The darkness was worse after that. The sconces lining the hall might as well have gone out for all Mimi could see. She leaned against Jacob, her heart pounding.
"Well," he finally replied. "I guess that means we should get back to work."
Indeed it did, she thought miserably.
Jacob did not put her down. She was grateful for that. She just wanted to be next to him, not waddling around on the floor. Somehow being held made her feel less like a stupid goose.
She had forgotten how big the castle was. Growing up it had merely been a place of exploration and home—size didn't matter. Now it was practically endless.
At last they found the right room—or at least a room glowing with light at the bottom. Of course this put them in the rather awkward position of having to open the door to whatever danger could possibly be behind it. Jacob took a deep breath, squeezed Mimi tighter, and opened the door.
It was a smallish room, one Mimi was sure had once been used simply for storage. Indeed, it still looked that way. Shelves filled with jars lined the walls.
Lavender stood in the center of the room, smiling at Jacob and Mimi. She wore a simple purple robe and her hair was down. Picture-perfect innocence and beauty except for her smile. She had been waiting for them.
"I'm getting careless," she said with a laugh. The stupid girlish laugh. "Careless and naïve. My silly goose of a stepdaughter managed to escape me and so has my handsome young guest."
Jacob set Mimi down and pulled a knife from his bag. A kitchen knife. Of course. What else would he have packed from the kitchen?
"Oh, please," Lavender said with a roll of her eyes. "I'm not going to kill you. I'm not the type. Killing is so messy and does so very little. So you managed to escape the prisons, Jacob. Interesting. I've never really gone down there, so I guess I'm just going to have to learn those locks better. Unless Mimi decided to do something." She looked down at Mimi with amusement.
"My father taught me a few things," Mimi said.
"I'm sure he did. He's not in here, by the way. I figured he would be the first one you would come looking for. And the little boy. He's not here, either. But he did make himself very useful. Children usually do. As you would know, Jacob."
Jacob's face paled.
"Yes, I know who you are and I am sure you know who I am." Lavender strolled over to the shelves to examine the jars. They were full of leaves, seeds, and flowers. "It's good to see you again. You're less furry than the last time I saw you. I left a few candles lit. I figured you would come to a room with light. Weatherbold and the boy are in the darkness. Can't afford to be wasting candles."
"What did you do with him?" Jacob demanded. He still held the knife.
She pulled a jar from the shelf. Ordinary in appearance, it was still the biggest of the bunch. It did not contain anything that looked like a plant. More like… light. Just light. She opened the lid and sniffed the contents. "Same thing I do to everyone. You know, Jacob, you're welcome to leave. I've already used you twice—though those insults you hurled at me certainly did earn you the second use. Right now I'm perfect, I have a great supply thanks to the boy, and I don't hold any grudge against you. So while I love this happy reunion fate as brought us, you're welcome to leave. I no longer keep squirrels as servants."
"What's in that jar?" Mimi asked.
"Magic, obviously." She put the jar back. "You're welcome to leave as well, Mimi. However, before you leave, answer me one question."
Mimi had no intention of leaving.
"He knows what you are. How?"
Lavender still didn't know she had missed a seed.
"I guess your victims recognize each other," Mimi replied.
"That's not it." Lavender began to pace the room.
And still Jacob stood there like an idiot with a knife.
"I gave you the seeds. Force-fed them. You swallowed them. Unless…" Lavender held up a hand, and the door swung close behind Jacob. "I dropped one. Could I have been so clumsy? I've changed my mind, Mimi. You're not leaving."
Jacob quickly scooped up Mimi. "Don't you touch her!"
"She's my stepdaughter!" Lavender marched over. "What are you going to do with a goose? Give her to me."
"I have a knife."
"You're a cook, not a killer." She laughed.
Then the knife sprang forward into her arm.
With a shriek she leapt back, blood already spraying.
Jacob twisted open the door and ran out into the hall. "She knew all the recipes, but she never set foot in that kitchen," he muttered as he ran. "She trusts too much in her magic and potions."
Mimi still couldn't believe he had cut Lavender.
Mimi heard herself calling for the invisible servant. She had no idea how long it took for one to come, or if there were more around, or even if any invisible servants could hear her as she spouted out the command she should have given in the first place: "Open all the doors. All of the doors but where she is. Lock her in!" Lavender had sent the servants away. Hopefully they would never obey her.
And it happened. One by one the doors opened. Jacob, amazed, slowed down and looked at her.
"Unlock any cages," she commanded. "I don't care if she has spells on them. Break the spells if you can."
The castle halls echoed with the sounds of doors. All doors. Cupboard doors, windows. Cage doors. The sound was like music, and Mimi laughed. What did a goosey laugh sound like to Jacob? She would have to ask him.
Somewhere through it all was the sound of Lavender screaming in fury.
"Lock her in," Mimi said again. "This is not her castle. This is my father's. Obey me. I'm my father's daughter. Do not obey her."
"Mimi!" came a voice so wonderful to hear. Dear, dear Blake. The squirrel bounded up, seeming equally amazed with the chorus of doors.
And right behind him, looking very terrified, was a guinea pig. Abe.