Travels With a Fairytale Monster

by Elizabeth Gannon

  “We can go back the way we came…” Ryle suggested.

  “They know we’re here.” Ransom whispered warningly to her partner. “It’s too late.”

  “I’ll handle it.” Uriah assured Ransom softly, his voice filled with complete confidence. “Besides, why would we want to leave this lovely town when we’ve only just arrived?” He moved closer to his partner, subtly positioning himself between her and the spot where Dom had seen the campfire smoke. He’d done it so casually though, most people wouldn’t have even noticed the protective move. “Some subfuscous boulevards simply cry aloud for senseless butchery, don’t they?” He spun in a circle. “This gloomy little hamlet is just begging for someone to light a torch, assemble a mob and start chasing down some convenient victim.” He turned to point at Ransom with one outstretched finger. “Witch!” He cried playfully, as if warning the residents and trying to form a crowd of angry townspeople. “She’s a witch! She’ll put a hex on our village! Burn her!”

  She pushed him away, obviously trying not to laugh. “I’m serious.” She tilted her head to the side again. “I can hear them… whispering…”

  Dom rounded on him. “Can you please not announce our presence so loudly?”

  “Oh, they know we’re here already.” Uriah assured him, as if his partner’s earlier warning was the word of the gods and beyond all debate. “I make my living at this game, giant. Trust me. At this point, running will only make them attack us sooner.”

  “So, I guess we should just stop and have a tea party or something then.” Ryle rolled his eyes. “Personally, I think we should get out of here while we still can.”

  Taylor took an uneasy step towards Dom. “I’m inclined to agree with my brother.” She looked up at him. “Run.”

  Ryle didn’t need to be told twice, bolting down the road, taking a periodic glance over his shoulder to make certain they were still with him.

  “Have fun!” Uriah called after them. “We’ll just wait here and meet up with you again at the end of the fight. See you soon!” He turned to his partner, his voice casual. “I, for one, have never quite gotten used to the turgid and inexplicable banality of this kingdom. Frankly, I’m delighted to find a tiny corner of it with some real character.”

  When Dom, Taylor and The Brother reached the first cross street though, a flaming wagon was pushed in front of them, blocking their path. Men burst from the doors of the surrounding buildings, running into the street, intent on killing them.

  Dom swore, reaching out to grab Ryle and Taylor, pulling them from the path of an axe as a soldier dropped from a rooftop in front of them. The pair tumbled into the overgrown bushes as Dom caught the axe by its handle and decked the man. Hard. The soldier was knocked clean off his feet and through the door of a nearby shack.

  “Come on.” He grabbed Taylor’s hand, helping her to her feet and hustling her in front of him away from the half dozen soldiers barreling towards them. They made their way back down the street, towards the barn area.

  The soldiers continued their pursuit, and Dom braced himself in front of his mate, preparing to kill these lunatics.

  “So… how’d that plan work out for you?” Uriah asked innocently, absently examining a skull he’d picked up off the ground. “Did you enjoy your little tour of the town?”

  “Shut your mouth or I’ll kill you as soon as I’m done with them!” Dom snarled, pointing at the soldiers.

  Uriah heaved a weary sigh, obviously feeling mistreated. “Don’t they have manners in this land?” He wandered aloud. “When did people stop caring about propriety?”

  “About the same time they started the wholesale slaughtering?” Ransom suggested.

  “That would be a good guess, I suppose.” He admitted. “But personally, I’ve always felt that once you’ve decided to kill a man, it costs you nothing to be polite.”

  “I don’t understand…” Taylor shook her head. “What are they doing here!?! What do they want?”

  “I think they’re just here to pick over the bones of the kingdom, Tay.” Her brother offered, glancing around for a weapon. “I don’t think they have any larger political goals.”

  “Ah, larceny.” Uriah sighed dreamily, taking in the carnage around him like an artist admiring a fellow painter’s masterpiece. “My sweet mistress. Many a cold and lonely night have I found comfort in your felonious embrace.”

