If Wishes Were Horses 25

On Saturday morning I forced myself to remain as calm as possible. I knew I was going to meet my friend’s new man that night – the one I believed was hurting her in revenge for the Artimis’s inability to hurt me. I could not afford to lose my temper with Dan, or even to reveal what I truly thought, in case I brought down more trouble on Minty’s head.  I couldn’t let the creature know I was aware of who Dan was, or how it used him as a weapon. I had managed to convince myself that I would give Minty the blue pebble to act as a protection. I couldn’t tell her it was a good luck charm; she’d laugh at me and call me gullible for believing such things. Perhaps if I had it turned into a piece of jewellery she would wear it, although I didn’t want to have it drilled or glued in case that damaged it and removed its protective powers.  The silver chain and its starling pendant at my throat glowed warmly all day, although I saw no sign of the red gold glow that confirmed the phoenix’s presence. Perhaps he was busy elsewhere, such as at Father Brendan’s church, where rebuilding work had already begun. The local news had said the new structure would be as close as possible to the old one. Although the art would not be original, the beauty would not be lost, and the congregation had agreed with the priest that was the best plan. I was pleased that I would be able to see the church’s glory again, and looked forward to seeing the phoenix window, although I vowed I wouldn’t go near the place until my curse had been broken, just in case the Artimis took another blow against it.

As the time of my meeting with Minty drew closer I dressed and got ready for an evening out. I wasn’t in the mood for a night at the pub, and I dressed more conservatively than I might normally have done. I’d never be able to outshine Minty and her sense of style anyway, so I opted for smart casual, and above all comfortable. I didn’t want to be distracted by pinching shoes or a hemline I had to keep adjusting for decency’s sake.  When I felt happy with my outfit I set out to meet Minty in the pub. We’d agreed to be there before Dan was due to arrive so we could have a chat about exactly what she wanted me to do. She had her hair swept elegantly back into a chignon and there was a row of bright hairpins holding it in place. Each had a sparkling diamond-like jewel on the end so they glinted in the light as she moved her head. It looked extremely classy, and I told her so.

“Thanks. I’ve gone for a darker colour too, it’s plummier than my normal shade. I’m still trying to get used to it really.”

I told her not to worry, she looked wonderful, and the colour suited her better than her more brassy choices of the past, only I didn’t say brassy because she’d have been offended. We were half way down a couple of beers when a tall, dark and very good looking man walked in and Minty looked up. “There he is,” she said, waving to him and beckoning him across to our table. He gestured that he would visit the bar and pointed at our drinks as if to ask if we wanted more, but we both shook our heads, and he disappeared into the queue.  I turned to Minty, “Well you didn’t exaggerate. He does provide a good view, doesn’t he?” I could see why she wouldn’t want to give him up, even if he wasn’t the nicest guy she ever knew. That kind of looks on your arm can do wonders for your self esteem.

Dan came across, carrying a pint glass, and sat down on a stool opposite us.

“Angela, this is Dan: Dan, Angela,” Minty made the introductions. Dan held out his hand in greeting and I took hold of it, only to feel my heart sink as he grinned to reveal a row of very sharp teeth. This was no weapon being used by the Artimis, this was the creature itself in yet another guise.  How could I have been so stupid?

“Hello Angie,” it continued to grin and held onto my hand for rather longer than I would have liked. I wanted to run straight out of the pub, dragging Minty behind me, but the phoenix’s words about opportunities came back to me. We were out of my flat and the enemy sat immediately across from me. All I had to do was keep my eyes open and watch for signs of what its name might be.  This could be the night my troubles ended.

As the evening wore on we made small talk but the Artimis asked increasingly personal questions about my life as it tried to rattle my composure. I noticed that Minty’s responses were becoming barbed. She was clearly upset that he concentrated on talking to me and I hoped she wasn’t jealous. I couldn’t tell her the truth about what it was, I just had to keep watching for anything out of the ordinary, but I had no idea what it was I actually hoped to see.  The creature wore a suit again, this time in a dark grey with a narrow pink chalk stripe. Unlike every other man in the place he also wore a tie. As his questions became more insulting to me I wondered what I could say that would destroy his control of the conversation without hurting Minty.

“Tell me Angie, have you ever woken up with a total stranger in your bed?” I knew he was referring to the night he’d set me up with Paul, just to embarrass me and was just considering my reply when Minty spoke.

“You know, that was very impolite.” She emphasised the last word and I marvelled at her choice to use it.  Almost as if she knew what she spoke to.  “I suggest you apologise to Angela right now.”

It opened its mouth to reply but Minty broke in before it had a chance. “And don’t argue with me. You are being impolite and I will not allow it.” There was that word again. I looked over to her but she was staring intently at the creature and did not blink. I instinctively reached for the bird charm around my neck and toyed with it as I watched the conversation continue.  A glass collector hovered by our table and reached across in front of me to pick up some empties. I looked up, stunned, to see Ami by my side. He winked, picked up a glass, and moved away into the crowd. That was when I noticed Minty’s hand was in her pocket and she was turning something over and over. I reached into my own pocket and felt the blue pebble, which made me wonder exactly what was going on.

