Fable (An Unfortunate Fairy Tale #3)(23)

“So I see you’re not that fond of texting,” Mina said, after noticing that he hadn’t pulled out a cell phone, either.

“Nah, don’t see what the big deal is about those things.”

It was an odd choice of words, and Mina meant to ask him about it when the lights dimmed and the previews started, which ninety percent of them turned out to be commercials for Toyotas, Coca-Cola, and “please turn off your cell phone” warnings.

The movie finally began, and Mina had to squint when the 3D effects started. The red and blue lines made her dizzy, so she reached over and held out her hand to Reid expectantly.

He looked at the screen, completely baffled, and his face was scrunched up in disgust.

“Uh, the glasses,” Mina teased him.

“What?” He looked irritated.

“The 3D glasses they gave you when you bought the tickets.”

“Oh, those.” He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out two pairs of plastic glasses and handed one of them to Mina. He watched her put them on and mimicked her. “Ah, that’s better.” He smiled and settled in to watch the movie.

He sure was an odd one, she thought to herself, but quickly forgot as the first action scene filled the screen. A girl was running and being chased by a man through dark back alleys. The scene was very similar to her own life and made her feel slightly uncomfortable. Reid leaned forward and jumped when the action scene intensified. He seemed unprepared for the 3D effects. She reached forward to take a handful of popcorn, and he reluctantly moved the bucket closer to her.

Gee, maybe she’d spoken too soon about a good date. It seemed like as soon as they split from the group, he dropped the fa?ade. He was acting as if he was more interested in the movie than her. She should have expected that, and been prepared. If she were smart, she would have slipped a book in with her, which she had done in the past, and turned around in her seat and read by the light of the movie screen when the movie was something dumb.

Her eyes kept drifting to watch Brody and Nan. They weren’t holding hands, and neither one of them were leaning into each other. Oh, wait. Nan just jumped, and Brody put his arm around her shoulders. She watched as Nan leaned in and whispered something in his ear. Brody whispered something back, and when he turned he caught Mina’s stare. His smile faltered, and Mina felt the need to do something daring. She leaned in and snuggled into Reid’s shoulder. Reid looked surprised, but then he raised his arm and put it around her. Brody frowned and turned around.

After a while, she forgot about Reid, Brody, and even Jared as she became engrossed in the story unfolding before her. It was intense, about an orphaned young girl whose brother was kidnapped and held hostage. If she didn’t assassinate the President, then they would kill her brother.

Mina reached her hand into the almost empty popcorn tub and realized it was starting to taste odd—like pennies. She watched as Reid’s hand reached in and pulled out a few handfuls, and ate them without noticing the taste. She pulled the bucket out of his hands and looked into it. The popcorn had turned brown. He reached in for another handful, but she slapped his hand away.

“Don’t eat it. There’s something wrong with it.” She pulled out a piece and noticed that it had flecks of color swirling around the white. She crumbled the popcorn in her fingers, and it was filled with something hard. Like wire.

“There’s nothing wrong with it. It’s just how I like it.” Reid grabbed the bucket back from her and began eating it with a vengeance.

Mina stared at Reid. Really looked at him for the first time since she’d put on the 3D glasses. He looked different through the red and blue filter. The glasses made his copper hair seem to crackle in the light. His eyes even had a reflective glow in them. Then she saw his fingernails, and her heart caught in her throat. They were copper-colored. Not painted with nail polish, but really copper-colored. She’d seen only one other person with colored nails before…and he hadn’t been there to help her.

She whipped off the glasses, and he was back to looking very human again. It was another Fae glamour. A trick. The Fae had learned long ago to hide their true natures from the physical plane. Just to be sure, Mina put the glasses back on, and once again she could see Reid’s true form.

He turned his fiery eyes on her and smiled while he popped another copper-laced popcorn kernel in his mouth. She could hear the sound of metal crunching between his teeth.

“Ah, I see you’ve finally taken notice of me. Tonight is about to get so much more interesting.”

He reached toward Mina, and his hand crackled with electricity. A loud popping sound was heard as the movie film stopped reeling. The lights went out. As the theater plunged into total darkness, the screaming began.





Chapter 11





The popcorn bucket flew in the air as Mina stumbled backward onto the person sitting next to her and half flipped, half slid over the row into an empty seat in front of her. It was ultimate chaos. He had somehow killed the electricity. She was sure of it. But her main worry was getting as far away from him as she could.

People were screaming and heading toward the emergency exits, the way lit by safety lights on the floor, but even those began to flicker and die out. She crawled along the filthy floor and was able to slide under the bar for the handicapped seating.

A panicked moviegoer stepped on her hand, kicked her in the stomach, but she was afraid to show herself. She needed everyone to get out of the theater, and fast. This was not the place for a fight between a Grimm and a…what?