The Grimm Chronicles, Vol.3

by Ken Brosky

  Wodehouse clasped his hands together again, laughing with joy. He turned, reaching up and plucking another diamond from the nearest branch. “This will be for my darling wife …” He plucked another much larger one. “This will be for my darling mistress … this one will be for a grand piano …”

  A low groan stopped him. Harper shined his light into the forest, slowly scanning the trees. My headlamp flickered again, then went out, leaving us at the mercy of Harper’s light. I bent down, ready to draw a saber. The darkness felt like a pressure on my eyes, hiding the expansive forest at our backs.

  The groan could have come from anywhere.

  “Come on,” Harper said. “Let’s find Old Jack and then we can gather up the treasure.”

  “Now wait,” Wodehouse said. He turned to me. “You know the fairy tale well, girl. What else is down here?”

  “Uh … no more treasure,” I ventured.

  Wodehouse turned to Harper. “Then why in God’s name would we risk our lives venturing deeper to save that old fool of a friend of yours?”

  “You have your riches,” Harper said. “Now we rescue Jack. That’s my decision. You agreed to abide by my decision.”

  Wodehouse shook his head, ducking out of the way of the beam of light so he was cast in shadow. “I was already rich, Harper. This little forest will be my claim to fame. I’ll be the twenty-first century Percy Fawcett! I shan’t risk that by delving deeper into this peculiar cave so long as my headlamp has any battery power left. Go get your friend. I shall wait here, examining my diamonds.”

  “A man’s life may be in danger!” Harper shouted. His voice echoed above us.

  Cixi’s hand fell on the hilt of one of her daggers. My hair stood on end.

  “I’ll go get him,” I said. “I have a pretty good idea where he is. And it might be dangerous.”

  “No,” Harper snapped. “I’m coming with you.”

  “As am I,” Cixi hissed. My headlamp’s light flickered back on, illuminating her face. For once, she wasn’t staring at me—she was staring at Wodehouse. Glaring at him.

  “Aye,” McCormack said, tossing the diamond. It bounced on the rocky floor, disappearing in the darkness. “Better to not leave a free soul in a place like this.”

  I turned toward the sound of the bouncing diamond and my eye caught something. I got down on all fours, staring at the carving: a town with little houses. Fires burning. Beyond the fires: lions. Not wolves or werewolves … lions with thick manes.

  “Oooooooo-kay,” I said, crawling farther. I gasped.

  They were everywhere.

  Carvings all over the cave floor. Images of creatures and heroic figures with spears, swords, shields …

  And foils. I crawled closer, heart racing, face flush. I licked my clammy lips, leaning closer. It was me. Me and Edward, fighting with our foils.

  “What. The. Crud.”

  “Come on, lass!” McCormack called out.

  I stood, taking a shaky breath, feeling a dull ache in my ribs. I caught up with the others, ducking between the low-hanging branches lined with diamonds. Harper plucked a big one, stuffing it in his knapsack. Cixi grabbed a smaller one, clutching it in her fist before discarding it. What’s your game, creepy dagger lady? Doesn’t all this treasure excite you?

  Wodehouse grabbed a dozen more, giggling with glee. “Perhaps I’ll escort you a bit farther, then await your return. It seems the diamonds are getting bigger the farther we go into this forest. Harper! Harper, point your flashlight over there.”

  Harper aimed the light at one of the branches ahead. When the light hit the fully formed diamonds, the beam split up into a thousand smaller beams, each one cutting through the darkness at a different angle.

  “This one,” Wodehouse said, grabbing a plum-sized diamond near the tip of the branch. “This will be the perfect centerpiece for my nineteenth-century dining table that I’ll be purchasing …”

  A low, bass-like groan came from inside the forest, this time much closer. The tree shuddered, as if something behind it had grabbed hold of its trunk and shaken it fiercely.

  “What …”

  “Wodehouse, get back!” Harper shouted.

  But it was too late. A massive branch curled downward, wrapping around Wodehouse’s waist and squeezing. He cried out, dropping the diamond. The branch lifted him up.

  The tree groaned.

  More trees answered.

  “What’s happening, Harper!” Wodehouse shouted, pounding on the branch with his little fists. “Someone save me!”

