Darkness before the Light
The Fire Moon is high in the sky when Jax and I take off across the field. I hang on to Jax’s hand as we run, aghast at the scenes unfolding right in front of us. The ground continues to quake from the explosions and the footsteps of giants.
I see Jack chasing down two giants on Stiltskin’s squad from high atop Erp’s back. BAM! He throws something at the back of a giant, and I watch as the explosion produces an ivy vine that twists up and around one of the giant’s legs, knocking him to the ground.
In the lake in the distance, pirates are battling Stiltskin Squad members on the deck, while cannon fire booms off the side of the ship. I can’t see Ollie, but I imagine him there, fighting with all his might.
Fireballs shoot by us, lighting the cornfields on fire, and I wonder if they’re coming from Jocelyn. There is a loud cheer as some of the Stiltskin Squad go running toward the woods at the sight of flames.
There is so much smoke and ash that I am not even sure of my surroundings. If Jax weren’t with me, I’m not even sure which way I’d go. The fairy gardens seem very far away.
“I need to find my brothers,” I shout.
“Nothing is going to happen to them,” he insists. “Stiltskin needs them alive to get you to come to him. Angelina told you to come to her when the battle begins, remember? Focus on getting a quorum.”
Whoosh! My hair blows all around me as one of Robin’s arrows whizzes by us with Robin in tow. He hangs on by one arm, aiming his arrows from his quiver in the other. Red is right behind him, firing arrow after arrow.
“Gilly!” she shouts. “We spotted your brothers! They’re being held in the woods just beyond the cornfields. We are headed there! Follow us!”
I feel a glimmer of hope, which pops fast when I see Gretel is gaining on Red. She’s riding on a bewitched flying cast-iron skillet, trying to catch her. I let go of Jax’s hand and start running toward Red. “Watch out!” I shout.
I hear a scream and whirl around. Hansel has grabbed Jax from high atop his own flying skillet. Jax dangles precariously by one arm as Hansel races away with him in tow.
“Gilly!” Jax shouts.
I turn back. “Hang on!” I yell as I race after Hansel, who is headed in the opposite direction.
Spotting a massive pumpkin in the patch in front of me, I jump onto it and launch myself into the air. My hand manages to close on one of Jax’s legs as Hansel and his skillet continue to climb. The weight of two added passengers slows down the cast-iron skillet a great deal. The cookware begins to zoom downward, headed for a line of trees.
“Let go! We’re going to crash!” Hansel tries to shake Jax free, but Jax hangs on for dear life, and I hang on to Jax. The skillet starts to spin and sputter, but jumping at this speed would be foolish. We’re tumbling so fast, I can’t make out the sky from the ground. Hansel’s cookware hits a tree, and he goes flying, pulling us along with him.
Jax and I are thrown backward, crashing into a bush. For a moment, all is silent, and there’s a ringing in my ears. When I sit up, I have a gash on my arm, and my head is throbbing. Standing is difficult, but I hold on to the tree as I pull myself up. Someone reaches out and grabs my ankle.
“Thief, grabbing on to that skillet was a risky move.” Jax jokes, but his voice is weak and he looks pale.
“Maybe, but we need to look out for each other.” I help him up and look around. We are nowhere near Angelina’s fairy garden now. We’re actually on the outskirts of the woods. I spot what’s left of Hansel’s skillet beside a smoking tree. Hansel lies motionless next to it, but there is no time to check on him. I hear footsteps and quickly pull Jax behind a tree.
Anna has Han and Hamish by the hand and is running our way. I don’t hesitate. I jump into her path and pull an arrow from my pack, aiming it at her heart. She freezes in her tracks.
“Boys!” I yell. “Step back!”
“Gilly!” Han cries, gulping so hard he can’t even breathe. “We can’t!” He holds up his small hand, and I see a glowing cuff attaching him to Hamish and Anna. “She won’t let us go.”
“Something’s wrong with Anna!” Hamish adds, sobbing harder. “Do something!”
I keep the arrow trained on her. Anna’s eyes are as black as coal, as if she’s under a spell. “Let them go.”
“Gilly, don’t be a fool,” she hisses. “Just listen to—”
I let the arrow go. It narrowly misses her shoulder on purpose. She blinks in surprise, and so do I. I had her, and again, I couldn’t do what I probably should have. “No, you listen!” I shout as Jax stands weaponless beside me. “These are your brothers! Give them to me, and I’ll let you go back to Stiltskin. He’s the only one you care about anymore.”
The darkness in Anna’s eyes flickers and fades for a moment. “No, I…”
But her words disappear as a sudden blast hits Jax in the chest, sending him flying. I scream and run toward him. He’s been knocked unconscious. When I look up, I see Gretel emerging from the trees, pointing a wand right at me and Jax.
“Good work—you got her!” Gretel says to Anna. “Cuff her with the boys.”
Anna hesitates, looking as scared of me as I was of facing her. Then she heads toward me to do as she’s told.
And that’s when something starts to bubble up inside me. It’s a feeling rising to the surface that I can’t squash down anymore even if I want to. Forget Anna! Save the boys! They’re innocent! the voice shouts, and that’s when I realize, finally, that the inner voice is actually my own, and I’m ready to listen. The vial attached to the strand of pearls on my neck start to glow.
