Snow

by J. E. Taylor

  Snow © 2018 J.E. Taylor

  All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Warning: the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

  © 2017 Cover Art by Cora Graphics

  Table of Contents

  Copyright Page

  Snow | A Fractured Fairy Tale | J.E. Taylor

  SNOW

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  About J.E. Taylor

  Snow

  A Fractured Fairy Tale

  J.E. Taylor

  SNOW

  Dark magic has a price.

  While the kingdom’s witches and warlocks were slaughtered to fulfill the queen’s insidious plans, Maggie White, the last pureblood sorceress, escapes with the help of her best friend and seven dwarves.

  Maggie enchants a forest with a blood spell to keep them hidden from the evil queen. But the queen’s army of the dead are immune to the enchantment and bypass Maggie’s protections.

  Even though Maggie has been battle-ready since the day she went into hiding, she is not prepared for the army of the dead or their tainted blades.

  If Maggie loses her fight, not only will she watch those she loves die, but her life force will be sucked from her bones, and her magic will give the queen the ultimate power to enslave the world.

  Chapter 1

  I wandered through the thick woods shooting small pulses of magic from my fingertips. The forest wrapped its pine scent around me while the chipmunks dodged my spells in our daily contest of hide and seek. Today, the rest of the animals that normally joined the game were scarce. I paused to listen for danger.

  Nothing broke the silence.

  I reached the stream and dropped my buckets into the water. My reflection rippled. My red bow morphed into a morbid wave of dripping blood. I took a shaky breath and dragged the full buckets through my distorted reflection.

  It had been years since the queen tried to penetrate the enchanted forest. My protection spell was bound by blood, and none of my bloodline remained. No counterspell would unlock this enchanted territory, and yet any time the forest animals didn’t behave normally, my nerves raged.

  My illusion of safety didn’t stop my nightmares.

  It didn’t stop my paranoia.

  It didn’t stop my fears.

  After all these years, I still wasn’t strong enough to face the queen. My magic was too pure to handle such evil.

  Shaking the dark thoughts from my head, I turned back towards the cottage on the other side of the forest.

  Henry, my best friend and beloved, leaned against a thick oak tree with a blade of grass between his full lips. His shirt hung open, and the ripples of his well-defined muscles distracted me. His chestnut hair ruffled in the breeze, and he smiled, flashing teeth as white as newly fallen snow.

  My skin warmed more from his grin than from the afternoon sunshine. I couldn’t help but smile back.

  “I didn’t hear you following me today.” My gaze drifted over his bare chest and back to his gray-green eyes. “I should have known you were there. The other animals weren’t playing, just the chipmunks, and we all know they are not the brightest in the bunch.”

  He pulled the reed from his lips and crossed to me, stretching his hand out for one of the pails.

  I raised an eyebrow. I was perfectly capable of hauling water back to the cottage.

  “I’m just offering a hand, Maggie,” he said in that deep timbre that made me shiver.

  I understood why some referred to him as Prince Charming, but he was fierce and protective and sometimes not charming at all. This was not one of those times. Right now, he represented his nickname in all its sappy glory.

  With a resigned sigh, I handed him one of the buckets.

  We crossed the open glade into the thick forest. The chipmunks decided to stay hidden. His hand drifted to the small of my back, and the brush of his fingers on my dress created such a delicious heat.

  We walked and only the sloshing water interrupted my thoughts. His smile faded. He scanned the forest, sucking his lower lip between his teeth like he did when he was in problem-solving mode, or when he had news he knew I wouldn’t like.

  I hoped it was the former. I let him stew on whatever was on his mind until we came into a large clearing. Our cottage sat a few yards away from the woods with a small plume of white smoke filtering from the chimney.

  “What’s bothering you?” I asked and opened the door.

  Inside, seven dwarves sat around our table with papers strewn about, pulling my attention away from Henry. We stepped inside, and their chatter ended abruptly. Every set of eyes moved from me to Henry and back.

  Whatever Henry was brooding over had to do with the concerned looks on every dwarf’s face. I set the fresh water on the counter, turned to Henry, and crossed my arms.

  He blew a stream of air from his lips before turning to the counter. His shoulders pulled taut, and he put his bucket down next to mine. The stress displayed in every one of his tight muscles set my own body on high alert. Henry didn’t tense up to just anything. He was my rock, my steady hand, my level head.

  When he picked up one of the flyers on the table and handed it to me, I didn’t see anything that would cause the alarm sizzling on the air in the small cottage.

  My picture stared back along with the queen’s bounty on me. According to the advertisement, I was worth one hundred gold pieces, but I had to be brought in alive.

  “She upped her price,” I said and handed the flyer back to Henry with a shrug. She had been upping the ante for my head for years. This wasn’t new, but their faces said there was more than just another rate hike in the bounty.

