"So you're coming with me all the way?"
"All the way, P, and we'll get your brother back, but we've got to get some help or we'll die there," Vince said.
"So what am I missing here?" Pinly turned to Miss Poli.
"Let this be clear: I am not letting you go to Mendy or any magical kingdom. But you need to train, learn to harvest more power and learn how to use it, in case you were to find yourself in a similar situation," she replied.
"It's not for you to decide that! You can't stop me forever!" Pinly said.
"Let me deal with this, Pinly. I'll go get your brother back," she said. Pinly sighed,
"I thought only fairies could go to Mendy," Vince said.
"I have my ways," she replied.
"And how long would that take?" Pinly asked.
"You could be ready in a year."
"No! I don't have a year, Lion doesn't have a year!" he shouted and rose above her.
"It's the only way," she said sharply.
"Do you even know what they're doing to him?"
"Calm down, P." Vince said, he attempted to grab Pinly's ankle, but he shook it off.
"Don't tell me to calm down!" His screaming echoed throughout the woods. His face was hot with anger and it felt hard to breathe. "It's too long!"
Miss Poli watched calmly as Pinly slowly came back down, his breathing coming back to normal.
"They won't kill him," she said.
"How do you know?" he asked in a defeated tone.
"If they wanted to kill him, they would have done it back in Soubrey. They need him for his powers or strength, which would explain why they didn't take you. Your powers were locked away after you tried to perform that forbidden spell..."
"I know," he grunted. "That doesn't mean they're not hurting him." Vince gave him a one-armed squeeze. "I can't wait that long," Pinly said quietly
"We'll figure it out," Vince said. "And you could really use some training."
"And what will you do for a year?" Pinly asked.
"I don't know, maybe spend some of that gold." He smirked.
Miss Poli picked up the plates she had brought earlier. Vince's was empty, but Pinly's was still full of food which had now gone cold.
"You boys need to get some rest. Come inside," she said as she led the way.
Pinly crossed his arms and refused to even look at Miss Poli. Vince stayed next to him, looking as if he wanted to go inside, but stayed to support Pinly.
"Suit yourselves," Miss Poli said. The door closed behind her without the witch needing to touch it.
Pinly couldn't stop thinking about all the horror his brother had probably endured, wherever they had taken him. He wanted to go there immediately and take him back, not waste time learning tricks for a year. Who knew if Lion could survive that place for such a long time? He didn't want to think that it was a possibility, but Lion could die there. What if he was already dead? No! Lion had to be alive and Pinly had to save him! There was no way he was going to lose him too!
Pinly watched Vince impatiently walking back and forth. The boy seemed deep in thought. Pinly suddenly stood up; he just realised as Vince walked that he was able to go farther than before.
"What? What's wrong?" Vince looked startled.
"Walk back." He gestured and Vince took a few steps back. Pinly didn't have to say anything, Vince seemed to have realised what happened. Their mouths gaped wide open. They were able to move away from the house; it seemed as though there was nothing holding them back anymore.
Pinly didn't want to wait around to see if Miss Poli had forgotten about the ropes. He rushed to pick up Vince and they flew through the woods at full speed. He didn’t look back to check but Pinly zigzagged just in case one of her magical ropes was after them. He could feel its presence, its power just meters away. The magical wall was in front of them. They passed through it and finally reached their camp.
The fire was dead now, but the wood was still red with heat at the bottom of it. Pinly grabbed the jackets full of gold; he didn't want to land and waste time Recalling it. But just as they began flying away to put even more distance between them and Miss Poli, Pinly crashed to the ground. The fall sent Vince tumbling down ahead. The ropes, though invisible, were still there, attached to their ankles. Pinly clawed at the ground with his fingers. He was almost free. His arms were showered with pale moonlight, but they sank into darkness once again as the ropes pulled harder and dragged him back on the other side of the magical wall. And then the wall disappeared. Taking all hopes with it.
“No!” Pinly screamed.
The invisible ropes dragged them through the mud and puddles. They bumped against the massive tree trunks and finally stopped in front of Miss Poli. She waited calmly in front of her house. Their clothes were black with dirt, Pinly's face flushed. Power ran through his body like waves; his anger made him feel invincible. He bounced towards Miss Poli, both hands charged with power and ready to land on her.
