The Wizard's Thief
Part II
In any other situation, I would have stuck around for a good fight. But when faced with an entire pack of angry Sharakas, I’ve found the best option is to run. So I snatched the pouch and hightailed it towards the Forest Region, where I would have the advantage. Upon hearing the howls and bellows of my pursuers, I risked a quick glance over my shoulder and lost my balance. Hey, you try running at top speed on sand - it’s slippery stuff. But, being the quick-thinking acrobat I am, I recovered with a dazzling somersault, losing hardly enough speed worth mentioning.
I was almost at the Region border when they caught up with me. It had nothing to do with dexterity, mind you. I can’t help it if their legs are longer. The leading Sharaka butted my backside with his head, sending me barreling into a tree. I lay there with my back curved against the bark, head on the sand, hind legs flopping forward slightly, and tail dropping over my belly and tickling my chin.
Head spinning, I watched the pack surround the tree, huffing out puffs of smoke as they snickered at me. Most of them had chosen to use their bull forms, others appeared as wolves, and some had come up with rather creative combinations of the two. A small, bull-shaped Sharaka with grey fur and a wolfish snout stepped forward. He cocked his head sideways as if trying to put himself in my visual position.
“Nice to see you again, Aunix,” he sneered.
Of all the creatures in all the Regions that could have come, it had to be him. Sighing inwardly, I flashed him an innocent smile.
“Always a pleasure, Jaymon. I rather missed you.” I can’t say he believed me, which was okay, considering I was lying. He chuckled through his nose, dropping little sparks onto the sand where they suffocated. He stepped over to where I had dropped the pouch and lightly pulled it towards him with a hoof.
“Tut, tut. Reduced to stealing, Aunix?” he said.
“This is a special occasion. Besides, it’s better than being some rich wizard’s security guard.” How I wished I were upright. Somehow, witty remarks aren’t quite as rewarding when delivered upside-down. Still, it had the desired effect. Jaymon shook his head like a horse ridding itself of flies.
“You know, Aunix, you’re not in a position to be making snide comments. I seem to recall defeating you last time we met.”
“Ah, no. An opponent is only defeated if their dead,” I corrected.
“You swam away. You fled, you filthy little –”
“Whoa, now. No need for name-calling.”
For the record, I jumped into the water because I was on fire. Obviously, the current swept me away. It’s actually a rather interesting story. Remind me to tell you about it later when I have the time.
“No matter,” Jaymon continued. “If you’re going to be that picky about it, I’ll be sure to leave no room for error this time.”
Apart from my many other admirable qualities, I rather cherish my ability to think quickly on my feet (or head, in this case). I needed to buy myself time before Jaymon killed me, and let’s face it - the conversation was headed in that direction. As fast as a striking cobra, I switched to my much larger form, putting the pouch just within my reach. In a bafflingly quick movement, I snatched the pouch, changed into a panther, pounced onto the tree, began to climb. As much as my performance warranted a gawking audience, when I was halfway up the tree, one of the bull-shaped Sharakas sprang (rather ungracefully) towards me, catching my side with one of his horns. I screamed through my teeth, my claws sliding down the trunk. I struggled to wriggle my way into the upper branches, while the Sharakas below me snarled and sent a slew of fiery pursuers my way, all of which I avoided with pure talent. I laid the pouch on a bough, pinning it down under a paw. I licked at the gash in my side where the horn had cut through my side and cracked a rib or two. Safely out of their reach, I half hoped that the Sharakas would give up and leave me alone. Sadly, Jaymon had always been a persistent fellow.
I felt the heat before I saw the flames. I looked down to see the fire crawling up the trunk as the Sharakas spat it out. Time to leave. There’s no such thing as a noble fight. There’s no such thing as a heroic death. So when I’m faced with an option, I always chose the plan that involves saving my skin. Grimacing, I took up the pouch in my mouth and inched my way as far as I could out on the branch. When it threatened to snap, I crouched down and pounced onto the branch of the nearest tree. A moan slipped through my teeth as my side reprimanded me with a shock of pain.
“I see you up there, Aunix.” Jaymon’s bellowing voice echoed through the branches. Within seconds, my current tree was ablaze. I leapt from tree to tree, each landing less solid than the last. Pathetic for a being of such incredible stature as myself, but I’d like to see you jump between trees with a hole in your side. Come to think of it, I’d like to see you jump between trees period.
The flames were never comfortably far behind. Lucky for me, the Sharackas weren’t smart enough to split up and start more than one fire at a time. That’s not to say that they were easy to evade. It took real skill on my part to successfully avoid getting toasted, though I admit my lustrous fur got a little singed. My task was made easier with the coming of night. As long as I avoided jumping right above the light of the fire, the shadows masked my black body, and I was able to double back and head in a different direction without being seen.
Long after I had lost Jaymon and company, I stopped in a sturdy birch and rested, wincing with every movement. I flinched at every frog’s croak, at every owl’s hollow hooting. I stiffened at every new smell, expecting the tree to suddenly burst into flames. I waited, curled in the fork of two branches and, for an hour or so before making a slow and agonizing descent. Once on solid earth, I spat the pouch disgustedly on the forest floor and looked myself over. Ash had lightened the colour of my coat except along my wound where it had been stained crimson. If I could change form, it would be easy to find a Health Leaf, prepare it properly, and apply it to my dirty, lacerated side. I craned my neck to look at the sky. Dawn was already beginning to spread her pale wings over the darkness. I didn’t have time to look for any plants. The wizard would be expecting me before the sun.
