The Faerie Curses

Chapter Thirteen: Blood in the Snow

I remember how exhilarated I was as I charged through the snow after my family. I darted into the Grimwood, my breaths leaving my chest in short and excited gasps. Of course I was afraid, but curiosity and plain stubbornness won over.

I wasn't just going to hide in the basement while my parents and brother heroically ran to the rescue. I was going to be a knight. I needed to start acting like one.

The moon was high in the sky as I pulled my hood over my head, not breaking my fast stride. I struggled not to lose my balance as the deafening footsteps drew closer, causing the trees themselves to tremble.

RROOAAARR!

The noise made chills wash down my spine and my bones grow cold. I glanced upwards through the overhanging tree branches and could see the faint outline of my family's wings as they flew above me.

I was panting now, and I glanced around through the trees nervously. I had just remembered; going into the Grimwood was highly dangerous at night, and there were terrible creatures that lurked in the shadows when the sun went down. Including the woodland spirits. I shivered, thinking of ghosts looming behind the trees.

When I finally burst into the clearing, I had to bite back a scream.

There was a rotting, splintered bridge branching over two ledges, but the hideous troll that slept beneath it was missing. Years ago, Queen Mab's soldiers were able to subdue it and the enormous beast had laid beneath the bridge in an everlasting sleep. Until now. The troll was standing just a few feet away, perfectly awake. It was well over ten feet tall, with great horns and bloodshot eyes. It crouched on its four hairy green legs, growling loudly. I gritted my teeth against the noise.

Who could have possibly awakened the troll?

I jerked back as my mother, father and Hall descended down from the sky. I ducked behind a tree so they wouldn't see me. The shock on their faces mirrored mine as they gazed upon the troll.

"Damn, I don't remember it being this big." My father breathed.

The troll's head swiveled over to my family, and it let out an ear splitting howl. Her face set with determination, my mother held out her hands and blue ice shot from her fingertips. I watched in awe as razor sharp shards imbedded themselves in the troll's eye. Shrieking in agony, it reeled backwards, and my father charged towards it with his sword. He buried the blade deep in the troll's leg, and in its pain it backhanded him with a hard blow. I tried not to cry out as my father was thrown into a snowbank where he struggled to sit up again. Hall just stood there, gazing into the troll's hungry eyes with terror. My brother looked frozen, as if someone had glued his feet to the ground. Finally, I watched Hall come to his senses and open his palms, but his magic sputtered weakly between his fingers and died. The troll rounded on him. I was ready to jump out of hiding when my mother swooped in to the resuce, letting out a fierce yell. She dissolved into blinding light and morphed into a majestic snow leopard with a beautiful coat of fur and golden eyes. Snarling, my mother pounced at the troll's feet, scratching its exposed ankles with her claws.

Meanwhile, my father was beside her, dodging and slicing with his sword. My parents battled the troll like well oiled machines, their movements so precise and perfect they appeared programmed. In pure rage, the troll picked up a nearby boulder and chucked it as hard as it could at Hall. My brother barely dove away in time as the huge rock soared over his head and crashed into a tree just feet away from me. My hand tightened on my ice sword's hilt. I needed to join them. I needed to join the fight. It was when I took three steps out of hiding when a group of shadows materialized out of the trees on the other side of the bridge. My family was oblivious to the strangers lurking in the darkness, for they were continuing to attack the troll with every ounce of power they had. Hall was finally able to conjure some magic, and he blasted the troll with strange deep indigo sparks that made the creature stumble. The troll's eyes clouded over, and it thundered with a sound that seemed almost...afraid. I had never seen such magic before, and I watched in complete astonishment as the troll let out what was close to a scream. Scratching at its eyes, the beast ran over the ledge and fell into the chasm below the bridge. I didn't hear the sound of its body hitting the bottom, but I knew for certain that the troll was dead.