by Sarah Noffke
“That’s pretty crazy, huh?” Al asked, giving her a look of surprise. “They look just like otters, don’t they?”
“Actually…” Liv drew out the word, trying to figure out how best to explain this. “There are no such things as otters.”
“Huh?” Al gave her a look of disbelief. “Come again now?”
“That,” she said, pointing to where the Lutrinae had popped up again, already wearing Al’s necklace, “is a Lutrinae. You’ve seen them before, but they always appeared to be otters to you.”
“Wait, you’re telling me that otters have never existed but these Lu-whatevers have?”
Liv nodded. “You see, as a mortal, you’ve never been able to see magical creatures before. Your brain always saw them as something acceptable. However, what you’re seeing now is real.”
Al laughed. “You sound like you’ve subscribed to that silly business the President lady has been spreading. She’s been telling us magic is real. Have you ever heard of anything so ridiculous?”
“But you yourself said that what you’ve been seeing in the swamp seems magical,” Liv argued.
“Yeah, but that’s just something that people say,” Al countered. “I mean, that otter-thing is weird, but I was just figuring that it’s a deformed species. Maybe from too much pollution.”
Liv was about to argue when she felt something tug at Bellator. She spun around to find the Lutrinae trying to steal her sword. “Hey, now!” She slapped the creature’s hand away.
It gave her a look of offense and slipped back under the water.
Al pulled off his hat, rubbing his head. “You telling me that’s normal?”
“Yes, but I get that it’s a lot to digest.”
“Now, you called me a mortal,” Al stated, driving the boat into a particularly dense area. The tree canopy overhead was solid, shrouding them in darkness. “What would that make you?”
Liv took a deep breath, enjoying the fresh, moist air. “I’m a magician.”
The tour guide laughed. “Oh, that’s what the news has been saying. Apparently, there are elves, gnomes, and all sorts. I can’t tell you how many people on social media are now claiming they are related to elves or something.”
Liv had heard about this. Mortals who were obsessed with what they had always thought was fantasy were now claiming they were magicians or elves. They weren’t, and it was making everything really confusing, but she suspected things would get stranger before they got sorted out.
“I can prove I’m a magician,” Liv said, hoping to help this guy.
He slowed the boat, grabbing a cypress branch to halt them. “I definitely want to see this. Go on, then.”
Liv nodded, trying to decide what small spell she could perform to prove her point.
“Don’t do it,” someone said in the distance.
Al spun. Liv squinted in that direction.
“What was that?” she asked.
He nodded like it had made sense. “The swamp can make all sorts of noises that sound like chatter. That’s normal. I’ve heard them since I was little. Branches sawing back and forth and leaves swaying in the wind sound just like someone talking.”
The voice came again. “No, they don’t.”
Liv bounded forward, leaning over the side of the boat to get a better look. “I don’t think so.” She could barely make out the outline of an alligator lying on a log. He was at least five feet long and seemed to be staring straight at them.
“Isn’t that an alligator?” She pointed.
“Oh, well, sure it is,” Al stated. “Again, you’ve got a good eye.”
“Yes, good eye,” the alligator said, and then winked at her.
Al laughed, looking up at the canopy overhead. “Isn’t it crazy the things the breeze says? When I was little, I used to imagine that gators could talk to me and would steer me in the right direction when I was lost in the bayou.”
“You’re welcome,” the alligator chirped.
Liv glanced at Al and the alligator. “You don’t hear that coming from the alligator?”
Al shook his head, pointing at the trees. “I hear the sounds of the swamp. My momma used to tell me that if a man spent too much time alone out here, he’d go crazy from the voices of the swamp. That’s apparently why my daddy don’t come out here anymore.”
Liv nodded slowly. Even if mortals could see and hear magical creatures now, that didn’t mean they would. It was a lot to digest.
She was about to question the talking alligator, which she’d also heard about in magical creatures. Not all alligators could speak, but the ones related to Godzilla apparently could. It was a complicated bit of history which Liv didn’t know that well. However, before she could ask the alligator anything, something streaked through the woods in the distance.
“What’s that?” Liv asked, pointing.
It was another boat, she realized at once.
“That’s odd,” Al said, recognizing it as it drifted behind a dense bit of trees. “That’s one of Jeb’s boats, I believe.”
“The same Jeb who told me none of his boats worked?” Liv questioned.
“Well, yeah, but I didn’t recognize that person on the boat as Jeb or one of his boys,” Al said. “I think that guy had a black mohawk.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Could Spencer be following her? That seemed strange, but what were the odds that she was in the middle of nowhere and some random guy with a mohawk showed up in the same place?
Liv was about to use a cloaking spell on them when something tugged at her pocket.
She jerked her head down to once again find the Lutrinae’s hand trying to dig into her cloak where she kept her Warrior ring. She shot the creature a murderous expression, and it held up its paws as if in surrender and slipped back into the water.
Al’s chuckle brought her attention back up, but then something huge dropped down from the trees. Liv barely caught a glimpse of the eight long, hairy legs before it grabbed Al. He screamed as the giant spider stuck its fangs into the side of his neck, then pounced off the side of the boat and straight back up into the tree.
