The Intercessor

by Miriam Davison

  First to come out was Selena, then Gwent. We held our breaths on each pick, and then there was an audible cry of excitement from the winner, and sighs of disappointment from the losers. The names came out; Grenville, Corisande, Aage, Lucia, Eirickr and lastly Oswald.

  The noise rose in the basement, congratulations and commiserations ringing in the air. Once everyone had settled down, we finished our preparations, and settled down for the night. We would begin our journey early the next morning.

  CHAPTER 38

  I woke at dawn to the smell of food. I entered the kitchen to find the table laid with food. ‘You will need to eat well before your journey, so tuck in.’ Clax had thought of everything, as usual. We filled our stomachs until bursting point, and then got dressed in our many layers of clothes ready for the journey.

  The sleighs were packed and the shape shifters were once again horses and harnessed to the sleighs. We had said our goodbyes in the house, so no peeping eyes could see the love and good wishes. Silently and without a visible audience, we set off. My sleigh was in the middle, to keep up an appearance of being a prisoner. I had Oswald on one side of me and Corisande on the other. We headed towards the A1, and even though I knew this area, it looked completely different covered in so much snow. Cailleach Bheur had been true to her word, there were no blizzards and no winds, but this made everywhere silent and eerie. The only sound we heard were the horses’ hooves crunching in the snow and the jangle of the harness.

  It took a couple of hours to actually find our way to the A1, but once on it our journey went quite smoothly. Every now and then we would stop to clear a sign, which were now easily reachable as the snow was so deep. At last we saw the sign for the A61 to Ripon, and headed towards it. We had to take it slower now, clearing more signs to find the route to the A59. By the time we got onto it, it was late afternoon and we followed it until we found the A671. By this time, we were hungry and bitter cold and decided to look for somewhere to settle for the night.

  It wasn’t long before we spotted a house on its own, which looked deserted. Lucia used her magic to fly down the chimney to see if it was safe. She had only been gone a few minutes when she opened the window upstairs for us all to climb into; the full downstairs being covered by deep snow. The sleighs were stored behind the house, and everyone settled in the bedroom.

  We closed the curtains and set the camping stoves away and lit the small gas heaters we had brought. We felt a little bit warmer now, and ate the food we had prepared. Now, in much greater spirits and stomachs happy, we snuggled in to our sleeping bags and after a long discussion about the plan ahead, we settled down to sleep.

  The next morning, we filled the bathroom sink with boiled water, and cleaned ourselves the best we could. Feeling clean and refreshed, we ate a hearty breakfast and packed up the sleighs again to resume our journey.

  It took most of the morning to negotiate the B roads and after several false turns, we entered the Ribble Valley at last. It was now May Days eve and we had to meet Dagdar by 8.pm. We had nine hours to climb the hill, which would be easily done in normal conditions.

  We had winter hiking clothes and also some snow shoes to help us with the climb, but we knew it was going to be extremely hard.

  CHAPTER 39

  We started the climb, each of us lost in our own thoughts. I climbed with various scenarios going through my head. What if Dagdar wasn’t there? What if it was a trap? What if the Royalty failed us? All these thoughts were swirling around my head and I knew I had to think positive.

  We stopped, after we had been climbing for a couple of hours, to catch our breaths. I had never climbed anything in my life, except a flight of stairs, and I was gasping, my chest tight. I sat for quite some time before my breathing returned to normal and my heart had stopped racing.

  We set off again but I had not even been climbing for an hour when I signalled to stop again. The Huldafolk looked at me despairingly, from way up the hill and made their way back down to see what was wrong. I was gasping for breath, and they had to tell me, step by step, how to fill my lungs. I was not up to this, I knew, and to be honest, I screamed out loud in frustration and despair. We had to decide what we could do. Even if we went at a much slower pace, I would not be able to finish the climb.

  The Huldafolk brought out flasks they had made up, with hot sweet tea and gave me a drink. They then handed them round to the others. When I had calmed down enough, we resumed the conversation about the climb ahead. We had four amongst us who could fly, but only two of those could hold the weight of another being. The Huldafolk could carry on ahead, they would be able to climb up the hill in no time, without our hindrance. Eirickr decided to go on with them, as he too was used to this terrain.

  Oswald would carry Aage to the top, and Corisande would carry Grenville. They would have a short rest and then come back down for myself and Gwent. Selena and Lucia could fly to the top by themselves. The hikers set off before us, and the rest of us took our time sipping on our tea, and resting. When we felt we had rested enough, Oswald and Corisande set off with their first to passengers, while the rest of us packed the cups and flasks away. It was just under half an hour, when they returned. The hikers they said had made great progress and would the top within the hour. Oswald sent Selena and Luna on their flight, while they got ready to carry us. Corisande was to carry Gwent and Oswald would carry me and the two back packs we still had with us.

