Red Hood's Revenge

it,” Talia shouted.
    “Fairies have always moved beyond the boundaries of this world,” Trittibar continued. “Cloud striders, for example. They don’t actually fly. They’ve simply learned to climb mountains that don’t exist in this world.”
    “You’re as bad as Snow,” Talia snapped. “If you can help—”
    “Legally, I can’t,” Trittibar said. “Malindar’s Treaty specifically prohibits the use of fairy rings.”
    Talia dropped her sword and grabbed his arm, spinning him about. “You’d let them eat us because of a thousand-year-old treaty?”
    “He has no choice,” Snow said. “He’s a fairy, remember? They’re bound by the terms of the treaty. The only way he could break those terms—” She turned to face him. “Oh, Trittibar.”
    “What is it?” Talia demanded.
    Snow closed her eyes. “Malindar’s Treaty applies only to the fairies of Lorindar. It has no hold over exiles who have been cut off from the fairy hill.”
    “Or those who choose to sever that connection of their own free will,” Trittibar added. “I was hoping you might have another option.”
    “I’m sorry,” said Snow.
    Whatever else Talia might think of Trittibar, once the fairy made a decision, he wasted no further time. Trittibar pressed the tip of his sword into the ground. He turned, and the blade gouged the stone, leaving behind a golden arc. He stepped past Charlotte, tracing the circle through roots and earth alike. “You might want to close your eyes. Humans find this . . . disconcerting.”
    Talia watched the wolves moving closer. Through Snow’s failing spell, she saw Roudette staring back at her. Talia grabbed her sword, and then she was falling into the earth.

CHAPTER 5

    R OUDETTE DRAGGED A BOOT THROUGH THE LINE of ash that marked the fairy’s ring. Fairy magic smelled like burned bones, turning her stomach as nothing else could. The ring was empty, her prey stolen away.
    “Snow.” The Duchess had warned her. Danielle had come to Fairytown with two companions, Talia and the witch Snow White. Roudette had been so intent upon Talia, she had dismissed Snow as a possible threat.
    Roudette smiled, remembering the last time she had faced Talia. Roudette was no stranger to narrow escapes, but Talia had come closer than anyone to actually killing the Lady of the Red Hood. She would have taken this job just for the chance to face Talia again.
    Not even the power of her cape could postpone the effects of age, and today was the first time in years that Roudette had been uncertain how a battle would play out. She couldn’t remember the last time she had felt so alive. But Snow and her fairy had stolen Roudette’s victory.
    She picked up the ruined remains of her bow. She had dropped it when she dodged Snow’s attack, and it had been burned by the magic of the fairy ring. The blackened wood splintered in her fist. She flung the pieces away.
    Her wolves couldn’t pierce illusion, nor could they have known of the fairy wizard Snow carried in her pouch. The failure was Roudette’s alone, for trusting a tool provided by a fairy. “Duchess. Duchess. Duchess.”
    Her wolves jumped back as the earth at Roudette’s feet crumbled, opening a round pit into darkness. A pale, round face framed in wisps of white hair looked up at her. A jade and platinum circlet sat on the Duchess’ brow.
    “Roudette,” said the Duchess. “I didn’t expect to hear from you so soon.”
    “You could be hearing from me again very soon indeed,” Roudette said. “You lied to me, lady. Talia was here, and Charlotte did nothing .”
    One slender eyebrow rose ever so slightly. “Interesting. I take it from your impotent fury they escaped?”
    “For the moment,” Roudette said. “You promised—”
    “I have no bargain with you, human.” The Duchess smiled. “I agreed to help you as a favor. I did precisely as I said I would, loosing Charlotte into Fairytown for you, carrying the spell I was given.”
    “A spell that failed.”
    The Duchess shook her head. “Charlotte was never as skilled in the arts of magic as her dearly departed sister, but desperation can be a powerful teacher. Perhaps she’s finally begun to learn the use of power.”
    “A pitiful wreck of a human, yet she can overcome your fairy magic.” Roudette realized she was smiling. She nudged a stone into the pit, watching as it passed through the Duchess’ image. “How delightful.”
    “Hope.” The Duchess waved a hand, and the stone shot back