Behind the Curtain

by Shannon Ainslie

  Granny’s little eyes threw daggers at Rowdy.

  Rose flapped over to the darkest corner of the living room and turned her back on the scene.

  “Yes, it’s trained,” Rowdy stammered dumbly.

  Jordyn seemed impervious to the tension in the room. She grinned and clapped her hands excitedly.

  “Thanks for standing up to Hugo for me yesterday,” Jordyn said, her cheeks turning pink.

  Despite his shivering, Rowdy felt his chest swell with pride. A dumb smile was forming on his face, so he ducked down to remove his muddy shoes. They were falling apart.

  “Your Granny says you’re working out for the school break?” Jordyn snuck another glance at him while she stroked some dried flowers with her fingers.

  “He sure is, and he needs to get washed up now.” Granny put her hand under the table and snapped the bathwater on. Rowdy headed down the hall.

  “Let’s have a cup of tea, child, and then you can walk with Rowdy. He’s going to his house for supper.”

  Rowdy melted into his steamy bath, straining to hear the sound of Jordyn’s voice to no avail. He looked at his stomach and flexed. The beginnings of muscle showed on his abdomen. He felt his hard efforts would become apparent very soon.

  He washed the grit from his hair and hands. He liked his long hair. He would ask Granny for some conditioner.

  He leaned back and closed his eyes, hearing the familiar singing sound of the water around him. He waited for a vision to appear. The water buzzed with increasing energy.

  Suddenly, he smelled something foul. It was an odor he didn’t recognize. It was so thick it filled his nostrils and settled on the back of his tongue. He felt nauseated.

  He guessed it was rotting flesh. His heart rate quickened.

  A voice entered his ears, starting as a hiss and quickly growing to a loud boom that echoed off the bathroom walls.

  “This? This is what will destroy my tyranny?”

  A face formed in the mist before him. A great mouth full of razor-sharp silver teeth was wide open in a sneer. Laughter boomed into Rowdy’s ears and straight into his head. It sent vibrations through his bones, and he cringed against it, feeling his teeth crash against each other.

  “I am Wizard Conan! I will squish you dead with my baby toe, mouse!”

  The timber wolf threw his huge head back. He closed his yellow eyes and howled a dreadful howl that left Rowdy shaken and weak. It sucked his breath out of his lungs.

  Wizard Conan disappeared into the steam, dissolving into drops of water.

  Rowdy sat in the tub, shaking. The stench of death was slow to dissolve.

  Trembling, he dressed into clean clothes and went to the kitchen. Granny gave him a basket of food. He felt like Red Riding Hood. He and Jordyn stepped into the dusk.

  When they felt they were a safe distance from Granny’s magical ears, Jordyn broke the silence.

  “What in the heck is going on?” she demanded in a harsh whisper.

  Rowdy’s mind was still full of Wizard Conan. Not even Jordyn’s beachy hair scent on a dusky spring evening could change it.

  He shrugged and kept walking. They hit a residential street. The lights on the houses were flickering on. The lights above the street fluttered.

  Jordyn pressed her arm against his chest, bringing him to a halt. He met her bright green eyes.

  “You are changing, Rowdy. On the outside and on the inside.”

  He opened his mouth, but no words came out. He didn’t know what he could tell her.

  “You pulled a knife on Hugo! A flipping knife!”

  They stood staring at each other for a long time, her waiting for an explanation and him not giving one.

  At last she shoved the basket into his hands. Tears were in her eyes.

  “Fine. Have it your way, then. I thought we were friends.” She turned, tossed her coconut hair in his face, and stomped away, leaving him standing alone in the street with all of his thoughts crashing into themselves.

  He was numb when he entered his home. His dad was sitting at the table, waiting for him. His granny was right; his dad looked a bit healthier.

  Rowdy put the basket on the counter and brought the food out.

  “Your granny’s good cooking and fitness routine are looking good on you, son!” His dad’s praise was genuine.

  “You look good yourself,” Rowdy said, piling plates with food. He was suddenly hungry. He looked around the room. It was nice and tidy.

