A/N: If it all looks separated and a block of text, click the paragraph button to the right of this page.

* *

It was cold. It was always cold here, deep underground, and the dim candlelight was barely enough to see by. Then there was the smell; musty, dirty, this place always smelt like sour mud. It was starting to get to me. I needed to get out, to see some sunshine, and breathe some fresh air.
“Please,” I asked, “Send me out to do something, anything, I don’t care. I’m bored out of my mind here.”
My master kept on with his work, as if he hadn’t heard me. His black robe swayed as he moved his hands from ingredient to ingredient, mixing together some sort of concoction.
I waited. He had heard me, I was sure, and asking twice would do nothing but worsen his mood; which would hurt any chances of him saying yes.
Finally, as the concoction bubbled and hissed and then slowly settled, he plugged it with a wooden cork and turned towards me.
“What’s that do?” I asked, seeing the potion still moving around in the bottle on its own.
“There aren’t any errands important enough to send you out to do right now,” he said. His deep, rough voice echoed through the room.
“I’m bored,” I mumbled.
He stared down at me with his sharp, dark eyes for several moments, before closing them and tilting his head up. He was either thinking, or...
He strode past me through the door and started towards his private quarters. He was ignoring me. I quickly followed to keep up with him.
“You always let Benjamin go where ever he wants,” I said.
“He is a spirit, Clyde, and cannot be seen or sensed by average people,” he said, “And he does not act as bold as you do.”
“Bold, sir?”
“There have been too many instances where you’ve gotten careless and exposed your gift, causing trouble for me. Benjamin is more obedient and smart enough to know when to lie low.”
I frowned. How unfair! Just because the kid is dead and a major suck up, he gets to roam around and do whatever he wants? I don’t deserve to be locked up in here...
I looked up at my master. Right, odds are he was listening to my thoughts. I forgot about that.
“When a situation arises that requires your specific skills, you will be used,” he said, “Until then I cannot allow your disobedience to take place in public.”
I bit my lip. “You don’t do anything when Miles disobeys you,” I said.
He stopped abruptly and suddenly I felt his cold gaze on me. His stare held for a few seconds, agonizingly feeling like minutes, until he finally spoke.
“Miles,” he said sternly, “Is none of your concern.”
I nodded quickly. “Sorry,” I gulped.
He turned away from me and started walking back to the room we had just left. I waited, listening to his footsteps echo through the hall. He returned a moment later with the potion he had just made. It was jet black, unlabeled, and he shoved it into my hands. Instantly, I could feel the heat through the glass, burning hot.
“Ow! What is this stuff?” I asked, holding it by the bottle neck, which had no liquid.
“If you insist on leaving for a while, then you are to make a delivery,” he said. I stood patiently while he explained. “You will go east until you reach a village. Then you will head straight to the local pharmacy and give it to the pharmacist.
“Afterwards, you are to come home. Do not speak to anyone if it can be helped, and do not leave the potion unattended or let anyone see it except for the pharmacist. Do you understand?”
“Of course,” I said.
He closed his eyes. “Repeat.”
“Go east, deliver the potion to the doctor, and come home. Don’t talk, don’t let anyone see it.”
“The pharmacist.”
“Right, that’s what I meant.”
He paused for several seconds, as if reconsidering his decision.
Then he said, “Dahlia is much more suited for this type of venture. If she wasn’t busy with another task, I would never send you.  Consider yourself lucky to have such an opportunity.”
He opened his eyes and stared directly at me.
“Don’t disappoint me, Clyde,” he said.
“I won’t. Err, and thank you,” I said.
“Now go.”
And so I went.


* * *

I never traveled through the forest that surrounded our underground home. When I left, my master used his great magic to transport me safely to the outskirts of the forest. That was as far as his teleportation magic could take me, though, so I would have to walk to the village on my own. So there I stood, giving the forest another glance before starting my journey. I had never been subject to the horrors of what those trees concealed, but I had heard plenty of stories and even seen vague images through my master’s magic. Trees so thick and utterly identical that you could get lost and never find your way out, thick, swampy water full of monsters and demons that my master had hidden, and barriers that could only be broken by strong holy magic. It was a haunted, dangerous place that protected us from idiotic intruders and enemies alike. I was happy not to ever enter its depths.
Outside the forest was nothing but dead grass and skeleton trees. There wasn’t a road or path for miles around, which is what my master preferred. I took a small compact compass from my pocket and watched as the arrow decided which way was east. Once it settled, I started walking.


