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Pushing back the edges of the portal like a curtain, Ashley stepped through into the room, one foot at a time, and continued to hold the seam open with her arms behind her like wings. Her eyes watered from the acrid air—so cold it seared her lungs—the ghostly vapor of her exhalations hovering in front of her face.

"What an exciting new smell you've unearthed, Princess,"* Derek grumbled. "Bat guano mixed with despair, nightmares, and poor ventilation."

"It's not only the smell that's horrible. Look at this place," Sadira whispered.

The cold gloom called for whispers, like empty churches and crowded graveyards.

A dozen sleeping children lay on mats in the middle of the room, while wooden shelves, sagging beneath the weight of hundreds of glass jars, lined the walls. In one corner stood a wood-burning stove, the charred remains of a fire disintegrating into ash, and in the middle, a wooden table laden with empty bottles and stained with what looked like blood. The walls pulsed with dull, eerie light—like the moon behind a passing swath of storm clouds.

"Standard lunatic magician lab," Derek said, eyes following a giant spider as it scuttled across a web that stretched the length of the room. "What? I got credit hours assisting a lunatic magician in college. It was either that or "The History of Coal." Which would you have chosen?"

"Maybe we can open a window," Sadira suggested, holding her nose.

"There don't appear to be any windows or doors," Kai said in an eerie, doomy voice.

"Of course not," Derek spat. "Yet another crime against architecture. Probably trolls again. How are they getting so much work?"

Tressa wrinkled her nose. "Why would anyone keep a bat colony in a laboratory?"

"Have you never read a gothic novel?" Derek forced a laugh. "Lemme see: fresh body parts for potions? Ambiance? Drama? Affinity for paranormal clichés?"

"Very funny," Tressa said.

"Look, Ashley, are you going to stand there like an angel statue, or are you going to come inside and do some actual angeling?" Derek griped.

"I'd love to, but remember when Druscilla first showed up in the garden, the portal closed as soon as she walked through? I can't risk letting go, especially if there's no other way out of this room. We'll need it to return to the garden with the children and make our escape. And it's not easy work. My arm muscles are burning."

"I'd take over," Derek said, all chivalrous-like, "but I have Derek Junior."

"I'll take him for you," Layyin said, batting her eyelashes.

Derek looked hopefully at Sadira, Tressa, and Kai, but got no other volunteers. He turned toward Layyin, who extracted the dragon from Derek's grip and tickled the baby's blue belly. Steam blew out of his glistening red nose. Derek wagged his index finger at her. "Do not turn him to your thrill-seeking ways."

"I would never," she said prettily, her tone subdued, for Layyin anyway.

Derek took Ashley's place at the portal, and she rested a hand on his arm. "Thank you, Derek. I appreciate this. But any sign of Druscilla let the portal close, and we'll figure another way out."

"Sure. With no visible exits," Derek said. "We'll either die of asphyxiation or survive long enough to die when Marveloni returns. Either way, we die."

"Maybe there's a secret trapdoor to a dungeon of unimaginable horrors," Layyin said brightly.

"As opposed to this magician's lair of mirth?" Tressa said, pushing aside a curtain of cobwebs.

Finally free from her post, Ashley traversed the stone floor as if in a trance, making her way to the children. They looked to range in age from about seven to twelve, dressed in rags, gaunt, and still as the dead. Their faces were pale, dark circles beneath their eyes, translucent skin revealing a spiderweb of delicate veins beneath the surface.

Clear tubes ran between their blue lips to glass bottles beside their mats, filling drop by drop with a pale liquid.

"What is all that?" Sadira said, pointing to the shelves.

Kai ran a finger down a line of bottles. "Some have red fluid and are labeled Sang de dragon, with a date and breed, and the others have clear liquid and are marked Essence d'enfant with a name."

"'Dragon blood' and 'Essence of child,'" Derek translated. "Marveloni's potions. He's harvesting the children's energy for his youth spell, and the dragon's blood for glamours."

Acid rose in Ashley's throat, and she covered her mouth to prevent the bile from escaping. She swallowed past a lump in her throat. "Oh, my god."

