Ali - Seven For a Secret

It was like being caught in an electrical storm. Flowing up from the point where her fingers touched the ice - and it was oddly opaque ice - Virginia’s skin prickled all over unbearably. As the tingling rush intensified she was mesmerised by the way all the hair on the back of her arms stood up, along her wrists, around her watch strap, up her shoulders to the back of her neck, down her spine, over her scalp. She had no idea how she was doing this and at that moment it didn’t scare her. It was wonderful. It was exhilarating. She didn’t know or care if it was real; she felt alive in all her senses.

The ice numbed her wet fingertips; it smelled acrid-fresh, the kind of cold smell that made eyes water. She thought she could hear the infinitesimal drip of the ice melting drop by drop by drop. Then silvery ripples spread along the surface, out towards the edges, and it gave a little under her hand. She stepped forward and reached behind her and took her father’s hand and pulled him after her, through the fluid surface.

It surrounded her - cold/warm/soothing/suffocating - an amniotic bubble. She broke through, gasping, feeling the hairs on her body lie back down and a thick liquid sheeting off her into the pool at her feet.

Virginia stared in wonder at her own hand in the dim glow of the place she had arrived in, too breathless to think. Her father stumbled through behind her, and behind him Wendell, but she was barely aware of them. The prickle subsided. She felt the passing of the sensation keenly.

“Oh, you make me remember my first time,” someone said, amused. Virginia looked up and saw the strange silver-haired woman sitting elegantly on the side of the pool. She carried herself like a queen on a throne despite the garish country-woman’s dress and lumpy shawl she wore. She was smiling. Something about her made Virginia think of snakes. Behind Virginia, Wendell said “Silver!” astonishment in his voice, but then Virginia saw another thing.

“Wolf!” she cried. She had no idea how she got out of the pool, the next thing she knew she was falling on her knees beside her husband’s slumped body, her hands hovering over him, not knowing whether to touch him, not daring to move him.

“Oh, son,” she heard Tony say sadly.

Virginia was frantic. She finally got up the nerve to touch Wolf. His skin was clammy, his normally olive complexion sallow. His damp hair fell over his eyes. There’s so much blood! The muscles in her throat locked at the coppery stench of it; his right hand was covered in it, his shirt and coat soaked scarlet.

“Oh god,” she whispered. “Dad, help me, should we move him? I don’t know if we should move him, is he breathing? Ohgodohgodohgod, we should put pressure on the bleeding ... where’s he bleeding from? Ohgodohgod...”

She put her hands to her mouth, realised by the metallic smell they were also covered in Wolf’s blood and so now she was too. Tony came quickly to her side.

“Virginia, calm down, he’s breathing, I saw his chest move. He’s alive, calm down.” He was already stripping off his coat.

“Wendell, get over here, dump that smelly tin can you’re wearing, and give me your coat. Wolf? Can you hear me?” Wolf’s eyelids flickered, but he didn’t answer. “Okay honey, we’re going to have to move him and hope we don’t make it worse. We have to stop him bleeding, he might already be in shock, but we have to try.”

Gently, Tony levered Wolf a few inches off the ground. Wolf made a hoarse noise in his throat. Virginia bit her lip, but she moved around to support her husband’s shoulders and upper body as Tony turned his coat inside out and wadded it up into a thick pad that he slipped under Wolf, where there was the most blood. Her father’s worried eyes met hers, “I really hope I didn’t just make it worse. Wendell! Where’s that jacket of yours?”

Wendell hunkered down beside Tony and handed him the crimson jacket that the king had been wearing under his hastily buckled on breastplate. Tony spread it over Wolf, and the bright colour made Wolf look even more ill by comparison. “Will he be alright, Anthony?” the king asked worriedly, and on the spot, Virginia forgave Wendell all his little vanities and overbearing mannerisms. She sat back on her heels and gripped Wolf’s sticky hand tightly.

“I really don’t know, Wendell.”

