At What Cost

An Iron Age Media Prompt - “The Sylph“

Tommy slept. His small frame caused the bed covers to barely rise and fall with each breath, almost imperceptibly. But Mary could see it. If her new form was capable of crying, she would probably shed a tear at the sight. He seemed so peaceful, not a care in the world.

Tommy had fallen seriously ill last fall. Mary had taken him to every doctor, nearby and far. No destination was too far or cost too high to save him. Or so she thought. Some days she still wondered if she made the right decision. Was there even such a thing as a right decision in this situation?

She had just put Tommy to bed, the medicine was doing the best it could but it was like trying to stop a flood with a single plank of wood. She rocked in her chair on the porch while the crickets and Tommy’s coughing fits broke the otherwise still summer night. Off in the distance she saw the outline of a person walking towards her. She ducked into the house and grabbed her shotgun from under the sofa. People around these parts were neighborly, generally speaking, but she wasn’t taking any chances. She was kind and trusting, not stupid.

As the figure drew closer, Mary found herself puzzled by the character before her. He was wearing an all-white suit save for the bolo tie, topped off with a black cowboy hat. It wasn’t until this moment that Mary realized how truly strange it was that this man was walking. Her ranch was a ten-minute ride from the town, and more to the point, train station, depending on how fast the horse was.

“Evening ma’am.” the stranger said, tipping his hat.

“Evening.” Mary said evenly. She had her shotgun under a blanket as she sat in her chair. No point in being impolite unless absolutely necessary. “What brings you so far from town?” she continued.

“I’m just passing through town”

“Begging your pardon sir, but I’m afraid you overshot passing through the town. Your current path won’t lead much of anywhere.”

“We’ll see, I have the feeling I will encounter a few things of interest.”

“Suit yourself”

“Might I pardon you for a glass of water?”

“There’s one ready for you on the porch rail”

This wasn’t Mary’s first time with strange visitors so she knew how to be prepared.

“Much obliged.”

He drank the water greedily, downing the whole glass in not but a minute. “Ahhhh” he exhaled with relief. “That sure does hit the spot”

“If you don’t mind me asking, where are you headed exactly? You’re a bit off the beaten trail.”

“I’m a bit of a wanderer, I go where I’m needed”

“How do you know where you are needed?”

“It’s a feeling I get.”

“And what do you do when you get there?”

“I’m a fixer, people have problems and I solve them”

“You make it sound easy.”

“You’d be surprised how easy many problems are to solve once the right people get involved.”

“If you say so”

“So, how can I help you?”

“Who says I have a problem?”

“Your house do a lot of coughing or is that your boy?”

“I’m afraid we’re full up on snake oil if that’s what you’re planning on selling me.”

He let out a deep laugh, deeper than his speaking voice. His voice was smooth, almost too much so.

“I can heal him” he stated plainly.

“Why should I believe you? That’s a tall order.”

“I’m quite knowledgeable. For instance, I know your boy’s name is Tommy and I know you have a coach gun under that blanket.”

She bristled when he said Tommy’s name. Folks around these parts were prone to gossip but not with strangers. How on Earth did he know that? The gun could have been guessed but the name was harder to explain.

“How much?” She wasn’t convinced that he wasn’t a con artist but that display was mighty convincing. More to the point she didn’t have much choice. If there was even a chance he could be cured, she was going to take it, the cost didn’t matter. She’d work off the cost if it took the rest of her days.

“Loyalty”

“Beg pardon?”

“All I ask in return is that you work for me”

“Doing what exactly?”

“Traveling around helping other people, the job comes with a bit of power as well.”

“How do I know I can trust you?”

“Far as I can tell, you don’t have a choice. ‘Course if you’re not interested, I’ll be on my way.”

“No!” she blurted. She hated how much the panic and desperation seeped into her voice. Now was hardly the time for pride though.

“What about my boy? I can’t leave him alone and I’m not mighty keen on him traveling with a complete stranger.”

