Of Sorcery and Snow (40 page)

“It's Portland,” his sister said. “They've seen weirder things.”

Then I remembered how
very
close we'd come to bringing
Chase
's body home, and my whole body started shaking.

“Whoa,
Rory
 . . .” Lena said.

I'd come close to losing Lena, too, but dealing with Mark hadn't made me lose it like that. I just handled it with one clear-headed slice.

When I thought I was going to lose Chase, it was like the whole world was crashing down. I couldn't even think straight. It wasn't that I cared about Chase more, but the feelings weren't the same. They'd changed, and I hadn't noticed until now.

But I didn't say that. I turned to him and shouted, “You
idiot
! She was
this close
to killing you.”

He reeled back. “No, she
wasn't
. I figured it out the second she
went after Hadriane instead of the twins. She wanted them alive, so she could blackmail their dad. I'd knew she would want me alive for the same—”

But I didn't care about his excuses. I cared that he was
alive
, and I threw my arms around his neck. “Don't
ever
do that again,” I whispered, trying so hard not to start sobbing right there, because I knew how much he would hate it.

A hand patted my back, kind of awkwardly, just like Chase patted his mom's shoulder when she was upset. But that was Lena struggling to hold onto all the carryalls and comfort me at the same time.

Chase's warm arms slipped around my shoulders, and he rested his head on top of mine. “It's okay, Rory. It's over.”

And then it was even harder not to cry.

It wasn't over. Hadriane was dead, and today just marked the beginning of her being dead. Nothing was ever going to be the same. Not for Ima and Iggy. Not for us—not when the Snow Queen wouldn't stop until she had murdered everyone I cared about.

Then the hand on my back went still. “Gran!”

Lena dumped all the carryalls and took off running.

Her whole family was on the lawn. Her grandmother and Jenny squished Lena between them. But George sprinted straight for the Portland door—for Miriam.

She saw him coming and sent him an awkward half-wave that clearly said,
I have no idea
what to say
. George wasn't having it. When he reached her, he scooped her up, lifting her a couple feet off the ground. “You should have called me. I would have come back—but instead you took
my sister
on a quest?” George said angrily, but he didn't set her down until he'd kissed her.

For a
really
long time.

Chase and I glanced at each other, and I was about to roll my eyes until I realized we were still hugging. We let go and hastily backed away.

One thing at a time
, I thought. Then I couldn't believe I'd thought that. My blush even kicked in.

But I peeked at Chase. He was blushing too, wasn't he? Maybe I
could
think that.

Doors slammed across the courtyard. School must have gotten out on the east coast. Characters were arriving.

“Oh, yeah,” Philip said when George finally set Miriam down. “You guys have
really
broken up.”

“We had a
fight
—we didn't break up.” George turned to Miriam. “Have you been telling people we broke up?”

“I didn't mean it,” Miriam said, wiping a tear from her cheek. “Not really.”

Some eighth graders were gathering in front of the training courts, but then Adelaide cried out, pointing at us. It took them maybe ten seconds to mob me and Chase, sparing us from having to watch Miriam and George make up some more.

“Where's Lena?” Kyle demanded, before anyone else got a chance to speak.

“She's okay,” I said, making a mental note to tell Lena exactly how worried he'd sounded. I pointed to her and her family. It looked a lot less like a happy reunion now. Jenny and Gran were both chewing Lena out.

Kevin pushed his brother out of the way. “Tell us everything.”

“In her last update, the Director made it sound like you were dead for sure,” said Tina.

“So we planned some extra training,” said Vicky.

“We were going to avenge you,” said Paul, who was standing
right next to her. No, they were
holding hands
. Chase had been
right
about them being a couple.

“Updates?” Chase said, confused.

“Well, she was keeping some
huge
secrets,” Kyle reminded us.

“We swore we would rebel if she didn't update us every afternoon,” Tina said.

Yikes. The Director definitely wouldn't go easy on us now.

Adelaide elbowed her way to the front, her eyes rimmed with red. I
almost
felt bad for her, but then she smiled in that syrupy way I couldn't stand. She sauntered right up to Chase, her long blonde hair swinging. “Who cares about that? Did you bring me anything?”

She stepped so far into Chase's personal bubble that he scooted away, shooting me a look that clearly said,
Help!

“It wasn't exactly the kind of trip where you can buy souvenirs,” I said icily, and Adelaide backed off a little.

“But we did get a few things.” Chase went through the packs Lena dropped, unzipped one, and groped around inside until he pulled out a handful of gold coins. “Wishing coins, people. It'll turn silver if it works.”

Then he
threw
it like confetti. He was enjoying this a little too much. The stepsisters didn't go for it, but Kevin, Connor, and Paul tried to catch them. Adelaide actually
did
catch one, and then she clutched it to her chest with both hands in a
very
irritating way.

Chase scooped out another handful and shoved them
all
in Kyle's hand. “You deserve these the most. We would have never made it out of here without you.”

I guess Chase did have some cool moments left in him.

“Chase! Rory! Lena!” Ellie called, her frizzy brown hair huge. She was definitely stressed. “Head to the Director's office, please. She wants to talk to you immediately.”

All the eighth graders drew back, like getting in trouble was contagious. Chase and I glanced at each other. We'd known that this was coming. “Let's go get it over with,” I said.

