Of Snow and Roses

by T. M. Franklin

  What had he promised them? Or maybe they were being compelled as well?

  Alberich entered a number in the keypad and shoved open the basement door, dragging Neve alongside him. “I would have liked to have both of you, you know,” he said in a conversational tone. “But your sister is rather slippery. Better to take you one at a time, anyway. Wouldn’t want to lose both simply because I’ve been a little greedy.” He shot her a wicked grin, and she gasped when she saw the sharp points at the edges of his teeth. She blinked and they were smooth and even once again.

  Alberich laughed but didn’t share the joke.

  Neve reached for her sparks, willing a jolt of lightning through her arm into his hand, but his grip only tightened. “Stop that,” he hissed. “It tickles.”

  They passed room after room of hospital beds, and Neve realized many of the missing patients were there, either unconscious or sedated.

  “Are they all right?” she asked, spotting Nancy, the crochet lady, in one of the beds.

  “So concerned about them,” he replied. “You should be more concerned about yourself. It’s your greatest weakness, you know. That’s how I got you in the first place. Using your big friend here as bait.”

  Neve glanced at Torbin, whose gaze fell to the floor, his shoulders slumping in shame.

  “If you hurt them . . .” She gave Alberich a hateful look.

  The doctor jerked her to a stop, his grip on her wrist bruising. “What?” he snapped. “You’ll what, exactly? Can’t you see that you are not in control here, little girl? Not anymore.”

  They glared at each other for a long moment and Neve longed to creep into his head and make him jump out a window or something. He smirked, as if he could read her mind, then turned and stalked away, pulling her and Lily along with him.

  They entered a room similar to the one they’d found Tala in, but much larger. A hospital bed sat in the center surrounded by candles, and Alberich shoved her toward it. “Use the restraints,” he told Calum. “This could get messy.” He left Lily hovering near the door next to Torbin, whose entire body pulsed with his desire to do something－anything－to get them out of there. The pendant hung empty against his chest, like a frame without a portrait.

  There was something about it . . . something she couldn’t quite put her finger on.

  A dozen other people lined the room－staff, she would have called them an hour ago, dressed in scrubs, a few wearing stethoscopes. Neve was now certain they weren’t personnel, however. They seemed eager, wild light burning in their eyes, and she was reminded of the creepy painting hanging in Alberich’s office.

  Neve had the sneaking suspicion that she was the sacrifice.

  Her mind raced as she searched for a way out. Could she get the others to attack Alberich? Or were they under commands like Torbin and Lily, and any effort to influence them would prove fruitless?

  Calum pushed her roughly onto the bed and reached for the wrist restraints. Alberich’s back was turned, so she risked connecting to Calum’s tether.

  Loose she thought. Make them loose.

  Calum faltered for only a moment before buckling the restraints, and Neve had to make an effort not to smile when he followed her instructions. It wouldn’t be evident to anyone watching, but she could easily slip free of the bonds should the opportunity arise.

  She was even able to convince him to skip the leg restraints altogether, tossing a blanket over her ankles to hide that fact.

  “All right,” Alberich said, raising his hands. “Let’s begin.” He clapped once and the candles burst into flame as the overhead lights blinked out. The observers edged closer, their eager faces twisted and eerie in the candlelight. Thunder clapped and Neve could feel the storm outside. She remembered the weather charts on Alberich’s desk and wondered if that was why he’d chosen this moment for whatever was going to happen.

  Neve reached out, searching for a connection to one of the observers. Perhaps she could be quick and stealthy enough to get one of them to knock Alberich out before he noticed.

  But she couldn’t find a tether.

  She reached out to Calum, usually so easy to detect, but he eluded her as well. It was as if the circle of candles blocked her ability, limiting her power to its boundary.

  Now Doctor Alberich was the only one within reach, and he was immune to her. He swiped a damp finger across her forehead, then over her heart, leaving a reddish streak on her T-shirt.

  Blood. It had been on the list in his office. Neve shuddered.

