by Claire Luana
“Isn’t there a way to stop them?” My mom asked, her short blonde hair in a wild halo about her head. “Calm them down?”
My eyes widened. “Could we find one of those whistles?”
“I told you I can’t conjure—”
“Not conjure. Find one. In the…locker room for the conductors or something. Or…a pet store?” It seemed like whistles to control hellish dark hounds of doom would be the type of thing you’d find at a faerie pet store.
“Maybe,” Orin said, closing his eyes and whispering under his breath.
Down at the far end of the library, one of the hellhounds exploded through the window, screeching to a stop, honing in on us. Another hound leaped and followed it through with more grace, also setting its red eyes on us.
“Orin…” I grabbed his arm, backing away.
“A minute…” he said, scrunching his brow in concentration.
“We don’t have a minute…” I let go of him and gripped the sword in both hands as the hounds crept closer.
“Got it!” he cried, his eyes flying open. “This way!”
So we ran. I pumped my legs faster than I ever thought possible, pulling my mom, bodily, beside me. The hounds bayed behind us in the delight of the chase.
Orin threw object after object at them, slowing them slightly. His magic must be near depleted by now.
“There it is!” Orin cried as we approached a tidy brick building with a hanging sign. I didn’t care what the sign said; I just knew it was shelter. My legs and lungs were burning, and I could feel my mom flagging beside me. We couldn’t keep this up.
We piled inside the building, and Orin slammed the door shut. I looked through the windows to see the hounds screech around the corner and come to a stop, sniffing the air. One looked right at me, and I swore we made eye contact. I ducked down. Thank god, the windows of this store were barred. But the door was just wood. It wouldn’t hold for long.
“What is this?” I turned to look, taking it in. It was a pet store.
“We’re looking for a whistle,” coughed Orin, his hands on his knees. “It stops the hounds. Fan out.”
Orin, Ruth, and Mom moved through the aisles as I dragged myself before the door, sword in hand. It shuddered as a massive weight crashed against it. I licked my lips, trying to summon my courage. Just like the jaguar. Or the dragon. Or the merfolk. I’d faced faerie monsters before, and I’d bested every one of them. I could do this—
The door exploded inwards, knocking me off my feet. The sword clattered from my hand, and I scrambled for it in the debris. A hellhound filled the doorway, growling its near silent growl. I could feel the heat from its gaping mouth.
It took a step towards me, and my hands closed around the sword hilt. I pulled it up and with one fluid motion stabbed the hellhound through the neck.
The hound thrashed and reared back, wrenching the sword from my hand. It stumbled out of the shop, crying and screaming, dark blood pouring from its neck. Another hound appeared in the doorway, its baleful red eyes affixed on me. It bared its teeth at me—it knew I had just hurt its friend.
I scrambled away, my back hitting a shelf behind me. “Orin!” I screamed. I didn’t have the sword anymore. I didn’t have anything. I tried to fumble inside myself for my magic, but I was too terrified. The hound stepped closer, and its muscles bunched to pounce. I squeezed my eyes closed, bracing myself for the pain.
A piercing whistle cut through the haze of my fear. I peeked one eye opened and saw the hellhound standing still, its ears perked forward at attention.
Orin stepped forward, a silver whistle to his lips, the chain of it around his neck and a cardboard package in his other hand. He was reading the instructions!
He blew the whistle again, letting out two short bursts. The hellhound sat obediently. I let out a shaky laugh, burying my face in my hands as the adrenaline drained from me, leaving me hollow and exhausted. He’d done it. We were safe.
Orin blew three sharp whistles and one long one, and the hound rose, turned on its heel, and trotted out of the store.
He knelt down by me, his hands roving across my face, hovering over my body, checking me for injuries. “Are you all right? Are you hurt?”
I sprung at him, pulling him into my arms. I sobbed into his neck, breathing in his scent of herbs and pine and Orin. Finally, I pulled back, wiping my eyes. “I’m okay. You did it.”