Liv whipped her head up, watching as the shadow of the spider the size of a baby grand piano traversed easily overhead, disappearing into the darkness of the canopy.
“Al!” Liv yelled, realizing it would do no good. The mortal was gone. A large fishing spider had taken him.
“And he said that they only mess with you if you mess with them,” Plato said, suddenly by her side.
Liv yanked Bellator from her sheath, spinning in a circle and assessing the area. “Apparently that spider thought he was a threat.”
“Or someone else thinks you’re a threat and is trying to distract you,” Plato offered.
“Well, whether this is a trap or a distraction, I have to get Al back. He wouldn’t even be out here if it wasn’t for me.”
“I agree,” Plato said. “But the mortal will hopefully be okay until you can get to him.”
“How do you figure?” Liv asked, revolving again and continuing to search the swamp.
“Because spiders like to wrap their prey up before they kill it.”
“Thanks, but that only makes me feel slightly better,” Liv said. “Spencer is out there somewhere, isn’t he?”
“I don’t want to bog you down with details, but yes,” Plato answered.
Liv lowered her chin, giving the cat an annoyed expression. “You didn’t just go there?”
“And you thought you were the queen of puns.”
Liv shook her head.
“Spencer the one putting everyone to sleep?” the alligator said, looking right at them. There was no mistaking it. That reptile was talking.
“No. But have you seen Zeno Dutillet?” Liv asked, leaning over the boat, trying to figure out how to get closer. She was going to have to steer. Good thing she’d been paying attention while Al was driving.
“If that’s the guy known as the SandMan, then I have,” the alligator said, slip
ping into the water and swimming closer to the boat. Liv tensed, Bellator in her hands, but for some odd reason, she didn’t feel like she was in danger.
“I need to know where he is,” Liv stated. “And also, how do I get Al back? And yes, where is that other magician?”
“Don’t swamp him with questions,” Plato said.
Liv let out a long, annoyed breath.
The alligator opened its snout, a loud laugh spilling out. “I will tell you where the SandMan is if you feed me the lynx.”
Liv pretended to think that over.
“What? No! No deal,” Plato protested.
“Yeah, I can’t let you have the cat, even if he scolds me for puns and then uses them just as poorly as me. What else can I offer you?” she asked the alligator.
“A bit of conversation,” it answered at once.
“Say what?” Liv questioned.
“Well, it gets lonely out here, and I’m a naturally talkative guy, but most of the alligators out here don’t speak. When I try talking to the fishermen, well, they always freak out and leave. So maybe we could have a simple conversation.”
Liv gave Plato a look of disbelief.
The cat shrugged. “He could be asking for something more difficult, and talking comes easily to you. Many consider that you chat too much as it is.”
“By many, do you mean, by you?”
Plato hung his head. “Oh, I can’t top that. Worst. Pun. Ever.”
“Good. Don’t cross the line into my pun territory,” Liv warned.
“I’m seeing a lot of talking going on, but I’m not part of this conversation,” the alligator said.
“Do you have any bad puns?” Plato asked. “You and Liv can chat for days.”
Liv shook her head. “What do you want to talk about?”
“Oh, my name is Smeg,” the alligator said. “And I’d like to talk about antidisestablishmentarianism.”
“This should be interesting,” Plato said with a laugh.
Dismissing the lynx, Liv focused on Smeg. “Although I’d like to have a long conversation on withdrawing governmental support from church, I’m sort of swamped at the moment.”
Smeg laughed. Plato, thankfully, stopped.
“In all seriousness, I have to get that mortal back, and I have to stop the SandMan,” Liv stated.
“And then there’s the guy at your back who looks ready to attack you,” Smeg stated casually.
“What?” Liv barked, spinning around to find Spencer’s boat had soundlessly glided up next to hers. Although he wore a considering expression and held a machete in his hands, she wasn’t sure if she should attack first. He hadn’t done anything yet.
“P, when were you going to tell me that a fellow Warrior was right behind me?” Liv asked from the corner of her mouth.
Honestly, I didn’t sense him, which is strange, Plato answered, not out loud, but rather in her head.
“Hey, Spencer,” Liv said, injecting pleasantness into her voice. “What brings you out this way?”
He didn’t answer, only stared.
“So, a machete?” Liv asked as their boats drifted closer together. “That’s a strange weapon for a magician.”
He pulled the large knife back and flung it straight in Liv’s direction. She swerved, narrowly avoiding getting hit, and it landed in the water.
Liv popped up, noticing that Plato had vanished. Spencer reached down, picking up what appeared to be a filet knife for cleaning fish. So it was going to be like this, Liv thought.
She produced a fireball and was just about to shoot at him when scurrying in the trees overhead caught her attention. Quickly Liv glanced up, catching sight of the giant spider again. It didn’t appear to have Al. She worried it was coming for her this time.
“Watch out!” Smeg called from behind her.
Liv spun just in time to see Spencer throwing the knife. Without time to avoid it, Liv raised Bellator into the air and deflected the blade. This only seemed to encourage the evil warrior.