  Four more men appeared on horseback from their right.

  “Someone appears to be trying to capture our captives, Dove.” Uriah informed his partner, casually checking the ground for more bones as he apparently tried to reassemble the entire skeleton to pass the time.

  “There’s no honor in this business, anymore.” The girl commiserated sadly.

  “There’s not, there’s really not.” Uriah agreed, then his voice became more serious as he described the scene for her. “Four of them. Horses. One on the far right is obviously the leader. If something happens or we get separated, the second from the left is a coward. You can tell. If it comes to that… he’ll break if you push. His horse is the one with the bell on it.” He lowered his voice. “When this goes down, I’ll kill him first. Grab the horse. Go. I’ll be along shortly.” He brightened, his typical carefree tone returning. “But in the meantime, let me know if you see a tibia around here, will you?” He used the toe of his boot to nudge at the skeleton he was absently collecting one piece at a time. “It seems to be missing from my set.”

  “Well, this is certainly not what I expected to find today.” One of the soldiers said, dismounting his horse and making his way towards them. “Do you see this?”

  One of the other men nodded. “Yep.”

  “We’ve got ourselves a giant.” The first man called.

  “Actually, he’s an ogre.” Ryle corrected. “I’m told that it’s different.”

  “Is that so?” The soldier carefully began removing his gloves. “I did not know that.”

  “Usually, the only experience we have with giants is cleaning up the mess they make after they move through a city.” One of the other men added. “Ever seen that?”

  The first man spread his arms wide, gesturing to their surroundings. “You have now!”

  “Dom did not do this!” Taylor defended. “We’re just making our way to…”

  “Shut your bitch mouth!” The man snapped. “You don’t talk!”

  Dom’s temper exploded, causing him to make fists so tight his nails dug into his palms until they bled.

  NO ONE yelled at his mate!

  Uriah made a low whistling sound. “Oh, that’s not going to go over well.” He tipped his hat to the man and moved to shield Ransom again, gently hustling her back several steps. “Goodbye, officer.” He brightened. “Say… can I have your tibia?” He gestured to the pile of bones he was reassembling on the ground. “This comical fellow seems to be missing one.”

  The soldier frowned slightly in confusion. “What? I don’t…”

  Whatever he’d been about to say was cut off as Dom stomped him into the ground with one huge foot. The Pyra hit Dom like a brick wall, causing him to grow faster and hotter than he ever had before, and in seconds, he was looking down on the scene from high above it.

  The soldiers scattered in panic, trying to get away from him. One of them took off on his horse, but Dom kicked him out of the saddle, sending him through one side of the barn and out the other, while his horse continued on without him.

  Several of the men launched arrows at him, but he was far too hot for the little wooden sticks to reach him. Once upon a time, they might have posed him a problem, but ever since arriving on the docks of Taylor’s village, he had achieved the full Pyra now. The holy flames surrounded him, burning his skin but protecting him from his enemies.

  The pain was indescribable, which wouldn’t have normally been the case, but Taylor had decided to wait as long as possible to complete their mating. Had he fully mated with her, the Mountain would have protected him from the fire which now surrounded him
. Taylor would have protected him. He would be able to burn as bright as the sun without any repercussions. Sadly, since that wasn’t the case, the burns on his skin would be worse than ever.

  He was still in stage one of The Pyra, which meant that he was actually burning.

  But he was too angry to care at the moment.

  He was going to kill every one of them! He’d see them dead, even if it meant he’d burn to cinders right here!

  NO ONE TOUCHED HIS MATE!

  Three more soldiers darted inside one of the dilapidated houses, looking for shelter.

  He raised both of his fists high over his head and smashed them down on the roof, obliterating the structure and turning it into a pile of splinters. He repeated the process several more times, just to make sure the men were dead.

  Two men sprang from inside the barn, racing towards Taylor and The Brother from behind. He had expected her to either flee the town once the killing started or at least seek shelter, but instead she had remained where she was.