Grumbling to myself about how I would get my revenge on the wizard, I picked up my charge and limped off at the swiftest pace I could manage.
The gates had been left open in anticipation of my arrival. Painfully, I switched to my alternate form. The wizard seemed to find it more off-putting than the panther. The ability to hold the filthy pouch in my hand rather than my mouth was an added perk. It made up for the suffering I endured to make the shift.
The guard at the door paled at my appearance. I gave him a sly smile, curling my tail along his chinstrap like a noose and letting it slide along the underside of his jaw as I passed. He remained petrified in place while a small bead of sweat appeared from under his helmet and winked at me from his temple. I suppressed a smirk and entered the castle. Guards were stationed at regular intervals throughout the halls like checkpoints along my road to the wizard. As if I needed directions.
I stood in front of the oak doors until instructed to enter. The wizard had gotten someone to carve miniature scenes into the wood, picturing the man himself fighting dragons, raising storms, and a bunch of other silly stuff that had probably never happened either. The door opened a crack, and the wizard’s scrawny apprentice stuck his grinning, freckled face through.
“Hi, Aunix.” This kid was the only one in the castle who treated me as his equal, so I couldn’t help but like him. I glowered at him, anyway. When I held up the pouch in response to his eager greeting, his cornflower blue eyes bulged, threatening to pop right out of his skull.
“Wow,” he breathed. “Is that really it?”
“Um, yeah. You going to stand there and gawk, or are you going to let me in?”
The boy blushed and opened pulled the door open, grunting and leaning all of his weight against it to move its mass. The room was just as I remembered it: expansive with neatly organized (strange, I know) bookshelves along the walls, one of which supporting a ladder, overly-polished tiles big enough to accommodate my length if I stretched out, a lavish desk in the center, a wooden stool in the corner for the apprentice, and of course his collection of worthless trinkets. Although, the Fire Sphere on a little side table beside me had a healthy flame. Perhaps the wizard had finally figured something out, though the way the white flame glowed when the scrawny kid passed by made me very suspicious that he was the one who had coaxed the fire out of the metal ball. The magician sat behind his desk, bent over a book. His crown was bald, but dark oily curls hung in a semicircle as if someone had used his head for their game of horseshoes. A pudgy finger ran back and forth across the page as he read, no doubt leaving behind a trail of slime like a snail. He finished the page, and looked at me over the top of his spectacles, which were much too small for his face. His eyes commented on my haggard appearance, but he decided it best not to mention it. Good call. He pushed himself out of the chair and waddled around to the front of the mahogany desk. His middle hung like a drooping sphere over his short, flabby legs. He tried to hide his mass behind a wizard’s cloak and loose pants. I’d say he failed.
“You really ought to do something about your weight,” I patronized. “It’s not good for your health.”
He chuckled, the folds of skin under his neck shifting as his head bobbed. “Well, I haven’t dropped dead of a heart attack just yet,” he said.
“Hmm. Pity.”
He lifted an eyebrow and attempted to give me a stern look. Another failure. I tossed the pouch to the floor, watching it slide across the polished tile to the pointed shoes of my ‘master.’
“We had an agreement,” I hissed.
He reached down to retrieve my gift. His fingertips barely reached the top of his knee. His apprentice rushed over from his station in the corner and handed it to his master, lifting the pouch with unmistakable reverence. I watched keenly, curling and uncurling my tail as if bouncing a yo-yo.
“Yes, well.” The wizard looked nervous. A little too nervous. Almost like he might be getting ready to give me another task.
“Look here, chubby–” I spat.
The wizard swelled with rage. His naturally pink faced turned a revolting shade of puce, the veins in his temple pulsed. I was heartedly hoping he would pop like a balloon. No such luck.
“Insolence!” he roared.
I let my laughter echo around the room for dramatic purposes before I addressed him. “Insolent? You call that insolence? Perhaps your apprentice needs to give you the definition, you overgrown wart – oh, am I upsetting you, O master? Go ahead, then. Teach your slave a lesson. Show me your worst Punishment. Then maybe we’ll see how you stand up to your little Fire Sphere.” I lifted the flaming ball from the table and scooped out a handful of pale flame. “With all the grease in your hair, I’ll bet it will take three seconds to turn you into a human torch. You want to bet the higher or the lower? No? Then let him go. Give him back to me.”
The wizard sputtered some pretty hefty threats, which would have been a little more terrifying if he had the ability to match. I gave him a piercing look that made him shy away.
“Your cub will be returned to the exact place my guards found him.”
My eyes narrowed. I rubbed my thumb against the pads of my other fingers, letting the white fire dance around my hand.
“I swear it! He will be delivered within the hour. Within the hour!” He was whimpering now.
My ears bent back slightly, and I purred, “Fine. But if he’s not there –” I turned and flicked my tail. “Expect me to visit again. One last time.”
End Part II
Gender:
Points: 3414
Reviews: 247