Chapter 8

  Meredith And The Real Training

  Several inconsequential yet busy days later, Meredith finally found the time to leave the shop and travel to the town’s single leatherworker, per Thomas’ instruction. The dreary sky mimicked her dark blue-gray outfit. Cici followed behind her as the pair walked the cobblestone pathways until they arrived at a small wooden shop near the center of town.

  Meredith pushed the door open and entered to see leather covering every inch of the walls. Stacks of leather strips hung off tables, and stacked rolls and flat pieces lay in the corners. Different colored boots, belts, purses, pouches, strings, hats, pants, and every other conceivable item made of leather sat upon racks, shelves, and tables. It was everywhere.

  A bald head popped over the leather-covered counter.

  “Hello there!” The leather-aproned man stood up. “How may I help you?”

  “Hi!” Meredith stepped towards the counter. Cici hopped on top of it. “I need a holster made for this.” Meredith pulled her wand from her robe pocket and set it on the counter.

  “Oh! You must be the new witch! Ethel’s granddaughter, right?”

  “Yes, sir!” Meredith exclaimed proudly, puffing out her chest, and offered a handshake.

  “I’m Dave,” he replied, shaking her hand before focusing on her wand. “Well, now, let’s see…” The leatherworker examined the wand, procured some tools from behind the counter, and measured it. “Yeah, I could make a holster. You need a belt, too?” He handed the wand back to Meredith after scribbling down some numbers on a piece of worn leather.

  “I suppose so. How much will it cost?”

  “Maybe we could strike a deal?”

  “What kind of deal?” Meredith eyed him suspiciously as her thoughts returned to the devil, Wallace. She banished the idea and refused to see the devil’s machinations around every corner, although Thomas’ revelations had made her worrisome and expectant.

  “My eldest son went into the swamp upriver a few days ago and returned with half a leg full of boils. If you can fix him, I’ll give you the holster and belt.”

  Boil healing was child’s play. Meredith held out her hand.

  “Deal!”

  “Deal!” the leatherworker shook her hand and gave her directions to his family’s home. “I’ll have it done in a few hours.”

  “If she cures the boils before you finish the holster—” Cici flopped and rolled on the leather-covered counter, stretching, “Then I get a roll of leather.”

  “What do you need a sheet of leather for?” Meredith laughed at her cat’s brazenness.

  “Scratching.” Cici’s claws edged out of his outstretched paws.

  “Alright,” the leather man chuckled. “But if I’m done first, you’ve got to get rid of my mouse problem.”

  “It’s a bet,” Cici purred.

  Meredith hurried home to retrieve her Grandma’s spell book on common maladies and how to cure them. Cici stayed behind to nap on the windowsill. He felt his presence wasn’t necessary to win the bet. Meredith hopped on her broom and quickly flew to the leather worker’s house. She sent her broom away, then knocked on the door.

  Patricia opened the door.

  ‘Oh no,’ Meredith thought.

  “Meredith!” Patricia exclaimed, her smile reaching up to her eyes. “What a surprise! I didn’t know you were stopping by!”

  “Dave sent me over to deal with the boil problem.”

  “Of course, of course!” Patricia ushered Meredith inside. “Come in. I’ll show you to my son’s room. He’s your age, handsome and single!” She led Meredith deeper into the house. Small, curious children poked their heads out from behind doors and corners and followed the young witch and their mother as they passed.

  “Poor boy hasn’t been able to walk for days. We waited to see if they’d go away on their own, but…” They stopped before a narrow door, and Patricia knocked. “Paul! The witch, Meredith, is here to heal your boils!”

  “Come in!” A muffled voice called from the other side.

  Meredith entered. A young man in a cotton blouse and leather trousers lay on a small bed. His right leg was propped up over a bucket. The trousers were rolled up to his right knee. His foreleg was covered in puffy, pus-filled, radiant, and bulging boils. They all looked fit to burst.

  “Finally!” Paul exclaimed wildly as he threw his arms up. “I told them to send for you days ago! I need to get back to work! Preferably with no boils or bedsores.”

  “Oh, hush,” Patricia tutted from behind Meredith. “We all thought it’d go away in a few days!”

  “How did this happen?” Meredith asked as she stepped in and flipped open Grandma’s spell book.

  “I was foraging mushrooms in the swamp and stepped into a hole. The swamp gunk flooded my boot, and it hasn’t been the same since.”

  “Oh my.” Meredith found the page she was looking for. She glanced over at the spell, memorizing it. “This might get a little messy.” Meredith cringed as she saw the illustration beside the spell.

  “I’ll get out of your way,” the Patricia said, shooing her little ones away and closing the door behind her. When it was just Meredith and Paul, he whispered to her.

  “I didn’t actually step in a hole,” he said. “Well, I did, but that’s not what caused the boils. I ran into a bog hag! Something was weird and unnatural about her! She was a real freak! I didn’t tell my parents because I didn’t want to worry them. I know my mom told you about so-and-so’s weird feeling behind the butchery. She tends to get carried away with things like this. Anyway, I ran off and stepped into a hole. My legs went flying over my head just as she shot a spell at me. My boot was still in the hole, and the spell hit my naked leg.”

