The officer shook his head. “No fibers were found either. And the frame doesn’t look wiped down. We’re not sure what it all means yet.”
“I’ll tell you what it means. It means my son is missing and somewhere out there right now.” Mom’s voice grew shrill. “It means you need to go find him and bring him back to me.”
“We will do everything possible to make that happen,” the officer said. He pulled out a card. “Please call me with any questions, and we’ll be in touch.”
He was in a tough spot. There was nothing we wanted to hear from him, aside from “Here’s Cal, safe and sound.” And I knew he wouldn’t be able to say that.
Mom sighed after they left. “Well, I can’t sleep, but I’m going to go sit in his room a bit—see if there’s anything they missed.”
I flashed her a weary smile. “M’kay. Love you, Mom.”
“Love you too, sweetie.”
The sounds of Mom’s crying floated down the stairs. I’d never felt so utterly hopeless and heartbroken.
Jay scooted closer to me at the table and grabbed my hand. “God, I’m so sorry you’re going through all this. What do you think happened? I mean, it has to be related to Ava, right?”
I sighed. “I think so. It’s too coincidental.”
He nodded. “Any thoughts on how to get back there?”
“Not yet, but I need to make a call. Well, two calls actually. Give me a minute.”
First, I called Ava’s mom and lied. She didn’t answer—likely due to still being asleep from a hangover—and it was easier to lie to her voicemail than to her. I said that the party went really late and Ava had slept over but then said how Cal had disappeared. I didn’t have to fake the tears and told her that I really needed Ava to stay through the weekend and support me. I hung up, not believing how much pain I felt—if only Ava was curled up asleep in my bed, dreaming of the one cute prince in Liralelle.
Jay rubbed my arm. “At least that gives us two days to find her before her mom officially freaks out.”
I couldn’t even think about what would happen if we couldn’t save her. “Yeah, two days here, or however long that is in Liralelle. If I can get there … which brings up phone call number two.” I told him about the possible link between the company and Liralelle. I pulled up the phone number for the publishing company from their website.
“What are you going to say?” Jay asked.
“I have no idea.” I dialed the number. As expected, I got a recording instead of a live person.
You have reached Maleficent Publishing House, Inc. For general inquiries, please push one; to leave a message, push two; for directory assistance, push three; for other assistance, push four.
Since I was sure my needs fell into the “other” category, I went with option four. After a pause and several clicks, a clipped voice appeared on the other end. “Maleficient Publishing, Emily speaking, how may I be of assistance?”
I froze. I had no idea how Emily could be of assistance, unless she could deliver me to Liralelle and that was sure to come out wrong if I tried to explain.
A sharp huff came through the line. “Maleficent Publishing. Anyone there?”
I gulped. “Uh, y-yes, I’m looking for someone who can help me with some issues related to ...”
“Yes?” Her annoyance came through loud and clear.
Here went nothing. “With some issues related to um, Liralelle.”
Dead silence.
I spoke louder. “I said I need help with issues related to a place called Liralelle. Can someone there help me? Maybe someone that has worked with a person named, um, Her Highness, regarding the publication of some fairytales?” I sounded like a crazy person.
Jay put his head into his hands.
A long pause ensued. “Who is this?” The annoyance in her voice had changed to suspicion.
That was a great question and I wasn’t sure how to answer it. I didn’t want to give too much away. “A friend of Her Highness.”
A briefer pause came this time. “Hold please.”
Classical music poured through the line. I looked at Jay.
“What’s up?” he asked.
“I’m on hold. She hasn’t hung up though, so that’s good.”
The music stopped mid-note. A different female voice spoke. “Clarissa speaking. How exactly do you know Her Highness?”
“I ... I’ve worked for her in Liralelle. My name is Bree. I know about all the fairytales she sends you because I’m the one she hired to kill all those witches in the stories.”
Clarissa chuckled. It wasn’t a friendly chuckle. “Really? Because you sound like a girl to me, and those stories all involved princes.”