  Cixi pulled her daggers from her vest, moving quickly to the trunk of the tree. Another twisted branch reached down, wrapping around her, its sharp diamonds cutting her arm. She screamed, stabbing at the branch with her blades and chipping away chunks of bark.

  Harper turned to me. I bent down, using the pen to draw an axe. Or … my best interpretation of an axe. The truth is, I didn’t really know how to draw one. What materialized was close enough, with a curved wooden handle and a wide, sharp steel axe head.

  “Why, I’ve never …” McCormack said in a low voice.

  I pushed past him, letting my feet take short, quick steps. I saw another of the tree’s long branches come down and edged left, hefting the axe over my head and taking a mighty chop at the branch clutching Cixi. The wood split. The tree moaned so loud that I could feel it inside my chest. The vibration pained my sore ribs.

  More trees answered the call. All around us a chorus of low, brittle groans.

  I chopped again, severing the branch. It burned away, and then the burning blackness spread to the trunk. Its limbs—and the diamonds—turned to ash.

  Cixi and Wodehouse fell to the ground.

  “What in the bloody hell?” McCormack exclaimed. “I swear I’m dreamin’. This ain’t real, is it?”

  “Believe it,” Harper said, shining the flashlight on the other nearby trees. Wodehouse and Cixi got up. Their clothes were cut where the diamonds and bark had rubbed against them.

  “We should leave,” Wodehouse said. “To heck with Old Jack and to heck with the diamonds!”

  “There’s a boat,” I told Harper. “Through these trees. It can’t be far. It’ll take us across a lake. We … well, we’re not going to be any safer on the other side, but at least we won’t be surrounded by man-eating trees.”

  “Fair enough. Come on!” Harper led the way, the flashlight’s beam bouncing with each step. We followed him closely, giving every possible branch a wide berth. The groaning was getting louder, echoing all around us. The sound of creaking wood came from every direction.

  McCormack, breathing heavily, started to fall behind.

  “Come on, you big lug!” I shouted, grabbing him by the shirt.

  “I’m … I’m … I’m done, lassy!”

  “No!” I pulled him harder, swinging my axe at a twisted branch as it reached out for him. Burning blackness spread across the bark, igniting the massive tree and lighting up the forest. We both drew in a sharp breath. All of the nearby trees were swaying, their branches pulling away from the flames, their trunks reflecting the orange glow. Each trunk had a distinct face, distorted and grotesque.

  We hurried to catch up, ducking low beneath the branches of another tree. Something snagged the collar of my shirt, scratching my neck. I screamed, turning and grabbing the branch with my left hand. I swung my axe at the branch, but the axe head flew off the handle, landing somewhere in the darkness.

  You don’t know how to draw an axe head, Alice!

  “I got ya, lass!” McCormack’s big hands wrapped around my waist and he pulled while I twisted the branch. It tore the collar of my sweater but I was free! We hurried to join the others, weaving our way around another tree.

  “Up ahead!” I told them, pointing with the axe handle. The trees were thinning out, and ahead I could see the lake. On the other side of the lake were the trees with the glowing blue plums, their light reflecting on the surface of the black water.

  “Careful!” Cixi s
aid, jumping in front of Wodehouse and slicing a branch in half before its claw-like fingers could grab him. A dozen trees were still in front of us, each one swaying, each one’s branches writhing and twisting toward us. Cixi cut another branch, then another. Harper dodged and ducked, trying his best to keep the beam of the flashlight directly ahead of us.

  “Gaaah!” McCormack shouted.

  I turned around, cursing. The big man’s arms were pinned to his body, one thick branch squeezing him tightly around the waist.

  “They’re—urk!—they’re squeezing my bladder!” he shouted.

  “Hold on!” I bent down, drawing a gladius. It wasn’t an axe, but it would have to do. I pulled it from the ground and looked up. Another branch! I ducked, avoiding the shadowy limb and swinging the short sword in a wide arc. I chopped away bark, but the tree refused to burn. I chopped again and again; slowly, the burning blackness appeared. I hurried to McCormack, hacking away at the limbs holding him. Bark chipped away. The burning blackness spread, turning the branches to ash. The trunk burst into flame, sending a hickory-sweet smoke into the air. The tree burned quickly, leaving ashes scattered at our feet.