“That won’t be an issue.”

Not the most reassuring answer but I ain’t got much choice. Even if this man turns out to be a demon and I lose my soul, it’s worth it.

“Alright, I’ll do it.”

“Just sign the dotted line,” he said, pulling a contract from his inner jacket pocket. She steadied her gun when he reached into his jacket. Can’t be too careful.

“There’s no need for that.”

How’d he know?

“You want me to sign away my soul or something?”

“I have no interest in your soul.”

Again, seems like a very deliberately phrased statement. Curse that illness.

“If you’ve been going around helping people, where are the other people you’ve helped that now work for you?”

“Ha! You’re the first person to notice that. Most are off visiting their families, I’m a generous boss, what can I say? Others are off performing smaller tasks. Now are you going to sign?”

“How do I know you can even cure him? I’m not the type to let a stranger try who knows what on my son.”

“Are you asking for a sign or demonstration of power?”

“Yes”

The man flicked his wrist and a gust of wind blew the blanket away and the shotgun flew out of Mary’s hand into his.

“Convinced?”

“I suppose so”

“Truly unfortunate, isn’t it?”

“This better work” Hand slightly shaking, Mary steadied herself and signed the document.

“Excellent. Let’s get to work shall we?”

“Please,” she said gesturing for him to go inside, following close behind.

They walked into Tommy’s small room, the floor creaking with every other footstep. He had finally fallen asleep as the coughing fits temporarily subsided.

The man stood at the left side of the bed and held both of his hands palm down over Tommy. Mary stood on the other side, her eyes darting back and forth between Tommy and this strange strange man.

The dress shoes should have been a dead giveaway in retrospect. First of all, they were dress shoes which even the wealthy would reserve for special occasions and certainly wouldn’t walk in them on a dirt walkway to a ranch not too far from the middle of nowhere. Secondly, the shoes somehow managed to remain free of mud, dirt, or scuffs even though her walkway was hardly kind to shoe wear.

Almost imperceivably fast, the air seemed to suck something out of Tommy’s open mouth and into the man’s hand. He turned his hand over and presented a disgusting small grey flesh blob.

“What is it?” she whispered.

“What it is doesn’t matter. What matters is that it’s out of him and now he’s cured” he stated quietly.

Mary went to rest her hand on Tommy’s forehead except her hand passed right through.

“Wha-?”

She tried to touch the small nightstand next to Tommy’s bed but she couldn’t. Her hand went through again.

“What did you do?” she said as panic and confusion flooded her mind and voice.

“I cured him” he replied calmly.

“Not that! What did you do to me?!”

“Well, you work for me, and since I am the lord of the wind, that makes you an air elemental of sorts”

“If you’re not a demon or the devil or anything, why would you torture people like this? Save their loved ones and then they can’t even touch them anymore?”

“I’m sure a more satisfying answer would be that I gain power through the suffering of others but that is not the case. I’ve simply existed for so long, moments like this are the only thing that provides me any sort of entertainment”

Mary stared at him blankly for a moment and then started laughing. It was a nervous chuckle at first and then quickly devolved into manic cackling.

“What is so funny? Did your mind just break or something? This is certainly an unusual reaction” he said, demonstrating the first instance of confusion and uncertainty in their entire interaction.

“You didn’t win, you know that? Tommy is healthy and that is literally all that matters.”

“If you say so, whatever you tell yourself. I don’t really care. I’ll give you a few moments to say goodbye, not that he can hear or see you anymore, and then we’ve got work to do. Try to see if you can regain your senses and sanity in the meantime.”

She tried to sit down on the dresser at the foot of the bed but ended up floating just above. Once she was sure the man was out of earshot and eyesight, she started to cry and immediately realized she couldn’t.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t properly say goodbye, Tommy. I’ll be with you always no matter what form I am in. I love you so much. Goodbye son, be strong.”