by Amy Morris
Jack snorts with a mouthful of meat at my question. “And why would you care? Why are ye even still here? Don’t you have a prophecy to fulfill?” he throws back at me.
“I do. I’m waiting on Jobe’s return to retrieve something from him before I can continue,” innocence dripping from my comment, hoping he buys it.
“Well, you could be waiting till the end of the week, princess. I’m wanting to make use of my time and control now that I have it.” He sneers at me, which is alarming given the calm demeanor he has shown me. “You might as well move along before I grow tired of you. There’s nothing he can give you to help anyway, Jobe has been useless for years. Kicked out of Shyne for having two people in his body when a possession went bad, he’s not fully there little lady. Time for you to go,” he enforces harsher now with his tone and body language.
I can’t just go, I need my friends and they need me. Something tells me Jack can’t know that. The fear of seeing my companions roasting on a spit is so vibrant of a vision I do what I can to calm him. “Well, if what he has helps me along, then it might be best for me to stay to collect it when he returns, that’s all.”
His face reddens suddenly, oh gods I’ve upset him, exactly what the toad warned me about. He thunders as he rises from the stool across from me, I mean literally thunder seems to reverberate through the surrounding woods. “How dare you question what I ask of you,” he bellows. “If you know what’s best for you, you’ll leave now and forget anything Jobe has told you.”
My anger boils over, I’ve played along for a full day, my patience are now gone. “How dare you tell me to leave my friends here, you psycho?” spills out of me before I can stop it.
“Ah, so he is hiding trespassers from me again. Which ones are they, princess? I’m in the mood for a larger meal tomorrow,” he laughs.
“I won’t tell you besides we weren’t trespassing. We were riding along the trail some miles from here when Jobe accosted us. Now bring him back to release my friends and you won’t have to worry about us ever again,” I yell.
His strike comes out of nowhere and I hit the ground before realizing what’s happened. My face burns from the punch he delivered to my temple just seconds ago. The ground I’m lying on is damp from the cooling night air. “Make it easy on yourself, I need you to fulfill the prophecy. So killing you doen’t suit my needs right now. But I warn you just that will happen if you upset me again,” he thunders before throwing another blow to my head. This time with his foot, sending me into darkness.
18
“Princess, wake up.” I hear as I come to in the dark, my mind almost too foggy to remember what’s happened. The voice seems disembodied almost, “Was that a croak?” I ask the surrounding darkness.
“Hilarious young lady,” the voice replies just as I feel something icy touch my right hand. Flinging my hand free of what’s on it, I hear a loud scream in my head followed by a thud in my ears. “Unnecessary,” the voice suggests from a distance.
“Who are you?” I command.
“Toad, we met earlier today and from the state of you now I’d say things didn’t go well with Jack tonight.” The tone is more even now, I’m still not one hundred percent where the critter is in my proximity. As if to answer the large toad appears on my lap and stares up at me. “Please don’t hurl me at the wall again.”
“I won’t,” I whisper. “Sorry, just automatic reaction because of the circumstances, I guess.” I offer as a way of apology. “Where I am?”
“In the cage Jack uses to contain humans before he kills then, hence my suggestion that you royally upset him.”
“I guess I did, since Jobe controls animals and they are the same person I assume they share the same power?” I ask hopefully.
“Unfortunately no princess, Jobe has animal control whereas Jack has the strength of one hundred men. And from the large welt on your face, it doesn’t look like the hit was with his full force.”
Well, that doesn’t help matters I think to myself before turning my attention back to the toad on my lap. “Any suggestions on how to free my friends and get out of here?”
“Unless you have the strength of at least thirty men to break these bars, you’re stuck in here. As for freeing your friends from the animal curse, there’s nothing I know of without Jobe’s help. I’m sorry,” he offers solemnly.
Trapped in a metal cage awaiting execution from a man with more than one mind in his head was not how I ever thought I would die. But here I am hours later still sulking against the metal bars waiting to see how this ends, and to top it off a chatty toad is on my knee.
“Have you ever seen anyone reclaim their human form?” I ask, praying for a different answer than earlier.
“No,” the response comes quick.
“Fine, I must escape. Then come back for them with my father. One of his powers is over animals, so maybe he can overcome Jobe’s curse,” I explain with some hope still in my heart.
“How are you going to escape this cage?” The voice asks.
“I’m not sure, but I have powers myself, it’s new to me and raw. So I guess now is as good of time as any,” I tell him, trying to bolster myself as well for this trial.
Dawn is breaking now through the cracks in the barn, nothing happens. Concentrating on being out of the cage doesn’t work, thinking of the metal bars bending does nothing. My faith in the prophecy is waning when I clasp the stones together in my left hand out of frustration, they warm against my closed palm. “Well, that’s something” I mutter.
Emotion, that’s what I need to use my power. The thing that’s been missing all night as I attempted to throw blue sparks at the bar with no results. Bundling all the fear and anger I hold towards Jobe and Jack while gripping the stones in my hand, I thrust the tingling in my body outward. An explosion tears apart a four-foot hole in the bars in before me. “Hells,” I gasp at the gaping hole.
