First Frost (23 page)

“Good to know.”

“But…I have a little concoction that will enhance any natural abilities you have.”

Old Woman held up the herbs, and as she recited their names, she pointed to each one individually. “The herbs I’ve chosen for you are eyebright, mallow, mugwort, Saint-John’s-wort, self-heal, speedwell, vervain, wormwood, and yarrow. All of these, put together, repel certain spells, but with a little of your magic and mine combined, you could keep some of Lenore’s nastier spells at bay.”

“Cool.”

After a couple of hours, Bianca had a red pouch filled with crushed herbs that she tied around her waist.

“Now, let’s put it to the test, shall we?”

“Um…okay…I guess.” Bianca knew she had little choice in the matter.

Old Woman pushed the sleeves of her blouse up to her elbows and, with a smile on her face, launched a fireball the size of a basketball at Bianca.

“Oh, God,” she shrieked as she closed her eyes and chanted the spell that Old Woman had taught her. Slowly, she opened one eye and then the other. She was safe. Nothing had happened.

“Good. Now this time try to keep both eyes open.”

“Oh, boy.”

After several hours of training, Bianca finally got a much deserved break. She looked at the bruise on the palm of her hand and decided to tell Old Woman about it.

“I need to show you something,” she said.

Old Woman pulled her half-moon glasses out of her apron and put them on. She extended her hand and silently waited for Bianca.

Bianca clenched her fist and pressed it against her chest. Even now she was still unsure whether or not she should tell or keep it to herself and deal with it her own way.

Old Woman smiled and waited patiently. Bianca took a deep breath and showed her the palm of her hand.

Old Woman drew in a breath and made
tsk
sounds. Her periwinkle eyes were hard and serious. “This isn’t good.”

Bianca looked at her hand and noticed that the bruise had grown in size since the last time she’d checked. It was now the size of a grape. Bianca explained when it happened and told her about the nightmares she’d been having since the bruise appeared in her hand.

“The one from a few nights ago almost got me killed. She made me try to kill myself. If Terrance hadn’t woken me up when he did, I probably would’ve died.” The thought still sent shivers down her spine.

“If you had come here sooner, I could’ve done something about it, but now all we can do is wait for her to show up and try to catch her then.”

“Wait for who?”

Old Woman removed her spectacles and said, “You know who.”

“Mirabel? But she’s dead. She can’t do anything anymore.”

Old Woman chuckled. “It’s a good thing I was never young and naïve. Stopped me from wasting so much time. Child, listen to me and listen well. Just because you’re dead doesn’t mean life ends. There is another world where the spirit goes on to live a different life. Just because Mirabel is dead here doesn’t mean she isn’t alive and thriving on the other side of that very, very thin veil that divides us. That bruise is proof of that. But fear not. You’ll rest easy as long as you are here. I’ll try to bind it so that it doesn’t get any bigger than that.”

“Okay.” Bianca nodded but still remained confused by what Old Woman had told her.

“Come now, no need to dwell on things you have no control over. Let’s get the others and have dinner. You’ll need your strength and some rest. We have another day of training ahead of us tomorrow.”

It had been a long three days. Old Woman had taken her out to the garden every day and taught her about herbs and their natural healing and magical properties. Bianca also became adept at blocking all the sorts of magic. Old Woman even taught her how to protect herself from certain elements like wood, rock, fire, and water. Bianca wasn’t sure she could cram one more bit of information in her brain without her head spontaneously exploding. She could imagine the mess it would make: pink-gray chunks of brain matter everywhere.

Ew
.

They had been trapped in a perpetual state of twilight. The sky hadn’t changed from its peach-pink tinge in three days.

The sky…not completely lit…not completely dark either. Temporarily trapped in between.

Bianca was looking forward to seeing the sun finally sink underneath the horizon and see the moon and stars up in the azure sky. She took a moment to gaze up at the heavens. The entire time they were there, everything had remained frozen. She hadn’t seen the moon in three days. The sun clung to the sky with jealous abandon. The trees remained exactly as they had left them. The red cardinal remained suspended in the air, waiting to be released from the cruel spell that kept it hungrily eyeing the worm on the ground.

On their last day at Old Woman’s castle, they woke up rested and eager to continue on their journey. Old Woman smiled at each of them and then lifted her gaze toward the horizon. She seemed to be staring at something only she could see. It was as though Old Woman was having a conversation with an invisible being.

