Chapter Nine

An Unexpected Ending

 

 

I was on my back, staring up at the sky.

That seemed to be the normal result every time we traveled by magic. I got up and saw Dormuris petting the unicorn, though she seemed to be distracted by something.

“What’s happening?” I asked.

“She’s disoriented,” the elf answered.

“I thought Master Zalore said unicorns weren’t affected by magic.”

“Most magic,” Master Zalore’s voice answered. I turned to see the old wizard approaching us. “And that is true. It isn’t the transport spell that’s affecting her, it’s my spell.”

He smiled and patted the unicorn’s muscled neck. “She’s more beautiful than I could have imagined. Good work. Let’s take her to the stables for now.”

Dormuris guided the animal there and I walked beside the old man. “Now that we have the egg and unicorn, you can turn Pemeria back into a human?” I asked.

“Absolutely,” he answered.

“When? Now?”

“As soon as we get to my office,” he replied.

Dormuris handed the unicorn off to the stable boys and then we went inside and followed Master Zalore to his office. Dormuris pulled Pemeria out of his robes and handed her to me. She looked up at me, the anger less than before, but I could tell she wasn’t over the whole ordeal.

“Where should I put her?” I asked.

“On the floor, unless you think you can hold her entire body in your hand when she changes.”

That imagery made me smile and I set her gently on the floor, then stepped back next to Dormuris.

Master Zalore pulled a book off his desk, flipped through a couple of pages, then stopped and ran his finger over the text. Nodding to himself, he looked at Pemeria and spoke something unintelligible.

There was a flash of light and some smoke, and then Pemeria was standing there, human again. I rushed forward and embraced her, crushing her tightly against me. She returned the hug, but there was less enthusiasm on her end. I pulled back and looked at her.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“What’s wrong?” she repeated. “What’s wrong, you ask? Well, Jack, I’ve been a frog for the last few days. And on top of that, I’ve been carried around like some sort of burden. I’m sorry, but I can’t do this anymore. I thought I wanted to marry you, but this little adventure has shown me that you aren’t ready for that.”

Pemeria wiped a tear from her eye and shook her head. “I’m sorry, Jack, but I’m leaving.”

And just like that, she left the room and disappeared into the hall. I stood there, more than slightly confused, but also not really surprised. Pemeria over reacted all the time. I just needed to give her some space and, in a few days, she’d be right as the rain. I looked at Master Zalore, who looked like he felt a bit awkward seeing Pemeria’s outburst.

“Don’t worry about her,” I said. “She’ll calm down.” I hope.

“How did you do the spell without the egg or the unicorn?” I asked.

“Oh, right! I didn’t need them as components to the spell,” he answered.

“Do what now?”

“Yeah, I just wanted to be rich and have a unicorn. I mean, who wouldn’t want to ride around on a unicorn, right?”

I looked at Dormuris, who shrugged.

“We risked our lives for those things,” I said, still expecting the old wizard to say he was joking.

“I know, and I really appreciate that. I’ll be the talk of the Academy for years to come, all thanks to you two! Oh! This came for you.” He handed me a folded parchment.

I took it. Doubly confused now, I left Master Zalore’s office. Dormuris followed behind me and we left the Academy behind, stopping at a tavern. I needed a drink.

“Did we really just do all of that … for nothing?” I asked.

“Sounds like it,” the elf answered.

We sat at a table and drank in silence. I still couldn’t believe that old bastard tricked us, but what could we do? Did we even need to do anything? I shook my head and unfolded the parchment. It was a letter from Lord Skrinn, short and simple.

Jack,

Please make haste. The vampire has taken more of our children.

Lord Skrinn

“What is it?” Dormuris asked, watching me.

I downed the rest of my drink. If the last few days had taught me anything, it was that things never went according to plan. That didn’t mean I didn’t need a plan, of course. I did. Especially considering the type of creature we would have to face. Trolls, goblins, minotaurs. Those were child’s play in comparison. I stood up and cracked my neck.

“Let’s go hunt down a vampire,” I answered.

 

 

THE END OF BOOK ONE

 

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