Andi gently shook his shoulder and asked, "You okay?"
He kept his forehead pressed in the dirt and nodded, squeezing his eyes closed against the pain. "Where'd you—learn to—swim like—that?" Fredrick gasped.
"We have a pool in the backyard. Can you stand?"
"Give me a hand."
Andi tried to take most of his weight to save his ribs, but he still let out a gasp. "Do we have any pain pills left?"
"They’re in my bag. I left them up river when I jumped in,” she said.
"Let's get them.”
Andi stepped back to give him room to move. His gaze dipped down and immediately back up where he stared at the sky, his face in flames.
"Jeeze Andi, where’re your pants?" Fredrick asked, hating the sick embarrassment that seemed to overwhelm his entire body.
Andi had on a t-shirt, underwear, and a lot of mud. Nothing else.
"They're with my bag,” she said, unapologetically.
"Why aren't they on you?" Fredrick said, fighting another, stronger—not necessarily unpleasant—sensation that had a lot to do with Andi in her underwear and a wet t-shirt.
“I wasn't jumping in after you with wet boots and jeans on. I've never pulled someone out of a river, and I didn't need extra clothes weighing me down," she said, clearly annoyed.
"You can’t wander around like that!" His gaze still hadn’t left the sky.
"I'll put them back on when I get to them. Walk in front of me if it bothers you that much,” Andi said, waving him ahead.
Trudging up river, Fredrick's kept his eyes studiously forward as if his life depended on it. He dodged around scrub brush and squelched through mud, the river gurgling quietly on his right and the evergreen forest looming on his left.
"There it is." Andi jogged past. Fredrick flicked his gaze at the clouds and continued to stare there intently. He could hear Andi digging around in her bag.
"They're a little damp, but they should still work."
Fredrick wasn’t sure where to grab and he wasn’t looking down. Andi sighed and bounced them directly into his palm, curling his fingers around the bottle.
Fredrick dry swallowed several pills, studying the tops of the pines and listening to Andi complain.
"The only thing worse than hiking through the forest in wet clothes is having to put wet clothes on, then go hiking through the forest." She squelched to her feet, "I'm dressed. You can stop ignoring me now."
"Sorry, I just..."
"Yeah, I know, I know. It is slightly charming, in a way,” Andi said. “You okay to go on?"
Fredrick nodded and tried not to pass out.
Slogging upriver, Fredrick continued to look for the ruins of the stone pier. "How far did we float?" he asked.
"A long way. Most of which I jogged,” she reminded him pointedly, shading her eyes and peering across the water. “There’s the pier.” She turned to face the woods. "A mile or so, that shouldn't take us more than half an hour, right?"
They left the gurgling of the river, the sun slowly drying Fredrick’s clothes as they entered into the cool shade of the needle-strewn forest.
"Look at this." Andi stomped over to a tree bordering the vague trail and ripped down another wanted poster. She waved it in Fredrick's direction. "This is insane! How’d they even get this here!"
Past Andi, farther down the path, something red flashed between the trees. Unknown things lurking in the forest hadn’t turned out well for Fredrick so far. He grabbed Andi’s arm and pulled her back off the trail. Putting a finger to his lips, he nodded ahead to the shadow of branches.
"What is it?" Andi whispered.
"Don't know." He placed her behind him in the dark of the trees and crept forward, his eyes locked on the space he saw the movement.
She appeared suddenly in front of them and Andi let out a small yelp. It was a girl, no older than eleven, with brown pigtails, a freckled face, and a large wicker basket over one arm. The red hood and cloak hanging from her shoulders left no doubt who she was.
"Who are you?" She narrowed her eyes and took another step toward them. Andi crumpled the poster in a tight ball and hid it in her palm. Stepping in front of Fredrick, she gave him a let-me-do-the-talking look and smiled at Red Riding Hood.
"We're a little lost. Is this the way to Dame Gothel's?" Andi asked.
"Yeah. You're almost there." Red’s tone was not friendly. She shifted the basket to her other arm and snapped on a piece of gum. "Why’re you heading there? Princes are the only ones who go there. You're not a prince."