Spencer pulled up three more knives, throwing one after the other in Liv’s direction. She had to spin her large sword at lightning speed to deflect all the weapons before they hit her.
She was nearly knocked off-balance when their boats bumped. Spencer jumped up like a spider and landed beside her in Al’s boat. He had two short blades in his hands and a menace that could burn on his face.
Liv stepped to the side, holding Bellator firmly and trying to figure out how best to attack. It felt strange to attack this warrior even if she had been provoked. He was a Sinclair, though, she told herself.
“Why did you come after me?” Liv asked him, twirling Bellator.
“Because,” he said simply.
Liv rolled her eyes. “Why do people think that is a sufficient response to a question?”
“You must be stopped,” he continued.
“Now we’re getting somewhere,” Liv stated. “Who told you I must be stopped?”
Spencer didn’t answer this time. Instead, he lunged at her, trying to stab with the small blade. Liv bowed her body to avoid the attack.
She knew what had to happen next, but the idea of killing another Sinclair was repellent to her. However, she had to defend herself. With speed supplied to her by Bellator, she brought the sword up and around. It seemed to know where its target was. The blade moved swiftly through the air, slicing cleanly through the magician before her.
Too cleanly, actually.
He froze. His mouth opened. Liv looked between the clean cut she’d made through his abdomen and his look of disbelief, wondering if she should apologize. Then, before her eyes, Spencer turned to dust, crumbling before a gust of wind knocked him out of the boat, spreading him across the water.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Frantically, Liv spun one way and then the other, looking for the real Spencer. She heard frogs croaking and ducks quacking, but there was no sign of the actual magician.
“How was he there and then not?” she wondered as his boat drifted away.
“He wasn’t real,” Plato said, reappearing at Liv’s side.
“Oh, look, my fair-weather friend has returned,” she grumbled, taking the wheel of the boat. It was up to her to head them in the right direction.
“I didn’t sense him at your back because he wasn’t real,” Plato stated.
“I don’t understand what that means,” Liv argued, steering the boat into a denser part of the swamp. She had to duck to avoid hitting her head on low branches.
“Well, he could hold a sword and drive a boat, so he was real enough,” Plato began, “but I got the impression that he was about as real as the suits of armor.”
“So he was possessed?” Liv asked, remembering how Rooster had made the suits of armor come alive.
“Well, yes and no. His body dissolved when you stabbed him, so I think he was more of an illusion.”
“An illusion?” Liv asked. “Those can do actual things?”
Plato nodded. “A very powerful illusionist can make their illusions do just about anything. But the more they have to do, the harder it is.”
“So the real Spencer isn’t real, or the one I slew just now wasn’t? Or both?” Liv asked, absolutely confused.
“I’m not sure, exactly,” Plato stated honestly.
Liv sighed. “This is confusing.”
“Where are you going?” Plato asked.
“I don’t know. I was hoping to find Smeg. I thought I saw him retreat this way.”
Plato nodded in the direction of some water covered in greenery. “I think I saw an alligator over there, but it’s hard to know if it was Chatty Cathy or not.”
Liv decided to take her chances, steering the boat over there. The branches were still low in this area, and she was nearly poked in the face by a twig or two as she passed.
For ten minutes, they drifted in silence, looking for signs of the alligator known as Smeg. The smell of tree sap and blood was strangely strong in the air. Cautiously, Liv searched
the waters, hoping not to find Al dead somewhere nearby. He couldn’t be. She had to save him. Somehow.
She saw a head pop out of the water and jumped up. It was an alligator! “Smeg,” she called, hitting her head on a branch when she nearly hopped out of the boat with excitement.
The alligator didn’t grin at her or start talking. Instead, it ducked back under the surface of the water and swam away.
Liv deflated. “So it wasn’t Smeg.”
She didn’t have long to feel sorry for herself, because immediately she heard buzzing overhead. With a tentative glance up, she noticed a few dozen things starting to swarm above her head. She crouched and just caught the thing she’d hit with her head in her peripheral vision. It was a hornet’s nest!
The swarm was on her, a couple having already stung her head. Liv swept her arms through the air, but she knew that wouldn’t work. Without a moment of hesitation, she dove straight over the side of the boat into the murky waters of the swamp.
It was cold, and she was weighed down from Bellator. Still, she stayed down under the surface of the water, blinking up and watching as the swarm of angry hornets circled overhead, looking to punish whoever had hit their nest.
Knowing she couldn’t hold her breath for long, Liv found the side of the boat and began pushing it through the thick water of the bayou. She was hyper-aware that there had been an alligator close by just before she jumped, but she remained underwater, propelling the boat forward and ignoring little bites she got on her shins and ankles.
When she couldn’t hold her breath any longer, Liv decided it was safe to come up for air. She took a giant breath when her head popped up. Water weeds and other strange plants were covering her head and shoulders.
Seeing that the swarm was gone, she tried to figure out how to climb back into the boat without pulling it over. She was just about to make her first attempt when the smell of blood hit her senses again.
She pushed away some leaves that were bumping into her back, kicking her legs underneath her. The smell of blood was disconcerting, but her main objective was to get back into the boat.