"Unwanted Magic" 9

After the bargain sealing handshake with Fair, Flint and the family of three found themselves adrift in open waters in a large canoe.

 “Well, isn’t this lovely? That terrifying, light cluster you call Fair, couldn’t have given us a power boat?” The mother grumbled.

“We’re lucky she gave a boat. I would not have put it past her to drop us in the water and make us swim,” Flint warned.

“You have lovely friends,” the mom smirked.

“Yeah, the kind that leave little kids stranded on icebergs,” The dad added.

“Not that again,” Flint woof-growled, “Aren’t you old enough to let go of childhood disappointments?”

“Apparently not,” the dad crossed his arms and glared at Flint.

“Look you two. I get that whatever adventure you shared in the distant past didn’t end well but, in this one, I’m getting tired of rowing.” The mom eyed her husband with frustration noting his diminutive size, which wasn’t conducive to rowing.

“Honey, I’d row if I could,” her husband held up his short arms and tiny hands to emphasize his inability, “and you can blame that dog for this.”

“Hey! I’d help,” Flint whined,” but I don’t have hands,” he lifted a paw and shrugged his dog shoulders.

The mom frowned at both her husband and the magical whatever it was in dog form, not buying either apology as both lacked sincerity.

“I’ll help you row, mom,” Joey offered picking up an oar and making an honest attempt to paddle it, but it slipped from his little hands into the water.

His mom’s quick reflexes saved it before it floated away. “Thank you, son, but I’m afraid it’s going to be up to me to get us over to that distant island.”

“Only if you put some muscle into it,” Flint commanded, “Don’t forget we’re on a timed schedule, Fair isn’t one to wait.”

“Aye, Aye,” the mom saluted then lifted her never empty, coffee mug for a recharging sip of caffeine, ignoring the command.

Flint growled at the insulting insubordination but couldn’t push it. She was the only one who could row them over to that island. And Deathwish’s island retreat looked foreboding from a distance; it would be worse close up; he wasn’t looking forward to landing on that island or meeting up with that fearsome pirate.

The mom put down her coffee mug and started to row. After a half hour, she began to think she should have allowed that dog to shrink her too; it wasn’t any fun being the only responsible adult.

After another half hour her hands were beginning to blister. She heard snoring and looked at her husband. He was reclining on the bench in front of her with eyes closed and a contented smile on his face. Maybe it wasn’t her husband’s fault he was too small to row, but he should at least have stayed awake to keep her company in her misery. A wicked thought flitted through her thoughts; one she shouldn’t consider but, as if on its own volition the oar she held lifted high out of the water and descended rapidly.

The oar hit the surface hard and on impact and sent a cold spray of water into the canoe, drenching her slumbering husband. Her son and the magic dog seated on the back bench were untouched.

The dad sputtered awake, his eyes opened wide as he assessed the situation, and eyed his wife with suspicion.

“Sorry. The oar slipped out of my hand,” the mom explained with an innocent smile and reset the paddle.

“I’m sure it did,” the dad mumbled wiping water from his face.

The mom kept the innocent smile in place, and rowed.

 

When they were close to shore, Joey and Flint stayed in the canoe but the mom and dad waded into the water to push the canoe onto the sand and far enough up the beach to be safe from the incoming tide.

Exhausted, the mom threw the oars into the canoe and whispered to her husband. “When this adventure is over, Jack, I expect some major pampering.” 

“Absolutely, hon, there’ll be pampering ordered for all of us.”

Flint looked at the deserted beach and the dense tree line that ringed the sand. It didn’t look inviting. “Somewhere in there is Deathwish,” he told the dad.

The dad eyed the foreboding forest too, and made a decision.

“Since we don’t know what to expect walking in there, I think you should go and scope it out. You’re a dog; go sniff out the situation,” he chuckled.

Flint bared his teeth in a wolfish grimace. "Not funny."

"Not trying to be. I think you, the dog, should go in there, sniff it out, and report back so we know what we’re up against.”

“Me? Go in there, alone?” Flint shook his big, furry head. “I’m not going in there alone.”

“I’ll go with you,” Joey offered.

The mom quickly nixed that offer. “No. You will stay here with me.”

Flint stared at the dad, “I'm not going alone. You can come with me.”

The dad was unsympathetic. “No.”

“Yes,” Flint wolf-growled.

“No. You'll go and scout it out or...you can remain a dog for the rest of your life; your call,” the dad shrugged.

“And you’ll be little forever.” Flint countered.

“I can live with it. I’ve grown accustomed to it.” The dad was bluffing but his expression was stone, cold serious.

Flint couldn’t tell if the dad meant it. But time was passing, quickly, and Fair wasn’t one to keep waiting. It appeared he had no choice but go it alone. “Fine, I’ll go but you should remember, I’m the one with magic. If anything happens to me in there, you’ll all be stuck here without a way back. Now are you sure you don’t want to come along?”

“We’ll risk it,” the dad replied.

“I’m good with that,” The mom agreed, " So long as you set up a picnic table over there by the tree line, in the shade, away from the sand, and set up a nice, large tent to relax in while we wait."

"Why must I remind you, this isn’t your adventure?" Flint glowered.

