Mya approached the ill-tempered horse slowly with a rope in hand and had made herself so small that you could have sworn she had turned invisible. The horse kept walking in circles like a brute looking for a fight and was ready to trample anyone dumb enough to give it one. It had already broken a leg and an arm of two people who had tried to tame it.

It didn’t know it, but Mya was the only one who was standing between it and a bullet.

No matter how wild a horse was, a bullet tamed them all and the farmer had already lost two workers to it. The only reason it hadn’t been shot yet and instead Mya had been called for was that her life was worth less than a bullet. That was the only reason anyone called for her. The ugly orphan. When all other choices had been exhausted.

She was expandable.

The horse had grown suspicious and looked around randomly. For a moment Mya was afraid that the horse would spot her and chase her down but then it was distracted by the chirping of a bluebird. The horse turned to look at the singing bluebird and Mya readied her rope. The last few steps she ran to pick up speed and then she hopped on the horses back. By the time the horse realized she was on it, she had already hooped the rope around its neck.

Then the dance was on.

It was a violent waltz when the horse jumped and kicked to throw her off its back. While the mount was trashing around Mya could see how instead of being broken the horse had broken its tamers. It kicked like a shotgun and jumped like a frog on a frying pan, but Mya had a firm grip on the rope and her legs were fastened around the horse’s sides.

When she got someone in her death grip, she was unmovable.

The horse wranglers before her had been stronger than her but they had also been fighting against themselves. It was not just the horse that had been pulling them down but their own weight as well whereas Mya was built and weight as much as a twig. But being passed around from one house to another in Wool Haven and doing all their dirty work had made her hands and feet strong as young trees.

In a storm the mighty trees could be knocked over, but the grass just swayed.

Mya swayed along on the ill-tempered horse’s back like a blade of grass and waited. Now it was the horse’s turn to fight not just against her but itself as well. When your enemy’s strength became your ally, you had already won. So she waited until the horse had tired itself out. Until all fight had gone out of it. Until it was ready to do as it was told. With some sadness Mya led it into the barn where it would start its new life as a work horse. Sometimes she wondered if she had known freedom, would she have fought as much. The payment from the farmer was a curt thank you and a single diam. She could feel his shame and anger radiating from him like heat in a furnace. Anger and shame having to ask help from a fourteen-year-old orphan girl. Once she was done, Mya washed herself in the river. The family whose duty was to feed her this week hated it when she came back smelling of horses. Not that they were that fond of her normally. Mya touched the birthmark on her cheek that had turned her into Cain in Wool Haven. An ugly red spot that covered the left side of her face. Once she had tried to scrub it off. She had gone at it until her skin had cracked but all she had succeeded in was making the mark even more noticeable. A red stain marking her as an ill-omen. Mya sighed and after drying herself, she returned to the family who looked after her that week. She inspected the rope she had used to wrangle the horse and fell asleep in the stable.

Life went on.

In Wool Haven tomorrow was much the same as yesterday.

Like time was standing still.

So it went until someone angered the witch.

No one liked talking about the witch and few did. Like with most riddles people had to figure out the answer themselves. As long as Wool Haven’s secret shame wasn’t acknowledged they could live with it, but Mya suspected that it only made things worse. Unspoken pain just poisoned everyone’s mood and temper. The only sign of the witch in their lives was the weekly gift basket delivered to the Wyrd Stones. A gift basket filled with tea, tobacco, and sweets. In return Wool Haven’s crops would be plentiful and their cattle healthy. It was not a bad deal but everyone worried that with every gift basket they sent the witch a piece of their souls.

Not that their fear was ever enough to make them break the deal. Misery was the price Wool Haven paid for its wealth.

But this time the gift basket was untouched and inside it was a letter. Someone had stolen the sweets meant for the witch and she knew who. Jenny from the green house. She had taken something not belonging to her and the witch demanded that she turn herself in for her punishment unless someone would take her place. All Wool Haven had turned up at the church and the blind priest oversaw the emergency palaver from his pulpit. Moss filled Mya’s throat when she saw Jenny crying alone and her parents keeping her at an arm’s length like a leper. The people talked and argued on what to do but Mya could tell they had already made up their minds. They had not broken the deal with the witch before, and they would not do it now.

Jenny would be sent to the witch.

The witch that everyone knew was a cannibal and the more a cannibal ate, the more they hungered. A cannibal’s lust could never be sated, and they were going to send Jenny to her.

Unless someone took her place.

All she had to do was look at the crying Jenny. Too young to treat her like a monster when they had crossed paths. Too young to know the purpose of the gift basket. Too young to know about the witch. Too young and without a friend in the world because she had taken some candy. Too young to fight for herself… so someone had to fight in her stead.

“… I’ll go.” Mya said.

Mya’s cheek burned when everyone in the church turned to stare at her. It burned every time she was scared or ashamed and it had burned every day of her life. As long as she could remember. Not a day had gone by that she hadn’t been scared or ashamed.

That made the choice to send her to the witch an easy one.

The mood in the church changed and the arguments fueled by shame seized. The villagers became civil and made a show of discussing whether to send her to the cannibal witch. Then everyone in Wool Haven agreed silently to send her away in Jenny’s place.

Another silent sin that would fester in their hearts and souls.

When the villagers left the church, no one thanked her. They barely acknowledged her being there. The only one who dared to meet her eyes was Jenny but before she could say anything, her parents dragged her away.

She didn’t sleep much that night.

Breakfast turned to ash in her mouth and when she was delivered to the Wyrd Stones the next morning, she had expected for the whole village to come see her off. That at least at the end they would acknowledge her as one of their own but the only ones who had come was the blind priest and his guide. All she had on her were the clothes on her back and the rope she had used to tame animals. The priest gave her his blessing and then sent her off to her doom.

“Go in peace.” The blind priest said.

The priest’s blessing did nothing to ease her worries when she approached the Wyrd Stones. Two white rocks jutting from the ground that King Eld had set down a thousand years ago to keep humans safe from the monsters of the Wyrding, trapping the horrors in a small prison of their own.