As it turns out, the nearest village is almost four hours away. When I started the trip, it was a blindingly bright sunny morning; now it was mid-afternoon, with storm clouds swelling in the distance, slowly approaching and ready to drench everything in its path. I could see the lightning already.
I stumbled into the village and landed myself on a bench, taking in deep breaths. My feet were throbbing, knees aching and a headache was coming on after that four hour adventure from hell. I was a smart person. Feats of the mind and complex thinking were my nitch, not all this walking and physical labor. I wanted to curl up and sleep on the bench, approaching rain be damned.
Carrying an awkward boiling hot glass bottle didn’t make the trip any easier. I can’t count how many times I nearly dropped it while clambering over a hill or catching my foot in a hole. This was already a pain in the ass and I hadn’t even delivered it yet.
Sigh. Breathe. Calm down.
At least I’m out in the open air. Even if it’s a miserable, cloudy day, at least I’m not stuck in my room.
All around me, people were bustling about. Women, men and children were holding hands, chatting with each other, going to and fro.
Sickening freaks.
They had no idea how lucky they were to be so close to our home and still be alive.
Then again...
I held the potion up and stared into the darkness of it. More than ever, I wondered what it was capable of.
I suppose there was only one way to find out. Well, two ways, but if I dared to open and use it, I knew I would be punished. Besides, the stuff could kill me; my master made the most unusually deadly things. No, I would go the safe way and deliver it like I was instructed to. I just had to find the pharmacy.
I took in my surroundings. The village certainly was small, that’s for sure. From where I sat I could see a grocery store next to a cluster of homes, a post office that looked uncomfortably small, and a fountain with people gathered round. If this place had a pharmacy, and I trusted my master that it did, it had to be close.
I got up from the cold, splintery wooden bench and looked around once more. Which way should I search first?
No sooner did I take my first step when I heard a loud, obnoxious voice yelling. A tall, shady looking man stood near the fountain with an upside down wooden box in front of him. People started gathering around him.
“Come one, come all, come see greatest card trick in the world!” he shouted, shuffling a deck of playing cards in his hands.
Really?
Nonchalantly, I slid to the front of the crowd and watched him.
He looked around at the faces in front of him and locked his eyes on a small girl.
“Why don’t you try first? No charge for such a sweet little girl,” he grinned.
The girl, encouraged by her mother, approached the man. He spread out the cards so that only she and the crowd could see them, and shyly, she reached up and took one.
“Now show it to the crowd—everyone but me,” he said. She held it up as far as her small arm reached; it was a Three of Hearts. She gave it to the magician face down, and he shuffled it into the middle of the deck. With quick hands, he shuffled wildly. To the untrained eye, it looked like the deck had been thoroughly mixed. He split the deck into three small parts and put each part on the table facedown. Then he hovered his hand over them, paused, and settled on the middle one. He pulled the top card and held it up.
“Is this your card, little lady?”
Sure enough, it was the Three of Hearts. The child gasped and nodded. Several adults started muttering praise and disbelief.
Amateurs.
“You, ma’am,” he flashed a smile at an old woman at the front of the crowd. “Would you like to test your luck? For a mere three bronze, you can play. Choose a card as the young girl did, and if I pick the wrong card, you get five bronze back. That’s a two bronze profit! You could end up walking away with a small fortune.”
The old woman seemed undecided for a moment, before stepping forward and reaching into her purse.
“Oh, it couldn’t hurt to play once,” she smiled, “I’ve spent money on worse things.”
“What a good sport we have here, ladies and gentlemen!” the magician said. Once she set her money on the table, he held the cards out for her. “Please, take your pick.”
She took longer to decide than the kid, staring at the cards, almost grabbing one, and then reconsidering. As if one was really luckier than another. Then finally, she plucked one from his hands and showed us; a Seven of Diamonds. It was shuffled in, the cards were split, and he hesitated a moment before picking. Then he chose from the middle deck once more.
“Was this your card?” he asked.
The old woman’s face lit up. “I’m afraid not, young man, I had the Seven of Diamonds,” she smiled.
The crowd shifted and agreed with her, staring at the card in his hands. It was an unmistakable King of Clubs.
He gave a frown so convincing that it left me wondering how long he spent in front of a mirror each morning practicing it.
“Well, I have no choice, then,” the magician said. He reached into his own pocket and pulled out two bronze, added it to her original three, and dropped them into her hand.
“Congratulations miss,” he added.
She stored the money in her coin purse and called her son over from the crowd. He was a short adult with a permanent scowl on his face. She told him to challenge the magician, and with a little persuasion, he finally agreed to it.
This time, the man was not as lucky as his mother. He chose a Five of Spades, and that is what the magician held up proudly.
“You didn’t pick a good card,” the old woman scolded, and several people chuckled. His pride hurt, the son dropped three more bronze on the table and chose another card. This time, with the help of his mother, he chose a Two of Diamonds. It was shuffled, the deck was separated, and a Two of Diamonds was held up for all to see. The man grumbled.
The magician put on a warm face as he pocketed the man’s money.
“Don’t be discouraged, why don’t you try again?” he said.
The man, obviously embarrassed, agreed. He would not leave without his money and a profit, he said, picking a Ten of Hearts.
It is so sickening how utterly dumb people can be. It was a classic con! With fast hands and basic card magic skills, anyone could do it. The way he shuffled the cards looked like the deck had been mixed completely, but in all reality the middle of the deck—where he put the chosen card—was never shuffled. It was simply a matter of moving it about fast enough so no one would notice, and putting the middle on top of the stack of his choosing. The right card was always on top of a stack and he knew where it was. He just had to lose once or twice to build up confidence in his audience so he could knock them down and take all of their money. This was no magician, no master of cards; he was nothing but a simple con artist with fast hands and charisma. He must have seen how naive and stupid this village was and known his routine would work like a charm.
“I win again,” the con man said.
By this time, the son was defeated despite his earlier declaration that he would get his money back. He and his mother sunk back into the crowd a little bit poorer than before. The con man looked to the crowd and asked who was next.
It was time, I decided, to show this man how it was done.
“I’m in,” I said, walking a few steps until I was at his makeshift table. I dropped three bronze onto the box and he smiled at me. That smile said, “Another sucker!” while his mouth said, “Another good sport!”
While he was giving the deck a good shuffle, he looked at me from head to toe. “That’s an interesting outfit you’ve got. Aren’t from around here, are you?”
Indeed, a red blazer and tie with sleek black pants stood out from the rags the villagers were wearing.
“You could say that,” I said.
He stared at my tie. He was looking at the card suit symbols printed on it; a diamond, a heart, a club and a spade.
“I see you like cards a lot, don’t you?”
I grinned. “I know a few tricks,” I said.
He smiled back and held out the cards. “Pick a card, any card,” he said.
I chose instantly; the Ace of Spades. He did his little shuffle trick, cut the deck into three parts, and pulled from the right-most stack.
“This is your card,” he declared.
“No,” I said, “It isn’t.”
His smile fell. He looked at the card—a Three of Clubs—and looked at the crowd. People shook their heads.
“I messed up,” he said, more to himself than to me, and shoved the card back into the deck. Reluctantly he dropped two bronze onto the table.
Without picking them up, I added three more. “How about another go?” I asked.
He grinned. I could tell what he was thinking; I’ll just be more careful this time, and win it all back, or, It was only a fluke, there’s no way I’ll screw up again.
Oh, how wrong he was. I chose the Ace of Spades again; he shuffled, split, and held up a card with a mocking grin.
“That isn’t my card,” I said.
“What?” he asked.
“Not my card, buddy.”
The crowd backed me up, and he shuffled intensely after dropping two more bronze in the pile.
“Double,” he said.
“Excuse me?”
“Double the play price and double the prize money. How does that sound, kid?”
It sounded desperate. “It sounds great,” I said, throwing down six bronze. And for kicks, I added, “I just hope I don’t lose.”
He held the cards. I chose the good ole Ace of Spades. He shuffled and split. When it came to picking a card, I could see him hesitating for real; all the theatrics of acting like a novice magician to sucker people in were over. He was frustrated and determined to win.
He picked the left-most pile and raised the card up, without as much confidence as he used to.
He swallowed. “This is your card!” he proclaimed.
This was all so pathetically hilarious, I couldn’t hold it in anymore. I laughed, and my laughing made him look grim.
“Not even close!” I said.
For a moment, I thought he was going to either fall into a fetal position and cry, or kick his box table into the fountain, but he did neither. Instead, he slowly fished out four bronze and added them to the impressive pile of money.
“Should we go again?” I asked, and honestly, I couldn’t contain my ear to ear grin.
He stared at me, taking several moments before finally shaking his head. “I’m afraid I’m done for the day,” he said, packing his deck into a card box. Several sighs emitted through the crowd.
“What a shame, I was having such a good time,” I said. I scooped up my winnings and dropped it into my money sack. He ignored me as he lifted the box and started to leave. Turning on my heel back towards the bench, I started to whistle. I never expected to find such an entertaining person in a place like this; it was turning out to be a good day after all! And as I reached the wooden bench from before, where I had tucked the black potion away, I fingered the smooth Ace of Spades in my pocket and smiled.



