by J. P. Rice
Red Cap, “My reputation, it needs upheld,
So one of you need be felled,
The choice is up to all of you,
But be in haste for the Warden’s crew,
Is on their way, they’re on your tail,
Death will follow, never fail,
Pick the one who will add to my hat,
And do it fast, so you can scat.”
This was crazy. The rhyming and showmanship were cool, but he wanted us to decide which one of us was willing to die. There had to be another option. I knew using fake gold would come back to haunt me. The Sphinx’s words rang true evermore.
Burn raised her hand, and proclaimed, “I’ll do it.”
“What do you mean, you’ll do it?” I asked.
“I’m not sure how I can be any clearer.” She giggled, but I didn’t find this a laughing matter. “I don’t want to do this, but I believe in this mission you two are on. I’ve seen more sights and wonders than I ever dreamed possible. So if I have to go out like this to make sure that you two can finish the mission, so be it.”
After all the infighting and stress, she could cast that aside for the mission. For Alayna. For me. She truly was a remarkable woman. I wouldn’t let it happen, but just the offer showed what kind of heart she had. It wasn’t a demonic heart either. It was purer than mine.
“No, wait. I’m sure we can work something out.” I peered around the room for something to give me an idea. “There has to be another option. Let’s figure this out together.”
The Rhyming Red Cap paced near the dead body and said, “Five minutes is all I give to thee,
Then the murder, and my glee,
Choose right now, be on your way,
My thirst is peaked for someone to slay.”
A frantic discussion began but none of us could come up with a solution to the problem.
I thought about the man’s motivation. What made him tick? I had it. I leaned in closer to the girl’s and whispered, “He wants blood for his hat. Maybe we could convince him that he can have blood from all of us, therefore upholding his reputation. Instead of blood from just one of us, he can have some from all of us.”
Alayna rolled her eyes, shrugged her shoulders, then concluded, “It’s worth a try and time is running out.”
We went over to the Red Cap, sitting in a throne-like chair in the corner of the room.
I said, “We have an offer for you. We will give you a good bit of blood from all three of us instead of blood from only one of us.”
He thought for a few moments and his hat waved back and forth, replicating a red windshield wiper. He stopped moving his head, and said, “If death it is, you all shall seek,
Look around, take one last peek.”
I immediately spoke up, “No. No. You don’t have to kill all of us to have our blood for your cap. If you just cut us open and used our blood, you would maintain your reputation and nobody has to die.” I held out my hand, allowing electrical impulses to dance on my skin. I wanted to make sure he knew we had magical ability and that he could end up dying if a fight broke out.
He tapped his chin with his middle finger, deep in thought. A glow ran though his eyes as if the prospect of soaking his hat in magical blood intrigued him. He hopped down from the chair, already speaking before his small feet hit the ground.
“An offer made, I can’t refuse,
Instead of one, it’s three I choose,
Lay your hand upon this table,
I’ll choose a knife that’s more than able,
To take my due, yet let you live,
Juicy blood, you all shall give,
Then be gone, forget my name,
If the Warden catches up, oh, what a shame.”
The fact that the Warden terrified the murderous Rhyming Red Cap made me even more fearful of the immortal sidhe warrior. I placed my hand on the wooden table that served as a butcher’s block. My eyes darted around trying to figure out what the Red Cap planned to do.
He moved the long dagger around and the torchlight shone against the glimmering silver blade. The Red Cap placed the knife over my wrist and beads of sweat broke through my skin, covering my entire tense body. I gritted my teeth, closed my eyes and waited for the Red Cap to slice off my hand.
Chapter 31
A severe pain attacked my pinky finger. I didn’t understand why the pain wasn’t centered in my wrist. Opening my eyes slowly, I noticed that the Red Cap was sawing off the tip of my pinky. He pushed and pulled on the knife one more time and a small piece of skin hit the table.
He hurriedly moved my finger from the table to above his hat, which was lying on the floor. He let the burgundy liquid pour from my pinky and rain down on his bloody hat. The pain wasn’t terrible until he squeezed the affected digit, trying to get all the blood he possibly could.
Burn went next and I couldn’t watch the procedure. Relief coursed through me when I noticed Burn’s blood was red, not black like most demons I had killed. I assumed this meant she had more human than demon going on.
I waited for her and Alayna to finish. It seemed like an hour as I walked nervously around the killing room. The Red Cap finished squeezing out all of Alayna’s blood. When satisfied, he released the faerie and put his refreshed hat back on with a huge smile on his face.
The Red Cap shooed us away and said, “Off you go, away from me,
So the Warden knows I’m not harboring thee,
My name must remain out of your mouth,
When the posse arrives from the south,
I did a favor, you see for three,
Repay the act by not mentioning me.”
The butler whisked us up the spiral staircase and out of the castle.
As we crossed the drawbridge, Alayna erupted, “I can’t believe you were using fake coins. I specifically asked you about that and you swore that they were real.”
Busted. I knew this was coming. “I swore that they were real as far as I knew.”
