Red Hood's Revenge

keep from flinging it away.
    Faziya snarled and snapped at Talia, then lunged at Snow, but she seemed unable to move beyond the circle. She kept her leg tight against her body and whimpered as blood spilled into the sand.
    Talia stabbed the sword into the dirt and knelt at the edge of the circle. She forced herself to watch as more blood darkened the dirt. Faziya tried to lick the cut, but she couldn’t reach it. She looked at Danielle and let out a low whine. Danielle had her hands clasped together, her lips moving silently.
    All too quickly, Faziya grew lethargic. She retreated to the far side of the circle and curled up in the dirt.
    “How much longer?” Talia whispered.
    “Soon,” said Snow. “As the life drains from her body, the curse loses its hold.”
    Talia couldn’t remember the last time she had prayed. Losing everything and everyone she had ever known to a fairy curse had pretty much ended her faith in God and his prophets. But now she begged God to let this work.
    Blood spread through the dirt around Faziya. She whined again, weaker this time, and Talia’s heart constricted. “It’s not working.”
    “It will,” said Snow.
    Faziya closed her eyes.
    “Snow, stop this.” Talia stepped toward the circle and froze. If she tried to move Faziya, she might only make things worse. “Help her.”
    “I know what I’m doing. The body can lose a great deal of blood and still survive.”
    Talia stepped around the circle. This time Faziya lacked the energy to flee. Talia reached out, resting a hand on the warm fur of Faziya’s neck. “Forgive me.”
    “Got you,” Snow whispered.
    Faziya’s body twitched beneath Talia’s hand. Her legs kicked out, and clumps of fur fell away to reveal skin the color of oiled olive wood. Her eyes snapped open, and her body began to grow.
    Snow was already moving. She shoved Talia aside and rolled Faziya onto her back. She pressed one hand over the bloody cut on what was becoming an arm. More fur fell away. Faziya’s next gasp sounded almost human.
    “Press here, now!” Snow indicated a point above the cut, near Faziya’s armpit.
    Talia obeyed, squeezing hard. Snow whispered a spell, and the gold wire around her finger thinned like thread as it burrowed into the cut.
    Talia brushed snarled black hair back from Faziya’s eyes. Her face was cool to the touch.
    “Too much blood,” Snow muttered. “Press harder.”
    Talia tightened her grip, though Faziya cried out.
    “Hold her still!”
    “I’m trying,” Talia said, grabbing Faziya’s other shoulder and pressing her flat. “Faziya, it’s me. It’s Talia. I’m going to help you. Try not to fight.”
    “Sing to her,” said Danielle.
    Talia swallowed. One of her fairy blessings had been the gift of song. It was a gift she rarely used in front of anyone older than two. In a low voice, she began to sing an old ballad about an eastern prince and his Kha’iida lover.
    The pain in Faziya’s face eased slightly. “Talia?”
    “I’m here,” Talia said. “Don’t move.”
    The years had changed Faziya. The lines of her face were deeper, hinting at the wrinkles that would one day mark her eyes and the corners of her mouth. Her hair was long and loose, framing her round face. Talia remembered it all, the dark brows, the tiny scar above her upper lip, the two small moles on the side of her chin.
    “She’s so pale,” Talia whispered. Faziya’s skin was damp with sweat.
    Faziya tried to push herself up. “What happened to me?” Her voice was hoarse.
    “You were taken to Rajil’s menagerie,” Talia said, holding her down. “Don’t try to talk yet. Lie back and let my friend work.”
    Snow pulled her bloody hands away from the cut and grabbed one of her mirrors. She held it over Faziya’s arm, and the glass turned red. Talia realized she was using it to look within the wound.
    “Very slowly,” Snow said, “ease up on the pressure.”
    Talia relaxed her grip on Faziya’s arm. Blood oozed from the cut, but the flow was nothing like it had been before. Stitches of gold now sealed the edges of the wound.
    Snow grabbed her scarf and wrapped it tightly around Faziya’s arm. “Give her water. Not a lot at first. Don’t make her cough.”
    Danielle hurried to fetch one of the smaller waterskins. She untied the cap and passed it to Talia.
    Talia rested the mouthpiece of the skin on Faziya’s chin, parting her lips and squeezing a small stream of water into her mouth. Some dripped down Faziya’s