Skippy

“Wow, this is awesome!”

So Skippy started talking all of a sudden. He was sitting there, looking at me with his wild blue eyes, madly wagging his black and white tail, his mouth wide open in what could only be an ecstatic grin. At first, I was excited as hell.

“Yes it is!” I shouted out with glee. “What did you do? How did this happen?”

“I don’t know, but it’s awesome! Wow, there’s so many things I wanna tell you now! Wow, you have no idea! Wow!”

“Whoah, slow down there, buddy,” I smiled at him and patted him on the head. “This is kind of hard to take in, though. I can’t believe this actually happened!”

“I know, right? Wow, I just… Okay, look, we need to talk about some things. Like, wow, I know, like, you’re busy and stuff but we, like, seriously need to talk about our walk schedule. Like, wow. I need to go out more, you know? You could think of making me a doggie door or something, ‘cause wow-“

“But we already have a doggy door.”

“We do?” Skippy asked as he turned his head to the side. “Wow, I didn’t know that. Still I really don’t get you people. Like, wow, why do you pick up my poop? I left it there and it’s supposed to be there. Wow, like, talk about rude. Do you have an explanation for that, huh? Or maybe you can tell my why you give me only the crunchy stuff to eat lately? You used to give me that chunky stuff and that was amazing, wow, and you gave me the stuff you ate and it was much better, but now you don’t and I don’t know why. Do you just hate me? Because, wow, I love you and I’m sorry if I made you hate me and I apologize and I want to make it up to you because I want to be a good boy and-“

“Skippy, please, could you just shut up for a second?”

“Oh, wow, sorry! I just did it again, didn’t I? I’m so sorry, please, forgive me. I’ll be a good dog. I’ll eat the crunchy bit and use the doggy door. Just please, please, don’t be mad. I-“

And he just kept going on and on. I couldn’t focus anymore. All his talking began to fade into one incoherent yelp and it was driving me nuts. Then I realized – it really was a yelp. I opened my eyes and found myself in my bed, the sound of a lonely dog crying coming from downstairs. I called him to me and he came to my bedside, tail wagging, piercing blue eyes gleaming with joy.

“Wanna go for a walk?”

Thank God, his reply was just a short, loud bark.

Crosswords II (2/2)

“This is some serious bullshit, bro,” Freddie grunted.

“I agree,” Jess added. “Where did you get that disc?”

“It’s part of my job.”

“Yeah, well,” said Freddie, “if what’s on the disc is so secret and important, and we had it, how the hell did you fool them into thinking they got the real thing?”

“The DVD has this chip, or something,” Martin explained. “You saw them scan the disc for it. I just made it seem like that dummy disc had the same thing on it. I also added it to this,” he pulled out another golden disc out of his back pocket. I started to wonder if there were more. “Crosswords. The ones I thought I’d left with you. That way, even if they find us, we can stall them once again with a fake DVD.”

Freddie seemed completely baffled by the response. “How did you do that? Cause I can tell you, bro, that’s not how fucking data encryption works.”

“Well, it does in my line of work.”

“Just what the fuck do you do for a living, Martin?”

“Oh, you know,” Martin smirked. “I just type in those numbers.”

“Just drop it, Freddie,” Mia entered the conversation just when Freddie rolled his hand into a fist. “He never told me, he sure as hell won’t tell you. Still, we’re all in a pretty sticky situation now. They will find out the DVD is just filled with movies and come back. Martin says they’ll know where to look for you, so we only have one option now.”

“We need to run,” I didn’t notice when Brandi came up to us, but there she was, standing right between Jess and Freddie, her cloud of blonde hair shining briliiantly in the sunlight. Ian was just behind her, slightly taller than the others. He was looking much better, even if his hair was still slightly tangled.

“Yes, thank you, Brandi,” said Martin.

“L-like, now?” I asked. My voice was trembling. “Where to?”

“I was instructed to take the disc to a certain small town in New Mexico if a situation like this arose,” Martin’s voice, by contrast, was completely composed, almost monotone. I could never wrap my head around the way he could shift moods so quickly.

“New Mexico?” Ian joined the conversation, fixing up his wide-framed glasses that had gone askew during the stickup. A wide grin appeared on his face, his blue eyes bright with enthusiasm. “That means we’re going on a roadtrip!”

