The Cindy Chronicles: The Complete Set

by RaShelle Workman

  Mizrabel pulled me into a hug. “Yes, I’m sure.” She looked into my eyes. “Please know that I love you, so much. And I want to prove it to you. I want to show you how much you mean to me. Thank you for allowing me to try and make amends.”

  I was touched by her sincerity. “I’d like that,” I said, and meant it.

  “Good.” She kissed my forehead. A thick white mist swirled around us and we were suddenly back at Polly’s Paradise. Being so close, I longed to sink my feet in the soil, but I realized I wouldn’t have that need for much longer.

  “I’m ready,” she said softly. Her eyes glistened with unshed tears.

  I spoke the words Polly had said to me when she was dying. There was a shift and a pop.

  It’s happening, I thought, closing my eyes.

  A few seconds went by and I heard Mizrabel scream. That wasn’t right. I opened my eyes and watched in horror as she shriveled up into a prune. Her skin had turned a deep violet and was sinking in on itself.

  “What’s happening?” I asked, grabbing her by the arms. They broke off in my hands. Mizrabel screamed again. Her eyes searched mine.

  “I’m done for!” Her eyes rolled up into her head and then vanished, leaving twin black holes in her face.

  I screamed and dropped the petrified arms.

  “Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh.” I was hyperventilating.

  A final breath escaped Mizrabel’s body. It lay motionless and charred on the green grass. Dark roots rose from out of the ground, wrapped themselves around her body, and pulled it into the earth.

  I was horrified.

  This was my fault.

  I’d killed my mother.

  “I’m so sorry.”

  Hook

  Tears soaked the ground in front of me. It didn’t matter that I hadn’t really known or even liked Mizrabel. The fact that I’d watched her die a horrible death would haunt me until the end of my days.

  “I’m sorry,” I whispered and sank into the ground, needing the security of the dirt for comfort.

  There was a rustling of branches and Philippe Hook appeared on the edge of Polly’s Paradise.

  I wasn’t in the mood to speak with anyone. “Go away.” The words came out ruder than I intended. He’d been nice. He’d tried to help me. “Please, just leave,” I said, sounding kinder.

  He shook his head and pulled the patch from his eye. It was golden and shaped like that of… “Abernathy?” I asked, shocked. “Is it really you?”

  A chuckle rumbled deep in his chest as he changed before my eyes to the dragon I’d come to rely upon.

  “It is,” he said once he’d transformed completely.

  “What? Why?” I burrowed deeper into the earth, realizing it was the only place that felt safe, that I could trust.

  “I’ve told you I’m many things in many places. Hook is one of my many personas. I’m especially popular with that persona in,” he paused and laughed before continuing, “Neverland.”

  I closed my eyes. “As in Peter Pan and the Lost Boys? That Neverland?”

  He chuckled again. “Oui. Though I usually wear a hook on one hand when I’m cruising around on my ship.”

  “What about the part of the story where it’s said you’re afraid of a crocodile? You are a dragon first and foremost, aren’t you? That seems… strange?”

  Abernathy roared. “Not if you knew the blasted thing. She’s my nemesis.”

  “You mean she loves you,” I cooed. If it would’ve been another time I might have laughed out loud. But my head and my heart hurt. I wondered if my life would ever get back to some semblance of stability.

  He lay down in front of me and rested his giant head on his paws. Twin plumes of smoke rose from his nostrils. “I told you only a person with a pure heart can take your place as the Heart.” He let out a humming sound when he breathed. It was surprisingly relaxing. “Mizrabel may have had an ounce or two of purity buried inside, somewhere, but she was mostly evil. I think you know that.”

  I nodded. “I hoped…” I pulled off the beautiful dress Quilla had made for me and tossed it into a pile. Then I sank my body up to my shoulders in the ground. “It’s just that she offered. She wanted to do it.” A sob escaped. “She said it was her way of showing me she cared.”

  Abernathy grumbled. “Mizrabel was a strange woman. We rarely saw eye to eye when we were together.”

  “You and Mizrabel were a-a couple?” I was shocked by that information.

