"yes, that one was created for the sole purpose of helping her forget about charlie's kidnapping and staged death by the stiltskin. she needs to keep some of the grimm memories so she can do her duty in protecting her children, but she doesn't need to hold on to the worrisome ones."

"so now you're playing god and getting to choose what memories my own mother gets to keep. you're getting as bad as teague," mina argued.

"now that's a little harsh. we're doing what we need to do to protect ourselves."

"well, i want you to create more of these protection charms."

"they do nothing against physical attacks. they are only strong enough to protect the mind."

"exactly. right now, my mind is my greatest weapon, and i need my friends' minds too."

constance closed her eyes and sighed loudly. "i'll see what i can do about getting the guild to allow a protection charm for your friends."

mina nodded. at least mrs. colbert was going to try instead of saying no. "oh, um, there's one more thing."

"what is it?"

"this morning, my brother was playing with items in a suitcase, and i swear he disappeared right before my eyes for a split second. does this have anything to do with what happened to him on the fae plane? i have to admit, i thought maybe it was something he touched but i'm not sure. can you ask around as see if there are any after-affects to staying over on the fae plane for too long?"

constance looked worried and pulled out her cell phone. "i'll have the guild look into it. we will try and find you answers."

"thank you." mina felt relieved. hopefully, she was wrong about her brother and what she saw. maybe she could write it off as her being overly stressed and plagued by nightmares.

chapter 4

once she was home, mina began tearing the house apart, looking for the dagger. in desperation, she pulled all of the old books off the bookshelf and felt along the back for hidden compartments. nothing.

seeing teague had been no fluke. he would certainly be sending a quest after her and soon. especially if she didn't find the item he was asking for.

life was so unfair.

the rain that started this afternoon at school still hadn't let up, and now and again lightning lit up the sky followed by thunder. the pelting of water on the roof and windows was unnerving, especially when she was all alone.

leaving the piles and piles of books on the floor in the library, she turned her attention to the walls and picture frames. wasn't that how it was in the movies? pull on a sconce and a hidden room opened up? or a safe appeared behind some old portrait of an aged, overweight smiling millionaire? of course it couldn't be that easy either.

mina wasn't worried about the mess upsetting her mother or charlie since they had gone out to see the new animated disney movie. she'd politely excused herself with a ruse of a headache and too much homework. that was partially true. she did have lots of homework-sort of. if you counted that it took work to tear their home apart.

she glanced at the clock and counted down the minutes in her head before her mom and brother came home. it took twenty minutes to get to the theater, wait in line, order popcorn, fifteen minutes of previews, an hour and a half movie, and the return trip. she'd been banking on two and half hours, and she was down to an hour and a half left.

mina was underneath the study desk when a loud knock at the front door startled her, causing her to bump her head on the bottom of the desk. funny, she hadn't heard a car pull up. and no one other than nan came to visit her old creepy house. crawling out from underneath, she grabbed a fireplace poker and slid to the window, being careful to not pull the curtain too far. nothing. the library window didn't give a clear view of the front porch without her leaning farther out. she heard gravel crunch and ducked back behind the safety of the dark drapes, right as someone else pressed their face to the same window and looked in to the room.

mina gasped, her heart pounding, and debated her options. she could open the door screaming like a banshee, and chase the intruder away with the fire poker. or she could cower on the floor and call the police. her imagination running wild, she didn't stop to think whether she'd locked the front door. and then she couldn't remember. she kept low and crawled to the door of the library. just on the other side were the foyer and the front door. four more steps and she could turn the deadbolt. she was about to make a run for the lock when she heard it.

the loud squeak of the rusty hinges from the screen door. usually, she complained about the annoying noise.

all alone in this house, that simple sound was terrifying.

her heart thumped loudly, and all she could do was plead in her mind. no no no. don't try the door. it's locked. nobody's home.

but all her inner dialogue did nothing to persuade her visitor. too late. the old metal knob jangled and turned.

utter silence followed as the well-oiled inner door pushed open.

frozen, she had to make a completely illogical decision.

attack!

chapter 5

mina rushed around the wall, poker raised above her head in the most intimidating pose she could muster. she closed her eyes and swung at the dark figure invading her foyer-there was a whoosh of air followed by a gasp and a thud on the floor.

still in a state of panic, she opened her eyes. nix lay sprawled out on the ground and staring up at her, his hands protecting his red head from being decapitated. a pair of shocked green eyes greeted her.

when he recognized her expression, his turned amused. "honey, i'm home," nix quipped, mimicking one of the old tv reruns he'd been obsessed with lately.

"nix, what in the world are you doing sneaking into my house?" mina said, still brandishing the poker over her shoulder like a baseball bat.

"careful, lucy, i've brought company." nix said still lying on the floor. he gestured with his laughing eyes to the doorway.

mina looked up in confusion to see brody filling out the doorframe very well. he appeared entertained at the situation and the fire poker in her hand. she let out a small gasp and dropped the poker.

a soft thud and a yelp told her she dropped it on nix's foot.

"serves you right," she muttered under her breath. "for breaking and entering."

"i didn't break anything. you, on the other hand, could've broken my head if i hadn't ducked. besides, i knocked. you didn't answer," nix whined, as he sat up and nursed his injured leg.

"that's because nobody's home."

"of course you're home. i saw you walk by the window."

"maybe i didn't want company, did you think of that?" she mumbled between clenched teeth.

"why wouldn't you want company? now that's just dumb. no one likes being alone."

mina sighed loudly in frustration. nix still didn't understand human etiquette. since nixies didn't have doors on their underground caves, they were used to just letting themselves into each other's dwellings. and since nix only one of his friends and family that hadn't disappeared or turned into an evil sea witch, being alone was a terrible thought.

"well, i happen to like being alone," she answered.

"being alone isn't good for the soul. it's not healthy. i should know."