  “You doing okay at school?”

  “Yep. You looking for work yet?”

  “Yep.”

  The father and son dug into their plates with a peaceful, amicable silence between them. It was nice. It was relaxing.

  His dad paused to sip some water. Rowdy saw his gaze flick briefly over to the liquor cabinet.

  His dad stopped eating and leaned back, exhaling a large breath.

  “I haven’t been a very good dad to you,” he began, but Rowdy shook his head and interrupted him.

  “Please don’t say that.” He was thoughtful for a moment with his fork paused in the air. “We’re both hurt,” he said quietly. “We just need to find our way.”

  Rowdy’s dad raised his eyebrows. They were the same dark brows that Rowdy had, with the same dark eyes beneath them. He started to say something but sputtered, seemingly shocked at Rowdy’s mature behavior.

  “I’m not angry anymore,” he added. “I was. But I’m not anymore.” Rowdy put his fork down and pushed his plate away. Sadness had squelched his hunger. He met his father’s eyes and added heavily, “I miss her too.”

  There was a long silence. His dad’s eyes filled up and he glanced away, looking sick.

  “I have training to do tomorrow, Dad,” Rowdy said at last, staring at the floor while his father quietly wept. “Are you going to be okay until Granny comes by in the morning?”

  He felt guilty about leaving his dad, but he was overwhelmed by the emotional roller coaster of the day and wanted badly to be alone.

  His dad nodded, stood, and embraced his son.

  “Keep doing what you’re doing, son,” he managed. “I am very proud of you.”

  His dad squeezed him and planted a hard kiss on top of his head.

  “You need a haircut.”

  They both chuckled then, not because it was funny but because it was a relief to consider something so trivial.

  When Rowdy went to sleep that night, he felt he was safe in the arms of his dad. Again.

  Chapter 5

  Proposing Murder

  The rest of spring break was a blur for Rowdy. It was a blur of sweat and effort, of eating and sleeping. His muscles built up until, to his delight, he filled his long-sleeved shirt.

  With Rose’s help, he avoided Hugo.

  With Granny’s help, he ate nice meals with his dad.

  To his dismay, Jordyn ignored him completely.

  His evening visions became ones of Sionnin. The great polar bear, Wizard Ondag, showed him his frozen body locked in ice under the spell of Conan and his evil unicorn accomplice, Sorceress Cern. The great Wizard Boc, saber-toothed tiger, showed him visions of beautiful Sionnin in the time before the timber wolf began his reign of terror and ice. Boc showed him a Sionnin that was lively and bright, teeming with wildlife and thundering with rivers and waterfalls.

  The evening lessons on the history of Sionnin always thrilled him and left him wanting to hear more.

  It was an evening like any other when Rowdy realized the full meaning of his mission. His training days were almost at an end. Rose was to leave him now to collect more liathroids.

  Granny had finally found her four-leaf clover and was preparing to finalize her Spring Preparations. This meant a concoction that would one day help Sionnin’s long winter turn into spring.

  Rowdy was to return home for a week to rest, spend time with his dad, and get back into school.

  They were gathered around Granny’s c
ozy, warm kitchen in the evening, as usual. She was drying dishes. The spring days were growing longer, and Rowdy noticed the light in the window was still bright.

  “This is our last talk for a week, Rowdy, so if you have questions, now is the time to ask them.”

  Rowdy had questions he hadn’t asked yet. During his lessons, his granny had done all of the talking, leaving his head stuffed with information that he digested as he slept.

  He sipped on some tea and thought.

  “Where are you from? Originally?”

  “Ah. I was born in Sionnin into a family of foxes. Can you imagine their surprise when a human baby arrived in the litter?” Granny giggled and shook her head. “Someone slipped me through the portal before I can remember. Only the wizards and sorceresses know of the portal. I have always believed Cern’s family was behind my kidnapping, no doubt threatened by the arrival of another sorceress…” She trailed off, her eyes looking distant. Rowdy was fascinated.