I'd been in the Director's office only once before, during my orientation in sixth grade, but it looked exactly like I remembered it: the fountains in the corners, filling the room with the sound of trickling water; the marble floor, inlaid with pink roses; the overstuffed, rose-covered chairs, and the large wooden desk, carved all over with roses.

But the Director was a mess. Her silk dress was rumpled, and the curl had fallen out of her blonde hair. She and Rumpelstiltskin were bent over the current volume. “Take a seat,” she said without looking up.

That was all. No
how was your trip to the Arctic Circle?
No
I hear my ex-best friend tried to kill you
. No
you three are in so much trouble that you'll be doing chores around EAS until you graduate high school
.

The Director was definitely a fan of the guilt trip. She wanted us to squirm.

I thought watching Hadriane die had squeezed out all my fear of getting in trouble, but the Director still knew how to get to me. “Your mother has been calling, Rory,” she said. “I've heard from her almost hourly, and so has Lena's grandmother.”

“Did she come here?” I asked, scooting to the edge of my chair. If she was around, I would go straight to her. I would let her see I was okay.

“She
tried
,” the Director said, “as did other members of your family. The Door Trek system wouldn't let them through.”

That meant she was still worrying. “Then what do you need from me before I go home? A report?”

“I do
not
need a report,” said the Director. “I have learned everything I require from this book. The current Tales are very thorough. But you will need to surrender all the wishing coins.”

“We gave them away already,” said Chase, sounding pleased about it.

“Then retrieve them from the eighth graders who received them,” the Director said, her voice like iron. “It is a matter of
safety
, Chase Turnleaf. I'm certain that spying spells are embedded in the metal. Lena, you will examine them and tell us for sure.”

That shut Chase up, and Lena nodded miserably.

The Director pushed one of her papers across the desk. “I would like you to explain this.”

It was a letter, written all in spiky caps:

DEAR KEZELDA, WITCH OF THE GINGERBREAD CLAN,

WE KNOW THAT YOU HAVE RECEIVED SUMMONS FROM THE SNOW QUEEN TO JOIN HER ON THE EIGHTH OF APRIL. WE WRITE TO TELL YOU THAT YOU SHOULD GO WITH THIS IN MIND:

DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE AURORA LANDON. WE BELIEVE THAT THE CHILD AND THE OTHERS OF THE NEWEST TRIUMVIRATE HAVE THE RESOURCES TO STOP THE SNOW QUEEN ONCE AND FOR ALL.

SIGNED,

MUIRE, UNIZI, VIONNIA, AND CIONA,

PRIESTESSES OF THE GOBLINS

I stared at it, confused. I knew who the goblin priestesses were. We'd never actually met in person, but I'd gotten stuck in a vault they'd made once. Even their statues made an impression—they were so dignified, so certain of their power.

Chase ripped it out of my hand, scanned it, and passed it to Lena.

“Well?” the Director asked.

“I don't know. I've never seen it before,” I said.

“I have been informed that every group that received the Snow Queen's invitation also received this,” said the Director.

That was definitely weird. “I didn't ask them to send any letters, if that's what you're asking.”

The Director sighed heavily, like she was the reasonable grown-up and I was the little kid making her day difficult. “Aurora, I know that you are angry with me for keeping news of your Tale from you, but I can't help you if—”

“Wait,
what
?” I said. “Did my Tale start?”

Chase sat forward. “It started while we were
gone
?”

“Don't insult our intelligence,” said Rumpelstiltskin. “We know that you have seen the book.”

“You must have seen your Tale,” the Director told me.

“You are telling them now,” said a voice from the door. Rapunzel. Her dark eyes were fixed on me. “And none too gently.”

“This doesn't concern you,” Rumpelstiltskin said, glaring at her. “Go back to your tower.”

“I know my sister better than anyone else living. Of
course
it concerns me,” said Rapunzel sharply. “Besides, I came to confess:
I
contacted the goblin priestesses.
I
gave them the list of potential allies Solange would invite. I am responsible for those letters, and I alone.”

The Director groaned. “How many boons does the mother of the four winds owe you?”

“Many,” replied Rapunzel. “But the goblins would have done it without a boon, I think. For I told them that the new Triumvirate would go to the Arctic Circle, and they would rescue the stolen children in front of an audience. Rory, Lena, and Chase demonstrated their own strength just as my sister demonstrated hers. Between this letter and young Chase's words, many of Solange's old allies have been convinced to leave her.”

I stared at Rapunzel.
Sometimes, it is better not to know too much. You will learn soon enough,
she had said. I'd thought that she was just being skimpy on her quest advice, but she hadn't wanted us to know how high the stakes were. She'd known I would freak out.

She'd
used
us. I didn't want to be angry with her, but I kind of was.

“I made everything up as I went along,” Chase protested.

“I foresaw it,” Rapunzel said. “My sister will have to work hard to earn her allies back, but she
will
do it. This has only bought precious time. We must prepare ourselves.”

I channeled all my anger into turning the conversation back where I wanted. “Tell me about my Tale.”

“Rory's Tale was the secret you put in the Pounce Pot, wasn't it?” Lena said. I'd assumed she'd been quiet because she hated getting in trouble, but she had just been thinking. “We should have discovered it when we snuck into the library and read the current volume, but we didn't see it because we only looked at the very last pages.”

“
When
did it start?” Chase said, ticked.

Rapunzel put her hand on the back of my chair, and then I understood why she had really come—she was moral support. I wondered what was so bad about my Tale that I was going to
need
moral support.

The anger left me, and now I only felt afraid.