use this to our advantage.

Max pulled me closer to the castle and loosened a grate concealed behind several large bushes. I balked once I realized what he was doing. “You want me to wade through the sewer?” I asked in disbelief. “What the hell, Max? Why are you being so secretive and weird?”

“Just do as I say,” he barked and shoved me toward the entrance.

I heaved a grunt of frustration and shimmied my way into the grate. I landed in six inches of muck and mire and let out a sailor-worthy string of curse words. I loved these boots. Max dropped in beside me, grinning maniacally at my pissed off face. I glowered at him as he motioned for me to follow along. Well, what the hell was I going to do? Run away? I’d never been in this portion of the castle before and had no idea it existed. This was time to get familiar with things, just in case our first plan didn’t work out.

We slogged through disgusting waste water until we came to a lit up area. The smell was overwhelming, and I gagged every few steps, my stomach roiling and churning. I’d already managed to throw up my stew thanks to Maleficent, so I had nothing left to give. Max motioned me into a small area concealed against the gray stone. If I hadn’t been looking for this place, I would have overlooked it. I had to walk sideways to shimmy in, and Max followed behind me, his nearness overwhelming. I still couldn’t figure out his game.

After a few minutes of sideways shuffling, the corridor opened up into a small room with a bed and nightstand. It was lit with a couple of small oil lamps. I looked around, realizing this was Max’s room. I schooled my face, trying not to show sympathy. There were little personal touches here, nothing to give me a glimpse into the man I’d fallen hard for. The bed was small and rickety and held one threadbare blanket on it, not big enough for Max. How or even if he managed to get a good night’s sleep here remained a mystery. The nightstand held a lamp and a single old paperback—
A Game of Thrones
, one of the few things in the room with Max’s touch on it. The walls were bare and the temperature was cooler in here than the areas we’d just walked through.

Nervousness seeped into my stomach. “Why am I here?”

“Relax. I’m not going to kill you.” He motioned at me to sit on the bed.

I wasn’t sure how comfortable I was with that, so I sat on the edge, my knees together and my bound wrists on top of them. He shook his head in amusement and sat in front of me on the floor. “You possess a weapon, Snow. A powerful artifact. Naomi wants it. Where is it?”

I blinked. “What weapon?” I had tons of weapons, but didn’t think anything I possessed was overly powerful. Some of it was magical, but nothing I had was rare or even all that special. My items held significance for me, but not for anyone else.

He ran a hand through his hair, mussing it. “I don’t know,” he gritted out, “but that’s where she is right now.”

My heart stuttered. “Where? My house?” I squeaked.

He nodded. “Why else would she dump you here?”

I cursed under my breath. Naomi never did anything halfway. She’d dumped us here to keep us away. Instead of doing the sane thing and maybe sneaking over to my house during the conference, she went cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs and decided to send an entire hotel into another realm. It worked, though. Instead of having Maleficent open a portal to return, we blindly went forth and searched for Rumpel. But I didn’t understand what it was she wanted.