Briar Rose (42 page)

‘No, not just yet,’ he said. ‘I do not want to . . . unnerve her.’

‘I see,’ the princess replied, taken aback.

No, he’s not going to just roll over. You’re both going to have to work for this.

‘Dine with me on the morrow,’ Aurora said. ‘We have much to discuss.’

‘I am at your service, Your Highness.’

Yes!

Briar scooted down the street before Ruric knew she’d helped orchestrate the whole encounter. In her mind she saw how this might play out: as soon as the snaky King What’s-his-face
had been dealt with, there would be another issue, then another. Some day, hopefully soon, the stubborn royals would realize they couldn’t live without each other.

Then they’ll live happily ever after.

Bubbling, and in a terrific mood, Briar found her friends waiting for her at the end of the street. They, on the other hand, were sombre.

‘And?’ Joshua asked. ‘How’d it go?’

‘Ruric is staying. It’s up to them now.’

‘You did good,’ Reena said. ‘Now let’s go home.’

‘Yeah,’ Pat added. ‘It’s been real, but I’m missing hot showers.’

It
was
time to leave, though that was proving harder than Briar had anticipated. Despite all the horrors, there were parts of this little village she would miss. The fata. Ruric. Even
the princess.

‘So how does this work?’ she asked.

Her friends traded looks.

‘Um . . . I used a crossroads key to get us here so that’s how we go home,’ Reena explained.

That sounded pretty thin. ‘Ohhkay . . . but I have to get home on my own, right?’

Her friend nodded.

They hiked out of the village and along the way, Briar paused to study the battleground and the decimated tree. The regent’s body was gone and a small mound of metal had begun to form. No
doubt, the villagers would keep collecting it over time. Who knew, maybe some day a beautiful oak would grow once more.

‘Hey, we’re almost home,’ Joshua said, his hand taking hers.

‘I can’t wait to see my parents’ faces when I wake up.’

He kissed her and they walked on.

Once Reena had found a likely spot, she made her preparations: they proved more involved than Briar had anticipated. First her friend lit a candle and buried its base in the dirt. By its weak
glow, she drew lines around it, though Briar couldn’t figure out what they meant. Then Reena sprinkled some sort of herbs here and there.

‘She did this stuff to get you guys here?’ Briar whispered to Joshua.

‘Yeah, I guess. I was in my bed at home and then –
bam
– I was here.’

‘OK, guys, we need to sit in a circle,’ Reena said, beckoning.

‘Just like at camp,’ Pat said, plopping down next to her. ‘Do we get to hold hands?’

‘If that keeps you from losing it, sure.’

Joshua grabbed Briar’s hand and then pulled her into his arms. The kiss they shared was beyond her imagining, a physical duet of emotion and yearning. Their tongues touched and her body
set on fire.

When it ended, he sighed deeply and caressed her hair. ‘See you on the other side.’

He joined the other two in the circle. Pat’s face was easy to read – he was totally freaked out. Reena, however, appeared calm as she tugged a ribbon from under her dress. At the end
of it was a skeleton key along with something Briar recognized as hers.

‘Is that from my charm bracelet?’ she asked.

Her friend nodded and then winked. ‘See you soon, girlfriend.’

Briar moved some distance away, then watched their faces in the dim candlelight as Reena began her ritual. When she had finished, Joshua asked her something, though Briar couldn’t hear
what was being said. Her friend gave him a sharp shake of the head. He asked again, more forcefully.

This time Reena answered him. The reaction was instant: Joshua went rigid. His eyes met Briar’s and she saw shock and anger reflected in them.

‘Joshua, what’s wrong?’

Before he could answer her, a swirling tunnel popped out of nowhere and encompassed her friends. A blast of chilly air struck her straight on, throwing Briar on to her butt in the earth. Before
she could regain her feet, the tunnel had sucked them away.

Her friends were gone, and she was still inside the curse.

Briar hiked back to the town where braziers flamed high on the castle and the festivities continued. With each step her dread grew. What if she was wrong and the curse
had
won and she was dead back home? Was this her home now?

