UnEnchanted (10 page)

Brody refused to let go of her hand. With
his other hand, he lifted her petite chin so she could look into
his eyes. Were people looking? Mina tried not to care. “Please
believe me when I say that this isn’t about a debt I owe or a bet
to prove myself.”

“
I feel like this is some
sort of sick joke, and you’re trying to mess with my emotions.”
Mina turned away from his touch.

“
This isn’t, believe me.”
Brody leaned forward, tantalizingly close to her mouth, but a bunch
of catcalls and whistles alerted them to their very loud teenage
audience. Mina stiffened when she overheard someone call her
a
Grimey Gold-digger
and quickly pulled away, but not far enough that Brody
couldn’t steer her back toward his car. She got in it without a
word, happy to be out of sight. For the rest of the ride she stared
out the window in silence, ignoring Brody’s worried glances, lost
in her thoughts.

Grimey Gold-digger?
They thought she was after Brody for his money?
It was the farthest thing from the truth. Yes, she had secretly
crushed on him from afar, but it had nothing to do with his money.
This was worse than she had imagined. Mina was so distracted by her
own inner monologue that she was surprised when Brody pulled up to
the library again.

“
How did you know?” Mina
asked, speaking for the first time since entering the
car.

“
I knew that you were
looking for something pretty hard yesterday, and it didn’t look
like you found it. Maybe if you tell me, I can help you look for it
today?”

Mina shook her head. “I don’t know what
exactly I’m looking for. All I know is that I’ll know it when I see
it.”

Brody followed Mina into the library with
his book bag, and they headed toward the table she’d sat at before.
This time he brought homework and was content to sit with Mina as
she pored through encyclopedias, journals, and microfiche film.
After another three unsuccessful hours, Mina was ready to give
up.

“
You didn’t find what you
were looking for, did you?” he asked.

“
Afraid not.” Mina leaned
back in her chair and rubbed her eyes. “I’m going to check another
shelf. I’ll be right back.”

Brody raised one eyebrow at her in
disbelief.

“
I promise I won’t run off
without telling you. After all, I don’t want to walk
home.”

Mina walked a few aisles down and peeked
through the shelves to spy on Brody. What was he doing here? She
couldn’t fathom why he would want to hang out with her, especially
in a library. She would have thought he would have gotten bored and
gone home already, but to stick with her for two whole days?
Leaning against the shelf, Mina felt defeated. She was here to look
for a clue, not pine over Brody. She needed a sign, anything to
help her family.

Yesterday she had finally convinced her
mother to tell her everything she knew about the Grimm family curse
and the Story. Supposedly there were signs that would appear to
tell her she was the chosen one. Like the appearance of animals.
Sara also explained that once she was chosen, the Grimoire would
appear, a book of power that was supposed to aid her.

“
How do I get the book?”
Mina had asked, feeling as if she was already losing precious time
in breaking the curse.

“
You don’t,” Sara told
her. “It will come to you.”

“
What do you mean? Didn’t
Father have it, and Uncle Jack before him?”

“
Your father did, but
after his passing the book disappeared. Its own way of protecting
itself, I guess. When the Story chooses the next Grimm member, the
book decides if it’s going to help them.”

“
What do you mean, it
decides?” she’d asked. “Shouldn’t it just automatically help the
next family member?”

“
Unfortunately, no. The
book goes into hiding, and then it chooses whether or not to appear
and help. What if the next Grimm descendent wasn’t honest, was
greedy and selfish? What if they were evil? The Grimoire would be a
terrible weapon in the wrong hands. So it must protect itself, and
after you’ve been weighed and tested, then it will make itself
known to you.”

“
That sucks.” Mina
furrowed her brows in thought. “Where did it appear to Dad?” she
asked.

“
In a library in
Nebraska.”

“
Okay. So what about our
library?”

“
Worth a try,” Sara said,
shrugging,

Mina sat in silence as she thought through
her options. “Why is it called a Grimoire, anyway? I thought that
was something evil, or a book of spells or something.”

