LAST CALL AT THE DRUNKEN DRUID

                                By Michael McNichols

                                

                        PART ONE: THEY’RE ALL BAD HEAVENS

                                1: ABUSING UNICORNS

        The Drunken Druid Pub existed nowhere and everywhere. All the cosmos webbed and pulsed above it in a starry sky. When business was slow and they got bored, Dodd, Salome, and Felix headed out back to hit golf balls up into eternity. Sometimes, the golf balls clipped an archangel flying past, a god on a golden chariot, or a death-bringer riding a skeletal horse. When whichever all-powerful deity they had annoyed floated down to bitch, Dodd put on a smile and profusely apologized.

        “We can make it up to you,” he’d say. “This is a bar after all. Drink whatever you like, and, hey, we can grill some chicken, too.”

        That normally led to a wild, sleepless night. Felix played whatever music their guest liked, told them to invite their friends over, and Salome passed a joint around. Felix often shuddered at the amount of alcohol Dodd gave away, but Dodd pointed out that it saved the pub from total annihilation. That was worth having to clean up faerie vomit after a night of hellfire whiskey shots every now and then.

        A beaten, golden-brown path wound through a dark chunk of woods to The Drunken Druid. White-feathered owls perched up on the highest tree branches. Ravens cawed from somewhere deep inside the green shadowed heart of the forest. Red deer rustled through the brush, and just off the path, salmon darted through a clear white pond that seemingly had no bottom.  

It was easy to get lost in those woods. More than once, Dodd had talked some drunk, unwelcome patrons who had wanted to do drugs in the bathroom, start a fight, or slip something into someone’s drink into taking a walk. They had wandered endlessly on through the trees and never returned.

Lanterns dangled off tree branches and lit the way to the pub. Green flaming runes spelled out its name on the front window. An Irish flag hung over the front door. Inside, a huge green and black Celtic knot took up most of the floor. Different maps of Ireland from throughout history adorned the walls. The dark brown woodwork had ancient Gaelic sigils carved into it. The bathrooms were painted light green, and Felix loved to boast that they were the cleanest in the universe.

        Dodd considered the pub as much a home as he’d ever had. He couldn’t count the number of nights he’d crashed in one of the guest rooms upstairs.

He had even met Salome here, and she was the closest thing he had to a girlfriend. They were non-monogamous, since they both traveled a lot and didn’t want to be tied down. Still, they always found their way back to the Drunken Druid and each other.

        Felix had owned the place for centuries. Born in post-Roman Ireland, he had managed to extend his life considerably with youth spells and vitality charms. His father had trained him in druidic sorcery before passing on into the Otherworld to be with his wife, who had died giving birth to Felix. Over several lifetimes, Felix had mastered the fierce, bloody Celtic system of magic. Dodd, however, came from archangel blood and infernal royalty. He knew things that’d scare even the worst and most apocalyptical of demons.

So he helped Felix design and cast the spells that let the pub exist in its own spot of space-time both inside and outside creation. Anyone from anywhere could get there if they knew a few bits of magic and were looking for it. The pub was open to anyone willing to drink and have a good time, so long as they played nice.

On this night, the place was dead. A few folks had been in and out, but they had all mostly kept to themselves. Dodd sat alone at the bar, nursing a bottle of Time’s Arrow Ale. The fizzling, peachy taste lingered in his mouth long after each sip. The stars shone and speckled distantly outside the windows. A somber rock ballad thrummed out of the speakers. Dodd didn’t recognize the band, but knowing Felix, they could be from almost anywhere in the cosmos.

“Who are these guys?” he asked, jerking his thumb over at the jukebox.

Felix had been counting the bottles of liquor stacked up behind the bar. Whiskey, gin, vodka, blood, brandy, honey, mead, wine, he had it all. He glanced over at Dodd and smiled.

“I’d tell you the band’s name,” he said, “but I’d need to sacrifice six evil unicorns to pronounce it.”

“There are evil unicorns?” Dodd asked.