  McCormack clutched his stomach, gasping. “I don’t know who ya are, lass, but I owe ya one.”

  “Come on,” I said, pulling him up. He put weight on his right foot, then nearly collapsed. I caught him, feeling the pain in my ribs flare up. We gave the last three trees a wide berth, reaching the others at the boat.

  “Thanks for the help,” I said.

  “You’re just lucky we waited for you at all,” Wodehouse snapped, pointing a shiny diamond at me. He looked at it, then at me, then shoved the diamond in his vest pocket and zipped it up.

  “Hey, buster,” I said, stabbing the air between us. “I’m the reason this boat is even here.”

  “Enough,” Harper said. “What’s across this lake?”

  “A castle,” I said. “And some ghosts. And your friend.”

  “Bloody …” McCormack glanced over his shoulder, spitting in the direction of the groaning trees. “I can’t be sure if the lass is joking or not!”

  “We’ll take our chances,” Harper said. “Everyone in.”

  I helped McCormack into the boat, then got in, sitting on the stern end. McCormack grabbed the oars, pushing us off.

  “We’ll go back,” Wodehouse proclaimed. “If the girl uses her skills to chop away at those trees, we’ll be able to fill our bags with enough diamonds …”

  “Shut up,” Harper said. He turned to me. “Well?”

  I shrugged. “Well, they’re obviously some pretty ticked-off trees.”

  “How did you make them burn?” Wodehouse asked, putting his glasses back on. His headband light had gone off again.

  “Magic,” I said, taking off my headband to check the bulb. It was out, too. “McCormack is right: this entire place is the work of magic. And my headlight is out.”

  “That’s ridiculous,” Wodehouse snorted. “Except the headlight part.”

  “Any more ridiculous than those diamonds you plucked from a tree?” I asked.

  McCormack grunted, dipping the oars in the water and pulling with all his might. We moved slowly across the lake. Too slowly for my tastes.

  “What are those?” Harper asked, pointing ahead.

  “Trees with nightlights,” I said. “Your friend disappeared there. He was—”

  “Wait,” Cixi hissed. Her fingers clenched the ivory hilts of her daggers. “I heard something.”

  McCormack stopped rowing, tearing off his headlight so he could wipe sweat from his forehead. “Bloody … what now?”

  Harper flashed his flashlight over the water. The beam cut through the darkness all the way to the glistening limestone walls of the cavern at the edge of the lake. “There!” he shouted. “I saw something. What is it?”

  “A ghost,” I said. “Just stay calm. I can handle this.”

  “You?” Wodehouse whimpered. “How? With what?”

  Something flew across the flashlight’s beam. A shadow. A princess. She was close, circling us. I looked down, searching the water. In the reflection, I could see myself and McCormack and Harper.

  And a princess.

  A princess with big, white eyes and terribly pale skin and a tattered pink dress with long sleeves. She was floating above McCormack, one hand reaching down for his head …

  “Move!” I shouted, grabbing the big man’s shirt and pulling him down. I stabbed my gladius at the air above him. The princess appeared, burning away and screaming so loud it stung my eardrums.

  Ashes fell over McCormack’s head. Wodehouse and Harper stared, wide-eyed. Even Cixi’s stone expression had cracked just a bit.

  “What was it?” McComack asked, wiping off of the black ash. “A ghost? A ghost coming for old McCormack?”

  “I do believe it’s time to go,” Wodehouse said. “Harper, the spoils of the forest are yours. I’m all for leaving as soon as possible.”

  “We have to save Old Jack,” Harper said. “And the only way out is forward. Isn’t that right, Alice?”

  “What’s he speakin’ of?” McCormack asked, grabbing the oars.

  “In the fairy tale, there was a secret passage through a castle,” I told him, searching the water’s reflection for anything else ghost-related. “A prince uses the passage to find the twelve princesses and he ends up marrying one of them in typical Brothers Grimm fashion. But the passage we went through was the secret passage. First the prince went through a forest of silver, then gold, then diamonds. Then he took a boat across a lake.”

