The Well of Tears: The Town of Superstition, #2

By R. G. Thomas

A massive forest populated by creatures both dangerous and trustworthy.
A source of power stronger than anything previously known.

 

Far from his home in Superstition, Thaddeus Cane is in a race against dark forces to track down a dragon and break a curse. Teofil, his neighbor and new boyfriend, accompanies him, bravely standing by his side and facing down dangers as they search for a place whispered of in legend. Along the way, Thaddeus feels the first stirrings of love, as well as the awakening of a power he never imagined possible.

 

When old secrets are finally revealed, will his new-found family be strong enough to survive the devastating shock?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mitten Ginger Media
• Release date: Jul 17, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215727133

Book preview

Chapter One

Thaddeus Cane knew he was still in the world of his birth. He knew this with his heart and his mind. But the landscape he had been traveling through the last day seemed intent on convincing him he’d been dropped into a magical place. Which made sense, seeing as how he reached this far point by stepping through a doorway Leopold conjured up on his basement wall.

He hadn’t known what to expect when he’d followed his father through the doorway. There’d been a gentle resistance, like putting his hand through bread dough, followed by a tingling sensation all over his body. And then he stood on the bleached and warped front porch of an abandoned cabin, looking out over a grassy meadow that spread out under a deep blue sky. In the distance, a thick line of tall, weathered trees stood tall and stoic, like guards for some ancient magical palace. When Thaddeus had looked behind him, he caught a glimpse of Leopold inside the front door of the cabin, the cinderblock walls of the basement of the house in the town of Superstition where Thaddeus lived with his father faintly visible behind him. The old wizard leaned in closer and squinted out at Thaddeus, then raised his wiry eyebrows and winked before closing the magical doorway. The golden glow had dissolved, leaving behind the dark and splintered wood of the cabin’s true door.

There was so much Thaddeus needed to learn about magic.

They’d walked a good distance that first day, their small but determined group of six led by Thaddeus’ father, and included their neighbor—who Thaddeus liked to think of as his boyfriend, although neither of them had said the word yet—a handsome garden gnome named Teofil, as well as Teofil’s mother, Miriam, and his brother and sister, Fetter and Astrid. They had no definite destination save for the mountain range in the far distance. They were hiking across the land in search of the Bearagon, a vicious beast that was a combination wolf, bear, and dragon, as well as looking for a dragon that was, in actuality, Thaddeus’ mother, Claire.

And, apparently, they couldn’t have driven instead.

They had to walk.

Thaddeus worked hard to reign in all the questions filling his mind as the tall grass whispered against his jeans, the seeded tips brushing his fingers. By the time they’d decided to stop for the night, his shoulders had ached from the weight of the backpack, and the leg wounds from the Bearagon throbbed in time with his pulse. His father had taken him a short distance from the others and had him lower his jeans so he could inspect the stitches and apply a layer of antibiotic ointment.

They hurt?

Yeah, pretty much constantly, Thaddeus had replied, pulling his jeans up and buckling his belt. But I’m okay.

Okay, let me know right away if that changes. His father had squeezed his shoulder and given him a tight smile. You’re a brave young man, and I’m proud you’re my son.

Thanks, Dad, Thaddeus had said, following his father back to the others.

Thaddeus and his father had never gone camping, so he watched with interest as his father set up a camp site for them all. He’d built a fire and helped Miriam gather herbs and berries for dinner, and even helped them all find the softest spots to lay out their blankets.

And Thaddeus’ father had also taken the first watch.

That was the moment it had really sunk in for Thaddeus that they weren’t simply on an extended nature hike. If someone had to keep watch, that meant they were on a serious and dangerous journey.

Now, a day after stepping through Leopold’s magical doorway, they still walked through the tall grass. A good distance beyond the line of trees ahead of them, a mountain range rose from the flatland, its peaks hidden by clouds.

And we’re still sure all this walking is faster than if we’d driven? Thaddeus asked.

For the last time, his father said over his shoulder, yes. The head start Leopold gave us saved us a lot of time.

But we still have to walk for days?

Even a wizard as powerful as Leopold has his limits. Transporting all six of us took a lot of energy, so he got us as far as possible.

Yeah, okay.

A short time later, Teofil, who was following after Thaddeus, asked him, Doing all right?

Thaddeus looked over his shoulder and into Teofil’s blue eyes. I’m doing okay. How about you?

Teofil smiled and lowered his voice to whisper, I like my view. Teofil looked at Thaddeus’s butt, then looked up at him again, grinning.

Heat rushed to Thaddeus’s face and dropped down his body, spreading out through his limbs and into his fingers and toes. Teofil seemed to have that effect on all parts of him, and it both scared and excited Thaddeus.

