Spell Breaker

by J. A. Culican

  “You say it so easily.” It was easier to talk to him like this, each on our backs across the room from each other, without any eye contact to make things awkward.

  “One step at a time. We’ll get there.” He stretched then yawned, bringing his hands behind his head. He made rest look easy.

  I turned on my side, feeling more comfortable around him. “What if there’s no key?”

  “Then we make other plans.”

  How could he be so calm? I couldn’t stop thinking about Widow. When I closed my eyes, she was there. I could still smell her foul breath, the brush of her hair on my face.

  “You going to be okay?” He interrupted my thoughts, his voice so quiet I could hardly hear him.

  “I don’t know.”

  “You’re not doing this alone. Remember that.”

  I dreamwalked alone. But in all the other ways that counted, he was right. They were all willing to follow me into danger without much debate. I couldn’t have found a more dedicated group of friends to help me. But my guilt for putting them in harm's way and keeping back details to spare them the truth still plagued me.

  He sat up unexpectedly and walked over to my cot, extending his hand for me to take. I hesitated, then looked at him for the first time in days. How I’d missed him. How I wished I knew for certain he was one of the good guys.

  “Do you trust me? I mean, really trust me? Go with your instincts.” He extended his hand further.

  “Yes.” I took his hand without hesitation.

  He pulled me to my feet and as we stood together, almost touching, it seemed like he would lean in and kiss me. He stared at me, his dark eyes intense, then let go of my hand. “Come with me.”

  He opened the door and left the cabin as I caught my breath. What would happen if I followed? For a moment, the same loop of fear and uncertainty tried to pull me in, but I just didn’t give a damn.

  I ran after him.

  Chapter 16

  We raced through the small towns and villages along the way to the coast, dropping coins for the poor and finding healers. We gave them the recipe to cure those bitten by Widow and her spiders, and it felt good to see how happy people were to have our help.

  I needed rest, but I couldn't turn down Beru’s offer to help me with the poor.

  "Thank you." A woman and her children fell to their knees to pick up the coins he threw to the ground.

  "Share with the others. We’ll bring more when we can." He held on to the horse’s reins and nodded to the rest of us. "Time to switch out our horses. These ones need a break."

  "We aren't far from the next village."

  Sade took the lead, and we veered off the road onto a path that led into the woods. The next village was larger, so we were able to book a few rooms at a local inn. Hopefully, we’d all be able to have a decent rest for a change.

  Once I settled in, I laid down in my bed and dreamwalked into the local treasury. Stealing from the rich was becoming second nature. It was easy once I’d seen how they treated those they considered lesser, and once I’d realized they had made their wealth from the sweat of others.

  I’d never stolen from a treasury before. It wasn’t someone’s home, but a secure building where people worked. I hadn’t wanted to stick out so, before dreamwalking, I’d looked for a reason why I’d be at the treasury.

  At supper, we’d gotten enough information from the inn patrons I’d decided to pretend I was one of the government officials’ daughters. When I arrived, I was led inside and brought to the bench to wait for him. As soon as the woman who’d greeted me left, I got up and continued down the hallway to where Astor had seen the vault.

  At the end of the hall was a room with four men inside. They were sitting at a table discussing village affairs until they saw me.

  One of the men turned to me with a surprised expression. “Can I help you?”

  “Yes, I'm waiting for someone, but I needed a washroom.” I looked down, hoping they thought I was shy, but really, I was trying to obscure my face.

  Another man answered, sarcasm dripping from his voice. “It's down the hall to your left. The door has a large sign that says ‘washroom’.”

  I nodded several times without looking up, closing the door firmly behind me. I wasn’t sure how I was going to get in the vault without notice. Weighing my options, I walked down the hall to get a better sense of the layout. I came upon a kitchen with three women eating lunch at a large table.

  “You know something's going on between the two of them.” One of the women leaned in but didn't bother to whisper.

  “I heard his secretary even knows,” another woman added, raising her eyebrows.

  I turned to leave, but one of the women called out to me. “Are you lost or something, dearie?” She stood up and came toward me.

  “I'm just looking for the bathroom. I thought it was this way.” I pointed down the hallway.

  “Now, wait a minute. I know you from somewhere.” The lady walked over to me with narrowed eyes, looking me over from top to toe.

  “Umm, I don't think so. I'm not from around here.” I tried to leave, but another woman chimed in.

  “You look familiar to me, too.” She pointed her finger at my face, waving it around in a circle.

  “I've never been here. I have one of those faces, I guess.” I was getting worried now.

  They’d all gotten a good look and I didn’t think they’d forget me.

  Now what did I do?

  “No, I always recognize a face when I’ve seen one. I've definitely seen you around, but I can't place where.” She cocked her head, slowly turning it as she squinted at me.

  “I know!” The other lady exclaimed, hopping up and down lightly. “You're the one that's been stealing from the rich and giving to the poor.” She laughed, looking proud she’d figured it out.

  “I … I…” I stuttered, unsure how I was going to talk my way out of this one.

  “There's a picture of you at the front, and another one down at the bank. You're quite well-known around these parts.”

