Royal Witch Curse

by Zoe Arden

  "You don't know?" I asked, disappointed.

  "I never saw his face, I only felt the whizz of his arrow as it sailed past my ear." He looked at Kyrab. "If Kyrab had not yelled out when she did, I might not be here now." He caressed her cheek, and she looked at him with such love that for a minute I forgot to be angry at him. "She saved my life."

  "He saved mine first," Kyrab said. "Before I met him, I was lonely. So lonely. Now, he's given me not just his love, but the love of our child." She gently touched her stomach, which had a slight bulge to it. "I did not know I was with child until we saw Dr. Dunne. He's the one who informed us of the blessing."

  "You see," Zulubar said, "I cannot leave her to go with you. If something were to happen to me, she would be unprotected." He looked at Colt and Russell apologetically.

  "Not to say that my guards have not done their job well, only that no husband would feel safe when his wife is in danger and he is not there to protect her. And Kyrab's life is in even greater danger than my own at the moment."

  I sighed. "There's no way we can get you to change your mind?"

  Zulubar shook his head. "No. I'm afraid not. Though I wish you goblin speed on your journey this night."

  "A lot of help that'll do us if we fail to get Zane out of prison," Eleanor said, sniveling. She wiped her nose on her sleeve and my father put one comforting hand on her back. She brushed it off. "If he dies, it will be on your heads."

  Kyrab seemed to stiffen. She looked at Zulubar. "Perhaps we are being too hasty. If you and Colt go, then Russell can protect me. He is more than capable." She paused and turned her head toward Colt's dad. "If more help is needed, we might call Melbourne. He guarded us on our journey the night we were chased out of our home, I believe he would help us now as well."

  "Sure, he would," Trixie said, jumping in. "I'll call him right now if you like. It's night time—his favorite time of the day. He can be over in—"

  "No!" Zulubar barked. "I will not leave Kyrab."

  "Zulubear," Kyrab said, using a nickname she'd invented for him. She put one hand on his chest. He kissed it lovingly.

  "I'm sorry," he told her, "but my answer remains untouched. I will not leave you and our child." He looked at Colt. "You have my permission to withdraw. Get the sheriff out and when I am able to return to my throne, I will handle the matter. Until then... you're on your own."

  * * *

  CHAPTER

  THIRTY-SIX

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  We stood next to the boulder in Beggars Forest, looking around in the darkness. My arms prickled with goosebumps as a chilly wind blew past us. I rubbed my arms to warm them up and felt something soft and furry rub against my ankles. I looked down and saw Snowball standing there.

  "Did you see anything?" I asked her.

  She shook her head. "The coast is clear, Mama."

  "Good girl," I said, scratching her head.

  Tootsie and Rocky came around the side of the boulder and signaled to us that we should come around to the front.

  The door was standing open. "A goblin came and Tootsie and Rocky followed him inside," Tootsie said, explaining what they'd done to open the entrance.

  "You two are amazing," I said. Snowball mewed loudly. "Sorry, I meant you three are amazing."

  "Right then," Colt said, "let's go."

  We went single file through the doorway and entered Goblin Territory as quietly as possible.

  "Now don't go far," I told Snowball, Tootsie, and Rocky. "Stay near us, just spread out a little. If you see anything or anyone, bark or meow as loud as you can."

  "Right," Trixie said, "and make sure you run out to them and start licking their faces." She looked at us. "The goblins really seemed to like that. It'll distract them."

  Tootsie, Rocky, and Snowball took off, their assignments set.

  Me, Eleanor, Trixie, my dad, and Colt all headed in the direction of the castle. We stuck to the edge of the village as much as possible, only coming out of the trees when we had to cross the streets. When we finally made it to the castle, the guard on duty at the front was asleep.

  "Look at that," Trixie said. "We were so worried about getting past the guards and here he is—sleeping!" She started to laugh, and we all shushed her. She bit her bottom lip. "Sorry," she whispered.

  We moved quickly past the guard and entered the castle. It was quiet. Too quiet.

  "Is it always like this the night before an execution, you think?" I asked Colt.

