Chapter 24

  Meredith Awake

  “Grab her broom,” a muffled voice said. “It’s in her bag!”

  Meredith’s eyelids faintly slid open, consciousness a distant memory. Darkness and flickering orange light lay beyond her blurred vision. Amongst her scant garbled thoughts, she had the notion that she was floating.

  “I’ll take care of it,” another voice said.

  Something dark whooshed past Meredith, followed by shuffling footsteps. Darkness enveloped her; she was then slightly stirred to consciousness again. Was she lying down? A strange sinking sensation enveloped her.

  “Set him by her!” a distant voice warbled.

  “Drink this,” someone told Meredith as a vial was brought to her lips. Warmness spread throughout her body.

  Her eyes lolled open, revealing a soft blue light wafting over her. She could barely hear the faint mumble of incantations before she slipped into unconsciousness once more.

  Meredith awoke with a jolt, her heart pounding. Pain flared across her face, and her stomach was racked with hunger. She sat up, blinking, trying to make sense of her surroundings. Moonlight streamed through the lone window, casting faint shadows across the cluttered room.

  She was home, lying in her bed. But how? Had it all been a dream? Another magically induced hallucination? She wouldn’t have put it past Wallace. Her achy body told her otherwise.

  A warm ball of fur pressed against her leg. She stroked her hand across Cici’s back.

  “You’re awake,” Cici mumbled, arching his back in a stretch.

  “I am,” Meredith winced. The burn on her face stung as she spoke. She could feel the slightly healed skin crack open and ooze. “And you’re not big anymore,” she noted.

  “Unfortunately,” he grumbled, his tone tinged with sadness. “I liked being big.”

  With a shaky hand, Meredith reached for her wand, safely within its holster. A flick of her wrist ignited her bedside candle, casting a warm glow over her messy room. She glanced down at herself—her hands and arms were split, bruised, and shockingly thin, and her black robe was dirty and torn.

  “Are you okay?” Meredith asked, her voice rough.

  “Better than you,” Cici replied, his eyes flicking over her as he unfurled his body and sat on his haunches. “Meredith, you look like a skeleton! Honestly, it was bad—real bad. You look better now, though, after the old coots patched you up.” He paused, his tail flicking uneasily. “But your face….”

  Meredith’s mind struggled to make sense of her situation.

  “What happened? How long was I out? Where’s my broom?”

  “Not long,” Cici answered. “Grandma teleported us all home, and the grandpas—”

  “Ew, don’t call them that.”

  “—started healing everybody,” Cici continued.

  Meredith summoned a hand mirror from her desk drawer. She gasped at her reflection. “By the gods, I look like a mummy!” She brushed her fingers against the fresh, pink, stinging burn across her melted skin.

  “You haven’t been out long. The potion might still be taking effect. Like I said, you look better than you did before.”

  Meredith hoped so. She surmised that the lunar flame spell had drained her vitality and consumed her calories. What were calories again? Her memory was hazy. It felt hard to think. Meredith was too malnourished.

  “I saw one of the grandpas—”

  “Stop it.”

  “—doing some magic on your broom.”

  “Let’s go check in with the others.” Meredith took a breath, steadying herself, then gingerly hefted her legs over the bed. She grimaced. Her entire body ached, especially her hip.

  “Are you sure?” Cici leaped to the floor, alarm in his eyes.

  “I’m fine. Just stiff and bruised.”

  Meredith limped, and Cici padded through the candle-lit hallway as shadows flickered from the sitting room. Her knees and ankles cracked as the pair strode forward. She could hear the crackling fire, haggard breathing, shuffling footsteps, and clinking of utensils as they entered the house proper.

  Victor sat in the sitting room before the fireplace with Thomas and Mama Cat on each arm of his padded chair. Grandma’s cult busied themselves in the kitchen. Meredith’s eyes found Victor’s.

  “Meredith!” He exclaimed. The aged tiefling made to get up, winced, then sat back down, clutching his bandaged chest.

  “Don’t move just yet!” The bald, goateed wizard tutted over Victor. “The potion is still working. You must rest!”

  “What happened?” Meredith stepped in.

  Everyone stopped and stared at the young witch.

  “You’re up earlier than expected, Meredith,” Thomas croaked. “Please join us. I’ll explain everything while you’re looked over and have eaten something.”

  “Come,” the goateed wizard beckoned her by the fireplace. Despite how strange it felt to be ordered about her own home, Meredith acquiesced. She hadn’t realized how cold she was until she neared the fire. Meredith sat, and he wafted his wand about her, muttering incantations.