  A low rumble echoed through the room, and Neve realized the observers were chanting. She couldn’t make out the words, it was something in another language, guttural and rhythmic and it grew louder and louder until it echoed in her heartbeat. Alberich hovered over her, black eyes gleaming as he joined the chant, holding the geode in one hand, and an empty bottle in the other.

  A rush of panic surged through her.

  Now. She had to run now. Neve went to slip out of the restraints but found that she couldn’t move. She was paralyzed, frozen in place as Alberich’s voice took on a deeper timbre that vibrated through her, piercing her chest.

  Her chest was glowing.

  “What’s－what’s happening?”

  Alberich’s gaze took on a manic quality as he continued to chant, moving the bottle closer to her. The light emanated from her chest in a solid beam, winding up and away, then curving down and into the bottle.

  “Do you feel it?” he asked in that deep, terrifying voice. “Your power ebbing away? It will be mine soon. All of it. First yours, then your sister’s.”

  She could feel it. Something tearing deep inside her. She writhed, arching up, as if her body couldn’t bear to let it go.

  Neve screamed, agony and instinct reaching out, clawing at the electricity around her－the storm outside－gathering it up, and turning it loose.

  Lightning flashed, bursting through the room in a crackling tangle and the candles blew out, the chanting coming to an abrupt stop as everyone around her fell to the floor. Neve inhaled sharply and the power draining into the bottle reversed quickly, plunging back into her.

  Neve was overwhelmed, a little dazed, but she couldn’t risk hesitating. She slipped her hands from the restraints as Alberich got to his feet.

  “Stop her!” he shouted, and Calum stumbled forward.

  Instead of heading for the door, Neve ran full speed toward Torbin. It took a moment for Calum to react . . . just long enough for her to crash into Torbin and slip the emerald from her pocket into his.

  “Oh, for heaven’s sake.” The doctor glared at Calum as he yanked Neve back toward the bed. “If you can’t handle the job, I can give it to someone else.” He fumbled with the book she’d seen in his office, running a finger down the page. “Now we’ll have to start over.”

  “I’ve got it,” Calum muttered, dragging her along. Neve made a big show of crying and moaning like she was in pain.

  Causing a distraction.

  “Please don’t! It hurts so much!” she shouted as Torbin realized what was in his pocket.

  “Would you shut her up! I’m trying to concentrate!” Doctor Alberich didn’t look away from his book. The observers got to their feet with groans and hateful looks in Neve’s direction.

  “I’ll do anything you want!” she begged, as Torbin turned his back slightly to hide where he pressed the green stone into his pendant. Nobody noticed the shimmering glow that emanated from it, encompassing Torbin from head to toe before it vanished.

  “Please!” She slumped onto the bed. “Don’t tie me down again. I can’t stand it!”

  The doctor finally turned and approached her. “Good heavens, what a whiner,” he said distastefully. “When did you become so pitiful? What happened to the－” He continued to drone on, but Neve wasn’t listening.

  Instead, she fought to keep from screaming out loud as Torbin took a huge stride into the circle, then in the blink of an eye his body twisted and morphed, hair sprouting all over him as he gre
w two feet taller. His mouth extended, melding into a snout, the pendant resolving into a glowing, green mark on the center of his chest.

  His furry chest.

  Torbin was gone, and in his place stood the bear. The bear Neve had spent her nights with in the meadow, a brand burned into his skin, now shimmering with green light. The bear that she now knew had watched over her, just like Torbin.

  Because it was Torbin.

  With a furious roar, it raised a paw, and Doctor Alberich didn’t even have a chance to turn all the way around before Torbin backhanded－backpawed?－him across the room.

  Everyone froze in surprise, and Torbin used the confusion to change back and grab Neve’s hand. “We need to get out of here,” he said.

  “You－you can talk?”

  He grinned at her but didn’t bother answering as he caught her up in his arms and ran out of the room, scooping up the bag of talismans on the way.

