Tusks and Daggers Part Twenty-Six: Drawn to Each Other

Sir. Acorn rested in my pocket, his two front teeth chewing on a fresh acorn. Darwin sat on my shoulders, Boran wrapped his arm around my bump. Somata danced closely behind us. Karama and Kanama took up the back with the twins by their side, Merlin and Maryanna taking up the rear. Creatures with clear skin stared at us, a million beady eyes staring us down. Their seaweed green hearts beat in their chests, the oddity of it all throwing me off. The sights of the organs sickened me, a rotting smell poisoning the air. A wave of muddy water crashed towards us, the creatures all hissing at us. Turning to run, my feet pounded towards any form of safety. Alas it was too late, the wave dragging us into a muddy pond of water. Clutching Darwin close to my chest, my fingers snapped. Air bubbles formed around all of our heads, Dackworth’s eyes twitching wildly. Crashing onto a golden room, three petite sea witches sat on three bronze thrones. Their porcelain skin contrasted the creatures, malice written all over their faces. Assuming they were triplets, teal hair cascaded down their backs. Ocean blue eyes glittered darkly, a wicked grin curling on their lilac lips. Silver silk cascaded over their lean bodies, purple quartz wands resting in their palms. Analyzing the situation, the creatures were slaves to them. The one in the middle spoke in a foreign language, none of us understanding a damn word. Even Darwin couldn’t understand them, his eyes squinting in confusion. Somata mouthed a spell, a electrical shock jolting his body. Twitching behind me, the triplets rose to there feet.  Stomping their worn boots on the ground, everyone but Boran and I passed out. Darwin popped up behind me, Dackworth’s eye closing on me. Clammy sweat dripped off of my brow, horror widening my eyes. A black iron cage crashed down on us, a flash of black scales capturing my attention. A black feather floated to my feet, a red eye glistening in the window. Smiling wickedly to myself, the three sisters sauntered off. A three foot tall clear creature lifted up the cage, motioning for us to come out. Sneaking out cautiously, he lowered the cage back down. Glancing back at our friends, his webbed hand dragged us into a dusty library. Flipping over a chalkboard, the white chalk moved a mile a minute. Stepping back, he pointed to the first picture. His fins on the side of his head wiggled anxiously, my eyes squinting at the messy drawing. It looked like a fin on an apple on it, my eyes falling on the poor thing. 

“Is your name Finapple? Are you a boy?” I queried gently, offering him my hand. “I won’t hurt you, but I can free you from them if you point to the pictures in the proper order so I can figure out what you are saying.” Placing him on my shoulders, his wet body barely made a difference to my already soaked body. Shooting me a thumbs up, the answer seemed to be yes to both of them. Ignoring the clear slime oozing down my face, his wide grin of shark teeth made it all worth it.  Pointing the first one, it was a ball of light flying into their kingdom. Boran and Darwin relaxed, both of them watching intensely.  

“They came in a big ball of light?” I asked quietly, making and explosion motion with my hands. Nodding his head once, his finger pointed to stick figures slaving away. My assumptions were correct, those rotten witches had enslaved them. This simply wouldn’t do, his finger pointing to a map. What looked like a quartz cave greeted my tired eyes, the wet sound of him hopping down. A black eraser spun in his palms, his hand moving too fast to see it. Drawing another set of drawings, they were instructions.  

“Finapple, is this how we can defeat them?” I questioned hopefully, thinking of my friends who were still trapped. Nodding his head once, my attention turned back towards the pictures. The first step was Finapple guiding us to the cave, the next one a little unclear. The basics of it was finding the charm or thing keeping their powers strong, the final step would be destroying it and probably killing them. Erasing the board, I drew a couple of pictures depicting that the plan was a go. Waiting by the door, his ooze plopped off of my head. Boran clutched his club tightly, terror written all over his face. Feathscale swam by the window, my mind wondering what the hell he was up to. Several of his people marched by with black iron swords, a strange glint in their beady black eyes capturing my attention. Ushering us to follow him, a steady stream of curse words waited on the tip of my tongue. His wet footsteps were going to die, a tiny cry of frustration squeaking out of my lips. The slime dripped off of my fingers the moment his hands wrapped around mine, a shiver running up my spine due to its iciness. Dragging me down the twisting hallways, a wave of salty ocean water crashed over us. An unimpressed look dawned on my face, this whole getting wet thing becoming a bit too much for me. Water dripped onto the black marble floor, the marble changing to slippery black rocks. Glancing back at Darwin and Boran, their matching white wool shirt and black pant combo sticking to their bodies. Boran gazed at me lovingly, his long hair clung to his face. Darwin grinned crookedly at me, the triplet witches not far behind us. Finapple snapped his fingers, another salty wave crashing over us. White foam danced over them, rage seething in their eyes. The air grew heavy, the oppression weighing me down. The sisters stumbled to her feet, shards of purple quartz whizzing past our heads. Untying my scythe from my back, blue vines curled up my arms. Shoving them into the mouth of the cage, the next spell always taxed me heavily. However everyone’s safety was more important than the outcome, my mind was always able to figure a way out of most situations.  

