Dark Dance

I was rubbing my wrists furiously against the stone pillar; trying desperately to loosen the ropes that held me in place; when my other four sisters appeared, being dragged along by their dance partners. I narrowed my eyes when I heard Garrett tell Judith that she said yes, so she should quit struggling. No, I thought. Judith couldn't have said yes! Judith caught my eye then, then quickly looked down. Then she looked at me again. She kept flicking her eyes wildly up and down, and I started to worry that she had lost her mind. She huffed quietly, growing frustrated. She gave me a hard look, then slowly lowered her eyes. I wrinkled my nose in confusion, then followed her gaze. My eyes alighted on something shimmering in the grass. I blinked. The brass sphere! I looked back up at Judith and nodded eagerly to show I understood. The warlocks were saying things, but I paid no attention. Sam was unconscious, tied to the tree to my right. Blood dripped from his mouth and nose from when Caleb had pummeled him after the smoke began to clear. Then they dragged us up here.

If we could get our hands on the key, we had a fighting chance at getting out. Margaret, Judith, Adelaide, and Roselyn hadn't been tied up yet. My legs weren't long enough to reach the sphere, and my arms were tied up anyway, so there was no way for me to grab it. My mind whirled. Then I caught sight of the dagger in Nathanael's belt. He was the one standing closest to me, holding a blank-faced Margaret in his arms. I met Judith's eyes again, and tried to mouth the words metal magic to her. Her eyebrows scrunched, her face a question mark.

"Metal, magic," I mouthed again, exaggerating the movements of my mouth. Judith shook her head slightly. I stifled a growl. Then I had an idea.

"Cortez!" I said loudly. The princes ceased talking for a moment to glance over at me warily. I just smiled back at them.

"She's lost it," I heard someone mutter. But there was a knowing look on Judith's face now. She was the one who had been learning all about mind over metal and all that crap; she should be able to move a little old ball of brass. She squinted hard at the ball, and I continued sawing my arms against the tree, even though the skin was already chafed and bleeding. My shoulder wound had started bleeding more freely when we entered the warmer temperature of the golden forest, and I could feel my head swimming slightly from blood loss and stinging pain. But I ignored it all. I needed to get free. I gritted my teeth.

Need...to...get free...damnit! The brass ball flew through the air into Judith's outstretched hands just as my ropes snapped. I dove at Nathanael, ripping the dagger from his belt and ramming it into his throat. Margaret screamed, and stumbled away from him as blood gushed from his neck like a macabre fountain. He gurgled in pained surprise, then sank to his knees on the ground. I pulled the blade free with a sickening squelch as he fell. There was a stunned silence as he landed on his face in the dirt and didn't move.

"They're not invincible yet..." I murmured. Their powers had not yet been fully restored; they could still die!

I spun around while everyone was still in shock, and stabbed the next closest warlock, Jonathan, in the chest. Adelaide, who had been standing beside him looking dazed, staggered away, a flicker of fear in her eyes. Jonathan gasped and clapped his hands over his chest. I sprinted to my sisters, hacking at their ropes. Caleb blocked my path to Sam.

"Very lucky for you, getting your hands on a warlock's blade," he said with a sneer. "It's the only thing that can kill us in this realm."

"Good to know," I replied coolly. I darted forward, lashing out at him. The blade nicked his arm, and he pulled back with a hiss of pain. My sisters were finally coming out of their stupors, and started clamoring to get away from their unsuspecting princes. Clearly this little turn of events wasn't in their plans. I saw Judith ram her elbow into Garrett's side, then she whirled about and clunked him on the head with the brass key. Caleb came at me, ice crystals already forming between his hands, and I acted instinctively.

My knee jerked up, and collided dead-on with his crotch. Hard. Caleb's face turned red, then drained of color. He emitted a strangled sort of squeak, and sank to the grass, breathing ragged. I smirked, kicking him in the face and knocking him to the side. I ran to Sam's side, sawing at his ropes. He raised his head, his eyes unfocused. Be blinked several times, then shook his head. He looked a mess, the poor thing. Still so adorable I could kiss him right there, though.

Sadly, my romantic tryst would have to wait. Sam's eyes widened and he grabbed my shoulders, pulling me to the side and then dodging. A huge shard of ice slammed into the tree where his head had just been. Apparently Caleb still hadn't given up. He forced himself to his feet, knees wobbly. "You're both going to pay," he gasped. I slipped the knife into Sam's hand.

"Will silver work for you?" Sam asked sarcastically. With a deft flick of his wrist, he sent the knife soaring through the air. His aim was true. The blade buried itself in Caleb's heart, to the hilt.

Caleb's eyes went wide and he stared down at the dagger in his chest, as though wondering, "how on Earth did that get here?" Then his eyes met mine, and something flickered in them that I couldn't decipher. He reached out to me and took a stumbling step forward. I recoiled, and he lost his footing. He hit the grass with a muffled thump and didn't move again.

"We have to get back to the mirror!" I said urgently, tugging on Sam's arm. The remaining warlocks were all using their powers at the same time, creating a windy, hot, and cold mess. I could feel sickness rolling off of Garrett in waves, and my sisters turned green, some of them doubling over to vomit in the grass. A wave of nausea came over me as well, and then Sam was slipping something around my neck, and the nausea passed. I looked down. It was his pendant. His protection against spells.

"Help me get the others," I instructed. He started to look a little green around the gills himself, but he nodded. Garrett was focusing most of his power on Judith, making boils break out over her skin, and making her dry heave.

"Get your filthy hands off my sister!" I leaped onto his back, wrapping my arms firmly around his throat. He flailed, his power slipping as he lost focus. Judith coughed one last time, then straightened as her boils disappeared.

"The key!" I screamed.

"We're not even close to the mirror!"

"The lake!" I replied. "Throw the key in the lake!"

"Are you crazy?"

"Just do it!" Garrett was scratching at my hands, drawing blood. I was sick of seeing blood, especially my own. Judith hurled the brass ball into the lake with all her might. For a moment, nothing happened. Then the water swirled, revealing an image of the castle grounds.

"Everyone, go!" she screamed. My sisters ran blindly, Sam herding them like they were sheep.

"Jump!" he urged them. "Go on, jump!"

They did. One by one they disappeared into the lake. The warlocks roared. They were being consumed by their own powers, the balance of their spell shaken. Garrett finally succeeded in throwing me off. He raised his booted foot, prepared to smash my face in.

Then Judith was there, a dagger in her hand. I didn't know where she had gotten it, and I didn't much care. With a shrill war cry, she plunged the dagger into Garrett's back. He convulsed, his body breaking out in a sweat. Blood began to spill from his ears, eyes, mouth, and nose. He puked up bile. I had to fight my own gag reflex to keep from hurling myself at the sight of him. Then Sam was there, scooping me up in his arms, and we were running. Sam and Judith launched themselves into the lake, and the once enchanted woods exploded in sickness and death as the water closed over our heads.