Nasty Little Witchling

I sneezed repeatedly into the rumbling ground from the dust invading my nostrils through the face covering. A pulse confirmed that there was now a complete blockage in the tunnel and also reminded me of the people and carts catching up from behind. Their voices had gone quiet at the blast, and most had dropped to the ground, but the group on the push cart were still approaching.

Maybe they’d think I’d accidentally died in the blast?—Which had been a scarily real possibility—Or that it was unsafe to carry on after me?

The cart slowed without them not pushing but started to pick up speed again, judging by its movement on each subsequent pulse. I got up, arguing with an annoyed Bitsy to get him to stay in my pocket, and backed away. My boots brushed against the first evidence of the collapse behind me as the cart's light shone around a shallow curve.

I removed my gloves to see if that would help me better raise pillars from the floor. I’d been trying, but influencing the rock to move more than a little was still terribly difficult. The light grew more prominent, along with the squeal of metal on metal and raised voices.

In blocking their exit, I’d blocked my escape. There was nowhere to hide amongst the loose stone and rough wall. I lay flat between the metal slabs of the track, hoping I remembered what the carts looked like and wasn’t about to be squashed.

The four people on the cart, two of them mages, noticed the blockage, and someone shouted for the breaks. A horrible screeching sound passed over me before a thud as they hit the rock. I rolled over to stand and crept away.

“Behind!”

I turned to see one of the mages looking my way while the rest examined the collapse—a spell tying together over his palm. A blast of air far more concentrated than anything I could muster hit me in the side when all I could do to avoid it was take a step to the side.

It spun me into the wall and dumped me onto the tracks, the iron hitting my ribs. A stone cracked against the wall above me, and I stood up amongst more thrown by the second mage, who used a spell to launch them at the speed of a crossbow. I darted away, lowering my body with hands covering my head, moving out of the light and nudging stones away.

A mana arrow tried to form but failed when it couldn’t find a target, a woman shouting angrily at her accomplices to get the cart moving after me.

“It’s off the tracks.” “Start running.” “Get off.”

I raced around the bend and back into complete darkness, leaving the shouts behind. More people were between me and the entrance. I couldn’t tell if the knights had entered the cavern or not. The four from the cart had given up on getting it back on the tracks and decided to pursue me on foot.

Out of fear of getting stuck between the two groups, I skidded to a stop. I was trapped and had no way to sneak past either group with the limited space I had to work with. One knew I was there, while the other didn’t. That same group was also between me and the now-only exit, so I ran towards them.

At least a dozen moved quickly, shouting about watching their backs. These people weren’t here for me but were fleeing from the knights. That emboldened me as I ran into their light, eliciting shouts of surprise. The people hadn’t expected to see me and didn’t have a chance to reach for me as I wove between them.

I shoved past the next few as they reached out with free hands. The back of the pack dropped their stuff and made a concerted effort to catch me.

Calls to stop me rang out. I hit my shoulder into the jagged rack to get out of reach of an outstretched hand. Pennie and another woman crouched with their arms wide to block me. They got a blast of air to the chests, toppling them backwards. I jumped over Pennie’s body, only to be halted mid-air.

My palms smacked into the ground, a hand gripping my ankle. I twisted over, trying to get out of her hold and kicked out. I got her arm and the hand she used to shield her face, but the hold only tightened. I’d made it through half the group; people approached from behind.

I threw my arm back to hit whoever I could with air while I shuffled forward to better kick at the hand around my ankle. A mage behind me shielded themself and the few near them from my attack. A cracking sound came from Pennie’s face when my boot connected with it, and my ankle was released.

It’d taken too long, though.

“Spread out!” “Close this gap.” “Don’t let them pass.” “Move over.”

I scrambled to my feet, spinning around to see a body blocking every tiny opening on either side of me. Pennie rolled to her feet and backed up to join her friends in caging me.

The stale air didn’t feel like it was helping my body at all as my chest rose and fell with deep gulps of it. I had both hands resting on the hilt of a dagger, slowly sliding them out to brandish. They had their own weapons to unsheath, most larger than my little blades.

