Authors: Marissa Burt
“I think we should have turned right at the haunted house,” Indy said as he swiped the hair off his forehead.
“I’m pretty sure I’ve got it covered,” Peter said in a tight voice. “Just keep your eyes open, Indy.”
“We’ve just got to find an inn or something like that where we can casually talk to people. The characters who live here will know if there’s a castle and a cemetery nearby,” Una said.
The streets were growing crowded. The Hollow had more than its fair share of mysterious cloaked figures, but as Una wended her way through the narrow streets, she saw more and more masked faces and heard faint strains of music. A couple with grinning gold masks was dancing in the middle of the street, and Peter made a wide circle around them before coming to a standstill. Around the next corner, the street opened up into the main square. The music was wild and loud here. Masked characters were everywhere, as crowds of people filled the open space with dancing and merrymaking. Blazing torches lit the street corners but also filled the air with a hazy smoke.
“Winter’s Eve,” Peter said. “How could I have forgotten?”
Una peered over his shoulder into the masses of people
.
“What’s Winter’s Eve?” All the characters in the square had their faces covered. Some with masks that looked like exaggerated frowns and others with hideous grins alternated among the whirling figures.
“It’s the longest night of the year,” Indy said. “Every district celebrates a little differently, but all the characters do something to welcome in the new season. When we traveled with the caravan—”
Peter stifled a yawn. “
We
gather in Fairy Village to hear songs and children’s Tales.”
Una laughed. “Oh, Peter, you sound like such a snob.” A giant danced by Una and leered at her through a distorted mask. His features looked like they were melting. Una much preferred the sparkling masks some of the ladies held up to their faces. It was nice to see characters enjoying themselves. Maybe news about what had happened at Heart’s Place hadn’t yet reached this part of the Hollow. Or maybe Villains just didn’t care.
The music swelled, and the mass of dancers pressed closer. “Do either of you know how to dance?” Una asked.
Peter groaned. “You have got to be kidding me, Una.”
Someone about Indy’s size wearing a black mask that left only his eyes uncovered appeared in front of them and removed his feathered hat with a bow. “Such poor manners, my lad.” He shook a finger at Peter. “Never insult a lady.” He reached for Una’s hand and swept a kiss across her knuckles. “And
never
miss a chance to dance.” He stood up, reached behind Una’s ear, and pulled out a tiny little white flower. “For you, milady.”
“
Una
.” Indy’s warning was a whisper.
“I can ask him questions,” Una hissed back as she tucked the flower into the top of her braid. “I’ll be fine. Who’s going to do anything with all these people around?” She offered her hand to her dance partner and whispered one final instruction. “You guys find out what you can, and we’ll all meet back at Bramble Cottage, okay?”
Before Indy and Peter could do anything, her partner had whirled Una away into the crush of dancers. The music was riotous here, and the rhythmic thumping of the drums set Una’s feet flying. She didn’t know the steps, but her partner expertly led her where she needed to go, spinning her in circles that left her quite breathless. The laughter around her was infectious, and the booms of the fireworks that were bursting overhead underscored the drumbeat.
After the dance finished, the masked stranger took her hand and dodged through the festive couples toward a brightly painted building. “Are you hungry?” he asked.
Una looked back over her shoulder. Peter and Indy were nowhere to be seen. “And thirsty.” Whoever the stranger was, Una felt safe. For the few moments she had been dancing with him, she had forgotten who she was and what she was about to do.
“Do you know if there are any castles nearby?” As soon as Una said it, she realized it was an odd question, but she plowed ahead. “Or cemeteries?”
Her companion stopped just short of the inn door. “Now, what would a lass like you want with a cemetery?” he asked.
“I’m . . . um . . . looking for relatives,” Una managed. Let him think she was looking for their graves.
“I think I know where you might find them,” her partner said. “But first come have a bite to eat.” When they pushed through the swinging doors into the busy common room of the inn, the smell of roasting meat made Una’s stomach rumble.
“Why, Kai! I didn’t know you were back in town,” the innkeeper said as they sat down.
An old witch seated on the other side of him raised her pint glass in the air. “To Kai!” The entire room erupted in a shout, and Una’s companion turned to face them with a grin. His black eyes twinkled, and he stood on his stool and gave them all a comic bow.
