Broken by Clayton Smith

Author:Clayton Smith [Smith, Clayton]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Dapper Press
Published: 2019-05-22T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 6:

“Excuse Me, Sir, But Your Tree Looks Awfully Hungry”

The closer they got to the castle, the more Cole filled with dread. His heart seemed to grow heavier with each step down the steep hill. The castle radiated a dark power, much darker than anything they’d yet encountered.

“Are you okay?” Prince Colemine asked, arching an eyebrow.

“Sure,” Cole lied.

“Right.” The prince nodded. “Me too.”

“This is scary,” Emma observed, grabbing Etherie’s hand and squeezing it hard.

“The castle appears to be vibrating within its own plane of reality,” Etherie observed softly. “Its color is pain.”

That particular bit of knowledge sent shivers down everyone’s spine. Even the Stranger looked uneasy.

“Broken is in there,” Cold reminded himself aloud. “He’s being tortured.” He was surprised to learn that he could actually feel his IF’s presence emanating from somewhere beyond the castle wall, from deep within the ground. He now had no doubt that the imprisoned creature Haberdash had seen in her book was his imaginary friend. Dread or no dread, he was going in there after him.

“Do we just…knock on the door?” Prince Colemine pondered as they closed the gap between the Pinch Rim and the castle wall. They moved quickly, sliding down the hill more than walking down it.

“Maybe it’ll be open,” Emma suggested.

“Or we’ll smash it in!” Willy cried. He karate-chopped the air to demonstrate how successful he could be at smashing in gates.

“We’ll get in,” was all the cowboy had to say on the subject.

Just then, a voice boomed across the funnel. “If you’re in such a hurry to die,” it proclaimed, “I’ll be happy to oblige.”

The group turned, searching out the source of the rumbling threat. “Look!” Polly gasped, pointing back up the hill. “It’s the dentist!”

Dr. Mandrill stood at the hole in the laboratory wall, looming taller and stronger than ever. His legs appeared to be not only healed, but healthier than they’d been before. He stood like a great, human-shaped oak, powerful and unmoving. “I have something I’d like to show you,” he said.

He leapt from the wall and landed hard on the ground below. If he suffered even the slightest injury from the jump, it didn’t show. He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out the small glass vial. He held it high, displaying it for the children down the hill. “Such a simple thing!” he shouted down. Then, more quietly, almost to himself, he added, “And such a powerful thing.”

“What is it?” Prince Colemine asked, squinting up at the dentist.

“Willy’s tooth,” the Stranger grunted.

“My tooth!” Willy started and almost tumbled backward down the hill. “What’s he got my tooth for?”

“He’s a dentist, dummy,” Polly snapped.

“How did he get Willy’s tooth?” Cole asked, incredulous.

“We were sold out by the crone,” the Stranger said, his lips curling into a snarl.

“What’s he going to do with it?” Emma whispered fearfully.

The Stranger shook his head. “I don’t know,” he admitted. “But I don’t like it.”

The dentist held the vial between his forefinger and thumb, admiring the way the tooth floated peacefully in the purple liquid inside…a real child’s tooth.

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