The Grimm Chronicles, Vol.1 (35 page)

“That would cost me millions every year. It’s impossible.”

“How much did you make from Edward’s foreclosure?” I asked.

He shrugged. “Well, the man
was
a prince in another lifetime. So a fair amount. Of course, I had to hire a special crew to dispose of those awful skeletons in his basement.” A smile crept across his lips. “Your ex-boyfriend was quite sick.”

I ignored the jab. “Well … what if you kept the spoils of the Corrupted I kill? I bet there are more with fortunes and riches, like Edward.”

Sam’s face loosened up. He stroked his short beard. “Ah, now that … is a fair deal. I have but one condition.”

“No.”

“Alice, this is how negotiations work.”

I rolled my eyes. “Fine. What is it?”

“If I find any Corrupted who possess a sizeable fortune …
you
must kill them for me.”

“I’ll
make an effort
,” I offered. “I’m still in high school, after all.”

Sam tucked his hands in the pockets of his pants, nodding to himself. “Still in school, eh? You do realize you’re the
hero
.”

“I also realize that my knowledge is the only thing that’s kept me alive so far.”

He grunted. “You
did
manage to kill all of Flick’s favorite assassins …” He paced in front of the desk, glancing once at Briar and Seth. “Anything else?”

“No more subliminal ads in that stupid Castle Cats game or anywhere else.”

“Fine. Wonderful.” Sam threw his arms in the air. “Allelujia! I was nearly run over just the other day by some careless teenager more interested in playing on his phone than driving. I’ll be more than happy to sell off our software division now that Gilbert is gone. You have a deal. Now get out.”

I exhaled, feeling a rush of nervous energy escape my body. I followed Seth and Briar to the door. What had I done? Had I really made a deal with a Corrupted? Before I closed the door, I turned back. Sam had returned to his seat at his desk. He was staring at me. Examining me, no doubt.

Calculating.

Chapter 11

“Hey!” Seth called out.

I re-shelved the philosophy book in its proper place and hurried over to the library’s reading table, where Seth was buried in mounds of books on weapons.

“You
have
to whisper!” I hissed. “Got it?”

Seth held up the book he was reading. “See this?”

“Yes. It’s a sword.”

“No, no, no … it’s a
gladius
. A short sword the Romans used to wield in battle. It’s lightweight but durable, and it’s easier to swing than a longer sword. It would work perfectly if you ever find yourself caught in a cramped place again.”

“Like a server room,” I mumbled, staring at the sword’s design. It had a beautiful look to it … “beautiful” this sense mostly meaning “deadly,” I guess.

Beside Seth, a page in a history book turned on its own. Seth looked at it, shaking his head. “Man, I can’t believe there’s a giant rabbit sitting next to me.
And
he’s invisible right now because he’s self-conscious about
reappearing
on accident.”

“Believe it,” I said, “and be quiet about it.” Briar had told Seth everything, and Seth had accepted it all pretty easily, probably because he’d already seen so much.

I wish I could have said the same about my parents’ reaction to my new hair. You would have thought I’d cut off an ear or something. And of course, being about as pooped as I’d ever been in my life, I left my fake glasses on when I walked into the house that evening. I swear, my mom was on the verge of calling an asylum to have me committed.

After seeing the grim reaper … maybe my mom was on to something.

“Ms. Goodenough,” came a harsh whisper.

I turned in time to see Fran making her way between the Military History and Biography shelves, her long polka-dot dress flowing with each step. It was wrinkled, as if she’d packed it away in a box, then pulled it out a week later and simply put it on. Rather not like the old Fran.

But maybe this was the new Fran. The Fran who had just a few less worries. The Fran who I’d seen just a day ago having coffee with Mary down at the café by the grocery store.

“I’m almost done, Fran,” I said. “My friend sidetracked me.”

She gave him a quick nod, clutching a small package wrapped in brown paper tightly. “Before I forget, Alice, I was hoping I could convince you to help me with a few boxes next weekend. It turns out …” She smiled, then stuffed it away to resume her stern expression. “It turns out I won’t be moving after all.”

“Had a change of heart, ma’am?”

“Yes,” she said. “I do believe I’ll stick with that old house after all.”

“It does have a wonderful library.”

“It does. Which reminds me … this is for you.”

“For me?” I grabbed the package. The brown paper was tied in twine. “What is it?”

“Just open it carefully,” Fran said.

I untied the twine, then carefully unwrapped the package.
Grimms’ Fairy Tales
. My heart raced. It was still wrapped in plastic. “Thank you so much!”

“Keep your voice down,” Fran said. “And you’re welcome. And do be careful with it. And please ensure all of the Young Adult books are put away before closing time.” She nodded to Seth. “Good day, young man.”

