by Rain Oxford
My monkey monster began to harass her again as soon as she climbed to her feet. There were other curses I could use, but I didn’t want to use them if I didn’t have to. I wasn’t supposed to be defeating her, only distracting her. “Merlin, are you almost done?”
“We have your aunt, though it did take some convincing before she would go with a half invisible necromancer, a griffin, and an invisible wolf. It should not be long now.”
I knew I needed another plan, because once she broke the curse, there was nothing to stop her from coming after us. I reached into the saddlebag and pulled out the syrus. The sinister whispering increased tenfold, but this time, I gave into it. I felt my magic flowing from me straight into it without any prompting, and a passage suddenly appeared on the front.
That is not dead, which can eternal lie.
And in strange eons, even death may die.
As soon as I was done reading it, the lid popped open and a bright, ominous light poured out. “Come out, chimera, and speak to me.” I didn’t know how, but I was able to speak to it in its mind just like I could with Merlin. If anything, it was easier than it had been when I first met Merlin because I’d been hearing the chimera’s calls for several days straight.
Unfortunately, that was when Veronica shot my monkey with a burst of magic. My monkey went down hard. She turned back to me. “Now, you will pay for that.”
My spell had already been vanquished. “I thought you wanted to join forces.”
“You no longer have any use to me.” She raised her wand, only to lower it when it was clear that something was forming out of the syrus. Something massive. “What did you do?”
“Hopefully, I made a new friend.” When the chimera was completely formed and the light of the syrus died, I half expected the creature to attack me. It didn’t.
A chimera was actually perfect for the plan I had in mind because they were magical creatures, so Veronica couldn’t control it, and they were invulnerable to magic. They were also strong, fast, and intelligent. It had the head and body of a lion with large tan-colored, feather wings and a goat’s head protruding from its back, and a serpent for a tail.
“Can you understand me?”
There wasn’t a comprehensible word so much as a hissing sound that seemed affirmative.
“I want you to keep this woman here like you kept Magnus trapped in his castle. If you do this, I won’t put you back in the syrus.” Although I didn’t know if I actually could put him back in the syrus or not, the chimera probably didn’t either. “Will you do it?” I asked when the beast didn’t respond.
Finally, I heard that whispering hissing again. This time, I was certain the chimera was agreeing. Veronica shot a bolt of lightning at me, but just as fast, the serpent shot out and swallowed it like it was a slow-moving bug.
“We are out of the cabin and heading away from Veronica to get Livia to safety. I will be with you momentarily to help you.”
“I have it covered here,” I argued. I didn’t want him to leave Livia at risk right after he saved her, and I didn’t really trust Asiago and Sam to protect her. “He won’t hurt you if you don’t try to escape,” I said, putting the syrus and my staff in the saddlebag and my wand back in my pocket.
She scoffed. “You have no idea what I’m going to do to you.”
“And if I were a proper sorcerer, I would kill you just in case. Does it bother you that I’m not going to do it?” She just glared at me. Obviously it did, maybe because she thought I didn’t feel threatened or maybe she just didn’t know how to respond to someone like me. Either way, she didn’t try to stop me when I turned and walked away. Kirin, of course, followed me.
It didn’t take long before we came to a clearing, where I saw Sam, Asiago’s clothes, and Livia. It was going to be a little awkward until the invisibility wore off. To my surprise, Livia hugged me. I wasn’t used to that much physical contact that wasn’t from my brothers trying to hurt me.
“Asiago said you found Sonya as a ghost, and that you helped her get her memories back,” she said when she pulled away.
I nodded. “Once we get you back to your castle, Asiago will summon her to you. Now that she has her memories and powers back, she should be free of the house’s pull.”
“Thank you.” She then hugged her unicorn and showered affection on him.
“Can you use magic to get us out of here?”
“Yes.
I felt like the air had suddenly changed and become stuffy. “Merlin?” I asked.
“I sense it as well; a lot of power has just been unleashed upon this forest.” After a moment, he started growling. “I hear something. An ambush.”
Please be zombies. We can handle zombies right now. Please be zombies.
An instant later, at least two dozen bats flew out of the trees and attacked at once. Even though bats were not known for being vicious, these ones scratched and bit every spot of skin they could reach, especially my face. I heard Livia shouting something about not hurting them because they were being controlled, and then I heard Asiago having a fit over it. Unfortunately, the bats seemed to be able to see Merlin and Asiago with no problem.
One deep growl was my only warning before I was attacked from behind. His claws dug deeply into my waist and I knew it was the werewolf, once again under Veronica’s control. I reached up for my staff, hoping it would come to me again, only to feel the werewolf’s teeth sink into my arm.
Merlin growled and attacked the werewolf, both dislodging the shifter from me and the bats from himself. The werewolf turned to face his opponent, then hesitated with confusion. He could probably smell Merlin, but he couldn’t see him like the bats could. Instead of wasting time, I struggled to my feet and went after my staff. The bats weren’t dumb, though; they attacked Kirin. Unable to stand the onslaught, the unicorn took off with my staff still in his saddle.
