by J. P. Rice
Chapter 25
Next morning, the Sphinx and I walked up the Rosendales’ castle steps. I thought my partner might have issues with the stone staircase, but she powered right along, her long claws merely scraping the surface. Armored dwarves lined both sides of our path, standing at attention with bastard swords in their right hands as we ascended toward Mirera and Fetterman. The smiling couple was perched on the top platform. They sat atop their horses, carrying each other’s head as usual.
The Rosendales were widely respected around Sleepy Willow because of their benevolent actions. They were one out of only a dozen food suppliers on the island. Almost all the other suppliers were cruel and stingy with their rations, so many of the citizens had flocked to the Rosendales’ district.
Fetterman Rosendale sat atop a caparisoned destrier replete with a headdress featuring a gleaming ruby that sat in the middle of the horse’s forehead. He was wearing an ill-fitting and filthy Victorian suit of faded black material. He held his wife’s head in his left hand, her pale cheek pressed against his hip.
His fingers were interlocked in her greasy black hair and he raised her head slightly as we approached. She had smeared eyeshadow over the bridge of her nose and a heavy dose of rouge on her cheeks. Her brown eyes lit up as if she loved unexpected guests.
Her body sat atop a pale horse, armored in gleaming silver and wearing the same ruby headdress as the other animal. She wore a powder blue dress, tainted with speckled blood. The same one she was wearing the last time I was here. The material was heavily stained with dirt and grass in random areas, especially near her knees.
Her hand rested on her husband’s scalp, fingers tucked away under the tangled mess of dark brown locks. Fierce brownish-red eyes sat below thick black eyebrows surrounded by a round face covered in dirt and uneven facial hair. They didn’t look the part of regional rulers, but they were loved nonetheless.
There wasn’t as much pageantry as my last visit—only a few Hail Rosendales chants—but that was fine with me. I bowed before the Rosendales and the Sphinx did the best curtsy she could manage with a lion’s body. As I stood on the top step which acted as a platform to address citizens, I said, “It’s great to see you again.”
Mirera and Fetterman didn’t seem to hear me as their eyes were locked on the Sphinx. Fetterman spoke in awe, “I’m glad they finally let you out that cage. Shouldn’t of put you in that thing in the first place.”
The Sphinx lowered her shy eyes, batted her lashes, and uttered, “They didn’t exactly let me out.”
Mirera said, “You don’t have the Master after you, do you? We don’t need him stomping through our land.”
The couple spoke with a strange accent that meshed English and southwestern cowboy.
Fetterman’s destrier kept snapping at the Sphinx. She kept an eye on the ornery animal and explained, “I’m sure they know I’m gone by now, but nobody had any idea about this so it will probably take them a while to figure out where I went. I’d like to think most would suspect I’d leave Sleepy Willow entirely and not even look for me.”
I added, “Plus we flew over here so they have no idea where we went. I think you’re safe.”
“Uh, the young boy thinks we’re safe, hun. Guess we shouldn’t worry,” Fetterman said in an insulting tone as his wife’s horse reared back.
I didn’t let it affect me. In this business, you had to check your ego at the door, as hard as that was. Before we got booted off their land, I said, “Look, we’ll make this short and sweet and then get out of here. I have a favor to ask that could be of great interest to you.”
“Now he’s wanting us to do him a favor. This is turnin’ into a real hoot. You’re lucky we’re even talking to you,” Fetterman said. The dullahan, who had been totally accommodating on my last visit, was in a foul mood today, but he was essential to the success of my plan.
The Sphinx spoke before I had a chance to respond, “We thank you greatly for your grace and honor in taking this impromptu meeting. We have a chance to rescue Queen Al and eliminate King Ballistar. We thought you’d like to know. Sorry to offend.”
The Sphinx made a wide turn with her lengthy body and threatened to leave. Mirera said, “Wait.”
Fetterman’s angry scowl started to melt and the fire in his eyes began to dull. “Now why didn’t you just say that from the start. Woulda saved a whole heap of trouble.”
