by John Corwin
"His enemies," I said in a horrified voice.
"What a monster." Ambria shuddered. "My brother was beyond mental."
The frogre croaked and jerked at the end of its chain again and again until dark blood welled beneath the collar.
Max seemed to overcome some of his earlier fear and stepped closer to the monster. "Come and get me, you ugly thing." He picked up a rock and threw it.
The rock bounced off the creature's face. In a heartbeat, the frogre lunged toward Max, but fell far short of its goal.
"Stop teasing it," Ambria said.
"Why?" Max asked. "This is one of those evil monsters the Overlord made to fight his war. We should find a way to kill it."
"It's just a mindless creature," Ambria said. "It can't help being what it is. Didn't you say most of his monsters were imprisoned in the Dark Forest? Maybe we could find a way to get it there."
Max rolled his eyes. "Yeah. How are we supposed to do that?" He stepped closer to the monster, picked up another rock, and threw it hard. It hit the frogre in the snout.
Something long and pink flashed through the air. Max howled as the frogre's tongue snatched him by a leg and dragged him into the frogre's open maw.
It happened so fast, I almost couldn't believe it.
Ambria cried out.
Max's howl of surprise turned to an agonizing scream as his feet plunged into the monster's mouth. He grabbed the edge of the frog mouth and held on for dear life. Somehow, I had the presence of mind to remember the scrolls I'd brought along. Grabbing the first one from my pocket, I unrolled it and cast a hex at the frogre.
The huge frog-man beast vanished, replaced by a furry brown bunny sitting inside the metal collar. Max flopped to the ground next to the rabbit. The bunny hopped toward him. Yelping like a hurt dog, Max scrambled to his feet and ran toward us, the bunny hopping behind him.
"Oh my god, it's free!" Ambria shouted.
"Kill it!" Max shouted. "Kill it now!"
Ambria stared at the small animal as it hopped our way, cute little nose wiggling. "But it's just a little bunny. I can't do it."
I took out an offensive scroll but couldn't find the willpower to burn the rabbit to a cinder.
"Well, if we're not going to kill it"—Ambria gripped my arm—"Run for your lives!"
I abruptly remembered the time limit on the hex just as it expired. The brown rabbit exploded back into the lumbering form of the frogre. If the monster hadn't been disoriented from the abrupt change in physiology, it probably could have killed one of us instantly. Instead, it staggered to the side and fell over the pile of bones.
We turned and fled. The thud of giant feet sounded behind us seconds later. We raced through the small doorway into the basement. The frogre croaked and rammed into the stone frame. Its body was too broad to fit, though if it had half a brain it might have turned sideways to squeeze in. It pounded against the wall over and over again. Cracks ran through the rock and the basement ceiling began to crumble.
Ambria grabbed Max and me by the arms. "Don't stop running, you idiots!"
The frogre's tongue lashed out, barely missing me and sticking to the shelves right next to us. The shelf fell over with a crash. Bottled potions scattered across the floor. Miraculously, only one of them broke, sending foul-smelling, black smoke into the air. The wooden shelves turned black and began to crumble the instant the smoke touched it. As the smoke rose into the support beams, they too began to disintegrate.
"It's a rot potion," Max said. "This place is going to fall apart."
I backed toward the stairs and stumbled over several glass vials that had fallen in my path. I noticed the bottle labeled Iocaine. The image of a bald man choking to death flashed before my eyes. Without knowing why, I reached down and grabbed the potion before turning and running after my friends who were already at the bottom of the stairs.
Wooden joists groaned and creaked as support beams affected by the rot potion disintegrated. The kitchen dropped into the basement with a roar. The hallway fell apart all around us as the floor beams bearing the structural weight collapsed.
"Grab the stair rail!" I shouted.
We leapt for the railing and grabbed it as the floor beneath us plummeted into the basement sending a cloud of dust and old newspapers into the air. A loud croak sounded below us and a pink tongue shot from the dust, narrowly missing my backside. Adrenalin and fear boosted my strength. I pulled myself over the railing, grabbed Ambria's arms, and pulled her over after me. Max shouted in a panicked voice and I quickly saw why—the frogre's tongue had latched around his shoe.
