36. Nelle Battle of the Office
Nelle: Battle of the Office
Nelle forced herself down the long hallway, Ember keeping pace with her and occasionally cooing at her to keep going. Something about the eerie silence and the way that they hadn’t run into a single guard made Nelle’s heart beat quicken. Something was very, very wrong. What was it?
Ahead, she could hear voices, and the sound of her mother’s almost made her stop cold. “Going somewhere, ladies and gentlemen? It’s rude to leave without bidding your host farewell.”
Someone ahead let out a bark of laughter. “Manners lessons from you, your majesty? That must be the height of irony.”
“Now, now, Seba, we mustn’t judge. After all, Queen Snow White was just coming to bid us adieu. Weren’t you, your majesty?” The voice was feminine and a spark of mirth.
Nelle could see the Snow Queen now. The scowl on her face was intense as she snapped, “I wouldn’t expect you to know the first thing about manners, Lucy Doyle. My sources say you grew up in a werewolf pack.”
“Very true.” Any mirth that might have been in Lucy’s voice was gone. “But that means I grew up learning how to defend myself. Can the same be said for you?”
The Snow Queen’s voice came out as little more than a hiss. “You know nothing of what I went through, mongrel. Now, shut your mouth, or we’ll see how easily you can give birth as an ice statue.”
A small red-head stepped into view, but almost immediately, a tall, dark-skinned fairy pulled her back. “Don’t you dare threaten my wife,” he growled.
A hand clapped on his shoulder. “We’re leaving, your majesty.” Nelle’s heart fluttered at the sound of Kit’s voice. “Please don’t try to stop us. I promise you, you will regret it.”
The Snow Queen cackled. “No, Prince Christopher. You’re the one who will regret it.” With those words, she raised her hands, and Nelle knew in her heart that she was about to do something terrible.
“No!” The word tore from Nelle’s throat before she could stop it, and she threw up her hands. At the motion, that same white energy shot from her fingertips, arching toward her mother and slamming her against the wall.
“Nelle!” Kit shouted, racing toward her. Moments later, she was in his arms, and she snuggled into his warmth.
“Um, your highness? Is this really the time?” She peeked around him and saw Little John jogging towards them, along with dozens of other people. Some she recognized, and some she didn’t.
Kit mumbled something under his breath before releasing Nelle, saying, “As lovely as this is, we have to go. We’ll reunite properly once we’re out of here.”
She gave him a watery smile. “Alright, fair enough.”
“Argh!” The Snow Queen’s cry of rage drew Nelle’s attention. “That hurt, daughter of mine!” Along with the anger, something akin to pride glimmered in the queen’s eyes as she continued, “The Cracked Mirror told me you were going to be a problem. Now, I see he was right.”
She stumbled to her feet and raised something to her lips.
Then, all at once, here was a high, piercing whistle that sent Ember into flight.
Immediately, the doors across the hall flew open, revealing animals of every shape and size.
Nelle counted half a dozen polar bears, three white foxes, two elephant seals, and even a few ice giants.
Her blood went cold as ice as the Snow Queen pointed at where Kit and the others stood and shouted, “Attack them! Leave the royals alive, but kill the others.”
Kit cursed and turned to Nelle. “We need to find a mirror. If we can, then we can mirror travel out of this terrible place.”
She nodded, grimacing as she realized where they needed to go. “There’s a mirror in her office. Come, I’ll show you.” She turned and almost tripped over her own feet as exhaustion took hold.
Kit caught her and looped her arm over his shoulder. “Easy, snowdrop. I’ve got you. Point me in the direction we need to go, and we’ll figure it out from there.”
Nelle nodded and pointed. “That way. We’re not far.”
Kit jerked his head toward the others streaming into the hallway. “Follow me! Quickly!”
“I don’t know what experience you have with pregnant women, brother dear, but we don’t do anything quickly,” the red-head grumbled.
The fairy snickered and scooped her into his arms. “Not to fret, Lucy-love. I’ll get you where you need to go.”
Nelle shot Kit a questioning look. “‘Brother dear?’”
Kit shrugged. “Apparently, I also have a sister. I’ll introduce you later.” He whistled. “Ember, come!” The phoenix screeched and landed on Kit’s opposite shoulder.
Nelle suspected that if she could have watched, she’d have found the situation almost comical: A prince, half-dragging a woman in a ragged dress, with a phoenix perched precariously on his shoulder, leading a mismatched band of weary-looking prisoners, all of whom were being pursued by an enraged mob of winter animals.
As it was, she could barely put one foot in front of the other, and her head throbbed with each heartbeat.
They came to a fork in the hall. “Which way?” Kit asked tersely. Nelle didn’t have the energy to speak. She could only point to the left, where the office door was still half open.
Kit adjusted his hold on her. “Stay with me, Nelle. We’re almost there.” The way he muttered that last sentence, it almost sounded like a prayer, rather than a statement.
