Part 7 (1/2)

aThe spell is written in Cursed Gibberish. Itas a magical language.a aAnd you can read it?a Apple asked, nodding and smiling, her eyes wide and glistening hopefully.

Raven shook her head. aIam a level-five sorceress. To understand Cursed Gibberish, you have to be level thirty-eight. The only sorceresses Iave ever met who are fluent in Cursed Gibberish are Baba Yaga anda”a Raven stopped.

aWell, Baba Yaga will never help us,a said Apple. aWhen she glares at me, itas like every hair on my head stands up and tries to run away.a aThereas a rule in dark sorcery anyway,a Raven muttered. aUpper-level knowledge canat be downshared, and Baba Yaga is a faculty member, so sheall definitely follow the rules. The headmaster would never let her anyway. Heas furious. I kind of wonder if heas punis.h.i.+ng Maddie in part to get back at me for Legacy Day.a aWait, you said sorceressesa”like, plural. Who else can read Cursed Gibberish?a aUmaa Raven said.

aOh!a Apple said.

For a moment, they were both silent.

aBut she does,a Raven whispered. aMy mother does speak Cursed Gibberish.a Apple tried to laugh. It sounded too much like one of Bo Peepas sheepas bleats. aThatas one of your jokes, right? One of your Iam-just-kidding-about-calling-up-my-evil-imprisoned-mother jokes? Ha! Raven, you are so funny.a Raven didnat laugh.

Apple swallowed. aThere must be someone else.a Raven hexted the Candy Witch. Her answer was slightly alarming.

CANDY: No, I donat speak Cursed Gibberish, but I ate someone once who did. Iam kidding! Or am I? COL!

Apple leaned over to look at Ravenas phone. aCOL?a she asked.

Raven groaned. aCackle out loud,a she said. aItas a witch thing.a Raven found The Official Registry of Witches, Sorceresses, Conjuring Goblins, and Hags on a back shelf. n.o.body else in all of Ever After had reached higher than level thirty-one.

She looked up at Apple, the purples of her eyes bright and serious but nervous, too. Apple s.h.i.+vered.

aSheas level thirty-eight?a asked Apple.

aSheas level forty-two, actually,a said Raven. aAnd she doesnat care about rules.a Apple s.h.i.+vered again and looked around the library, half expecting to see the specter of the Evil Queen there, leaning over them, her shadow like a creeping plague.

aWe need her help, Apple,a Raven said. aWe need to talk to her.a Apple groaned and covered her head with her arms.

aBut I need your help, too, Apple. Youare smart. Honestly, youare the smartest person I know.a Apple slumped down in the chair in a very un-Apple-like posture. She felt as useless as a chewed-up core. aI donat know so much. I mean, I knew that you should sign on Legacy Day, but you didnat, and nothing I did or said made anything better.a aI like having friends who only tell me the truth,a said Raven. aCedar. Maddie. You. Iam glad youall tell me you think I royally messed up.a Apple laughed.

aThe best part is, even though thatas what you think, you still like me,a said Raven. aI think thatas, as you would say, fairy enchanting. I know we donat agree on some really important stuff, but we both agree that whatas happening to Maddie is unfair.a aThe unfairest,a Apple agreed.

aThis is something we can do. Something we can make better. But to reach my mother and get her help with the spell, we would have to, I donat know, hack the Mirror Network or something, and I havenat got the faintest idea how to do that. I need your help, Apple. Youare smart, you care about Maddie, and I trust you.a aIaa Hack into mirror prison? Talk to the Greatest Evil Ever After Has Ever After Known? The library suddenly felt freezing. Apple stood up and turned to a window, rubbing her arms with her hands. Outside, on the path to Book End, Apple could just make out Headmaster Grimm, with Maddie slowly, sadly hopping after him. So. Epically. Unfair.

Ever since Legacy Day, Apple hadnat been able to trust her gut. Right now, her gut was telling her to save Maddie. She hoped it was right.

aOkay,a Apple said, trying to sound braver than she felt. aLetas do this.a Raven stared at her. aWell, I did not know you were going to say that. A complete surprise. Like, shock of the century, no kidding.a And though she was so scared, her knees trembly and her jaw chittery, overall Apple felt hopeful, full of good, hot energy, as if shead made the right decision. At last, something she could do. A task fit for a queen.

She grabbed Ravenas hand. aCome on. I know just who we need to talk to.a aYou realize, Apple, that my mother is locked up in one of those Great Gla.s.s Prisons Headmaster Grimm mentioned, and the punishment for meddlinga”a aIs banishment, yes,a Apple said as they ran out of the library. aBut a leaderas most important job is to protect her subjects from harm. We need to stand up for those who canat stand up for themselves. And in this case, Iam standing up for destiny, too. Why, besides me, no oneas more pa.s.sionate about following her destiny than the Mad Hatteras daughter! Besides, Headmaster Grimm said it himselfa”sometimes itas okay to bend the rules. Hurry, we have Madeline Hatteras destiny to save.a APPLE LED RAVEN TO A DORM ROOM WITH a hand-lettered sign on the door identifying it as the home of DUMP-T STUDIOS. Raven knew Humphrey Dumpty was just the egghead for the hacking job, but she still hesitated outside the door.