  “Where’s Grandma?” Meredith closed her eyes as the wand emitted a blue light. Warmth spread over her.

  “She’s traipsing through hell,” Thomas answered. “You haven’t been out long. Ethel was in the process of dismantling Wallace when she gathered us up and teleported us back home. She should be home any moment, but Ethel is just as obstinate as Wallace; she likes playing with her food as much as he does.”

  The wizard’s wand glowed green, and Meredith’s skin tingled.

  “I didn’t know you could shoot beams out of your third eye,” she quipped.

  “I have a few tricks at my disposal,” Thomas replied.

  The goateed man stopped his magic and dropped his arm.

  “I think you need another healing potion.” He procured a thin vial of red liquid and handed it to Meredith. “You really should try and keep some on you at all times,” he added.

  “Thanks.” Meredith shakily took it, swallowed the healing potion in a single swig, and handed it back. It warmed her throat and stomach.

  “It’ll take care of the minor injuries, but—” his eyes flicked to her scar, “—hellfire burns tend to be a bit more…permanent.”

  Meredith pursed her lips. She hoped for the best but prepared for the worst. All she could do was wait and see.

  The wizard retreated into the kitchen as Meredith leaned back into the soft, cushioned chair. She felt light and warm from the inside out. She let the tension roll off her body as the heat from the fireplace caressed her skin. The potation began its work, stitching her scant wounds together and relieving the bumps and bruises across her body, but the pain never left her face.

  A slight waft of air tickled the skin beneath her robe. Meredith glanced down. Wallace’s claws had torn holes into the sides. Her tattered robe was stiff where her blood had dried. Slivers of glass and marble were embedded within the curls of her hair and robe.

  Meredith ignored the mess and relaxed. She was safe. Despite her griminess and the constant ache across her face and hip, Meredith was flooded with relief. Cici and Mama Cat leaped into the seat with her. She stroked their backs as she settled in and made herself cozy. Meredith couldn’t get over how bony and veiny her hands were.

  Meredith shifted to face the newly aged Victor, the tiefling who followed her into hell for no apparent reason. Why? Why would he do that for her? She opened her mouth to speak.

  “One more thing!” the goateed wizard stepped before Meredith with the other two in tow, their blue robes ripped and singed. Some of their exposed skin was mottled and melted.

  “Introductions are in order! I’m Regice, one of Ethel’s boyfriends,” he said.

  “Bruce,” nodded the wizard with the wispy white hair and beard. “Ethel’s favorite boyfriend.”

  “I’m Kevin, Ethel’s actual favorite,” said the man with the crown of white hair.

  “Hello,” Meredith muttered, confused and too tired to greet the strange visitors properly.

  “Ethel instructed us to fix your broom,” Regice started. “But it was broken in two and singed by hellfire.”

  Meredith’s eyebrows furrowed.

  “We couldn’t repair it, so we tried the next best thing,” Bruce stated, then nodded to Kevin.

  The balding wizard procured a green bundle of cloth and held it before him. The hooded cloak slinked out of his arms and hovered before Meredith, empty of its occupant.

  “What did you do?” Meredith asked incredulously. She grimaced as she sat up.

  “We coaxed your broom’s magical spirit into your cloak.” Bruce beamed proudly. “Sometimes, magical items such as your broom can evolve and develop some semblance or variation of consciousness. Now, its spirit resides in your cloak.”

  “It was almost too far gone,” Regice stated. “This was the only way.”

  “It was a stroke of genius, really,” Bruce replied.

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  “We couldn’t find any other brooms in the house to shift the spirit into, so we used the cloak hanging by the door,” Kevin admitted. “I hope you don’t mind!”

  Meredith stiffly rose to her feet and tentatively reached for her cloak. It rushed forward, flinging onto her body, enveloping her with its familiar presence. Meredith’s knees buckled, but the cloak held her up before gently setting her back in her chair.

  “Thank you.” Meredith hugged it tight against her body, tears in her eyes. She smiled at the men. “Thank you so much!”

  “Not a problem, young lady!” Regice replied. “Ethel demanded it!”

  “Thank you all for helping me save my Grandma. How did all of you even get roped into this?” Meredith asked. She was especially curious about Victor.

  “Eat first, Meredith,” Thomas croaked. “Look at this poor woman; she’s starved! Get her something to eat!”

  The trio of wizards shuffled into the kitchen.

  “Thomas summoned for me,” Mama Cat meowed. “I brought some of Ethel’s boyfriends.”

