Slumber (15 page)

“I hope we'll speak again someday,” Ruby said. With one last nod at the silent fairy, she turned and ran back through the woods, past the graveyard and the fresh-churned dirt of Shawn's grave, and through the trees until she broke free of the forest and to the spot where Shawn died. The puddle of congealing blood was already vanishing into the earth, as if the grass itself wanted to erase all traces of violence. Or maybe it had been charmed to do so.

On the hill, the mansion rose against the gray sky and clouds heavy with mist. As usual, crows hovered on the battlements, cawing sulkily. After the beguiling scents in Aryenis's garden, the air around Cottingley stank of mold and decay. Just like the creatures inside.

Her every sinew rebelled at returning to that horrible place.
I could take off now and never look back
.

But then she'd never be free. And her family would suffer forever.

“I'll find a way to beat Violet,” she said out loud. “Or die trying.”

Steeling herself, she started jogging across the lawn toward Cottingley.

When Ruby reached the flagstone patio, she paused, winded, a stitch jabbing between her ribs. Man, she must have gotten way out of shape living the life of luxury at Cottingley. Of course, barely eating anything and guzzling champagne all day would also be hell on her stamina. She couldn't remember the last time she'd had a solid meal. It seemed like the entire time she was under the Slumber, she lived on Cristal and Tam's kisses.

Tam's incredible, scorching hot kisses. No. She would not think of him. Not his arms holding her close or the smell of the specially blended aftershave he had imported from Tokyo, lingering on her skin after they'd had a long session making out—

Stop it. You need to move on. Focus or you'll lose everything.

As she reached the front steps leading up to the house, a faint chirp sounded in her pocket. She pulled the cell phone out, flicked open the cover, then gave a fist pump. Two bars!

She had several messages, but ignored them for the time being and punched the shortcut to the hospital with shaking fingers. How long had it been since she talked to her mother? Weeks? Months? Oh God, what if Mom—no, she wouldn't think of it. “Hello? This is Ruby Benson. I'd like to speak to Margie Benson. Is she…still a patient?”

“One moment, let me check our records.”

Ruby bit her lip so hard it bruised. After what seemed like an eternity, the operator came back on. “I have a Margaret Benson receiving treatment in ICU.”

“That's my Mom,” Ruby said.
Thank you, God
. “Can I talk to her?”

“Hold, please, while I transfer you to the nurses' station.”

Ruby jiggled impatiently while she listened to super cheesy Musak. After a few minutes, a voice came on the line. “ICU.”

She repeated her name for the nurse. “How's my mom doing?” Ruby blurted.

“Not very well, I'm afraid.” On the other end, the nurse shuffled papers. “The aggressive chemo hasn't been effective in reducing the mass on her thyroid, and it's taking a toll on her resistance. You're Ruby, right? She's been asking for you.”

Ruby blinked back tears. “I…haven't been able to visit.”

“I don't think you should put it off any longer,” the nurse said gently. “Her situation…is very serious.”

“Tell Mom I'll be there as soon as I can. Tell her—” Ruby's throat closed. She cleared it and said, “Tell her I love her.”

“Sure, hon, I'll tell her. But I'm sure she'd much rather you told her yourself.”

“I know. I'll be there soon.”

Ruby beeped off. She dropped her head in her hands and fought the tears. She couldn't handle the thought of her mother lying lonely and abandoned in some sterile hospital room, waiting for her daughters to come see her. Dying of some bullshit disease that Violet cursed her with.

She lifted her head. Now for Shelley. If Mom was at death's door, what was happening to her little sister?

Quickly, she punched the Garcias' number. No answer. But it was the middle of the day—most likely the Garcias were at work and the kids were at school. She hoped Shelley wasn't upset that Ruby hadn't called, and that the Garcias were cool with keeping her for so long. She'd find a way to explain everything once she returned to pick Shelley up.

If she returned.

Don't think like that. You can win this thing
.
You have to.

Inside, Cottingley was dark and rank with the lingering stink of spilled booze and sweaty bodies—as usual during the day, when everyone was sleeping. Instead of stifling silence, however, excited voices babbled from the bar lounge.

“Here we go.” She took a deep breath and pushed the door open.

The lounge was packed, and buzzing with anticipation. It seemed like the whole household had turned out to be entertained by Violet's challenge. There were some fairies Ruby didn't think she'd even seen before. Most had decked themselves out in their fanciest designer threads, though as always a few were still half-dressed as if they'd just rolled out of bed.

“She's here!” Skye clapped her hands like a demented child. “The game is gonna start!”

