by A. S. Koutso
I tried to follow her, but my feet would not move.
“You need to go back; you are running out of energy.” The pixie demanded.
“But I have more questions. I can’t leave now”
“You must. The void will feast on your spirit if it feels you are too weak to be here. Leave now.”
The vision started to fade as I watched Cara run off into the forest.
I called my spirit door and left the void.
Once I was back to the earthly realm, I had more questions than ever, but who to ask? Cara was running away from Dunamase Castle, was I safe with Orla? What could have happened that night to make Cara flea and leave me with a stranger? I wanted to head straight home to ask Cara all these questions, but I was so close to finding the doctor.
“That was crazy, you walked through the door and then both your body and the door vanished!” Orla exclaimed
Before I could form a sentence, a splitting headache rushed over me, I held my head and the floor beneath me started to shake.
“Ash? Are you ok?”
I couldn't answer her, before I knew it my body fell limp and I hit the ground.
I could hear Orla screaming in the background. My mind was weaving in and out of consciousness as she dragged me over to the water. She started a healing chant, but I could not move my muscles. My body felt weak, but my mind was coming back. I heard her repeating the same words over and over
In the name of the great goddess Airmend I beg you bless her with your godly powers, bless her body, bless her soul. Bring back to her what she has lost. Lend her your energies so she can heal. In the name of the goddess Airmend bless her.
The rain began to fall, and a single drop glowed a warm yellow. It landed on my chest and the light spread throughout my body. I regained my strength slowly and whispered to Orla
“Thank you.”
“Sleep Aisling. You need rest.” She replied, as I closed my eyes and rest my head in her lap.
Hours must have gone by before I woke up because it was already dusk. The sun was setting over the mountain and the chilly breeze was rolling in.
The hairs on the back of my neck stood waking me out of my deep slumber. I jumped up confused as to where I was. My hand slid to my dagger strapped to my leg when I noticed an unclear figure approaching me.
“Good you’re up. How are you feeling?” A familiar voice spoke to me.
“Better, I think” I replied, shaking my head to make sure the headache was gone.
“Good. Time to hunt for some food. I’m starving and were all out of berries.” She held her makeshift bow in hand and waved for me to follow her.
As we walked through the forest, I started to remember her healing me with an incantation, the goddess answered her calls, but she must have learnt it from a druid.
“Where did you learn that spell?” I asked her
“Oh, my father taught me a long time ago, he explained that when a Fae uses up more energy than they have they black out. Some remain conscious while others may faint and lose part of their memories. If you are not strong enough spells can be very dangerous.”
“But that was healing magic. Only the druids know those spells. Do you have a druid in Laois?”
“Father had a lot of different teachers; our family was chosen by the Tuatha de Danann to guard the portal, so they left a couple of Fae to stay with us and teach us their magic. When a new heir takes possession of the throne, they send them teachers.”
“So, you will learn the different types of magic when you claim the throne?”
“Yes. Well I hope anyway. I wasn’t so sure of the myths before you showed up but now, I have faith that my father's stories were true.”
“But you use magic, why wouldn't you believe him?”
“Growing up we had to keep our magic a secret from a lot of people. Only a select few guards knew what we were doing when we left the castle. My mother didn’t even know. Father said she couldn’t be trusted because she wasn’t one of us.”
“But she was your mother? How could she not be one of you?”
“Mother was used as a bargaining chip to merge the two kingdoms, the wedding between my parents was simply political.”
“Between which kingdoms exactly?”
“Offaly and Laois. My grandfather believed if my father married a royal from Offaly, they would have no choice but to stop the feud between kingdoms. Which it did. I am now allowed to cross the border without being executed.”
“And if your mother was a spy for the church leader?”
“Then she hid it well. She was nothing but kind to all of her subjects.”
“Hid it?”
“She passed away years ago.”
“Oh, I see. I’m very sorry for accusing her.”
“That's ok, you should be suspicious of anyone from Offaly.”
“What about Laois? Should I be concerned that you may have an intruder looking to help the sovereign?”
“What? No. We would never do anything to harm the Tuatha de Danann. We are very careful who we pick to learn of their secrets. That is why my father needed you out of the castle. The more attention that was drawn to the portal the more dangerous it would be for you.”
“It's just…”
“Shh. Look. Over there.” She whispered, as she pointed to a small rabbit.
She drew her bow back, aimed and released.
The rabbit hopped away from the arrow that landed about two feet from it.
“Damn it.” She whispered under her breath.
“Let me.” I walked over slowly, hunched down hiding in the tall grass.
The rabbit stopped to continue eating when I pulled my dagger out slowly. It began to glow a faint red. I slowed my breathing so the animal wouldn’t detect me. Waiting a few seconds to let it feel at ease before I jumped out to grab it, piercing my dagger in the soft spot of its neck to make it a quick and easy death.
