When Josh made it back to the barrier, the old man in the cloak already had arrived and bowed before it as if it were something to be finessed with worship. The bright violet glow cast an eerie pallor on the old man’s wrinkled hands as he slowly straightened his back to stand.
“An opening I have prepared.”
“Well, let’s go then.”
Josh ran head first into the barrier and was thrown backward.
“Wait fool! If you move too fast, you shall be snared!”
Withered hands raised as he looked upwards to the stars. A brief incantation sounding like gibberish muttered in a scratchy voice preceded him placing his hands against the barrier. The purple glow gave way like plastic melting. A hole grew into an opening large enough for both to pass. With a sly smile, the old man went through.
“Never underestimate an old one.”
“Wait. One question.”
“Hurry fool, this opening closes fast and is done!”
“Never mind.”
Josh intended to ask the old man why he was helping, but it occurred to him that he was being overly suspicious, as that was his nature; besides, it wasn’t as if there were any other options. He walked through the opening not a second too soon, for it closed instantly behind him.
“You’ll have to fight the citrus spiders off my child, for I’m just a simple old man whose strength is mild.”
“Spiders?”
“You’ll soon see. They approach near, I do decree.”
At that, the old man disappeared and Josh found himself alone in the darkness of the grove. The leaves of every tree rustled as peering red eyes glowed from the darkness. Spiders with bloated abdomen lowered themselves. Josh ran; unfortunately, he didn’t get far before he met a spider twice his size and realized that he was surrounded by others of the same girth. Red glowing eyes contrasted bloated black bodies. Pointy legs clicked as sharp incisors dripped milky toxins. Josh signaled the largest beast to come at him.
“I’m not a hit man for no reason.”
In the center of the grove, the old man spied Sanguin and Nadia together on a white blanket. A hot pitcher of tea steamed nearby. Two ceramic cups full of the steaming liquid rested on the grass. Sanguin peeled an orange. Nadia took a sip of her tea while she knelt patiently in anticipation of receiving a slice, which she gingerly bit in half. A white aura formed around Nadia’s body. The old magician grinned as he peered from behind a tree. The peeled orange dropped and rolled away as the old man revealed himself. Nadia put her fingers over her lips and stared.
“You’re back,” said Sanguin. “No, not this one. You can’t take this one too! We’re going away together. Far away from you!”
Sanguin clapped twice, but nothing happened.
“Your guardians are occupied. I left them a rather tough morsel, with whose time they will bide. I’ll have more than enough time to collect this prime witch soul. My magic shards glow, so thanks once more for making her ready and whole.”
“You shouldn’t have come back here. I won’t let you be mean to me. I won’t let you take her away from me again. You’re not going to hurt my mommy!”
“You picked a fine soul this time, the potion I make will be sublime.”
Sanguin ran to the old man and pulled on his dirt brown robes to no avail, as the man flicked his finger over the boy’s forehead to send him on his back. Chains with the power to subdue disembodied souls materialized over Sanguin. The wizard pulled a white vial of bone colored glass from his cloak, opened it by removing a white cork, and set it on the ground. A fragrance of spring flowers came forth which only Nadia could smell. It put her in a trance, then she floated above the ground. The aura around her drew into the bottle as she began to lose consciousness.
-----
Power burst from Josh’s hand as a red and black swirling aura burnt his skin. Josh’s eyes turned to red and narrowed to burning slits. A spider extended its sharp leg while charging at Josh with a deadly swipe. Shirt ripped as Josh angled backwards. The claw scraped flesh and opened a line across his stomach. Red life oozed from the shallow laceration. A punch forward sent a blast of energy through the spider’s abdomen. Slimy innards splattered away from the blast. Others spiders attacked one after the other. Josh stood his ground, dodged their fangs, and ventilated their abdomens with his punches. The orchard trembled as they gave chase. Sharp legs broke the soil. A circle of fangs surrounded him. As Josh faced the largest one, a steamy growl escaped his clenched teeth. He ran forward and slid underneath its fangs, which were so huge that when they thrust downward into the ground, he slid between them.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
The great spider’s abdomen absorbed a punch without bruising; Josh rolled away before it crushed him. He took refuge against a tree trunk as another spider attacked. Its legs became stuck in the tree, but Josh found himself wedged between trunk and spider. Sharp claws extended from Josh’s fingers. With one hand, he held the creature’s fangs back, with the other he tore through the midsection of the spider. Lubricating slime from the spider’s splayed insides allowed him to slide down the trunk and slip to freedom. Two more spiders approached as soon as he escaped. He ran in-between them and jumped on the abdomen of the left one. His fist punched through the top. The other spider attacked the wound and feasted on its kin. Josh jumped to the other and gave it a matching wound. With that finished, he hid from the flock headed in his direction. They smelt his blood, so he soon found himself flanked again. He counted more than twelve sets of eyes. A spider grasped him from above, grappling his shoulders with all eight legs as it lifted Josh into the tree tops. A scream spread through the forest.