"Shhhh," Derek said. "You're scaring Derek Junior. Don't worry, son; we won't let the bad people anywhere near your veins. Can we please wake the ankle-biters and get out of here before anyone exsanguinates my child?"

Ashley didn't point out that Derek Junior couldn't understand English. Instead, she knelt beside a girl. Tears clouding her vision, Ashley placed a hand on the child's damp forehead. Despite being unconscious, with the impish curve of the girl's mouth and jumbled splay of freckles over her nose, Ashley could sense intelligence and cunning.

"Is she alive?" Sadira gulped.

"Barely. She's freezing and clammy." Ashley's knee knocked over the bottle next to the girl. She righted it and read the label—"Essence d'enfant – Hilda Mae." Why did that name sound familiar? Ashley nudged the girl's thin shoulder. She didn't so much as flinch. "Tressa, Kai, Sadira, see if you can wake the others," she said.

The princesses tried, but none of the children showed any sign of consciousness. "This can't be an ordinary sleep," Sadira said, voice warbling. "I recognize magical slumber from personal experience."

"Wasn't the cure for your ... uh ... magical slumber 'true love's kiss?'" Tressa said.

"I thought so," Sadira said. "But now we know, Charming isn't capable of true love unless it's for himself."

"Then how did you awaken from the cursed sleep?" Kai said.

"Not sure. Maybe Charming and Marveloni were behind the curse. Since we know they're hundreds of years old, it's possible Marveloni supplied the magic used by my stepmother, the evil queen, then got rid of her when she was no longer necessary. And if it was dark magic to begin with, it was probably magic that reversed it when the time was right."

"But why wait a hundred years?" Derek said. "Wouldn't Charming want your kingdom right away? You know, start pillaging the coffers as soon as possible? Add to his kingdom acquisition scorecard?"

"No idea."

"So, if we need magic to wake them, what do we do?" Tressa said.

Sadira brushed a lock of dark hair behind a boy's ear. "We'll have to rescue them asleep and figure out the waking up part later. Get them to safety."

"I know," Layyin said, "we toss them through the opening into the garden." Jaws dropped at this ludicrous suggestion. "Not toss. I meant to say push. Nudge? Carry super gently?"

"Even if we could somehow get them into the garden unbruised, you pain-loving lunatic, we'd be sitting ducks until they're all through, and Ashley invokes the magic word that takes us to the circle on the mountaintop," Derek said. "And then we have to hope we're not followed there. This means the first chance we get, we have to destroy the circle by wiping away the runes beneath the snow. The runes are what makes the circle work."

"Uh, how do you know about magical circles, Derek?" Tressa said.

Derek rolled his eyes. "Assistant to lunatic magician. Pay attention, woman. Now back to Layyin and her crazy idea about tossing children."

"Okay, sorry, sorry," Layyin said. "I got overly excited. But it will work. We'll move as fast as we can to get the kids out of here. And once we're back on the mountain, we call Ruth, climb aboard with the children, and boom, rescue/escape plan complete."

"They're going to fly on dragonback while unconscious? " Ashley said. We cannot assure their safety."

Derek hung his head against his chest. "That's assuming Ruth is still alive, rest her soul."

"Derek!" everyone chided in unison.

"Maybe the cold on the mountain will be enough to wake them. And if not, we could fashion rope from Tressa's hair, and tie them on," Layyin suggested.

"Except Ashley ruined my scissors, remember?" Derek muttered.

"We could pull Tressa's magical hair out by the roots," Layyin proposed, tossing out bad ideas with the enthusiasm of an overcaffeinated juggler.

"No!" Tressa said. "No one is touching my hair. And there's not enough yet for ropes. It'd only be a lot of pain for nothing."

"Your loss," Layyin said. "But wait. We do have access to other magic. Junior's fire! Maybe we could try blasting through the sleeping curse that way."

Derek huffed. "His name is Derek Junior, and remember, we're leaving him out of this."

Layyin pouted. "Not a lot of fire, just enough to wake the kids. Like reveille, but warmer and without a bugle."

