Magic & Iron

“You lied,” Joshua said flatly.

Molly was past playing innocent. “Not a lie. It’s completely true that the Carnival is in the next town…I just forgot to mention where it is.”

He snorted. “Slipped your mind, did it? Well, the next time you decide to drag me out of bed at three o’ clock in the morning to walk to the middle of nowhere, at least tell me first.”

“What difference would it make?”

“I could have said no and gone back to bed. Or I could have at least brought a horse.” He stretched his tired muscles. “That reminds me: if you knew all along how far it was, why didn’t you bring your mom’s horse and buggy?”

She was silent.

He groaned. “Molly, please tell me you told your mother you were going and she doesn’t think I kidnapped you or something?”

Silence.

“Come on! When are you going to grow up and stop doing stupid, thoughtless things?”

“I am being grown up,” she pouted.

“By grown up, do you mean sneaking away in the early morning to walk fifty miles to a town no one’s heard of? Or perhaps you mean the part where you drag me along to take the blame? Seriously! Your mom already wants me dead — are you trying to give her a reason to kill me?”

“Okay, so maybe it isn’t one of my best ideas,” Molly admitted. “But I heard that this Carnival is amazing! Music and dancing and oh! the food!”

Joshua clutched his stomach as it growled fiercely. “You’d better be right. How long until we get there?”

There seemed to be nothing in the sparse, hilly land but the occasional shrub and the outline of the mountains hundreds of miles out.

“It shouldn’t be too much further.” She unfolded a piece of creased parchment, not for the first time. “It says it’s just around that hill there.”

Joshua looked over her shoulder at the parchment: scribbled words and a crude depiction of the surrounding countryside were sketched across it. “Who made this?”

She noticed him leaning over her and swatted him away. “The man who told me about the Carnival.”

“Man? What man?”

“He came into the shop two days ago.”

Joshua frowned. “A man came into the seamstress shop? Why not the tailor’s?”

“Who knows? Maybe he has a lady friend he wanted to buy something for?”

“Maybe. What did he buy?”

Now Molly frowned. “Well, the thing is, he didn’t. He came in and asked me about the mask on the wall, then told me about the Carnival and just…left.”

“Mask? You mean the one you made when you were a kid?” A misshapen thing made of scraps of paper and fabric and stuck together with flour and water, the mask was something of an eyesore in the seamstress shop. Joshua figured Molly’s mother left it there because it made everything else look so much better in comparison. “So, on the word of a strange guy you decide to walk fifty miles into the Wild Hills to get to a carnival you know almost nothing about? Isn’t that a little…”

“Naïve?” Molly smiled weakly. “Maybe. But that’s why I wanted you to come. The truth is…I’m a little frightened to go.”

“Frightened? Then why go at all? Why not just turn around and go home?”

“Well, it’s hard to explain.” She knit her brow thoughtfully. “It’s like there’s something pulling me in. Something scary but…familiar.”

Her words were enough to make Joshua uneasy. “Look, I think we should go back now.” He didn’t like the glazed-over look in her eyes. When he touched her arm, she blinked and looked up.

“What? Oh…” She shook her head. “Sorry, I was just being silly again. I’m sure it will be fine.”

He doubted it, but there was no stopping her once she got an idea. “Okay, we’ll go — but if I see any trouble, we’re going straight home, got it?”

“Mm-hm,” she agreed absently. Her eyes lit up suddenly and she pointed. “Ah! There it is!”

Before he had the chance to look where she was pointing, Molly took Joshua’s hand and jerked him away, starting down the hill.

* * *

The town was buzzing with anticipation. Banners of bright cloth and strings of flowers hung from the townhouses on either side of the street, some hanging over the street. The townspeople talked excitedly and laughed with each other, chattering about the coming festival.

Joshua looked around in surprise. He had never known there was a town out here, let alone such a well-established-looking one. The Wild Hills were thought to be uninhabitable due to the freak storms and wild animals.

His stomach grumbled angrily. “So. Where’s the food?”

“The Carnival is about to start, but first — ” She grabbed his arm, pulling him toward a shop, “ — let’s find something to wear.”

