Glass Frost

by Liz Dejesus

  Terrance interrupted her thoughts with a whisper. “I hear them.” He grabbed her hand and dragged her behind him…away from the safety of the ward.

  “Terrance, no,” she hissed.

  Her warning fell upon deaf ears. Is he that desperate to seem useful? she wondered as he continued to drag her behind him. They walked as far as the edge of a wooded area not far from the museum. Under the silver moonlight were Rebekah, Blair, Elda, and the nameless witch. Bianca observed and listened with abated breath. The last thing she wanted was to get caught.

  “Are you certain you will be able to get inside the museum this time?” Rebekah asked.

  “Yes. I believe we have discovered a weakness in the ward,” Blair said. “When Elda’s pets pushed through the ward all at once, we came close to breaking it.”

  Rebekah frowned. “I don’t know. Perhaps there is some other form of magic that can help me.”

  “The slippers are the only item in this world that can help you with your…condition,” Blair said.

  “Marguerite…” Rebekah turned her attention to the third witch.

  So she does have a name.

  “…what say you?” the Frog Queen asked.

  “I agree with Blair, Your Majesty.”

  Bianca then saw a flicker of doubt in the Frog Queen’s watery-blue eyes.

  That’s weird. That doesn’t seem like typical bad guy behavior.

  “Come on,” she whispered to Terrance.

  He nodded and followed her back toward the museum. They were twenty steps away from the safety of the ward when they were both attacked with a wind spell from behind, knocking them off their feet.

  Marguerite cackled and said, “I knew I smelled something foul.”

  Terrance scrambled to his feet and helped Bianca stand up. Already, she could see the regret in his eyes. She tightened her lips, wanting to tell him, “I told you so,” but there was no time for that.

  Marguerite sent another spell, but Bianca was able to deflect it, thanks to the onyx apple seed.

  “Impressive. Perhaps the rumors are true after all,” the witch muttered.

  Bianca didn’t get a chance to ask her about the rumors, because the witch launched into an aggressive attack. One spell after the other. Bianca put her hands up and raised a shield just in time to avoid Marguerite’s nasty spells. Defend. Protect. Love. Safety. Those were the words that came to mind as she put all of her energy into keeping her shield up. Within minutes, Bianca’s breathing became labored.

  “Are you all right?” Terrance asked.

  Bianca nodded, even though her arms had started to ache from the exertion.

  Wait for it.

  When she saw a tiny droplet of sweat roll down Marguerite’s temple, she released the hold she had on her shield and threw a fireball at the witch. It hit her directly on the stomach.

  I was aiming for her face, but that’ll do.

  “Come on.” She grabbed Terrance’s hand, and together, they ran toward the museum. She skidded to a screeching halt when she saw Elda. All around her feet slithered her pet snakes. Bianca’s heart leapt to her throat. Elda was even creepier looking up close. Her narrowed eyes stared at Bianca with nothing but pure hatred. Bianca wondered if she looked at everyone that way, or if that particular brand of loathing was reserved especially for her. Elda stood at the very edge of the ward, blocking them from safety. Following right behind them was Marguerite, who looked none too happy, and Blair trailed closely behind her.

  Rebekah appeared from the left, and her gaze shifted between the two other witches, as if unsure of what to do. Elda picked up one of her poisonous snakes and threw it at Bianca.

  “Whoa!” she shouted and immediately threw a small ball of fire at the reptile. It turned into a pile of ashes by the time it landed on the ground.

  Elda did the same thing over and over again. Dodging snakes and throwing fireballs, Bianca and Terrance managed to defend themselves while they waited for Rose to arrive.

  Bianca squinted. She saw a pair of headlights in the distance.

  Please be my mom.

  A glimmer of hope, she saw her mother’s car pull into the museum’s parking lot.

  Oh, thank God.

  Rebekah surprised Bianca by placing a hand on Elda’s shoulder. “Stop. I’ve changed my mind. I don’t want to hurt anyone anymore. This isn’t right.”