Andi hesitated a second. "No, of course not. But he is," she said, tilting her head at Fredrick.
Red shifted her gaze from Andi to Fredrick and back again. "He doesn't look like a prince, and who are you supposed to be?"
"He's a prince," Andi stuttered a little. "We've had some traveling trouble. I'm... his guide."
"If you're his guide, why are you asking for directions?" Red asked.
Andi balled up her fists and glared at the tiny roadblock of a girl in front of them.
"Where you headed?" Fredrick interceded before Andi lost it and tried to punch the child.
"My grandma's house. She's not feeling well." She snapped her gum and swung her focus to Fredrick.
Fredrick smiled at her. "That's sweet of you. You’ve got far to go?"
Her full attention was on him now and she tugged on one of her braids. "Not too far, it's just over the river and through the woods."
Moving to Andi's side, Fredrick gently pushed her past Red and down the narrow trail. He briefly wondered if there was anything he could do about the really bad day Red Riding Hood was about to have.
"Thanks for the directions. You be careful now." With a little wave, Fredrick hustled Andi out of sight, leaving the little girl tugging her braid with a half smile on her face.
Andi tossed the crumpled wanted poster into the trees and trudged down the trail. “Now you trot out the dimples and the charming southern drawl?”
He wanted to laugh at her inability to sidestep a child, but his ribs still hurt.
"Why couldn't she just accept my story and skip on her way? And I thought you couldn't talk to girls,” Andi sulked.
"She’s a kid,” Fredrick pointed out. “I’m good with kids. I have two little brothers, you know."
"No, I didn’t know,” Andi bit off.
"She actually reminded me a bit of you,” Fredrick said, trying to smooth her ruffled feathers.
It was the wrong thing to say. She glared over her shoulder and there was stony silence until they came to the tower.
Chapter 34
"I’m a girl of many hidden talents. Keeping myself out of trouble is not one of them.”
Andi stepped into a quiet clearing. Overgrown grass and wild roses blanketed the area, running right up to the base of the tower and entwining themselves into the architecture. It rose above her in layers of five-foot columns, like a roman inspired monolith made of sandstone. Intricate carvings adorned the structure.
Unusual geometric shapes formed tiny windows into the empty space between the columns. Pouncing lions of stone glared down from lofty platforms. Perched at the top of the tower was an open cupola. Drifting down on the wind was a song with dramatic dips, rises, and trilling notes of a foreign tune.
"It's not what I pictured. Do you think this is it?" Andi asked.
Fredrick turned in a circle in the small clearing. "I don't see any other towers."
Tilting her head back, Andi called, "Quinn?"
The singing stopped and Quinn's face appeared over the edge of the sandstone railing of the cupola, incredulous and hopeful. She tilted her head up and laughed, a husky sound, heavy with relief. Andi also noticed the relived smile on Fredrick’s face.
"How do we get up?" Andi called.
Quinn's head disappeared and a second later, a thick black rope tumbled over the side of the tower and hung an inch or two above the ground. Andi looked at it closely. It was tapered, thick at the top
and skinny at the bottom, and the entire thing was made out of a braided fiber. Fredrick peered over her shoulder.
"Is that…?”
"Her hair," Andi confirmed. "Any guesses what story we've stumbled into now?"
"Why doesn't she just cut it off and climb down?" he asked.
"I'll have to go up and ask.” She gave the braid an experimental tug. “You stay here."
"Andi—" Fredrick started.
"Oh, no you don't. You say my name that way right before you argue or deliver a lecture. You have two broken ribs, so you will be staying here. And to make you feel better—" She slung off her pack and dug around, pulling out the pistol and a handful of bullets. She stuffed her cloak in the pack and handed the bullets and gun to Fredrick. "You can stand guard. Know how to use it?"
Fredrick pointed the barrel at the ground and thumbed the catch on the side, rolling open the chamber. He slid the rounds into their slots and flipped it closed.
"There's no safety."
"I don't think they've been invented yet," Andi apologized. "Where did you learn to shoot?"