“What’s wrong with what we’re wearing?” Joshua asked, bewildered but reluctantly letting her pull him into the shop. It was filled with bright, gaudy clothes and accessories.

Joshua shuddered. “What hell have I stepped into?”

“During the Carnival, you have to wear something strange and mysterious and flashy,” Molly explained, searching the clothing eagerly.

“The young lady is quite right,” said the shopkeeper, a tiny woman with enormous spectacles. She sat behind the counter knitting a single chain. “It is tradition and superstition to do so.”

“Superstition?”

“Yes. There is an old story — ” the shopkeeper frowned thoughtfully. “When did I first hear it? Two-hundred years ago? No, three-hundred…”

Joshua doubted the old woman’s sanity, but, as Molly was muttering to herself and cooing over the clothes, he figured he was no worse off either way. “What sort of story?” he asked.

“Years and years ago, folk around here believed that there were strange creatures hiding in the hills,” she said, clicking and clacking away at her knitting. “The way the story goes, every year on this day, the Summer Solstice, they would venture into town in flashy clothes and masks and would dance and sing for the townspeople. Soon the folk joined them, dressing up and dancing.” She sniffed loudly. “Now it’s just a myth, and no one knows how the Carnival came about. I don’t go often but…not a bad idea, though…think I’ll join in too…” She trailed off into muttering.

Joshua shook his head. She was definitely off her rocker.

He turned. “Molly, are you almost — ” She wasn’t there. “Molly?”

“I’m in here,” came a disembodied voice from behind a curtain in the corner. “I’ll be out in a minute. You should find something to wear, too.”

He looked over the racks of shiny clothing and cringed. “No thanks. I don’t fancy people being able to see their reflections in my clothes.”

The curtain slid back. Clothed in a sleeveless dress of light blue feathers was a gorgeous young woman.

Joshua gaped. Was this really the girl who had just stepped in?

“What do you think?” she asked, beaming.

He reached out and pinched her face. It felt like Molly.

“Ouch!” Without missing a beat, she grabbed his hand and twisted it viciously. “What are you doing, idiot?”

“Nothing — nothing!” It was definitely Molly. “Ow! Stop it!”

She let go. “Well?”

“Well what?” Joshua massaged his wrist.

“How do I look?” Molly looked at him expectantly.

He turned away quickly, unsure what to do.

“You look…fine. Let’s just go, okay?”

He could have slapped himself when he heard the disappointment in her voice as she replied quietly, “Okay.”

She went up to the old shopkeeper who woke from her stupor as Molly pulled out money. “Can I leave these here?” she asked, holding up the clothing she had changed out of.

“Sure. Just leave it over there. The costume is due back no later than five o’ clock tomorrow.”

“I can pay for it,” Joshua offered helpfully.

“No thanks.” Molly wouldn’t meet his gaze. “I am quite capable.”

They turned to leave the shop.

“Wait!” called the shopkeeper. They waited while she rummaged through her things. “I know I have a few left somewhere around — ah! Here they are!” She pulled out two white porcelain masks. One was simple with gold around the edges and the eyes, while the other had gold eyelashes painted over the eyes, gold lips, and a plume of long blue feathers. The shopkeeper handed them to Joshua and Molly respectively.

“Thank you, but —”

“A gift from me,” said the old shopkeeper. “You can’t go to the Carnival without a mask.”

Molly smiled and put hers on. “Thank you very much. We will be sure to return them before we leave.”

“Good, good. Now, off you go.”

Molly was out the door before Joshua even turned around. Sighing, he moved to follow her.

A hand grabbed his arm, stopping him. The old shopkeeper stared up at him with insane eyes.

“Ma’am?”

“The eyes,” she whispered, almost too quietly to hear. “Look your enemy in the eyes.”

He pried her knobby hand from his arm and talked to her soothingly. “Sure. I’ll do that. Now just — that’s it. Have a good day, ma’am.” He slipped out the door.

Outside, the sun had set, and the street was almost empty, save for a few gaudily-dressed people who seemed to all be going in the same direction.