“We did it,” he said, his dark eyes gentle as he offered me a hand and pulled me up. “If you hadn’t stabbed that one we’d never have had time to find the whistle. Ruth found it, actually.”
“Nice job, Ruth,” I said, nodding to her.
“Anytime,” she ran a hand through her red hair, shaking her head.
“Mom, you okay?” I asked.
“I think so,” she said, pressing a hand to her chest. “That was quite an adventure.”
“You don’t know the half of it.”
“Let’s get out of here,” Orin said.
We stumbled over the shards of the door into the beginnings of twilight. This day had felt like a hundred. I didn’t think I could do anything more than collapse in a bed.
The one hellhound I had stabbed had fallen still beside the building. It was dead. Motionless and quiet, it didn’t look so ferocious. I was sorry it’d had to die. But it had been it or me. And I’d always choose me.
I pulled the sword out of its neck gently, letting the black blood drip down the slick blade. I’d find something to clean it with before returning it to my mom.
“What’s that?” Mom said, squinting into the setting sun. I lifted my head wearily.
There was something in the sky. No, not something…Someone.
Tristam and Sophia. Riding a white Pegasus. It took my haggard mind a moment to make the connection. Why were they here?
Orin was faster, he was already pulling the game board out of his pack, looking at it frantically.
Dulcina’s shining hooves landed on the square across from us, and Tristam and Sophia hopped off.
“What’s going on?” Mom asked.
Horror welled in me, stronger than I’d felt even with four hounds of hell facing me. “We…moved,” I said weakly. In our mad run from the hounds, we’d crossed a square. It had been our turn, and we moved. We’d exposed our queen.
The Pegasus shimmered and transformed into Dulcina’s slim form. A sword flashed in her hand. The look on her lovely face was sorrowful. I think that was the worst part of all.
My mouth went dry as I grabbed my mom’s hand, squeezing tightly. “She’s here to fight you.”
19
Almost as soon as I’d uttered the words, brilliant lavender armor covered Dulcina’s body, materializing as if from nowhere.
“Stay back,” I warned, even though I knew my words were useless. Dulcina couldn’t stay away even if she wanted to and judging by the pained look on her face, she very much wanted to. “I don’t want to kill your mom, Jacq,” she said, taking a step forward, “But I have to take this square. I don’t have a choice.”
Beside me, I saw my mom readying herself out of the corner of my eye. She didn’t know the fight was going to be a real one. She still thought this was all just a game...a bit of fun for the cameras. We’d been so busy running away from hellhounds that I hadn’t had time to warn her, and now it was too late. Dulcina lofted her sword in the air and charged for my mother.
“It’s real,” I screamed as Dulcina began to pick up speed.
“What?”
She was closer still, heading for Mom at a dizzying speed. She wasn’t just fast as a Pegasus; she was speedy as a human too.
“I said...”
Closer.
“This is all...”
Almost upon us.
“Real.” I pushed my mother out of the way, sending both of us spinning to the ground, the clatter of metal upon stone echoing in my ears.
Dulcina barreled past, missing her mark.
“Jacq,” my mom admonished once she’d
recovered from her surprise. “I’m supposed to fight. I know what to do. If I hit her shield, I can stay in, but if she hits mine, I have to leave. Not strictly legal in a real game of chess. Your father would be rolling his eyes if he was in here, but this whole race is a little far-fetched.”
As my mom rattled on, Dulcina had come to a stop and was now turning, ready to attack again. I pulled my mom to her feet. “Sweetie, it’s all right,” she said. “The swords aren’t even real. They’re like some kind of magic hologram. They can’t hurt me.”
Dulcina ran towards us again, the blade in her hand looking as real as my mother’s blade.
I grabbed Mom’s wrist to pull her away. As far as I could see, running was our only option, but my mother wouldn’t budge.
“The swords are real, Mom!” I screamed, willing her to move. “You saw what I did to the dog with it. That blood is real blood.”
She shifted her position, and for a second I thought she’d seen sense and was going to come with me, but the clash of metal on metal over my left shoulder told me it was too late. She was already embroiled in the fight, and I was right in the middle of it.
