Heroines and Hellions: a Limited Edition Urban Fantasy Collection

by Margo Bond Collins

  “Child, there is no need to tell you that those are very dangerous goods,” William’s concerned voice echoed in my head. He was communicating telepathically for obvious reasons, unwilling to share his thoughts with the goblin, and maybe even with James. “I am not sure that buying anything from this creature would be a good idea…”

  “I agree. But Mr Turner is very experienced and knows this place very well. He wouldn’t have brought us here, if it weren’t absolutely necessary. We need to trust him.”

  And, I did. Not only because he was Suzy’s brother, and had helped me indirectly in the past. But there was more, but I couldn’t really put my finger on it. There was just something about him that made me feel relaxed and somehow safe.

  “What else do you have?” James continued, interrupting my train of thought. He was clenching his jaw and furrowing. He was clearly weighing the pros and cons. I wished I could discuss the whole matter with him, but I didn’t have the expertise, nor the gravitas to do so. After all, I was then only a twenty-two year old supernatural freak. I couldn’t even ask him simple questions in front of that damn goblin. “What else?” James continued, concentrating on the goblin.

  “Let me see,” Thalea reached under his counter and extracted a green bag, full of rather large, green beans. “This is a magic bean. Just like the one from the fairy tale. I’m sure the lady here knows what I’m talking about.”

  “Er, you mean Jack and the Beanstalk?”

  “Exactly. The tale teaches what harm can be produced by a wonderful plant in the hands of a fool. If used properly, this plant can be a wonderful tool. It develops quite quickly. Able to reach hundreds of feet in a few minutes. It grows mostly vertically. Its leaves are several yards wide, providing excellent cover from enemies, and a good diversion and…”

  Thalea stopped talking abruptly and turned his giant head to the sky above us. All the merchant goblins did the same, as did most of the customers. My friends and I also looked up, squinting at the distant nocturnal sky, but saw nothing.

  “What’s going…?” I couldn’t finish the sentence, since my stomach had suddenly tightened into a knot. A horrendous noise cut through the darkness, sounding like hundreds, no, THOUSANDS of crystals breaking at the same time. But, although I couldn’t see them yet, I knew they weren’t crystals, they were…

  “TENGUS! TENGUS INCOMING!” Thalea and other goblins shrieked, while customers roared, yelled and cursed in many different, unknown languages. The crowd went mad. Creatures big and small started running around like crazy. Others turned to face the Japanese demons.

  Everywhere was chaos, screaming, fire and brimstone. And panic. So, you know, the usual stuff.

  “Quick! Under the counter!” James yelled, pushing me under the giant tree root that Thalea used to display his goods.

  “Goodness gracious, those hideous creatures are everywhere!” William worried, as James and I peeked cautiously out of our hiding place.

  I saw goblins fleeing carrying large bags which were likely filled with their most precious goods, bumping into things as they fled, and cursing in the fairy language every time they did. Goblins are cowards, not wanting any trouble, and so had no intention of fighting the tengus. Other creatures did, though. I spotted a bunch of angry blue flying things that surrounded single tengus, then slid down the tengu throat and made them explode from the inside. A hooded monster with six arms was riding a giant ice lion who could blow an icy wind against the Japanese demons, freezing them in mid-air. There was also a slim, tall, humanoid creature literally made of fire. It wasn’t normal fire, though, it was powerful mystic fire. It bravely stood its ground, throwing balls of it at the flock of tengus. It seemed like a good idea, but in the end wasn’t, since soon dozens of burning demons crashed onto the stalls, and set them on fire.

  10

  The Peacock

  “How did they find us?” I asked James, trying to hide my fear. “You said it was impossible for them to track us.”

  “Us, yes, but not the katana, apparently,” he replied. “They’re Okasan’s hound dogs: she must have somehow trained them to follow the wake of the sword’s aura. Magic artefacts have a particular aura that tracking wizards, like me, can detect when the artefact is reasonably close. Those demons don’t need it to be as close it seems. Still, they have their limits too: they know the sword’s here, but cannot pin-point its position, nor ours, in this supernatural madness. I suggest we take advantage of it, keep a low profile. Let’s crawl beneath this root to the magic trees over there: they will give us an excellent cover, so that we have time to find the Rain Man.”