"I'm from Texas, guns aren’t exactly uncommon." He tried to lift a shoulder in a shrug, but winced instead.
"Hunh." Andi gave him an appraising look before turning back to the rope of hair. There was more to this guy than met the eye.
Even though Quinn was more experienced, the footholds were so numerous that Andi didn't have much difficulty with the 30-foot climb. She was a little winded when she reached the top, but after her crazy day, she chalked it up to general exhaustion.
Quinn was waiting to help pull her over the edge and Andi slumped on the floor resting her tired muscles as Quinn took her braid down from the hook on the side of the cupola.
She practically tackled her in a hug and Andi laughed, awkwardly embracing her from her sitting position. "You never abandoned me… Surely you know we wouldn’t leave you?”
"Not willingly." Quinn clasped her hands together as she sat back. "But I couldn't imagine how you were going to find me. At first I didn't have any clue who took me. How could you?"
"I’m a girl of many hidden talents." She gestured to her filthy, damp clothes. "Keeping myself out of trouble is not one of them.”
“How am I always the one turned into a bird or stolen by giants?” Quinn scowled.
“Just lucky, I guess,” Andi said with a grin. “Why didn't you just climb down?”
Quinn still wore the red dress from the feast. She hiked up the skirt so Andi could see the decorative silver cuff wrapped around her ankle, attached to a long silver chain bolted into the wall.
"I have free run of the room up here, but trying to climb over the edge would leave me dangling by my ankle,” Quinn fumed.
Andi looked around the little open-air room for the first time. There was no furniture to speak of, but it was comfortable with rugs and a few large floor cushions. Filmy curtains and hanging beads tinkled quietly in the breeze.
"Is there a key?" Andi asked.
Quinn wrinkled her eyes and rocked her head back and forth in a thinking motion. "There should be. I don’t know where, but it’s got to be somewhere my prince could find it,” Quinn said, spitting out the word like it was rotten.
Andi hung her head out of the cupola and yelled down to Fredrick. "Look for a small silver key! It should be down there somewhere." Fredrick gave her a thumbs up in acknowledgement. Settling on one of Quinn's cushions Andi leaned back and grinned at Quinn. "We’ll have you out in no time."
"Why didn't Fredrick come up?" Quinn asked. Andi politely ignored the obvious disappointment in her voice.
"He broke another rib,” Andi said.
"What? He didn't dive off another floating island, did he?" Quinn asked, slightly worried.
It sounded to Andi like she was only half-joking.
Andi waved away her question. "No, just a steamboat. I don't suppose Dylan is tucked away up here somewhere?"
"He's not with you?"
Andi shook her head, swallowing the tight feeling in her chest. "No, he went missing the same time as you. We hoped you were together."
"We know you're Cinderella’s granddaughter, and I think we can assume I need to have a serious conversation with my daadi when we get home,” Quinn said. “If there’s time,” she added quietly.
"That would be a smart move,” Andi said, tugging at her wet t-shirt. “As far as we know, she’s the only one left alive who can tell us exactly what happened here.” Andi stopped squirming, resigned to just being damp and uncomfortable. “Is she sick?”
Quinn nodded and stared at her dirty, bare feet. “I've only met her a few times. She’s extremely secretive and private, even with our family. But she has the most beautiful singing voice,” Quinn said with a wry smile.
"What were you singing?"
"It's a Hindi lullaby. Daadi used to sing it to me when I was little." Quinn stared at her hands as she used the pad of her thumb to smooth the nail of the thumb opposite in a repetitive motion. "It's one of the few happy memories I have of her. It seemed appropriate."
"But why were you singing?" Andi clarified.
Quinn rolled her eyes and glared at the ceiling. "Dame Gothel makes me sing. If I don't, she doesn't feed me." Quinn absentmindedly tugged at the cuff around her ankle. "That's how my, 'handsome prince' is supposed to find me, I suppose.” She stared out of the cupola. "I caved pretty easily. Two missed meals and I agreed. But it’s not like they can force me to marry some stranger. Dame Gothel is extremely concerned with 'the integrity of Elorium.'"