“If that’s what you want to call it, be my guest,” Martin smirked at him. Goddamnit, Martin, nobody’s your guest! This is my house! “We just have to leave now. Go back home and pack as fast as you can. We’re also going to need a bigger car, if we all want to fit in one vehicle. I was thinking–”

“Yeah, sure, we can use our van! Right Freddie?” Ian said.

“We’re just gonna need to fill her up and we’re good to go,” Freddie replied

“No,” I said. I tried to sound as confident as possible. It worked. My voice was low in pitch, stable and strong, almost monotone, just like Martin’s a few seconds ago. Everyone’s eyes turned toward me. “I’m not going anywhere. And I have no idea why you’re all so cool with this.”

“Leo, we really don’t have time for this,” Martin insisted.

“How do you expect me to just believe you like that? Why us? Why can’t you just take your stupid disc to your stupid New Mexico yourself? I mean, we all have jobs, we can’t just go like that!”

“Actually, Leo,” Ian started. “It’s summer, remember? You and I have a break in the summer. That’s kinda what you get for working at a school.”

“And I’m kinda in the middle of changing jobs now anyway, so,” Brandi added.

“And I’m sure Freddie and I can arrange a couple days off with our bosses,” this time it was Jess. I gave her a look that was meant to express betrayal, I was sure she would back me up. She didn’t seem to notice, though. “Right, Freddie?”

“Sure. If that’s what can save us from getting shot down by those two, I’m down with the idea. I think they’ll understand,” Freddie grinned at me. “C’mon, Leo. Martin’s our friend. I mean, I wanna punch his fucking guts out for letting all of this happen, but what’s done is done. I can tell he’s speaking the truth. Hell, even if he’s lying, I don’t wanna take any chances on any of us dying just like that. And you gotta admit, a roadtrip sounds like a shit-ton of fun.”

“As fun as an escape from dudes out to kill us over a fake DVD may be,” I groaned. “Fine. I guess I have no choice now.”

“Martin!” a voice came from the kitchen. It was the black guy that accompanied Martin and Mia. “It’s like you said – they’ve set up explosives all over the foundations. The sooner we ditch this place, the better.”

“But I need to pack!” I exclaimed.

“Don’t you worry about that, bud,” said the handlebar moustache guy. He’d just emerged from the staircase carrying three of my suitcases. “I got ya packed. No need to thank me.”

“What,” I said dryly.

“Right, let’s arrange a meeting spot,” Martin announced. “We all know the wood at the edge of town? That’s where we’ll meet up. You guys get your van and pick up the girls once they’re ready. Mia, Leo and I will be waiting for you there.”

“Right! Come on, Freddie,” Ian was brimming with energy.

“Alright,” Freddie said as he and Ian made their way to the door. “You guys coming along?”

Before leaving together with Brandi, Ian and Freddie, Jess gave me a reassuring tap on the shoulder. I wasn’t sure what to make of it. Any of it. Was that another purely platonic touch, or did the sensual encounter the two of us had in my head actually happen? Everything was happening so fast. One minute we’re having a party and then we’re going to New Mexico with some stupid DVD, hoping the MIB won’t kill us along the way. I just… I looked at Martin. He was discussing something with his entourage, his face stern, stoic. Just that look on his face made me lose all composure. I’d had enough of that attitude, and yet I had no choice. Fuck Martin. Like, seriously, what the fuck.

Crosswords II (1/2)

“I got your disc right here,” Martin brushed his blonde bangs off his forehead. He reached down the back pocket of his jeans and held the object up against his face for everyone to see. The golden DVD gleamed  in the sunlight. Funny, the envelope was gone. And I was pretty sure the last person who had it was Jess. I didn’t think asking them about all this would be appropriate in this situation, however. In front of me, the bald man in the sunglasses pointed his gun straight at Jess. The other guy – a big, scary-looking dude – was aiming at Ian. Jess seemed pretty calm about this. She breathed some air up her face, her black bangs billowed in the wind for a split second. If anything, she looked slightly annoyed. Ian wasn’t faring so well. His slouch and his eyes closed shut made him look as if he was paralyzed with immense fear. Freddie was staring daggers at the big suited guy, but he remained silent. I could tell he was ready to rip him apart for all this. His face and ears were red, trembling with rage and helplessness, eyes barely visible underneath thick black eyebrows that came closely together in the fury he was hold back. Brandi seemed completely unfazed by this stickup, however. Sure, she was holding her arms in the air like the rest of us, but other than that she would just roll her head around slowly, as if stretching after a long workout, and that’s when she wasn’t ostentatiously yawning. I was pretty sure she was taunting them. I could hear Martin’s shallow but controlled breath behind me. “Come and get it. Just let them all go.”

