by Chanda Hahn
One moment it felt like the hospital was about to fall down on them; the next, silence. Jared waited a few seconds before moving over and letting Mina up. But he kept his arm protectively around her. Mina barely noticed. Her attention was on the damage before them; the whole wing was destroyed. The fire had been smothered by the windy vortex. A half burned piece of paper fluttered down from the air to land on Mina’s head. Pulling it off she barely glanced at it but saw that it had Nan Taylor’s name on it.
“Nan! Dr. Martin! We have to make sure they are okay.” She looked to Jared, but he wasn’t moving; he was staring at the book.
Reluctantly, Mina moved away from him to grab the book. She opened it up to the last page and ran her fingers across the beautiful picture of a dragon fighting a giant. “Who was she?” Mina whispered.
“A dragon,” Jared answered. He touched the page tenderly, almost lovingly.
Mina touched his cheek with his hand and wiped away a stray tear. “No, who was she to you?” He wouldn’t look at her.
“Probably the only one who ever really cared about me.” He pressed his lips together firmly and she could see that he was steeling himself, getting ready to hide behind his stony mask.
“That’s not true.” Mina pressed her forehead to Jared’s, trying to comfort him. “I care.”
He opened his eyes wide at her admission, and she was sucked into his beautiful grey eyes. He closed his eyes and waited on baited breath as if savoring the moment. Reluctantly, he pulled away from her and looked at the book. “She was my Nanny,” Jared admitted. “She raised me since I was a kid, until I was banished. I was like a son to her.
“Why did she try to scare me?”
“I think she thought you had the Grimoire, and like most Fae, she’s not real fond of the Grimms. But I didn’t even know she came to the human world, she must have come here shortly after I did. I was as surprised as you, when she came crashing through the door.”
Mina nodded silently and stood up, pulling him up with her. She began to walk toward the stairway pulling Jared behind her. Once they were on the stairs, she realized that she was still holding hands with him. She tried to pull away, but Jared held onto her hand firmly.
Not seeing any reason to let go, they walked hand in hand down the stairs. On the second floor they were met by firefighters who escorted them to safety. The parking lot was chaos, filled with fire trucks, ambulances, police, and hospital staff.
It seemed the fire had been contained to the fourth floor and everyone had been accounted for. Everyone except nurse Diedre. Mina sat on a stretcher and was tended to by an EMT. Jared sat next to her, refusing to leave her side. It wasn’t until Mina saw the tour bus and a frightened Brody and Peter waiting impatiently behind a police line that she remembered them.
She ran across the parking lot, and Brody ducked under the police tape and ran to meet her. She wasn’t prepared for Brody’s enthusiastic reception when he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly.
“You’re okay? You aren’t hurt?” He looked at her and pulled her into another embrace. “I can’t tell you how terrifying it was to know you were in there. And when you didn’t come out with Nan, I feared the worst.”
Looking up into his deep blue eyes, she could see the worry etched deep in them and something else. She didn’t have time to think because he leaned down and kissed her. Startled, she froze for a moment before enjoying the kiss. It was soft, tender, and beautiful.
A loud clearing of the throat interrupted them. They broke apart to confront an angry Jared.
“Excuse me, but Dr. Martin is awake and asking a lot of questions. Also, they are about to transfer Nan to another hospital. I think you should get over there, if you know what I mean,” Jared hinted.
Mina grabbed Peter’s hand and dragged him toward the ambulance. She begged the staff to let them have a few moments with Nan before they transferred her. The EMT wasn’t amused, but since Nan wasn’t injured and wasn’t going anywhere, he nodded.
Even in an ordinary hospital gown, Nan was beautiful. Of course, Mina knew it for what it truly was- an enchanted sleep. She was probably the only one who understood that her glowing skin and beautiful complexion was due to Fae magic instead of medicine.
Peter stood before Nan, and he reached out to take her hand in his. He leaned down and whispered into her ear, but she didn’t respond. He looked over to Mina expectantly. “So what is the plan?”
“You kiss her,” Mina answered. “Just like all of the fairy tale stories where true love’s kiss breaks the spell.”
