Simon regarded Miss Baxter. Fae sat with her on the ground, crook to one side. The soceress’ face was awash with exhaustion and worry. She looked drained, her complexion as pale as a boiled apple. He thought of the gold, the jewels, and how much it had meant to her to retrieve them. He wondered if she was thinking of that too.
“We didn’t stay. Miss Baxter summoned Mortimer and we left whilst they were arguing.”
“Arguing?” Dashing made a face. “Over what?”
“I don’t know! Applesauce!” Why did he suddenly have apples on the mind? “But I don’t think we should be wasting time here bickering. We ought to make a decision on what to do next.”
“Miss Baxter’s very weak. Someone ought to stay here with her,” Dick suggested.
“Fine. You stay. I’ll go back in but I’ll need help if we are going to get Mr. Darcy out. I’m too tired to carry anyone else.” Simon inhaled.
“I’ll go,” Cosette said, fiddling with the webbing around her wrist.
“I, as well!” Dashing volunteered, puffing out his chest.
Simon hoisted himself up, patting off the expected dirt before realizing it couldn’t stick to him in the first place.
He sighed. “Then let’s go.” Simon said, turning in a circle and chewing his bottom lip. It was awfully hard pretending you were brave, he thought. What he wouldn’t do for a spot of tea in his own backyard right now. He could imagine it already. Sitting on his back porch, watching the vegetables growing in his garden as Miss Baxter wandered over from the fields to search for old Salvador who had wandered off again.
“Salvador?” Simon called, as the old donkey hopped up from a lower cliff onto the cavern edge. The smoke and ash within its coat plumed as it landed, and two remaining sacks at each hip jingled with gold as it meandered forward, catching the attention of the entire party.
“You mangy old beast!” Another voice came from below. “You were supposed to help me up as well!” The other’s felt their mouths gape open as Jane pulled his leg up over the side in an effort to hoist himself up. Rolling forward a moment later, dirt and cinder in his hair, Jane stood up with a grumble, patting himself down before regarding his comrades.
“I’m glad you didn’t forget me,” he said, having overheard their conversation from below and feeling rather touched by it.
“Jane! Are you alright?” Fae stood, rushing forward full of glee and worry. The sight of her concern caused a brief pause in his heartbeat, something he thought rather odd but would have time to mull over later as she embraced him.
“A bit tenderized, but nothing too out of sorts,” he admitted. “I thought I’d return your donkey, Miss Baxter,” he said, regarding the young lady as she looked up. “He may not have as much gold as he did before, but I’m sure we can all make do.”
Simon smiled, going towards her to help her stand. Her arm, the one Death had taken, was exposed, but shrouded in the night. He took it, ushering her to her feet with a few words of encouragement.
“I’m so glad you’re alright,” she said, regarding both the blonde gentleman and the donkey.
Jane grinned, feeling rather good about himself. “Yes, well we shouldn’t dally. That dragon may decide to come up at any second and devour us all.” He bit his lip to prevent himself from chuckling. “I think your death lord may have put him to sleep or some sort.”
“Sleep?” Miss Baxter regarded him oddly.
Jane decided to continue on. “Everyone?” he inquired.
“Righto, Mr. Darcy! We’ll camp at the base and count the gold in the morning!” Dashing laughed, raising his blunderbuss to the sky triumphantly as Mr. Darcy fetched his red spectacles from his jacket pocket.
“Mr. Todd, your briefcase.” Cosette offered politely with a smile.
Jane huffed at the sight of it. It was bulging with his hoard, an obvious oversight. Heathens! Always grasping for more! But he calmed himself, rolling his shoulders back and closing his eyes.
We’ll all get our equal share, he said to himself, thinking of the old book Mortimer Grim had given to him. Tucked beneath his arm, Jane had been loath to leave the book he gathered from the Ebony library back in his cave, but hadn’t wanted to raise suspicion by toting around two. He couldn’t wait to read it. Jane was certain, beyond a doubt, that no living thing had read such a book or would read it ever again.
It was a fair exchange, and all very appropriate in the eyes of the dragon union.
“Let’s go, Mr. Darcy,” Cosette called, waving a hand.
“Hey Dashing! Care to make a wager? Few gold pieces for a few rolls of the dice?”
“We haven’t even separated it yet, Miss Hershal!” Mr. Todd was exacerbated. “We’ll need a good appraiser first and also a banker.”
“When I return to Darlington I think I may need an accountant, Mr. Todd.”
Simon looked up, smiling into the eyes of Miss Baxter as she gripped him by the arm for balance. “Well, I’m going to need a good rest,” he replied joyfully, his eyes glancing to Cosette as she ambled her way down the cliff side. The silver threads about her arms sparkled in the light of the gibbous moon. As the light inside Miss Baxter’s crook grew once again, the spider girl’s dress seemed to light up as well, her dark hair a sharp contrast to the sunny curls tossing about the ivory shoulders of the shepherdess.
“Gods!” Simon exclaimed, suddenly aware of himself. “I’ll certainly need to polish my silverware when I get back!” he said, watching as the slopes of the Helvallyn hills tumbled about the velvet skyline.
“You’re next great adventure, Mr.Todd!” Dashing teased.
“And hopefully the last.” Simon replied, fretting over the state of his house as the midnight breeze whispered between the valleys…
Making him sneeze.
The End
Wanting to know more about Simon Todd’s adventures? Here is the first chapter of the next book in the series.