Mirera asked, “What is your plan, precisely?”
The Sphinx and I turned to each other, unsure of who would talk. We had a plan, perhaps not a precise one, but we had a plan. I explained, “We are going to storm the castle and save Queen Al. Then we will defeat the king and his henchmen if they dare stand in our way.”
Mirera asked casually, “What about his dragons?”
“Excuse me?” I tried to buy a few moments.
Mirera immediately followed up. “What are you going to do in regards to his dragons? You know, those big reptilian creatures that spit fire. What are you going to do?”
I hadn’t thought much about the dragons because of the Dragon Horn. “They have the Dragon Horn inside the castle. Once we get that, I can send a signal to the noble dragons to come defeat King Ballistar’s aerial army.”
Fetterman spoke plainly, “How do you know the Horn is inside the castle and how are you gonna get it out?”
Jeez Rosendales, you weren’t kidding about a precise plan. I felt like I was being interrogated by the police as a wave of sweat appeared above my brow. My usual philosophy of winging it had worked out well so far.
The Sphinx spoke before me again, “Faeries.” Fetterman and Mirera stared at her blankly as she continued, “I am friends with some of the fairies of Sleepy Willow. Mainly the pixies. They are some of the only creatures that could fit between the tiny gaps in my cage. We are going to send in a large group of faeries, small enough that they can’t be seen. They will work collectively to grab the Dragon Horn and bring it to me. Then I will hand it to our friend over here and the dragon problem will be taken care of.”
They were so in tune with each other that Fetterman used his hand to nod with Mirera’s head as she pursed her lips seemingly agreeing with us. The two heads turned to one another. They stared at each other in silence. Just as it started to become uncomfortable, Fetterman turned to me and asked, “What kind of favor is it you’re looking for?”
I spoke softly, “We were just wondering if you could send some of your people to fight against the king.”
“What? And get them killed?” Fetterman snapped at me.
I held my arms out at my sides and shrugged. “I can’t ensure a one-hundred percent survival rate. But we’re not trying to get anyone killed. If you say no, I totally understand.”
Fetterman took a deep breath in through his nose. I wondered where he’d gotten the air from as he said, “We have some people we might be able to send with you. Not many, though. If you want to wait a few days, I am interested in helping Queen Al. She didn’t deserve what happened to her and I’m just glad she’s alive.”
I pointed out the problem, “That’s the thing. If we wait, they could kill her at any point so time is of the essence.”
Fetterman turned his wife’s head and their eyes locked. About ten seconds later, Mirera said, “Why not?”
She turned Fetterman’s head toward me and his burgundy stained lips started to move. “In that case, like I said, we’ll give you all the help we can, but there ain’t a lot of people that can just up and leave.”
I turned to the Sphinx and then back to the Rosendales, specifically Fetterman. “We understand. People will be rewarded mightily for their effort. You can rest assured.”
Fetterman immediately responded, “You just came here and told me that you’re making a bid to take out the king. How the hell am I to rest easy after hearing that?”
I closed my eyes and smashed my lips together as I realized the error in my ways. “Poor choice of words. Don’t you want freedom?”
I had
directed the question at Fetterman’s head, but Mirera answered, “We already got that. The king, he don’t really mess with us.”
“But your people.” I turned around and gestured at the dwarves on the steps. “If the king wanted to, he could come and enslave all of your citizens, who ultimately owe allegiance to him first. He’s gone a bit mad and there’s no telling what he will do.”
Fetterman snorted in derision. “That’s my worry, junior. It’s gonna sound cliché, but you take a swipe at the king, and you damn well miss, I don’t think I gotta tell you the rest of the story.”
It almost sounded as if he had gotten confused halfway through and tried to piece everything together after that. “Our aim is as true as our intentions. We won’t miss.”
