With a Kiss (Twisted Tales) (28 page)

“Follow me.” His hand stroked my cheek, his eyes smoldering. He didn’t need to speak. I knew what was in those eyes, such amazing eyes—they worshipped me, but they didn’t belong to Hobs. So, why should I care? With the knowledge of wakefulness, I remembered why I was so sad. Hobs was someone else’s prince. I searched out his bedroll in the snow. He slept across the way in his rumpled clothes, his hand resting in the fire. I jumped. Hobs wasn’t lying—the flames didn’t burn. The fire gave the predawn air an unearthly glow—appropriate, considering where we were.

Babs was still asleep, her head burrowed into my side. She used my coat for a pillow. Bugul snored loudly a little farther away. It was the loudest I had ever heard him. Did that mean the muting spell was wearing off? They were all sleeping so heavily. It wasn’t too much of a stretch to believe that this beautiful man who now invaded my personal space had done something sinister to cause it.

He tugged at my hand again, oozing a charm that a normal person would not be able to resist. “Come.” When I didn’t, he knelt next to me in the snow, cutting a dashing figure in his blue tailcoat, white knickers, and boots—everything a Prince Charming should be. He was nothing like Hobs—Hobs wasn’t mine anyway.

I sighed. “I can’t.”

The beautiful man looked confused. His eyebrows drew in, which almost made me laugh. He must always get what he wanted, but one: I wasn’t a morning person. My whole family knew that. And two: my newly opened heart was broken. I tried to wave the dream away and buried my face back into the arm I used as my pillow.

The man changed tactics, his fingers sliding through my messed-up hair until they were hopelessly entangled, which actually didn’t feel very romantic at all. He chanted something.
“Brow-girt with golden circlet, that doth bear A small bright scintillating star between Her braids of dusky hair.”
I pulled up to stare at the guy and he drew me to him, his lips a breath away from mine. “That my love, is who you are, though you are even more perfect in person than those words suggest.”

I struggled to my knees and removed my fingers from his with difficulty. Yes. Something didn’t feel right. I didn’t normally feel anything, yet somehow this guy had managed to snag a bit of my heart. Just a bit of it. Someone I refused to think about still had a huge chunk of it, but even that felt more natural than this. Who was this guy? I sat up, still feeling like this was a dream. He was too charming, too slick, too handsome. If this wasn’t a dream . . . he was evil. Wasn’t he?

My head ached. I glanced over at Babs and my mouth dropped. She was further away. Hobs and Bugul were too. They slept where I had left them. The man had led me away from the protective circle of fire. Subtle shades of pink and orange filtered through the trees of the forest. The sun was already rising, which meant I had been stuck in some strange spell that made me forget time. How long had we been going at this?

I planted my feet and cleared my throat, getting ready for the biggest inner struggle of my life. “I can’t go with you.”

The beautiful man looked surprised, and I knew I had to think fast before he turned into a monster and carried me away. I mean, the guy didn’t have a shadow. The fact that I didn’t have one either was irrelevant. I brushed some of his sand off my hand. He must work for the hag, and she needed to trick me away from Babs to get her.

I tried to think of an escape while throwing him off guard. “
Though I like you.”

“You like me?” He chuckled low in his throat and reached for my hand again. “No,
you love me
.” His words were alluring, and silly. The spell he was weaving made me feel lethargic, but I didn’t think it was working like it was supposed to. It probably meant there was something wrong with me. Maybe I did have a sliver of ice still left in my heart. For once, it worked in my favor.

“Your shadow’s gone,” I said. “Has it run away from you too?” His eyebrows drew in and I decided to play the flirtatious card. “
My love
.” I could probably get some information out of him this way. My heart beat heavily at the danger, which I figured was very near to infatuation. “Who sent you?”

“The same one who sent your
protector
, but he didn’t do his job. Never fear, my dear, I will.”

“My protector?” Our protector was Bugul. The wolves, nymphs, and Merrow had made that clear, but this man was talking about Hobs. I was sure of it. I had to ferret out the truth once and for all. “Was Hobs sent by the queen?”