“There are, just as sure as my name’s Felix Dagda. You have to act like an asshole to a regular unicorn. That’s what makes them evil, but it can take time. Unicorns are known for their patience. They can see into the inner workings of your heart and all that poetic bullshit. You got to drag the meanness out of them, and then they’re total bastards.”

“That’s just how you turn anything evil.”

“Yeah, but unicorns take more work.”  

Felix looked nothing like a powerful sorcerer. Daily kettlebell workouts had given his short, stocky frame a solid build. Short, red hair cropped up into a spikey crown on his head. Tattooed runes and hieroglyphics etched across every inch of his visible skin. On the front of his baggy t-shirt, dark blue leaves topped a ghostly-looking oak tree. Earrings weighed down both his ears, and he had a ring on every finger.

Dodd, on the other hand, had a languid air about him, as if he were never putting a full effort into anything. A mess of white hair that he never combed flopped about on his head in an almost stylish manner. His face possessed a stern, noble quality, and he liked to think he was striking-looking, if not devastatingly handsome. His bluish-gray skin and smoky-gray eyes certainly turned heads. His svelte, spidery figure wasn’t much use for brawling or physical labor, but those were things he could always talk someone else into doing for him.

He wore a white, Earth-style leather jacket, the type with too many zippers that motorcycle riders all had. He also had on a snug shirt, cargo pants, and boots, all of which were black.

He slurped down the last of his ale. Before he had a chance to ask for another, Felix was setting one down in front of him and snapping off the bottle cap. Dodd raised his drink to him in a toast.

“To us and people not trying to kill us!” he said and took a swig.

He turned around on his stool and noticed a tall, lithe elf had been staring at him. The elf quickly turned away, seemingly embarrassed, and headed for the bathroom. Dodd shrugged, not knowing what that had been about, though he had never seen a stranger-looking elf.

Silvery-blue hair had curtained down on his head just past his pointed ears. Star-shaped blotches pocked his utterly black skin. The blotches all sparkled, even the one plastered over his left eye. His black, glowing tie went well with his slick, shadowy-blue suit, and few of his kind had such good taste in clothes.

The sound of pool balls smacking together drew Dodd’s attention. In the next room, Salome was shooting pool with Dania, one of her human friends. Dodd had already gone over with some shots of mead to say hi. He had chatted with the girls for a bit, but Dania had started getting big puppy dog eyes over him, which had made things awkward. He hadn’t been feeling very social to begin with and didn’t know what Salome had told Dania about her and Dodd’s arrangement.

Dania was a sweet girl. She had beautiful, brown sugar-colored skin and luminous blackish-brown hair. Salome might not mind if one of her closest friends had a go with Dodd, so long as Dania had her permission, but he found it weird. Thankfully, Felix had called him over to help read the incantation on a cursed bottle of vodka and he’d excused himself.

While Salome and Dodd both knew they saw other people, Dodd tried not to throw it in Salome’s face and hoped she would always do him the same courtesy. They had a good thing going that he didn’t want to jeopardize. Above everything else, they were friends, and Dodd would never put that at risk. He trusted Salome as much as Felix and had even told her who he was really was, which put her in very rare company.  

Her father had been the embodiment of a star and her mother the embodiment of a wormhole. Black flecked her magenta red skin, which rippled and shone with hot wavering light. Her short, black hair stuck up in loopy, red-tinted strands. Each of her eyes looked like a small red and black wormhole whirling around and around a glittering iris. She had curves worth sacrificing a bull for and a face shaped like a piece of ambrosia.

Tonight, she wore a black jean jacket, a dark red t-shirt, and tight, shiny pants with a dark, whorled design. Heels jutted out of her red boots, and she strode about with a quiet, composed self-assurance that made seem like she could do anything.

While Dania might have been attractive, she had nothing on Salome. Dodd would give up a lifetime of sex with Dania, however sweet, supple, and flexible she might be, for just another night with Salome.                

***

Dodd stood up and stretched, while Felix got him another ale. While craning his head, Dodd noticed the star-faced elf sitting alone at a table by the fireplace. The elf had barely touched his beer and was staring off into space.

