Chapter 264: Colin-Fu is Leaking

Chapter 264: Colin-Fu is Leaking

There was a shimmering haze around my hands. It wasnt like the light that accompanied my healing spell. That came from my palms and was like a heat glow. This was more like gloves, from my wrists, tracing the outline of my fingers and enclosing the backs and palms.

I held my hands up like a surgeon, palms facing me. I could still see my skin through the haze, just about, but there was no difference in sensation. My hands were still my hands.

What does this mean? I asked the Elder.

The frogmen were all staring at me without saying anything, which is never fun. Those people who desperately want attention and are willing to do stupid shit to get it, I have no idea why they think this is enjoyable. Creepy, more like it. Admittedly, dozens of frogmen turning their goggle eyes on you isnt the kind of attention most people are looking for.

Magic, said the Elder in a voice full of ominous implications.

Yes, I got that, I said in a voice full of annoyed. What does it do? Why is it making my hands glow? How do I turn it off? I wanted specific answers so I was asking specific questions. Like that ever helped.

You have released your source. It is pouring out of you and will probably leave you an empty husk if you dont staunch the flow.

Great, I was having a fantasy period. Did they make wizard tampons in my size? And where was I supposed to put them?

I turned around, my hands still held up. Any ideas? It was a long shot, I know, but perhaps the cause of my problem would come up with a solution.

My party looked blankly at me.

I had no idea why this had happened now. Nothing had changed. I didnt feel any different. If the magic worked when you connected with your source, the thing you cared about most and which was powerful enough to feed that desire, did that mean I had finally learned to love myself and those closest to me?

Looking at the assembled cretins and dweebs, Id have to go with no.

All Id done was accept that they were what I was stuck with. Was that all it took? An acknowledgement that we were part of the same team? I was pretty sure Id already become resigned to that reality, and it hadnt felt very empowering at the time.

Now, however, it was the magic ticket, apparently. Did it have something to do with Joshaya? Id have liked to have asked him, if he hadnt disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Maybe this is what Joshaya meant, said Maurice, echoing my thoughts. Maybe his plan was to help you reach the next level.

Or it could be a trick. For all we know, these arent even the real girls. They could be stand-ins. I looked closely into Jennys face. She countered with a very Jenny-like gurn which suggested she thought I might be retarded. And what do you call a girl who sleeps with a retarded guy, huh?

I have to say, I think I would know if this wasnt Flossie, said Dudley. He put his arm around the beaming redhead.

This is the problem with relationships. People always think their bond with their significant other is special in some way. Like love is a kind of magic power that brings soulmates together. And equally, when you lose that loving feeling, thats a reasonable excuse for calling it quits and sleeping with her best friend. Or your best friend.

Theres nothing special about love. It isnt magic, its biochemistry. Theres no soulmate waiting out there for each person, theres just a lot of people who want to hook up, steadily lowering their standards until they get to you.

That doesnt mean the connection you form with another person isnt emotionally binding. It can be bloody suffocating. But you can make that bond with anyone. If theyre interested in you and you are in them, spend enough time together being nice to each other, and you too can fall in love. Same as billions of others.

Hes a god, I said. If he wanted to fool us with fake girls who look and act like ours, he could probably do it.

But the castle illusion didnt work, pointed out Maurice.

And weve yet to encounter magic that fooled us for very long, said Dudley.

But weve had mind control used on us quite effectively, I said. They might turn on us as soon as we let our guard down.

Were standing right here, you know? said Claire. And we wouldnt need to wait for you to let your guard down to take down you three dorks.

I have to admit, it was unlikely anyone could make Claire any more antagonistic towards me than she already was. A bit of mind control might actually be an improvement.

If he did this to make Colin more powerful, why would he want to help us? asked Claire.

Theres somewhere I want to go, I said. Well meet you back at the lake.

The frogmen were fine with that. They were still shell-shocked by recent events and wanted to go swim in their lily pond, perhaps for the last time.

The others had no reason not to do as I said, they didnt even ask any questions. The really great thing about being a leader is that people dont waste time offering you alternatives. They dont feel entitled to suggest the thing theyd prefer. Saves a lot of time and energy. Not that my way is better than anyone elses, but having to argue the toss just makes whichever path you end up taking that little bit more of a pain to get to.

We set off and it took me a moment to notice we had an extra passenger. Nabbo had decided to tag along, although he may have been too stoned to realise his group had taken a different route.

I led them to the grotto. If the forest was anywhere, it would be there. The others were suitably impressed by the beachfront property inside a cave. Their concerns were soon forgotten when they realised theyd have their own private hot tub to mess around in.

The god who had tricked us, the glowing hands that were draining my life, the monster waiting to pounce on us around the next corner, all of that took a back seat to the jacuzzi. Priorities, thats what defines the kind of person you are. And I think we all know what kind I was stuck with.

There was no sign of the forest here, either. I went to the spot where I had buried the dwarfstone and dug it up. It was still there, a dull, lifeless gem. Until I picked it out of the hole.

The light from my hands filled the gem so it glittered with a golden brilliance, lighting up the cave. My hands were no longer glowing.

Id found the off switch, but what did it mean? Why was the gem glowing? Could I use it now? To do what? And how did I reignite my hands, assuming I might want to?

More and more questions, which made me realise Id have to get answers from the man in Gorgoth. The sooner the better.

Easier said than done. The hot tub with en suite weed-supplying frog was not an easy thing to leave behind. They begged me to wait until morning. Then it was lunchtime. Then it was getting late and itd be dark before you knew it

Eventually, after much threatening and foretelling of impending doom, which wasnt taken very seriously, I forced them out of the grotto. We dropped Nabbo off with his people and said our goodbyes. Considering how badly wed fucked up their happy lives, they harboured very little resentment towards us. Frogs are good people.

We kept going until we reached the village we had decimated. There were no people there. Gone or never existed, who knows?

What happened to the naked priestess and her dancing troupe? I asked Jenny.

Never saw them.

They were fairies who could take the shape of women, apparently, I said. You arent a fairy in disguise, are you?

Ah am, said Flossie, jumping up and down with her hand raised.

We made it back to the dragons who were merrily snacking on the plants and flowers. If wed had them with us, the forest would have never have had a chance. If the dwarf was still in control of the plant life back there, we had the perfect counter-weapon.

So, were heading to Gorgoth, then? said Maurice. His notebook was almost full, hed been writing so many ideas and theories about what Joshaya might have done. We probably wouldnt be able to work it out until he turned up at some point and told us; while laughing maniacally, no doubt.

We clambered aboard the dragons, once Flossie had spent the required amount of time hugging and petting them (that time being exactly too long).

As we reached a cruising altitude, we settled in for a long, hopefully boring, journey east.

There was a large explosion far behind us. Vikchutni veered around as a shock wave hit and all the dragons bunched closer together. Once Flossie had regained control, we stood up and looked back. There was an enormous plume of smoke rising into the air.

Fengarad or Dargot, most likely, said Maurice.

Should we go investigate? said Dudley. They might need help.

Before I could open my mouth to admonish him for his poorly thought out good intentions, Jenny spoke. Were going to Gorgoth.

We cant save everyone, said Claire.

I almost felt proud of them. It was only baby steps, but they were getting there. My hands started glowing again.