  “Oh.” Meredith’s brow furrowed. She had never lifted a curse before. She flipped through the spell book to double-check if any other spells covered a boil curse. She didn’t find anything.

  “Is that an issue?” Paul whispered.

  “Shouldn’t be.” Meredith hoped for the best. She triple checked the spell, just as Grandma had advised. What was the worst that could happen?

  Meredith pulled out her wand, began her incantation, and made the gentle, precise wand movements aimed at Paul’s leg, exactly as illustrated. She released her magic and let it flow out of her while Paul sat patiently. Meredith finished the spell with a flourish of her wand, but nothing happened.

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  “Isn’t something supposed—" Paul started. One of the boils on his shin grew larger and stretched the skin hosting it. It trembled, then exploded, ripping open the thin membrane and splashing creamy yellow goo across the bed. Hardly any of it landed in the bucket the leg laid over. Meredith and Paul sat in stunned silence for a moment. Then, another grew and exploded. Another followed suit, then another, one bursting rapidly after the other.

  “Ugh!” Meredith flinched backward as the pus spattered nearer.

  “Whoa!” Paul exclaimed as his leg became a roiling tempest of rupturing boils. Faint pops could be heard as his leg continued to spurt. Meredith dodged a splatter of pus and burst out of the room. She flung herself around the corner as pus flung through the open doorway. It slapped against the opposite wall. Meredith took a quick peak but quickly retreated; the scene was too disgusting and messy. The pops grew louder as Paul whooped and hollered in either anguish or excitement; she wasn’t sure. Oh, how she wished she had been more careful!

  “What’s happening in there?” Patricia appeared on the other side of the doorway with concern etched across her face. “Is everything okay?” More pus sputtered across the wall. Before Meredith could answer, Paul's cries turned into a relaxed sigh.

  “Hey!” He called out. “Come look!”

  Meredith and his mother carefully poked their heads in. Paul sat covered in putrid slime, holding his outstretched leg. “It looks brand new!”

  Indeed, it looked smooth as butter and had nary a blemish. Meredith was thankful it appeared to be completely healed.

  “Good.” Patricia glanced around the room in disgust. Pus dripped from the walls and ceiling. “Looks like the bucket didn’t do its job.”

  “Don’t worry,” Meredith stepped into the room, careful not to step in gunk. She flicked her wand, and the sole window whipped open. With a swirling motion of her wand and a short incantation, Meredith magicked the pus to gently lift off the surfaces they landed on and conglomerate into a disgusting orb. Meredith ushered it out the window and let it fall, where it splashed on the ground outside. Something screeched and scampered away.

  “What I wouldn’t do to have a spell like that.” Patricia clapped Meredith’s shoulder. “What do we say, Paul?”

  Paul bounded out of bed, tested his new leg, and said, “Thank you, Miss Witch!”

  “You’re very welcome,” Meredith smiled.

  “Thank you so much, Meredith. What do we owe you?” Patricia asked.

  “Don’t worry about it,” Meredith replied. “Your husband is working on the payment.”

  “Well, take a muffin or two if you still have an appetite after all that.” She turned and snapped her fingers. The conglomerated children at the end of the hall hustled away, quickly returning with cornbread muffins wrapped in wax paper.

  “Thank you!” Meredith told them with a smile. The shy children scurried away. She stashed the muffins and her spellbook in her bag.

  “Oh,” Patricia started. “I can’t wait to tell all the girls about this. You know, Veronica told me the other day…”

  The young witch slowly meandered closer to the front door as Patricia gossiped on and on. Meredith didn’t want to lose Cici’s bet if she could help it.

  “Oh!” Meredith exclaimed as she stepped outside. “By the way, I checked out the dark presence behind the butchery.”

  “Oh, did you now?”

  “It was a vampire,” Meredith affirmed, remembering the feeling of his bloodlust.

  “Oh my!” Patricia gasped. “Well, that would make sense with all the blood.”

  “I think he’s gone now,” Meredith continued. “But will you tell others to be careful?”

  “Of course, dearie!”

  The pair exchanged goodbyes, and when the door closed, Meredith held her hand out and bellowed, “Broom!”

  A casual passerby glanced at the witch standing with her outstretched arm. Meredith ignored the awkward look and waited. Finally, a sharp whistling noise reached her ears. Over the rooftops came Meredith’s broom. It swept down towards her. She snatched it, and it carried her into the air. She spun her body and broom and flung herself on top of it. Then, she angled herself back down into town. She arrived at the leatherworker’s shop, parked her broom beside the door, and quickly entered.

  Dave entered from a room in the back.

  “Oho!” He exclaimed. “You’re back so soon! I take it my son’s leg is fixed?”