  “Thank you for coming,” Meredith replied, then turned to Victor. She started, but Thomas interrupted.

  “Oh, Meredith,” the toad sighed. “I’m incredibly sorry you had to go through this. It’s my fault; my existence puts others in peril. But you did so well against Wallace! I’m proud of you. You are an incredibly powerful witch indeed. Though I'm undeserving of it, you’ve sacrificed so much for your family and me. I don’t know how I could ever make it up to you, but I will try!”

  Meredith thought for a moment, her mind still muddled. He was right. He didn’t deserve her help. But she gave it to him anyway. She pondered what that meant for both of them. She wanted to say it was okay, but it wasn’t. Meredith could sense she was a fundamentally different person.

  “I knew the risks,” Meredith finally answered.

  “Indeed,” Thomas stated. “I am forever in your debt.”

  The young witch merely smiled. What more could she say? Thomas nodded and vanished in a swirl of purple haze.

  Silence fell across the house, save for the clattering of dishware, the crackling fire, and the chittering night creatures. Meredith turned her attention to the injured, aged tiefling. Victor was no longer the scrawny boy she once knew. He was artificially and magically matured, just as she was.

  “Thank you for helping, Victor,” Meredith said.

  “No problem,” he replied.

  Meredith’s brow furrowed.

  “It’s somewhat a problem,” she said incredulously. “Victor, you took that aging potion, too; the effects are permanent! You can never get back your lost youth! You magically aged into adulthood, followed me into hell, and now you’re sitting here with an exposed sternum!”

  Victor nodded, his lips and brows upturned in agreement.

  “That’s true.”

  “Thank you, but why!” Meredith demanded more than she asked. “Why would you do that? Why would you do that to yourself?”

  “Thomas explained the situation and said you needed help.” Victor shrugged. “So I helped. But I did have another reason. Drinking the potion allowed me to age out of my contract.”

  “What? Meredith asked, befuddled.

  “Okay, here goes…” Victor took a steadying breath. “I’ve never been able to say this before…”

  The injured tiefling cleared his throat and looked into Meredith’s eyes, his face straight and serious.

  “I have been Doctor Archibald’s slave since I was a child.”

  “What?” She asked, taken aback.

  “I’m no longer subject to the secrecy spell! It feels so strange to finally be able to tell someone. I physically couldn’t for so long!” Victor exclaimed, almost relieved. He took a breath and continued.

  “My sister, Natalie, and I were born in the hells, as many tieflings are. When we were little, our parents were killed, and we were captured and sold into slavery. The devil who took us sold us to the Doctor, but devils like to add aging clauses to the contracts. The slave becomes free after reaching adulthood. It causes a need for continuous supply. Most slaves don’t reach adulthood, at least with the Doctor.”

  Meredith listened intently, incredulous. Victor took another steadying breath.

  “He was terrible, Meredith. He’s done unspeakable things to me, to all his slaves. And he likes it! We had to watch so many terrible...”

  Victor’s eyes glazed over as he spoke. He sat in silence for a moment. The crackle of fire interrupted his introspection.

  “I needed to take the potion,” he continued. “I’m free now. FREE! I can do anything I want! Anything!”

  Victor raised his arms in excitement, then winced in pain and clutched at his chest.

  “One of them was helping you. I would’ve helped regardless, but I would’ve been even less help without the potion.”

  “Don’t say that!” Meredith exclaimed. “You helped plenty. Just showing up was enough.”

  “Eh.” Victor waved the notion away nonchalantly. “Thomas wouldn’t have let me abandon you anyway.”

  “That’s true,” Thomas replied from the kitchen. “But it’s also true that you never questioned me. You agreed to venture into hell at my request.”

  “Eh.” Victor shrugged again. “That’s what friends are for. Now, if you’ll excuse me…”

  The injured tiefling slowly, wincingly, rose from his chair.

  “I need to figure out how I’m going to save my sister. Archibald will know I’m free, and he knows I’ll be looking for Natalie. If he’s smart, he’ll have gone to ground. He has many hideouts and hidden laboratories where he carries out his vile experiments. I’ve only been to a few. It will take a while to find Natalie, but I need to start now.”

  “Thank you, Victor,” Meredith said wholeheartedly as she stood up and wrapped her arms around him.

  Victor returned her embrace. Their blood-caked clothes bristled against each other.

  “That’s a lot to take in,” Meredith said as she rested her head on his shoulder. “But you helped me rescue Grandma; I’ll help you rescue your sister.”