  “These were posted inside the edge of the enchanted forest. We caught one of her lackeys at the boundary,” Simon, the dwarf with the flaming red hair, said.

  His words produced a darkness behind my eyes. The hunters were either insanely brave or insanely stupid to breach the enchanted forest.

  I glanced at Simon. He was just as protective of me as Henry, and his lips were set in a stern line.

  Now that he had my attention, he continued, “He said the queen has hired a powerful mage to locate you.”

  “Really?” My eyebrows rose.

  According to our sources, the queen had wiped the land of all who even remotely carried enchantments in their bones. She ingested the magic, leaving husks behind. I remembered the horrors she inflicted on my kind before the dwarves had whisked me away to the center of the forest for my protection. Besides the queen, I was the only living soul to still contain pure magic, but mine was nowhere near as strong as the queen’s dark magic.

  At least not yet.

  “There are no mages left,” Henry said.
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  Simon shrugged. “He said they know the forest is protecting the lost princess, Snow White. He said they know we are here.” He pounded his finger on the table.

  I rolled my eyes, feigning a certainty I did not feel.

  “He said they know how to nullify the forest’s magic,” Bernard, the second in charge behind Simon, said. His white hair seemed to drift on an imaginary wind every time he spoke as if the weight of his words moved the air around him.

  That got my attention. I traded a glance with Henry.

  “That’s impossible,” Henry scoffed.

  It was utterly impossible, unless the queen had the blood of my ancestors. Only the spilling of their blood, or mine, could undo the protection spell I’d cast. Considering my mother was long buried and my father burned in a funeral pyre, I did not see how they could reverse my magic. But then again, I also thought all the mages in the land had been decimated.

  A cold chill rode up my spine, and I stiffened my shoulders so it wouldn’t settle in the back of my neck. I was not ready for a confrontation with the queen. I was not ready to have my heart pulled from my chest, not when I had found a home for it with Henry.

  I turned, trudged into the back bedroom, and sat on the edge of the oversized bed. Henry followed and closed the door. His eyes held the same dread as I felt settling in my bones. He slid into the spot next to me and draped his arm over my shoulder, pulling me into him.

  “We’ll figure this out, too,” he said.

  I glanced at him with an expression that I was sure screamed doubt. “I’m not strong enough yet.”

  “Yes, you are.” There wasn’t an ounce of uncertainty in his voice or his face. “You are much stronger than you realize.”

  “Playing games with the wildlife is nothing. It won’t keep me alive against Queen Odette. I have no defense against her dark magic.” I stared him down.

  “And yet you created this place. You enchanted the forest to keep you safe. You’ve been able to keep the queen’s army out of these woods, and I don’t see that changing.”

  For as much as I loved Henry, he sometimes could think foolish thoughts.

  “If what Bernard says is true, then this is no longer a safe haven.” I waved towards the door. “Which means we have to run.”

  Henry stiffened next to me and slowly shook his head. “There is nowhere to run to, Maggie.”

  He should know. He and the dwarves were the only ones allowed to pass through the invisible gates of the enchanted forest. He had been beyond our sanctuary many times over the years.

  I hadn’t left these woods since I fled the kingdom and escaped certain death at the hands of the queen.

  My chest tightened. I had to come to grips with the reality of engaging in a final battle with evil.

  Chapter 2

  When the first sign of light peeked through the curtains, I’d finally had enough of a night full of terrorizing visions of the dead. I was ready for the day and for the distraction of my morning chores. I crawled out of Henry's grasp, trading the warmth of his arms for the coolness of the floor.

  I crossed to the window in a sleep-deprived stupor, feeling like I was still dreaming. I half expected a rotting hand to reach through the window. Cautiously, I brushed the curtains aside. Dark clouds swirled overhead, bringing with them an ominous feeling.

  The chill settled on the air like a layer of newly fallen snow. I shivered and rubbed my arms, turning away from the grayness attacking the day.

  I pulled my boots and jacket on and stepped out of our bedroom, careful not to disturb Henry. He wouldn’t be happy with me sneaking out without him, but I wasn’t a child. I could do my daily chores without a protection detail.

  The central room was full of seven cots where the dwarves kept watch. Their sentry, Domino, sat next to the door with a steaming mug between his hands and a scruff of yellow hair haphazardly sticking out from the top of his head. He nodded toward the last of the warm cider bubbling over the fire and smiled.

  I bit my lip, considering detouring from my chores to indulge in a cup of my own. Apple cider, apple pie, just about anything to do with apples was my weakness. I loved the fruit probably more than I should. I also knew if I didn't partake before my morning trek, the rest of the dwarves would polish it off long before I returned.

  I veered towards the pot with a thought of only taking a smidgen. Of course, the mug I chose wasn't suited for just a smidgen; it was more like a beer stein. The ladleful I scooped nearly filled my glass. I considered dumping some back, but I needed to heat the chill from my bones.

