“No!” Sam screamed, grabbing the railing bars. “Jump! I order you to jump!”
But it was too late. The wolves reached Flick. More swarmed out of the forest, dragging their unconscious friends with him—victims of the wraiths.
There was no opportunity for any of them to jump into the river and follow us. Not with a raging dwarf in the way, swinging his pickaxe with all the precision of an expert gold miner.
Flick single-handedly gave us the opportunity to escape.
“Bring her up here!” the captain barked. I turned around—two sailors were dragging a gray-haired woman up the stairs. A heavy rope was tied around her body, binding her arms. She was wearing an old gray dress, the perfect kind of dress for a wicked step-mother to wear: no style, all drab.
The sailor manning the steering wheel glanced down and glared. But her look didn’t even come close to Sam’s; I put a hand on his shoulder, ready to squeeze and hold him back if he lunged for her.
“Uh … is she … you know … Corrupted?” Seth asked.
The captain nodded. “Caught her trying to sneak up on our ship. So one of the gals wrapped her up in a rope. Thought you might want some answers.”
The sailor dropped her on the deck. “Get away from me!” she spat, kicking at the floorboards and scooching up against the railing. She tried getting on her feet, but without the assistance from her arms she simply plopped right over onto the deck. The captain guffawed, grabbing the rope and pulling her upright. I recognized her: the wrinkly old step-mother who’d run the Orphanage of Doom. The one who’d been searching so desperately for the Juniper Tree. Deep, black lines cracked across her face. Her eyes were sunken, her lower jaw trembling like she was holding back the temptation to bite us.
“Where’s Agnim?” I asked. She looked up at me and smiled a crooked smile. A total evil-step-mother smile. I drew my sword and pointed the glowing blue tip at her nose. “Speak or die. Or … I mean, speak or turn unconscious.”
“You have no power here, hero,” the step-mother said. She cackled furiously, frothing at the mouth. Her black veins bulged on her forehead. “Agnim’s army will destroy Castle White and then we shall swarm east like a swarm of bees.”
“Dude, she totally said swarm twice.” Seth shook his head, drawing an arrow and placing it in his bow. He drew it back, pointing the arrow at her. “Free tip, lady: you can’t say stupid stuff and expect us to be intimidated.”
“You don’t frighten me,” she snapped. “Wipe away my Corruption … it doesn’t matter. Agnim will find me just as he will find the rest of you. He will not stop until this entire world is Corrupted.”
“There are fates worse than death,” Sam growled, walking over to the one of the coils of rope hanging on the railing. At the end of the rope was a rusty iron hook. Sam tossed it at my feet. “Get your answer out of her.”
“How?” I asked.
“By taking the hook,” he said, barely controlling his rage, “and smashing it on her foot.”
We all looked at him. Water splashed against the hull of the ship. The town of Riverend was gone—we’d turned a bend in the river, guided by the gentle current and one sail from each of the three masts.
No one spoke. They were waiting for me. Even Ahab, the freaking captain of the ship, was waiting for me. I felt my lip quiver a bit. How could I say no, after what Sam had just witnessed?
Because this step-mother had nothing to do with it. Not directly. And even if she had, you know deep down that it would be the wrong thing to do.
I raised my sword.
“Knock her out,” Sam said, “and there’s no telling when she’ll wake. She might not even remember anything.”
“I won’t torture her.”
“This isn’t the time to be humane, Alice!” Sam shouted, hands clenched into fists. “This is war!”
“War is the perfect time to be humane, Sam!”
“There’s no room for humanity here! Not in this place! Not now! Not with Agnim out there!”
“There’s always room for humanity, Sam!” I swung the sword at the step-mother, putting an extra ounce of energy into it for Flick. The spark blinded me and pushed my sword away from the step-mother’s body. I blinked a few times. She was unconscious, resting against the railing.
“I hope you have another brilliant plan,” Sam whispered. His breaths came out fast and hot; I knew exactly what he was going through. The anger he was feeling … he couldn’t dwell in that place for too long or it would consume him.
