Wool of the Prince-- Chapter 22

Chapter 22

~1,380 words

It was a while before Jay could muster the strength to speak. When he did try to speak, however, Shep immediately shushed him. Jay hadn’t realized, but there had been absolute silence in the dark entrance of the spire—silence, except for a low rumbling.

“What is that sound?” hissed Gilfred.

“I don’t know,” Shep said, “but it doesn’t sound friendly.”

The group waited until Jay felt he had the strength to walk. Then they made their way slowly down the spire’s entrance corridor. It was dark, but an occasional torch lighted their way. “It’s almost as if we were expected,” said Godfrey.

“I think that’s the scariest thing of all,” Gilfred whimpered.

The hallway twisted and turned, like it was taking its time getting to its destination. There were no branches off the path or doorways or even windows. Jay felt the cold feeling of fear sink into his stomach.

“What if it’s a dead end,” he said, “And we turn around and the door’s closed, and we’re trapped?”

“Then we’ll figure something out. This path has got to lead somewhere though,” said Shep.

And he was right. Soon enough, a warm yellow light glowed along the corridor, reflecting off of the stones that all appeared to be a little wet. It had been getting warmer the farther they got along the passage. As they approached the yellow light, it got so warm Jay slipped off his coat and draped it over his arm. He could see beads of sweat on Shep’s forehead.

Suddenly, Jay was reminded of a game he used to play as a kid. Someone would pick an object in the room and try to guide the other person to it using heat. The closer to the object, the “warmer” they were. When they found the object, the first person would shout “you’re burning up!”

It was as if they were coming close to what they had been searching for all this time. Jay wondered what it was. A warm bed? A sheep? A way home?

The yellow light grew ever closer until at last it swallowed them up into a bright room lit by… Jay rubbed his eyes. It can’t be. Yes! Those are light bulbs.

Jay looked excitedly at the trolls to see how astonished they were that electricity did exist. They were astonished, but they weren’t looking at the light bulbs. Instead, the giant swirling purple portal against the wall seemed to have captured their attention.

Jay realized this should have his attention as well, and dutifully gaped at the unexpected sight. Just as dutifully, he jumped with surprise when the green sofa in the center of the room spoke. Or at least it seemed to speak.

“Ah Jay and company. I have been expecting you. How nice of you to join me. You took long enough.” It was a man’s voice. He sounded like he was talking through a smile. The couch was pointed away from the entrance to the room, but Jay could see it hosted a pair of feet. They were clad in dark leather shoes and resting on top of a short wooden table. The table and sofa had been placed on an expensive-looking rug, and the rest of the floor was a comfortable hardwood.

Shep took a step forward. “Who are you?” he asked, sounding both angry and confused at the same time.

A low chuckle came from the man in the couch. “Hello Shep. I don’t believe we’ve met, but I’ve heard a lot about you, and you’ve probably heard about me.” The feet casually slid off the table, and a figure stood up. A figure that smiled a too-bright smile and wore a blood-red cape. “I’m Cabot.” He made a sweeping bow.

Jay started forward like he was going to attack the man, but Shep put an arm out to stop him. Jay was glad of this because truthfully, he had no idea what he was going to do to Cabot.

“What do you want with us, and why is this spire here?” challenged Shep.

“Well, those are mostly the same question.” Cabot reached into a pocket on the inside of his cape and pulled out an ordinary-looking stick. He contemplated it for a minute, and then broke it in half. Or, it was mostly broken: a string of bark held one half to the other.

A surprised choking sound came from Shep. “What have you done to me?” he asked, but his voice sounded strained.

Cabot looked at him with a devilish smile and said nothing.

“Are you alright?” Gilfred asked Shep, worried.

“I can’t- I can’t move anything. Not my arms, nor my legs, nor my neck.” Shep seemed to struggle without moving an inch. Then he addressed Cabot again with a plaintive “Why?”

“Because I want something from you, and I don’t think you’ll give it to me willingly. Because I need you to stay right here in this spot until I can get the tools to take it from you.”

“What is it?” Shep asked, true fear creeping into his eyes. “I don’t have much.”

Cabot laughed. “That would be telling, wouldn’t it?”

Suddenly the trolls jumped forward and ran at Cabot. Quick as a wink, the man pulled out two more sticks and snapped them neatly in two. The trolls froze mid-sprint.

Cabot shook his head, “Bad trolls. Don’t you know it’s impolite to run at your host?” He glanced at Shep’s stick, still hanging together. “I’m done hearing from you,” he said, and severed the last thread keeping the stick together. Cabot fixed his steely eyes on Jay. “Would you like some tea?” he offered. Jay looked at Shep, but Shep said nothing. “Sorry I can’t offer your friend any. I’m afraid it would get stuck in his throat, being frozen like he is.” Cabot laughed again, and turned back to the short table to pour the tea. Jay followed mechanically.

“You know,” Cabot started, conversationally, “I’m finding that I’m having a bit of a social problem. I laugh, but no one laughs with me. Why do you think this is?” His eyes searched Jay’s face.

Jay remained silent. He did not drink from the teacup Cabot had placed in front of him either.

“Not one for small talk then? Go on, drink up.” Cabot made a flipping motion with his hand. He sighed. “I suppose you’re just going to demand to know why you’re here. Well, since we last talked, what you said has really influenced me. About you being from Earth and all. I have a… friend, who has certain magic powers. She owes me a great debt and she’d do anything I ask. But I’m getting off-topic. I asked this friend to show me what Earth is like. She showed me visions of the world; she even brought these curious light devices to me.” Cabot gestured to the light bulbs. “But I need something else. Something she couldn’t conjure for me. She made me this portal, so I could go freely from here to Earth, but I can’t find my way around that blasted world. And that’s why I need you. Someone from Earth to guide me.”

“I’m not going to show you around my planet,” spat Jay. His hatred for this man burned in his stomach.

“I thought you might say that. That’s why I brought her.” Cabot twisted around to look behind him, and gestured with his hand. Out of the deep shadows along the wall, a girl appeared. A dark-haired girl with no-longer-cheerful eyes.

“Fleta!” Jay shouted with joy.

Jay stood up, but Cabot snarled “sit down” so he did.

Fleta looked sadly at Jay, but offered nothing, not even a sad smile.

“As you might expect from a genius such as myself, I obtained some leverage you don’t get any funny ideas while we travel your Earth. You disobey my orders, you try to escape, you do anything other than what I say, and she gets hurt. Got it?”

Jay nodded bleakly, the joy of seeing Fleta fading as fast as it had come.

“What do you say? Let’s go to Earth!”

Jay stared into the swirling purple portal that led to his home with a mixture of hope and despair. He nodded.