“Yeah,” Seth murmured. He’d become engrossed in his book of swords once again.

We were alone once again. Beside Seth, an invisible paw flipped to a fresh page.

“So what’s next?” Seth asked.

I smiled. And I had a feeling my furry friend was doing the same.

“It’s not a matter of
what
is next,” I said. “It’s a matter of
who
is next.” I thought of Sam Grayle, sitting at his desk in his tower overlooking the city. Untouchable. Protected. Calculating.

“OK, so
who
is next?” Seth asked.

I sighed, seeing Grayle’s horrible smile and cold, gray eyes in my mind. “Unfortunately, I don’t think we get to decide.”

Click here to buy The Grimm Chronicles, Vol. 2!

An Interview with the Creators!

Where did you come up with the idea for this series?

Ken was tinkering around with the idea of a hero somehow being chosen to rid the world of monsters. Classic stuff, really! But in his original idea, he had a young man fighting demons. But there was nothing original in all of that, and this was right around the time a lot of Young Adult novels started becoming bestsellers. Specifically, Young Adult novels with female protagonists who really weren’t all that tough or smart. So we wanted to change that.

Why was it important for you to create a strong female protagonist?

Because Young Adult readers need one! It’s important. And it was especially important for us to show Alice using her brain to solve the problems that arise. Just because Alice is smart and enjoys reading doesn’t mean she can’t kick some butt, too. Yes, we’re fond of pointing that out. Because there’s a lot of butt-kicking to come.

What’s the hardest part about writing this series?

The deadlines! And the final draft. That’s when a lot of pieces start to come together. Then, when you think you’re done, you get another idea and you have to decide if you should put it in the book or just let it go. The problem is you always have another idea for the story … it’s never-ending! At some point, you have to just stop and say, “No. This book is finished, darn it.”

Why did you include Br’er Rabbit as a sidekick?

Ken is a big fan of the Br’er Rabbit stories. In elementary school, he had a teacher who read all of the stories in class and even had the students come up with their own stories, too. It was fun. Br’er Rabbit is a fantastic trickster who borrows a little from Native-American culture, but his origins are in the African-American culture. And Br’er Rabbit is a character who uses his wits to overcome adversity.

We wanted Alice to have a sidekick, too. This is important because Alice needs someone to explain to her what the heck is going on!

What are your favorite Young Adult books?

We’re fans of the classics. The
Ramona
series is great, and so is just about anything by Roald Dahl. Also, we enjoy comics … especially
Generation X
.

How does the writing process work?

Ken usually writes the first draft. Then Isabella makes it good.

What are your plans for the remainder of the series?

Well, there are 9 books left to go. The next three books are going to deal with Alice in her senior year of high school. The following three books are going to be about a fencing tournament in Europe (along with an epic battle with a very cool Corrupted!). The last three books are a surprise, but they’re going to be intense!

How do you find characters for the books?

We’ve read and re-read
Grimms’ Fairy Tales
. From there, it’s just a matter of finding certain characters who might be a good fit for the storyline. The best way to approach the stories is to simply let your imagination take a hold of you. What would this particular character in
Grimms’ Fairy Tales
be like if he was living in the modern world? How would he change in an evil sort of way?

Who’s your favorite Corrupted character so far?

Sam Grayle, without a doubt. He’s one of the few Corrupted so far who hasn’t turned into a total monster … at least not the kind that feasts on humans. But Sam Grayle is
totally
evil. In the story of Snow-White, he was one of the dwarfs who spent his time in the gold mine. And when his story ended … well, he just wanted to get back to all that gold.

So now greed drives him. It’s become an incredible force that he bases his entire life around. And he loves being alive. He doesn’t want to die. He’s gone so far as to plan ahead to make sure he never does die … and that makes him scarier. Alice isn’t the first hero he’s been face-to-face with. And he’s still alive.

Sam was mentioned in “The Lost Diary of Grace Cohen.” Why did you decide to include that?

Because, first off, we wanted to make sure readers buying the paperback edition get their money’s worth. But we also wanted to start fleshing out the history of the hero. There are a lot of great stories to tell. Grace’s was fun because she lived during the Great Depression. She was fearless. And that wasn’t necessarily a good thing.

We’ll do more with each of the volumes. This definitely isn’t the last time a “lost” diary is found!

What’s the promotion process like?

Lots and lots of pointing and clicking. We’ve contacted hundreds of book bloggers, sending out emails and offering free review copies. We’ve had tremendous feedback, too. And we try to make a point of continuously thanking the book bloggers who work with us. They’re great, and they’re doing a great thing. We can’t stress that enough.