Page 17

Chapter Nine

“ S o,” said Serena, swinging around to pin Grim with a glare. “The Spirit Wand, eh?”

He winced. “Sorry… You reacted so strongly to the idea of the Old Ones sending me, I wasn’t sure if throwing the Spirit Wand in the mix was a good idea.”

“All right, I will accept your excuse, but no more secrets. Not if we’re going to work together to get out of this mess.”

He nodded.

“To start with, who exactly are the spirits that sent you? Nerida mentioned something about the Five.”

“The Five are the Five Rulers of the spirits. They are the ones people commonly think of when they mention the Old Ones. Fairytale heroes and heroines who showed unrivaled power, performed great feats, and became beings that exist on a higher plane of existence. Other spirits also became so by completing the Faery Trials, but their powers are nowhere as strong, and you would not know their names. The Five exist on another level entirely and have managed to hold on to much of their power even with the Spirit Wand gone.”

“Who are they? The Five, I mean.”

“The first is Lady Wilde; she managed to outsmart a fairy prince who wished to steal her from her husband and trick her into staying in his fairy palace under the hill for as long as he wanted.

“The second is Lord Jack, who climbed a beanstalk and defeated a giant when he was but a boy.

“The third is the Red Maiden, who saved her grandmother and herself from the wolf who tried to trick her into letting him eat her. She is the blood thirstiest of them all.

“The fourth is King Arthur, who managed to create a kingdom so vast and so awe inspiring that there has been none like it in the years since.

“The fifth is the Ghost Knight, who, unlike the others, is a bit of a mystery. He never speaks to anyone outside the Five, and no one knows where he came from.”

“You seem to know an awful lot about them.”

He gave her a humorless smile. “Well, they are my overlords , so it only stands to reason I would be familiar with them and their pasts.”

“Is there a reason you came to work under the spirits? How does something like that even happen?”

His expression shuttered, and she got the impression that she had probed too far.

“That’s not something you would need to know for our current predicament,” he said coolly. “It’s not a very interesting story, in any case.”

She let it drop, feeling the line he had drawn between them and reminded herself that she knew nothing about Grim; there was no need to take it personally.

Still, it stung.

It was dusk now, the sun had slunk away, leaving them to the mercy of the night.

A chill slipped down her back even though the room was toasty from the fire.

She had not gone up to bed, and she and Grim were sitting in silence in the sitting room, just waiting for the inevitable.

The Tales of Arcana Fortune lay in front of them as if taunting them with a reminder of what they were waiting for.

They had not spoken after Grim had shut her out, and this silence was different from the ones they used to have when she knew him as Gray.

It was awkward and heavy and full of recriminations.

She got up.

“Would you like some tea?”

“Tea isn’t going to magically fix your life, Serena,” he snapped, and she jumped at the bite in his voice.

His eyes widened as if shocked at his own words. “Sorry, I think I’m just on edge. Listen, I—”

Whatever he had been about to say was interrupted by the windows crashing open, a strong gust of wind sweeping in. The fire went out, as did the candles, and they were plunged into darkness.

“Grim?” called out Serena, panic clawing up her throat.

“I’m here,” he called out in a reassuring tone.

The book began to glow, thick green smoke pouring out of it, and Grim grasped her hand.

It enveloped them, and then the cottage around them winked out of sight.

The next thing Serena knew, she was in a large room with a high ceiling and windows that looked out toward a starry night sky. It resembled one of those star observatories that she had once seen in a book, with an expansive space and strange instruments that she could not name.

Words hung in the air, and she could make out ‘once upon a time’, ‘the fire of the dragon’, and ‘never ever after’ written in floaty letters that glittered in a golden hue.

Rows and rows of crystal balls lined the walls, emanating an eerie tune that made the hairs rise on the back of her neck.

Shadowy creatures swam around the room, many of them red eyed or sharp toothed.

She inched closer to Grim, and he squeezed her hand in reassurance; she was glad they had put aside their awkwardness for now.

“Where are we?” she whispered.

Unfortunately, it was not Grim who answered.

“You are currently in my humble abode,” said a deep voice. “I am terribly sorry for the tardiness.”

Lore.

The immortal had clearly chosen to make a flashy entrance, as evidenced by the fact that he was floating down from the ceiling upon a dark cloud.

“Welcome.”

He landed smoothly, and Serena immediately felt the same coldness she had when she first touched the book that he’d been trapped in.

Grim stepped forward, almost as if he wanted to attack him, but Lore made a tutting sound.

“You might have been able to attack me before, but you are in my world now, and I hold more power here than you can imagine,” he said with malicious glee. “But if you still want to attack me and see how that would go, be my guest.”

Serena lay a hand on Grim’s arm, and he nodded to let her know he was not going to do something stupid.

“Well, don’t you two make a pretty pair,” Lore continued in a thoughtful tone.

“Humans truly are odd creatures. You are little more than strangers, but you seek solace in each other’s company simply because of shared misfortune.

I wonder… would you stay like this if your resolve was tested further? ”

He focused his red gaze on Serena.

“Your first tale is going to test you on your courage. How far would you go for one who has given you every reason to mistrust them? For one who is not your family, or lover, or even your friend. For one whom you met simply because of a series of unfortunate events.”

His words were salt in the wounds left by Grim’s shutdown of her questions. She tried not to let him see that his words had affected her, but the glee in his voice made it evident he knew the barbs had made their mark.

“Now!” he cried out, “your first land will be one of snow and ice, in a village that is plagued by a queen who knows no warmth, who takes what she wants and gives nothing back.”

“Let us begin.”