  “Good idea, Mr Turner. I can cover you both, if that helps.”

  “It surely will, Your Grace, we…”

  A sudden, loud bang pierced our ears. The root-counter shook above us. Something had hit Thalea’s stall. Many velvety bags, scattered seeds and magical flowers fell off it, raining right in front of me, onto the silvery grass. I spotted a single, fat, magic bean and put it in my inner pocket, then randomly picked up all the seeds and seed-bags I could fit in my other pocket. I was behind James and William, so neither of them saw what I was doing. Which was a very good thing. Although James was the one interested in Thalea’s goods in the first place, I wasn’t sure how he’d react if he knew I had stuffed random magic seeds and plants into my jacket.

  We moved carefully and slowly under the tree’s giant root. It was several yards long and gave us a good protection by allowing us to be totally unseen by any supernatural creature, tengus included. Still, it was long but not endless and it did end, eventually.

  “All right,” James said, once we reached its end. “It’s another hundred yards to reach the thickness of the woods. It doesn’t seem far, but it’s further than you think, considering the situation. Your Grace, I will make myself and Robyn invisible and create a magical barrier to protect us both. My barriers are pretty good, but considering the amount of powerful creatures here, we’ll need all the help we can get.”

  “I can definitely enhance your barrier, using my ghost magic. As well as cover your backs, while you reach the forest.”

  “I’d appreciate that! Miss Wise, how fast can you run?”

  “Well, considering I’ve been running from monsters all my life, I’d say pretty fast.”

  “Very well. When I say ‘three’, we all run as fast as we can towards the woods. Sound good?”

  “Sounds good.”

  “Fulasso!” he said, his ring of power glowing intensely. It means ‘I keep, I protect’ in ancient Greek. We were made immediately invisible.

  “Aspis!” he continued. It means ‘shield’ in ancient Greek: a powerful magical barrier surrounded us, boosted by Will’s magic.

  “All right, be ready: one, two…three!”

  James shot out of the tree root into the open, me and Will right behind him. He was right: the woods were much further than they seemed. The place was crowded with supernatural creatures either fleeing, fighting the tengus or battling each other. The total chaos caused by the Japanese goblins was getting worse by the minute. Several stalls had caught fire and their owners were desperately trying to extinguish it, or running away, holding as much of their precious goods as possible. The sky above was filled with powerful beings flying against the tengus and/or crushing into each other, while all sorts of dangerous spells criss-crossed in mid-air. Some even hit us, but fortunately they bounced off James’ barrier.

  We managed to run for maybe ten yards or so, but then the crowd became so thick that it was a miracle we could walk at all. The upside was that the multiple auras and the general pandemonium surrounding us made us undetectable. A couple of tengus flew close to the ground, only a few feet away from us, without suspecting we were there.

  “Hang tough, Wise, a few more yards and we’ll be OK,” I told myself, dodging a ball of white energy coming my way.

  “Nearly there!” James shouted. “Keep moving!”

  Nearly there. A few more yards, and we’d make
it.

  “Maybe this time everything will work out for the best,” I kept thinking, hurrying as much as I could. “Maybe this time my proverbial bad luck won’t…”

  ‘Maybe’ my arse. Suddenly, a giant dark shadow blocked out all the light coming from the burning stalls and the stars. I looked up and saw an enormous bird flying less than ten feet above us. It was just a moment. The next second, I felt something twisting around my left arm, lifting me up. Up, VERY up into the crowded, nocturnal sky.

  “Wise!” James turned and shouted up at me. He threw a spell at the bird that was lifting me away, but no avail.

  Then, a dash of green light, and something hit my barrier, destroying it. And with it, the spell that kept me invisible. Because, when it looks like things can’t get any worse, it always does.