“Vines of the Blue Rose! Form a wall to keep out the witches’ three.” I chanted boldly, blue vines crashing through the floors. “Final step, devour only the three hags of the sea.” Weaving a solid wall, the triplets cursed in another language, Finapple sprinting through the cave. Struggling to keep up, my chest ached for air. Blood poured from my nose, my footing growing sloppy. Keep yourself together, you didn’t know this realm. The language sounded like garbled clicks, and long grunts not really helping me out right now.  A howl of pain exploded from my lips, the wall shattering several miles behind us. My heart felt as if was beating out of my chest, my left kidney bursting. Coughing up blood, scarlet painted my pale skin. Boran rushed to my side, placing me on his back. Dackworth’s eye snapped open. Swirling around groggily, his throat cleared. 

“That spell was a shit show.” He grumbled bitterly, his one eye settling on me. “You really killed yourself with that spell, didn’t you? I always tell you not to push yourself. I am checking your health statistics right now.” Closing his eyes, a green glow emitted off of my skin. Humming to himself, his eye shot daggers at me. 

“Your magic is at half capacity.” He continued sternly, scorn rich in his voice. “Only use if you have to use it. I know these fucking idiots, and they aren’t easy to beat. I will attempt to bring up your magic level but it will take some time. Boran! Put her down and keep them off of her. Miss Lottie, you will have to say this spell exactly as I tell you. The curse keeping them alive is run by by a silver pearl in the black oyster. Your vines can crack the shell, but this spell will drain all of your magic. So you had better succeed.” My eyebrow twitched irritably, his plan as reckless as mine tended to be.  No wonder everyone had been annoyed with me, my only choice was to go with his freaking plan. Channeling his energy into me, Dackworth groaning tiredly. The black skeletal scythe resting in Darwin’s clammy palms. 

“I will cover you, mommy!” He promised earnestly, raising it to the attack position. “I promise to not go too far.” Swallowing my fear for his safety, Finapple dragged me deeper into the caves. Black rock turned to purple quartz, my breath hitching at the beauty. The sharp edges glinted in the light of my scythe, my magic level back to its  top level. An alarm bell rang in my head, a blast of dark energy knocking me onto my ass. The energy belonged to Darwin, the God of Death back out of his shell. Boran sprinted towards me, Darwin moving faster than I ever could. Crashing into my arms, true fear quivered in his eyes. Red eyes glowed in my direction, his cruel smile sending chills up my spine. Blood dripped down his forehead, his left arm hung limply by his side. The bones were shattered to tiny shards, Boran sucking in his breath. Gritting his teeth to hold back a few choice words, his lips parted in protest the moment I tossed him over my shoulder. Marching forward, Darwin kept them off of my back. Deep laughter erupted from his tiny throat, a shiver coursing up my spine. 

“Lottie, you need to stop him or he will kill himself. We don’t have the medical skills to handle any damage.” Boran snapped hotly, a black oyster resting in front of me. “What are you doing?” Taking a deep breath, spinning my scythe over my head. A new spell forming in my head, this dual spell would leave me with just enough magic to complete the final spell. Swallowing the lump in my throat, my body already tensing in preparation. 

“Vines of the Blue Rose, destroy the oyster! Crush! Crush! Crush!” I shouted over the chaos, my attention turning to Darwin. “Capture the God of Death. Wake up Darwin!” Slamming the tip of my scythe into the ground, thick ice blue vines burst from the crystal. Creeping towards my targets, the triplets cried out in protest as the vines wrapped around the clam. Three whipped in Darwin’s direction, the God of Death unable to dodge my attack. The sea witches charged at him, my foot stomping on the ground. A blue rose bloomed underneath them, Boran shaking his head violently. 