But Mya knew the monsters of the Wyrding were stronger than the priest’s faith.

When the priest had arrived in her village five years ago and had heard that there had been Wyrd Stones near their village, he had boasted that he would test his faith against the old deities of the Wyrding. He would prove once and for all that the Christian God was mightier than these pagan abominations. The whole village had come to see the young priest take a sledgehammer to the Wyrd Stones.

And the whole village had seen him be blinded when the smallest of stone shards had embedded themselves in his eyes when the sledgehammer had hit the Wyrd Stones.

You could still see the smallest scratches in the white stone as well as the sledgehammer the priest had dropped when he had lost his eyes. No one had dared to approach the stones since then to reclaim the sledgehammer.

If only she’d had a mother and a father to protect her… or if she had been born prettier without a red stain on her face, mousy brown hair, and bony body… maybe then she wouldn’t have had to cross the sword bridge. Maybe then she hadn’t spent her entire life carrying a serpent’s egg. Just waiting for it to hatch. As she approached the Wyrd Stones, she could feel them humming and a wind from a faraway place blew by her. The air between the Wyrd Stones simmered and then an invisible door opened, revealing a pathway between worlds.

Mya took a deep breath and passed between the Wyrd Stones.

When she ventured in the space between Garuccia and the Wyrding, she saw the Void. The cold place between realities where the primordial chaos of the Queen of Cold and Dark reigned. She could see dead stars that ate everything around themselves. Even each other. Ravenous monsters like cannibals of the cosmos. She could see evil planets travelling through the Void, seeking new life to consume. Never satisfied. Never sated. Like a cannibal. But there was something even older and hungrier than dead stars or wandering planets in there.

And it knew she was there.

Mya could feel the thing watching her for a while and then start slowly approaching her. Trying to snatch her and pull her to a place where there was no time or light. Just the endless embrace of the queen who lurked in the shadows of hanged men. Her cheek began burning again and she started running through the bridge between worlds. She ran as fast as she could. She had learned to run from stones being thrown at her and cruel words barked in her direction when she had dared to ask if others would play with her. She ran.

And then she ran past the Wyrd Stones and stumbled into the Wyrding.

For a moment she just sat on her knees, trying to catch her breath, terrified that a hand would reach out to her between the Wyrd Stones and pull her back into the Void. When she dared to look over her shoulder, she saw that the portal had closed. That she was safe.

Then she saw the Wyrding and realized that she knew this place.

Every fairytale she had ever heard had taken place here. These were the woods Hansel and Gretel had been banished into. It was this place where you could build a house from gingerbread. Where a princess’s hair was long enough for a prince to use as a rope to climb up a tower. Where true love could make a prince out of a beast. Everything was so much clearer here. The trees and the leaves… it made the woods in Garuccia look like sad imitation of true forests. Even the same scents were different. So much clearer. Cleaner. These were true forests. Nourished by magic.

But…

Mya knew that the devil came in a pleasing disguise, and nothing was more dangerous than a trap you walked into willingly. The Wyrding was a den of monsters that would eat her given the chance. The witch had left her with instructions on how to find her. If she followed them, the witch would not have to come and find her. The hidden threat couldn’t have been plainer. She was to follow the forest path until she found her transportation and then hopped on. Her passage was paid for in advance and all she had to do was jump off at the third stop. So, she followed the forest path.

Until she arrived at a train stop.

Tracks like steel serpents ran through the forest and along the way simple train stations had been built to make the wait a bit more comfortable. She wouldn’t have to wait alone. A clown was sitting at the station, reading a newspaper. He looked the same age as Mya, which was fourteen, and he was dressed in a motley tunic and a jester hat colored blue, purple and pink. His face was painted in the same colors with a diamond of blue covering his right eye and a purple diamond covering his left one. His eyes drew in the colors of the paint and made his eyes seem different colors. Despite being the same age as Mya and a boy, he was shorter than her. She approached the clown nervously, terrified that he would sprout claws and fangs at any moment and eat her. Instead, he just kept reading his newspaper while yawning occasionally. Mya couldn’t stop glancing at the clown until the clown took notice and glanced back at her over his newspaper. Mya looked away but not quickly enough. The clown’s brow furrowed, and he folded his newspaper.

“I am Boom-Boom the Clown, and I am now going to now make you very uncomfortable by simply sitting here until the train arrives.” The clown said.

Boom-Boom the Clown proceeded to make her very uncomfortable by simply sitting there until the train arrived. Her sole comfort was that she didn’t have to wait long. You could feel the train coming from far away. The earth rumbled softly, and the rail rattled. That was the only warning you got. The train looked and moved like a bullet. It was perfectly smooth and shined like brass. It came to a slow halt at the station and Mya stared at it awestruck. She had never seen a train. The way it blew steam and invisible force made its wheels turn over the tracks… it was almost like magic. The door opened and a short but impossibly stocky, muscular man stepped out. His light-brown beard was braided, and his dark blue conductor’s uniform was spotless. His nose was bulbous and there were lines around his eyes from too much smiling.

“Good afternoon. I am Dummot the Conductor. Blessing of the Soil upon you. You will be in my care. You can buy a ticket from me or if you have already paid for one, state your name.”

Boom-Boom the Clown stepped forward and handed Dummot a coin.

“A ticket as far away from here as possible.” Boom-Boom said.

“That can be arranged.” Dummot said and handed Boom-Boom a ticket.

Mya stood awkwardly at the train station while Boom-Boom climbed onboard and Dummot looked at her kindly.

“Everything okay?” Dummot asked.

“… I… I have been paid for. My name is… Mya.” Mya said.

Dummot took out his clipboard and went through his list.

“Right you are, miss Mya. I will make sure you have a window seat. I hope you enjoy your trip with Underground Express.” Dummot said.

Mya climbed aboard the train and was greeted by an empty train cart. The only other passenger was Boom-Boom who had already fallen asleep and snored softly in his sleep. Mya sat as far away from him as she could and stared out of the window. The scenery started flashing by her as the train picked up speed.

