The Hunt for Snow Read online

  I felt lust wash over me until Cyndi pinched me. “Don’t you even think about it. Go chase your serial killer boyfriend. Leave mine alone.”

  Good gracious. Cyndi stared at him with something akin to worship, and I felt a knot grow in my stomach. Yes, he was gorgeous. Powerful, intelligent and had awe-inspiring taste in coffee. But he was a ruthless killer and mad sorcerer. Right? Staring at him, it didn’t seem so. I blew out a breath, unsettled about some things.

  I’d wait until after we’d dealed to judge him. Rumpel brought over the steaming mugs of coffee to the table and produced a cream and sugar set. I wanted to weep with joy. Once we were settled in sipping happily, Rumpel began the negotiations.

  “So you’re here to talk about Naomi?” We nodded and waited for him to continue. “I’ve tried to kill her several times, but I haven’t succeeded. Obviously. My methods are straightforward. My enemies know I’m coming for them. However, Naomi needs special handling. She’s vicious and intelligent. But, she’s also vain. I can give you what you need to take her out, but what will you do for me?”

  I stared at him. “We get rid of Naomi for you.”

  He gave me a wolf’s smile. “Not enough.”

  I racked my brain, trying to come up with something he would want. I had an entire stockpile of weapons back home, some magical, some not. Belle had equipment out the wazoo, but what use would Rumpel have for it?

  A soft voice spoke up. “You can have me.”

  I felt dread settle in my bones. “Cyndi. Shut up. Right. Now.”

  Rumpel looked surprised. “And why should I want you?”

  Cyndi met his challenge. “You’re lonely. Scarred. Reviled. You need me.”

  His eyes flickered with an unnamed emotion. “Let me rephrase. Why should I want a scared, lonely little orphan girl when I can have my pick of any beautiful woman in this realm?”

  “Because I could love you. Eventually. Perhaps. If you let me in.” Her voice grew thick with tears.

  Rumpel sucked in a deep breath. The tension inside the room spiked up a hundred percent. My fingers itched to reach my weapon just in case he decided to turn us all into dust.

  Cyndi kept her assault up. “Has anyone ever loved you?” She stood up from her chair and crossed over to Rumpel’s side of the table. She touched her fingertips to his shoulder and let her fingers run through his ebony hair.

  We were intruding on an intimate moment. “Cyndi,” I whispered, “please don’t do this. I, we, can’t lose you.”

  She leaned down and whispered something private into Rumpel’s ear. His entire body stiffened, and he looked at her with a new appreciation and a disturbing gleam in his eyes. The silence in the room was overwhelming, and I shifted, uncomfortable and nervous with the turn this deal had taken.

  “You can have me,” I blurted.

  “What the—Snow!” Robin shouted. “Are you a complete moron?”

  Belle stared at me like I just fell off the turnip truck, but Cyndi had a serene and calm look on her face.

  Rumpel laughed out loud. “I have no desire for you.”

  “Thanks,” I said dryly. “You can’t have Cyndi. If you insist on it, we’ll walk away.”

  “No you won’t,” Cyndi said.

  “Yes. I will.” I tried to will her to back down by just staring at her, trying to communicate without words, but if Cyndi got it, she wasn’t cooperating.

  Rumpel sat back against his chair and contemplated her. “You bring with you an extraordinary gift. How do you know I won’t abuse it?”

  “You’ll sign a contract,” Cyndi said with authority.

  “Oh?” Rumpel looked enamored with her. What the hell did she whisper in his ear?

  “Yes. I’ll stay with you for one year. In return, Naomi will be out of your hair. It’s a win-win for us all.” She let her fingers slide out of his hair as she walked back to her side of the table.

  I held my breath. One year. Was that really so terrible? Maybe. The better question was why the hell did Cyndi even offer herself up? And why does she think she knows so much about what he wants or needs?

  Cyndi and Rumpel stared each other down, and it was like the rest of us were no longer in the room. “Two years,” he countered.

  She offered him a shark’s smile. “Fourteen months.”

  His nostrils flared. “Eighteen months.”