  “Are you sure?” Victor asked as he pulled away, gazing at the wounded witch.

  “No matter what, Victor,” Meredith stated firmly, her hands on her recovering hips. She’d help, despite how dangerous or grueling she imagined Victor’s vengeance might be. He went to hell for her. “You risked your life for my family. I’ll do the same for yours.”

  Victor nodded.

  “I’ll call for you when I need you.”

  “Okay.” Meredith pursed her lips.

  She didn’t want Victor to go, but she knew he needed to. The familiar longing ached in her chest as he edged around the seat and started for the door leading to the shop. Meredith wistfully stared at his broader, more muscular back.

  “One more thing, Victor,” Thomas croaked from atop the kitchen island. “Hold out your hand.”

  Victor turned and did so. Thomas’ third eye blinked, and a large leather sack appeared in the tiefling’s palm.

  “Your reward,” Thomas stated. “One hundred gold coins. If you won’t let us call you a hero, at least let us call you a mercenary. That should help fund your endeavor. Keep the warhammer as well. A mercenary needs a weapon.”

  Victor raised the weapon in a salute, then, with a final glance toward Meredith, turned and walked away. Meredith watched the only person who could truly relate to her slip out the door. It wasn’t every day you grow into an adult and almost die in hell.

  She sighed and returned to her seat, wedging herself between the two cats. A plate of chicken, cheese, rolls, and a mug of water appeared before her, which she quickly set upon.

  “My compliments to the chef.” Meredith magicked the dishes back to the kitchen when she was done.

  With food in her belly, the cats warming her sides, and the crackling fire heating her legs, Meredith wrapped her cloak around her and snuggled into the chair. Sleepiness settled upon her as she waited for Grandma to return.

  A slammed door roused Meredith. Bruce and Kevin stirred from their awkward slumber on the floor before the fireplace. Thomas and Regice turned from the armchair. Meredith groggily perched herself up between the two stretching cats and glanced toward the kitchen, stiff as a board.

  “I’m home!” Grandma announced happily. Once again, she was covered head to toe in blood and bits of gore. “And I’ve got souvenirs!”

  She set a chunk of Wallace’s horn and his stone prosthetic eye on the kitchen counter.

  “Who knows what latent power I could siphon out of these! And I’ve got a friend who specializes in voodoo; I’m going to have her make a doll of Wallace.”

  “Grandma!” Meredith rubbed sleep from her eyes and stood up. She strode toward Grandma and hugged her, despite how gross they both were. “This feels familiar.”

  “It does, doesn’t it? But you know how I am; I keep all my blood safely under my skin!”

  “So you’re okay? What happened?”

  “I’m absolutely fine, darling!” Grandma beamed. “I haven’t had that much fun in years. I gave that devil a good thrashing, but the coward eventually ran off! He won’t be bothering us for a while. Now, let me see that face of yours.”

  Grandma lifted Meredith’s chin and examined her face as the elder wizards filed into the kitchen.

  “My poor dear,” Grandma murmured solemnly. “That must’ve hurt quite a bit. Hopefully, it heals properly. You’ve had a healing potion?”

  “Yes,” Meredith replied, escaping Grandma’s clutches.

  “And look how thin you are!” The elder witch snatched Meredith’s wrists and examined them.

  Meredith rolled her eyes.

  “I’m fine, Grandma; I just pushed really hard with the lunar flame spell.”

  “I should say.” Grandma raised her eyebrows. “I watched you slowly wither away. But you did it. You saved me. Thank you so much!”

  Grandma squeezed Meredith, then turned to face everyone.

  “Thank you all for rescuing me. I am deeply indebted to you all. Where is that tiefling? Was that Victor? He seemed so much older than I remember. I can’t have my customers go off and rescue me without a proper thanks, nor a proper reward!”

  “He’s been sufficiently rewarded,” Thomas croaked from the sofa chair.

  “Good.” Grandma nodded and turned to her cult. “Boys!”

  Grandma’s cult of boyfriends stood at attention.

  “Thank you for your hard work today, boys,” Grandma addressed them, smiling. “Return to the compound, have yourselves looked over, take it easy, and you’ll have your reward soon enough.”

  “Yes, ma’am!” The three wizards declared. Grandma held out her hand, and each man bowed, kissed it, then teleported in a flash of faint blue light.

  “That was the weirdest thing I’ve seen all night,” Meredith muttered.

  “Matilda,” Grandma turned to Mama Cat, seated by the fireplace. “Be a dear, return to the compound, and make sure everything is running smoothly. You’ll have your reward soon as well. As will you, Cici.”