  He shrugged. "No idea."

  "We need to find the part of the castle with the prisoners," Eleanor said. "Where do you think that would be?" She was asking all of us, but she was looking at Colt.

  "My guess would be the basement, or maybe they call it the dungeons. Either way, we should go down."

  I nodded. "Makes sense to me. That's where they always keep the prisoners in movies."

  "Since when is life like a movie?" my dad asked.

  "Since we moved to Heavenly Haven," I told him and smiled.

  "You've got me there," he said.

  "Do you see anything that looks like a stairwell?" Eleanor asked. We all looked around. The halls were dark but soft light hanging from sconces gave us enough light to see by.

  "This way," Trixie suddenly said and we moved to a door off the right of the hallway we were in. Trixie pushed it open and a rickety-looking, winding staircase descended into darkness.

  "How'd you know to open this door?" my dad asked her. "There are a million doors here."

  She shrugged. "Witch's intuition." A smile lit her face. "That and the sign on the door said 'stairwell.' " She started laughing then clamped her hand over her mouth. "Sorry," she said. "I laugh when I get nervous."

  "I know," Eleanor said, "you've been doing it my whole life."

  Colt rounded out the back of our line as we took the stairs down one at a time. My father was in the lead. The darkness around us seemed all-consuming. I couldn't see anything beyond it.

  "How long does this go on for?" Trixie moaned ten minutes later when we were still descending. "What if these stairs don't stop? What if they just go down forever?"

  "That's impossible," Eleanor said. "And even if it wasn't, why would they build a set of stairs that did such a thing?"

  Trixie thought about it a minute. "To confuse people who break in, like us."

  This time, I laughed, and everyone shushed me. Finally, a few minutes later, we reached the bottom. Our feet landed on a stone floor, and there were dim lights lining the walls. The space was tight and claustrophobic. It was like walking through a dimly lit cave.

  "How many floors was that?" Colt asked.

  "No idea," my dad said. "I'd say at least twenty, but I lost count after nine."

  "Me, too," I told him.

  We could hear moaning noises coming from off to our right, so we headed that way.

  "Zane?" Eleanor said softly. "Is that you?"

  There was a large rectangular door with a set of bars just ahead of us. She went to it and looked in, then drew back in horror.

  "What is it?" I asked, but we didn't have to wait long to see.

  A goblin's face appeared at the bars, shriveled and pale; far too pale for a goblin. "Help me," he said. "Help us." There were several more moans from behind him and two sets of hands appeared.

  "Who are you?" I whispered, horrified.

  "Perx says we're criminals," said one of the goblins who peered through the bars with dark eyes that were impossible to make out. "But all I did was steal some bread to feed my family."

  "I stole some shoes," said another.

  "I've never stolen a thing in my life," said a third. "All I did was turn Perx away when he asked entry into my home."

  "Why did he want entry to your home?" Colt asked. A deep V had formed across his forehead.

  "He said he wanted to see if it was bigger than his own. He was tired of his home."

 
I looked at Colt. "You mean... he wanted your home for himself?" I asked uncertainly.

  "He told me the same," said another goblin, stepping forward out of the darkness. "He told me he'd give my home back to me once he was king, only I don't think he will."

  "Once he was king?" Trixie asked, screwing up her face in confusion.

  "Oh. My. Roses," I breathed, taking a step back as things suddenly clicked into place.

  "What?" Trixie said.

  I looked at her and opened my mouth to reply just as Sheriff Knoxx stepped forward amongst the goblins.

  "Zane!" Eleanor cried, running to him. She stuck her hands between the bars and gripped onto him. "Are you all right?"

  "I'm not hurt," he said, but his face looked haggard.

  Eleanor began to cry. "Th-Th-They're executing you in the morning."

  He nodded solemnly. "I know."

  "We're here to get you out," I said, stepping forward and tugging on Colt, who stepped forward with me.

  "Ava's right. We can't let you die in here," Colt said.