"Don't!" he heard Vince scream, but he was already too far into the motion to stop. Miss Poli had a hand up, and when Pinly was close enough he saw a shimmering wall in front of the witch— that was probably what Vince was shouting about.
There was a massive explosion of white light on impact. It sent Pinly flying several meters back. Vince landed next to him. Both boys moaned in pain. Pinly's vision was blurred by the explosion. As it cleared, he saw that Miss Poli was not affected whatsoever, she hadn't moved one inch.
"Get some rest now!" she said and went back inside the house.
Chapter 12
The village
T he boys spent the next few weeks trying to escape Miss Poli. Day and night they were making a run for it. They went further every time, but always ended up being dragged back to the house, which Pinly loathed. Miss Poli had stopped waiting to see if the boys were at the end of the ropes, they always were. Weeks had gone by before the boys had completely given up, they hung out in the forest during the day and slept not far from the house at night so Miss Poli didn't have to pull on the ropes anymore. What was the point of running anyway? Not only was she too strong, but the magical wall had disappeared. They had no idea where they were.
"We've been here for a long time," Vince said one day, they were eating food Miss Poli had made for them.
"I know" Pinly replied
"Why don't you just train with her, it's not like we can escape, if we're going to waste precious time, might as well do it whilst training" Pinly could tell Vince had wanted to have that talk for weeks now, he had helped and watched him struggle to escape for a while. Pinly knew how unfair his bitter mood was on Vince but he couldn’t help it, he was so mad! He answered questions with disdain and spent a lot of time alone, flying in circles and muttering to himself. It wasn't all bad though, as the weeks passed, Pinly began to eat a few meals and Vince managed to get a laugh out of him from time to time, as well as a whole conversation if he was in the mood for it. "P?" Vince called out, he was laying on the ground staring up at Pinly who was circling above him. Pinly answered with a lazy grunt. He was in a bad mood again "Do you think they'd let me in fairy country if I'm with you?" He asked, Pinly shrugged
"I don't know" he said quietly
"I hope they do, I have so many questions... Sometimes I wish I was a fairy" Vince said, Pinly descended and sat next to him
"be careful what you wish for, It's not as fun as you think it is... at least not anymore" Pinly said bitterly looking down at his foot, attached to a rope he couldn't see. Miss Poli pulled open her green wooden door and stepped out. She sat down on a stump next to the house.
"It's been two months now, I have left you enough time to think about what I said" she paused, looking at the both of them
"If I accept, you have to let Vince go, he can't be your prisoner too" Pinly said
"Wait a minute, you can't make that choice for me" Vince rose to his feet "I have to stay here with you!"
"You don't have any powers. It's too dangerous" Pinly replied
"Where do I go then? You know I can't go back to Chavo"
"Vince you don't have..."
"I don't care!" Vince interrupted "there must be something I can do" Vince looked desperate
"I'm not saying leave, I'm just saying you should be free to leave the forest as you please"
"You can both do that" Miss poli said to their astonishment, they both looked at each other then her
"We can?" Pinly asked
"Yes, but not too far, coming sundown you have to be back or the ropes will bring you back to me... Wherever you are"
"What?" Pinly shouted "why didn't you say anything? We've been stuck here this whole time" Pinly grabbed Vince's arm
"Let's go" he said. They went on to enjoy their semi freedom, going further than they had been in weeks without being on the run. They came across a village, just outside the forest, north of where they were staying. Pinly had caught a glimpse of its light once when he had tried to escape at night, but he was pulled away before he could step anywhere near it. Only two months had gone by, but when Pinly stepped inside the village, he realised that he wasn't used to being around so much noise anymore. He had to cover his ears for a few seconds. A troop was performing on stage, people laughed out loud at the men clowning around the stage, dressed as ladies with big gowns. Further down, a man drew a crowd around himself.