  He smiled, flashing his sharp teeth. “Not in this form or that of Stryker. But as Hook, yes, we were together. Briefly. Very briefly.”

  My mouth suddenly went dry. I could feel the beating of my heart in the soil around me. There could only be one reason he was sharing this information. Abernathy wasn’t a dragon of many words.

  “Why are you telling me this?” I asked, trying to swallow but unable to.

  “Haven’t you wondered how magic came so easily to you?”

  “No, not really.” I shook my head. I wanted to bury myself in the earth. All this time. He’d been around all this time and never said anything. Damn.

  “What about how my spells, the ones in my book? Weren’t you ever curious about why they would come to your mind so effortlessly?”

  It was well past midnight, but a burst of light flickered in front of me. It was bright like noonday. When the light faded, I saw Gabe standing there.

  “What the hell?” Was tonight Let’s Torture Cinderella Night? “Go away, Gabe. Please. I don’t know why you’re here, but I don’t want to fight. I can’t…” Tears streamed down my face.

  Gabe

  “Cindy,” he whispered and kneeled beside me. He was wearing jeans and a green tee shirt, the color of his eyes. “Please don’t be sad. It hurts too much to watch you be sad.” He tucked his hands under my arms, lifted me out of the dirt, and sat me in his lap. A dress of lily petals appeared over the important parts of my body—thank goodness.

  I let him hold me.

  “Gabe, what brings you to Polonias?” Abernathy asked, shaking his head, sending scales flying in every direction.

  “I felt Cindy’s pain and I had to come,” he answered, keeping his eyes on me.

  “Humpf.” Abernathy turned his head away and closed his eyes. “Wake me when you’re done playing with the angel.”

  I couldn’t help but smile. “I’m sure you’re busy. You didn’t need to come.”

  “Actually I did. Since the last time we saw each other I’ve been doing a lot of thinking.” He held me to him more tightly. “I’ve made a lot of mistakes. I’ve been a terrible chayot leader, a horrible boyfriend, and a nonexistent friend.”

  I touched a hand to his chest, feeling the rhythmic beating of his heart. “Maybe those things are true, but I know for a fact that everything you did, you did with good reason.”

  Gabe snorted. “Yeah, I guess.”

  “It’s true,” I reiterated, touching his cheek.

  “I appreciate you saying that. It means a lot.” He closed his eyes and leaned his chin on my head. We stayed like that for several minutes... until Abernathy started to snore.

  Gabe and I both laughed.

  “How does he do it?” Gabe asked.

  “Do what?”

  He touched my face and tilted my head to face him. “It doesn’t matter. I came here for a reason and I can’t put it off any longer.”

  I gulped. “Okay. Why?”

  “Like I said I’ve been doing some thinking, and I’ve come to realize that I haven’t been happy in a very long time.”

  I searched his serious features, wondering why he was telling me this.

  “Not since before Snow killed my father and I became the leader of the chayot,” he continued.

  That’d been more than three years. “That is a long time, Gabe. I’m sorry.”

  He pressed a finger to my lips. “You don’t owe me a single apology. It’s me who will be forever in your debt.” I tried to say something but he shushed me. “I should’v
e been there for you. I should’ve put you and our relationship first. I should’ve made more of an effort to show you how much I loved you.”

  I thought about his words. If he had shown me, would I have bothered to come to Polonias? Definitely not.

  “Gabe, you are who you are for a reason. I believe that. If you’d been more attentive, I wouldn’t have come to Polonias and this world would’ve died. I did what I had to do and I have you to thank for it.” I kissed his cheek.

  He squeezed his eyes shut. Tears lined his thick lashes. My heart went out to him. “I know,” he said gruffly. “And because you’re here, I know where I’m supposed to be, too.”

  “You do?” I asked, thinking that was strange.

  “Yes.” He shrugged. “For the past year I’ve been dreaming of myself buried in the earth. I always woke feeling so peaceful, so rested, like that was where I belonged, and when I woke I felt sad.” He glanced at the spot where I’d been burrowed in the earth. “I’m here to take your place, Cindy. I’m here to become the Heart so that you can be with the man you love.”

