Wizard of Jatte by Rowan Erlking (librera reader txt) 📕

“Theissen! Look out!” Milrina screamed.

Theissen ducked just in time.

A knife had come rather close to stabbing him in the back. As he tumbled over the cobblestone, he heard Theobold yowl. Turning his eyes to his friend, he saw a man pulling a thin gold chain woven with powerful magic, the noose of it snug around Theobold’s neck and tightening. Theobold clutched at the chain, unable to remove it. He was choking. The gold cut into his skin.

“No!” Theissen leapt up to stop it.

But his own attacker continued to swipe with his knife at Theissen. The cold metal cut into his skin. His blood dripped out, stinging as it the open wound met air. But Theissen did not pull back.

Drawing up a powerful wind, swirling it around him with gusts that tore up the rock below, Theissen struck back. Everything flew away from him. Ripped off the ground in the vortex and tossed to the tops of the roofs and against the walls of the houses, nothing was safe. The man with the knife was flung away, slapping hard against the nearest building. His knife lodged into the stone. Yet turning his eyes to Theobold’s tormenter, reaching in with a wind, Theissen tore apart the golden chain’s spell. The tiny links shattered all over the cobblestone like rice grains.

Theobold collapsed to the ground, breathing again. His attacker, Korgin the boss, was thrown back into the goat cart. It cracked, along with one of his arms. Theissen walked over to his birdfriend, reaching down to Theobold’s neck to check out his wounds.

“Can you breathe?” Theissen asked, stroking the bleeding parts of Theobold’s neck and healing each cut.

The birdman nodded, coughing violently for air. He then peered over Theissen’s shoulder. He lifted his finger, pointing.

Theissen turned. His eyes fixed on the bearded man, who had apparently dislodged his knife and was now holding it to Milrina’s neck.

“I’ll kill her.”

Rising to his feet, clenching his fist as his eyes tightened on the bearded man, Theissen prepared for the worst. “Don’t you dare.”

He took a step closer.

The bearded man pressed his knife closer.

Milrina drew in a breath. The knife made a small cut into her skin.

Theissen stopped. His hands trembled.

“If you draw up any of your winds, she’ll get cut. If you try anything, she’ll die!” The bearded man shouted at him. His hate was so toxic in smell, Theissen believed he would do it.

“If you kill her, I’ll tear you apart, then put you back together so you can have your head chopped off by the law.” Sweat formed on Theissen’s upper lip.

“Oh, yeah?” The bearded man shook violently, his eyes glaring such hatred that Theissen could not bear the deadly stink.

“What is going on?” Another voice cut in.

Theissen did not turn to look. His eyes were only for the safety of his cousin.

Breathing more deeply, Theobold sighed with relief. “Oh, thank heaven. It’s the constables.”

“That man is holding my cousin hostage,” Theissen said, still glaring at the bearded man.

“We heard rumors of blood-thirsty demon in this area,” the constable said in a rather uncanny, casual air. He marched to Theissen’s side and added, matter-of-factly. “That man’s not a demon.”

Avarice and duplicity also had an odor, of which permeated this man’s being. Theissen shot the constable a glare, pointing once more at the bearded man. “He is holding a knife to my cousin’s neck, and all you care about is some rumor?”

The constable hardly reacted. Almost smug, he gazed mildly at Theissen. His sword was drawn, pointed at Theissen’s gut.

Looking over his shoulder, Theissen noticed the boss grinning. Clenching his broken arm, the boss nodded to the constable and rose to his feet.

“Of all the crooked—”

But Theissen felt the sword go into his stomach.

“No!” Theobold jumped up, flapping towards him.

Theissen’s ears started ringing. The pain in stomach was cold and hot at the same time. Overhead he faintly heard arrows fly. Theobold shouted, flapping back yet struggling forward.

As the constable pulled out his blade, Theissen shuddered. He looked down at his bloody hands, the seeping red stuff coming out of him.  

“No!” Milrina shouted out.

She ran to him. A little trickle was on her neck but she was still alive.

“No!” Another shriek split the air.

The merchant’s daughter ran out of the inn to him. Her clothes sopping, blackened by the fire she had been trying to put out. Her mother ran out after her with several others of the former molemen and locals they had been working with. In fact, the entire street echoed with ‘No’s.  Wailing grief Theissen had never felt on his behalf before, filled the street.

He looked up at Milrina’s face then chuckled as if the entire situation was the funniest way to die.

“What are you laughing for?” The merchant’s daughter sobbed uncontrollably.

Milrina clutched him, shaking as she wept. But then she gazed up to his face with the same incredulity.

Meeting the eyes of both woman, Theissen replied weakly, “I’m sorry. But you see, I have intention of dying.”

Drawing every bit of ebbing energy back into himself, include the blood that had escaped, Theissen rose to his feet and punched straight into the constable’s gut.

The constable stared up, gasping for air. Theissen’s second punch sent him flying.

Every eye fixed on the bloodied front that still dripped from the stab wound. The wound itself sealed up without as much as a scratch, let alone a scar.

Before any of the men with the constable could retaliate, Theissen dredged up a gale, blowing debris at the constables, knocking them entirely off their feet. Whipping around, he tackled the gang next, sending them all flying back. Then with one yank on the threads of flow around him, Theissen made all of them sink into the road so they could not get away. Once he did that, the entire wind vaporized into nothingness.