“You know what you’re feeling right now?” I asked him. “You’re feeling like a human being. Because that’s all you are in this place. All of you,” I added, nodding to the captain and the sailors. “You might have your own rules here, but you’re no longer something else.” I turned back to Sam. “I felt the same anger after Seth …” the words caught in my throat. I swallowed hard. “But it’s no excuse for sacrificing what makes us good.”
“But what are we gonna do?” Seth asked. “We don’t know where Agnim is. We don’t even know how to stop him.”
“He’s not west,” I said. “That means he has to be somewhere north. So we go north.”
“And then what?” Sam asked, doing an admirable job of at least quieting his voice a bit. “Fight Scar and his lions? Save the townsfolk he’s imprisoned?”
“The townsfolk?” Tom Thumb asked. “Wait now, what’s this? Why is one of Agnim’s minions imprisoning townsfolk instead of Corrupting them?”
We looked at each other. “Maybe he’s trying to figure out a way to eat them,” Seth offered.
Tom pressed a finger to his lips, hopping over the unconscious step-mother. “Logically, that makes no sense. There must be a reason. Does Agnim know about this?”
“It’s only whispers from refugees flooding into Snow White’s kingdom,” Sam snapped. “It could be entirely false. Or …”
“What is it?” I asked.
Sam’s eyes lit up. “Or they could have a very special prisoner.”
Chapter 12
Back at Castle White, the queen’s coterie of eleven princesses carefully laid out all of our chess pieces on a cloth map. There were six kingdoms: one to the west of Snow White’s, three to the north, one south and one east. Each of the armies was represented by corresponding wooden horses, each painted a different color.
Each of the princesses was dressed, well, differently. They wore knee-length white skirts and blue sleeveless shirts covered by chainmail and chest plates. Sheathed at each of their belts were two curved swords. They weren’t exactly dressed like they were waiting for the next prince to arrive.
“Technically, we should have the numbers,” Snow White said. “But when Agnim’s Corruption spread, he took over the northern kingdom of Castelear first. Then his henchman Scar invaded Windendale, where Seth and Flick escaped. Riverend fell to the west. And rather than lose anyone, Agnim simply Corrupted more and grew his army.” She took three red horses and put them on the drawing of Riverend. She put five on Castelear. “This only represents the towns themselves. There’s no telling for certain how Scar took over Castelear, although we’ve heard whispers of giants.”
“Drat,” Tom Thumb muttered. He was standing on the table, looking down at the horses that were nearly as tall as him. “I’d hoped they would be in a good mood. I mean to apologize to them for my past transgressions.”
Snow White gave him a grave look. “I would hold off on that until the Corruption is gone. At least then you might stand a chance of being forgiven.”
“What of the rumors?” Sam asked. He was standing on one of the chairs and had smushed three of them together so he could move from one side of the large map to the other, examining it. He looked anxious. Anxious and calculating.
“We’ve gathered all of the rumors about Scar that we could find,” said the red-haired princess. She looked to her sisters. “We can’t verify what’s true or not. All of it is hearsay.”
“Then tell us everything.”
“Lio
ns guard a castle to the northeast.” The red-haired princess pointed to a town about five inches away from Castle White. “The town of Gunswick. They’ve transported prisoners there, but all of the prisoners are women.”
“Perhaps they don’t believe women make good warriors,” Tom mused. He flinched when the red-haired princess’s hand went to the hilt of her sword. “I don’t share that sentiment, obviously! This one,” he jammed his thumb at me, “has more than convinced me.”
“Continue,” Sam said.
The red-haired princess shrugged. “Those rumors are old. We’ve not heard recently of any of Agnim’s minions sparing anyone of the Corruption.”
“No,” Sam said, rubbing his goatee. “That’s because Scar has already found what he’s looking for.”
“But why did he risk his neck to abduct Agnim’s wife?” Seth asked.