Felix sauntered closer over to Dodd and nodded toward the elf. “Your man the elf over there’s been dying to talk to you all night. He keeps looking at you and is always about to stand up and walk over here, but then just sits back down.”

“He was looking at me weird before,” Dodd said.

“Don’t you want to know why?”

“No, his problems are his own.”

“Oh, please! You know you’re curious about what’s eating him.”

“I don’t need to know everyone’s business.”

“Is that a fact?”

“Look, I’m not a rescue service. I can’t help everyone I run into.”

“You try to most of the time, though. It’s your hobby, and that poor sod is suffering over there. I think he almost started crying a few times.”

“What am I supposed to do for him?”

“Why don’t you go find out?”

Dodd tiredly rubbed his knuckles into his eyes. Somehow, some way, he always ended up involved in other people’s lives. A chance encounter, a conversation at the bar, something he’d overheard, and he’d go dashing off, trying to fix whatever was wrong. He’d saved lives, families, and marriages. Gone up against demons, ghouls, angels, gods, and worse. Found buried treasure, rescued imperiled souls, and recovered forgotten heirlooms.

Of course he bore scars from doing all that. Often, he had failed. Lost friends. Made enemies. Been banned from certain realms. Done horrible things and tried to rationalize them later.

So why had he bothered? Why put himself or anyone else at risk?

Well, he had been through all kinds of hell (literally) and hated to see someone else suffering, especially if he could somehow help. Sometimes, it just took a pep talk and a few free drinks to send another customer away happy. Other times, it took a grand, death-defying adventure where almost everything went wrong. Maybe it didn’t always have to be so bad, though. Maybe Dodd could come up a better, safer way to go about things. Felix seemed to think he could, and Salome would definitely agree with that sentiment.

There was only one real way to find out, and Felix was going to laugh his damn head off about it.

After grabbing his ale, Dodd made his way over to the elf.

“Attaboy,” Felix said.

Dodd rolled his eyes at him, as he shambled up to the elf’s table and hunkered down onto the seat opposite him. “Mind if I sit?” he asked.

Black had pitted the elf’s frosty-blue eyes, but they widened at Dodd’s approach, and his mouth gaped open. The elf’s face was noticeably sagged and creased, as if he hadn’t been sleeping much lately.

“You…you…” His voice sounded almost musical.

Dodd set his ale down on the table.

“Yes, me,” he said. “I’m what?”

 “You’re…you’re Daydark!” the elf said. “Dodd Daydark! You have to be!”

“I could be. How did you get that name?”

“Someone gave it to me.”

“Who did?”

The elf gulped. “A demon.”

Dodd almost spat out his ale. “A demon? What kind? How high up in Hell’s hierarchy?”

 “He…he wasn’t a regular demon,” the elf said. “He smoked and drank. He helped me. He saved my life. He acted…almost human.”

Dodd nodded. “He sort of is, actually.”

“He told me you helped people, too. That you solved problems for them.”

“I might, but why didn’t you go to him instead of me?”

“I can’t get a hold of him or find him anywhere! But he told me about this bar and that you came here.”

 Dodd sighed. “Well, Jack wouldn’t have sent you my way for no good reason.”

                                ***

 “So what kind of elf are you?” Dodd asked and sipped his drink. “I’ve seen snow elves before, ice elves, fire elves, light elves, dark elves, water elves, cocaine elves, and sex elves. I’ve never seen one like you before.”

“I’m a space elf,” his companion replied. “We’re new.”

“You must be.”

“I didn’t get to introduce myself before. I’m Morgan, Morgan Meteor Dust.”

“I’d say it’s good to meet you, but I’m not sure yet.”

“I have…a…situation, I guess. You see, space elves don’t like to stay on any one planet for too long. We travel. We try to see all the stars and universe.”

“How do you travel?”

“Inside star dragons.”

“Are those new, too?”

“I guess so. Anyway, raising and tending to star dragons gets pretty expensive, and traveling isn’t cheap. I have a family, too. My children are so precious and young, and I hate to see them in danger. And my wife’s starting to show signs of the rot. That’s scary as hell. I had alchemists and shamans looking at her, but that cost even more. So I had to borrow some silver.”

