The Hunt for Snow (17 page)

She nodded and produced a crystal ball out of thin air. At my look of surprise, she chuckled. “It’s still the best divining device around, even if it is cliché.” She wrapped her hands around the quartz sphere and mumbled a few words I couldn’t make out. A moment later, my house came into view, Naomi with it. I was surprised to see she’d dressed in normal clothing and was wearing a pair of skinny jeans and a blood-red silk shirt. Black riding boots allowed her to pad silently through the house. It looked like a storm had hit it, but there was only one storm there—my former stepmother.

She flung books off the bookcase, and Belle whimpered from my side. Papers flew around as she tore through my office desk. When she came to Cyndi’s room, her face lit up as she spied the jewelry box sitting on her dresser.

“Can you open a portal, Maleficent?”

Her eyes were still unfocused, but she nodded. “Briefly.”

“We have to get in there. If she gets the necklace, our job is going to get much harder.” I set my empty plate back on the table and swigged a mouthful of ale.

Robin, Belle and Cyndi murmured agreement. “Allowing her to control the portals would be worse than her control of the Enchanted Forest,” Robin said.

We watched, somber, as Naomi found the emerald necklace. I held my breath as she studied it and prayed she’d take it at face value. There wasn’t anything magical about that necklace, but my hopes were riding on its appearance fooling her. It was an antique and looked priceless. I didn’t know how much it was worth, but I did know it belonged in our family. If I lost this one in the battle, I’d consider it a blessing because of all the other things we
could
lose. She wore a satisfied smirk and pocketed the necklace. She stood there for a moment, her gaze sweeping Cyndi’s room.

Cyndi’s sound of disgust made us laugh. “I’m going to have to bleach the entire thing when we get back.” But then her face sobered. “On second thought, I guess not,” she said as her mouth pulled down. “I’m going to be quite busy for the next sixteen months.”

My heart sped up at something that just occurred to me. Even if Max was lying about trapping Naomi on Earth, we could still try it in order to avoid using the curse Rumpel gave us. If we didn’t use it, Cyndi wouldn’t be trapped with him. I glanced up at Belle who gave me a knowing nod. Of course, she’d already thought of this. She was smarter than maybe all of us put together. Yes, she said it was her destiny…but the funny thing about destiny is that little thing called free will. And if I needed to give free will and destiny a little shove to get them to cooperate, I would.

I pressed my lips together to keep from saying anything to her. “As soon as she leaves the house, we need to get in there, get the necklace, and get out. Grab your weapons, and get ready to go.” We all stood. I’d lost my Sig somewhere back in the forest, thanks again to Max, but Robin was loaded up with weapons, and I still had the dagger Max had given to me earlier. He chuckled under his breath when I walked over to his cache and started digging through it.

Everything was laid out on one of the small beds, oiled and ready to go. Arrows, knives, something that looked suspiciously like a garrote and several other nice toys. “Gimme,” I said.

Robin handed over two more wicked looking knives, a small bow and a quiver of arrows. He also waggled his eyebrows and gestured for me to follow him to the closet. He opened it, and I gasped in delighted pleasure. Guns, guns, guns! Yay!

“Where did you get these?” I said with awe, staring at everything in wonder.

He gave a mysterious smile. “I made a stop before I came here.”

I gave him a curious glance. “You didn’t answer my question all the way.”

“Here and there in my travels.”

I snorted. A man of few words. “These are Earth weapons. You’ve been a naughty, naughty boy, haven’t you?”

How had he been passing over? Or a better question would be who’d been opening the portal for him? From the look on Maleficent’s face, it hadn’t been her. Instead of answering, he deflected. “Where’s your Sig?”

I pouted. “Somewhere close to the castle grounds.” I still had my backup gun, but I’d given it to Belle earlier, and now I wasn’t sure it was big enough to do the job I needed it to.

Robin, the gods bless him, pulled out another P226 Sig and a well-used leather holster and handed them to me. “You’ll need to adjust the holster fit, but it should do the job for now.”

I took them with a grateful smile and shrugged on the shoulder holster. I adjusted the fit until it wrapped around me like a glove and sank the gun into the holster. I didn’t worry about checking it. Robin and I were kindred souls when it came to weapons. We both administered them with all the TLC they needed and deserved so they’d perform admirably when we needed them to.