  Mama Cat meowed, gave Cici a gentle lick, then vanished in a faint black haze. When the house was emptier, Grandma turned to Meredith, sadness etched across her face.

  “Oh, my poor dear!” She frowned. “I’m so glad you’re safe. But look at you! Marred and robbed of your adolescence. Yes, I saw the potion on the table; I know an aging potion when I see one. You look so much older now! I’m so sorry you had to sacrifice so much for me!”

  “I just did what I had to do,” Meredith sighed as she slid her arms back around Grandma.

  Meredith didn’t want to talk about her sacrifices. She needed time to process things. Tears welled up in her eyes, but she blinked them away. Grandma held Meredith in her arms, the pair slowly rocking.

  Later that evening, after the witches washed up, the household gathered in the sitting room, silently digesting the day’s events before the crackling fireplace.

  Meredith stared into it, lost in thought. The horrifying images of hell flashed within her mind: Wallace’s enraged face, the hellfire, and the incomprehensible horrors beyond the devil’s home. None of them could be concentrated on before another terrible image emerged. Making sense of it was like grasping the wind. She wondered if painting would help, as Phillip had suggested. After such an ordeal, she desperately craved normalcy. And plenty of sleep, but she wasn’t ready to leave Grandma’s presence yet. She wanted to be around her a little longer.

  “Ahem,” George interrupted their reverie from beside Thomas’ enclosure. Meredith was too tired to be startled. “Must I remain uninformed? I want to know what happened! Is anyone going to fill me in, or is that part of my punishment too?”

  “Shut up,” Meredith commanded tersely.

  “Oh, I’m sorry,” George sassed. “Is being disembodied not good enough for you? Do you want to give me a little bite on the neck, too, and we’ll be even? I want to know what hell is like! I’m bound for it eventually; I’d like to know what to expect.”

  “Oh, Georgie,” Grandma chortled. “You’re a hoot.”

  Meredith almost pitied the vampire. Living as a head on a spike waiting to spend the rest of eternity in hell seemed—she thought for a moment—appropriate punishment for the vampire who attacked her twice.

  Grandma explained the house call visit that led to her capture. She had visited a dilapidated house on the edge of town where dozens of Wallace’s soul-bound servants ambushed her.

  “I stepped into this completely empty house, and suddenly, all sorts of beings teleported in, wreathed in hellfire! Grandma recounted. “Gnomes, dwarves, elves, imps—there was even a liger! All armed to the teeth. There were even a few creatures I’d never seen before, and I’ve seen a lot!

  “I slew most of them before Wallace appeared and summoned those infernal chains. They snaked around me faster than I could think. The next moment, I slipped through a portal and was strung up in the devil’s lair. I’ll give Wallace credit; he can conduct a proper kidnapping.”

  Meredith described her side of events, helping the villagers and exhausting herself before the ransom letter arrived. The conversation eventually lulled. Neither needed to recount what happened in hell.

  “So…” Meredith started, fishing for an explanation. “Your boyfriends.”

  “Yes?”

  Meredith was at a loss; she wasn’t even sure what she wanted to ask or what she wanted an answer to.

  “I suppose I should send them something for helping us and forging my new cloak.

  “That would be nice.”

  “I thought you had more, though.”

  “Oh, I do,” Grandma answered. “Fifteen to be exact. Those three, Kevin, Regice, and Bruce, are my most powerful boyfriends. All three of them together can almost hold their own against me.” Grandma smiled and turned to Thomas. “Thank you for summoning them.”

  Thomas croaked.

  “Those three are my best,” Grandma continued. “The others would’ve gotten themselves killed. Kevin does my eyebrows, Regice gives me pedicures, and Bruce gives me manicures. They’ve earned their positions and do quite a bang-up job!”

  Meredith was befuddled. That gave her more questions than answers, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to know much more.

  The small gathering continued to chat and recount the day’s events, with Cici chiming in when he wasn’t too busy napping when Meredith’s stomach growled loudly.

  “Oh my! I’m famished, too! You must be especially so! We’re going to have to fatten you up again!”

  “Grandma!”

  The elder witch whipped her wand over her shoulder and set the kitchen into a frenzy. Soon after, plates full of fish, ham, mushrooms, buttered rolls, shucked corn, and green beans served themselves to the small group. They quickly finished their meals, talked until the sun began to rise, washed up, and went to bed. Cici curled next to Meredith, and the pair quickly fell asleep.