Oh, well… Thaddeus said. He caught his foot on a rock and fell forward onto the path forged through the grass by his father. He felt a sharp pain in the heel of his left hand as it scraped along another rock hidden among the stalks, and then a numbness. A gasp of surprise rushed out of him, and he lay still a moment, taking stock.

What just happened?

Thaddeus! His father knelt beside him. Are you hurt?

Thaddeus got to his knees, hissing at the pain in his hand, and the tug of the stitches in his left thigh. He looked at his palm and winced at the raw, red scrapes that dotted his skin, which had joined the scratches he’d received while yanking the drachen narcosis out of the ground in Leopold’s yard. As he watched, blood welled up within the injuries, bright red against his pale skin.

Dammit, you’re bleeding, his father said, shrugging out of his backpack. I’ve got a first aid kit in here somewhere.

Miriam knelt beside Thaddeus and put a hand on his back. Thaddeus, hold your hand still now. Try not to let the blood drip on the ground.

Thaddeus held his left wrist with his right hand. Why not?

The scent of blood is an easy tracker, Miriam explained. If we’re being followed, it would be just like planting a sign with an arrow that points in the direction we’re walking. Hold still now, dear.

As she spoke, Miriam rummaged through the pack she carried slung over one shoulder and produced a handful of leaves. She opened a small earthen jar and added a swipe of some thick, wet, brown glop to the leaves before firmly pressing the mixture against Thaddeus’s hand. Stinging pain seared Thaddeus’s palm, and he sucked in a hissing breath as tears flooded his eyes.

It hurts.

Aye, that it will, dear. That means it’s chewing up all the nasty germs trying to get inside you.

Must be a hell of a lot of them, Thaddeus grumbled as the sensation intensified. Really smarts.

What is that you’re using, Miriam? Thaddeus’s father asked as he finally pulled the first aid kit out of his backpack.

Oh, just some plantain leaves mixed in with a bit of rose water, a touch of raw honey, and some comfrey leaf oil. She smiled at them each in turn. When you’ve got as many children under your belt as I have, you pretty much keep things like this in constant supply.

To distract himself from the sting, Thaddeus asked, How many children do you have? He looked apologetically up at Teofil, then back at Miriam. Sorry, I’ve lost count.

Miriam smiled. No worries, dear. I lose track of them on occasion myself. I have been fortunate enough to have fourteen healthy, happy, beautiful children. You know Teofil, of course, and Fetter and Astrid here, she said. After that there’s Seamus, River, Meadow, Rose, Violet, Robin, Martin, May, Stone, Iris, and young Flora. She looked around at her three children. Did I remember everyone?

Astrid nodded. All of them, Mum. And in order. Much better than usual.

Thank you, dear, Miriam said, gently lifting a corner of the leaves to peek at Thaddeus’s hand. The wounds look good, but we’ll need to keep the leaves and mixture on them for a while yet.

I’ve got tape here, Thaddeus’s father said, kneeling beside him with the first aid kit. How about your leg? Did you hurt that?

Thaddeus shook his head. No. Just pulled the stitches a bit when I fell, but it doesn’t hurt as bad anymore. Thaddeus smiled up at Teofil. Just clumsy me, having to make us stop.

We were due for a break anyway, his father said, wrapping a long strand of medical tape around Thaddeus’s hand.

They all settled on the ground and sipped from waterskins or canteens. Teofil sat beside Thaddeus and, after looking around to make sure no one else was listening, leaned in to whisper, Sorry, I shouldn’t have said that to you about liking the view.

Thaddeus blushed again, and glanced at Teofil, whose expression was so serious he gave him a longer look. Why do you say that?

It flustered you and made you trip and fall. I should have kept my thoughts to myself.

I’m glad you said it, Thaddeus assured him. I just…. No one’s ever said that kind of stuff to me before. It’s tough to believe someone could feel that way about me.

I can’t believe no one has ever said something like that before, Teofil said. You’re so handsome and caring and brave.

Not as brave as you. Leaving your family to live on your own with a wizard and tend to his garden without knowing why.

I guess we’re just brave enough to be drawn together, Teofil said.

I guess so.

Thaddeus had to remind himself to breathe.

How’s your hand? his father asked, pulling Thaddeus’s attention away from Teofil.

Thaddeus winced as he flexed the fingers. It’s okay. Hurts, but not like it did when I first tripped.

Your leg okay, too? No stitches pulled out?

My leg’s fine. I’m okay, Dad.

Think you’ll be ready to move on soon? His father looked out across the grassy plain toward the thick line of trees. I’d like to get closer to the tree line by nightfall.