“Mina,” Peter laughed uncomfortably. “This isn’t a fairy tale. I care for her deeply, but we barely know each other. I would never, ever wish this on anyone, but I don’t see how a kiss is going to wake anyone from a coma.”
“It has too,” Mina argued. She clenched her fists to her sides and felt doubt begin to rise up. “I know it will. She was madly in love with you, Peter. It’s what all of your crazy satirical songs are about. So what are you waiting for? Kiss her. If she wakes up, you’ve got a great new song to write about.”
Brody came and stood next to Jared and watched the two argue. Finally, he chimed in. “Go ahead, I’ve never seen you balk at kissing a girl before,” he taunted his cousin.
Sweat began to bead on Peter’s forehead; he wiped it away with the sleeve of his shirt. “Well, that’s because I’ve never kissed an almost dead girl.”
“She’s not dead, or almost dead. Just kiss her and we can all go home.” Mina bit her lip and jumped up and down nervously. She couldn’t understand Peter’s hesitation.
After much coaxing, he moved forward placing either hand on the side of Nan’s shoulders. He took a deep breath, leaned in, closed his eyes, and kissed her on her lips. A few seconds passed, and he broke the kiss.
Everyone waited on baited breath for a change. There wasn’t any.
The band members snuck under the tape and were watching the whole episode with interest. “What do you know?” Naga intoned sadly. “Beauty really is dead.”
Chapter 25
“That can’t be!” Mina was crushed. She looked at Jared, and he shrugged his shoulders. She motioned to speak to him alone.
Jared nonchalantly walked over to Mina away from the Brody and the members of the Dead Prince Society.
“What’s wrong? I gave the stupid story everything it needs for the stupid fairy tale.” She pushed him in the chest angrily. “I kept my part of the bargain. I found the Grimoire, I saved you. The Fates were supposed to give me a fighting chance to save her. I did that. I saved her and even brought a Prince in to kiss her. You can’t get a more fairy tale ending than that.” Mina began pacing and twirling her hair in nervousness.
“You made a deal with the Fates?” Jared asked incredulous. “Both of them? What did they tell you?” He almost seemed panicked.
“Well, just the Queen,” she answered. “But I kept my part of the bargain. She lied.”
Jared thought for a moment long and hard and studied the five boys waiting near the gurney. Four of them seemed nervous and ashamed. Only one of them seemed curious…almost thoughtful.
“Maybe you got the wrong Prince.” He gestured with his head toward the rest of the Princes. “After all, you’ve got three more to choose from.”
All of the doubt and insecurities vanished, and Mina looked up in hope. Of course, she had convinced all four members of the Dead Prince Society to show up at the hospital for an impromptu serenade.
“We can give it a try, but this time you have to do the convincing of kissing a girl in a coma.” Mina pointed her finger at Jared and motioned to the standing boys.
“NO!” Jared reeled back in horror.
“Yes, Jared. You, you owe me.” Mina stomped back to the group and waited on the side patiently. She kept looking at her watch as Jared did most of the talking. Was it only a quarter to one in the morning?
Some of the Princes didn’t like the idea any more than Peter did. But, after enou
gh convincing, Constantine leaned down and gave a very quick chaste kiss. Mina kept glancing toward Dr. Martin who was awake and having his forehead bandaged. So far, he hadn’t noticed the line of boys kissing his future stepdaughter. Naga came forward, did a slight little bow, and picked up her hand. He kissed the back of her hand first. When nothing happened, he gave her a kiss on her lips.
One after another, they kissed her and all of the kisses failed. Peter even went up and kissed her again.
“Well, that was a complete waste,” Naga grumbled.
“I feel kind of weird and think we should go now,” Constantine whined and flipped his long ponytail over his shoulder. “I caught a few of the nurses looking this way, and I can see one of them talking to a police officer.” He pointed and six heads turned to look. He was right. A police officer was pointing in their direction.
“I don’t know what else to do. I’m out of ideas. I was sure true love’s kiss would do it.” She turned her back to watch Dr. Martin come toward them. She took a step forward to explain, when Jared grabbed her elbow stopping her. He motioned with his head to look. Mina turned and felt her stomach drop.
