The Light of My Hearts

The plan was simple. Stake a lively goat near the bank of the Pordella Lake and wait over the rise of the embankment until the Devil Toad came for the bait. Once the Devil Toad inevitably ate the hapless goat the hooks strapped to the goat’s back would lodge in the beast’s mouth and it wouldn’t be unable to retreat back into the depths of the lake. Then Helia and Gillam could slay it.

As they prepared, Helia instructed Gillam, “Keep your eyes out for bubbles or something that looks like an upright tree branch in the water near that goat. They like to stalk up to their prey, pounce out of the water, shove it in their mouth, and then take it back into the water. Once this bastard is hooked, aim for the eyes or inside the mouth. Devil Toads’ backs are too tough to pierce and their belly and throat skin is too stretchy to stab in one strike.”

He nodded. Since there was no one at the lake besides them Gillam had shed his cloak and mask so they wouldn’t hinder him.

“If this works we should be able to move in on both sides and put our swords through his eye sockets and into his brain. Instant death.” She mentioned.

Helia had her sword but she was loading her crossbow with some nasty-looking bolts with ragged metal edges.

“But...if it retracts its eyes down into its body we can resort to a bolt down the throat. Do you know how to fire a bow?” she asked the fae.

“Some...” he didn’t seem overly confident. “Blades are what I typically use.”

The redhead nodded, “Ok. I’ve got the backup then. The main thing is don’t hesitate. Devil Toads look fat but they can move really fast in short bursts; especially their tongue. Don’t get hit with that.” She motioned to the left, “Now just go over there. Once it’s taken the bait and I signal you, we strike.”

As it grew darker, Helia and Gillam waited. The chained goat was staked to a tree further up the bank and was browsing the grasses nearby. A tin bell on its neck clanged gently. Both Helia and Gillam kept their eyes fixed on the water.

Then Gillam made a signal with his hand, gesturing to the water. Helia was having trouble seeing in the growing dark but she noticed a thin pair of twigs poking out of the water a few meters from goat. It could be the growth from a Devil Toad’s back. They watched intently and very slowly the supposed twigs slid closer. Helia gripped her sword and slowly slid it out of her scabbard. Her heartbeat quickened a bit but she settled with steady breathing.

Then the water rippled and a large protuberance emerged beneath the ‘twigs’. Now the Devil Toad confirmed itself; horny twig-like protrusions poking up from its wide, bug-eyed head. The goat had no idea the doom that watched it graze. Helia could see Gillam at the ready and she waited on edge for the toad to seize the bait.

It seemed like an eternity passed with the Devil Toad watching the goat from the water; still as a rock. But then the goat shook itself casually and that triggered everything. With an explosion of water the Devil Toad leaped out onto the bank, huge mouth agape. Its tongue flopped out sharply but only managed to stick itself to one of goat’s back legs. The animal bleated plaintively as it kicked and bucked against the sticky appendage. In a split second the toad caught up with its own tongue and brought the goat backward. Surprisingly the toad bit down too soon and merely lopped off the animal’s leg with its razor edged jaw, which it swallowed eagerly. The goat was all be screeching in pained panic.

Helia watched the horrible scene with tension. All the toad had to do was eat the entire goat and get hooked, then they’d move in. But...something seemed off. The toad was big, yes, and the red of its eyes signaled it was indeed a male, but it looked like it would barely be able eat the goat in one mouthful. Helia thought it would be much bigger. It ate a woman and her two children in one pounce. This toad looked like it could take a single small child but an adult and a couple children all at once... no way.

The thrashing goat renewed the toad’s predatory interest and with a fast scoop and snap of its jaws it stuffed the goat into its mouth, silencing the animal. It’s buggy eyes pushed down, helping to cram the huge meal down its gullet. The chain poked out of its mouth.

Helia signaled to Gillam and with speed they both rushed the Devil Toad. The beast shifted on its fat belly when it noticed the movement from both sides and tried to back into the water, but the chain held it fast. Its eyes squished down as it pawed at the chain with its feet, trying to free itself. It panicked, kicking wildly as the two slayers closed in for the kill.

And then it happened.