  I slammed my fist on the table. “What the hell is going on here? Cyndi, you can’t be considering this!”

  She ignored me. “Sixteen months. Final offer. Refuse this and we’re all going to walk.”

  “Let’s go,” I said and shoved my chair back. We’d figure out something else. We had to.

  “Deal,” Rumpel said.

  “Shit,” I murmured under my breath and sat back down in my chair.

  I had no idea what happened. I felt blindsided and betrayed. “Can I talk to you privately, Cyndi?”

  “No need for privacy,” she said. “I have something Rumpel wants. No, needs. I have something he needs, and he knows he can’t find it anywhere else.”

  I pinched the bridge of my nose hard. “Every woman in the realm probably has what Rumpel wants.” She flinched as if I’d hit her. “I’m sorry. That was harsh.” What could she possibly have that Rumpel couldn’t get himself?

  “It was. Sex is not what he’s after.” She flicked her gaze at him, Rumpel still staring at her with lion-like intensity. “I’ve never told you what my gift is, have I?”

  My heart started beating in an erratic staccato. I’m not sure I wanted to know. I waited for her to go on.

  “I can look at someone and know their heart’s desire. And,” her face fell, “I can give it to them.”

  Belle and Robin sat up a little bit straighter and glanced at each other guiltily. My mouth dropped open. “Everyone?” I squeaked out.

  “Everyone.”

  Well, that explained some things. The wish firm she’d opened on Earth was booming in clients. People must have thought she was a miracle worker. Which, staring at her now, she kind of was.

  Rumpel leaned forward and regarded us all. “The deal is done. The orphan will stay here with me for the period of sixteen months and, in return, I will gift you with the curse needed to defeat Naomi.” With a wave of his hand, he produced a large scroll. He unrolled it and handed us all feather pens. An inkwell appeared in the middle of the table.

  It was do or die time, but I wouldn’t do anything without reading all the fine print first. This felt like I was selling Cyndi into slavery. Friends didn’t sell friends to evil sorcerers.

  “What kind of curse?” I needed to know all the details.

  He shrugged. “It’s entirely up to you. I’m just the magician here. I’m assuming you’re here because you don’t want to kill her?”

  I nodded.

  “Then before we go any further, you need to decide what it is you want to happen.”

  My mind whirled. I’d had some time to think about this, but I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. She’d made me and my people suffer for so long that I wanted to reciprocate. I thought back to the worst day of my life—the day Max chased me from my home—and relived all of those horrible feelings. Not knowing where I was, how to fit in or what I was going to do to survive. All those years of struggling to survive, wishing for my life back home, worrying about my friends, and I made my decision.

  When I told everyone, there were some surprised looks, but no one disagreed. With the decision finalized, I read over the contract and decided it was fair enough. Cyndi would stay with him for the agreed upon period once we defeated Naomi. After that, she was either free to stay or leave him. Studying her now, my heart sank. If I knew Cyndi at all, I knew she would stay with him. The stories I’d heard about Rumpel didn’t fit with the person I was seeing now, but for all I knew he could be acting on his best behavior. The contract addressed abuse and magical torture, both passages that made me cringe, but she’d be protected from all of that. I didn’t doubt she’d be able to take
care of herself, but this deal left a bad feeling in my mouth. A person should never be used as a bargaining chip, but I’d done it with my best friend. Unwittingly, of course, but it didn’t feel like it mattered. I raised the quill above the contract and signed my name. Cyndi followed, and Rumpel signed last.

  With a flourish, he said a few words over it, and the parchment disappeared into thin air.

  I cleared my throat. “I’d like a copy, please.”

  Rumpel let out an aggrieved sigh, but produced one for me. I folded it up and held it in my hand. “The curse?”

  He nodded. “It will take me a few hours. You’re welcome to stay in this area while I go back to my lab. Cyndi, if you’d follow me?”

  And so it began, even before we had Naomi under control. We watched her walk away with a satisfied smile on her face. This was a brand new side to her, and I’m not sure if I liked it or not.

  Belle was the first to break the uncomfortable silence. “That event,” she waved her hand around, “put weird on a whole new scale.”

