Unlocking the Spell (4 page)

“Isn't this the lake where we saw the kelpie?” Annie asked him.

Liam glanced at her and nodded, his mouth set in a pinched line. Annie had rescued him from the horselike monster. It was an unpleasant memory.

“Don't worry!” said Beldegard. “No kelpie has been born that would challenge me! We'll be perfectly safe. Liam, move those rocks and put your camp-fire there. You can unroll your blankets on the other side.”

Liam scowled at the bear. “I don't recall anyone appointing you leader of this expedition.”

Beldegard snorted. “Of course I'm the leader.
You're
helping
me
, remember?”

“Yes, but you're a bear,” said Liam.

“Which means I'm better suited to lead,” the bear replied. “I'm bigger than you and stronger and look far more fearsome. No one will mess with us while I'm in charge.”

“Maybe, but that just means you'd make a great guard. A good leader needs to be smart, and, well, you're a bear.”

Beldegard narrowed his eyes and curled his upper lip, exposing his pointed teeth. “Are you calling me stupid?” he asked, his voice a low growl.

“Not at all,” Liam replied. “Although letting yourself get turned into a bear probably wasn't the smartest thing you've ever done.”

“Why you little…,” Beldegard roared, rising onto his hind legs so that he towered over Liam. “I ought to—”

“Calm down,” said Annie stepping between the two princes. “Fighting each other isn't going to get us anywhere. Liam, I'd appreciate your help starting a fire. And you, Beldegard… would you go look for berries? Some fresh fruit would be nice with dinner.” All Annie wanted to do was have a bite to eat and curl up in a blanket beside the fire, but it didn't look like she was going to do either as long as the two princes were fighting.

The bear prince growled even as he plopped down on all four paws. Grumbling under his breath, he shambled off into the underbrush.

Liam glanced at the water gently lapping the shore only a short distance away. “I don't care what the bear says, I'm not going to get a wink of sleep if we stay here.”

“Then why don't you look for another camping place
for us where you
will
be able to sleep,” suggested Annie. “It's getting dark, but if you hurry you might be able to find something.”

Liam's expression brightened. “Good idea. I'll find us a likely spot and come get you. Don't unpack anything yet. I'll be right back.”

As Liam disappeared into the gloom under the trees, Annie set her knapsack on the ground. Her stomach had been grumbling for some time now, and she was tempted to finish off a hunk of bread left over from lunch, but she thought she really should wait for Liam to return. She yawned and rubbed her eyes. When she opened them the twinkling lights of a dozen fairies were flitting through the trees.

“Look, it's the girl who wouldn't dance with us!” cried a fairy. “Can you believe she had the nerve to come back here?”

Annie sighed. The last time she'd been in these woods, the fairies who lived here had pinched and poked her when they saw that their magic had no effect on her. She was too tired to fend them off tonight, but it looked as if she might not have a choice.

When something splashed far out in the lake, Annie glanced toward the water. She was sure she had frightened the kelpie the week before when she had pulled Liam from its back, so she didn't think it would be eager to face her again.

A fairy darted close enough to pull her hair. “Pay attention when we're talking to you! Unless… are you afraid of something out there? Maybe we don't have to teach her a lesson again,” the fairy said as its friends darted closer. “Maybe we can get someone else to do it for us.”

The rustle of leaves and snap of a twig announced someone's approach through the underbrush. Tiny lights twinkled as the fairies flew toward the lake. Annie watched them go, then turned back when Liam said, “I found a better camping spot. It's far enough from the water that—”

Something too big to be a fish splashed in the lake. Liam was already pulling his sword from its scabbard when Annie spotted the kelpie's head cutting through the water. As it reached the shallows and waded to the shore, Annie could see the beast more clearly. It was too dark to be sure, but it appeared to be the same one that had carried Liam into the lake to drown him.

The beast nickered when fairies zipped around it, turning its head toward Annie. When the kelpie left the water, it looked so much like a normal horse that Annie could see how Liam had been deceived. With its eyes fixed on Annie, the kelpie slowed and lowered its head, its ears twitching in her direction. It wasn't until the beast drew close enough to smell her that it pinned back its ears and snarled.

“Get away from her!” Liam shouted, charging the kelpie with his sword in his hand. Annie backed away when the kelpie reared and lashed out with its hooves. Liam's sword sliced the air as he darted toward the kelpie, ducking out of the way of the striking animal. The beast veered after him, twisting its neck in a snakelike move and clashing its teeth only inches from Liam's back. Fairies cheered until Liam dropped to the ground and rolled, bringing around his sword to nick one of the striking legs. The kelpie screamed even as Liam turned and, with his sword whistling through the air, drove the kelpie into the lake.

Fairy lights darted out over the water as the little creatures tried to urge the kelpie back into battle. The kelpie's nostrils flared, its sides heaving as it faced Liam from the shallows. The prince was standing with his legs braced, his sword held high, when Beldegard burst from the underbrush, chuffing. Reaching the edge of the water, the bear prince rose to his hind legs and bellowed. Fairies scattered, fleeing into the woods, while the kelpie danced back, spun on one hind hoof, and plunged into the deeper water, disappearing beneath the surface so that only ripples betrayed where it had been.

Beldegard was chuckling as he dropped to all fours and turned toward Annie. “See, I told you the kelpie would be afraid of me.”

“Actually, I think Liam was doing a very good job
before you got here,” Annie told him. Liam glanced up from wiping his sword with a handful of leaves, and grinned at her.

“Hunh,” the bear prince snorted.

“It looked as if the fairies were afraid of you, too, just like the last time we were here,” Annie said to Beldegard. “Why do you suppose that is?”

“I can't imagine,” he said, sitting down on his haunches and using a claw to pick his teeth.