  His mate was too focused on the carnage to pay any attention to the danger descending on her. She stared up at him in fearful wonder.

  This would scare her.

  Show her he was a monster.

  But he couldn’t help that.

  Dom moved to close the distance between them, but he could see that he wouldn’t arrive in time.

  One of the men grabbed Taylor from behind, startling her from her momentary bewilderment at seeing him in battle. “Tell him to shrink back down!” The man cried in a panicked voice. “Now!”

  Dom’s temper flared hotter still, seeing another man’s hands on his mate.

  The sound of his blood roaring furiously through his veins and the sizzle of his own skin burning was all he could hear for a moment.

  He had never been so angry.

  And no human had ever been so dead as this man was about to be.

  The other man held a sword on Uriah, daring him to move. “You seem awfully calm for a man about to die, mister.” He observed.

  “A righteous man has nothing to fear.” Uriah assured him nonchalantly, holding out a snack he’d found somewhere. “Apple?”

  “Tell him to shrink!” The first soldier ordered again, holding a blade to Taylor’s throat. “I mean it!”

  “You guys are doing a real good job with this kidnapping.” Uriah praised sarcastically, taking a bite of his apple and then handing it to his partner. “We’re very impressed.”

  Ransom took a bite of his apple, looking concerned. “We in trouble, Uriah?” She asked around a mouthful of fruit.

  “I got it.” He assured her. “This is captain stuff. It’s all in hand, Dove.”

  “You’d better shrink down, giant!” The first soldier screamed again. “Unless you want me to…”

  The man’s words became a howl of pain as Taylor stomped her heel into the top of his foot, then slammed the back of her head into his nose. The man dropped Taylor as his face became a geyser of blood and he stumbled backwards, trying desperately to straighten the shattered cartilage.

  He never got the chance.

  Dom reached down and grabbed the man by the legs, then slammed him repeatedly into the side of the mountain until there was nothing left but a smear of blood.

  The second soldier moved to flee, but in his haste, he moved towards Ransom. Which was almost the worst thing he could have done.

  In one fluid motion, Uriah swung upward with the curved sickle blade of his Khopesh sword, neatly cutting the man’s hands off at the wrist before they could touch the woman. The man watched in horror and confusion as the severed appendages landed at his feet, letting out a soft cry of disbelief. He looked back at Uriah, as if to question what had just happened.

  Uriah pointed the blade at him, his voice hard. “People shouldn’t touch things that don’t belong to them.” He swung the blade again, severing the man’s head from his body. “It’s not nice.”

  Ransom snorted, not bothering to move. “Ironic advice, coming from you.” She gestured at the apple. “This is good. Cloverton?” She guessed, trying to place which variety it was.

  “Ardents, Dove.” The pirate casually wiped the blood from his sword on the dead man’s sleeve. “Only the best.”

  Dom scanned the scene one more time, looking for any attackers who might have escaped his wrath. Not seeing any though, the rage began to subside and he returned to his normal size.

  The burns were much worse now, feeling like his skin was falling off in ragged strips. The pain was now so bad he found it difficult to speak. But he pushed it from his mind and refocused on what was really important.

  Taylor.

  “Are you okay?” He raced towards her, cursing himself for letting that man get so close to her.

  “That was so awesome!” She enthused, looking more excited by the fight than traumatized or afraid. “You just stomped those guys into the ground!” She smiled widely. “That was…” Her smile faded. “What’s wrong with your skin?” She sounded terrified now. “Did they do that? Did they hurt you!?!”

  He shook his head. “No, that’s from…”

  And that’s when the angry mob descended on them.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Taylor looked about in surprise as the villagers emerged from their hiding spots around town. The soldiers must have been keeping the people in cells or else they were all just huddled in the darkness. Apparently they were all too afraid to come out into the open until now, preferring to wait until the battle was settled first.

  None of them looked particularly healthy.

