“Doesn’t it disgust you to have a corpse tied to your hip?”
“This is just dinner.”
“Well it was just a wand.”
He went back to carving.
Alice did not think to ask him about the other sorts of magical items.
XXX
At last they arrived at Fall River.
To Waldo it reminded him of the villages he had passed through on his way to Stratford. The main difference was that the locals here did not show him the reverence he was due. Most of them were staring at Alice and didn’t seem to notice him at all. Since he wasn’t in his robes he could understand that.
There were a few dozen homes scattered about like toadstools. He recognized an Inn and a blacksmith shop slapped up against it. Near it was a squat store front with a faded front porch and a sagging straw roof. In front of the door was a crude wooden sign with no words but the images of a barrel and hammer carved into them.
Alice promptly pointed to it. “That will be the general store. I’ll go and buy what we need. I should be able to trade my rabbit fur while I’m here too.”
“Taking care of the supplies is the master’s responsibility.” Waldo held out his hand. “Go ahead and give me the coins and I will take care of this.”
Alice smiled at him.
“No,” she said flatly. “Darling, don’t take this the wrong way, but you’re not very good with people, and I don’t think you’d know how to bargain. I’m used to dealing with all sorts of folk. Just wait here and I will take care of this.”
“But I…”
“Don’t talk to anyone, and for goodness sakes don’t tell anyone that you’re a Dark Mage or what your last name it. The river here isn’t too deep, but I’d rather not have to rescue again.”
“But I’m the…”
“Just stay here and don’t cause any trouble, I should be right back.”
“But…”
Alice began to sashay towards the store, putting a very deliberate swing to her hips. The men who were out all stared at her, oblivious to all else.
“But I’m the master.” Waldo said to no one.
XXX
He waited for about twenty minutes or so.
A couple men came up to him and politely inquired about the woman he’d arrived with. When he told them that she belonged to him that pretty much ended their interest. Waldo managed to keep his annoyance under wraps and to avoid telling anyone who or what he was.
When Alice at last came back out she was half buried under a pile of goods. She had bought two back packs, a pair of blankets, water skins, sacks, rope, smoked meat, nuts, and other travel food.
“Did you get any vials or glass bottles?”
“They didn’t have anything like that; this is just a little village after all. I was lucky they had as much as they did.”
She gave a heartfelt sigh. “This cost me two silver dalters and twenty copper traks, but it was worth it. The store owner tried to charge me five dalters, damn thief, but I smiled and told him how handsome he was and I got the price lowered as much as I could.”
He wasn’t familiar with what things cost, but he had to admit she’d gotten most of the things they needed and if she had paid less than half of the original price she had done well. Of course it helps being able to Charm.
“Good job, I suppose you can make the purchases from now on.”
“You’re too generous darling. Can I also do all the cooking? Please?”
“Most familiars would be more appreciative when their master grants them a privilege.”
Alice rolled her eyes. “Oh, but here’s the best part, they had a wizard’s robes!”
“What? In a place like this?”
Alice nodded. “A travelling mage left them here to be mended and never came back for them! They are in great condition and I am sure they will fit you!”
Reaching into the pile she had brought out she produced them. Sure enough, they were clearly a mage’s robes and about his size too.
They were also as white as snow.
“What do you think?”
He looked at her. “From now on I am doing all the shopping.”
Chapter 19
A New Name
They had stopped and made camp a little ways off from the road. Alice had gone through the woods and found some rosemary and sage. While she’d been in the general store she had also bartered some salt. She borrowed one of his knives again and cut the rabbit into pieces and then massaged the herbs and salt. She found a couple flat rocks, set them on the edge of the fire, and put the pieces of rabbit on top of them. The rocks heated up and cooked the rabbit quite nicely.
The savory scent made Waldo’s mouth water and he devoured his share. Alice ate hers just as quickly and licked her fingers after she was done. “Walking all day sure builds up an appetite. I’m still hungry.”
“That’s not because of the walking,” Waldo said absently.
“Hmmm?”
Not paying attention to her reply Waldo reached into the pile of supplies and pulled out the robes Alice had bought for him. After a careful inspection he could not deny their quality. The robes were made from wool rather than silk. They would be a little big on him, but not be too bad. Even so he was frowning and held them at arm’s length.
“How could you buy me white robes?”
