by B. J. Smash
“He’s freaky fast. I swear he zipped by us so fast, all we saw was a blue swirl,” Tom said.
“And he scared the living daylights outta Tom,” William smiled.
“I thought he was a damn buffalo or somethin’,” Tom replied.
Before I could inquire further, I heard an all too familiar voice, and then a giggle. Ella seemed to appear out of nowhere. “William. I made us some tea.”
She walked up behind him and placed her hand on his arm. William yawned and seemed to slouch lower.
“Chamomile?” he asked.
“Don’t you be drinking that damn chamomile tea. It conks you right out! What if the wolves come? You’ll sleep right through it, get eaten by a damn wolf, and I’ll never hear the end of it from your mam! You damn moron.” Tom was clearly agitated to the point of exhaustion.
“It’s only mint tea. It’s harmless,” Ella said as she made eye contact with me.
“I don’t care what kind of tea it is; but it better not be chamomile,” Tom said. He pointed a finger at Ella.
“Don’t talk to Ella that way,” William said.
“I will do what I damn well please. She ain’t even supposed to be here. Dammit. This was supposed to be our adventure, William. It was supposed to a good time. It ain’t been no good time!”
William held his head low. “Tom stop swearing. There is ladies present.”
“Believe me…I ain’t swearin’. I have some colorful words that I could be sayin’. Damn ain’t one of ‘em. Damn, damn, damn!” Tom paused to scowl at Ella. “I’m going to damn bed.” And with that he walked off, kicking at some dead branches, and mumbling what were probably “colorful” obscenities below his breath.
William and Ella were about to follow Tom, but I called out, “Ella…I’d like to speak with you. Alone.”
William turned and said, “Ella can’t stay. She has to come with me. I can’t let a lady walk back to camp alone.”
“Believe me. She’ll be fine,” I said.
Ella gave William doe eyes, batting her eyelashes, and she tried to hold back a smug grin. “I’ll be right with you. Go ahead, William. You had better return to camp before Tom has a conniption fit.”
William agreed to leave Ella behind, but he made her promise to hurry back. He walked away with his head down, dragging his feet. Now and then he’d stop to observe the bark of a tree, or a stone on the ground. He was wasting time, and I knew he’d be back for Ella soon. He wouldn’t let her out of his sight for long. I would have to spit out what I wanted to say, and do it quickly.
“Who is this handsome man?” Ella asked. She licked the corner of her lips.
“Lucian…this is Ella,” I mumbled.
“Hello,” he quickly glanced at her.
Ella bent low to shake Lucian’s hand, but he pretended he didn’t notice. He was well aware of her energy stealing abilities. Instead, he stood and walked to Solstice. She didn’t seem to care. She probably knew we were on to her.
As I carefully formed the words in my mind that I wanted to convey to Ella, I recalled a time long ago when Ella and my sister fought. My father had taken the three of us to the Bangor State Fair, and they bickered the whole time. Ella was playing “copycat” with Zinnia, much to Zinnia’s dismay. She hated it when Ella did this. She mimicked her words, and movements to make her angry. This riled my sister up to no end. Ella often walked behind Zinnia, and made faces at her or mimicked her walk. On this particular day, when Zinnia bought a bag of pink cotton candy, Ella bought pink cotton candy. Zinnia didn’t like this, and stole my bag of blue cotton candy, and gave me hers. Yup…my sister was bossy. When Zinnia bought a cowboy hat with pink feathers, so did Ella. I didn’t want a hat, so Zinnia couldn’t steal mine.
But that was just child’s play compared to the fight they got into later on in the day. Both girls were in line at the shooting gallery. Zinnia had her eye on a boy—which was a common occurrence. Ella decided to flirt with the same boy. He was loving the attention, but Zinnia would get upset if Ella received more attention, and vice versa. The boy finished his turn and walked to the back of the line. The two girls began their bickering or “snot nose fighting.” (This is a term that Granddad coined for their little spats).