“This is where you tell me you were so desperate you went to some gangster for a loan.”  

“Of course not! I went to reputable lending company. I have great credit, and we drew up an agreement that worked for both sides.”

“Then what do you need me for?”

“The company had denied a blood elf a loan that I don’t think he even needed for anything, so he killed everyone who worked there. Now he thinks he owns the business and that me and the other debtors owe him with significant interest.”  

“You pissed off a blood elf?”

“I didn’t do anything! But he keeps coming after me! He’s killed almost everyone else he thought owed him! He ate some of them! He burned down their homes! My whole family is in hiding! I don’t know what to do! Why does he even need so much silver? He lives underground in filth!”

Dodd took a long, thoughtful drink of his ale. “He wants the silver because he wants it. He thinks it’s owed to him, and it’s shiny.”

The elf shook his head. “That’s it? That’s why my children can’t go to school? That’s why they can’t sleep at night and never stop crying? That’s why my wife can’t get her treatment? That’s why I have to hide them in hovels and hope Bran Blood Plague doesn’t find them?”

“Bran Blood Plague? Is that really his name? Shit. Tell me, what did our mutual demon friend Jack do for you?”

 “I thought Bran wouldn’t follow me to Earth. That world has a lot of strong magic, and I thought it’d be good for both my wife and kids’ health. It’s a long way from the elven realms, too, and I thought I had lost Bran somewhere on the star paths. We were dressing up a cave to live in for the time being. I was walking through the snow into town, trying to cast a few spells to make me look human so I could buy some groceries.”

“And Bran attacked you?”

“It was the shock of my life. I couldn’t believe he was there. I tried running, but he grabbed me. Jack came out of nowhere and saved me. He breathed fire and burned Bran half to death. That sent him running, and Jack got my family and me to a portal. Then he told us to run.”

“Sounds like Jack sensed when Bran came to Earth.”

“He told me he was going to finish Bran off, but gave me this blue gem I could contact him with just in case. My family and I were sleeping at a friend’s house in the rainbow vortex, when the gem glowed and woke me up. It turned black and that scared the shit out of me. I got my family and friend out of there, but Bran burned the house down and all the hotels we’ve been staying at since. We only barely escape and he’s always close behind. I tried contacting Jack, but the gem’s dead or something.”  

The elf reached into his pocket and handed Dodd a small, black gem. Dodd glanced it over. It felt cold to the touch. He tossed it up into the air and caught it.

“Jack would help you if he could,” he said, “but he’s probably in mortal danger.”

“I’m sorry about that,” Morgan replied. “I owe him a great deal, but right now, I have to worry about my family.”

“All right, relax. I’m on the job. Just let me think this through.”

                                ***

“Dodd! Where are you going?” Salome called from the bar, where she and Dania had taken seats.

        “I’ll be right back,” Dodd said and pointed to Felix. “Have a drink ready for me.”

        “You got it,” Felix said with a smirk.  

Dodd swung open the door and escorted Morgan outside. A raspy chill bit the air, and the wind scythed sharply by, fluttering their clothes and the Irish flag swaying above. Morgan shivered and hugged himself for warmth. Dodd didn’t mind the cold. He had endured worse in Hell.

“Come along now,” Dodd said, his breath misting up into the night. Morgan stumbled after him through the trees, past where the lanterns hung. Dark closed in all around them. Shadowed birds swarmed through the tree branches. Animal eyes glared at Dodd and Morgan from the brush. Fallen leaves, twigs, and grass crunched beneath Dodd and Morgan’s boots.

“Where are we going?” Morgan asked.

“Just a little further on,” Dodd answered. “I wanted to make sure we were well enough away from the pub.”

“For what?”

“To lure your friend Bran here.”

“What?”

“He must have your scent. It might take him some time, but it must be how he always finds you.”

“Even if he does have my scent, he could be a whole universe away for all we know right now!”

