Doomed to rememberforevermore.
Let the one who crosses this thresholdfirst,
Be condemned to wed him despite hiscurse.
And let the one in whom heconfides,
Lead a killer to hisside.”
The wind ripped at Rolfe’s cloak again as her voice fell silent. When the wind stilled and he opened his eyes, he was outside the smooth white walls. The silent forest surrounded him again, and snow fell thickly around him. There was no sign of the djinn, although winter had fallen with a sudden vengeance. At least Mephistopheles was still by his side, perhaps because he still clutched the reinstightly.
“May you be as miserable as I have been, mortal!” The djinn’s voice came from every side, though she was not withinview.
Rolfe spun around, but he could not seeher.
Or the bottle forAdalbert.
Much less hispalfrey.
“Look for your change by nightfall.” Her laughter filled the forest, coming from everywhere and nowhere atall.
Rolfe shivered, telling himself it was only the unexpected change of temperature he felt. The sky was darkening, though he refused to let himself dread thenight.
“Cheese,” he said to Mephistopheles. Although he spoke to the destrier, he knew his words were meant to reassure himself as much asany.
“The vision is clearly over,” he continued with a resolve he was far from feeling. “We are in the forest, just as we were before and, undoubtedly, just as we have been all along. It is not surprising in the least that I did not see this palace wall, for it is as white as the fallingsnow.”
Rolfe waved his hand, deliberately ignoring the fact that it had not been snowing earlier. “Perfectly logical,” he concluded. “We will seek the palfrey and continue our journey home. Perhaps Adalbert will be indulgent even though I have lost hisgift.”
Mephistopheles gave his knight a glance that might have been skeptical, had it come from a man instead of a beast. Then the horse’s gaze fell pointedly on the space behind Rolfe. Mephistopheles snorted and tossed his head, backing away from hisknight.
A curious tickling sensation made Rolfe dread what he might see. He turned and caught a glimpse of a silver-graytail.
Rolfe twisted, and the tail danced merrily out of sight as he turned in ever tighter circles, trying to get a better look atit.
He grabbed at it, his eyes widening in shock at the answering tug he felt. The tail trapped within his grip was long and quite firmly affixed to him. It was graced with thick silver hair that shaded to white at thetip.
Precisely like that of awolf.
Before he could utter another sound, Mephistopheles nickered awarning.
Rolfe swiveled to see the bottle rolling across the ground, seemingly of its own volition. Where had it come from? What would spill from its mouth now? More trouble, to be sure, but Rolfe could not see the corkanywhere.
He knew he should flee, but he could not tear his gaze away from the bottle. It rolled first this way and then the other, leaving a trail in the thickly falling snow. He was struck by the conviction that something was trying to get out ofit.
Where was thecork?
He had seized a fistful of snow, hoping to jam it into the vessel, when a voice spoke from its interior. He dropped the decanter insurprise.
“A curse upon this bottle! In all truth, one would think that to be free of her company would be blessing indeed, but no!This wretched bottle has to hamper my departure in a most uncomfortable way. Too many centuries waiting for rescue has a way of going to one’s hips, I suppose, buttruly...”
Rolfe’s eyes widened. Mephistopheles stamped his hooves when the feminine voicesqueaked.
“Oh! I never thought I had indulged that much. Certainly, she consumed twice what I did, if not more, but perhaps malice is better for the figure in the long run. Would that not be a sad statement on the world, if such were the case! I cannot imagine it, but certainly, it would appear to beso.”
It was anotherdjinn.
Rolfe had had enough of djinns and their interference for thisday.
