Page 116 of The Knucker King

A final wave lapped at his paws, and Trewoofe stared on in wonder. He had seen much in his many turns of seasons, but occasionally his subjects still surprised him. He had never swum in the depths of Bucca-led – after all it was their territory, and they preferred their privacy – but he was curious at exactly how they lived down there.

Trewoofe stretched out the forelimb and paw that had clasped Mary to his chest, working out the stiffness. He continued to straighten his long body, sending a roll down his coils, the lustre of them refracting the sparkle from the shimmering lake and stalactites.

The Knucker flicked his tongue out, tasting the air and finding the fastest tunnel to take him to Tall-led, the domain of the Tall Ones and their Queen. As he stomped out of the cavern, he made sure to rake his talons over the stone walls, sharpening the tips to a feral point.

44

Chapter 44

Avice

As Avice looped and snipped the final thread to Emma’s tear, a sharp crack to her head had her falling to her rear with a painful thud.

“GOD’S COCK!”

Avice saw double. She squeezed her eyes closed, shaking her head from side-to-side.

“Em!”

Matilda’s voice was fuzzy, and the room slanted when Avice opened her eyes again. The midwife vaguely registered her patient glaring at her.

“Do not kick her! She just saved your life!” Matilda scolded.

“It hurt!” Emma bit back.

Avice rubbed her temple, trying to register what just happened. Her patient was alive and kicking. She should not be, not yet anyway.

“Where is Mary?” Emma demanded.

The midwife gingerly touched her head, a painful lump had already formed, and she hissed at the sting. Matilda appeared before her hazy vision, and she looked up at the woman’s blurred face.

“Midwife Avice, are you well?”

“…Yes, I think so.” She blinked several times, her sight returning to normal. “Just, a bit of a shock…”

They both snapped their heads to the glowering woman on the pallet. Her arms folded across her chest, and a sour look on her face.

“This is a miracle,” Matilda mumbled. “God’s miracle.”

Avice stiffened. “Not a miracle, magic.”

She had not anticipated that the combination of her treatments would work so quickly, and she swayed, a little dumbstruck.

“Magic?” the sisters asked together.

“Yes.”

She rubbed her aching head again, and grasped for the bottle of healing waters, linen, and moss she had organised beside the pallet. Emma’s stockinged foot twitched, and Avice shot her a withering look.

“Do not kick me again,” she ordered.

“I did not mean to!” Emma replied, her cheeks reddening. “Where is Mary? Did you manage to save her? When I saw her, how she struggled, I was so worried. I did not want her to die, and I did not want Matt to leave her in the woods—”

Matilda held up her hand to stop her sister’s babbling. “Just like you told me to. I made him take her to Midwife Avice…”

“…and King Trewoofe took her to Underneath,” the midwife finished, sloshing healing water between her patient’s legs.

Emma burst into tears. The thick, unrelenting sobs made her body shake. Matilda scooped her sister into her hug, squeezing onto the pallet next to her, and ignoring the blood as she rocked her like a child.