  Elda slapped Rebekah’s hand away and asked, “Do you want the slippers or not?”

  “Y-Yes, but…”

  Elda grabbed the Frog Queen’s webbed hand and forced her to look at it. “Do you want to look like this for the rest of your life?” she hissed, snakes slithering from her mouth.

  Rebekah looked at her webbed hands and shook her head. She took a step back and let Elda continue attacking Bianca and Terrance. Blair and Marguerite attacked them from behind using wind and fire spells, but Bianca raised her shield just in time.

  Marguerite sniffed the air and flashed them a wicked smile.

  “I can’t keep this up much longer,” Bianca admitted to Terrance.

  “Hold on as long as you can.” He put his arm around her shoulders and did his best to keep her on her feet.

  “Get away from my daughter,” Rose cried. She unleashed a wind spell that knocked Rebekah off her feet and slammed the Frog Queen against a tree. Elda went flying up in the air and landed on the ground with a sickly and heavy thud on top of her precious snakes. She hissed at Rose and was quickly carried away by her slithering reptiles. Rebekah and Blair ran away before Rose could catch them.

  Bianca let out a sigh of relief. Rose was distracted by the snakes that had scattered throughout the lawn. Her mother got farther and farther away from them as she followed the reptiles into the forest. Bianca thought that the worse was over. But then she turned around and found Marguerite still behind them, smiling, as if she had all of the time in the world.

  “What is she doing?” Terrance asked.

  “I don’t know, but I can tell you right now, I don’t like it one bit,” Bianca replied.

  “Looks like we have a wolf in our midst. Now tell me, little pup, what are you doing so far away from home?” Marguerite said with false sweetness in her voice.

  Bianca’s stomach dropped. She looked at Terrance. With a single glance, she saw he understood as well what the witch planned to do. She was going to unleash the wolf that lived dormant inside of him. It would be easy to do since his wolf blood was so strong.

  The witch cackled and muttered her dark spell.

  “His mouth will howl,

  bones will stretch,

  and his claws will scratch.

  Misfortune and evil will appear,

  when the moon is full and the sky is clear.

  Become a wolf both dark and light,

  Prowler of the night.”

  It spiraled in the air, an angry, yellow-green mass. Bianca watched in horror as the spell gnashed its teeth and reached out to Terrance. She could sense the rage and destruction that lived inside it. What would it do to Terrance? What would it turn him into? She shuddered at the thought.

  “No, no, no. Don’t you touch him!” she screamed.

  The spell shrieked with energy as it quickly swirled in the air and headed straight toward Terrance. Bianca stomped her foot and felt a surge of power rush through her body. Warm waves of magic ran to her hands, and she imagined herself stopping Marguerite’s spell from reaching Terrance.

  Bianca used all of her strength and will to grab the spell midair. At first, it felt as though hot steam had passed through her fingers. Then she felt something sticky, like a large ball of spider webs. Her eyes widened in shock when she realized that she had actually caught the spell. She didn’t know such a thing was even possible. She wondered if it was her magic or sheer stubbornness that allowed her to do it. It burned her right hand something fierce. She could feel the spell fight against her grip. It pulled and tugged every which way. When she realized that the spell was trying to find its way to Terrance,
she grunted and held on even tighter.

  Terrance rushed toward Bianca, trying to reach her. He used his left hand to shield himself from the spell’s eerie bright light.

  “No! Stay back,” Bianca cried.

  “Let me help you,” he begged.

  “The spell wants you. Just stay away from me.”

  Reluctantly, Terrance did as she asked.

  Bianca felt the red-hot fury coursing through her. She wanted to kill someone. She wanted to burn everything in sight. Kill. Destroy. Burn. It was all she could think of. She knew that it was the spell she held in her hand that was responsible, but it wasn’t something she had any control over. She narrowed her eyes at Marguerite and ran to her. The witch froze in surprise. Bianca tackled Marguerite, knocking them both down to the ground.

  “Keep away from me!” the witch shouted.

  “Why can’t you just leave us alone? Leave us alone!” Bianca cried.

