Lil’ Helga shouts back at Helga as they grow farther and farther apart, “HELGA!”
“WHAT?” Helga shouts in reply, barely hearing herself beyond the racket of the sounding bells.
She sees Lil’ Helga cusp her hands around her mouth and yell with all her might to deliver her one last message, “When the time comes, you know what to do . . . Be goo—”
With that, the last of the light is whisked away by the wind, and the area becomes pitch black as the bells ring louder and louder.
Helga’s right side feels as though it’s lit on fire and her head as if it’s about to split open. She grabs her head and crumples forward as the sound continues to ring louder and louder, making the pain worse.
She screams at the dark nothingness, begging the ringing to stop. Squeezing her eyes shut, she hopes it will help drown out the pain, but the bells only ding louder, threatening to make her ears and head burst from the pressure.
Helga wakes again from her slumber blinking her eyes a few times but sees nothing but darkness. She shakes her head but feels the tug of something keeping it in place. The darn clanging of some atrocity is sounding off, making it hard for Helga to think.
Cool air brushes against her skin, causing it to prickle. The sensation of a wadded-up cloth makes her mouth get dry. It soaks up the saliva, making her want to gag. Trying to move her hands, Helga finds that she cannot, for they are tied down to something. She tries to wiggle though unfortunately her feet are bound too.
A burning sensation in her right side flares up, so Helga tries to curl up from the pain but is stopped by more bindings. The clanging continues not too far away and then abruptly stops. Her ears ring for a few moments afterwards as muffled voices start to shuffle through her muddled hearing.
Helga’s head hurts, and her mouth gets drier by the minute, making her want to heave her guts out onto the floor. She only hopes that she can direct her vomit at her captors and not choke on it due to the gag in her mouth.
As Helga is busy doing her best to not lose her cookies, her hearing starts to become clearer. She makes out the footsteps of someone walking across a tiled floor. The steps come closer until they stop. She hears murmuring, an audience applause, followed by a silver laugh. Large hands grab ahold of her head and start to pull on something that’s wrapped around it.
Brightness filters in, making Helga blink several times while her eyes continue to water from the sudden light. As Helga’s vision slowly adjusts to the lighting, she spies Brimstone walking off with a black piece of cloth in hand. She scans the room, which is occupied by various menacing wizards and witches, all of whom she remembers from her own initiation ceremony. They are dressed up and wearing different types of masquerade masks.
She then sees Lady Ava dressed in fancy white evening attire, wearing a black mask. Lady Ava stands near the back of the room, talking to a few guests and smiling like the cat who ate the canary. Lady Ava starts to saunter to the front where Helga is held hostage.
“Well, well, well,” declares Lady Ava, grinning, “it seems our honored guest is awake.”
“Mmmmph, mmph mmmmph . . .” Helga tries to speak.
The audience laughs. Lady Ava motions with her hands for them to pipe down, remarking, “Oh, silly me, how are we to understand you with that in your mouth?”
Lady Ava nods her head as Brimstone appears from the shadows and walks over to Helga. He pauses in front of her, staring hard into her eyes as gold flashes in his before he walks behind her to unbind the cloth gag from her mouth.
It takes all of Helga’s willpower to not barf on reflex as soon as the cloth is removed from her mouth. She coughs and hacks a few times while Brimstone walks away, back into the shadows off stage. Helga lifts her head, giving Lady Ava a hard stare. The smug smile on Lady Ava’s face only grows larger revealing her long sharp canines.
Mirth dances about in Lady Ava’s purple eyes as she speaks, “My fellow TRUE society, those that prefer the old ways, I bring to trial our initiate,” pausing she points to Helga and continues, “who has violated her vows and conspired with others in unspeakable crimes.”
The audience gasps.
Lady Ava continues, turning to Helga to challenge her, “Do you deny this, Helga Contessa MoonFire?”
Helga writhes as her true name compels her to answer Lady Ava. She wishes that she had never been tricked into giving Lady Ava her full name, but that was then and this is now. She grits her teeth, trying her best to not utter a single word.