  "No," Sheriff Knoxx said, alarm rising in his voice. "Don't even try. If you're caught—"

  "We won't be," Eleanor said. "I won't let them kill you." She kissed him, their mouths maneuvering through the bars. Suddenly, a cacophony of barks and meows sounded behind us.

  "What is that?" Sheriff Knoxx said.

  "Oh, no," I said. "Run!"

  I grabbed Colt's hand and took off just as Snowball, Tootsie, and Rocky came running up behind us yelling that the guards were coming. Eleanor clung to the sheriff for another moment. "I'll be back," she promised and hurried away.

  We were running through tunnels. There was a fork just up ahead. I could hear the guards closing in behind us.

  "Right, Mama!" Snowball shouted. "Go right! It's how Snowy and other familiars got in."

  I veered right; Colt was just to my side breathing hard. Trixie was on my left, my dad just behind her, and Eleanor was bringing up the rear.

  "Ow!" I hear Eleanor shout and turned to look behind me just in time to see her trip over a rock and go sprawling on the ground.

  "Eleanor!" I cried and took a step toward her, but the guards were coming into view.

  Colt pushed me forward. "Don't stop!" he cried. "Keep going!"

  "But Eleanor!" I said, pointing as she staggered to get up. It looked like her ankle was hurt. Colt started toward her, moving swiftly.

  My dad grabbed my right hand and Trixie grabbed my left, and together they pulled me toward the right fork where Snowball, Tootsie, and Rocky were waiting for us.

  "Wait!" I screamed. "We can't leave them!"

  "They'll be okay," my dad said.

  I turned for another look, thinking maybe Colt had gotten to Eleanor in time. But it was too late. He was too late. The guards had hold of them both. Colt shot me a look as one of them zapped him with some sort of taser and he fell to the ground.

  "We have to keep moving," my dad said, urging me along. "Don't stop! Don't look back!"

  But I'd already seen everything I needed to see. Not only had we failed to rescue Sheriff Knoxx, we'd just gotten Eleanor and Colt captured.

  * * *

  CHAPTER

  THIRTY-SEVEN

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  Russell opened the door on the first knock. He took one look at Trixie, my dad, and me and his already pale face paled that much more.

  "What happened?" he asked.

  "They got them," I croaked, flopping onto his couch. We'd run so fast that I'd thought my lungs would burst. My entire body ached.

  "Who got who?" Russell asked.

  "Perx got Eleanor... and Colt," I told him.

  "No," Russell said, his voice thickening.

  "I'm sorry," I told him. My own voice was cracked and hollow sounding. "I tried to get to him. I tried to help them."

  "It's not your fault," my dad said, going to me on the couch. He looked at Russell. "You should be proud of him. Colt went back for Eleanor. He was trying to help her. That's the only reason he got caught."

  Russell's eyes began to tear. "I've never been prouder."

  "We need to go back," I said.

  "How can we go back?" Trixie asked. "They know what we're up to now. They'll be expecting us."

  "It doesn't matter," I said, rising from the couch and pacing the room. I suddenly turned down the hallway leading to Russell's bedroom. I pushed the door open. "Zulubar!" I yelled.

  Zulubar was sitting on the edge of the bed with Kyrab, his arm around her shoulders. He looked up when I came in.

  "Everything's gone wrong," I told him. "Colt and Eleanor have been captured. They need your help now. It's not just Sheriff Knoxx anymore; there are three people who are going to die if you sit here and do nothing."

  I thought about all the goblins that we'd seen in the jail cell along with Sheriff Knoxx. Their tired, strained faces.

  "No, forget that. I was lying. There are a lot more than three lives at stake here."

  "What do you mean?" Kyrab asked.

  "I mean just what I said," I snapped at her. I was tired of this. "There are goblins rotting in a jail cell right now as we speak for crimes no greater than stealing bread to feed their family or turning Perx away when he tried to take their home."

  Now I had Zulubar's attention.

  "What do you mean 'when he tried to take their home?' " Zulubar asked.

  "There was at least one prisoner—no, two," I said, remembering one of the other goblins who'd spoken to us, "—in the same cell as Sheriff Knoxx who said that Perx only put them in jail when they refused to give up their homes because Perx wanted a bigger one."