Pennie turned to those approaching from the pushcart as they shouted warnings about me. “We’ve got her. She’s coming with us. We can at least find out how they’re cloaking a mage.”

“No chance we’re getting out that way. The mineshaft is completely fucked. Almost brought it down on our heads just trying to shift a few rocks.”

Pennie snarled while whipping away the blood pouring from the nose I’d kicked. “You’ve trapped yourself with people who now have nothing to lose. We know death is a better option than a lifetime of prison for daring to ruin the peaceful lives of the nobility.”

She said the last part while looking over my shoulder and to her side, seeming to look for their approval, which gave me an idea.

“You were in Tamil calling people lessers a while ago. What changed, Pennie?”

Her mouth hung open, and the confused glances of her compatriots were the best opening I was going to get. I turned away from her and punched out, letting loose a headache-inducing gale.

A shield was cast, but the haze let me run towards them without their notice, the iron tracks preventing it from working at their feet. Pennie and her bunch shouted to no avail. I dove through the mage’s legs, stabbing him in the back of the calf on my way through when he tried to grab me.

I left the dagger there as I staggered to my feet and let go of another gust with my other hand. My vision blackened at the tail end of it, though I did see them have to brace for it since their mage howled in pain, a few falling to their knees while their hair and clothes blew back.

“Get her,” Pennie shouted as I broke into a sprint.

Only one person started after me and stopped when they realised no one else was with them. After almost stabbing myself with the second dagger, I put it away following multiple attempts to get the pointy end in the sheath.

Ahead were sounds of clashing steel, shouted curses, screams of pain, and vibrations in the mana from the number of spells being thrown about in the cavern beyond. I slowed and leaned against the wall as I approached the light making its way into the tunnel, worried about getting closer to the dragon’s breath still stacked at the entrance with all the nearby spells. I even stopped the constant pulses I was using.

My eyes adjusted to the light to find Oleza backing up to the goods stacked near the carts. A group of her compatriots fanned out around her, facing off against the approaching squads of knights. They stepped over bodies and people kneeling in surrender.

Oleza thrust her palm over a jar of dragon’s breath, making everything slowly come to a standstill as people understood the implications. “Isn’t it poetic? That I’d die at the hands of one of the last organisations in this infested country that doesn’t allow lessers into its ranks.”

“What do you mean by that?” Leonarda asked from behind a shield wall. “You obviously have things you want to talk about. Let’s do that before something you’ll regret.”

“There are no regrets in death,” Oleza said, unscrewing the jar’s top. “Only in life. Like dying amongst these morons. So desperate to fight pathetic battles against their superiors that they take the first hand held out to them.”

“Don’t sacrifice yourself for their agenda,” Captain Oteli said from out of view. “Tell us what you really stand for.”

I dashed out from my hiding spot as Oleza ignored her and hastened on twisting the lid. It was a short distance, but I watched in horror as the lid came off and the start of a ripple formed in her hand. The knights were shouting, backing up with shields raised. I saw a brief glimpse of Annalise, eyes widening when she saw me before the haze blocked her view.

Oleza’s former friends were running from her. The ones closer had given up and let their heads slump to their chests. Only one moved to try to stop her but wouldn’t make it.

I forced my legs to move and dove over the top of the jars to wrap my arms around Oleza, tackling her to the ground. I forced us into as many tumbles across the rocky floor as possible to move us away from the dragon’s breath. Jagged stone tore at our clothing, mine holding better. I ended up on top, pushing off her chest to straddle her waist.

The ripple had stopped, and I grabbed at her arms to pin them in place, facing away from the dragon’s breath. It took her a few slow blinks, her eyes darting about, to realise what happened and that we were not scattered across the cavern in pieces. Oleza easily broke my hold and reached for my neck, casting another ripple. My hands were full with trying to seize hers, so I thrust my head into her face.

Her arms slackened, and the mana faded. Oleza gave up trying to cast and bucked me off, rolling us around and digging her knee into my stomach. I brought my arms up to protect my face from the punches. She used one hand to grab them out of the way while the other continued to rain attacks down on my face.