“Because he’s afraid,” I answered. “He knows Agnim’s wife is his weakness and Scar is afraid if Agnim even so much as sees her, he might have second thoughts about destroying this world.”
“The Corruption is coursing through Scar,” Sam said. “He’s brought his lust for revenge down to this world and now it’s consumed him.” He pointed to Gunswick castle, northeast of Snow White’s kingdom. “There. In one of the towers. That’s where Scar is keeping Agnim’s wife.”
“How can you be sure?” Snow White asked.
“I can’t. But that’s where I would keep her. Locked away in a tower, just like in every fairy tale those blasted Grimm brothers ever wrote.”
“Great.” I stepped away from the map. “Tom, stay here and strategize with the queen. Sam and Seth: let’s go.”
“Where are you going?” Snow White called out.
“To find us a proper general,” I answered.
In the town, people hurried from home to home, trying their best to accommodate the soldiers arriving from the east and south. They were camped in the pastures on the edge of town, and supplying them with food and water was a constant process. It was strange, catching glimpses of big wolves mingling with beautiful princesses decked out in armor and—yup—even Hans the hedgehog. He sat on the edge of a pasture with two young men. The young men were sharing a loaf of bread. Hans the hedgehog was eating grass.
“Good to see he’s on our side,” Sam murmured. We stopped in front of the pub on the edge of town, each stopping to watch the visiting armies begin setting up their tents. They looked tired. They must have marched all night to get here. They left everything behind to try and stop this madness.
Because they all hate the Corruption.
“Maybe he’s seen your other brothers,” Seth offered. At that, the dwarf winced. “Sorry.”
“It is what it is,” Sam said. “But maybe a word or two with him would be helpful to our cause. Alice, do you need us?”
I shook my head. “I should probably do this on my own anyway.”
“Come,” Sam told Seth. “Let’s take a closer look at these reinforcements and see just how doomed we are.”
“That’s not very optimistic,” Seth said, following him around a horse pulling on a black carriage.
I went inside the pub. The bartender watched me walk in, turned ghost white, and immediately ran out through the back door. I looked around the dim setting, wishing there were just a few more windows to let in some natural light. No dice. I would have to negotiate on the monster’s terms, in his favored setting, without the benefit of sunlight to keep my nerves calm.
He was still sitting in the corner, alone, nursing a fresh cup of ale. Watching me.
I took a deep breath and walked over, pulling out the opposite chair. I sat down, crossed my legs, uncrossed them, then crossed them again. “Hey.”
He took a sip of his beer.
“Long time no see,” I added.
He gave me a little nod. Still no talking.
“Come on,” I said. “Last time we met in that sewer tunnel, you had plenty of things to say.”
“You should have heeded my warning.”
His voice was more gravelly than I remembered. My cheeks tingled; his voice had managed to send my Hero’s Sense into full-on overdrive. “I did,” I rasped, quietly clearing my throat.
“Not well, apparently.”
“Well there’s more to it. I don’t know if you’re aware of it or not, but the Corruption is here, and it’s being spread by a wizard named Agnim.”
The creature nodded. “And you’re fighting back.”
I nodded, staying silent. Let’s see how you like it.
He didn’t take the bait. He just sat there, watching me.
“OK, so we need your help.” I leaned forward. “You told me that night in the sewer that you fought in battles. We don’t stand a very good chance without you.”
“I’ll make little difference,” he whispered. “War won’t save you. War never saves anyone.”
“I don’t need you to save anyone,” I said. “All I need you to do is keep Agnim’s army busy until I can find him. Listen: in Agnim’s fairy tale, he had a wife. He lost her. He killed a human and then he nearly killed his wife so he ran away before he could harm her again. She’s down here. She’s not Corrupted. With her help, I can stop Agnim.”
He didn’t answer. He was looking into my eyes with a soft intensity. It was different than that night in the sewer tunnel, when I could see the Corruption in him, that hint of glowing gold that seemed to penetrate his skin. But even here in this place, in the dimness of the pub, his scaly eyelids carried a weight to them.