“Time to go. That was loud,” Toad mentions as he hops through the remaining bars himself.
Needing no further encouragement, I crawl through the newly created hole and slip through the gap in the barn doors. I’m located some distance from the cottage, unable to hear what I assume must be Jack as he growls, holding the fence to the pen my friends are in.
Without thinking, I raise my right hand in his direction. A flare of blue light hits him directly in the back. “Good shot,” I hear mentally from Toad.
Quickly making my way to the pen, I don’t pay attention to the current state of the man I just blasted. I soon realize the mistake when he one handedly grabs me by the throat and lifts me two feet off the ground.
“How dare you try to escape,” he growls as spittle runs down his chin. “There won’t be anything left for the prophecy when I’m done with you, magic be damned,” he thunders.
Flailing my legs as much as possible, I try to connect my foot to anywhere on his body to no avail. A dark laugh escapes him as he revels in the thrill of my useless struggle. I can feel my eyes bulge as my windpipe is cut off from drawing breath. Anything I do accomplishes nothing, I resign myself to the darkness of death I feel waiting for me.
My mind slips as my body racks and shudders from the lack of oxygen, I feel myself slip away. Loud chirping and whining brings me back to consciousness before it’s too late. It was the sound of a pig squealing that drew me back. Summoning all the strength I have left, my left hand takes the stone’s into it and I push everything I can from my right hand into Jack’s chest. A resounding blast blows him from limb to limb as I crumple to ground now free of his grasp. Blue light shimmers across my body as the power within still resonates.
Choking to draw breath, my breathing becomes easier as more blue light wraps around me. Healing everything from my damaged windpipe to the small open cut I didn’t realize I sustained on my right hand. After I am whole again and able to stand, the light recedes back into the stones with a flash, as if their work is complete.
From the loss of power, my body collapses to the ground. Tha
nkful I’m able to at least catch myself with my hands as to not knock myself out on impact with the hard earth. Coughing now and shaking from coldness I huddle into myself for warmth unsure of what to do next. The best course of action I can think of would be to gather my friends into a cart and head for my father without stopping, hoping to transform them back to their human form. But even the thought of that scares me, how is it possible? From what Toad said, no one has ever turned back, and he’s been here longer than I care to think right now.
“Do not lose hope my child,” Verona’s voice echoes through my head, “You used the stone’s power sparingly so take comfort that there is still enough for the time being to complete your task, my dear.”
I send back questions to her but hear no answers as the minutes go by, having not even tried to move yet and concentrating on nothing but her. Nothing comes back to me, so either I’m still not able to communicate that far via telepathy or she has nothing more to offer. The latter does nothing to help my current sense of despair about my friends, whom I feel I’ve let down. I can’t even muster the strength to leave the spot where I’m lying. What an heir of nothing I’ve turned out to be. I’m more of destroyer of hopes and lives if my friends are anything to show for what I’m capable of.
“Don’t be hard on yourself, princess,” Rabble’s voice reverberates through my head. Oh, no, now I’m too late for anything. Toad warned me he couldn’t communicate because he was transitioning. Now it’s complete I sob to myself. “If I knew talking to you mentally right now would be your undoing, I wouldn’t have done it Abby,” his human voice sounds behind me.
“Is that really you, Rabble?” I turn to ask and am surprised to see him naked standing just behind me. “Oh my. No clothes, I see,” averting my gaze. But catching sight of nearly sixty other people now milling around undressed within the animal pens.
“Hells that worked, thank you princess sincerely. I’m swearing an oath to you now, no matter where you might go or what you might face, I will always faithfully protect you.” Toad’s voice sounds from the naked man just within arm’s reach. Even if his voice didn’t sound the same, the green tinge to his light brown hair and brown eyes would be a dead giveaway to his identity.
“You need not swear an oath, Toad.” My gaze fixes on him, then everyone else standing around. “You’re all free, go back to your lives, forget what happened to you here. It’s probably for the best,” I mutter the last part, thinking of myself.
“I believe you’re stuck with me, princess. After close to twenty-three years here I have nowhere to go, my family is more than likely gone or moved on. I can’t do that to them, reappear as a ghost after so long. So if I heard things correctly you need protectors, I’m swearing to be one now if you’ll have me,” he announces with a flourished bow. “Besides being honest, after so long as a toad I don’t remember my life before, I don’t know where I came from or if I even had a family.” Toad’s face fills with sadness as the truth of his statement sinks into my head.
“What’s your actual name?” I ask him.
“It’s a blank,” he sighs. “Everything from before he transformed me has vanished from my memory. If nothing else, take me along until you have no use for me since I have nowhere else to go. Please,” he pleads now.
“There’s no harm in having more company on the journey, you’re obviously not a threat,” Angel interjects now standing at my side. “If you agree, Abby.”
“I do, I also believe that we need to ransack Jobe’s home for fabric of some king for clothing.” Looking around, I notice that some have taken off into the woods for home, I can only assume. Even nude, they’d rather be as far away from here as possible. I can’t say that I blame them.
“About damned time Abby, there was no way I was going to get used to the smell emanating from my ass long term,” Talia announces, rounding the corner of the house. Abruptly ending as her gaze catches something. “It’s you, the deer that tried to turn us around.”
