by B. J. Smash
“Magella. Now that is one mean old witch. She used to steal me and William’s fish when we caught them for our own supper. Sometimes she’d make us cook them too! But because she helped me mam, I am grateful to her.”
“She helped your mam?” I asked, mystified. Magella wasn’t one to help people out.
“Yes. Me mam’s name is Alma,” he sighed heavily. “You see…years ago me mam bought an old grimoire and she cursed William’s mother, Natalia. She cursed her to be barren.”
“Because me mam stole my pappy from Aunt Alma when they was just girls,” William said as he steadied himself on one of the giant rocks, looking like a surfer at sea.
Those names sounded familiar. Alma and Natalia? My body tingled as I realized who they were talking about, and what Tom and William were saying. “No way! You guys are Alma and Natalia’s kids?” I had to laugh. This news cheered me up. “I had just told Lucian this same story only a few days ago when I was trying to teach him a lesson about magic and cursing.”
“Yup. She cursed me mam to be barren for eight years. Magella was the one to fix things,” William said.
“And so all of these years, me mam has been in debt to Magella. She’s been giving her a quarter of our pumpkins and turnips for years. Sometimes she would even visit Magella’s boat just to bring her flowers or radishes,” Tom explained.
“Really?”
“Yup. And Magella trained me mam how to be a midwife and taught her some herb medicine. The thing is…she always expected me mam to help her whenever she needed help. And me mam is gettin’ on in years. She can’t help her as often,” Tom said.
“Aunt Alma’s good with medicine but she says it’s the gin that keeps her heart tickin’,” William piped in and I think he whole-heartedly believed it.
“Anyway, me mam was visiting Magella at her new crannog out on the lake and Magella asked me mam for one final favor. If she could pull this off, Magella would never ask her for anything else. The plan was to get me to go for the djinn bottle. Me mam didn’t want me to go alone and so I asked William to go. Sounded like an awesome adventure and so William said he’d tag along,” Tom said.
“What a small world we live in,” I said.
“Huh? Oh, yup,” Tom said.
“May I ask…do you know why she wants the djinn bottle?” If I had to guess, I would say that she wanted to harm Izadora in some way. Or take over Merribay. However, I was completely wrong.
“Because! If she got the bottle for Izadora, then Izadora might lessen Magella’s punishment. Then Magella can get back to her boat and head back to sea. Magella is awful miserable living in that crannog. She ain’t coping with it too good,” Tom said.
This was true. Magella had been bitter and depressed for months. She wasn’t used to being stationary and she didn’t believe that she deserved her punishment. She had claimed that she’d been tricked by Zinnia.
“So, Magella was going to get the djinn bottle and give it to Izadora. Then she was going to ask for a lesser punishment?”
“Yup. She wanted Izadora to let her go back to sea,” Tom said.
This story was incredible. Could it be that Izadora knew all of this would happen one day? Izadora had told me that she hadn’t helped Alma break the curse, because “things had to play out in a different way.” Lo and behold, she somehow knew that Tom’s mother, Alma, would go seek help from Magella. She knew that Magella would help Alma. Then two decades or so later, the day would come when Magella would ask Alma for this favor. It was either a really big coincidence; or things did play out to a certain destiny.
While I reveled in the mystery of all of this, Tom was trying to get my attention. As I climbed over the last rock, he said, “Ut-oh, Ivy. They’ve put a noose around her neck.”
As we walked through the archway of flowers, the townspeople threw rotten tomatoes at Izadora. They were chanting, “Hang the witch! Hang the witch!”
The queen’s group of Fae continued to sit upon their horses. Some were watching with curiosity, but a few of them yawned and patted their mouths as though they wanted to be elsewhere. Sometimes they found it tedious to be around humans and would rather be at parties where they could dance and wear their finest clothing. I don’t know how they made their gowns with real flowers that never wilted or where they got all those fancy gems. It probably had a lot to do with glamouring. It was easy to become distracted in their presence but I refocused on what was happening.
