Once Upon a Curse Read online

  "I'm not going back there!" shouted Hubert. "You can't make me!"

  I couldn't blame him.

  "There, there, Hubert. No one is going to make you do anything. I think it's time for us to go. Good day, Your Majesties," said Sir Jarvis, bowing to Grandfather and me.

  "What did they say?" Li'l piped up as the two ghosts faded into blue mist and floated down the hall. "I could understand him all right," she said, waving her wing at my grandfather, "just not those other two."

  "Really? And can you understand Li'l?" I asked Grandfather.

  He nodded. "Quite well, actually."

  "How is that possible?" I said. "I thought that only witches and people who had been turned into animals for a time could understand them when they talk."

  "That's true," he said. "And when the family curse changed your grandmother, and she sent me to the dungeon, she turned me into a rat for a few days. I've been able to talk to animals ever since. I know every creature in this dungeon, living and dead. It was a centipede who first told me about Hubert. I'm sorry Hubert wasn't very helpful."

  "But he was, Grandfather. He gave me just what I needed. Now I know where to go. Can you show us the way to the oubliette?"

  "Nasty place," said Grandfather. "Why would you want to go there?"

  "Because that's where Hubert died. I think it's time we found his bones."

  Five

  The oubliette wasn't at all where I thought it might be, so I was glad I'd asked Grandfather to lead us there. Over time, magic had moved doors and holes in the floor so often that even a map wouldn't have helped. When we found it, the metal grate didn't look very sturdy. A lattice of holes as wide as the palm of my hand, it was about three feet square and quite heavy. The grate felt brittle and was hard to move, but Eadric and I were able to lift it free of the opening and set it aside on the floor.

  "Now what?" asked Grandfather, floating over the hole as he peered into the darkness below.

  "Now I go down there." Taking the piece of string from my purse, I laid it on the floor and made it grow. With a soft hiss, the string stretched until it was longer and thicker. One end of the string fastened to a hook in the wall as the other dropped down into the hole. I listened until I heard the end of the rope slap the floor of the oubliette.

  "Let me go first!" said Li'l. She fluttered her wings, circled me once, then swooped into the absolute dark of the hole. "Not much down here," she called. "Just a lot of bones."

  "I'll go look," said Grandfather. "Maybe I'll find someone I know." Drifting through the opening, he disappeared from sight.

  "I'll go next," said Eadric. "I want to make sure it's safe." Sitting on the edge of the opening, Eadric grasped the rope, hooked one foot around it and slipped down its length. "It seems all right," he called, his voice sounding strangely hollow.

  "I'll be right there," I called down and was reaching for the rope when a scrabbling of nails on the stone floor made me stop to listen. At first I thought it was Grassina turned back into a lizard, but when a scrap of shadow detached itself from the gloom, I knew exactly what it was.

  "Emma, are you coming?" Eadric called.

  "In a minute," I said, stepping back from the edge of the hole.

  The glow of my witches' light wasn't very bright, but it was enough to make the shadow moving toward me obvious. The size of a newborn calf, it had no discernable features except for its red eyes. Aunt Grassina had taught me how to deal with the shadow beast years before, so it no longer frightened me as it once had, but I didn't want it to follow us down into the oubliette where I might not have space to maneuver. Bracing my legs, I waited for it to attack. It came at me in a rush, the scrape of claws on stone its only sound. I waited until the last second, then hit it between the eyes with my fist while I jumped out of the way. Unfortunately my foot caught on the grate that I'd left lying on the floor, and I tripped and fell headfirst into the hole.

  "Emma, what are you doing?" Eadric shouted as I plunged toward the floor. Something grazed my hand and I snatched at it, catching the rope and nearly dislocating my arm. The rope swung wildly as I flipped over so I was right side up again. My witches' light bobbed around like a crazy thing, casting shadows that shrank and stretched on the walls and floor like some strange kind of monsters.

  I felt Eadric grab my legs. "Let go. I've got you," he said.