“Yes, that was me.” A young woman with violet eyes offers, walking towards Talia dressed in barely a wheat sack. “But you ignored me.”
“Well, who would have thought a deer was that smart. How were you on the trail, anyway? From what I saw here, Jobe kept a close eye on the animals.” Angel asks.
“I’d escaped recently, wandering the woods trying to warn off travelers when I could. You still went down the path you shouldn’t have, the one I took seven years ago. Once I saw what Jobe did to your companions, I made my way back to help. What little I could for them to acclimate after the transform took. I’m glad to see we all reverted with his death otherwise time was expiring for some of us because of animal lifespans.” She bows towards me, and backs away as if afraid we might harm her after all she’s told us.
“Thank you for your help. We should have heed your warning on the trail, but part of me is glad that I now broke the curse for all of you. Do you have a name? Is your home near these woods?” I ask, not knowing how long she lived as a deer.
“Razz is all I remember. The village I grew up in is a blur, along with my family. But my name never left me.” She offers quietly.
“I think you should at least accompany us to Declan if you’re up for it, Razz,” I offer.
“I agree,” Talia says.
Hope floods her eyes, along with tears as she shakes her head vigorously in agreement to our offer. Toad now appears at the doorframe of the cottage with a sheet crudely tied around him as clothing, with Rabble following with more fabric pieces.
“There are a few others still poking around inside, but none of them have taken the offer to go with us,” Rabble mentions as he hands the largest piece in his collection to Razz.
“Are they headed home then?” I wonder.
“No,” Goss answers. Exiting the home as well in a makeshift dress and handing Talia something similar to wear. “They don’t remember who they are or where they came from, so instead of being lost they’ve decided to bury Jobe deep and make this their home for the time being.”
“Not something I’d want to do after what they went through here, and I only got a taste of it,” Angel grumbles.
“But I get it,” Toad whispers. “It’s not a simple decision to leave the only place you’ve known for years. I understand and agree with your point pig. I’m ready to put as much distance between Town and myself as possible.”
“The names Angel.”
“Alright, I’ll stop calling you pig now. Sorry, just the only thing I knew to call you.”
“Don’t feel bad I’ve called him pig or worse plenty, and that was long before he was ever one.” Goss throws in with a laugh.
“Well now, that’s all settled. Let’s reclaim our horses from the barn, those who can pair up since there’s now seven of us should.” Rabble announces, heading to the barn.
“Oh, we need not pair up. Jack had a few nice mares he used for hunting. I’m not sure if I’ve ever ridden before though,” Razz mentions suddenly hesitant as she follows Rabble.
“How many of his horses are now naked humans running through the woods?” Talia asks. She has a point, I surmise.
Within minutes we realize that at least two of the horses that occupied the barn are really horses. Talia helps Toad saddle his, even if he rode before his time in Town he has no recollection of it now. She turns to help Razz next, and her jaw drops. Turning her way as well to see that having already saddled her horse, she now looks at home sitting astride it.
“I guess maybe I rode before,” Razz mentions with a hint of pride in her voice.
“Let me check your saddle straps. Just in case,” Talia offers before pronouncing everything tight and secure.
After ransacking what’s left inside the cottage and reclaiming our packs, the group heads out with Razz leading since she’s the most familiar with the path back to the trail. The somber mood lifts the further from Town we get, jokes are being made about Talia’s time as a skunk. While Toad regales us with stories of the odd things he
witnessed during his time there. Rabble rides beside me and offers a quick smile when he notices my gaze turn his direction. “I think if we can make it out of this we can conquer whatever else is thrown at us.”
“I hope so, but I suspect that bigger problems may lie ahead,” I whisper to him as to not ruin everyone’s jovial mood.
“We’ll just have to see where this takes us, princess. Remember, you’re stronger than you realize,” he leaves me with that thought trotting ahead to visit with Talia and Razz.
19
With Razz’s help we reach the trail quickly and the time we take to exit the forest from there is blessedly short. Everyone seems so much more lighthearted after we exit the woods in hopes of never entering them again. Regardless of the fact Jobe and Jack are no longer living. It’s agreed that too many terrible memories are better left there, albeit some worse than others for Razz and Toad.
After a much more pleasant ride, we make camp once the forest is out of view. There was a long debate on whether we even stopped for the night or pushed on to Declan. We soon realize none of us know exactly how long it will take to arrive there. All bickering stops and we tuck in for the night.
Waking this morning away from Town has definitely turned all seven of us back to normal, at least for my group it’s noticeable. I can only guess the same for the two newcomers of our group. Everyone is so chatty and in good humor that the past two days with Jobe and Jack seem to melt away from memory. I won’t lie because for me at least it’s a blessing and can’t help but think the others would agree.
After lunch we reach the outskirts of Declan, I’m surprised at the size of the city before us. I expected a town and from the surrounding faces I wasn’t alone in that assumption.
“The city looks like Madera, just smaller,” Goss offers in awe of the view before us. I can’t help but agree, yet feel slighted because I know so little about a kingdom I’m heir to.