Brody had moved close to Nan and was holding her hand. He was telling her how sorry he was, and how it was all his fault. Regret and guilt covered his face, but so did something else…determination. Before Mina could stop him, or tell him no, Brody squeezed Nan’s hand, leaned forward, and pressed his lips to hers.
Mina’s heart felt like it was in a vice being squeezed between hope and despair. She forgot to breathe as she counted the seconds of Brody and Nan’s kiss. It was an eternity, or at least it felt like it. One second…two seconds…three seconds…four.
“Please!” Mina whispered unsure if she was saying ‘please, no’ or ‘please, yes’. Her eyes started to water as the familiar tingling sensation appeared telling her Fae magic was getting involved. She turned away from Nan and Brody, unable to watch true love’s kiss.
Jared looked at her strangely and then looked to Brody, and he understood. He reached for Mina and held her as a light formed around Nan and grew brighter and brighter. They could hear bells chiming. Maybe it was just the Methodist church down the road, but Mina didn’t need to look to know that the kiss would work.
Nan’s eyes fluttered open as Brody’s kiss continued. At first she looked confused. Then she reached up with her hand to touch his face, and the kiss deepened. His breathing had become ragged and her cheeks flushed, but neither one immediately stopped the kiss.
Brody finally pulled away, his breath shaky. A small smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. Nan smiled back.
Until she noticed the night sky and her audience. Nan blushed beet red and tried to sit up but was a little weak. Brody was immediately helping her sit up.
“Why are we outside? Why do I smell smoke? Mina? Did you catch the apartment on fire?” She looked around her surroundings, at the hospital and fire trucks. “Oh, my bad, you just caught the hospital on fire,” Nan joked, not knowing how close to the truth she had come.
Mina was crying. She wiped her nose on her sleeve and tried to bestow a happy smile on her face. “Hey, sleepy face. Did you have a nice nap?” Her lips quivered with hidden emotion.
Nan scrunched up her nose. “No, I had this weird dream of getting kissed by a bunch of boys.” She pointed to Naga, Constantine, and Magnus. “And you were in it, and you were in it, and you were in it.” She teased doing a replay of a popular scene from The Wizard of Oz. The smile died on her lips when she saw Peter.
Peter walked up to Nan but kept looking at his expensive black shoes. “Hey, you,” he greeted nervously.
“Hey, you back,” Nan answered softly, not being able to meet his eyes either. She tried to listen to Peter but her gaze kept drifting back to Brody. They talked quietly.
Suddenly, Mina felt extremely tired. The police officer and Dr. Martin came over and weren’t angry at the impromptu concert, which they blamed for Nan’s remarkable recovery. Dr. Martin was ecstatic and immediately called Veronica. Since they had plenty to talk about, Mina decided it was time to leave.
Her tired and sore feet had carried her across the parking lot and to the parking garage when she realized her dilemma. She had come with Brody to the hospital, but she didn’t have the strength or courage to get a ride home with him. Not after witnessing their magical and awakening kiss. Collapsing on a cement parking bumper, Mina rested her head in her hands.
She pulled out the black leather book and opened it to its newest page. It was a picture of Nan sleeping on the gurney, while Brody, the four band members, Jared, Mina, and Dr. Martin gathered around her outside of a glass hospital. Mina felt her lips pull up into a wry smile. When she counted the heads out loud, she came to seven, plus a prince. She was even more surprised when she turned the page and saw another picture of Brody and Nan kissing, proving that she had completed Sleeping Beauty’s as well.
Her skin started to tingle, and a shiver of power ran up her spine. The smell of gardenias encompassed Mina, a sure sign that a Fae was opening a gate. Mina had a feeling she knew which one was coming over. A flash of light appeared and quickly dissipated. Mina refused to look. The smell of gardenias perforated the area.
“Two birds with one story,” Mina said out loud to no one in particular. “It could have been a disaster, if it weren’t for Diedre’s sacrifice.”
“Yes, it could have been, but sometimes one must sacrifice a pawn.” A woman’s voice spoke out of the darkness.
