I rubbed circles on her back.
“I just wish I could take it all back. Even James.”
“I know.”
But I didn’t.
I had no regrets really, at least not thus far, but then again, Danielle hadn’t ruined me yet. The pieces were in place though. What would I have to do to insure Danielle went down before me? Whatever it was, I’d do it. Living in fear wasn’t something I did, ever, and I sure as hell didn’t want to give Danielle the sick satisfaction. I swallowed the fear, killing it with determination.
“We have to take her down,” I said. “All we have to do is find some dirt, something we can prove.”
“Like?”
I pushed up to my knees and bounced. “Gale. I know he’s still in love with her. I just have to prove that she’s using him. Once I do that…”
“Whoa, slow down,” Kate cut me off. “You have to be careful. I mean really careful.”
The next steps played over in my head. Leaning across the bed, I dug a small box between the mattress and the box spring. Inside were the tiny blue pills. Kate was a lot smarter than me when it came to all things magical and chemistry.
“Can you find out what these do?” I asked. She peered in the box and took out a tiny powder blue capsule.
“Sure, but why?”
A grin took over my face. “This may be the first piece of Operation Glass Slipper: Cinderella Takedown.”
Kate giggled.”You mean Operation Glass Stiletto. Slippers are so last season.”
We laughed together, but the joy didn’t take away the desire for revenge. I had to be freed from the terror Danielle now brought me and most of all, of the person it had turned me into. Never had I been so full of revenge and so bent on destroying a person.
The answer to my problem was right in front of me, walking by my side like a mini fortune teller. I wondered why I hadn’t realized it before. Monday morning I hurried to my locker. I’d never been in such a rush to get to find Desiree. Especially after I’d bitched her out for telling asshat Finn that I liked him.
As expected, she sat in the desk behind the one Kate and I shared. The bright red pants she wore were hard to miss. I took a deep breath and tossed my bag on the desk before I swiveled the chair to face her.
“I finally figured out how to stop the witch,” I said.
Desiree’s thin brows bunched together. Today her eyes were grey and brown. The contrast was a little startling, but cool. “Which witch? Effie? I didn’t know she was a problem.”
“No, no. Not Effie.” I forgot I couldn’t be so literal. “Danielle.” Desiree perched in her chair, excitement building in her now hazel and charcoal eyes. “Honestly, I don’t know why I didn’t figure it out sooner. You know everything, being desire and all. You know how I can ruin her.”
I practically bounced in my seat with joy. For once the cards were turning in my favor. Soon I’d have my sister back and safe, and Danielle would be history. After all that, I could convince Wolf we, too, could be together.
Desiree sank backward, her features darkening. “I can’t do that, Norah. For one, it’s totally against school policy to use dark magic and two, all magic comes with a cost. The consequences could be detrimental.”
“It’s fine. I can handle the backlash.” I was strong, strong enough to deal with the consequences of my actions. Didn’t she know how important it was for me to take Danielle down before she destroyed me?
“Sorry, Norah, but I can’t. You should let the whole Danielle crap go, focus on something less disastrous. Revenge is a really nasty desire.”
My lips pressed together. Desiree didn’t get it. She lived in a world where nothing mattered. She wasn’t bound to a person; she didn’t feel the need to protect others. I had to protect my sister and find justice for Kate. I wasn’t safe until Danielle was destroyed, and if Desiree wouldn’t help me, I’d do it myself.
Revenge is a dark emotion, darker than anything I’d ever felt before. It filled me with determination and desire, a desire which ate at my soul, desperate to be filled. And I would fill it. I would fill it like my life depended on it.
Danielle wasn’t one to keep incriminating things lying in the open. The only way to find dirt was to dig. Luckily, Kate had an enchantment to unlock a locked door. At first, I wanted to leave her out of it and break into Danielle’s room alone, but she insisted. Denying Kate the pleasure of taking back her life wasn’t something I wanted to do. After all, Danielle ruined her already. She had nothing to lose.