  “What’re ya sayin’, lass?”

  I see you trapped in a cavern …

  “I’m saying there may not be a way out.”

  “We’ll find a way out,” Harper said. “And we’ll save Old Jack.”

  “And what about the bleedin’ man-eating trees?” McCormack shouted, his voice echoing above us.

  More laughter.

  “The flashlight,” I said. “Harper, give it to me!”

  He handed it over, drawing a pistol from underneath his vest. Wodehouse unslung his rifle.

  “A lot o’ good those’ll do,” McCormack said. He crouched low, pulling a little pig charm from his necklace and tapping it a few times. “Best of luck, lass.”

  “I’ll need more than luck,” I whispered, shining the light in a wide circle. The boat was drifting slowly to the shore. We could reach it … but would it matter?

  More laughter. The sounds echoed all around us. Suddenly, a shadow moved across the beam of light. I tried to follow it, but it was too fast. I leaned in the boat, searching the water.

  “Careful,” Wodehouse said. “You’ll capsize us!”

  More laughter echoed above.

  Come on … come on …

  A bead of sweat slipped off my forehead, dropping into the water. Gentle ripples radiated out in a wide circle, distorting my reflection. When it settled, I wasn’t alone anymore.

  Another princess, this one with a long face and beak-like nose and pearl-white eyes. Her hair was brown, matted against her skull. Her brown dress revealed two sharp, bony shoulders.

  Carefully, I turned the gladius hilt so the blade was pointed behind me.

  The princess opened her mouth, revealing terrifying sharp teeth. I stabbed the sword backward.

  A scream. Ashes exploded like a firework, dousing Wodehouse.

  “Ptoo,” he said, pulling a handkerchief from his pocket. He wiped the ashes from his face. “What happened?”

  “A ghost,” I whispered.

  McCormack grabbed the oars, rowing the boat to the shore. I helped McCormack out last, letting him lean on me to keep pressure of his right foot. We moved cautiously closer to the trees with blue plums, then stopped as the branches shuddered. The plums bounced up and down, their light dancing on the cave floor.

  More laughter.

  “Wodehouse, how good of a shot are you with that thing?” I asked.

  He stood tall. “The best. It�
�s the only reason I haven’t soiled my nickers at this point.”

  “I have an idea. Give me your bullets.”

  He looked at Harper.

  “Do it,” Harper said. “She’s gotten us this far.”

  Wodehouse clicked open the barrel of his long rifle. He pulled out six bullets that were as long as my finger. I set my sword by my feet.

  More laughter, definitely closer this time.

  “Whatever you’re going to do,” Cixi said, “do it fast.”

  I used my pen to color the tips of the bullets. The golden glow stung my eyes, which had grown accustomed to the dark. I carefully loaded them back into Wodehouse’s rifle.

  “No time to hesitate,” I told him. “And no pressure, but if you miss them, we’re probably all going to die.”

  “Splendid,” he murmured, bringing the gun to his shoulder.

  More laughter. The branches of one of the trees just ahead of us swung up and down, dropping one of the glowing blue plums. It bounced twice, rolling toward us, the blue light changing with each rotation of the oval-shaped fruit.

  A shadow slipped between the trees.

  “There!” I shouted. I was cut off by Wodehouse’s gun. The glowing gold tip of the bullet seemed to travel in slow motion when it escaped the gun, cutting through the air and hitting the shadowy ghost before she could slip behind another tree. She exploded in a cloud of ash.

  “Oooooh what a sight,” McCormack said.

  “Me,” Cixi said, holding out her daggers. I used the pen to draw a line from the tip of the blade down to the hilt. Harper pulled the bullets from his six-shooter. I colored the tip of each one.

  “The light reveals their shadows,” I said, digging in my ears to fight the ringing. The report from the gun had dulled my hearing. I needed my hearing.

  “There!” Harper shouted. He fired. A cloud of ash exploded beside the nearest tree. “That’s four of them. Alice, keep the light on those trees!”

  I shined the light on the trees, revealing a sinister shadow creeping along the trunk. Wodehouse fired, and ashes exploded across the heavy bark. Two more glowing blue plums fell, rolling down the gentle slope to our feet.