said dropping them into the pot.
Finally, Freeman was up. The group made a path for him. And he marched up to the mixture with the final ingredient in his hands. He paused running his fingers over what looked like a “Rock’em Sock’em robot” with crossed swords on its back.
They all looked on at his ingredient wondering how it fit into the brew. But no one said a word. Then with one final splash he dropped it into the pot.
With the last ingredient added, Anna Pearl resumed her mixing. And when the mixture turned from soup to chowder, Freeman motioned for the group to gather around the map that was still on the floor.
He grabbed the handles of the pot in each hand and inched over to the set-up and poured the brew inside the stones. Then they waited.
FIVE
They half expected the hero they had called for to appear out of thin air. But nothing happened. There was no howling wind, change in temperature or any other sign that the recipe had worked. There was only silence.
They stood silently for a few minutes before the sound of their own uncontrollable laughter shattered the stillness around him. As their attempt to save the town fizzled and cooled on the floor, they chatted about their mad dash to scavenge the ingredients from the list and laughed even harder at the silly idea that they could conjure a hero.
Freeman clenched his eyes shut and leaned back holding his belly as he let out a howl of laughter. It was the best he’d felt in weeks. It was probably the best they’d all felt in a long time.
Then suddenly, the laughter of the group trailed off like falling dominos leaving only Freeman’s laugh echoing off the attic walls. The oddly placed silence came out of nowhere. It was startling.
Freeman, his mouth still gapped open from laughing, glanced to his left then to his right to find his team of six now lying in a circle on the floor. They looked like a morbid sunflower with the steaming map in the center.
His eyes caught the swift movement of a red blur out of the corner of his eye. And in an instant something had him in its grasp and his feet were no longer touching the ground. He blinked away the tears of joy that had turned to total fear and realized that he was now face to face with a life size rendering of the toy he’d held in his hands only moments earlier.
“What are you doing?” he asked confused, “We called for you! You are supposed to rid our town of the evil.” He frantically pled.
The life sized toy tilted its head confused and released its hold on Freeman.
“How could you do this, you’ve made a mistake.”
“I protect when I’m called, that is my charge.”
“What could these people have possibly done to draw your wrath?” Freeman asked
“Mayor Gamble bartered away the citizens’ land for personal gain, Anna Pearl stole her famous recipes, Honey Palmer sold moonshine across 6 counties, Patty and Mark both abandoned their beliefs, and Bert Minkus used his position at the bank to fund an underground night club.” He explained in one breath, “And of course there’s you, so focused on revenge that you became the judge, appointed a jury and called for an executioner, not considering for a moment your ancestor’s warning about the Hero’s Brew.
.
SIX
“Warning?” Freeman called out confused, before reaching for the tiny note that started it all.
He wasn’t sure what went wrong, but things were certainly out of hand. So he read each word aloud while replaying each addition to the makeshift cauldron while the rhythm of the words rang in his ears.
The key to this here Hero’s Brew, is it pulls its powers from the spirits that be all around you.
One just and fair to judge right from wrong is what you need to govern your home.
Strength and speed of the gods to keep an eye on us all, with this Hero’s Brew, he will answer your call.
Stretch out a map
Place 6 smooth stones around the land that the Hero must keep
Bring water to a boil and mix in 1 serpents tongue
1 living queen bee
2 vials of blood - 1 marked grace and the other marked mercy
6 tear soaked rose petals
And somethin’ to mold your Hero’s form
Once they all boil together, pour them inside the stones
When the mixture cools, your Hero will begin his work.
And work he will, until only the just stands in the land that he keeps
He slowly slid his thumb down the side of the paper realizing that he hadn’t unrolled it far enough to reveal all of the secrets. In his rush to gather the makings for the Hero’s brew, Freeman overlooked the warning included from his great – great grandmother. His eyes widened as he read the lines aloud and he knew his fate was sealed.
But be ye warned who calls, that in a Hero’s sight, there is no in between; either it’s wrong or right.
So do think twice, before you cast or call, because moving with haste could be the death of all under the sound of the Hero’s call.
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About the Author
About the Author
Author T.W. Colvin (TWC), was born a southern girl, raised in Michigan and now calls the south home again. Noted by many as a passionate author, she is so committed to her craft that she has been known to piece together stories and inspirational writings from text messages and social media posts. Now, despite wearing several hats TWC has completely embraced her gift and is more focused than ever on perfecting and publishing her work.
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