Belle started to hand over the backup gun, so I shook my head at her. “Keep it. We might not need it at the house anymore, but when we pass back through we’re heading straight to the castle to settle this once and for all.”

She nodded, swallowed once, and then tugged the BUG back into her waistband. I tossed an unprepared Cyndi a small knife, thankfully inside of its case because she juggled it like a cartoon character, shrieking with surprise. “Keep that with you at all times. You never know what’s going to happen.”

“Especially around you,” she muttered.

I shot her a fierce grin. “Keeps you on your toes.”

I leaned down and studied the crystal ball with Maleficent who’d remained silent during our teasing. I watched as Naomi walked out of the house and saw the destruction she’d left in her wake. I was pissed about the house, but relieved the necklace was still resting in the wooden box inside my closet.

“Are you sure you’re up for this?” I asked Maleficent.

She nodded once. “Anything to get this over with,” she said. “I’m weak, but I’ll be able to open the portal for at least a few minutes. You will need to hurry.”

I studied her, noting the strain even through her regal beauty. Blue half-moons underneath her eyes stood out against the pale creaminess of her skin, and her mouth was twisted with exhaustion. “One day, I hope you’ll tell me your story,” I said.

She met my stare, a lifetime of pain swirled inside her gaze. “Tell me yours, and I’ll tell you mine.”

I laughed then. “Deal.” I squeezed her shoulder. “Thank you, Maleficent. Your help has been invaluable.”

She waved a hand. “This will get worse before it gets better, and when it does, I ask you to judge me by the enemies I have made,” she said and winked at me as she sent the crystal ball away and began the work to open a new portal.

“Roosevelt,” I murmured. “Huh.” That sounded both cryptic…and final.

The portal opened in the room, a maelstrom of light and sound. I squared my shoulders and grabbed Cyndi’s hand. “Ready?”

She squeaked. “No. Yes. I guess. Just go.”

I stepped in, and if I had to tug a little to get her to come in after me I didn’t judge. We stepped through and into the familiar confines of my home. I breathed in the scent of wood and the remains of the cake candle we used to like to burn during our evening wine sessions. I felt my shoulders drop as I stepped into my bedroom. “Cyndi, go raid the kitchen, and bring the things we won’t be able to get back home.”

“Home,” she murmured. “I like the sound of that.” Robin and Belle stepped through the portal then, still holding hands.

“You two go into the weapons room. Grab everything you can carry back. There are bags in the kitchen if you need them.” Robin nodded and pulled Belle after him, leaving me the chance to go through my things and find the necklace.

My room was sparse by nature. I’d left home with little to my name, and the only thing I’d collected over the years was weapons. I tossed the bow and arrow Robin had given me earlier onto my bed and walked toward my closet. Most of my clothes were back at the now defunct hotel, so those were a loss. The sparse few hanging in my closet I rarely wore, so I could leave them as they were. The pretty purple bedspread lay flung across the bed, as if warning me that I was leaving a mess. Which I was. Soon enough I’d have to think about what to do with the house, my job, lots of other things. But for now, I had enough on my plate. I could get the necklace and get the heck out of here so we could take down enemy number one.

I dug through the bottom of my closet and lifted up a panel disguised in the floor. This was where I’d kept special things to me, other than my weapons. In addition to the silk dress I was wearing on the day I was exiled, I wore the sapphire necklace around my neck, pleased and honored my father had entrusted me with it. I didn’t plan on going anywhere, but the day started off bad and before I even finished my breakfast I was scrambling through my scant belongings for things of value, then running for my life through the woods. I pulled the small wooden box up from the floor, opened it and fingered the jewelry now responsible for causing all the problems. I pushed it aside for the moment and thought about the letter in my bra. I didn’t know who it was from, but I wasn’t sure I’d ever be ready to read the words on its parchment pages. Making a quick decision, I shoved the letter down into the old box and picked up the necklace. I clicked the box shut, and I was starting to make my way out of the closet, I heard a large
boom
and shouts coming from the kitchen area. I spun around, shoving clothes and hangers out of the way and stood to my full height.