Molly stood leaning against the shop, frowning at the cobblestones.

Joshua opened his mouth to apologize, but wasn’t quite sure what he was apologizing for, or if he really needed to.

“Let’s…go,” he said instead.

Following the stragglers, they soon reached the town square, a large stone yard surrounded by buildings. Filled with what looked like the whole town, brightly clothed and masked, the square was lit by a large bon-fire in its center. A group of musicians played a cheery tune on a make-shift stage while the people chattered with each other. Mouth-watering smells wafted from the booths that lined the square, selling all manner of food from fanciful sweets and rich pastries to simple things like baked potatoes.

“Do you…want something to eat?” Joshua asked carefully.

“No thanks,” was the simple reply. “Go and get some for yourself — you’re hungry, right?”

The almost sneering tone in her voice made his temper flare. “What is your problem?” he demanded.

Molly crossed her arms. “I have no problem.”

“Then why are you being so grouchy?”

“Why do you think?”

“I don’t know!” People nearby stared at them. He cooled down quickly and guided her away from prying eyes and ears. “Look, Molly, we’ve been friends for over twelve years, since we were six. If something is bothering you, you can tell me. I’ve always listened before, haven’t I?”

Molly looked at him sadly. “This isn’t like when I ripped Mom’s dress or when Michael Puller pushed me in the mud — I can’t tell you my problem and have you solve it by hiding anything or putting slugs in anyone’s sandwich.”

“Then tell me what it is and I’ll solve it somehow anyway.”

Tears welled in her eyes. “You don’t get it, do you? You are so stupid, Joshua, that you haven’t noticed for three years.”

“Noticed what? What are you talking about?” His voice was drowned out by the musicians playing a louder, faster tune. He scratched his head, unsure what to do. “Look, do you want to dance or something?”

She raised her eyebrows in surprise but let him lead her into dance. It was one of the steps she had asked him to help her learn a few years ago. Their movements were stiff and awkward at first, their fight still fresh in their memories; but soon Molly was smiling and Joshua had forgotten they had fought at all.

Then the music changed to a slow tune. He pulled her into his arms, recalling the steps from years ago and their laughter when she would step on his feet and he would lecture her sternly. But it was different this time. Neither said a word, nor looked at each other, but he was more aware of her than he had ever been. He could feel her heart beat in rhythm with his. The smell of her hair as she leaned her head against his shoulder was sweeter than he remembered, like the water lilies by their secret lake. He became light-headed as they spun around and around to the music he could no longer hear. There was nothing but him and her. She raised her head to face him with a look he knew but had not yet begun to understand. But…he wanted to understand…He leaned in.

Something in the air changed. Joshua straightened and felt Molly stiffen in his arms. Around them, everyone was looking around in a daze.

There were people dancing around the fire. Dressed in flowing clothes of stunning colors and wearing ornate masks, the dancers’ movements were fast and fluid, unearthly, twirling and flipping in the air. They seemed the give off a warm haze that made him drowsy, made him want to…dance. To dance and forget his troubles. What had he been thinking about again? He had been fighting with someone, right? What was it about? It was important, right?

All of a sudden, the haze wasn’t comforting; it was stifling. Joshua gasped for air, but there was no fresh air around him, only a claustrophobic smoke. Everyone around him was laughing and dancing and at ease. So why couldn’t he breath?

Panicked, Joshua pulled off his mask, hoping he could breath better without it.

A sudden cold came over him. He could see his breath come in a cloud, though it was the middle of summer. Something gripped his leg, but before he could do anything, it jerked violently and his feet went out from under him. He scrabbled to grab hold of anything as he was dragged along the ground. Thorny vines shot around him, pinning his arms to his sides. All he could do was struggle against them.

Finally, he stopped. The vines slithered like thorny snakes until they only bound his wrists and ankles. Breathing heavily, Joshua struggled into a sitting position.

He was in what must have been a warehouse. It was empty except for a few barrels, crates…and a dancer. It crouched in front of him, head cocked. The shadowy eyeholes of its mask stared unnervingly at him, but it was too dim to see the person behind it.