The pharmacy was harder to find than I ever imagined it would be. I searched fruitlessly for nearly twenty minutes, finding nothing but houses and people, and reluctantly decided to ask for directions. I stopped an old man and asked him.
“The pharmacy is down that road, straight for a good while, then to the right. You have to pass a lot of houses to get there, but it’s there,” he said.
I nodded, and as I took a few steps, he kept talking.
“But I’m afraid it’s closed, son.”
I stopped. “It’s what?”
“Are you hard of hearing? It’s closed. There was a fire last week that caused some nasty damage. There’s been such a delay in repairs because of the lack of strong young men—such as you—to help. They’re all a few villages away, learning magic and weapon training and what have you.”
“Oh. Well thanks,” I said, taking a step to leave.
“We’ve just had so many attacks by bandits and ferocious animals lately,” he continued, “We had to boost our defenses somehow. I still say we should have kept half of the young guards here and trained a few at a time, because what if we get attacked while they’re gone? Or if something like this pharmacy fire happens? Do they expect us old folk to defend the village? When I was younger, I wasn’t so foolish. If only I ran the town, we would all be much safer. Oh, but I don’t think I have the energy to make every decision... maybe if I just directed the guards, you hear me? I used to be quite the strong young man when I was your age, maybe a bit older, but you couldn’t tell now, could you? If only I had your youth, I could protect this village again, like in the old days. But oh, youth is wasted on the young, or however the saying goes.
“You know, we could save time and energy and eliminate the protection problem if we just hired teachers to come here and train our youth. We would save on traveling expenses, the horses wouldn’t have to walk such distances, which would also mean we’d have more horses in our stables at all times in case of an emergency. If I recall correctly, there was a magic teacher for hire passing through the village about a month ago. If I can remember his address, perhaps I could write to him and request his assistance. I couldn’t pay him myself, I’m just a poor old man, but maybe if I explained the situation to him he would see how defenseless we’re left when our guards leave and take pity on us. I think I may have written his name down somewhere—“
SNAP!
The old man’s cane snapped in two, and he stumbled and wobbled, just barely catching himself and straightening up. A man and woman rushed to him, and he started a wild rant about how things such as canes, beds and tables were made much stronger when he was a kid, and while he went on about he wished he could live in the old days, when the magic was stronger and people were wiser, I slipped away.
I started down the road he had pointed me to, which looked to stretch out as far as I could see.
Damn, I thought the old prune would never shut up.
That was an ugly cane, anyway.