“Snow!” The voice of Robin boomed through the house. “Get out! Now!” Of course, I didn’t listen to him. I had started to run out of my bedroom when Naomi appeared in the doorway.

“You didn’t really think I believed you when you told me about this cheap little bauble, did you?” She held the emerald necklace in between her fingers, allowing it to spin, the jewel winking in the low light.

I clenched my fingers tighter around the sapphire even as I cursed myself for falling right into her trap. “Where are my friends?” I demanded.

She grinned. “So concerned with all the unimportant details. Just fine for now,” she said. “And I promise they will stay that way as long as you hand it over.”

“Hand what over?” I asked, stalling for time.

She stepped forward into the room and loomed in my face. “You know exactly what I mean.”

With a twist of her hand, I heard Belle’s pained scream from out the door. I started to run to her, but Naomi stopped me, the threads of her magic winding around my ankles keeping me rooted to the floor. “Let her go!”

“Of course. As long as you give me the necklace.” I wanted to wipe that self-satisfied smirk off Naomi’s face. I palmed one of the daggers Robin had given me, then pulled out my Sig with the other hand and fired multiple times. Who gave a damn anymore whether I killed her?

Except, she’d been expecting it. The bullets stalled in front of her face, encased in a bubble of magic, and fell harmlessly to the floor. “You should know not to try the same thing twice, Snow.”

“Oh, I do now.” I smiled sweetly and threw the dagger I had palmed at her heart. She feinted just in time for it to plow through her shoulder. Her scream of pain made me smile, and as her magic dropped, I ran out the door, the necklace still clasped tight in my hand.

The portal stood in the living room still active but fading. Feeling like I was straight out of
Predator
, I screamed at everyone to get to the choppa. Regardless of whether they understood my movie reference, I heard the thunderous sounds of footsteps running to the portal. Naomi’s scream of rage followed me out and I felt rather than saw her next move. Malevolence broiled behind me, and as I turned to see what I was up against, I tripped over something and went sprawling ass over teakettle, the necklace flying out of my hand. I lay for a second, the breath taken right out of me, and cursed mentally. Of all the stupid things to do.

I scrambled up, ignoring the pain in my hip, and saw my friends standing by the portal all wide-eyed. Robin quickly armed his bow and started firing off rounds as I looked for the necklace, but I couldn’t find it.

“I can’t see her, Snow,” Robin shouted. The angry red and black cloud of magic rumbled toward us, its darkness seeping through the frame of my house and covering everything in its path.

“Godsdamn it,” I muttered, searching frantically for the necklace. I dropped to my hands and knees, feeling underneath the couch and my favorite armchair, tears of frustration pricking the backs of my eyes. At last I spied the glint of silver a few feet away, and I scrambled over to it, only to see a pair of leather boots intrude into my vision. I looked up to see Naomi standing above me, holding one of my guns.

“This doesn’t appear hard to use.” She pulled the hammer back, and my mouth went dry in fear. Of all the things I’d thought I’d die from, it wouldn’t have been my own gun wielded by a spell-slinging sorceress. We both looked at my friends standing there with weapons drawn.

“Put them away or I’m going to mess Snow’s hair up. Permanently.”

Robin blew out a frustrated breath and stood there for a moment longer. “Fire, Robin!” I shouted.

He gave me a sad look, his hand wavering on the bow.

“Robin of Locksley, this is your last warning.” Naomi’s hand didn’t waver as she pointed the gun at my head. From this range, no matter how bad her skills were, she wouldn’t miss.

He let out a growl of outrage and slowly set the weapon on the floor. Belle followed, until it was only Cyndi standing there. She didn’t show her dagger, and she looked innocent enough to be unarmed.
Good girl
.

With the gun trained on me, Naomi bent down and scooped up the necklace. “That’s better,” she said. She clasped it around her neck and murmured a single word. The jewel began to glow with its own internal power, and I closed my eyes in defeat. We were so close to winning. So very close.

Instead, I’d underestimated her and led her right to our best chance. While she was preoccupied with her new precious, I inched my fingers down to the satchel at my waist. I still had Rumpel’s curse. I flicked open the heavy padding so I could reach the potion bottle, thankful to Rumpel that he made the damned thing industrial strength because it hadn’t yet broken. I pulled it out and held it at my side waiting for the right moment.