“I’m sorry darling; it must have slipped my mind since they had a huge selection for me to choose from.” She shook her head. “It was amazing they had even one! I was sure you’d be happy, what with you complaining about not having robes and all.”
“But it’s white!”
She pointed to the wand he was still whittling. “Didn’t you tell me you were making that because a wizard should have a wand? Even if it doesn’t work? I thought robes would be the same. I know they’re not perfect, but I figured they were better than nothing.”
“This is completely different.”
“How?”
“Only another magic user would notice what sort of wand I have. Everyone will notice the color of my robes.”
“If you’d been wearing those back in Stratford you wouldn’t have gotten tossed in the river.”
He opened his mouth to argue, but found he didn’t have a basis to. “That’s probably true.”
He continued to hold the robes out at arm’s length.
“Didn’t you say you wanted to be a really good liar? Wouldn’t pretending to be a White Mage be good practice for that? You can go around fooling everyone and being deceitful, that’s pretty evil isn’t it?”
That gave him pause. Completely fooling everyone he met would be rather useful. “It might be,” he said, dragging out the words. “The issue isn’t lying. The problem is that I want to return home with a terrifying reputation. I can only imagine what the other houses will say if they find out I went about in white robes.”
Alice smiled at him.
“What?”
“Nothing, I just think it’s cute you’re scared about what the other evil wizards will say about you. Men are all like that, from the playground to the grave. You never want the other boys making fun of you.”
“It’s not like that!”
“Of course.”
“A Dark Mage’s worth is based not only on his abilities but on his personal reputation. Those who never do anything of note are not feared or respected.”
Alice nodded. “Sounds like how the ten year olds are always daring each other to go into the woods at night to prove how brave they are.”
“You’re comparing my interest in building a great reputation to childish games.”
“Am I?” Alice asked sounding far too innocent.
“I can just imagine the sort of stories they would tell if they found out.”
“You know, you keep going on and on about how evil you are, but from all I’ve seen and heard the worst thing you’ve done is dance around naked.”
“It’s because I haven’t done anything that I need to build a reputation.”
Waldo shook his head. “Whenever someone returns from a First Quest they are required to go before the Council of Seven and tell of their deeds. You can’t lie to them; they will compel you to speak the truth.”
“Well is there some rule that you have to wear black robes the whole time?”
“No, and others have gone on their quests in disguise.”
“Well that’s great! Then there’s no problem.”
“The people who do that are considered weak. A powerful Dark Mage would never stoop to hiding what he is.”
“I see, and you want all the other boys to think you’re brave.”
“Don’t mock me.”
Alice brought her hands together in front of her and offered him a most gracious smile. “I wouldn’t dream of it, but it seems to me that you could use the robes the same way you want to use that wand. It’s not perfect, but it will do. Won’t it be easier for you to do all these evil things you have in mind if you can sneak up on folk? Can’t you just tell this council of yours that it was a matter of tricking people?”
He thought about it. “I wore white robes to help deceive those whom would be my prey. Hmmm, I could say that truthfully.”
He paused and considered. No one was expecting him to survive. So long as he fulfilled the conditions the council had placed on him his reputation would be made. How much would it really hurt to be in disguise? Even if he was found out, it would not take away from the glory of returning home with a dragon’s egg.
“I suppose I could wear them,” he finally admitted reluctantly. “However, I’ll need to change my name. It would be humiliating to tell everyone who I really am while dressed up in this.”
“I think that would be a fine idea. Any thought what you’ll call yourself?”
He considered. It could not be an ordinary name. It had to be something to call up disgust. A name that would make a powerful impression, something memorable.
Then it came to him.
“Yes, I will take a name that will inspire fear in all those who hear it. A name to terrify and fill common men with dread.” A cold hearted smile crossed his lips. “Until I return to Alteroth my name shall be… Waldo Rabbit!”
Alice blinked and only just managed to not snicker. “Waldo Rabbit? Seriously?”
“Too scary?”
With a single finger Alice tapped her chin and pretended to think about it. “Actually darling, I think it’s perfect for you.”
Chapter 20
Pounce
Following dinner Waldo sat by the fire carving while Alice excused herself and went off into the woods. When she strolled back into camp he glanced up at her.
“You were gone for a while.” He started working on his wand again.
“I just felt like taking a short walk.”
“We spent the entire day walking. It wouldn’t have been for something else would it?”
