Escaping Her Curse—Completed

Chapter Thirty-Three

Jessie arched an eyebrow at him, already not amused at his laid back demeanor and smirking face. She had the urge to bop him in the face in order to remove the pretense that they’d be anything more than coworkers.

“Walk with us,” Bossman commanded. “We’re on a tour, and you are the best guide.”

“Anything for ya, m’lord,” Michael continued to smirk, his eyes never leaving her face.

Michael led them away from the house and followed a road to the left that began the large circle around and through the Undergrowth. He pointed out houses or people to avoid, some that were friendly, and introduced her to several other prominent magicians.

“We ‘ere call this Magician’s Row,” Michael chuckled. “It’s pretty much where magicians live an practice magic. Most people down ‘ere wield magic, but this is where the talented ones with promise do life stuff. As I’m sure ya know, not everyone with magic can access said magic.”

“Welcome, e’eryone,” Bossman interjected, gaining their attention. “This is Jessie, and she’s the One we’ve been waiting for.”

A hushed silence drifted over the small crowd of people until there was an eruption of chatter and curiosity.

“Is she rally?” one person called out.

“Yes, her powers far exceed anythin’ we’ve seen before. She will train and learn and grow. And then, when the time is right she will deliver us above ground and create new lives for us!”

All were eager to meet her, and she felt a little overwhelmed by the sheer excitement they exuded. Though she didn’t trust Bossman, she did trust in the statement that these people were desperate to change their predicament. They were hungry for a new life, and she saw in their eyes that they wanted her to lead them out of the Undergrowth and into a better way of living. As Jessie looked into their dirty, yet eager faces, she was overcome with sadness. Because of the rules established in fear, they were forced to live in filth and squalor.

“I will do my best,” she said to the people who were gripping her arms and trying to touch her.

Michael pulled her back from the people and gave them a menacing glare, all pretense of nonchalance swagger gone.

“Let’s nah hurt the girl, eh?” he said, his tone harsh.

“Listen ‘ere, e’veryone. I wanna give ya hope in these tryin’ times. We both promise to do the best we can. So, I hope we’ll be gettin’ yar full support and cu-opperation. ‘Ow does that sound, eh?” Bossman asked, working the crowd easily.

There were many whoops and hollers in support of his plea. As they had drawn a crowd, word spread fast that Ms. Jessie was here to save them. Admiring eyes followed her as they began walking away, continuing their tour. As much as she wanted to help the people, who so clearly wanted to be rescued, she couldn’t shake the unsettling feeling that their hopes and dreams did not match up with Bossman’s.

As she was pondering such thoughts, they came up on a large, almost broken down building. The wood siding was decaying and beginning its descent to the ground and the door was crooked. It squeaked at they walked through, but Jessie barely noticed as her eyes fell upon a horrid scene.

Cages littered the inside of the building. Some housed similar creatures to the Wanderer she’d seen the night before, while others were different but also looked straight out of nightmares. One creature in particular looked wolf-like in stature, but when it opened its mouth to snap at her, its jaw looked unhinged, like a snake, revealing only a few sharp teeth. Its eyes were too large for its face, and upon a closer inspection, she realized that where the eyes should have been were deep, empty sockets. Its fur was as black as night, and its paws were huge and seemed to grip the metal cage tightly, almost as if it had suctions on its pads.

Jessie sensed Michael approaching her from behind. “Inneresting, isn’t it? ‘Nother one of my beauts. I call ‘em Shadow Hounds. Cool, eh?”

“Terrifying,” she muttered.

“Black magic in all its glory.”

“How was it made?” she then asked against her better judgment.

Michael flashed her a devious grin. “The Hounds are made from wolf corpses. A lil magic and a lil corpse, an ‘wal-ah’! Shadow Hound.”

“So, what about the Wanderers?”

His eyes twinkled dangerously.

“If the Hounds use dead wolf bodies, then what are they made out of?”

“Do ya really wanna know?”

“Yes.”

Using his head to gesture to where another Wanderer was caged up, he said, “Dead humans. Makes it so that they don’t go to waste. Infuse the lifeless body with a lil magic, and jus like the Hounds, ya gotta undead Wandra.”

