Red Snow

Part 5

"MISTRESS," SAYS RIA, her eyes blank as fresh snow. "I heard your call, and I've come to serve." She kneels at Claudia's feet.

"The Forbidden Forest embraces your arrival," says Claudia, like she's completing the other half of a spell with the girl. "Just a few minutes early, though." She picks Ria up and holds her to her chest.

A knife pierces Daphne's heart. In all these years, Claudia has never shown a speck of affection. How could Daphne have pitied such a monster? Jealousy swarms like wasps in her veins. Hatred for Claudia because of all she's taken—freedom, love, memory, knowledge, blood.

And now the witch is about to do the same to Ria. A little girl with a family on the Outside desperate to find her. A little girl who is loved. Innocent. As Daphne might have been all those years ago.

As her rage builds, Daphne realizes she can bend her pinkie. She concentrates, focusing her anger on her hand, and now she can move it. She eyes the hole where the gun fell into the snowbank. If she can get to the gun, she might have a chance against Claudia's magic. The hold the witch has over Daphne's body melts away, bit by bit, until Daphne has control over her limbs. But she maintains her position, waiting for the perfect moment to make a move for the gun.

Claudia gently deposits Ria on the ground and waves her hand over the girl's eyes. They close. The girl is as still as a tree trunk. "Can't have her watching. Where have you gone to, Eugene?"

Where is he? Why hadn't Daphne noticed he'd left the scene? There are his familiar S-tracks all over the snow ...

Claudia spins around, calling his name. It's now or never. Daphne springs, her muscles searing with pain from being in one position for so long. She dives for the gun, slams her hand under the snow and feels for the cold metal. It's there. As soon as her fingers wrap around the handle, she rolls onto her back, and by the time Claudia turns around, the barrel is pointed at her heart. She gasps.

"The second I see any magic flashing out of your fingertips, I'll shoot. We'll see which of us survives," Daphne says, trying to control the quiver in her voice. She stands, keeping the gun pointed at Claudia's heart. Or at least the place her heart would be if she had one.

"I'm sure to be the victor. I am the most powerful witch in a thousand years."

"You're only powerful because of the apples. The apples I fed all these years." A shadow crosses Claudia's face. Something about that comment angered the witch. Why? "I want the girl released. I'll continue to be your Guardian, but I'm the last one. Let her go, and I'll be your servant forever."

"I'm afraid your blood has gotten a bit stale. I need the girl. And you? You are a thorn in my side." Claudia waves her arms. Sparks fly. Daphne presses her finger to the trigger, but before she can pull it, snow flurries around her and throws her off balance. Faster and faster, the snow twists into a white cyclone. She fights to stay upright. And then her arm lifts until the gun is pointed at her own head, her hand shaking. Daphne's finger, no longer in her control, pushes down on the trigger.

She squeezes her eyes shut as something twists around her leg, pulling her down as the gun fires.

The whirlwind stops abruptly, and snow flutters to the ground. Eugene is coiled around her leg.

"What have you done?" Claudia screams. "You are ruining everything!"

"At least I've finally done something right," says Eugene, lunging at Claudia. "Remember whose magic is in those apples!" he yells to Daphne as Claudia waves her hand and directs her sparks at him. He shifts into his true form—a nude man, tall and thin, with bright orange hair. "Thank you, Daphne, for giving me back my humanity," he says as Claudia slices the air, and the reborn man falls into the snow, dead before he hits the ground.