by Mac Flynn
Maddock pulled the cart up to a small gate in the wall and helped me down. I was struck by the sweet smell of flowers and a delicious smell of herbal cooking.
Maddock continued to grasp my hand as he led me off the road. “Let me do the talking,” he whispered as he guided me up the short stone walk to the front door. “Merely look at the alchemist as though you might recognize them.”
I nodded, and he knocked on the door. There was a pause before the sound of footsteps came to the door, and the portal was opened by a young woman of eighteen. Her long golden hair fell down to her waist in smooth waves and her skin was slightly pale.
She looked at us with bright blue eyes and a quizzical expression. “Can I help you?”
Maddock smiled at the young woman. “My wife, too, is of a frail nature, and she seems to have caught something worse. This mark-” He nodded at my forehead. “Appeared on her head a few days ago, and we were wondering if you might be able to tell us what it is.”
The woman squinted at me and pursed her lips. “That appears to be a curse of some sort. Where did she get it?”
“She was walking in the woods and stumbled on some dead flowers,” he explained with a smoothness that came from lying a lot. “We foolishly plucked them and has been sick ever since. One of the villagers told us you were good at herbs and might help us.”
The woman smiled and stepped aside. “Come in and I’ll see what I can do.” We stepped into the cottage and I saw that it was clean and well-maintained. “My name is Katherine.”
“I’m Madcox, and this is my bride, Maddy,” he introduced us as she closed the door.
“How funny to have names so similar,” she mused as she led us into a small parlor. “And I don’t believe I’ve seen you around here,” she commented.
“We’ve only newly moved into the area,” Maddock told her as we took a seat on a sofa. “We bought a nice house not too far away. The owner was this rather creepy man who rather frightened my wife.”
She arched an eyebrow. “Can you recall his name?”
“I believe the strange man said his name was Tristan.” Out of the corner of my eye I noticed a stir in my shadow.
Both of the woman’s eyebrows shot up. “The Dusk Dragon has left?”
“You knew him?” Maddock asked her.
She shook her head as she took a seat in a chair near me. “No, I only heard of him, though I had hoped to meet him.”
“Why is that?” Maddock wondered as she took my hand in hers.
Katherine turned my palm up and studied the lines. “Merely to learn more what he knew about herbs.” Here was my chance. I leaned in and examined her face as though it was the last face I’d ever see. Katherine looked up and frowned at me. “Is something wrong?”
“Haven’t we seen each other before?” I asked her. “Maybe in the woods?”
Katherine shook her head. “I don’t recall ever meeting you before now.”
“My bride asks because she thought she saw someone in the woods shortly before she touched those flowers,” Maddock explained.
“I don’t often wander into the woods,” Katherine admitted.
Maddock glanced around the room and his gaze stopped on a plaque. “You’re an alchemist?”
She smiled at him. “Yes, but not a very good one.”
“But wasn’t that given in recognition of your having graduated?” he inquired.
Katherine stood and walked over to the plaque. She took it in hand and studied the words that were too small for me to read. “No, it’s merely a reward for good behavior.” She set the plaque face-down on a nearby end table and turned to us with a sad smile. “I’m really quite embarrassed to not have finished.”
“But why then did you leave the academy?” Maddock asked her.
She bowed her head and blushed. “As I said before, I. . .I’ve never been very strong in my health, and thought that perhaps a few years in this beautiful country would help me get better. However, even though I’m not a full alchemist I hope I can help you two.”
“What can you do?” Maddock wondered.
Katherine cupped her chin in one hand and looked me over. “I’m not sure. I’m not an expert on curses, but I might be able to make a potion that will ease some of the pain she may be feeling from it.”
“There’s also some weakness,” Maddock added.
“Then I’ll put in something to help with that,” she assured him as she walked over to the doorway. She paused and smiled at us. “This shouldn’t take too long, but please make yourselves at home until I come back.” With that invitation she left us.
I looked to Maddock, but his eyes lay on the plaque. “What is it?” I whispered, but he shook his head and pressed his finger to his lips.
“It’s a nice day today, isn’t it?” he asked me.
A cunning alchemist would leave a way to overhear their guests, Tristan revealed to me. That is why you mustn’t speak about anything that would give away our true reason for being here.
I glanced down at my shadow beneath me and frowned. “But what about you-”
My words cannot reach anything an alchemist could create, he assured me.
“What do you say, my bride?” Maddock persisted. “It’s a nice day for a walk?”
I stiffly nodded my head. “I-I suppose it is, but I don’t feel up for it.”
Maddock winked at me. “Then we’ll hope that this kind alchemist can make a potion to help you.”
“You’re in luck,” Katherine spoke up as she hurried into the room. Cupped in her hands was a long vial and on her face was a bright smile. “I had some medicine potion already made for a client, but you can have it. I merely had to put some soothing herbs into the creation for your bride.”
We stood and she handed the vial to Maddock. He bowed his head to her. “We thank you very much, but do you have any way of knowing how to remove the curse? Or is there another alchemist in the area we could go to?”
