I’m Cadrien. No last name, just
Cadrien. I live in a small hut on top of a hill, overlooking the
The only person I really respect is
Geezer, the village elder, known to everyone else as
“You damn monster, where is he!”
“I don’t know what you’re talking
about, Geezer.”
“My silverware set, your gremlin
stole my silverware.” The geezer approached, trying to look imposing in his
fine cloth cloak, with faded purple die and a barely visible emblem on the
back. His short gray hair waved slightly in the breeze, and his face was
contorted into a practiced grimace.
I, unimpressed, looked up to my roof.
“Prorewyr!” He climbed from the roof of the hut to the edge, and peeked over,
hissing at Geezer. “Did you take this nice man’s silverware?”
Prorewyr hissed again and spat, and a
fork flew across the yard, then a knife, and some more small hsarp thigns.
Geezer held up one arm, and blocked them, knocking the majority of the
silverware to the ground before him. He then knelt and picked it up, piece by
piece.
“Well, I guess he did… I’m quite
sorry about that. Prorewyr, won’t you apologize to the nice man?” There was
another hiss, and while Geezer was crouched and facing away, a sharp knife
whizzed by his head, and a thin red mark appeared on his left ear. He rose
silently, then turned and threw a spoon at the small demon. It hopped off the
hut and caught the projectile in mid-air, then shrieked and fell toward the
ground. I ran forward to catch him and growled, “What have you done, old man?”
“A demonic ward, weak but effective.”
He held up a small vial, made of black glass and corked with cotton. “He will
be dead within the day, unl-”
“If you think that this is going to
get rid of me, you’re dead wrong! I thought we settled this long ago.” I ran
forward, and swung my free fist, holding the bird-sized demon in the other. I
caught him in the chest, and knocked him to the ground. As I leapt on top of
him, he knocked me clear over with his knee, and I ended up on my back behind
him.
“If you want to save that
monstrosity, you will shut the hell up and listen to what I have to say.” I
shut the hell up and listened, sullenly, as he got to his feet. “My
granddaughter is very ill. I believe you are the only one who can help her.”
I sat up and frowned at him, “I see,
so you want to make a joke of this? Of killing my friend?” I fail to see the
humor.”
“I have a counter-charm, an antidote
if you will, and if you can save my granddaughter, it is yours. Come with me.”
I stood up then, and studied his face. It was the picture of seriousness. He
turned and left, and after a moment or two, I followed.
Walking between the buildings, I saw
no one on the streets. There were a few shuttered windows with eyes peeking
through, and when I was just entering the village, I saw a child pulled through
a doorway in the distance and the door slammed. Just like I had expected…
Geezer kept his gaze straight ahead as walked. After a couple of minutes, I
hissed toward a house at my left, and shutters slammed closed around me. “Can
we hurry, please?”
“This is my family’s house just now,
boy.” The elder’s house was the largest of the village, and in the center. It
was practically a mansion, two stories high and built to house an entire
extended family. I hesitated as we reached the front door, almost turning to a
window or to the back, but Geezer caught my shoulder, “If you are going to be
my guest you will enter as such” I swallowed, and followed him inside.
All this time, Prorewyr had been in
my arms, completely silent. In fact, he hadn’t moved since I caught him, and
now I glanced down. His skin was beginning to dry out and become brittle, and I
was worried that the old man was lying. When I looked up, we were stepping
through a hallway, and the doors around us were closed. I could hear hushed
conversations, fearful or doubtful or both, and this reminded me how I should
be acting – I composed myself then glared left and right.
At last the journey was finished, and
Geezer brought me into a pink room, with lacy pillows and stuffed animals.
There was an elaborate, covered bed in the center, and a maid was kneeling
beside it. She looked up, and when she saw me, she gasped lightly and her eyes
became wide. She looked to Geezer, “Lord Medan!” I was still behind him, and
couldn’t see his expression, but the girl bowed hastily and left the room.
I walked to the bed and set Prorewyr
on a pink dresser beside it. There was a small, pale child, of only five or six
years, lying under several sheets. Her skin was pale, and she was barely
breathing. “Well? What do you want me to do?”
“I had her examined by a healer, and
was told there is an infection growing in her throat, one which normally could
be simply cured. However, the cause of the infection isn’t quite so simple. A
small coin, cursed by one of my old enemies, we think he offered her something
to eat and she swallowed it. However, to remove it, the healer would need much
more time and money, both of which are scarce. I obtained the ward instead, and
the antidote. I know what you can do, and I need your help.”
I nodded sullenly, “Fine, if you
swear to me that you will not leave Prorewyr to die.”
“You have my word.”
I held one hand up, and it darkened
and became translucent, then almost clear, like a solid shadow. The shadow
spread down my arm, and enveloped my clothes. As my face faded away, the world
around me also faded and became immaterial. Soon, everything around was dull
and see-through, and when I glanced back at my shadowed hand, it Looked normal
again. Now a gleaming light caught my eye, and I turned to the girl again. I
could see her face as a vague shape, but a red circle was in her chest, and the
magic on it was like beacon.
I looked to Geezer, and there were
two shining tubes in his pocket – with a start I realized one was the potion he
had used on Prorewyr, the other was the counter-spell. I needed to do little
more than reach out and take it, and I could be done with the matter. But then
I looked at the girl again, and forgot it. I reached into her body, and saw it
shudder as though caught in a chill. I closed my fist coin, and when I
concentrated on that light, I felt the metal materialize in my hand. I pulled
it out, and returned to the physical world.
Geezer’s eyes were wet with the start
of tears as his granddaughter coughed and gained some colour. Then, however, he
turned to the red demon on the dresser, and scowled. “I hate that game, you
know… he really did steal my silverware.” He took another black-glass vial from
his pockets, and poured it over Prorewyr, but nothing happened. I prepared to
attack the coot, but he chanted suddenly and loudly, “Nata verna denos…” My
tiny protector was revived just like the girl. I picked him up, and he crawled
slowly into my shirt, his wings flat against his body. His head poked out of my
collar, and he wheezed softly, before hissing at Geezer and falling asleep.
“Now… give me the other vial,” I held
out one hand. Geezer smiled wryly, and handed it over. “If you’ll excuse me, I
think I’ll return to my hut now.” I turned and left the same way I came.
Of course, life remained largely
unchanged after that, and every now and then, I would overhear the story of how