The king looked puzzled. He stood up slowly and said, “Silver, what happened? When did your voice return? Why didn’t you help Wolf?”

Silver’s face was full of open contempt.

“You are completely irrelevant now, Wendell. So shut up.” She got up from the poolside, the greenish phosphorescence tarnishing the shimmer of her hair. Virginia watched Silver, her eyes fierce and white, walk gracefully toward them. “I only needed to keep you distracted while I got what I wanted.”

Wendell looked as if all the air had gone out of him. “But I thought...”

“Thought? You thought? Wendell, you haven’t used your brain since you met me in the pass. I made sure of that.”

“Who are you?” Wendell breathed.

Silver pirouetted playfully, coming to a stop in time to tap Wendell on the nose. He jumped backwards out of her way. “I’ve already played that game once today. Besides, if you think about it I’m sure it will come to you.”

She pointed a finger at them one by one.

“It appears I have a full set. King, Oracle, Wolf,” the pointing finger stopped in front of Virginia, “Witch.”

Virginia protested, “I’m not a witch.”

Silver laughed. “How did you get in here? Only magic would win you entrance.” She walked with quick steps towards where Virginia knelt with Wolf’s head in her lap, and Virginia thought her voice became persuasive and urgent. “You came through the quicksilver; the power is in you, wanting only something to bring it to life, as it was in your mother.”

It’s too warm in here, Virginia thought incongruously. She watched Silver walk toward her, steps tapping quietly over the slow gurgle of the quicksilver falling into the pool. The muggy heat was making it hard for Virginia to think, and yet Wolf’s hand was cool and limp in her own. Wolf. We’ve got to get him out, get him to a doctor, but she remained where she was, mesmerised. Silver stopped so the hem of her skirt was not quite touching Virginia’s shoulder. Virginia tried not to shudder away from her, trying not to move too much for Wolf’s sake, feeling, for some indefinable reason, that it was dangerous to show Silver fear. She looked around for support from Tony, from Wendell.

“I’m not a witch,” she insisted. But Wendell had sunk to sit at the edge of the pool with his fingers laced together through the blond curls at the back of his head, and she couldn’t see his face, and her father - he wouldn’t meet her eyes and he looked worried and angry and scared all at the same time. She knew that look. He knew something she wasn’t going to like. “Dad?” she said. Tony rubbed his nose uneasily. And then Wendell raised his head and Virginia saw his face drain of colour so it was almost the same deathly pallor as Wolf’s.

“Oh no,” he said. “It can’t be ... my grandmother’s stepmother? The Fairest of them All? ... you’re dead; you’ve been dead for over two centuries, and even then, in your portraits, you didn’t look...” he gestured helplessly at Silver, thin, white, merciless.

“Oh yes, I was dead. It’s not quite the full stop you seem to think it, little king. Eh, Virginia?”

Virginia ignored her, “Dad?” she said again, scared; somehow seeing in his expression an unexpected fate coming to claim her.

He replied, quietly, looking at his bloody hands, “I didn’t know, honey, I swear I didn’t know until we got to the ice outside. It’s ... kinda true. You would never have known, never have touched that potential, unless we came here. But it’s up to you how you use it, it doesn’t have to be a bad thing ...” His voice trailed off.

Virginia swallowed. Her mouth was dry. “Like mom?” She heard her voice scale up in panic. “I’m gonna be like mom?”

Silver said quickly, “Haven’t you worked it out yet, my gifted girl? Happy Ever After is a lie they tell you to keep you in your place. Haven’t you felt trapped? Been worried? Six months ago you thought your life would never begin, and now - it’s over. Here you are a wife and a mother-to-be. Did you want those things, Virginia?”

Virginia wiped the sweat off her forehead with her free hand, and let it come to rest over the baby under her heart, flushing with more than the warmth of the cave. She closed her mouth tightly, so she wouldn’t say, no, not yet.

Wendell said stoutly, “Virginia loves Wolf, and he loves her. What’s it to do with you anyway?”