  He set the backpacks on both shoulders and then scooped me in his arms like a baby. I clung to his neck, even though I trusted him with every bone in my body, I was taking no chances. We took off, slowly at first, and then gained speed and height, and flew easily up the side of the hill. I saw Corisande up ahead, with the child sized Gwent on her back. He too clung to her neck and kept his head tucked down between her shoulders.

  Oswald told me to look down, and as I did so, I saw the hikers, not far from the summit. They had made great time and still looked strong and confident.

  At last Oswald set me down on the top of Pendle hill, and I joined the others who were there already. We didn’t have long to wait before we were joined by the hikers and we set off to a small flat area where we could set up a kind of camp, as we still had a few hours until our meeting with Dagdar.

  CHAPTER 40

  We passed the time with small talk, trying to keep things light. We knew if things were to go wrong now; we would all die. Tales were told of homelands and kin, and we all prayed we would see them again.

  The sky darkened, and we stood, and moved to the centre of the peak, to be ready for the final part of our plan. My friends fanned out in a slight semi circle, and I stood in the centre and about six foot forward.

  We didn’t have long to wait, coming up to meet us was Dagdar riding on a huge stag, and two further stags slightly behind him. Once in front of us, he dismounted, and the stags changed shape into three very large Humanoids. He looked around the group and then his eyes rested on me.

  ‘So this is the infamous Intercessor. You are hardly worthy of my axe, but I will kill you in the name of my Queen. When I have done this, the rest of you may go free, but make sure you tell all of what happened here tonight, and spread the word that any who dare defy the Queen will have the same fate. Come forward Intercessor, if you dare.’ He laughed as he said it, and I was terrified.

  I pulled myself together and moved forward, silently praying to the Royalty to hurry up. Dagdar stepped forward, raised his axe and shouted. ‘In the name of the Queen, Cailleach Bheur!’ I had failed, I was about to die. I thought of my parents, and how I would never see them again; I hadn’t even said goodbye. I thought of my friends, those here, and those at the cottage, what would become of them. I waited for the drop of the axe, but it didn’t come. I opened my eyes and saw a golden light surrounding us.

  I looked up to see the nine Kings and Queens descending in a circle around Dagdar and myself. Everyone but me, seemed hypnotised, and didn’t move a muscle. The three Humanoids had, however, chan
ged back into stags, but still stood absolutely still. Once on the ground, the Royalty joined hands and began a chant in unison.

  By Basilisk and Bloodstone, by Garlic in the fields, By the Poppies and what they yield, Invisibly we make our shield, To detect the and deflect thee. By Dragons blood and Salamanders, By horses when their hooves strike sparks, By the Dragon breathing flames from the Book of Life. We erase thy name, we cut the cords and unlock the chains, We sever all the ties, by which thee were bound, And with impenetrable walls, we surround, Against the power and its source. We banish thee forever from him, And any harm from thee to him, Doubles back and tables turned, thou shall by thyself be burned. By the power of three times three, We banish thee, we banish thee, we banish thee, He is set free, so mote it be.

  Dagdar lowered the axe, and fell to the ground weeping. The spell had been removed, but the memories of all he had done in the name of Cailleach Bheur had not. As he lay on the ground, we heard an angry scream fill the air, it was undoubtedly the Witch, she had not wanted to miss the proceedings, and had seen, instead, her greatest advantage being taken away from her. We caught sight of her riding away, as fast as the wind, on the grey mare she now rode.

  CHAPTER 41

  Dagdar, full of grief and guilt, suddenly grabbed his axe, and jumped on one of the stags. As the stag took off in chase, he screamed; ‘I will avenge all those who I have wrongly killed, you will pay Witch, you will pay with your life!’

  After that, was a bit of a blur. The witch could not be killed, even through all she had done, she was needed to keep the balance true. She was the bringer of Winter, without her, many other species would die, and the human race would inevitably suffer.

  I felt myself being lifted into the air, it was Oswald, he knew also that we had to stop Dagdar. As we flew behind we could see the two of them riding down the hill, Cailleach Bheur well ahead. All of a sudden, something went wrong. We couldn’t tell if the mare lost its footing or slipped on ice, but it went down throwing Cailleach Bheur to the ground.

  Dagdar closed the gap and we had to hurry, we knew he wasn’t thinking straight, he was clouded with the need for vengeance, for all those he had been made to slay. We swooped down as he was getting off the stag. All I could do was shout for him to stop. Oswald put me down and we both ran up to Dagdar as he was raising his Axe.

