Chapter six: Information at the Library
When Grace could no longer keep up with running, she decided to stop short in the midst of the path and rest a bit. It was the fear inside her that caused her to want to run away as quickly as possible.
"I don't know how much more of that running I can take," Grace said dryly, panting in between breaths. "Perhaps I should walk from now on. It might not be as fast as running, but my legs need rest. And who knows how many more miles it is to the ocean." Staring at her guardian stone, there was no reaction to it or glimmering which meant no danger was near so far. "Thank goodness I'm wearing this to protect me at all times. Fire Flower warned me to never take it off under any circumstances. And I can understand why that is in this world." She sat on the hard sand for a while, keeping her eyes and ears out for any sign of danger approaching. All she could hear was vultures cawing far in the distance along with the soft wind blowing amongst the dead trees.
When her legs regained some of their strength, Grace started to move out again, this time at a slow steady pace. She didn't want to run out of energy again by overdoing it with a gallop. Her hooves kicked up a bit of sand and clung to her ankles, but she was too busy concentrating on the path ahead to notice. Part of her wished that she was still back in the cavern of the Sioux tribe since it made her feel safe to know that the Indians were actually a kind natured people only wanting to be left in peace. Sure what they tried to do to her last time was wrong, but only because of a misunderstanding. But Grace knew she couldn't just hide forever like that; especially now that someone sinister may still be tracking her at this time. The further she walked, the foggier it became as Grace thought she caught the scent of salt water somewhere.
"That must be the ocean I smell," Grace said in a small glimmer of hope. "But if I can't see through this fog, the least I can do is follow the scent and I'm out of here." The fog grew dense as Grace moved near, but she didn't care. It was not thick enough to keep her from seeing well or stop her from tracking the scent of saltwater close by.
Within moments, the fog began to clear and in replacement of the sand dunes and canyons of Phantom Valley stood a dock similar to a harbor out at sea. And at the end of the docks stood a tall dark cloaked man on top of a small boat. Like a statue, he responded to nothing around him as any living mortal would do.
Gulping nervously, Grace hesitated to move forward until she thought she heard the thundering of hoof beats echoing from behind. Could that be the sound of the Red Eye Gang coming this way?
"Oh no, the Red Eye Gang!" She shrieked, now racing to the docks. "I almost forgot that they were after me. That must mean they know I'm out here again." In her mind she guessed that the vicious gang sensed nothing living inside the Indian cavern and came to the conclusion that Grace had escaped through another way without being caught in their grasp. She pressed her ears forward so that hopefully she wouldn't have to listen to how close the hoof beats were at this point. Reaching the docks, Grace stood before the cloaked man.
"Excuse me sir," Grace said uneasily. "I was wondering if you could take me to a village far beyond the sea."
"It shall be done," the cloaked man answered in a grim voice. "Just hop in and I will take you to your destination. Hurry now; I don't have all eternity you know."
Quickly, Grace hopped aboard the boat, even though she thought that the boat seemed like it would be too weak to hold her. But to her surprise, it only tipped back and forth a bit. The boat stayed afloat as if it were a large ship carrying a group of voyagers.
"I think I see somethin' boys!" a voice from afar sneered as the hoof beats were increasing.
"Oh please hurry sir, they're coming closer!" Grace begged the hooded man as she sat down in the middle.
"As you wish," the man replied.
With a long pole he held in both skeletal hands, he pushed the boat far from the docks and onto the sea currents. Grace looked back at the docks to find that the Red Eye Gang arrived too late to catch up on her and were staring madly at her departure from Callie's region.
"Ha, see you later Red Eye Gators!" Grace called out to them in a playful taunt. "Hope it's not too soon!" After that remark, she made a face at them now that she would be far from this region in the next few hours or so, depending on how far it is to the village. Grace didn't feel the least bit frightened of mocking the gang. Those goons would have no way of crossing the ocean like that. Nor could they all fit into this small boat altogether if they wanted to. At least that's what Grace thought.
Cliff Cleaver stared at the boat long enough for it to grow smaller and smaller until it could no longer be seen. Rage boiled within his shaking fists after Grace mocked at them like that. He shook violently like an active volcano ready to blow off its top.
"Aw, there goes the bounty on the bovine!" Heartless Henry groaned. "What're we to do now?"
"I don't know go back n' tell Callie she escaped before we could catch up to her?" Blackheart Bill suggested, shrugging his shoulders.
"We will do no such thing yah flea bitten dogs!" snapped Cliff. "One way or another, we're gonna cross this ocean one at a time. We'll be leavin' our horses behind; they'll find their own way back to Ghost Town. And when we get back, we'll whistle for them." Then he concluded in a low menacing growl. "If that bovine thinks she's finally rid o' us that easily, she better guess again. Cause we'll be sailin' round this ocean till she comes." He let out a roar of wicked laughter.
