The crowd parted as I led the Intui shaman into the castle. Cheng accompanied us but everyone else remained outside with their baited breaths, large wasps and huge expectations.
It would be untrue to say I didnt feel under pressure. Sohow, I had to avert a fight which would most likely result in my death. Talking my way out of a tight spot was nothing new, but all it took for to fail was for the other person to say, Nah, dont buy it.
There were still a number of thods I could use to avoid getting involved with violence, most of which relied on convincing others to be violent on my behalf, but my preference was to find a thod that didnt require fighting. And that thod was called lying.
Lying, when it works, can be better than magic. Poof! The problems gone.
The Worm King is ntioned three tis by na, I said, pointing out the places on the wall, and a couple of tis indirectly.
The shaman had an awed look on his face. I dont think he had seen the prophecy before and it was probably akin to a religious experience for him; which was all the better as far as I was concerned. If he was off-balance, he was less likely to spot the flaws in my logic.
This line where it says the Worm King will descend on the night is referring to the jabberwocky.
The shaman nodded. The line I had pointed out was the only reference to the jabberwocky, and I only knew that because Cheng had told . Personally, I thought it was a bit of a leap.
Sure, you could make a case for how the Worm King descending on the night, which was up until very recently the domain of the jabberwocky, was an indication of the Worm King wresting control from the jabberwocky, but tenuous to say the very least.
But, I continued, it also talks about the Worm King bringing Nekrol. Here.
When I had asked Cheng what Nekrol ant, he gave a list of possible answers. It was the end of the world. It was the birth of a new one. It was the living dead rising from their graves. It was a person, whose na was Nekrol. It was a fountain that granted immortality. And so on.
Of course the true answer was obviousno one had the foggiest idea what a Nekrol was. Which was perfect for my purposes.
After the Bride, the Worm King will bring Nekrol, that part isnt in question. I gave the shaman a questioning look. He nodded slowly. What isnt clear is the identity of Nekrol, and Im not going to pretend Ive solved that particular riddle.
The trick to a good lie is to not have all the answers. If you put yourself too far above others, they stop caring if youre right or wrong, they just want to tear you down.
I have my theories, like everyone else, but that isnt important right now. What is important is that Nekrol isnt going to appear here.
It isnt? said Cheng. He was just as interested in my view of the prophecy as the shaman.
I dont think so. There is a place in Flatland where I saw a fairy. A small creature, this big. I held up finger and thumb to indicate the size.
Fairies do not exist, said the shaman.
What kind of world is it where fantasy creatures insist other fantasy creatures dont exist?
I assure you they do exist, and I dont think my seeing one on the first day I arrived here was a coincidence. Especially when you take into account this line. I put my finger under a word on the wall and dragged it along as I read the line out loud. When the Worm King brings Nekrol to the Ho of Fate, the Joy of Old will reign once again. Do you see?
Both Cheng and the shaman looked at blankly. As expected.
Fate. In my world, another word for fairy is fay. And the plural of fay is fate. And the plural of bullshit is?
Cheng and the shaman looked at each other, I think each wanting so kind of reassurance.
Heres what I think, I said, trying to steamroll on before awkward questions could be asked. After Cheng marries the Bride, the rift will be sealed and the Worm King will travel to the ho of the fairies. Which ans he will leave this land, and you will be able to return to your ho. Since I am the only one who can fetch the Bride there was no actual evidence to support this claim, so I swiftly moved on if you insist on killing and it doesnt work out the way you hope, you will be stuck with the Worm King until soone else cos along to fulfil the prophecy. And who knows how long that will take?
Yes, it was a stretch. My interpretation required a lot to be taken on faith. But thats the great thing about holy texts that have absolutely no hard evidence to back them upfaith is considered better than proof.
The shaman stepped forward and reverently placed his hand on the wall. So you are saying, once you have produced the Bride, the Worm King will travel across the border and leave us be?
Yes, I said. And if it doesnt work out that way, you can always challenge again. Assuming they could find .
The shaman thought this over for a few minutes. Then he turned to Cheng. Our hos have all been destroyed. Will you let us wait here until he returns?
Cheng nodded.
When we went back up, the crowds were still gathered, waiting for the results of our deliberations. There was tension in the air but no argy bargy had occurred while we had been away.
The shaman explained the situation to the rapt audience, which he really seed to enjoy. Are all priests just frustrated shown? In any case, his yen for performing helped sell my idea to the Intui who were mainly appeased by the idea they could always kill later.
There was a lot left unsaid, and the details of how I would find the Bride and bring her back werent questioned, which was a relief since I still had to figure out a reasonable explanation for why I was the best man for that particular job, but all in all they seed to have bought into my plan.
That is, the plan I had told them. My actual plan was sowhat similar, but there were a few, shall we say, discrepancies.
The mood turned from tense to optimistic, and when the shaman inford them they would be allowed to stay on the mountain until I returned, it beca jubilant. Having to live with the threat of the Worm King and his subordinate worms popping out of the ground and wrecking their hos had obviously been stressful, and they felt safer up here.
The zzik were less enthusiastic. The dragons werent very keen, either.
As the Intui celebrated, their wasps beca excited. They buzzed in what I would assu was their way of expressing happiness, but the dragons reacted aggressively, honking and stamping.
The zzik did their best to calm the dragons, but the wing-flapping and challenging growls only served to excite the wasps more until both sides were snapping at each other.
The dragons broke free and ca charging forward. The children panicked and ran in all directions with the zzik chasing after them. The scene quickly beca chaotic. Wasps careened about with their riders trying to maintain control.
The lead dragon, Vikchutni, shot a jet of acid at the largest group of wasps. The wasps imdiately spread apart to leave the person behind them in the line of fire. That person was .
