by J. P. Rice
Titania walked toward me as she spoke, “I don’t have any friends. Do you think she would be my friend?”
“I would be your friend,” I said softly.
She stopped in her tracks and looked up at me. “You would? Nobody wants to be my friend. Hey, wait a minute. You’re my enemy. You ruined my life.”
I’d found a chink in her armor. She didn’t want friends. She needed them. Despite her tough words, I could hear the desperation in her voice inflections. “Think about the trouble you and I could cause. Throw in the Morrigan and we would be something to mess with.”
“But you’re going to die,” she reminded me, slapping me back into reality.
I tried to shove all the physical pain to the side so my brain could operate at maximum capacity, but the raw rope burn was impossible to ignore. If I could bring Titania to my side, I could get out of here alive. “Let’s see if we can fix that. If you want your magic back, you need to pull up my pant leg and cut my flesh in a crisscross to make an X. Then do the same with your body and line both cuts up.”
Titania did as instructed and waited for me. I stared into the opening in the wall to make sure nobody was coming. The dragonfly could take some of my magic without sucking out all of it, then help me escape this hell.
I peered around the room one more time and whispered the powerful words of the blood magic spell to Titania. She was the first person I’d ever told. The dragonfly joined the two cuts together and repeated the words.
I repeated the final line to her, “Freely, I give my blood and all it possesses unto thee.”
I felt the blood draining from my veins and watched Titania’s purple body shift to a deep burgundy. Her stinger swelled, the lumps between her thorax and abdomen grew and she wobbled around for a few moments before falling onto her side. The dragonfly immediately sprang back up.
“Wow. I feel much stronger,” she announced and performed a few strange-looking jumping jacks. If we had performed the ritual correctly, Titania would take back all the magic she had given me and then some. Due to her size, she couldn’t absorb much more magic than that, which left plenty for me.
“Try out your wings,” I suggested.
Titania beat her wings and cocked her head to the side from the wondrous rippling sound she hadn’t heard in a hundred years. She rose about a foot off the ground and sped like a meteor into the stone wall. A chunk of the wall came loose as Titania crashed to the ground and kicked up a cloud of dust.
She jumped up and shouted, “Holy shitballs. I didn’t feel a thing.” She pointed at the wall. “I did that and I didn’t feel a thing. I’m one bad bitch. Wow.” That injection of magic seemed packed with pure adrenaline.
And she couldn’t hold back her yearning for friendship. Hell, I could always use a good friend, too. Life worked in mysterious ways.
“Yes, you are. And yes, we are if you can help me get out of here,” I hinted.
“Alrighty. How do we make that happen?” she enquired enthusiastically. All right, I’d given her one thing she desired. Now to play the friendship card.
I instructed, “You need to shoot some fire out of your little tush there and burn these ropes off my arms and legs.”
Titania huffed. “It’s called a stinger, silly. What about all the guards? They’re stationed everywhere. We could get past Groggy Todd and Sleepy Pete because they don’t know magic, but the rest will surely capture us.”
Every time I’d taken magic from another entity, it was followed by a period of euphoria that lasted about an hour. It appeared Titania was in that boat right now, and I needed to take advantage while she was still riding high. Hopefully, the magic injection had caused her to forget the past for a while.
I said, “If you can get me loose, I can call on our third friend to help us with a distraction. She might not show up, but she will surely send some friends to assist us. She’s never let me down before. Look. If you want to tell me how to get out of here and meet me on the outside, I’ll understand. You shouldn’t put your life on the line for me.”
Titania spoke a mile a minute. “What? And let my new friend down? Unfathomable. I’ll guide you out. I am your navigator. I can’t be stopped with my new magic.” She raised her fists and jabbed at the open air like a boxer before a fight.
Titania had no problem burning off the ropes around my ankles, which had been tied to the post. My arms were wrapped around the wooden post with my wrists tied together. Titania flew around behind me and got started.