  Besides, this was hot apple cider.

  I pulled a chair out from the table and raised my glass to Domino, he did the same, and we drank in silence as the rest of the clan snored.

  Simon had a snore like a soft scrape. Bernard's was a little more like a saw cutting wood. Ruse's snore reminded me of a roaring fire, which was a good match to his flaming red hair. Klen's sounded like a rush of air and then a clicking, like his tongue was trying to remove itself from the roof of his mouth. Wally's was a high-pitched whistle that sometimes hit a nerve, making me twitch. And last, but not least, Blackie, whose nickname represented the color of his thick hair and beard, slept in silence as deep as night.

  The symphony of sounds soothed me with each sip of cider.

  By the time I finished the drink, Henry's shuffling came from our bedroom. My escape into the quiet woods would no longer just be me with nature. Henry didn’t want me out of his sight now that we knew the queen was circling the forest. As much as I liked my quiet magic games with the wildlife, I had to admit, having Henry by my side to witness the antics made it more real.

  I smiled and stood as he stepped into the room. Our eyes met, and my heart melted at the warmth in his gaze. It was almost as endearing as the heat of his arms. I set my cup on the counter and met him at the door. We nodded to Domino and slipped outside without waking the rest of the clan.

  The cool air wrapped around us, tightening my chest. It didn't feel right, and I traded a glance with Henry.

  He was already scanning the horizon with his hand clasped around the hilt of his sword. “No magic today,” he whispered. “Not until this passes.”

  I grabbed the empty buckets by the door and headed off towards the river. Instead of hanging back like he usually did, Henry walked next to me, his gaze moving from side to side, assessing the quiet filling the forest. It wasn't until we got to the water that we both halted.

  Guards surrounded both sides of the stream, coming out from behind us to close off our passage back to the house.

  The forest had forsaken my magic.

  I dropped the pails at the same time Henry pulled his sword. I focused on the magic within me, stretching the light out in a protective barrier around the two of us, and wished for a sword of my own. Funny thing about magic—sometimes when you wished for something while employing a protection spell, the universe obliged.

  A heavy sword like nothing I had ever seen before materialized between my hands. The metal glowed with deadly intent, and I stared wide-eyed out at the dozen guards facing me. Henry had an equal amount of guards on his side of the semi-circle.

  On closer inspection, the guards were not as they seemed. Their eyes held an ethereal glow, and their skin was too sallow to support life.

  The blood in my veins chilled and I shivered.

  This was the army of the dead, which meant they were not susceptible to the same bounds of earthly magic that I employed on this forest.

  I glanced over my shoulder at Henry. He met my gaze with worry lines etched in his brow. The queen had somehow commanded the dead. My throat tightened. My mother had been in a grave within the castle walls. Fear as bright as the light surrounding my sword burned inside me.

  My grip tightened on the hilt of my weapon, and I pressed my back against Henry’s as my mind raced for a spell to kill that which was already dead. Only a phrase came to mind.

  Gravis ad vos.

  Back to the gr
ave you go.

  It was as if the fates had left me to fail on my own.

  As the soldiers closed the distance, I steeled my nerves and stepped forward, meeting the closest one with a swing of my sword. It cut clean through the middle of his body. A second later, the top half teetered to the ground. There was no blood, no scream of anguish, nothing.

  “Gravis ad vos,” I whispered. At the words, the dismembered form exploded into a dust ball. I jumped, knocking into a warm back.

  I spun, my heart clanging in my chest.

  Henry’s sword caught mine before I could do any damage. His eyes were as wide as I imagined mine were.

  “Duck,” he snapped.

  I dropped down, and his sword whistled over my head.

  He whirled around, meeting the threat behind him once again.

  I took his cue and turned towards the remaining flood of soldiers on my side. I had barely enough time to raise the sword and block an attack. The whistle of Henry’s sword gave me strength as he cut down those on his side. I parried and twirled, cutting down two in a row. Each time the dead fell, I whispered the same incantation.

  Dust swirled on the air, choking me. My arms ached from the weight of the metal in my hands. My next parry wasn’t fast enough, and the soldier’s sword tore through the fabric across my back, scraping across my skin.

  I arched away from the burn, letting out a roar of pain. I spun, bringing my sword around in a wild arc. I caught the guard at the crook of his neck, tearing through bone and sinew.

  My back ignited as if someone had doused it in oil and set it on fire. My knees buckled, and I stumbled. Henry caught me, peeled the sword from my grip, and laid me on the ground. Black spots filled my vision.

  Henry stood over me, fighting the remaining guards with a grace and speed I lacked. Each parry brought with it a clang of metal that made me flinch. And when the whistle of his blade didn’t meet metal, it sliced another guard down. He defended me with such brutality that my breath caught in my throat from more than just my crippling pain.