“
No, honey, it's just a
record of the tales your family members have lived through. Over
time it has gained powers of its own. If your ancestor's name was
Smith, it would have been called the Smithoire. But, Mina, are you
sure you want to do this? We’re talking about very powerful magic.”
Sara then spent the next hour trying to talk Mina out of following
through on finding the Grimoire.

In the library, her first approach was to
open up every book on fairy tales and see if she could find the
Grimoire. It looked different according to each person who held it,
her mother had told her. So it could be disguised as a children’s
book, a magazine, a Bible, anything.

But maybe it wouldn’t appear to Mina,
because she hadn’t yet proven herself worthy. Apparently saving
Brody Carmichael’s life wasn’t enough. Mina was about to give up
when something white caught her eye, and she stood up. Bending
down, she tried to see between the shelves and over the books.
There it was again, a flash of white. Following it, Mina crept
along, keeping herself low to the ground. There! She caught a
glimpse of white feathers. What? The feathers surprised her, and
she stopped in her tracks, confused. Was this some kind of
joke?

After a moment, Mina hurried to catch up to
her prey. The way it moved made her realize this wasn’t human but
definitely a bird. The animal made a squawk, confirming her
suspicions, and Mina followed the noise down a corridor. Maybe it
was a clue and would lead her to the Grimoire. She ducked into
another aisle and saw that she’d been chasing a goose, which was
now headed toward a back emergency exit. The door was already
propped open, and she watched as the bird stepped through it.

Running after the goose, Mina plowed through
the emergency exit door and came into a dark back alley. The sun
had set, and steam rose from the sewer grates behind the library.
Almost instantly the hair rose on Mina’s arms in fear. Something
was wrong. Turning, she tried to catch the door back into the
library, but it had shut and locked automatically.

Mina strained to get her eyes to focus, but
there wasn’t any sign or a single stray feather from the stupid
white goose. It had disappeared. Another tingling feeling began in
Mina’s body, and she recognized it as a warning sign. She was
reacting to the power of the Story. Something or someone was
here.

Chapter 8

A low growl made Mina turn with her back to
the door. A large man stepped out of a darkened doorway across the
alley and came to stand before Mina. He looked primeval, with long
black greasy hair, a pointed nose, and golden eyes that seemed to
reflect the light. His chest was bare, covered only by a worn black
vest.

“
Give it to me and I’ll
let you live.” The man’s voice rumbled deep in his chest, more
animal growl than human.

“
Give you what?” Mina
asked, stepping back in fear.

“
The Grimoire.” The man
stepped closer but still kept his distance, keeping one foot out of
the protective circle cast by the light.

“
I don’t know what you’re
talking about,” she said, proud that her voice didn’t crack with
fear.

“
Stupid girl. We know the
Story has chosen you. Where is it?” he growled again, his lips
pulling back from sharp-looking teeth.

“
I d-don’t have it,” Mina
stuttered. “It hasn’t shown itself to me. I swear.” The man flexed
his fingers and walked into the circle of light, illuminating a
wolf tattoo that covered his whole chest. Mina yelped and backed
farther away until she felt the hard door behind her
back.

“
Then you must die.” The
man with the wolf tattoo lunged at Mina and grabbed her upper arms.
Mina tried to run under his arm, but he was too fast, inhumanly
fast, and within half a second he had her around the waist.
Screaming for help, she kicked and punched, vainly trying to make
contact. The man turned her swiftly and hit her hard in the face,
then lifted her as if she was a rag doll and tossed her off into
the alley. Mina’s scream was cut short as she landed in a pile of
cardboard boxes, better than concrete but still hard enough to
knock the wind out of her. Her face throbbed in pain.