My fingertips burned, and Titania yelled, “Sorry. I’m a little shaky right now.”
I bit my bottom lip and kept quiet so I wouldn’t attract any attention. Titania hit my pinky again, and I ground my teeth together, biting back the urge to scream. My body fell forward as the rope on my wrists burned away. I yanked my arms forward, and a rush of freedom streaked through my chest.
My momentum carried me forward and I fell onto my hands and knees, but I didn’t care. I was loose. I checked out my fingertips but it was hard to assess the burns with the dirt covering them. Ignoring the discomfort, I immediately went to my wrist and pried my skin open to expose the raven’s eye.
I pressed down with my thumb, covered the eye completely and waited a few seconds. A surge of energy rushed through my body and I slid my thumb to the side, exposing a glowing red eye.
I moved my wrist close to my face and pinched open the skin again. “I need your help. I’m at the Lair of Justice and I need help sneaking out of here.”
I pulled the torch out of the ground and followed Titania over to the opening. An awful thought hit me. The Morrigan had never specified how long it would take for her to respond. What if she didn’t get the message soon?
“Why don’t you check out the scene,” I suggested as I tried to calm my nerves.
“Be right back,” the hyper dragonfly said and flew through the crack.
I waited for her to scope it out and reached for my pants pocket. Where was it? My half-heart locket wasn’t in my pocket. I searched everywhere on my body and found nothing. Frantically, I dropped to my knees and searched around.
I slapped the ground in anger when I realized that Merlin or the Huntress had taken it. Escape took precedence right now. But I made a silent promise to Darabond and myself that I would return and claim my locket.
The Morrigan’s voice came through the raven’s eye. “Junipher. Avian help is on the way. Should arrive in a few minutes.” I let out a sigh of relief, but my adventure was just starting.
About thirty seconds later, Titania returned and hovered near my face. “We are clear to get past the two snoozing guards, but trouble’s lurking thereafter.”
I told her, “I just got confirmation that the Morrigan has our back.”
She spoke excitedly, “Oh, mama. Wait a minute, I shouldn’t be nice to you. You ruined my life. I should let them kill you.”
I knew it was too good to be true. Due to her size, her euphoria period could have been shorter than mine. Time to try a little psychology. “I understand. I hope you find friends.”
“I’ll find some friends. Don’t worry about that,” she said forcefully, her four wings beating and holding her in place right in front of my face.
“I believe you. You know I’ve had many people try to kill me. And then I’ve ended up working with them and completely forgetting everything. I’m not saying to forget everything, but you can use me to accomplish your goals. I can’t help you if I’m dead.”
Titania contemplated my words for a few moments. “The J.J.E. did say you were one bad bitch that needed to be put down. But you will listen to me,” she demanded.
Without bargaining chips, it forced me to agree now and renegotiate later. If she was still high on magic, she could be blacked-out right now and forget everything after we busted out of here. “We’ll work as a team until we get out of here and then I am at your command.”
“You have yourself a deal. But if we get caught, I’m telling them you forced me into it
,” Titania warned.
Perhaps I’d let her absorb too much magic. I’d hoped I could exploit the after effects to get her help, but she seemed a touch paranoid. I said, “Okay. Try to control yourself on the way out of here. Don’t go flying too far ahead.”
Titania saluted me. “You can count on me. Ready when you are.”
I thought for a second and said, “Let’s wait another minute and make our move. By that time, the Morrigan’s help will be here. And I don’t mean to be rude, but what are those things?” I pointed at her lumps.
The dragonfly answered, “My boobs, silly. Most dragonflies have tiny bumps. But not me. No way. It’s another way everyone knows who I am.”
“Well, you can’t spell Titania without...you know...” I hinted.
She cut me off, confused, “What?”
“You can’t spell Titania without tit,” I said.
