The Salamander Spell by E. D. Baker Read Free Book Online Page B

their pungent odor down to the girls. Chartreuse wrinkled her nose, but Grassina liked the smell and turned her face up with a sigh.
    “What are you waiting for?” said Chartreuse. “I don’t have time for this. Don’t you realize how late it is?”
    “Oh, I realize . . . ,” Grassina grumbled, reaching for the bucket, “since you keep reminding me.” Although she washed the first web by herself, she was afraid it would tear when she took it out. “Help me with this,” she said, glancing at Chartreuse.
    “Say please ,” her sister told her. “Princesses must never forget their manners.”
    “Please,” Grassina said through gritted teeth.
    “I don’t see why you can’t do it yourself,” Chartreuse said as she helped carry the dripping web to the windowsill. After they’d draped it over the ledge, she shook her hands to dry them, splattering her sister with droplets.
    “I’m sure you can handle it from here. It shouldn’t take you much longer, so I’ll be off to bed now.”
    “We’re supposed to do this together,” said Grassina.
    “We did. I have to go. I’m too tired to stay awake a minute longer.”
    “We’ve barely started . . . ,” Grassina began.
    “Good night, Grassina,” Chartreuse said pointedly as she closed the door behind her.
    Grassina reached into the pail for another web. The vinegar was cold and stung the little cuts she hadn’t known she had, but she handled the webs as carefully as she could. It was very late when she realized that only a few remained in the pail. Even so, the castle wasn’t completely silent. The sound of the guards making their rounds on the battlements carried through the still night air. The yowling of cats in the courtyard seemed extra loud and made Grassina feel edgy. She was relieved when a hound broke up the catfight.
    When she’d laid out the last web to dry, Grassina tumbled into bed and fell asleep instantly. It seemed only a few minutes had passed before she woke to a voice screeching in her ear, “Get out of bed, you lazy lump!” Startled out of a deep sleep, Grassina lurched bolt upright with her heart trying to thud its way out of her chest.
    Olivene stabbed her collarbone with one long, crooked finger. “It’s almost dawn. Why are you lying around when you have work to do? I need you to find me a toad with seven warts.”
    “Can’t I sleep a little longer?” Grassina asked, rubbing her eyes. “I was up most of the night washing the spiders’ webs.”
    “No, you can’t sleep! I need that toad now if I’m going to get my potion to work. Your sister is already on her way to her next chore. Why can’t you be more like her? Get up and get busy!” Olivene waved her hand, using magic to tilt Grassina’s bed so that it stood on end, dumping the girl and all her bedding onto the floor.
    “Ow!” Grassina exclaimed. Untangling herself from her blankets, she glared at her mother. “You didn’t have to do that! I was going to get up.”
    Olivene cackled and rubbed her knobby hands together. “I know! That’s why it was so much fun.” Turning to leave, she stomped out the open door, stopping only long enough to say, “Make your bed before you go anywhere. This room is a pigsty! Say, that gives me an idea—” Olivene pointed her finger at her daughter, but before she could do anything, Grassina had scrambled off the floor and slammed the door in her mother’s face. The sound of hysterical laughter faded as Olivene walked away.
    Grassina looked at her upended bed and bit her lip. It had been five days since her mother had become this awful creature, and every one of them had been terrible. Fortunately, Grassina had learned a lot since then, such as what she could and couldn’t do around the queen. She knew better than to show fear in her mother’s presence or to let her see that she was upset. It had surprised her to learn that standing up for herself was her best defense because it seemed to amuse her mother instead of making