The cove erupted with a massive splash as a second Devil Toad three times the size of the chained one exploded out the water. Both Helia and Gillam came to a sudden, startled halt when the bigger toad devoured the first in one bite. Its sharp jaws came together like a snapping turtle and the chain was broke.

Helia froze in place, mere meters from the carriage-sized beast as it swallowed down its cannibal meal. She didn’t dare move and attract its attention, lest she be dessert. Movement was what they hunted. If she held still it would probably miss her and grant her an opening.

So there were two males...but this was obviously the one capable of the atrocities. Now it made sense why she felt the first was too small.

But suddenly, Gillam broke out of his startled pause and brought his sword to bear.

Helia wanted to shout at him to not move, but it was too late. The bugged red eyes of the Devil Toad blinked with a transparent eyelid as it shifted itself in the direction of the new movement. Gillam dodged with inhuman speed at the slimy tongue shot out and tried to nab him. It shot out again and he dodged.

The Devil Toad was now facing away from Helia at the water’s edge, focusing on Gillam. Seizing the opportunity, Helia leaned back and sprinted at the monster. Its wide, twig-covered back was a perfect slope as Helia ran up its back to gouge her sword into its eye. Unexpectedly, the Devil Toad felt her foot hit its back and hopped in a defensive bucking motion. The flail was so sudden, Helia was thrown off to the side into the muddy bank. A sharp pain shot through her ankle as it bent wrong.

Dammit! Dammit! Dammit! She swore to herself as she floundered in the soft earth.

The toad refocused on the new movement and its tongue shot out, slapped down onto Helia’s foot and yanked back in a split second to draw her in and devour her. Fortuitously, the force merely ripped Helia’s boot from her foot and the Devil Toad ate it instead of her.

Helia rolled away from the toad and put her sword in front of her as she stood on her one good foot in the mud.

“Bastard! That was my lucky boot!” she spat.

The Devil Toad lunged, mouth agape with its projectile tongue aimed at her face. A fast slash saw the slimy tip lopped off and fell twitching in the mud beside her. The huge beast scrunched its eyes down in pain, dark blood dripping at the seams of its jaws. Helia reared back with her blade but the toad retreated back into the water only receiving a deflected strike from the slayer against the side of its hard head.

“Oh no you don’t! Get back here you bloated shit! I’m not done with you!” she shouted with bravado.

Just as she was about to go after it she was grabbed under the arms and pulled up out of the mud onto the drier bank.

“Helia! Are you all right?” Gillam’s voice was full of concern.

The woman hissed and shrugged the fae off, “No! The damn thing is getting away!”

Gillam suddenly snapped his large wings up and open. They thrummed with power, almost buffeting Helia as he leaped out toward the water. Helia couldn’t believe what she was seeing as the fae appeared to be running across the water after the toad which was slowly submerging.

How was he doing that? He wasn’t even flying!

The Devil Toad sensed the movement on the water and spun around. Suddenly, it leaped at Gillam like he was a mayfly buzzing across the lake’s surface. Gillam’s wings flashed as he shot up into the air, narrowly missing the toad’s voracious mouth. In one fluid movement the fae turned upside down in a midair, put his hands together, and a white ball of light shot from his hands. The ball flew down and struck the water, instantly creating a sheet of ice over the cove. The Devil Toad, which was only partially out of the water, lurched to a sudden halt when its back legs were frozen as well. It clawed with its long front toes against the ice to free itself but they weren’t strong enough to free its bulk without the back legs’ power.

Gillam wheeled around in the air and dove down again, slashing his blade with precision through the toad’s left eye. The beast gave a shriek, ducked its head down and pawed wildly to free itself. Panic forced it to vomit its stomach contents in a desperate attempt to get away and lighten its burden, but the ice held firm. Gillam was about to turn and deliver a more fatal blow when a crossbow bolt hissed through the air and sunk deep into the Devil Toad’s eye socket. Its whole body when stiff, twitching minutely before slumping in death. Gillam glanced over to see Helia lower her crossbow on the bank.

The redhead gave a sigh of relief. Thankfully a Devil Toad’s eyes were big so aiming for the socket wasn’t impossible. Gillam cautiously prodded the toad’s other eye experimentally with his sword and when it didn’t respond he relaxed knowing it was indeed dead. He sheathed his sword as he stood on the sheet of ice and picked something up out of the slimy mess the toad had regurgitated. He flew up and over to Helia quickly.