Good grief. I didn’t have time to give a lecture on the misogynistic nature of fairytales. “Trust me. It’s true.” I gave a brief account of my mercenary role in Liralelle. “But I need a way to get back to Liralelle because I haven’t finished one of the jobs she hired me for.”
“Well, good luck with that.” Clarrisa’s voice was cold and clear. “It’s not like we’ve ever been there. Her Highness comes to us when necessary, but she usually just sends her guard. Wouldn’t she come calling for you herself if she needed you?”
That’s how it used to work, but I wasn’t sure about anything anymore. I thought quickly. “She would if she could, but I think she’s in trouble herself. I’d been trying to help her when I accidentally ended up back here. I need to get back there.”
“How convenient for her,” Clarissa said. “She promised us a new fairytale—the best fairytale we’d ever seen. You’d think royalty could stick to a contract.”
What new fairytale was that? I couldn’t believe she’d had time for that with Muriel on the loose and girls dying. “Please, I just need to get back there. Can you help me or not?”
“No, I can’t help you. But if you see her, tell her that Queen or not, I expect her to meet her deadline—which is still tomorrow. Good bye.” A sharp click echoed in my ear.
I lowered the phone. That had been my last shot at getting to my brother and Ava. There was nothing else I could do. I slumped to the floor and cried.
13
Jay pulled the comforter up to my shoulders. The last thing I wanted to do was sleep, but he’d basically carried me up to my bed and insisted that I lay down. He touched my cheek with his finger. “Try to get some rest. I’ll be right downstairs on the couch.”
I stared at the walls of my room. I’d always felt safe here. The world of Liralelle had been a sometimes dangerous but separate world from mine. Now that the two worlds had blurred together, I didn’t feel safe anywhere. My mom must have fallen asleep in Cal’s room, because I didn’t hear anything.
I drifted off for a bit but woke with a start. Mid-afternoon light spilled through the curtains. I shot straight up in bed and sat very still. Something felt strange in the room. Air currents flowed over my arm yet the window was shut. A fast vibration hummed nearby.
The wall itself looked like it wavered, as the air in front of it undulated and started to glow. Nothing like this had ever happened before. The air slowly changed to a rotating formation. A small funnel appeared that ran from the ceiling to the floor, only it wasn’t one of the dark ones that usually came. This one was shimmery gold.
The golden tornado moved toward me but didn’t have the fierce winds of the darker one. I wanted to call out to Jay but stopped myself. Ava and Cal were already in peril. I couldn’t bring Jay back there and endanger his life too. I wanted him to live and go to Juilliard. I stood up on my bed and dove into the funnel, making a mental apology to Mom. She was going to have a serious meltdown when she realized I was gone too. I prayed that somehow the tunnel would bring me straight to Ava and Cal.
I opened my eyes, but I wasn’t in the familiar castle courtyard. In fact, I wasn’t anywhere I recognized. The room I’d landed in was dark and small. I’d hoped that the gold color of the tornado meant that Muriel had been defeated and Liralelle was free of evil. That C
al and Ava were together, safe and sound.
My eyes attempted to adjust to the lack of light. A slow, creaking sound came from across the room. I squinted and could just make out a stooped figure moving ever so slightly in the corner. Something glimmered near their head. They reached out and a gas lamp flared to life on a tiny table.
Muriel sat in a wicker rocking chair. She continued rocking, the chair creaking with every movement. The air flew out of me as her watery eyes fixed on me. A crown sat on her head, which was what I’d seen shimmering in the dark. In her lap lay a scepter. They were almost identical to those of Her Highness. Except Muriel’s crown had one empty spot where the citrine stone should have been. I felt sick. She’d been the one in the woods with Helga. She had killed her. How she had a crown and scepter in the first place was beyond me. A crooked smile crossed her face. “Bree.”
My hand flew to where my sword should be but nothing was there. I was still in my normal clothes. None of the usual things had happened when I was called to Liralelle this time. I backed away from her and surveyed my surroundings.