The door creaked open, inviting us inside. Everything was as I remembered, except the new addition of April’s belongings, which were just as minimal as mine. The lights were dim and the curtains were shut, masking the room in darkness.
“What are we looking for again?” Kate whispered, as we crept into the room and split up.
I wasn’t sure what we were looking for exactly, just something to use against her. On the other side of the room was Danielle’s dresser. Opening each drawer, I lifted the perfectly folded clothes organized first by type—shirt, tank top, shorts—then by color. No whites touched blues, no blues touched grays. She kept everything as flawless as she portrayed herself to be.
I glanced at the clock a few times, knowing she’d be back between tea and dinner to change outfits, and focused on the desk. The first drawer had pens and pale blue sticky notes. Nothing out of the ordinary. The second had notebooks. Flipping through the pages did nothing, the only comments inside were ideas for the ball and future events.
As I shut the drawer and prepared to open the next, Kate gasped. I swirled around and found her on the floor, a large plastic bin beside her and paper everywhere.
“What it is?” I settled at her side.
“The notes James and I wrote each other.” She held the letters closer and pointed to the top. “Look, they’re dated, too.”
On the top of the lined paper was the date, which indeed dated back a year ago. His handwriting was sloppy and almost illegible.
I have a bad feeling about tonight. I think Danielle may be onto us even before I tell her. You know better than me, the girl has spies everywhere. Let’s meet at the fountain instead. 8pm. Always, James
“I never got this note.” Kate’s voice was barely a whisper. Her eyes grew large as she turned to face me. “If I’d gotten the note, I never would’ve gone. He knew she knew. He wanted to warn me.”
My heart hammered inside my chest as Kate and I devoured the letters they wrote to each other. James was different. Loving, passionate, charming. He promised he loved Kate more than anyone in the world. He promised they’d find a way around the system so they could be together.
Something didn’t add up. You don’t go from loving to hating and ignoring someone in a day for no reason. Danielle had to have interfered. The pills, maybe. But they had to be super powerful to make him forget about Kate altogether.
Voices erupted outside the door and Kate and I bolted up. Shit, I thought as I scanned the dresser for the clock. Time was up. We hurried throwing the letters back in the bin.
“We have to hide.” I whispered.
“Where?”
The closet was out of the question, she’d go in there right away. The bathroom. No, that wouldn’t work either. We were too high up to climb out the window.
“Under the bed.”
I pushed Kate down first and clamped the lid on the box, pulling it under the bed beside us seconds before the door opened. There was barely room for the two of us. Danielle crammed a lot of crap underneath—broken shoes, boxes, old notebooks. I held my breath as she walked inside, her glass heels soundless on the plush carpet. Someone was with her too, but all I saw were a pair of beaten up black Converses.
“The door was unlocked,” Danielle said. I cringed at my mistakes, I should’ve watched the time better.
“April probably forgot to lock it.”
The boy’s voice sounded familiar. Beside me, Kate’s eyes widened as she mouthed a name, one which sent a ch
ill up my spine. Gale. Dresser doors slammed and Danielle paused.
“My jewelry box is open. I never leave it open,” her voice trailed off.
Gale came up behind, stopping only inches from her, but Danielle shifted away, hurrying around the door, slamming the drawers of her desk and hope chest until she finally ran into the closet. The noise continued for a few minutes. Gale sat down, the bed sinking inches from our face.
Her bare feet ran across the room to the bed. Kate’s hand grabbed a hold of mine, her face buried in my shoulder as the space between me and the bin grew wide, spilling light upon us. Danielle exhaled as she opened the box and sifted through the contents.
“What’s that?” Gale asked.
Danielle snapped the top on and pushed it under the bed so hard, it slammed into my side. “Nothing. We’d better go before April gets back and sees us alone together.”
The mattress springs groaned as Gale slid off the bed and the two of them walked out the door, locking it as it shut. I let out a long breath and we stayed under the bed for a few minutes to be sure it wasn’t a trap.
