The Intercessor

by Miriam Davison

  The noise of the wind was deafening and I pulled my hood tighter around my head. It only took us thirty minutes to get to the outskirts of the town; but it felt like hours had past. In normal conditions, a car would have taken about five minutes to complete the same journey. The sleigh eventually stopped, and I cautiously climbed out.

  The snow was so deep; the townsfolk had given up trying to completely clear it, but had been ingenious in their methods to ease getting around. Shops had fitted long banister like structures to their outside walls to hold onto when walking. Outside each door was a copious amount of rock salt to keep the doorway clear and as the depth of the snow grew, small makeshift steps had been carved into the mounds. As I looked round I noticed some of those who were brave enough to venture out were also using sleighs or walking pulling sledges on which they had put their shopping bags. It seemed the muses had done their jobs well.

  I entered a large supermarket and was surprised to see it was still quite well stocked, but some empty shelves showed that may not be the case for much longer. Bread and milk seemed to be in very poor supply and, as usual in severe situations, people had bought extra of these to stock up.

  I spoke to the assistant and she said they were lucky, they lived above the shop and were trying to keep it open for as long as possible, but they had received no deliveries for a week now and didn’t know how long the stock they had, would last. Her father had been taking some of the stores to a small rest home nearby to help them out, but he had been taken ill with the flu. I thanked her and gave her some herbs, telling her to make a broth for her father and he would feel better. I said goodbye and left the shop, sprinkling my strongest mixture of herbs at the door to help ward off the evil spirits who wanted to do harm.

  Some shops had closed altogether, and, as these were non essential shops, I was pleased they had been so wise. I struggled through the snow sprinkling my herb potions where I could. I came to a freezer shop, where a man was loading a sleigh with food. I stopped to talk to him. He told me it was his shop, and suddenly all the freezers had gone off. Several electricians had tried to fix them, but to no avail. He had decided to deliver the food to those who needed it and close his shop to be with his family. I offered our services, and for a while Oswald and I helped him. Every house we went to, I said a spell and sprinkled my herbs. At last we went with him to his home and he invited us in to get warm and have some tea with him. His family was as friendly as him, and made us feel so welcome. He had three children, two of them under five. As him and his wife were getting the tea, I hid herb sachets around the room, and said the strongest health spell I knew. This family deserved the best protection I could think of; to repay them for their kindness to us and their fellow man. At last it was time to leave. We said goodbye and we climbed back in to the sleigh and I asked to be taken back home.

  I had seen the reason we had to win this war; through all the hardship, there are still those who would do their best for others, gaining nothing in return, and the least they deserved was to live in freedom and peace.

  CHAPTER 15

  As the weeks went on, the onslaught of bad weather continued. Our scouts had heard, from the few radios and televisions that were still working, that the death toll had risen to such an extent that a National Disaster had been declared. Hospitals were full and makeshift ones were being set up in nearby halls.

  There was now a severe shortage of food getting to the shops, but once again our great human race was fighting back and finding ways around the difficulties.

  Groups organised themselves around the country, taking care of those less able. They had crafted makeshift vehicles suitable for the severe weather and travelled to the local farms and warehouses to collect food and fuel to distribute to the people in their towns. Houses were shared, as it was easier to keep fewer homes warm and safer to keep people together. I sent troops out to once again give protection to these houses. Spells were said over them to discourage the Gremlins, and health spells were repeated to ward off the power of Orbreen.

  The Hippogriffs had fought well and defeated most of the Cu Sith. It had, as I expected, been a bloody battle. Only a few Cu Sith had retreated back to the wilderness, the rest of them had been killed. Two of our Hippogriffs had also been killed though, and we praised their courage and mourned them in our own ways.

  Our worst losses had come from London itself. Grindylow, evil water spirits, had gathered in force and headed down the frozen Thames. We had been warned of their coming and formed an army to fight them, but it was a trap. Our information had been false and we had fallen prey to one of their spies. As we concentrated on the Grindylow, a large army of Redcaps had come behind us. We were caught between the two groups and, although we fought bravely, we were defeated. They had closed in on us, heavily armed. Once again Dagdar was there, he had an enormous club with him. He wielded the club and the smaller of the Fairies were swatted like flies as it flew through the air, crashing down hard on the larger of the troops. Only a meagre few survived, but with horrific injuries. The white snow stained red from the blood of so many.

  We faired better in the North of the country and in Scotland. There were still large pockets of enemy dotted around, but we definitely had the upper hand. Not all the evil creatures had joined in the fight some, who lived in the far regions of Scotland, preferred their solitude and didn’t want to take sides. This did make things easier for us. The mortals were also coping better in these areas and this, I was sure, was due to the fact we were used to colder climates in the Northern half of the country; and many were poor, and therefore had learned to make do.

  We gathered in the kitchen once again, and went over all our reports. We were not losing, but we were not winning either. We really needed to gain an advantage to bring this to an end. I still had no luck in finding anything to remove the bewitching spell from Dagdar.

  He was a master of war, and it was he who was responsible for the enemy strategies. If only we could bring him back to normality, I felt sure that would be the beginning of the end for Cailleach Bheur. I sat every night studying the book Hattie had given me.

