My knees sank into the ground. There had to be some explanation for what I was watching. Rexi wouldn’t betray me. She was my friend. Surely I was watching the Mimicman. But if so, why had she looked at me like her heart was breaking?
She handed Griz the star and then stood there, head down, unwilling to meet my eyes.
Griz tossed the star in the air and then caught it. “It was so kind of you to show me this little spring, but I’m afraid I can’t let you use it.” She threw the star up again, and this time let it fall to the ground. “You see, I rather like the chaos. Stories are so much more fun when you don’t already know the ending.” Griz’s chunky boot heel came down on the star with a stomach-churning crunch. “Don’t you agree?” The pieces of bone and hair that used to be the wishing star rose again. She tugged on one side of her fitted vest and the pieces tucked themselves inside.
“Why?” I croaked.
Griz looked confused for a moment. “Because the Storymakers never let us win. Our defeat is predeterm—”
“I wasn’t talking to you, hag. I was talking to her.” I pointed to the betrayer. The wolf in my friend’s clothing.
Rexi didn’t respond, but everything about her looked miserable.
Good.
“The why is obvious. Isn’t that right, dear?” Griz took the back of her hand and ran it down the side of Rexi’s face. Rexi turned a shade whiter and looked ready to puke again. “Basic survival instinct.”
Reaching down her side, the Gray Witch produced a tasseled satchel. With great flourish, she tugged the drawstrings open and removed a large empty glass vial that looked a lot like the ones from Crow’s house. She handed the vial to Rexi with a little smirk. “Go, little Jill, fetch me a pail of water.”
Rexi stared down at the vial but didn’t budge. Griz moved her hand to under her shirt and pulled out her necklace—and squeezed. Gasping sharply, Rexi staggered and a bright red-orange tear leaked from her eye.
“The opal.” Kato had finally taken off the goggles and apparently figured out the same thing I just did.
Griz’s opal necklace pulsed orange with opalescent flecks. It pulsed with life magic. If I didn’t miss my guess, Rexi’s life, to be exact.
But when? Did Griz catch her after the clouds? Perhaps, but I think it started earlier. I replayed events in my mind, going in reverse. Her acting weird. The overwhelming fear anytime Griz was near. Disappearing from the Ivory Tower just to be replaced by Griz. Maybe I’d seen Rexi’s life force actually sucked out in the nightmare. Had she ever really been my friend, or was it all an elaborate ruse to do the bidding of the Gray Witch? Rexi’s every action from frog until now was suspect.
I wanted to hate her. Watching her bend down to scoop up the spring water made the human flamethrower in me want to come out and play. Cold emanated from the boy beside me. I put a hand on his arm. “Don’t.” Kato gave me a puzzled look but obeyed.
Rexi’s hand trembled as she put the stopper in the vial and walked back to Griz. I wasn’t sure what to believe anymore, but everything about her right now screamed that she was not happy being a de facto member of Team Evil. Villains took pleasure in causing pain; they didn’t tremble with their own. I wouldn’t harm her and neither would Kato. It was probably my fault that Griz got her tacky nails on Rexi anyway.
Griz very carefully took the vial from Rexi and stuffed it down her dress. “Now, I would love to stay and chat, but I have a bit of a family reunion to attend.” Griz conjured a thundercloud and hopped on. She floated into the sky, high above the spring.
It was probably too much to ask that ozmosis would kick in and drop her into the water.
Griz snapped her fingers. “Bring the girl. We’ll need her to get into the mountain.” Several of the flying puppies picked up a squirming Rexi and took to the sky. “As for the others… bon appétit!” She flew away on her cloud, the sounds of thunder and Rexi screaming trailing behind her.
And we watched them go, because there wasn’t a pixing thing we could do about it.
“Makers help us, she’s going to set Blanc free. I have to warn Bob; they’re going to need help.” Kato chewed the last nail off his left hand and phoned home.
“And what about us?” I asked worriedly. Griz had left behind three demon puppies and the Tinman. With just me, Kato, a dead sprite, and Hydra’s headless body fumbling around, I was not liking our odds.
The puppies circled to the left of the spring and the Tinman came at us from the right. Kato still had his eyes closed, deep in telepathic communication or whatnot with Bob.
“Umm, Kato…” I started backing up, pulling him with me.