  They only got a twenty second head start. Thirty, if you pushed it. Neve could hear Doctor Alberich shouting, the others in the room rushing out in pursuit, and clung to Torbin’s neck as he took a corner at breakneck speed. The door leading upstairs was just ahead, and he yanked it open with one hand before setting her on her feet at the base of the stairs.

  “Go!” he shouted as he slammed the door closed.

  Neve raced up the stairs and spotted a push broom propped against the wall.

  “Torbin!” She tossed it to him and he wedged it through the door handle and took the steps two at a time.

  “That won’t hold them for long,” he said, taking her hand as they raced toward the main entrance. Hopefully, there would only be one or two people watching the front desk and she’d be able to get them out. She still felt a little woozy, though, after whatever Alberich had done to her, so she hoped she was up to the task.

  Okay, a lot woozy. She stumbled and fell to her knees, the room spinning around her. Torbin swore, and quickly swept her up in his arms, then ducked into a small storage room. He set her down and pushed her hair back from her face, studying her with worried eyes.

  “I’m okay. Sorry,” she muttered, blinking to try and fight off the dizziness. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

  “Someone just tried to steal your power, that’s what happened,” he said with gritted teeth. “Are you in pain?”

  “No,” she replied. “Just lightheaded. We don’t have time for this. We need to get out of here.” Neve started to get up, but Torbin stilled her with a gentle hand on her shoulder.

  “Give it a minute,” he said quietly. “You can’t do anything if you pass out.”

  She nodded, breathing in and out slowly, and reached out to touch his pendant.

  “That’s how he did it?” she asked. “The emerald?”

  Torbin nodded, still looking worried. “It enabled him to command me, to a certain extent,” he replied. “He couldn’t keep me from shifting－not at night, anyway－and he couldn’t completely keep me from you. Our ties are too strong.”

  Neve’s cheeks heated at the implication. “And the others?”

  “He used the talismans to control them, muddle their minds. Each item is precious to its owner . . . a focal point of their own particular magic. It must have taken years for him to collect them all.”

  It took a few moments－way too much time in their present situation, but gradually, Neve’s mind cleared and she got to her feet.

  “Can you walk?” Torbin asked, his arms twitching as if he was prepared to carry her again, if necessary.

  “Yeah. I’m okay. Let’s go.”

  Torbin tilted his head for a moment, listening, then opened the door, leading her toward the front entrance at a quiet jog.

  They skidded around the corner and Neve gasped in surprise. A group of patients stood before the door, blocking the way. Nancy was there . . . Peter and Melissa . . . the young girl Alice. All had glassy eyes and vacant expressions and were armed with an odd assortment of weapons－broken bottles and metal pipes, pieces of wood and little Alice held a shovel, of all things.

  “What are they doing?” Neve asked as the group walked slowly toward them.

  “Can you control them?” Torbin asked.

  Neve tried, but the effort sent a sharp pain through her head. “I can’t,” she told him. “Whatever Alberich did, it’s still affecting me.”

  Torbin’s jaw tightened, and Neve knew he was weighing going through them by force.

  “We can’t hurt them,” she said, touching his arm. “It’s not their fault.”

  Torbin nodded shortly, then tipped his head at the sound of approaching footsteps. “Come on,” he said, pulling her down a side hallway. They ran through a meeting room and out the other door, down another hall and through a pair of swinging doors. Torbin pushed one open and held up a hand.

  Neve froze and he tilted his head, listening.

  “Can you hear anything?” she whispered.

  “I’m not sure.”

  They walked through the doors and Neve realized they were across from the common room. If they could get out into the yard, maybe they could find a way around the building. Torbin had apparently reached the same conclusion because he took her hand and nodded toward the common room door.

  “Ready?” he asked.

  She nodded and they hurried quietly across the hall, listening carefully for any sounds of pursuit.

  They pushed through the door and shut it quickly behind them, not daring to turn on the lights.