“What is that?” Gretel asks, looking at my necklace.
Instinctively, I snap the vial off the necklace and toss it toward her. Seconds later, the vial explodes, immobilizing Gretel and Anna. I’m not sure how long the magic will hold, so I don’t hesitate. I reach forward, snatching the key around Anna’s neck, which I use to free Han and Hamish. The moment they’re free, I rush back to Jax. Jax groans when I pull him up to standing and place his arm around my shoulder. “Boys, we don’t have much time! Help me hold him. We need to run!” I take two steps forward with him, and we both stumble.
“Thief?” His voice is weak. I see a hole in his uniform shirt near his right shoulder. He’s bleeding. “You have to get the boys somewhere safe. Go.”
“No,” I insist. “We’re all going together. Come on. You can make it.” I try to pull him forward again, and that’s when I hear the crackling sound.
Wand fire is coming straight for us. Han screams, but there is no time to even react. I pull the others close and brace for impact.
Pop! A red bubble appears around me, Jax, and the boys, like our own small shield. Grandma Pearl has come through again. The wand fire bounces off the shield instead and hits a nearby tree, which is quickly engulfed by flames.
“No!” Gretel shouts. “Get that shield down!”
“I can’t let you have them, Gilly!” Anna says, walking toward the shield. “You’re all coming with me.”
“I don’t think so.” I look around for a clear path out of the fire, hoping the bubble will move with me, much like the one we were in when Grandma Pearl attempted to send us back to FTRS, but the smoke is expanding, and it’s hard to see anything. Finally, I spot a small opening in the trees. I slowly move us and the bubble toward it.
Anna and Gretel both fire again and again, but the bubble holds firm. The wand fire continues to ricochet off it until I hear a scream and realize one of the sparks has ricocheted and hit Anna in her boot.
“Pay attention!” Gretel shouts. “They’re getting away!”
We’re almost there. I can see the battle on the field through the trees. Outside the forest there will be allies, someone to help Jax, reinforcements. We just need to keep moving. Almost there… We burst through the last batch of trees into the smoke and ashy sky and stumble right into his Stiltskin himself.
“Where do you think you’re going, Gillian Cobbler?” he asks, a sick smile on his lips. I notice the magic lamp is hooked on Stiltskin’s sheath, close to his side. Stiltskin Squad members crowd around the bubble from all sides.
We’re still too far from the main battle for anyone to realize we’re in jeopardy. Jax is too weak to run any farther, and the boys are too small to make any quick moves. We are surrounded by Stiltskin’s crew, the wyvern has taken flight and is headed our way, and I don’t see our friends anywhere. My worst fear has come true: I’m truly alone.
He steps forward to touch the bubble and it singes his fingers. He holds his flaming-red hand in horror. “What is that thing? Anna? Gretel! Get it down! Now!”
“We’re trying!” Gretel says, racing up behind us again and hitting the bubble with more wand fire. It ricochets and almost hits two Stiltskin Squad members, who dive for cover.
“Gilly, please,” Anna begs. “Drop your shield. You don’t understand. We are on the same side! Stiltskin is going to protect us in his curse.”
“No, you don’t understand, Anna!” I try to hold Jax up by one arm, and the boys cling to my other one. “Look around. Does this look like he’s protecting us? He wants to destroy everything we love!”
“Everything you love!” My little sister’s face contorts with anger. “I want to start over. I want the chance to be great! Like you are! But in this world, you took all the glory and left me with nothing!”
Stiltskin’s laugh pierces through our argument. “Getting along as well as always, I see. Anna, are you sure you want to keep her around when Enchantasia is reborn? I was thinking maybe—”
A fireball comes sailing overhead and lands in front of him, knocking him off his feet. Another fires right after it and then another. Stiltskin Squad members run for cover. Through the smoke and the ash, I spot two sisters racing toward me—Professor Harlow and Jocelyn. They aim again and again in unison, singeing the trees around Stiltskin and his squad. Gretel gets hit in the leg and limps off in pain. Anna retreats, and Stiltskin hides behind some rocks, where something on his sheath bursts, sending what look like beads flying everywhere.
For a moment, I think we’ve got him, but then I see the wyvern blanket the ground behind Harlow and Jocelyn with fire. My friends quickly put up a shield to protect themselves while the ground around us is turned to charred ash.
Come on, Grandma Pearl! I will the bubble, focusing on what I really need. Get us out of here. Let me get the boys somewhere safe!
“We are safe, Gilly,” Han tells me. “We’re with you.”
I look at them. “I didn’t say that out loud,” I say. “Did I?” Jax drifts in and out, unable to answer me.
The wyvern roars louder in frustration, and I watch as the beast crackles and glows bright red before wavering in front of our eyes. Once more, a woman stands in our midst.
“Harlow, old friend, so we meet again.” Alva strides toward Harlow’s bubble and pierces it with a simple wave of the wand in her hand. “I never had a chance to thank you for all you did the last time I visited the school.” She aims her wand at Jocelyn, and I inhale sharply.