“Well, now we are in a world of hurt.” Alayna hurried around me, elbowing my hip to get by. “We stood a good chance without the Warden coming after us, but I’ve told you he has everyone and everything at his disposal. Our only hope now is that we can travel faster than his word. The people coming after us will likely be on horseback too.”
“How close to the Dragon Horn are we?” Burn asked.
Alayna sped up to a power walk and spoke over her shoulder as she motored ahead, “It’s only about thirteen hours from here. The problem is we only have about ten or twelve hours of sunlight left on the day. Moving at night could cause us to go off course so we will have to finish the trek tomorrow.”
Knowing I’d fucked up, I tried to sound encouraging, “Then we need to get as close as we can and hope we get there before the Warden’s crew shows up.”
We hiked for hours covered in sweat. At least I was. The trip had me drained mentally and physically. I just wanted it to be over so we could go home. It was nothing more than a job right now.
A faint tapping sound hit my ears, and I scanned the camouflage area for other creatures. I couldn’t find anything, and we continued walking down the wide beaten path. The tapping continued, and I realized it was coming from behind.
Spinning around, a cloud of dust appeared in the distance. Horse’s hooves pounded against the dry ground, heading in our direction.
Burn asked, “Should we run into the woods?”
Alayna stared defiantly at the oncoming posse, screaming like wild banshees, which technically they were. “No. They know the land better than we do. We have to eliminate them. You two need to shove some of this dirt in your ears, quickly.”
I suggested, “What about the return liquid? We could use that.”
Alayna had a golden glow around her body and spoke confidently, “Won’t be necessary. I can handle this oncoming crew. No problem. Fill your ears now.”
Confused, I followed Alayna’s instructions and pushed some soil into my ear canals. The loose dir
t kept falling out and Burn was having the same problem.
A frustrated Burn said, “It won’t stay in. It’s too dry.”
Alayna was massaging her vocal cords. “Spit on it. Do what you must, but you will die if you don’t clog your ears.”
Despite the dry mouth, I saturated the soil and stuffed it into my ears. I couldn’t hear Alayna, but she motioned to cover our ears too. Burn and I smashed our hands over our dirt-filled ears as the cavalry bore down on us.
They were about forty yards away when Alayna ripped off her leather mask. I waited nervously for something amazing to save my life or a heaping serving of hot death. The posse closed to within twenty yards and panic swirled through my chest.
Without warning, a piercing, shrill melody erupted from Alayna’s lips. Even with my ears clogged and covered, I thought my eardrums might explode. Her powerful singing blew back the hair of the posse members and froze them in place.
The singing intensified and my eyes started to water, chest tightened. However, I could still see the blurry images of the clothes being blown off all the sidhe. Alayna continued, and their skin lifted from the bones and flew away. Next, all the internal tissue, muscles and organs were wiped away, leaving a group of skeletons on horseback.
Alayna had somehow spared the horses from this spectacle. The former queen finished her melody, and the spooked horses bolted. The white skeletons fell harmlessly to the ground, disappearing under a large cloud of dust that the horses had kicked up.
I counted at least forty warriors.
I fingered the dirt out of my ears, and said, “Well, that was impressive. How did you do it?”
Alayna smiled. “You said your mother is friends with the wind. So am I. As you can see, it has some powerful effects. I’m still working on harnessing the power of the wind on earth by working with Native American spirits, but here, I still have that connection. That’s why I stress for you to get in touch with nature and your surroundings.”
“I see.” I fought away the awe and remembered the clock was ticking. “We better get a move on if we want to get to the Horn.”
Holy shit. We’d handled the first posse sent after us, but how many more could we defeat? Terror set up permanent residence in my heart knowing that the Warden was on our heels. I’d much rather battle him in Pittsburgh than here. On his home turf.
That meant it was necessary to get to the Dragon Horn before the Warden and secure the services of the dragons. Could we beat them there? I worried because we would be on foot and who knew what else could pop up along the way.
The reality of how close we were to pulling this off started to sink in and it scared the shit out of me. Was this Dragon Horn really going to work? The dragons could have died in the past five hundred years, rendering the instrument useless. My biggest episodes of crippling doubt always came at the strangest times.
I took a few deep breaths and remembered one thing. I was Mike fucking Merlino. Maybe Merlin wasn’t my relative, but that hadn’t stopped me from defeating the ogre or figuring out how to convince the Red Cap to let us all live. It couldn’t take away the fact that I was a bad ass wizard and a major force to fuck with.
I just needed to believe in myself a little more. It was hard for me since nobody had believed in me for eleven years after my mother died. Alayna and the Gods believed in me, but the crowd was still small. Self-doubt was my biggest enemy, and I needed to slay that metaphorical dragon.
As nightfall approached, Alayna reminded us, “Don’t forget we have the return potion if anything should happen. I’d hate to use it since we are so close, but it is an option with the Warden closing in.”
The words didn’t comfort me as much as they should. I didn’t want to come all this way to give up a mile short of finding the Dragon Horn.
We hiked until my legs felt like they would fall off. It was well after dark and we set up a small area to camp for the night.
Alayna made a small fire so we wouldn’t attract anything from the wild. “I still can’t believe you used fake coins. We’ve already had that small army of sidhe after us and I don’t suspect they will be the last.”