I looked back at Martin. He seemed absolutely calm but for the single drop of sweat that trickled down his forehead. The sunlight reflected in his glasses obscured his eyes from view. Mia stood by his side, her black, slanted eyes cold and fixed on the larger of the two oppressors. Her hair, tied in an elegant high ponytail, was orange – this came as a surprise to me, as I didn’t remember her sporting that bright color at the party. But then again, I was completely wasted back then. The two other men that accompanied them were complete strangers to me. One of them was black and lanky with a fierce look on his face, the other was a white-man in his forties or fifties, heavy-set and balding, with a reddish handlebar moustache. Just where did Martin get those two?

“It’s not going to be that simple, you know that,” the bald man in a suit sneered. “I come over to you guys, I’m Swiss cheese. I mean, you’re still gonna lose – my buddies are on their way – but I don’t think I want to throw my life away just yet. Toss it here. Or do you want Bubba here to shoot the fat one in the knee?”

“Over my fucking dead body, you piece of shit!” Freddie growled. Ian let out a soft whimper.

“Chill out, Freddie,” I could hear Brandi whisper to him. “One wrong move and Ian’s toast. You’ll help him more by keeping quiet.” Freddie’s ears didn’t get any less red, however. I glanced at Jess and tried to give her a reassuring smile, but I felt my lips tremble as I did. In the end, it was her subtle smile that reassured me.

“That won’t be necessary,” Martin’s voice was cold and distant. I could barely believe he could control himself so well. If only he kept this cool during our crossword meetings. With an elegant flick of the wrist, he sent the disc flying towards the guys in suits. The bald man caught it between his fingers right in front of his Roman nose. The one he called “Bubba” pulled out something out of his left pocket while still pointing his gun at Ian. He hovered the contraption over the DVD, as if scanning for something. With a soft beep, a green light flashed on its surface.

“Good boy,” the bald guy smirked. “Well, Bubba, looks like our job here is done. Now, if you would kindly let us take our leave.”

“Be my guest,” said Martin. You know what, Martin? Why don’t you have your guests visit your own damn place!

The two men kept pointing guns at us regardless as they made their way to their vehicle. Everything actually went pretty smoothly. They closed the doors to their car, then drove away, just like that. Heck, Bubba even got out the car before they drove off completely, came back, put the sofa back together and left me a check to make up for the losses. Then they finally disappeared out of sight, leaving us all in a stunned silence. One, two, three seconds later, we let out a collective sigh of relief. Freddie rushed towards Ian, almost making Brandi trip in the process. I stood there, relieved to the point of being paralyzed. I couldn’t move an inch. It wasn’t until Jess threw her arms around me that I came to my senses. We both started laughing. It was a moment of pure bliss. It couldn’t last long, though, as Martin made sure he had our absolute attention with that annoying cough he always did. We let go, not looking back at each other’s faces again. My moment was gone, my chance missed, my grumpiness escalating.

“I don’t mean to be a killjoy, but we don’t have much time,” Martin said, as he took off his glasses, rubbing his blue eyes with his fingers. He waved his other hand at the two strangers and they scurried out of sight. They seemed to be looking for something. Mia took that hand into hers and tapped Martin gently on the shoulder, then picked up where he’d left off. “We can’t stay here any longer. We need to go, quick.”

“Wait a minute,” I said. “Why? What’s wrong? You gave them the disc, it’s over, right?”

“Wrong,” I heard Freddie say in a dangerously calm voice from behind me. I turned around – he was slowly walking in Martin’s direction, lean and threatening as a panther. He pulled out a circular, golden object out of his back pocket, and stopped right next to me. “I think we deserve an explanation. Wouldn’t you agree, Leo?”