One thing led to another, and Ella whacked Zinnia with her bag of cotton candy. Embarrassed, Zinnia whacked her back a good one. Now, cotton candy doesn’t really hurt when you hit someone with it, but it does mess up your hair. Neither girl wanted messy hair at the fair. So, after a few more whacks, Ella grabbed the air gun out of the hands of the person shooting it. She turned and lamb basted my sister upside the head. Stunned, my sister teetered on her feet, while the guy in charge of the game jumped over the counter and retrieved his air gun.
All the while, I’m standing there with a red face—embarrassed out of my mind. Ella was in the middle of a tee-hee when Zinnia snapped out of her stupor and grabbed her by the hair. Within seconds, she had Ella on the ground. Screaming like a mad woman, she sat on her arms and chest, and began stuffing cotton candy up her nose. Ella kicked and screamed, and Zinnia shoved a big clump in her mouth. By this time, my father had arrived, and he pulled the two girls apart. His face was five shades redder than my own. He was rip-roaring mad. He hauled the two girls out the exit, and to the car. He never took us back to the fair again.
While I sat there revisiting their horrible episodes of days gone by—Ella spoke to me.
“What do you want, Ivy? Are you just going to sit there like a lump on a log, staring at me?”
The more I thought of how Ella acted in the past, the more I disliked her. My face grew hot, and I cleared my throat. “Leave William alone.”
“What?” she whined. “By now you know that I can’t do that.” She pulled her glossy auburn hair to the side of her neck and started to braid it.
“Ella. I do not know what your game is but leave Tom and William alone.”
She laughed. “No. I don’t think that I will. What I do think is that you should just give up the race. I have a plan set in motion. You cannot stop me from attaining my goal.”
My temples began to thump, and my face grew even hotter. I was not afraid of Ella. Magic set aside, I could easily defend myself without even trying. There was no doubt in my mind. However, I knew she had a wicked mentality. To what lengths would she go, to get me out of the race?
“Why are you even here? What does Magella want with the djinn bottle?” I thought now would be the best time to bring Magella’s name up.
“Now, now, Ivy. I cannot tell you that. That would be giving away our secret. I will say…you’re not going to like it,” she giggled.
How I wanted to slap the giggles out of her. Her laugh was becoming worse than listening to fingernails on a chalkboard. I took a deep breath and calmed myself. “Whatever it is that you have planned will not work. I know that I will get to the bottle first,” I fibbed. I had no idea who’d get the bottle first; but it had better be me.
“We’ll see about that. I’ve no worries. Let’s just say, I have the gift of foresight.” Ella winked.
This was news to me. I had to doubt it. Although, Uncle Royal had said that she’d been learning magic for a long time, I still couldn’t believe she had the gift of foresight. It was a rare gift to have.
“Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Just make sure no harm comes to William or Tom. You and your ‘foresight’ should move on without them.” I chose my words so that I’d sound arrogant. If I knew anything about Ella, she couldn’t stand to be belittled.
She snorted and said, “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure they live; at least until I get the bottle.” She winked, and turned to leave.
“One question…” I called after her.
She glanced back and said, “Yes?”
“What motivates you to get the bottle? I’m not talking about Magella. I’d like to know why you want it so bad.” I thought that rephrasing the question might get a reaction from her. Ella may not tell me why Magella wants the djinn bottle, but if I could get her t
o talk about herself…
“What motivates me? I’ll tell you what motivates me! My mother! I need to get away.”
Bingo. Psycho’s like to talk about themselves. I learned that long ago from Izaill.
“Soooo…why do you need the djinn bottle. Can’t you just walk away? Or move away?” I asked.
“NO! She won’t let me move away. And nothing is ever good enough for her. I’m either too skinny or too fat. Father doesn’t stick up for me…he’s…he’s afraid of her,” Ella said.
I always knew Ella’s mother, Lucille, was a bag of bones with a big attitude. A tall and slender woman with her nose always cocked up in the air, and a clenched jaw of disapproval. And so I offered, “Ella, we can probably help you get away from her. Izadora will know what to do.”
“That’s a load of crap. There is no getting away from her. Besides, I have other plans for the bottle too. Your sister comes to mind.” Ella giggled again.