“You brought your ghosts down here with you,” I said, licking my lips. When he didn’t answer, I continued: “but that’s all they were: ghosts. You’re not the same person—or creature—that you were on earth. Agnim isn’t like that. His ghosts haunt him, and that’s why the Corruption followed him to this place. I know what he’s missing. I know where to find her. I can’t promise I’ll be successful, but it’s worth trying if it means saving this place, right? Right?”
He stared at me a moment. “Fine.”
“Look, just listen to reason—wait, really?” He nodded. “Oh. Awesome. So … you’ve just gotta go lead the army and tell them what to do then, I guess.”
He finished his beer and stood up. “I know what to do.”
“Good.” I stood up. A realization hit me. “You were going to say yes anyway, weren’t you?”
He nodded.
“So why did you let me ramble on?”
He smiled. “I wanted to know if you believed you could do this. Now I know.”
The pub door flew open. Seth stood in the doorway, breathing hard. “Agnim’s … army … coming!”
I looked to the creature. “We have to station all of the soldiers along the river on the west end of town.”
“No,” Seth huffed. “Not … coming … from the … west. Coming from the north!”
Chapter 13
From the windows of Castle White we could finally see Agnim’s army for what it truly was: a two-pronged attack. Two waves of Corrupted bearing down on the valley. From the west were the three familiar columns, only thankfully less intimidating than before—the wraiths had thinned their numbers to about half. Still, they had a more than a few of the bat-creatures left, and a wolf, and a dozen step-mothers and another two hundred Riverend townsfolk.
To the north? Giants. Five big, burly giants, plus another five hundred or so Corrupted townsfolk from Castelear and Gunswick and Windendale. A sphinx. A griffon, circling over the army. Dozens of little elves and dozens more wild animals who looked more undead than alive. They were moving in a thin column on the single northern road between the mountains.
“Well,” Tom said. He was standing on the windowsill, watching the northern army as it marched slowly into the valley. “At least there are only five giants.”
“We have to get past them,” I said. “We’ll wait until Snow White’s army distracts them and then slip out. What do you think, Sam?”
He wasn’t listening. In fact, he prob
ably hadn’t heard a word I’d said. He was at the western windows on the other end of the dining room. I walked over, looking out. The Corrupted were camped on the other side of the river—the former citizens of Riverend had begun chopping down trees from the forest, using axes to carve away the bark. The popping sound of axes on wood reached my ears as if I was right there beside them.
Your senses are working overdrive, hero.
“They’ll build a small bridge,” Sam whispered. “Just sturdy enough to handle a dozen or so at a time. They’ll tie the bridge to ropes and tie the ropes to those blasted bat creatures and they’ll pull the bridge across the water.”
“Then we’ll shoot the bats out of the sky,” I answered.
Sam shook his head. “Flick’s down there, somewhere. He may not have woken up yet, but there’s no doubt he’s been Corrupted by now.”
“By the time he wakes up, this nightmare is going to be over.”
The dwarf grunted. “I wish I shared your confidence. At least this time, it will have been quick. The Corruption was so slow with Flick on earth. His temper simply got shorter and shorter. First it was an employee who couldn’t cut it in the mines. Then it was a tall human who made the wrong joke at a pub. And through it all, there were moments when Flick could feel it happening. Then it took our brother Vincent in a flash. He was simply gone, replaced by another creature entirely. We stuck together, vowing to help each other. But time wore us out. The Corruption wore us out.”
He looked down at the floor. “You can’t take me with you.”
“I need your help.”
“I’m a liability. My fear of the Corruption is making me lose my nerve. I keep telling myself in my head that no matter what, I won’t let it infect me again. If that means running from Agnim to the ends of this earth, then I’ll do it. You can’t trust me.”
I smiled. “Maybe I never did.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“Well, I don’t believe you, either.”
“Alice …” Seth and Snow White were at the northern windows. Seth pointed dramatically toward the army amassing in the north.
The Grimm Chronicles, Vol. 4 Page 28