She threw him a grateful look, but then she saw the unease in his face undermining his confident statement. And Tony said nothing at all, biting his lip. Virginia remembered her father saying that her mother had not wanted a child. She knew what that had caused. Pregnant too soon. Married too young. History repeating. She felt as though she were shrinking, everything spiralling in on her, becoming smaller and smaller...

“Why do you care?” she wanted to shout it but to her surprise, her voice was a whisper. “What do you want me to say? What do you want anyway?”

Silver leaned down, and despite Virginia’s flinch, she smoothed the hair back calmly from Virginia’s forehead. “Why, my dearie,” she said mildly, “I want you of course.”

Virginia felt Wolf’s hand twitch in hers and she looked down swiftly. His dark eyes flickered open, but they were dull; he seemed to be barely able to focus. After a moment, he saw her and smiled.

“Hello,” she breathed, holding down fear, and sudden, puzzling resentment, “Would you like to be rescued?”

“Oh ... yes,” he murmured, the pauses between his words terrifyingly long. She shushed him then.

“Don’t try to talk, we’re gonna get you out of here.”

“Virginia,” he managed to say on the second try, “...’s heart ...”

She bit back tears, gulping “Shush, don’t tire yourself, you can tell me after we get you out.”

Wolf’s smile twisted, but he said nothing more. She could tell he knew that was a lie, and out of the corner out her eye she saw Wendell’s tiny, automatic shake of the head.

“Virginia...” Tony began, then stopped. They all knew it. Wolf wasn’t going to make it. He’d lost too much blood, lain unattended too long.

Suddenly, Virginia was tired of reacting, of being acted upon, of being pushed about by destiny. She made a decision. Brushing the tears away determinedly, she kissed her fingers and pressed them to Wolf’s lips. He closed his eyes briefly. She took off her sweater - grateful for the temporary respite from the heat - and rolled it up to support Wolf’s head. Then she gently shifted him from her lap, and stood up.

“Virginia ...” Wolf tried to get up and stop her but he fell back panting, even as Tony restrained him. He seemed frantic. “Don’t ... she’s ... evil...” He struggled to get the words out. “She’s stolen ... the dragon’s human body ... she ... only needs ... its heart to ...” he began to cough, a horrible wet sound. Tony supported his shoulders and head so he wouldn’t choke. Virginia watched, feeling helpless. Then she turned to Silver, standing beside her, her head tilted to one side and one elegant silver brow raised inquiringly.

“Okay.” Virginia took a deep breath. “I’ll make you a deal.”

She heard Wendell come up behind her. She looked over her shoulder at him. The silly, obsessive light in his eyes had faded, whatever influence Silver had held him under broken - or maybe she just doesn’t need to influence him anymore - and the Wendell she knew was back. Though he was in his shirtsleeves, he was sweating. “Virginia, don’t. Whatever she promises, she won’t honour it. You know who this is, don’t you? The Wicked Queen who tried to kill Snow White. You heard Wolf, she’s already used the dragon for her own ends.” His voice was earnest, “She’s probably going to murder us all anyway. Why give her what she wants, too?”

“Wendell! Get over here, I need your help,” Tony yelled. Wendell gripped Virginia’s shoulder tightly and then let go, going to her father. She closed her eyes. Don’t look behind you, isn’t that how to get out of hell? When she opened them, she said steadily, “I’ll do whatever you want me to if you save Wolf’s life.”

Silver pursed her lips, considering, “Well, dearie, I’m not entirely sure I can. He’s very far gone,” but Virginia saw the malicious sparkle in her pale eyes and knew she was lying.

“If he dies, I’ll never help you,” Virginia hissed.

Silver replied, impatient, sulky, “Oh, very well. ” She twisted her long white fingers through the air, impossibly pulling out of nowhere a tiny flicker of light. She brought it up to her lips and as if it were a kiss or a dandelion seed, she blew it past Virginia. Virginia heard her father shout, “What the...???”