I couldn’t see Ladriant and figured he must have drifted off somewhere. Darvon wasn’t present either and I knew he had to be up to no good.
Izadora’s hands were tied behind her back and her head hung in a noose. I had expected her to look like half the old woman that she usually was. I expected her to appear weathered and worn. However, she held her head high and stood proud. Her shoulders hunched from old age and she didn’t have the usual strong posture, but she still had an air of authority about her. She wore her simple white shift dress and not her regular magical robe filled with surprises.
I pushed my way through the crowd and to the wooden contraption. The edge of the narrow stage stood as high as my chest. Her white hair flew haphazardly around her head as it always did. She looked to me and it was then that I could see the doubt in her eyes. I knew it pained her and that she was ashamed to have me see her like this. She always had pride and honor, and magic had flowed in her veins, but now she didn’t have any powers to get us out of this situation. She was helpless.
If we were going to get out of Helsberg alive, I would have to do something about it. I would have to step up and fight this battle. There was no Ian McCallister to turn to; there was no Maximus to ask for help. Not even Aunt Cora or Aunt Clover could help me now. When I realized this—when it all sank in—something inside me changed. When I finally pinpointed it – my fingertips tingled. I was not afraid to use magic anymore.
Someone pulled my hair and I slowly turned around to see a young man with a strong build, and a white tattered shirt. I opened my mouth and let the words flow out:
“For the man who flaunts his anger, he wouldn’t guess that he was in danger. He picks on those in trouble, but I am about to burst his bubble. He can try to flee but I will make my decree…”
By this time the whole crowd had hushed but I wasn’t backing down. I had said the beginning of a spell and all I had to do was pick the punishment. I finished it off with:
“Bending low and standing high…I command thee to curtsy.”
I felt power welling up inside me the entire time I recited the spell. I reached out and touched his shoulder with the tip of my pinky. He jolted back as though I had shocked him with an electric bolt. His body shook for a second or two and then he was bending down low, and swinging his arms out to the side while backing up, and then standing. Bending down low, swinging his arms out to the side while backing up, and then standing. Over and over. I knew this wouldn’t stop till the sun went down and rose up again, and only then would he be free. And yes, I knew that he was curtsying like a girl and not bowing like a man, but that just brought the crowd to laughter.
All the same, the crowd would continue to test me and it didn’t take long for their attention to be focused back on me. But they did seem to back off to give me some room. When they thinned out some, I could see the queen’s small frame standing at the end of the wooden contraption. She glared up at Izadora, and said, “We are going to hang you for what you’ve done to us. You can’t stop us.”
Little did they know, Izadora was used to being hung; thanks to a curse Izaill had put on her once upon a time. It had been me that helped her break that curse. I don’t know if they knew what would really kill Izadora, but she couldn’t touch the ground.
The crowd was relentless and cheered for Izadora to be hung. I was about to speak up, when a burly man chucked a stone that smacked Izadora in the upper arm. She winced from the pain and a welt formed on her arm. Something inside me snapped.
Turning to the man that threw the rock,
I roared like a taunted lioness. He only had time to put a half grin on his face before I was flying through the air and knocking him to the ground. He landed with a loud, “oomph” as the air escaped his lungs. The man was huge but it didn’t matter to me in the least. I slammed my hand on his chest and thought of a simple spell. After all, it’s not only about the words of a spell. It’s about the intention. The words just help you focus your attention. Izadora used rhymes because the Fae and fairies loved rhymes.
“Hot-dog…you’re a frog,” I said.
Poof! Only his cloths lay limp on the ground. The man inside them had disappeared. I pushed myself up, crossed my fingers and waited for it. The crowd oohed and ahhed as something flopped around beneath the shirt. It got closer and closer to the neck hole and there it was – a big fat frog. “Ribbit,” it said once.
Finally. I had mastered that stinkin’ spell! My confidence boosted to new heights but the queen just took this as child’s play. She walked toward me while chanting something. Nevertheless, I was not scared of the queen.