“Want to know how we’re not all thrown against the walls despite going this fast?”

Mya looked up and saw Dummot standing by her. She nodded in response.

“The trails are slightly curved. This makes sure we can travel so smoothly. Dwarven engineering at its finest.” Dummot said.

Mya stared at him for a moment. She couldn’t ever remember someone looking at her with such kindness. Her lips started quivering and then she began crying. Dummot looked at her confused and then sat next to her. He offered her a handkerchief and Mya blew her nose on it.

“What’s wrong? Are you feeling sick?” Dummot asked.

Before she could stop herself, Mya told Dummot everything. How she had been born with a red stain on her face and then she had been sent off to the cannibal witch because she had gotten angry at Jenny for eating her candy. Dummot listened to her quietly and then pulled his beard.

“Curse of the Soil on those cowards.” Dummot said and looked at her kindly: “Mya, I will fetch you some hot chocolate and some company. I have my duties, but I will be sure to come and check up on you.”

Mya could only nod while wiping her eyes with the handkerchief Dummot had given her. Dummot stood up and returned soon with some hot chocolate… and Boom-Boom.

“You two keep each other company. I won’t be far.” Dummot said.

Dummot gave them both hot chocolate and Boom-Boom sipped his after sitting across her. His upper lip was painted purple and his lower one pink, and he left purple and pink stains in his cup as he drank.

“I’m sorry.” Boom-Boom said after putting down his cup: “That sucks.”

Mya didn’t answer and just stared at her hot chocolate. It was dark and thick.

“You know, darling… a lousy mess like this is just an opportunity that hasn’t presented itself yet and now? You have me on your team.” Boom-Boom said.

“… you?” Mya said incredulously.

“Me indeed. I am Boom-Boom the Clown. Master of two fields. Comedy and gentleman adventuring.” Boom-Boom said.

Mya looked at Boom-Boom the Clown. His pink, blue and purple clothes, and painted face.

“… you don’t look like a gentleman adventurer.”

“And pray tell me, darling, what does a gentleman adventurer look like?” Boom-Boom asked.

“… I don’t know… tougher?”

“Tough? Darling, when you go out dressed like this you best be one tough mother… lover.” Boom-Boom said.

Mya was quiet for a moment and then snickered. She had a sip of her hot chocolate and felt a bit better.

“… you’re weird.”

“Well… I did grow up in show business.” Boom-Boom said: “That is not a recipe for normalcy.”

Boom-Boom got them more hot chocolate and poured something that smelled like brandy in his.

“Ever heard the history of the dwarves?” Boom-Boom asked while staring out of the window.

“… no.”

“They used to be ruled by an elf. Alberich. The blacksmith king. He was a better blacksmith than a king and when Girusai came… he folded over fast. Curse of the Wild on his seed. To save himself, he designed Girusai a castle. Storm Roost. When King Eld came along and it looked like Girusai was going to lose, he forged him the finest sword the world had ever seen. Father Justice.”

“… he wanted to make amends?” Mya said.

“That or ride two horses. But when Girusai was gone, the dwarves finally gave him the boot. He went running to King Eld for help, but King Eld just flipped him off. As revenge Alberich forged a new sword. Mother Mercy. Anyone who wielded it, would go mad. He gave it to King Eld’s son Beron and let me tell you… worked like a charm.”

“… King Eld should have known better than trust Wyrdlings.” Mya said.

Boom-Boom raised a painted eyebrow.

“How so?”

“… he put down the Wyrd Stones to trap the fae and keep humans safe from monsters.” Mya said.

“Is that what they tell you at your cross churches?” Boom-Boom said.

“… yes.” Mya said.

Boom-Boom rolled his eyes.

“Figures. King Eld named his sons after the Wyrd King and Queen. He even bedded and married the Wyrd King’s sister Elfriede. Me thinks they were better friends than the church claims.” Boom-Boom said.

If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

Mya stared at Boom-Boom and tried to decide if he was a fool or a man.

“… aren’t you a human? How do you know so much of the Wyrding?” Mya asked.

Boom-Boom looked out of the window and a shadow fell over his face.

“I was. Then… two years ago something happened to me and now… I am not sure what I am.” Boom-Boom said.

They rode in silence after that. Mya had been told to step out of the train at the third stop and that was what she did. Dummot came to see her off and watched her sadly.

“You don’t have to step off here. The train goes all the way to Svartalfheim. Home of my people. You could be safe there. We could find you work.” Dummot said.

Mya just shook her head.

“… she would find me.”

“So, I guess we should find her first.” Boom-Boom said.

Dummot sighed and pulled his beard.

“Blessing of the Soil upon you, Mya. I hope to see you again.”

“… me too.” Mya said.

“Its customary to offer a blessing in return.” Boom-Boom said.

“… I don’t know any.” Mya said.

“Just say… blessing of Garuccia upon you.” Boom-Boom said.

So that’s what she did.

“… blessing of Garuccia upon you, Dummot.” Mya said.

Dummot smiled.

“Take care of yourself, Mya.”

When Mya stepped off the train, Boom-Boom joined her.

“… you didn’t have to come.” Mya said.

“I come when I please. Besides, I am just drunk enough to be dangerous. The witch won’t know what hit her. When I am this hammered, I might do anything.” Boom-Boom said.

When the train started moving again, they waved Dummot goodbye who waved them back.

“That was very brave of you.” Boom-Boom said while they headed down the forest path: “It’s easy to run away but… when dealing with lords and witches… they have a nasty habit of finding you.”

“… have you dealt with many lords?” Mya asked.

In response Boom-Boom grinned and pulled out a small envelope.

“Read ‘em and weep. A letter of recommendation from the illustrious House Grimaldi. I made them laugh so hard I healed their daughter of a vampire bite, darling.” Boom-Boom said.

Mya’s cheeks started burning again when Boom-Boom called her darling.

“… why do you do that?” Mya said.

“Do what?” Boom-Boom asked.

“… call me… darling.”

“Considering were off to see a witch together, I thought we’re at the very least good friends.” Boom-Boom said.

“… no one has ever called me… darling.” Mya said.

