Inkway to Albreton

Chapter Nine

But Prince Albert had no time to dwell on those memories. A snip of magic sizzled out of the door and went sparkling down the hall behind them. It was followed by a horse's scream. Grabbing hold of the handles, the prince tugged as hard as he could on the door, but it would not budge. Another bang resounded. Giant hoof beats clattered. Mythos shoved the prince, taking the second handle. Together, they heaved with all their might. A flash of blinding light and ink spilled out from the other side of the doorway. Sliding in the muck, the prince and Mythos nodded to each other and gave one final heave.

The door spread open.

Fragmaroginog hopped to the threshold as a pool of ink slid across the floor, remolding into the great winged horse with a slurping sound in the corner farthest from the door. The prince, having never before seen Enkaiein, staggered one step back, but Mythos trudged through the receding ink to embrace the tip of Enkaiein's folded wing. She had not seen the toad bound past her and out the door, but Prince Albert had.

"Not so fast!" Regaining his composure in the blink of an eye, he circled in front of Fragmaroginog and drew his sword. "What have you done with Jasmine? Tell me, Vermin!" He demanded; the sharp tip of his sword squished against Fragmaroginog's back, ready to pierce down at the mere flick of Prince Albert's wrist.

Enkaiein and Mythos observed from their corner, Enkaiein's wing folded over Mythos protectively while she braced her hand against his slippery, liquid chest and mouthed something that was directed at Fragmaroginog. There was wrath in her eyes.

At this, Fragmaroginog laughed. Croaking in his words, he said, "You are a fool, prince, to think a sword is capable of striking down a wizard."

The prince brought down his blade, "Enough filth from your wretched mouth!" His sword sliced through empty air. The toad had vanished, leaving naught but the remnants of a guttural chuckle in its wake. Scribbled in black ink where Fragmaroginog had been were the words to Prince Albert's nape.

The prince could have sworn he heard Salina's scream as the world went black.

Mythos rushed to Prince Albert as he fell, arriving too late to catch him. Landing with a crumpling thud, he lie there unconscious, blood staining his yellow-blonde hair and the back of his scalp as Mythos crouched over him. Tears formed in her eyes.

Fragmaroginog was hopping away, nonchalant as ever.

Just before the toad reached the door, Enkaiein swooped down, intent on trampling him, but Enkaiein's form failed him. As Fragmaroginog's slimy, amphibian skin emanated a brown light, Enkaiein liquefied and splattered onto the floor, not one splash of ink touching the toad. And Enkaiein may have been quick to reform into the great winged horse, but that didn't change the fact that he could never reach Fragmaroginog due to the spell.

While Enkaiein subjected Fragmaroginog to his unrelenting hoof-stomps, useless as they may have been, Mythos took up Prince Albert's sword. It scraped along the floor as she lifted it. She gripped the hilt tight then ran into the fray, swinging wildly, stabbing at anything that resembled a toad in the dim light.

Fragmaroginog croaked and laughed, dodging every swing Mythos pitched in his direction. Eventually though, Fragmaroginog was herded against the wall. His skin sizzled at the touch of the blue vines on the wall, which crawled all the way up to the high ceiling of the room. Face still streaked with tears, Mythos pointed the blade at Fragmaroginog's tiny, disgusting body.

Then she took a breath and plunged it into him, relishing in the squelching sound that he made as he was punctured. Admiring the toad corpse still stuck to the end of Prince Albert's sword, Mythos raised her chin and clenched her teeth behind her lips, scrutinizing the blood and organs dripping down the blade.