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NOXOR STARTED FOR THE door, but Aurora grabbed his wrist. Panicked as she was, she didn’t give much thought to the gooey, sticky texture of his blue-white skin. “Wait, hang on a sec! What’s going on? Someone’s coming after you?! Can you give me a better explanation than that?!”
“Why don’t you see for yourself?”
Aurora let go of his wrist and hurried to the window, which offered a perfect vantage point of the chaos below. From there, she could see a group of about fifty men and women with torches, pitchforks, sticks and scythes. As soon as Aurora looked down, another banging noise rattled the walls of the castle. The battering ram was plowing away at the castle door.
“A mob. An angry mob,” Noxor explained, though Aurora had already gathered as much. “They object to my presence in the castle. They think I’m some kind of beast.”
“W-what are they trying to do?!”
“To kill me, of course. They intend to drive me out by force.” When Noxor spoke, his voice was as calm as ever. “If I were you, I would find someplace to hide. If they think you’re associated with me, who knows what they might do to you?”
“I can’t leave you, can I? Maybe we can reason with them? Maybe I can tell them you’re not—”
“You can’t reason with people like this. They won’t listen.” Noxor looked down at his sword, which had evidence of past battles all over it.
“So, what are you going to do? You’re going to confront them?!”
“Yes. I’m going to meet them halfway.”
“And then what? What are you going to do?!”
“Survive. That’s what I’ll do. If anyone raises a blade to me, they die.”
“Whoa... WHOA, wait!” When Noxor left the library, Aurora followed him out. She nearly lost her balance as another loud bang shook the castle. “Hang on, wait a sec! You can’t be killed, can you? So why would you want to kill anyone else?”
“I have to protect myself from other injuries I might sustain, such as dismemberment.”
“Dismemberment?! How can you act so casual about something like that?! Aren’t you worried? Can’t we go into hiding? Isn’t there a back door... or... or a secret exit of some sort?”
Her suggestion came too late. The battering ram came crashing through the front door, and the angry mob spilled into the castle foyer. Noxor stood at the top of the stairs, as if challenging them to take him on.
“Kill the heathen!”
“Break his bones!”
The attackers cheered in unison.
“W-wait!” Aurora leapt out from behind Noxor and made an attempt to reason with them. “Why are you doing this? What has he done to you?”
“Who is that girl?”
“No idea!”
“Break her bones, too!”
Aurora ducked behind Noxor’s back, and he whispered over his shoulder, “Don’t even bother. They won’t listen.”
“But why!?”
“They think I’m a monster. It’s human nature, I suppose. As I said, this sort of thing has happened to me before.” Noxor pointed his sword in the direction of the mob. “Don’t worry. I’ll protect you.”
As a few of the men started to ascend the staircase, a voice rang out from the midst of the mob.
“BREAK HIS BONES. GOUGE HIS EYES! RIP OFF HIS ARMS! AND WHEN YOU’VE RIPPED THEM OFF, USE THEM LIKE DRUMSTICKS AND BEAT HIM OVER THE HEAD WITH ‘EM!”
The mob momentarily halted their advance as they listened to the speaker’s taunts.
“THEN ROAST HIS ARMS OVER A SPIT AND MAKE HIM EAT THEM! CUT OFF HIS TOES AND PUT THEM IN HIS GOUGED SOCKETS. CUT OFF HIS LEGS AND ROLL HIS STUMP OF A BODY DOWN A STEEP HILL. HA HA!”
Some of the women in the mob started whispering amongst themselves.
“How horrible...”
“Disgusting!”
One of them fainted.
“LET DOGS PISS ON HIS CORPSE AND BUZZARDS FEAST ON HIS BRAINS!”
Aurora scanned the crowd to see where the ridiculous taunts were coming from, but she had no idea. As the shouting continued, at least half of the mob turned around and exited through the front door.
“KILL THE GIRL, TOO! CUT OUT HER TONGUE AND SEW A COW’S TONGUE IN ‘ER MOUTH! LET’S CHOP UP HER BOTTOCKS TILL IT LOOKS LIKE MINCEMEAT! KILL THEIR BABIES, AND THEIR BABIES’ BABIES, AND THEIR BABIES’ BABIES’ BABIES!”
As the crowd thinned, Aurora finally spotted the man behind the sordid threats, but she couldn’t see a face beneath the straw hat and scraggly beard. Whoever he was, he was a definite sicko.
“HEY, WHERE IS EVER’ONE GOIN?’ HAVE YOU LOST YOUR NERVE?”
The three men who started to ascend the staircase had already backed down. They looked a bit sheepish as they turned toward the man in the straw hat. “I don’t care what you say,” one of the men spoke, “nobody deserves that!”