The man tried to yank me to him again, but I rooted myself to the ground like a tree. “The talisman he wears.” He desperately tried to catch my eyes. “It will show you his orders. Believe me. He doesn’t do any of this for you. He wants you for himself.”

Me?
My hand tightened over the man’s and I started tugging him back. I’d make him tell me what he meant. It was Babs everyone wanted, not me. “You’re lying.”

“Would I lie to my lo . . .” He gulped mid-word, for the first time seeing the horrible Bugul sleeping behind us. “What is that?”

I gave him my most dangerous smile. “Just one of my protectors.”

“That’s why Hobany hasn’t . . .” He backed away, but his hand was still interlocked with mine and I came unwillingly with him, sliding through the slick snow. I tried to get away, but if I didn’t go voluntarily, then what? He’d take me kicking and screaming? These faeries would do anything to get me away from the princess, but I wouldn’t leave her alone, not here, not with them.

The nerves in my brain finally felt like they were connecting, and as I felt them reach wherever I kept my fear center, I screamed as loud as my lungs could carry my voice. I gasped for air, seeing the glowing eyes of the Grim appear behind the man in the deepest, darkest part of the forest, like they were waiting for me the whole time. Now real terror exploded through my body, and I screamed again. The sound of it echoed through the woods. I twisted to see Bugul, Hobs, and Babs still sleeping soundly. They were caught in a spell—they had to be not to hear that.

The beautiful man smiled crookedly. “Play with fire and you get burned, my lovely oaf.”

“What?” I shouted. “And I suppose you think you’re the fire? Did they actually think you were enough to tempt me into the woods? You’re frog’s breath, as far as I’m concerned.”

I really didn’t think he’d get it, but his dark eyes sliced into furious slits and wrenching me to him, he threw me over his shoulder. The sand from his hair spilled over me and I choked on the dust of it. “Disgusting!” I shouted. “What are you, a sand creature?”

He growled in response and I tried to fight him, but it did no good. I knew I was small, but I had no idea how small until now. “Let me go!” I threw my fists against him.

His elegant boots thudded beneath me as he brought me closer to the thickest part of the forest. The light of the sun traveled over the top of the trees, brightening the world, but leaving the foliage in the woods alone. It was still as black as night inside the thick snarl of branches and thorns. “Got your supper,” he announced to the Grim. I kicked him hard. He grunted at the impact, but my satisfaction was short lived when I tumbled over the guy into the slippery snow like an offering to the dark forest.

“Hobs!” I shouted. Forget what the man said about him. Whether it was true or not, it was time for Hobs to break whatever sleeping spell he had over him and come claim his ill-gotten captive. I’d figure out how to escape him later. “Hobs!” I shouted. “Please! I need you!”

My hands paled in response and I stared down at them as the warmth of the nymph kisses left my skin in a rush. It turned them all cold and tingly. Uh-oh. What had I done? A white color crept up my arms where Hobs had slathered the nymph kisses all over me. What had
he
done?

The beautiful man’s angry face swooped down next to mine. He clawed at my wrists and pulled me off the ground so he could chuck me into that horrible forest. I fell headlong into the rough branches of a pine. It didn’t hurt as badly as being separated from Babs. The ache in my head felt like it would split me in two.

I slipped over the fresh powder, feeling the snow explode under my chin. My hands hurt with the cold and were hard to move. I scrambled to my trembling feet, and my gaze went up and up and up, seeing tall and beautiful women with pale skin and shimmering eyes surround me. These were the Shades? I took a deep breath. They were just ghosts. What could they possibly do to me?

One Shade drifted my way, catching me in the swish of her skirts. It sent searing pain through my arm. I cried out. Okay, so that’s what they could do. A deep burn pulsed through my suddenly white skin. Another Shade came at me and I ran the other direction, tripping over some tree roots. I almost fell flat on my face until something tickled over my feet—brown bodies, too many of them, scurrying past. I firmly righted myself to keep from landing on them.
Kobold.
Nasty sighting number two.

