“I am aware of your dragon horde, which is why I only come here under the direst of circumstances. We will trade what you desire in order to reach the mountain’s summit.”
The witch seemed to mull over his statement. Her sea-green eyes sparkled when she turned her gaze on us, almost as if seeing us for the first time.
“Do you give me your word, Fan’twar? I may choose from among these mortals what my treasure will be, realizing that my price may be more than they can pay?”
“My word is given.”
She laughed quietly. “After so many years, now he comes begging at my doorstep.”
Stepping off the bridge, she circled our group slowly. Her magic brushed against mine, licking, testing, trying to determine the extent of my powers. I drew away from her as she stepped closer to me.
“You carry a magical box?” she asked.
I hesitated. Instinctively, I wanted to tell her that it wasn’t part of any bargain, but I thought better of it. “I do.”
She only nodded and didn’t press the issue further. “There is something else you carry—a scroll?”
I swallowed. No one was supposed to know about the goblin scroll. It was the only history that existed of the gray elves before they became goblins, and I’d promised Xanthocus, a goblin spirit, that I would keep it safe. Perhaps I could part with my mirror, but not the scroll.
“I cannot part with it,” I said, fully expecting her wrath. She only studied my face, and I couldn’t meet her gaze. There was something wholly unnatural about the creature, something that set me on edge.
She sighed, then walked past me. “Very well. I have no use for history.”
I stared after her. She would drop the subject just like that? As she circled the group, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of urgency. We really didn’t have time for tedious negotiations, but until the witch decided what she wanted from us, there was nothing I could do about it.
She questioned several of the elves gathered in our group but seemed bored by every item they carried, until she stopped by the fairy princess.
Her eyes glittered with a look of lustfulness. “Fairy,” she hissed, then reached out with her clawed hand and ran her fingers through the girl’s hair. “You have a treasure I desire. Will you give it to me?”
The princess visibly shook. “Do you desire my magic?”
“Yes. I have never felt such a power so pure, so innocent, so untainted. Your magic is like a nectar. I would make good use of it. You’ve nothing to fear from me.” Silvestra gently ran her fingers along the girl’s neck. I cringed.
If Silvestra took the princess’s magic, and if she survived the process of having her magic removed, the girl would be stuck in her human form forever. I’d seen how hard it was for her to remain in human form, and I knew that if the witch took the girl’s magic, she would also be taking her purpose for living.
“No.”
Prince Terminus stepped forward, and I’d never seen him look so determined. With fisted hands, he faced the witch.
“I will not allow you to take my sister’s magic.”
A look passed between the witch and the prince. I wasn’t sure what to make of it.
“There must be something else you desire,” the prince said.
“I have seen what you brought me. I want only this.”
“No!” Terminus shouted. “You shall not take her magic!”
I’d never seen him so upset.
“Brother, it is all right. I will sacrifice my magic if it means we will have our stone once again.”
“Esmelda, no. You can’t!”
Green dragon magic crackled around the witch, and soon, streaks of black mingled with it. To successfully control two different magics was an incredible feat, one that gave her unbelievable power. No wonder I had such trouble being in her presence.
“Release your power to me,” Silvestra said to the fairy princess.
Terminus grabbed his sister’s hand. “Esmelda, do not do this. Believe me when I say that the witch cannot be trusted. If you deal with her, it will not be as you expect.”
The princess stood resolutely, and although I saw tears forming in her eyes, she stood tall. “How would you know such a thing, Brother, unless you have dealt with her before?”
“Because… I have heard. I only have heard the rumors…”
“Rumors?” She turned to him. “No one is aware of this creature in our village, or in any villages I know of—not even the humans were aware of her presence. So how would you know of her?”
Prince Terminus’s face visibly paled. “I speak only of what I have been told.”
“Do you?” Her voice quivered with emotion, yet still she stood tall. “Tell me, how was the bloodthorn able to conjure the flowers?”
“What?”
“The flowers. Flowers from both Earth and Fairy were found in the corpses’ eyes—flowers that the bloodthorn could not have created himself, for he used only dark magic, and I was not aware that he could create beauty. Yet somehow, flowers that you have conjured before—in fact, the very same species that you have conjured many times before—appeared in the eyes of the slain humans.”
“Sister… ” he whispered, “it was a mere coincidence.”
“And then, when our friends encountered the beast in the unicorn forest, they could not understand how such a creature could appear in our world, yet I know how. I remember when you left our forest for months at a time. I saw the scars only a creature of darkness could have inflicted—marks that appeared on your skin.”
The prince didn’t answer.
“Is this true?” Heidel asked.
“Yes,” the princess said. “He met a girl from the woodland elf tribe many years ago. She tainted him and begged him to journey with her. I did not know where they went, but now I know.” She sighed, pressing her eyes closed. “He and the girl were responsible for allowing the bloodthorn and spider creature to escape the undiscovered land.”
Kull turned to the prince. “Is