  Li'l circled me, so close that her wings nearly brushed my face. "Why did you do that?" she asked. "I thought you were going to climb down the rope."

  "Are you all right?" Grandfather said, floating up to where I still hung. "Do you need help?" he asked.

  "I'm fine," I said, although my voice sounded forced even to me. I took a deep breath. My heart was pounding so hard I was sure everyone could hear it. just let go, I told myself. Unfortunately my fingers weren't listening, and I couldn't make them do anything. "I think I'll stay here awhile," I announced, although my hand hurt and my shoulder shrieked with pain.

  "Why?" asked Li'l. "You've almost reached the floor, anyway."

  Eadric tightened his grip on my legs. "It's all right, Emma. You aren't going to fall."

  "Tell that to my fingers."

  "I'll help," said Li'l. Fluttering closer, she nipped my little finger.

  "Ow!" I said, more surprised than hurt, and my hand jerked away from the rope. I was relieved when I fell into Eadric's arms.

  "Got you!" he said, planting a kiss on my lips. "Now are you glad I came?"

  "Yuck!" said Li'l. "Do you have to do that in front of me?"

  Eadric laughed. "We're practically engaged, Li'l."

  "That doesn't matter. You humans do the strangest things."

  "And bats don't?" Eadric asked.

  "Not like that!"

  "Eadric, put me down," I said. "I have work to do."

  "Fine," he said, setting me on my feet. "But you have to admit that I'm handy to have around."

  The room was roughly eight feet wide and ten feet long. While one end was dry, I saw gaps in the wall at the other end where stones had shifted, letting water from the moat trickle in. A single skeleton lay sprawled against the driest wall, its legs extending into the middle of the room. However, it was the two corners filled with piles of bones that interested me most. Someone had sorted them neatly, stacking all the skulls in one corner, the rest of the bones in the other. Glancing at the whole skeleton, I decided that he'd probably been the last occupant of the room and the one who'd piled the bones.

  "Poor fellow," said Grandfather, hovering above the skeleton. "Even his ghost has abandoned him."

  "I don't like this place," said Li'l. "It has a bad feeling. Can we go now?"

  "Not until we find what we came for," I said. "Let's start over here." I was picking up an arm bone when a skeletal hand wrapped its fingers around my wrist.

  "Not so fast," said a skull in the other pile.

  "What do you think you're doing?" asked a second skull.

  "Thief! Grave robber!" shrieked a third.

  Setting his hand on Ferdy's hilt, Eadric said, "Emma, step back and let me handle this," and drew his sword from his scabbard. Ferdy began to sing.

  I can fight an ogre

  I can fight a troll

  Plain old bones don't...

  "That's enough, Eadric," I said. "I can take care of it."

  Since skeletons don't have muscles to give them strength, it was easy to pry the bony fingers off my wrist. The hand twitched when I set it on the pile and some finger bones reached up, trying to pinch me while another hand plucked at my sleeve. I sighed and tried not to lose my temper.

  The sound of gnashing teeth made me glance up. "All for one and one for all!" hollered a skull with a bad overbite. "Don't let her take a single bone!"

  "I don't want any bones," I said. "I just want to borrow a medallion."

  "What kind of medallion?" asked a skull with a cracked jaw.

  "It's for bravery, and I think it's made of silver. It belonged to Hubert, who worked in Grunwald the third's stables
."

  "Oh, that medallion!" said a skull.

  Another skull grunted. "What do you mean, that medallion? There's only one here!"

  Something clattered behind me. "Look out!" shouted Li'l, and I turned to see the skeleton clambering to its feet. Tottering on wobbly legs, it raised its arms, its shaking hands reaching for my throat.

  "Oh, stop it!" I said and gave the skeleton a shove. It fell against the wall with a thump. Its skull must have been loose, because it fell off and rolled across the floor until it bumped into the opposite wall.

  "Serves you right, you big bully!" shouted a skull halfway up the pile.

  "You always thought you were special just because you had all your parts!" shouted another on the bottom.