Darker, humanlike shapes loomed over me, making me forget all about the creepy-crawly things. I staggered backwards. These creatures were horned and tall as trees. One of the wispy silhouettes howled at me, and I covered my head, trying to hide. There was no escape. Awful, terrifying things crowded me in.

The beautiful man laughed from the safety of the clearing. Sunlight filtered through the trees over him. “The Grim howl when someone is about to die,” he called out. “You can no longer hide behind your protectors, my love.”

The Grim’s massive black fur bristled as they came closer. Their fangs dripped with spittle. The tallest of them bent completely in half, leaping for me. I fell back against the tree and covered my head with my freezing hands, waiting for the feeding frenzy. Nothing happened. The Grim’s howl broke into a pained one. I opened my eyes to see it fall just short of me, an arrow stuck through its back. Hobs’ arrow? There was no sign of him. I looked past the arrow, seeing the Shades slither closer, screaming out vengeance. Their skirts moved in rhythm with their hips like runway models out for the kill.

I ducked behind the wounded body of the Grim. It jerked fitfully until it lay still in the blood-flecked snow. I listened to the Shades make hissing noises deep inside elegant throats. Their soft slippers crunched into the snow. They would burn me alive with a touch. They stopped moving, and I knew they were standing in front of me. The thought sent prickles through my skin. I looked up just as one reached out a graceful hand. Before it could get me, it screamed out in surprise and dropped to the snow with a sick thud.

I tucked in my feet, making myself as small as possible. The first Shade faded into the ground, but a new one dove for me, only to collapse next to the other one. Another shrieked and charged, followed by another, all of them meeting the same fate, plummeting around me like drops of deadly rain. I tried to make myself even smaller, knowing they would sting me if we touched, but they melted into the snow, each leaving a single arrow behind.

The last Shade made a break for me, her white arms stretched out noodle-like. An arrow struck her through. Instead of snatching at the offending shaft, she clawed for my face and evaporated like morning dew, an arrow the only thing left of her.

Before I could crawl away, Hobs lifted me to my feet, half carrying me, half supporting me. It helped that I was so much shorter than him. “Told you these could pierce any hide,” he said into my hair.

I clung to him in shock. He had come for me. His arms felt safe and being so close to him, they warmed me instantly. His eyes, when they found mine, were protective. Hobs couldn’t be as bad as everyone made him out to be. More Grim howled from the trees, filling the forest with their cries. “What are you doing out here?” he shouted through the noise.

Before I could answer, more furry brown bodies scuttled over my feet. I shrieked, fighting the urge to jump onto Hobs’ back to escape them. “That guy. That really beautiful, charming guy.” I tried to point him out, but couldn’t find him.

Hobs pulled me closer and fished out the faery dust from his backpack. The stuff was supposed to work like a blindfold—Cherry Blossom or Bubbles or whoever it was had promised it would. I could’ve used it against that jerk who threw me in the forest. My head was pounding out its punishment. Hobs searched my drained face in worry. “Let’s get you back to Babs, okay?”

We crossed the dark threshold of the overhanging trees, entering the bright wintery morning, when
drop-dead-
g
orgeous
himself slithered out from behind a tree. He gave us both a disarming smile. “Why hello there, Mr. Hobany. Just leave the girl with me. That’s right. We were only having a bit of fun.”

Hobs smiled back, but with none of his usual biting sarcasm. What was wrong with him? They weren’t in cahoots, were they? Or maybe the gorgeous guy had more mind tricks than I thought. I could see he had every intention of putting Hobs under his smooth-talking spell. “Sorry, Gan,” Hobs surprised me by saying. “I don’t think you’re
that
charming.”

I sagged with relief, especially when I noticed the faery dust that dusted Hobs’ eyelashes. He must’ve thrown it in his eyes to be safe. Gan treated us to another shocked look, turning from me to Hobs.

“What’s the matter?” Hobs asked. “Nobody’s falling for your smarmy act today? You must be getting on in years. No one can stay young and beautiful forever.”