She turned her face away and bit her lower lip. “There is another alchemist, but I’m afraid you won’t find him very friendly.”
“I’m sure I can convince him to see us for Maddy’s sake,” Maddock insisted. “But where can we find him?”
Katherine sighed. “Take the road back to your house, but two miles away turn to your left and go down a bumpy drive to the end. You’ll find him there.”
“And his name?” Maddock requested.
“Harry,” she revealed.
Maddock smiled and bowed his head. “Thank you very much.” He turned to me and grasped our hands together. “Let us go, my bride.”
25
We hopped onto the box and returned to the road. I glanced over my shoulder and saw Katherine standing at the gate. She waved to us and I returned the gesture before I turned to look ahead.
“She seemed nice,” I commented.
Maddock pursed his lips. “Looks can be deceiving.”
I frowned. “You mean you think she’s the one who corrupted the golems?”
He shook his head. “No, only that we must be suspicious of all until we find the one responsible for your curse.”
I brushed my fingers over the mark on my forehead. A horrible thought struck me. “Do you think the alchemist will give me the antidote even if we do find out which one it is?”
I will ensure they do, Tristan promised.
“Within reason,” Maddock scolded him. He flicked the reins and the steed hurried along down the road. “Now let us see about this man named Harry.”
The trip to Harry’s house was short and soon we were nearing the end of the long, rugged driveway. Smooth dirt would have been an improvement, but ruts dotted the way and weeds blurred the lines between pasture and pathway. The ‘road’ widened and turned into a somewhat circular patch of open ground, and in the middle was what I could generously describe as a hovel.
The house was a single floor which was good because even that floor appeared to be rather shaky. The walls were at a slight incline in one dir
ection and the paned windows-at least those panes that weren’t broken-were too grimy to see through from either side. The single, rough chimney also leaned, but in the opposite direction of the house so that there was a gap at the roof where house and chimney parted. What paint had covered the wooden walls had long-since peeled off, and a porch in front of the open door had more broken than unbroken boards.
“This Harry gentleman appears to be a very different sorts than Katherine,” Maddock mused as he stopped the horse in front of the porch. He hopped down and turned to offer me his hand. “Let us see if the man doesn’t match the house.”
I grabbed his hand and lifted a foot to step down, but a slight dizzy spell overcame me. Maddock’s hand was of no use to me as I tumbled to one side. He lunged for me, but hands reached up from my shadow and caught me before I hit the hard-packed ground. They set me down and in doing so disappeared into the darkness. Maddock knelt by my side and pulled out a vial from inside his coat. He popped it open and eased me into his arm as he put the mouth of the vial against my lips.
“Drink this,” he instructed me.
I gulped down the medicine and shuddered. It tasted like bitter roots mixed with rotten cabbage. I unwillingly swallowed, but a coughing fit struck me. “What. . .what was that?” I managed to choke out.
“The medicine I’ve been giving you without the added flavor,” Maddock informed me as he tucked the vial back into his coat. He opened my eyes wide with his thumb and forefinger, and examined them. “The taste will go away with Chloe’s cooking, but how do you feel now?”
The medicine left a dry taste in my mouth, but it warmed my insides like good whiskey. “Warm.”
He smiled down at me. “That’s a relief. It means the medicine still has some affect against the curse.”
“What’s going on here?” a voice snapped as a man stepped out of the open doorway of the hovel. He was about thirty-five with shaggy brown hair and his face was dirty. The man wore a pair of dirty jeans and a shirt that was stained with many meals and potions. This, indeed, was Harry. He noticed us on the ground and frowned. “What are you doing on my property?”
“We apologize profusely,” Maddock replied as he helped me to my feet. “But you see, we heard you were an alchemist-”
“Who told you?” Harry questioned him.
“Katherine down the road, and she-”
“How’d she know?” Harry interrupted.
Maddock sighed. “She’s an alchemist herself, but if you’d listen to me my bride here is in need of your help and-”
“And I’m not interested in helping anyone, especially not a charity case, now get lost,” Harry snapped as he disappeared back into the house.
“We have money,” Maddock added.
There was a moment of silence before Harry reappeared. His studied us for a moment before he arched an eyebrow. “How much?”
“I’m sure we have enough for your time, and maybe some medicine,” Maddock told him.
Harry frowned, but jerked his head to the interior of the house. “Get her in here.”
Maddock assisted me up the rickety steps of the porch and across the broken boards to the door. We both hesitated on the threshold and stared in awe at our single-room surroundings.
The inside of the hovel was both magnificent and grotesque. The walls were washed cleaned, as was the floor, and the furniture-though bare-was sanitary. What was grotesque about the house was one corner, the one farthest from the door and on our left. Animals hung on hooks from the rafters, creatures of all kinds and some I couldn’t identify.
“You seem to dabble in some strange concoctions,” Maddock commented as Harry set out a chair and held onto the back.
“I do what I do because it makes me money,” Harry snapped as he nodded at the chair. “Get your wife over here.”
“Bride, but as you wish,” Maddock corrected me.