“No one? Wait, wait, wait. You take someone’s place to save them from a witch and no one has ever called you darling? What was the name of your village again?”

“… Wool Haven.” Mya said.

“Wool Haven? I have heard about that place. Sheep shagger territory. You know what me thinks, darling?” Boom-Boom said.

Mya couldn’t help but giggle. Sheep shagger territory… She had never heard anyone talk like that.

“… what do you think, Boom-Boom?”

“Fuck ‘em, bitches. This is the Wyrding. We recognize quality darlings here.” Boom-Boom said.

Mya was quiet for a moment and then started laughing. She couldn’t remember the last time she had laughed this hard. Not ever. When she laughed, a terrible weight was lodged free from her chest, and she could breathe easier.

“… do you think a witch could… make this vanish?” Mya asked and rubbed the red stain on her cheek.

Boom-Boom blew a raspberry.

“What do you need a witch for when you have a perfectly adequate fool with you?” Boom-Boom said: “I’ll show you a magic trick when we make camp.”

That night Mya helped Boom-Boom set camp by circling her rope around their sleeping place so no snake could get them while they slept. They hunkered around a fire and ate what they had on them. For dessert they had sugar cubes that Boom-Boom had kept in his belt pouch. Mya sucked on the sugar while Boom-Boom prepared for his magic trick.

“I learned this from a troupe of actors I travelled with briefly after leaving the circus.” Boom-Boom said.

“… you lived in a circus?” Mya asked.

“The one place they breed fools in.” Boom-Boom said while mixing up some powder with a lotion: “I left it when I realized I had outgrown it.”

“… weren’t your parents sad to see you go?”

Boom-Boom fell quiet and stroked his chin thoughtfully.

“If my old man was sad… I didn’t stick around to see for myself.” Boom-Boom said and glanced at her over his shoulder: “Look… I have to ask… you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to but… your parents… they didn’t say squat?”

Mya shook her head.

“… my daddy died in the Twelve-Year-War and my mommy… she left me.” Mya said.

“Ah… I am sorry. My father fought in the war too and… he didn’t die but it killed something in him.” Boom-Boom said.

“… I guess that’s something else we have in common.” Mya said.

“I guess we do.” Boom-Boom said and dipped his fingers in the lotion: “Could you look this way?”

Mya’s heart skipped a beat when Boom-Boom’s long fingers brushed against her skin, and he started spreading the lotion over the red stain.

“The lead actress taught me to do this. I may have fancied her, but it was never to be. She was a mother of two and I was a fool. But she did improve my makeup game.” Boom-Boom said: “I kept the lotion and powders as severance pay. I was going to sell them but me thinks they serve you better.”

“… you’re giving them to me?” Mya said.

“I already did.” Boom-Boom said.

“… even if I won’t be needing them for long?”

“Mya, my darling Mya, you’re an even bigger fool than me if you think I am going to let you die.” Boom-Boom said and wiped his fingers clean in his tunic: “Now let’s see how I did.”

Boom-Boom handed her a small mirror and Mya was shocked to see a stranger staring back at her. The red stain was gone. Hidden under lotion and powder. She had never dared to study her face for long and whenever she looked in a mirror, all she could see was the red stain. Now that she was free of the red stain, she had to admit…

“… I’m cute?” Mya said.

“No truer words were ever spoken.” Boom-Boom said.

Looking at her reflection made her feel dizzy and she had to put down the mirror. Instead, she looked at Boom-Boom. His face painted in a motley of pink, blue and purple. The paint hid his skin and the jester hat his hair. She wondered what he looked like under all that paint. He had a pointy chin and high cheekbones. There was something almost girly about him.

“… could I see your face?” Mya asked.

“Look all you like.” Boom-Boom said.

“… no… I mean… what do you look like under all that paint?”

A smile had been drawn on Boom-Boom’s face with pink and purple but there was no hiding how sad he was.

“This is no longer my face.”

“… oh… what about your name? Is it really Boom-Boom?”

“The name I am most sure of.” Boom-Boom said.

Mya didn’t get much more out of Boom-Boom, and they fell asleep. The witch had warned her that she would have to camp out before reaching her. Mya had been sure she couldn’t sleep all night but with Boom-Boom by her side, she slept like a baby. When morning came, they broke camp and kept going. The makeup had run a bit when she had slept but Boom-Boom taught her how to adjust it.

“… you know a lot about the Wyrding, right?”

“I know a lot about a lot and a little of everything.” Boom-Boom said.

“… what do you know about the witch?”

“I hear she was born a miller’s daughter and was one of the many witches driven out of Garuccia when House Eld was wiped out by House Hugo. At some point she met the Dark One and helped him found his own magic school.”

“… the Dark One?”

“An incubus banished from Gehenna by the Infernal Emperor in a bout of paranoia. He studied in Domdaniel until going his own way.”

“… is he the one that turned the witch into a cannibal?”

“Some stories say so. Payback for a bad breakup, maybe. Others say that she did it to herself to live forever. It does check out if she is really around five hundred years old.” Boom-Boom said.

“… isn’t it sad?” Mya asked.

“What is? Eating people? A bad source of nutrients if you ask me.”

“… no… living forever.” Mya said.

Boom-Boom thought about it.

“I knew a woman who would agree.” Boom-Boom said: “She was…”

Then Boom-Boom fell quiet and crouched like an animal ready to bounce.

“… what is it?” Mya asked.

Boom-Boom drew a knife from his belt.

“Someone is coming.” Boom-Boom said.

Then Mya heard it too. Someone walking down the forest path towards them while humming to himself. Boom-Boom took her hand pulled her quickly into the bushes where they waited to see who had chosen the same path as them.

It was a wizard.

That was the only way to describe him. He had the wide brimmed pointy hat of a wizard, and he wore a green cape over his yellow coat. In his hand was a long staff with a crystal planted at the tip of it. Under his hat, Mya could catch glimpses of a short, yellow beard. Boom-Boom pressed his finger on his lips as a sign to stay quiet and Mya nodded in response. The wizard looked harmless and even silly but… Mya could feel something terribly awry about him. A man like that would smile while cutting open a living frog just to see how it worked. A frog or a young girl. She hoped that the wizard would pass them by. It looked like he would until…

“Cinder? What is it, boy?” The wizard said.