“We shouldn’t have to wait very long. Time works differently in these woods. You never know who is from when or where, but you usually run into whom you’re supposed to.”

“You’re crazy! You want to confront Bran?”

The ground rumbled, as one stomp after another pounded down. The trees quivered, and birds scattered up into the sky, and whatever animals had been lurking skittered off.

“And here we are,” Dodd said, stepping into a small clearing. Tendrils of wet mist forked through the air, and frost had touched the grass and whitened the tips of its blades. Starlight faintly fogged down from above.

Morgan trembled and gasped. “Is…that…is that?”

“Bran?” Dodd asked. “I hope so. I want to get this over with.”

“He’s…making a lot of noise.”

“Yeah, he’s probably really annoyed with all the trouble you’ve caused him.”

“That I’ve caused him?”

“You’re hard to murder. Some people don’t like that.”

A large shape muscled through the trees, shoving and bending them over to make way. He smelled like a massacre, but sadly Dodd had gotten used to that stench long ago. Morgan, on the other hand, took a whiff and blanched. He looked like he was going to be sick.  

“Finally!” a voice like a hacking chainsaw bellowed. “FINALLY!”

Bran burst into the clearing, and Morgan fumbled over backwards. He scraped and clawed across the grass, trying to get away. He gasped and panted, sounding almost like he was drowning.

 “Just stay behind me,” Dodd told him, stepping toward Bran. The blood elf’s shadow toppled down over him.

Bran looked every bit the monster Morgan had described. He had a thug-like, behemoth’s body that was built bigger and tougher than any brick shithouse Dodd had ever seen. Crusty skin the color of dried blood stretched across his bulk. Clumps of reddish-black hair draped down into his cruel, laughing face, and his pointed ears were sharp like the tips of swords. Madness burned like fire in his yellow eyes, and ugly burns covered half his face and skin. He wore a hooded coat, shirt, and pants, all old, worn, and stained, like they’d been ripped off a dead man.

“Well, well, well!” he shouted. “Here we are! I didn’t think it’d be this easy, but I can’t complain! You’ve been served right up to me on a platter, and you even brought along a dessert! I don’t quite know exactly what this gray little bastard is or what he’ll taste like, but I’ll still enjoy eating him.”

Dodd crossed his arms on his chest. “Oh fuck off, will you?”

“What?” Bran asked. “WHAT?”

Morgan’s panic nearly caused him to choke to death.

“I said fuck off, you red, retarded prick,” Dodd said. “You know you’re the color of a dick that’s passing a stone?”

“I’m a WHAT?” Bran asked.

“A pissant, a tosser, and an idiot.”

“I’m going to eat you and shit you back out so I can kill you again!”

“Are you now?” Dodd grinned.  

Bran clenched his huge, hammer-like fists. “Who the fuck are you?”

“I’m the person that sees through the front you’re putting up, Bran Blood Plague. I know a glamour when I see it.”

“A glamour?” Morgan coughed out.

“I don’t know what he’s talking about,” Bran said.

Dodd scoffed. “Show him or I will.”

Bran stared down at Dodd long and hard, with a homicidal fury flickering in his eyes. That alone would have been enough to frighten some people to death. Dodd wasn’t buying this bullshit, though.

“We’re waiting, Mister Horrible Blood Elf,” he said.

After glancing uncertainly down at Morgan, Bran bit his lip and sighed. “You smug, gray asshole. You’ve got some power, don’t you?”

“Everyone has a little,” Dodd said.

“You’ve got something, I can tell, enough of it to expose me. You wouldn’t threaten to do it otherwise, so there’s really no point in the charade.”  

Bran’s bones shifted, and his muscles contracted. His body began to shrink and change. Within seconds, a much smaller and leaner blood elf stood in his place. He still resembled his former gargantuan self and even had the same burns. Despite being of a smaller stature, he was quite fit and muscled. However, he no longer looked as much a monster, and a keen, cold intelligence now shone in his eyes.

“This can’t be!” Morgan scrambled forward onto his knees and up to his feet. “Bran? Is that really you?”

Bran laughed and shrugged. “I guess it is.”