I froze. The acid was headed directly at . All I needed to do was move out of the way. But I couldnt.
I saw the acid. I wanted to move. But my feet refused to function.
And then I was shoved, hard. I fell, turning to see Jenny take my place. The acid hit her in the face and she scread.
Everyone stopped. The scream had been so piercing and full pain, even the monsters were shaken out of their belligerence. I jumped to my feet and ran to where Jenny lay. Her body was shaking and she was moaning. Half her face was lting.
The right side, from the top of her head down to her chin, was bubbling goo.
I slamd my hand against the side of her face and poured everything I had into healing her. The acid burned my hand, but I ignored it. The wound sealed over, but it didnt return her face to normal. It was like cooled lava, a grey scab, thick and uneven. It looked a bit like crocodile skin.
I kept healing her but nothing changed. I could feel my hair growing, falling over my face.
Jennys moans stopped but her breathing was still ragged. She reached out and tried to push my hand off her face.
Im okay, she said. You can stop.
She didnt look okay. Her hair on that part of her head was gone. The side of her face, including her ear, were gone. The skin had hardened into a scaly mass of ridges. Her eye had been unhard, but the weight of the scars pulled her skin down so her right eye looked a bit wonky.
Claire and Floosie ca running over and I stood up to let them in. I turned to the silent crowd. The fear that overwheld had begun to change. To rage.
I was a bit dizzy, but my anger cleared my head. Vikchunti, the dragon whose life I had saved, had nearly killed the only person I had ever cared about. The dragon in question was directly in front of . As I walked towards him, he backed away, head lowered.
Both my hands burst into fla. It was a hot white fla that hurt. The pain only fueled my hate. The dragon could have flown away. Or it could have attacked . It did neither of these. Instead it made a pitiful wling sound. It didnt make any less enraged.
I raised my two burning hands, fighting to see clearly through the tears in my eyes. An enormous swell of energy filled , building to the point I felt I would explode.
And then it stopped.
Cheng appeared in front of . He had his hand on my chest. All it took was that one touch and the fire went out. My hand were just two empty hands. The energy inside was gone. The tears remained.
Go, said Cheng. She needs you. I will deal with this. His voice, deep as ever, was gentle and calm.
I lowered my hands. They were shaking. The rest of was shaking too. All around us, the zzik and Intui were kneeling. Even the wasps and dragons seed to have their heads bowed. It wasnt they were showing fealty to.
Jenny had got to her feet and the girls were all crying as they comforted her. Maurice and Dudley stood awkwardly to the side not sure what they should be doing. That part was at least reassuringly normal. But looking at Jennys disfigured face made want to scream.
Was I being shallow and superficial? I dont know. She was still a good-looking chick. Half of her face looked completely the sa as before. The other half didnt look real. It was like she was wearing a mask. It felt like if only I could find a way to take it off, Id be able to see her whole again.
I wasnt sure what I should say. Tell her it was going to be okay and Id find a way to fix everything? Lying can work like magic, but sotis lying is just lying.
I took a deep breath and walked over to her. She looked up at , nervously. It occurred to that she hadnt actually seen the way she looked, so probably had no idea the extent of her injuries, but she kept touching the scarred skin so she knew her days of porcelain skin were done. Still, at least she wouldnt have to worry about zits any more.
Co on I said, taking her hand. Lets go.
I led her back to our room where a the tub had been filled with water. I removed her clothes. She still hadnt said anything. Everything was fine until she leaned over the tub and saw her reflection in the water. She scread and ran away into a corner of the room.
She slid down the wall and sat there in a huddle, sobbing.
She stayed there for a long ti.
Every ti I got closer, she flinched and scampered away. I tried to hold her in my arms but she pushed away, violently. She punched and kicked. You could tell shed been training. I couldnt get near her.
Just go! she yelled. Leave . Leave . The pain in her voice was horrible and I had no idea how to alleviate her distress.
What I decided to doand Im not suggesting this was correctwas jump on her.
We fought. I an, we really fought her. We rolled around on the floor, attempting to get hold of her, her doing everything to push away. She did most of the hitting, but I got a couple of blows in.
You might be thinking that attacking a girl who was traumatised by a near-death experience possibly wasnt the ideal way to help her process the complicated emotions she was facing. I would say, you have your way of dealing with girls whove been assaulted by dragons, and I have mine.
I want to point out, she wasnt ssing around. Once she got into it, she really wanted to do so damage. Just defending myself wasnt going to achieve anything. Eventually I managed to get on top of her, pinning her with one knee in her stomach and both hands held in mine, our fingers interlaced.
Get off ! she spat through gritted teeth.
Stop it! I spat back through equally gritted teeth. Can you for one second stop thinking about yourself.
That brought her up short. Her eyes searched mine trying to understand what the fuck I was saying. I slid my knee off her, but remained vigilant for an attack to the groin.
Im in pain. My face is burned. I look like a monster. , , . Thats all you ever think about. Did you for one second consider what would happen if I lost you, Jenny? I was perfectly fine on my own, but you forced into this fucking relationship. And you think you can walk away? No. I refuse. I dont care if I have to raise you from the dead, you dont get to leave. Now stop being so fucking selfish.
She had stopped struggling but her body rose and fell under as she gasped for breath. You still want to be with ? Even though I look like this.
Yes, of course. I bent down and kissed her. Your vagina still works, right?
She laughed. There were tears streaming down her face, but the storm had passed.
I thought you wouldnt want any more.
I let go of her hands and sat up straddling her. Would you stop caring for if sothing happened to my face?
She pushed herself up on her hands. Thats different.
Why is that different?
You arent that attractive to start with.
She grinned at . It was a huge relief to see her mocking smile. Still, you cant let won get too cocky. I dragged her over to the bed and soon wiped the smirk off her face.
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