Reign (An Unfortunate Fairy Tale 4)

The assault on the table ceased, and the enormous feet moved to her left, continuing in a circle around the area. Pacing her, taunting her, stalking her. Her nerves were getting the better of her, but she could also feel the power.

She could feel the Story that she’d always been so tuned into. Something stirred deep in her soul and she knew what she had to do. She’d never been good at outright controlling Fae magic. Manipulation, on the other hand, was something that she could do—and had been doing subconsciously ever since she’d learned she was a Grimm. The power had been following her family for generations, and the longer she resided in the Fae plane, the more of the overall plan she understood.

And the more she recognized her part in it.

She may not like or agree with it, but it was becoming clear that she was the center.

Mina flung the heavy leather bound book onto the floor, pressed her hands to the pages, and commanded it to change. She began to push her will and all of the Fae magic that gathered around her into the book. Her hands grew tingly with warmth, and she watched in awe as golden veins of magic rushed through her fingers into the pages. The book glowed with power and gradually lifted off the ground to float inches above the floor.

She understood now. Granted, it was like trying to see the future by looking through the small crack in a window blind, but she could see her purpose and part. She would worry about the consequences later. When her hands stopped glowing and she felt herself weaken and tire, she pulled the book out of the air and felt it hum in happiness.

“Hello, my friend,” Mina whispered. “I’ve missed you. Do you think you are ready for a great adventure?” The book almost quivered with excitement, and Mina grinned.

She braced herself on one knee with the book tucked under her arm and waited for the ogre to come around.

Suddenly, he lifted the table and tossed it to the side. It crashed against a far wall, breaking the shelves and sending a mass of leather bound books to the ground.

“Rawrgh!” He advanced.

Mina smiled wryly and held the book before her where it elongated into a golden sword of fire. The blazing weapon gave him pause, but he shook it off and tried to circle her. And then another ogre appeared from behind the first.

“Oh, come on.” Mina decided to attack. She rushed the first ogre and swung upward with the fiery blade, slicing him across the chest. He roared in pain but it only infuriated him as he charged at her.

Mina ran and climbed up the nearest book ladder, and then clambered up on top of the shelves. From there, she could see both ogres as they stalked her below. The shelves were at least twenty feet in the air, and the ogres were at least ten feet tall. She kicked the ladder away from the wall and calmed the Grimoire flame. The second ogre had come close and was staring up at her with a strange, almost human expression. In appearances they were almost identical, but the first one was bit larger.

The first ogre shook the bookshelf and tried to climb it to get up to her, but the shelves easily broke beneath his weight. The main bookshelf, anchored into the wall, held. Thank goodness.

Mina kept her back to the wall and quickly sidestepped along the top until she rounded a corner and was briefly out of sight. Mina gauged the distance between herself and the next stand-alone bookshelf. It appeared to be about three feet wide and spanned a quarter of the room, but it was at least a five foot jump.

She took the chance and leapt.

Almost! Her left foot slipped, and she found herself dangling from the side. Mina scrambled to pull herself up, because she could hear the approaching footsteps of the second ogre. She rolled onto her back, pulled up her skirt, pressed the Grimoire to her side, and waited.

Not only could she hear the heavy breathing of the ogre, but the smell of onions wafted up to her from down below. Onions? Why was she only smelling onions now, and not before? The ogre paused briefly right below her, and she waited for him to knock her down from her hiding place. Instead, it moved on, making an odd grumbling noise in its throat. Was that laughter?

The first ogre wasn’t as amused. He now made inhuman noises and thrashed about in fury as he tried to climb up the wall of shelves.

The onion smell grew stronger. She carefully turned her head to the left to see the second large ogre sitting on the next row over, watching her. How had he made it to the top without knocking it over? She grabbed the Grimoire, and jumped up in alarm. The book lit up in a fiery blaze and morphed into a sword again, revealing her hiding spot.

The first ogre cried out in triumph and ran straight toward her. The floor vibrated beneath her.

The second one still sat precariously on the bookshelf—unmoving.

One ogre attacking in front, one watching her from behind. She had to choose her course of action.

She turned to face the one from below as he crashed into the bookshelf, clearly intending to knock it over with her on it. His beefy arms strained as he pushed and roared. Mina jumped onto the ogre’s wide gray speckled shoulders. She started to slide down, but turned and used the sword to gouge his back.

He fell into the bookshelf, howling, and it took a moment for him to regain his stance and face her. But by this time, Mina was ready for him. He was wounded and struggling. The flaming sword diminished, shifting into the Grimoire. A golden light poured out from within as she opened the pages and turned the book upon the ogre.

He flung his arms up to block the blinding light coming from the book. A strange but wonderfully familiar wind picked up. Books and loose pages flew around the room as the ogre roared again, desperate to keep from being drawn into the book.

But no one could fight the Grimoire. Like the other evil Fae before him, he was sucked into the prison-like pages. And once the Grimoire had entrapped him, the book closed and fell to the ground with a thud. The wind ceased, and the room seemed darker once the book had closed.

Mina picked up the Grimoire and placed it on her lap, her fingers touching it gently. To once again have it within her hands! She felt whole.

Until the ground rumbled as the second ogre loomed over her, its oniony breath wafting down on her from above.