As soon as she mentioned my sister, I knew that attaining the djinn bottle had nothing to do with her mother. She was lying. Lucille and Ella were two peas in a pod. They always seemed to get along just fine when I saw them together. This whole charade had nothing to do with Lucille, but everything to do with my sister.
“Ella, my sister is a changed woman.” At least I hoped she was, you never could tell with Zinnia. “She’s happily married, and she isn’t bothering a soul.” Again, I hoped that was true.
“I know. I’ve heard. She’s too happy. I don’t like it. I thought I’d mix things up a bit. Steal her husband, and make her my servant. Something like that,” she laughed.
As my anger rose to new heights, I said, “That is pure evil. But what does this have to do with Magella?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” She smirked, and walked away humming a gay melody that you might hear from a young girl playing with her dolls in an overgrown garden. It was an unnerving.
A white mist had begun to enter the woods, creeping in, as if to signify that the safety of the daytime was no longer in charge. The night was taking over. And soon, Ella was enveloped into the whiteness, like a mythical creature of the forest.
I sat there for some time watching after her. The frogs that hung around the swampy areas had begun to croak, and the crickets chirped in a mesmerizing fashion.
Lucian stoked the fire, and laid out his thin blanket on the damp forest floor. He sat beside me, put his arm around me, and squeezed. “She is a whack job. Don’t let her get to you,” he said. I looked up into his dark brown eyes, and felt a sudden surge of energy coast through my body. My anger melted away, and I was momentarily lost. Briefly laying my head on his shoulder, I realized that he was much too close for comfort. I cleared my throat and stood.
“I’m going try and get some rest up in this tree.” I climbed to the third branch. The bark was rough, but the branch was thick and would hold me just fine. Enclosed behind the swaying green leaves, I felt like I could breathe again. I could see Lucian clearly through the limbs, but he couldn’t see me.
“Alright. I’ll keep one eye open for the damn wolverines.” He snickered, and I thought of poor Tom, and how stressed out he’d been over his unwanted companion, Ella. Things just didn’t add up. If Tom was so against Ella, and he did not want her around—then why did he allow her to stay? He didn’t seem like the type of guy that tolerated any crap. William was infatuated with Ella…that much was for certain. But why wasn’t Tom nipping it in the bud? Shouldn’t he send her away now, before William got even more attached to her? It was clear as day that she was using him. So…why? Why did he allow her to travel with them?
After working for Izadora, I had learned early on that no one could be trusted. She instilled that in me from day one. “Never trust anyone. Especially someone who is overly nice. Or too loquacious,” she’d say. I guess the question that arose to my attention was: Could I trust Tom?
Time would tell.
And what about Magella? What part did she play in all of this? What did she and Ella really have planned for my sister. I knew that Magella was angry with Zinnia for the past. Zinnia was the reason that Magella was forced to leave the ocean, and live in a crannog on a lake in Merribay. She had been awful bitter about it. I’m sure she’d try to punish my sister if she had a way. This djinn bottle was becoming more and more important. I couldn’t let her get her hands on it.
Fog rolled in at a steady pace. It was so thick, I couldn’t see the ground. Even with my keen elven vision, it was pointless to try. Nor could I see the red embers of the campfire below me.
Tonight we were sitting ducks.
***
Lucian hadn’t made a sound all night, and I couldn’t see him through the thick whiteness of the fog. I knew he had to be on high alert, which was a pity. This race was already whacky enough. He should be allowed to get some shut eye in the evenings.
I hadn’t slept a wink in hours. I sighed and laid down on my stomach, using my arm as a pillow. Sometimes it was the easiest way to sleep in a tree. While my legs dangled over the sides, I listened to the frogs and crickets, and the occasional “hoo hoo” from an owl several trees over. The moon was almost full, but the clouds were thickening and oftentimes it couldn’t be seen.
I shut my eyes…only to have them pop back open. A lone wolf howled from the hills behind us. A long continuous, high pitched howl. Quickly, I sat up. Solstice whinnied and Lucian groaned.
“Here we go again. You awake?” Lucian said lightly.