...
As it turns out, the blabbering old idiot was right. I came to a big square white building, and on the door, a sign read:

* * * NOTICE * * *
PHARMACY CLOSED FOR MAITENANCE AND REPAIRS
REFILLS AND NEW ORDERS DELAYED - SORRY FOR THE INCONVIENIENCE

What the hell was I supposed to do now? I shook the handle, but the door didn’t budge. I could easily break in, but... I had to hand the potion to a pharmacist. Even if I broke in, what after that? I doubt just leaving it on the counter would please my master at all.
My master... why wouldn’t he tell me about this? Surely he knew about it. Was he testing me?
Then suddenly, I heard a loud, sharp whistle. It came from the alley beside the pharmacy. I peeked around the building, and saw an open door jutting out from the side of the white building. In the doorway stood a tall, average looking man in a white coat. He simply stood there, eyes locked on me. After a moment, he motioned with his hand to come closer.
I walked down the alley and got hit with a whiff of rotting garbage. The garbage smell mixed in with the rain smell and made for a wet rotting garbage aroma. I couldn’t help but make a face and hesitate to go any further.
“Hurry up,” the man said.
It was then, after he spoke, that I looked closely at his face. His eyes; the faraway look they had. And how his presence felt... how could I have not known he was here?
I walked closer and set the hot bottle of potion directly into his hands.
“Benjamin, what are you doing here? Did our master send you to help me? I can do this by myself, you know,” I said.
“Everything isn’t about you, Clyde. Master Ezihan has an important plan for this village, and for it to work, he needed me to possess a pharmacist,” the man—who was in all reality a long dead foreign boy—said.
“What is the plan, anyway? What does that stuff do?”
“If Master Ezihan wanted you to know, he would have told you, don’t you think?”
“Damn it, Ben! Why can’t—“
“Benjamin.”
“Benjamin. Why can’t you just tell me? Why do you have to be such a suck up?”
He smiled a sickly smile through the pharmacist’s face. “Goodbye, Clyde,” he said, and before I could say anything back, he had slipped into the pharmacy and locked the door. Damn it.
I kicked a can across the alley. Why couldn’t I know the plan? It’s not like I’d blow it or anything. What was I, just a delivery boy? What was all that training for, then? I should be put to better use! I should...
At that instant, a bolt of lightning whizzed across the sky and a violent snap echoed through the air. Seconds later rain started pouring down.
Perfect.
Absolutely perfect.
Sigh.
I suppose I needed a place to stay for the night; who knows how long this rain would last?
I saw a villager passing by the alley, and ran to her, asking where the nearest hotel or motel was. She pointed, said a few words, and I was on my way. Thankfully not all of the villagers were blubbering jerks.
It was not much of a walk. In ten minutes time, I found myself staring at a tall, old building, with a sign outside painted in green:

VICTORIA MOTEL
6 BRONZE A NITE
FREE RADIO!