I returned to Orla with the blood dripping animal in hand. She was in shock when she saw me.
“You have more than one, don’t you?” She asked, still stunned
“More than one what?”
“God script”
“I don’t know, they are on my back. I can’t read them.”
“Them?” She replied
“Yes them.”
“Lower your shirt Aisling.” She asked in a gentle voice.
“No. Not here. I will show you later. Now I want to eat.”
“Is that why you bathe with a blouse on?”
“Yes, now let's go. I am not proud of my scars, and I do not like to talk about them.” I explained walking back toward the camp
Trying to catch up Orla continued.
“Those are not mere scars; they are gifts sent to you by the gods. Each one is a map to your destiny. You should embrace them.”
I ignored her banter as best I could until I snapped.
“Enough Orla.” I shouted
She stopped mid track and took a step back; my blood was boiling in pure rage.
“You don’t know what it's like to grow up a peasant who works her ass off for a living. I had to hide my scars from the world just to get by. If it weren't for Cara I would have been left on the streets. I screamed every night thanks to these fucking scars.”
Orla raised her hands over her face in fear.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know. Please.”
I took a deep breath and turned back toward the camp. As I calmed myself, I felt something crawling down the right side of my face. I went to touch it but there was nothing there.
I skinned the creature and started the fire. Orla still had not returned to camp. While the rabbit was cooking, I decided to head back to the path we came from and look for her.
“Orla” I shouted
“Please come back. I’m sorry.” I continued
I walked down the path a little further and saw her slouched down on a rock covering her face.
“Orla, please come back. I’m really sorry for gett
ing mad.”
As I approached, I heard sniffling.
“Are you crying?” I rushed over
“I’m fine Ash. I just. I don’t know if I can do this.” She said into her hands.
“Please. Uncover your face. There's nothing to be ashamed of.”
She looked up and me with tear stains running down her cheeks.
“Come on, let's get some food and we will talk about everything. Calmly.” I said, pulling her up on her feet.
We walked back to camp slowly, but once she got the scent of the food cooking, she quickened her pace.
We ate in silence listening to the firewood popping as little embers flew into the air.
I finished eating and started to pick up the scraps so it wouldn't attract any animals when she finally spoke.
“You disappeared.” Orla said in a very low voice
“Sorry, I didn’t hear you.”
“You disappeared, and then reappeared on top of the rabbit. Your dagger was glowing red. I’ve never seen you do that before.”
“I’m not sure what you're talking about.”
“When we were hunting.” She explained raising her voice impatiently
“You disappeared in the tall grass, then reappeared on top of the rabbit. His neck was already bloodied. He never stood a chance.”
“I didn’t know. I’m sorry. I was stalking it like you told me to.”
“You need to show me your back.”
“What will that help?”
“I need to know what scripts you possess. It's important.”
“Fine.” I puffed removing my blouse
Orla pulled me toward the fire to get a better view. She ran her fingers up and down my back.
“So far you have three. That doesn’t mean that's all you will have though. If they have blessed you with these, there could very well be many more to come.”
“Alright…”
“And… what are they Orla?” I was getting agitated
She put her hand on my shoulder and pushed me further down so the fire was brighter on my skin.
“This one is faint. But there none the less. It reads Marbh, or in common tongue death.”
“What does that mean? I’m going to die?” I asked panicking
“No. These are your powers remember. This might be the script that activated when you were stalking the rabbit. We will have to test it out more to see.”
“And the other one?”
“Well I read Aisling. That is the oldest and deepest engraved.”
“Yes, that I was told.”
She grabbed the left side of my back and ran her fingers diagonally.
“This too is deep.”
“Laoch...” She spoke faintly
“Laoch?” I asked, confused
“Yes. This is your warrior script. I remember your painting had it too. I should have known they would have given it back to you.”
“Do you know what it does?”
“Legends say when you activate it there will be a spike in your agility and strength in battle and you should be able to control the elements surrounding you.”
“How do I activate it?”
“I’m not sure but there is a way to tell that you did.”
“And what would that be?”
“Do you remember when you were mad before, back in the woods. I noticed you touched your face. You must have felt it.”
“Felt what?”
“I’m assuming it would be this script, unless you have another but even in the painting the vines were there.”
“Please tell me what you're talking about. What vines?”
“These golden vines grew into your skin on the right side of your face. Didn’t you feel them?”
“I felt something. I didn’t know what it was though.”
“You will need to control all three scripts. Eventually all three at once.”
“I barely got my Aisling down. How do you want me to figure out the other two?”
“Well honestly, I think Aisling will be the hardest. The others seem to be coming natural to you. Like you’ve used them before.”