"Help me," I told Ambria.
Together, we pulled on Max's hands but were unable to free him. The frogre's tongue was too strong and sticky. I tried to kick the tongue, but my foot wouldn't fit through the balustrade.
Ambria pushed me to the side. "Don't be stupid, Conrad." She reached between the balusters and untied Max's shoe then twisted it off. His shoe vanished with a loud thwap!
White-faced and sweating profusely, Max wriggled over the railing and onto the stairs. Just then, the stairs began to shake. I looked toward the front door, but the foyer dropped into the basement with a deafening crash leaving a huge gap we couldn't possibly leap. We had nowhere to go but up. When the house collapsed, we'd have nowhere to go but down.
We ran into my room. I tugged open a window and looked down. The cobblestone street seemed a very long way down and probably was, considering the bottom floor of the row house had such a high ceiling. Jumping was an option, but we'd likely break our legs or worse.
"Your broom, Conrad." Ambria grabbed the broom and thrust it into my hands. "We can all ride it."
Max shook his head. "No way could it support more than one person. It'd drop like a rock."
"Maybe we can take it one at a time and send the broom back up."
Once again, Max shook his head. "It just won't work, at least not fast enough to save everyone."
Mind racing, I came up with several options and discarded them immediately. We didn't have a rope, and the bed sheets wouldn't be long enough to reach the ground. We might be able to tie the bed sheets onto the broom so someone could lower themselves several feet toward the ground and drop. Then we could use the bed sheet to pull the broom back to the window for the next person.
I was about to mention that possibility when the house shook so violently, I knew we had only seconds to escape. My eyes settled on the brown bag I'd brought up earlier and inspiration struck. I grabbed the bag and handed everyone a fairy cake. "Eat these fast!"
"Conrad this is hardly the time to—oof!" Ambria's sentence cut off as I stuffed the cupcake into her mouth.
Max's eyes widened. "It's got fairy mushrooms. Brilliant!" He swallowed his in one gulp.
I crammed one into my mouth and chewed like a madman. The floor shook. The walls crumbled and fell. We'd run out of time. I jumped onto the broom and motioned the others on after me. Ambria gripped me tight and Max squeezed on behind her. The broom sagged toward the floor. The hardwoods cracked down the middle, shooting splinters all through the air. My arm stung as the slivers found my skin. Suddenly, my insides felt light and fluffy.
The floor dropped. Ambria shrieked. Max yelped. The broom sank, slowed, and began to gain altitude. With a horrific groan, the ceiling split down the middle and the entire room cracked open like an egg. The remaining walls fell away from us. Dust and bits of rubble rained on my head.
We broke into violent coughing fits. When the air cleared a few seconds later, there was nothing left of the house except a large mound of rubble filling what had once been the basement. The adjacent row houses were missing the walls that had joined them to this house, leaving them open to the elements.
"Well, at least the frogre is dead," Max said with a sigh of relief.
Ambria squeezed my waist. "It must be buried alive."
"Buried alive," I whispered, thinking it was a horrible fate for anyone, even a frog-ogre hybrid.
Max cho
rtled. "Brilliant idea with the fairy cakes."
"It was very clever," Ambria said. "For a boy."
Despite the weight-reducing effect of the fairy mushrooms inside the cupcakes, the broom struggled to maintain altitude.
"I don't think there's enough mushrooms in the cupcakes to last long," Max said. "We'd better land."
I directed the broom toward a clear section of street. People peered from windows or stood in the street staring as the few standing walls in Levi Rax's house crumbled.
A giant green fist burst through the rubble. People screamed and scattered. Another hand plowed free of the rubble and gripped the edge of the road. Broken wood and stone exploded like shrapnel as the frogre burst from the wreckage. Its froggy face looked calm as ever, but its feet stomped the cobblestones hard enough to crack them. The skin beneath its throat bulged like a huge balloon, constricted, and unleashed a loud screeching croak that made my hair stand on end.
