Trixter (11 page)

Trix tried to dodge past the monk and escape from the secret room as he finished the rambling elucidation, but the Brother caught him. Trix fought with his new body and his new strength—he was a far more formidable foe than he’d ever been. Even still, the bigger and stronger Brother got the best of him in the end. The monk forced Trix’s hands to his sides, but not before Trix threw out an elbow and knocked back his hood.

For a moment, they both froze.

“Ja—?”

There was a hand over Trix’s mouth again before the word could fully escape. The smattering of light through the tapestry holes revealed dark blond hair and ice blue eyes. He was the spitting image of Papa and Saturday in form
and
face…this could be no other than Jack Woodcutter. Myth. Legend. Eldest of the Woodcutter siblings and supposedly long since dead and gone.

This
was
a day for surprises.

Jack lowered his hand. Trix stared at his brother in silence. He grinned a little, despite the grim circumstances in which he found himself. “Sunday was right.”

Jack’s half-smile mirrored his own. “I look forward to meeting her. Someday.”

“Someday?” asked Trix. “But why not now? If you’re here, and you’re alive, and you know where we are, then why don’t you come home? You can’t abandon us again now. You have to help us find a way to help Mama.”

“I just…it’s…” Jack closed his eyes and pursed his lips in thought. “Auntie Rose was wrong,” he said finally, seemingly apropos of nothing.

Luckily, context had never been a problem for Trix. Important things usually revealed themselves sooner or later. “Wrong about what?” he asked.

“The decision of every adventurer,” said Jack. “The most important one is not based on risk. Every adventurer accepts risk. That’s what makes us adventurous to begin with.”

Trix might not have believed this coming from anyone else, but if there was a body who knew about adventures, it was Jack Woodcutter. “Then what is it?”

“The most important decision of every adventurer is which path to take, and which to leave behind.”

Of course, Jack was right. Trix hated him a little for that.

Five minutes ago, he’d had plans for his future. If he was going to throw those plans out the window, he owed it to himself—to Lizinia—to be sure. Trix’s mind raced. He could stay here and help his sister and brother, or he could leave Thursday and Jack in Rose Red’s care and set out on Tesera’s quest. Perhaps, on their travels, Trix and Lizinia might even find the cure for Sorrow’s sleeping spell. Trix did have a tendency to be lucky in that way. Stranger things had happened.

“I need to find Lizinia,” said Trix. “We have to go.”

Jack nodded. “I’ll have packs waiting for you here in the entranceway. Do you know which direction to travel?”

Trix recalled what Rose Red had told them in her sitting room. “North and east, to the Lands of Immortality.”

Jack clapped Trix on the shoulder. “Good man.”

“Thank you.” And because he wasn’t sure when he would ever again have the chance, Trix threw himself into his brother’s arms. “I love you, Jack. We all love you. Please stay alive.”

Jack’s strong arms squeezed him as tightly as Papa’s. “You too, little brother. You too.”

As soon as Trix broke away from the embrace he hit the door at a run, leaving his legendary brother and his cakes far behind. He kept on running, until he found Lizinia in the gardens.

“Come on, Goldilocks!” Trix called. “It’s time to go!”

Lizinia had either forgotten her previous stance on nicknames or forgiven him immediately, for she shot back with, “Right behind you, Scapegrace.”

“Good one,” he said.

“I asked the acolytes,” she admitted.

“Cheater!” Her eyes widened at that, and he took her hand. “But I forgive you. We have plenty of time to think up more on the road.”

She squeezed his fingers with her own. “Then let’s get to it, shall we? Adventure awaits!”

T
rix’s adventures
started back in 2012—the fall after
Enchanted
’s release. I had just turned in the first draft of
Hero
and was playing around with
Trixter
in the “free time” I had while I awaited that first painful round of revisions. Per my editor’s request, the character of Trix had been almost completely written out of the novel. Not a small feat, when one considers that the whole impetus for Saturday’s journey was chasing after Trix when he ran away from home…

I had an inkling of all the trouble Trix got himself into while Saturday was imprisoned in the White Mountains, but how was I supposed to tell that story? The Woodcutter Sisters books were meant to be just that: one book about each
sister
, leaving no room for Trix.

But…we love Trix!

In 2014, two fortuitous things happened: Harcourt decided not to extend a contract for more Woodcutter Sisters books, and my best friend Casey read that partial draft of
Trixter
.

The moment the publisher declined our pitch for books 4-7, I was released from my “option clause,” meaning that I now had the freedom to do whatever I wanted with the series (including MAKING THE ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AS LONG AS I WANT). This is the point where most writers would give up on a world they’ve spent a lifetime creating and move onto other things.

Luckily for Woodcutter fans, I am not like most writers.

I have eaten, slept, and breathed fairy tales since I was a small child. I may have secured a bachelor’s degree in science, but I never strayed from my folklorish roots. Authors are told to write what we know. What I know are fairy tales.

