DETHROE'S DARK FICTION BLOG: Sedusa’s Island excerpt

Sedusa’s Island excerpt

Wicked Witches, Devils & Dragons

© Paul DeThroe 2016

I banged on the door several times, waited a few seconds and then pounded some more for good measure. “Hold on, hold on,” I could hear the witch cackle from inside. “Who could it be, banging on my door? Who’d call at a poor old woman’s home at this early hour? Lordy be, hold on!”

“I am Captain Deathblade,” I announced haughtily.

“What is your desire?” she asked, as she opened the squeaky, half-rotted door. I couldn’t answer her at first. The sight of her ghastly ugliness had taken my breath away. She was truly a hag. Her long, unkempt, gray hair went every which way, her wrinkled face was covered with dark sunspots and warts, all of which had wild hairs protruding from them, and all her teeth were missing except two on top, one on the bottom. Her eyes were covered with hazy cataracts. She was the most hideous looking woman I’d ever laid eyes upon. I quickly gathered myself, took a deep breath and started the unenviable task of charming her.

“My dear lady,” I said softly, “I’m but a poor sailor, drawn far away from my normal travels in search of something which is said to be held in your possession. I’ve come to humble myself before you and appeal to your renowned charity, so that you may share this great treasure with your fellow man.”

She laughed at me long and hard. Finally she spoke. “The villagers down below have filled you with lies. I’m but a poor, lonely crone. I have no treasure to speak of. My possessions are few and of those, they’re all needed for sustenance. What value could I possibly offer you that would in any way assist your voyages?”

“I seek an ancient map,” her eyes squinted to show deep concern as I spoke. “I’ve heard that you possess many such maps, but only one that interests me.”

“Yes, I have acquired and held onto certain hides that have been marked with drawings of our world,” she whispered wearily, before stopping to hack up a blood-streaked chunk of phlegm that she spat onto the dirt floor. “But why would I share them with you? What would you offer me in persuasion to even show them to you?”

“My lady I’ve amassed a vast amount of treasure of my own, through my many and varied adventures,” I attempted to persuade her. “What would interest you, gold, silver, coins, or antique artifacts? If I don’t have your pleasure, I could most assuredly acquire it.”

“What need would I have for earthly treasures?” she laughed in my face. “Keeping valuable possessions here would only invite robbers and swindlers, like you, of which I have no defense against, besides curses that I can barely remember the words to.”

That was what I feared most about this adventure. Sure, I could’ve already ran my sword through her bony torso and tore her house apart until I found the map I sought, but with her dying breath she could put a dreaded curse upon me which would cause me to indirectly take a path to misfortune and doom. That was a risk I was unwilling to take, at this point. That’s why I preferred to barter with the old bat. If I could sweet-talk her out of the map with minimal token, I’d be much better off than facing down the retribution of her ominous talents in the darkest of arts. “Surely there must be something of your liking I could give you in exchange for the map. I could send the finest wines and furs from town. I could have someone bring you some fresh, tasty meat, which from the looks of you, have been sorely lacking.”

“Stop right there, young man,” she put a finger in the air to halt my unabashed carpet bagging. “I have no need for any of those things. I drink spirits from the roots grown in my garden and sustain myself on a diet of berries, nuts, acorn bread and wild bee honey, all of which are readily available within a few minutes hike. Nothing you’ve offered me has appealed to my senses of charity regarding the map you seek.”

“Then tell me what you desire, my lady,” I begged her.

“Come inside, lad and sit at my kitchen table. I’ll share with you fresh herbal tea, brewed from my very own garden, modest as it is.”

“I’d be delighted,” I ducked my head to walk under her doorway and stepped into her quaint home. The musky old place smelled horrible. A rotting corpse in the sweltering dog days of summer couldn’t have smelled any worse. I soon found out why. In her kitchen was a wood fired stove. Upon it sat a soup pot, still boiling, that was apparently responsible for the vulgar smell which saturated the stale air inside the shack.

She poured us both a steaming cup of tea. I was apprehensive at first, fearing what could be infused in the liquid. But she noticed my hesitation and took the first sip from her cup. I traded her cups as soon as she put hers back down, and took a sip as well. She looked at me knowingly; picked up the cup she’d originally given to me and tossed its contents into the barely smoldering fireplace. It erupted into flames, sending a whistling flash up the chimney.

“You’re a very smart young man,” she hobbled back to the table.

I smiled and nodded, proud of myself for not allowing her to trick me into drinking poison. “If you try something like that again witch, my sword shall taste what little blood your feeble body may hold.”

“Come, come, young man,” she winked. “Surely, you wouldn’t blame a little old lady for wanting to protect herself from a strange outsider, would you?”

“Yes, I would,” I stared at her malevolently, to let her know that the time for playing games was over. “I want the map you have. The one that shows the island that Sedusa has been exiled on. Nothing will stand in my way, not even your curses. I’d prefer to trade something of value for the map, so that you may avoid reasons to jinx me. But I’ll not leave here without the map, even if I have to kill you and subject myself to certain damnation.”

“I understand,” the hag smiled, got up, walked to her stove and started stirring her cauldron, which released such obnoxious odors that I gagged. Oddly, it didn’t affect her in the least. “There is one thing I could use, but I doubt you’d give to me.”

“Oh, for the sake of the ancient gods of the sea,” I roared. “Tell me what you want in exchange for the map and I’ll shall it to you.”

“The remedy I’m boiling in this cauldron is something I consume every day for my health and beauty. But it’s missing one ingredient, a key ingredient, one thing which you possess.”

“Spit it out, witch!” I demanded.

“I’ll trade my map for one of your eyeballs.”