At the sea
For two hours, Grace sat down in the boat patiently while the cloaked man kept on paddling in the salt water without growing tired. Facing the open sea, the fog made things difficult for Grace to see how far it was to this village she was to reach. Even if she didn't know how much longer it would take, perhaps the boat man knew. Yet his appearance kept causing her shoulders to shiver nervously if she desired to ask him how much further it would take to reach their destination.
I certainly hope this creepy boat man is not leading me into a trap. Grace thought, peering off into the dense foggy horizon. But Fire Flower didn't mention anything dangerous about him, so she had nothing to fear from the boat man. It seems his only job for all eternity is to take folks across the sea.
"Here is where I drop you off stranger," the boat man announced as Grace saw that the boat had been heading toward the direction of what appeared to be a few lights. Not only that, but Grace thought that she could finally see houses showing from behind the vanishing fog. In a few seconds, the boat man pulled up to the mainland for a stop.
"Thanks for the ride Mr. Boat man," Grace said respectively, hopping off the boat and onto the deck.
"Farewell stranger," the boat man waved out to her. "And be sure to tell them a newcomer has come to stay." He chuckled darkly and paddled away to disappear to the sea once more.
"Well there's the kind of sailor you don't wanna meet any day," Grace murmured, feeling uneasiness at his deportation. "Never mind him, he's done his job. Now I must find out the name of this village."
She flexed her muscles a bit to ease the aches from the long hours she sat in the boat. The boat trip felt boring for her when there was nothing for her to see through the thick cloud of fog. This was good, due to the fact that there were no encounters with legendary sea creatures or other dangerous predators. As long as she made it here safely, that's all that mattered to her. Shrugging her shoulders, Grace walked on the docks until the end led to a signpost labeled Welcome to Hollow Town.
"Welcome to Hollow Town," Grace read. "At least I know the name. But where's the best place to find information around here?"
Gazing at her surroundings, Hollow Town was not as big a town as she thought. Moving down the road, there were rows of quant wood and stone houses that dotted the streets. This seemed like a nice kind of village to visit in daylight for a happy stroll, only she saw no citizens walking down the streets anywhere. Deciding not to let that thought bother her, she figured that most of the residents were inside asleep at least.
"Hello, hello, anybody out there!" Grace called out, hoping to receive an answer from somewhere. "I hate it when I have to walk the streets while it's all quiet. It's creepy and uncomfortable."
She couldn't help how quiet and dark the streets grew, save for a few torches and some lampposts lit by candles inside. Grace did notice however a sign on one of the buildings labeled Hollow Town Library. To her luck, a light was on inside meaning one resident was possibly still awake. Since it was doubtful for her to find someone on the streets for information, Grace decided to give it a try by going inside.
"The library is a great place to find information I need," Grace whispered in relief.
Entering through the unlocked doors, she found that the lights were lit by oil lamps set on a few of the tables. Grace marveled at the great number of books on shelves, dusted with a couple of cobwebs. Some were open on podiums and piled on tables.
"Wow so many books to choose from," said Grace as if she were a resident searching to check out a book. "It's like this library hasn't opened up in years. Hasn't anyone heard of a little house work?"
"It's because I haven't had much time to clean it."
A manly voice made Grace jump and whirl around to face the librarian's desk where there stood a tall skinny man behind. He did appear to be human, only that his skin was bright blue instead of light peach. His head was clean bald, except for a few remaining down below the back of his neck. He hand a crooked nose, long white moustache, and pointed chin. His clothes resembled that of villagers from the Revolutionary period during the 1600s through the 1700s with a white shirt and brown vest and dark brown pants. His serious expression made Grace rigid.
"Oh I…I am so…so sorry sir," Grace stuttered nervously. "I wasn't so sure if this…this library was open or not. I didn't mean to break in, I…"
"…only wanted to find information?" the man cut in. "I find it odd that a green bovine like yourself would want to be doing that sort of thing."
"How did you know?" Grace raised an eyebrow at him.
"I heard your voice all the way back in my office," the old man replied. "I am Mr. Hank Henderson. But you can call me Mr. Henderson if you wish. Now how may I be of assistance?"
"Well…I was hoping to find some…" Grace turned her head left and right seeing that there were no labels for her to know which might have been mystery, classic, drama, horror, western, or history. "…some books on the history of this town. Do you know where I can find them?"
"I know just the books you'd need to see," Mr. Henderson pushed aside the small door from behind the desk and picked up a candle holder.
Grace watched him walk over to a small shelf and blow the dust away to see the titles. He mumbled thoughtfully browsing to find the right one to pick.
"These should be helpful ma'am," Mr. Henderson answered, holding a pile of six books and placing them roughly on one of the tables. "Remember to put them back on that shelf when you're done. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got paperwork to look over." He went back behind his desk to read.
