Page 29 of Bewitched

“Yes, I think I do,” said Darium, not looking at all pleased with the conversation. “It means my brother is going to sell his soul for greed.”

“Greed?” Rhys’ head snapped around and he scowled at his brother. He didn’t like to be called greedy. It was just his way of self-preservation. “Now, wait a minute. That’s not fair.”

“It’s accurate, Rhys, and you know it. What is not fair is what you’re considering doing to Medea and Rapunzel, or even the dragon. They are not here of their own will and all they want to do is to get home. How can you not let it bother you that you’re considering taking the life of a woman who likes you and whom you care for as well?”

Rhys didn’t answer. He didn’t appreciate his brother speaking this way to him, calling him greedy and a murderer. He especially didn’t like him talking about matters concerning the heart. Rhys barely knew Medea. She was naught but a witch and a stranger to him. He didn’t have feelings for her in the least. Sure, the wench was pretty and also powerful, but he didn’t feel as if he owed her a thing.

Except mayhap her life, he sadly realized.

He released a deep sigh, knowing what his brother was trying to do. No one deserved to die just because they had magic. Especially, not because a greedy king ordered it. These women were innocent. How could he ever take their lives? He couldn’t. Not for all the wealth in the world. If he did so, he would never be happy or able to live without guilt.

“Damn it, I was so close,” he grumbled. “But you’re right. I can’t do it, Darium. I won’t kill the women, no matter what the King says.”

“That’s more like the brother I know and love,” Darium answered with a smile.

“I guess I’ll have to get used to eating snails and seaweed the rest of my life, since I won’t have a job or a home once the King finds out I am not going to follow his orders.”

“I’ll teach you to fish, Brother. And Zann is a hunter, so we’ll make sure you don’t go hungry, don’t worry.”

“Let’s find a way to get the witches and their dragon through that portal before I have to report back to the King,” said Rhys, feeling as if he’d made the right decision, but at the same time hating himself for letting such a great opportunity slip through his hands. Kicking his heels into the sides of his horse, he sped up the mountain path. Right now, he wanted nothing more than to send the wenches and their pet dragon back through the portal, because looking at them would only remind him of the life he almost had and lost. Aye, he was sure he never wanted to have to see any of them again.

* * *

Medea waited with the women all day, wishing the men would hurry up and arrive. Bored out of her mind and wanting something to do, Medea finally took off into the caves to explore on her own. She’d been warned not to do it, but she really didn’t care what her sister or Rhys’ mother said. Medea wasn’t used to taking orders from anyone. She was a queen and would do what she pleased.

Looking over her shoulder, she saw both Rapunzel and Alaina lying back in the sun with their eyes closed. For all she knew, they were sleeping. Good. This was the perfect opportunity to get away on her own.

Medea had excused herself hours ago, walking by herself along the coastline. She was used to being alone. This wasn’t out of the ordinary for her, although she couldn’t say she really liked solitude. It felt so lonely. She peered across the sea to the Isle of Denwop. Alaina said this was where the giants lived. It made her wonder what a giant even looked like. Was it ugly like an ogre, or did it just look like a tall man? She really had no idea since she’d never seen one before. Medea also was curious about the other magical beings such as the elves, and fae, and these cave gnomes that were supposed to be so mean.

“Impossible,” she said, throwing a rock into the water as far as she could. It landed with a splash. To her surprise, something reared up out of the water that looked like a giant pink sea serpent. It caught the rock in its mouth and then sank back down under the water. It disappeared from sight just as fast as it came. “Did you see that?” she said, turning to look back at her sister and Alaina, but neither of them heard her. Both the women still lay there with their eyes closed and their faces turned up to the sun. “This place is amazing,” she mumbled, finding the land of Mura much more fascinating than back home in England. She was sure she’d never be bored for a minute if she lived here.

A low rumbling sound caught her attention, and she swore it sounded like Marco’s dragon. The noise was coming from the cave closest to her. If the dragon was in there, she needed to go and find it before it flew off again. She was told to wait for the men, but Medea decided she was tired of waiting. After all, she had powers, so she wasn’t really in any kind of danger. She’d just use her magic to try to control the dragon, even if she couldn’t seem to fly it straight. Having to always fend for herself, this shouldn’t be that difficult. Why wait for the men to help when she could have the dragon captured and bound before they even showed up?

Tiptoeing to the mouth of the cave, she tried to see inside but it was too dark to make out anything clearly. Moving further into the entrance, she stopped and listened. Yes, she was sure she heard the snort of the dragon. What luck to find the exact cave where the dragon was hiding, and so quickly, too. This would save a lot of time searching for it.

It was dank and damp and smelled musty, like old wet stockings inside the cave. The rocks inside were wet and slimy. She lost her footing and slipped, landing on her butt. When she looked up, she was surprised to see a dozen tiny odd-looking men and women surrounding her.

“Gnomes,” she muttered, knowing this is what they must be. They were small, but looked fierce, and the furthest thing from friendly.

“Hello?” she said, releasing a nervous giggle. “Are you gnomes?”

They didn’t answer. Instead, they moved closer to her, closing in all around her. When they did, she realized they were holding weapons of some kind. Well, not actually weapons. In their hands were rakes, shovels, and some type of long pointed spears. A few of the gnomes even held wooden poles with axes or large stone hammers attached to the tops. She supposed these farming tools could be used as weapons, after all.

The gnomes were not much more than knee-high to her, but still they were plenty threatening. The men were clad in earth-colored tunics and breeches. They had white hair and long, white beards down to their bellies. The women wore long dresses that touched the ground. The females were round and stout and big busted. Each had long, loose hair down to their elbows. Both the men and women wore pointy hats in a multitude of colors.

As they moved in closer and closer to her, they aimed their array of weapons, all pointing directly at her!

“Now, wait a minute you little gnomes. I mean you no harm. Just leave me alone,” said Medea, feeling fear at first. When they started making some sort of grunting noises that grew louder and louder, she became defensive. One of them poked the sharp end of their spear at her, pricking her on the behind. “Stop it!” she shouted, anger filling her quickly. Like her late mother, it didn’t take much to awaken her dark side.

She jumped up and held out her hands, no longer caring if she hurt them or even killed them. They were irritating her and they had to go. A black wisp of smoke shot out of her palms, knocking down the gnomes as easy as rolling a ball at glass bottles. They didn’t like that. All of a sudden, she found herself being attacked. They rushed at her and jumped atop her, hitting her and poking her with their weapons. All the while their grunts of communication between them became louder and louder, hurting her ears.

Medea tried to transport to get out of there, but her powers didn’t seem to be working well now, with all these magical beings piled atop her. “I’ll kill you. I swear I will,” she cried, trying to get up, feeling their boots pounding into her back as they jumped up and down, continuing to hit her. Medea was ready to explode. She felt the flow of dark magic through her body, and would use it to stop them, not caring what happened to them in the end. But before she could use the dark magic to do her bidding, something else took her attention.

She heard a low growl coming from the mouth of the cave. Instantly, the gnomes scattered, hiding behind rocks and in the shadows. When she finally managed to sit up, a large white wolf faced her, snarling, and showing its elongated teeth. Its eyes were orange and seemed to almost be glowing. This was the last thing she needed right now.

Medea was about to do away with the wolf, when she realized it was snapping at the gnomes, not her. It seemed to be keeping the gnomes away from her, oddly protecting her for some reason. The wolf made some sort of half-bark, half growling noise, its eyes blazing with a possessed look. She was about to hit it with a beam of her own magic when Alaina and Rapunzel ran into the cave.

“Nay, stop, Medea!” Alaina called out to her. “Do not hurt the wolf.”