Mina turned toward the sound, but she was too exhausted to stand or give the Queen a curtsey. Maeve came and stood before Mina and raised her eyebrow at Mina’s lack of respect. Her dress was a beautiful dark blue with gold macramé overlay.
“I see you have kept your part of the bargain and reclaimed the Grimoire once again,” Maeve’s voice had a distinct royal undertone in it.
Mina found herself snorting in disdain. “No thanks to you. In fact, I was half a mind to ignore our bargain and leave the Grimoire in the room to burn. It would have saved us all a whole lot of trouble. Your kind wouldn’t be trapped anymore; I wouldn’t have to finish the stupid quests--”
“Don’t even joke about such things. You have no idea of the power of the Grimoire.” She stepped forward, and her voice rose in pitch but her face stayed impassive.
Fed up, Mina stood to confront the Queen, her anger spilling out in waves. “Don’t play me. I’m not dumb. He’s your son,” Mina yelled.
Maeve stopped moving. Only the tremor in her voice gave her away. “I have no idea what you mean.”
“Jared. He’s your son. And he is somehow bound to the Grimoire. It can’t hurt him or capture him because he is inexplicably linked to it.” Mina began pacing back and forth, her hands waving in the air, and the picture became crystal clear.
Maeve stood frozen, her chin rose high in the air, neither denying the claims nor agreeing.
“I started to piece it together when Ever said Pixies don’t get along with Ogres. If anyone knew Jared it was Ever. It’s when I figured out he had to have royal blood in him. Only the Royals can transform to multiple shapes.”
Mina threw her head back and laughed. “I get it. He’s like a genie in a bottle and that’s his prison. I can only see and talk to him when I’m in possession of the book. It’s why he disappeared the same time the Grimoire did. It’s why you wanted me to get the book back so badly. It had nothing to do with the innocent Fae being trapped inside. The Reapers work for you. They kill the Grimms whenever we come close to finishing the quest. But this one didn’t want to listen to you. You couldn’t control this Reaper. It’s because you wanted your son back safe and sound. But at the expense of what? Nan, Dr. Martin, me, and Diedre?”
The Queen’s face blanched, and she looked pained. Mina thought it was something she’d said until she saw the Queen reach out past her to someone standing behind her. Mina turned to see Jared, unmoving, he was livid. He moved forward, toward his mother. Mina backed up, thinking he wo
uld go and take sides with the Queen. Instead, he came and stood directly in front of Mina, as if he were protecting her from his own mother.
“Hello, Mother,” Jared’s voice dripped acid.
“Why, Jared,” she soothed. “You are looking well.” Her hand nervously went to her hair to pat it in place.
He ignored her. “Did Dad tell the Reaper to go after Mina?”
Maeve paled again. “No, that was an accident how he stumbled upon her. You were there; you knocked the tree down to save her from the car.”
“I know that. But was it you or Dad that told the Reaper to kill an innocent girl knowing that I would tell Mina, and she would walk into your trap.” Jared’s fists shook, and Mina could hear his knuckles cracking.
“Don’t you raise your voice to me, young man. It was your insolence that got you banished and put you in your present circumstance. It wasn’t me, but can you blame your father for trying to kill the Grimm and get the book back safely?”
“So, what? I can be trapped in limbo for years on end, waiting for the next Grimm? I’ve had it. I’m tired of being your pawn. I’m tired of you and my brother manipulating Mina for your own enjoyment. It’s sick!”
Mina stood back and waited, stunned. This was the first time she had heard Jared ever mention a brother.
“Teague can get a little carried away, but I’m sure you know the reasons. He is your brother and is just as tired of his constraints as you are of yours.” Maeve could see that she wasn’t winning any popularity points by bringing up her other son.
“Rein him in,” Jared argued back.
She tried a different approach. “I was only trying to do what was best for you, and I don’t think that this girl is what’s best for you. I can see that you are becoming attached and that’s--”
“Leave,” Jared interrupted her. “You have done enough damage here already. Just leave.”
The Queen’s pride wouldn’t let her leave without a last word. “Don’t think you can save this one. I told you not to get attached. After all, they all die in the end.”