Slowly I moved the box so we could get out, but not without taking a few letters and a journal. Kate shoved a few in her pocket too. There had to be something here to work with, but I didn’t want to stick around any longer.
Everyone had secrets. I did. April did. Kate did. Some secrets were darker than others. Like Danielle’s. The pale blue journal with hand painted orchids on the cover smelled of jasmine and sandalwood. Judging a book by its cover, I expected journal entries of love and heartache, even haiku. Danielle was many, many things, but a poet was not one of them.
Dear Diary,
Tonight I saw James and Kate walking together out of the courtyard. I followed them, hoping to tell them about my plans to change the dress code, but then, as they turned the corner to the gardens, their hands intertwined and he kissed her. Really, really kissed her. To my surprise, she didn’t fight him. How dare she! She knows he belongs to me! What’s worse? The way he looked at her, the love and adoration in his stare, he’s never once looked at me like that.
When I confided to Madrina, she told me I had to end it now or chance losing my dreams. And I sure as hell am not going to mess this up, that bitch has to pay in the ugliest way. Immediately I got in touch with an old friend, one who will assist me in ruining Kate and stealing James’ memories. After tomorrow, he’ll never ever remember loving her. In return, he’ll believe me to be his one and only love. And I? I couldn’t be happier.
So rest soundly, Diary, knowing I will put an end to whatever madness comes our way.
The book fell from my hands and into my lap, my heart racing a million miles per hour. Danielle stole James’s memories with black magic. Wiped them free from his mind and implanted her own. How was that possible, I wondered, to change a person’s memories completely? I hoped she threatened him, but this, this was so much bigger.
I jammed the book in my bag and ran out the door, unsure where I was actually going, but I knew I had to tell someone. Not Kate, she’d be so upset if she knew the truth. I couldn’t tell her till I knew more.
So, I ran, not sure where I was headed until a thick brown door stared back at me. The last person in the world who wanted me, yet the only one I trusted.
“What are you doing here?” Wolf asked, standing in the doorway in nothing but a pair of jeans. Jeans that hugged him in all the right places. Did he ever wear a shirt in his room?
I pushed my way through the door and paced back and forth. “Look at this.” Opening the journal to the page, I handed it to him.
His attention focused on the page, skimming the ink over and over again. I ran one hand through my hair, trying to breathe in and out. But his silence was unnerving. Moisture coated his hard muscles. In the right corner of his room were two large weights. Was he working out?
“Where did you get this?” He fingered the spine and drew my attention from his arms to his face. I shifted back and forth, tugging at the hem of my shirt, wishing I didn’t have to tell Wolf. “Norah.” His voice was firm and unyielding, like a father scolding his daughter for misbehaving.
Instead of backing off, I told him what Kate and I did, and about Kate’s history with James. Somehow I thought he already knew, considering Wolf seemed to know everything about everyone. This stumped him. Point for Norah.
“When I read the journal, I wasn’t sure who to tell or if I should. It was so heavy, you know?”
“Why not Finn?” He sat in the plush red chair in the corner. His brows knitted together, holding in the venom I knew he felt by speaking Finn’s name.
I plopped on the bed across from him, crossing one leg over the other. “I’m pretty sure Finn will never talk to me again. I kind of punched him in the nose.”
“He said he lost a battle in combat class,” Wolf said. I laughed, knowing he’d have to find a reason for the swelling and raccoon eyes.
“Figures. Anyway, back to the book. I wanted to tell someone I trusted, someone none of this affects. I’m just trying to stay proactive. I mean, she took away a guy’s memory. Who’s to say she won’t do the same to me? Who’s to say you won’t wake up tomorrow and forget I ever existed?”
“That’s highly unlikely. Memory is a heavy element. She had to have dark magic behind her. No fairy godmother could pull that off.”