Avid eyes raked Ruby, and the expressions on the fairies' faces ranged from mildly curious to evil glee. Ruby could barely fathom that she once partied with these creatures and thought they were the coolest, most awesome group of friends she'd ever had.

“Violet should challenge her to hang upside down by her feet for a day,” she heard one of the fairies remark. “That one guy lasted about two hours until the blood vessels in his head popped.”

“Yeah, that was super-gross,” someone snickered.

Through the crowd, Ruby caught sight of Tam, his face tense, standing next to Ash. When she met his eyes, Tam made a move toward her, but Ash put a restraining hand on his shoulder. He fought Ash's grip for a moment before turning away.

Fine by her. She wanted nothing more to do with Tam anyway. Nothing. Ever.

The fairies parted to let Ruby through to where Violet had ensconced herself in front of the fireplace on a throne of pillows. She looked like a queen bee, flanked by her two half-naked pretty boys. Her lips curled upward when Ruby approached, and she stretched luxuriously out on the silky pillows like a cat.

Or a snake.

“Ready to play my game, human?” she asked once Ruby stood before her.

“Ready.”

“Let's stick with the classics. If you can complete three simple tasks, our bargain will be binding. You can leave here free, with luck following you all the days of your brief human life.”

“And you'll leave my family alone forever?”

“Forever.”

“Then I agree.”

The watching fairies went bat-shit with excitement, bursting into chatter. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the muscles in Tam's jawline tighten, but he said nothing, did nothing.

“Silence!” Violet yelled, and they fell quiet. She stroked the cheek of the boy on her right. “Stefano here will show you to the tower room. There you will find a pile of seeds. The rules are simple: separate the poisoned seeds from the good ones. You have until midnight to complete the task.”

The boy rose, trance-like, and began to walk toward Ruby.

Violet grazed the pouty lips of the other boy with her thumb. “And Alejandro will make sure you don't run away.”

“I'm not going to run away,” Ruby said as the other boy rose from Violet's side, zombie-like, and joined his companion. “I'm not a coward like you, putting spells on innocent people behind their backs for kicks.”

The fairies erupted in shrieks of glee.

“Tam's ex is one feisty bitch,” Yukio laughed.

“Yeah, I bet she was a hellcat in bed,” said another.

Violet's eyes gleamed with fury. “I'd watch your mouth if I were you, trailer trash. Better go before I forget the rules and let the boys here take turns finding out how long it takes to pull your nails off.”

Shouts of “Do it, Violet! Oh, that's so
siiiick
!” filled the room. The fairies were really hopped up on the prospect of more blood and violence, Ruby realized, as they clapped and jumped around like a pack of wild dogs with a juicy bunny in front of them. She could hear bets taking place on how long she'd last when the necklace started strangling her.

When the jostling was over and she was able to look over the gathering again, she couldn't find Tam among the fairies. He'd slipped away. Obviously he was already over her. Moving on to the next human probably.

Ash grabbed Ruby's arm and pulled her aside. “Are you insane? Why would you agree to this? You know you can't beat her.”

“Thanks for your vote of confidence. Anyway, why do you care what happens to me, a worthless human? You didn't when Shawn was being chased to his death.”

The question seemed to throw him off. “I guess because you getting hurt will bum Tam out, and he's a lot less fun when he's in one of his moods.”

Despite herself, Ruby warmed at the thought that Tam actually might care about her. But then she remembered that fairies like to lie. “He's so bothered about what happens to me, he didn't even stick around,” she pointed out. “Where did he go, anyway? I bet he's already looking for my replacement.”

Ash shrugged. “Tam doesn't exactly confide in me—or anyone, for that matter. He lives by his own set of rules. You should have bailed when you had the chance, Ruby.”

“That's the difference between us, Ash. My mom and sister need me to win. It's called putting yourself on the line for the people you love.”

Ash blinked like she'd slapped him across the face. Before he could answer, a hard poke in her back made her stumble forward.

“Get going,” said Alejandro. He shoved her after Stefano, and together Violet's minions began pushing fairies out of the way so she could make it to the door. As she passed, they jeered and hollered at her, some giving her a pinch, some flicking her hair as she made her way out of the lounge.

She was led through a maze of corridors leading to the tower wing and up an endless corkscrew flight of stairs. The room at the top of the landing was small and practically bare except for some trash lurking in the corners, dirty windows through which she could see half of Cottingley's crow population hanging out on the cornice, a dead mouse in one of the traps, and a pile of seeds heaped on the floor.

“You have until midnight.” Stefano pulled the door shut after him and locked it, leaving her alone with the seeds and a whole lot of worry.

She rubbed her arms. The tiny dress didn't offer any protection from the chilly temperature. Funny how the whole time she'd been under the Slumber she couldn't remember feeling cold or hot. Or anything, really, except partying—and Tam.

