FICTION | MASHUP | FANTASY

Part 11 of A Hell of a Bedtime Story — Nathan is mysteriously rescued before a demon rips him to pieces, but only so that the torments of his past have time to catch up.

As Nathan hung motionless in the air, his body tensed with the fear of impending harm. One of his arms and a leg were still trapped in the demon's grasp, and he could feel the strain on his muscles. If the demon continued pulling, his ligaments would begin to tear.

Silently, Nathan thanked the unknown power that had frozen them in time. Then, the young wizard saw a piece of paper dancing in the wind. 'Not frozen in time,' he thought, 'paralysed.'

His gaze forcibly fixed on the demon, Nathan realised the extra-dimensional being saw something he couldn't see, and the beast wasn't thrilled about it. He heard oddly familiar-sounding footsteps approaching.

Nathan cursed his ill fate. He would recognise the sound of these special hand-crafted leather shoes anywhere and anytime. Convinced the Arcane Order of Wizardry didn't sell their traditional boots outside their ranks, Nathan wished for a second the demon would tear him apart.

'Com'on Juggernaut. Give me the Deadpool treatment.'

Instead of being ripped into two, a malicious voice he knew even better than the sound of the order's ridiculous apparel pulled him out of his thoughts.

"Look what the cat … or rather the demon dragged in today."

Master Elmhorn and five of the order's novices moved into Nathan's field of vision. This explained a lot. He knew few beings powerful enough to pull the spell off that trapped him and the hulking red-grey creature. His old mentor was one of them.

Unable to cast a helpful spell, Nathan was forced to witness as the novices formed a circle around him and the demon. Like good choirboys, they started to chant, their magically-infused chorus resounding in the alley. Each held a colourful crystal that matched the tunics under their black capes.

Bright tendrils of light emanated from the crystal, slowly snaking their way toward Nathan and the demon. The tendrils formed into rainbow-coloured bands of light that engulfed and entangled them. At last, this rainbow of doom wound around the demon's claws, prying them open. Suddenly, Nathan was released from its grip and hit the hard concrete ground.

"Thanks, rainbow squad! You saved me from the evil wizard's spell."

Nathan was too happy to celebrate the end of the paralysis with sarcasm. Seeing the true beauty of a shoe-shaped bruise on Master Elmhorn's face helped him to get into the right mood.

"Please, tell me you brought the shoe, my prince. We could live happily ever after!"

The smug, malevolent smile disappeared momentarily from the cruel fossil's visage. When it returned, it never reached the old wizard's cold eyes. It was nothing but a performance to put the novices at ease. The head of the Arcane Order of Wizardry liked to be feared but needed them to function nonetheless.

"Mockery," Master Elmhorn spit the word out like a bitter pill, "The weapon of the weak. That's what you are — the most pathetic disgrace of the century."

Nathan faked a sad face and sobbed.

"Hurts … so much," he mocked and nodded toward the novices in their colourful tunics, "You know what hurts even more? Being replaced with the Power Rangers and their groovy tune."

"These are dedicated disciples of our glorious order. Some of our best."

"Are they going to combine into a super robot?!"

"Insolence!"

One of the novices almost dropped his crystal in response to the sudden outburst. Indeed, these poor Renfields had already learned who was behind Master Elmhorn's civilised facade.

"They are here to prove themselves by bringing you in. They want to rise the ranks …," the head of the Arcane Order of Wizardry looked pleased with himself, "and me as their mentor."

"Do they know you were once my mentor?"

"They …."

"Sorry, I meant to say 'tormentor'. My bad."

"Quiet! I treated you like a son, and how did you thank me?"

"I'm so sorry, Daddy!" Nathan imitated a toddler's squeaky voice, "You were the most loving abusive father figure I could hope for!"

Elmhorn clenched his right hand into a fist. Agonising pain erupted when the rainbow of doom squeezed Nathan's body and cut into his flesh. Hoping to push Elmhorn's buttons a bit more, Nathan did his best to smile at the mad old mage, whose knuckles started to turn white. It was hard to keep the act when the first of Nathan's ribs snapped.

Shocked by the display of brutality, the novices' concentration weakened, and so did the spell entangling Nathan. 'Yes, give them your best Targaryen behaviour.' Soon he would find out how well the Power Rangers knew their master.

"Oi?! Poison Ivy! It's not all bubbles with this one," Nathan addressed the Power Ranger in the poison green tunic, "Did he already sacrifice any of your friends?"

"Silence, you insolent child!"

Master Elmhorn pulled his clenched fist toward his chest, and thereby Nathan violently closer. It was time to give Elmhorn what he wanted, and the young wizard allowed himself to scream in agony and fight his bonds.

It was not only the perfect cover to wriggle a hand free but added to Poison Ivy's growing panic. He was confident the green ranger, now pale like a ghost, was about to crap himself in no time.

