Read Online Unlocking the Spell by E. D. Baker - Free Book Online Page B

are as careful as they should be, but they won’t shoot me when they see my red cape.”
    â€œI see,” Liam said, and Annie had to grin.
    â€œWhy are you smiling?” demanded Gwendolyn, falling into step beside Annie. “Beldegard probably won’t join us as long as that girl is here. He’s gotten very sensitive about people’s reactions to him ever since those men chased him off. Why are we going with the girl anyway? Beldegard knows how to find the Dark Forest. We really don’t need her help.”
    â€œI know,” said Annie. “But there’s no real harm if we’re going in the same direction. I’m sure Beldegard will be able to find us. So tell me, what do you think of Gloria’s cape? I noticed that we couldn’t see her face very well when she had her hood up.”
    Gwendolyn glanced at the girl and shrugged. “I guess so.”
    â€œIt might even be more concealing than mud or bandages,” Annie continued.
    â€œWhat are you talking about?” asked Gwendolyn. “I don’t… Oh! I see what you mean. Do you suppose she would sell it to me? It is small, though.”
    Annie shrugged. “It wouldn’t hurt to ask. Although Iwas hoping we could ask her granny to make you one. The color red does draw attention. Maybe a more subtle color would be better.”
    Gwendolyn’s expression brightened. “Pink, perhaps!”
    â€œOr brown.”
    â€œOr fuchsia!”
    â€œThis is not going to be easy,” Annie muttered to herself.

    They had walked only a short distance farther when the oaks, maples, and elms gave way to fir trees growing in ragged rows. The trees grew taller as they continued on, casting deep shadows beneath their branches. Annie loved the smell of the needles and took a deep breath even as she noticed how dark it had become.
    â€œI guess this is the Dark Forest,” said Gwendolyn.
    Annie nodded. “That’s a good name for it. I wonder where—”
    â€œHere we are!” Gloria sang out as they reached the edge of a small clearing. Swinging the basket from her arm, she skipped ahead to rap on the wooden door of a sweet little cottage with ivy climbing its sturdy stone walls. A cat peeked at them from among the ferns growing at the corner of the cottage while another strode past, its tail in the air. “Granny, it’s me!” the girl called.
    A curtain twitched aside and a face peered out for an instant before the curtain fell back in place.
    â€œYou’re not going in, are you?” Gwendolyn asked Annie. “Because if you are, I think I’ll stay out here and wait for Beldegard.”
    Little Red Riding Hood had raised her hand to knock again when a creaky voice called out, “Come in, dearie!”
    Annie glanced at Liam as the girl opened the door and stepped inside. “Did you see that?” Annie asked him.
    â€œI sure did,” said Liam. “Either that girl has the ugliest granny I’ve ever seen, or something isn’t right here.”
    â€œWhat? Did I miss something?” asked Gwendolyn. “Do you hear magic, Annie?”
    Annie shook her head. “It’s not that,” she said, and followed Liam into the cottage.
    â€œShut the door, dearie,” said a creaky voice. “The bright light hurts my eyes.”
    Little Red Riding Hood brushed past Annie to shut the door, leaving them all in the near dark. Annie had taken only a few steps into the room when she tripped over something and fell against Liam. He grabbed her arm and held her until she had her feet under her, but even then something bumped into her legs and made her stagger.
    As her eyes grew used to the dim light filtering through the closed curtains, Annie saw that the cottage was just one room. A large bed filled the center of the room and in the bed lay a figure in a nightgownand ruffled cap. Little Red Riding Hood was already standing by the end of the bed,