<link href="css/style.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"/> <link href="css/media.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"/> <meta content="urn:uuid:40a33e2d-4c9e-4719-a3dd-5eb74e6a1cdd" name="Adept.expected.resource"/> </head> <body> <div class="element chapter" id="chapter009"> <div class="heading heading-with-title heading-without-image" id="chapter009-heading"> <div class="chapter-title-subtitle-block chapter-title-block-title-is-chapter-number"> <div class="chapter-number-block"> </div> <div class="title-block"> <h1 class="title">9</h1> </div> </div> </div> <div class="text text-main" id="chapter009-text"> <p class="first first-in-chapter"><span class="first-phrase"><span class="first-letter first-letter-g"><span class="first-letter-alpha">G</span></span>race sat</span> in the passenger seat, staring out of the car window.</p> <p class="subsq">"Honey, are you okay?" Harold asked her.</p> <p class="subsq">"What the hell is wrong with my family? Families are supposed to have one or two assholes in the mix. I have a whole line of them."</p> <p class="subsq">"Your family is special."</p> <p class="subsq">"I don't want to be special. I want to be normal." Grace wiped a tear from her face.</p> <p class="subsq">"We'll figure this out."</p> <p class="subsq">"I wish my mom was here," she said, and began to sob.</p> <p class="subsq">Harold continued driving, sensing that the best thing to do was to let her cry. After a few minutes, Grace looked up with wide eyes.</p> <p class="subsq">"I think I've got it."</p> <p class="subsq">"I think I know how to get him to tell me his name."</p> <p class="subsq">Grace reached over and punched an address in to the GPS, and Harold adjusted his course when it showed on the map.</p> <p class="subsq">"Harry, I need you to stay in the car when we get there, okay? I have to do this alone."</p> <p class="subsq">"I don't like the sound of that, Grace."</p> <p class="subsq">"Please. I need you to trust me."</p> <p class="subsq">"Of course I do. Whatever you need," he said, still feeling uneasy.</p> <p class="subsq">They pulled up to the abandoned building at 729 Desidero, and Grace got out of the car. She took a moment to collect her thoughts before making her way up the steps.</p> <p class="subsq">While she stepped in to the broken-down lobby, it began to transform around her. The dirty floor turned into lush red pile carpet. The wallpaper was once again leafed with gold, and in the other room, the large ornate desk sat with Roland Stillson sitting behind it.</p> <p class="subsq">"I've been waiting for you Grace," he purred.</p> <p class="subsq">She took a seat in the once again finely upholstered chair.</p> <p class="subsq">"I know what you are, Roland. Or should I call you Rumpelstiltskin?"</p> <p class="subsq">Roland burst out in a hearty laugh.</p> <p class="subsq">"The ramblings of two drunken teen boys."</p> <p class="subsq">"I also know about Serena," she said, staring directly at him.</p> <p class="subsq">His demeanor went cold. "You know nothing of that." </p> <p class="subsq">"I know that a member of my family killed her. I know that my great, great, great, great aunt forced you into slavery. I also know that my great, great, great grandmother is the one that set you free."</p> <p class="subsq">"You have done your homework, Grace. I am impressed." He sat back and folded his hands in his lap, trying not to give away his obvious agitation.</p> <p class="subsq">"I am going to do more than that. I am going to summon Aurora. She will tell me where the talisman is, and I will send you back to where you came from."</p> <p class="subsq">Grace was doing her best to sound strong and confident. She really hoped her bluff was working.</p> <p class="subsq">"You do not have the power to do any of that, my dear," he said, leaning back and inspecting his manicure.</p> <p class="subsq">"I have the power to do a lot of things, Roland. More power than you, in fact."</p> <p class="subsq">"I would warn you against challenging me, Grace." H swiveled his chair and placed his elbows firmly on his desk. "I am sympathetic to your situation, and I wish that things were different, but if you dare to challenge me, you will lose. That is a promise."</p> <p class="subsq">"Lose to you? You are nothing but a trained monkey that has been passed from generation to generation through my family like an old toy."</p> <p class="subsq">"Grace, please leave." Roland was getting more and more agitated.</p> <p class="subsq">"You were nothing but a plaything for Aliza. Aurora kept you on a string. Did Carolyn use you as well?"</p> <p class="subsq">"Grace—"</p> <p class="subsq">"You are a step away from a parlor magician."</p> <p class="subsq">The walls of the office began to vibrate and Roland's blue eyes began to glow. Grace continued her assault, hoping his arrogance would override his judgment.</p> <p class="subsq">"A party trick. A two-bit wizard. A joke."</p> <p class="subsq">He could no longer hold his temper. Roland's skin gave off a soft blue glow as he stood up and placed his hands on the desk, leaning toward her menacingly.</p> <p class="subsq">"You say you know who I am?" he bellowed. "You know nothing. I am Am-Sher-Al, a djinn of the order Si'Lat. I have the power to destroy worlds and make kings from peasants. I am no wizard or parlor trick, and I am no ridiculous prancing imp made from gingerbread in a child's bedtime story."</p> <p class="subsq">He suddenly calmed and the intense blue glow left his olive skin. He adjusted the lapels of his coat and sat back down at the desk.</p> <p class="subsq">"Well played, Grace," he smiled at her. "Believe it or not, I am on your side. I no more wish to hurt you than you wish to hurt me. This is just a business transaction that I am conducting on behalf of someone else. It is nothing personal."