The wolf man sauntered toward Mina, who was
nearly paralyzed with fear, and grabbed the front of her blue
hoodie in one fist. With a grin that showed off his sharp teeth, he
lifted Mina into the air, her Converse dangling helplessly below
her. She felt tears come as his grasp on her collar began to choke
her, and she began to see spots. She dug her nails into the man’s
hands, hoping to loosen his hold, but he only seemed more excited
at the sight of the blood. Darkness began to fill her vision, along
with grief for her mother and brother. She had failed them before
her quest had even gotten started. She had nearly resigned herself
to her fate when she saw movement out of the corner of her eye.

A loud crack split the air, followed by a
howl of pain. Mina was dropped to the ground and went limp,
struggling to regain her breath. Opening her eyes, she saw Brody
standing over her attacker with a broken 2x4. She tried to tell him
to run but couldn’t catch her breath; her throat was on fire. The
man was stunned for a minute and then lunged at Brody, clumsily
grabbing his midsection and knocking him to the ground. Brody held
his own and fought back, landing a punch in her attacker’s lower
jaw. The man must have been dazed, for after a few unsuccessful
lunges and missed punches, he finally ran off, swearing at her.

“
We will be back, and one
way or another, we’ll get it,” the man howled.

Brody was immediately at Mina’s side. “Mina,
are you hurt? Are you okay?” He ran his hands gently up and down
Mina’s arms, searching for broken bones, but his touch sent shivers
up them instead.

“
I’m fine,” Mina answered,
trying to shake off Brody’s warm touch.

Brody grabbed Mina’s face between his hands
and searched her face for bruising. She let the tears come freely
now, grateful to have a kind-hearted person by her side, to have
survived the attack, to be alive.

Brody helped Mina to her feet and then
tucked her against his side protectively. She leaned into Brody’s
chest for support and took comfort in his arm wrapped around her
shoulder. Breathing in the warm scent of his shirt, cologne, and
sweat, Mina felt safe, secure, until she stumbled on her own
feet.

He must have felt Mina falter, so, without
waiting for her approval, he bent down and picked her up in his
arms, intent to get her out of the alley and somewhere safe. She
protested, but not for long. When he got to his car, he put her
inside and buckled her in. Mina knocked his hands out of the way,
trying to get him to quit messing with her seatbelt, to let him
know she wasn’t helpless. He smiled and handed her the buckle.

He peeled onto the road and pushed on the
gas, making the high-performance car accelerate with barely a
sound. It wasn’t until Mina saw that he was going forty over the
speed limit that she thought to panic.

“
Brody, slow down!” she
yelled.

He pounded the steering wheel in
frustration, his blue eyes stormy with anger.

“
STOP! If you’re going to
drive like a crazy person, you’ll have to let me out!” When Brody
didn’t seem to hear her, she began to panic, grabbing the door
handle for safety.

Finally he got his temper under control and
slowed the car down. “I’m so sorry, Mina. I should have been there
to protect you.” He reached out to touch her bruised cheek, but
Mina flinched back in fear. He dropped his hand dejectedly. She had
hurt him unintentionally.

“
You see, now you’re
scared of me. I’m not angry at you—I’m angry at myself that you got
hurt.” Brody looked at Mina, and she could see fear written in his
eyes.

“
Brody, it could have been
worse. A lot worse. But you saved me.” Mina gently reached out to
touch Brody’s arm, to comfort him, to show him that she wasn’t
afraid.

“
Who was he, Mina?”
Brody’s jaw clenched and unclenched in anger.

“
I don’t know,” Mina
answered truthfully. “Some guy in an alley. An evil, evil
man.”

She watched as Brody’s knuckles turned white
on the steering wheel. “He threatened you, and you don’t know who
he was. He seemed to want something. He said he’d be back.”

“
I told you, I don’t know
who he is. And I don’t have what he wants.” Mina felt her own anger
rise.

“
But you know what it is?”
Brody asked, unbelieving. “If you know what he’s after, then give
it to him.”

“
I don’t have it, and even
if I did, I couldn’t give it to him. You have to believe
me.”

“
Maybe I could, Mina, if
you told me what’s going on?”