Chapter 16 - Redge, Pixie Extrodinaire

Giu let the magic wash over him, doubling back and raising both fists as his eyes darted around the room. What are the odds? Why the heck do I do things? He wired for rampaging walls of ice or flying claws or swords, but none came his way. In fact, Redge and his fellow bears just looked at him. One was even sipping a cup of coffee.

“Good to see you’re still ready and willing,” Redge said. “Unfortunately…”

He looked over to the old deer sitting behind a wooden desk. His green eyes were locked in a scowl directed squarely at the form-changed canine.

“No fighting in my office,” he said in a voice deeper than Giu had ever heard in another person. Deeper than what sounded possible. It sent shivers up his body, the words seemingly embedding themselves into Giu’s soul.

He dropped his magic. And his fists. Chieftain Huck’s scowl lingered, but he returned to his book. Eli leaned over.

“I take it you know each other already?” he asked.

Giu scanned over the short bear, his dark brown fur and powerful gaze reminding him of the Holy Dragon all over again. They really were too similar to be a coincidence. Redge wasn’t as large or sporting any dragon tattoos, but the resemblance was uncanny.

“Yeah,” he said. “Question is why he’s all the way out here in the Syndicate.”

Redge smiled, fangs gleaming white.

“Pint size isn’t the only one with connections, mutt,” he said. “Isn’t that right, gramps?”

Chieftan Huck didn’t respond, continuing to thumb through his book. Giu groaned. Having seen the Dragons' operation in Ling-Li, he could believe they had ties outside the Villa. Perhaps even further than the Syndicate. Just how far-reaching those ties were, though, he decided against questioning.

Eli smiled.

“Well since you two have been acquainted,” he said, “I’m sure you’re well aware Redge here is an expert on pixies.”

Giu blinked.

“Huh?” He stared Redge over. “You’re the pixie expert?”

Redge snorted. “I wouldn’t say that. But when you live around one long enough, you tend to pick up a few things. Why?”

Giu didn’t respond. He looked to Eli, who beckoned him towards one of the many chairs surrounding Chieftan Huck’s desk. Was this really the only expert they had? In the entire city? Giu considered dropping the whole thing at once when he felt a twinge in the back of his hand. He heard the voice lingering. Laughter. He rubbed his forehead, forcing the thoughts down.

“Ugh. Fine. I’ll take what I can get, I guess.”

Giu went over and slumped next to one of the bears, Eli pulling a chair next to Redge. The cushions were at least softer than they looked. One of Redge’s friends offered Giu the coffee pitcher. He eagerly grabbed a cup.

“Doesn’t answer my question, mutt,” the short bear said. “What do ya’ need an expert for? Having a spat with pint-size or something? Is that why you’re alone?”

“Tea’s busy. Let’s leave it at that.” Giu took a long swig of coffee, the bitter taste giving his brain enough of a jolt to chase away the unruly thoughts. He gasped, wiping his mouth. “I came to ask the so-called pixie expert about potions. Memory potions.”

“Memory?”

“We believe that G may have been poisoned,” Eli explained. “He may have ingested a memory alteration potion. I told him to consult an expert, but since he doesn’t want to go to his pixie friend…”

“You figured a pixie expert would be okay.”

They both nodded, Redge nodding as he sat back. For once, the man almost looked thoughtful. He stroked the stubble of his chin as he ruminated on the idea. The other bears mimicked his gestures, the ice bear making himself a snowy beard to rub.

“Well, I guess I can see your line of thought, El,” Redge said. “Most pixies know a lot about potions. And pint-size is as pixie as they come. What, you think they’d-”

“Not a chance.”

Redge stared at him, Giu looking away a bit. It was a knee-jerk response, sure, but this was Tea they were talking about. They might have been annoying at times with their extortionist ways, but they wouldn’t just poison him out of the blue. Even thinking the accusation felt wrong. He shook his head.

“Tea's got better things to do,” he said. “They’re not that bad.”

The short bear snickered. Giu took another long swig of coffee, quickly pouring himself another cup. The caffeine must have been kicking in since he started to feel a tad more jittery.

“Maybe another pixie is involved?” Eli suggested.

“Doubtful,” Redge said. “Most don’t leave the pixie nation.”

“But there are some who do.”

