The Wright (Friday Updates)

Toddy's Place

Keeping our full mugs slightly in front of our bodies and raised so as not to spill, we ducked and squeezed through. The crowd around the bar was at least three deep as the light faded from the sky and the hanging lanterns took on the job of illuminating the space.

At the stairs, I took Toddy's mug and lifted my shoulder while she stood on the second to last step and peered around the edge of the wall. She used my shoulder to aid her balance as she leaned precariously above the customers' heads. She hissed my name when I became briefly distracted by a floating tray of crackers with juicy slabs of meat and nearly caused her to fall when I shoved two in my mouth.

We could both hear Rafi talking loudly, but the noise in the other room was astonishing. Some continued their conversations, but most of the customers in this half were crushed together around a table with a familiar fellow standing atop it.

Rafael.

Arms wide and with Dalia sitting at his feet like the obedient hussy she was, he told his most popular tale.

"Oh, not this again," Toddy grumbled.

"-moving in the shadows...Now, I cannot say who in this room has seen a wraith before and who has not, but it was a fearsome creature. Legend says that they are created when several people die in one place, their souls fused by rage and longing. This creature was bigger than a shifter, with melted-looking skin in a rotten shade of grayish blue!"

There were some gasps from the women in the crowd, likely fanning themselves. Toddy and I shared a long look.

"He's gone and done it now. Drunk off his horse," she tutted.

"It's eyes were filmed over, staring at a group of my classmates as they picked windroot and blush, gnashing it's dried-out teeth! Crrrck, crrckk, crrrck," he mimicked, baring his incisors and spreading his lids wide. He held his hands menacingly above his head. I couldn't help but snort as he made himself to be some tall, looming monster. He looked ridiculous. "It flexed its long, yellow claws and hunched down. I could feel it sucking energy from the very air as it prepared to attack."

"Oh no, Rafi! What then?" Dalia clutched his pant leg.

A sober Rafi may have noticed, but this one was far too interested in the crowd hanging from his every word.

"Oh no, Rafi," I echoed in a whiney voice, Toddy giggling.

"And then...it JUMPED!" He screeched out a roar, sucking in air, nearly tripping over Dalia as he moved his legs.

Some girl in the crowd shrieked.

"I was taken unaware, frozen with shock! I let out my magic, knowing only that I wanted to stop the creature before it descended on my companions, but not organizing any specific spell. The roots of the nearest tree exploded from the ground and constricted around the wraith, caging it in woody...in a woody...cage!"

"Goodness, I've heard about enough of this."

"He is positively embarrassing himself!" Toddy hissed.

"He can moan about it tomorrow."

"Should I go and get him?"

"Oh, no. We are letting this play out. After all, Dalia is eating up every last bit of this theatrical disaster," I glowered, another huge gulp burning an icy trail down my throat. I prayed it would dull the irritation flaring up. After all, there were parents in the crowd with far more battle and ranging experience than Rafi, who were listening in with mild amusement, glad that there was a proud and aspiring warlock.

"Once the wraith was contained, it roared. A horrifying scream from nightmares blasted down the hill and everyone turned to see what was going on. I was glad that the roots had captured it, but knew it would last long! Then, I compressed the wood, feeling the roots bend and constrict, all the while the wraith screamed and thrashed! The crunching sounds of its bones breaking was awful, but soon it was crushed and became only a pile of ragged clothes and dried flesh. We all saw it turn to ash soon after."