Titania giggled and said, “Right. Good one. Say, I’ve been living here lately. Is it okay if I stay with you for a while once we bust out of here? Just until I get back on my feet and branch out on my own.” She talked a mile a minute. I assumed it was a combination of the adrenaline rush caused by the magic absorption and her lack of friends. She was dying to hold a friendly conversation with someone.
I twisted the torch in my hand. “Sure. You can stay with me as long as you need.”
She put her hands up in front of her. “And don’t worry. I’m clean, don’t take up much room and I never eat the last piece of pizza.”
“You eat pizza? I didn’t even think you’d know what pizza was,” I said, surprised.
Since she didn’t really have fingers, she put her hand in front of her mouth. “Shhh. I was sent out with Sleepy Pete to find some information in New York. He got us a pie and told me about pizza culture even though we were supposed to focus solely on the mission, so don’t tell anyone. But I eat a lot of stuff. Red meat is my favorite,” she revealed.
“Raw red meat?”
Titania huffed. “No, silly. I’m a dragon, just like you. I like it charred on the outside and bloody red or purple in the middle.”
There was a style of cooking a steak around my city known as Pittsburgh Rare. Charred on the outside but still rare in the middle. It was friggin’ delicious.
I whispered, “Time for action. Lead the way, Titania.”
She nodded and flew into the opening. I had to turn sideways to get my shoulders through and ran my free hand along the wall as a guide. With the torch in front of me and Titania a few feet ahead, the path widened. I saw a guard sleeping on a stool with his back and head leaning against the wall. We passed Groggy Todd and went left at a fork in the path.
I followed my new friend down a straightaway that ended with the choice of going right or left. Sleepy Pete was passed out on the ground, blocking the escape route. My heart thumped as Titania led the way to the left. I stepped over the snoring guard and the path became even wider.
We continued the great escape, and I heard a commotion up ahead. Merlin? A burst of wind blew my hair back and a group of dark winged creatures flooded into the room. I assumed they were bats and grabbed Titania, clutching her to my breast and blocking her from attack by covering her with my forearms. As they closed in on us, I realized they were crows.
The murder surrounded us completely, creating an avian shield. Inside the wing-beating madness, in the eye of the storm, the crows left enough space for us to maneuver. I couldn’t tell if the birds were real or some sort of illusion spell. One thing was certain. The Morrigan had sent them, and they would protect us.
I released Titania and she flew in front of my face. She looked up at me, and her voice cracked as she said, “You were...you were going to save me?”
I shrugged my shoulders. “That’s what friends do. At least, that’s what I’ve been told. Look. But I can’t see through all the flapping wings of the dark mass. I’m not sure how this will help us.”
“I can see through. Allow me to lead the way,” she said proudly.
Titania started moving forward. I followed her as the murder of crows moved with us and acted like a mobile shield. I heard voices, and someone entered the room. I peered through a small clear sliver and saw the outside layer of crows peeling off and attacking the intruder. Screams of pain brought a smile to my face as I realized this could work.
We continued up to a closed door and I worried about being trapped in the Lair of Justice. Emboldened by her new magic, Titania forced her way through the sea of crows and rammed her thorax into the sensor for the door. A buzzer sounded, and the door slid open horizontally.
The diligent little dragonfly blasted her way back inside the protective crows and hovered in front of my face momentarily. She regained her bearings, and we went through the opening into the next room.
I heard someone scream, “Oh shit.”
Several layers of crows on the outside broke away from the shield and attacked our enemy. An eruption of cursing followed. I couldn’t see it, but it felt like more crows were taking the place of those who had gone on the attack. We remained fully insulated from outside forces. And if I knew the Morrigan, it shielded us from magic attacks trying to penetrate the crows. Sorry, Merlin.
“We just need to get to this room over here,” Titania announced over the beating wings, terrible squawking and muffled screams of pain.
She led the way over to another steel door and weaved her way through the flapping black wings and up to the door sensor. She head-butted the sensor, and the door slid open. Before returning to the eye of the storm, Titania flipped her body around and shot fire from her stinger. The area became engulfed from the strong stream of flames, disabling the sensor.