“You didn't eat one, did you?” said Annie, appalled.

Beldegard shrugged. “Sometimes bears get distracted by pesky little nuisances and eat things that aren't actually berries.”

A small scream made Annie jump as a single fairy light streaked away. “I guess you upset their spy.” She turned back to the bear prince, looking thoughtful. “If the fairies are afraid of you, maybe they won't pester me when we're together. Suddenly this trip has become much more bearable.”

“Ha-ha,” said Beldegard without a trace of humor.

“So, Liam, do you still want to move to a different camping site?” Annie asked.

Liam shook his head. “No need,” he said, and patted the sword at his hip. “If that monster shows up again, I can take care of it.”

It took most of the next morning to search the perimeter of the lake for signs of the dwarf. The day was getting hot when Beldegard snuffled the ground under a pine tree and finally announced he'd found a few footprints belonging to the little man. Liam inspected the prints carefully and declared they were at least two weeks old.

“Now what?” Annie asked the bear prince after they'd all agreed that the dwarf must not have been near the lake for days.

“Now we go visit the old widow who gave me shelter each winter. She lives about an hour away.”

“Fine,” said Annie, “but don't tell her who I am. People always act differently when they know.”

“Why do we need to visit her anyway?” asked Liam.

Beldegard grunted and swung his heavy head toward Liam. “Because she may have seen him and it's as good
a place to start as any.” As he turned away and began to amble through the forest, he muttered, “I hate it when people question everything I do, but that's what I get for traveling with people like them.”

Liam's brows drew together. “What do you mean, ‘people like them'?”

“Royalty!” the bear prince snapped. “You people are so demanding. If you weren't royalty, you wouldn't ask so many questions.”

Annie was already following Beldegard. Liam snorted as he stepped in line behind her and replied, “And if you explained yourself, we wouldn't have to ask questions at all.”

Their progress was slow as they walked single file through the forest, but eventually Beldegard led them to a little-traveled trail. After that they were able to move faster and it wasn't long before they entered a valley where the branches of the trees met overhead, and the air was cooler and sweeter smelling. The trail led them to a stream that wasn't much bigger than a trickle, yet someone had built a bridge from one side to the other. Just beyond the stream, a small cottage nestled among the trees. With a thatched roof that resembled a saggy straw hat and two small arched windows on either side of the front door, Annie thought it looked like a friendly, if slightly dopey, face.

Beldegard perked up when they saw the stream. Annie and Liam had to hurry to keep up with him as he trotted across the bridge and up to the front door of the cottage. They watched as he raised his huge front paw and tapped the door. “Mother Hubbard! It's me, Beldegard!” he called.

A moment later the door creaked open and a medium-size dog with curly brown fur bounded out of the cottage to bark and race around Beldegard, apparently not the least bit afraid. The bear prince stood stoically as the little creature jumped up to lick his face. When the dog ran back inside, Beldegard glanced at Annie and Liam. “The first time I knocked on this door it was winter. A mother and her two daughters were starving inside and that dog didn't even have a bone to gnaw. I brought them some game to feed them, and gave them a few gold coins in the spring. For the past two years, I've spent my winters in this cottage. Come inside and I'll introduce you.”

Annie looked around as she stepped over the threshold. The cottage was a simple structure with two rooms below and a loft above. A table was shoved up against one wall of the main room while another wall boasted a small fireplace. Brightly colored cushions decorated with needlepoint flowers covered the seats of three wooden chairs set beside the table, while plumper cushions with needlepoint sayings rested on a bench beside the fireplace. Dried herbs strung together in
bundles hung from the ceiling and Annie could smell meat roasting in the other room. Although it didn't appear to be a wealthy household, the cottage was cozy and inviting. The only thing that Annie thought was unusual was the mellow tune that declared the presence of a good kind of magic.

A gray-haired woman standing by the fireplace smiled and reached out her hand to Beldegard. She was a handsome woman with her hair pulled back from her face, showing off her high cheekbones and large, dark eyes. The bear prince padded toward her to bump her hand with his head. The woman's smile broadened. When Liam coughed, she glanced toward her other new guests and raised a questioning eyebrow.

“These are my friends,” said Beldegard. “They're helping me with a quest.”

“How nice,” said a voice, and Annie turned to see another woman whom she hadn't really looked at yet. This woman had white hair and the pleasant round face of a sweet old grandmother. She was knitting in a rocking chair by the window while two orange-and-white kittens played by her feet.

Annie gasped and would have run from the cottage if Liam hadn't been standing in the way. It was Granny Bentbone, the witch who had invited children into her gingerbread cottage only to fatten them up for dinner. Although Annie knew who she was, the old woman
didn't seem to recognize Annie. Granny Bentbone smiled and nodded, then went back to her knitting.

Annie swallowed hard. She had hoped that she'd never see Granny Bentbone again, and certainly wasn't expecting to find her here. Annie's heart was racing and her hands suddenly felt clammy. She tried to think about what she should do, until she realized that Mother Hubbard was talking again.

“… my cousin. Her house was destroyed in the storm we had a few days ago. I met her in the woods, and when she told me about her dilemma, I invited her to stay here with me. I've been so lonely ever since Snow White moved away and Rose Red started working at the Gasping Guppy Tavern.”

Granny Bentbone was her cousin? Beldegard had said that Mother Hubbard was nice. Yes, she had magic, or at least there was some in the cottage, but she must not use it for anything bad or the music wouldn't sound so sweet. If she'd invited Granny Bentbone to live with her, she probably didn't have any idea what her cousin was capable of doing. Annie wanted to tell Mother Hubbard, but what if the woman didn't believe her? Not only did she not have any proof, Granny Bentbone didn't look as if she could hurt a mosquito, let alone a child.