I heard the Artimis say, “I’m sorry Angie,” and I noticed he looked less polished than before. There were wrinkles in its suit.

“Her name is Angela. Apologise again. Properly this time.”  Amazingly it did, and I noticed the wrinkles increased, and there was a dark shadow appearing around its face, as if it needed a shave.

Minty continued her onslaught. “You know, I’m not really sure I want to have much more to do with you. You are a very cruel and insulting individual and I don’t plan to spend a moment longer with you than I need to. Do you understand?”

“Yes Araminta.”

“Minty!”

“Yes Minty. I’m sorry. Please forgive me. You know I love being with you.”

“You love hurting me, and others. You are not here because you want to be with me, you are here because you enjoy being cruel and you like to watch people squirm.”  The hand in her pocket gripped tightly onto whatever she had there.

The creature began to rise from its seat but suddenly Ami was there behind it and Minty ordered it to sit down.  She leaned forward and stared intently into its eyes. “I know your kind. You are a beast. A monster. And you will never be happy while you behave the way you do.”  She pointed at it and it stared at her finger. I could have sworn there was fear in its eyes. “There are a lot more creases in your suit now and even your tie is showing signs of wear. You are a lot less glamorous than you were.” Now I knew she understood what she had in her grasp, but I didn’t know how.

“Tell me something Angela,” she said without taking her eyes off the Artimis. “Have you noticed anything about the creases?  Check the tie, for example.” I looked hard and noticed that the creases seemed to make a word. “Now have a look at the shirt collar.” There was the same pattern. “And the jacket sleeve.” Unmistakably it was the same pattern repeating across the outfit. “Trouser leg. Shoe. Even the cufflinks. What can you see Angela?”

“It’s a word.”

“Take great care, but read what it says.”

“There’s an M, and an O and X and A. Over and over again.” Ami’s face lit up. “It says Moxa!” I looked into the creature’s face. “Your name is Moxa!”

It let out a shriek and ran toward the door. As it went there was a golden glow as if it was on fire and a few customers looked up in alarm but they returned to their beer when they realised they were not in danger.

I turned to Minty. “What on earth just happened? How did you know what was going on? I don’t understand.” I turned to Ami. “Is that it? Is it really all over?” He nodded and smiled happily.

“The Artimis is defeated. Thanks to your friend you found its name.” But I still couldn’t understand how it had all turned out. I looked astonished at Minty.

“You really should have confided in me before, you know.  I told you I wasn’t quite as helpless as you think.”

I kept opening my mouth but no words came out, so she continued to tell me the whole story. The day we’d visited Madame Rosa she noticed the woman draw me aside to speak to me. She realised something serious had taken place and a few days later she went back to ask for help on my behalf. The Asterling woman had told her what she’d seen when we consulted the fake medium and explained that I wouldn’t be able to beat the curse without help.

“What the book didn’t tell you was that you can’t reveal the name by yourself. It’s forbidden for the Fae to reveal each other’s names because it’s a very powerful weapon. It’s a bit like every country has huge atom bombs but nobody dares to launch the first one or the entire world would be blown up.”

I didn’t like the analogy, but I stayed quiet.  “The first thing the Asterlings did was to give me amulets to protect myself. I have a blue egg too,” and she pulled her pebble from the pocket where she’d been holding it throughout the battle with ‘Dan’.  “Of course, that meant that I could see the creature’s teeth every time it smiled. So I knew exactly what I was dealing with.  Ami told me why it had started to visit me.”

“Ami?” I looked up at him.

“Minty has been under my protection. That was where I had to return when I could not stay with you earlier this week.”

Everything started to make sense. “You’ve known all along what my problem was,” I said to Minty. “Why didn’t you just say so?”

“Not allowed. I have no idea why, but the Asterlings were pretty definite about that.  Now, let’s have a drink to celebrate our success.  And hang beer – let’s make it a cocktail. My treat.” And she went off to the bar.

Ami leaned down to me and whispered in my ear. “I need to go now, but you will ever have the protection of the Asterlings, and the phoenix from this point. We will never be far from you in times of need. “

“Thank you,” I whispered back.

“And one last thing. Do not be afraid when the time comes. He was as powerless as you were in what happened.”

I turned to ask him what he meant, but he’d gone. “He, who?” I thought. “He can’t mean the creature or he’d have said ‘it’.”

Minty came back with two mojitos and sat down beside me. “Wow, doesn’t that look like Ami,” she said, looking across the bar. I looked up, straight at Paul, who was watching me. He smiled shyly and didn’t move until I smiled back. Then he walked over to our table.

“Angela. I never thought I’d see you again. I meant to call, but my mum was ill and I had to go and help look after her. By the time I got back I thought I’d left it too long so I daren’t get in touch. But now I’ve seen you I think maybe it’s fate?  Can you forgive me?” I smiled up at him and told him jokingly that I’d try.  “Can I call my pal over? Can we join the two of you?”

I looked over to Minty who simply said, ”Oh yes!”

As the introductions were made around the table I thought to myself. “Maybe life’s not so bad after all. Who needs three wishes?”