“Then who?” I leaned forward on my elbows. “Who could’ve done this?”
“There’s more, too.” Wolf fingered through the book and held it in my direction. “Says something about the lost fairy tales. Her fairy tale. I bet we’d find the answer in there.”
“That’s great and all,” I glanced at the entry, but it said nothing of value. “But Desiree said getting a hold of the lost fairy tales were impossible.”
“Only if you don’t know where to look.” Wolf’s auburn eyes twinkled with mischief.
In the daytime, sunbeams glittered through the stained glass windows of the castle library, casting rays of light upon the wooden shelves as if they were enchanted. Now, vacant of any light whatsoever, the tall cases stood like silent soldiers guarding temples of knowledge.
Wolf flicked on the small pink flashlight I found at the bottom of my duffle bag. The second level of the library held more books than the first, the spines colorful and whimsical even without the added daylight. Somewhere nearby, the heater kicked on, groaning so loud, I gripped Wolf’s elbow.
His eyebrow hiked up, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. “You’re not scared, are you, little princess?”
I scoffed and let go. “Of course not.”
“Good, because we’re about to break every rule in the book.”
I followed him across the library, careful to make each step silent. Still, I felt someone watching us, like murky yellow eyes trailed behind. I checked over my shoulder, again, holding onto Wolf with my sweaty hand. I told myself it was due to the heat, but I was scared. Just a little. I mean, who wouldn’t be when breaking into a library at night to find forbidden stories that were supposed to be hidden from the world.
The hush of the empty room magnified my raging heartbeat. With his animal-like qualities, I was certain Wolf heard it too. With each step my heart raced faster, sure someone was going to pop out at us at any second.
We approached the wall farthest to the back and he shined the light on the sandy brown rug beneath the carrel desks. I let go of his arm and helped him lift a few of the desks out of the way. He bent over and pushed the rug back.
“Shut the front door,” I breathed. A smile spread over my mouth, I couldn’t believe it, a secret passage way. I mean, castles had a lot of corridors, but I’d never actually seen a secret passage, well, except in movies. But low and behold, beneath the rug was a door.
With one steady pull, the latch creaked open, exposing what I assumed was a staircase; though, I saw nothing but darkness. Bitter, stale, impenetrable darkness. Darkness we had to walk into.
“You sure you’re ready for thi
s?” he asked once more, as if the sight scared me away.
“Of course.”
I took the flashlight from his hand and shined it on the wooden stairs. Here goes nothing, I stepped forward, placing my foot on the first step, praying the wood wouldn’t cave under my weight. I let out a breath when both of my feet were planted.
The dim light only pushed a step or two in front of me. Suddenly I regretted going first. Damn my need to be brave. I cringed at every creak the old warped stairs made, especially after Wolf joined me. Yeah, if it was going to collapse, it definitely would with his solid body. He was like a rock.
A shadow flickered in the corner of my vision and I froze, my hand gripping the banister. A shiver cascaded down my backbone, curling through the fine hairs on my neck. Wolf’s hand pressed against the small of my back, egging me forward.
I hesitated for only a second. There was no real reason to be afraid, and if something did happen, I could totally kick ass. Breathe, Norah, just breathe.
I took the stairs slowly, ignoring the way they swayed with each step, ignoring the fact that I couldn’t see exactly how far down we had to go or what was beneath us. But after what seemed like centuries, we reached the bottom. The bottom wasn’t solid ground, as I hoped, but wood. Great. What happened to sturdy old cement?
Wolf jumped in front of me, leading the way, and I couldn’t help but grab his hand as he did so. Touching him, holding on to him felt instinctual. His strong fingers latched onto mine as we walked through the hollow halls, still unable to see anything further than a few steps.
We paused before a dark tunnel, like a mine shaft. Across the top, in script so old it was barely legible, it said: Die Höhle der verlorenen Märchen. Granted, I didn’t speak German, but I knew what die meant in English.
The Forgotten Fairytales Page 18
