Fairest 02 - The Frog Prince by Adrianne Brooks Page B

had lived within the maze. That had obviously changed, if the mermaid and koi fish were any indication. Even if they were some strange by-product of the fairy dust and a dream.
    But, Rachel had begun seeing other signs of life. Insects for one. She was watching a ladybug crawl up her hand at the very moment. She thought it wouldn’t be surprising if they came across bigger animals in another day or so, as the natural wildlife began to investigate. In fact, it was probably a bunny she’d seen earlier darting into the hedge. If bunnies had white eyes and skin stretched so tightly over their bones that it was more like looking at a walking corpse than an actual animal. In fact, Rachel was sure she’d seen bunnies with razor sharp teeth and forked tongues.
    That’s all the creature had been.
    A bunny.
    A creepy, nightmare inducing, pee on yourself in fright, bunny.
    The vines groaned around her and Rachel got the distinct feeling that she was being laughed at. The pouch of fairy dust in her pocket began to heat and she wrapped her fingers around it. At first the heat had felt unnatural. Now it was almost comforting. It felt right to hold it, and she clutched it to her chest as she finally lay down beside Chris and snuggled close for warmth.
    Even if she’d had hopes of getting to sleep that night, they were dashed as soon as she closed her eyes. She just couldn’t shake the image of the monster from her mind. It haunted her, a vision plastered on the inside of her eyelids. In her mind, they stared at one another, unblinking, until morning came. The pouch was a searing heat against her palm and the nightmare creature grinned in satisfaction.
     
     

Chapter Ten
     
    On the morning of the fourth day, they saw him.
    Rachel had spent nearly half an hour trying to convince Chris that he could make it rain. She knew no such thing, but if he could bring floods, then why not a light drizzle?
    “Can’t you at least try?” she asked angrily.
    “I am trying,” he spoke without looking back at her, and his shoulder hunched a bit in irritation. “It’s not working.”
    “Maybe you need some encouragement. Does the thought of dead puppies make you angry or sad?”
    “What do puppies have to do with anything?”
    “Well, if this is like anime, then your power only works during high levels of stress,” Rachel explained. “Dead puppies should give me something.”
    “I’m not picturing dead puppies.”
    “…what about dead kittens?”
    “What is it with you and murdered bundles of adorableness?”
    He stopped walking abruptly and she smacked into his back before she could think of an answer. She peeked around his side, her thoughts going immediately to the thing she’d seen the day before. They’d come to another oval-like clearing where several paths branched out. In the middle of the circle, sitting at the base of a tree trunk, was an old man. He was fast asleep, long white beard trailing down his chest and pooling in his lap like a fluffy, geriatric cloud. He was snoring loudly, and Rachel and Chris’s eyes met in mutual surprise.
    She stepped toward the stranger only to have Chris pull her back by the waistband of her jeans. She glared at him, but didn’t argue for fear of waking the old man up. If he was a threat, it wouldn’t exactly be a smart thing to do. His steps were silent as he made his way across the clearing. He examined the stranger for a few seconds before reaching out a cautious hand to shake him awake.
    Nothing happened.
    Chris shook him again, harder this time and the man’s head lolled to one side. His cowboy hat flopped forward to reveal his shiny, bald dome of a head. If not for the volume and power of the man’s snoring, Rachel would have been convinced that he was dead. Chris looked over at her helplessly and shrugged.
    “Oh for god’s sake,” she muttered. Striding over to the both of them, she stared down at the gray haired man. Then she got to her knees, and cupping her hands around her