  “Robyn, resist!” William yelled, shooting along behind me, while I flew in the sky at crazy speed, entangled in the tentacles protruding from the tail of a giant bird. A bird which looked like a peacock with dark blue and silvery feathers. Not good. I mean, the fact that William had just called me “Robyn” and not “child” was usually a sign we were facing a serious emergency. And, of course, dangling from a giant’s bird tail, hundreds of feet from the sweet ground, was a serious emergency. Especially since, being, you know, alone in the open air, without supernatural creatures around me, made me a moving target for tengus who could track my aura in only a few minutes. Or maybe less.

  “Robyn, hold on!” William yelled again, finally catching up with me.

  “What do you think I’m doing, settling in for a nap?” I shouted back. It was cold up there, so cold that James’ barrier could barely do anything about it, and I was freezing. My nostrils were clogged shut, except for a tiny pinhole on the left that allowed in some air. I had to breathe through my mouth, that is if you’d call gasping and panting breathing. I could taste blood on my tongue, which was almost as sore and dry as my lungs.

  “Robyn, I’m here!” William sounded beyond terrified. And I kind of knew why. “Were you hurt? Anything broken?”

  “Nope, but I’ve had better days.”

  “Try to climb-up this creature’s back, child,” he again called me “child” as usual; maybe I could make it this time after all. “Hold tight and climb up. I believe I can control this bird’s movements with my magic, but won’t risk it until you’re in a less precarious position…”

  “A PRECARIOUS POSITION? SERIOUSLY? I’m miles away from the ground, hanging from a giant bird’s tail and you call this only a precarious position?”

  “I’m afraid this is not the moment to argue…” he promptly told me off. Yeah, maybe the situation wasn’t as dire as it seemed. “Climb up, I know you can, you are so strong! I will help you up with my magic.”

  I nodded, took a deep breath, grabbed a bunch of blue feathers and started climbing. A moment later, I felt pressure gently lifting me and pushing from behind. Climbing became easier, although the wind was very much against me. I felt much safer now that William was by my side, so I was able to calm down and focus on dosing my strength, concentrating on reaching the creature’s back without looking down. Never ever look down. I don’t suffer from vertigo and I’d gotten used to flying with time, but dangling from a beast’s tail while shooting through the sky at impossible speed was, well, too much, even for me.

  Reaching the peacock’s back took me less than 10 minutes, thanks to William’s magic boost, and the strength that only desperation can give you. When I finally landed on the bird’s back, my fingertips were bleeding, my arms and shoulders hurt like crazy and I generally felt like someone who’d been ran over by a tank. I gave myself five seconds to catch my breath and to analyse my transport. It really did look like a giant peacock, one the size of a small aeroplane. It had a robust, silvery beak and stripes of silver could be spotted everywhere on its blue and turquoise feathers. Its tail was beyond spectacular, being almost as long as its entire body, with long, dark blue feathers from which protruded a bunch of strong, purple tentacles. The tentacles were long and twisted and had likely dragged me up by mistake. The peacock was fleeing from the tengus too, and didn’t mean to harm me. It was just as terrified as me, probably even more, and didn’t even look like it was aware of my presence on its back.

  “You all right? All settled?” Will asked, floating beside me.

  “I am,” I replied, firmly grasping the bird’s feathers to better balance myself. Its back was very soft and incredibly warm, which was of enormous help, considering how cold the atmosphere was around me. “You are not going to hurt this creature, are you?” I continued. “It’s a victim, just like me. Actually, it’s my fault if the tengus broke into the Market and scared this bird to death.”

  “Child, you are in the middle of nowhere on the back of a giant peacock,” my ghost politely replied. “Instead of worrying for this animal’s safety, you should be worrying for yours, just for a change. We must go back to the Goblin Market and find Turner, or we are doomed.”

  “Back to the Market? I’m not sure that’s a good idea. I mean, we shouldn’t go back directly, at least. It’s swarming with tengus looking for me right now… I think we need a plan B. Maybe we could land this bird somewhere, like Hyde Park, and then call Suzie for help…”

  “Child, look around. There is no Hyde Park. There is no London anymore. We need to find Turner.”