"Gather around folks!" he shouted. He held a vial filled with glittering silver powder "I have the essence of fairies..." His fingers wiggled around the vial "fairy powder! Guaranteed to make all your health problems go away!" it caught Pinly's attention. He stopped to listen, but felt Vince tugging on his shirt.
"Come, he's a hack. I've seen plenty of them in Chavo. They pretend to have the real deal, but that crap will make you even more sick" the boys squeezed through the crowd. A colourful wagon ahead caught their attention, 'Alfred's tricks' was carved on the sign, crowning the wagon.
"We need a challenger!" an agitated man in front of the wagon said. People eyed each other, waiting to see who would challenge him "I'll pay you in gold coins, if you can counter one of my tricks" Alfred shook a heavy looking purse in his hand, the coins hitting each other rang generously "we will start with a simple trick today... If you can find the stone, the gold is yours" there were four cups lined up on the floor "You? You? Or maybe you?" The trickster pointed at different people "or you?" He then pointed at the boys.
"We're not interested" Pinly said
"I'll play!" Vince replied. Pinly somehow knew that Vince wouldn't be able to resist the call of gold coins.
"And how will you pay if you lose, boy?" the man asked
"I'll work for you, I'll work my debt off!" he said brightly
"What are you doing?!" Pinly pulled him to the side.
"Don't worry, coming dawn the old witch will pull the ropes back, remember?" he replied
"No she won't, only I have the bond now, remember?" Pinly retorted. Vince stayed quiet. Sudden fright flashed in his eyes as he remembered being freed earlier
"Then you'll have to help me..."
"Are you going to play, boy?" Alfred asked
"One second, I'm coming" Vince replied before turning back to Pinly
"You're not still going through with this, are you? It says Alfred's tricks" Pinly pointed at the sign "no one can win this"
"I know, kind of. They remove the ball at some point during the shuffle, that’s how they always win"
"Why would you try and play then?" Pinly shook his head in disbelief
"That’s where you come in my friend, you make the stone appear in whatever cup I choose" Vince said, before going to face Alfred
"I can't do..." Pinly didn't have time to finish talking, Vince had already walked away.
"You do know that by the time you pay off your debt you'll be an old man" Alfred said to the crowd’s amusement
"Sure, let's just get on with it" Vince sighed with the confidence of someone who had already won. Alfred got on his knees and Vince joined him. The trickster passed his hand over the four cups before lifting the one where the stone was. Then, he began to shuffle the cups at an astonishing speed. Vince squinted at the cups, his eyes like two slits as he focused. At the back, Pinly was focusing too, the exact same look on his face. He whispered to himself repeatedly as he focused. Alfred eventually stopped shuffling and looked at Vince, smirking. He seemed convinced the boy could never find the stone, surely he would not bet such a big amount of gold if anyone could find the stone and like Pinly had pointed out, this was all a trick. Vince put his finger on a random cup, he made sure to leave his finger on it to give time to Pinly to work his magic,
"Is that your final choice?" the trickster chuckled softly. Vince kept his finger on the cup
"I think so" he nodded for as long as possible, before letting go. The man approached his hand, ready to lift the cup, Pinly was still at the back muttering under his breath. The fairy then stopped, he felt a rush of aura in his body letting him know that it was done. Alfred raised the cup slowly. The crowd was getting impatient, some people, including Pinly, tilted their heads to see in advance, but as the shadow of the cup disappeared, there was no immediate sign of a stone. it was only as he raised it higher that a stone dropped. The crowd began to cheer. Vince ran to Pinly, they hugged and jumped around in excitement. Alfred was still on his knees, he looked thunderstruck, his mouth gaped wide open.