aIall need you to translate the stuff he says,a Raven said.

aWhat, why?a said Apple. aHumphrey doesnat speak a foreign language.a aNot technically, but if you see me looking confusedaa The door was ajar, and they pushed it open wider to find Humphrey Dumpty in front of two table mirrors and a microphone wearing a gigantic pair of headphones over his round head. He turned, and immediately his eggsh.e.l.l-white face cracked a smile. He jumped to his tiny feet, teetering as if he was about to tip over. Raven and Apple put out their hands to steady him before he had a chance to fall and break into pieces. His legs were so thin Raven wondered how they ever held up his body.

aHey, Humphrey,a Apple said, letting go as he found his balance.

aCheck, Birdfruit,a he said. aWhatas on the swing?a Raven looked at Apple with her most sincere aThat is exactly what Iam talking abouta face.

aOops,a said Humphrey. aI, era sometimes get, I donat know, wordspun when Iam working on, uh, songs and stuff. I mean, hey, Apple; hey, Raven.a aRaven?a Dexter Charming stood up from a couch in the back of the room. He saw Raven and automatically tried to smooth down his brown hair. But as always, a vicious cowlick stuck it straight up in front. He adjusted his black-framed gla.s.ses and then put his hands in his pockets, as if trying to look casual. aOh, hey, Raven, Apple.a aSorry, I thought Humphrey was alone,a said Apple. aWe can come backa”a aItas okay,a Raven said. aWe can trust Dexter. Heas cool.a aI am?a said Dexter. He turned away as if he urgently needed to examine a shelf of mirror discs against the wall, but he clearly was just trying to hide a furious smile. Raven didnat think much about it.

aI have another quest for you, Humphrey,a said Apple. aOr a re-quest, anyway. We need to access a restricted place on the Mirror Network. Um, fairy, fairy restricted.a aWhoa. You need the locks taken off the network?a said Humphrey. aI couldnat do that without getting noticed.a aWhat if you made, you know, a kind of rabbit hole in the network?a Apple said.

aDig a tunnel, sure,a Dexter said, coming closer. aThat would get you through without actually blowing the locks.a aYeah, good idea, Apple!a Humphrey tapped on his MirrorPad and then each of the bigger table mirrors. aLet me just run a test to see if I can do this safely.a He tapped a few images on the left mirror, made some gestures on the right, and then spoke into the microphone in a whispered rhyme.

aOkay,a Humphrey said. aIave doppelgangeda”a aCopied,a Apple whispered to Raven.

aa”the encryption.a aThe locks,a Apple whispered.

Humphrey picked up his MirrorPad and gave it a few swipes. aNow Iam doing a test run on my own system doppelganger.a He began making gestures on his MirrorPad and occasionally singing at it.

Raven gave Apple a questioning look.

aThe oldest, deepest Mirror Network architecture responds better to rhymed voice control than typing or gesturing,a said Apple. aAncient fairytale stuff. You know, amirror, mirror on the wall, whoas the fairest of them all.a a aCrownas up, Humph, youave got company,a Dexter said.

The two table mirror screens had turned red, and it looked as if faces were forming out of the red smoky image. Humphrey started to chant as he typed rapid-fire commands on his MirrorPad.

Check it, D

youare locked in a wee sea of me nowhere to go so fade your glow and head below lest I show my sweet street beat that I call delete The faces faded.

aWhew! That nearly poached us, but Iam in,a said Humphrey.

aWhat was that?a Raven asked.

aA mirror daemon,a Dexter said. aSometimes the network locks are there to keep them in, not just to keep us out. But, dude, you killed that.a Dexter and Humphrey b.u.mped fists, complete with explosion.

aI must have inadvertently copied one to my local mirror when I doppelganged the security system,a said Humphrey. aLet me set up a secure path out of the schoolas fire-thrall protections from a single terminal, and Iall shunt control to a mirror in your dorm room. How are your rhyming skills?a aFairest,a said Apple.

aEr, rarest,a said Raven.

Dexter laughed. aThe key is to be threatening and rhyme fasta”like youare having a rap battle with the daemon. Iam just okay at it, but Humphrey is the king.a Humphrey shrugged away the compliment but glanced at Apple as if to make sure shead heard.

aRaven, you should totally lay down some tracks in Humphreyas studio,a said Dexter. aRavenas voice is amazing.a aNo, itas okay,a said Raven.

aYouare a singer? Girl, that is poison! Iam a music aficionado myself. Hereaa Humphrey tapped on his MirrorPhone. Both of the girlsa phones buzzed. aI sent you one of my demo tracks.a aOh,a said Raven. aThanks?a aNot to groove to,a he said, looking shyly down at his foot. aUnless you, I donat know, want to. But the track I sent is a warding beat. You play it as a loop near the mirror and itall discourage the daemons.a aThat is fairy enchanting,a Apple said. aRaven, did I tell you that Humphrey was a talented songsmith?a She hadnat.