“I am,” I answered. I tried to heighten my elven senses by focusing on the forest around us. The trees, the plants, the land itself. Sometimes when I did this, I could actually feel what was around me. This process did not fail me tonight. But it was already too late. The pack was close by.
Steadying my breath, I swung my legs over the limb and prepared to jump. Instead, I was tackled from behind as something slammed into my body, and knocked me to the ground. Landing on my back, it pinned me with its heavy weight, and snarled threateningly only inches from my head. Its breath was steamy hot, and drool spilled onto my cheek. The putrid smell made my flesh crawl, and I gagged.
We were surrounded in fog, but I could see the overly long fangs and red veins in its yellow eyes. But there was something so wrong with this werewolf. Part of its head still appeared human, as though it hadn’t shape shifted all the way. The forehead was made of human skin, and it wrinkled up. However, the skin appeared like acid had been poured over it. The ears were that of a wolf, but one was bigger than the other. The arms were long and human but covered in thick black hair. The hands were huge paws with long deadly claws.
It barked viciously into my ear, and its claws raked down my midriff. The pain was so excruciating that it stunned me to silence, and I couldn’t breathe. Where was Lucian?
The fear that filled my heart was so intense that I almost passed out, but I blinked several times, and as adrenalin kicked in, I focused on living.
This thing…this werewolf…seemed to pause just to smile at me. He was about to rip my throat out, and it would only take him a moment to do it.
Bringing myself out of my stupor, I realized that Lucian wasn’t able to help me. By the sound of it all, he was taking on several others. Loud thumps hit the ground beside me, and growls from hell echoed around my head. Ripping flesh and painful yips. Someone had just lost their life.
I could hear Solstice whinnying and stomping the ground, jumping. He was fending them off as best as he could.
Something hot lay between my back and the earth. It didn’t take me long to realize that it was the elven stone from my mother’s necklace. I believe the stone was trying to wake me up…to give me the gusto to fight this cursed beast. A blast of pure energy thrust through my lower extremities. Not wasting another second, I brought my right knee up with as much force as I could muster, and slammed it into the werewolf’s stomach. It sounded like a balloon popped, as something ruptured. His disturbingly ugly face went slack, and he dropped his full body weight on
me as he went limp. This had to be one of the most disgusting things that ever happened to me. Now, it was time to scream. And I did, till my lungs burned.
He was ripped from my body by Lucian, who was in hellhound form. For the few brief moments that I saw Lucian, I could see that his white fur was covered in mud and doused in blood. He tore the werewolf’s arm from its body and swung it. Blood spattered my face.
It wasn’t long before more arrived, and I could feel that something horrific was about to happen. Screams of terror filled the forest. Gunshots were fired, one right after another. Someone’s cries of help were cut off as they were violently killed.
And then out of nowhere, Lucian’s body started to spasm—he was having one of his seizures. I’d heard about his seizures from Ian, but I had never seen it happen. I couldn’t fathom how I was going to protect him, and fear struck me like a bolt of lightning. It was one thing to be a scaredy-cat for myself—but when it came to my friends—I couldn’t tolerate fear.
It seemed as though the fog had thinned out just enough for the occasion, and I counted ten of them surrounding us. They were ferocious looking beings with patches of fur missing, and super sharp teeth ready to tear me to shreds. A few had deformed faces from not being able to fully shift. They were utterly disturbing.
Crouching around Lucian’s convulsing body, a vicious primal noise escaped my throat. I was growling. Something in me snapped, and I smeared the blood that had spattered on my arm, to my face. “I might die here today; but I am taking a majority of you with me.”
Drumm had given me “battle advice” one time during training. He told me that if I ever was outnumbered, to make the opponents think I was just a smidgeon crazier than them. I didn’t feel as if that were going to be a problem. I hissed at them.
Two jumped at me, and I swung my legs with such force they didn’t stand a chance. I could feel their ribs cracking on contact. For the next few minutes, they came for me. I don’t think my feet ever touched the ground, as I whipped through the air with fluid movements. If I landed, it was on one of their backs and only briefly.