The frogre spun our way, eyes widening as it recognized its prey. Ribbit!
Ambria's arms tightened around my waist. "Get us out of here, Conrad."
I spun the broom away from the frogre and urged it to top speed. A pink tongue lashed out, cracking the air like a whip and narrowly missing us. The broom grew more sluggish and sagged toward the ground with every passing second as the fairy mushrooms wore off. We outpaced the enraged frogre chasing us down the street, but for how long?
People scattered before us, diving into shops and fleeing in all directions.
"It's a frogre!" someone shouted.
A woman's voice rang out. "A frogre is on the loose!"
"Dear god, what is that thing?"
"Let me try a spell on it," Max said. He chanted. I looked back as he thrust out his arm. A fireball burst from his palm and smacked into the frogre's face. The creature croaked. Its skin looked slightly blackened, but otherwise undamaged.
"Why didn't it hurt it?" Ambria asked.
"It has really tough skin." Max shook his head. "I don't think we can kill it with these spells."
"We've got to find somewhere safe to hide," I said. "We're getting too heavy for the broom."
"Oh, man," Max groaned. "I think Chicken Little skimped on the mushrooms for the cupcakes."
"It's no wonder they were complimentary," I said.
We were a couple of blocks ahead of the frogre, but the broom had slowed enough that the monster was gaining. A plaza opened up before us, the familiar form of the Copper Goose just across the way. People bustled about, doing their daily business, and eating at the various restaurants located around the square. The frogre thudded into the plaza and shattered the calm in a heartbeat.
Men, women, and children cried out and ran for their lives. An old man, a full head taller than the other people around him, remained standing in the sea of chaos. His wrinkled face remained calm. He looked from us to the frogre, as if assessing the situation, then produced a thick wooden rod and shook it. The rod flicked out to a long crooked staff with a large shimmering stone cradled by the wood at the top.
He slammed the staff on the ground, shouted a word, and aimed at the frogre. Jagged bolts of lightning flashed out at the beast. The frogre unleashed a high-pitched squeal and faltered. Max and Ambria cheered. But the monster pushed against the crackling energy like someone fighting a stiff wind. The spell looped back on itself and hit the tall man's staff. He jerked backward, long silvery hair flying free from beneath a knitted cap.
My friend's cheers turned to cries of despair.
"He can't kill it," Max said. "We're doomed."
"Shut up, Max," Ambria commanded. "You're not helping anyone with that attitude."
"Should I be happy that we're about to be eaten?"
The broom chose that moment to dive toward the ground as the fairy mushrooms wore off and our combined weight overwhelmed its ability to stay aloft. We hit the ground with loud grunts. The broom broke in half on impact. I rolled on the hard cobblestones and came to rest on my back at the tall man's feet. A big lump in my pocket pressed against my backside.
He looked down at me. "I do so hate fighting frogres. Terrible, terrible nuisances." He reached down and tugged me to my feet.
I ran to Ambria and helped her up while Max clambered upright. Ambria still had several scrolls stuffed into her pockets, but I didn't think they'd do any good. I reached into my back pocket and withdrew the iocaine potion. I didn't know what it did, but we were out of options.
I uncorked the bottle and ran toward the frogre as it closed to within striking distance with its tongue. Just on cue, the pink tongue lashed out for me. I threw the bottle and ducked. The tongue latched onto the bottle and whip-cracked back into the frogre's mouth. Unsatisfied with this meager offering, it whipped its tongue toward me. I tried to run, but it was too late.
The sticky pink flesh wrapped around my foot and dragged me toward my doom.
Chapter 21
I gripped a jutting cobblestone and held on for dear life. The frogre's tongue was so powerful that the force threatened to pull off my leg or my arms, whichever gave out first.
Ambria shouted and ran toward me. "Don't give up, Conrad!" She grabbed my arm and pulled.
Max raced over and helped her. "We'll save you!"
The old man shot another spell at the monster's tongue. The frogre squealed, but didn't release me. The man threw down his staff and grabbed my torso. Our screams and shouts mingled together as we fought and fought. But it was all for nothing. The monster was too strong. My fingers slipped from the cobblestone. My friends' feet slipped. In an instant, we all slipped and slid toward the gaping maw.
