Witchy Tales: A Wicked Witches of the Midwest Fairy Tale (6 page)

“I wasn’t hiding because I was afraid,” Sam protested. “I was hiding because I was being cautious.”

I rolled my eyes, and out of the corner of one of them saw a hint of movement on Sam’s face. Was he giving me a dirty look? I turned back to him, but his face was placid. Something was different about it, though.

“What was that?” I asked.

“What was what?” Sam asked, confused.

“Your face. Something is … different.”

“Oh, great, am I starting to turn to wood?” Sam ran his fingers over his forehead and cheeks, worried. “This is my favorite night ever!”

It happened again. This time I was sure of it. While I was staring directly at him I realized what the change was. So did Thistle.

“Your nose just grew,” Thistle said, pointing.

“What?” Sam clapped his hand over his nose, horrified. “My nose is getting bigger?”

“You’re Pinocchio,” I said. “If you lie, your nose gets bigger.”

“I wasn’t lying. Crap. I felt it this time.” Sam was starting to panic.

“You need to stop lying,” Thistle said. “Even little ones are going to affect you. If I were you, I’d keep my mouth shut as much as possible.”

Sam glared at her. “Thanks for that.”

“I don’t know what else to tell you,” Thistle said. “I don’t think the curse knows the difference between truth and sarcasm, so you have to be careful.”

“Maybe if we’re lucky his nose will grow long enough that it can support part of your dress and it won’t make noise,” Landon suggested.

“Shut up!”

“Everyone shut up,” I said, rubbing the crease between my eyebrows. “Stop arguing.”

“No one is arguing,” Landon said, rubbing my back. “We’re just … expressing ourselves in loud voices.”

“We’re frustrated,” Sam said.

“We’re all frustrated,” I said. “We have a bigger worry, though.”

“Which is?”

“We still haven’t found Clove,” I said.

Sam’s face drained of color. “She’s out there all alone. We have to find her.”

“There’s one other thing,” I said.

Everyone waited.

“If Sam is here, I’m going to guess Marcus is here, too,” I said.

Thistle balked. “Aunt Tillie likes Marcus, though.”

“It’s fairy tales, Thistle,” I said, keeping my voice low. “That means there’s almost always a princess and a prince.”

“Crap,” Thistle grumbled. “This is so unfair.”

“We have to stick together,” I said. “Our first order of business is finding Clove.”

“What about Marcus?”

“Hopefully he’ll find us,” Landon said. “He can take care of himself. Don’t worry about that. Bay is right, though. We need to find Clove.”

“She’s probably terrified,” Sam said.

“Where do we start looking?” Thistle asked. “Were we heading in this direction just so we could meet up with Sam, or will we find Clove this way?”

I didn’t know the answer to the question. Thankfully, I didn’t have to try to scrape something up. At that exact moment, an ear-splitting scream tore through the night, and we all snapped our attention in its direction.

“Somebody help me!”

“Clove,” Sam said, pushing past us and breaking into a run. “Clove!”

“Great!” Landon said. “I was worried things were about to get boring.”

If your hair is long enough for someone to climb it, then it’s long enough to cut off and climb down yourself. Suck it up and save yourself. Sitting around and waiting for a man is a complete and total waste of time.

– Aunt Tillie’s Wonderful World of Stories to Make Little Girls Shut Up

We raced through the woods, branches reaching out to scratch our faces, but nothing could stop us. We’d located our missing cousin, and it sounded as though she was in trouble.

We escaped the woods and found ourselves on an expansive and well-manicured lawn, the moon above casting an eerie pall over the area. In the center of the lawn was a high tower. The lone spire resembled a partially finished castle, and there was only one window in the stone edifice.

“Where is she?” Thistle asked, bending over to catch her breath.

“Help me!”

I glanced around, and when my gaze finally landed on the tower window I had to swallow the worry bubbling up in my throat. “Crap.”

“What am I looking at?” Landon asked, worried. “Is she in that tower?”

I pointed to the window. It was high in the tower, at least fifty feet above the ground. A faint light flickered inside, and a small figure moved back and forth at the window. “She’s up there.”

“Is something attacking her?”

I shrugged. I had no idea.

“Clove,” Sam shouted. “Are you okay?”

“Sam?” Clove’s voice was broken, as if she’d been crying. “Is that really you?”

“It’s me.”

“What are you wearing?”

“He’s Pinocchio,” Thistle said, moving up to his side.

“Holy Godiva! What are you wearing?” Clove asked, giggling maniacally. “You look … so stupid. What is that?”

“The worst Halloween costume ever,” Thistle said, bitterly. “Bay and Landon woke up in their own clothes. Sam and I got stuck in this … crap.”

“Bay and Landon?” Clove sounded hopeful. “We’re all here together?”

“Yes, and we’re thrilled,” Landon said. He scanned the side of the tower. “This is really odd construction. Where’s the door?”

“There is no door,” Clove said. “I’ve been searching for a way out for hours.”

“Did you wake up there?” I asked.