From how run down and scummy the place looked from the outside, it seemed like a rip. But I had extra money, it was raining, and I didn’t really care that much. I walked into the lobby building, where a tired woman sat at a desk, flipping through a book while a radio with bad reception blared music. I dropped the bronze onto the desk, the sound of it making the woman pay attention. She scooped up the bronze and fished for a key in the drawer beside her.
“One night for this much,” she said, “Check out at noon.”
“Got it,” I said, taking the key from her. I left the lobby, swiped a discarded umbrella that was at the door, and headed to the rooms. There were only two stories of rooms, and not very many on either floor. If I were to guess, I’d say there were around 20 rooms total. I checked my key, and I was set to stay in room #12. Up the creaky wooden stairs, a few steps, and I was there. The key stuck slightly, and with a jerk or two, the handle turned.
I was right about it being a rip.
The outside, it turns out, was the better looking one of the two. Inside room #12, the worn dirt brown wallpaper was half peeled off the wall, the bed, upon removing the top blanket, was stained with uncomfortably familiar shades, and the floor was cracked, old wood.
I didn’t feel brave enough to check the bathroom’s sanitary condition.
I collapsed on the bed, on top of the blanket, not the sheets, and let out a tired sigh. What a day. I kicked off my shoes, putting a small dent in the soft wallpaper, which probably wouldn’t be noticed among the hundreds of other dents and holes in the walls. My feet were throbbing, my head was pounding, and I was wet.
Uh oh. I was wet.
I sprang up into a sitting position like a jack in the box, and fished out a deck of cards from my pocket. To my relief, they were only a bit moist, having been shielded in my coat. I would die of boredom without these cards.
Habitually, I started shuffling them. I’d had this deck for about a year now, and the wear was showing. Some of the cards were stained, some torn, others completely ripped in half. I was even missing about nine cards. Maybe I should look for a place that sells cards in the morning, if this backwoods village has such a place.
I threw a few cards at the wall, and they stuck like daggers. I threw a couple more, enjoying the sound it made. Another, and another, and before I knew it, I had half my deck sticking in the peeling wall. Just as I was about to retrieve them, I heard something.
Something... odd.
Among the pouring rain, I heard it again. It was a shaking, rustling noise.
I closed my eyes and pinpointed where it was coming from. The door; the doorknob was shaking slightly as someone on the other side tried to force it open. I stayed on the bed and gripped the rest of my deck. I wonder who...?
The doorknob gave in with a click, and it slowly creaked open.
My mood was instantly brightened when I saw who stood there.
“Hello, con man,” I said.
The shady magician said nothing. He shut the door behind him and locked it. Then he turned to me again.
“You cheater. You little punk cheater,” he said.
“Excuse me?”
“I don’t know how you did it—I don’t know how, but I know you did it!” he threw a fist into the wall and left a good sized hole.
I stared.
“I counted my cards. I asked someone who saw what card you chose. Each time, you chose the Ace of Spades. Guess what? The Ace isn’t in my deck anymore. You’re a little thief.”
I smiled. “I’m the thief? I wasn’t the one conning old ladies and their sons.”
“Shut up, shut the hell up.”
He reached into his trench coat and pulled out a knife. He held it, blade pointed at me.
“I want my money back. I want every bronze you stole from me.”
“But I won fair and square. It was your fault for betting so much.”
“You liar! ”
He stomped his wet boots across the floor and grabbed me by the tie.
“Give me my money or I’ll kill you!” he said.
I was silent.
“Are you deaf? Give it up!”
“You don’t, I repeat, you do not touch the tie,” I said.
He frowned. “What the hell are you going to do about it, punk?”
I smiled.
He screamed.
He no longer held my tie. Actually, he would never hold anything with that hand again. All too quickly for him to comprehend, his hand was no longer attached to his arm.
I straightened out my tie, which now had an ugly little wrinkle in it, and gazed down at the con man. He was writhing in pain, stuffing his arm in his coat to suppress the bleeding.
“H-h-how!” he yelled.
I knelt down close to him.
“Do you want to see the greatest card trick in the world?” I asked.
“What the fuck are you talking about?”
“Pay attention and you might learn something.”
I stood up, and slowly, my deck of cards lifted from the bed. They swirled and floated around me, as if caught in a gentle wind, and were soon joined by the cards in the wall. In just a few moments, I had all of my cards hovering around me. The man stared in disbelief, as if he was looking at a ghost.
“W-What kind of freak are you?” he asked in a voice barely audible.
“I’m the best kind there is, con man,” I said, and smiled. “We’re going to have some fun now.”
“What are you t-talking about?”
“Let’s see. What was the first card... of course, the Three of Hearts.”
Whizzing through the air like a bullet, my Three of Hearts pierced him in the shoulder. He cried.
“Remember? That was the card the little girl chose. What was next... oh, yes.”
My Seven of Diamonds struck him in the other shoulder.
“Then the lady made her son play. What did he pick the first time?” I knelt down again and grabbed his hair, tilting his gaze into mine. “What was it, con man?”
“I, I don’t know,” he wheezed.
“Shame. It was the Five of Spades.”
My Five stabbed him in the chest.
Then my Two of Diamonds, and my Ten of Hearts.
He lay on the floor, cards in his shoulders, his chest and stomach, and without a hand. Blood was slowly filling up the cracks in the floor and staining it.
“I know you remember my card, mister magician,” I said. “What was it?”
He was crying and coughing violently. “Please... p-please don’t,” he whispered.
“I’m sorry? That didn’t sound like a card.”
“Y-You can keep the money, just don’t... don’t kill me...”
“I’m waiting.”
He stared at me. I wondered what it was like, to stare into such strong, bright red eyes such as mine. I smiled as I waited.
“The Ace... Ace of Spades,” he said.
I took the Ace from my pocket and held it so he could see it.
“Correct,” I said.
Then as precise and deadly as I had stuck cards into the wall, I flicked my wrist and stuck his Ace of Spades into him.