  “I see.”

  I glanced around for an escape route and wondered if I’d be able to get to the bathroom in time to lock it and dreamwalk back to my room at the inn. I hoped the others hadn't been seen around town. If they had a picture of me, there may be pictures of them as well.

  “Oh, don't worry. We won't turn you in. Are you here to steal from us too?” She seemed thrilled at the prospect.

  “We can help you if you are. We think it's fantastic what you’re doing.” The lone woman left at the table came to join the others, looking just as eager as the others.

  I stared at them as they looked at me with an unexpected willingness to help. Before I even had a chance to gather my thoughts, they began to plan.

  “We can use the second vault,” the oldest woman said.

  “No one is ever down there. And that's the oldest coin, so least likely to be missed,” another interjected.

  I followed along in amazement as they arranged practically everything for how to hand the coin over to us. Perhaps this would be the easiest heist I had ever done. They led me down to the basement and I waited as they shifted boxes around to find the entrance to the vault they’d decided on.

  “Oh, rats. It’s locked.” One of the women tried to pry it open.

  “Let me.” I grabbed a metal bar and jabbed it into the door, but it didn't budge. The vault door was cast in iron.

  “Somebody must have the key.” One of them looked toward the other two.

  The oldest of the three pulled out a ring full of keys. “It might be one of these.”

  “If we do use a key, you must promise to tell people I forced you to open it.” I didn't want them to be implicated. Not only would they lose their jobs, but if caught they’d also face losing their places in the community.

  “Ohhh! Now that’s an exciting tale to tell the grandchildren!” The youngest woman giggled.

  The older woman began working systematicall
y, attempting each key on the ring while the rest of us waited. Footsteps sounded above and my stomach rolled at the thought of someone discovering us. After what felt like forever, the door popped open.

  “I got it!”

  Once the vault was open, all three helped me load up the coins in the sacks I’d brought along. I thanked them and turned to make my way to the bathroom, intending to dreamwalk back to my bedroom at the inn.

  “Wait!” One of the women called out after me. “Could you tie us up? It would make for an excellent story.”

  All three of them were looking at me, excitement at the prospect of being able to say they’d been held up making their eyes sparkle.

  I paused, not wanting to spend the time tying them up just for the sake of a story, but they had helped me. Not to mention it would serve as protection and verification of their innocence if anyone doubted them. Reluctantly, I complied.

  I began to wrap them loosely, but they begged for me to tie them tighter. When I tied them to the center pole, they were nearly giddy with delight. Placing my finger to my lips, I left.

  Making my way up the stairs to the bathroom, my sole purpose now was to get to my friends and out of the town before anyone else recognized us.

  Beru was the only one awake when I returned. I told him about the posters, and he agreed it was better to gather supplies for our trip now and leave as soon as we were restocked. If they were looking for us, a group would be more conspicuous than two people.

  We stopped first at a local livery and bartered for four horses, then gathered enough supplies to last four weeks. Villages wouldn’t be as plentiful as we neared our destination. If we were lucky, it would be enough to get us to the coast.

  “Thank you. I'll take some of those too.” I pointed at a pile of horseshoes. It would be best to take some along in case we needed to re-shoe the horses.

  “You be careful out there. Those spiders are getting closer,” the man at the counter said.

  “It’s pretty frightening what’s happening. It seems like they’re everywhere these days.” I wanted to know what he’d heard.

  Everywhere we’d gone, people were talking about nothing but the spider attacks. In the last week or so, however, we hadn’t arrived anywhere they’d had a firsthand experience with Widow.

  We continued to leave coin along with the recipe for the paste with healers anyway.

  I hoped she had tired of the game or we’d managed to lose her.

  “Yes, we’d never heard of spiders attacking before just recently. By the sounds of it though, it might not be long until they’re here.” He packed our new supplies into sacks, handing them to Beru with a smile.

  The merchant’s wife came out of the back room with freshly baked loaves of bread and grabbed another sack. “Please take these as well, as a gift for your kindness to the village.”

  “Oh, I couldn't.” I waved my hands at her. We wanted to give to the poor, not take from them, even if it would be useful.

  She pushed the bag closer, so I took it, bowing my head in thanks as we departed.

  I was suspicious, based on her actions, the villagers did know who we were. At least it appeared they weren’t going to turn us in right away. Not wanting to chance our luck, we filled the carriage with the supplies and returned to the inn.

  Once there, we woke everyone, packed our things, and headed out. I looked at the inn regretfully. So much for a good night’s sleep for me. Dawn was well underway by the time we reached the edge of town, and people were just beginning to go about their work days.

  We each dropped a handful of coins behind us, smiling when shouts of excitement and joy followed us.

  As I rode through the forest, I was overwhelmed by the feeling of being summoned. Against my will, I dreamwalked to the white room where I’d first met with Runa. It didn't matter I tried to resist, because she was powerful enough to pull me into the dream meeting without my permission.

  I turned to find her sitting on a golden throne. It was the only piece of furniture in the room, so I stood before her like a peasant.

  “Where have you been?” She glared down at me her arms crossed. Her disapproval was clear.