“Who are you?” Joshua demanded, finding his voice. “Why did you bring me here?”

The dancer let out a hissing sound in way of a response.

“It you’re trying to kidnap me, you should look for someone else. My parents are broke.”

The dancer just stared for a long moment. Then it turned its head further than natural to look into the shadows behind it. Somewhere in the dark beyond the torchlight, a door creaked open, then closed.

“I consider myself to be a fair person,” said a male voice. “So I will give you a chance to tell me everything before you die.”

Joshua’s heart was beating wildly against his ribs, but he forced himself to keep a level head. “I cannot talk to someone I cannot see.”

A chuckle. “Fair enough.”

A figure glided silently out of the shadows. He looked similar to the other dancer, but this one was different. He wore a long, dark robe and a simple white mask.

The new arrival crouched uncomfortably close, close enough for Joshua to see his eyes: completely black.

Look your enemy in the eyes.

“Now,” said the dancer. “Where are you savages hiding out?”

Joshua frowned. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

The first dancer made a series of clicking sounds. The second, still watching Joshua, shook his head.

“No, they must be close by if they sent such a puny spy. Isn’t that so?”

“Really!” Joshua objected. “I really don’t know what you’re talking about!”

“If you don’t know, what are you doing here?”

“I was just bringing my friend to the Carnival…” Molly! She was still out there — what if there were other weirdos like these?

The robed dancer cocked his head eerily. “Friend? A girl?”

Joshua swallowed.

With a clicking command from the dark dancer, the first dancer flew out of sight. “I was sure she would come,” the remaining dancer said, straightening. “But I must say, I did not expect her to bring a member of the Iron Death with her.”

Joshua was at his wit’s end. “What’s going on? Who are you people?”

“Have you heard the stories of this town, Iron brat?” the dancer asked casually, as though he were speaking of a mildly interesting book he had read. “The story of the creatures of the hills who would once a year gather here to dance with the townspeople?”

He looked expectantly at Joshua, awaiting a response.

“Uh…yeah,” was all he could say in reply.

“Well…” The dancer reached up and pulled off his mask. “The stories are true.”

Joshua’s breath caught in his throat.

Shaped like a slender human, the creature’s skin was an unnatural pearly-white. Above its completely black eyes, it had no eyebrows, and instead of hair its head was covered in glistening blue-black feathers.

“You act surprised, brat,” said the creature. “As if you have not seen my kind many times before, lying dead at your feet. It will be a pleasure to kill you, just as soon as you tell me where the girl is.”

Something clicked in his head. “You were the man in Molly’s family seamstress shop, weren’t you? You told her to come.”

“Yes. I wish I could have completed my objective then and there, but there were too many witnesses. Now, I suggest you tell me where she is before I cut out your tongue.”

Joshua thought hard. There was no way he was going to tell this monster anything, but he also wasn’t going to get out of his thorny bindings.

“Well?”

Why had they attacked him but not Molly? And why all of a sudden? The dancer had come after him when…when he took off his mask!

He got an idea. All he needed was —

“Enough of this!”

Suddenly, the creature’s double-digit fingered hand shot out at him. But the moment it got around his throat, the creature shrieked and pulled away. Its hand was smoking.

Carefully, it reached to pull back Joshua’s collar, and backed away with a hiss.

Without losing a second, Joshua raised his bound legs and kicked hard at the creature’s legs. It flew back, landing on its feet. But Joshua had already pulled his mask on. The vine bindings disintegrated as the creature looked around angrily, its feathery hair ruffling. It gave a shrieking roar and shot toward the door.

Joshua didn’t have time to breath in relief, but ran out as well. Hurrying out into the dark street, he stopped, nearly choked with panic.

He didn’t recognize this street.

The sounds of the Carnival were faint and far way, too far to find its direction. So he started running; eventually he would get there. He just hoped he got there in time. If he was right about how the masks worked, as long as Molly wore her mask, they couldn’t see her.

Molly. Had she even noticed he was gone?

