“We have chores to do first, Carl. You know that. I said I’d tell you another story, and I will. Now go help so we can get you fed, buddy.”
But Carl stomped his hoof harder, his soft eyes wide and fraught with something Toni didn’t understand. A sliver of fear spiked the back of her neck. “What’s wrong, little buddy?” she asked—just as she spied what looked like piles of berries.
Kneeling down, she took a closer look. “Score!” she muttered to herself, scooping up as many as she could hold in the pocket of the warm pelt Ellesandra had gifted each of them with. The pelts she’d placed a spell on that kept them warm no matter how cold the bitter winds blew.
When she lifted her head, she spotted a clearing where an adorable cottage sat smack in the middle of the frosty trees. Lanterns gave a cheerful glow from the inside, the eaves dripping with blue-tinted icicles. A hearth burned bright just beyond the big window in the front, warm and inviting.
Hiding behind a tree, Toni peered closer as Carl began to whinny his discontent. She scratched his ears distractedly, still trying to see if anyone occupied the cottage.
“Marty!” she whisper-yelled in her excitement. “Look!”
Carl whimpered once more and there was a hint of panic in it, one she instantly needed to quell so they didn’t get caught, just in case whoever was in the cottage wasn’t on the up and up.
“Shhhh, Carl! We don’t know who lives here. The way my luck’s gone, it’ll be some half-whacked Rapunzel who’ll try to strangle me with her luscious hair.”
Carl whinnied one more, bumping into her to try to turn her back in the other direction—and that was when she felt the sharp edge of a knife at her ribs.
“Looking for something, milady?”
Her eyes flew open as they adjusted and she saw the outline of cloaked, huddled figures. As they came into focus, she caught sight of Marty, her big blonde hair mashed up against another man’s chest, his gleaming knife at her throat. She was struggling from behind the hand he had clamped over her mouth.
He began to drag Marty backward, the hood on his coat hiding his face, but his eyes—she caught a glimpse of his eyes, and they glowed an ominous red.
What the hell? Were they wolves?
The Three Little Pigs wolf? No. Maybe the Big Bad Wolf wolf? Or more of the queen’s henchmen? Fear struck with a sharp ping in her gut.
The man at her side gripped her arm, pressing the tip of the knife to her waist. “I’ll gut ye like a pig if ye don’t move yer pretty arse. Now!” he roared gruffly in her ear, making her jump.
Carl stood caught between the foursome, his sweet eyes helpless. He’d been trying to warn her. Damn. When would she learn to pay better attention?
“Look at what we have here, Bromley,” the man cackled, rounding on Carl and dragging her along with him. “Supper, eh, mate?” He looked to his partner in crime, who nodded back.
“Aye! We’ll feast for a week!”
The hell. Toni sprang into action without thinking. With her free hand, she waved Carl away. “Shoo-shoo, small creature of the forest. Go find your mother now,” she said woodenly, staring hard into his eyes, hoping against hope he’d get the message she was trying to convey. Get help.
As the henchman began to drag her away, she dug in her heels. “Wait, wait, waaaait!” Toni yelped, yanking at her imprisoned arm. “Before ye gut me pretty arse like a pig, quick question?”
The man whirled her around, his face confused, but his eyes were the same red as his friend. “Speak!” he demanded, giving her a bone-rattling shake.
“If you huff and puff, can you blow that house down?”
As he pondered her question, she shot Carl another urgent signal with her eyes. Carl obviously wasn’t getting the message because he refused to budge.
The henchman gripped her arm harder, digging his grimy nails into her flesh. “What is this nonsense ye speak, lass?”
“What about that nonsense don’t you understand?” she asked, as her teeth chattered but her chin lifted in defiance. “Hang on, I’ll go slow. If. You. Huff. And. Puff. Can. You. Blow. That. House. Down? Has working for the evil queen stolen your hearing?”
The henchman growled at her, jamming his face into hers and flashing his sharp teeth, dripping with saliva. But she refused to back down as she tried once more to shoo Carl with her hand. “Wow, what dirty teeth you have. You should see a toothbrush about that.”
The henchman snarled again, pressing the knife tighter to her waist. He gave her a hard shove—and that was when Carl gave her opportunity to strike.
He reared upward on his hind legs and whinnied long and loud, startling the men and giving Toni the chance she needed to break free.
With a howl, she yanked her arm from the man and barreled toward Marty’s captor, her head down, her feet moving like they were on fire. She ran straight for the man with the hood, only to hear Marty scream, “Run, Toni! Get to the cottage!”