“Let it go, girl,” she said out loud. “It's over.”

Ruby plopped down on the dirty floorboards beside the pile of seeds. She pushed all thought of Tam away to focus on what she had to do: figure out Violet's challenge so her mom wouldn't die.

At first glance, the seeds all looked the same, long and gray. Nothing to distinguish the poisoned ones from the normal ones. She needed to scatter the pile so she could get a closer look at each individual seed. But if she touched one with her bare hands, she'd probably be poisoned. And wouldn't Violet love that.

Ruby got up and hunted around the room. The mousetrap was gross, and only crumpled bits of newspaper littered the rubbishy corners. Finally she found a long rusty nail poking up from a floorboard. It took at least a half hour to pry it out by rocking it back and forth, plus she had to be careful not to accidentally scratch herself and add getting tetanus to her problem overload. Just when she was about to give up, the nail came free.

“Thank God,” she breathed and scooted over to the seeds. Carefully, she used the nail to stir the pile and separated a few individual ones out. In the dim light she could now see that a green line ran down the sides of some. Was it her imagination that those seeds also seemed slightly shriveled and sickly? Could Violet's challenge really be that simple? She didn't seem
that
dumb.

Since Ruby didn't have any better options, she quickly separated the seeds into two piles using the nail. The job was tedious, but then again she'd done a lot of tedious things over her years cleaning houses—scrubbing mildewed grout, polishing silver, wiping fingerprints off doorjambs. When she finished, she studied her work, biting her lip. This didn't feel right.

The minutes ticked by. Crows fluttered against the window and jostled for space on the cornice, cawing angrily.

“Shut up, you stupid birds,” she muttered. “I need to figure this out.”

Brain flash.

She went to the window and examined it. Crows strutted back and forth on the sill, which was covered in what seemed like centuries of bird poop. Like all of Cottingley's windows, a thick layer of dirt grimed the glass, and paint had been slopped on the casing in a half-assed job.

She tried to open the old-fashioned sash by sliding it upward, but it wouldn't budge. She gave the sash a couple taps to see if it'd loosen, but no dice. Through the window, the crows screamed at her and some flapped away. The ones that stayed glared at her with beady black eyes.

Ruby took the nail and methodically chipped away at the grime and old paint until she'd outlined the entire sash. Then she heaved it upward with all her strength, sweat breaking out, her palms aching over and over until she felt her arms shaking.

“Come ON!” She gave the window one more push.

It broke free with an almighty crack and slammed up. Fresh air streamed into the room and across her sweaty skin while the crows shrieked and took off, soaring over Cottingley's lawns and swooping toward the woods.

She took a deep breath of the fresh air and watched them fly away. Squinting at the cloudy sky, she judged that it must be late afternoon. She was way ahead of the midnight deadline—a minor miracle since it felt like she'd been locked in the turret for hours.

Ruby snatched up a crumpled and torn newspaper from the trash littering the corners. When she smoothed it out, she saw that the date was 1962. Probably the last time anyone had cleaned the room. Carefully, she scooped some seeds from both piles onto the paper and, making sure to keep the types separate, scattered them on the window sill.

“Sorry, dudes,” she said, “but my mom's life is more important than yours right now.”

Then she backed away and waited.

It seemed like an eternity, but one of the crows eventually returned. It strutted on the sill, peering curiously at the open window. Then it tipped its head and examined the seeds from the “good” pile.

“Come on, come on,” she whispered.

Her breath caught when the crow gave the seed a peck.

It staggered and fell over. Then it gave a sad caw before crumbling into ash.

“Woah.” The wind picked up the gray dust and blew it away. She was super-glad she'd been careful not to touch any of the seeds. Obviously Violet had been hoping she would, which is why she had Ruby put in a basically bare room.

Well, that was too damn bad.

Ruby moved to the door but stopped herself. She needed to be absolutely sure…

She sat back down and waited for another crow to return.

A couple hours later, she pounded on the door. Eventually Alejandro dragged it open. He gazed at her without emotion, and part of her brain wondered how long he'd been under the Slumber.

“Take me to Violet,” she told him.

Downstairs, word was spreading somehow that Ruby had completed the challenge, because half-dressed fairies popped out of rooms left and right as she followed Alejandro back to the lounge. The room filled up quickly.

“Ohhh, here we go,” Subira stage-whispered to Amleth, who was wearing really tiny briefs and nothing else. “Do you think she figured it out?”

“No way.” He scratched sleepily at his cut abs. “I hope Violet will let us take her out to the lake to see how long she can hold her breath underwater.”

