“How do you know?”
“I just know.”
“Know what?” said an unfamiliar voice. Blarfunder lifted the piece of masonry they were hiding behind over his head and grinned at the pair. There were few things in life more disturbing than the grin of a rhino.
“Kill them!” shrieked Rumpelstiltskin and continued reading from the spell pages.
“Sorry,” said Blarfunder. “Nothing personal, just business.”
He swung the piece of masonry down but Lily caught it and threw it backward over her head.
“Time to move,” said the Cat. Robert’s legs realized they should be doing something and he sprinted toward the courtyard. He made it an entire five steps before Jack tackled him, knocking him to the ground, driving the air from his lungs.
“You are very strong,” said Blarfunder to Lily. “I’m going to enjoy this.”
“Rrreeaaaaa,” agreed Crushnut, joining his friend.
Lily squared off with them as Jack reared up to pummel Robert. He raised a fist and Robert tensed for the blow… but it never came. Jack was thrown from his place atop Robert and flung across the courtyard. A glowing red ball buzzed around him.
“Veszico!” said Robert. He looked toward Lily, who was backing into a corner.
Blarfunder and Crushnut were completely shocked when two Gnomes landed on their shoulders. They were equally shocked when, much to their dismay, the Gnomes swiftly slit their throats.
Blarfunder’s last thoughts were about how he had not expected to die today and how a little heads-up would have been appreciated.
Crushnut’s last thoughts were less coherent and lacked anything prolific. His last thought was Wwaarrgg.
Robert sat up and felt the press of cold steel against his throat. Rumpelstiltskin held a clump of his hair in one hand and a knife to his throat in the other.
“All right, that’s quite enough of that,” said the Dwarf. “Any more swift movements will result in our friend Mr. Darkly’s untimely demise.”
“I’d rather no one moved,” said Robert.
“Shut up!” said the Dwarf.
“Sorry.”
Veszico landed on Lily’s shoulder and the Dwarves stood to either side of her. Jack took his place behind Rumpelstiltskin.
The air crackled and snapped, causing the occasional spark, and the green ball of fire slowly began to grow.
“How do you expect to finish your spell while holding Robert?” said Lily.
“You’re saying I should kill him now and be done with it?” replied the Dwarf.
“I really don’t think that was what she was saying,” said Robert.
“This doesn’t concern you,” said the Dwarf.
“It bloody does,” said Robert. “It’s my neck that’s at risk here.”
The Dwarf quickly moved aside as Jack hauled back and hit Robert square in the jaw.
Robert hadn’t taken a punch to the face since he was twelve years old when the school bully had decided Robert had looked at him funny. He didn’t recall it hurting this much. Blood trickled from his lip.
Robert could see Gnick tense up and he felt a wave of appreciation for the Gnome.
“The spell is all but done,” said Rumpelstiltskin.
Robert spit blood. “Obviously. If it’s not done then it has to be all but done, then, doesn’t it?”
“You… never… shut up!” said Jack and punched Robert again.
“Dammit, Jack!” said Lily.
“All of you stop. Mr. Darkly here can help me finish the spell.” Rumpelstiltskin dragged Robert by the hair, all the while holding the blade to his throat, into the courtyard to kneel ten feet from the ball of fire.
“Don’t move!” Jack shouted at the others and Robert, although he couldn’t see them, assumed they had begun to move to help him. He felt warm and happy that his companions cared for his life.
“They might not care for you, they might just care for the good of civilization,” said the Cat.
“You have to ruin everything, don’t you?” said Robert.
“Well, it’s about time things changed,” replied the Dwarf, believing that Robert had been addressing him. “And it’s not ruining anything, it’s fixing everything. It’s putting things back to normal!”
“You must be crazier than I am if you think anything in this world is normal. I grew up in what would be considered to be a normal world and even that is not normal.”
Rumpelstiltskin released Robert’s hair and pulled the papers out of his pocket and handed them to him. “Read the last page.”
“What happens when I read it?”
“Why does it matter?” asked the Dwarf, becoming red in the face again.
“I’m just curious as to what will happen. After all, I’m a part of it now.”
“You’ll finish off the last incantation which will release the spell from the glowing ball of fire you see before you and it will abolish all regulations on the doors. Everyone will be free to move about whenever and wherever they want.”
“Can I move a bit closer to the big fireball thing?” said Robert.
“Why?”
“Well, I think I’ve been fighting a cold, my throat’s been hoarse. I’d hate for the big ball of flame not to hear me.”
“Crawl up to it and hug it if you want. Just read the words or the last thing you’ll feel is cold steel cutting your spine in half.” To iterate the point, the Dwarf nudged him in the back with the knife.
Robert crawled forward on all fours until he was within reaching distance of the green fire. Robert was surprised to find that it wasn’t warm at all. If anything, the fire was giving off intense cold.
“Don’t do it, Robert!” said Lily.
“Shut up!” spat Jack.
“Is this close enough?” said Robert loudly.
“Yes, this’ll do,” said the Cat in Robert’s head.
“Yes, that’s perfect,” agreed Rumpelstiltskin.
Robert stood up and turned to face the Dwarf and everyone else.
“Don’t need these anymore,” said Robert. He screwed the papers up into a ball and threw them backwards over his shoulder into the now pulsating ball of flame. The papers vanished into nothingness, and Rumpelstiltskin stood in a shocked silence with his mouth open.
“You bastard!” shouted Jack.
“I’ll kill you!” screamed the Dwarf, finally remembering he had a voice.
“I don’t think so, gentleman,” said Robert. “You see, I’ve been carrying a secret weapon, one that I didn’t even know I had. That’s how secret it was.”
And Robert laughed.
“Oh no, he’s lost his mind,” said Lily.
“I have this voice in my head. It’s been talking to me a lot lately.”
The green ball of fire shifted awkwardly behind him.
“Uh, Robert,” said Lily and took a step back.
“I’ve never really understood myself, I’ve always had weird things happen to me, and then I discover there’s this whole other world right here that I belong to. My father’s from here, did you know that, Rumpelstiltskin?”
The Dwarf had also seen that the ball was no longer a ball and was also backing away. “Actually yes, I know your father well and I hope he rots in hell!”
“Oh.” Robert hadn’t expected that.
“Robert, look behind you!” said Lily.
Robert turned and found the ball of flame was now oblong, and then a triangle, and then an intricate symbol, and it was continually getting bigger.