Grace decided to look at each title to see which one might be more helpful for understanding. The titles on each side read History of Hallow Town, Legends and Myths of the Colonial Period, The Salem Witch Trials, Halloween facts and fiction, Legacy of the Black Arts, The Legend of Callie and other Tales.
"Aha, there's the kind of information I need," Grace whispered gladly. "I wonder if Callie has any weaknesses of some sort. There must be something in here about that."
Picking out the title The Legend of Callie and other tales, Grace turned to the first chapter, turning the pages with her tail. From there she read on.
In a time long ago, many tales have been told of witches and warlocks from across the countryside of Salem, Massachusetts. But there never was a tale quite so superstitious or haunting than that of a well known witch called Callie Coven. It all started with an old widow who lived alone in a damp cottage on top of the hills near the cemetery. She was not rich with money, she had no children of her own, and she never bothered to make friends in the village. But the one unnatural thing about her was that she always kept her face hidden behind a theatre mask. Whenever she was questioned of these things, Callie would only respond with a snake-like hiss.
Having lived alone all her life, Callie's main interests laid within books of magic, Wicca, spells, rituals, and the black arts. The townspeople did not yet know of this, but found her actions quite disturbing. No resident ever saw Callie come out of her house during the day several months after she had been witnessed by someone to have drawn blood from a donkey. Like a vampire, the old woman only appeared each night to buy supplies from the general store. When questioned about the donkey incident from the store owner, Callie told him it was nobody's business and fled as if someone were stalking her.
Behind the closed doors of her cottage, Callie had been conducting in experiments with dark spells of magic to find the secret to creating the Elixir of Life. After many failed attempts, Callie decided to set out on a journey in search of other residents who practiced in the art of dark magic to help her find the right ingredients. She searched from town to town until a group of women her age were conducting on a ritual out in the woods where no villagers stepped foot upon. It turned out that they were searching for the same evil ingredient she was. At first they declined to have her join their group, but only by removing her mask to reveal her deformities somehow had them change their minds. By nighttime, the women decided that they would follow Callie back to the village in Salem now that the villagers in their own town were arousing suspicion of their actions.
"Interesting history on Callie," Grace mused, turning the page onto the next chapter.
After Callie's return to Salem, she and the other women spent the next couple of months learning astrology, the knowledge of herbs, spells, and alchemy. Not only did Callie learn everything she couldn't find in her old spell books, but she finally expanded in the knowledge of witchcraft. It was known she had the gift of true intuition. Under the cover of each night, a ceremony was performed out in the woods to call upon the spirits of earth, fire, air, and water to find the answers on creating the Elixir of Life. Finally, a dark voice within the flames spoke of an animal sacrifice to be offered on the night of the harvest moon. Only by the blood of a goat, donkey, lamb, horse, or cow would they receive an ingredient for the elixir. But once this elixir was to be mixed and drank, they'd have to perform a ritual sacrifice every year on the night of the harvest moon to maintain their immortality.
While Grace kept on reading the history of Callie, Mr. Henderson, still standing at his desk going through some papers, noticed a poster on the right side of his desk placed there earlier by a coworker of his. Reading it, he found that it was a WANTED poster with the image of a bovine's face in blond color. The reward for her capture was not labeled, but would soon be to whoever succeeded in capturing her. The message warned that she was no bovine, but a witch in disguise prowling the streets to prey upon the villages of the lands. Studying the bovine's figure, the librarian turned to Grace still reading with her back turned on him. Raising an eyebrow in confusion, this bovine in his library did look a bit familiar like in the poster, except that her hide was green and not brown. Could she be the witch on the run? No, it couldn't be.
"Have you found anything miss?' he asked, trying to hide his suspicion of her. "Whatever it is you like, you can keep. I'm already planning on shipping out a couple of these books no one wants."
"Oh but sir, I couldn't take something that doesn't belong to me," Grace protested. Although she did want to take the book she read if it might help her understand more of Callie's origins.
"Nonsense," Mr. Henderson insisted. "I insist that you take one to keep. I've been looking for a way to get rid of old useless books in this library."
"Well…I would like to check this one out if you don't mind," Grace walked over carrying the book in her mouth to hand it over. Grabbing it, Mr. Henderson removed the library tag and gave it back to Grace.
Thanking him, Grace burst out the doors to continue looking for more open buildings. Only after she left, it was then that the librarian noticed something on one of the tables. He walked over to inspect the stain. He rubbed his finger over the top of it and sniffed. There was no denying that it was green paint. Grinning malevolently, he knew that it was not here before.
AN: This story will have to be put on hold for a while now that December is around the corner and a time to be reading Christmas stories and preparing for the holidays. I will try to finish this sometime next year.