“But…but…I don’t understand! You were just tearing through the trees! An elf your size couldn’t do that! You’re shorter than I am!”

“He had some special effects to go along with his glamour,” Dodd said.  

Bran grinned. “I know a few tricks.”

Morgan shook his head. “But he was burning down houses and eating people! He fought Jack of Horrors!”

“None of that takes a giant,” Dodd said. “He just made it look like it did.”

“But he’s a blood elf! They’re supposed to be huge and monstrous!”

“But he’s the runt of the litter and that’s to his advantage. He puts on the glamor when he goes rabblerousing. He drops the glamour, and nobody ever connects him to any killings, because he doesn’t look like he was capable of doing so much damage. He’s not what anyone expects in a blood elf, so they don’t suspect him. That way, he makes off with the silver and is never bothered about it.”

        “Wait,” Morgan asked. “You actually wanted the silver then?”

        “Of course,” Bran replied. “I’m not a mindless maniac like a lot of my brothers are. Blood and fire are great, but they’re not the only things to have. I want the good life, and a huge, expensive home.”

        “Bran Blood Plague isn’t even your real name, is it?” Dodd asked.  

        “Some friends and I use it,” the blood elf replied, “but does it matter?”

        Morgan took a breath. “All right. We’re at an impasse here, but I think I know the way forward. My associate and I here won’t let anyone know about this, and you, Bran, will leave us alone. You won’t go after our loved ones, either. We’ll all just walk away, and you can keep the silver you have. That way, everyone wins.”

        “No,” Bran said, “I think I’ll just kill you two. I want to do with my bare hands so I can feel the life slipping away.”

        Morgan gaped. “I’ll just give you the silver!”

        “I can just kill you and take the silver. I bet your family has some, too.”

        Bran stepped forward, with a dark, unsettling smirk cut across his mouth. Morgan shuddered back, but Dodd put up his hand to block Bran’s advance.

        “You won’t be doing anything,” he said.

        Bran chuckled. “Really? What are you going to do? Exposing a glamour is one thing. Stopping me is another.”  

        A small, disquieting smile spread across Dodd’s mouth.

        “You’re not the only one wearing a mask, little elf,” he said, “and I can’t let you touch my property.”  

        “What do you mean by property?” Bran asked.

        “Morgan Meteor Dust sold himself to me as last resort.”

        “I what?” Morgan asked, and Dodd shoved him stumbling back.

        “I own his life, soul, and eternity,” he said. “The only thing he wanted in return was for him and his family to be safe from you.”

        “Why would you want all that from him?” Bran asked, with fear now quivering in his eyes.

        Dodd cackled, and his voice echoed strangely throughout the forest. “Is it that hard to guess?”

        Bran gulped and took a trembling step back.

        Dodd’s grin widened. “That’s right, little elf, but I’m not just some demon lord trying to crawl my way to the top of the pile in the Infernal Lands. It is my right and privilege to stand above the demons and the damned.”

        “You…you’re bluffing!” Bran said. “I know glamours, and I can’t sense one on you!”

        “I don’t need a glamour.”

        Black wings misted up out of Dodd’s back, twisting and swirling in the air. He crossed his arms on his chest, as columns of crackling, white fire blasted up around him, which knocked both Morgan and Bran back off their feet.

“Holy fuck!” Morgan yelped, as he and Bran scraped back across the grass away from Dodd in opposite directions. The both of them gazed up in awe and fright at the fiery, powerful display before them. Pale white flames masked Dodd’s face in the shape of a skull. His eyeholes burst with black lighting. His wings seemed to take up the whole sky. Faces writhed and screamed, as they swiveled around in his columns of flame, trapped and at his mercy forever.

        “Now do you see?” Dodd shouted, his voice having become imperial and overwhelming. “DO YOU?”

        Bran’s jaw dropped, and he shook uncontrollably.

        “Don’t just lie there and shit yourself!” Dodd said. “Tell me what I am! TELL ME!”

        Tears swamped down Bran’s face. “You’re…you’re an angel!”