  As soon as he started talking, I began shaking my head. “No. No. No. No. No.” I jumped out of Gabe’s arms and went over to Abernathy, smacking him on the nose. “Did you do this? Did you tell him to come here? Isn’t it bad enough I just watched Mizrabel die? Now you want me to kill Gabe as well?” My face heated with anger. “What the hell is wrong with you? Both of you?” I stomped over to Gabe. “You better get the hell out of my world and don’t ever come back.”

  Gabe stood. His mouth hung open. He glanced at Abernathy, whose eyes were two slits of gold dust.

  “Don’t look at him. He can’t help you now. I get to choose to be the Heart or not. And I will not ever pass on this burden to another soul. Ever!” I sat down and crossed my arms and my legs. “Both of you go. Now, before I do something drastic.”

  Gabe held his arms out in front of him. “Don’t you see?” he began in a whisper, “I can’t go. I am where I’m meant to be. I know that now.” He kneeled next to me. “And I won’t die. My heart is pure. As a chayot it’s all I can have.”

  I glared at him. My mind raced over the many things he’d said and done over the years. “You’re full of it. What would your boss say if you did this? Wouldn’t he go all wrathy on your hide? Doesn’t he expect you to do his bidding?”

  Gabe closed his mouth and took a deep breath. “I’m allowed to choose how to live my life. I thought doing his bidding was where I could do the most good. That isn’t true. Taking your place… that’s what I’m supposed to do.”

  I pulled on my hair, sick to death inside because I was considering his words. It would solve my problems. But I wasn’t going to sacrifice him. It wasn’t right. Go!” I bellowed the last word with more gusto than I believed I possessed.

  He put his hands on my shoulders. “No,” he said so quietly, I barely heard. “I can’t. I am where I’m meant to be.”

  “Then who will lead the chayot?” I asked, wishing there was something I could do to make him stop. I looked over at Abernathy. He’d gone back to sleep.

  A wisp of a smile passed over Gabe’s lips. “It’s already been handled. I’ve turned over the mantle of leadership to its rightful owner. I’ve talked to my brothers and Professor Pops. I’ve even had a conversation with Snow. This is the right thing to do. I know it as surely as I know I love you.” His eyes tore into me. “Please. Please allow me to do this.” Gabe caressed my cheeks and leaned in.

  I grabbed his face and kissed him with all the pent up sadness and love and anger and hate and longing I felt for him. He kissed me back forcefully, pushing my mouth open and deepening the kiss. The feelings within changed and I no longer felt any of the ache, any of the hurt. There was only understanding and a deep, abiding love for him. Not the same kind of love I felt for Leo; that was a once in a lifetime love, but I did love Gabe and always would.

  After several minutes, I pulled away, breathless.

  “Please, Cinderella,” he pleaded.

  Gabe saying my true name caught me off guard, and I sucked in my breath.

  “It’s what I’m meant to do. It’s who I’m meant to be.”

  I glanced at Abernathy. He was absolutely no help.

  “Okay,” I said.

  Gabe rocked back on his heels and then pulled me to my feet. “Change me now. Right away. I’m ready.”

  It seemed so fast. My head swam with worries, but I placed my hands on his chest and said the words Polly had said to me. A bright light passed from my hands and into Gabe. His eyes grew wide and the two of us sank into the earth. We wrapped our arms and legs around each other, entwined as though two roots of the same tree.

  The feelings within were of bliss and contentment, and I realized I could stay with him like this forever.

  And I almost decided to do that.

  Until Leo’s face came into my mind. The way he smiled. The twinkle in his eyes. The way he spoke to me, like I was the most important person in the world. Leo had treated me like a queen long before I ever knew I might become one.

  Leo was my everything. And I wanted him back.

  I patted my hand against Gabe’s cheek. “Thank you, Gabe,” I said.

  He didn’t move and I knew he wouldn’t for a while. Becoming the Heart took time, but I also knew he was okay. And he was right. This was where he was meant to be. I felt the changes, the strength in the earth, in the world itself. Polonias needed Gabe as much as Gabe needed Polonias.

