Something Foul

With my mother listening and Rosa enriching the tale I finish telling of our battle with the minotaur which caused the **** of our friends and onward to my decision to legally abandon the land Paullus had left me. Mom takes it in stride. At this point I think I could have told her I won and arm-wrestling contest with Jupiter himself and I thinks she’d half believe it. With the tea cups empty and the sky growing rosy outside the very last thing I tell her was our battle with the harpies on the road and the spreading tale of our heroics.

“You’ll probably hear something about it going around.” I sigh. “The story seems have taken on a life of its own.

“Of course it did.” She says with a near smile while shaking her head. “People are always hungry for tales of heroics. By the gods, Quint. You have been a busy boy.” Her eyes settle on Rosa again as she absently fiddles with her figurine. “You say daughter with such confidence.”

Rosa replies. “I am only half Amazon, but I believe that is enough. Amazons do not have sons.”

“I see.” Mom whispers, setting the figure onto the table between us. “A granddaughter.” A smile tugs at her lips. “My granddaughter.” With a very slow and subtle nod she says. “She’ll be born free?”

“She will.” I say. “If it is within my power.”

“Where?”

“I cannot say…just yet.”

Just by the tone of my voice Mom understands that ‘just yet’ could very well mean ‘ever’. Her nodding becomes more vigorous. “Yes. Yes. I understand.” Taking a deep breath and letting it out she says. “Would you look at the time! I should have had supper made an hour ago.”

I grin nod back toward the door where we could hear the voices and laughter of my family beyond. “Sounds like they’re doing just fine.”

Rosa suddenly grabs my arm, her tapered ears perking up. “Quin.”

“What’s the matter, Rosa?”

“Listen.” She whispers.

The three of us fall quiet as we focus in on the sounds of merriment beyond the door. Mom’s eyes narrow in concentration as she catches it moment before I do. “The animals.”

As I hone in I realize there was no bark of dogs, no bleat of sheep or goat, no snort of our our stallion, not even the ever-present clucks of our family chickens. Even the evening song birds and insects had lost their voice. This wasn’t the usual settling down of evening. The silence was too complete, too perfect. A chill runs up my spine.

“What is happening?” I say.

From the silence comes the familiar scream of a vixen in the distance. Those gathered around the outdoor fire barely register it, Cassie even laughing and saying. “What is it this time you trouble making fox?” This then leads her and Colly to telling the others of Rosa’s special pet and the trouble she caused at my cousin’s place, leaving out all mentions of magic of course.

For us inside the house however Danae’s cry signaled a lonely presence in a void that shouldn’t exist. I am just getting up to head outside and look around when Rosa gasps, her eyes widening as a verdant glow gleams inside them.

“What is she doing!?” Mom stammers, her body tensing.

Thinking fast I say, truthfully. “Sylvanus occasionally grants her sight of a sort. It is a part of their bond since she saved my life.” I sit back down, taking Rosa’s hand. “What are you seeing, Rosa?”

Her eyes flit back and forth, following motion that wasn’t inside this room. “A wisp of smoke…moving against the breeze. I smell something foul.”

“Smoke moving against the wind?” I say as my mind settles on only one thing. “Magic. Lydia!”

In a flash I can see the wizard that I once considered a friend and hear her threats to put Rosa down as a magic wielding **** was a threat that all working magi in the Empire were obligated to eradicate. I can see her piercing, invasive gaze as she worked her magic into my mind. I recall the look of shock on her face as Rosa plucked her own magic out of her control to turn it back on her. And I recall how she convulsed, her nose bleeding, as Rosa ravaged her mind to tear the dangerous details out in one great heave. If she now remembered any of it there would be nothing she wouldn’t do to get back at the demon who could play with the very power she’d spent a lifetime to master as if it were as if it were a child’s toy. The violation of her mind by such a capricious creature would have wounded far more than just pride.

“It’s…in the shape of a hound.” Rosa continues, her voice barely above a whisper as if she were afraid to draw attention to herself. “A black hound. Smoke without fire…eyes of pale moonlight…moving like the Borealis…so strange…barely seen among in the shadows. Barely there at all.” Her left ear flicks like I’d seen Danae’s do so many times. “It’s smelling…at the fence. The fence that runs toward your father’s oak! It’s here Quin! Just beyond the hill. I can see the tree in the distance. It’s searching, Quin. It’s…hunting!” She closes her eyes and shakes her head, whispering. “Run little sister. Run away!”

“Quint.” My mother says in a tone as brittle as glass. “What have you brought here? What is following you?”

“Gods, no. Not here!” I hiss. Plautia, Grandpa, my aunt and uncles and cousins, MOM! Without meaning to I had brought the dangers of my new world of magic and monsters right here to the innocence of my childhood home! A creature of smoke? A harpy at least was flesh and bone, the minotaur solid metal, but smoke? How do I fight smoke!?

“I don’t know what that thing is. I’ve never seen anything like it. But it is foul and means us no good. Whether assassin or scout it brings danger.” Rosa stands, her hands outstretched she makes her way back toward the door without waiting for me. “We have to go. It hasn’t found us yet. It can’t find us here!”

“But…but Rosa…”

As my fantasies of a long and proper goodbye to my family come tumbling down around me my mother grabs my tunic in a white-knuckled grip. “Quint, my boy.” With surprising strength she pulls me down and into a fierce hug. “I love you. I love you!” She kisses my cheek three times. “I love you so much my son. But…I’ve got others to protect now.” She pulls back, tears in her eyes. “And you can protect yourself.”

“Mama…”

“Rosa.” Mom says, her voice cracking. “Look after my boy.”

Rosa pauses at the door, wavering between sympathy at the moment and the need for action. “I will Madam, I swear it.” Rosa then turns and opens the door to call out to the others who still were oblivious to the coming danger. “Cassie! We leave, NOW!”

The laughter and frivolity cease and it only takes a few seconds before Cassie calls back. “Yes, my Lady.”

“Mom.” I say. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean…”

Behind me Collywaddle had taken Rosa by the hand to lead her out into the yard. “What’th happening Mith Rotha?” Their soft voices disappear into the din leaving me alone with my mom.

“I’m sorry. I would never have brought danger here had I known.”

“Shhh.” Mom reaches up to stroke my neck, her pinkie tracing along the edge of my living collar. “I know.” With her free hand she grabs the cingulum off the table and thrusts it into my hands. Then, after a pause, she picks up the figurine of herself and pushes it into my chest. “I’ll be watching, Quint. I’ll be loving you every step.” Tears roll down her tanned cheeks even as she speaks with steady conviction. “You tell…you tell that granddaughter of mine that I’m out here. Thinking about her. Praying for her. Loving her.” She swallows a sob. “Remember where you came from, Quint. Remember this place. Remember you have a family. Remember your mother and father love you!”

I hug my mother tightly and bury my face in her shoulder to take in that smell woven through every memory of this place to before I could even make memories. “I’ll never forget. I love you, Mama!” I linger for just a heartbeat longer…then release her. I grab Rosa and I’s packs and rush out the door without a backward glance.