“I don’t–”

“We really don’t have time for all this,” Martin put his glasses back on. “Yes, I gave them a fake disc and we all need to get out of here. They will pursue each and every one of us until this case is resolved.”

“What case?” Jess asked as she folded her hands. “Seriously, Martin. What the hell is going on?”

“Stop asking your stupid questions and just listen to me for once, okay?!” Martin suddenly shouted. His face went instantly red. He took a few deep breaths. “All I know is that whatever’s on this disc is top secret and those people want it. I can’t let them have it.”

Evie & Chuck I

There are times when I just wake up in the middle of the night. There are times when I can’t go back to sleep. I then usually stroke Antares’ fluffy orange coat and make my way towards the fridge. Most of the time, there is some chocolate chip ice cream in it. I grab my laptop and try to watch some videos on YouTube, all the while nibbling on pieces of chocolate in the ice cream. I try to keep my mind off the things bothering me, and yet even as I keep looking up cute, silly, fun stuff, eventually some video that will quickly remind me of the very thing I’m trying to escape will be suggested to me. I can ignore it, and I usually do, but just noticing it makes me go back to that dark place.

Last night was different. For starters, I was in a hotel room at the opposite coast of the country. The reason I woke up was also a bit different. I was excited. This was the first job that had me go to the West Coast. I always wanted to go there, but somehow never got the chance. Of course, my usual anxiety was there, but thinking about it was unavoidable in my line of work. I didn’t really have any food left over in the fridge, so there was nothing I could eat. I also did not want to wake up the other person in the room. I got the normal bed, he had to sleep on the mattress. Not that I forced him to, he volunteered. His name was Chuck and I was genuinely surprised by that display of gentlemanliness. He was about my age, sandy haired, constantly scruffy, he had the build of someone who used to be a star player on his high school’s team but later partied more often than trained in college. His face, illuminated in the full moon, wasn’t that bad looking, with a strong jaw and a large nose. Can’t say he made a good first impression, but you could say we made some progress since the day he got assigned as my new equipment tech. I guess I was just bitter that I couldn’t work with Nikki ever since she got herself injured.

Chuck and I had an opportunity to get to know each other a bit during the flight here. None of us seemed to want to start a conversation. The welcome I had given him once the boss said we would be working together wasn’t exactly the nicest, what with the way I spilled my coffee on him and later pretended it was an accident. Still, I was usually the first to break the ice.

“So, Chuck,” I began, trying to maintain a neutral tone, even though I had a huge lump in my throat. “Shauna told me you used to be a photographer for a magazine.”

“Yep,” he replied. He was playing something on his white DS lite. I always thought that was a poor choice of color for a handheld.

“Really? What was it? Maybe I’ve seen your photos.”

“I doubt it. You’re not really the target audience.”

“Well, you never know,” I twisted in my seat, so that my left arm was lying comfortably on top of it, with my face resting on my fist. My insistence on keeping up this conversation clearly made an impression on him, as he put the DS away and fixed his hazel eyes into mine, a slight condescending smirk on his face. “I am interested in a lot of things girls usually aren’t. Was it a car magazine? Something about gaming, sports?”

“Not really, no,” he chuckled, now mimicking the pose I made. I blushed a little, but didn’t switch poses. I’m still not sure whether he was mocking me or not.

“Do you think I’ve even heard of it?”

“I’m pretty sure you have.”

“Huh. Now that’s surprising. I figured you were one of those people who wouldn’t hesitate to brag about having their pictures in a well-known magazine. If I heard of it, I’m pretty sure I’ve read it at least once.”

“I don’t think so. Unless you’re into pictures of naked chicks.”

“Oh,” I blushed again, this time turning my gaze away from his piercing eyes. Then it hit me – a well known magazine with pictures of naked women. “Wait, you don’t mean– “

“Yep,” the smug smile on his face turned into a grin. His teeth were perfectly even and almost unnaturally white. With his arms now folded, he looked really pleased with himself. “I used to work for that magazine.”