Fetterman turned his wife’s head toward his again. Without her saying a word, his head twisted, facing us again. “Alrighty, then. Tell you what. We’ll go round up as many as we can for you and bring them right back. You two can go inside and enjoy the comforts of the castle.”
“Much appreciated, good sir,” I said with a slight nod of my head.
The dwarves rushed into action, scurrying down the steps to set up a rectangular wooden plank to cover the steps. Mirera and Fetterman’s horses moseyed up to the incline and descended at a slow walk. As soon as the two horses’ front hooves hit the soft green grass, they took off like twin rockets, flinging mud and small chunks of earth in all directions.
I turned to the Sphinx, shrugged my shoulders and held out my arm for her to lead the way into the castle.
*****
About two hours later, the Rosendales returned to the castle with a tiny misfit army to assist us. A swarm of faeries zoomed around above our heads. Elves and dwarves armed with pieced together weapons and longbows stood at attention in front of the castle steps, wide eyed and ready for battle.
A group of dullahans were lined up behind the small folk. All in all, there were about fifty dwarves and an equal amount of dullahans. I couldn’t count the faeries because of their miniscule size, but there had to be hundreds of them buzzing around.
Fetterman said, “We’ll send the faeries and small folk ahead and then have the cavalry take off later so they meet up near the castle. I’ll see what else we can do to help you out, but don’t get your hopes up. This might be it right here. We wish ya the best of luck, Darryl.”
Darryl? What the hell was he talking about? Oh yeah, I’d used a fake name the last time I had visited. The Sphinx stared at me, her eyes squinting in confusion. I shook my head quickly and waved my hand near my midsection, trying to give her the ‘I’ll explain later, please just drop this’ look. It was a big deal, but if the Rosendales found out that I’d lied to them, they would be less likely to help out.
The Sphinx nodded and turned her attention back to the Rosendales.
Any and all help was welcome, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed. The Rosendales had thousands of citizens under their control. I understood not wanting to send people to take on a king who had ruled for more than a thousand years. Most of my missions sounded suicidal when I reflected on them after the fact. So I couldn’t blame the Rosendales for not trusting some random guy named Darryl.
With that said, it still sucked. Brute force was now off the menu. We would have to be ten times craftier now. “We appreciate all the help.”
The Sphinx addressed our new crew, “First, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for doing this. Darryl and I will fly ahead and inspect the area around the castle.” She turned and winked at me, then focused back on her newly assembled force. “We will meet you on Mount Royal near the apple grove on the south face. Do you know what I’m referring to?”
The Sphinx had to have heard stories about the apple grove because she’d been locked up on the other side of the island. However, the faeries buzzed louder, seemingly in agreeance and the dwarves nodded with confidence. The dullahans used a quick motion with their wrists to nod with the decapitated heads.
The small folk took off up the northern path with the faeries flying overhead, following them from above. The dullahans left to prepare for the upcoming trip.
I wasn’t sure how much help this army would be, but it was better than nothing. “Thank you for this. I won’t forget about it.”
“Don’t go gettin’ my people killed now, young feller,” Fetterman said with a wink.
“We will do our best,” I promised, put my right hand on my belly and bowed to Mirera. I stood up and lifted my left arm. Miraculously, the pain was gone. It couldn’t have been the kiss. Right?
Mirera looked at me and then at the Sphinx. “I guess we’ll see you around the way, then.”
Another group of dwarves rushed in and slid the piece of flat wood over the steps so that the Rosendales could get into their castle. The horses turned, reared back and rushed up the incline, dashing through the raised portcullis and into the castle.
I turned to the Sphinx and smiled. “We need to make one stop before we go stake out the castle. Do you know the Rhyming Red Cap?”
“Of course. You already mentioned that. I mean, as far as the Red Cap goes, I’ve heard the stories. You need to guide the way again,” she said and leaned forward, dropping her shoulder close to mother earth. I gently hooked my leg over her body and slid into position. As I wrapped my arms around her neck, I could feel her musculature as she spread her wings and her body tensed up.