The pressure builds, burning in the back of her throat, like holding her breath. Pin-pricking sensations dance like a thousand ants are crawling about her tongue compelling her to let loose the words that she’s trying to not blurt out.
Lady Ava’s eyes narrow as she bends down towards Helga. “Well? We are waiting,” she remarks and then enunciates each syllable of Helga’s name, “Helga, Contessa, MoonFire.”
The crowd leans forward in their seat with all eyes on Helga waiting for her to answer Lady Ava’s question.
The pinpricks become fierce, burning hot as fire, as though the ants turned into malicious fire ants biting her tongue a thousand-fold times. Tears stream down Helga’s face as she tries her best to hold in her answer.
The pressure continues to build until Helga bursts out, “NO, I DO NOT DENY IT! I CONSPIRED WITH BRIMSTONE!”
Murmuring erupts amongst the audience upon Helga’s confession. Lady Ava’s eyes dart about the room, going from one guest to another. She brings her hands up to indicate to the crowd to quiet down.
The room hushes with a few whispers here and there as Lady Ava continues, “Hmm, it appears that we have a situation on our hands.” Lady Ava paces to the far left side of the room and turns to face Helga, demanding, “Helga, do your sisters know of your secret activities?”
Helga pales, knowing her sisters have no idea of her connections to TRUE. Her hands begin to sweat, and her eyes become wider as her heart starts to speed up. “No,” she mumbles.
The room goes silent as the audience holds their breath.
The silver laughter of Lady Ava breaks the silence. Bringing her hand up to her cheek, she laments, “Oh dear.”
Lady Ava claps twice, and Brimstone’s golden eyes flash once to Lady Ava’s right before the black velvet curtains behind her fall to the ground revealing Higgins and her sisters, bound, gagged, and suspended above a pit.
Fire blazes in Agnes’s eyes when she finally makes eye contact with Helga while Ursa’s eyes stare back with sorrow and her lips tremble. Higgins’s weighty form, still out cold, his head wrapped in bandages, hangs loosely as he spins slowly around in circles above the pit that emits hissing sounds.
Lady Ava holds her hand to her mouth, looks between the sisters and Helga, and states, “Oh, I guess they know . . . now.” She lets out another silvery laugh. The audience joins in on the laughter.
Helga puffs her cheeks out trying her best to not burst out a spell of anger. She knows that without a wand there’s no way of casting magic without the thousand painful stings of her probation.
“What’s the matter?” Lady Ava coos, “Cat got your tongue?”
The audience laughs some more.
Helga bites her cheek trying to distract herself from the pain when she casts the spell she was building up to throw at Lady Ava, “Boi-de-vulgaris!”
The smug smile on Lady Ava’s face fades, and she merely sidesteps and puts up her hand to deflect the spell. A quick flash appears as the spell hits a barrier and bounces off it towards the audience.
A shriek pierces the air as one of the guests jumps from her chair clawing at her face tearing the mask away while pus-filled boils cover her once flawless appearance. The woman dashes from the room as her partner follows closely after her.
Lady Ava merely cocks an eyebrow back at Helga and then looks up towards Higgins. They both watch as a poisonous snake appears out of thin air, instead of a toad or frog, and falls into the pit below. Helga’s jaw drops in horror. Crap. The
toady day spell was changed; now a lethal serpent will appear if a spell is cast.
“Like my modifications?” asks Lady Ava as she twirls her finger, casting another spell that sends a gentle breeze to the captives suspended above the snake pit.
More snakes appear, barely missing Agnes as they drop into the pit below with their maws opened. Sweat glistens on Agnes’s brow as she continues to spin around along with Ursa and Higgins.
Things are getting pretty ridiculous and frustrating. Helga, strapped to a chair and unable to cast any magic without severe pain, is on trial with the TRUE society. Her sisters are in danger of being bitten every time someone lets loose any magic, and Lady Ava is enjoying every minute of it. Helga frantically wracks her brain on what the heck she should do to get out of this mess.
With a nod to Brimstone, Lady Ava walks back to the platform where Helga is being held hostage.