  I pulled myself from the ground and shook off the soil.

  Abernathy was still there, seemingly asleep. I touched him gently on the nose. “Take me to Leo, Abernathy. Please.”

  His eyes popped opened and he smiled. “Merde,” he said in a French accent. “It’s about time.”

  Witch Mists

  Abernathy changed into Stryker. He lifted me into his and carried me into the Witch Mists. It was a gray place filled with smoke and fog and hazy blandness. As we moved through it I heard the cries and moans of those living within the realm, but it wasn’t that scary.

  “Why did you bring Leo here if you knew what Lawson had done?” I asked quietly so as not to disturb those roaming the mists.

  “When you’ve been alive as long as I have you begin to realize that things happen for a reason. Just because I could’ve kept him free of this place doesn’t mean it was the right thing to do. Sometimes we go through hardships so that we can appreciate the beautiful times.”

  “I guess,” I said and clamped my mouth shut. But after a few minutes I had another question. The question. It was time to ask it. I had to be brave. “Are you my father?” I finally asked. His large hood covered his frightening face and I was grateful. Stryker really was the scariest of the forms he changed into.

  “Yes, I suppose I am, Cinderella.”

  He spoke the words so blatantly, without a smidgen of remorse. I wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry. I was completely blown away.

  “And you were okay with Mizrabel sending me away. I guess with all those worlds and realms to dwell in, taking care of a daughter would’ve just been a nuisance.” I gritted my teeth to hold back the biting hurt and anger I felt. Neither of my real parents had wanted to deal with me.

  “Cinderella,” he said kindly. “I don’t expect you to understand, but I can see how you would take what I did that way.” He stopped and set me down. “Truthfully I knew you would be better off with a human family. I selected Salem and your mom and dad for a reason. And I was never far away.”

  I stared at my feet, unable to look at him while he was in the shape of a demon. “I know,” I finally said.

  I heard the smile force itself onto his demon face. That would’ve been a chilling sight, one I’m glad I didn’t see. There was a flash of light and the ground shook. I looked up, expecting to find that he’d changed into his dragon shape or even that of Hook. Instead a gray cat sat stoically on the ground, his tail curled around his paws.

  “No way.” I rushed forwar
d and scooped him up. “It can’t be.” I heard myself laugh in surprise. “You’re Gatsby too.”

  He began to purr and rubbed the top of his head against my chin.

  “But then why not be my cat instead of Snow’s?”

  He looked at me and blinked several times.

  Finally I understood. He would’ve been in my room when I was doing things with boys or changing or… “Okay, I get it,” I said and shuddered. It was still gross to think he’d been in Snow’s room. “You’re a perv.”

  He meowed and licked my chin. His scratchy tongue tickled and I laughed.

  “Cinderella? Is that you?”

  Happily Ever After

  I turned toward the sound of my name. It was Leo. He walked toward me, totally gray like the rest of this realm.

  “Is it really you?” I asked, setting the cat down and running into Leo’s outstretched arms.

  “You tell me?” he asked with a happy smirk.

  I searched his face. It was him.

  “Where’s Lawson? Mizrabel turned him into a mouse.” I said, excitedly. “And where’s your father?”

  “They are both here, although Lawson is no longer a mouse. When Mizrabel died, all of her curses were broken.” He stroked my cheek. “Stryker has them working in the mines. It seems the demon is looking for a particular piece of gold and won’t let them rest until it’s found.” Leo chuckled. “Personally I don’t think the piece of gold he insists is down there even exists. But it’ll keep them busy.”

  I laughed. “It’s so good to hear your voice, to see you.” I stood on my tiptoes and buried my face in his neck. “I’m so sorry, Leo. So very sorry.” I swallowed back the sob in my throat. “I was an idiot. I shouldn’t have made the choice without asking…”

  He stopped me by covering my lips with his. I wrapped my arms around his neck and then let them run into his thick hair. He lifted me into his arms and I wrapped my legs around his hips.