“I’m brave enough to admit that I’m chicken.”
Loki stepped through the mist, pulling Axel along, now seeing the castle again. Big Bad and Dee were still making out. Dum showed up a couple of windows away, fiddling with her hair and staring at something inside.
“Let’s go back, Loki,” Axel said. “If we look at her eye to eye, we will die.”
“I already did. I saw her in the window,” Loki said, wondering if she’d done it on purpose. Was she playing Loki, daring him to see if he had the guts to come closer and try to kill her? Did she know about Loki’s weakness for demon girls? “Count me cursed already. Besides, I need to do this. I need to,” Loki held Axel by the shoulder.
“I don’t think you’ll get cursed,” Axel said. “You’re the handsome dude. In the movies the good looking guy always lives. On the other hand, I am the nerd. I can’t afford to let her look at me. I have ‘first victim to go’ written all over my forehead.”
“Does that mean you’re going to chicken out now?”
“No, I’m coming with you,” Axel shouted against the increasing wind. “Because even if I’m not a handsome dude, I have another power that you don’t have,” Axel placed his hand on Loki’s shoulder. “I have nothing…to lose!” he said as if he’d just discovered peanut butter.
One of the Tweedle girls screamed suddenly behind the mist. The unspeakable was already happening.
“Listen to me, Axel,” Loki shook him, feeling guilty about bringing him along. “You don’t want to go in with me. This is my thing. I have to do this. You have a sister who needs you. She doesn’t have anyone else but you. You’re stupid thinking you have nothing to lose. You’re stupid, Axel. Do you hear me? You have a lot to lose. You have a family and a home, something I don’t remember I ever had. If Fable were my sister, I’d slay dragons for her. Go back now!” Loki pushed Axel away then turned back to the castle, taking a deep breath as the lights in the castle all went out.
“It’s true that I want to take care of Fable, but she never thought of me as a hero, so now there’s a possibility I could be her hero,” Axel said. “If I die, tell her I was a hero. Tell her good things about me, Loki. Tell her that I died fighting a nine-headed lion, not a fifteen year old vampire. I could be Fable’s role model. In fact, if I die and she thinks of me as a role model, I’d like it.”
“Just go, or I’m going to punch you in the face!” Loki pushed Axel away.
Axel took a moment, trying to figure out if he had the guts to stay, but Loki’s stare was strong and Axel thought he’d better go back to his sister. “Can you at least spare me a flashlight I can use on my way back?” Axel said.
Loki grabbed a spare flashlight from his bag and handed it to Axel.
Tick Tock. Tick Tock. Axel turned the flashlight on and off. “Just checking,” he looked embarrassed as he stared into Loki’s blaming eyes. “Rule number seven in surviving a horror movie: Always check your flashlight’s batteries before you use it because they usually don’t work when you need them.”
Loki was about to smile. If he didn’t make it today, if he died trying to kill the vampire princess, he thought he might miss Axel, even though they’d spent so little time together.
“I found her!” Donnie’s voice echoed from inside the castle.
Loki turned around and heard the sound of separate movements. Big Bad and Dee must have still been alone. He heard Dum accusing Donnie of being like the boy who cried wolf, pulling pranks on them.
“I’m not joking,” Donnie shouted nervously. “She is—“his voice echoed like he was in an empty room. “I can’t believe my eyes!” he yelled hysterically.
Alert, Loki stood with his Alicorn ten feet shy of the castle’s entrance, trying to figure out what was happening inside. He turned to see if Axel had changed his mind and decided to stay, but he was gone. Loki felt lonely again, just like he’d always been in the Ordinary World.
“What is it?” Big Bad yelled at Donnie from somewhere in the castle. “Where are you? I can’t see anything.”
It was obvious that most of them had split up in the castle, and that Donnie was alone somewhere. Loki was unable to locate each of them.
“I’m coming, too!” Dum cried out. “I can’t find my flashlight. Wait!”
Loki was still watching, fixed in place, confused about who was who. It was all happening very fast, and death was inevitable. Something bad was going to happen. If Big Bad was climbing up the stairs, why couldn’t Loki see his flashlight shining against the windows?
“Oh my God!” Dee shrieked. Her tone implied fascination rather than fear. “I found her glass coffin just like in the fairy tale. It’s so beautiful.”