  Bianca pushed the spell back inside her. She didn’t know how she did it, or how it happened, but the spell went back to the place it had crawled from.

  Get rid of it. Get this thing off me. Keep it away from me. Don’t let it get Terrance. Can’t let this thing anywhere near him. The thoughts repeated themselves over and over again…like a strange mantra. Somehow, Bianca felt that if she said it enough times, it would actually come to pass.

  Marguerite pulled Bianca’s hair, scratched, pushed, basically anything in order to free herself from Bianca’s iron grip. The evil witch’s eyes were filled with horror as she felt the effects of the spell. She gurgled and writhed in pain, then clutched Bianca’s shoulders and tried to stand up, but failed. Bianca wriggled herself free. Marguerite glowed in a strange yellow-green light and screamed in agony. She vanished in a puff of smoke. She was no more.

  What have I done?

  Bianca felt her right arm tingle.

  What is happening?

  “Oh God.” Her arm transformed before her eyes. It was covered with jet black fur. The skin under her hand melted and reshaped itself until it turned into a misshapen claw. Black, sharp talons replaced her square nails that she had bitten down to the skin. She felt half of her face change as well. With her left hand, she touched her chin and cheek. It, too, was covered with fur. Her hand traveled to her ear, and it was pointy, like that of a wolf.

  Terrance’s voice trembled as he whispered her name. She heard his footsteps as he made his way toward her. “Bianca…are you all right?”

  She gasped and took off running. She didn’t want anyone to see her like that. Least of all Terrance. She didn’t know where she was going; all she knew was that he couldn’t see her until she reversed the spell’s damage. The wind flew past her as she ran farther and farther away from the man she loved. She ran into the wooded area behind the museum. The branches of the trees mercilessly slapped her bare face and arms. Her fresh wounds oozed with blood, but regardless of the pain, she continued to run.

  “Bianca!”

  She heard him shout her name in the distance.

  Then his warm hand clamped around her arm.

  “Bianca, stop,” he pleaded.

  “Don’t look at me,” she whispered as she covered her face with her left hand.

  “What happened?” he asked.

  He kept trying to face her so he could get a good look at her, but she continued to avoid his gaze. After a few moments doing an awkward dance, he finally lost his patience and forced her to stand still. He gasped in surprise when he saw her arm. She had a wolf’s claw. The transformation reached all the way up to her shoulder.

  “Oh, my sweet Bianca. I’m so sorry,” he whispered.

  Bianca covered her face with both hands and burst into a fit of sobs and tears.

  “Don’t look at me, please,” she begged. She would’ve preferred to have become a wolf and not the strange half-creature she was at the moment.

  He held her in his arms and stroked her hair.

  She lowered her shaking hands and continued to cry.

  Terrance studied her face and then kissed her gently on the lips. Her mouth trembled as she felt his soft lips pressed against hers. Tears rolled down her cheeks and found their way inside her mouth. She tasted the salt…to her, another symbol for failure.

  “All I see is the girl I love, who saved me from a fate worse than death.”

  He scooped her up in his arms and held her for several long minutes. Bianca’s first thought was to ask him to put her down, but she allowed herself to be comforted. She took a deep breath. Safe. That was how she felt. She closed her eyes and immersed herself in that sensation.

  “Come. Let’s get you back home,” he said.

  He walked back to the museum with Bianca still in his arms. She buried her face into his chest and did her best to forget what she had become.

  Bianca saw her mother as they made their way out of the woods. A snake bared its fangs and hissed at Rose.

  “Whoa!” Rose cried. She kept throwing tiny fireballs at it, but it managed to dodge each one. “Fine! You asked for it, you little bastard.” She created a shield around the snake and set the inside on fire.

  The reptile slithered and wriggled as it burst into flames.

  “What happened?” Rose asked, unable to mask the panic in her voice when she saw that her daughter was in Terrance’s arms.

  “We have a bit of a situation on our hands,” he said.

  When Rose saw the state Bianca was in, she gasped.

