Brahm nods and pulls me in for a peck on my lips. Tears well in his amber eyes as he shakes his head.
“What is it? What did you see?”
He sucks a deep breath through his teeth. “It was the witch. She had me tied to a slab with vines and was asking all sorts of questions about you. I refused to tell her anything, so she pressed her thumbs against my temples like this.” Brahm places his thumbs on my temples and pushes. “And visions—my memories—appeared in my mind. She searched for anything to do with you.”
He brings a fist to his mouth and hangs his head.
“Why? What was she looking for?”
“She started with obvious ones. Like all of my time spent with you growing up. Then she found some intimate ones.” Brahm squeezes his eyes shut and hangs his head. “My private thoughts about you. And she kept searching; memories of Wil, dancing in the woods, buying eggs and cheese from you at the market—and then, Hexegot found something she was very interested in.”
“What was it?”
“Albert.”
“Albert? Why?”
“I don’t know. She saw what I saw and felt all my rage: Albert always creeping around you at the market, how I hated you working for that asshole, the story you told me about his bedroom, and his hands all over you in the alleyway.”
At this point, Brahm’s cheeks are bright red, and he clenches his fists.
“Hey, hey, calm down. Then what?”
“You woke me up. I have no idea why she was so curious about Albert, but her intentions clearly weren’t good.”
Brahm hugs me tight, swaying back and forth. It’s only then I notice a long rope of braided vines leading into the well.
I place my hand on his chest and gesture at the rope. “Were you coming after me?”
“Of course, Freckles. I already told you.” He adjusts my lopsided floral crown. “I’m not going anywhere without you. Where did you go?”
“The otherworld.”
“What?”
I show him the pearl earring and tell him all about Mother Holle and the threads of vivid colors. I tell him how the Offerings end up there, with their stories woven into the tapestry.
“So, in your dreams, Hexegot’s victims were just trying to help you?”
“Yep, but I still don’t know how they get there. Mother Holle also said Hexegot can’t be killed, only defeated.” I shake my head. “I don’t know what to do. If only we could speak to Bergot again.”
“I know. Our only option is to continue doing everything she says. She told us if we find the fountain, the witch can’t kill us. We at least need to keep moving away from the fog.”
Brahm and I hold hands and hike through the forest. When we near the edge of the woods, Ferdinand comes jogging from behind.
“Wait up!” he shouts. “Remember, you can’t get into the castle without me. I have the bread.”
“Did you find a pearl?” Brahm asks him.
“Yep, look.” Ferdinand holds up a shiny, white pebble.
“That’s no pearl,” I say. “It’s just a fucking rock.”
“I got tired of searching! That forest is huge. It will be fine; how smart can a troll be?”
“Can’t be any dumber than you,” I mumble under my breath.
The forest thins out, and in the distance, the ground turns to rocks. As we get closer, a visible fissure in the mountain appears. It’s deep and too wide to cross by ourselves. We follow the edge of the ravine until a rope bridge appears ahead.
We jog toward it and are about to cross when a ten-foot, bluish-green monster swings up from the rocks and blocks the bridge. He hunches and growls as his smock of leaves and moss blows in the wind. Below, on a small outcropping, is a huge nest filled with shiny items. There are pearls, silver trays, golden candelabras, and various pieces of jewelry. The troll collects trinkets like a magpie.
I stand in shock until Brahm rubs my shoulder. “Let’s give him the pearls.”
Frantically rustling through my satchel, I retrieve the sewing kit and pluck out our pearls. I give one to Brahm, and we each extend the iridescent orbs to the troll. Ferdinand follows suit with his pebble.
The troll happily takes all three and steps to the side. He laughs and hums as he rolls the items in his palm. Brahm ushers me forward to take the first step onto the bridge. It holds, and we begin to cross it. The troll growls, and we turn our heads. I hold my breath in fear as the blue beast extends Ferdinand’s fake pearl and roars. He tosses the pebble into the ravine and swats at the bridge, easily snapping one of the top ropes. I lose balance and nearly fall into the deep ravine.
“The jewels! Toss him the jewels,” I shout back at Ferdinand.
He scoops a handful of the jewels from his satchel and drops them into the troll’s nest below. A smile spreads across the troll’s grotesque face, and he turns toward the other side. The shiny gems gleam in the light as the troll leaps into his nest. He lifts a large sapphire and holds it near his eyes. The troll furrows his unibrow and crushes the blue gem like glass.
“Fuck, they’re fake!” Ferdinand waves us on. “Keep going!”
The troll roars even louder and swats at the bridge again. Ferdinand falls off the side, hanging on to the wood.
“Help!”
Brahm and I grab his arms and swing him back on to the bridge. We hurry over the footings, but it’s difficult with the bridge swaying and only one railing to grip. My heart races with every step as sweat drips down my forehead. I nearly trip on a crooked board and begin shaking. Brahm steadies my shoulders, and we press on.
The troll steps onto the bridge, forcing the ropes to grow taught and creak under the pressure of his massive weight.
Adrenaline pumps through my veins, giving me energy and clarity. I have to do something. I pause to dig through my satchel, breathing rapidly.
“What are you doing?” Brahm asks.
Snarling, the troll takes more careful steps and gains on Ferdinand, who screams.
“Red, hurry!”
I use the magic mirror to reflect light near the troll’s nest. His citrine eyes bounce around in their sockets to follow the light as I rock the glass back and forth in my hands. The troll jumps down to grab the reflection. Relief washes over me as we hurry our way across the rickety bridge. I drop the shard of glass at my side, and the troll growls when the light disappears.
Once Ferdinand steps safely onto the cliff, I take out my dagger. I slice through the ropes as the troll pulls himself back up on the opposite side.
Baring his teeth, the troll takes a step onto the first footing. I hand Brahm the dagger and open my satchel again. He slices through the remaining railing. The rope snaps, swinging the bridge. The troll stumbles and falls off the side but grabs the footings with his burly hands. He pulls himself up and crawls toward us along the boards. Just because we crossed the bridge doesn’t mean we’re safe, so I rummage through my collection once more.
“Here!” I toss Willa’s mother-of-pearl comb into the troll’s nest.
The creature’s eyes grow wide as he jumps for it in his nest. The troll plays with the comb and brushes the few hairs atop his head as Brahm slices at the final ropes of the bridge. I use the shard of the magic mirror to help him.
Our ropes snap, and the bridge falls, swinging to rest against the rocks on the other side. The troll doesn’t notice as he continues brushing his hair with a smile on his face. I return the dagger and the magic mirror to their places and press my palm against my chest. Drawing in slow and steady breaths, I force my nerves to calm.