Which brings us to Casey, my best friend from seventh grade and my very first writing partner. We composed epic fantasy novels together, and poetry, and many short stories about princesses. I went on to make a career out of princess stories. Casey went on to become Associate Professor of English at Winthrop University. One of her most popular classes? Fairy tales and folklore.
Enchanted
is required reading.

So I sent
Trixter
to Casey, this half-draft sort-of idea for a (story? novella? novel?) about Trix. She got back to me with detailed comments. Apparently, what I’d thought was the first half of a story was really a beginning and end with no middle. Trix had to
suffer
. There had to be
obstacles
, and those obstacles needed to be overcome. A phone call transpired, involving a certain amount of enthusiastic brainstorming.

I will always remember that moment of Grand Epiphany when I realized Casey should be My Editor. (The clouds parted and angels sang and everything!) It just made so much
sense
, and you know how I feel about things making sense.

And so my first acknowledgement must go out to my beloved Casey Cothran, without whom Trix might never have had an adventure at all.

Huge thanks as well to my dear parents—the real Mama and Papa Woodcutter—Marcy and George Kontis, without whom I might never have survived the escape of a bad situation and the rebuilding of the beautiful life I have now in Florida. This princess loves you to the edge of the Milky Way and beyond!

I would also like to thank the rest of the team who worked to put this book in your hot little hands: my phenomenally talented cover artist Rachel Marks and my new best friend, copyeditor Kat Tipton. Gratitude must be extended as well to my advisors and mentors during this transition: J. T. Ellison, Mary B. Rodgers, Anthea Sharp, Leanna Renee Hieber, Stephen Segal, Jude Deveraux, and Roxanne St. Claire.

I must throw buckets of love and glitter to my street team, otherwise known as Princess Alethea’s Brute Squad. Never would I have imagined that such a magical community of smart, helpful, fun, and funny people would be brought together because of something I created. From proofreading and cover copy creation to making memes and assisting on book tour, these folks have done EVERYTHING…up to and including a neverending supply of virtual hugs and constantly picking me up when I’m feeling low.

Princess Alethea’s Brute Squad
: Courtney Ballard, Paula and Mark Beauchamp, Dee Bitner, Samantha Bitner, Tracy Blackwell, John and Michelle Bowen, Ann Bridges, Rebekah Brown, Shondra Bush, Laura Carrubba, Krystn Cedzidlo, Margaret Coin, Jean-Louis Couturier, Kat Crouch, Krys Doty, Jacquelyne Drainville, Bethany Dunlap, Sarah Elmore, Ben English, Christa Ermer, Mindy Evans, Amy French, Danielle Greer, Ashley Gustafson, Melinda Hamby, Sarah Harvey, Beth Henkel, Cherokee Hensley, Annie Jackson, Lillie James, Carolina Johnson, Jennifer Kelley, Linwood Knight, Bev Kodak, Nessa Kreyling, Liz Mangold, Jeanne Martin, Robin McClure, Kitti McConnell, Fredrica Mitchell, Todd Muldrew, Matina Newsome, Jenney O’Callaghan, Mandy Poitras, Aaron and Angela Pound, Michelle Ristuccia, Bronwyn Roos, Shannan Rosa, Melissa Royer, Marie Sherman, Christina Shirley, Dee Sixx, Crystal Smalling, Megan Stone, Dee Sunday, Jacque Sue-Ping, Amanda Thompson, Bonnie Wagner, and Leighanna Walsh.

Last but not least, a million thanks to my Fairy Godagent Deborah Warren, for believing in me and sticking by my side when I propose six impossible things before breakfast…and then proceeded to accomplish every single one.

I love you all like family. But I suspect you already know that.

N
ew York Times
and
USA Today
bestselling author Alethea Kontis is a princess, a fairy godmother, and a geek. She’s known for screwing up the alphabet, scolding vampire hunters, and
ranting about fairy tales on YouTube.

Her published works include:
The Wonderland Alphabet
(with Janet K. Lee),
Diary of a Mad Scientist Garden Gnome
(with Janet K. Lee), the AlphaOops series (with Bob Kolar), the Books of Arilland fairy tale series, and
The Dark-Hunter Companion
(with Sherrilyn Kenyon). Her short fiction, essays, and poetry have appeared in a myriad of anthologies and magazines.

Alethea’s debut YA fairy tale novel
Enchanted
won the Gelett Burgess Children’s Book Award in 2012 and the Garden State Teen Book Award in 2015.
Enchanted
was nominated for the Audie Award in 2013, and was selected for World Book Night in 2014. Both
Enchanted
and its sequel,
Hero
, were nominated for the Andre Norton Award.

Born in Burlington, Vermont, Alethea currently lives and writes on the Space Coast of Florida. She makes the best baklava you’ve ever tasted and sleeps with a teddy bear named Charlie. You can find Princess Alethea on all the social media and her website:
www.aletheakontis.com
. For up-to-date information on all future books, performances, and appearances, be sure to
subscribe to Alethea’s newsletter
.

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• @aletheakontis
  
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