“You are going to push yourself.” He protested furiously, Darwin growing limp in my vines. Ignoring him, horrified golden eyes met guilt ridden face. Ice blue petals swallowed them whole, their fists banging against it. Each punch caused a new bruise to pop on my skin, the oyster shattering into a fine dust. Finapple tossed me the pearl, Dackworth speaking up. My vision blurred, my magic draining faster than expected. 

“Say these words, and exactly as I say them.” He warned icily, clearing his nonexistent throat. “Lord of the Dead, grant me the ability to destroy the pearl of the past. Final act! Purify their souls.” Swallowing the lump in my throat, Boran grunted gruffly as I set him down gingerly. Ripping my tip out of the ground, the vines decayed to a blue sparkling dust. Just noticing the blood pouring from my eyes, ears and nose, red dyed my fingers. Spinning my scythe over my head, green energy doubled its size. Sinking under the weight, a pit grew in my stomach. Tossing the pearl up in the air, this was my only chance to get it right. 

“Lord of the Dead, grant me the ability to destroy the pearl of the past.” I wheezed, liver bursting. “Final Act! Purify their souls!”  Green energy flowed behind my swing towards the pearl, the sea witches charging at me. A fresh batch of sweat soaked my skin, a copper taste poisoning my taste buds. The sea witches grabbed my arm last minute, the tip of my scythe slicing the pearl in half. Unnatural screeches burst my left eardrum, more blood pouring from my ear. Red stained my hair, a blast of green energy slamming me into a crystal. Shock widened my eyes, the crystal sticking out of my shoulder. Wet scarlet dripped from the ground, the witches’ skin bubbling. Ripping myself off, there was still a bit of magic left. Darwin crawled over to me, my palms pressing against the icy  crystals. Groans and creaks echoed around us, the crystals forming a barrier around us. Finapple hung behind, Boran grabbing him just in time. A tear slid from Dackworth’s eyes, a loud boom quaking the barrier. Collapsing into a heap everything hurt so bad, my muscles paralyzed from the clear abuse of my magic. Scarlet droplets crashed to the floor beneath me, my attention turning to the bubbly Darwin. All of his wounds were healed, surprise rounded my eyes the moment his arms wrapped around my neck. A golden light bathed my body, all of my organs reconstituting themselves back together. All of my hearing flooded back into my ear, Finapple making squeals of joy. Slamming into my bad shoulder, silent tears of pain slid down my cheeks. The wall crumbled with the last of my magic fading, my staff shrinking back down to its normal size. Familiar voices echoed in the distance, Somata and Sir. Acorn leading the way to us. Somata fussed over me, Sir. Acorn tossing Boran and I a vial of milky medicine. Downing the liquid, the rest of my wounds sealed shut. Listening to his bones fuse back together caused hot vomit to fly up my throat, or was it all of the Grade A spells I had just used? Not caring, more vomit flew up my throat. Wiping the corner of my lips, my hand cupped Darwin’s adorable face. 

“Don’t use your dark powers unless you have to.” I whispered brokenly, his fingers wiping the blood from underneath my nose. “You scared the shit out of me. I can’t have you almost dying on me. I need you.” Tears welled up in his eyes, Dackworth gagging with disgust. Flipping my scythe over so he couldn’t watch, muffled insults flew up at me. 

“I promise.” He earnestly promised, my arms clutching him close to my chest. “I will never hurt you. It is because of you, the God of Death and I came to a mutual agreement. I will use his powers to protect you if it is necessary, but he has to heal all of my wounds and allow me to heal yours. Unfortunately, my level of magic is just as low as yours.” Boran wrapped his arms around our shoulders, everyone else embracing us. The embrace felt so warm, Finapple hugging my side harder. Releasing me from their communal smothering, my eyes fell on the clear creatures and their gracious smiles. Walking over to them, slime soaked my whole outfit the moment they all hugged me. Tears flooded from their eyes, a harmonized hum escaping their lips. Backing off, Finapple pulled out the chalkboard. Scribbling away, the pictures detailing the question can I come with you. 

“Of course.” I answered sweetly, cupping his hands. “I can teach you to speak our language, and there are plenty of healing springs along the way. Is that okay with your people? I don’t want to steal you away from your family?” All of the nodded yes at the same time, Finapple jumping up and down. Wiping off some of the slime, my companions shot me a thumbs up. Embracing him warmly, another wave of salty water crashed over me. Hiding my annoyance beneath a polite smile, my staff floated to my feet. Tying it to my back, Feathscale flew in to take us home.  Hopping on, I couldn’t help but smile warmly to myself. This adventure was proving to be worth it with each passing second.