  "I never knew you felt that way!" said the skull on the ground. The skeleton patted the stone floor until it located its head, then set it in place on its neck before turning its back to the other skulls.

  Putting my hands on my hips, I glared at the skulls and said, "I'm here to do a job, and I'd appreciate it if you'd let me get on with it."

  "Maybe we should just leave," said Li'l.

  "They won't bother you anymore," said Eadric, scowling at the skulls as if daring them to defy him.

  Grandfather floated across the room, his blue outline growing larger and darker until it looked quite menacing. "Perhaps they can help," he said with an edge. "I'm sure they know where we can find the medallion."

  "Why should we help you?" asked a wavering voice.

  "Because," said my grandfather, "if you don't help, I'll scatter your bones across the kingdom for the wolves and wild dogs to find." The pile of skulls shifted uneasily. "However, if you do help, I'll sort you and see that you get proper burials."

  The skulls muttered among themselves until one of them spoke up. "Do you promise? Cross your rib cage and hope to rest in peace?"

  "I promise," Grandfather said solemnly, "on my honor as a king and as a member of the Council of Ghosts."

  "Then we'll give the girl the medallion," said the spokes-skull, "but she'll have to return it to its proper owner when she's through with it."

  "I'm down here," said a muffled voice that I assumed came from Hubert's skull.

  The pile of bones shuddered and heaved. Bones slipped off the top while others were pushed up from the bottom. Finally a bony hand gripping the medallion rose to the surface. Tarnished with age, it was the same medallion that Hubert's ghost had worn on a chain around his neck.

  "Thank you," I said, taking the silver disk. "You've been a big help."

  "Can we go now?" asked Li'l, flitting around my head.

  "You can," I said, "but I won't be going with you." Reaching into my pouch, I took out the bottle of dragon's breath. I had everything I needed now, including a secluded spot from the right century. It wasn't ideal, but I didn't think I'd find anything better.

  "What do you mean?" asked Li'l. "You said we could leave as soon as you had what we came for."

  "I know I did, and I'm sorry, but I'm going to go learn what I can about the curse. I shouldn't be gone long—not if I do this right."

  "Be careful, my dear," said Grandfather. "The past was a harsh and cruel time."

  "I will, Grandfather. I'll be back before you know it."

  Eadric came to stand beside me and rested his hand on my shoulder. "Don't worry, Your Majesty, I'll keep her safe."

  I frowned and shook my head. "I told you, Eadric; you can't go with me."

  "And I told you that I am," he replied, looking as serious as I'd ever seen him. "You need me as much as I need you."

  "I need you to stay here where it's safe. Who knows what I'll find in the past."

  "exactly," said Eadric.

  I didn't want to waste my time arguing, so I shook his hand from my shoulder and edged away, confident that I could move beyond his reach when the spell started to take effect.

  Dyspepsia had said that I needed something to enhance my power, but she hadn't said how much I should use. Dragon's breath is very powerful as well as hard to get, so I decided to let out a tiny bit and hope that it was enough. Holding the medallion in one hand, I took the stopper out of the bottle for a moment to let some of the breath escape, then said the spell I'd already decided to use.

  Take me to the day before

  The fairy cast the curse

  That changed my dear aunt's

  temperament

  From kindly to much worse.

  I was saying the last line when I heard something scrape against the stones above my head. When I looked up, the glowing eyes of the shadow beast were peering down through the opening.

  "Emma!" Grandfather shouted, drifting between the creature and me.

  I could hear the shadow beast's nails on the stone floor as it launched itself down into the oubliette. I tried to move out of the way, but the only path open to me was the corner where the pile of bones rested.

  "Look out!" screeched Li'l, fluttering around my head.

  "Emma, over here!" shouted Eadric. He threw himself at me, pulling me out of the way as the shadow beast lunged, but we were both off balance and we started to fall.

  "Careful!" screamed a skull as the whole pile trembled.

