“Since I don’t have a key to this fine establishment, I’m picking the lock.”
“But you just used magic on the other lock. Why can’t you do that on this one?”
“Because the other one was a magic lock, and this one isn’t. It’s a regular Schlage five-pin, so stop talking and let me concentrate…or would you rather do the lock picking?” He held the lock picks out to her.
Mina shook her head but asked, “If we are going to these people for help, why don’t we just knock and use the front door?”
Jared’s shoulders hunched in guilt. “Because I never knock. I shouldn’t have to knock.”
“So you just do this for your own enjoyment.”
“Yes, and to see the look on their faces when I get the better of them.” He grinned at Mina, and under the glow of the Coca-Cola-induced light, he looked stunning. So handsome that she almost forgave him for wanting to give up on finding her brother.
“A-ha!” The lock clicked, and he doused the light. Jared reached behind him and grabbed Mina’s hand, and opened the door silently. A soft glow filled the passageway, and they entered a large library. Jared pushed the bookcase door they’d just entered through closed without a click.
There was a fire burning in the fireplace on the far wall, and the lounge chairs looked warm and inviting. One of them was currently occupied.
Mina watched as an arm reached out to take a teacup from a side table and disappeared behind the back of the chair. A few seconds later the cup was replaced, and the shuffle of a newspaper could be heard; the reader had not noticed their intrusion.
Something warned her to not say a word, mostly because Jared had been existentially quiet since they’d entered this room. He got Mina’s attention with a wave of his hand and gestured to the west side of the room with his head. She turned to Jared and poked him in the arm, hard.
He cringed and dropped his shoulders, refusing to look at her. She pinched him harder until he turned around and swatted at her hands.
“We’re breaking into someone’s house?” She mouthed the words dramatically, and then hit him on the top of the head.
He tried to shush her with his hands, and then made a sheepish grin and nodded.
Mina scrunched up her face and raised her hands as if to strangle him, but got herself in check. Why? she motioned with her hands.
“Because you asked for help,” he whispered, while never taking his eyes off the occupant in the chair.
“We are trespassing, and we’re going to get caught, or worse, thrown in jail,” she hissed quietly into his ear.
“Nah.” He moved over to the far end of the room by two double doors next to a table with a large vase.
“Hello, Jared. Nice to see you again. Remember what happened the last time you tried to sneak into here?” The eloquent voice belonged to a woman.
Jared froze and rolled his head back to look at the ceiling, like a teen who’d just been chastised. “Yes,” he grumbled.
Mina jumped at the voice and bumped the table. The vase on it teetered precariously and then toppled over before either one of them could catch it. Mina gasped as it crashed to the floor and shattered. Her head snapped to the occupant in the chair, and she heard a long, drawn-out sigh.
“Jared, Jared, Jared. Whatever am I to do with you? I fear that you will never learn.” The paper was tossed lightly to the side, and the woman stood up to address them both. She was familiar. It was her music teacher, Mrs. Colbert.
“Mrs. Colbert?”
Mrs. Colbert looked perturbed that Jared had brought her here, and she stepped quickly over to the Fae prince and placed her hands on her hips.
“What do you think this is, a public library? You can’t be coming and going here as you please. You do not have permission to be here, and you weren’t supposed to bring her here, either. You, Fae prince, are ruining everything. Just because you did us one good deed does not mean the past is easily forgotten.”
The door opened, and another woman peeked into the library. “Constance, there has been another development.”
Mina was confronted with a woman who looked extremely familiar but at the same time foreign. There were enough similarities to give her doubt. The height, the dark brown eyes, the tone of voice, but she was missing the wrinkles, the gray hair at her temples, and her thick and terrible accent. But it wasn’t until the woman recognized Mina, let out a squeak of fear, and slammed the door that she knew she was right.
A few seconds later the door reopened, and Mrs. Wong stood before her.
“Mrs. Wong?”
Mrs. Colbert rolled her eyes and motioned to the woman. “Drop it, Mei—the prince let the cat out of the bag.”