I took a seat in the chair and Harry knelt in front of me. He examined me for a moment before he shook his head. “Nope, can’t help you. That’ll be five coins.”
Maddock arched an eyebrow. “For doing nothing?”
Harry stood and turned to him. “You wanted my opinion and you got it, and that isn’t free.”
Maddock reluctantly dug into his pocket and drew out the coins. Harry snatched them from his open palm and nodded at the door. “You can let yourself out.”
“I believe the man means it,” Maddock whispered as he helped me to my feet.
He led me over to the door. I paused on the threshold and looked over my shoulder at Harry. Our ‘host’ stood by the hanging animals and glared at us from the dimly lit corner. “Don’t I know you from somewhere?”
He shook his head. “Nope. We’ve never met before.”
“You must excuse my bride, she thought she saw someone in the Harlipren the day her illness struck,” Maddock explained.
Harry shrugged. “Wasn’t me.”
Maddock smiled and bowed his head. “Then we wish you good day, and thank you for your help.”
Maddock helped me across the boards and to the cart. I appreciated the help climbing up and slumped into the seat. He took his spot next to me and flicked the reins.
We had gone a mile from the house when he looked down at me with concern. “You haven’t finished your ill-health act.”
I tried to keep my body from trembling as I pressed my arms around my stomach. “That’s because I really don’t feel well.”
My fatigue had been replaced by a terrible pain all over my body. It was like feeling muscle cramps everywhere all at once.
“You may lean against my shoulder if you wish,” he offered.
“That won’t be necessary.”
That was the true voice of Tristan as he rose up from my shadow. His arms were drawn from the darkness and lifted me up so I was cradled against his chest. I looked up into his golden eyes. They were cooled by concern, and I thought I saw a little anger in their depths.
I leaned my head against his chest and closed my eyes. “I’m sorry.”
“For what?” Tristan asked me.
“For being such a pain.”
Maddock chuckled. “The lovely woman unwillingly trapped in our world wishes to apologize for being here.”
Tristan wrapped his arms closer around me and set his chin against the top of my head. “There’s no need to apologize, nor worry. We’ll find the cure.”
I opened my eyes and looked at my two companions. “But what do we do now?”
“Now we wait for one of them to make their move, though unfortunately that will no doubt be evil against you,” Maddock warned me.
I brushed my fingers against the mark on my forehead and pursed my lips. “I think it’s worth it.”
Maddock smiled at me, but his eyes flickered to Tristan. “I quite agree with you.”
26
We returned home and found Chloe and Gwill waiting for us on the stone path to the house. She took the reins from Maddock, but her eyes were ever on me as Tristan hopped off with me in her arms. “Is Chris okay?”
I smiled at her. “I’m just a little weak.”
“And still a terrible liar,” Maddock scolded me before he turned his attention to Tristan. “I believe now would be a good time to practice some magic.” He nodded.
My eyes widened as I looked between them. “Magic? Now?”
Chloe, with a deep frown on her face, nodded. “I agree. Doing magic might hurt her.”
Maddock smiled and shook his head. “On the contrary, magic might be just the medicine for her right now, especially healing magic. She would be taking in the elfennau from the surrounding area which would replace her own depleted life force.”
“Can I heal this curse?” I asked him.
He shook his head. “Unfortunately, no. Many curses can be dispelled with magic, but not this one. There’s too much complications from the alchemical properties to attempt anything more than some healing magic and simple medicine.”
“You would be the be
tter teacher for this magic,” Tristan told him.
Maddock shook his head. “That may be, but your little bird should be kept under your wing until she’s better. Now-” He scooted around Tristan and gave him a push in the direction of the garden. “Off you go!”
Tristan stumbled forward with me in his arms, but paused and looked down at me. “Are you willing to try magic right now?”
I nodded. “I want to.”
He strode forward and took us into the garden. The sweet smell of the bushes and the gurgling of the fountain eased my discomfort. Tristan set me down atop the fountain wall and I clasped my hands in my lap as he stepped back.
“Healing magic is very similar to protection,” he explained as he raised one hand. Some of the strands of elfennau floated through his palm and created a ball of light. The glow from the ball soothed some of my aching.
I started back when his ball crackled and sparks flew out like wild electricity. His ball popped and little fragments of light rained down on the ground.
“What was that?” I asked him.
“My natural discordance with healing magic,” he explained as he dropped his hand. “The shadows from which I sprung are incompatible with the light provided by such pure magic, and the consequence is that I cannot hold such magic for very long before it breaks down.”
“So can anyone do all the different types of magic?” I asked him.
He shook his head. “No. Only the legendary Treon was said to be capable of doing so.”
“How many different types are there?” I inquired.
“Many, and their intricacies would be better suited for another time,” he suggested as he took a seat beside me. “Now it’s your turn to attempt to create healing magic.”
I nodded and raised my upturned palm. The elfennau floated into my hand and I gathered their energy into a small glowing ball of magic. The gift of the elfennau soothed my aches so that I hardly felt anything, and my fatigue vanished.
“That is a protection spell,” Tristan informed me. “You must create a healing spell.”