“That was a masterful shot, Dyashra.” He complimented as he landed before her.

Helia put down her crossbow, still a bit baffled by Gillam’s solution to the slaying. These fae were just full of surprises and magic.

“Yeah. Nice...ice trick.” She fumbled over the compliment.

His hands came up and Helia gave a look of bafflement when he presented her lost slime-covered boot, “Here. Your lucky boot?”

Helia blinked, staring at her disgusting boot a moment as if she couldn’t believe the fae was touching it. Just as she reached up to take it, Gillam snatched the boot away, buzzed his wings, and gave an embarrassed look.

“Oh! Oh forgive me! What was I thinking? Don’t touch this! Allow me.”

He darted to the lake shallows, touched the ice sheet with a glowing hand, and it melted away to expose the water. Briskly he began washing off her boot with urgency.

Helia raised a brow, “Um...you don’t have to do that. I can wash it.”

“No! No. You should not touch such vileness!” he insisted, bathing the leather boot even more furiously.

The redhead made a funny expression. Was he serious? Did he even know all the disgusting things she’d touched, cut up, or was covered in with this job? Devil Toad vomit wasn’t even in her top five.

She stared out into the cove at the now unfrozen water. The Devil Toad was floating on its back. Luckily the nasty things floated like a sack of air for several hours; much easier to retrieve. Reaching into her bolt pouch she found an anchored tip with an attached rope and loaded it into her crossbow. A quick aim and shot saw the bolt lodge into the floating carcass. She put down the weapon casually and began pulling the Devil Toad to shore like a macabre boat.

Gillam gave her boot one last dunking rinse until he noticed her pulling in the toad by herself. He hurriedly scrambled over to her to help.

He reached to take the rope from her, “Here! I can...”

Quite abruptly, Helia shot him an annoyed look and yanked the rope away, “Oh for the love of...! I am perfectly capable of doing this myself!”

“But your ankle...” he started to protest, indicating her bootless foot that was now starting to swell.

Helia was well aware of the pain in her twisted ankle but was pushing through to finish the job. How many times had she been injured on the job and still had to butcher or bring in said beast, all the while maintaining a sense of strength?

“That can wait. This toad isn’t going to haul itself in.” she snapped.

But before she could pull again, Gillam knelt down and took her foot gently in both of his hands.

“Hey! I told you that can wait! Leave it alone!” the redhead objected, staggering a bit to maintain her balance.

His violet eyes looked up to her, “The toad is dead. You are not. It can wait.”

Though she still resented it, a familiar light began emanating from Gillam’s hands. Helia remembered a similar light when Twillow healed her broken ribs. A soothing warmth seemed to flow under her skin and the pain faded along with the swelling. Experimentally, Helia rolled her ankle around a bit. No pain or even discomfort.

“Does that feel better?” Gillam asked, looking up at her again with those exotic violet eyes.

A brief flutter in her stomach made Helia pause all coherent thought.

What the Hell was that? Why was she feeling like a silly, teen-aged girl who’d never spoken to a boy before? Get a hold of yourself!

She pulled her foot from his hands and resumed pulling in their kill, “Yeah. Thanks. That’s a handy little trick.”

Gillam only appeared slightly discouraged but still smiled as he picked up her boot again and held it out her.

This time she waved him away, “Yeah, yeah. Thanks for finding and cleaning my boot too. I’ll put it on in a minute. Let’s get this stupid toad to shore before it sinks.”

...

Later into very early morning...

After hauling in the Devil Toad, Helia and Gillam stayed near the lake for a few more hours listening for the thundering rumble of more Devil Toads. Hours passed and after hearing no calls they made their way back to Pordella, dragging their kill behind the horses. The night guard saw them coming and after a quick confirmation admitted them. From there they went straight to the Viscount’s home.

After seeing the slain Devil Toad, the Viscount’s personal guards were quick to wake him. In a yellow night robe and looking vaguely awake, Viscount Gawain appeared and then startled when he spotted the huge toad.

“Lord in Heaven! Is that the beast?” he exclaimed, holding up a lantern at a distance.