Remembering what Maximus had once taught me, I reached my left hand to the sky, and I mentally pulled the currents of electricity to my palm. When it hit my palm it snaked through my body and out the other hand forming a ball of white light. I felt like nothing could stop me now, and the currents only made me feel stronger as they zipped and zinged throughout my body. If the queen came any closer, this ball of light was going through the center of her body. I would steal the soul right out of her chest. The funny thing about it all – she knew it.
When the queen saw the ball of white light, she clamped her mouth shut. “So, the apple was right. You are untouchable,” she said.
I remembered my apple from the beginning of the race. When I had bitten into it and the queen tossed it to the fire; it didn’t burn. Apparently this meant that I was, “untouchable.”
“Whatever.” I looked to Izadora and I was surprised to find a smirk on her face. She nodded once. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say she was proud of me right now.
The white ball of light that hovered above my hand grew a tiny bit brighter and the queen held up her hands. “Okay. What do you want me to do?”
Something caught my eye and I turned back to Izadora. Her eyes seemed to twinkle like two stars in the night sky. Perhaps, she hadn’t lost all of her power, but that’s not what shocked me. All of a sudden, I caught the meaning of it. My thoughts spun so fast and then ended up on one single word. “Gemini,” I said beneath my breath.
Izadora was the only one to hear this and when she realized I’d figured it out, she jutted her chin up higher.
“Holy cow!” I called out, starling the queen.
My eyes widened as realization hit me like a pile of logs. All of Izadora’s secrecy was for a reason, but what was the reason? Had someone been watching Izadora, and was that why she couldn’t tell me what she knew? Had it been Darvon? Had he been spying on her? That didn’t seem right. Something wasn’t adding up. I tried to piece things together like a jig-saw puzzle. But I knew one thing for certain…
“I can help you! All of you!” I scanned the crowd. Some of them seemed hopeful, while a couple shouted swears at me. “I’m headed to the forest for a short time to retrieve something. I will be back. While I am gone, no harm shall come to Izadora. Untie her hands and remove that noose from her neck!” I commanded.
The queen reluctantly agreed and climbed up on the wooden contraption herself. She lifted the noose from Izadora’s neck and over her head. She then proceeded to untie her hands. While she did this, I focused on the white ball of energy that still floated above my hand. I bent down and let it drain into the earth and then I stood.
And now, I had to leave. I didn’t exactly want to go back to the Death by Depression forest, but there was no way around it. Just as I prepared to go, Ladriant came out of the forest, dragging Darvon by the back of the neck. Darvon wriggled like heck trying to get away but Ladriant squeezed his neck. Each time he did this Darvon would scream and go limp. When they were in earshot, Ladriant said, “He was trying to get away.”
The queen’s face crinkled up in confusion, “Release my brother you scoundrel.”
“I’ll release him but be sure to ask him why he works so hard to keep you in Helsberg.” Ladriant shoved Darvon as he released his neck.
“How did you know about Darvon?” I asked, ignoring everyone else.
“Nothing escapes my ears,” Ladriant said.
“What did he do?” The queen was losing patience at a fast rate.
No one said anything and in the silence you could have heard a tree fall in the forest. It was soon broken when an old man’s voice could be heard singing, “I love picking raspberries, I love picking blueberries and I love eating apples…especially in pies and tarts…oh hey hum ho…”
Just when I thought the drama had reached its peak…out of the forest came Ish McTish and good ol’ Beanie. A rush of adrenalin coursed through my veins. He was alive! He was coatless and his white chest hair escaped over his tight white shirt, and Beanie had one and a half horns. One of the horns had been broken in two and that explained why Darvon had only part of his horn.
“Hellooo!” Ish said.
Dumbfounded, I said, “hello! You’re alive!”
Behind me Izadora grumbled low, “You’d be hard pressed to find a way to kill off that ol’ geezer.”
“Darvon would have you believe that he killed us. He did try; but failed. In fact, the only reason Darvon has half of Beanie’s horn is because Beanie here, rammed it so far up his arse, it broke in two.”