The wizard stopped and looked around. Right at the bushes they were hiding in. He walked over to them and pulled away the branches. His eyes were blue as a winter sky and widened when he saw Boom-Boom.

“Well, this is most curious. I was not expecting to find a clown in the bushes this morning.” The wizard said and rolled up his sleeve: “Cinder. Come and say hi to our young friends.”

There was the tattoo of a dog in his wrist… then the tattoo jumped off his hand and became a ghostly dog. It ran around them on air and sniffed them like any normal dog would.

“It is most curious running into children in a place like this. Who are you, young ones?” The wizard said.

Mya and Boom-Boom glanced at each other.

“… I’m Mya.”

“And I’m Boom-Boom.” Boom-Boom said.

“Well met, Mya and Boom-Boom. I am Vincent.” The wizard said and patted the ghostly dog by his side: “This is Cinder. Now, why are you here?”

“… we… I am here to see the witch.” Mya said.

“Camilla? What a coincidence. So was I and I am afraid she is quite predisposed at the moment. Maybe it’s better you came back later.” Vincent said and leaned in to get a better look at Boom-Boom: “You’re a strange one. What are you?”

When Vincent tried to pinch Boom-Boom’s cheek, Boom pushed his hand away.

“Play dead, Cinder.” Boom-Boom said.

Vincent’s eyes widened when Cinder threw himself on his back and stuck out his tongue.

“How… did you do that? Cinder should obey only me.” Vincent said.

“Imagine what else I can do.” Boom-Boom said and held out his knife.

The knife wasn’t pointed at Vincent, but it wasn’t quite pointed away from him either.

“I have heard of you.” Boom-Boom said.

“Then you have me at a disadvantage. I have not heard of you.” Vincent said.

“I do, don’t I? That’s why you’re now going to leave us alone and we go our separate ways. Does that sound good?” Boom-Boom said.

The corner of Vincent’s mouth turned into a crooked smile.

“You intrigue me, young man. What if we don’t?” Vincent said.

“I will kill you.” Boom-Boom said.

“You think you can do that?” Vincent asked.

“I do. Want to find out if I am mistaken?”

Vincent was quiet for a moment, then snorted and pulled back his sleeve.

“Not today. Cinder. To me.”

Cinder jumped at his master and turned back into a tattoo in Vincent’s wrist. He gave them a small bow.

“We will meet again, Boom-Boom. Blessing of the Mountain upon your journey. Yours too, Mya.”

When Vincent disappeared into the woods, Mya could breathe easier.

“… who… was that?”

“A warlock. Someone who has sold their soul to some dark god. Scholomance has a price on his head.” Boom-Boom said while slipping his knife back in its sheath.

“… could you have really… killed him?”

“I’m glad I didn’t have to find out.” Boom-Boom said.

They kept walking and Mya took a hold of Boom-Boom’s hand without even thinking about it. When Boom-Boom squeezed her hand back, she felt warmth in her cheeks that wasn’t unpleasant this time. The first time that had ever happened in her life.

They walked deeper into the Wyrding hand in hand.

After a while they arrived at a meadow in the middle of the woods filled with flowers. The morning dew on the flowers shined like diamonds in the sun and in the middle of the meadow was a cottage that looked like a black mushroom. A poisonous, black mushroom with a roof covered in black feathers. A bluebird was sitting on the roof, and it was weird but… Mya could have sworn the bluebird looked perplexed. When the bluebird spotted them, it flew to them and hovered over them.

“Why does the help always take its sweet time?” The bluebird said.

Mya’s jaw hung loose.

“… you can talk?”

“No. You must be imagining things.” The bluebird said and looked at Boom-Boom: “Fool. Ever tongue wrestled with a princess?”

“No. Am I going to?” Boom-Boom said.

“That depends on you. See that cabin? Witch with a capital B lives there and she cursed me into a bluebird. Only the kiss of a true hero can break the spell. Wanna give it a go?”

Mya took a sharp breath and pulled Boom-Boom away from the flying hussy.

“He isn’t kissing anyone!” Mya shouted.

“Besides you?” The bluebird suggested.

Mya blushed but didn’t stop glaring the flying hussy while Boom-Boom raised a curious eyebrow.

“Can’t fault a lady for trying.” The bluebird said and landed on top of Mya’s head: “You’re the new help?”

“The… help?” Mya said.

“Yeah. The one Camilla summoned here.”

“… help… she… isn’t going to eat me?”

“Why would she do that? You can’t mop the floors if you’re a meal.” The bluebird said: “Your first job is to help clean up the mess that bag of dicks Vincent left behind. Under the thumb fool can help.”

Mya’s face stretched hearing the bird’s language. Bag of dicks? ow could anyone be that crass and vulgar? Boom-Boom just smiled his many-colored smile.

“There is a fool for every task and task for every fool.”

“… what did the wizard do?” Mya asked.

The bluebird pecked at air annoyed.

“He wanted some old books. My mistress would not give them to him so he… used her curse against her. I barely made it out of the house alive before the spells to stop her leaving activated.” The bluebird said.

“Her curse?” Boom-Boom said.

“The Wendigo Sickness.” The bluebird said.

It looked like Boom-Boom turned pale under his makeup.

“You’re telling me… there is a… wendigo inside there?” Boom-Boom said.

“Yes.” The bluebird said.

“… what’s a wendigo?” Mya asked.

Boom-Boom stroked his chin.

“An evil spirit that takes over people and… turns them into man-eating monsters. They say they were skin-changers once, but then made a deal with a creature from the Void. Now… there is no words for them. A long time ago one of the skin-changer queens and her princess was killed by them and the entire clan was lost.” Boom-Boom said.

“The Crocotta Clan.” The bluebird said: “I’m surprised you know about them.”