As he turned a corner, Joshua noticed a small figure in the middle of the street. Running closer, he recognized who it was. The old shopkeeper.

He skidded to a stop, struggling for breath.

“Masks!” he gasped breathlessly. “Magic?”

The little old woman looked up at him calmly. “Yes, magic of a sort. Though not the magic your kind use.”

“Why…does everyone keep…telling me about my…kind?” he wheezed. “I’m a human! I…have no magic.”

“I will explain, but we should go back to the Carnival to get the girl before they do.”

“I don’t know the way — ”

“Follow the will-o’-the-wisps.” She gestured to the street behind her that, once dark, was now lit by tiny hovering blue lights. “Carry me and I will tell you anything you want to know on the way there.”

Without protesting, Joshua crouched and let the little old shopkeeper get on his back. She was extraordinarily light, like her bones were hollow. He took to a run, following the line of lights.

“So,” Joshua gasped as he ran. “What are those things that are after Molly and me?”

“They are members of the Fae, called the Avali. They used to dwell in the Black Forest, in the East, but were driven out. They found this place of hills and have indeed been coming into town for hundreds of years, using the Carnival to enchant the townspeople to keep themselves secret.”

“The one I met said he needed Molly to complete his objective. What did he mean? Why would those monsters want her?”

The old woman was silent.

Joshua felt sick. “If you know, tell me! You promised!”

“You won’t like what I have to say,” she warned him.

“I would rather know and receive the consequences than remain safe and ignorant.”

The old shopkeeper sighed. “When you two walked into my shop, I recognized you both for what you were. You are a descendent of what Avali call the Iron Death, a group that use iron weapons to slaughter the Fae.”

“And…Molly?”

“The girl is…an Avali.”

Joshua almost tripped. “What? No! That can’t be right. Molly is just a girl.”

“I’m afraid not. I have lived here all my life, and I know their ways. The girl’s mother was an Avali, but ran away to be with a human, thus committing treason against her people. They must have found out that she had a child, though I can’t think how — the protection spell on the girl is strong. I thought there might be trouble, so I gave you those masks. They not only make you invisible but erase your presence completely so they cannot sense you.”

Mask. He remembered what Molly had told him on the way here. How the man who had told her about the Carnival had asked about the mask she made.

“The mask. Molly made a mask out of paper and cloth when she was a kid.”

“That must be it. A Fae’s magic is extraordinarily powerful as a child. Milo must have recognized it when he was searching for the girl’s mother.”

“Milo?”

“The Avali chief’s younger brother. The girl’s mother was promised to him before she ran away with the human. He has long been away from the Avali territory, searching for her. Stumbling upon her daughter instead, he must see her as his revenge.”

Dread washed over Joshua. “And what will he do with her?”

“He will have her pay the price her mother should have paid. The price of treason.”

“What is the price of treason?”

Silence.

He ran faster.

* * *

Joshua let the old shopkeeper down carefully at the edge of town square. “I’m going in.”

“Don’t forget to do everything I said to do,” she warned. “Everything.”

He nodded and plunged into the crowd. Searching among the people, he let no detail go unnoticed. He did not dare call out Molly’s name for fear he would be heard by someone besides Molly. His voice wouldn’t carry very far anyway, not with the loud music drowning out almost everything.

Molly was nowhere to be seen in the place he had been abducted from, which meant she must not have been affected by the Avali’s magic…which meant that she was probably walking around looking for him. As long as she left her mask on, the masked Avali that danced through the crowd wouldn’t see her, but that still left him with no idea where to look for her.

Where did Molly go when she was upset? When Michael Puller pushed her in the mud, Joshua found her hiding in a hollow tree; when her father died, she hid in his wardrobe for three days….

He knew where to look.

Shoving through the unresponsive crowd, he scanned the buildings until…Sure enough, curled into a ball, squeezed between two close buildings, sat Molly.

As relief flooded through him, Joshua forgot his instructions and called out to her.

She looked up, her mask askew. “Joshua! Oh! Joshua!” Scrambling to her feet, she ran toward him. Only twenty feet away, she pulled off her mask.