The townsfolk found this to be humorous; especially Tom and William.
“Did you hear that Tom? That giant deer broke his horn on Darvon’s butt,” William grabbed his belly as he chuckled.
“I heard ‘em, William,” Tom said.
Darvon’s face grew five shades of red. His three Fae lady friends rolled in behind him on their horses. Not a single smile cracked their faces and their frown lines were prominent. One of the brunettes rode up to him and held her hand out above his head. She wiggled her fingers and flecks of light showered down over him. The instant the lights touched him, his cloths slowly dissipated. Soon, he was wearing nothing but his underwear and I’m pretty certain that the Fae enchanted them as well. Unfortunately, I got a good look at them before I turned my head. They were yellow with white polka-dots, with white lace around the rims. Not something a high ranking Fae would normally wear.
The second brunette got off her horse and stood above him. He looked up to her and said, “You know I care deeply for you.”
She said some words and touched his shoulder. The next time he tried to speak, he oinked.
The three of them laughed. They were only just getting started.
The three Fae ladies must have spoken to one another and found out that Darvon wasn’t to be trusted.
“Never insult the Fae. Right Tom?” William said. He was standing close to the Fae, watching them perform their tricks.
Tom grabbed him by the arm, “Stand back William! You don’t want any of their magic to get on you.”
The queen was catching on to what was happening and so were the townsfolk. Her brother was a womanizer and somehow he was the one responsible for keeping them in Helsberg. I almost had an ounce of pity for Darvon. By the looks of this crowd, he didn’t have long before he’d be on the wooden contraption with the noose around his neck.
The queen turned to Ish and said, “Tell me the story about my brother.”
“In good time, milady. Let’s see what happens to him first,” Ish said. He then yelled to Darvon, “I wouldn’t want to be you lad. Not for all the gems in the world.”
The queen turned to me, and I said, “It is imperative that I leave now.”
“Where do you need to go?” she asked.
By this time, Ladriant stood next to me. “I’m coming with you.”
I wanted to deny his company but Izadora spoke up. “Take him wit
h you.” I didn’t have time to argue with them.
Answering the queen, I said, “I have to go to the Death by Depression forest.”
“Why would you even think about going there?” she asked.
I didn’t answer. I didn’t want anyone else to know why I was going there, and I turned to go. Before I got five steps away, she said, “Well, if you must go there…take this. It will save you time.”
I spun around to see what she held her hand. It appeared to be a dandelion but the puff part was purple, and the stem a deep burgundy. “Here. These are my last ones. Just blow on the seeds and think about where you need to go. And don’t try to leave Helsberg. It won’t work. I should know, I’ve wasted a dozen trying to leave this hell hole. Oh, and you’ll need my ring.”
She pulled a rather large sapphire ring from her finger, grabbed my hand and slid it on my middle finger. It fit perfectly. I reached out and accepted the puff flowers.
She explained how to use them. I had my doubts, but if it would save time, I’d give it a shot. Ladriant put his hand on my shoulder and I pin-pointed the ring to a single spot in front of us. A small circle of light reflected on the ground and began to expand.
I thought about where we needed to go and blew on the puff flower. When I did so, the smell of stinkweed filled the air; a rank and unpleasant odor. Both Ladriant I sneezed.
An opening the size of a toilet paper roll expanded wider and wider and soon it was tall enough for us to walk into. The tunnel itself held a rainbow of lights. A loud thudding—like that of heartbeats—filled my ears. The tunnel seemed to pulsate as if it were alive.
Everyone had stopped harassing Darvon just to watch the scene before them. They were in awe and completely silent. Ladriant and I stepped into the tunnel of lights and I glanced back one last time to see Izadora. She nodded to me and I knew what it meant.
It was time to find the second bottle. The one that contained the djinn’s twin sister.
***
We arrived at the cavern. The same cavern that I’d seen after exiting the Death by Depression forest. The opening was shaped like an almond and one red flower grew at the entrance. Black grasses grew over the top of the cavern and dead vines dangled over the entrance.