I groaned and pulled out my wand. I aimed it at the werewolf until the bats started biting my arm and trying to take my wand, so I aimed it at the majority of the bat horde instead. Attack. And my wand did. Deep red magic burst out, half lightning, half fire. It engulfed the bats and turned them to ice. They dropped to the ground harmlessly, although it still left over a dozen more.
I was shocked and unsure how it happened, but too busy to dwell on it. Turning the wand back on the werewolf, I realized I couldn’t risk it. I couldn’t see where Merlin was. I raised my want again towards a bat… and felt something very hard and very heavy hit me in the back on the head.
It hurt and stunned me enough that I nearly dropped my wand. I need my staff so I can turn it into a sword. “Livia, do something!”
“I can’t hurt them; they’re not responsible for this. They can’t control themselves.”
Sam was doing his fair share of fighting. I hated fighting, but in this case, running wasn’t an option. I pulled my dagger and advanced on the werewolf, hoping that if I cut his hand or something, it would distract him from attacking Merlin.
Then everything went quiet. The werewolf and the bats suddenly stopped attacking. As if they were afraid, the bats all took off into the trees, while the werewolf just looked very confused as he shifted back into his person form.
“I’m very sorry,” he said. “The sorceress took control of me again.”
“It’s my own fault for not defeating her when I had the chance. Why did she let you go?”
He shook his head. “I don’t know.”
“That would be my fault,” Asiago said demurely. He glanced at me guiltily. “Remember when I said I used up all that potion on Gmork’s servants? I lied.”
I groaned.
“When Merlin and I were in the sorceress’s cabin, I saw that she had her dinner set out and thought it was a good opportunity to make sure she didn’t come after us or Livia ever again. Also, Merlin was in on it.”
“I was not against it,” Merlin agreed. At that point, Livia whistled loudly and the unicorn came prancing back.
I sighed. “I suppose thi
ngs could have turned out worse. We’re all alive.”
* * *
Livia easily transported us to her castle, which shed the last of the invisibility potion over Merlin and Asiago. Instead of being surprised at their appearance, she only frowned deeply at the disarray of her castle. “We can help clean up,” I said automatically.
Asiago squeaked, then cleared his throat. “We? Who is this ‘we’ you speak of? I don’t help or clean up.”
I rolled my eyes. “Asiago, you helped us a lot on this trip and paid your debt completely, but please summon Sonya before you go.”
The necromancer shrugged. “I don’t know that I have to go already… it’s not like I have anywhere to go to. A necromancer’s job is to wander around and raise the dead for fame or money. It gets old.”
“You can stay here,” Livia offered. “You can use your powers to guard the castle when you’re here and I can find some trouble for you to get into.”
He gave the castle an unappreciative stare. “I don’t know.”
Livia held up her hand and her wand appeared. She casually waved it at the castle and although it didn’t look like any magic came out, the castle slowly rebuilt itself. Blocks lifted, walls tilted back into place, and cracks sealed.
I really needed Merlin to teach me that “wand appearing in hand” trick.
We went inside and Livia turned a massive supply of transformation clay into a feast of fruits, vegetables, potatoes, and bread. Merlin decided he wasn’t hungry enough for that, or the tofu I offered to make him.
Once we had our fill, which took a long time as we were all very hungry, Asiago repeated his ritual to summon Sonya. Unlike last time, however, she appeared in the thick smoke and settled lightly on the ground in front of him.
Livia and Sonya were both ecstatic to be reunited.
Then I felt it was time to leave, but Livia and Sonya asked us to wait. Sonya stared Asiago straight in the eyes, which was very uncomfortable for the rest of us. Finally, loud a horn outside interrupted the silence. His eyes widened dramatically. “What was that?”
“Outside, there is a pirate ship. Go with them, and you will find the one thing that will make you truly happy.”
He didn’t look too sure. “How long do I stay with them?”
“As long as it takes.”
He nodded. “Thank you.” He gave us very rushed goodbyes, obviously afraid of missing his chance, and took off.
Sonya stared into my eyes for a very long time before looking away. “I’m so sorry. I cannot give you any direction because you’re already on the path to true happiness. I’m sorry to say that you are also on the path to great danger and anguish. Which fate you meet is up to you, and I cannot interfere.”
“That’s okay. I don’t know what I’d do with it right now, anyway. I’ve still got a lot of magic to learn and answers to find. What about Merlin? Can you change him back into a wizard?”
She shook her head. “I cannot use my power on animals, even if they’re cursed. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t feel bad. I appreciate you trying. Merlin and I will return now with Sam to---” I turned to the griffin, but he was gone.
“He has already returned,” Livia said. “I can transport you to the nearest town from Magnus’s castle. I do hope you will come back occasionally to visit.”
I opened my mouth to say I wouldn’t, and instead asked, “Do you know anything about my father’s family?”
She smiled. “I do. However, now is not the time for that. I will tell you everything I know when you trust me. Until then, I think Merlin has more to teach you than I do.”
Instead of arguing, I just got my stuff out of Kirin’s saddle. In the blink of an eye, Merlin and I were alone again, standing in a semi-familiar village. We were about half a day’s walk from Magnus’s castle, so we got started. This time, when we came upon a short cut in the forest, I didn’t even say a word.