The weight on me disappeared as an armoured figure crashed into her. More swarming us to drag Oleza off and chase away the remaining people from the dragon’s breath. I was lifted with ease and propped up when I threatened to topple over.

“Are you okay?” someone sounding like Annalise asked. She placed hands on either side of my face, which helped steady the feeling of my head spinning from bashing my skull into Oleza’s face and the repeated blows.

“Mhm,” I hummed as she came into focus.

“I don’t believe you. I’m going to pour hot coals into the beds of anyone even remotely involved in this foolish idea,” she said. “You were supposed to stay in the sewers. Observation only.”

“There’s more people trapped in the tunnel,” I said as a distraction. “Five mages with them.”

Annalise’s face scrunched up, and she looked over my shoulder to pass along my message.

“Trapped how? Where is the damage from the blast we heard?”

I thought it was obvious, but I explained briefly about the escaped alchemist and lack of options while trying to downplay the danger I’d been in. Her scowl deepened, and she lifted her hand to bash me across the back of the head, stopping herself and curling it into a shaking fist.

“I’m going to murder them. Let me check you for injuries. They’re never making you do anything like this ever again.

“You’re, ah, busy with things here,” I said, trying not to send her into a rage at the quills still stuck in me. “If you give me a way to teach a healer how to do the area spells, I’ll find someone on the surface.”

She grumbled but took out a notepad from her pocket and started writing a complex series of symbols, numbers, and letters that made no mathematical or grammatical sense. Annalise tore it off and brought out my necklace from a different pocket, along with a folded cloak.

“Here. The eatery Captain Oteli was in should still be cordoned off so you can change before seeing a healer. Get their name so I can chat with them afterwards.”

Captain Oteli shouting from the tunnel entrance drew her attention. “I need to go. Straight to a healer. No detors.”

She squeezed my shoulder before running off to join the squads pushing ahead. I tucked the necklace and paper into one of my many pockets and headed towards the ladder I’d come down. On my way, I passed by a knocked-out Oleza and the alchemist slung over the shoulders of members of Captain Leonarda’s squad, discussing how they would get them up.

The captain watched me walk past with narrowed eyes and placed fist over heart in salute. His squad spun around to see who their captain would do that for and copied him, cheerily commenting on my headbutt and last-second save.

My chest swelled with pride as I returned the gesture.

…

I twisted my neck, trying to get a look at my back in the steam-fogged mirror from my recent wash. There were three angry red patches around the quills that had been thoroughly beaten into my flesh, stabbing me with each movement. I’d dumped my mangled and smelly clothing to soak after multiple washes to get the water to stop running red, but it didn’t seem salvageable.

The duke could surely be persuaded to get me another set.

Bitsy had been coaxed out and scrubbed down along with me. He was off in the corner sulking despite being perfectly dry.

I’d done precisely what Annalise had asked of me: gone up, changed into the cloak, and gone to the nearest person I knew was a healer. I’d only passed by him downstairs since the inn wouldn’t appreciate me smelling like I’d gone for an adventure in the sewers.

After drying myself off, I raided the satchel and knapsack that had suspiciously found their way into my room at the inn and changed into a basic long-sleeved tunic and pants. Both cover for my newest collection of mana-made bruises. I forwent any footwear since I wouldn’t be gone long.

It had felt like endless hours down in the darkness, but up on the surface, it was barely evening. Only half the tables downstairs were filled with people merrily drinking and eating, so it was easy to slip between them to tap the boy I wanted to talk to on the shoulder.

He turned after a swig of his drink, his eyes slowly trailing up my body to meet mine. He started coughing before I could hand him my coin and ask for help. He set the drink down and pounded his chest while his coughing, or maybe choking, continued.

I leaned over him and pried open his hand to place the three silver coins on his palm. One for each quill I wanted extracted. It would have been far better for my health to go to Morris, Janette, or really any of the healers in the palace.

However, I wanted to keep sneaking around the city and sewer. For my own purposes and anything the duke wanted in the future, which meant I needed to keep the extent of my embarrassing clash with the peluda a secret from them. They could find out about the hurt finger, but the quills and close calls with the fangs were better kept a secret.