"Cheater" Alfred shouted "he cheated" he grabbed Vince by the ear
"Let go of him!" Pinly shouted, before kicking the trickster between the legs and grabbing the bag of gold. The boys ran away without looking back, this was Chavo all over again Pinly thought. They were followed by a bunch of mean looking men, most of them were more than twice their size. Pinly felt hands missing to grab him by the collar or hair. As they ran for their lives, Pinly noticed the colour of the sky. It was fading from a clear blue to a bright orange. The sun was about to give way. Pinly's feet began to slide backwards as he forced forward, soon he was running in place then was pulled back as Miss Poli's ropes took effect. Vince jumped on Pinly's back and they began to slide away, towards the forest. The boys impacted with the men who were chasing them and Vince fell off "No!" Pinly shouted as the men held onto his friend. He saw Vince fighting to get away from them, his arms and legs swinging wildly, but they were too strong and too many for him. The whole village made sounds of horror and fright as Pinly rushed passed them. To the villagers Pinly probably seemed to be fighting off an invisible beast. He grabbed onto anything, even people's legs if he could, but eventually had to let go. He felt sick at the thought of losing Vince to these people, not again! he thought to himself, he wasn't going to let that happen. "Miss Poli!" he ran inside the house once the ropes had done their job. It was the first time he had actually stepped inside since he had left his village, but the inside of the house was an exact replica of the one back home. Miss Poli was seating at a round table. "We have to go back, they have Vince!" he ran out the house in a frenzy "Come quick!" he shouted from outside. Miss Poli put the hoodie of her cloak over her head and followed him out.
"Where were you today?" she asked
"A village close by" he pointed in the direction he had come from,
"Let's go" she said, Pinly began to fly through the woods without thinking if she would be able to follow, but to his amazement she took strides worthy of a horse, she was incredibly fast, Pinly accelerated and she was still keeping up with him. They arrived at the village in no time. It was quiet now, the village was deserted.
"There!" Pinly whispered, pointing at a group of men gathered around the colourful wagon. They walked forward and hid close by. Vince was tied up to a chair, there were a dozen men in a semicircle, watching whilst Alfred glared down at Vince, his eyes were full of rage
"How did you do it? Why were there two rocks?" He asked Vince
"I don't know, you messed up, I won fair and square" Vince replied, Alfred slapped him across the face, Pinly wanted to move in, but Miss Poli gesture
d for him to wait
"Don't act stupid with me, where is my gold?!" he shouted, his face turned red
"It's mine!" Vince replied, the trickster wrapped his long fingers around Vince's neck and began to choke him, he waited until Vince's face turned red then he let go. The boy gasped for air
"I will beat it out of you if I have to"
"Go ahead, you're sadly mistaken if you think you can get anything out of me" Vince said
"Where is your little friend? The little wizard" Vince stayed quiet "So I was right, it was magic..."
"You don't know anything!" Vince shouted
"If I don't get my gold back, I'll have the boy burned alive in front of you" Alfred's lips stretched into an evil grin
"You leave him out of it!" Vince struggled on the chair "I'll burn you first!" he raised the chair and dropped one of the legs on Alfred's foot. The trickster screamed in pain, two of his fellows came and pulled Vince away from him, then dropped him on the floor, it knocked the wind out of the boy. Alfred was now limping towards Vince, he pulled out a knife.
"I gave you a chance to come clean" he said, the knife shone with moonlight, Vince closed his eyes so he wouldn't have to see the shiny white blade go through him. Thump! Alfred's body dropped next to him. There was the sound of metal hitting the ground as the blade fell too. It all happened in a second. Pinly hadn't even seen Miss Poli raise her hand, but she had and Alfred had paid the price.
"Let the boy go" Miss Poli was marching towards them with the defiant stride of a large feline "I give you 10 seconds to move out of my way" she said, Pinly was right behind her. The witch began to count, she signalled Pinly to move back "one... Two... Three" the men had drawn their knives and were ready to take her on. Not letting her finish counting, they ran at her all together. The witch grabbed the first one by the head, spiralled in a semi-circle and smashed his face against another's. She broke the leg of one with a kick and twisted the neck of another. Pinly ran around them to go free Vince.
"Look at her go" he said, his mouth wide open as he looked at Miss Poli's incredible skills. She kicked and punched without breaking a sweat, he could hear the bones breaking under the mage’s powerful strikes. Miss Poli then jumped and sat on the shoulders of the last one before twisting his neck, she then rolled on the floor as the man tipped forward to his death. The mage immediately got up and dusted herself off. Both Pinly and Vince were still looking at her, their mouths wide open, some of the men she hadn't killed were still moaning in pain.
Made of Magic and True Grit Page 12