  “What do you… Oh, fuck!” I had stretched my neck to see past the peacock’s large wings and realised that William was right: there was no London. No city lights, no river Thames. Nothing. All I saw, was miles and miles of woodland, stretching in every direction, reaching the horizon and disappearing into darkness.

  “FUCK! FUCK! Where the hell are we?”

  “I am unable to tell,” Will replied. “All I can say is that the entrance to the Goblin Market was more than a magic door. It was a proper portal. This place is full of magic, some of which I’ve never felt before, powerful and ancient. We must find Turner, or at least his Rain Man friend: they’re the only ones who can get us out of here.”

  “SHIT!”

  “Swearing won’t help us, my dear.”

  “Well, it helps me release some tension,” I snapped back. That was bad, oh, so bad! I remembered James mentioning that the Market was a dangerous place even to an experienced wizard like him. I’d bet what was surrounding it was just as dangerous, if not more. Landing wasn’t an option, of course. I had no intention of landing, at night, in a magic wood crowded with God knew how many deadly creatures. The other option wasn’t great either: I’d have to go back to a place currently on fire and swarming with blood-thirsty tengus as well as all sorts of angry/terrified supernatural beings. Still, William was right: James was there and he was our only hope for getting back home. Assuming he was still alive, of course. But why wouldn’t he be? He was invisible and a powerful and experienced wizard…”

  “Let’s be optimistic for once, shall we?” I told myself. “One worry at a time, Wise. One worry at a time…”

  What I needed to do was to stay focused on making my way back to the Market. Hopefully, it was still burning because the high flames would be visible from a distance, and help us find its location.

  “OK, Will, I’m with you: let’s get back to the Market!” I told him, trying to sound as calm and as matter-of-fact as I could. He didn’t need to know that I was about to pee myself. “Do you know the way? Any clue?”

  “Well, finding the Market isn’t impossible, but it’s not simple either,” he replied. “In a normal situation, I’d be able to pin-point the location of a place so full of power and supernatural creatures. Yet, this is not a normal situation. Where we are now is exuding magic of such magnitude, that it messes up my perceptions. Can you feel it too?”

  I closed my eyes and concentrated. After a few seconds, a wave of pulsing, ancient energy hit me, making the back of my skull buzz. I was exhausted and cold, and back then my perception wasn’t nearly as good as it is now. Yet I could feel it. Very clearl
y. The same feeling of being surrounded by ancient magic that I had when we’d entered the Market, the same, only a thousand times more powerful. So powerful, that it almost knocked me out and I had to tighten my grip around the peacock’s feathers. Where the hell were we?

  “Good grief!” I stuttered, trying to pull myself together.

  “Yes? It will not be easy to find our way back. It will not be easy to make the bird do what we want either, especially since we want to go back to the tengus and it’s fleeing from them…”

  “We’ve been flying for a while now and traveling very fast,” I replied. “Can you at least tell which direction we came from? You chased us right from the start and…”

  “I am afraid I have only a vague idea. You were probably too busy to notice, but your bird made a number of twists and turns before shooting into a particular direction. The sky above the Market was filled with other flying creatures and it needed to clear them off. So, the point is…”

  An ear-splitting shriek cut the air like a knife made of ice.

  “What was that?” I rushed.

  “I don’t know. It sounded rather far away. Cannot tell where it came from either…”

  Another shriek. This one sounded close. The peacock slowed down a little, as if to assess the situation.

  “Something’s up,” I said, shivering, talking more to the bird than to William. “Something’s coming…whoa!”

  My mount had just turned back abruptly, doing a 180 so fast that I almost fell off again. Then, the bird started flying into the opposite direction at crazy speed, clearly terrified of whatever was coming. I turned and gasped, breathless: a giant flock of tengus had appeared out of nowhere and were now chasing us. The flock was so huge, that the sky had turned dark with hundreds of black crow wings. They were all after the Hattori Hanzo’s katana. After me.

  They were all minor demons, like those who attacked the Market, only their number was much greater. There were hundreds and hundreds of them, more than at the Market and the British Museum. They were still rather far, but getting closer by the second, in spite of the peacock’s crazy flying speed.