  Zulubar stood up. "I've never heard of anything so outrageous in my life. If what you speak is true, then Perx himself deserves to be in a jail cell."

  Trixie, my dad, and Russell had gathered in behind me. We'd sent the familiars home for some much-deserved rest before coming over here.

  "There's more," I said, looking around the room at everyone. My eyes stopped on Trixie and my father. "Did either of you catch what that goblin sharing Sheriff Knoxx's cell said about Perx wanting to be king?"

  Trixie and my father exchanged a look. Trixie shrugged. "There was so much going on," she said. "I don't know that I caught everything everyone was saying."

  My father cleared his throat. "I seem to remember one of the prisoners saying something about Perx promising to return his home to him when he was king."

  "Exactly," I said, looking excitedly at everyone. "Do you know what that means?"

  "What?" asked Trixie, shrugging her shoulders.

  "Think about it," I said. "Who first approached us about finding Zulubar? Perx," I said, answering my own question. "Who arrested Sheriff Knoxx and is planning to execute him tomorrow? Perx." I looked around to see if any of them were comprehending yet where I was going with this.

  "Who said he'd give us five extra days to find Zulubar and then recanted?" I asked.

  "Perx," Trixie said. She looked at me, her eyes growing wide. "Who told Esha to stop corresponding with Sheriff Knoxx? To stop trying to get him to accept his rightful inheritance?"

  "Perx," I said excitedly. My dad's eyes had grown wide, too. It looked as if he was finally catching on.

  "Who's been lying to us from the very beginning?" he said.

  "Perx," I repeated.

  "Oh, my roses," Trixie said. "Are we saying what I think we're saying?"

  "Who stands to gain the most if both Sheriff Knoxx and a Zulubar are dead?" I asked. "The next one in line for the throne."

  "Perx," Kyrab said. Her hand went instinctively to her stomach.

  "That's right," I said. "Perx is the second heir to Zulubar's throne."

  Zulubar's green-gray skin turned into a nasty shade of orange. I thought it was the equivalent of a witch or wizard turning pale. He looked at me.

  "Does Perx know that Kyrab is with child?" Zulub
ar asked.

  I bit my bottom lip. "I don't know," I answered honestly. "He might by now if he didn't before."

  Zulubar had a wild a look in his eyes.

  "Dr. Dunne," I said, slapping my hand to my head and everyone looked at me. "He was shot in his office. Perx must've gone there to try and find out why Zulubar and Kyrab had been to see him. He must've known that they'd been to Sweetland Hospital."

  I felt a ball drop into the pit of my stomach.

  "It was me," I said with a gasp. "I told him. I told Perx that Dr. Dunne had seen you two the night you disappeared. He must've beaten me to the hospital, shot Dr. Dunne, and gotten a look at his files before I arrived. He must've realized then that you were pregnant."

  "Oh, my roses," Trixie said.

  "He's been working against us this whole time," my dad said.

  The shock showed on everyone's face, even Zulubar's.

  "Bisnunk must have seen Perx chasing after you that night in the forest," I said to Zulubar and Kyrab. "So Perx killed him."

  "Oh, wow," Trixie said. "I can't believe we were all fooled by him. We've actually been helping him," she said, horrified. "He probably only wanted us to find you so he could kill you."

  I turned to Zulubar. "You'll help us now, won't you? You'll return to your people and tell them what happened? That Perx has betrayed you all?"

  Slowly, Zulubar shook his head. "I can't," he said.

  Kyrab's eyes widened. "What do you mean you can't?"

  "Nothing's changed for us. We're still in danger. I can't leave you."

  "You must," Kyrab said.

  "No," Zulubar argued back with her. He was stubborn as a horse.

  "I'll go," Russell said.

  I'd almost forgotten he was here he'd been so quiet the whole time.

  I looked at him and smiled gratefully. "Are you sure?"

  He nodded. "I'll call Melbourne now. He can be over here within twenty minutes." He looked at Zulubar and Kyrab. "He'll watch you while I go with them. I have to get my son back."