Jabberwocky by Daniel Coleman

menacingly near the door. The spines on their back were raised and their skin had a red tinge.
    Not quite as frumious as the one I fought, but close.
    Next to the bandersnatches crouched a pair of barbantulas—great, hairy spiders with legs as wide as Tjaden’s, and twice as long.
    Tjaden smiled and looked at Ollie, who gawked at the creatures with his mouth agape. “Still say barbantulas don’t exist?” asked Tjaden.
    Gaping at the grisly collection, Ollie muttered, “I respectfully rescind rashly recited rantings.”
    A small flock of Jubjub birds hung suspended from the ceiling, peering down with glassy eyes. Their red wings were angled backward in a life-like dive. By reflex Tjaden's hand went to his sword, and keeping his eyes on them until he was clear, he moved on.
    They passed a short, shaggy animal with oversized paws that he assumed was a feriwumpus. The next animal was a squat, wrinkled form that resembled a mix between a monkey and a crow. “Is that…”
    “A Targus?” asked Captain Darieus. “Yes, indeed it is. Notice the advanced age. ‘Tis true the elder Targus are much more deadly. I took this one with a single arrow.”
    Captain Darieus moved proudly among the displayed corpses. “I have hunted extinct animals,” pointing to three dodos and a gryphon, “terrible creatures,” now signaling the bandersnatches, “and even some that any reasonable person would swear do not exist.” Without a shred of modesty he indicated a brilliant white equine form with a solitary pearly horn.
    Tjaden was disturbed by the macabre collection. Hunting animals for food and clothing was a way of life in all towns, but it was obvious Captain Darieus killed for self-gratification, and not on a small scale.
    “But this is not why we are here.” He led them around a partition where a full skeleton of a Jabberwocky was displayed. “Behold your enemy.”
    The bones looked like a series of oversized snake skeletons extending from an immense rib cage and spine. Tjaden immediately noticed a problem. “Where’s the head, Sir?”
    “Ah, the one flaw in my collection. We were able to disassemble the body and bring it back in pieces. But the head was damaged so severely in the battle we couldn’t salvage any bones. I’ve been waiting two decades to finish this skeleton. I’m counting on you to complete my collection.”
    Whatever reasons Captain Darieus had for sending him instead of other Elites, Tjaden was glad for the opportunity to go after Elora himself. Nodding, he said, “I’ll bring you the head.”
    As long as it doesn’t interfere with rescuing Elora.
     
    *****
     
    Later that day, Ollie practiced at the archery range. Both he and Captain Darieus felt his time would be better spent practicing with his bow than doing physical training with Tjaden.
    He took careful aim.
    “Not going to get the bullseye again,” called Egden, a fellow Fellow.
    Thwang, thunk.
    Ollie’s arrow found the bullseye, joining two of his other five arrows in the tight circle.
    “I’ll be hornswaggled. How’d you do that?” asked Egden.
    “It’s all about breathing,” answered Ollie. “That’s the first thing I learned. Out. In. Release. I’ve known that longer than I’ve known you should never run to the privy.”
    “Never run to the privy?” asked Shen, a Fellow recruit from Palassiren.
    “That’s right,” said Ollie with a smile. “That’s the last place you want to try to catch your breath.”
    When Ollie started training, he had good basic bow skills, mostly learned from Mikel. The time he devoted boosted his skill immensely and the exceptional training in the Academy turned him into a better shooter than any of the other recruits. All of his precious free time was spent on the range both shooting and picking up tips from more experienced archers.
    Devoting himself to a task with such dedication was rewarding in a way he’d never experienced. In the week and a half since Mikel gave him the bow, he’d