"I'd like a nap; if that's allowed," Joey asked the dog, nicely.

Flint woof-sighed, "Yes, for you, it’s allowed."

A picnic table, picnic basket filled with food and beverages and a tent, appeared.

"Now, with your permission. may I go get captured or worse?" Flint scoffed, as best as he could scoff, with a dog snout.

Joey was the only one who felt sympathy for Flint. The boy patted Flint’s big, dog head and told him not to worry. He was smart and he'd be okay. Flint appreciated the boy's encouraging words but knew he had plenty to worry about.

"Sure, I'll be back in a shake of my tail...I hope," he muttered as he trotted off into the dense tree line.

 

Flint crouched and dog crawled into the forest, stopping often to listen and to hide behind thick trees before stealthily moving forward, trying not to make a sound, or alert Deathwish of his presence. The pirate that owned wasn't going to welcome him, wouldn’t like being disturbed on his vacation, and Flint had heard he had an awful temper.

That pirate was here…somewhere. Flint tried to use his acquired, canine talent and sniffed the damp earth for a clue, but didn’t pick up the pirate’s scent. What he did pick up, was a distinct chill.

A cold breeze was moving through the forest from the north and as Flint padded deeper into the woods, in that direction, it got colder. Then he heard sounds, like whooshing sounds. Then he heard voices, some hollering and some whooping. What was going on? Was someone being tortured? If he went any further it could be him.

One thing was certain, those voices meant Deathwish wasn't alone on his Island and being surrounded by a bunch of pirates wasn’t a good thing. Flint froze in indecision and another brisk breeze ruffled his fur; he shivered.

This was a tropical island, where was that icy breeze coming from? There shouldn’t be cold winds wafting through these trees. He was curious and crept cautiousl y forward and peeked out between two thick trees. What he saw made him blink twice in disbelief. Where there should have been the other side of the island, with a sandy beach, there was SNOW!

There was snow everywhere. Fluffy snowflakes of fell rapidly from above and several inches of snow covered the ground, and those voices he’d heard, they were coming from pirates, hordes of pirates!

 

“Ooohhh look, he almost caught the edge," One winter-bundled up pirate yelled.

"Watch your turns, One Eye, or you’ll poke the other one out too!” A gruff looking pirate shouted pointing to a figure skiing down the mountain. 

Bewildered by what he was seeing, Flint stepped out from his safe hiding place between the trees to fully take in the winter wonderland. There were Pirates of every size and shape bundled up in winter gear, some were skiing down the snow packed mountain while others were crashing toboggans into a ten foot snow drift.

“What am I seeing…? Flint blinked several times but the mirage didn’t go away.

Raucous laughter to his left made him turned that way. A group of eight pirates were sitting around a fire pit toasting marshmallows on sticks. Next to them, a group of six pirates were clinking mugs of hot chocolate and drinking them down like it was some kind of race then pointing and laughing at the whipped cream mustaches left behind.

“Am I dreaming?” Flint had to jump quickly out of the way of a peg-legged pirate on a modified snowboard that’d swerved around him. That pirate had come down a bunny hill and Flint watched the wobbly snowboarding pirate fall headlong into a large snowdrift to stop his boards momentum.

What he was seeing didn't amke sense. He couldn’t understand how a tropical isle could be covered in snow?

And then the answer hit him.

Deathwish had stolen the snowflake encased in quartz from Fairy Lytes and was using its power to turn his tropical island into a winter resort for his Pirate buddies, and probably charging them a bag of gold dubloons to vacation here.

It meant the stone was here! He just needed to find out where Deathwish was keeping it so he could steal it back for Fair, so she'd free him and the family and allow them to complete the boy's adventure to Erifsnogard, to see dragons, not that Fair needed to know that destination.

Another group of parka-clad pirates were skiing down the mountain and Flint watched them all whooping and hollering as they descended. It He noticed it was very tall mountain and his eyes narrowed on the top, where the snow appeared to be falling from. Was that where Deathwish was keeping the stone?

Flint's concentration on the mountain top was broken by loud voices, from rowdy pirates.

“Hey! Look at that big dog over there!”

“Wow, he’s a really big dog!”

“I bet he could pull us all down the mountain on a sled!”

“Yeah, and we can yell, mush doggie!”

“Get him!”

“Yeah, get him!”

Flint saw at least six, giant pirates running towards him and he growled, “Not today,” and ran back into the dense forest.

Flint ran as fast as his dog legs could go but he didn’t hear the sound of running feet behind him so he stopped. He was surprised those pirates hadn’t followed him until he felt the relentless tropical heat on his fur. It was intense. Of course those pirates wouldn’t leave the winter cold to run through a sun heated forest just to harness a dog.

“Harness a dog!” he shivered; grateful for the escape. “And pull a sled!” he wolf-growled, “I’ll never take the form of a dog again! After this adventure ends, dog will be forbidden.” Then he stepped on a pine cone and howled. “Stupid dog paws, no shoes,” he woofed and licked his paw pad where a pine needle had cut into it. “Dog is banned! Same as Turtle after that iceberg adventure with the dad.” Flint growled. “If I survive this adventure; I’m taking a long vacation!”