“It’s a Baldander.”
“No way! I thought they were extinct.”
The little dragon turned and blew what looked like a fiery raspberry at the Fae prince.
“I guess they’re not, and I don’t think it cares one lick that you’re a prince.” She giggled. The dragon flew up and settled in the crook of Mina’s hood, and quickly became invisible again.
“I don’t trust that thing,” Jared shot back.
“Relax, I find him quite cute. Isn’t that right, Ander?” She held up a finger and felt the invisible dragon rub its face against her.
“Great, you’ve named it, now you’re gonna want to keep it. But I’m telling you that thing better be house-trained.” He turned to the bookshelf and began to pull open the book to open the hidden exit door.
Mina felt Ander leave her shoulder but didn’t let Jared know he was missing. She saw Constance’s teacup float mysteriously above Jared’s head. She clapped her hand over her mouth to contain the laughter. A second later the cup turned over, spilling lukewarm tea on Jared’s unsuspecting head.
“Oh, it better not have just peed on me!” he screamed.
The teacup clattered to the ground as Ander released it. Jared saw the cup and glared at the dragon. An instant later he turned and jumped into the air. Morphing into a hawk, he took off chasing the miniature dragon around the room.
Mina pushed the door open and headed out the cellar doors, knowing that Ander would be just fine against a quick-tempered Jared. She hoped that Jared would come out with his ego still intact.
It had grown dark since they entered the recycling plant, and the night air was chilly on her bare arms. She walked over to Jared’s bike, sat on the seat, and surveyed the surroundings. The river lined the east side of the building, and the road and the parking lot were overrun with weeds and old containers. On the west side was the edge of a forest, the evergreens that lined the edge of the forest looking like sentinels guarding the Fae Godmothers. So much had happened in such a short time, and she was just as confused as ever.
An intense prickling feeling ran up her back and tickled her fingers, followed by a familiar sound that pierced the night. Mina jumped off the bike, wary and alert. She scanned the dark forest, knowing that was where the sound came from—a very unique sound that she knew belonged to Stiltskin’s bird. She watched the forest and at first saw nothing, but then a glow emanated from the darkness and grew brighter and brighter.
>Chapter 16
“No, no way. Do you see what he did to me!” She pointed to her golden stripe of hair. “And this was when I was sleeping. Uh-uh. Not happening.”
“That is exactly why you have to kill him. You are the only one who can. You’ve already started connecting to the Fae plane,” Constance said.
“I have?”
“You did, in your sleep. The Fae plane is somewhere between the physical plane and the spiritual one. Jacob and Wilhelm were the only Grimms to successfully go there of their own free will. No other human has done it since. But you can. Temple didn’t come to you in your sleep. You went to him, or at least connected with him in a dream, and the power that continues to grow around you helped make it real.”
“So how do I do it again?”
Both of the women looked at each other and shrugged. “We don’t know.”
“Jared brought me here promising that you would help me,” she cried out.
“We want to help you, but this is a gift we know very little about,” Mei said.
“But if you can get there once, you can get there again. You may have to wait until you solve more quests. It’s not just the Story who is growing stronger and more powerful the more quests you complete. You are as well. So maybe in time you will have more control over this ability. But at the moment we don’t know what else to do.”
“Is there no other option? That can’t be the only way for a human to cross over. What about all of those tales about the Fae stealing children?”
“Children are smaller and take less energy, but it takes a very strong and powerful Fae to cross over with an adult human. Most are barely strong enough to come by themselves. I assume you asked Jared.” Constance looked at Mina carefully, already knowing the answer.
“Of course, he won’t go to the Fae plane. I don’t understand why.”
“It’s because it is more dangerous for him to cross over than it would be for you. Jared’s been banished, and if he goes back, he risks losing his life.”
“I wish he would tell me these things,” Mina fumed.
Mei kept chewing her lip in thought. “Maybe if you had a seam ripper?”
“Is that a small silver tube thing?” Mina asked, feeling her heart race with excitement.