  They explained to Rose what had happened, making sure they left out no detail, no matter how minute it may have seemed. Rose nodded and listened intently.

  “It’s all my fault. I should’ve listened to Bianca.” He shook his head in shame.

  “I’m so sorry I wasn’t able to get to you sooner. I got caught up killing these snakes that I completely missed everything that was happening with you guys,” Rose said. She took a deep breath and added, “You still have so much to learn, sweetheart. You did a very brave and very stupid thing. Spells like that must be deflected or dissolved; otherwise, they have drastic consequences.”

  “Yeah, I see,” Bianca replied.

  “It’s fine. We can take care of this.”

  “Really? You’re not just saying that?” Her voice cracked with emotion when she spoke. Bianca felt the lump on her throat; she was moments away from bursting into tears once more.

  Rose hugged and kissed her on the forehead. “It’ll take a day or two for me to get the ingredients I need, but you’re not going to stay this way, and that is a promise.”

  Nodding, Bianca sniffed and wiped away a few runaway tears. Terrance put Bianca down, and together, they followed Rose to the car. They drove home in silence.

  Bright and early the following morning, Rose made herself scarce and got busy working on the potion, as well as an ointment to help Bianca get rid of the curse on her arm and face. Bianca spent the day in her bedroom, refusing to let anyone see her in the harsh light of day. She didn’t even allow herself to look in the mirror, terrified of what she would see. Scared of what her reflection would show.

  Every few hours, someone would knock on her door, hoping to either be allowed into her room or coax her out of hiding. Every time, she politely declined. Showing her face would show everyone proof of the mistake she had made. Proof of the crime she had committed. She had killed someone. Sure, it was in self-defense, but it didn’t take away the guilt she felt.

  She couldn’t avoid studying her arm. Nor could she deny the fact that she was fascinated with the transformation. She watched how the blue-black fur glinted in the sunlight that streamed in from her bedroom window. It reminded her of midnight-colored sapphires. She grabbed an old textbook and, with her new sharp claws, ripped the book apart with great ease. She didn’t even have to exert any pressure at all. Bianca had to resist the urge to destroy everything in sight.

  What if I’m stuck like this forever? What if Mom’s potion doesn’t work?

  There was a soft knock on the door.
r />   “What?” Bianca snapped.

  “B? It’s me. Are you okay? Are you hungry?” It was Ming.

  “I’m fine. Just leave whatever at the door. Please, just leave me alone.”

  “Okay. I’ll come back later,” Ming said.

  Even through the door, Bianca could hear the sadness and worry in her friend’s voice. She threw herself on her bed and put the pillow over her face.

  “This is just the worst,” she muttered.

  At sunset, Bianca’s curiosity became unbearable. She walked to her mirror and closed her eyes. She took several deep breaths and prepared herself for what she was about to see. When she opened her eyes, a scream of sheer horror escaped her lips without her realization. It wasn’t until Terrance kicked the door open that she realized that the sound was coming from her lips.

  Half of her face was covered with jet-black fur. Her right eye was yellow-green, like the light emitted by a firefly at night. The right half of her mouth was covered with sharp canines. Her left hand, the one that remained unaffected by the curse, hovered over her face. She thought that if she didn’t touch her skin, it wasn’t real. That she would somehow wake up from this nightmare and she would be back to normal.

  “Shh, sweetheart. It’s all right. It will be all right,” Terrance said.

  “You don’t know that.” She shook her head.

  Her father rushed to her door and asked, “What happened? I heard screams.” His face fell when he got a look at Bianca. “Oh no.”

  David walked into the room and looked into her eyes. “I know what you’re going through, sweetie. At least you’re home and your mother is doing everything in her power to fix this. Believe it or not…you’re lucky.”

  Bianca looked at her father and nodded. He knew a thing or two about being cursed.

  “Oh God. This isn’t happening to me. This isn’t happening,” she muttered.

  David shook his head.

  “What?”

  “I said the exact same thing to myself every time I caught my reflection in the river.”

  “Oh, Daddy,” Bianca whispered.