Page 106 of Carved
“Thank you,” Erin said.
“None of the riddles can be anything aboutHell or demons,” Bale declared loudly. “The humans know nothing ofour world and the laws have always been meant to be fair.”
The skellein before me rubbed his chin whilesome chattered their displeasure over those terms and others theiracceptance. “The riddles will involve things only dealing with thehuman realm,” the one with the cane declared. There were happythuds on the bar following this and disgruntled sounds, but no oneargued with his declaration. “Are you all in agreement of the termsthen?”
“Yes,” the four of us replied.
Kobal didn’t speak as he watched the walking,talking set of bones across from us. The skellein stared at himbefore bowing his head. “It is what must be done, my king,” hemurmured. “If she were not your Chosen you wouldn’t argue againstthis. If it were not our laws, we would not disagree with you onit, as you well know.”
A muscle twitched in Kobal’s jaw. “I know,but if this goes wrong, we will fight,” he vowed.
“I hope that does not happen. Truly, all ofus wish to only stand with you.”
A chorus of agreement ran through the bar.“For our king,” one of them said and raised its mug of beer.
“For our king!” they cheered, their glassesclinking together before they downed their contents.
“Weirdest fucking demons yet,” Hawk mutteredand I nodded my agreement.
The skellein with the cane focused on Erinonce more. “Brave girl.” Turning away, he threw his hands into theair and twirled his cane around. “Who will ask the firstquestion?”
“’Tis my turn!” one yelled happily from therestaurant area.
The black bandanna he wore around his headwas askew and sliding to the right. Across his left eye was aneyepatch with a pearl in the middle of it. Grabbing his mug fromthe scarred wooden table, he shoved back his rickety chair and roseto his feet. Pale liquid sloshed over the sides of his glass as hewalked.
“Unbelievable,” Hawk muttered. “It’s fuckingOne-eyed Willy.”
I didn’t know who One-eyed Willy was, butdespite the horribleness of this situation, I bit back a hystericallaugh as the skellein approached us. It was all so surreal that Icouldn’t quite believe we were actually standing here, preparing toanswer riddles from walking skeletons. The first of which believedhe was a pirate.
The pirate stopped a few feet away from Erin.He finished off his beer and placed it on the bar. By now, I knewit didn’t happen, but I kept waiting for liquid to trickle out ofhim like it used to with the one baby doll I’d had as a child.
“I know!” Pirate clapped his hands togetherbeside his right earhole.
The clacking of the bones made me wince. Withbaited breath, I waited for his fingers to break off and fly indifferent directions. His fingers remained intact and his jawpulled back into a grin. Stepping closer to us, his empty eyesockets peered intently at Erin who didn’t break the skellein’sunwavering stare.
“There's a land where there's mummies anddaddies but no babies. Books but no libraries. Mirrors but noreflections. Kittens but no cats. Cattle but no cows. Lollipops butno candy, and trees but no forests. It's the land of what?” thepirate inquired.
My stomach sank. I was pretty sure the piratehad spoken in a foreign language. I didn’t know what to make of thejumble of garbage that had spilled from his mouth. I didn’t darelook at Erin; I didn’t want to add unnecessary pressure to her, butI was dying to know if she’d understood anything of what he’dsaid.
I was still trying to puzzle out whatlanguage the skellein might have been speaking, when Erin replied,“It’s the land of double letters.”
The entire bar became silent before a cheerwent through the crowd. The skelleins clanked their mugs together;beer spilled over the dark wood surface of the bar in sloshingpuddles.
“I guess that was the right answer,” Vargassaid slowly.
“Yes,” Kobal said.
Hawk rested his hands on Erin’s shoulders andmassaged them enthusiastically. “You got this!”
The one who had asked the question waved hisfingers and gave Erin an elegant bow. Turning away, he made his wayback to the table and settled in as another one made his wayforward. This one wore a baseball cap turned backward and a pair ofcowboy boots. It took everything I had not to laugh at thespectacle of those bony legs disappearing into the oversizedboots.
The skellein stopped before us and tapped hisfinger against his chin as he stared at Erin. The click of hisfinger hitting against his bone sounded like a tree branch scrapingacross glass.
Finally, he spoke. “I have four wings, butcannot fly, I never laugh and never cry; on the same spot I'malways found, toiling away with little sound. What am I?”
I didn’t have a chance to speculate what thatcould possibly mean before Erin answered. “A windmill.”
Now, when everyone in the bar cheered, so didHawk, Vargas, and I along with Corson and Bale. Only Kobal and Erinremained mute and watchful. The skellein gave her a brief salutebefore returning to his stool to cheer with the others.