Knowing nowhere else to go, she returned to the stable. The doors were locked so with considerable effort she got herself in through the rear window, landing in the hay below.

This was where she’d started. Well, not quite – she’d actually begun this tale in an alley, but she wasn’t going there. Instead, Briar stretched out on a patch of fresh
hay in the back corner, staring up at the hewn beams faintly illuminated by the moonlight streaming in the window.

Trying not to cry, she began to make a list of things to do if she was stuck here. She certainly didn’t want to take care of horses forever.
I could become Aurora’s
lady-in-waiting.

No, that didn’t sound good. There would be no Reena, no parents.
No Joshua.

‘I need a pair of ruby slippers,’ she murmured. She’d be clicking them together right about now. ‘Hey! Whoever is listening up there! I want to be back in Bliss, with my
family. I want to hang with my friends and my guy. I don’t belong here. I never did. I fixed the tale. I want to go home.’

As time crept by, her eyes drifted shut and the nightmare began anew.

Briar was on the side of the road again, the one near Bliss, as the boy walked next to her. The accident nightmare was repeating itself again.

No. This can’t be. I broke the curse.

Or had she?

The lights of the oncoming car drew closer, then came the sound of brakes and the skid of tires on gravel. On instinct, Briar brought her hand up to shield herself, but it was a futile gesture
as the agonizing impact tossed her into the air, just as it had every other time.

Then it began again, a seemingly endless loop.

‘No!’ she shouted. ‘I won’t die here.’ Not after all she’d been through.

Heart pounding, Briar waited until the last minute, then walked straight towards the car lights, accepting her fate like she had the last time. Maybe that was key.

This time the seconds slowed, like individual frames of a movie. She witnessed the gradual movement of the car towards her, the headlights catching her in their stark glow. Ignoring everything
else, Briar sought the face of whoever was behind the wheel. At first she couldn’t see who it was, but gradually the driver came into focus.

As the car struck Briar for the final time, she cried out: ‘I accept this curse! I accept it and break it,
now
!’

Briar woke because something fuzzy licked her face, probably the ewe checking her out again. She waved a hand and the licking stopped.

Then started up again.

She really didn’t want to open her eyes. What if all she saw was the sheep, the horses and the stable? The longer she kept them shut the longer she could imagine this was Dragonfly running
her rough tongue across Briar’s cheek. Or that the hay felt more like her own bed.

Holding her breath, she gave in and opened her eyes, which took some time to adjust to the light. Fake stars hung above her. If she saw them, Ruric and the stable were history.

Ohmigod, I’m home!

She sat up in bed, her heart hammering, and the sudden movement made her cat bolt out of the door. A quick look at the digital clock told her it was close to seven in the evening. Shadows were
lengthening outside, and from the open window came the lulling sounds of small town Bliss. There were no carts in the streets, no howling wolves or the screeching of evil things. Instead there was
the throaty roar of Mr Anchor’s gas-powered weed eater and the Cromptons’ antisocial mutt kicking up a fuss.

Briar checked herself over, looking for bruises or cuts. There were none. Her nail polish was back in place and the charm bracelet was on her wrist, minus the little woodsman and his axe.

‘I’m really home,’ she said, astounded. ‘I did it.’

Her joy slipped, breaking apart at the seams. Now she knew what had happened the night of her Aunt Sarah’s accident and what it meant. What her aunt’s death had cost both her and
Joshua.

Briar located her cellphone on her desk and fired it up. She wasn’t surprised to find that Reena’s text sat on the very top.

All of us are home. You better be too! Call me.

She wasn’t in the mood to talk, not yet, so Briar sent back a message.

Home. What was Joshua upset about?

Briar waited for a reply, fidgeting as time passed, but there was none.

Why was he so upset? What did Reena say to him?