  “It sure is!” Meredith beamed. “And I’ve got your wife’s cornbread muffins to prove it!”

  “Well, I’ll be,” the man chortled. “You sure are quick. I was sure Patricia would talk your ear off for hours. She absolutely adores you, you know. I’m putting the finishing touches on your holster; I’ll be just a moment.”

  Meredith waited patiently and ate one of the delicious muffins as the leather worker returned to the back room. She reevaluated her stance on Patricia. She was certainly helpful in spreading news around. She was a lovely person, she just talked so much!

  After a short while, Dave re-entered and set the wand holster, two belts, and a large square sheet of leather on the table. The holster was light tan and beautifully shaped, with shiny brass rivets holding it together. One belt was light tan, and the other was black; each had a double row of brass rivets and a forked strip of leather attached to a brass ring that allowed the holster to sit just below the hip.

  “I threw in an extra belt for you.”

  “Thank you so much!” Meredith fitted the holster to the lighter belt and cinched it across her waist. She removed her wand from her pocket and slid it into the holster, where it sat snugly. She patted it, happy. Meredith placed the rest of the items in her bag.

  “Shame I won’t be getting these mice taken care of,” Dave said. “But a bet is a bet!”

  “I might be able to talk Cici into stopping by,” Meredith replied. “He needs the practice anyway.”

  The two bid each other farewell, and Meredith flew away. She spent quite a while in the humid, overcast sky before she headed home. It had been some time since her last leisurely flight, especially by herself. She hadn’t realized how much she missed it.

  Meredith casually circled high above Greenwood, enjoying the rush of freedom and wind that swept past her as she arced further and further away. She kept the small settlement in sight as she mulled over the past few weeks. She felt like a true witch, using her magic to help others and dealing with magical oddities. It was a much different experience than sitting in the academy reciting simple spells over and over and being treated like a child.

  In Greenwood, Meredith felt more mature and thoroughly enjoyed the freedom to do as she pleased. Though she did feel a slight twinge of loneliness occasionally tug at her heart. She had Cici and Thomas to talk to and help her, but she had no friends. Her fellow students at the academy were mere acquaintances, far away, and enjoying their summer breaks. They had been too cliquey for Meredith’s tastes, so she had spent most of her time with Cici. She wondered about the tiefling boy. Would he ever come back?

  Eventually, a light raindrop interrupted her contemplation, and she decided to return home.

  Thomas sat within his enclosure on the counter when Meredith strode inside.

  “Look what I’ve got!” Meredith cooed, cocking her hip out and brandishing her new holster.

  “Finally,” Thomas exclaimed. “Now, your real training can begin. Meet me in the side yard.”

  “But it’s raining!” Meredith stated. Thomas vanished in a swirl of purple miasma.

  Meredith sighed. What did he mean by ‘real’ training? Thomas had made her memorize dozens of spells and potions already.

  The young witch met Thomas outside as the rain lightly tinkled down. The toad sat by the side of the house and instructed Meredith in all sorts of magic. He had her create a force field to keep the rain off them, then enmeshed her in target practice as he summoned clay vases bobbing in the air for Meredith to blast into pieces and then magically repair, all while maintaining the forcefield.

  “Prepare yourself, Meredith,” Thomas croaked. “This next part may be a bit unsettling for you. I’m going to project specters of the souls within me and direct them at you. Defend yourself.”

  “Um..okay?” Meredith was hesitant but readied herself.

  A blue swirling mass of magic erupted before her before forming into the vague shape of a man. It came hurtling toward Meredith. She whipped her wand and blasted the figure. It exploded into fine blue mist, then dissipated.

  “Good!” Thomas croaked proudly.

  Meredith spared against various specters of all shapes and sizes. Goblins, humans, orcs, elves, centaurs, dwarves, gnomes, imps, and a plethora of other beings she had never seen emerged as Meredith blasted their predecessors away until dozens of the blue, ghostly beings surrounded her. The young witch panted in exhaustion, her wand aloft as the encircling procession caved in on her.

  “That’s enough for today.”

  The specters vanished in a soft blue haze. Meredith was left alone beneath her forcefield, gasping.

  “Good work, Meredith.” Thomas congratulated. “You’ve done well.”

  “Thanks,” Meredith huffed, her hands on her hips. “So those…vestiges…were the souls of the people you…”

  “Projections of the souls I claimed.” Thomas finished. “What you saw was a mere fraction of the souls I hold within me.”

  “Wow.” Meredith stared at him incredulously, realizing she didn’t comprehend the extent of Thomas’…actions.

  “That concludes this lesson. I’ll see you inside.” Thomas vanished.

  Meredith stood beneath her forcefield. The once slight rain had become a heaving torrent battering against her magic. Meredith pursed her lips, wondering how she’d get inside without being completely soaked. She reached for her bag to consult the dictionary Grandma had given her. Unfortunately, Meredith had left her bag on the shop counter. She sighed in frustration.

  horny horned, red-skinned, and Meredith has been dying to see him again.

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