"But you knew we’d come."
"I knew,” Quinn agreed.
A whistle pierced the air.
"Finally." Andi hung her head over the side. Fredrick waved from the ground holding up not only a small silver key, but a pair of sheers that must have been hidden as well.
"Tie them to the end!" Andi yelled. She turned back to Quinn. "Let’s get you out of here."
Quinn and Andi took turns pulling on her braid until the key and scissors clattered over the edge. Quinn untangled the key from the end while Andi collected the scissors. Unlocking the cuff from her ankle, she sighed and rubbed the red ring it left. Andi gave the shears a few experimental snips.
“Ready?" Andi asked, waiting for permission with the scissors in hand.
"Please, you’ve no idea how heavy this is.”
It took a few snips, but Quinn's dark braid snaked to a puddle at her feet.
“Ahh!” she sighed, giving her head a shake. "Much better."
"Let me even it out.”
"Don't bother,” Quinn said, running her hand through her hair, “it's going to be down to my waist by tomorrow."
Quinn looped her braid back on the hook and tugged it tight. Andi bowed and swept an arm out. "After you."
Hiking her skirt up to her knees, Quinn swung over the side and shimmed down the rope made of her hair faster than Andi would’ve thought possible. With one last glance at the ornately decorated room, Andi followed and landed next to Quinn, who was mussing her shorn head and searching the clearing.
"Where’d Fredrick go?" Andi asked, spinning in a full three-sixty.
"He was just here.”
The crack and pop of a gunshot came from the other side of the tower. Andi exchanged a quick look with Quinn before rushing around the sandstone monolith. Fredrick had her backpack slung over his shoulder, feet apart, and both hands up in a firing stance. He aimed the revolver at a company of palace guards on the fringes of the evergreens. They drew their weapons, mirroring Fredrick's two-handed grip on the gun.
Dame Gothel, serene and frigid, stood at the head of the troupe. With so many vines and flowers flowing from her hair and gown, she seemed more forest than woman. Two massive wolves flanked her, their lips pulled back until you could see their black gums, slick with saliva. A threatening rumble came from their throats, the fur of their shoulders standing on end. Even bent in a crouch, their size was unreal.
The enchantress frowned at Qui
nn. "I see I've not convinced you of your importance to Elorium." She raised her voice. "You should be ashamed, pitting yourselves against the will of Herrchen."
"I keep asking who that clown is, but she won’t say,” Quinn grumbled.
Andi caught Fredrick’s eye. "We've heard the name too.”
"It's out of my hands now. Herrchen has asked to see you personally. Put down the firearm and come with us." Dame Gothel nestled a hand between one of the wolves’ ears. His snarls intensified. "I would hate to have to send my friends after you."
Without taking his eyes off the group or lowering the gun, Fredrick greeted Quinn in a low voice. "Nice hair cut."
Andi shook her head., "That’s your second joke today. I’m starting to worry."
Quinn eyed the guns leveled at them. "Glad you could stop by. Heard you broke another rib without my help."
"Andi's been doing most of the work this time around, I'm just along for the ride,” he said.
"That's true." Andi conceded. "Speaking of which, I don't suppose my cloak is anywhere handy?"
"You'd have to dig it out of the pack, which might not be the best idea right now,” Fredrick said.
"Now what?" Andi asked.
"Well, I've got five bullets left. I could try shooting at them, but I rather not kill anyone, even if they are fictional characters,” Fredrick said, lowering the gun.
"What are you doing?” Andi yelled as the palace guards converged on them.
“They obviously want us alive and we have nowhere to go,” Fredrick told her in an undertone. “I can’t risk you or Quinn getting hurt.”
Andi shook her head at him, backing away. She bumped straight into a guard who wrenched her arms behind her back as another clipped on a set of manacles. The others were restrained as well. The entire operation took less than a minute, executed with an efficiency and precision of trained professionals.
Andi panicked and lashed out with her foot. She caught one on the knee before they managed to constrain her legs. She twisted her body in their grip and shrieked obscenities at them. No way they were getting her without a fight.
A Grimm Legacy Page 22