“I need someone to send for some honest constables,” Theissen called out, turning to nearest local on the road.

“I’ll do it!” the merchant’s daughter declared, jumping up. She ran back to her home first, perhaps to get a coat. But she ran out again, and had gone towards the city center, grabbing another person on the street to go with her.

Theobold landed on the road, panting for breath. He had been in the air during the last storm. He slapped an arm on Theissen’s shoulder, shaking his head. “I though they nearly killed you.”

“Not today,” Theissen replied with bite, his eyes taking in his captives. Seeking the one face he wanted to confront the most. Looking around where Milrina had been held captive just beyond the tumbled-over pile of wood, there was nobody. In fact, there was not one sign of the bearded man at all. Theissen cursed. “Blast it! Who is he? Why is he attacking me?”

The birdman just shrugged. He then flapped over to the inn to see the fire damage.

“He sounded like Lonse,” Milrina shakily walked after him.

Theissen turned, puzzled. “Lonse? No. That was not Lonse. Lonse learned a long time ago to leave me alone.”

“I didn’t say it was Lonse. I just said it sounded like him. Sheesh.” Milrina frowned, folding her arms.

“Who is this?” Karo walked over, nodding to Milrina though he looked more like he wanted to talk to Theissen about something else.

Theissen nodded then extended a hand to introduce her. “This is my second cousin, Milrian Weaverdaughter. She’s going to help you run the inn.”

A shade overwhelmed by the change in tone from survival to business, Milrina stared at Theissen then looked to Karo.

“What inn?” Karo gesturing to the fire-damaged place. “Look what they did to it?” Can’t you set a fire proofing spell on it or something?”

Nodding, Theissen walked over to the inn. “I can try. It will take all day to do, but I can try.”

“How about a spell for not breaking windows?” Karo snapped.

Theissen glowered down at him. “What is really bothering you? You are more than your usual irritable today.”

The ex-moleman busted out a laugh. He looked around himself, gesturing to the charred remains of the inn, and to the collection of thugs and constables struggling against the stone that contained most of them.

“What is wrong with me? That’s rich! A magician harasses us on the second day here. A mob gangs up on us later the same day. The next morning we get nearly killed, and burned out since they can’t enter inside the inn, and you have the gall to ask what’s wrong?”

Theissen’s expression did not change. He looked once at his bloodied front, then at the men he had just defeated, feeling tired still from the walk down the main road. And he still waited for Karo to explain himself.

“The fact is, we didn’t sign on for this! Getting harassed, abused, threatened and nearly killed…and you have yet to deliver on your promise to us that you would help us sell our gold and jewels!” Karo snapped.

“Gold and jewels?” Milrina murmured. Her eyes widened with the realization that these were the cured molemen he had told her about.

Huffing once, Theissen slapped a hand on Karo’s mouth, hissing into his hear. “You should not say that so loud! Up until now they were just after making us move. Now they’ll want your goods. And you called me an idiot? Karo, I have been working my heart out trying to make things work. Here!”

He stuffed the registration certificate for his merchant’s license to sell in the city.

“I got this, this morning, for you. Now stop expecting me to wave my hands about and make things work for you. You are a human now. Act like one and take responsibility for yourself. If you want to sell in Jattereen, you had better start making you contacts right now. I’ve done my part for you.”

“Done your part?” Karo still sounded cranky at Theissen. “Of all the—”

“I made you human,” Theissen ground out, “after your people imprisoned me and stabbed me. I even agreed to help get you established in this city, which I have done. I found you a home for little expense, except to help build it up. I have cooked for you, showed you what you needed to do, and you are still complaining? What else do you want me to do? Cut out my heart and cook it up so you can eat it?”

Theissen stomped away, muttering under his breath.

As he tromped away, he peered at the faces of the men sunk into the rock, still searching them. Not one was the bearded man. In the end, he walked over to Korgin the boss. Squatting down, he examined the horror on the man’s face.

“You have caused me a lot of trouble. I don’t like that.”

Korgin was pale. He looked like he would lose control of his bodily functions if Theissen came any closer. His eyes bugged out. But as he was unable to defend himself because his hands were lodged in the rock along with most him, there was nothing else he could do.

“Now who is that bearded guy that keeps going after me and my close friends?” Theissen put on his most menacing glare. With blood flecked on his face and soaked though his shirt front, it was quite effective.

“Get away from me!” Korgin yelped.

Theissen shook his head. “I’ve got all afternoon. My business for today is finished. So, until the proper constables get here, you are going to tell me who that man is.”

“And what if I don’t?” Korgin struggled against the stone, stubborn to the last. His anger still mixed with his fear, swelling in dirty clouds of flow around him.

Shrugging, trying to ignore the reek, Theissen sat down next to the boss. “Then I refuse to dislodge you from this rock. You will remain in it forever. And since it isn’t against the law to make people sink into rock—”

“This is wrongful imprisonment!” Korgin shouted.

The corner of Theissen’s mouth turned up in a partial smile. “Wrongful? You mean a man can’t detain someone who he caught trying to