It probably wouldn’t do to stay in a room with a corpse. The smell would start to bother me, I decided. So I wiped the blood off my face, buttoned my jacket to hide the stains on my white undershirt, and left the room. My cards, along with the con man’s cards, were slipped away into my pocket. I had a full deck and a near full deck now, which pleased me. I had plenty of ammunition for any future problems. Now I had to go about acquiring another room without wasting another six bronze.
I walked along the second floor balcony and stopped at the first door I came to. I listened at the door and heard nothing. I knocked. A few moments passed, and there was no answer. I looked around to see if anyone was watching, and then took a card out of my pocket. Swiftly, I slid it through the lock in the crack of the door. I turned the knob and entered. This room was surprisingly cleaner and in better shape than my room. The wallpaper was peeling, yes, but it wasn’t half way down the wall. The floor had scuffs and stains, but no cracks. I checked under the blanket, and the sheets were spotless.
I thought of the woman who gave me the key to my room and swore under my breath. Stupid chick, she probably gave me the disgusting room on purpose.
I loosened my tie, took off my jacket and, again, kicked off my shoes. I fell into the bed and groaned. My body hurt from all the physical activity today. I was not looking forward to walking home any time soon. Maybe I’d go to another village tomorrow, with better places to sleep and fun things to see. I might even do some tricks for the locals. I’d run circles around that con man...


Clyde.
...
Wake up, Clyde.
... Nnng...
Now.
Huh...?
I sat up and held my head, which felt like it was buzzing. I looked around; I was still in the room. I yawned and looked at the window. It was still dark.
I’m disappointed, Clyde.
I perked up. That voice was in my head. It was my master’s.
“Yes, sir?” I said aloud.
You disregarded everything I told you. I am very disappointed.
“I delivered the potion, didn’t I?”
You left the potion unattended to participate in a needless card game.
“You saw that?” I bit my lip.
Yes, Clyde. I saw everything. I am most disappointed in your recent actions. The murder of that man was completely unnecessary.
“He had a knife. I was defending myself.”
You provoked him by cheating. None of it would have happened if you had followed my instructions.
I sighed and fell back onto the pillow. “What’s the big deal? I did what you asked; the potion is all safe and sound with Benjamin.”
Your carelessness is astounding. If someone discovers you murdered that man you could endanger my entire plan. People surely saw you with the potion. If they connect you to it my plan will be at risk.
“So what do you want me to do about it? I can’t un-kill that guy.”
You are to return to the forest at once.
I sat up. “Now? It’s late! And cold and raining outside! Can’t I go tomorrow?”
You mustn’t be anywhere near this village when his body is discovered. Return now.
I whined. “My feet hurt.”
You will be back by sunrise.
I eased back again and clung to the blanket. “Fine... in a few minutes,” I mumbled.
Silence.
I opened my eyes.
“No, no, no, wait. I’m going now,” I said.
If you won’t listen, you must be punished.
I swallowed. “Please, Master.”
Then I felt it. From the pit of my stomach, the electrifying feeling rose up to my chest and my head. It felt like someone stabbing me with a tazer. I gasped for air as it faded away.
“I’m sorry,” I wheezed. I gripped my stomach and felt my body slowly return to normal. My feet and hands were numb.
Go now.
Slowly and painfully, I brought myself to my feet and slipped my shoes, jacket and tie back on.
“Yes, sir,” I said.

