Mistress of All Evil (Villains 4)

Snow White put her hand on her cousin’s cheek and smiled. “That’s because you have never had a mother who tried to kill you. As awful as your sisters are, they clearly love you. I know they’ve lied and they’ve hurt people. They’ve hurt you. But after reading what they did for Maleficent, how they tried to help her, it seems to me they were very good witches at one time.”

Circe thought that was an extremely kind thing for Snow to say, considering everything her sisters had done to Snow. Then Snow said something that surprised her. “And I think I know why Maleficent cursed her daughter. I think I know why she wanted her to die.”

“You do?”

“I think I do.…”

Maleficent could barely contain her rage. Had Nanny arranged this with the fairies, to get her to admit her secrets only to share them with her enemies? She was fuming, on the verge of transforming into her dragon form. “What is this? How dare you bring them here!” she cried, her anger threatening to overtake her.

Nanny rushed to her. “Maleficent, no! It’s not what you think.” But Maleficent raised her staff, creating an invisible force that sent Nanny flying across the room and into the fireplace mantel. “You’ve betrayed me for the last time!” Maleficent struck her staff on the marble floor. A terrible noise resounded through the castle, and green flames erupted from the fireplace, threatening to engulf Nanny.

“Maleficent! That is enough!”

Maleficent stood stock-still. She didn’t know who was speaking or where the voice was coming from.

The Fairy Godmother rushed to her sister and extinguished the flames. She stood in front of Nanny to protect her, her wand ready. “Maleficent, stand back! Don’t make me harm you!”

Maleficent laughed at the elder fairy as she searched for the source of the deep, penetrating voice. “Who’s there? Who is speaking?” she called out.

She looked around the room, her yellow eyes darting from one place to the next. Nanny hadn’t thought Maleficent was capable of fear, but she could tell Maleficent understood the magnitude of Oberon’s powers from his voice alone. “Who’s there?” she asked again. Maleficent let out a horrible scream as a massive branch smashed through the paned glass and grabbed her.

The three good fairies lifted their wands, creating a silver dome of light to protect everyone from the shards of glass showering down around them. Maleficent was in Oberon’s grip. He brought her close to his face so he could see hers. He wanted to see what had become of the fairy. He wanted to see if she was as evil as the other fairies had said. What he saw was more terrible and disappointing than he had imagined. “How dare you hurt your mother! After everything she has done to protect you!”

Maleficent knew who he was. She recognized him from his statue in the fairy courtyard. “Oberon,” she said coldly.

The Tree Lord’s grip became tighter as he looked deep into the face of the Dark Fairy. “You have no love left within you, foul one. Your heart is filled with hate. You’ve given me no choice!” He hurled Maleficent through the air toward the threatening forest of vines that had been lying in wait. Oberon’s legion of Tree Lords followed her at a startling pace for creatures so large. The earth cracked beneath their heavy footsteps, creating deep canyons and causing the castle and surrounding lands to shake violently and crumble.

As Maleficent flew through the air, she felt herself exploding with heat. She knew what was happening. She was transforming. She let out a horrific scream as a storm of green flames erupted into an inferno that would rival Hades. She circled back to Morningstar Castle, setting everything aflame. Below, Oberon and his Tree Lords hurled giant rocks at her. Maleficent released a torrent of fire on Oberon’s army. Her flames exploded onto the ground below, engulfing Oberon’s soldiers. With a flap of her wings, Maleficent turned herself toward home.

Diablo! My pet! Gather my birds. Bring them to safety. Bring them home.

Diablo gathered all his mistress’s ravens and crows, except for Opal, whom he couldn’t find. Opal! Our mistress needs us. But she didn’t answer. He hoped she hadn’t been hurt in the war raging below. But he pushed forward.

Maleficent flew toward her castle as fast as she could, dodging giant boulders. She knew if she could get to the boundary of her lands, the Tree Lords would not be able to follow. She looked back at the massive army of trees and the terrible forest of vines gaining on her. As she unleashed another stream of flames, she was stuck by a giant boulder. Blood poured from her injured wing, and she felt herself falling toward a large crumbled tower. Maleficent tried to change direction, but her wings were being shredded by the storm of rocks coming at her from all sides, causing her to careen into the tower, destroying it and landing among the rubble. The vines quickly overtook her, wrapping themselves around her. They choked her, binding her mouth closed so she couldn’t breathe fire. Maleficent was helpless.

Oberon and his army grew ever nearer. She felt the vibrations of their footsteps in the earth; she felt the unstable ground beneath her starting to give way. They were going to crush her. Maleficent felt their enormous hands reach through the vines again and again, trying to find her in the tangled mess that had engulfed her. She was bleeding as the sharp thorny branches tightly wrapped around her. The vines’ thorns pierced her skin, and she was sure she would die there. Then, without even planning it, she found that she was very small once more. In fact, she was so small the trees could not find her in the dense forest of vines. Maleficent was herself again—bleeding and bruised, but herself. She remembered the day she had been attacked on her way to see the odd sisters and how they had turned the sky black to help her.

“I call upon the very furies of hell to bring darkness to these lands and give me the power to overtake these foul abominations of nature!”

The sky became so black that Maleficent couldn’t see anything. She was still buried under the vines. “Be still!” she screamed, and the vines froze in the darkness, creating a large opening around the space left by her massive dragon form. Maleficent ran as fast as she could, dodging the Tree Lords’ terrible blows as they tried to find her in the tangled forest. Maleficent laughed as she shattered an enormous boulder with her magic before it could crush her. She unleashed her rage, obliterating everything in her path, sending shattering waves of destruction in every direction. Maleficent smashed the vines and splintered some of the Tree Lords into kindling. She even set some of them on fire with a wave of her staff.

Oberon stood in the ruins of the forest, weeping. Holding the smoldering remains of his greatest generals in his arms, he let out a horrible howl that echoed throughout the many lands. His cries caused a downpour of rain that extinguished Maleficent’s flames. He had tried to take on the Dark Fairy and lost.

U

nder cover of darkness, Maleficent made her way safely back to her castle.

Maleficent was relieved to be home again. I have been away for too long, she mused. She had wasted her time seeking help from those who were destined to betray her. She had been foolish to think she could trust Nanny—to trust anyone other than herself.

The Dark Fairy was alone, just as she had always been. And she would fix her problem herself. She would see to the matter of Prince Phillip.

Maleficent stood in front of the mirror in her dim bedroom. The only light in the room came from the green flames in her fireplace. The light danced, creating menacing shadows of the stone gargoyles peering down at her from the four corners of the room and from either side of the enormous mantel. The gargoyles that flanked the fireplace were taller than her by probably five feet or more. Maleficent had to wonder if they had been living, breathing creatures at one time, because she could on rare occasions detect a tiny glimmer of life within them. Her green face stared back at her in her mirror as she tried to collect herself, reining in her anger. She needed to be clearheaded for this fight. It wasn’t just Phillip she was up against. She would be fighting a good portion of the magical realm.

“Maleficent, please stop this now. It’s not too late.” It was Grimhilde, flickering in her mirror. Maleficent closed her eyes, willing her to go away. She didn’t want to see the old queen’s face right then. “My friend, I can’t let my daughter live. You wouldn’t understand.”

Grimhilde became quiet and still. “Wouldn’t I? I tried to kill my daughter! More than once! If anyone understands, it’s me! And mark my words, Maleficent, you will die if you face Prince Phillip. It is written in the book of fairy tales. There is no guarantee you will inhabit another realm after your body dies! The odd sisters are not here to protect you!”

Maleficent felt her face burning with anger. “It is all written, then? Predetermined? Why bother to live our lives at all?”