Ashes to Ashes

by M. J. Padgett

  Jemma emerged from behind Ella and Marcus lunged forward, catching Ella’s hand just enough to force her to drop the sword. Jemma leaped onto her back as Seline bit into her ankle. Ella shrieked, and Heidi ran toward Calla as I ran to my sister.

  I fell beside her on the ground, but she pushed away from me.

  I’ll be fine. Marcus dropped the dagger in his attack on Ella! You must find it!

  I glanced around and saw it lying several feet away, glistening in the afternoon sunlight. I shifted to human form and thrust my entire body toward it, barely getting my fingers on it. I heard a commotion behind me and rolled in time to see Marcus lunge at Ella again, keeping her from driving the sword right through me. I scrambled to my feet, narrowly avoiding getting trampled by soldiers trading blows beside me. A Salien Royal Guardsmen fell against the castle wall. His opponent was prepared to stab him with his sword. I didn’t think, I only reacted.

  I stabbed his attacker in the gut with the dagger, and it immediately warmed, growing hotter until I couldn’t bear to hold it any longer. I jerked the blade free to find the ruby on the handle glowing brightly. In an instant, the light dulled, and the man fell.

  “Th-thanks... that was... what was that?” the guardsman asked.

  “No idea,” I said, breathless.

  “Watch out!” he shouted, then shoved me aside. He thrust his sword through the troll that advanced on me, then merged back into the battle.

  The others had recovered and were searching for Ella, who had evidently pulled another disappearing act. The castle grounds and town square were awash with blood. The acrid, metallic smell hung heavy in the air as it did in the forest. But there was something else, something more. I turned my attention to the horizon and found Ella, but I also saw the blaze she’d started. She lit the forest on fire as Heidi did, but she didn’t care to control it. The flames licked at the treetops and spread swiftly along the dried pine needles on the forest floor. The fire rushed toward the castle, eating everything in its path.

  Heidi appeared to my right, a few yards away, but even if I hadn’t seen her, I would have known she was at work. The pressure grew, and the thunder clapped high above the clouds. The storm gathered, greater and greater until it spurred little tornados. Heidi pushed her hands forward, and the tornados began sucking up the burning trees just as the rains came.

  The cobblestone paths throughout the square were already soaked with blood, but now they were washed with rivers of it flowing toward the empty moat. There must be a better way. People were dying all around me, but I couldn’t figure out what to do. Most of the villagers and soldiers were probably forced into servitude, perhaps spelled to fight in Ella’s name, and slaughtering them didn’t feel right. But what to do?

  By now the wolves were scattered, taking on trolls and soldiers, doing all they could to protect their own guardsmen. Heidi and Ella traded blows, topping each other with feats of defying nature. It was all out Armageddon. We needed help—more magic. We needed another witch. I couldn’t believe I hadn’t thought of it before, but with the curse broken and my memories returned, my mother and aunt were probably somewhere in the castle.

  Cecily had recovered and came to my side, panting heavily. Jemma was glued to her, and both followed me back into the castle. I tucked the dagger in my belt and jogged through the halls. Neither wolf had a clue what I was looking for, but they followed all the same.

  “Mother!” I screamed. “Auntie Clara!”

  The girls began running ahead, searching the rooms for our missing mothers. When I entered a dingy room at the end of a lonely hallway, I found what I’d been looking for. It was there, a gilded birdcage that stood several feet tall, wide with two pedestals large enough for pigeons to rest. The room was dusty and long-forgotten, which made me fear our mothers were dead.

  Outside, the war raged on but through the usual sounds of battle I heard the telltale rumbling of Heidi’s earthquakes. I ran to an open balcony that overlooked the courtyard. Sure enough, Heidi was walking toward Ella with determination. With each footfall, the earth shook. Beyond her, over the hills, I could see more trolls descending on the castle. From the other direction, south from Schwarzwald, more soldiers. The war would never end, not this way.

  I felt a hand rest on my shoulder and spun around, snatching the dagger from my belt as I did. I’d never been trained to fight, only to take what was coming and survive, but now, now I wouldn’t go down without a fight.