“Jacq, I’m so sorry,” Dulcina said, her face glistening with sweat. It looked like she was trying to fight against the armor—but with little success. Dulcina mumbled to herself as she lifted her sword to strike again.
This time, my mother was the one to push me out of the way. Her face had gone white. I think that first clash of swords had finally shaken some sense into her. “I’m protected, but I don’t know if you are,” she panted as she parried Dulcina’s strike.
I ran forward again, intent on splitting them up, but a heavy hand grabbed my upper arm and pulled me back. “You’ll get killed if you barge into the middle of them with no plan. You don’t even have a weapon to defend yourself.” Orin was right, but it wasn’t his mom out there fighting. I was willing to bet if it was Ramona out there sparring with what for all intents and purposes was a lethal magical killing machine, he’d change his tune.
“Do something!” I hissed. My mother was holding up a lot better than I’d expected. Dulcina had received combat training during our month at Hennington House. We all had. My mother, on the other hand, was trained in selling insurance. Hardly something that would come in handy in this situation.
Orin didn’t reply, and for a second, I thought he hadn’t heard me, but when I turned to look at him, his eyes were closed, and his lips were moving in some kind of incantation.
There was a flash of purple light, and both swords turned into rubber, leaving them both wobbling in a comical fashion. The fight was now no longer lethal.
I laughed out loud in relief as the pair of them hit each other with the rubber swords, inflicting no damage. My mother’s laugh filled the air as she really went to town on Dulcina, showering down hits on her shoulders and arms. Even Dulcina’s face had cleared of the worry, and a small smile had appeared on her lips as she realized that the fight had turned into something to have fun with.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
Orin’s hands interlaced in mine, sending jolts of desire through me. My adrenaline had turned into something else entirely, now that I knew my mother was safe.
“I know you were worried about your mom, but I think Dulcina’s taken on more than she bargained for.”
She was now cowering with her hands over her head, and my mother rained down blow after blow on her. Only the laughter coming from somewhere under her arms told me that she was enjoying the game as much as my mother was.
“I think I won!” My mother turned to us and raised her hands in a triumphant manner.
Dulcina stood and bowed down to her before holding her hand out for a handshake.
I blew a breath out. The fight had come to an end almost as quickly as it had started. But then I frowned. According to the board, Dulcina was technically supposed to win this bout. Was it possible for my mom to be the victor? Would she stay on the board? But two chess pieces couldn’t occupy a single square at once without one taking the other…so would Dulcina leave? I wondered what we had to do next.
“We should return to the last square,” I said to Orin. This new turn of events didn’t sit well with me as it skewed the rules of the game. I was pondering all of this when Dulcina reared back with a gasp. A ragged scream ripped from her throat, and a ball of magenta energy began to form around her right hand.
“Shit!” Orin said, gripping my hand even more tightly.
Terror formed within me, and though I didn’t fully understand what was going on, I knew by Orin’s reaction that it was bad. My first thought was that Dulcina was sick or injured, but as the ball of pink energy began to intensify, I figured it out. That sphere of light was magic, and Dulcina was going to hurl it at my mom.
As with any magic, I had no idea what it would do until it reached its target, but the look of panic on Dulcina’s face was enough to tell me that it wasn’t going to be good.
“Help me,” she screamed as the ball of energy flew towards my mother, hitting her right in the chest.
My mom let out a heart-rending scream as the magic hit her, knocking her off her feet.
“Mom!” I cried, running over to her, kneeling beside her writhing form. “Orin, what was that? Is she gonna be all right?”
Orin was just steps behind me. “I don’t know. Only Dulcina knows.”
“What was it?” I screamed at her as I cradled my mother’s head in my arms. Tears streamed down Dulcina’s face, and she shook her head wildly. “I couldn’t help it. I can’t control it.” The pink energy began to form again, and she gazed down at her hand as though it was somehow not connected to her.
I had to remind myself that she was only the puppet in all this. The king held the strings. Still, my anger was roaring within me.