Jocelyn and I make eye contact for the briefest of moments before Harlow waves her wand again, sending the bubble Jocelyn is in into the air, where it disappears from sight.
Alva laughs. “Clever. Saving the girl. But it won’t save you.”
“Maybe not,” Harlow says calmly. “But I’ll get my joy while I can. I’m still quite fond of the time I got to watch you become encased in stone.”
“You’ll pay for that move.” Alva raises her wand again.
Harlow and Alva aim their wands at each other, sending streaks of electricity into the air. The remaining Stiltskin Squad members watch, mesmerized by the battle.
Jax starts to slip, and I try to hold him up. “Jax! Wake up!” I say. “We have to get out of here.”
“Gilly?” Han’s eyes widen. “Is he dying?”
“No!” I insist. “We just have to get him help.”
Harlow has them distracted for now, but how do I get help when I’m surrounded? I hear Alva scream and look up. Harlow is gaining on her. Harlow pushes her wand stream harder, and Alva begins to sink into the ground from the pressure.
“No!” Stiltskin races out of his hole and throws a magic bean onto the ground. A vortex opens up below Harlow’s feet.
“Don’t!” Alva cries at the same time I do.
“Gillian! Look at me!” Harlow says as the world around her starts to spin. “Your biggest enemy has always been yourself. You are bigger than your fears!” she shouts as the wind pulls her into its spiral and down into the vortex. “Do what you have to do to fig—”
“NO!” I reach out, but she’s already gone.
Alva lets out a bloodcurdling scream, startling me. “You two-foot tyrant!” She storms over to Stiltskin and blasts the ground in front of him. “You let your anger control you, and now we’ve lost Harlow! She could have been a powerful aid with this curse. I could have swayed her!”
“My pet, I was trying to save you!” Stiltskin looks at the Wicked Fairy with such googly eyes I feel ill. “She almost had you done for! I couldn’t survive without you again.”
Alva is his weakness. Isn’t that what Angelina once said? I listen carefully as gargoyles fly in from all directions, surrounding my bubble. I pull everyone in closer.
“Jax?” I nudge him as the boys cry softly into my side. “I could really use some help here.” But he drifts in and out of consciousness. I look around frantically for the others, wondering where Angelina is. Has Kayla found her? What am I supposed to do? Who knows where our friends are or if they’re even alive?
“I wouldn’t have let her. I still had fight in me!” Alva rails against him, and some of the Stiltskin Squad back away nervously. “Now who knows where your bean sent her? We’ll never get her back in time for the curse to be cast!”
“We don’t need her, my pet,” Stiltskin says, but his eyes are flitting wildly. “We have plenty of dark souls on our side. Like Anna!” He motions to my sister.
“Oh, Anna!” Alva laughs. “You have such faith in a confused child! This one will not help you when it’s time for the curse! You’ve trusted all these children for nothing! They’re too young to see the greater good in what we hope to achieve.”
“She will!” Stiltskin insists. “My squad is loyal! They know that what we’re creating benefits all of us.”
“Do they?” Alva says quietly. “The curse only works for the two of us, as you know.” She glances at the anxious crowd behind them. “Did you ever tell them that?”
“What is she talking about?” Anna asks. “You said we’d be protected.”
“You will be!” Stiltskin says as the grumbling grows louder. “You can all trust me! We’re going to a new Enchantasia!”
But Anna is looking at him strangely now too. “If only one other person can be part of the curse, how will my family be spared? I’ve held on to the boys because you assured me we’d all be okay. Will we?”
“I…” Stiltskin side-eyes Alva. “I hope so! Oh, don’t look disappointed in me. I would have figured it out! I was going to make some modifications to our curse once I spoke to my pet. She wants me with her in this new world, of course, so I’d make sure you were there too. I never would have spilled your blood for the curse, Anna. Trust me on that. You’ve been faithful.”
Anna begins to back away. “Spilled my blood?” Her face is pale.
Alva laughs. “Oh, darling, you didn’t really think you could trust a villain, did you?” She looks toward my bubble. “I’m done playing games. The Fire Moon is high in the sky. We have all the ingredients we need right here. This curse begins now.”
“You don’t have the harp!” I stall, hearing my voice echo in the bubble. “And you never will! It’s been destroyed!”
Alva starts to laugh wildly again. “Oh, child, you fool. We don’t need the harp. We already have all we need—this moon, this place, high on a hilltop closer to the celestial sky.” She pulls out the golden egg I procured for Stiltskin, and I feel the color drain from my face. “This egg and fairy blood. And for that, I’ve always wanted yours. After all you’ve put me through, using your blood to enact this curse makes it all the more thrilling.”
My blood. I feel the bubble start to waver. The power of Grandma Pearl’s shield is fading. I pull everyone tighter to my side, looking frantically for Maxine, Jocelyn, or Kayla and her mother. I wonder where Ollie is at that exact moment. I feel my breath quicken and try to slow it down, remembering what Angelina taught me; what Harlow wanted me to remember: that I’m stronger than my fear. But the bubble is fading. I watch helplessly as it finally fades away.