  “Easy, it’s only me,” Cecily said, then, “We found them.” Her somber voice told me the news was bad.

  I followed her out of the room to another down the hall. Once inside, I could barely breathe. There, on a pedestal of gold, Cinderella had petrified our mothers. The two stone birds appeared scared, the horror forever etched on their tiny stone faces. One was caught mid-flight while the other was drawn back in fear. I’d become so accustomed to pain and loss over the years, it hardly bothered me. I had memories of my mother and my aunt, but they were so far removed from my present mind that I couldn’t bring myself to tears over the loss.

  Jemma stood in front of them silently crying while Cecily tried to comfort her. Perhaps Jemma, who’d had a much better life than we had, still held out hope that she could have a mother again. I, on the other hand, was much more concerned with being a mother. I’d mourn them another day.

  “Saskia!” I heard my father shouting from a distance.

  I spun around and rushed out to meet my father, not wishing him to see his wife in such a condition. Cecily and Jemma were close behind, and we met him near the end of the hall. He fell to his knees in relief.

  “My girls, there you are. We must hurry. Heidi and Ella... they... they’re tearing the forest apart. It’ll reach Schwarzwald soon.”

  I was right. The battle had gone on too long, and the price was too high. We ran toward the open end of the castle, but all fell to the ground as Heidi’s earthquakes began again. Our own soldiers were losing ground, falling all over one another with each rattle of the earth. In that was my answer. Ella didn’t care about her armies. She could easily make more minions to serve her, but the people of Schwarzwald were brave and honorable. Their kingdom loved them, and they fought to the death to protect their people. If the power of wills between the two witches continued, Schwarzwald would be without an army, free for the taking. All Ella had to do was wait it out.

  I regained my footing and pulled the dagger from my belt again. Once the shaking stopped, I ran toward the dueling witches.

  “Saskia!” I heard my father scream, but just as he put one foot down to chase me, the earth split open and shifted, breaking the battlefield into two sides—his and mine.

  He stopped short, narrowly avoiding a deadly fall. Cecily and Jemma, however, sailed over the opening and landed on four paws before rushing to my side. I knew I was vulnerable in human form, but it was the only way I could achieve my goal. We dodged fighting soldiers, and Cecily paused to cut down a troll in our path before we reached the two witches.

  Ella kept lighting fires, and Heidi kept blowing things up, then drowning the mess in waves. Trolls continued to descend while more soldiers filled the fields surrounding the castle. It felt like slow motion advancing on Ella, but it was only a second before I was on top of her. She threw me off like a rag doll, and I landed hard on my hip. Of course, the dagger sailed through the air and landed several feet away. Ella was distracted by it, so Cecily pounced. She caught Ella by the arm and shook her off-balance, but she steadied herself and flung my sister into the crumbled heap of the stone wall that once surrounded the castle.

  Before Cecily landed, Jemma took her turn at the evil queen. She flung herself at the woman but suffered the same fate as my sister. Both were back on their feet for round two in seconds, giving me enough time to chase down the dagger. Heidi paused her magical displays, unable to focus her energy on Ella while the three of us were so close.

  Heidi was angry and yelled, “Back away!”

  “No! Look
around you!” I screamed over the raging war. “You’ll destroy everything these poor people have! This is not the way! She’s forcing you toward Schwarzwald, Heidi!”

  Like a light switching off, Heidi stopped in her tracks and took in the scene. My remarks had too profound an effect on her. She fell to her knees weeping, shocked when she took stock of what she had done. Oh crap.

  Ella took advantage of the situation and lit the forest ablaze again, putting every soldier in the fields surrounding the castle in danger. I lunged at her, but it did no good. She disappeared and reappeared on the other side of the square, leaving me to cross through the fight to get to her. She cackled, and it was enough to put me over the edge.

  Heidi sat hunched over, weeping for her sins. The other wolves were tied up, but Cecily and Jemma were still with me and ready to fight. They ran ahead of me, clearing a path through the fighters, tossing them this way and that, biting them and taking them down. Our own soldiers moved aside, grateful to move on to the next task. When I grew near, Ella flickered but remained where she stood. A look of shock took over her face, and she flashed again.

