After I managed to convince Sir Knight that I was okay to walk and didn’t need to be carried—now that would be humiliating—we headed toward the stage on the other side of the mountain. In truth, my knee was aching from its collision with the glass mountain, but I ignored the pain. I’d have time for injuries later.
As we got to the stage Ilda had set up, we saw her announcing the winners (and losers) of the events. When she spotted me, all in one piece, her usual fake smile turned into a grimace.
“Ilda!” I said, pushing through the crowd toward the stage. Everyone fell quiet and stared at me as if they couldn’t believe I was still alive. “I’ve completed your three tasks. Now you have to lift the curse.”
As I rushed onto the stage, something like concern flickered across the witch’s face. Then she laughed and said, “Nonsense. No one can complete the tasks.”
“But I have.” I glanced at Sir Knight who was standing behind me. “We have.”
“Didn’t anyone ever teach you it’s wrong to lie?” she said, crossing her arms in front of her chest.
“I’m not lying. Look!” I opened my bag and held up the goblet. But something was wrong with it. Instead of shining as it had earlier, it was cracked and crumbling. In fact, it wasn’t made out of gold at all. It was just plaster painted to look like gold.
“What is this?” said Ilda, grabbing the goblet from me. The minute her hand touched it, the plaster crumbled into pieces. “Are you trying to trick me?”
I stared at the pile of dust at my feet. “I don’t understand. I completed the task. You wanted the object from the top of the mountain, and I brought it to you.”
“You brought me a fake,” said Ilda. She turned to the crowd. “Do you see what adventurers do? They cheat to get what they want. They don’t care about people like you. They only care about glory.”
The crowd turned to glare at me, all their previous suspicions back even stronger. People booed and hissed. I caught sight of Jack’s thin face in the crowd. He looked heartbroken. I didn’t care what the other villagers thought, but I couldn’t stand the thought of him being disappointed in me.
“Lies!” said Sir Knight, stepping forward. “We retrieved the goblet together. It’s the real thing.”
I appreciated the knight’s effort, especially since his trembling knees showed he was still afraid of the witch, but it was no use. He wasn’t terribly popular with the people of the village, and I didn’t think I could do or say anything to prove Ilda wrong. And that was, after all, what she wanted.
Suddenly, I realized how clueless I’d been.
“The tasks were a lie from the start, weren’t they?” I said. “You never intended to give the kingdom its magic back. You just wanted to play a little game.”
“How dare you accuse me of such a thing?” said Ilda, but I could see the amusement on her face. I was right. That had been her plan all along. The tasks were impossible because they were fake. Everything I’d done had been for nothing.
I marched over and stood face-to-face with the witch. “So that’s it, then?” I said. “You’re taking the last of the magic and there’s no way to get it back?”
“Now, Jenny, don’t be a sore loser. If you had completed the tasks—”
“Stop lying!” I yelled, feeling ready to burst. “I’m sick of your games. Just tell me the truth!”
Ilda stepped back, and for once she actually looked a little afraid. She grabbed at her necklace, and that’s when I spotted them. The purple gems dangling from the silver chain. They’d been hidden under the witch’s gaudy sweaters, but now I could see them clearly.
“Where did you get that?” I whispered.
Ilda blinked. “What do you mean?”
“The necklace. It was my mother’s. Where did you get it?”
“Oh, this?” she said, pulling it out so I could see the string of purple gems that perfectly matched those still in my jewelry box at home. “It was a gift. Your mother gave it to me.”
“Liar! She would never do that. Give it back!” I lunged forward and tried to grab the necklace, but Ilda managed to sidestep me.
Just then a mighty howl echoed from somewhere nearby. “Arooo!” Everyone froze, even me.
The howl came again, fierce and angry. I turned to see Ralph the wolf standing just past the crowd. A few feet behind him was the giant boulder he was cursed to always be attached to. Somehow, he’d managed to drag it all the way here.
His eyes looked almost red and there was froth around his mouth. At first I thought his narrowed eyes were focused on Ilda. Then I realized he was staring down the Monsterooster.
“Finally,” Ralph snarled, “the beast will be mine.”