</p> <p class="subsq">"Nothing personal? You are destroying my life."</p> <p class="subsq">"Not by my choice, Grace."</p> <p class="subsq">"Who is your master?"</p> <p class="subsq">"Ah, ah, ah. Fool me once, Grace," he said as he waved a well-manicured finger in the air.</p> <p class="subsq">"Well, at least I have your name. I'll find out who it is that's commanding you and what they want, and I will kill them."</p> <p class="subsq">"If you read the story, you should know what the goal is, Grace. The brothers got many of the details incorrect, but there were a few that were spot on." His eyes travelled to her growing belly.</p> <p class="subsq">Grace felt sick as the reality of her situation hit her square in the chest. She stood up and ran from the building without saying another word. She jumped into the car and yelled for Harold to drive.</p> <p class="subsq">"What is it? What happened?" Harold asked, obviously scared to death.</p> <p class="subsq">"Just drive."</p> <p class="subsq">He started the car and sped away. After a few minutes, he asked again.</p> <p class="subsq">"Grace, please tell me what happened in there. What did you find out?"</p> <p class="subsq">She turned to look at him, her eyes filled with terror.</p> <p class="subsq">"Someone is after our baby."</p> <p class="ornamental-break"><img alt="" class="inline-ornamental-break" src="images/break-section-side.svg"/></p> <p class="first first-in-section"><span class="first-phrase"><span class="first-letter first-letter-g"><span class="first-letter-alpha">G</span></span>race and Harold</span> drove straight to the coven. Thankfully, Kayla had already left.</p> <p class="subsq">They went inside and were greeted by Mooney and Gus first.</p> <p class="subsq">"Whoever she is, she just left," Mooney said with a long sigh.</p> <p class="subsq">"That most certainly is not Kayla," Gus agreed.</p> <p class="subsq">"We need to find out who it is, fast," Grace said, trying not to cry again. "Whoever it is, they are after our baby."</p> <p class="subsq">"Oh my God. Grace, sit down and tell us what you know," Mooney said, pulling a chair out for her to relax.</p> <p class="subsq">"You know that we won't let anybody take your baby, Grace. Fuck that," Gus told her, becoming agitated.</p> <p class="subsq">The rest of the coven heard Gus's raised voice and rushed into the room. Mooney motioned for them to take their seats and listen to Grace's story.</p> <p class="subsq">Grace sat down in the offered seat and took a deep breath. She told them everything that Jorek had told her and about the frightening encounter in Roland's office.</p> <p class="subsq">By the end of the story, she was unable to control her sobs. Harold was sitting next to her with his arm around her shoulder, doing his best to comfort her. </p> <p class="subsq">"Who do you think it is, Grace?" Doc asked.</p> <p class="subsq">"It can't be Carolyn. She's dead. Really dead."</p> <p class="subsq">Mooney turned away from the laptop that he had opened and rejoined the conversation.</p> <p class="subsq">"It can't be Aliza, either. When Aurora defeated her, she bound her soul. When you do that, there is no coming back. The whole history is right here on the deep web. Even though the brothers each published separately, it seems that one of the Grimm brothers liked to write stories under a pen name. Jacob Burkheart."</p> <p class="subsq">"Jacob Burkheart?" Grace asked, surprised.</p> <p class="subsq">"It gets better. The history books say that Jacob Grimm never married, but Jacob Burkheart did. He married a beautiful woman named Aurora in 1823 at the age of thirty-eight. They had a daughter."</p> <p class="subsq">"Are you serious? I might be a freaking Grimm?" Grace looked at him as if he had grown a second head.</p> <p class="subsq">"It seems like it might be more than a possibility," Mooney said.</p> <p class="subsq">"Well, that would certainly explain a lot," Grace said, putting her head in her hands.</p> <p class="subsq">"We need to find out who in the hell could be responsible for all of this mess," Doc sighed. "We just need to figure out why."</p> <p class="subsq">Grace felt overwhelmed by all of the new information that was being thrown at her.</p> <p class="subsq">"Harry, I think I need to lie down."</p> <p class="subsq">"Okay honey. Joy?"</p> <p class="subsq">Joy jumped up and took Grace's hand, leading her to one of the bedrooms in the back.</p> <p class="subsq">Harold got up to follow them, but Doc stopped him.</p> <p class="subsq">"Harold, I need to talk with you, privately."</p> <p class="subsq">"What is it, Doc?"</p> <p class="subsq">"I think that I have an idea who might have put that box in Kayla's closet, and why."</p> <p class="subsq">"Who would have done a thing like that?" Harold looked as though he was ready to hurt someone.</p> <p class="subsq">"I think it may have been David. Or you."</p> <p class="subsq">Harold glared at the small man with a look of complete horror and indignation.</p> <p class="subsq">"I certainly would not do it, and there is no way in the world that David would ever hurt Kayla," Harold was flabbergasted at the accusation.</p> <p class="subsq">"Not on purpose, of course," Doc continued. "Someone may have the power to control humans that are touched by magic. David would never know that he was 'possessed.'"</p> <p class="subsq">"Oh my God." Harold sat back down in a chair, feeling weak.</p> <p class="subsq">"I know what we need to do, but it will take a great deal of magic, and it will be very dangerous."</p> <p class="subsq">"What do you need me to do?" Harold asked, willing to do anything to help his family.</p> <p class="subsq">Doc looked up at him with a deep sadness in his eyes.</p> <p class="subsq">"I need you to die."</p> </div> </div> </body> </html>