  ‘Stop this Dagdar, she will be punished.’ I begged. ‘She doesn’t deserve to live, we will all be better off without her,’ He raged. I had to get him to see sense. ‘We may be, but what of all those who need the winter? You will be signing their death warrants also. Why give this Witch an easy way out? Let the Royalty choose her punishment so she may endure it for eternity.’ These words got through to him and he lowered his axe.

  Cailleach Bheur, in a last stupid attempt, began to say chants to hurt Dagdar, but he had been protected from her by the Royalty, and this eventually, was what brought him back to reality, and he laughed at her. ‘You are right Intercessor, look at her. She is nothing without my power and I will not sully my blade with her blood.’

  Relief flooded through me, I turned to see the leaders coming down the hill to join us. Then the Royalty appeared, and the Witch, once mighty, curled up in fear. They must have been using their telepathy again, for one at a time they nodded. Ilbhreac stepped forward and spoke, as he did so, the rest of the group fell to their knees, so I thought I should follow, and I saw him smile slightly at my actions.

  ‘Cailleach Bheur, you have dared to go against the noble laws. We would finish you now, as you deserve, but the mortal world would suffer greatly. We have decided your fate and will bind you, from herein, you will have no choice but to do our bidding. You can use your full power for a few days at a time, then you must give respite. No more will the winters be so severe. From this time forward, your might and power has been taken away, you will never again be feared.’ Then they all moved forward and chanted over the Witch;

  We call upon our joint powers, To bind Cailleach Bheur, forever more, Only our bidding will now be done, She will live to uphold the Noble law. Never again will she let lose her might, Her power now mild, her anger restrained, From herein she will live within our binds, This, our will, we here now proclaim, By the power of three times three, As it is said, so mote it be.

  With this over, he turned to the Witch and said, ‘Now lay down your staff, your reign is over.’ We thought for one moment, it had not worked, as anger flashed in her eyes. The moment passed, however, and as she laid the staff on the ground, another woman appeared.

  Queen Grian walked over to her, ‘Brigit, take over your reign, and bring the spring. Make the snow go quickly, but no floods, the mortals have had enough devastation. We will give you aid in this task, do not worry.’ Brigit smiled and agreed. Immediately we felt the temperature rise, and the chill began to wear off us.

  Ilbhreac turned to Dagdar, and shocked us all, by hugging him, ‘My dear friend, don’t dwell on things you had no control of. Redeem yourself by helping, mortals and Fairy folk alike, come back from this and rebuild their lives. The only blame you have, is not choosing your lover wisely.’ He laughed as he said the last part and Dagdar smiled but looked sheepish.

  It was my turn next, as Queen Aine addressed me; ‘Intercessor, you have done your job well, you have intrigued us with your imagination and versatility. That is why we agreed to help. We will say to you now; we will take greater
interest in what happens on this plane. You made us see we have neglected our duties for too long. That does not mean you can call on us any time, you must deal with things yourself, but we will be watching.’

  With the word said they disappeared in a golden light. All that was left, was our group, and Dagdar. We officially introduced ourselves, and began to make our way down the rest of the hill. We chatted as we travelled, and Dagdar, turned out to be a nice and interesting being, when he wasn’t trying to kill us.

  As we reached the bottom, the changelings came up to us to say they had found another abandoned house we could spend the night in. We settled down in the house, once again we shared a meal, but the difference to the last time was so obvious. We laughed and chatted, with no lack of conversation, it was well in to the early hours of the morning, we eventually decided to sleep.

  With nothing of any urgency to take care of, we all slept late and it was almost noon when we were ready to begin our journey home.

  CHAPTER 42

  As we set off, the sun blazed in the sky, and we saw people emerging from the upper windows of snowed in homes. The depth of the snow had already dropped, but it would take a few days of work from Brigit and the Royals for it to disappear completely.

  The news, of the previous evening, had already spread through the Netherworld. We were met, along our journey, by various tribes of Elves, Fairies and Nymphs, all cheering and rejoicing. We had travelled over halfway home, when we were feeling hungry. We stopped to talk to a tribe of Dryads, and they invited us to join them to eat and rest. We gladly agreed and followed them to their camp.

  What was to be a short stop, turned out to be a long and joyful party. Other tribes came to the camp, after the word went out we were there, and music, dancing and singing began in full force. A feast was laid out for us and the wine and beer flowed freely. We soon realised we would be going nowhere that day, so sat back and enjoyed the festivities.

  We were also told of individual events in detail, and the true horror of the Witches reign, was revealed. Even children of the tribes had been slaughtered, and there had been devastation in the Netherworld population. Dagdar was filled once again of guilt and remorse, he apologised profusely and promised to help the tribes build their homes and lives again. The mood returned to frivolities and we at last fell asleep, drunk and happy.