Angel's Teeth

"Are you sure this is the way?"

"Yep."

"But how?"

"I know these woods..." he replied mysteriously.

"No, you don't, neither of us has been here." I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, but that sounds cooler than I have a compass."

"You have a compass?! Where did you get it?"

"It's not a physical one, I just meant that mom taught me how to navigate with the help of stars."

"Stars?! Are you kidding me! We're in a freaking forest! You can't see the stars!"

"Just trust me, okay, I know where I'm going."

"I hate this place. Why does it have to be in a creepy forest? Why couldn't it be somewhere accessible...like a farmer's market?"

"You think this thing grows on trees? Or produced by animals?"

"I'm not dumb, I know that it's a type of crystal, but...ugh, I just wanted it to be easier."

"If it were easy, everyone would be using this curse."

"Do you think we'll be able to do it?"

"I have to believe it, and you should bury your doubts as well. We won't succeed if we hesitate." I nodded, as we continued to wade our way through the thick pine forest in silence.

"Angel's teeth... it's such a weird name, like the angel part that makes you think it's pretty and innocent and heavenly, but then add in the teeth and it becomes disgusting. How can something be both?"

"Would you shut up?" He whisper-yelled at me, we just entered the cave and my paranoia reached a whole new level. My coping mechanism, making any sort of noise or sound, tried to balance it out.

"Sorry, it's just...I'm scared." He took hold of my hand, hoping it would be enough for me to fight the urge to speak.

The cave was dark and wet, as expected. We tried to manage without light, but realising it would make the journey double the amount the time, not to mention the ruckus we were making would draw just as much attention as fire, we lit a torch. We arrived at a crossroads. My brother checked out both ways, trying to see some sign that would help. Then like Gandalf in Lord of the Rings sat down opposite them and stared. I let him think, taking a small nap. Or at least tried, my brain didn't let me. As soon as I closed my eyes the monsters appeared. The noises I could handle, I even got used to some of the voices, but the visuals... Those just make my blood freeze, my limbs numb, my heart pound.

"I guess we'll go this way."

"That's so convincing."

"You wanna split up."

"No!" Stupid Angel's teeth! Stupid curse! I hate being here.

"Let's move, before they find us." I stood up, dusted myself off and followed him.

"Is this it?" I asked in awe. The tunnel had widened out, almost as if it were a chamber. The walls were riddled with small white dots as if they were decorated with pearls. As I observed one close up, I saw that it looked more like marble than pearl.

"Understand the name, yet?" I did, as I viewed the pattern they made, I could see they always shaped an oval or circle as if someone had opened their mouth to show their teeth. The angel part was just as obvious it was the most pristine white I have ever seen, it even shone a bit. When you touched it, it felt cold and smooth, we dug out a few, as we didn't need much. They barely weighed anything, if we were to lose them, we wouldn't even notice.

"How come they're so light?"

"It has small bubbles of gas in it, that's actually what we need from it. It traps air and then makes some kind of magical fume when that reacts with the stone's material." These minerals are getting more and more interesting. I could've admired the cave walls for a long time if it wasn't for my brother's warning. He heard something, and unlike me, he was a reliable source. We had to leave! I grabbed my backpack, he put out the torch. We hurried, our hands on the walls to guide us.

Our luck ran out as neared the end. As joy rose inside me at the sight of the end of the cave, he pushed me against the walls. That's when I saw it as well: monsters. They were guarding the entrance, their sharp swords, glittering in the filtered light. There were half a dozen just in our view, how many would be at the camp? How many had they sent in? We were trapped. It was time for a bit of offence. I slowly pulled my backpack forward grabbed a few vials. I handed two to my brother, and put two in my pockets, keeping one ready in my hands. I quickly tied a charm around his neck, as I noticed his hand on his sword twitched. He was eager. What have these monsters done to us? We sneaked up, he slipped to the other side of the tunnel. I threw the first phial when we were around three steps away. It caused a huge bang, smoke hindering the monster's vision, it was the advantage that made our fight equal, the camp had a dozen more of them, putting the ratio at nine to one. I heard slashes of swords and knew my brother already jumped into action.

"It's them! Don't let them escape! Someone go get back-up!" Yelled one of them, then I heard a grunt I knew, these were probably his last words. I looked for the brave one who tries to run into the cave for the others. I saw them. I tied the rope of my belt and threw it after the run-away, in the air it turned into a snake. I couldn't see if my plan worked, cause the smoke was dying down, some were noticing me as well, now. Two of them turned with a grin to face me.

"Come on guys, is this really fair?"

"No." One sneered as he lunged toward me with his axe. I jumped back. He was gigantic, he filled my whole field of view. I had no idea how my brother was doing, how much longer did we need to linger. We should've run after the first explosion. He just loved getting revenge. It was one of the things we never agreed on, and which I will never understand.

"Then let me get a bit of advantage." I threw down the second bottle. Another explosion, but as I aimed it toward a pile of dried pine leaves, I also started a fire. Fear started to build up in me just as the fire spread in front of me. I won't be able to put it out. What if the whole forest burns down? I can't let that happen. I need a cup of some sort. I searched hard, but sadly the shock wore off quicker this time, and they were back at my throat after only a minute. The smoke still hid me well, but they were searching excitedly, knowing their camp better, meant I wasn't safe for long.

"Delano, I need a cup!" I yelled, hoping that wherever he is he'll help. However, my yelling gave away my position. I could already see two monsters approaching, I ran trying to find a cup of some sort. I found something better: my brother. He was barely hurt, a few scrapes (I guess my charm worked), four bodies lay by his feet. He was fending off two soldiers at the same time. He noticed me out of the corner of his eyes.

"Metal jug. Bench. Right." I turned and ran toward the direction he gave. I found the bench as well as the jug. The fire's smoke was burning my eyes and my throat, (I hated non-magical smoke). As I looked up from behind the bench I saw the fire had reached the first tent. Fear was bubbling up again. I tried ignoring it and getting back to the task at hand. I threw off my backpack and took out a few ingredients. After a few minutes, I had a perfect solution. I just needed a drop of water. Just as the thought occurred I swiped my brow, the heat and the fire was getting closer.

"Sweat!" I quickly swiped the salty water into the jug. I sprinted toward the fire, it wasn't a long way thankfully. I closed my eyes and hoped beyond hope it would work. I turned the jug upside-down waiting for water to pour. It took a few seconds, but water started to spout from the metal bucket. I ran back and forth along the fire, stopping it from spreading anymore.

"Anan, we have to leave!"

"But the fire!"

"RUN!"