“Mrs. Wong, what’s going on here? Are you one of them?”
Mei Wong’s soft brown eyes closed as she took a deep breath and slowly let the glamour drop. There was only a faint shimmer of the air around her, and the old Chinese woman Mina knew and loved was replaced by a small woman with big beautiful eyes and skin the color of warm chocolate.
Hurt. Anger. Betrayal. All of those emotions ran through her, causing a disjointed symphony of pain. Mina unconsciously took a step back when the woman’s hand reached out to touch her shoulder.
“Don’t!” Mina whirled to confront Jared. “And you, you knew, didn’t you? You’ve known all along that they were Fae.”
Jared had crossed to stand by the window, letting the light filter through across his skin, giving him an otherworldly appearance. He tilted his head and studied her thoughtfully. “Are you saying you didn’t?”
“I…uh. I don’t know.”
“You can’t be that naïve. Didn’t you know you would have one? They’re the ones responsible for bringing the house to you. All Grimms have a babysitter.” He shrugged and pointed to the prim and proper Mrs. Colbert. “They’re not much good for anything else.”
Mrs. Colbert’s pink lips pinched together, and her eyes narrowed in anger. “Young prince, we are not babysitters. We are a collective Guild of Fae dedicated to the peaceful co-existence between Fae and non-Fae. We strive to keep the balance by protecting the Grimms.”
Jared flashed his white teeth at Mrs. Colbert in challenge and bowed. “Oh, pardon me,” he announced slowly, “your Orderliness.”
“Now, hear me—” she began.
“Stop!” Mina yelled, her world once again crumbling beneath her. “What do you mean, you protect the Grimms?” She turned on Mrs. Wong, her words like daggers. “You’ve never protected me. Not from Claire, not from the wolves or the Reaper. If you are my protector, then why didn’t you tell me about my father, about the curse, about the Story? You could have warned me.”
“We watch, we guide, but we never ever interfere. But we broke that promise when your brother was born, and we’ve been trying to fix it ever since.”
“Charlie! What does this have to do with Charlie? What did you do?” Mina began to pace frantically, keeping as much distance as she could between herself and the Fae. She should have known, should have seen the signs. They were there. Like the magic tea Mrs. Wong gave her that healed her injuries, everything pointed to the obvious, but she refused to believe it. Chose not to believe it.
“We will explain everything, but I think we need to have a seat. This could take a while. Come.” She opened the white double doors and motioned down the hallway. “Follow me.”
Mina hesitated at first, chewing on her bottom lip in indecision. She needed answers, and they had them. She dutifully walked after the female Fae, and Jared fell in line behind her. Mrs. Colbert…or as Mei called her, Constance…turned and in short, clipped words told him off.
“No, Jared. You may be our prince, but you do not rule over us. Where we go, you cannot follow.”
He glared at her. “Don’t you think I deserve some answers, too?”
She shook her head. “When you haven’t earned those answers? I think not.”
His mouth thinned into an irritated grimace, and he looked toward Mina be
fore shrugging and walking over to the vacated chair. He made a big show of moving it loudly across the room and sitting in it while plopping his shoes on a white coffee table. He had a smug look on his face, and called out in a commanding tone. “Well, if you are to keep me waiting, at least fetch me something to drink.”
Constance closed the door with a firm click. Mina highly doubted that Jared would be receiving that drink anytime soon.
She followed the woman who was her teacher and wondered at all of the things that had led up to this moment. Mei Wong followed a few steps behind them as they traveled the plush carpeted hallway. Her head was lowered and her steps slow, as if the Fae woman was trying to keep out of sight.
Feeling sorry, and somewhat responsible, Mina slowed to walk by her long-time friend. “So is your name even Mei? What about Ken? Are you two even married?”
She shook her head, her voice soft and melodic, unlike the clipped accent she favored. Upon closer inspection, her Fae protector didn’t look that much older than Mina’s own mother.
