Page 29 of Geoffrey the Very Strange
"Potentially?" Grandma Tutti panted out, hands on her thighs as she caught her breath. "What was it, child? How bad of a thing is this?"
"I think… I think…" But Geoffrey shook his head helplessly.
Aspic put a hand on his shoulder. "A resurrection spell, Grandma Tutti. The rabbit came back to life. That worked perfectly. But it involved shells and rocks. And theyalsocame to life, which they weren't supposed to. Geoffrey says they're undead rather than alive. I suppose, since they shouldn't be alive at all."
"Oh dear." Grandma Tutti straightened up with a sigh. "Unexpected consequences, indeed. Where did these undead things go?"
Geoffrey pointed down the path to town.
"Oh, no." She turned them and started them walking again. "What have you planned?"
"To catch them," Geoffrey offered in a small voice. "I don't know. Salt. Silver filings. Iron."
She gave a sharp nod. "All right. We need to find them first. Are they dangerous? Have they hurt anyone?"
"Not yet," Aspic said. "They went after the shells—the properly not-moving shells—Geoffrey had in containers in the laboratory."
"Do you know why they did that?" Grandma Tutti directed the question at Geoffrey.
"No, Grandma." Geoffrey swiped at his eyes again, though these weren't tears of joy. His face crumpled in misery. "I'm so…"
"Frustrated?" Grandma Tutti guessed.
"Sorry. It worked. Perfidiously. It worked. And then it didn't. I should've listened."
She wrapped him in a quick one-armed hug. "You're a good boy, Geoffrey. Be sorry later. Fix things now."
"Yes'm."
9
In Dire Need
They hurried as quickly as Grandma could manage—past the farms on the outskirts of town, past Mrs. Pickle's rambling house, past the blacksmith's shop. Screams reached them as they approached the stonemason's. Geoffrey's heart skipped several beats at the sound, which couldn't have come from the dokkaebi master mason, Ryu. It had to be his little adopted kawauso daughter, Mari.
Aspic put on speed, and Geoffrey struggled to race after him, though he didn't have a prayer of keeping up. A light burned in the cottage beside the brickyard, but movement came from the yard itself, and Aspic headed for that, vaulting the stacks of bricks in his way. Half-demon agility under duress was impressive, but Geoffrey told himself sternly not to get distracted.
They found Ryu in the yard, his shaggy hair unbound and wild, one of his hammers in hand as he roared and swung at the clams and mussels hopping around his legs and lunging for the crates of shells stored there for concrete making. Not quite a giant, still Ryu was taller than even the minotaur by a full head, with huge hands and broad shoulders. He could—Geoffrey had seen it—split granite blocks with a single swing, though as a dokkaebi, he often preferred to enter the stone and possess it to encourage the correct breaks. Either way, nothing should have been able to withstand his blows. But Ryu slammed his hammer into the shells and animated stones repeatedly, and they remained undamaged.
First observation: cannot be smashed.
Geoffrey checked around frantically for Mari and found her safely out of the fray, huddled on the cottage steps in her nightdress with her little otterfolk face hidden in her paws. Safe for now, at least. He wound his way around the stacks, since he didn't have any hope of leaping them, and drew his wand to use the blue light wave again. It knocked the shells away from Ryu, but only for a moment.
"Ryu!"
The mason whirled, his sharp teeth grinding when he spotted who called him. "Geoffrey, I swear to goddesses, if this is your doing—"
"Box! Iron!"
Ryu turned to Aspic. "Any idea what he's shouting about?"
"I think so. Do you have an iron box, sir?" Aspic kicked a shell away that had bounced toward them. "We don't know how to fix this yet, but if we could get them contained?"
"Ah." Ryu lowered his hammer, then handed it to Aspic. "Keep them busy. I'll be back."
"Papa!" Mari called out from the steps, her black eyes terrified and pleading.
"Stay there, sweetheart. I'll be right back."
