Ofrse’s son did not try to run- or to swim- but I had not really expected him to. With a witch for a mother, he knew what I was capable of. Or at least he thought he did, although with Ofrse for a mother he really only knew the half of what I was capable of. Still, it was enough to keep him in one place while I pondered how best to craft- and charge- the spell I needed.
I decided the newly emptied bell would be the best vessel for my needs. A summoning is a kind of message, and a message is meant to be understood. It would work nicely. To charge it I was tempted to use Ofrse herself- she was about the right size for it, but I was curious about whether or not she might contain the energy of a full-sized witch in her tinier form. Her aura indicated that she might, in which case I’d rather store it, and save it for later. So I decided to drain one of the crystals I’d stored energy in many years ago.
It took time, but not nearly as much time as it might have taken, had I not had energy at hand, and a pre-used vessel to work with. Because I was right; the similarity in purposes was close enough to ease the crafting, which sped things up considerably. The sun hadn’t moved more than a finger’s-breadth by the time I finished, and I felt confident the spell, improvised as it might be, would achieve my purpose.
I rang the bell, and said the proper words. This time it was a lower, almost croaking ring, which made sense: I’d spelled it specifically to let me understand toad, which took far less power than if I’d wanted a more general understanding of animal tongues. For that I’d have certainly needed the blood of at least two bears- and what a waste of meat that would be.
“Now,” I eyed Ofrse’s son, “Say again what you were trying to tell me.”
His throat swelled up, and he began to croak- but this I heard only dimly, as though music were being played in a distant room. Above that, over that, I heard him speak.
“I didn’t want to marry her- I certainly didn’t want to- to do that to her! But Mother didn’t care, she was determined to break the curse, which isn’t even a curse, but she-”
“Back to the point, child,” I said, for his voice put me in mind of a youth, not a man. “What were you trying to tell me about the movement in the water?”
“Oh!” he gave a little hop, then shook himself. “I was trying to tell you that they did it- the little fish. They nibbled her free. Or at least, it was probably them, because I heard them talking about what a shame it was for such a beautiful maiden to be married to such an ugly thing as me.”
This came across matter-of-factly, with no trace of sadness or anger. I raised an eyebrow, and he made a movement that I somehow understood as a shrug.
“I don’t care what they say: fish are deeply stupid, and anyway the lady toads think I look just fine.”
I frowned. I would need to talk to the fish- but I didn’t have time to craft another spell and this one would only work on toads. And only for another hour or so.
“Can you call them up for me?” I said, “And tell me what they say?”
“I can call- they might not come,” he said. “Like I said, fish are deeply stupid, and they might not realize that making a witch angry is a lot worse than talking to a potential predator.”
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