Of Enemies and Endings Read Free Page A

bounced off my shield. Only one grazed my jeans and sliced open the fabric near my shin.
    No blood, but too close for comfort. These weapons could be poisoned.
    It would have been smart to tie up Istalina to make sure she couldn’t attack us again, but I made an executive decision to just get out of the way. I dove behind the island.
    Amy slid closer. “Are you all right?” I nodded, slightly out of breath.
    â€œAgain!” barked one.
    Another barbed snowflake clattered into the sink. They could throw all they wanted. Their aim had gotten even worse now that they couldn’t see me.
    The same thought must have occurred to someone else. “Stop. Do not waste your weapons.” It sounded like the gray-haired witch. She was probably their leader.
    â€œWhy?” whined another witch. “We can always call for more. They’re not going anywhere.”
    She was right. We were safe for now, but we were definitely trapped.
    Amy’s eyes bugged out a little more. “What are we going to do?”
    I grabbed the M3 I’d left on the floor. We needed help. We needed my friends.
    I flipped open the velvet cover. I looked how I always did in mirrors these days—eyebrows pinched, hair messy, purple smudges under my eyes.
    No answer from Lena. Okay. Still not a big deal. She’d been scattered recently. The Director had assigned her too much to do in the workshop. But tons of people had M3’s now. “Hey, come in. We have a code Gingerbread here. Requesting at least two squadrons for backup immediately.”
    Only my reflection stared back at me.
    A witch cackled. “Call your Character friends all you like. Her Majesty has devised new enchantments to confound your tiny mirrors.”
    I froze. If the Snow Queen had figured out a spell to block the M3’s, we really were trapped until reinforcements came.
    The triplets should still be on their way. Plus, Mom was back at EAS now. She must have raised the alarm when she arrived. She would track down Lena—or even Chase, if she could find them. She would make sure they brought back-up.
    One of the witches guessed what I was thinking. “It wouldn’t matter if your message got through anyway. The warding hex we’ve cast blocks all enemy enchantments. None of your allies can travel here by magical means.”
    No wonder the triplets were almost half an hour late. Their temporary-transport spell probably hadn’t worked. My friends couldn’t rescue us if they couldn’t get here.
    â€œHush,” said the gray-haired witch in charge. “We aren’t supposed to speak of the hex.”
    â€œThey’re captured by their own combs!” protested her ally. “It doesn’t matter what we tell them now.”
    â€œDoes that mean the ring of return didn’t work?” Amy asked. “Did your mom get through?”
    I stopped breathing. I didn’t know. I’d never heard of a warding hex. I had no idea what they did. Lena wasn’t here to explain.
    But Mom had disappeared. If she hadn’t gotten through, where had she gone?
    I’d been so sure I was keeping her safe.
    â€œCall the archers,” said the gray-haired leader. “Tell them to bring their flaming arrows.”
    The door creaked open. Oh no. The archers’ aim didn’t have to be good anymore. All they needed to do was light the kitchen on fire. The smoke would kill us if the flames didn’t.
    â€œThat’s right, Aurora Landon,” said the witch who liked taunting me. “We will flush you out as we would a Dapplegrim from its herd. We have brought your death with us.”
    I wished they would stop saying that. It was starting to sound true.
    â€œAnd the death of the woman you seek to protect,” said the gray-haired witch.
    I looked at Amy. She held a can in each hand, and her scowl clearly said, Well, I’m going down fighting.
    â€œBut it doesn’t have to be that way,”