  One night I sat in the comfort of the living room, in front of the fire to study the book. I had become so frustrated and still finding nothing, when I suddenly realised the date, it was the 19th December; less than a week to Christmas. I looked around the room; it was bare of anything to show the festive season was upon us. Normally my tree would have been up and the house fully decorated. I would have been spending my evenings wrapping gifts and baking goodies. I thought of the shopping days last year and the thrill when you find the perfect present for someone. I loved the hustle and bustle of the shops, the carols ringing out and the little chestnut stalls that appeared every year. There would be no queues at tills, and bulging shops with pre Christmas sales, this year. I thought of all the poor children, still waiting for Santa Clause to come, and wondered what their parents would be saying to them. I sat and wondered if I would ever be able to celebrate my favourite time of the year again. Tears filled my eyes and with a heavy heart, I climbed the stairs to my bed.

  CHAPTER 16

  Over the next few days, I tried to carry on as usual, but my mood was dampened. I hadn’t realised how much it showed, until I woke up on the morning of the 25th December. I knew what date it was and waves of depression washed over me. I felt like staying in bed, but I knew we had work to do, Christmas day or not. As I went downstairs, I heard whispers, and wondered what news I would be told today. As I passed the living room door, no fairy folk or creatures lay sleeping on the floor or any other available space, I hadn’t slept late so where was everyone?

  I stopped, and walked back to the door, and I looked into the room and gasped at the sight. Clax stood, in front of a blazing fire, with a huge smile on his face. The room had been decorated with Christmas decorations; and baubles hung on the potted pine tree, with a golden star on the top, the only thing missing was the lights. Holly and Ivy garlands were draped around the firep
lace. The room looked beautiful. Once again I found myself crying, but these were tears of pure joy. Clax just nodded, and gestured for me to follow him to the kitchen. Here too had been decorated with sprigs of holly and mistletoe. My friends all stood there, and I could see they were anxious at the sight of my wet cheeks, so I smiled and went around the room hugging each and every one of them. Orchid took my hand and led me to the table. As well as my pot of tea, I spotted a package wrapped up in linen and decorated with small pine cones.

  ‘Merry Christmas Abigail,’ they all chorused. I took the gift and removed the linen cover. Inside was a kind of hand made book. The front and back was made of wood and beautifully carved with Fairy symbols. Inside was full of pages of drawings and hand written notes. My friends had each wrote a piece about their history and their kind, and some of the Fairies had drawn pictures to go with each piece. They had included a personal message to me also. I had never received such a beautiful and thoughtful gift. Each and every one of the group had contributed.

  My heart went out to them. Everything we were going through and they had taken time out to do something for me.

  ‘Clax had the idea, and we all wanted to help,’ said Sweeny, one of the Leprechauns. I turned and smiled at Clax, I knew not to thank him outright or he may disappear, but he knew how I felt without me saying it. My eyes said it all, and of course, the huge grin I couldn’t remove from my face.

  Even though we had to be careful with food, a small feast was laid out later that day, and once again, we drank and danced well into the night. Cailleach Bheur had not taken Christmas away from me after all.

  CHAPTER 17

  I woke up the next morning with a strengthened resolve. I was determined to win, and restore the balance of power; I couldn’t let anyone down, they were depending on me.

  Over the next few weeks, we held our own and in some areas of the country we were winning. I ended each day by reading my beautiful hand made Christmas present and felt closer to my allies by learning more about them.

  One evening I was reading, as usual, and some of the words popped out of the page to me. I read it over and over again and an idea began forming in my mind. Next morning, I called the group together. I sat at the table and began; ‘I have been reading the book you all made, and in a few of the pages the name Taliesin is mentioned, could any of you tell me more about this person?’

  One of the prettiest Elves came forward, her name was Rosebud, and in a lovely melodic voice she said; ‘Our race knows of Taliesin well. He was once a prophet named Gwion Bach. He worked for a Witch by the name of Cerridwon, helping her by mixing her potions and other small tasks. One day, he was mixing a potion to give her all knowledge, the potion was knocked over and some splashed on to his hand, which he licked off, without thinking. He, at once, knew everything. Cerridwon was so angry she chased Gwion, and eventually caught and killed him. The Fairy Royalty at that time, took pity on him, and allowed him to be reborn as Taliesin, a shape shifter and a magician. To this day he still lives.’ I thanked Rosebud for this information, and then I outlined my plan.

  If Taliesin was agreeable, I wanted to find a spell to bring his past existence through. With his knowledge and his prophetic powers, he would be able to help us in our quest. I was immediately bombarded with raised voices from every corner of the room. The arguments went on for quite some time. The fear of the majority was, some evil spirit may come through instead, and we could make things worse.

  I tried to calm their fears and argued it may be our only hope, but the group held fast and the arguments became very heated. At last I agreed to; first find a safe spell, and secondly, only use it if it became absolutely necessary. Only then did things calm down in the kitchen. I knew, however, that my plan would eventually be used, and I would spend my nights looking for a spell to satisfy my friends’ fears.