“Yes. I thought I was dreaming at first.”

That was beginning to be our mantra.

“Are you alone in there?” Landon asked.

“Yes.”

Well, that was something at least. “And you’re sure there’s no door or way out?” I asked, focusing on Clove’s terrified face. “How did you get in there if there’s no door?”

“I just woke up here,” Clove snapped. “How am I supposed to know?”

“This really isn’t bringing out the best in any of us,” Thistle said.

“We’re all tired … and scared,” I said. I blew out a frustrated sigh. “Clove, maybe we can find something to pad the ground here and you can jump.”

“Like what?” Thistle asked.

“I don’t know,” I shrugged. “Tree branches?”

“I am not jumping from this high up. I’ll break my neck.”

“She’s not jumping,” Sam agreed. “There has to be a … trick … to end this fairy tale.”

Clove tilted her head to the side, confused. “Fairy tale?”

“We’ve been cursed into fairy tales, or childhood stories, whatever you prefer,” I said. “I woke up with three talking bears. Landon played footsies with a mermaid. Thistle rode a turtle. And Sam, well, he’s obviously Pinocchio – complete with a growing nose when he lies.”

“Fairy tales, huh?” Clove glanced back into the room.

“I wasn’t telling big lies,” Sam said. “In fact, I was mostly being sarcastic.”

Clove ignored him. “Aunt Tillie cursed us into fairy tales?”

“That’s the theory we’re running on right now,” I said. “Why?”

“Oh, just, well … .” Clove leaned down, her face disappearing from view. When she returned to the window she had something gathered in her arms. She dropped it out of the window, a long sheet of something that looked like fabric falling against the tower wall. “I guess being in a fairy tale explains this.”

“What is that?” Sam asked, confused.

“It’s hair,” Thistle said.

“Oh, crap,” I muttered. “She’s Rapunzel.”

The black hair was so long it almost reached the ground. It was only a few feet short.

“Huh,” Landon said. “Now there’s something you don’t see every day.”

“What are we going to do?” Sam asked.

“I have no idea,” I said. “Does anyone remember how Rapunzel got out of the tower in the story?”

“I never got that story,” Thistle said. “It never made sense to me. Still … I think the prince climbs her hair into the tower to rescue her, right?”

“How does that work?” I asked. “If the prince climbs her hair, won’t that strand both of them in the tower?”

“Maybe the fairy tale will end if we just get someone up there with her,” Thistle said.

I shrugged. It was worth a shot. “I don’t see where we have a lot of other options. Someone has to climb the tower and get to Clove.”

Landon blew a loud raspberry. “I guess that means I’m climbing the tower.”

Sam grabbed his arm. “You? Why are you going to climb the tower to save my girlfriend?”

“Because I’m … stronger.”

“You don’t know that,” Sam said. “I work out three times a week.”

“I’m with the FBI,” Landon reminded him. “Saving people is what I do.”

I was starting to think Aunt Tillie was right about his ego being a personality defect. I cleared my throat, but both men ignored me.

“She’s my girlfriend,” Sam said. “If anyone is climbing that tower, it’s me.”

“I thought we were on a timetable here,” Landon countered. “Shouldn’t the one who can climb up there fastest be the one to do it?”

“She’s my girlfriend,” Sam said.

“So?”

“That means she’s my … princess.”

Landon faltered, shifting a look in my direction. “Can you believe this?”

Actually, I couldn’t. I was starting to get angry. “I agree with Sam,” I said. “These are fairy tales. She’s his girlfriend. That means they’re supposed to solve the story together.”

“Are you angry with me?” Landon knit his eyebrows together, conflicted.

“Why would I possibly be angry? That’s ridiculous. Of course I’m not angry.”

“If you were Pinocchio, your nose would totally be growing right now,” Thistle said. “You’re obviously angry.”

“Shut up, Thistle,” I snapped, crossing my arms over my chest. “I’m not … angry.” Hurt was more like it, but there was no way I was admitting that.

“Does someone want to tell me what’s going on here?” Landon asked.

“Well, if I had to guess, your princess has her nose out of joint because you’re trying to save another princess,” Thistle said, smirking. “Way to go, Prince Charming. Now you don’t have any princesses.”

Landon shifted his gaze to me. “Is she right? Are you jealous?”

“Of course not.” I averted my eyes and focused on my shoes.

“Oh, this night just keeps getting better and better,” Landon grumbled, running his hand through his hair. He took a step back to clear a path to the tower for Sam. “Go nuts. Get your princess.”

“Thanks so much for your permission,” Sam said. “It means the world to me.” He clapped his hand to his nose, frowning as it expanded again. “Seriously? This is just … crap.”

“It’s a lesson to teach you to stop lying,” Landon said.

“Shouldn’t you be paying attention to your princess?” Sam seethed. “It seems I’m not the only one having nose issues. Thistle was right. Bay’s nose is out of joint because you have to be everyone’s hero.”