  “Go on,” he said, pressing her. The crystal eyes met his and crinkled around the edges.

  “Curious, are we? All right. I was adopted by a very kind old couple who had never been able to have a child of their own. They told me I was found crying on the doorstep.” Granny glanced over at the front door. “They believed I was a gift from God, an answer to their prayers.”

  Rowdy knew the house was very old, but he hadn’t realized it was that old. He wanted to know more about her childhood. He nodded at her, and she continued.

  “I was an easy, happy child. I was…” She looked at the ceiling and furrowed her brow. “Aware.” Granny tilted her head at him, her eyes hard to read. He waited, shifting in his chair. He leaned his chin on his folded hands and watched her.

  She wiped her hands dry with the dish towel.

  “I was aware I was a child, and the safe, quiet life I was living was temporary. And I was aware I was different.” Rowdy watched silently as Granny’s eyes lit up and her mysterious smile tugged at her lips.

  “I would spend hours sitting upstairs on the floor with my stuffed rabbit, making lights turn off and on and rubber balls bounce and roll using only my eyes.” She squeaked out a little laugh and sat down across the table from him, pulling her chair noisily across the floor. The only other sound in the room was water simmering on the stove. A strange, spicy aroma puffed into the air.

  “One day I became aware of the singing sounds of the gemstones. I remember I was sitting, looking at my new shiny white shoes and the frilly bits of lace on my socks, when I started humming along to the faint song.” Granny paused, closing her eyes.

  Rowdy listened, hanging on her every word.

  “I was feeling the texture of the lace when I looked up and saw the glittering stones for the first time.” Granny smiled. She inhaled deeply and shook her head. She opened her eyes. Rowdy nodded at her to continue.

  “It was so exciting. And the first time I drew back that curtain and saw the beautiful Sionnin!” She clapped her hands and beamed at him. He felt his own smile spreading in response.

  “When I climbed down that tree the very first time, it was as though I was going home. Back to my home.” She nodded slowly. “And I was.” Her eyes sparkled brightly, and she leaned forward suddenly. “That’s when I first met Wizard Boc. The birds spotted me wandering and alerted him. He was so young then. I was terrified when he approached me, but then he embraced me and welcomed me home.”

  “Is that when you discovered you were a sorceress? And a unicorn?” Rowdy rose to get a cup of water. He listened while he selected a hand-painted mug.

  “In time.” She nodded. She put her nose in the air and sniffed. She looked at the stove and blinked, turning it off. Rowdy raised an eyebrow at her and filled his mug with water. He had chosen a black mug with a big full moon on it.

  “Sorceress Cern and I played together, and later we trained together. We both learned how to shift shapes between human and unicorn without the use of an amulet. We sorceresses have a lot of power in Sionnin. With enough training, we can shift to any shape.”

  “Then how come Dad and Rose…” he began, wanting to know about the spells his dad and Rose were under and why she couldn’t break them. He stopped himself, wondering if it would insult her. But he’d said too much. She nodded, looking pained.

  “Those spells were cast after my horn was removed. My power is very weak without my horn. You see, Bill and Rose are not from Sionnin…” Granny trailed off and turned pink. She looked at her grandson with flushed cheeks.

  “I fell deeply in love with your grandfather Harrison.” Rowdy shook his head and snorted. She continued, “We lived here on the upstairs floor so we could keep an eye on my parents. They were very old, you see, more like grandparents really.” She stood up and went to the kitchen. She removed the hot pan of spicy water from the stove and talked loudly as she fiddled with small glass jars.

  “By the time Rose and your dad were born, my parents had passed away. Peacefully, one after the other. After a whole lifetime together, they couldn’t be parted, not even in death.” Granny looked up and winked at him.

  “It’s how Frank and I would have been if he hadn’t been taken so soon.”

  Rowdy nodded. He knew his dad had been young when Grandpa Harrison had been killed in a forestry accident.