“It’s Meira, or Mei for short, and yes, we’re married.” Her cheeks flushed, and her eyes twinkled mischievously. They stepped into a golden elevator and pushed the one-gemmed button. The doors closed, and instead of the elevator going up or down, it stayed in one place. The air crackled around them.
Mina kept stealing glances at the smiling Mei when it hit her like a ton of bricks.
“It was you, wasn’t it? You wanted the Story to find me! You posted the pictures of me on your restaurant. You gave me magic tea. And your accent was terrible, by the way.”
Mei looked around in panic.
Constance turned to Mei with her hands on her hips. “Mei, you didn’t? You know better than to get involved too soon. You wait until we know for sure.”
“Constance, forgive me, but the Story was bound to find her. No matter how many times we moved and I changed forms, and Sara changed schools, he always found her. The Story has always been particularly attracted to my Grimm. I knew despite her being a young girl that she would be the next one chosen. My Mina will be the one to break the curse. Just you watch and see.” Mei grinned widely and winked in Mina’s direction.
“This conversation is not over with, Mei. That was a serious breach of protocol.”
The doors opened again, and they were in a large, circular white room filled with mirrors of all kinds: small mirrors, ornate mirrors, and mirrors larger than a pickup truck.
“Here we are.” She smiled proudly and waved her hands around. “I know it’s not much to look at and we run a small operation, but I think the Guild is something any Grimm would be proud of—well, I at least hope so, since you are the first one who has ever been here.”
Mina walked around the room of mirrors and could catch a faint glimpse, or shadow, of activity in each of them.
“What are they?”
Mei walked up and gently stroked the silver edge around the closest mirror. “It’s our looking glass. We can keep tabs on all of the Grimms. See, here’s yours—uh, I mean mine.” She pulled the small handheld mirror off the hook on a wall and handed it to Mina.
At first it was filled with fog, and then the fog thinned to reveal a picture of Mina holding a mirror in a room surrounded by mirrors. She looked up and looked around her for a camera or to find whatever magical object was recording her and projecting her image onto the handheld mirror. The Mina in the mirror looked around the room at the same time.
“So there’s a mirror for every Grimm.” There couldn’t be this many Grimms out there…or could there?
“Well, yes, there are more than you think. There is a mirror for every Grimm and a GM assigned to them…see. But the Story only chooses one at a time, so we keep track of all of them just in case. Even the distant cousins and the in-laws.” She turned the mirror in her hands so Mina could see the name engraved on the back of the mirror. Her small handheld mirror had Meira’s name etched in beautiful cursive letters. Mina put her handheld mirror back on the stand, and something in the next mirror over caught her attention. She snatched it off the shelf and walked away from Meira and Constance. It only took a few seconds for the image to clear up, and a perfect view of her mother vacuuming a house filled the glass. Without thinking, Mina flipped the mirror over to read the name on the back.
Terrylin.
“Terrylin.” She whispered the name out loud. It sounded familiar, and then it clicked. “Terry! Terry is my mom’s,” she announced confidently.
“Yes.” Constance frowned slightly. “She’s your mom’s GM. Although she didn’t pick the most original alias.”
“GM. You keep saying that,” Mina said.
“Yes, Terry and Meira are your Fae Godmothers.”
“You mean she’s my fairy godmother, like in the movies.”
“No, we are not all fairies, although there are a few fairies who have joined our Guild. We’re a group of free Fae. Meira is a brownie, Terry is a house elf, which is why she prefers the cleaning business, and I’m a muse. We are many races united under one cause, and that is to help and guide the Grimms.”
“Where’s Charlie’s?” Mina demanded. “I want to see Charlie’s mirror.”
Constance and Mei looked uncomfortable, and neither one spoke. “You can’t see the dead, Mina.”
“Oh, come on. I know that he’s not dead.”
Mei rushed forward to lay a comforting hand on Mina. “Sweetie, the mirrors can’t see into the spiritual realm.”
She brushed off Mei’s hand and turned on them. “But he’s not dead. A Stiltskin told me so.”
“A Stiltskin!” both women said in unison.
