UnEnchanted (An Unfortunate Fairy Tale 1)

Suddenly Claire let Nan fall to the floor. “That's all I can take without killing her,” Claire said, her voice stronger and louder than before. She turned to Mina with a predatory smile. “I know you don't want me to destroy her, so I suggest you give me the Grimoire now, before I finish with you.”

Mina shrunk back in fear.

“What did you expect? It's easier to take a few years off unsuspecting teenagers than to leave a dried-out corpse. To make this permanent, I need your life energy and the Grimoire. Give it to me, now, or I will take what little years she has left. At least one of you will survive this.”

Perhaps Claire thought she was scaring Mina into compliance, but was really giving her the extra courage she needed. Claire moved toward the feeble body of Nan and reached out a hand threateningly.

“No, wait!” Mina struggled to stand. “I'll give you the Grimoire, but I need to be somewhere more private.”

“Don't take me for a fool, girl!” Claire grunted.

“I don't. It's just that...” Mina tried to play the part of a shy, reserved girl, which wasn't that hard for her. Blood rushed to her cheeks in embarrassment. “I strapped it in with my corset. I need to undress to get it.”

Claire snorted and laughed at Mina's awkwardness. She pointed to a shelf piled high with cans of lard. “Behind there, but that is all the privacy I'll allow. Just so you know, there is nowhere to run, and nowhere to hide.” She motioned, and Lonetree cut off Mina’s bindings.

Mina bobbed her head and slowly walked behind the shelf, as if resigned to her doomed state. Once out of sight, she reached into her bodice and pulled out the Grimoire easily. Opening it up, she was surprised to see the pages blank still, except for the first story she’d solved. She was hoping for a little bit of information.

“C'mon, I need your help!” she whispered to the book. “You’re supposed to help me and now would be an ideal time.” The book was lifeless; there was no glow or hum. “Please! I beg you.” Nothing.

Mina curled up on the floor and held the notebook to her chest. Images flooded in her mind, variations of children's books she’d read in the library. Their images panned through Mina's mind like a documentary on wolves, little girls, and then hunters.

She was waiting for a hunter to come save her, but that wasn't how it always worked. Sometimes Red saved her grandma from the wolves. The story had changed. They were in Grandma's house. Babushka was Russian for Grandma, right? Mina hoped so. So Claire would have to be the grandma. No, that wasn’t right. Claire was obviously the villain here. She peeked back over the corner to see Claire next to an old lady, quaking in fear. Nan! Nan was now old enough to be Mina's grandma. The Story had worked that it out so she was little Red, who had to outsmart the wolves in Grandma's house to save her. Jared had said Claire's story was over. It was completed, just not finished yet. So Mina needed to focus on the villain in this story, which is not Claire but the wolves.

Mina had been waiting for Jared or Brody to save her, thinking that was what the story called for. But not if Mina had any say.

“I'm the hunter,” Mina whispered to herself. “I'm now the hunter, not the hunted,” she whispered louder. “I will not lose!” Mina grabbed tightly onto the notebook and began running toward the side wall and the closest Fae wolf. The wolf bared his teeth, but the book thrummed once, twice, and three times like a beating heart coming back to life.

Mina believed in the power of the tale. She knew that the Story needed Mina to grow in power. And just because she didn’t understand how to use the Grimoire exactly didn't mean that it wouldn’t help her if she believed. . She had to trust herself.

Mina closed her eyes and pictured herself as a hunter, and just before she swung the book the weapon she needed appeared in her hands. She opened her eyes in awe. The notebook had transformed into an ethereal battle axe of light. Mina giggled in a moment of pure insanity as she realized she must look like a crazy character from some anime film. The wolf howled when the light touched his skin. She saw the light burn through the human illusion to the wolf underneath.

Mina pulled the axe back once more, and swung again at the wolf. With each swipe, the creature howled and tried to dodge the glowing light from the axe.

He clawed at Mina but she jumped away. With another swipe of the axe, another layer peeled from the Fae wolf and he dissolved into thin air. Turning, Mina headed toward another wolf, but he panicked and ran down the hall, not wishing to be a part of the same fate.

Turning toward Claire, Mina held the axe and stepped forward threateningly. “Change her back!”

Claire's eyes squinted as she studied Mina. “I can't. And where in the world did you get that?”

“Change her back or I’ll use it. This is no ordinary axe.”

“The Grimoire,” Claire whispered, her eyes sparkling. She shrugged her shoulders. “The only way I can help your friend is if you give me the book. Perhaps then we can find a way to extend her life. After all, she doesn't have Fae blood like me.”

“No, I don't bel...” Mina couldn't finish as she was knocked forward to the ground, the Grimoire flying out of her hands and sliding across the floor. It slowly changed back from an axe to a passive notebook lying at Claire's feet.

“Why, thank you.” Claire reached down to pick it up. “I do so love it when things go my way. Don't you agree, Lonetree?”

Mina felt herself get pulled upward off the ground as Lonetree hauled her to the cold, cement floor in front of Claire, grunting his assent.

Claire opened the notebook and frowned when she saw the unfinished sketch. “Come now,” she shook it. “Show me my story. I've seen the Fae copy when I was a child; I know this one records a duplicate. I want to see mine to make sure it gets the story right,” Claire chuckled and flipped a few more pages, finally ripping out a page in anger. “Show me! Or I'll rip out more!” Unsatisfied, Claire finally tucked the Grimoire into her purse. “Never mind, there are other ways to make it talk. As long as you understand that this story doesn't have a happily ever after for Gretel.”

“You’re wrong!” Mina spoke up defiantly.

Claire glared at Mina. “What do you know?”

“I know your story. It's finished. You’re destined to die. Whether it be today or tomorrow, it’s already over. Nothing you do will change the final outcome.”