  “We really have to stop meeting like this,” Doctor Alberich said wryly, a flash of lightning lit up the room, revealing the doctor and all the others who had been in the basement. He sat in the center of the group, legs crossed as if he hadn’t a care in the world, but his cheek and right eye were swollen from Torbin’s blow. Neve took no little pleasure at that. Lily huddled in a corner, chewing on her thumb. Neve reached out for her, but her tether was so weak . . . barely a thread.

  Rain pounded on the ceiling and another bolt of lightning cracked, sizzling through Neve’s nerve endings. She fell back a step, uncertain where to run.

  Alberich laughed at Neve’s shocked look. “All of this,” he waved a hand, getting to his feet as Angelica flipped on the lights. “All of this and you forget about the cameras? Really, Neve, that was sloppy of you.” He shook his head and snatched the bag out of her hand.

  He was right. She’d completely forgotten about the cameras. Hadn’t even bothered trying to hide.

  What an idiot.

  Thunder rumbled and Neve felt another flash of lightning burst through her. It left a tingle behind, racing up and down her body, and she felt stronger, somehow, as if it were re-energizing her.

  Torbin stretched up next to her and morphed into the bear, falling to all fours in front of her to shield her from Alberich. He bared his teeth and let out a spine-chilling roar. Alberich hesitated, then pointed to his left where Calum stood, holding a rifle.

  “It may not kill you. Not at first,” Alberich said. “But I’m pretty sure it’ll cause some damage.” When the bear growled, Alberich nodded and Calum swiveled to aim at Neve.

  “Think hard, beast,” Alberich said, with a grimace of distaste. “Can you kill me before he kills her?”

  After a moment, Torbin shifted back. He took Neve’s hand, still angled slightly before her, blocking her from Calum’s rifle.

  Neve’s heart sank. They had nowhere to go. Maybe she could call the lightning again, but how many innocents would be hurt?

  “There’s no fighting this, Neve,” Alberich said, mock pity in his voice. “I’ve been working on this for so long, taking power from so many, but it’s all been in anticipation of you.”

  “That’s what you’ve been doing to everyone?” Her gaze drifted to Lily . . . to Tala and Nancy . . . before she turned back to Alberich. “Experimenting on innocent people so you can steal my power?”

  Calum moved sideways to get a better shot. Torbin growled.

  “You still don’t unde
rstand, do you?” Alberich said, shaking his head. “I needed to capture enough magical power to complete the ritual. They－” He waved his hand toward the other patients－”were good enough to oblige.”

  Neve couldn’t follow. “Magical?”

  “They all have power,” Torbin said through gritted teeth.

  “What?” Neve blinked at him. “You mean like－like you? Or me?” Neve asked.

  “Some of both. Some other,” he replied. “This creature brought them all here, has been doing so for several years. We knew, but didn’t understand why. You and I were tracking him when we were taken.”

  “You did get close, didn’t you?” Alberich said with a self-satisfied grin. “But as they say, no cigar.”

  Thunder shook the windows.

  “Now that I’ve perfected the ritual, I can take it all.” He turned to face his followers . . . his slaves . . . “We will take it all.”

  “Is that what he told you?” Torbin asked them. “That he’s going to share the power with you? He won’t, you know. You can’t believe anything he says.” He shot Neve a weighted glance and she sent out a subtle push.

  Don’t trust him.

  “Of course I will,” Alberich said, waving a hand dismissively. “These are my brothers and sisters. We share everything.”

  Still, a rumbling murmur ran through the others. Torbin seemed to sense it, too. He eased toward the french doors slightly.

  Neve pushed a little harder. He’s lying to you.

  “Why would he share it with you?” Torbin asked them, taking another small step, keeping himself between Neve and Calum. “You know him, right? When has he ever sacrificed anything?”

  The murmurs grew louder.

  “What is he saying?” one of the men asked, and Alberich whirled on him.

  Torbin and Neve took a step, then another.

  “He’s saying nonsense, of course,” the doctor replied.

  Then, without another word, he snapped his fingers at Calum, who pivoted and shot the man in the chest. He clutched his shirt, eyes wide, and dropped to the floor.