“To my friends!” He pumped his fist up in the air. “To Winter’s Eve!”
The room might never have stopped cheering for Kai, but the innkeeper came over and began loading their table with platters of fresh bread, fruit, cheese, and a dish of the roasted meat that set Una’s mouth watering.
While Una ate, she watched a checkered assortment of characters greet Kai. There was a grizzled dwarf who didn’t eat any food but instead propped his muddy boots up on the table and chewed an old pipe stem as he talked about the grave conditions of the underworld. A man with dark skin and a very pointed beard sat across from Kai and debated the merits of the New School of Sorcery. A nearly silent fox perched nearby, picking genteelly at chicken bones and adding his opinion when needed. At different points in the meal, a witch, a harpy, and a watchful Siamese cat joined them.
“Tell me what I’ve missed since I’ve been gone,” Kai said as he scooped a generous spoonful of roasted vegetables onto his plate. “How fares the Hollow?”
Una learned that Kai had been traveling through the far reaches of Story for some time, but she discovered little else besides that. Kai dodged every question that his companions put to him.
“Did you see aught of the Endless Sea?” The dwarf recrossed his ankles, and a powder of dirt fell onto the tabletop.
“You mean the Blue Pools of Summer? Talk is that they are no more. What say the dwarf scouts?”
Then the dwarf was off on some long story of his latest journey to find a rumored stash of quicksilver.
“Impossible,” the sorcerer scoffed. “Quicksilver consumes everything it touches. If someone had discovered it, we’d all be dead.”
And so it went—from debates about the rumors from the Scorpion Desert to bickering over who had, in fact, discovered the Lost Princesses—with Kai laughing over it all.
Even when Una’s least favorite of his companions—a beautiful woman who sat on the other side of Kai, very nearly draping herself across him—asked, “Have you found another siren, Kai?” he didn’t actually answer, only tilted back on two legs of his chair, gave a hearty laugh, and said, “There are no other sirens like you, Lorelei.”
By the time she had finished her meal, Una had come to several conclusions. First, she was sure that Kai would do her no harm. The way he treated the other characters made Una think he had more Hero in him than Villain. Even the way he avoided answering a question by asking one of his own didn’t seem malicious. Secondly, she determined that Horror Hollow wasn’t nearly as scary a place as she had once thought. In fact, the characters seated at the table with her were quite possibly the most interesting ones she had come across in Story. And finally, she was absolutely positive that she would have to find the cemetery soon—before she fell asleep. The effort of dancing and her full stomach made her fight to keep her eyes open.
Until she heard what the witch was saying. “The Tale Master’s going to make a big announcement at Perrault tomorrow. About the Tale station being shut down and all. Did you hear that out in the Badlands, Kai?”
“He’s shut down the Tale station?” Kai set his chair down on the floor with a thud and rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “But what good have the Talekeeper Tales ever done us anyway?”
“That’s for sure,” the sorcerer said. “Better Tales when the Muses were around.”
“And less bossing,” the crone cackled. “My mam had some Witch in her, true enough, but she was a Romantic at heart. The Muses would’ve written her a witch’s love story instead of the same-old same-old witch-who-eats-children nonsense she got from the Talekeepers.”
There was much nodding all around, and then Kai raised his tankard with a grin. “To Villainy! And to Villains being whoever they want to be!”
Una didn’t join the toast, but she took a sip from the mug of tea in front of her. She eyed the group around the table. Maybe the Resistance had been looking for support in all the wrong places. Hearing Kai’s friends go on about the Talekeepers and the shoddy way they were running things made her think that some of the Hollow folk, at least the Villains seated around her, weren’t falling for Elton’s lies.
“What we need is some new leadership,” the dwarf said around his pipe. “No more of this Talekeeper nonsense.” He chewed the stem. “Copies of Tales and all that rubbish. My granddad wouldn’t have stood for it, I tell you that.”
“What we
need
is a Villain running things, not some puffed-up Hero.” The sorcerer was smiling as he said this, but the way he bared his pointed teeth made Una sit up a little straighter in her chair.