  I glanced around, trying to see what was causing her to lose power so quickly. Heidi was standing again, Calla by her side. Rather than tear the world down around us, Heidi focused her magic on blocking Ella’s. She barely had a hold on the powerful witch, but it was enough. I ran toward Ella prepared to end her life—then my world went black.

  “Hurry! Run faster!” Julian screamed at me.

  I rushed toward the river where the beast would lose our scent. I fell into the ice-cold water, then waded across the border into Schwarzwald. We still had to get across the kingdom and back to Goldene Stadt before Father noticed we were missing. Why I followed my brother to Das Unbekannte was beyond me, but I did, and now I was running for my life.

  Julian fell in behind me and pushed me across. Once on the bank, he quickly lifted himself out of the river and pulled me out behind him.

  “Run, keep going,” he whispered. “Don’t stop until you reach the border of our homeland.”

  I started to run but noticed Julian was not behind me. “Are you coming?”

  “Yes, I’ll be just after you. Go on!”

  I did as my brother instructed but didn’t get far. My brother roared and ran back toward the beast. I screamed, but I needn’t have bothered. My brave brother dispatched the creature with one swift cut of his blade.

  “Wake up! What is wrong with you?” Cecily’s screams ripped me from whatever memory had decided to emerge at the worst possible moment. I thought they had all surfaced at once, but I was wrong.

  “Sierra! Get up!” Cecily pulled on my arms and put me in a seated position as Jemma and Heidi fought to keep Ella down.

  Heidi’s energy was weakening, and Ella’s flickering was becoming less pronounced. Any moment she would be able to disappear, regaining her strength completely. I had to attack while I still had the chance.

  “Go!” I shouted to Cecily, who shifted and took off toward Ella.

  Jemma had a tight hold on the queen’s arm, and try as she may, Ella couldn’t shake her. Cecily leaped through the air and caught Ella’s shoulder tight in her jaws. She pulled the woman to the ground, but Ella retained enough of her strength to shove her away, then Jemma. The girls were relentless and grabbed her again, pulling and tugging as hard as they could. I was waiting for my moment. As soon as Ella’s chest was clear, I’d go in for the kill.

  Unfortunately, Heidi lost her hold over Ella, and things went downhill. Ella flicked her wrist, and both Cecily and Jemma flew, landing several yards away. Ella set her sights on me, the human holding the very thing she wanted more than anything in the world. The Siphon-Dolch would give her limitless power, and I was useless in human form. I considered shifting, but then I wouldn’t be able to stab her. I’d be right back at square one.

  As I pondered my predicament, she grew nearer. Just as I decided to shift, to take a step back and regroup, a shadow fell over me. Terror registered on Ella’s face as the incoming wolf soared over my head and tackled her to the ground. It seized her by the throat and shook her violently, pinning her helplessly beneath it. The wolf was enormous, nearly twice my size. The pack varied in size, but none were as large as the behemoth that held Cinderella at its mercy. Its coloring was odd, like nothing I’d seen before. Its golden fur glistened under the sunlight as it shook. I wanted to observe the wolf longer, but there were more important things to attend.

  Ella flailed against him, but she was powerless. Cecily and Jemma bit her flailing arms and pinned her properly, and the large wolf moved to the side to allow me access to Ella’s chest. I approached and straddled the sociopathic woman, but it hardly seemed like a fair fight. The golden wolf gazed into my eyes with familiar chocolate ones, then released his grip on Ella. She sputtered, blood dribbling from her mouth.

  She stared me in the eye with a look of pure evil. “I wish upon the death of me, your happy reunions—”

  I stabbed the dagger deep into her chest, piercing her heart through and through. “Sorry, Ella, no one’s granting final wishes today.”

  She screamed with what little energy she had left, then went limp under me. Cecily and Jemma released their grip on her arms, and they fell to her side. The ruby on the dagger handle began to glow, and all around us, a swirling light grew brighter until it was blinding. People all around screamed in pain as the white lights pulled from them, swirled, and darted until they reached their destination—the Siphon-Dolch. The dagger absorbed the light like a sponge, sucking it up until the air was once again clear and quiet.