After a few minutes of silence, she finally blinked and nodded. She then clapped her hands, releasing a thunderous sound that reverberated for miles around them. The earth trembled beneath their feet and time was restored back to its normal state. The wind resumed its trajectory. The trees danced lazily as though nothing had changed. The red cardinal swooped and finally caught its S-shaped meal.

“I guess…this is goodbye,” Bianca said to Old Woman.

The ancient female smiled, causing her skin to wrinkle and the corners of her eyes to crinkle. “No, sweet girl. Never goodbye. This is simply ‘farewell for now.’ This will not be the last time we shall see each other, of
that
you can be certain.”

“All right…farewell,” Bianca said and then embraced her.

Old Woman gently patted her on the back and whispered, “Good luck.”

Bianca knew that she would need all the luck she could get.

Chapter Nineteen

Once they were far enough away from Old Woman’s castle, Bianca donned the red riding hood once more and they resumed their journey. They walked until they reached the foot of a mountain. David grumbled. He shook his head and bit Bianca’s shirt. He did his best to pull her back. It was obvious that he didn’t want her to go up the mountain.

“Daddy, please stop. It’ll be okay,” she said, still unsure who she was trying to convince, her father or herself.

She patted David on the head and asked, “Where are we?”

“This is Glass Mountain,” Terrance replied.

“It’s not really made out of glass…is it?” Ming asked.

“Not anymore,” Prince Ferdinand replied.

“I’m sure that there are still fragments of glass underneath the mountain somewhere. But right now the mountain is more rock than glass,” Terrance said.

“Why does this sound familiar?” Bianca mumbled. “Wasn’t there a princess who lived on top of the mountain? Or was it a hill? I can’t remember.”

“Legend says that there’s a golden apple tree at the top of Glass Mountain that can heal any wound and open any door.”

Bianca stretched her neck as far as it could go. The mountain seemed to go on forever.

How are we ever going to make it to the other side?

To her, it seemed an impossible task.

“So, what’s the plan here?” Bianca asked.

“It would take much too long to go around the mountain. It may seem daunting, but we have no choice but to climb over,” Prince Ferdinand said.

“You’re joking,” she said.

“Bianca, my dear new friend, this wouldn’t be an adventure if we didn’t have difficult and seemingly impossible tasks that we must overcome in order to rescue the damsel in distress,” the prince said.

“Oh God. Okay, I can do this.” She ran in place, shook her arms and hands. Bianca was trying to prepare herself mentally for the climb.

“Ready?” Ming asked.

“No,” Bianca replied in a small voice and shook her head.

“Well, it’s not like we can go around the mountain. That would take longer,” Ming said.

“Come on. No need to be afraid,” Terrance said.

Bianca held her breath and then very slowly she exhaled.

This sucks
. But regardless of how she felt, she started climbing up the side of the mountain.
Okay…first one foot, then the other one. I can do this…I can do this…God…I hope I can do this.

As they climbed up the mountain, Bianca found tiny glinting pieces of glass.

“Wow,” she whispered as she picked up a handful. If Terrance hadn’t told her that it was in fact glass, she would’ve thought they were diamonds. She grabbed a fistful of them and put them in the smallest pocket in her backpack. She figured she might be able to put them on display at the museum.

“What are you doing?” Ming asked when she saw Bianca hunched over the ground.

“Picking up some souvenirs.”

“Weird. Come on, let’s go.”

Bianca nodded and continued with their steep trek.

It was after a lot of grumbling, muttering, panting, and sweating that they all finally reached the top of the mountain. Everyone seemed miserable except for Terrance. He had a smile on his face the entire time. He didn’t look tired. If anything, he looked as though he could’ve gone even further.

A very sweaty Ming collapsed on to the rocky ground and rolled on her back as she tried to catch her breath.

“I’m…so…out…of…shape,” she said between pants.

“Tell me about it. My legs are killing me,” Bianca complained. David plopped down beside her and grunted right along with them. Bianca scratched his head and his chin without realizing. Then she remembered that he was her father, not a pet bear, so she forced herself to stop.

“Terrance?” Prince Ferdinand said.

“Yes, Your Highness?” Terrance said.

“You…get the honor of carrying me down the mountain,” he said and then plopped down on the ground.

Terrance chuckled. “Certainly, Your Highness.”

“Why is he smiling so much?” Ming asked.

“Dunno,” Bianca replied.

“This place is twenty different kinds of crazy, B.”

“Yeah…I know.”