"At last, you shall have a purpose for the order again," Master Elmhorn said, pulling an ornated dagger, "Your sacrifice shall help us banish this creature and capture the other that you released."

'F*ck,' Nathan thought, 'I almost forgot about the girl.'

He saw realisation and fear in the demon's eyes. There was something else, too — love. Nathan cursed his misjudgement. He had put innocents at risk to fight the wrong monster, thereby giving the true evil an opening.

"You know how rare unicorns have become? Yes?"

"About as rare as in the movie, 'The Last Unicorn.' And why is that?" Nathan pretended to think hard, "Oh yeah … a bunch of old farts with dusty tomes like to capture them and cut them up into ingredients for spells."

"Their sacrifice serves the greater good," Elmhorn said, pointing at the demon, "Their magic powers ours so that we can save this world from creatures like that."

"Sure, Daddy dearest. That's probably what Skynet tells the terminators so they sleep soundly during their software updates."

Master Elmhorn took a step closer. His evil smile was pure madness now.

"Any last wishes?"

'Damn, not ready yet.' Nathan had to keep him talking, but how? There was only one answer, which was as simple as painful — appealing to Elmhorn's cruelty.

"Why Setiawan?" Nathan asked, fighting back tears, "Why did it have to be him?!"

Although Master Elmhorn's demeanour was that of a lawyer about to reason why his mass-murdering client was a misunderstood victim of society, the demon's menacing appearance faded compared to the cruel delight in the grey-haired wizard's eyes.

"To break you, of course," Nathan's former mentor said as if explaining why he preferred the original Star Wars movies over the sequels. "Nothing else worked with you — reasoning, bribing, and torture were all useless. But going after your love…."

'Keep on talking, mad mage,' Nathan thought, while his free hand desperately searched the ground, 'keep them afraid and the spell weak.'

"Are you speechless, Nathan? What a surprise," the order's leader said, "You should be grateful for his sacrifice. It made you realise your power … and it fuelled the order. Too bad one of us wasted his gift."

Nathan's right hand gently touched a piece of paper on the ground. 'This better not be someone's shopping list.' Suppose he had just a bit of wriggle room.

As if he had listened to Nathan's thoughts, the demon suddenly and violently fought the radiant bonds that entangled him. For a brief moment, Poison Ivy was off rhythm. Long enough for Nathan to grab the card.

He winked at the green Power Ranger, "Cheers, mate. I couldn't have made it without you."

"Silence!" Elmhorn lifted his dagger, "Let's finish this."

"Don't worry," Nathan said and smiled mischievously, "I'll gift you all the silence in the world."

Master Elmhorn's eyes widened in surprise as he felt cold energy emanate from Nathan, but it was too late for him to act. He opened his mouth, but before speaking, a shadowy thread appeared out of nowhere and sewed his and everyone else's lips together.

As suddenly as silence settled over the back alley, the magical bonds disappeared. The novices stared in fear at the freed demon. Nathan winked at Master Elmhorn and held up a worn-out playing card depicting a pale mummer on a lilypad, his lips sewn shut. Dread and recognition showed on the mad mage's face.

With a questioning look, the demon tapped Nathan on the shoulder. The young wizard formed his hands into claws and made slashing moves directed at the novices as an answer. Hesitantly looking left and right, the extra-dimensional pointed at himself. Nathan smiled encouragingly and repeated the gesture.

The demon took a step forward, and the Power Rangers, defenceless without their arcane words, ran for their lives. Then, he turned toward Master Elmhorn, who swiftly cut a rift into reality with his dagger and fled, leaving the novices behind.

Nathan grimaced and held his index fingers like horns to his head before imitating the scared novices running away. The unlikely pair, their earlier deadly fight forgotten, looked at the chaos around them and laughed silently.

The demon tapped his right index finger against his chest before moving it through the air before them. It left a trail of fire forming the word 'Alan', followed by a fiery heart and question mark after a brief pause. The wizard made theatrical gestures, imitating a wizard casting a spell.

Alan looked at him suspiciously and pointed at the threads keeping his mouth shut. Nathan winked before making a series of mundane gestures. A shimmering veil lifted itself over them just as the police arrived.

Years back, Master Elmhorn had chastised him with a stick when he asked if developing spells relying on common sign language was possible. The only drawback was that he'd be too bloody slow when the cursed mummer came to claim his prize.

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This is a response to Jonathon Sawyer's Monday Mash-Up №22.

Prompt #2: Foul magic has made your heroes unable to communicate verbally! 
-> 2 points
Constraint: Bubbles! (1 point)
Constraint: A lily pad (1 point)
Constraint: A giant robot (or a mech) (1 point)
Constraint: A groovy tune! (1 point)
Hardcore Constraint: A Worn out playing card (2 points)
Literary Device: An Oxymoron (most loving abusive father figure) (5 points)
Tally 1 point
Sum: 14 points

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