Then Agnes screamed, “Salem!” and it all came flooding back to her like a repressed nightmare. “Salem!” she heard Agnes again. “Oh, my sweet Salem.”
“I-I’m all r-r-right,” he croaked.
He certainly doesn’t sound all right, Maria thought. She rushed over to the wizard. He was leaning against a body. At first glance, it looked like a boulder scorched by fire, but the smell was a dead giveaway. It was a corpse.
Arachnid, Sherlock’s voice was shaky. His body shook as well, and Gelbus offered a comforting hand on the scruff of the Bloodhound’s neck.
“A dead Arachnid,” Maria said firmly.
“What happened?” Agnes asked.
“Ambush. They had a s-scavenger leading them,” Salem answered softly.
“Scavenger?” Agnes growled. “Useless people.”
“He wa-was half wizard and half Elf. No, no, if it w-wasn’t for h-him I w-wouldn’t be talking to y-you now.” Salem shuddered, and a stream of bright red blood dribbled from the corner of his mouth.
Agnes put a hand on his shoulder. “I’m here now. You’re okay. I’m going to get you healthy.”
“I know, honey,” Salem said with a solemn smile, blood running from his gums and down between his teeth. He looked up at Maria now, that smile evaporated, replaced with a look of sadness. “I’m sorry, Maria. They took the Jewel and Ig. I should’ve been stronger—”
Maria shushed him. “Don’t, Salem,” she said. “It’s not your fault.”
It’s mine, she thought to herself. I should’ve been there for you guys. None of this would’ve happened if I had been there.
“I care about the Jewel, but I care about you and Gramps more,” she said, placing a hand on top of Agnes’s as it rested on the wizard’s shoulder. The witch smiled at her. “Besides, the Jewel is worthless without the music box.” Maria tapped the bag she had around her shoulders.
“Thank you, Maria,” Salem said. There were tears in his eyes. “But I shouldn’t have been weak. I let us get ambushed, and they took my best friend, my brother.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll get him back,” Maria promised.
“We’ll get him back,” Salem corrected her, trying to lift his hand up to squeeze Maria’s. The motion was lost to the pain, and he grunted as his arm fell, useless.
“No, you need to get to Earth and rest.” Maria looked at Agnes. “Take him back and take good care of him. We’ll be needing an ice cream party when this war is over.”
Agnes’s lip quivered. “Maria?” she said, her tone afraid.
“No,” the young witch said. “No, this is my war. I can do this. Salem needs you almost as much as he needs to rest and recover.”
Frieda stepped up, putting her arm around Maria. She was warm to the touch, and the feeling helped calm the nerves firing away in Maria’s brain. She was grateful for the witch at that moment. “And I’ll be there to help,” Frieda said.
Maria eyed her. “No, Frieda. This isn’t your war.”
“It is now. For years, the Arachnids have tormented my family. It’s time for a little payback,” she said.
Just as Maria was about to protest, Frieda spoke again. “I love your grandfather, Maria. I know that might be odd for you to hear from me, but I’ve never felt a love so strong in my long life. He is special. I’ll die before I let the Arachnids win. There’s no talking me out of this.”
Maria smiled, her heart warming as her own love for Frieda grew. “I won’t.”
Me, either, Sherlock said, stepping forward with Gelbus next to him. I don’t like those spidery bastards. They scare the hell out of me, but I’m not dying without ripping one’s balls off. Do they even have balls? Maria, watch out. I need to do some investigating.
Maria put a hand up. “No, you can’t sniff around for Arachnid balls. But thank you.”
No one thought it an odd thing for her to say. By that point, they were all used to Sherlock’s antics.
“I’m coming, too,” Gelbus said.
Maria looked the Gnome up and down. “Gelbus, are you sure? You’ve done your part in this story. You’ve helped me beyond belief, and I’ll be forever grateful to you for that.”
He shook his head. “I’ve got a taste for battle now, Maria. There’s no going back. Besides, it beats being stuck in the library, inhaling dust and answering silly questions about secret love potions. Gone are the days of people reading anything of substance. Also beats being drunk off my ass, and the inevitable hangover the next day. I’ll finally get to do some good. I’ll finally get to be a part of something worthwhile.”
Maria hesitated then took a deep breath. A dark witch, a Gnome, and a talking Bloodhound—Sounds like the beginning of a bad joke, Maria thought with a smile on her face.
Frieda looked to her, her mouth a grim line, lips bloodless. “There’s no denying us. We’ll come whether you want us to or not.”
“I know,” Maria said.
Agnes said, “Are you sure, Maria?”
Salem tried to get up, his grunting giving way to soft screams of pain. He wasn’t going anywhere on his own, that was certain.
“Yes,” Maria said. “I can handle this.”
Frieda put her own hand on Maria’s. “We can handle this.”
They helped Agnes lift Salem. He was heavier than Maria expected, especially with him looking so thin all the time.
“Maybe the ice cream business is starting to catch up to you,” Maria mused. Salem laughed at the joke, though his laughter quickly broke into a coughing fit, and flecks of blood sprayed out from the back of his throat.
Agnes opened a portal. Maria glimpsed the inside of Salem’s house, which she hadn’t seen in years; she thought he never stayed there, because he was always at the ice cream shop, but according to the lived-in look present in Salem’s bedroom, she was wrong.
Before they went through, Agnes turned to Maria. “If you need anything—any help, anything at all—you know how to contact me.” She held up her communication crystal. Salem had given his to Frieda.
“I do,” Maria said.
“Godspeed, Maria,” Salem wheezed. “You’re stronger than