“Wow,” I said in almost a whisper. I looked back into his eyes. I needed to save face. “Well then, why did you quit? I’m sure they paid you better there. Or perhaps you got bored with taking pictures of celebrity boobs?”

Chuck chuckled. The word boobs attracted the attention of an old lady sitting in front of us. She gave me a look of utter disapproval as she put her headphones back on to get back to watching Forrest Gump. “Not really something you can get tired of, no. I wasn’t really paid that much, anyway. I was no lead photographer. Plus, I do get the feeling I’ll be able to deal with something personal working for you guys.”

“What do you mean?” I did my best to not let him know how thrilled I was to know what he meant.

“I mean that in your – our – line of work you get to deal with lots of weird stuff, right? I just thought I could get some answers,” for a while there he seemed deep in thought. That was the first instance I felt I could connect with him.

“So did I,” I told him. “But don’t get your hopes up. Usually, it’s not really anything worthwhile. You get all excited and think you found your proof, but then it turns out you were just seeing something that wasn’t there. Just because you really wanted to see it.”

“You said ‘usually’.”

“I still have hope.”

“So do I.”

We then gazed into each other’s eyes just a little too long. I thought I could see something familiar, something comforting in those eyes. I got lost in them, if only for a short moment. We came to our senses almost immediately. He went back to play his DS, while I put on my headphones and watched the movie. Couldn’t really concentrate, though.

On the way to the hotel we didn’t really talk any more but I did try to be less antagonistic towards him and he seemed to be more open towards me as well, pointing to any landmarks that seemed interesting. Once we got into the room, I was really furious they only had one bed and was sincerely grateful to Chuck for taking the mattress they brought in later. We must have been more tired than we thought, as we fell asleep almost instantaneously.

And then I sat on my bed in the middle of the night, watching the full moon over the ocean. I missed my cat, my ice cream and my Wi-Fi, but somehow, that night was different. I still couldn’t sleep, but the fear I had in me felt somewhat weaker. I felt a level of comfort that I usually couldn’t achieve with cute videos. I felt I needed to talk to Chuck more. I wanted to get to know him, get to know how he deals with those things. His loud snoring told me he was certainly doing a better job than I was.

I started to get drowsy much quicker than I usually do at home. To keep my mind away from its dark areas, I thought about the case we were on and couldn’t help but laugh at the name Shauna gave it: The Mothman.

The Fabulous Misadventures of Matoya, the Witch II (2/2)

And so we left. Oddly, the raven did not protest. He seemed pretty eager to be moving about as a human being again. I talked to him all the way to the city, but I could tell he wasn’t paying attention most of the time. It was strange, he seemed so thrilled to be seeing the world from this perspective. I always imagined someone capable of flight would consider an earthbound lifestyle dull.

Come high noon, we’d finally reached the city marketplace. Bustling as ever, the place made it hard to breathe. Nevermore seemed none too pleased to be there, yet he was ever watchful. He must have taken the escort job to heart. That calmed me down a bit. The last summer bazaar ended with the Lord of Malady burning down half the stands. I was not intending to let that happen again.

As my luck would have it, I started to spot some shadowy figures with the corner of my eye. Having Nevermore watch them, frantically shifting his gaze from one end of the bazaar to the other was not exactly reassuring. At least I knew the direction from which I could expect an attack. I finished packing the heaps of asparagus I’d just bought almost for free, and turned toward an alley where I thought I could lose them.

“Come, Nevermore,” I pulled him by the cuff. We entered a dark alley, passing by some homeless people begging for some money. Nevermore eyed them carefully, all the while occasionally glancing back. His pace quickened. I started walking faster as well. As we made a turn, I bumped into someone. We both tripped. My fall was broken by Nevermore who’d managed to catch me before I reached the ground. She had no escort. A tall woman in a maroon robe, her flowing brown hair done in a high pony tail. The distinct mole below her right ear and the shadow figures pursuing her were proof enough – she was one of us. “Can ye get up?” I extended a hand toward her.

“Yes, but we’ve no time,” she gasped for breath. “I must-“

“I know, they’re following us too. There’s no way out. Ye got any magic left in ye?”

“No such luck, I’m afraid. I’ve been pursued for quit be exe some time now.”

