Page 293 of Naughty Nelle

She hisses. “Actually, I missed my big opportunity a long time ago. I should have finished you before I attempted to off that other imp.”

Other imp?Then it hits me. That snake I encountered in the forest on my way to giving Snow White the poison apple.

“It was you in the tree?” I gasp.

She laughs wickedly. “Such fond memories.” Her tongue flickers. “Too bad you don’t have a big red juicy apple now. It would make such a nice dessert.”

Her grip tightens. I can’t move a muscle. Her cackling laughter echoes across the room as she crushes me with her powerful body. Oh the pain! As I fight for my life, other memories reel around in my head, before connecting like pieces of a puzzle:

The snake that spooked The Prince’s horse the night of the duel…

The scary good-night story Marcella told Calla about the snake that ate children…

The snake that mute dwarf tossed off the cliff…Marcella caked with mud…

The rustling sound outside Gallant’s studio and the intruder the previous night…

The Fairytale Tattler story about the rare venom that put Snow White into her deep sleep…

The deadly snake that ultimately killed the fair Princess in her garden…

How could I have not seen it until now? My mother is a cold-blooded murderer. She killed Snow White. And now, she’s going to kill me!

That’s it! Whatever it takes, whatever the consequences, it’s time for her to come face-to-face with her evil self. Rolling side to side, I manage to wiggle one of my hands free from her grip of death. I tear Shrink’s locket off my neck and snap it open.

“Look at yourself!” I shout.

I shove the tiny mirror into her monstrous face. Shocked by her reflection, she jerks away.

“Look what you’ve done to me!” she shrieks. Flailing madly, she loosens her grip around me.

“And look what you’ve done to me!” With both hands now free, I rip open what remains of my gown and expose a lifetime of scars, each a souvenir of her loathing. If she’s going to kill me, she’s going to face the truth. All of it!

“No, Mother, it’s time for you to say good-bye to me.”

At last able to free myself completely, I leap to my feet. With all the muscle-power I have left, I stab one of my killer heels deep into her head, smack between her wicked eyes. A volcanic burst of venom spurts out and spatters me. She lets out a deafening scream. Nothing stops me. I dig my heel into her again and again and again until I’ve made hole as big as the one she’s left in my heart.

“Jane, you naughty girl,” she hisses hoarsely. “It’s time for another whipping.”

Without warning, her thick tail whips around and whacks me with a force so great it sends me crashing to the floor. My head cracks against the cold marble as Shrink’s locket goes flying out of my hand.

I can’t move. I’m paralyzed. Unable to blink an eye, I look up at my mother’s viperous, split-open head hovering two inches above me. A repulsive mixture of venom and slime spews out of her puncture onto my face. She glowers at me with her wretched, jaundiced eyes, then flicks her evil tongue across the tip of my nose. Terror fills every crevice of my being.

“Say good-bye, Jane. It’s such a shame we didn’t get to know each other better.”

As my mother’s deadly fangs sink into my skin, an explosion rocks me. There’s a flash of white light…Then blackness.

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