“A fool always knows more than you give him credit.” Boom-Boom said and looked at the dark windows: “If the Wendigo Sickness has taken over her, I don’t think there is much we can do. Except alarm the warwolves.”

“… could the… warwolves cure her?” Mya asked.

“The grave is the ultimate cure.” Boom-Boom said.

The bluebird pecked Boom-Boom’s head through his jester hat.

“No warwolves! There is a magic circle inside the house that will calm her down. All you have to do is get her inside it.” The bluebird said.

“Besides having to share a locked house with a wendigo.” Boom-Boom said and took Mya’s hand: “No thank you, missus. Me and the lady are headed to Svartalfheim. She has a job offer there because she sure as shit is not going back to sheep shagger central. They hold congress with sheep there. Sheep! I weep for the family dog.”

Mya couldn’t take her eyes off the cottage while Boom-Boom tried to lead her away. The bluebird had flown to the porch and looked at them with her tiny, clever eyes.

“Aren’t you going to hear my pitch, Mya?” The bluebird said.

“… how do you know my name?”

“I was there when you risked your neck for someone who would have pushed you to the wolves without a second thought. Simply because she was afraid and crying and you felt bad for her. I saw it all. Camilla is trapped inside a monster and you’re the only ones who can help her. She is afraid and crying too. Being a hero is easier the second time.”

“Mya…” Boom-Boom sighed: “Don’t listen to her.”

“You should always listen to talking birds. You have spine and a heart. You’re two thirds of the way into becoming something more than the butt of cruel jokes.”

“… and what’s that?” Mya asked.

“A witch. You have heard it too? Girls can only be princesses or witches. So be a witch and be free. Don’t let yourself be choked by a corset. Help Camilla and you can be free.” The bluebird said.

“If she doesn’t get eaten first.” Boom-Boom said.

Mya held onto Boom-Boom’s hand tighter.

“… Boom-Boom… I’m so happy to have made a friend… you don’t have to come with me…” Mya said and looked him in the eyes: “… please come with me.”

They looked each other in the eyes for a while and then Boom-Boom sighed.

“Friends don’t abandon each other. How do we get inside?” Boom-Boom asked.

“Look under the carpet.” The bluebird said.

There was a carpet by the front door welcoming all visitors and under it was a key. Mya picked up the heavy iron key that held the promise of rust and looked at it. The way it felt in her hand… it was like it had been waiting for her all her life. Just like the door.

“… will you come with us?” Mya said.

“Yes. She is my mistress. I share her glory and doom. Whichever may come first.” The bluebird said.

“I just hope Boom-Boom doesn’t become Doom-Doom.” Boom-Boom said and took out his flask and had a drink: “I think I am just drunk enough to do this.”

Mya declined the offer of a drink, but the bluebird drank some brandy off Boom-Boom’s hand before Mya opened the door. The stench of corruption and ancient crimes greeted her. It felt like snakes and spiders crawling up her nostrils. The cottage was dark and far bigger on the inside. The cottage should have been only big enough to hold a single room but inside it was endless corridors and hallways that could lead anywhere and everywhere.

“… it’s so big.” Mya said.

“Naturally. Camilla is a Scholomance grandmaster.” The bluebird said.

“So… she’s a Queen of the Mountain.” Boom-Boom said.

“… what does that mean?” Mya said.

“It means that she has a Domain. Space that she can control freely. Where she is a god.” Boom-Boom said and looked around the cottage: “I assume this place is it.”

“You assume correctly. Do all clowns know as much about the Wyrding as you do?” The bluebird asked.

“I am unique.” Boom-Boom said and looked around the hallways: “How are we supposed to find the magic circle?”

“I will guide you there but first we must find Camilla. When we do… Run through the exact doors I tell you and don’t let her catch you.” The bluebird said.

A shiver ran down Mya’s spine when she heard meat being torn and bones being crunched. The hallway the sounds came from was scratched and torn when something huge and violent had crashed through it. Like a hungry predator running through the forest, not letting trees slow it down. It just ran through them, collapsing trees in its path. A door was torn off its hinges and cast aside like it was made from paper.

When they dared to look inside, she saw…

At first, she thought it was the carcass of an elk reanimated by dark magic. The rotting skin and meat barely hanging on to the bones but then she realized the creature was formed from dark, wet roots and the skin was just moss. A monster made of wood and roots in the shape of an elk. Its antlers could have been tree branches butcherbirds would impale their prey on. It was gorging itself but no matter how much it ate; all the food would just fall out of the hole in its stomach. There was a horrible desperation to its feeding that was almost… pitiful.

Then the wendigo sniffed at the air and turned to look at them.

The face was a skull made of hard roots and its teeth were sharp stones. The eyes were two empty sockets with small flames flickering at the ends but even without eyes it could see them. It saw them and it hungered. The wendigo let out a howl no living creature could produce. It was a sound trees would make if they could scream when they were cut down. Pain and rage. And need. The wendigo was driven mad by hunger, and it would not stop at anything to get at them.

“Run!” The bluebird screeched.

They ran but the wendigo ran faster. Mya had seen hunting dogs do that. When a hunter was driven by hunger, they would tap into some hidden reserve inside themselves that would allow them to run faster than ever before. When they weren’t weighed down by a full stomach.

I am going to die, Mya thought.

And not just die. She would die in the cruelest way possible. She had never thought she might one day be hunted. Not when she had lived in the safety of Wool Haven. Even with the cruel jeers she had endured, Wool Haven had been safe.

Then she had been cast out. Into the food chain.

The wendigo leapt over them, and the floor shook when it crashed in front of them. Even though it was shaped like an elk, the wendigo was far bigger. Big enough for it to swallow an adult. Mya stumbled over her own feet and the bluebird flapped her wings in panic, but Boom-Boom just kept running at the wendigo. The wendigo opened its maw and prepared to swallow Boom-Boom whole, and Mya screamed his name in terror.

The wendigo did not swallow him whole.

When Boom-Boom had confronted the wizard and threatened to kill him, Mya had thought he had been bluffing. Seeing him lock the wendigo’s jaws with his bare hands made her think he could have done it. There was infinitely more strength in Boom-Boom’s small body then there should have been. He had to be as strong as ten men.

