Snow's Lament Read Free

portal would open for our visiting pleasure.
    “Open sesame,” I murmured.
    “Idiot,” Robin said cheerfully.
    “Boo,” I muttered, wishing that teleportation thing would come to fruition.
    “Excuse me?” Robin stared at me, perplexed.
    Belle snorted, fully aware of my fascination with all things Star Trek and my secret ninja leanings.
    “Maybe we should ask Rumple,” Cyndi said.
    “How?” I asked. “If we knew how to contact someone, we would have done it weeks ago.”
    She broke eye contact with me and I got a bad feeling in my stomach. “Cyndi?”
    She fidgeted. Cyndi rarely fidgeted. In fact, the only time she fidgeted meant she’d been lying to me about something…or hadn’t told me something—the same thing if you asked Belle.
    “Before I left, Rumple gave me something to use to contact him.”
    I pinched the skin between my eyebrows.
    “But I’m not supposed to use it unless it’s an emergency!”
    I groaned. “How is being a virtual prisoner in your own house and cut off from your homeland for months not considered an emergency?” I asked, trying to keep the hysteria out of my voice.
    “We always figured out something before!” she shouted, her cornflower blue eyes filling with tears.
    My lips twitched because she still looked like a circus clown, although the makeup was beginning to fade. She was right, though. We’d never been in a situation this long before. Even if we came up with some harebrained, ridiculous plan, we always found a way out of any situation we’d gotten ourselves into.
    This time, though, it was different. We had to be careful. Lives and kingdoms were at stake, so we couldn’t afford to go off half-cocked.
    “Plus,” Cyndi said, “we almost have it figured out, right?”
    My eyebrows flew together. “How?”
    Her gaze flicked to the amulet. I sighed.
    “Right now, it’s just an expensive piece of jewelry,” I said. “I have no idea how to use this thing.”
    “Blood, fluid, or incantations,” said Belle, a thoughtful look on her face.
    “Umm, ewww,” I said, because really, there was nothing else to say.
    She laughed. “It’s always the same. Magic can be twisted and difficult, but all spells are activated in one of three ways.”
    “Blood, fluid, or incantations,” repeated Robin.
    “Yup,” said Belle, still refusing to look at him.
    “Hmmm,” I pondered as I allowed the pendant to sway and twist. “Who wants to volunteer some blood?”
    Belle shook her head. “Nope. Your father gave it to you. It’s either you or Simeon, most likely, but it’s just as likely to be activated by one of the other two. Let’s get lunch and try to come up with some ideas.” She stood and dusted off her leggings.
    I groaned as I pulled myself up into a standing position. “I don’t see how you can read all day.”
    Belle smiled. “Yoga and vegetables. It makes me flexible and happy.”
    She left us standing there, Robin’s hungry gaze traveling after her and lingering directly on her shapely derriere.
    “Gross.” I shoved him as I brushed past.
    “You have a nice one, too, fair Snow!” he yelled as I walked into the kitchen.

2

Chapter 2
    We were all hopeful the pendant could be activated without an incantation, because if it did require one, we were screwed. We’d been through almost every book in Belle’s library and nothing screamed, “Snow, here’s the chronicler’s gem incantation!” I’d rather not contact Rumple if we could avoid it, but if we struck out with the other two, we didn’t have much choice.
    We gathered in the living room and placed the pendant on the table, all of us a little more careful now that we knew the potential of its power. It looked innocuous sitting there. My mother used to wear the piece around all the time and I wondered if she knew what it was or just thought it was a pretty bauble…or if my father knew. Maybe this was the reason he sent it through the portal with me when I was young. It was one thing to always be