  Eadric and I were about to land on the pile of bones when the oubliette disappeared, and we found ourselves rushing down a dark tunnel, propelled by a buffeting wind. A thunderous roar filled my ears, and at first I thought we'd brought the shadow beast with us. When the wind spun me around, I tried to see something, anything in the dark, but my witches' light was gone and I couldn't see a thing. / hope this is supposed to happen, I thought as the darkness swept us away.

  Six

  The air was thickening around me and it was getting harder to breathe. I no longer felt like a wind was whisking me along, but more like something was forcing me through a thick and lumpy, sour-smelling pudding. I could still feel Eadric's arms around me, just as they'd been when he'd pulled me away from the shadow beast. I was frightened, but not nearly as much as I would have been if I'd been alone. Although I hadn't wanted him to come, in a way I was glad he had.

  The air grew hotter, and a high-pitched whine filled my ears. I was gasping for breath when something shoved us through a warm, moist layer. Suddenly the air was normal again. We fell—how far I couldn't tell—until we slammed into cold, hard stone, landing on our sides. With the air knocked out of us, we lay sprawled on the ground, too numb to get up.

  "What was that?" croaked a voice from somewhere nearby. "Either I'm dreaming or the rats have gotten a lot bigger."

  Wherever we were, we weren't alone. I drew in a ragged breath and was nearly overcome by the stench of dung and an unwashed human body. I tested my limbs, afraid that I might have broken something, but I was fine—aside from scrapes and a few tender spots.

  Eadric let go of me and sat up, Ferdy's scabbard scraping the floor. "Are you all right?" he whispered.

  "I will be," I said as quietly as I could, "as soon as I find out where and when we are."

  I was stuffing the medallion and the bottle of dragon's breath into my pouch, when something small and bony landed on me with a Whump! It moaned softly, then started to move around, poking me with knobby edges. "Stupid spell," grumbled a familiar voice.

  "Li'l, is that you?" I whispered.

  "Emma?" she said. "What happened? One minute I was in that oubliette, and the next thing I knew a wind grabbed me, beat me up and spit me out. Where are we? Did we go back in time?"

  "I'm not sure," I whispered. "Shh! Someone's in here, and he thinks he's dreaming."

  I set Li'l on my shoulder while I peered into the darkness, hoping for some glimmer of light. I couldn't see a thing until I looked up and saw a swirl of color rising above me—either the dragon's breath or some ghostly apparition that had decided to leave. When it disappeared through a checkered shape that could only be a grate, I knew that we were in the oubliette, although I still had no idea when.

  I thought about creating a witches' l
ight or using the candle stub so we could see, but if I did, I might have to use more magic to convince the man that he really was dreaming. The longer I thought about it, the more complicated it seemed. No, I'd have to manage without any light at all.

  Something shifted in the dark. "Speak up!" said the voice, sounding more like a man and less like a nightmare. "You're awfully quiet for a dream. Why don't you sing me a song? Last dream I had, a minstrel sang about a great knight. Made me feel like I was there, fighting dragons and all. How about a song like that?"

  Eadric spoke up, saying, "I'd like to sing, but I don't know any good songs."

  "Then I'll sing one," said the voice. "I made it up myself. It's the story of why I'm down here. Want to hear it?" The voice chuckled. "Listen to me—asking a dream what it wants!" He started to sing, scratchy and so far off tune it made me cringe.

  They sent Old Derwin to the pit

  Because he dropped a platter. It landed on the good king's crown,

  And made an awful clatter.

  The king told him to clean it up

  As if it didn't matter.

  But Princess Hazel threw a fit.

  And made the servants scatter.

  She said he'd ruined her new gown

  Because of what did splatter.

  That he was worthless and no good

  For anything but chatter.

  She sent him down here with no food,

  And said he'd get no fatter.

  That he was such a clumsy oaf...

  "She sent you to the oubliette because you were clumsy? That's horrible!" I said. I'd grown up being ridiculed for my clumsiness, and I thought that had been bad!