-----
Nadia’s soul dispersed far too slowly for the old man’s patience. The boy continued to struggle against the power of the chains. The aura dripped into the bottle until Josh’s scream penetrated the clearing and woke Nadia.
“Josh,” she muttered as she fell over.
The old man cursed and corked the bottle before his extractions escaped back to her. A beast entered the clearing. Boiling spider entrails covered its blistering skin. The beast stood almost twelve feet tall; clothes were torn. Blistering burns covered exposed skin. Fingernails grew out into ivory claws. Fire burned from slit-like eyes. Fangs revealed themselves as the creature snarled. The demon picked the wizard up and hurled him against a tree. Nadia pushed herself onto all fours, but she felt too weak to stand or crawl.
The vial landed just out of reach but she felt compelled to reach for it. The ever-larger demon wrapped its arms around a tree to pull it out of the ground. Soil flew loose. Roots snapped like twine. Oranges rained to splatter over the clearing as the beast swung wildly. A burning cross shaped scar opened on its chest. A piercing shriek forced Nadia to cover her ears. That’s when she saw the little boy before her, freed from the old man’s chain spell. He held the vial before her.
“I’m sorry, but you’re not my mommy. You must drink this right now.”
Nadia took the vial as the child disappeared. Rays of sun spread from the horizon, destroying the barrier as they reached the clearing. She opened it and drank the contents before the first ray of light hit her body. It tasted like light milk, but hit her stomach heavily. The thrashing monster became disoriented, collapsed, and began to shrink as the fires waned. Once Nadia recovered her stamina, she went to the old man, opened his cloak, and found a collection of colored vials. She uncorked one, a darkened aura escaped. Then she tossed the empty vial.
“I’ve made a mistake this cursed day. You mustn’t let my souls get away!”
“You have no right to them!”
The old man quivered, unable to move as she uncorked and broke every vial. Auras and wisps flew into the morning sky until they were beyond sight.
“That was my entire stock. I’ll be ruined. I’ll be mocked.”
“Okaaay. Please stop.”
As she walked away, she saw Sanguin’s ghost in the arms of another apparition, a young woman with long black hair. Both were oblivious to everything except each other, smiling. Two beads of light shot into the sky as Nadia waved them off.
Meanwhile, Josh laid in front of a giant tree. Stab wounds were over his shoulder, bleeding rather badly. When Nadia came to the spot where he lay dazed, she had her pack of clean bandages, gauze, and peroxide. The stun of the disinfectant revived Josh from a trance.
“Nadia! You’re not the kid’s mother. It’s a trap. You have to snap out of it!”
“It’s all right. That’s all over now. He won’t cause any more trouble. He wasn’t evil, he just needed his real mother back.”
“Behind you!”
The old man held a rusty knife with both hands, ready to thrust it into her back. She twirled around and kicked it from his hand. Then she halted her motion, angled her leg straight, and kicked him in the chest hard enough to crack a rib while sending him down. He got up, but limped away as fast as he still could.
“And there’s more where that came from if you dare,” she said mockingly, “Try me, try me, I don’t care!”
She leaned over Josh’s shoulders to wrap his wounds, careful to make sure they were bandaged before she helped him get a new shirt on. He couldn’t help looking downcast as she put a new set of clothes in front of him.
“We’ll have to get you a new pair of shoes, I guess. I hope we can find something suitable for you,” she said, fingering her somehow unsoiled elegant silk kimono as she watched the wizard slink away, “Whatever this is didn’t go away. While you’re here, I think I’ll go change into something more suitable for travel.”
She stood and began to look for anything else she might need to gather and a spot to change. Josh continued to sit cross-legged in the grass where he’d fallen.
“Nadia?”
She turned to face him, “What’s the matter?”
He had never seen her look so concerned for him before. What had happened to the harsh Nadia that hated him? Josh blushed, unable to tear his gaze from her. He was afraid he’d never see such an image again. She smiled and he wanted the moment to last longer.
“Thank you,” she said, “For everything. I think you saved my life.”
“It’s not a problem.”
“I might have enough power to get us flying again. I’ll ride the back for a while. You’ve earned it friend.”
Josh looked at her; Nadia stared for a moment, then facepalmed.