We rushed into a room full of portals. The crows flew away, receding into the background of the dark room. I looked around at about forty glowing portals lined up in a rectangle. Which one was going to Seattle?
Spaced about two feet apart, the rippling waves of energy left a spark of electricity in the air. A long table covered in papers sat inside the rectangle of portals.
I told Titania, “We need to get to Seattle to get my friend before we go back to Pittsburgh.”
Boom! Something battered the steel door, causing the screws with silver dollar-sized heads to loosen. Boom! The steel bowed in toward us, leaving a craterous indentation in the door. Boom!
“Which one goes to Seattle?” I asked.
“I’m not sure. There is a guide here on the table.” She zoomed over and took a peek.
Boom! The strained sound of metal bending harshly against itself returned.
“Hurry up,” I said, wondering how much time we had.
“I’m going as fast as I can. I don’t read Latin.” She turned to me, and I noticed her thorax and abdomen had changed from dull burgundy to glowing scarlet.
I rushed over to the table and checked out the guide. Titania said, “See this is in Latin up here.” She pointed at the top paragraph.
“Yeah, just look down here. Seattle isn’t in Latin and it says its number 3. That one over there is marked three,” I pointed at an emerald portal.
“Right you are, friend. Let’s do this,” she announced with gusto and zoomed over to the portal.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Before the door blew off the hinges, I cupped Titania’s body with my hand and pushed her in as I entered the rippling emerald portal. My body flipped upside down during the transfer and all the blood rushed to my head. I felt like I was about to pass out, when my body fell onto freshly fallen snow.
My body sank into the powder, the temperature shocking my system. It took a few moments to regain my balance and get to my feet. I looked around, wondering what happened to Titania. Why hadn’t she showed up with me?
With members of the magic council likely on my tail, I didn’t have time to figure this out. Magic didn’t always make sense. Okay, I needed to dust the snow off myself, find Owen and get the hell back to Pittsburgh.
I looked down to work my way out of the snow, which was up t
o my knees, when something caught my eye. An orange flash of fire sprang from the snow, creating a small tunnel. As I leaned over to check it out, Titania shot through the opening in a blur of bright blue and green, streaking ten feet into the air. She hovered, dusting the snow off her body, arms and legs.
As she lowered herself to my height, she screamed, “Whoa. I thought that was it. What’s the plan now, friend?”
“Your body keeps changing colors,” I pointed out.
She nodded. “My body acts like a mood ring and changes colors depending on how I’m feeling, and the weather has a slight impact on it. Red means I’m mad and blue is when I’m calm and cold. So, what’s the plan?”
I informed her, “We need to find my friend, Owen. He’s a cat.”
“Let me give it the old sniffaroo.” She audibly took in some winter air. “Sorry, no cat smells. I’m getting a weird odor like mothballs or something musty like that.”
My eyes widened. “Okay. We need to follow that smell. Take me to the mothball smell.”
“You got it, new friend.”
Titania shot ahead and then slowed down. It appeared she was still getting used to her powers. She guided us into the woods where the snow was only two-inches deep, and I jumped over a fallen tree trunk blocking my path.
She sped ahead into a clearing and said, “There it is. Hanging over there.”
Hanging over there? They hanged Owen? Terror plucked at my heartstrings as I shoved a tall Holly bush to the side and entered the clearing.
Titania hovered next to Owen’s trench coat. Hanging over a tree branch. Where the hell was Owen? I scanned the area, hoping to find him somewhere. Anywhere.
Gloomy shades of white and brown were all I could find. Did the Bounty Huntress take the portal here and arrive in a different location? Did she get to Owen? I wanted to scream his name but thought better of it since I was on the run.
As I neared Owen’s coat, Titania said, “Oohh, I smell a fresh one. P U.”