"How about something less potentially-damaging? Like we try removing the tubes?" Ashley suggested.

"Sure, if you want to do it the easy way," Layyin said.

Ashley shook her head but held her tongue. Ranting at Layyin about how nothing was ever easy would accomplish nothing. Instead, Ashely gripped the clear tube between her thumb and forefinger and, holding her breath, slipped it gently from the girl's mouth. Hilda Mae, please wake up. Please wake up.

Hilda Mae slept.

Nothing. Was. Ever. Easy.

"Now what?" Tressa said.

"Sorry to say, I agree with Layyin," Derek said. "Time to relocate the children into the garden. Even my hunky, toned, muscular man arms are growing weary. I can't hold the portal open much longer. I'm starting to sweat, which is not at all princely. Could someone rip this godawful purple cape off my shoulders?"

Cape. The cape! Ashley remembered where she heard the name.

The daughter of the man in the forest.

Hilda Mae!

She found Mercer's daughter.

With profound joy and relief, her heart expanded in her chest, pressed against her lungs, and sent a rush of blood to her toes and fingertips. "Oh, Hilda Mae, we found you at last," she said. "Please wake up." For the eight-millionth time, Ashley lamented her lack of magical ability.

Stupid magic—the most formidable of adversaries.

She preferred battling non-supernatural foes like trolls, mountains, avalanches, and a thousand years of the patriarchy.

Battling magic with nothing but your wits, fists, and friends was like showing up at a sword fight with nothing but a toothpick and a dream.

Where could she find an emergency magic source?

She surveyed the room hoping to find an abandoned wand or enchanted scroll or even a jeweled urn with a validation-seeking genie inside, but all she saw was bottles and more bottles.

Wait!

Bottles.

Of magical potions!

"Oh, my gosh," Ashley said, smacking herself on the head. "The answer has been right in front of us the whole time."

"What? What is the obvious answer?" Kai said.

She held up Hilda Mae's jar of Essence d'enfant. "We give them back their essence."

"That's a brilliant idea," Derek said. "Do it quickly. Arms, remember?"

"Derek, are you saying that because you're desperate and will try anything at this point, or did you just compliment me?" Ashley said.

"Don't let it go to your head. It won't happen again."

"How do we know it won't hurt them?" Sadira said. "And what dose to give them?"

"We'll need a test subject," Derek said. "What? I dabble in scientific analysis in my spare time."

"I volunteer," Layyin said, bouncing on her toes, waves of enthusiasm radiating off her body. Or maybe that was Derek Junior laughing fire out of his nostrils.

Ashley imagined an energy-enhanced Princess Layyin, balancing on one foot atop a speeding unicorn, turning cartwheels in a patch of poison oak, performing emergency dentistry on an angry dragon, and shuddered.

"No. I'm the one who should do it." Before anyone could argue, Ashley selected a random jar from the thousands lining the shelves, unscrewed the lid, and tossed back the contents. It tasted like freshly laundered linens and sunrise. Like spring rain.

"Oh, my god," Derek said. "Do you have a death wish? You're supposed to try a small amount first. See whether your eyes roll back in your head and you keel over. Or turn blue. Or start burping locusts."

"Or frogs," Tressa teased.

Derek growled.

"So far, I'm fine," Ashley said. "I don't feel any different."

Layyin plucked another jar from a nearby shelf, unscrewed it, and chugged.

"What are you doing! It's too soon to know if there will be side-effects," Ashley said.

"Mmmmm," Layyin said. "Tell me how much time we have?"

"None," Derek piped up before Ashley could answer.

"Okay, then. Wow, who knew dark magic could taste so yummy? You'd think it would taste like mashed up flies mixed with stagnant swamp water. No offense Derek."

"Just stop with the amphibious references."

"I can't seem to," Layyin grinned.

"Oooooh," Layyin said.

"What?" Kai said.

"I feel ..." She turned a flip. Stood on her hands. Vaulted atop a shelf, bottles crashing. "I feel like I could climb a mountain without a rope. Somersaulted off said shelf. "Like I could fend off an angry dragon one-handed. Like I could balance a tree on the tip of my finger."