We’re going to camp in the woods? Thaddeus asked, more than a little nervous. The Bearagon had stalked him through the woods by his house before it had attacked them at Leopold’s.

Just outside of it, if we can.

That’s the Lost Forest, Fetter said from where he sat a few feet away. He had thick dark hair pulled back into a ponytail and a neatly trimmed dark beard. He was Teofil’s older brother, but shorter than his sibling by at least a foot. With a broad chest and thick, strong legs, Fetter was an imposing powerhouse of a gnome.

Lots of travelers get lost in there, he continued. That’s why they call it that.

Stop telling stories, Astrid said, letting out a heavy sigh. She turned to look at Thaddeus and his father, her blue eyes a shade darker than Teofil’s and her dark blonde hair pulled back into a single braid that hung halfway down her back. She was broad across the shoulders and strong as well, and her nose was crooked in two spots, which made Thaddeus wonder if it had been broken in the past or just formed that way naturally.

That’s not why they call it the Lost Forest, Astrid continued. Fetter grinned and shrugged one big shoulder. They call it the Lost Forest because legend tells of a place hidden deep within its borders that contains a powerful magic.

Really? What kind of place? A temple or something?

Astrid shook her head. Nothing as fancy as that. None have seen it since the day it was built, but many know the stories.

Oh, Astrid, Miriam said, standing behind her with her hands on her hips. Are you on about that story again? I swear, you’re going to start saying it in your sleep, you’ve been talking about it so much lately.

The fairies told me about it, Mum. It’s all true.

Thaddeus thought about the legend and wondered how many more of them he had yet to learn. Maybe the town library back home in Superstition had a secret room of big, dusty books filled with tales of history and heroism within the magic community, a room Vivienne would watch over. Thoughts of the stern but kind red-haired witch who worked at the Superstition library made Thaddeus feel a bit homesick, and he wondered how she was doing. Vivienne, Leopold, and Teofil’s father, Rudyard, had agreed to remain back in Superstition and work on uncovering the assumed identities of Isadora and her supporters, then meet up with them once they’d found signs of the Bearagon or Thaddeus’s mother who had been changed into a dragon by one of Isadora’s spells. He hoped they were having better luck than him.

Tell the story as we walk, Thaddeus’s father said and picked up his backpack. We’re losing daylight.

They gathered their items and set off again, Astrid walking between Teofil and Thaddeus as she told the story of the Lost Forest. Though the day was sunny and a warm breeze stirred the grass around them, Thaddeus felt a chill as Astrid related the tale. Suddenly, the rustling of the grasses started to sound like whispers, and the wind felt like the breath of Death itself.

The Lost Forest was once filled with magical beings, Astrid said. Gnomes, fairies, elves, dwarves, witches, wizards, all of them living together, all out of sight of men. Even ogres and trolls and goblins, on occasion, though they’re mostly bad and fond of eating others. Anyway, a great sickness swept across the land. It infected those who lived in the forest and surrounding country, and it was quite deadly. Many died from it, and those who cared for their loved ones who were first infected caught it as well, until only a handful of survivors remained.

How awful, Thaddeus said, looking down to watch for rocks.

They never found out where it originated, Astrid continued. And so they buried all the bodies in a long pit somewhere deep inside the forest. After many years, the infected blood from all of those bodies found its way into the soil. The trees around the grave grew darker and twisted, and bore fruit that tasted vile and sour. The foul fruit attracted evil into the forest, and as time went on, the magical creatures who had survived the sickness left the forest and the darker beings took over. The gravesite and village has since been lost, and any who have gone in search of it have never returned.

Wow, Thaddeus whispered. That’s quite a story. And we have to go through this forest?

Just keep in mind that’s what it is, Thaddeus’s father said. A story.

Suit yourself, Astrid said. But I’ve heard it from more than one source.

You forgot the best part, Fetter said.

What do you mean? Astrid asked, her voice edged with annoyance.

About the well.

Astrid sighed, and Thaddeus glanced back in time to see her roll her eyes. You and that ridiculous well, Astrid said.

It’s the best part of the story! Fetter nearly shouted.

Keep your voices down, both of you, Miriam said. They all fell silent a moment. "And you did leave that part out, Astrid."

See? Fetter immediately said. I told you!

Shut up!

Oh, for the love of geranium, both of you keep still! Miriam said. She marched up to get between Astrid and Thaddeus and lowered her voice as she told the part of the story Astrid had skipped. "You see, the people who lived within the forest had no idea what was making their loved ones so sick. It could have been something they were eating, or maybe the water they were drinking. To be safe, they dug a new well outside the boundaries of their village. At first, the water from this new well was cool, clear, and plentiful, but it soon dried up with no explanation or reason. Those who still remained would gather at the