Don’t look back, Virginia reminded herself. “Is he all right, Dad?” she asked.

“What the hell was that, Virginia?”

“Is Wolf all right?” She tried not to shout.

Pause. For the space of three long heartbeats Silver and Virginia stared at each other, Silver smirking, Virginia breathless.

“He’s not bleeding anymore. I don’t know if he’s all right, he might have already lost too much blood. What the hell did she just do?”

She took a step nearer Silver, “I said, if he dies I’ll never help you!”

Silver shrugged, the smile falling off her face, showing something much older and more implacable in her expression than Virginia had yet seen her display. “It’s the most I will do. It’s up to him whether he lives or not. Believe me, you have to want to live very strongly to come back as far as he will have to. Do you think I have magic and to spare, my dear girl? If that were so, why would I need you?”

Silver’s hand was cold as she took hold of Virginia’s. Virginia shivered, despite the sweat crawling down her spine. “Now, for your side of the bargain.”

“What’s that?”

Silver looked amused. “You should have asked earlier, I think. And if you’d listened, you’d know. Your little puppy told you.” Her cool fingers stroked Virginia’s palm, hypnotically. “I have stolen the dragon’s human form, but to control it utterly I must have its heart. I have so far failed to find it. You can help me. You are young and strong.”

Virginia yelped suddenly, as a sliver of pain bit into her palm. She looked down to see Silver’s long nails had cut a bleeding slash in it. Silver pressed her white hand tightly over the cut. Virginia felt something slipping away from her, into Silver. It made her feel sick. The room went momentarily dark, then Virginia realised she’d slid to her knees.

“Oh my god,” she whispered.

“Silver!” she heard her father’s voice from a long way off, oddly authoritative. “You left something off your list, earlier.” What? Virginia began to panic. The baby, if she keeps this up, what about the baby?

Tony continued, “How did it go? King, Oracle, Wolf, Witch...” Virginia felt like she was moving through half-set concrete, but she managed to turn her head. Wendell had Wolf half-propped up against him and half against the cave wall and her father was standing beside them, ticking off points on his fingers. What is he doing? Tony tapped his thumb with his forefinger, smiling, smiling?!

“Dragon,” he said.

There was a thundering detonation. Gold and precious objects scattered all around them, clanging on Wendell’s discarded breastplate like a cold hard rain, hitting Virginia on the face and head. Silver let go of her hand to protect her own face, and Virginia fell to all fours, folding her head into her arms, dizzy with her release, and terrified. There was a hot, sulphurous stench and then, blessedly, a wave of cool air and the gentle sound of dust falling.

Virginia dared to look. The back of the cave had been sheared away. She could see through the still falling dust and debris, the green pastures beyond the mountain. The rock made quiet ‘plinck’ sounds. The dust smelled hot.

A shadow fell across the opening. The dragon came to rest on the shattered peak outside. It blinked, the nictitating membranes flickered over its milky eyes. Its black lips twisted over its enormous fangs.

“?” it said.

Virginia froze. Wolf, Wendell and Tony lay in a stunned, tumbled heap where the force of the explosion had thrown them. Silver moaned from somewhere to one side of Virginia.

The dragon didn’t move. Virginia didn’t dare to. She had never seen any beast on this scale, this close. Each of the overlapping scales along its muzzle, with their white, oil-on-water rainbow sheen, was bigger than her head, and the silver tendrils on its brow were thicker than her forearms. The twin moons of its eyes were opaque and gave nothing away. It’s incredibly beautiful, she thought even as she cringed, hearing the sulphurous rumble of its breath, expecting flames and instant death.

It rumbled in its throat, “?”

The noise grew louder; more hot dust fell onto Virginia’s head. She wanted to sneeze, twitching her nose, and then Wendell stirred, rubbing his neck, and froze as well. He risked a glance at Virginia.

“Don’t move,” she instructed in a whisper.

“Not moving,” Wendell agreed, eyeing the dragon warily. “Still as a statue.”