“That’s your beast.” Helia confirmed. “Slain as promised.”

“Only one?”

“Thus far. We listened for a couple hours but didn’t hear any calls.”

The Viscount circled the toad, marveling at the disgusting look and size of it, “Remarkable!”

He looked at both Helia and Gillam, noting she was filthy, covered in mud whilst Gillam appeared pristine.

“You must be exhausted. Please! I will put you up in our finest Inn free of charge so you can rest and refresh.” He offered.

Helia glanced at Gillam and gave an amiable shrug, “That’s very kind of you. Just don’t forget our agreement.”

“Of course! Yes. I will contact my financier to make all the arrangements by noon tomorrow.” The small man agreed.

A guard guided Helia and Gillam to an Inn nearby whilst they left the dead toad for the other guards to string up in the town square. The Viscount wanted the people of Pordella to see that the threat was over when they awoke. In short order they were given a meal, a bath, and the finest room at the Inn. While nowhere near the opulence of Gillam’s home it was still much better than many inns Helia had stayed in.

The only problem Helia saw with it was there was only one big bed.

She gave a brief glance at Gillam’s masked face and found it was facing her too.

“I can sleep on the floor.” He offered immediately.

Part of her wanted to accept the gentlemanly offer but a stronger part of her thought it was selfish of her to deny him a comfortable bed when he was integral in this job’s success. It wasn’t like the bed was too small for the two of them.

Helia sighed and then shook her head, “No…it’s fine.”

She turned and made sure the door was locked so Gillam could remove his disguise. His cloak swept from his shoulders to expose his wings folded against his back. He removed his mask and the magic façade faded to reveal his true coloring. Helia still found the magic trick fascinating to watch. Green or tan-skinned, he still seemed too good looking to be real.

“You did very well on this job.” Helia finally felt the need to honestly compliment him.

Gillam looked at her and dipped his head, “Thank you, Dyashra.”

“Helia.” She corrected with a sigh as she sat on the bed.

“Thank you, Helia.”

He sat on the other side of the bed. Both were still in their light underclothes and politely kept on their own side.

“How did you know so much about Devil Toads?” Gillam asked after a bout of silence.

The woman shrugged, “My dad used to kill Devil Toads.”

“Your father was a slayer too?”

“Yes. But it’s hard, dangerous work and his culmination of injuries made him retire early. I took up the job when he couldn’t.” she explained.

Gillam was impressed, “Your father sounds like a very brave human.”

“He is.” Helia smiled to herself, “Though, I don’t know how my mom survived worrying about him. But she always kept a brave, welcoming face when he came home.”

“My father knows gentleman’s swordsmanship…but I don’t think he’s ever truly fought anyone. He’s more of a…negotiator.” Gillam explained, sounding the slightest bit disappointed his father didn’t have a heroic job like Helia’s.

“He took care of you and your siblings didn’t he?” Helia pressed.

Gillam nodded, “We never wanted for anything. And he has always been supportive of our endeavors.”

“My dad provided for us and taught me many things when I wanted to become a slayer, but he was rarely home when I was little. There are times I’m not sure I even know the man truly.” She reminisced with a longing tone.

“And now…you are gone from your family?” Gillam stated gently.

Helia blinked and then sighed, “Yeah. Going on a year and a half since I saw them last. I’ve been meaning to make the trek back there to see them, but stuff keeps holding me here.”

“Well…why don’t we go visit them after this job?” Gillam suggested.

The woman glanced over at him as she pondered.

Not that she didn’t want to see her family down south in Tegath, she just hadn’t planned on bringing someone else along for the trip.

“That’s not a short trip. It took me almost a month by horse to get up here from Tegath.” She explained. “Besides, it’s still summer here. This is the best time for slaying. I think I’ll make the trip back down to Tegath closer to winter since it’s warmer there anyway.”

Gillam nodded, “Whatever you wish.”

“But I’ll tell you what. We’ll hit two more towns down the way from Pordella to see if there are any more jobs to be had and after that we can swing back out to visit your sister. It sounded like you wanted to talk with her earlier.” Helia offered.

The fae nodded again agreeably, “Yes. I do.”

He had many questions that needed answered from both Twillow and Kendrick.