“What we need is the return of the King.” The fox had spoken very little the entire meal, and Una was surprised at how deep his voice was. “What say you, Kai?”
“Sure, the King’ll return someday.” Kai waved the fox’s words away. “The same day foxes fly.” A loud chorus of laughter followed this statement, and the innkeeper began serving giant slices of chocolate cake to everyone. As Una took her first bite, Kai bent down.
“I know of a cemetery that leads to a castle,” he said in a near whisper. “But it’s very dangerous.”
“Oh, I’m not going there tonight,” Una said.
Unless I can find Peter and Indy first
.
“And why not?” Kai asked. “I didn’t say you shouldn’t go. Just that it was dangerous.” He leaned in close. “All the more reason
to
go, if you ask me. At least if you want an adventure. Do you?”
Una swallowed the cake and then tried out Kai’s tactic. “What do you know of the Lost Elements of Story?”
“Depends on who’s asking.” Kai’s face split into a broad grin. “And if they’re telling the truth.” Una liked how friendly his eyes looked.
“My name is Una Fairchild,” Una said, “and I need to find the Lost Elements to make something right.”
There. All true.
“I see,” Kai said, and, impossible as it was, Una thought he really did see. “The cemetery’s half a mile south of here. Take the last right before you come to the Pit of Doom.”
Una had thought she’d be pleased to have the information. Instead, she felt like she was going to throw up. Kai must have seen it on her face.
“I don’t know if you’re in some kind of trouble, lass, and I don’t care.” His words were barely more than a whisper. “I make it a rule not to get involved in other characters’ messes. Much more interesting that way.” He pressed something into the palm of her hand. “But if you have need, put on this ring. It will help you see clearly when things seem confused. From the look on your face, I’d say you might need it.”
The ring felt hot in her palm, and Una uncurled her fingers to look at it. She glimpsed a solid gold circle before Kai folded her hands up again.
“Not here, lass,” he scolded. “Don’t be a fool. Only use it if you have great need.”
Una slipped the ring into her pocket. “Thank you,” she said. “For everything.”
Kai waved a hand in his now-familiar gesture, and Una knew that his moment of seriousness was over. The others at the table were watching them, and he raised his voice. “As you like. Thank me if you like. Or not. Stay if you like. Or go.” The lines were obviously part of a well-known song, for as soon as he said them, his companions joined in, and soon the little room was filled with the sound of their singing.
“I will then,” Una said, something no one heard over the noise. But Kai gave her the faintest of nods as she pushed back from the table and slipped out the door.
T
he madman kept singing some stupid song about the man in the moon eating a bowl of porridge, and Snow felt like smacking him. Her mother had said they were looking for an Ivory Gate, whatever that was. Snow was keeping a safe distance from her, not that it would do any good. Snow knew she was no match for an Enchantress. Snow wouldn’t even learn how to properly deflect an enchanted voice until third-year Elocution, and she wasn’t very good at Elocution to begin with.
Suddenly, the madman stopped before a section of the wall that looked identical to every other stone they’d passed before. He turned and surveyed the desert behind them. Snow didn’t know what he was looking for, but after a minute, he appeared satisfied.
“Come see,” he said, as he let the sand trickle through his fingers.
Her mother dropped down by his side and touched the ground. “Look at this, Snow,” she said.
Snow’s skin felt crawly. Was her mother trying to enchant her? Snow didn’t feel the compelling wish to do whatever she said, like she had when they first learned about enchanted voices in Elocution. In fact, she still felt the ambivalence toward her mother that she always did. Snow took that to be a good sign. “What is it?” she asked, and tried to keep her tone neutral. Maybe her mother hadn’t enchanted her, but it still wasn’t a great idea to make her angry.
“Feel here,” her mother said, pressing her hands down into the sand. Snow reached to touch the silvery-white granules, but her fingers felt only air. It was the queerest sensation. For all her eyes saw, she was running sand between her hands, but there was nothing there. She looked up at her mother, who had something close to a smile on her face.
“We’ve found it, Snow,” she said in a whisper. “The way out.”
“Out where?” The old man drew closer. “This is the door to Nowhere Else. It doesn’t go out.”