“Step aside, then. Nevermore, hold her.”

The raven man listened and shielded the woman as I sent out a fiery whirl to deal with the figures that had been on her tail. Had I not wasted all my energy on making Nevermore useful, I’d probably have done more. That was my last spell for the day.

“Let’s get a move on.”

We ran down the alley the woman had come from. As was to be expected, a whole crowd of them was waiting for us as we entered the main street. There were no back alleys on the way, and we knew there were more and more of them coming from where I had come from. I was sure that was the end. The figures soon approached the other two. Nevermore managed to knock a few of them down with his cane, but I knew that was only a temporary solution. Nothing short a miracle could help us.

Yet what happened I’d hardly call a miracle. The main street filled with terrified screams as a huge beast came rushing down the adjacent hill. It hurled itself at the crowd of shadow people, separating shadowy limb from shadowy limb with its huge lupine, its auburn fur ominously fluorescent in the midst of the blackness, its electric blue eyes a ray of hope to us, the petite rider on its back shockingly familiar.

“Isolde!” I shouted. “What in Lamia’s name are ye doing here!”

Isolde smiled as the beast slowly dispersed the crowd of shadows, black liquid seeping from its multiple rows of teeth as if it were the blood of its victims. Though the body was mostly lupine, the ears, paws and tail were more reminiscent of a lynx. The creature was oddly familiar.

“Is that Cillian?!” I gasped. The shadows had finally disappeared but I could not find it in me to rejoice. I was simply baffled. “Did ye turn him into a strix again?”

“Don’t be silly, sister, I can’t do that,” she grinned. “William here was pretty thrilled with the idea, weren’t you, honey?”

“It’s different this time, ma’am,” Cillian said, his voice unchanged. I saw Nevermore and the witch that joined us flinch. “I mean, Matoya. That is to say, I’m not a strix this time, I’m slave to no one. I mean, this change was not of my own volition, but now I can change at will with no repercussions. The power of the eye is amazing and lady Isolde’s powers are quite impressive.”

“Ye were supposed to keep an eye on her, not let her change ye into a wolf, or cat, or whatever yer supposed to be, ye dimwit!” as I scolded him, his ears lay flat on his head, the look he gave me was uncomfortably guilt-inducing, and I was pretty sure I heard him whimper. His rider was smiling in the most smug way imaginable. “And what are ye smiling at, lady Isolde? I told ye to stay home!”

“No you didn’t,” she grinned. “Ye told me not to touch the biscuits. I didn’t. I was bored out of my mind, though, so I used the eye and took Trillian for a walk,” at this point Cillian grumbled. “Quiet, I’m talking. I believe it’s turned out to have been for the best. Wouldn’t you agree, sister? It did not look like ye were going to handle those by yourself.”

“I thank ye,” I said through gritted teeth. It was true. I owed her my life. Woe is me.

“And who’s the witch ye brought?”

“She’s been running away from that same lot, we’ve met by chance.”

“My name is Leofwyn,” she said as she released herself from Nevermore’s protective embrace. The robe she was wearing was actually pretty ornate and covered her body tightly, revealing a distinct, full hourglass figure. She looked at me with large emerald eyes. “I thank you, my sisters, for helping me escape the clutches of the Lord of Malady. You must be Matoya and Isolde, holders of the crystal eye.”

“Aye, I be the holder now.” I said. Isolde’s tiny fist sunk into Cillian’s soft fur with a muffled thud. He didn’t seem to notice.

“That is absolutely delightful. I’ve actually been sent to find you.”

“Really? By whom?”

“The Grand Hierophant himself requests your aid.”

The Fabulous Misadventures of Matoya, the Witch II (1/2)

A warm summer breeze entered the room as I thrust open the dusty wooden windows. Dawn had barely arrived, and yet I was already wide awake, ready to clean up every last bit of the household. If I were to stack up any more reagents in this dump, I was sure to drown. I was hoping everything would go smoothly, what with the helper I had lodging in my house. I entered the bedroom and ripped off the sheets from the bed. What had looked like a neat bundle of pillows underneath the blanket was actually a little girl with curly golden hair. She could have been five, judging solely by her looks. As the sheet exposed her, she stirred and greeted me with a hateful glare.