“Mya! Run!” Boom-Boom yelled while holding the wendigo off.

Mya stared at Boom-Boom and the wendigo that was trying to snap its jaws shut on Boom-Boom’s hands… and realized something. The wendigo was bigger, meaner, and crazier than an ill-tempered horse but that didn’t change the fact that it was just an animal waiting to be broken and tamed.

And she had never faced an animal she couldn’t tame!

Mya stopped thinking and let her experience and training take hold. She took the rope in her back and rushed at the wendigo. Boom-Boom was holding its head down and she was able to jump on its back and swing the rope around its neck. She pulled back with all her might and forced the wendigo away from Boom-Boom. The wendigo lost what little self-control it had left and started jumping and wrangling to get her off its back. Boom-Boom was just barely able to get out of the way of its stomping hooves.

Then she was riding the rampaging the wendigo!

The bluebird realized what she was doing and started flying in front of her.

“Follow me!” The bluebird yelled.

Mya yanked the rope and squeezed the sides of the beast as hard as she could with her thighs to stay on and started leading the wendigo by pulling at the rope. The wendigo howled and screeched with a voice that made Mya’s ears bleed, but it could not throw her off and together they started chasing the bluebird. Doors flew open before them, but the wendigo just crashed through the walls and Mya held her head down to protect herself from the cracked wood and broken stone.

Then she saw it.

The magic circle had a whole room dedicated to it. Complex glyphs had been drawn around it and it glowed with an eerie pale light. She might not have been a witch, but she could sense the power emanating from it. The wendigo roared when it saw the magic circle and tried one more time to throw her off its back, but it was too late.

The magic circle surrounded them both.

Even when captured, the wendigo kept trying to throw her off its back so it could trample her under its hoofs as revenge for capturing it. But Mya held on and tapped into the power she held inside her. Strength that had allowed her to survive bullies and rampaging horses. She had survived fourteen years of her burning cheek. Fourteen years of unkind words and disdain. Fourteen years of contempt from villagers who should have been her family. People who would not even see her off.

She could survive a few minutes with a wendigo!

The monster kept struggling but its strength was waning fast and then it collapsed when its feet broke under its weight. The wendigo let out a pitiful moan while it lied on its stomach and tried to get up in vain. Then its body started falling apart. Its antlers cracked and fell off. The stone fangs plopped out of its mouth. The body made of roots and moss rotted into foul smelling slush.

Revealing a woman inside it.

Her clothes had been torn away when the curse had taken over and sprouted a shell of roots around her, turning her into a monster. She was tall and lean with the back muscles of someone who was used to hard work. Her face was smooth and ageless. More handsome than beautiful. It was like time had left her behind. The only sign of age was her hair. It was a shade of grey so dark it looked almost black.

But the most striking thing about her were her hands.

The skin from her fingertips to her elbows was covered in tree bark like a cancer that was slowly taking over her body. And it was consuming her. Mya could feel it growing. Claiming more and more of her. Slowly but inevitably the Wendigo Sickness was taking over her. The woman groaned and threw up foul sludge. She gagged and groaned so badly that Mya was afraid she was dying.

“… Camilla?” Mya asked and touched her clammy shoulder.

The bluebird flew inside the magic circle and starter pecking at the unconscious witch like a scared child trying to get their mother wake up.

“Camilla?! Can you hear me?!” The bluebird pleaded.

The witch’s eye lids fluttered and then slowly opened, revealing dark brown eyes. She stared at them confused for a moment. Then she wiped the vomit off her lips and smiled at the bluebird.

“Of course, I can hear you, Blue.” The witch said and then looked at Mya.

The witch looked at her in a way no one ever had. With respect and admiration. Camilla struggled on her feet and Mya realized that the witch was even taller than she had originally thought. Even naked she looked dignified and more than a little scary. She hid her hands behind her back and looked down on Mya.

“Hello, Mya. I have been expecting you. I apologize for the poor welcome.” The witch said and bowed her head: “I am Camilla of Scholomance, and it looks like I already owe you my gratitude. Blessing of the Mountain upon you.”

“… I… blessing of Garuccia upon you.” Mya said.

Camilla smiled.

“Thank you, Mya.”

“Mya?!” Boom-Boom yelled deeper in the house.

Footsteps were fast approaching, and Mya jumped on her feet before Boom-Boom could rush in.

“Don’t come in! She’s naked!” Mya shouted.

“Who is?!” Boom-Boom shouted back.

“Boom-Boom is not the first fool to see me naked.” Camilla said and drew a glyph in the air with her fingers.

A cut appeared in the air like a window and on the other side Mya could see a bedroom with a wardrobe. Camilla reached through the window in reality and pulled a dress and some long gloves from the wardrobe she used to hide her nudity and hands covered in tree bark.

“I believe it is time for us to palaver.” Camilla said when she was decent.

They gathered in Camilla’s living room which looked like the one the blind priest had with big armchairs, shelves filled with books he had others read for him and a fireplace that was always kept ablaze. Camilla’s just looked nicer. She made them tea and poured Boom-Boom some brandy when she saw him eyeing her liquor cabinet. There were even cookies with chocolate chips on them that Camilla crumbled up and fed to Blue.

“So, you met Vincent.” Camilla said.

“… we did.” Mya said and smiled at Boom-Boom: “Boom-Boom scared him off.”

“Only a fool would be foolish enough to try that.” Blue said while pecking at the cookie crumbs: “When a bunny walks up to a lion and starts mouthing off, the lion is sometimes too weirded out to eat it.”

Camilla smiled her odd smile.

“You think that is why he left them alone?” Camilla said and looked at Boom-Boom: “I know who you are, my young friend, and I am in your debt as well.”

“Just keep it on the downlow. I don’t want people to start expecting things from me. Let my heroics be a happy surprise.” Boom-Boom said while sipping his tea strengthened with brandy: “What did that bag of dicks want from you anyway?”