It appeared to be a small cottage. Likely, the same one I’d seen right before Her Highness sent me away. I quickly scanned the room. A small table was to my right but the wall behind it was solid as was the wall behind me. There was a window on the wall opposite me, but Muriel was in front of it. One door was visible to the left of me. If I ran really fast, I could probably make it. While I had no idea exactly where it went, I figured anywhere away from Muriel was a good start. My heart pounded in my chest.
“Go on, child.” She raised her bony finger toward the door.
Maybe it was a trap. I hesitated a second before deciding I’d risk it. I darted toward the door and flung it open. It led to a small grassy area, and beyond it laid the forest. If I could just get to the trees, I had a chance of hiding from her.
As I stepped outside, Evan raced past me. I’d have thought he was running for his life too, except for the laughter. How could he find this funny?
“I’m going to catch you, Evan.”
My heart dropped at the sound of his voice. I turned, and Cal ran toward us, churning his legs to catch up to Evan.
“Cal!” My voice squeaked as I called his name, and he veered toward me and hugged me. I picked him up and squeezed him to me. “Are you okay?”
Cal looked up at me with his big trusting eyes. “Sure. This place is neat. Muriel came to my room inside a gold tornado and brought me here ... how cool is that? She said you’d be here soon.” He grabbed my hand. “You said the magic in my fairytale book wasn’t real, but it is!”
I still didn’t understand why we were here. I swiveled to find Muriel in the doorway, watching us with that crooked smile and those milky eyes. “Where are we? Why did you take Cal?”
Muriel tapped the scepter against the ground. She hobbled out a few steps, using it as a walking stick.
I gripped Cal tighter. “I didn’t say to come near me. I said I wanted an explanation.”
Evan trotted over to me and placed a hand on my arm. “It’s okay. Just listen to her.”
Had everyone gone crazy? Cal squirmed until I let him down, but I kept his hand firmly in mine.
“Why don’t we go back inside?” Muriel asked. “My legs don’t work the way they used to, and the boys can play out here.”
“If you think I’m letting Cal out of my sight again, you’re crazy. You’re a murderer and a kidnapper and I’m supposed to care about your legs?” I pulled Cal backwards with me.
Muriel sighed. “Very well, we’ll do it here.” She used the scepter to lower herself in the grass. “I doubt I’ll ever be able to get up again though.”
If her physical ailments were real, we would have no problem escaping into the woods. I glared at her. “Start talking, and don’t forget the part where you tell me where Ava is.”
Muriel looked up into the sky and shook her head. “I didn’t kill your family, child. I tried to save them. Your parents were too far gone, there was nothing I could do. But your brother ...”
I remembered his little lifeless eyes as his body laid limp on the floor.
“I saw him, Muriel. He was dead.”
Muriel nodded slowly. “Yes, he was. But not for as long as your parents. I was trying to bring him back when you came in. That’s why I couldn’t go after you when you ran away—I didn’t have much time. It was difficult but I was able to do it.”
Shock and disbelief ran through me. “My brother’s alive?”
“‘Course. I’m right here, silly,” Cal said. He tried to pull away from me to play with Evan again.
Evan gently touched my arm. “Yes, I’m alive. I just found all this out too. That’s why you looked familiar the first time I saw you but I was so young then.”
I stared at him slack-jawed. Evan was my brother? It still didn’t make sense. I thought back to how young I was when I’d found him on the floor. Being young didn’t mean my memory was wrong, and Evan’s hair and eye color were different than I remembered.
Muriel seemed to read my thoughts. “You think I can bring someone back from the dead, but changing hair color would be a challenge?”
I looked from Evan to Muriel. “But why?”
“To disguise him. He was dead as far as everyone in Liralelle knew. I changed a few of his features, then left him with the folks who agreed to take him in and keep his identity a secret. Good people they are. He was safer that way. It’s the same reason I brought Cal here. He was no longer safe in your world.”
