The Stepsister Scheme

mirrors on Snow’s choker fogged over, and the strands slowed. Before, Danielle had barely noticed their touch. Now they grew cold, like blades of ice pressing into her skin.
    “Not bad, my little morsel,” said Brahkop.
    Snow’s elbows ground against Danielle’s ribs as she fought Brahkop’s net. Talia was still squirming on the floor, her head pressing hard against Danielle’s knee.
    “Talia, can you reach the blankets on my sword?” Danielle asked.
    “Maybe.” Talia’s knife dropped to the floor. She squeezed her hand up the net, and her fingers closed around the end of the blanket. She pushed the blanket back, exposing the tip of the blade.
    Danielle pushed the sword as hard as she could, trying to bring the edge into contact with the nearest strands of the net. The net dug into her fingers, drawing thin lines of blood. She gritted her teeth and pushed harder.
    The blade touched one line, which snapped and curled away. A second broke a moment later. Danielle drew her hand back and twisted the sword to cut one of the crosswise strands.
    “I’m not sure how much longer I can hold this,” Snow said. She sounded mildly annoyed, like she was describing a stain on her blouse. “The spell is almost alive. It acts like one of those constrictor snakes. Every time I try to adjust my magic, it tightens a little more.”
    “I know you have stronger spells than this,” Talia complained. “Can’t you just destroy this thing?”
    “Sure, but I thought you wanted to survive.”
    Danielle swiveled the sword back and forth, cutting a larger hole in the net. “Hold on,” she said.
    Talia snorted. “Like I’ve got anything better to do.”
    Danielle thrust out through the hole, then shook the sword until the blanket fell away. She cut downward, being careful to avoid Talia. She was halfway through a crosswise cut when the whole thing seemed to die. The net fell apart, leaving limp strands over the three of them. Danielle shuddered and brushed them away.
    “Do you know how long it took me to make that net?” Brahkop complained. “All those tiny knots... ”
    “Move aside,” said Talia. Danielle and Snow backed away. Talia rapped on the sphere.
    “That’s elven crystal,” said Brahkop. “Cost me a good bit of change, but it’s well worth the price. Completely unbreakable, unless you’re an elf with the secrets to—”
    “Who wants to break it?” Talia spun and smashed her heel into the glass. There was a popping sound as the sphere broke loose from the door. The force of Talia’s kick drove it squarely into Brahkop’s waiting eye.
    ”The troll screamed.
    Calmly but quickly, Talia shoved her arm through the hole. Her body pressed against the door, and there was a clicking sound from the other side. “There we go,” she said. The door swung open.
    Beyond was a great open room lined with shelves. Lanterns hung from gold hooks in the ceiling, casting a sickly green light over various pouches, bottles, books, and scrolls. Green and brown herbs hung drying on the far wall. Coils of glimmering rope filled an entire corner, stacked as high as Danielle’s waist. Weavings made from the same shiny thread decorated the walls.
    Doubled over near the back, both hands clutching his face, was Brahkop the troll.
    Danielle stared. “Are all trolls so hairy?”
    Brahkop straightened. At his full height, he was half again the size of a man, and twice as broad. Of the troll’s face, only his nose was visible, a pale blue potato poking through waves of silver-white hair that hung to his ankles. Some of the hair had been braided, with beads and other trinkets clicking together at the ends each time he moved.
    A great, meaty hand emerged from beneath the hair. Brahkop reached toward Talia. “So you plan to make me work for my meal, eh? Very well, let’s see how—”
    Talia scooped up the crystal sphere with both hands and smashed it against the troll’s knuckles. He drew back, cursing, and Talia flung the sphere directly into his nose.
    Brahkop staggered. Danielle hurried to join Talia, her sword ready. She tried to mimic the cold, determined expression on Talia’s face.
    Brahkop sniffed and held up his hands. “Enough.”
    “Are you sure?” Snow was browsing through the shelves. She pulled down a small vial of thick purple sludge. “I wanted a chance to try this. I’ve never seen what coagulated wyvern blood does to a troll.”
    Dark blue blood dripped from Brahkop’s nose and slid down his hair.