Especially from Annalise, who looked like she wanted to lock me in my room for the foreseeable future. I still wanted to be away from the palace, and my foray into the sewers might have given me a new approach to the gambling house—easier to explore if I didn’t need to escape the palace every time.

I pulled the boy out of his seat and dragged him by the wrist over to the stairs. He didn’t put up any fight at all and trailed behind me in a daze, still clutching onto his coins and drink. I opened my door and pushed him inside. He turned to me with his mouth open, floundering like a fish out of water.

“Three silver for three sets of healing?” I asked.

He slowly nodded.

“Actually, what’s your name?”

“Ah…Quinten?”

“Val,” I said, holding out a hand. Quinten belatedly tried to respond, but he realised his hands were full, which led him to search for where to put them down. His eyes widened as he took in his surroundings.

“I usually only heal from downstairs.”

“Could you make an exception for me?” I asked, handing over the note Annalise had written for me. “Please.”

“Mhm,” he said, studying the paper, his nose scrunching up. “This is…ingenious? But completely useless. Every modern spell has purposefully evolved to get rid of this overcomplicated way of defining area parameters, mana distribution, and precise direction. Using the body’s memory of how it’s supposed to look is more efficient and makes up for any lack of knowledge on the healers' part in their mental image. This will just end up taking a lot more mana and effort in the initial casting for a mediocre result.”

My eyebrows climbed at each sentence, impressed by hearing him actually talk and also the complicated jargon. I could keep up with enough of it to understand Quinten knew what he was talking about. It all could have just as easily come out of Morris’ mouth.

“N-Not that I d-don’t appreciate the spell. It’s obviously been well thought out by someone who really knows their stuff.”

“It was. Would you be able to cast it?”

“Sure? B-but I have better ones depending on what you need healing for.”

“Good.” I pulled my tunic up and moved my hair to the side to expose my back to him. “I think you’ll need to use a variation of that to get a diagnosis and also pain relief, please. Maybe we can get a pair of tongs from downstairs to pull them out?”

I looked over my shoulder to see what Quinten thought of the idea since he wasn’t saying anything. He had a hand over his eyes and rosy cheeks beneath it, making me check to confirm I was as decently dressed as I assumed.

And I was. Only my back and a sliver of my stomach were exposed.

“Quinten? Can you open your eyes? Kind of hard to explain when you can’t see.”

He split his fingers and then dropped his hand, his mouth open in shock. “That looks painful…to say the least. What are they?”

“Quills that snapped off and got stuck. So? Think you can help? I can pay extra.”

“You should be going to the clinic for something like this. They can do a better job for the same price.”

“You’ll do fine,” I said while rethinking going to Morris. Maybe getting locked away under a knight guard ordered by Janette and Annalise would be worth an experienced healer’s touch.

“I can promise she won’t ask questions about what you were doing in the sewers messing around with the peluda.” Quinten rolled his eyes at my attempted denial. “There aren’t many things that can imbed quills that deep around here. If you’re still fine with me, I’ll go get some supplies. Make yourself comfortable on the bed…I-I didn’t mean that in a…never mind.”

He escaped out the door while I wondered how many people knew about the damn peluda. Why hadn’t I been warned about it, and why was it still allowed to roam around down there? I shook my head after that last violent thought. People had probably built atop its watery homeland near the lake. But, at the same time, it ate people and had tried to eat me.

I crawled onto the bed and flopped down, wondering what I could do about the creature while waiting.

He returned holding a small vial and long, thin scissors. Quinten walked up to the bed with still-red cheeks, mumbling about me dragging him up here. “She’s going to tell my mum about this, and then I’m never going to hear the end of it.”

“Hmm?”

“Nothing…nothing.”

Quinten tried using one of his regular spells, and since I wore my necklace, he had no reason to see why he needed to use Annalise’s complicated one. I smiled up at him from the pillow, playfully kicking my feet back and forth when he grumbled at it not working after a fifth try.

He raised his eyebrows in a silent question that I ignored, then conceded and started slowly tying together the diagnostic spell with all the added bits that made it inefficient. “Woah, how are you still walking? Did you wrestle with it?”

“No,” I grumbled into the pillow. I tried to pet it.