Beyond the Roselands

Chapter 6

   A day passed and I soon arrived over top of the small scattered town of Harplek. As I flew over, many people soon spotted me and began pointing. I didn't understand. Was there no magic here? Was a half man half bird something strange to see?

   I swooped lower and I heard a woman scream. I looked around frantically and saw men lifting bows and arrows. I panicked and flared my wings, holding my hands out peacefully. It obviously wasn't a good enough gesture for them.

   Several arrows were fired at me and I had to take drastic measures to avoid them. My heart raced in my chest and I swirled upwards, trying to get out of range. I wasn't fast enough. A sharp pain hit me in my lower back and I grabbed my back, feeling a hard arrow shaft protruding from my back. Hot blood dripped over my fingers and I felt my wing beats falter from the pain. I kept pumping regardless.

   More arrows were fired, but all fell short. Once they stopped firing, I tried again. I swooped down fast and landed on the street. "Please! I'm not gonna hurt anyone! I need help!"

   A burly man holding a bow approached me cautiously. "State your business, creature."

   I was taken aback by the hostility of these people. "Please. I just need to know where someone lived. My fiance used to live in this town and I need to know where her home was."

   The man paused. "Really? What was her name?"

   "Sprite? Red hair. Very pretty."

   The man looked at me closer and chuckled. "So it was you who bought her at last. Her mother was known for selling that whore to men."

   I snarled. "Just tell me where she lived before!"

   He chuckled. "Why would you wanna know?"

   "It's a long difficult story. Just give me a direction. A landmark. Something!"

   He laughed once again and pulled the bow tighter. "She was nice whore. Probably got sold to every man in this village at least twice. Too bad she got bought for good. Woulda taken me another time or two."

   My outrage and horror overwhelmed me and I leapt forward, grabbing his neck. "SHUT UP! SHUT UP!! I'LL KILL YOU FOR THAT YOU FAT PIG!!"

   His screams were lost as my rage unleashed on him. Out of a fit of insane strength and mindlessness, I drove my fingers into his throat and tore as much flesh as I could with my bare hands. Screams rang out across the town and in my anger, I picked up his bow and strung it as blood streamed down my arms. "I'll ask one more time! Where did Sprite live before she was sold?!"

   Women ran and men trembled a  I scanned the crowds with the bow. No one answered me. "I SAID WHERE!"

   A woman from the edge of the crowd burst into tears. "She lived in the last brick house down that road. Now please don't hurt anyone else!"

   I took a deep breath and nodded, keeping the bow and quiver of arrows with me. I flew over the road she ha  indicated until I came across the last brick house the woman had told me about. Studying it close it didn't look like it had housed anyone at any time. It was crumbling away and most of the windows looked blackened. From it simmered a strange feeling that black magic was inside. Then a memory came back to me.

   Sprite's father killed his human wife when he got angry. Which means he had lied when we'd first met. He had said he didn't have black magic, but it's obvious that he does. I stepped forward and suddenly felt the arrow protruding from my back. I gently reached around and pulled it out quickly. Luckily it came out in one piece.

   I sighed and walked closer to the house, feeling the magic increase. I kicked the door open and it fell completely off its hinges. I stepped inside and everything seemed to be rippling with waves of magic. Potted plants scattered around the house had grown to exponential heights and lengths and vines trailed the floor. I looked around at the modest walls and decorations and then decided to venture upstairs. Nothing seemed to change. Modest decorations and boring walls and floors. Then I noticed a pale pink door at the end of the hallway. I walked over to it and it slowly creaked open under a gentle push.

   Inside was a large overstuffed bed pushed close to the wall. Not much graced the walls in here. The only thing that suggested it was Sprite's room was the unusually pink color of the walls and the small wall mirror to the side.

   I glanced around and went over to the bed. As I sat on it and contemplated what to do me,t, something drew my eye. I glanced down at the foot of the bed and my blood ran cold with fury and a memory flashed in my mind. One of Sprite's ankles had always had a scar from when she lived here. She's said her mother chained her to her bed and sold her body to men. I'd just found the chain.