An agonized cry drained all the blood from Nelle’s face. Kit whipped them around to see Lucy, her face contorted in pain, clinging to the fairy’s hand. The fairy tightened his hold on her. “Vixen? What’s wrong?”
“No…nothing,” the red-head gasped, though the way she was squeezing the fairy’s shoulders, Nelle didn’t believe her. “I’m f..fi…fine.”
Kit glanced at Little John. “You said nine months?”
The brawny man’s jaw tightened. “Or close to that.”
“Fantastic,” Kit muttered, ushering Lucy and the fairy through the door. “Sebastian, get her settled until we can get the mirror travel set up. Robin, can you?—”
“Already on it,” Robin said, shouldering past him and heading for the mirror.
“No, wait!” Nelle pulled from Kit’s grasp and stumbled after Robin. “I need to be the one to do it.”
Kit frowned. “But?—”
“It’s the original Cracked Mirror,” she explained, turning to him. “You must handle it with great care and…” She swallowed hard. “I’ve got the most experience with it.”
Kit’s jaw tightened. “I don’t like it.”
“I know, but if we do this wrong, we could all end up—” Nelle shivered. “We have to do it carefully.”
Robin looked from Kit to Nelle, then back again. “Do you trust her?” he asked his brother.
“With my life,” Kit said fervently, before fixing Robin with a sharp gaze. “And you’d better guard her with yours.”
“I will, brother,” Robin said, following Nelle to the mirror. “Have you ever set up mirror travel before?”
“No, but I know the theory,” she said, placing her hand on the worn metal frame. Despite the cold of the room, it felt curiously warm. “It’s an incantation, right?”
“That’s correct,” Robin said, before rattling it off. “Usually everyone would have to crowd around the mirror at once, but I changed the spell slightly, so all each person has to do is touch it, and it will transport them. But you have to go last, or the portal will close.”
Nelle nodded grimly. “Right.” She focused her mind on blocking out the Cursed Mirror’s presence and murmured the spell. “Where do you want the destination to be?”
“Make it the royal palace in Moyar,” Sebastian said from where he was kneeling next to Lucy, her brow covered in sweat. “Lucy’s healer is there, and she can look over the rest of our little band.”
Robin nodded. “I’ve been looking forward to meeting the duchess.” He grimaced. “And from there, I’ll send a message to my father. How long have I been missing, I wonder? He must be going mad.”
Nelle nodded absently as a dark presence pressed against her mind. She ignored it, giving the spell its destination. “Alright, my lady, you’re first.”
“I’m first,” Sebastian said with a shake of his head. “The royal guard is going to be unhappy with this many people coming unannounced as it is. At least if I’m the first through, they might ask questions before running our visitors through.” He pointed at Robin. “You come next with Lucy.”
“That’s a comforting thought,” the man muttered, before gesturing for Sebastian to go through the portal. “Try not to let the royal guard kill us, Soldier.”
“I’ll do my best,” the fairy said with a wink before he placed his hand on the glass. Instantly, he was gone.
“Alright, Lady Lucy, you and I are next,” Robin said, his gaze softening as he helped his sister to her feet. “Do me a favor and deliver a nephew for me, please? I need someone to spoil.”
“No promises,” Lucy grunted, as they pressed their hands to the glass. Within the space of a blink, they, too, were gone.
Nelle was suddenly very aware of a hulking presence at her side. “I’ll help with the portal, Nelle,” Little John said, gesturing to the chair next to the desk. “You need to rest. I don’t like the peculiar shade of gray your skin’s gone.”
Nelle gave a weak nod as the dark force in her mind threw itself against her mental barriers. “I will. Thank?—”
Before she could finish her sentence, a cry from the door drew her attention.
She staggered to the door just in time to see a polar bear take a swipe at Kit.
“No!” she cried, racing forward, a spell already dancing in her mind.
Instantly, the spell took effect, reducing the polar bear to a plush bear, inanimate and harmless.
Kit offered her a smile. “Thank you.”
Nelle didn’t answer, choosing to direct another spell toward another attacking creature. This one, she turned into a small kitten. Each spell took more and more of her energy, leaving her limbs shaking with exertion, but she stubbornly pressed on. She couldn’t leave Kit’s side. Not now.
Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she caught a flicker of movement.
Her mother pressed to the front of the attacking horde.
Any trace of pride had disappeared from her eyes, with rage in its place.
In her hand, she held a long, thin spike of ice.
She narrowed her eyes and focused, not on Nelle, not on any of her escaping prisoners… but on Kit.
Nelle’s heart sank as she realized what her mother was about to do. Almost as if in slow motion, she watched as the Snow Queen threw the spike with unerring accuracy, heading straight for Kit’s heart.
Without thinking, Nelle threw herself between the spike and Kit. She felt the icy pain shoot through her as the spike hit home, right above her heart. And, as her eyes closed, a smile formed on her face as she heard her mother’s cry of agony.