“Why are we here, anyway?” another mob member inquired.
“I dunno. Monkey see, monkey do, I guess...”
The last of the mob exited, and only the man in the straw hat remained. It was a strange turn of events, to be sure. Aurora wondered how long it would take him to realize he lost all his allies.
Then Noxor started to descend the stairs, sword-first.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, wait!” the man in the straw hat held up both of his hands, motioning for Noxor to stop his advance. “I’m not your enemy! At least... I don’t think I’m your enemy!”
“That’s not what it sounded like to me!” Noxor raised his sword and prepared to strike.
“WAIT!” The man threw off his straw hat, tore off his beard, and revealed himself. Aurora, who was still standing at the top of the stairs, had to grab onto the banister to keep from fainting.
“Lyric!” she gasped.
Lyric bypassed Noxor and ran up the stairs to greet her. She met him halfway, threw her arms around his neck, and hugged him as tightly as she could. He spun her around in a circle, and placed her soundly on the step below him.
As soon as her shock subsided, Aurora seemed to regain some sense. Their reunion was a bit too much like a reunion of parted lovers, and her cheeks glowed red. “Lyric!” The next time she uttered his name, she didn’t sound happy. “Why in the world were you shouting such horrible things?! Did you really want them to make mincemeat out of my buttocks?!”
“No, noooo. Of course not!” Lyric turned toward Noxor, who was reluctantly sheathing his sword. “I was using reverse psychology. I had to make them realize how ridiculous they were acting by acting even more ridiculous than they were!”
“How did you know that would work?”
“Uh, I didn’t.” Lyric chuckled nervously, and Aurora shot him a heated glance. “Don’t look at me like that! If it didn’t work out, I had a plan B...”
“Which was?”
“Run up the stairs, grab you, and run like hell,” Lyric answered dryly. “Anyway, I’m glad it didn’t come to that. Now what’s the deal with Creepy over there?” He made a gesture toward Noxor, who would have looked confused if they could have seen his face.
“Uhh...”
“Is he friend or foe? My guess would’ve been foe, but he looked like he was protecting you, so—”
“Friend... I think,” Aurora answered uncertainly. “But let’s not worry about that at the moment. I have so many questions for you. Where have you been? What happened after I left? Where’s Meg? How did you-?”
Lyric laid a finger over her lips. “One question at a time, please. You’re getting me all confused.” Lyric shot another glance in the direction of Noxor. “And he’s creeping me out, to be honest. Is he just going to stand there and watch us?”
“Well, I can’t exactly run him out of the room. This is his castle.”
“Umm... okay.” Lyric sat down on the steps, and Aurora joined him. “So, what was the first thing you wanted to know?”
“What happened after I left? You were on the balcony with Medea and Charmaine, and—”
“Medea fired some red sparks in my direction... I guess it was magic. The spell missed, but I fell to the ground and played dead. That seemed to work.”
“And Meg? What happened to Meg?”
“Ah. The little old woman, right?” Lyric looked down at his fidgeting hands and sighed.
His sad silence made Aurora anxious. “What? What? What happened to Meg? She isn’t dead, is she?”
“No... no, I don’t think so, but I can’t say for sure. I had my eyes closed at the time. I think she was taken prisoner.” Lyric shook his head, as if ashamed of himself. “I’m sorry I couldn’t do more.”
“No! Don’t apologize!” Aurora exclaimed. “You have nothing to be sorry about. I left, remember? I fled... and I’m so ashamed of myself for doing that.”
“Don’t be ashamed. There was nothing you could have done.” Lyric took Aurora’s hand gave it a little squeeze. “By the way, I’m sorry to hear about your friend Molly. You must be terribly sad.”
“I am.”
“I‘m sorry,” Lyric repeated, after which he was quiet for several seconds. He wasn’t skilled at uttering words of consolation. “Anyway, after Medea left with Meg, there was still Charmaine to deal with.”
“Oh! Charmaine!” Aurora had all but forgotten about him.
“He thought I was dead, so he was going to fetch someone to clear my corpse. Well... as soon as he got up, I got up too. I grabbed Meg’s wand, pointed it at his face, and pretended like I knew how to use it.”
She didn’t feel the least bit sympathetic for Prince Charmaine.
“And I told him to strip.”
“What?!”
“I was wearing a dress, remember? I didn’t want to arrive at my next destination looking like a woman!”
“Oh...”
“I feel sorry for Cydney, though. When she woke up and saw him in his knickers, she fainted again. Poor girl. I nearly fainted at the sight myself! Such scrawny, hairy, chicken legs. I hope you don’t have to marry the fellow!”
“In light of everything that’s happened, something tells me I’m exempt from the whole betrothal thing,” Aurora suggested with a sigh.