The village was certainly a different place at night. The shops were closed, and all along the houses were dark. In the whole village, there were only a couple of homes with lights on. It was a nice change of pace from the idiots wandering around earlier. I walked along the main street, umbrella in hand. It was a peaceful time of night, even if I was exhausted.
Peaceful until I left the village.
I left the way I came. During the day, it had been a minor pain in the ass to travel. At night, with pitch black darkness and rain pouring down, it was a dangerous pain in the ass. There was no path or road the way I was going, it was all rough terrain. And to make matters worse, the rain got harder the farther I went. I came across a tall grass field, which earlier had been pleasant to walk through. Now it was a wet mud pit.
I walked through the grass, my feet sucking into the mud with each step. My umbrella kept catching on the blades of thick grass, so I resolved to fold it up and slip it under my jacket. I needed both hands to push aside the blades, anyway.
Each step made a sick noise as I pulled my foot from the grasp of the sludgy mud. It was like the mud had a suction grip on my feet. I pushed grass away, pulled my foot free, and stomped it ahead of me. Mud splashed up into my face and hair. Great. I ripped a long, thick chunk of grass out and threw it, swearing.
A mistake.
Apparently, as lady luck would have it, that particular section of grass was home to a snake. Not just any snake, but the biggest, most vile looking snake I had ever seen. Its huge, scaly head peered up at me. The thing was cozily curled up, shielded from the rain by the grass I had just ripped out. Now it was getting assaulted by rain and being peered at by a teenager. I was familiar with snakes and other reptiles, the disgusting bastards, so I recognized its body language. It was uncurling and raising its gigantic head. It bared its long fangs, which looked like thin swords, and emitted a long, deep hissss. It was pissed off.
I took a step back and retrieved my pack of cards. “You want to play, ugly?” I asked. My deck separated and surrounded me like a shield.
The snake rose up and snapped at me. My cards took the impact and flew off in all directions. When I made them come back, only a handful came. I looked; the rest were stuck fast in the mud.
Oh, shit.
The snake darted behind me, in front of me, then behind me again. I reached for my new deck. Just as I got them out of my pocket, the snake wound around me and knocked them out of my hands.
Then it tightened, and I was stuck.
Shit.
I squirmed and thrashed hard, but the snake was far stronger. It held me and relaxed its head, staring at me with eyes of black pools. Its tongue twitched out of its mouth for a moment. It was waiting for me to die so it could swallow me whole.
My cards.
I needed them now.
My arms were being smashed into my ribs, my chest felt like it was shrinking, and my lunges were straining to take in air.
I closed my eyes. Concentrate through the pain. My master had trained me rigorously to get out of situations like this. Well, not like this, but in situations of extreme pain, he trained me to focus my mind. It was harder than ever before now.
The cards... they were so close...
I just need to invision them...
Before I run out of time...
The pressure of being crushed suddenly stopped. I felt my feet touch the ground, and I heard a loud splash and thud.
I gasped and held my ribcage, feeling for any bones jutting out. Luckily there weren’t any. I looked up at my handiwork; the snake, which had to have been something like 20 feet long, was limp in the mud and rain, decapitated. I stood up straight and spit on its tail.
“I hate you bastards,” I said. I gathered all of my muddy, half ruined cards, and went on my way.
The rain was starting to let up slightly. Not completely, but slightly. I discarded the umbrella, since it had gotten snapped in two by the snake, and walked on in the rain. It was a good thing I had abandoned it, too, because this way required two hands.  
I was climbing up a hill. Not just a hill, like an upward slant or something, but a miniature mountain. It was all rough dirt, no grass, and had rocks jutting out as sharp as knives. I clung to the side of the hill and used the rocks sticking out as handles and footholds. I had done this before, many times, so it wasn’t very difficult. But I realized it was a little harder with rain. Each step was slippery, and the hill was muddy and unsteady. About halfway up, a rock I grabbed dislodged from the hill and fell. I scrambled and grabbed onto the rock my other hand was holding.
Damn it.
I reached for another rock...
I felt my foot sink. I looked; the rock I was standing on was sliding off the hill. I concentrated... with the same powers I used to lift my cards, I momentarily lifted myself and lunged up. I hugged the hill and got good footing before resting my mind.
Normally, I could levitate and such for hours. But up such a steep angle at the end of the day in the pouring rain, I was too damn tired to.
Several feet later, I pulled myself over the edge and collapsed to catch my breath. Going down the hill was always so much fun; I could levitate-jump from ledge to ledge and slide down the last few feet. Going up... not so much.
I stayed there for a moment.
The ground was so... comfy.
If I just rested for a few minutes... just five minutes...
Maybe I could make it the rest of the way…
Just… a minute…
...
Sniff. Snifff. Sniffff. Snort. Sniffff.
I opened my eyes. Two eyes stared back at me.
“Whoa!” I yelled. I sprang up and drew several cards from my pocket. Then I paused.
“What the hell,” I groaned. It was only a wild pig... thing. It looked like half badger, half pig, actually. It had a snout, claws, and a thick hairy body. I think my master mentioned its name when he taught me about the animals around here... something that starts with an A. Or an E.
“Shoo,” I said, waving a hand at it. “Get out of here, stupid weasel pig thing.”
It sneezed, twitched, and scurried away. I put my cards up and sighed. I’m too on edge. I just need to get home and sleep... and from here, it would be another two hours until I was at the forest. But luckily, the hardest part of the trip was through with. All I had to do was walk along a memorized path that was mostly straight with the odd turn every now and then. It was basically a flat, dry strip of land the rest of the way. Well, not dry now, but it usually was.
I was a little grateful to the pig rat, actually. If I slept too long, my master wouldn’t have been pleased.
The two hours passed by painfully slowly. A half hour into it, the rain stopped and soon enough I smelt the dry, rotting smell of the forest as I got closer.
I stopped.
I was here. Finally, I was here. I was never so happy to see this creepy forest as I was now. I fell against a dead tree near the entrance and breathed.
“Master? Please... I’m exhausted.”
You’re late. Welcome back.
I closed my eyes and felt the rushing sensation of my master’s magic as it took me from the forest entrance to his library deep underground. I opened my eyes and looked up at him; he was looming above me at a bookcase, flipping through the pages of a book. He looked at me and shut the book.
“For your insubordination, you are not to leave here for at least a month,” he said.
“I don’t want to leave for a while, anyway. The whole area beyond the forest is nothing but mud,” I said, sinking into one his armchairs.
Without touching it, he lifted a thick looking book with his own powers off of the shelf in front of him. It dropped into my lap and slapped my legs.
“Ow!” I yelped.
“It occurred to me that you have gotten rusty with the animals surrounding us and how to sense them. You will read through that book from cover to cover starting tomorrow,” he said.
I groaned. “Yes, sir.”
“And after you finish the book, you’re starting another session of training to control and focus your powers. I was not impressed by your defense.”
“You mean against that snake? That wasn’t my fault; the thing was like this big and fast!”
Another thick, leather-bound book dropped into my lap with a thud.
“This is why you will be catching up on your reptiles and amphibians.”
“Yes, sir...”
“Now go to your quarters.”
I pushed the books off my legs, stood up and held them under my arm. I dragged my feet a few steps. I stopped in the doorway.
“Master?” I asked.
“What is it, Clyde?”
“What are you planning to do with that black potion, anyway?”
He looked down at me. “That potion you delivered is the key. Benjamin is going to mix it into a medicine and inject every villager with it under the guise of a vaccination shot.”
I set the books on an end table and walked closer. “What does it do to them?” I asked.
“The mixture contains a new, unique element combined with black magic. It will make every villager my slave, but they will retain all of their intelligence and personality,” he stopped to rub his chin. “It is unfortunately not perfect. They do not gain any powers or improved strength. They are to remain simple, dull human beings.”
“Why would you want a bunch of normal people for slaves?”
“That village is the only one for miles. It is the closest to us. It was a danger before, having people so close, but now it is an advantage. Instead of merely wiping it out, I’ve effectively turned every single villager into a spy. If someone enters the village and talks of finding a forest or seeking a sorcerer, they will know, and in turn, I will know. I have created one more line of defense for us, Clyde.”
I smiled. “That’s brilliant,” I said.
“Yes. Go sleep,” he said.
“Yes, master.”
I walked away from him and watched as he returned to his work; reading through a tattered book in a language I could never begin to understand. I felt proud, then. This was my teacher, my guardian. I scooped up the books he assigned me, and felt something I hadn’t felt in a while; I was happy to be home.