  “Well,” Granny continued, pouring hot liquid into the jars, “you can only imagine my heartbreak when Frank died. Added to my extreme homesickness for Sionnin…” She looked through the steam at him. “Wizard Boc wasn’t comfortable with the idea of bringing regular humans onto his beloved land. They do tend to ruin things. I had kept to the regular world, being a busy wife and mother, for many years. At any rate, in my despair, I did something foolish and took my grief-stricken kids to Sionnin.”

  Rowdy watched as his granny made her remedies, her little face disappearing and reappearing in the steam. He thought about his dad and Rose losing their father, and his own heart squeezed painfully. He tried to picture his dad as a little boy, entering Sionnin for the first time.

  “Your Aunt Rose didn’t mind our adventures in Sionnin, but she always preferred this world. She always felt this world was her home, but your dad took to Sionnin from the first glimpse through the window. I’ll never forget his big brown eyes lighting up with fascination. Same eyes you have, Rowdy.” Granny put the warm pan down and reached up to pluck some dried yarrow hanging from a string above her. She began to crush the tiny flowers into a powder.

  “I think it was the animals, mostly, that helped your dad work through the loss of his father. He spent hours with them and learned how to communicate with them. That and the fresh air and exercise.”

  Rowdy finally understood why taking his dad back to Sionnin would help him deal with his most recent grief, and potentially his alcoholism. He fell silent in thought until Granny returned to the table. She placed a plate of last autumn’s huckleberries between them. They were shiny, plump, and frozen.

  He put one in his mouth and let it melt on his tongue. Its juices squished out, surprising him with intense, sweet flavor. He reached for another one.

  “The spells?” he asked.

  Granny nodded. “When Conan’s army stormed in and removed my horn, I was left in human form, powerless and terrified. Your aunt and father were shivering in fear in our secret hiding place among some rocks. They howled in relief when I got to them.”

  Rowdy watched Granny’s expression grow dark. Her lips tightened. She shuddered. He saw sadness in her eyes. He nodded at her encouragingly to finish the story.

  “We fled. Your father and your aunt and I ran in fear against the oncoming army. We dodged and hid. There was so much noise. We were almost at the edge of the forest. I thought we had a chance of escaping, but Conan appeared, laughing. He demanded I never return. He cast his evil spells on my children, removing any possibility they might tell the human world about Sionnin.”

  Rowdy stared at the huckleberries thawing and gliste
ning as he thought.

  “You told my dad Rose had disappeared?” To Rowdy, this was very cruel.

  Granny nodded and sighed heavily. “I tried to tell him, but Sionnin was a fantasy to him. He couldn’t remember it. The more I explained, the more terrified he became. And I didn’t know what would happen if I tried to take him back. What the spell would do to him and how it would affect him. Rose was older. She chose to go back without telling me. When she discovered she could be a human in Sionnin, we started meeting there, upstairs, so we could talk. We decided to leave your dad out of it and let him have whatever was left of his childhood in peace. That was when Rose began collecting the spheres. One day we will give them to Ondag, the rightful ruler.”

  Rowdy turned a melting berry in his fingers, staining them purple. He was realizing there was a lot about his dad he didn’t know.

  “We also didn’t predict it would take so many years to break the spells,” Granny added. “The spirits were quiet until you showed up. I tried to contact them during every phase of the moon with very little success.”

  “How do I break these spells?” He put the berry in his mouth, exhaled, and waited for his granny’s response with dread.

  Granny wrung her hands.

  “You need to take Wizard Conan’s power. And you need to cut the horn off Sorceress Cern to remove her power.”

  A silence settled around them. One question remained.

  “How am I to take Wizard Conan’s power?” he asked fearfully, his heart beating wildly. He didn’t want to know the answer, but he had to.

  “By slitting his throat,” Granny said simply, suddenly adopting a businesslike demeanor.

  Rowdy gulped and grew dizzy. The laughter and howling of the vision of Wizard Conan filled his ears all over again. The stench of death filled his nostrils and settled on the back of his tongue. He feared he was going to be sick and ran to the sink. He turned on the cool water and splashed his face with it.

  “And what if I can’t?” he asked at last between whimpers.