Virginia found out then how hard it was to take her own advice because Wolf opened his eyes. He was still yellow under the dust over his face, but his eyes were clear.

“Virginia?” he said hoarsely.

I didn’t know my heart had stopped; when did that happen? she thought, trying not to cry and laugh at the same time, but sure enough, she felt it re-start, thudding like she’d just run a cross-country race. “Wolf,” she said, grinning like an idiot. He was alive, and no matter what Silver had said, no matter what doubts or worries, it was worth the cost. She felt the baby shift under her heart and knew it was safe. She didn’t know how she’d managed to be so lucky.

Wolf grimaced, the line between his brows deepening, trying to shift himself from under her father, who had fallen on top of him. He was obviously still in a lot of pain. “Wolf,” Virginia began, but he had already stopped moving. Even that little effort had left him sweating and panting. She saw his nostrils expand and his eyes widen as he took in the scent and sight of the dragon. The dragon’s eyes tracked his movements.

“????” It seemed more insistent, more urgent than before, and it seemed to be directing its query at Wolf.

“Is that thing talking to you?” Wendell asked, astonished. “Can you understand it?”

Wolf winced as Tony stirred, groaning and pulled himself to his knees at Wolf’s side. “Kinda,” he replied weakly. “It’s ...another were, like me ...” He broke off with an indrawn hiss, folding over himself.

“Wolf!” Virginia cried. She scrambled to her feet, about to run to him. The dragon’s huge head whipped about to face her; she felt the air slam into her as it mantled its wings to keep its position on the crags. It rumbled warningly and issued a thin thread of blue flame from between its fangs. She stood stock-still, halfway toward them.

Silver, dust falling out of her hair, her face taut, got to her feet at the poolside where the explosion had thrown her.

“Virginia, I need you, we must control the beast or it will kill everyone. Come here to me.” She held out her hand. The dragon rumbled once more. Virginia paused, confused. It was wrong to control another being by magic, but she didn’t want to die; she didn’t want the others to die ... she didn’t know what to do.

“Don’t!”

“NO!” both Wolf and Tony yelled together. They looked at each other and Wolf, still getting back his breath, gestured for Tony to go on. “Don’t let her be a thief of you, Virginia,” her father said, wobbling to his feet. He rubbed his nose vigorously “Because that’s how she gets her power. She wanted to eat Snow White’s heart all those years ago to steal her beauty, she stole your mother’s soul to try and get her revenge, she stole the dragon’s human body so she could live again, now she wants to steal from you too. Every time she gets a little bit stronger, she steals a bit more life. Don’t let her do it again.”

“Oh yes,” Wendell put in dryly, “let’s get flame-roasted, that’s a better choice.” Tony made throttling gestures at his throat, indicating it was not really his choice either.

Virginia bit her lip, “But the dragon...”

Wolf said painfully, “I don’t ... think ... it wants ... to hurt us.”

“Are you sure?” Silver said, walking cautiously toward Virginia, her hand beginning to reach out.

“??????”

This time, the noise made Virginia’s ears ring. The fire of the dragon’s breath flared out. She jumped back, but the fire went past where she had been standing and drove Silver back from her. Virginia smelled the unmistakable scent of burnt hair.

Then she heard another noise. A high-pitched ululation that went right through her and made her head bones itch. She gasped, putting her hands to her ears, seeing the others do the same. Silver, her hair burned off to half its length, was making the song, her mouth wide open as if she were snarling and Virginia could hear the command in it. The dragon roared and flamed again.

Over the tumult, she heard Wolf howl in pain. He was twisted in on himself, shaking violently, Tony and Wendell were struggling to hold him. Virginia didn’t stop to think, she scrambled over to help them.

“What’s the matter with him!” she yelled.

“I don’t know!” Wendell yelled back. “But if Silver’s spell is supposed to work on weres, maybe it’s affecting Wolf too.”

“Oh, I’d say so,” Tony gasped. “But why didn’t it work on him before?”

