It came rushing forward, images flashing in front of her on the glass, as if she were there in the car. The downpour had washed away most of the road on the dangerous curve, and Brody not knowing it was gone took the curve too fast. The car slipped down the embankment and rolled over and over. She could hear Nan screaming and Brody trying to reach over and protect Nan. The car came to a sudden collision with a tree at the bottom of the ditch. She could see them clear as day.

Brody groaned, blood pouring out of a gash on his forehead from hitting the steering wheel. He reached over to Nan, but she didn’t respond. He shook her arm slightly but nothing. He began to yell loudly, although Mina couldn’t hear what he said through the glass vision. He pulled his seatbelt off and reached for her neck to check for a pulse. She saw him look through the wreckage of his car to find his cell phone. He dialed 911. He spoke quickly and urgently to the operator, and Mina watched his lips carefully. She fell to the floor in shock and couldn’t breathe.

It couldn’t be true! She looked back up to the fogged window pane, and in slow motion it played Brody’s last words to the operator, over and over. She could easily make them out.

“She’s dead.”

Chapter 18

Mina flew down the stairs, knocking over a table lamp at the bottom in her rush to leave the house. The door crashed open, and Mina ran past a sobbing Veronica and a stunned Dr. Martin. The police officers yelled something unintelligible after her, but she didn’t stop to listen. Her heart pounded in her chest, and her shoes slid in the mud as she ran down the road. It wasn’t far before she saw the lights of more police cars, ambulances, and fire trucks about a quarter mile away.

This was all her fault! She knew it deep down. Somehow the Story must have heard her thoughts and wishes, but this wasn’t the outcome she wanted. She never wanted to hurt anyone, especially the two people she cared about most.

She was crying hysterically and had problems seeing in the dark. If she cut straight through the woods downhill, she could cut her distance in half instead of following the curving road. Not caring about how many scratches or cuts she got, Mina fell, tumbled, and slid on her bottom down the long hill. The forest took on an eerie appearance since it was illuminated by the red, blue, and white lights of the emergency vehicles. A loud whirring sound echoed through the night, and sparks illuminated the forest. The firefighters were cutting Nan out of the car, so the paramedics hadn’t been able to reach her yet. Maybe her vision was wrong, and she was still alive.

“Nan! Brody!” Mina screamed and continued her descent. “I’m sorry.” She chanted over and over as she stepped over a fallen tree. “I’ll save you!” She pushed a tree limb out of the way and continued, praying the whole way.

A rush of tingling sensations overwhelmed Mina, and she saw a large electric oval of sparks appear. She had seen a circle like this appear once before, and that was when Ever created a doorway to the Fae plane. Now something on the Fae plane was coming through here.

Mina backed up and away from the sparkling doorway to take refuge behind a tree. She clamped a hand over her mouth to slow her breathing, too scared to look at what could be coming through. She had a fifty-fifty chance of it being either a good Fae or a bad Fae. Either way, without the Grimoire, she was just a normal sixteen year old girl.

The glow became brighter and brighter. She wondered if the police officers down the hill would notice the ethereal light, or if they were too preoccupied with their rescue. She didn’t even know if Brody had made it out of the car.

The forest darkened for a second as whatever was coming over passed through the gate and blocked the light from the Fae world. The woods filled with the scent of freshly cut gardenias. A second later, the forest went completely dark again. Now Mina was in the woods alone with a Fae. She closed her eyes and listened for sounds of movement. If she screamed, someone would come running, she hoped. That is, if they heard her over the sound of the machine.

There it was, the sound of leaves crunching. Someone was walking toward her behind the tree. She was going to die, she knew it. But at least she wasn’t going to die without a fight. Quietly, Mina slid down the tree and reached for a stick that was by her foot. If she got the jump on the creature from the Fae plane, she may be able to immobilize it.

She gripped the stick, took a deep breath, mentally counted to three, and sprang from behind the tree stick held high. She froze at the sight of what was in front of her.

An ethereal woman, pale, hair like starlight, wrapped in the bluest silk, stood before her, a crown of silver stood upon her brow. She looked upon the stick that Mina held up in the air as a weapon. Her beautiful brow arched high in disbelief. She flicked a finger, and the stick flew from Mina’s hands to land somewhere in the forest behind her.

“Who are you?” Mina asked, somewhat in awe and somewhat fearful.

“I am Maeve, and I have come to make a bargain with you,” she said simply, without emotion.

Mina looked over the woman carefully. She knew better than to make bargains with the Fae. She shook her head no, but the Fae woman raised one finger carefully. Mina felt her head immediately stop shaking. She no longer controlled her own body.

“I would be careful before answering without hearing my terms. Once a bargain has been made it cannot be undone.” She stretched her pale white hand and pointed with a polished finger toward the wrecked car and the emergency team, working hard on rescuing her friends. Mina could see car lights coming down road from the lodge and had to assume it was Dr. Martin and Veronica.

“Okay,” Mina whispered nervously. “Let me hear your terms. But I’m warning you, if you are trying to delay me from saving my friends, then I will hear none of it.”

Maeve lowered her arm, closed her eyes and a slight glow appeared around the beautiful Fae woman, she opened her eyes and spoke without emotion, “The girl is already dead, the boy has a slight concussion but will live.”

“You lie!” Mina argued, sliding to her knees in the dirt of the forest. “Nan can’t be dead. It can’t be true.”

“But it is, my child. You’ve failed your quest, and failed in your duties as the keeper of the Grimoire,” Maeve answered. “But I can give you hope, if you agree to my bargain.”

Mina stiffened at Maeve’s words. “My mother told me never to trust the Fae.”

“Then your friend is lost for all eternity.” The Fae queen spoke firmly; her eyes glowing in anger. She turned, and reaching her hand into her dress; she pulled out a silver tube to create the doorway to leave.

“Wait, what is it that you want?” Mina was desperate, willing to do anything if it could bring Nan back.

Maeve turned around and stared at Mina. It was easy to see that she was starting to lose her hold on her emotions. “I will make you a bargain that has never been offered to a Grimm before, but never before has a Grimm made such a grave error and done the unthinkable.”

“You mean lose the Grimoire,” Mina answered angrily. “I would think that would make you happy, seeing that it makes it almost impossible for me to complete my quests.”

Maeve’s eyes flared and a cold wind blew whipping Mina’s hair around her face. “Silence, you insignificant human. Your ignorance is costing innocent Fae their lives. The Grimoire is a prison. It is being used to trap Fae within its pages.”