Mya couldn’t help but chuckle. A bag of… dicks. How did anyone dare talk like that? Boom-Boom was so charming and witty.

“Knowledge that was not his to ask for. I agreed to meet him out of courtesy as one student of Scholomance to another. That was my first mistake. My second was not killing him the moment I realized what he was after. My former husband had a soft spot for him.” Camilla said.

“… your husband?” Mya asked.

“The Dark One.” Camilla said.

“You’d understand if you’d seen him naked. Ever seen a goat demon’s dangly…” Blue said.

“Hush, now.” Camilla said and pressed her fingers together: “Vincent is no longer your concern. If he shows me his face, I will crush him. Warlock he may be, but I am a Queen of the Mountain and speaking of the Mountain…”

Camilla looked at Mya.

“Mya, the fist tenet of the Mountain goes like this. Path of adversity births knowledge. Would you be interested to stay as my student and worship the Mountain as is befitting of a witch?”

Mya’s cheeks started warming up.

“… you’d let me… stay here?” Mya said.

“Your company would be our pleasure.” Camilla said.

“You could even have your own room. Unlike me. I sleep in a bird cage.” Blue said.

Mya looked at Boom-Boom.

“… could he have his own room too?”

Blue snickered to herself.

“And here I thought you were dying to share one with him.”

“Hush now, Blue.” Camilla said when Mya’s cheeks started burning: “I do have the space, but I am not sure the young man is looking to stay.”

“… you’re not?” Mya said.

Boom-Boom sighed and started at his brandy glass. Then he looked at Camilla with his intense eyes and Camilla met his gaze without looking away. Something passed between them, and Boom-Boom bowed his head.

“I still have places to be.”

“… oh…” Mya said quietly: “… will you visit?”

Boom-Boom glanced Camilla from the corner of his eye.

“Of course.”

Camilla lit a pipe and blew out smoke with a melancholic look on her face.

“Mya, you have done me a kindness a room cannot repay. Is there anything else you wish from me?” Camilla said.

“… anything?” Mya asked.

“Anything.”

Mya didn’t have to think about it.

“… the deal you have with Wool Haven… break it off.” Mya said.

“Break it off? Are you sure? I have made our village wealthy.” Camilla said and looked at Mya over her teacup: “My parents were born in that village.”

“… relying on you has also made them… scared and cruel… parents would abandon their children so they wouldn’t lose what they have.” Mya said and looked at her: “You said I could ask for anything.”

Camilla smiled.

“Like a fool I did. If that is your wish, I will grant it.”

Once the tea and cookies had been devoured, Camilla told them to get washed. They’d had a long day and sleep tasted the best when one was clean. She even agreed to see to it that Boom-Boom’s clothes were washed. In a house that was bigger on the inside, there was room for a massive bath and Mya spent half an hour splashing around in it until her fingers were all wrinkled… and the lotion Boom-Boom had spread on her face was all washed away. She tried not to cry at the thought of her fool leaving and failed. When she finally got out of the bath, a pair of pajamas were waiting for her, and she could smell roasted marshmallows. She found Boom-Boom roasting marshmallow by the fireplace. Like her he was wearing pajamas and like her he had washed all makeup off his face. His eyes were even more beautiful when they didn’t draw in color from the paint on his face. Like she had thought, he had a girly face. More beautiful than handsome.

“… are you from the Spring Islands?” Mya asked.

“Never been there.” Boom-Boom said and offered her a roasted marshmallow: “Maybe I will visit one day. You could tag along. We make a pretty good team.”

Mya sat as close to him as she dared and wished she’d dared to sit closer. She ate the marshmallow without tasting anything.

“Are you sure about this?” Boom-Boom said.

“… she said I could be a witch. I can’t be a princess so… I’ll be a witch.”

“That’s silly talk and I should know. You could go to Svartalfheim. Dummot would look after you.”

“… it’s not that simple.” Mya said.

“How so?”

“… I want to stay.” Mya said and looked at Boom-Boom shyly: “… if you’re worried… couldn’t you stay?”

For a moment she could feel Boom-Boom think about it. For a moment that passed.

“No. I feel… something calling to me and to find it I must go alone.” Boom-Boom said.

“… I don’t want you to go.” Mya said.

Boom-Boom turned to look at her and smiled at her. The smile made his eyes dance and Mya’s heart flutter. Boom-Boom leaned closer and kissed the red stain on her cheek that was suddenly set ablaze but… it was a good kind of burn.

“We’ll meet again and when you become a witch… I owe you another kiss.” Boom-Boom said.

Mya stared at him for a moment and then did something even more brave than riding a wendigo. She leaned in closer and kissed Boom-Boom on the lips. Boom-Boom’s eyes widened but then he smiled and kissed her back. The kisses they shared were ones Mya compared all kisses to come.

She slept well that night.

When she saw Boom-Boom off the next day, her skin felt the right size for the first time.

“Blessing of the Mountain upon your journey.” Mya said.

“And blessing of the Wild upon yours.” Boom-Boom said back.

Once Boom-Boom was gone, Camilla closed the door and the loneliness washed over her. And the fear. The only friend shed ever had had walked away and left her with another taskmaster. Who could prove crueler than the previous ones. It was almost like Camilla could read her mind when she looked at Mya.

“Are you scared?”

“… yes.”

“I suppose you would have to be crazy not to be. Do you miss your home?”

It was stupid. Wool Haven had given her nothing but scorn and increasingly harsh tasks… but she still missed it. It was the only home she had known.

“… yes.”

“I see.” Camilla said and looked around wistfully: “This could be home. I know it doesn’t feel like one now but give it time. Some nights you will cry yourself to sleep because you miss your old home so much but one day you will realize that you haven’t thought of your birthplace in weeks. Then this will be home.”

Mya thought about it and then nodded.

“Ready to start your training?” Camilla asked.

“Yes.” Mya said.

“Good answer.” Camilla said and handed her a wooden coin with rune carved into it.

“What is this?” Mya asked.

“A lifeline. If you ever find yourself in jam you can’t outthink or outfight, use it. It will bring you back home. You will find need of it.”