“When did you meet a Stiltskin?” Mei asked.
“Not one, two.” Mina tossed the Grimoire on a white marble table, and Mei opened up the book and looked at the last page thoughtfully. “I took care of this one. The other one has my brother.”
“Well, that explains the mirrors not being able to find him. They can’t see beyond this plane.” Mei looked to Constance with a hint of relief in her voice.
But Constance was more concerned with something else. “Please tell me you didn’t make a bargain with the other one. Please, Mina, no.”
“I—I did, and I would do it a hundred times over if it meant I could save my brother.”
Constance looked to Mei with worry in her eyes. “Well, this changes things, doesn’t it?”
“Changes what?” Mina asked.
“Well, Sara is already wearing a Forget-Me-Not charm. We gave it to your mother to help her forget Charlie…permanently.”
“Why would you do that? Why would you make my mother forget my brother?” Mina choked out.
Constance turned and gently took Sara’s mirror out of Mina’s hand and placed it back on the wall. “Child, listen to me, and listen to me well. Your mother has endured more than most. She’s protected you as much as she could, and she’s already lost your father. And after your brother, we didn’t think she would pull through. We decided it was best to construct the charm so she could survive and be there for you. Right now you are more important than Charlie.”
“You sound just like Jared,” Mina said accusingly.
Constance frowned at Mina. “There are times when the wisdom of our banished prince surprises even us. But in this case, he’s wrong. You made a deal with a Stiltskin, a deal sealed in blood, that only blood can break.”
“So you’ll help me? You’ll help me save Charlie?”
“There’s only so much we can do to help you, child. But know this—we are not doing this to save Charlie. We are doing this to save you. Because if you cannot obtain what the Stiltskin wants, you will become his slave…forever.”
Chapter 15
Mina thought time had stopped. As the world around her continued to move forward, her mind raced a mile a minute as the gravity of what the Godmothers had told her sank in. Her heart slowed, her vision became blurry, and she realized she was going to faint. But Mei grasped her arm and helped calmed her
down. Mei and Constance decided to get Mina walking, and they gave her a tour of the facility. They took her out of the room of mirrors and passed down a flight of stairs into a garage of sorts. It was a shop filled with male Fae working on all kinds of different projects. She could see some building an elevator like the one they had previously come down. One corner was alight with sparks, and Mina could see a centaur holding an arc welder.
“It’s unbelievable what they are able to create when they have access to this world’s machines and tools. The Fae have been dying to come over here just to have access to the Internet.” Constance stopped in front of the workroom and let Mina watch a dwarf sit down before a computer and print out a schematic for a design that a faun was working on.
“It has elevated all of their own projects and inventions. Technology on the Fae plane doesn’t exist. It can’t exist. Only magic or charmed items. So our facility also is a home to inventors, machinists, and Fae scientists. Who knows what one of them will discover when they combine their magic with your technology? The possibilities are endless.”
Constance beckoned to Mina, and continued the tour down another hallway and pointed out a large indoor greenhouse. It was Mei who pointed excitedly and waved at a short man in the middle of a row of tomatoes. It was her husband, Ken Wong. He, too, looked different without the glamour. His skin was darker than Mei’s, and his eyes had a gold tint to them. He looked quite happy and at home working in the gardens.
Mina knew then she wouldn’t have to worry about her family friends. It was obvious they had people to help take care of them.
They passed through another set of double doors, and Mei pointed out the living quarters, the school, the watcher stations, the training stations, and finally the cafeteria.
“We are much more than just an organization. We help not only the Grimms but all of the Fae who have lost their way in this human world and can’t adjust. We teach them about this world, help them study it, and have them learn a trade so they can survive peacefully.”
Constance opened another door, and they entered a large gathering area filled with Fae of all sizes, colors, and shapes. They were eating at long tables filled with food that smelled heavenly. When they saw Mina, the bustling stopped, and every one of them stared. After a few seconds, a furry cat about knee-high came up and pressed against Mina’s leg, looking for affection.