"The last one doesn't sound very useful," Tressa scoffed.

All of a sudden, Ashley's blood sizzled in her veins. Her brain pinged with energy. The room seemed brighter. Colors more vibrant. She heard the movement of the spider's eight legs as she traversed her web, the fluttering of the children's hearts.

"I think it's all right to give to the kids," she said. But not a whole bottle. We don't need to herd a dozen children who are literally bouncing off the walls."

The heroes went to work, removing the tubes and pouring liquid into the children's mouths. They began to rouse. Yawning, then sitting. They had done it! The children seemed relatively unharmed. Their eyes widened as they took in the strangers.

"Who are you?" said an older boy, eying the baby dragon with trepidation.

"My name is Princess Ashley, and my friends and I are here to rescue you. We'll explain everything later. Right now, we need to get you to safety. Does that sound good?"

"I'm hungry," said a small boy.

"We will see that you are feasting in no time. All right?"

"Okay."

"I want my daddy," said Hilda Mae.

"Mercer," Ashley said.

She looked up at Ashley with wide brown eyes. "Do you know him?"

"I do. And he can't wait to see you."

Hilda Mae smiled, then grimaced. "That bad magician and his bad daughter said we'd never see our families again."

"They were wrong," Ashley said.

"I don't want to see those bad magic people again."

"Me either," Ashley confided.

"I never want to come back here," said another girl.

Hilda Mae stood shakily, like a newborn foal testing its legs. She scrutinized the room, her mischievous gaze landing on Derek Junior. "Maybe no one ever has to."

"That would be great," Ashley said. "But how?"

"We destroy the place."

"It is horrible." Ashley agreed. "But, we don't have time to break thousands of bottles."

"But we have a dragon," Hilda Mae insisted.

"His name's Derek Junior. Do you want to pet him?" Layyin said.

"No petting the dragon," Derek scolded. "And can we speed up the destruction plans? My arms are going to fall off of my body."

"Really?" Hilda Mae said, looking more interested than horrified.

"No, it's only a figure of speech, honey," Sadira said.

"Awww. Well, okay, let's burn it down then," Hilda Mae said.

"Brilliant girl. I like the way you think," Derek said. "You might have a future in pyrotechnics."

Derek kept the portal open as Sadira, Kai, and Tressa helped the children through before joining them in the garden. "Okay, everyone back up," he said. "Layyin, you should get out."

"But this is the good part," she whined. Derek glared at her, and she placed Derek Junior on the floor.

"Ready to breathe some fire?" Ashley asked the dragon.

"It would be my pleasure," Derek Junior said. Odd first words for a baby, but they all can't start with mama or dada.

"Be careful, son," Derek said. "And fast."

"Okay, mama," said the dragon. Ashley gasped. Derek and Derek Junior understood one another. But how?

With no time to contemplate yet another stupid riddle, Ashley stuffed a few bottles of Essence d'enfant into her bodice. Though it was kind of disgusting to be drinking the essence of children, she did feel amazing after drinking it, and they needed all the help they could get. "Sorry, Miss Spider, but we're going to be blowing up this lab. Would you like to check out the garden?"

"I've always wanted to travel," the spider said. "Thanks."

Ashley picked up the spider and shouted, "Okay, Derek Junior. Now!"

The little dragon flew along the shelves, lighting them aflame. Once the fire caught, Ashley directed him out of the portal, then leaped through after. Derek followed on her heels. Right before the seam healed, they heard the satisfying sound of exploding glass.

At that exact moment, a tornado blew into the garden. Druscilla! She stumbled out of the whirlwind and fell to the ground. Her skin blazed an angry red, her mouth twisted in fury. She wore a new gown—this one made of blue dragonskin. "Where are my potions?" she screamed. "You will all die!"

"Honey, you need to put some foundation on that face," Derek said. "You'll scare an orc looking like that!"

Ashley shook her head and cried, "Teleportini," praying the circle magic would work.

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