“Naturally. Tourists. Exiles. I guess another pixie could do the trick, though I don't think pint-size would let one get that close.” He smiled at Giu. “Say, did the pixie ever tell you why they left Angelita?”

Giu groaned.

Tea rarely if ever spoke about their past. Or the pixie nation. Or other pixies in general. Whatever ties they had to that life were dead and gone. And he was fine with that. Tea the traveling contractor was the only person he knew. It was the only one that mattered.

“Just tell me if a memory potion is possible,” Giu said. “You can leave Tea’s past in the past.”

Redge frowned. “Killjoy. Fine. The answer is yes. A memory potion is possible. And it’s been done before, actually. They sell them in bulk all around the Villa. The Syndicate too.”

“Really?” Eli asked. “I’ve never seen one.”

“That’s because you gotta know the right people to get one.”

Redge leaned forward, his expression turning deathly serious as he locked eyes with Giu.

“But here’s the kicker, mutt,” he said. “Memory potions only last a few months at most. And they don’t create or rearrange memories. They block out the ones you already got.”

Giu flinched. “Block?” He recalled his sudden haze as he’d awoken in the woods. His complete ignorance of anything that had transpired beforehand. His stomach sank. “Like…amnesia?”

Redge rested a hand on his cheek.

“It is a fairly common side effect, yes. As is the memory return afterward.”

A twinge ran through Giu’s mind. He heard the voice even louder than before. A scream. Damp brown eyes. He winced at the thoughts, trying to push them out. As he did, he felt his hands shaking, the liquid sloshing in his drink.

“G?”

Eli reached out, but Giu jumped back, his chair falling as the cup dropped to the floor, shattering instantly.

“Woah.”

“That better not stain.”

Redge and the other bears were all eyeing him strangely. Chieftan Huck hissed, Eli looking on with concern, though whatever words they said drifted out of Giu’s ears as the voice came out even clearer in his mind. So clear he could make out the words as if the woman was right in front of his face.

Don’t stop! No matter what!

Giu fell backward, landing against shelving as more images ran through his mind. Trees and flowers. Smoke.

“No. No.”

He grabbed his head, shaking the thoughts away.

“Get out. Get out.”

Eli came over to help, but he broke away, running for the door and bursting it open.

***

The voice grew louder and louder but Giu refused to let it affect him, desperately clawing at whatever random memory he could find to distract his brain. Nothing was working. Get out of my head! The woman refused to leave, only getting clearer and clearer as Giu ran through Haywar’s streets.

Why wouldn’t she go away? Was it the potion? He'd clamored on the idea in desperation. A long shot. But to know that it was actually the truth-

Don’t stop! No matter what!

Giu shook his head to and fro, unable to drag the thoughts away. He sped forward.

Don’t stop. I’ll find you when-

He slammed head-first into a wall.

The voice and images began to fade. Giu panted, letting loose the form change. Though he'd wanted to ram his unprotected skull into the wall, his magic had activated on instinct. He stepped away, looking at the dent he’d made in the brick.

What the heck is wrong with me?

He looked up at the building. He recognized it. Elly’s apartment. His shoulders fell.

Crap. Just what the-

His ears twitched. He could hear someone shouting.

At first, he assumed it was an angry rabbit coming his way. But as the voice came louder, he realized it was drawing near one of the windows. Glass shattered above his head, Giu staring in the sight of a large rabbit in a cooking apron soaring above. She landed flat on her back directly behind Giu, an axe dropping down beside her. He blinked.

“Elly? What-”

Another crash followed, Giu looking up to see a trio of reptiles come leaping out of the same opening. One landed squarely in front of him while the other two dropped behind the slowly rising chef, her axe used to prop herself up.

“You really don’t know when to quit, do you?” one of the pursuers asked. A lady with a slender frame that curved and swayed as she moved.

“So much for overkill, huh, Denzel?” asked another. A lady significantly larger but who also swayed with her movements.

The last one Giu recognized just as fast as Elly. It was hard to forget the man after having encountered him twice in the span of a couple days. The crocodile smiled through his muzzle as he watched Elly raise her axe.

“Still planning to drag this on, cottontail?” he asked.

Elly shot him an intense gaze despite her being surrounded and injured. None of the four noticed Giu standing nearby.