  “We have a plan. I've got things under control.”

  “Well, whatever plan you have, you’d better put it into action quickly. Prisoners have found the break, and several are missing.”

  Runa stood and walked over to the wall. As she lifted her hands and spread her fingers wide, a vision appeared of several ur’gels leaving through the rip.

  “Did they make it through the tunnel?” I knew even though they made it out of the rip, they still had to pass through the tunnel. It was unlikely they could have escaped, given what we had endured to get through the tunnel.

  Runa swiped her hands to the left, and the image changed. “Some ur’gels have escaped. We are unsure how many, but there are reports of attacks in the Oubliee Desert. We believe they are gathering people sympathetic to their cause and obtaining modern weapons.”

  I felt frozen as I watched the images play out across the wall. I hadn't thought the ur’gels would find their way out so soon. I’d hoped we’d have more time.

  “There's a key to the prison. The person who held it before has died, and we are on our way to find the new owner.”

  “Your time is up. These warriors have been in prison for over two hundred years. They’ve had more than enough opportunity to plan what they’d do if they escaped.”

  For the first time I wondered if our plan would even work. What if there wasn’t a key anymore? Had we wasted our time for nothing?

  Chapter 17

  We pushed through the night to make it to the coast. There was no time to steal from any more barons, governors, or treasuries. Widow would continue her path of destruction unfettered for now.

  Beru gazed at the water stretching out in front of us. “We’re here.”

  As difficult as our trip had been, I knew this would be the hardest part of the journey. To get to Bruhier, we still had to pass through the deadly waters of merfolk territory from which many ships never returned. It would be about a day's journey by water if we could find somebody willing to take us.

  “Where do we get a boat?” Sade jumped from her horse, looking invigorated now we’d reached our first goal.

  “We'll have to find a local to take us. We aren’t experienced enough sailors to navigate these waters alone, and even if we were, we’d need a navigator.” Beru dismounted his horse and gestured to a path by the water. “Wait here while I try to find someone.”

  “I've heard about the merfolk, but never expected to cross paths with one. They're said to be beautiful and enchanting, but not to be trusted.” Iri’s eyes scanned the water.

  “I'm not interested in making new friends. Hopefully, we’ll be able to cross without any more encounters.” I got down from my horse and found my flask. Taking a large gulp of water, I looked out over the ocean as apprehension filled me.

  We spent the next hour lying on the grass as we waited for Beru to return. The wind carried the scent of saltwater toward us and the grass was soft as I lay on it with closed eyes, thankful for the moment of peace.

  Astor plucked grass from the ground and made a small pile. “Do you think he’ll find someone willing to take us?”

  “He won't return until he does.” One thing I understood about Beru was if he said he was going to do something he would do it.

  Conversation lulled as everyone dozed under the hot early morning sun. But no matter how hard I tried I couldn’t sleep. Perhaps it was because I was worried about Beru, or maybe about the odds of Widow finding us.

  I rolled onto my side and watched as the others slept peacefully. As much as we needed to get across the water, I was pleased they could rest and rebuild their energy. We had no idea what we’d be facing once we reached Bruhier. I had only blinked for a moment when Beru’s voice jolted me awake.

  “Get ready!”

  “You found a boat?” Astor sat halfway
up.

  “She'll be coming into the cove soon. We can stable the horses by the docks and find new transportation once we're across.”

  Beru grabbed the reins of his horse, leading it down the hill past a large tree.

  “Will they be safe?” Iri hesitated to take his horse over to the same tree.

  “A local family will look after them while we’re gone. They’ll get paid half now, and the rest when we return and see the horses are still safe.”

  Beru held out his hand for Iri’s reins. He reluctantly passed them over, patting his horse on the flank and nodding in recognition of its service. Sade and Astor followed suit.

  “It looks like I made it to the party just in time.”

  We turned at the unforgettable sound of Widow's voice.

  She stood on the embankment alone.

  Then we heard the boat arriving on the water. The driver stopped, refusing to dock with the half-spider, half-woman standing near.

  “Don’t worry. She won't go in the water. She'll be too scared of the merfolk,” Beru promised, looking back at the boat in the water.

  Some of my fear was replaced by relief. Maybe I could find out why she was chasing us if we had an escape route.

  “A boat? Just where do you think you’re going, dreamwalker?” Her long legs tapped slowly down the hill toward us, the motion of the seven legs gave me the chills.

  “I'm getting away from you.” I raised my chin defiantly, hoping I could make it to the water faster than she could make it to me.

  She smiled, the cold amusement not reaching her eyes. “That much is clear. But where are you planning to go? You can’t get away from me. There's nowhere you can hide I won’t find you.”

  “I'm not telling you that. Besides, the only reason you're following me is you were told to.” I had to keep her talking so the others could make it to the boat. I locked eyes with Beru, and he shook his head. I could no longer deny our connect.

  “What makes you think I'm not doing exactly what I want? Terrorizing ignorant peasants warms my soul.” Widow stopped, her eyes zooming past me to the water. “Ah, what a great day for a sunken boat. Are you sure you’ve thought this through completely?”