The creak of the stairs told her someone was headed upstairs, her dad, she thought, as his steps were heavier than her mom’s. They sounded weary because he usually moved faster than that.
She set the phone aside as her father walked in the door, unshaven, with dark bags under his eyes, as if he hadn’t slept in days.

He stared at her, blinking rapidly.

‘Hey,’ Briar said, feeling the tears build. ‘I’m back. Do I get a hug for that or what?’

‘Maralee!’ her father shouted, and then dived for the bed. He scooped Briar in his arms and hugged her so tight that his whiskers scraped against her face. She didn’t care. She
was home.

Her mother flew into the room, her eyes wide and her mouth quivering.

‘Briar . . .’ she whispered, then sank on to the bed. She touched her hair, her face. ‘Oh, God, you’re awake.’

It all went totally emotional. There was no way it couldn’t be with two parents crying and hugging her and Briar doing the same thing back. Even the cat got into the middle of it, figuring
it was a great place to score a few scratches.

Finally Briar prised herself free and leaned back against the headboard, wiping away the tears. The toll on her parents was evident: rumpled clothes, gaunt faces, her mom’s hair in a
ponytail – something she never did unless she was sick.

‘How long did I sleep?’ she asked.
Months, years? Did I miss my junior prom?

‘It’s Monday night, so it’s only been a couple of days,’ her father replied.

‘Really?’ Briar said, surprised. ‘It felt longer than that. Time must have been different inside the curse.’

‘Lily told us you weren’t alone in there. She said Reena and the Quinn boy found a way in. Is that true?’

‘Yeah, it is,’ Briar said, smiling now. ‘And Pat Daniels, a guy from my class. But he was kind of there by mistake.’

‘I never would have expected the Quinn boy to take that risk,’ her mother said as she dabbed at her tears. ‘Not after . . .’

Their eyes met and the truth sat between them like an unwanted guest.

‘Who put the curse on him?’ Briar asked. ‘Was it you, Mom?’

Her mother hung her head, which was answer enough.

That must have been what Reena told Joshua right before they left the village.

He knows. Now he’ll hate me.

Briar wiped a final tear away, her emotions see-sawing back and forth. Part anger, part she didn’t know what. At the heart of the matter, she knew her mom wasn’t evil.

‘It’s because of the accident, right?’ she asked.

‘Yes. I didn’t mean it to be that way,’ her mom said, looking up now. ‘I was in the car with Lora that night, and she was driving, because I’d been drinking.
We’d celebrated my engagement to your father.’

Briar’s dad pulled her closer. ‘Go on, Maralee. She has to know all of it.’

She nodded weakly. ‘We were laughing and joking and then there were these two kids in the road and she hit them. I didn’t realize until we got out of the car that one was . . .
Sarah. She’d snuck out of the house. She was always doing that.’

‘Who was the boy?’ Briar asked.

‘Randy Miller. He ended up with a concussion,’ her dad replied. ‘Your aunt took the full hit. No charges were filed – Lora wasn’t drunk, and you know how dark that
road is at night. It was just an accident.’

‘Which nearly destroyed two families,’ Briar said. Four, if you counted Pat and Reena’s people. ‘You aren’t into magic, Mom. At least I’ve never see you do
it. Who made the spell?’

‘A woman in Savannah,’ her mother replied. ‘I . . . swear I didn’t tell her to kill the boy. I just wanted Lora to feel the pain I was feeling, how much it hurt to lose
someone you loved. I was so angry, you see. I just couldn’t get over Sarah’s death. She was my favourite sister.’

Briar waited her out, sensing there was more.

‘The woman gave me a bag of some strange powder to put outside the Quinn’s house,’ her mom said. Her eyes met Briar’s now. ‘One night I slipped over and did just
like she said. When nothing happened, I forgot about it. Lora never even knew, and we just drifted apart. I didn’t know that she was pregnant at the time and that the curse would go after her
son.’

Lily had said the spell had got out of hand and for whatever reason it had latched on to Joshua and then moved to Briar. Which, in a karmic sort of way, was righteous since her mom had started
the whole thing.