  Robin looked shell shocked. “Rumpel may have gotten the better part of this deal, darling.”

  I was afraid of that. With Cyndi’s gift, Rumpel’s job just got a whole lot easier. He wouldn’t need to dig to find out what people wanted. He had his very own trained bloodhound to scent it out.

  “How long has she been able to do that?” I asked, not expecting an answer.

  “Most children in the Enchanted Forest are born with a gift, Snow.” Robin flicked an arrow out of his pack. “Mine was the gift of archery.”

  “And mine was technomancy,” Belle said.

  Why did I not know this? I just figured that some people were born magical, and others were born ordinary. I was one of the ordinary ones. I could shoot, hide, and I had the mouth of a sailor sometimes, but I didn’t think I possessed any extraordinary gifts. “I wasn’t born with a gift,” I said, trying to sound flippant about it.

  Belle looked down, almost as if she felt guilty about something.

  “What?” I asked.

  Belle stood up and walked over to Rumpel’s coffee pot. “Anyone want any more?”

  Avoidance always led to great discoveries, at least in my dealings with her. “Belle?”

  She busied herself with making us all new cups, even though Robin and I hadn’t said we’d take another one. When she’d finished and settled herself around the table again, she tried to change the subject, but I wasn’t having any of it.

  “Do you know something about my gift?” Wouldn’t I know if I had one? Maybe it was the gift of making enemies. That seemed to be my strongest talent these days.

  Her shoulders slumped. “You don’t have one,” she said.

  I blinked. “Then why are you acting so weird?”

  Robin’s interest perked up, hearing something in her tone I’d missed. “Did she have one in the past?”

  Belle gave him a dirty look and snarled, “Yes.”

  I sat up straighter. “Is this one of those stories I’m going to get angry about? Because if it is, I’m so over those.” I babbled in order to not get my hopes up.

  “Naomi stole it,” Belle said shortly.

  I took a sip of my coffee, saddened, yet not surprised in the least.

  “Or, that’s what the word is around the village. No one knows for sure, Snow. I didn’t want to tell you because I wasn’t sure if it was true. A trusted member of Naomi’s court was overheard talking about you and what the queen had done.”

  “What’s my gift?” I asked, curious now.

  She shook her head and smiled sadly. “Only Naomi and your father know.”

  Well, that was a dead end. I always felt like I was missing something inside, but chalked it up to it being my entire kingdom. This was just one more thing to get angry about, but I didn’t have the energy for more anger right now. What had I ever done to her? I was just a girl when she came into our lives, a whelp of a girl who was more interested in learning to hunt and fish than ever being queen. Naomi was the one who wiggled her way into our lives. She seduced my father, acted for a little while like a real mother, and then turned around and betrayed us all. She was the reason for all of this. Every day I felt like I was falling more and more down the rabbit hole.

  Was the crown worth this battle? My people were, but was my palace? Would I be a good queen, benevolent and wise? I didn’t feel it. I was brash, impulsive and angry almost all of the time. The few times I’d gotten close to someone all hell broke loose. Now I cared deeply about a man who might not have the capacity to care back, and I was stuck in a deep political game that could lead to my death.

  Good times.

  I let Belle off the hook. “No use missing something you never knew about, right?”

  Her mouth twisted. “We can get it back.”

  “What is it? It doesn’t matter. We’ve come this far. The gift hasn’t helped me ever, and it won’t help me now.”

  Robin reached over and patted my hand. “If it helps, I think you’re still a hell of a gal.”

  I snorted in amusement. “Thanks. Now let’s drop all this maudlin talk and discuss something fun. If you were stranded on a desert island, name the top five things you’d bring with you.”

  The discussion kept us busy for awhile, hooting with laughter at some of the outrageous suggestions brought up, ranging from Les Stroud to Budweiser Models. Footsteps soon sobered our brief levity. We watched as Rumpel and Cyndi walked out of the back area. They both were looking surprisingly…rumpled—pun way intended. But at least he was holding a small glowing bottle.

  He handed it over with caution and offered us a padded leather satchel with it. “Break this and you will be in a world of hurt.”