“I already said I didn’t know about them. We can argue endlessly about this or we can move on. Where is the Dragon Horn from here?” I tried to change the subject.
“All we have to do is go that way,” Alayna said, pointing down the hill. “There is a small field with seven apple trees. In the middle of the field lies a rune stone taller than you, Mike. We have to find the closest tree to the stone. The Dragon Horn is seventeen paces away in a straight line from the stone to the tree.”
“That doesn’t seem very precise,” Burn said.
Alayna warmed her hands over the flames. “That’s not including the creatures that guard that area.”
“Oh great, what do we have to fight through?” I asked.
Alayna explained, “Cockatrices and griffins mainly. They sleep during the day, so if we can sneak in without causing a stir, I might be able to grab the Horn without disturbing them. We need to be quick, though, as the Warden will be on our heels.”
Burn tapped me on the arm. “Hey, can I talk to you in private for a minute?”
“I guess so.” I looked at Alayna. “We will be right back.” I wondered what she had to say that Alayna couldn’t hear.
We fought through some aggressive bushes to get to a small open area. I waited for her to start as the moon drifted behind a cloud, darkening the sparse forest.
Burn blurted, “I just need to let you know that I’m pregnant.”
Was this a joke? “What? We did it less than a week ago. It can’t be me, right?”
She lowered her head. “It happens fast with demons. We are born with our belly buttons inside our bodies and they pop out when we are pregnant.”
That sounded like a turkey timer.
It was time for me to take responsibility and be the man my father never was. “I know what it is. Yeah. One of those demons probably got you pregnant before you left. You said they used you like a chew toy, remember?” My cowardly tongue betrayed me. What the hell was that? That was NOT what I had intended to say.
“Fuck you, first off.” Despite the lack of fire, flames danced in her angry eyes.
“That’s not what I meant to say.”
She held up her finger, giving me the ubiquitous shush symbol. “Just shut your fucking mouth. You’ve already said more than enough. Time for you to listen. What you didn’t let me finish saying was that I don’t expect anything from you. I’ll raise the child on my own if necessary.”
“I...”
She thrust her hand up as another warning for me to remain quiet. She continued, “When I first met you, you locked me in a closet and I thought you were just like the rest. Then you took me to your house and served me food and alcohol. Nobody had ever done that for me before.”
She sniffled and got emotional. “You even let me take control during sex. Another first, and I felt empowered. All the demons used me like an object and tossed me aside. With you, I was equal, and felt pleasure I’d never thought possible. It was really refreshing.”
She paused for a few moments and shook her head. “But I guess it was just all the Jameson. I mean, I see the way you look at me when you’re drunk as opposed to when you’re sober. I know I’m ugly. I’ve heard the insults my entire life. I’ve accepted that I’ll never be considered beautiful.”
She sniffled again, and tears rushed to my eyes. She said, “But then you treated me like a queen. And that made me feel beautiful. I just wish it didn’t take alcohol for you to treat me well. And I mean, you’ve helped me realize that there is a possibility I will find love someday. You’ve just made it crystal clear that it won’t happen with you. And I’m fine with that.”
Burn paused for a few moments. “It’s strange, though. Of all the disgusting, heinous, perverted acts I’ve suffered through, and there have been plenty of them. Things I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy. Deplorable, demented things
. But it all pales compared to what I’m feeling right now.”
She turned to leave, and I wanted to scream for her to stop so I could right this situation. As if she’d heard me, she stopped and looked over her shoulder. “And just so you know, I’ll still turn myself in to the demons of the Red Cavern so you can get back your knife. That’s how an honorable person acts.”
She continued walking away, and I finally said, “Wait. I really do like and respect you. I don’t think I’m giving you an accurate portrayal of me.”
She turned around, chuckled through some sniffling and uttered, “Someone once told me to trust people’s actions, not their words. I know you’re going through some stuff still with your ex-girlfriend, but I think you need to figure out who you are first, before you worry about women or being a father.”
And on that note, she disappeared into the woods, returning to the campsite. I pulled out the last goatskin of booze I had and drained my sorrow. I chugged about four or five shots of Jameson and threw the skin away.
I wiped the spirits from the sides of my mouth. What the fuck was I doing? I’d let my father’s inclination sneak back inside me somehow. And now I was using alcohol as an excuse for everything. The girls were right. I was using it as a crutch.
I knew whom I needed right now. I thought about my mother and waited for the tingling to start up on my neck. Nothing. I tried to refresh some memories of when she was alive. I went back to my tenth birthday party.
Still nothing. I jogged my mind for every memory that had worked in the past.
Nothing.
At that moment, in another world in the middle of nowhere, more alone than I’d ever been in my life—not even my mother wanted to hang out with the imposter I’d become. I could hardly blame her.
Wait. What was that? I sniffed the pleasing smells of a cake. It reminded me of the carrot cake from my tenth birthday. Maybe my mother was here. The delicious scent lingered in my nostrils. I naturally followed the smell down a slight hill, off the beaten path.
I came to a small opening. The cake had to be right here. Leaning down closer to the ground, I saw no cake. Son of a bitch.