Evan stared at me. “I never knew what happened to you. You were just gone, and Mom and Dad were gone, and bam—I end up with new parents. No one could tell me anything about you.”
Muriel’s shoulders sagged. “I didn’t know. I thought she’d met the same end as your parents ... until I recently heard about this warrior, Bree. My hunch turned out to be right.”
Cal tugged at my arm. “Come on. This is boring. I want to play with my new brother.”
Evan smiled at me. “Cal’s great. Muriel has a lot more to tell you, so why don’t I play tag with him a bit? We’ll stay right over here.” He hugged me. “I’m so glad we found each other.”
I nodded but still didn’t know if I could trust what I was hearing. “But stay close. As in, not more than fifty feet away close.”
Cal immediately jumped up and tagged Evan’s hand. “You’re it!” He took off running, then hesitated and asked Evan how far fifty feet was.
My world felt like it had been turned upside down. Things I thought I’d known for sure weren’t true. My brother, who I’d seen dead with my own eyes, wasn’t dead. Muriel, who I’d seen hovering over his body, hadn’t killed him and might not be the most evil witch in existence after all.
Which brought up another question. I turned to face her. “If you didn’t kill my family, then who did?”
Her face creased into a frown. “My sister, I’m sad to say. I know her as Gertrude. I believe you know her as Her Highness.”
14
The woman who’d killed my family had hired me to take out the one person who’d known she was guilty. Her Highness had contracted with me to kill her own sister. I felt sick thinking about all the money I’d taken in payment from her. Blood money.
I blinked back tears. “But why did she want us dead? Why didn’t she kill me?”
Muriel scooted over to me and patted my hand. It took everything I had not to jerk my hand away from her bony one. “My guess is she would have, had you been there that day. When she had more time to think about it, she realized you could be useful to her later. The earlier jobs she gave you were training for me. She knew you’d want revenge, and that would help kill two birds with one stone so to speak.” She smiled weakly. “And you’re the second bird. After killing me, she would have called you back and killed you too.”
I couldn’t believe I’d been so gullible all this time. No wonder she’d promised to deliver the greatest fairytale of all time. “But that doesn’t answer
the why part about killing my family.”
“Evan ... Prince Evan stood to inherit the throne when he came of age. Her Highness has no intention of ever giving up her spot as Queen. Not that she was even supposed to be Queen anyway. I’m older than her by a year. My crown and scepter were handed down to me from my mother. When she had her own commissioned to look like mine, I thought it was a case of petty jealousy. Until our parents died, and she claimed control of the throne.” Muriel sighed and brushed a wiry gray hair from her face. “I never wanted power anyway and didn’t want to fight her so I left to live in nature. Seems over time, most people forgot Gertrude ever had a sister…including Gertrude.”
Cal’s shrieks of laughter pierced the air as Evan gave him a piggyback ride around the grass.
“But how could Evan inherit the throne? He’s not really a prince. Our mom and dad weren’t royalty.”
Muriel looked down. “No, they weren’t. But you may well know that the King has always had a hankering for women other than his wife. Especially young, pretty ones. I heard he and his guards were out hunting on horseback one day and came across your mother picking berries. He took her by force while his guards stood by and watched. Your father found her crawling home, battered and bloody. She told him what happened but made him promise not to do anything for fear they’d be killed or banished from Liralelle. Not long after that, she discovered she was with child.”
It was difficult to stomach that Evan was the result of the King sexually assaulting my mom. I turned to watch Evan grin and dodge away from Cal’s attempts to tag him. Cal’s face was pink and sweaty as he raced after Evan again. That kid never gave up.
“He knows,” Muriel said. “But he also knows he got all your mom’s goodness. He’s nothing like that horrid man.”
It still didn’t totally fit together. I faced Muriel. “The Queen found out about it, I’m assuming, but I don’t get how he was a threat to her though. Even if she didn’t want an heir to take over the throne, it’s not like she can be Queen forever. She has to die at some point.”
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