“Ye’ve quite some nerve, Matoya,” Isolde said to me through gritted teeth.

“Come now, sister, remember who’s in charge this time,” I said in a sing-song voice. “My house, my rules, at the very least til yer as big as me.”

Nevermore was sitting by the window above the bed. Silently watching the argument we were having, he shifted his gaze from me to Isolde, and back to me as we exchanged insults. Her voice was driving me insane with its piercing pitch, a quality possessed by most children’s voices, yet the sharpness of her words gave away her true age. Nevermore cawed and waved his wings once, which made us both put aside our bickering and get to some actual tidying up.

Once the sun was high above our cottage, we were already done with the cleaning. The interior now seemed much less gray after all that dusting. I began to prepare to leave for the market in the city. The summer always offered the most bountiful rewards for my products, and the available goods were also most desirable. A knock came on the door. Just in time. I opened it and saw Cillian, a big smile smile on his handsome bearded face. He was looking much better since the strix incident. Though the paleness of his skin turned out to not be an effect of the curse, his cheeks were significantly rosier than when I first met him. The hours he spent chopping wood shirtless in the sun gave his body a fine pink glow. He was almost a full member of our household now. Turned out the poor lad was on his way from the Northern lands which had been desolated by the Lord of Malady. As he had nowhere to go and chopping wood was something I could never bother to do myself, I let him stay as long as he made himself useful. And useful he was. He diligently chopped heaps of firewood every day, rewarding me with not only fuel for my fireplace in the evening, but also a nice view as he worked in daytime. So eager he was that he built his own shack right beside the cottage.

“Ah, Sillian! Right on time,” I knew well how his name was supposed to be pronounced. The wince he gave me every time I mispronounced it was too priceless to pass up.

“I got your firewood, ma’am,” he said as he entered the house. His bright blue eyes lost some of their sheen in the dimly lit room.

“What’s that? How many times do I have to tell ye not to call me that! Do I look that much older to you?”

“No, not at all,” he blushed ever so slightly, his skin tanned pink seemed so dark indoors that it almost matched his auburn hair.

“Look at ‘im,” Isolde uttered as she entered the room. “Such a burly man and he’s shy as a mouse.”

“I’m not,” Cillian muttered. “And I would appreciate it if you would say my name properly for once ma- I mean, Matoya.”

“I’ll think about it,” I said. “Now, I need you now because I’m leaving for the city to sell some goods. Last year was quite a mess, so I figured I’d be needing an escort.”

“Yer taking him?” the look Isolde gave Cillian was that of utter contempt, as if someone had just told her a swamp toad was going to be making her supper.

“No, I’m taking Nevermore.”

“What,” Isolde’s jaw dropped as she said it. “How will that be of any help?”

“And may I ask what my role in all this is?” Cillian muttered.

“Yes, yer staying with Isolde. I can’t take her, people will ask questions. What’s more, I don’t trust her. And I know Nevermore spoils her. Don’t let her touch the biscuits, hear?”

“Y-yes ma’am,” he sighed as Isolde pouted.

“Like Nevermore’ll be a good shield against crooks,” she said in a condescending tone. “Ye should take Gillian here.”

“Ye forget, sister, some fine details,” I said as I reached out to grab the crystal eye lying on the table. I called Nevermore and he landed on the floor in front of me, as if he knew what was about to happen. The ancient spell etched in the Tome of Clarity echoed across the cottage as I uttered them, light seeping slowly from the eye down on the large raven. He stretched his wings which became steadily more elongated. The black sheen of his feathers became uniform, more reminiscent of a glossy black fabric than bird down.  As the light intensified, the form Nevermore took seemed more and more human-like. The crystal fell to the ground with a loud clunk. The man standing before me was tall, dark and slender. His pale face with sunken cheeks and dark, deeply set eyes was strikingly handsome, his tangled dark hair adding to the image of a brooding poet. He was dressed in an elegant ebony suit and coat, a cane in his hand, an equally raven top hat with a single decorative feather on his head. I’d already managed to forget what he looked like.

“By the gods,” Cillian whispered.