  I took it, a little fearful and a whole lot nervous. This was the thing that could save us. We could live in peace, at least until the next great super-villain surfaced. I placed the bottle inside of the satchel and closed it securely.

  Hours later, we were at last finished. If Maleficent wasn’t outside waiting for us, we might have to impose upon Rumpel for another favor, and since he’d taken one of my best friends I hoped to the gods that it didn’t happen.

  “Where will she go when the curse is enacted?” I asked against my better judgment.

  Rumpel flicked a hand. “Exactly where you wanted her to go. Her own personal hell. Throw it on her and run like hell.”

  Which didn’t exactly answer my question, but again it may be one of those things I was better off not knowing. “Thank you, Rumpel.”

  His eyes flashed then, those swirling ancient depths filled with more knowledge than I’d ever have. Fear settled deep in my belly, and I sent up a silent prayer for Cyndi. With a wolf’s smile he answered, “No, thank you.” With a possessive hand on Cyndi’s arm, he showed us to the door.

  As we stood on the rustic wooden porch, he released Cyndi. “I will expect you back soon.” His tone rough and authoritative.

  She nodded as she turned away. “I will keep my end of the bargain.”

  I tried not to walk a little faster as we left him.

  12

  Maleficent was leaning against an ancient tree trunk, waiting for us. As we came into sight, she stood to her full height, her staff upright by her side. She stared at us a beat too long before she spoke. “Cinderella has sacrificed much for you, Snow. Do not fail.”

  I bowed my head, feeling like the weight of the world was upon my shoulders. For all of my bluster, my weapons, my sacrifices and hard-ass attitude, it wasn’t equal to what Cyndi had done for us. Even though she’d put on a brave face, I couldn’t help but wonder if she was terrified on the inside.

  She’d seen what Rumpel needed and gave it to him for us at the expense of her own life. She appeared at peace with her decision, perhaps even a little excited, but did she really think she could tame a man like him? Did Cyndi truly believe Rumpel was lonely? Perhaps he was, but why was she the one to cure it? If we’d bargained for longer I’m sure we could have come to an agreeme
nt, a different one that would have left us all together.

  I nodded after a moment and placed a hand on Cyndi’s arm. She leaned over and whispered, “Do not fret. It was my destiny.”

  Tears filled my eyes. I wanted to rage at her, to scream and rail against this decision, but I could never see what she saw. I would never know the depths of someone’s desire like Cyndi did. This made me fearful for her and sad at the same time. What did she see when she looked at me? Or even Belle who had her own demons?

  At least she was here with us now. We’d have at least the next few days to say our goodbyes. And it wasn’t forever. It was sixteen months. I’d watched Netflix for longer periods than that.

  “Shall we?” Maleficent asked.

  At our nods, we all joined hands and waited for her to kick our asses again with her magic.

  Once we had hurled the remnants of our stew up in the bushes and listened to Maleficent’s hysterical laughter, we studied our surroundings. The castle, my castle, stood several hundred feet in the distance. Its spires hit the clouds, the light gray stone matching the color of the sky above it. It looked much the same as it did a decade ago, but vast differences had marked the time. Whereas my mother was possessed of a green thumb and surrounded the castle with roses and sun-loving flowers, Naomi’s presence made them wither and die. Now there was nothing but brambles and shade plants scattered around the castle, their presence untended to and ignored.

  Guards dressed in black littered the area, searching for anyone who dared to venture too close. We had a plan for that, and it involved a half-naked Belle and shitloads of flaming arrows from Robin Hood. He balked at the plan at first, and I had a feeling it had more to do with everyone seeing Belle unclothed than the danger involved. Belle was all for it though. Such a team player, but I also suspected she liked getting a rise out of Robin. Those two were perfect for each other. If he made it through this without murdering anyone, I’d be surprised.

  We scoped out the area for a while. Maleficent opted to hang back until the end. If we ended up in dire circumstances she would intercede, but for now her presence would be our ace in the hole. Magic users met untimely ends around Naomi, and if this all went to hell in a handbasket, we were all going to die anyway so Maleficent didn’t mind jumping in then.