“I have to protect you,” Axel fell over some books.
Loki and Fable laughed, and Loki knew that what she said was true. What he felt toward Fable was a brotherly feeling. It was only intensified because none of them had felt this way before. Fable never really felt safe with Axel, and Loki had never felt the magic of caring for a little sister—even though he was sure he’d be gone soon and never see her again.
As they left the library, Loki thought about it and knew why Fable was really coming with them. Unlike Axel, she wasn’t just out for a great adventure, and it wasn’t only because she cared for him. Fable was coming along in hopes that she’d be able to persuade him not to kill Snow White when the time was right.
13
The Glass Coffin
The sun splayed through the big windows and illuminated everything inside the Schloss; the marble floors, the painted ceilings, and century-old chandeliers. There were a number of golden-framed portraits on the wall, portraying battles where people rode unicorns instead of horses. Loki noticed one of the unicorns was ridden by a woman wearing a cloak; the unicorn was hornless. It made him grip the Alicorn in his hand tighter.
There were also a few pieces of ancient furniture scattered among the vast space of the entrance hall, and they were covered with white, clean blankets. It looked like someone was taking care of the Schloss, and Loki wondered who it could be.
Loki fidgeted at the thought. The castle made him feel uneasy, even with the dreamy sparkling morning sunlight that painted the air, hinting to a misleading sense of security. Everything looked friendly and inviting that one couldn’t help but to explore further. Had it not been infested by a vampire at night, Loki would have fallen for the trap.
There was no evidence of last night’s victims, no traces of blood or signs of struggle. It was just a charming, empty castle in the middle of the Black Forest. Even the Swamp of Sorrow wasn’t as creepy as it was yesterday night. They’d been surprised how easily they crossed the swamp and forest before reaching the castle—which made Loki worry even more. Again, something about this whole island and the castle was wrong, but he just couldn’t put his finger on it. Axel was right when he said that this place had a soul of its own.
“Wow,” Axel said. “This looks nothing like the haunted castle from yesterday.”
Loki gave a couple of inspecting gazes, expecting a sinister detail to hold him back from advancing. He couldn’t find any.
“Awesome,” Fable said, dancing in circles with her arms stretched out, like Julie Andrews in the Sound of Music. “I’ve always dreamed of a castle like this. Can we move in here, Axel?”
Loki couldn’t help but adore her. He didn’t bother telling her that it was best if she didn’t dance around so she wouldn’t wake up the vampire princess.
“You think she hid the bodies in the basement?” Axel asked. He stood reluctantly in front of the door leading to the basement.
“She isn’t a serial killer, Axel, and she has nothing to hide,” Loki said. “Relax; I always save the cellar for last.”
“Um—” Axel said. “Because there are two things I hate the most, you know—“
“Not really. “
“Cellars and attics, that’s where all things scary happen.”
Loki took the fancy spiral staircase upward, the one the flashlight barely managed to illuminate last night with all of its blinking. “We need to get upstairs. Remember Dee saying she’d found Snow White’s glass coffin up there?” he said. He could hear Fable and Axel’s footsteps behind him. The staircase was wide enough a carriage could pass through it. The steps were covered with a red carpet, and potted plants were placed on one side—real plants. Who was taking care of these plants?
Loki found himself murmuring:
Snow White One, Snow White two,
Sorrow was coming out for you.
“Boy. It takes some time to climb these stairs. I should’ve bought a bag of Sticky Sweet Bones with me,” Axel said wearily. “I bet those 19th century kings and queens rarely got anything done other than climbing up and down the stairs.”
“It’s a royal castle. Every thing has to be large and majestic,” Fable spoke her mind, fascinated with the Schloss.
Loki pulled out his phone and read the notes he’d copied from the dissolved page he’d read in his Dreamhunter notebook. “Tell me if you see any mirrors,” he said. “We can’t kill her without at least two mirrors.”
“Stop saying kill her!” Fable reminded him.
“Slay her?” Loki teased.
“Why mirrors?” Axel wondered.
Loki said. “Part of the killing ritual is laying her body in the coffin between two opposite mirrors to enter her dream.”
“If I were you, I’d worry about stabbing her first,” Axel panted. “And what’s that dream thing you keep talking about?”
“I’ll tell you later, now just look for mirrors I can use.”