Thinking back to the time Cara and I got into a fight in the cellar, I remember pulling the water out of the air around us. Could that have been the warrior script? I don’t remember feeling the vines though.
That may have been because there was so much going on, I could barely feel my hands when all that happened.
“I will need more training. Do you think you can help me?”
“I can try.” she replied timidly
“Do you fear me Orla?” I asked not wanting the answer
I still wasn’t sure if I could trust her thanks to my vision in my spirit door.
“No, I don’t. I fear I’m not strong enough to help you.”
“Well, You're the best I got so we better get to work.”
“Like now?” She said confused
“No. I need rest, and so do you. At sunrise we work.”
“Alright.” She replied with more confidence this time
Chapter 14
The next few days were rough, we trained from daybreak to sunset and this time it wasn’t only physical training, we would rotate everyday. My mind grew stronger and my muscles ached more than ever before. Orla taught me some of the incantations she knew, and I showed her what the druid taught me.
I trained my scripts everyday, learning how to properly activate them. Death was the easiest. All I had to do was stalk my prey with a clear mind and clear intention, the only problem is once it's active there is no going back. My mind goes blank and my instincts take over. Warrior is only activated when I get enraged, Orla says I need to learn how to control my emotions better before I can control my script, but when I get it going I can feel every worm in the soil below me, every ember of the fire bends to my will.
My strength is more than doubled and I can outrun any prey I hunt. The problem with using all these scripts is they drain me so much I can't even try my dream script. By the time night comes I'm exhausted, I sleep well, but I haven't had a dream in days.
“We head out tomorrow.” Orla said, throwing me a berry
I was resting on a fallen tree at the foot of the mountain, the clouds were rolling in, so we decided to cut the training short for today and instead get some rest.
“Let’s head back before the rain starts.” I replied
“Does it really matter? It's almost always raining.”
“True, but I rather have the coverage from the trees. It's a lot better than getting soaked.”
“Ok, then help me pick some more berries instead of sitting on your ass. We need to stock up, I’m not sure what the road from here to Shanaglish is going to be like. We might be on the run the whole time. Plus, we have to get through three kingdoms just to get there,
and my knowledge on the church is limited. I’m not sure if they have control over all of them.”
“Alright. I get it.” I responded in angst
We picked as many as we could fit in the bag before heading back to camp, by then the rain had already started and the breeze shifted from warm to freezing. I ran back as fast as I could to sit by the warm fire.
I added enough logs to warm a village, but I couldn’t stand the cold anymore. My bones were shivering.
“So, what are you going to do when you face Cillian?” Orla asked
“If, not when. If I face him. He has no idea where we are or where we’re going.”
“True, but once we get close to the capital, I’m sure we will be reported back to the church. Then Cillian will know where we are and trust me, he will come.”
Unsure if I should tell Orla about my dream or not, I simply shrugged.
“You need to take this seriously Aisling. It's our lives on the line here.”
“Ash, first off. Secondly, it’s my life on the line, I highly doubt he would hurt you.”
“He may not have the intention to, but I refuse to sit back and watch as he brings your head to th
e church. It’s my duty to protect you, even if that costs me my life.”
“Relax Orla. You’re getting all heated up for a maybe situation. If we cross him, I will do what's necessary to save both of us. You have my word.”
She looked at me for a minute unsure how to respond. Without a word she carved a sigil in her hand, the blood dripped from her palm.
“We make a blood oath then.” She said sticking her hand out to me.
“What's that exactly?”
“It's an oath we swear to each other, in front of the gods, to protect each other for life. It will be bound by our blood so there is no going back.”
“And if one of us fails to do so?”
“They will be poisoned instantly. Your blood will coagulate, and you will die.”
“How about this then? Instead of protecting each other for life, we have each others backs on this journey. We don’t know where life will bring us, we may have to make choices that are not our own.”
“True. Alright, I accept.”
I grabbed my dagger and carved in the sigil. My blood was thicker than hers, it didn’t drop to the ground. Instead it began to scab over. Before it had the chance, Orla grabbed my hand and chanted
In the name of the great God Dagda, chief of gods. Hear our oath. I Orla O'Callaghan promise to protect Aisling Warrior of the Tuatha de Danann on her journey to find her wings. I seal this oath with my blood.
She looked at me and nodded. Looks like it was my turn.
In the name of the great God Dagda, chief of gods. Hear our oath. I Aisling warrior of the Tuatha de Danann promise to protect Orla O’Callaghan on my journey to find my wings. I seal this oath with my blood.
A drop of light fell onto our hands and they began to glow red. A burning sensation came from my palm. As I pulled away, I saw our blood mix together before returning into our hands. The wound was healed and there was no scar, no evidence of any oath made. I wondered if she had done this before.