"Just let me go," I yelled. "Let me go and run!"
"Never!" Ambria shouted. "I will never let you go!"
"I won't either," Max said, face red and sweating. "I'll punch this monster from the inside if I have to."
The old man chuckled. "Well, it would seem this frogre is about to get a mouthful."
I heard a terrible keening behind me and twisted so I could look. The frogre's head darkened from green to a deathly shade of purple. The awful sound turned to a choked screech. The frogre stiffened and toppled toward us. Max shouted in dismay and leapt to the side as the massive beast thudded a few feet from where he'd been.
Its froggy eyes turned milky white and thick black fluid trickled from its mouth. The long tongue blackened.
"Curious," the old man said. He stood and peered closely at the dead creature. "What was it you threw into its mouth?"
"An iocane potion," I said.
He stroked his long beard. "Impressive. Iocane potion is extremely difficult to brew, and rather volatile during the mixing stage." His eyes wandered over the three of us. "None of you look old enough to be advanced potions students."
Max's eyes suddenly widened. "Headmaster Galfandor, I didn't recognize you." His face turned pink. "I—uh—well, I'm not advanced."
"It was mine," I confessed, not wanting Max to get into trouble with the headmaster.
"You can simply call me professor," Galfandor said. "I reserve such tedious formalities for official business." He looked back at the frogre. "What I am more concerned about is why one of the Overlord's abominations was running amok in Queens Gate."
"It burst from a house." Ambria pointed back the way we'd run. "We don't know what it was doing in there."
Max nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, we just ran for our lives."
"We were studying potions," Ambria added. "That's why Conrad had that iocane potion."
My skin felt tight from the web of lies my friends were weaving around us. On the other hand, we couldn't tell Galfandor we'd been living in Levi's house. That would only lead to question after question until they discovered his disappearance and murder.
"Very quick thinking, Conrad." Galfandor held out his hand. I raised mine slowly. He gripped it tight and shook. "If you've already managed to concoct a working iocane potion at such a young age, I'm sure you'll do wonders at Arcane University." He paused. "I
assume you're all applying for the upcoming semestrial?"
Max tugged on his shirt as if it might be on too tight. "Yes, professor."
"You must be a Tiberius." Galfandor tapped his chin. "The youngest, Max, if I had to guess."
"Y-yes, sir." Max responded.
"And you, young lady?"
"Ambria." She curtsied. "A pleasure."
"Likewise." Galfandor looked at the growing crowd around the dead frogre. "Very impressive indeed." He put an arm on my shoulder and took me aside. "Conrad, I am unfortunately, quite pressed for time right now, but I would like to invite you and your friends to dine with me tonight. I am very interested to know more about where this creature came from."
Doing my best to keep my hands from shaking, I nodded. "Of course, professor."
He pulled back and gave me a strange look. "Curious," he muttered.
I wanted to ask him what he meant by that, but something drew away his attention.
Galfandor waved over a small group of stern-looking people dressed in skintight black uniforms. "Good day, Templars. Would you see to the disposal of this frogre?"
Templars? These people weren't wearing metal armor or carrying shields as I'd imagined when Max first mentioned them. They did wear swords slung diagonally over their backs and I noticed a cross emblem on the collars of their uniforms.
One of the Templars nodded. "Of course, Headmaster Galfandor. Can you tell us where it came from?"
"This young man can give you all the information you need." He smiled kindly at me. "I must be going. Though I was blessed with some excitement, I am now rather late for a meeting with the university deans."
The Templar nodded. "Of course, sir."
Galfandor squeezed my shoulder. "I will see you tonight, five-thirty sharp, Conrad."
"Okay," I said in a weak voice.
The old man walked into the crowd. It parted before him and closed behind after he passed. The people didn't even seem aware they were moving out of his way and I wondered if he'd used a spell.
The Templar's face grew stern after Galfandor vanished. "Where did the frogre come from?"