His blood ran cold. “NO!” he screamed.

Molly stopped dead in her tracks, but it was too late. Every masked dancer stopped moving and turned to look at her, like wolves catching the scent of their pray.

Before Joshua could even take a step toward her, vines shot out of nowhere and seized her. She screamed and collapsed to her knees, writhing in pain. As he watched, frozen in horror, her skin lost all color, becoming a pearly white. Her brown hair shivered into light blue feathers.

A robed figure strode toward her, hand extended. Milo. He grabbed a fistful of her feathery hair, wrenching her to her feet by it. She shrieked in an inhuman way.

Joshua couldn’t stand it any longer. He ripped off his mask and tossed it aside. “Hey! Over here!”

Milo’s head swiveled in that unnerving way. He snarled. “Kill the Iron brat! The traitor spawn is mine.”

Thorny vines gripped Joshua. The Avali, now unmasked, that held one end of the vines, pulled it hard, wrenching him to the ground.

“Josh!” he heard Molly yell as he struggled against the vines. Suddenly they were hot, searing through his clothes and burning his skin. He screamed, struggling madly but only burning more. Blinding pain shot all over his body.

Just as he was about to black out, the burning vines vanished, and Joshua scrambled unsteadily to his feet. A little red bird, a Scarlet Tanager, flapped madly at the Avali, gouging at its eyes.

Joshua took advantage of the situation and shoved through the crowd until he caught sight of Molly. She was sobbing between screams, struggling desperately against Milo, his clawed fingers digging into her neck.

All around Joshua, time seem to slow almost to a still. The townspeople danced untiringly, oblivious to the feathery dancers that weaved through their ranks and inhaling the green smoke that gushed from their wide sleeves. They stood twenty feet away, close enough to feel the pent-up rage radiating from Milo, close enough to see the life drain from Molly’s body, but not close enough to do anything about it, and too far to get there in time.

Acting upon some instinct he couldn’t explain, Joshua reached for his neck. He felt the smooth iron pendant his father had given him, traced a finger along the strange symbol on its face. He yanked it from his neck, snapping the leather cord, and threw it hard. It twirled in the air, glittering in the firelight, innocent and pure. Then it turned vicious.

The moment it met with Milo’s shoulder, he yelled and staggered against the brick wall, clutching his burning appendage.

Joshua caught Molly’s limp body just before it hit the ground.

Milo recovered quickly, gripping his shoulder. “You!” he spat. “I have had enough of you getting in my way. No more — ” He raised his bloody hand. Electricity played from his double-digit fingers.

Joshua moved to shield Molly.

Lightening struck the sky, electrifying the air. Milo stood over them with a stunned look. A glowing white rope was wound around his wrist. It was made of…yarn.

Holding the other end of the rope stood a young, delicate-looking Avali woman with bright red feathers. She had one hand on the rope and one raised at Milo, who had collected himself and stood leering in disgusted delight.

“Quinn,” he exclaimed. “Have you come back to die with the traitor spawn and the brat?”

She smiled a little insanely, and Joshua recognized her. It was the little old shopkeeper.

“Thank you for the offer, brother,” she said. “But I happen to be busy at the moment.” She turned to glance at Joshua.

He nodded.

Taking Molly into his arms, he carried her through the crowd, forcing himself not to stop or turn around, not even when Milo yelled,

“Get them!”

He could feel the tingle of magic as the spell took hold, and knew it had worked when he saw the Avali all around him searching the crowd madly while he walked right by.

Just as the shopkeeper had said, a horse stood waiting just outside the square. He hoisted Molly up into the saddle before swinging up behind her, and kicked the horse into a gallop. The glowing will-o’-the-wisps led him through the dark streets.

The town was out of sight before he finally slowed down, and even then, only enough to keep the horse healthy; they would need it to take them a long way.

Laying against his chest, Molly stirred, her feathery hair tickling his cheek.

“What’s going on?” she mumbled drowsily. “Where are we going?”

Joshua gripped the reins tightly, steadying himself to follow through with all the instructions.

“The Black Forest.”



Word Count: 4870