Free Fable: An Unfortunate Fairy Tale Book 3 by Chanda Hahn

promise you, if you want to scream, then do so.
But I think you will be extremely interested in what I have to
offer.”
    Mina hesitated when she saw that he held the
bat and slowly took off a gloved hand and touched it, turning the
aluminum bat into gold. She swallowed and then faced the stranger.
So far he hadn’t made an attempt to harm her, and it wouldn’t hurt
her to at least listen.
    “ Okay, what is it that you
want?” she asked hesitantly.
    “ I want you to procure an
item for me. That is all. Say you will get this item for me, and I
will give you all of this,” he motioned to the golden bat, “and
more.” He reached toward her shoulder; even his fingernails were
long and golden.
    Mina flinched, but he reached past her into
the opened locker to withdraw a single expensive sandal that she
recognized as belonging to Savannah. As soon as his hand touched
the sandal, it immediately turned to gold. He smiled crookedly when
he saw her eyes widen, and dropped the sandal into her hands. Mina
immediately tossed the shoe back into the locker.
    “ The Midas touch?” she
asked.
    He frowned at her. “No, more like the family
trait. So you see, you can be rich beyond your wildest dreams. Rich
enough to impress your young human and maybe even steal him back
from your best friend.”
    “ How do you know about
that? How could you possibly—”
    “ I make it my business to
know these things. So, what do you say? Procure the item for me,
and I’ll make you rich.”
    Mina looked at the gold sandal and bat, and
back at the man. Every inch of her knew better than to make a deal
with the Fae, no matter what the cost.
    “ No, there’s no amount of
money in the world that would make me enter into a bargain with
you.” She tried to step around him, but he held out his arm,
blocking her.
    “ Wait! Everyone has their
price, and no one says no to me.” He frowned at her.
    “ Well, I just did say
no.”
    “ That’s only because you
haven’t heard my other offer.” Temple took off his hat and brushed imaginary dust
off it.
    “ It wouldn’t matter,
because the answer is still no. You have nothing I want,” Mina
said.
    “ Ah, and that’s where I
beg to differ. I do have something you want. I make sure to always
have something someone wants.” He placed the hat back on his
head.
    “ Are you deaf? Because I
just said no.” She placed her hands on her hips and raised her
chin.
    “ What about your brother
Charlie? Such a quiet boy, but charming all the same. He misses
you, I can tell.”
    Mina came alive with anger. “What do you
mean, Charlie? He died in the fire!”
    “ Come now, you can’t
really believe that!” He touched his hat and fingered the golden
feather. “I sent my servant to retrieve the boy for me and destroy
your home. Now he is mine. I will trade him to you for the item I
want you to procure, and nothing more. His life for my item. It’s
fair—what do you say?”
    Mina stared at Temple in horror. “You did
this? You planned this from the beginning, stealing my brother to
make sure I couldn’t say no! What kind of monster are you? It’s
been weeks. Why now? You could be lying. Why didn’t you come to me
that night?”
    “ Because you’ve been
surrounded by Fae. What’s a few weeks in the life of an eternal
Fae? I’m patient. I’ve been waiting for hundreds of years—what’s a
few mere weeks? But if you fail, Charlie is mine
forever.”
    Tears of relief started to trail down Mina’s
cheeks. “What is it I have to do?”
    “ A favor, one itsy-bitsy,
teeny-weenie favor. A piece of cake for a Grimm.” His smile was so
sweet it was sickening.
    “ What is it?” Mina said,
her heart dropping into her stomach, since she already had an
idea.
    “ You have a wonderful
book. The Grimoire—its power is unmatched…except for one other
book. Its twin. I want that book.”
    “ Impossible,” she blurted
out quickly.
    Temple’s expression started to get angry,
but then he was able to calm