“Well, well. Nevermore, yer quite the dashing fellow, I must say,” Isolde giggled. Nevermore turned to her, smiled an enchanting smile and bowed. “Can he not speak?”

“Nay,” I said. “And it best stay that way. The best escort it a silent escort. Come, Nevermore. We’ve a whole day ahead of us.”

Crosswords I (3/3)

WARNING! More strong language!

“Is everything OK?” Jess asked. The three people in the kitchen were all looking at me with wide eyes. The doorbell rang once again.

“Someone should get that,” Freddie said.

“No, I think we’d better not,” I said. I could hear my voice tremble a bit. “Martin said we shouldn’t.”

“What,” Freddie asked flatly.

“I dunno. I mean, we’re all seriously hungover, maybe we shouldn’t be talking to strangers in this state. Plus, he did say he mixed up the DVDs and those are definitely not crosswords.”

“So? What does that have to do with anything?” Freddie was getting increasingly irritated.

“Like, seriously, what the hell?” Brandi demanded.

“He said there’s something dangerous on this DVD and we should take it and get out of here. He said he’d meet us later.”

“I really doubt anyone would send the fucking cops to confiscate his blinged-out porn stash,” Freddie sighed. “Fine, let’s just wait for him, then.”

Just then we heard the front door open. We stood there motionless, hearing only bits and pieces of a conversation between a couple of men, one of whom was talking very slowly in his deep voice. It was Ian. After the conversation ended, the door closed and the chubby man approached us, ruffling his wavy brown hair with his hand.

“Hello,” he smiled at us, his beard miraculously clear of any leftover potato chips. “This is quite the welcoming you’ve prepared for me. Would you grace me with some coffee, my dear?”

With a look of complete bafflement, Jess poured him a mug of coffee. He thanked her and swallowed it down in a couple of gulps. Three, to be exact. Our collective gaze followed each and every one of them. Even when he finished, smacked his lips and fixed his blue-eyed gaze at each of us one by one with that silly grin of his, we continued to stare at him in disbelief.

“Um, Ian?” Freddie ultimately approached him and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Who was that?”

“Who was who?”

“You know who.”

“I don’t. Who?”

“You tell me, sweetie,” Freddie rubbed his temples, his voice growing impatient, his face once again became a bit redder.

“You’re not making any sense today,” Ian grumble as he adjusted his glasses.

“He means the people at the door,” Jess said in a calm tone. Ian looked at her in confusion.

“You know, the front door. You opened it, talked to some guys,” Brandi explained.

“I open- Oh, right. Those guys. Hell if I know. They just asked if Martin was here. I told them I had no idea. When they asked if they could come inside, I said I would have to ask Leo first. Oh, right. I forgot.”

“Well, that doesn’t matter anyway, ‘cause Martin said we can’t let them in,” I said. “I just hope they can take a hint and just us alone.”

“So now we wait for Martin to come?” Jess asked me as her fingers ran through the DVD.

“He was gonna call me and-” my sentence was interrupted with a loud bang coming from the living room. We all glanced at each other, frozen in shock for just a moment, and ran over to where we’d heard the sound.

“Well fuck me backwards,” Freddie whispered. That was pretty much the reaction I had in my head. How else do you react to a car crashing through your living room wall and landing on the sofa, cutting it in half in the process?

“Aw shit,” I grunted. “The landlady’s gonna kill me.”

Two men in black suits and sunglasses left the car and pointed guns at us. We all raised our hands, more out of disbelief than anything else.

“I’m sorry I forgot! I sincerely apologize! That was so rude of me!” Ian cried out.

“Just give us the disc and everyone’s free to go,” one of the men said.

“Don’t!” I heard Martin’s shout from behind. He had Mia with him, along with two other guys I didn’t know, all of them pointing guns at the men in black. Considering the cloud of dust surrounding them, I had a bad feeling about this.

“I think there’s a moral in all this, somewhere,” Brandi sighed.

“Drink responsibly?” Jess suggested.

“Keep your promises,” Ian sobbed.

“I need to print out some sort of house etiquette sheet over here, cause damn, you guys just don’t respect the money I have to pay that woman to rent this house.” I said through gritted teeth.

“Martin, your coffee is so disgusting it’s a fucking disgrace,” Freddie summed up.