“Oh, right. That makes sense. Anyway...” Lyric started rubbing his chin, which was now covered in stubble. “After I took his clothes, I went to find you.”
“Right. Which raises another question...”
“It does?”
“How in the world did you find me?”
“Oh... mmm-hmm... yeah... you would wonder that...” He kept rubbing his chin and shaking his head, as if he was nervous. “Well, it’s a little embarrassing to admit.”
“It is?”
“Well...” Lyric took a deep breath and crossed his arms. “Remember the magic urn? I sort of, uh... I used it to find you.”
“You what?!”
“I used it to find you,” Lyric repeated, even though she heard him clearly the first time.
“You used your wish to find me?”
He nodded.
“I thought you were going to use your wish to get back home?”
“Yeah, well... I was. But I wasn’t thinking clearly, and I was a little bit worried about you, so—”
“Awww, Lyric!” Aurora clapped her hands to her cheeks. “How sweet of you! I’m touched!”
Lyric leapt up so fast, he nearly toppled down the stairs. After he regained his balance, he stammered, “W-well... let’s not... let’s not make a big fuss over it. It’s really not that big of a deal, is it? So what?”
“It’s really sweet, though. I didn’t think you cared about me that much!”
Lyric raked a hand across his lips, muffling a nervous cough. “Well... y’know... like I said, I wasn’t thinking clearly at the time. I was rattled. If I had thought it through for a moment, I’m sure I would have done the logical thing.”
Aurora frowned. “Coming to find me wasn’t logical?”
“Okay! Change of subject!” Lyric declared. He offered Aurora a hand and helped her to her feet. “While I was in the process of pinpointing your location, I also did some reconnaissance.”
“Reconnaissance?”
“Not familiar with the word?”
“No, I’m familiar with it. I’m just not sure what you mean.” Aurora rolled her eyes. He was the same Lyric as ever. She wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or vexed.
“I asked around, and I found out some information about your town, Avalon.”
“You did?!”
He nodded. “Apparently, it’s about a hundred miles east of here, so I thought... if we traveled at least ten miles a day—maybe more—we could get there in about a week!”
“Oh...” Aurora sighed.
“What? You’re unhappy?”
“A hundred miles doesn’t sound like a LOT to you?”
“Yes. Of course it does. But Charmaine’s shoes are quite comfy!” Lyric said, pointing and flexing his toes as he spoke.
“Well, at least we have something to go on. Are you going to come with me?”
“No, actually. I used the lamp to find you because I thought it would be a clever waste of a wish.” Lyric rolled his eyes. “Of course I’m going with you! Why else do you think I’m here?”
“Okay! But you don’t have to be a smart ass!”
“I’m always a smart ass.” He winked at her. “And you love it.”
“No, I don’t!” Aurora grunted at Lyric and descended the staircase. She went over to Noxor, who was standing in the middle of the foyer, still puzzled by Lyric’s presence.
“That is... a friend of yours?” Noxor inquired.
“I guess you could say that.”
“A... boyfriend?”
Aurora sighed. “Why does everyone always think he’s my boyfriend? He’s not.”
Lyric bounded down the stairs and joined Aurora at the bottom. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and said, “No, she just wishes I was her boyfriend. She’s in constant denial of her lust for me because it’s so very unfamiliar to her.”
Aurora rammed her elbow against Lyric’s midsection. So much for a happy reunion!
“So...” When Lyric spoke again, he sounded slightly more serious. “So explain to me why we’re conversing so casually with one of your aunt’s, uh, minions.”
“Who, Noxor? He doesn’t work for my aunt.”
“Ohhh...” Lyric grimaced as he stared into the dark fissure of Noxor’s hood. “Um... okay.”
“In fact, I owe him a lot. He’s helped me a lot.” She didn’t think it would be polite to mention that his breakfast sausage made her stomach gurgle. “Thanks for everything, Noxor. I really appreciate it.”
“Are you... leaving?”
“I think so. At least now I have a destination.”
Noxor caught Lyric staring at the exposed part of his hand, so he tucked his arm behind his back. “May I come with you?”
“Oh!” Aurora exclaimed, taken aback by his request. “Of course! You really want to come?”
“I do.”
“Then the more the merrier!”
“Uhhh...” Lyric held up a finger. “Am I going to have a chance to protest?“
“Why would you protest?”
“When someone usually says the more the merrier, the company in question is usually a little, uh... merrier.”
“Don’t be prejudiced, Lyric!” Aurora admonished him. “You don’t know Noxor! Besides, you haven’t exactly been spewing tons of merriment, and I don’t mind traveling with you!”
“Very well,” Lyric capsized with a sigh. “But if that thing kills you when you’re trying to sleep, don’t say I didn’t warn you!”