“I am not trying to be everyone’s hero,” Landon said. “I am trying to keep everyone together so we can get out of here safely.”

Thistle sent Landon a sarcastic thumbs-up. “Good job.”

“Shut up, Thistle.”

“Is someone going to climb up here and get me?” Clove asked, her patience wearing thin. “I can’t stay up here much longer. I’m lonely.”

“I’m coming,” Sam said, shuffling toward the tower wall. “Just … hold on.” He gripped a strand of Clove hair and tugged on it. “Does that hurt?”

“I don’t even feel it,” Clove said.

“That’s a relief,” Sam muttered. He tightened his hands around the hair, braced his foot against the tower, and started to climb. He moved slowly, taking special care with his foot placement and grip. The higher he got, the slower he moved, and he started to glance down at the ground with alarming frequency.

“Are you afraid of heights?” Thistle asked.

“Of course not,” Sam scoffed.

Even from twenty feet beneath him we could see his nose twitch.

“I hate this stupid fairy tale world,” Sam grumbled.

He wasn’t the only one. After a few minutes of watching Sam, Landon slid his eyes in my direction. “Are you really jealous because I was going to climb up there to get Clove?”

Was I? It seemed an irrational reaction. Still … . “I don’t know,” I admitted. “Maybe it’s this place.”

Landon slung an arm over my shoulders and pulled me closer, tucking me in close. “You know you’re my only princess, right? Man, there’s another sentence I never thought I’d say out loud.”

I rolled my eyes. “I have no idea why I’m jealous. I can’t explain it. I just … am.”

“You were right to say something,” Landon said. “This is Sam’s job.”

I pursed my lips but remained silent. I could feel Thistle’s stare burning into me, and I didn’t want to have this discussion in front of her. As if reading my mind, Thistle shuffled a few feet away. “I’m going to check the back of the tower and make sure there are no surprises waiting for us there,” she said. “You two keep talking about your … issues.”

“We don’t have issues,” I said.

“You’re having some serious issues right now,” Thistle said. “Don’t worry. I get it. If Marcus volunteered to be Clove’s prince I would be spitting nails right now.”

I’d forgotten about Marcus. “Are you worried about him?”

“Right after we get Clove out of here, we need to start looking for him,” Thistle said. “I’m not worried, but I am concerned.”

“He’s our next priority,” I said.

“Don’t worry,” Landon said. “We’ll find him. I promise.”

“I know,” Thistle said. “I have … faith.”

The second she said the words something happened. A sparkly mist enveloped her, descending on the pink dress. Within seconds the mist dissipated to reveal Thistle in her usual jeans and T-shirt. The look on her face was almost comical. She ran her hands up and down the shirt, a genuine smile on her face.

“Thank the Goddess,” she said. “I can’t tell you how happy I am to be out of that dress!”

“We’re all happy you’re out of that dress,” Landon said. “I guess trusting the turtle to get you across the pond wasn’t enough.”

“You had to have faith at the same time,” I said. “There are lessons built into all fairy tales. We have to figure out what they are.”

“Well, you two get started on that,” Thistle said. “I’m still going to check the area behind the tower. Maybe we’ll get lucky. Marcus could be waiting for me right over that hill.”

I watched her go, relieved things were going well for one of us. When I shifted my attention back, I found Landon studying me. “What?” I felt a little self-conscious.

“Nothing,” he said. “I just … I don’t want you to be upset.”

“We’re trapped in a fairy tale world,” I said. “I don’t think I have a choice but to be upset.”

“You can be upset with our circumstances, but I don’t want you angry with me,” Landon said. “You really are my one and only princess.”

I scowled. “I know. I said I was sorry. I have no idea why I was so jealous. It was stupid.”

“I think it’s this place,” Landon said. “It’s amplifying the bad parts of our personalities. The flaws, as Aunt Tillie would say. I think that’s part of the curse. If we all work together, we’d figure a way out of this too quickly. She needs us to waste as much time in here as possible. That’s what all the petty bickering is.”

I hadn’t thought of that. “That would be like her,” I said. “That makes me feel a little better. I don’t generally think of myself as a jealous person – that whole Lila Stevens nonsense notwithstanding.”

Landon grinned and leaned over to kiss my forehead. “You’re not the only one being affected. Aunt Tillie was right. I’m bossy and I yell. Apparently I also have a hero complex.”

“I like your hero complex,” I said, resting my head lightly on his shoulder. “There’s comfort in finding normality in a surreal world like this.”

“We need to try really hard not to argue,” Landon said. “I know I’m guilty of doing the opposite, but now that we know what’s going on we can’t let our emotions get the better of us. If we feel something coming on, we ... just need to take a step back and breathe.”

“That’s easier said than done,” I said. “Sam is climbing Clove’s hair and his nose grows every time he says anything sarcastic. That’s pretty dangerous when you’re in our situation.”

Landon chuckled. “I think that’s kind of funny.”

“Why?”

“Because Sam was lying when we first met him,” Landon said. “It’s as though it’s … karma … coming back.”