The Sphinx started beating her wings slowly and majestically, building up speed gradually. Within moments, we were lifting off the ground and rising above the Rosendales’ castle. Soon, we streaked through the early morning pumpkin sky of Sleepy Willow.
My thighs burned as I clung on for dear life. One hasty movement could send me hurtling to a bloody death. I still couldn’t believe that the Sphinx’s kiss had worked. Without full strength in that arm, I would have had a hell of a time staying atop the mythical animal.
Most of the scenery below was covered by the bushy green tops of the trees. It was like a Bob Ross painting. A happy little tree over here and a nice, friendly stream over there.
About every ten miles or so was a village or small town. Just close enough so the citizens could make it there and back on foot in one day. As I gazed ahead, a castle that lay in ruins appeared out of the swirling mosaic of browns and greens.
I tapped the Sphinx with my elbow. “That’s it right there.”
Chapter 26
The Sphinx descended gradually and circled the castle, coming to a gentle stop near the castle bridge. I got down and wondered if the Red Cap would be as receptive to visitors as our previous host. We crossed the bridge and came to a giant castle door.
“I’ll handle this,” said the Sphinx as she walked up to the wooden door. She did a quick about face and raised her right hind leg. She proceeded to pound against the door repeatedly, causing a booming, echoing sound that bounced off the moat water below. It was a cop knock if I’d ever heard one.
We waited for a few minutes and I started to get nervous. I’d always said anything could happen in this land, which I imagined held true even for those in a power position. Just as I was about to suggest we leave, the door creaked and began to slide toward us.
The black metal framework that edged the door scraped abrasively against the stone ground. Out of the shadowy opening emerged a giant man. It was the Red Cap’s butler. I waited for him to use his Lurch phrase again, but he just stood in silence, his freakishly white face and bright red lips making me uncomfortable. When he caught a glimpse of the Sphinx, he blushed and looked down at the moat, then tried to comb his messy hair with his sausage fingers.
I bowed and stated, “We’re here to see the Red Cap, my good man.”
“Have you an appointment?” the butler asked in a slow, bass-filled drawl.
“We do not. But I can guarantee he will want to talk to us.” I widened my eyes and let the words linger, trying to entice the servant.
He waggled his eyebrows, then looked down at
the rushing waters below the bridge. “I hear those words often. No. Very often. Nearly every single day.”
Apparently, he didn’t recognize me from our last visit. How rude. “Is it every day that the Sphinx is standing on your doorstep?”
He raised his head and his creepy gaze landed on the Sphinx. He tried to hide his goofy smile by partially covering his mouth with his hand and turning away. “I cannot say that happens daily. What is it you want?”
The Sphinx answered, “We are looking for a little assistance. It will be well rewarded.”
His forehead wrinkled and it appeared that the jagged point of his widow’s peak was trying to stab his nose. “How so? What will the reward be for my master?”
I decided to play to his desires. “More power. Which means more blood for his cap. Isn’t that what he really wants?”
The butler rubbed the dimple on his chin and peered off in the distance. “Promises made are much different than promises kept. To trust a man on a doorstep, one would have to be a fool.”
“I think it’s for a good cause. Would you do it for me?” the Sphinx asked, batting her eyelashes and turning away shyly.
Beads of sweat formed above the butler’s prominent brow and his pale face turned a dark shade of red, stopping just short of black cherry. He stammered, tripping over his own words, “I can. I suppose. For you. I’ll be right back.” He turned and hustled away, mumbling to himself.
I heard his feet shuffling across the stone floor until he disappeared into darkness. As soon as the butler was outside earshot, I said, “Using your looks to get what you want. You might have been locked up for a long time, but you sure know how the world works.”
The Sphinx smirked and her neck jerked to the right. She stared at the opening of the castle door as the sounds of footsteps returned.
I heard the Red Cap’s voice, “What do they want? Why are they here?
Is there something that I should fear?”
His butler explained, “The say they just want to ask you something and that it will be worth your time.”