She turns and faces the crowd, explaining, “As you have seen, no one can cast magic here tonight,” pointing now to Higgins, “without dire consequences to ‘innocents.’” She motions air quotes around that final word, “innocents.”
She continues, “Brimstone, come here.”
Brimstone walks out of the shadows, up the stairs, and then kneels before Lady Ava, declaring, “At your service, my lady.”
Lady Ava places a hand on his bare shoulder digging in with her long nails. “Brimstone, as I command thee, tell me no false truths and tell me about your plans with the traitor, Helga.”
He looks up at her. His eyes glimmer gold, and then they dart down. He reveals, “My lady, it heavies my heart to admit that I have wronged you.”
“How have you wronged me, Brimstone?” Her head tilts slightly to the left.
“My lady, it was I who gave you the potion in your tea,” he confesses through clenched teeth.
Her fingers dig deeper into his shoulder. “Brimstone, why did you do this?”
His lips press firmly together into a hard line. Lady Ava’s nails break his skin as they dig deeper from her grip. Black blood wells up from the wounds, as she demands again, growling, “BRIMSTONE, why did you do this?”
He grumbles in a low voice, “To turn you into a dog. So that I could be free.”
She lets him go, but he continues to stay kneeling before her. Curling her upper lip, she turns to Helga to quiz her, “And did you sell him this potion, Helga?”
Helga narrows her eyes, and she admits, “Yes, but—”
Lady Ava waves her hand, cutting off Helga’s vocal chords. “Why?”
Helga squeaks a few words before Lady Ava waves her hand again. Helga coughs and then says, “I made the potion based on our contract. One dog potion per month—”
“Did you not think it strange that I was not with Brimstone to pick up the last order?” Lady Ava seethes.
“No, for Brimstone and I planned on spiking your tea with that dog potion. So that we both could be free,” answers Helga and moves around more to try and loosen her bindings.
“Stupid,” mutters Lady Ava with scorn and walks offstage into the audience. She looks around the room as she states, “You have heard her confession.” Tossing her chin at Brimstone, chains appear and attach themselves to his limbs. He glares at Lady Ava, as she continues addressing the crowd, “And his. What do you make of it?”
An elderly guest arises, recommending, “Throw them all into the pit and be done with it.”
Another shouts, “YEAH! Throw them into the snake pit!”
Soon the crowd is standing on their chairs and chanting, “Snake pit! Snake pit! Throw them in the snake pit!”
Lady Ava stays quiet while she walks about the room, whispering with other guests as the crowd continues chanting their morbid song. Helga wiggles in her restraints, the perspiration from her sweaty hands allowing her to slip her hands out of the ropes. Once free, she places her hand back on the chair to look like she is still bound.
Brimstone peeks at Helga every now and then, watching her slowly free herself of her bindings. He watches Lady Ava, waiting for her to turn her back before he whispers a small spell to undo the ropes around Helga’s feet.
Helga feels the ropes loosen around her ankles as she hears the distinct pop of more snakes appearing out of thin air. She hears Ursa whimper as the rattle of a rattlesnake shakes violently on its fall down into the pit.
Exhaling, Helga starts to search her own pockets while Lady Ava’s back is turned. The guests appear to be too engrossed in their morbid chant to take notice of Brimstone and Helga’s actions on stage.
Helga continues as sweat glides down her back, taking chances in searching her pockets for the potion that she can use against Lady Ava. Her heart never slows but picks up pace as she reaches into each pocket hoping to feel the familiar slender glass vial. While Lady Ava pursues judgment from each and every member of the TRUE society, Helga continues to reach into her different pockets searching for the glass vial on what could possibly be the last chance that she has to find it.
Helga lets out a frustrated sigh as her hand comes back empty on each try. Watching Lady Ava slightly turn away from her, Helga takes a deep breath reaching her hand into the last hidden pocket of her apron. Her hand reaches deep into the pocket and is rewarded by the cool smooth glass of the slender vial. She grabs ahold of the vial and pulls it out slowly.