Jessie felt sick to her stomach. As she looked at the caged monstrosities, she could see a huge amount of manaforce in them. However, whereas in people and objects was a light purple-y blue color was a dark brown and black writhing mass of magic. She suddenly understood the Church’s reluctance to experiment with such things. Black magic wasn’t just a taboo type of magic, it messed with the natural order of things in a way that was destructive.

“What is the point of having these creatures?”

Michael looked over at Bossman, wondering if he should divulge such information. Though she had agreed to work with them, there was an air of mistrust between them.

“According to the contract we signed, Jessie, if I tell you such information, you are not allowed to breathe a word of it to others that might…spoil the operation.”

“Yes, I am aware,” she said bitterly. “Just as how you will protect the people I requested, your secrets are safe with me.”

“We are making an army, one that the Church’s Knights will not be able to so easily defeat and defend themselves against. The Church and the Crown respond to war. If they want a fight, we will give them one.”

“So, these abominations are merely tools to further your agenda?”

Bossman shrugged with a twisted smile. “If you choose to see it that way. I like the term ‘revolution’ personally. You’ve seen the state of the people down here. You’ve seen the corruption, the lack of hope, and self-worth in their eyes. If we do not give them something, they will not return to being properly human. So for too long, those in power have treated us like dirt; no, worse than. We are not even human in their eyes. If your precious prince saw your powers, he would look at you in fear and disgust. It is time to stand up for ourselves and prove that we are worth fighting for.”

Jessie turned to survey all of the different types of creatures. She counted over eight unique forms and over 30 altogether. Though she wanted to free the people of the Undergrowth, she did not believe that war was the answer. However, she did not know what the actual answer could be that would replace war.

“I admire your sense of duty to these people, but I do not think you are going about it in the correct way. War will only lead to more death and destruction. Haven’t we, as a people, suffered enough? Wasn’t it war, in the first place, that brought us to this outcome? Why would killing more solve any issues?” she asked.

“And who would listen to us? Hmm? Certainly not the king,” Bossman countered.

“The prince–”

“Is not king yet. We cannot wait for that old geezer to croak. We must act now. Time is of the essence.”

Jessie frowned. She knew that he had a point, but she didn’t want to give her idea of a peaceful solution. There had to be something else that they simply weren’t thinking of.

“What do you envision for this army? How big? What are the numbers?”

“Why?” Bossman asked, skeptical of her.

“If I can think of an equally effective way to help the people here without bloodshed before your army is ready, would you hear me out?” she questioned.

Bossman thought for a moment before nodding slowly. “I’d consider listening to your idea–”

“But sir! Michael interjected, clearly outraged.

He held up a hand to silence Michael. “I said I’d consider it. If I hate the idea or see too many flaws, then I’ll continue with Plan A here. I think that’s fair. You must promise to not interfere with Michael’s work, though.”

Jessie grinned, feeling at peace with buying at least some time. “Yes, I promise. So, how much time do I have?”

Bossman looked at Michael, who bounced his head from side to side in thought. “I think I can get e’erything don in about two months or so. I don’ wanna state an end date, because sometimes, the subjects don’ make it through the process. An, to get ‘nough materials, lately, it’s been slightly more difficult.”

“So, in two months, I’ll want to hear your idea, and we’ll talk about how to move forward,” Bossman said.

“Alright,” Jessie affirmed, thinking about what she could possibly come up with.

Her idea needed to encompass Bossman’s idealism, while ensuring that people wouldn’t get hurt. It also had to be a good enough idea to entice him to set aside his bloodlust and see the people above ground as human too. Though she kept her mouth shut, Jessie thought it incredibly ironic how the people of the Undergrowth were lesser than human to those above; and to those below, the people above were seen as so devoid of human emotion that they too, were somehow lesser. It was a paradox that only made her heart grow heavier.

They finished the rest of the tour in silence, each of them lost in their own thoughts about the discussion held in the old building. Once Jessie made it back to her room, she noticed that the door had been fixed. She then changed and got herself ready for another meal with Bossman, who had requested her presence that evening.