  In fact, it appeared like the soldiers had been only the latest in a long series of catastrophes which had befallen this place. Whatever had destroyed the buildings and killed so many people to begin with…

  Which was not Dom, no matter what that dead asshole soldier seemed to think. There were lots of powerful beings in the world, and one of them had obviously trashed this place. But it most assuredly had not been Dom. She was positive of that.

  …then the soldiers had arrived in the aftermath to start picking up the pieces. They had loaded anything of value into carts and probably done unspeakable things to the women.

  Bastards.

  They deserved to get smooshed by a pissed off giant.

  But on the bright side, now the villagers would recognize Dom as their savior, which was good. She liked to show him that not all humans were complete scumbags.

  An elderly man ran towards her, frantically motioning with his hands. “Run, child! Before it gets you!”

  Taylor frowned in confusion. “Who?”

  “The giant!” The man pointed at Dom. “He’s back to kill us all!”

  Dom stepped in front of her protectively and the man stopped his advance.

  She peered around her giant. “I think you’re mistaken, sir. Dom just saved your village.”

  A dozen more villagers appeared from their hidden sanctuaries around town and slowly approached them. Makeshift weapons were clutched in their hands, as if ready to string someone up, if the need or opportunity arose.

  “Save it?” The old man repeated. “Girl, look at this!” He gestured to their surroundings. “This isn’t the first time that giant has attacked us!” He pointed at Dom. “And now he’s back to finish what he started!” His eyes narrowed. “Stand aside so that this creature can face justice!”

  “Now?” Ryle asked the townsfolk in amazement. “You people find your backbones now? Not when a dozen soldiers were holding you captive?”

  “They were protecting us from this thing!” The man gestured at Dom with his torch. “Last time he was here, he ate our school!” The man’s voice broke. “I lost both of my grandchildren!”

  Uriah took on a thoughtful expression. “Did you hear that, Dove?” He called to his partner without turning around.

  “Yep.” The scarred girl nodded.

  “Do we care about any of that?”

  “We are severely indifferent to his plight, Uriah.” She cl
arified.

  “Severely indifferent.” The pirate calmly repeated, as if driving the ruling home for the man in case he somehow missed it. He shrugged. “Sorry.”

  “Burn him!” One of the villagers cried, pointing at Dom.

  Ryle snorted. “Yeah, that’ll work.” He threw his arms out in exasperation. “He was just on fire, morons! Didn’t you see!?! And he was fine! So what do you think setting him on fire again is really gonna do!?!”

  “No one touches him!” Taylor yelled back, trying to get in front of Dom so that none of the people could hurt him.

  “Told you this community wouldn’t be able to keep from forming an angry mob for long, Dove.” Uriah gloated to his partner, taking a bite of their apple and handing it back to her. “Didn’t I?”

  “Yep, you called that one, ‘Rai.” Ransom agreed.

  Dom turned to look at Taylor, his panic visibly building, obviously afraid she would believe these people. “I swear to you, I did not attack this village. I’ve done a lot of bad things in this war, but I have never eaten any human children.”

  “It’s so sad that that’s the most she expects from him.” Uriah told his partner conversationally, taking another bite of their apple and handing it back to her.

  “She needs higher standards.” The scarred woman agreed. “Pride.”

  “Find someone who could say they’d never eaten any children or teenagers.” The pirate suggested.

  “The elderly.” Ransom added, still chewing on a mouthful of apple. “Shouldn’t eat old people.”

  “Well, he doesn’t have to be a saint, Dove.” He finished off their apple and absently tossed the core away. “This is war, after all.”

  Dom shook his head, ignoring their nonsense. “I would never do that.”

  Taylor nodded. “Obviously.” She pushed her way around him and crossed her arms over her chest, making sure she stood between Dom and the mob. “You’ve got the wrong giant.”

  “I’m told there are two of them.” Uriah confirmed.

  “You’re two for two, ‘Rai.” Ransom smiled in amusement.

  The pirate pointed at him. “Our dear friend here seems cursed to constantly be confused with that other one-of-a-kind, last of his species fellow, have you noticed that?”