“You’re the Oracle, Anthony, you tell me!” Wendell snapped, as Wolf, jerking in his grasp, almost punched Wendell in the jaw.

Virginia guessed, “Because Silver didn’t want it to before and now she does; it’ll slow us down, keep us here where she wants us.” Wants me. “Oh god,” she muttered, “can we get him out of here? How can we stop her?”

Steam was coming from the dragon’s nostrils; the silver filaments about its head whipped back and forth. It slid from the opening, the sound of its talons scraping along the rock. The mountain shivered. Silver came closer.

Wolf. Virginia caught a glimpse of his elongated canines as he howled again. His eyes were yellow and wild. She grabbed his hand. “Wolf! Wolf ! Try not to change!”

“Trying ...” he stuttered through his teeth.

He held on to her tightly as they stumbled to the edge of the opening. There was a way down, but with the mountain shaking, with Wolf fighting off his change, Virginia knew they couldn’t do it. Silver came singing still behind them, blood trickling from her ears and staining the scorched hanks of glittering hair. Virginia saw her sink to her knees, her whole body shuddering.

The dragon still roared defiantly but it was weakening, shaking its head as if it were trying to throw off a stupor. And then Virginia saw a stocky figure clambering up the broken crags.

“Look!” she pointed, and yelled, “Brock, help us get Wolf down!”

But the vintner stopped instead, panting beside the writhing dragon. He approached the maddened beast without fear and put his hand gently on one of its cruel talons. It flickered through Virginia’s mind that he looked better somehow. The dragon trumpeted, angling its head to see him properly.

“Brock!” Virginia shouted, “It’ll kill you!”

“No,” he yelled back, “It won’t! I’m bringing it what it needs!” He opened his other hand. Lying on it was a small white pebble.

Silver’s eyes widened. Her singing stopped abruptly. She gulped enough air to shriek. “NO!” She scrabbled over the rocks towards the vintner. Wolf sagged to the ground in Wendell’s and Tony’s arms, sweating.

“Is that the dragon’s heart?” Tony said with distaste. “’Cause I’m telling you, it’s pitiful. D’you mean to say that crazy guy had it all the time?”

Brock grinned triumphantly and shook his head.

"No,” he said again, “I am it.”

Virginia couldn’t see how it happened. The dragon swiped down with its other paw, and scooped Brock up. Silver got there just too late and was knocked over with a disdainful backswipe of the same foreleg. Seven black and white birds settled carelessly around the tumbled rocks. Light blasted out between the beast’s talons, blinding them all. Virginia turned her face away, screwing up her eyes.

And when she looked back, the afterimage of the light still throwing coloured haloes around everything, she saw Silver began to expand, her hair becoming thicker, longer, till it matched the filaments on the dragon’s brow. Her limbs grew and twisted, scaling over. She screamed and struggled, her voice becoming less and less human, more like the dragon’s bellow. Then she solidified, her coils stiffening into stone.

The dragon, meanwhile, shrank, till it became a thin, harsh featured, silver-haired woman, kneeling on the fissured rocks, holding a glowing pebble in her hands. She toppled over, unconscious, and the pebble rolled out of her grasp. Brock had disappeared.

In a flurry of wings, the magpies swooped across to the woman. One of them picked up the pebble in its beak, took off again. The others, squawking riotously, followed it.

“Ermm, do you suppose this is good or bad?” Wendell said nervously. Tony and Wendell started to climb carefully toward the fallen woman on the rocks below.

Virginia sat down beside Wolf, trembling from head to foot, not sure whether she was going to cry or not. He grinned at her weakly, with a touch of his old insouciance. “What you lack in number of rescues you make up for in spectacle, Virginia.”

She stared at him; began to giggle helplessly. Still smiling, he reached up to touch her face with a shaking hand. She hiccuped another half-giggle, half-sob. Then she leaned into him and kissed him soundly, feeling the roughness of his stubble on her cheek, warming his cold lips with her own.