  Clax made another pot of tea, and we decided to get back to business and read the daily reports.

  CHAPTER 18

  The Dryads, female spirits who protected the forests; a different one for each species of tree, had moved from being neutral, to joining out side, as had Bugul Noz, another forest spirit. The constant cold and bad weather was now also affecting the trees in their charge, and they wanted an end to the conflict. They were excellent in providing information on the troops of Cailleach Bheur. They hid in their trees listening to the whispers of the enemy and passed it on to us.

  We were also told a large group of Blue Caps had been delivering coal in the Buckingham area, when they were set upon by the Phouka. They had at first took on the disguise of a pack of dogs, and had changed into large vicious wolves, when they had them surrounded. After a bloody fight, mostly all one sided, all the Blue Caps had been killed, most of them had been torn to pieces by the sharp teeth of the Phouka. This was another huge loss to us, and it was now happening too often.

  I knew mankind was suffering greatly and the longer this went on; the more power would be gained by the Witch. Although a National Disaster had been declared; very little help and aid could get through from other countries. The conditions were so severe only a few succeeded. This was not the case with the netherworld. Fairies and the like could travel on a different plane and we had word from Europe.

  Our allies overseas had been watching and had decided if Cailleach Bheur won her battle here; she would then try to spread her power, and the nearest countries to Britain would be next. They had joined forces and we were to be sent troops to help defeat her. This had been news we were hoping for, they would be fresh to the fight, and could also bring new ideas.

  We set about making more room in the already cramped cottage. Our stores of wood were now moved to the basement and the fourth bedroom was made ready for our new arrivals. Even the large garden shed was prepared, with camp beds set out and herbs and spells to protect it.

  A few days later, the leaders of our new allies had arrived, and our spirits were lifted. We settled them in and regrouped in the kitchen for a welcome meal and introductions.

  First to introduce herself was Corisande; from the Mellusina fairies of France. She was so beautiful and was adorned with jewels. Her clothes were exquisite and seemed to be made from the finest silk.

  Eirikr was the next to come forward. He was an Elf from the Nissa of Scandinavia. He seemed a very jolly and friendly man, with deep blue eyes that made you feel safe when looking in them. A large dwarf, named Aage, greeted us; his clan was the Kobalds from Germany. These were mainly mining dwarves who helped out the mortal miners, but were no strangers to battle.

  There were two fairies standing and I turned to the first and nodded. She said her name was Bay and she had brought with her troops from the Brittany clan of Fees. The other fairy had wings that glistened like a spider’s web in the morning dew. This was Lucia; she had brought with her the Hada De Luna; the moon fairies of Spain.

  A very large and handsome man, stood back from the others. I walked over to him and took his hand to lead him nearer the group. With my small stature he towered above me. I turned to him and said; ‘Would you like to introduce yourself to the group? We are all friends here.’

  He spoke and his voice was like honey, so smooth and gentle. ‘I am Jarl; I bring with me some of the Huldafolk from Scandinavia. Forgive me, but we are usually very reclusive and do not like to mix. We agreed to come to stop this Witch, as we will have no one rule over us.’ I smiled and nodded. I made the introductions from our side and bid them eat and drink as they must be hungry from their journey.

  Although the conversation was strained to begin with, it soon loosened up as we discussed the events and the progress of the war. We heard of the fear of the Europeans because of the lack of news coming from our country. There had been cries that the end of the world was coming, and of course the religious fanatics had said it was a warning from God. The governments had a collection of the top scientists and meteorological experts to try to figure out what was happening, but they couldn’t come up with any one reason for the
devastating climate change of the United Kingdom.

  They had been testing the temperature of the seas surrounding us though, and they were dropping at an alarming rate. The shores of neighbouring countries were beginning to cool down, and this is how the decision to send help had been agreed.

  CHAPTER 19

  The next morning, plans had been discussed, and the new troops were sent out to the areas that needed them the most. A large group had been sent to help out in Lincolnshire. We had been told the previous day that the Greencoaties, the main fairies of that area, had been almost wiped out and this was becoming an enemy stronghold. Eirikr sent an army of his elves there along with some Kobalds.

  Jarl sent his Huldafolk down to London as did Lucia with her moon fairies. The rest travelled around the country, helping as and when they were needed.

  We had heard that the Aughisky, a clan similar to Kelpies but far more dangerous, had been almost defeated in Scotland; this was fantastic news; we were continuing to gain the upper hand in Scotland, and making great progress in the North of Britain.

  The Ferryshin had fought so well, that the Isle of Man, their territory, was now free of enemy. Jersey and Guernsey were also free again, so the majority of clans moved in on the southern parts of the country to help out there, leaving small armies to keep their own territories safe.

  It was now the beginning of February. A quarter of the mortal population had died due to illness or accident. An extremely high number had died due to the flu, and many due to just hypothermia itself. I mourned the loss of my kind, and hoped my friends were all well. I hoped they had taken some notice of my warnings at least. I tried not to think they could be amongst the dead; that thought cut deep into my heart. I was made stronger only by the thought of saving as many as I could, and one day giving those who had died, the burial and mourning they deserved.