  The silence was deafening after hours of intense battle, but no one dare speak a word. Ella was dead as dead could be beneath me, but I was terrified to pull the dagger from her heart. Cecily and Jemma shifted as did the Saliens. Heidi stood stock still taking in the damage she’d caused. All around us, the Royal Guardsmen breathed a sigh of relief. Then, a miracle happened. Ella’s army filled with villagers, even children, began to rise and look around at the destruction.

  “Wh-what happened?” one man asked. “I was milking my cow, then... what is all this? Why am I here, in the... where is the castle?” he practically shrieked, and it was then we realized they had no idea what they’d done. There was a good chance they didn’t know any time had passed, let alone fifteen centuries. The confusion was great, but Marcus was also a great leader. He and my father began helping people to their feet, gathering them together to explain what the evil Cinderella had done.

  “Well, that was... strange,” Cecily said.

  “Yeah, these poor people—” Something caught my eye in the distance. With the forest nearly cleared, the view to the top of the mountain was clear. I gasped when my eyes settled on the mysterious, shadowy figure. It was the woman I’d seen when Ella took Jack.

  “What is it?” Cecily asked. I turned to look at her and pointed to the top of the mountain, unable to voice my concern. I was afraid we were about to get hit with another battle, but when I looked back, the woman was gone.

  “What? I don’t see anything?”

  “She was... I’d swear...” I was beginning to think I’d imagined the woman altogether, but I remembered Jack saw her, too. My distraction was short-lived. Jemma approached nervously, glancing around as if something might jump out and grab her any moment.

  “Anyone else feel like... like what do we do now?” she asked, glancing nervously toward me.

  I nodded, then turned my attention back to the mountain once more. It was useless. Whatever or whoever the figure was, was long gone. So, I shifted my focus to the wolf that had saved us all. During the commotion caused by the dagger collecting Ella’s magic and the resulting confusion for the villagers, I’d almost forgotten about the mysterious wolf.

  He shifted and stood tall in front of us.

  “Jack?” I gasped while Cecily and Jemma stood in utter disbelief.

  He chuckled. “I think you mean Julian, and I’m sorry I’m late. I had t
his splitting headache that really sucked, then it took Ravenna a minute to enact the wolf spell, so—”

  “You remember? You remember everything?” Cecily asked, her voice almost pleading.

  “I remember everything, sister.” He smiled and opened his arms, collecting all three of us in his warm embrace. “It’s super-weird, I ain’t gonna lie, but I remember.”

  A thought occurred to me. “Wait, Ravenna had to enact the wolf spell? I’m confused, I mean, I know you said you never shifted on a full moon, but... what’s going on?”

  He took my hand in his, then reached down for the dagger. He yanked it from Ella’s chest, wiped it clean on his pants, and handed it to me.

  “Come on. Let’s go kiss your silly boyfriend, then I’ll tell you all about it.”

  Chapter Twenty

  “Hey, I could use a little help here!” Caleb’s calls gained our attention, but barely. I was absorbed with figuring out how my brother was not only there, but a wolf twice my size and such an odd coloring. There had to be some important meaning behind it.

  Jack jogged over to Caleb who was holding someone tightly.

  “Heidi!” I yelled when I got a better look, then bent to check her.

  “She’s okay, she just passed out,” Caleb said. “I could use some help to get her safely back to Schwarzwald.”

  Jack immediately hoisted Heidi over his shoulder and began carrying her back toward the castle in Schwarzwald. Jack’s appearance had always been deceiving, much stronger than one would think, but he moved Heidi like she weighed nothing more than a few ounces.

  “Well, now I feel like a little baby boy,” Caleb said, shaking his head.

  Jemma approached, distraught but still going through the motions. She sighed when she came to me, then said, “I think I’ll stay behind with the others for a while, try to sort through some of this mess. The villagers and soldiers are all so confused. No one has any idea what has happened so they won’t be much help in figuring out who this evilest evil is, but... well,” she said, then motioned around, “there’s still a lot of work to be done.”