“Don’t be silly. What else could I have been doing?”
“Hunting. You were still hungry and so you went out to find more food.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
He stopped carving. “You have dried blood splattered all over your mouth. I’m guessing whatever you found you ate raw.”
“What?” She hurriedly ran back into the woods.
When she returned about fifteen minutes later her face was washed clean.
Alice sat down next to him by the fire. “Don’t you dare make fun of me.”
“Why would I? The instinct to hunt when hungry is a part of every predator.”
“Please don’t talk about me like I was some rabid dog. Before we met I’d never turned into my true form or killed anything larger than a mouse.”
“Did you eat the mouse?”
Her eyelids lowered and Waldo could feel a sharp rise of anger through their bond.
“Forget I asked.”
“The worst part is that I am still hungry! I ate half a rabbit and a hedgehog and my belly is still not full!”
“You ate a hedgehog?”
“Don’t judge me! I never knew walking all day could build up such an appetite. When I was working at the Inn I would just have a couple small meals each day and that was always enough. I can’t help that I need to eat more to make up for all the exercise I’m getting.”
“It’s not the walking that is giving you your appetite, and no matter how much you eat the hunger will not leave you until we stop in a village.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re a succubus.” He said simply.
“Yes, I know, wings, tail, horns, and claws; but I’ve always been one and I’ve never felt this hungry before.”
“That’s because you were always surrounded by men.”
“What does that have to do with it?”
“You really know nothing about succubi biology do you?”
She was starting to get aggravated. “Look darling, I already told you that I was raised by Elsa, and the only thing she ever told me about being a succubus was that I was one. Since I don’t know anything at all about my race I figured you’d know more. No need to prove to me just how smart you are, so if you know why I am so hungry all of a sudden could you please just tell me?”
Waldo shrugged. “Lust.”
“Excuse me?”
“Lust,” he repeated. “The reason you have a sense of hunger is because you are no longer the object of lust for a number of men.”
“Wait, what? I’m hungry because there aren’t men staring at my chest? That doesn’t make any sense.”
“It does once you understand that you are a succubus and not a human. Different species have different nutritional needs. A wolf cannot survive eating grass and a sheep cannot digest raw meat. On occasion Enver would sit down and eat at a table with my family, that does not mean he could survive on that sort of food. As a vampire he is biologically designed to derive nutrition from blood, and only blood can satisfy him. A Will O the Wisp feeds off of human fear and Blossom Fairies off of human feelings of love or happiness. Succubi feed off of male lust and sexual desire. You can eat food from the table, but just like a vampire without blood, you won’t be able to survive long term with only that.”
“You mean all those horny guys were actually serving a purpose? Who would have ever guessed?” A thought occurred to her and she looked at him in horror. “Does this mean I’m going to die?”
“Of course not, a human being doesn’t up and starve to death just because he missed a few meals. It takes weeks. The same applies to you.”
“So I’m going to die, but it’s going to take weeks?”
“You’re not going to die. We’ll stop by some villages or towns along the way and stay long enough for enough men to stare at you until you get your fill.”
“Wait, so you want strange men ogling at me? Shouldn’t you be more protective of your wife?”
“Familiar, and isn’t that better than having you starve?”
Another thought occurred to Alice.
“Why aren’t you able to take care of my needs? Isn’t a husband supposed to do that for his wife?”
Waldo shrugged. “I guess I don’t feel that way towards you.”
Alice’s jaw dropped.
“It’s not that you aren’t beautiful,” he amended quickly. “It’s just that I grew up with sex slaves constantly about, so I’m kind of immune to that sort of temptation. You are very attractive and very important to me; I just don’t have those sorts of feelings.”
“So you’re saying you don’t want me?”
“I do. You are more important to me than anything. It’s just that I don’t look at you as just a sex object.”
“Not even a little bit?” She sounded hurt.
“I thought you didn’t like being looked at that way.”
“Not from strangers or from men I’m not interested in. You’re my husband; I want you to want me.”
“Didn’t yo
u specifically say you wanted to wait for us to consummate things?”
Alice’s cheeks became rosy and she pressed her index finger together. “Even if I ask you to wait to have the meal I don’t mind if your mouth waters.”
“I do look forward to it, from what I’ve seen it’s very enjoyable. I just have other things on my mind.”
The (sort of) Dark Mage (Waldo Rabbit) Page 19