Ruby rolled her eyes, then glanced quickly around the room. Tam was nowhere to be seen. And that…still hurt. She needed to get used to the fact that Tam didn't care about her anymore. After all, she'd rejected him first.

Violet was still reclining on her pillows, indolently toying with Stefano's leash. Her purple nails flashed when Alejandro pushed Ruby in front of her. “Have you completed my challenge, trailer trash?”

“Yep. It's disappointing how easy it was.”

Violet smirked. “Really? Then which seeds are poisoned?”

“All of them.”

The smirk vanished.

The watching fairies went quiet.

“You are correct.” Violet shrugged. “They are all poisoned.”

The whole room exploded with excited chatter. “She figured it out? No way!”

“Disappointing…”

“Aww, we won't get to see the human punished now? That sucks…”

“Shut UP!” Violet yelled. She glared around the room, color high, before turning to Ruby. “That challenge was just a warm-up. It wouldn't be amusing if the game ended on the first round. But the next challenge won't be so easy, human.”

“Bring it.”

“Oh, I will.” Violet rose. “Follow me.”

She headed to the back of the room, where she pushed on a door-sized panel in the wall. Ruby's breath caught when the panel slid open to reveal a dark passage.

The fairies, though, started giggling and whispering. A bad feeling rose inside Ruby.

Violet stepped through the opening. The pretty boys pushed Ruby after her into a tunnel lit only by a few dusty bulbs.

“This place is gross,” Ruby said as she followed Violet, dodging spider webs and water dripping down from the ceiling.

“We have a problem keeping cleaning domestics on staff,” Violet answered. “Somehow they always end up…going away.”

The tunnel opened up suddenly into a cavernous space, and Ruby gasped. Hundreds of reflections of herself stared back at her. The whole place was covered in mirrors of every shape and size. “What is this place?”

“It's the hall of mirrors,” Violet said, checking her reflection out in the nearest sheet of dazzling glass. “Your next task is to find your way out of the mirror-maze. You can take as long as you want on this one.”

“What's the catch?”

“My fellow
fae
are bored. Their last human hunt ended too quickly, so I thought I'd plan another for them. But we need a quarry, one who can give us a good chase.”

“So that's me, right?”

Violet's teeth gleamed in the acid-yellow light. “I'm fair, though. I'll give you a five-minute head start. And, uh, I can't guarantee what will happen if they catch you. But it won't be nice.”

Ruby thought of Shawn's busted skull and swallowed.

“Scared now?” Violet asked, amused.

Ruby's heart slammed against her throat. “No.”

“Once again you prove how limited your intellect is. Your time starts…NOW!”

Ruby took off at a dead run, careening around the first mirror. Six different images of herself stared back. She veered to the left. More mirrors, more reflections blurred in her vision as she swept past. She drove herself onward. Her plan was to get deep inside the maze and put as much distance between herself and the oncoming hunt as possible, so she could have enough time to find the way out.

She swung to the right and came to a dead stop. Straight in front of her, staring out of an enormous mirror was…her? But it wasn't her. This Ruby was older, feathery lines at the corner of her eyes, her hair graying.

She backed away from the reflection, and the older Ruby backed away too.

“Oh my God!” She put her hands up to her cheeks and turned away.

Then her hands slowly fell from her face. This time, the Ruby staring back from another mirror was a freaking bombshell, with full lips, big boobs, and shiny hair.

“What the hell is going on?” Had she been put under another spell? Or was each mirror enchanted?

Before she could figure it out, the sound of a horn trumpeted through the hall. The hunt was on.

She took off again. In the next mirror her reflection was moving by itself, clutching an Oscar, waving graciously from a stage…in the one after that, she was wearing her Happy Housekeepers uniform, her face beat down with exhaustion. She flinched from the image, only to come face to face with a heavily pregnant Ruby round the next corner.

The sounds of pounding feet and faint laughter snatched her attention back. They were coming! She flashed on the memory of Shawn's eyes bulging in fear from within the stag's head mask. Now she knew exactly how he felt when they'd closed in on him.

The next mirror she ran past showed her wearing the same mask, the whites of her fearful eyes clearly visible. Ruby gagged, staggering into the glass. The reflection lurched too, trembling like a hunted animal.

The rushing sound of someone coming up behind her made Ruby shove herself upright. She bolted around a mirror showing her bound to a wheelchair. Terror tangled her feet as she took the corner too fast; she tripped and sprawled on the ground face-first.

A punishing hand grabbed her shoulder and flipped her onto her back.

“No,” she gasped. “Oh,
no
.”

She was gazing up into Tam's face.

And his expression as he stared down at her was so cruel, she gave up hope then and there.