Day Four-Fifty-Three: Eviction notice

Werewolf hair makes me sneeze. I didn't know that before. Maybe I developed an allergy in the last day? Surely the giant werewolf infestation of Castle Whatsit would've affected me more if this wasn't a new thing…

I awoke on a bed of dry brush and grass, probably pulled from a hundred different places all over the mountain. Antonia watched me from a nearby shadow, only revealed by the glow of her eyes. I hate the colour orange, I really do.

All the worse for me, that. Antonia wasn't the only creature emitting a hue in the cave.

"Good mornin', Mr. Mayor. Did you sleep well?"

June hovered nearby in her magic circle thing, three or four inches off of the ground, her legs crossed. She smiled and waved as I looked at her, and, to my mixed horror and creepy delight, she stretched and moaned a little when she caught me blushing.

"Ah. Like what ya see, eh?"

I described earlier that June had looked slightly younger during my last visit to the cave. Not at first, of course - at first she seemed to be aging by the second, only hours away from being thoroughly skeletal. This June, though, was completely different: young, vital, shapely, and, uh, sensuous. Her voice made my hair stand on end.

But only at first. Even as she set foot on the ground and strutted towards me, I could feel the corruption of her soul speaking to me. More, I remembered my love, the love that had brought me into the darkness and broken my body parts in the first place. Libby's a thousand times more attractive than June, no matter how young the witch looks.

June must have caught this, because she turned off her charm, laughed, and snapped her fingers. "Ah, well, I had you for a second. Gotta admit, it's a nice package, eh? Gotta admit."

I sat up, grimacing against the pain in my arm. It creaked in its impromptu sling. "Agh… the hell is this? How do you…? How are you…?"

June grinned and waved to the massive symbol on the wall. It was noticeably dimmer than before, a subtle shade of grey. "Isn't it obvious? This, Dragomir, this! Or, t'be more precise, what lies beyond! Take control of it and you've got one helluva battery to feed from!"

"Battery?"

"Y'see, it… hm… eh, nevermind." She coughed. "I've been waitin' almost a hundred years to get my hands on something of the rats. This isn't quite what I wanted, 'cause I can only go so far - "

She stretched her hand outside the circle. It withered back to worn leather.

"- but I'll get 'round it. Once my helpers are done digging, I'll have all the power I need."

Shit, I thought. Another bad guy. Not like I hadn't suspected as much. "To… do… what?"

June thought it over, bit her lip, and wagged a finger. "Mmmm… no, no, I don't think so. You don't really need to know that. Don't have anything worth tradin' for the info, either. I'll keep it to m'self, thank YOU. All you need to know is that this place is mine, now."

I looked around the cave. "F… fine. Keep it. Don't give a damn. Just a stupid cavern."

June chuckled. "Not the cave. Or not just the cave. I mean the mountain. It's mine. It's what I've always wanted. S'why I let your brat lead us here. And now that he's done bothering me, real work can begin."

'Real work' sent a shiver tap dancing down my vertebrae.

"You'll get your stupid mine back." June turned to the wall with the symbol on it. "Once I'm done with it I'll be long gone, somewhere you'll never find me. It'll be a hell of a lot bigger 'n when I got started, trust me. This's all to your benefit. And since I need you healthy…"

June waved her hand at the wall. It flared, and light poured out of it, encompassed the circle she was standing in, and jumped to me. I tried to at least cry 'DO YOU KNOW WHERE LIBBY WENT?', but the light was too fast. The last thing I saw was a lightning bolt reaching up to strike my eyeballs…

… but that's not the last thing I heard. No, the last thing I heard was a sentence, most definitely belonging to June: "Oh my! So that's what's wrong with 'em!" Dunno what it means, and I'm hoping it was a dream.

I woke up outside the cave, Antonia beside me. The illusion was gone; I faced actual rock wall when I tried to get back in. I found it remarkable that I could even try to get back in, because my body was completely healed. No busted arm, no crooked nose, no leg bent at the wrong angle. I haven't felt so good in years.

Antonia, glowering and silent, led me back to Pubtwon. I followed without comment, wondering how June had become strong enough that she could render the werewolf docile. And that was only the beginning, because when we got back every person in the camp had glowing eyes. One pale orange, one bright white.

I've since been expelled from Pubtwon. No explanation, no companions, no supplies. Everyone… just… watched, as Antonia guided me to the edge of the camp and calmly forced me out. June even has Grylock under her control, and he offered no help. Not even his usual derisive laugh.

I'm headed back to Pubton now. I don't know what else to do, really. June's left me with no options. All I can do is walk, suck dew from the grass, think of food, and look for my wife. Wherever she might be, I don't think Libby's in Pubtwon.

Fuck. And I thought Jeffrey's trial was big news.

Sincerely,

Dragomir the Mayor