Page 9 of Blood Red Woes

Some super creepy words there, buddy, but now isn’t the time to tell him that, so I say, “I don’t know what any of that means!”

The dog has apparently decided I’m defenseless. It raises its hackles, bares its too-large of teeth, and leaps for me, going for my neck. I react instinctively by throwing up a hand toward the dog and flinching.

A whimper leaves the dog, and its abdomen, its stomach where all its bones stick out of its flesh in gruesome, unnatural ways, has a new addition. A bright yellow bolt of magic protrudes from its chest. It doesn’t finish its lunge. The magic bolt in its stomach causes the dog to drop to the ground, dead.

I watch in horror as the hair and flesh on the dog’s body turn to wispy ash, carried off by the wind. Within a few seconds, all that’s left are its bones.

My arm is still outstretched, the tattoo on my hand and wrist glowing, tiny sparks dancing across my skin, as if reminding me that I did that.I did magic.

I can hardly breathe. What? What the hell just happened? What the fuck was that? Why did it look like that, and why the hell did it do that after it died? None of this makes sense. None of this makes any freaking sense.

And then my focus turns to my wrist as the mark on it stops glowing, returning to its black hue. “Holy shit,” I whisper. “I did that? How did I do that? How the fuck did I do that?”

The mark lights up when Rune mutters, “Well, I wouldn’t say it was just you. Without me, you would’ve been dead when the beast attacked. I threw up the barrier for you. You’re welcome, by the way.”

I laugh. This whole thing is insane. I feel like I’m going insane. “I did magic. I just did that. What the fuck is this? This has to be a dream. None of this is real. I’m just trapped in a coma or something—”

“I assure you, this is very real. All of this is happening. Denying it won’t change anything; it will only put you—and therefore me—in danger. You can channel my magic, Rey, since we are connected. I can only do so much on my own, trapped like this.”

Without a warning, I reach up and give myself a hard slap across the face. Hard enough to make me wince. Also hard enough to make Rune ask, “What was that about?”

“Had to make sure I’m not dreaming,” I mutter. “That dog was a thing of nightmares. And magic? Magic isn’t real.”

Rune sighs. “We’re on about this again? You saw what just happened. Magic is clearly real. Yes, that dog was a twistedversion of itself, but that doesn’t make it any less real. If I were you, I would avoid any creature that has been twisted by whatever magic has tainted this land.”

“Magic,” I whisper. My eyes land on the pile of bones the doglike creature was rummaging in before I stumbled upon it. “You think magic did this?”

“I think it’s safe to say something happened here, and whatever it was, it wasn’t quite natural. The dog was evidence enough of that. Regardless, you should find somewhere to rest. Laconia is quite the hike from here.”

With everything I’ve seen here, it makes me wonder… “Are you sure Laconia is still a place? With people? What if it’s like this? What if…” The question makes my stomach twist in the worst way. “…there’s no one anywhere?”

“Whatever happened here was tragic, yes, but I highly doubt you are the only one left in the kingdom. There must be others.”

I turn away from the pile of charred bones. “So you don’t know what happened here?”

“No. Whatever this is, it must’ve happened after the empresses locked me away. I have no idea what could’ve done this, besides…” He quiets, as if he doesn’t want to finish that sentence. Of course, he doesn’t know me that well yet, because if he did, he’d know I won’t let him trail off like that.

“Besides what?” I ask.

Rune is quiet for a while. It’s hard to read a tattoo, but if I have to guess, I’d say he begrudgingly says, “Besides the empresses themselves. Until me, they were the only ones in the entire kingdom with power over the elements.”

“Maybe it wasn’t them. Maybe something else came,” I offer, though I don’t really know one way or another. Rune says the empresses did not appreciate the fact that he had magic, so they locked him away; maybe they were jealous or worried he’d try to usurp them or something?

Either way, just because Rune has it out for the empresses doesn’t automatically mean I’ll agree with him. Still… whatever did this to this village wasn’t natural, and that means it could only have been magic. It doesn’t bode well for these empress ladies, whoever they are. Or were.

Because who knows? Maybe they’re dead, too.

I hope not, though. They might be my only hope of getting Rune off me and going back home.

I push into the nearest house and check it out. I am tired, but I’d be damned if I rest in a house with any skeletons in it. This one is a one-floor abode, so it’s quick to check. One living room-slash-kitchen area, and two teeny, tiny bedrooms. I guess indoor plumbing isn’t a thing here, which means if I have to go, I’ll have to go outside.

Yippee.

I don’t find any food, but I do find some water in a bowl, and I drink and drink until I can feel the water sloshing around in my stomach. It ain’t food, but it’s something. Better than nothing.

I choose the bedroom whose bed is comfiest, and then I lay down on my back and stare at the wooden ceiling. Even after almost dying, this still doesn’t feel real. Magic, talking tattoos, empresses—it’s almost out of a fairytale. A twisted fairytale that might not have a happy ending.

So I guess not really a fairytale after all.