        “A fallen angel! The blood of the divine flows through my veins, and I am of those who conquered the Infernal Lands! Know me, little elf! Fear me! For I will claim you!”

        Dodd reached forward with a black, flaming hands, but Bran had already bounded up to his feet and taken off in a mad dash through the trees. He vanished into the distance.

        The flames died out all around Dodd. His wings broke apart and dissolved into the air. He was just himself again. Turning around, he found Morgan frantically trying to scurry away from him.  

        “You can’t have me!” he said.

        “Relax,” Dodd replied. “It’s over now.”

        “You only wanted me for yourself!”

        “No, I put on a show for Bran to scare the life out of him. He’s not going to come after us now, and he won’t tell anyone about what happened, for fear it will get back to me. It’s bad for his reputation among the blood elves to have just run, too, though any of them would have. They just wouldn’t have admitted it. I don’t know if he’ll ever get a chance to talk anyway. He might not ever make out of these woods, and if he does, there’s a good chance he’ll end up somewhere he really doesn’t want to be.”

        Morgan paused and peered up at Dodd. He still panted, and sweat had drenched his face. However, he seemed to have calmed.

        “You didn’t take his soul,” he said.

        “I didn’t want it,” Dodd replied.

        Slowly, Morgan began picking himself up.

        “You could have killed Bran.”

        “I try not to kill anyone,” Dodd said, “not even a blood elf.”

        “Well, you still could have done more to him!” Morgan replied. “He would have deserved it!”

        “That would have required me to use more of my power than I like to at a time, and even just then was pushing it. That was less than eye blink’s worth. Anything more would send up a road flare and lead people back to me I don’t want in my life.”

        Morgan brushed grass off his suit. He took a deep breath and exhaled, gusting vaporous white out into the air. “What are you?” he asked. “You manifested angel wings. It wasn’t a trick or magic, either. Bran and I would have sensed it.”

        “It doesn’t matter what I am,” Dodd replied. “I helped you. Now let’s get going, unless you want to try finding your way out of these woods by yourself?”

        Dodd stalked off, and Morgan fumbled after him.

                                        ***

        Back inside the Drunken Druid, Dodd pointed to a stool at the bar and Morgan sat down on it. “Get him the motherfucker,” Dodd said.

        Felix grinned. “Coming right up.”

        From down across the bar, Salome arched her fiery eyebrows. “Someone’s going to drink the motherfucker?”

        “What’s the motherfucker?” Dania asked, sitting next to her.

        Felix had crouched down to pull a few bottles up from underneath the bar. “A little bit of this and that mixed with some water from the River Lethe.”

        “The river in the Greek Underworld?” Morgan asked.

        Dodd nodded. “It makes you forget things. Just one drink will wipe what happened tonight from your memory. You won’t remember this pub or me, and that’s better for you. You can move on with your life.”

        “But don’t worry,” Felix said. “I’ll make sure you get home safe.”

        “He’s good at that,” Dodd added.

        Felix poured a little bit from a handful of bottles into a glass. The liquid smoked and changed color from blue to red to green, as he mixed and stirred. Morgan looked at it uneasily.

        “Does…does it taste good?” he asked.

        “Not at all,” Felix said with a laugh. “It’s like drinking an acid shotgun, but don’t worry. We’ll get you to down the whole thing.”

        Salome and Dania snickered.

        “What did you two get up to?” Salome asked Dodd.

        “Ask me tomorrow.” He yawned. “I’m going to pass out upstairs.”

        “You haven’t had a drink with us yet, and Felix just got a beer for you!”

        “I was looking forward to getting to know you better, too,” Dania said. “Salome’s told me so many wonderful stories about you.”

        “I’m sorry,” Dodd replied, “but I just went an ordeal and need to lie down. Please, though, have my beer and a good time. I’m sure we’ll meet up again soon.”

        He swept away out of the bar and up the stairs at the back. As he mounted up them, he slipped his hand into his pocket and brought out the black gem. It seemed to have gone even colder to the touch than before. Dodd shook his head.

        “Jack, what have you done to yourself now?” he muttered.