Captain Sludge stood atop a wooden platform in the glow of torchlight. The red flames flickered as black smoke clouded the surrounding cavern and drifted toward the distant Stalagmite Forest. The rocky jungle left shadows on the cave walls that sparked ideas for new nightmares.
There was a rumbling and scores of dark soldiers marched through the entry tunnels toward him. Row after row of jackbooted Shadow Swine advanced with swords and spears held high.
When all his army had assembled, Sludge raised a large club and a hush passed through the crowd. The captain nodded. “The White grows. And with it the amnesia I have crafted.”
“Blank Canvas! Blank Canvas!” the soldiers chanted.
“We have entranced many, and soon Surrealia will fall.” He leered at the crowd and called over his shoulder. “Bring out the slaves.”
A moment later two long rows of soldiers marched from a nearby tunnel. Each pair flanked a shackled Artanian. Just like Sludge had taught them, they tugged cruelly on the chains every couple of seconds.
Pain and fear. Yes. He licked his bulbous lips.
When they lined up at the platform steps, Sludge pointed his club at the young woman wearing a cloche hat in the front. “You first.”
She groped to wrap the pieces of the torn dress around her bare arms. “No. Please.”
“No. Please,” Sludge mocked.
His army chortled and Sludge grinned.
The flapper woman strained against her chains, but her captors held fast. She looked up at Sludge and her lower lip trembled. “I just want to go home. Please send me back.”
“Oh, we will,” Sludge said raising a hairless brow.
“R-really?”
“Of course. Right troops?”
Several soldiers nodded. The guards shoved her forward, and the glorious sound of chains clinking, and clanging filled the air. A pleasing shiver passed over Sludge’s hunchbacked spine.
With teeth flashing in the firelight, Sludge stepped to the edge of the platform and lowered his club until it touched the mound of soil below him. “Arise, Mudlark Maker. Rise.”
The ground swelled as a mud strand twined around the wooden club. Sludge slowly raised his arms, and the muddy vine grew. A head bloomed, and long tentacle-like arms sprouted. Bulbous lips swelled. Soon the mud grew into a legless creature.
The creature shook out its long ratty hair and sighed. The entire cavern vibrated with the sound. “Aww, a snack. Yum.”
Sludge shoved the woman into Mudlark Maker’s waiting arms. The creature held her in front of its huge face and smacked its lips.
The woman began to scream.
The monster’s body melted away while its mouth kept growing until it was larger than an elephant’s grave. Soon two boggy arms and bulging lips were all that was left. Then Mudlark Maker raised the whimpering woman over its mouth and dropped her in. The great lips closed in a wall-shaking swallow.
The Shadow Swine army stamped their feet in approval. A thin sergeant with long dreadlocks punched the air and a low hum rippled through the crowd.
A few moments later, Mudlark Maker belched, and a spray of steam spewed the woman to Captain Sludge’s feet. Her flapper dress and shoes were now mended, and her short, bobbed hair neatly combed under a floral hat.
The young woman bent down grasping the manacles around her ankles. She squeezed and the steel crumbled like autumn leaves. Then she stood, her eyes flashing red for a moment before reverting to brown. “What is your will?”
“Go wait, there.” Sludge pointed to a place behind the platform.
The woman bowed and marched down the steps. Sludge nodded. Well done Mudlark Maker. Both pliant and strong.
The other shackled Artanians started to sob and whimper. A few tried to punch the guards, but their chained wrists made it about as effective as the water dripping off the stalactites above.
“Fools! Fight all you like. But Mudlark Maker will turn you into slaves all the same. Next!”
It took a great deal of straining and tugging for this pair to drag the next prisoner toward the edge of the platform. But a minute later Sludge was repeating his performance all the same. He did this again and again until a score of slaves lined up behind at the platform steps, all looking better than before his soldiers had captured them. If anyone happened upon them, they wouldn’t know the difference.
Unless they noticed the brief flashes of red in their eyes. But Sludge wasn’t worried about that. Only humans could see that, and he’d made sure Alex and Gwen would be busy with the spellbound teens.
Amnesia spreading. The Blank Canvas growing. More Mudlark slaves. Even had a hex on two human boys.
Today was a good day.
Time for a dip in the River of Lies and a soothing cup of worm tea.
About Laurie: The author of Forests Secrets and Finding Joy as well as The Pharaoh’s Cry, Portal Rift, Persistence of Memory, Kidnapped Smile, and Dragon Sky of the fantasy series The Artania Chronicles, Laurie Woodward is also a screenwriter who co-authored Dean and JoJo: The Dolphin Legacy. Her poetry has been published in multiple journals and anthologies and she was a collaborator on the popular anti-bullying DVD Resolutions. Bullied as a child, Laurie is now an award-winning peace consultant, poet, and blogger who helps teach children how to avoid arguments, stop bullying, and maintain healthy friendships. She writes on the Central Coast of California. More about her work can be found at Author Laurie Woodward — Next Chapteria.net
Laurie Woodward 