Epilogue

A wagon with blue sheets was hauled along the dirt road by a group of horses. The animals walked for days until they came across a small village in the middle of nowhere.
Several soldiers stepped out in their armor, with weapons on slings. Some of them lit cigarettes.
“My ass hurts from sitting so long,” one of them complained.
“We’re almost there... if the rumors are correct,” another standing beside him said.
A young villager, a boy of eleven or twelve, approached the wagon.
“Are you soldiers?” he asked the taller man.
He smiled. “We are. We’re with the military, kid,” he said.
“What are you doing all the way out here?” the boy asked.
“Chasing a rumor!” the shorter soldier yelled. “Wasting our time. I want to do something productive!”
“Don’t worry about it, boy. Run along,” the taller one said. He turned to the other soldier and glared at him.
The shorter soldier took a drag from his cigarette. “What are you staring at me for, Aaron?”
“You should be nicer to kids, you don’t want to scare them.”
“Whatever.”
An elderly man approached the two soldiers in front of the wagon. He wore a respectable looking suit and gave them a salute.
“Greetings, soldiers,” he said. “I’m the chief of this village.”
They all shook hands.
“Do you need a place to stay for the night? We pride ourselves on having the finest Motel around for miles. It’s just down that road; you’ll see a sign that says Victoria Motel... ”
“No, no thank you,” the taller soldier said. “We’re just letting the horses rest. We’re on an important mission.”
“Really?” the chief smiled warmly. “Tell me more.”
…
End.