Blood and Iron

The First Meeting

The spirit inside looked to be a bubblegum colored hybrid of a ghost and a demon. Once they were freed, they screamed "FREEDOM AT LAST!"

Then it saw Madelina and Sommerset. The spirit was frustrated that they were still stuck with the amulet. Angry that they didn't get out until now, worried that they would never be free.

Madelina was six feet tall and the creature was half a foot tall. Madelina couldn't take it as a genuine threat, at least not yet. Still, she was startled.

Madelina tried to keep a calm composure as she said, "Who are you, and what are you doing in my amulet?"

No answer from him.

"Do you speak English?"

Still no answer.

Madelina asked the first question again in Russian. It was the only other language she knew, as she had forgotten all her French from last year.

The spirit had a blank look, like a D+ student in the middle of a calculus lecture. Inky knew four languages well and could swear in twenty-five others. But Russian was not one of them. He couldn't even say a single insult in the language. How pitiful!

Madelina started to suspect Inky was both deaf and nonverbal, she whispered it to Sommerset. The ghostie-goo, with his large ears like a chihuahua's heard it clearly.

"What'd you fucking call me, bitch?" They had a working-class Maryland accent. Very strange.

"I told my familiar that I think you're a deaf-mute."

"Listen up, ash girl (Madelina was wearing a lot of black). I have two big ears, two big eyes, and a long tongue (he stuck out his tongue) and six sharp claws, d'ya really wanna insult me?

"I wouldn't have 'insulted' you if you answered my questions."

"And I wouldn't have gotten myself into this mess if I committed suicide if I got the chance! What's your point?"

Look out Ben Shapiro, I think we've got a champion debater on our hands!

Madelina started again.

"Why didn't you answer my questions?"

"WHY THE HELL SHOULD I TELL YOU ANYTHING?!"

The ghostly hellbeast burst in her personal space. Madelina started to notice that Inky smelled a lot like blood. Madelina snapped her fingers, and Sommerset clamped down on Inky's wing.

The creature squealed, squirmed, and bit at Sommerset, who only bit down harder. Madelina soon took pity on Inky, ordered Sommerset to release Inky, and took them to the bathroom to patch up the barguest bite.

The creature liked being in water. They actually looked content, happy even, for once. Madelina looked at the instructions in the first aid kit for treating dog bites.

"What're lookin' at that for? I'm fine."

Madelina was unconvinced. "You were bitten by a barguest and you're all bloody. How is that fine?"

"Oh, I've had worse. Far worse," It said this with an air of nonchalance.

"Does this explain why neither your arms nor your wings are connected to your body?"

"Shut the fuck up!"

Madelina had to cast a spell to prevent the varmint from moving, but Inky broke through it before Madelina was two-thirds of the way done with the bandage.

The phantasm didn't like having the bandage in his wing because it was big and bulky, and scratched at it often.

"What's your name, spirit?"

"You may call me Inky. You got any fish?"

Madelina thought for a moment. "Well, there's pickled herring."

"Yeah, fine, I'll have some."

Before giving the jar of pickled herring to Inky, Madelina put some drops of sleeping potion in it.

"Interesting flavors, I think I might've had this before."

"Where and when?"

Inky searched his vast collection of memories. "I knew a man called Alex and he used to give me treats like this all the time. I kinda miss him."

Madelina knew lots of guy Alexes and wondered if they both knew any of them.

Inky yawned, giving Madelina a good look at all of his sharp teeth.

Inky started to suspect that Madelina spiked his herring, but at this point, he couldn't muster up enough energy to give a damn. Inky started to doze off in midair. So Madelina put both the amulet and Inky on a soft pillow. Inky slept like a rock.

Later, Madelina told her parents about her discovery in the attic. They weren't angry, simply curious.

Her mother was a tall, elegant blonde woman, quiet and serious, but quite sociable.

Her father was brunet and had a scar on his left cheek that came from a knife fight when he was 16. He was a very large man with a 5 'o'clock shadow.

Her dad said, "Oh I forgot, there was a guest room in the attic. Ana, didn't your half-brother hang out there?" Ana was Madelina's mother.

"Yeah, and so did his crazy friends."

"Was one of them named Alex?"

Her mother said, "Probably, but Alexander is a very common name. And why would someone leave such a valuable item to gather dust?"

Madelina's dad said, "Maybe he saw something more valuable. That's my best guess. But I'm not Alex, so I don't know."

That night, Madelina thought about who Alex could've been. She also wondered what in the world Inky was. Outside, there was a gentle pit-pat of rain.