* * *
“I want to say, before we get back to the castle, that I thought you handled both Gmork and Veronica very well,” Merlin said, breaking the silence.
“If it hadn’t been for Asiago and Nimue, we wouldn’t have made it.”
“I know. However, you are not a warrior. You grew up in a home where compassion could get you killed and yet you stayed true to yourself and learned to adapt. Darkness is much easier to turn to, especially when no one in all of Caldaca would fault you. Yet you chose to be more than a sorcerer. Do not get me wrong; you have a lot of learning to do, but that comes with age and experience.”
“It’s a good thing I have a centuries old wizard to teach me, then. That is, if you still want to.”
“You went to a completely unknown world because you felt I was in danger, and then you faced a dragon to save me. You are also the only one who can hear me and you can do magic. At this point, we need each other.”
“What happens when we don’t need each other anymore?” I asked. Of course, maybe it was just wishful thinking that I would still be alive after I broke the curse.
“I suppose we will cross that bridge when we come to it. We still have your mother to deal with.”
“I was kind of hoping she forgot about me.”
“You may have hoped it, but there is no way you believed it.”
* * *
We were almost at the castle when a large black jaguar burst out of the forest to stop us. “Curse breaker! Thank goodness I found you!”
Merlin growled and intercepted the jaguar. “Merlin, it’s okay. This is Eva, the talking jaguar I mentioned before.”
Merlin stopped growling, but he didn’t relent. “She still has claws and fangs that can effectively remove your entrails.”
“What do you want, Eva? I said I won’t fight the sorceress.”
“I know. I misjudged you; I believed you were a wizard, but seeing you use dark magic, I realized you weren’t. Over the last few days, I have heard from quite a few people who you saved from curses, from dwarves to elves. Please forgive me for doubting you before. I beg that you break the curse, at least on my children, and I will trust whatever method you choose.”
Merlin gave me an amused stare. “I suppose you are going to help her.”
I nodded. “I’ll do it. However, I need more than my wand and staff, or it will be dangerous to all of us. Meet us first thing in the morning at Magnus’s castle. You know where it is, right?”
She dipped her head in a respectful bow. “I’ve seen it. It is near the stream my daughter met you at. We will be there. Thank you, curse breaker.” She turned and disappeared into the forest.
“Is everything okay?” Merlin asked when I just stood there.
“Actually, I think everything might be great. There are no ‘curse breakers,’ because it requires both wizardry and sorcery. If I can’t be one or the other, and people won’t understand someone who is both, maybe I can be something new. Then I can openly practice both wizardry and sorcery, I can help people while going on adventures, and no one can judge me for not being one or the other. Most importantly, I’ll have an answer when someone asks me what I am.”
“I thought you wanted to be a librarian.”
“I can do both.”
“Ayden, I do not care what you call yourself, or how much dark magic versus light magic you use. I will support you for as long as you are being true to yourself.”
“Then let’s get home and start on breaking that curse of yours.”
Epilogue
We reached Magnus’s castle without further issues. To my surprise, the gate didn’t immediately open when we arrived. I knocked on it gently. “Hello, gate. It’s me and Merlin, so please let us in.”
The gate didn’t.
“Just push the gate open,” Merlin said.
I did, although it was heavy, so I didn’t push it open more than Merlin and I needed. “Maybe Magnus isn’t home,” I suggested when I realized that something was different. I held up my wand and focused on light. With little effort, the tip began to glow.
“Magnus doesn’t have his defenses up.”
“Something must be wrong.”
Halfway across the yard, I saw that the door was cracked open. “Something is definitely wrong.” I ran for the door, threw it open, and gaped. Although everything was intact, there were scorch marks everywhere. I followed the worst damage all the way to the magic room, where I found Magnus unconscious on the ground.
“Wait,” Merlin snapped before I could enter the room. “Make sure there is no trap before---” He cut himself off with a sigh as I went to Magnus without checking for traps.
“Magnus! Wake up! What happened?” The old wizard didn’t wake, but he was breathing. Other than a bruise on his forehead and some scorches on his clothes, I couldn’t find any injuries. “Go get him some water.”
“With what? I cannot hold a cup with paws.”
“Right. That makes sense.” I set aside my bag and staff, pulled out my wand, and waved it at Magnus. “Levitate.”
I felt the magic inside me stirring before rosy pink magic shot out of my wand and engulfed Magnus. Slowly, the wizard lifted into the air and hovered about waist high. With my wand in one hand to maintain the spell, I grabbed his robe sleeve and pulled him out of the room, all the way to his room and into his bed.
Before I could leave to get him some water, he started waking. “What happened?” I asked.
It took him a moment to focus enough to answer me. “I lied to you. I couldn’t let Veronica get Livia’s magic, so I gave you a fake crystal, knowing it would take Veronica at least a full day to realize it was fake. When it took you so long to return, I knew something went wrong.”
“I know it was fake. What happened here? Who attacked you?”
“Ilvera.”
“My mother attacked you?! How did she get past your defenses?”
“She is the most powerful sorceress I know. She somehow knew exactly where the crystal was and she got it. She has Livia’s dark magic.”