“Dulcina,” I shouted at her, trying to get her to focus. “What was the spell?”
“It’s a pain spell,” she shouted back. She stumbled back and waved her hand about as if to outrun her own magic. “It will hurt but not damage. It’s the illusion of pain.”
I breathed out a sigh of relief. It wasn’t ideal, but at least when this nightmare was over, my mother would walk away from it. “You hurting, Mom?” I asked softly.
“Like a bitch! Illusion my ass!”
I’d never heard my mother swear in my life. I wasn’t even aware she knew any swear words until now, but I guess enough pain could do that to a person.
She tried to stand. I moved to help her, but she pushed me roughly aside. Her pain was evident as she unsteadily got to her feet, her teeth gritted together.
“What are you doing?” We needed to get out of here and quickly, but it appeared my mother had other ideas. She reached down and picked up the rubber sword she’d dropped earlier.
“I can’t help it any more than she can, Jacq.” Her words chilled me to the very core. She was being magically manipulated too. This was a fight to the death, had always been a fight to the death, and now my mother was going into battle with a woman who could cause pain with a flick of her wrist, armed only with a sword made out of rubber.
“Jacq,” Dulcina called out again. This time there was an insistence to her voice, which was tinged with terror. “There’s another one brewing, and this isn’t a pain spell. I’m sorry. I think…it’s deadly. I can’t help it!”
I could only watch as my mother walked stiffly towards Dulcina, the useless sword sagging in front of her. The ball of pink energy around Dulcina’s hand had darkened and now spit ominous sparks. Then she pulled back her hand and threw the energy straight toward my mother.
I watched as if it played out in slow motion. The abject terror in Dulcina’s eyes, the way my mother didn’t even duck to avoid the inevitable ball of death hurtling towards her.
I screamed, unable to move. My own fear had me frozen in place, and yet, even if I moved, I was too far away to do anything. My only option was to stand by helplessly and watch my mother die.
A split se
cond before the angry energy hit my mother, there was a flash of blackness, and the ball disappeared. It took me a few seconds to understand what had happened, and when I did, the relief I felt at my mother being saved turned into dread as I saw Orin’s body crash to the ground. He’d jumped right in front of her, shielding her from the attack. And in the process, he’d taken Dulcina’s spell right to his chest.
“Orin,” I cried out weakly, disbelieving the scene before me. He couldn’t be dead.
The spell on my mother and Dulcina was broken. Their armor had disappeared. The act of Dulcina hurling that spell must have marked her as the victor—the winner of this square. Even though it hadn’t taken out its intended target.
My mother bent to check on Orin and Dulcina raced forward, her pupils wide and tears streaming down her face. I beat both of them to him, even though I’d started off the furthest away.
“It was a kill spell,” Dulcina whispered. “I didn’t mean to...”
My entire world imploded with the realization of what Dulcina was saying. Orin couldn’t be gone. I couldn’t lose my partner. My friend. My…love. Not now.
I couldn’t speak, couldn’t answer Dulcina. It wasn’t her fault, but I couldn’t articulate the words to tell her that. In that moment, all I could think about was Orin and the crushing weight that had descended on me.
My own tears fell freely as I turned Orin’s body...no, Orin. He was more than just a body, he was everything. I turned him from the face-down position where he’d fallen.
He looked up at me in surprise, letting out a groan. “Wow, I’m really glad we got those whistles.”
I hissed in a breath, my heart hammering, my body shaking uncontrollably.
“I killed you,” Dulcina breathed.
Orin sat up gingerly, one hand to his head. “I think you killed the dog whistle.” He held up a piece of blackened metal still hanging from his neck. “It must have deflected the spell.”
Emotion overtook me. Something precious had been lost and now by some miracle had been given back. I grabbed his face in my hands and kissed him full on the mouth, pushing him back to the ground. Passion, mingled with relief, mingled with who-the-hell-knew filled me, taking my breath away as I rained kisses upon him, clinging to him as if he might be taken away from me again, and I was dreaming the whole thing.