Out of the corner of her eye, Helga notices Brimstone retake his kneeling stance. She quickly palms the vial up her right sleeve when she sees Lady Ava turning around with a wicked smile on her face.
Lady Ava saunters back to the stage, climbs the stairs, and then stands between Helga and Brimstone. The crowd’s chant simmers down as they wait to hear what Lady Ava has to say. The hissing of the snakes in the pit is the only noise Helga hears while she waits on her judgment to be delivered and for her chance to throw the potion at Lady Ava. Helga rolls the vial beneath her hand as the pressure in the room increases.
The lady in white walks to the back of the stage with Brimstone and Helga watching her every move. She places her hand on a box covered in a black velvet cloth, pauses for a moment, and then rips it away, revealing a fox and a chocolate-colored half-transformed dog-boy in a cage.
Helga cries out, “JAY!”
The half-transformed dog-boy, with big chocolate-brown eyes, looks out at Helga and tucks his tail between his legs, hiding his face in his hands.
Lady Ava strokes the bars on the cage, cooing, “I had some dog potion left over from the last batch, so I used it on the young wizard. Such pretty little gifts.” She tilts her head glancing at Helga and sighs, “I am feeling generous—tell me Helga, who do you think should be punished?”
Helga, stunned, chokes a little as she stops herself from automatically saying Brimstone’s name. Helga debates within herself on what is the worst that could happen if she chooses herself instead of Brimstone. Horrific thoughts flood her mind—being thrown into the pit, being fed to Lady Ava’s hounds, becoming one of Lady Ava’s hounds, or even becoming one of Lady Ava’s magical experiments.
Her mouth stays open as Lady Ava repeats the question, “Helga, my patience is waning. If no answer is given, then I will punish you both. So, who do you think should be punished?”
Swallowing loudly, she continues to roll the vial under her hand, her heart going a thousand miles an hour, and then she feels time stand still.
She utters, “Me.”
15
The Potion
Silence is the only thing that Helga hears after she volunteers herself for the punishment. She casts a glance across the room to see the audience and their reaction to her sacrifice. They are dead silent as they continue to gaze forward at their leader, Lady Ava.
Helga continues to roll the vial under her sweaty palm and licks her lip as she waits for Lady Ava to say something. Hissing sounds travel about the room as the serpents in the pit writhe and roll over one another. She turns her head slightly to check in on her sisters.
Agnes only gives a wide-eyed stare as
she tries to work loose the cloth that is binding her mouth. Ursa, starting to droop, holds a sad expression that manages to become even sadder. Her left calf is swelling and becoming more purple by the minute. Helga knows that Ursa was bitten by one of the snakes. She knows that she must act soon or Ursa may die. Ursa turns her head away when she makes eye contact with Helga.
While Helga is watching her sisters, Lady Ava walks to the front of the stage to address her audience and to carry on the next part of her show.
“My fellow guests, I thank thee for coming tonight to help pass judgment on those who have betrayed us.” She turns and gestures to Brimstone and Helga. “It is time to dole out the punishment,” she reports with a toothy grin while placing her right hand on her hip and looking over her shoulder at Helga.
Helga swallows, the bile rising in the back of her throat as the crowd starts cheering. Lady Ava raises her hand motioning for the audience to simmer down.
“Now, what shall I do to you Helga? What kind of punishment shall you receive?”
Pacing back and forth on the stage, she looks to the audience. “I could throw her into limbo,” she offers, but the crowd objects. “How about I turn her into a fox and chase her down with my hounds?” she suggests in an upbeat tone as a few cheers erupt from the horde.
Lady Ava maintains her pacing, conjecturing, “Hmmm, yes, maybe this one? Turn her into a mouse and throw her into the snake pit?” The throng throws a few whistles and cheers at the suggestion.
She sighs as she advances on the stage, uttering, “Helga, Helga, Helga, what am I to do with you? I had the intention of punishing Brimstone. For I was counting on you to volunteer him for the punishment. But you surprised me by offering yourself instead. Hmmm, now what to do.” Lady Ava holds her chin while walking back and forth.
Potion of the Hound Page 18