Chapter One
Simon Todd And The Journey To The Nether Regions
Mr. Todd sat on his porch, sipping at a cup of jasmine tea and contemplating the coin in his hand. It had been two months since he had returned home and went about the tedious expedition of polishing his forks and spoons. It had taken days to air out the stale smell that had settled in his house, and a good several hours to gather the nerve to clean out the cobwebs. Fae returned to her father after losing the majority of her gold in Piper’s Toss, and Miss Baxter hadn’t been around for a few weeks upon gathering her portion of the dragon gold.
Simon missed seeing her, but endeavored to spend a few moments each day visiting her father out of habit. Though the older man may have been considered dead, Simon Todd figured that he was in no position to judge and decided to visit every day on his way to town. It was nice to see old Salvador as well, whose coat was now perpetually sooty, and Cosette loved to pick the flowers in the fields next to where the dead cows grazed.
Jane Darcy, who had mostly taken his gold and vanished, had appeared out of the blue just a few days ago and made a rather sizable deposit into the Hershal bank. Mr. Todd was currently at odds with himself as he sat watching a coin flip between each finger, glinting in the sunlight. The Cinderstone Ziggurate was engraved on the polished surface. It had been one of many Mr. Darcy had deposited into the bank.
Simon had been baffled to receive it, noticing the same peculiar smiling sun etched on the face of the coin. It was the very same as the ones he had stored in his briefcase back in the dragon cave. Had Mr. Darcy gone back to retrieve the rest? Had there been more that Simon hadn’t noticed in the sacks they carried back?
“Does it work?” Cosette asked, popping her head out through the back door. She had been staying with him since they returned, and, Simon thought, provided more than good company. He had grown quite fond of her over the last few months in fact, and much less afraid of the spiders hiding within the rafters.
“It does!” He picked up his tea cup, showing off the dangling thread of the spider spun tea bag. “Y
ou’re a gift to the nation, Cosette.” He sipped at the steaming liquid. “Certainly a hero to me,” he muttered with a laugh, revelling in the taste of jasmine. A taste he had sorely missed before Cosette’s brilliant invention.
He smiled as she returned inside. They would be heading to Ebonguard in a few days, he recalled. Off to visit his mother for her birthday. Mr. Todd was excited to show her his gift, the ruby necklace that had been part of his share of treasure, and tell her the story of how he obtained it. He had been constructing the story in a diary for weeks, hoping to give it to her along with the jewel. He didn’t want her to be worried she’d forget, so Simon had written down every detail he remembered and addressed the entire thing to his mother.
Mr. Todd had been thinking of how she’d react when the two gentlemen walked up.
“Hey! Mr. Todd! Nice to see ya again!” Chip Ardale was wearing a black suit, the maw of his Alligaatorri snapping shut as it swam in the empty space around him.
Simon jumped up, tipping his tea all over the surface of his tabletop as Chip raised both hands in peaceful recognition.
“Hey, calm down! We’re here on business.” He smiled, adjusting the brim of his hat as Benedict Uovo stomped up behind him like a shadow. The man had a few new attachments to his arm, Simon noticed.
“What do you vagabonds want?” he demanded, not really caring to be polite at the moment.
“That’s harsh, Mr. Todd! Really. Ain’t need to be no hard feelings between us. We’re on your side.”
Simon thought of Miss Baxter, of how she had been gone for weeks without word. Simon begged to go with her initially, but she refused and he couldn’t really blame her. He tended to be more a handicap then help, and with Mortimer Grim out to get him, there was double danger in him accompanying her to Grimguild.
“What do you want then? Is Miss Baxter alright?” he asked, noticing Cosette glancing worriedly through the window of his back porch.
“She’s dandy, Mr. Todd. Just peachy.” He grinned, red hair blazing in the afternoon sun.
“Then what?” His patience was wearing thin.
“Seems a book has been lost, and it’s really got everyone’s dander up.” Beside him, Benedict Uovo’s heavy frown deepened against the already severe wrinkles around the corners of his mouth.
“A book?” Simon asked.
“The book, Mr. Todd,” Chip explained, raising his eyebrows expectantly.
“Mortimer’s Grimoire.” Benedict finished, exhaling intensely through his nostrils as he straightened up and folded his arms in front of his chest.
Simon felt his nerves shudder as he swallowed, the flavor of jasmine drying in his throat as he contemplated his first thoughts on a book that he supposed had a rather impressive name. “W-well what do you need me for?” He asked, wondering about his dear Penelope and if it had been her to summon these ragamuffins to collect him.
Chip, in the meantime, laughed, stuffing one hand into his pocket as Alligaatorri yawned, looking rather bored despite the commotion.
“A bit of accounting work, Mr. Todd.” Chip said, a knowing smirk pulling at his eyes as he hauled on a string in his pocket, causing, what Simon easily recognized as a wizard closet, to materialize behind him.
“Quickly now, Mr. Todd.” The flame-haired wizard continued. “Mrs. Baxter awaits.”
A life-long lover of horror, Vanessa wrote her first story in the genre when she was only in grade five. It was titled Mutilated and it warranted her a trip to the school guidance counsellor. A lifetime later, she continues to write about anything gruesome, terrifying, and paranormal, though she has since found herself enthralled in the lighthearted world of fantasy steampunk.
Currently she is partying it up in St. George, New Brunswick with her husband Brendon and dog she really wants but hasn’t gotten yet.
The Curious Case of Simon Todd Page 45
