…
The rocks of sure death were fast approaching and Brendan had no idea how to stop the descent. The griffin on the other hand knew just how to stop itself from slamming into the rocks. It released Brendan on a direct trajectory towards the jagged stones some five hundred feet above the ground.
Brendan screamed as the creature arched away. The wind rushed by as the ground rushed forward. Brendan focused on the stones and then his mind swiftly moved to thoughts of his father and sister and a million memories of his life back in America. The clichéd life flashing before his eyes was pretty disappointing and really boring. He was disappointed all the way until the memories landed in Ireland. The crazy events he had experienced with the rescue party flew by, and he watched them with amazement. Amazement because he was actually a part of them. His last one was of the panic stricken faces of Lizzie and Dorian. That’s where his focus held and that’s why he failed to notice the silver energy spread from the blade up through the hilt and into his arm. His entire body radiated the silver glow by the time he smashed into the serrated rocks.
…
The red-eyes emerged from the darkened doors and advanced into the hall. Dozens of gaunt-looking fairies trailed the zombie-like slaves and hovered above them with nasty little grins through black lips and gray, sunken cheeks. Everybody around Rory, Biddy, and Lizzie was drooling and smelled like rotting bacon.
“Be ready, lasses, this is going to get ugly,” warned Rory.
“It’s already ugly, Rory,” joked Biddy in a weak attempt to cut her nerves down.
The Ruas stood around the perimeter of the three waiting while the Sidhes flapped their leathery wings. They were waiting for something, but Lizzie couldn’t imagine what it was. She didn’t have to wait long because a slightly larger and even more deranged looking Sidhe burst out of a black room and spread his wings wide to slow his flight.
“Oh no!” cried Biddy. “It’s Wardicon.”
“Wardicon?” asked Lizzie, her purple staff humming in her hands.
“The Sidhe King,” answered Rory.
The king surveyed the small group that his Sidhes and the Ruas confronted. He growled and then spat out his command. It wasn’t a complicated directive. He simply said, “Kill!”
…
Dorian reached the tower entrance with her heart pounding so loudly in her chest that she was pretty sure the witch could hear her coming. She cautiously peered around the corner and into the room. It was humongous compared to what she thought it was going to be. From the base of the castle the tower looked tiny. Looks were definitely deceiving.
The tower was apparently the base of operations. Morna had a large stone table that somewhat resembled an altar with four obsidian chairs placed around it. A dagger of the same black stone was laid across the table with bits of gore still clinging to it. Dorian crept beside it hiding herself between the altar and the wall. She nearly puked at the sight of the bloody tissue hanging on the blade. She crept a little further on and looked out in the middle of the great room. There were the mutilated bodies of four Ruas lying about, probably the source of the gore on the blade.
The balcony was lit by the lightning and was taking on rain. She didn’t see her father anywhere in the tower. Had she picked the wrong direction?
She looked at her glowing hands and thought. She flicked her fingers and sprayed tiny sparks of red toward the center of the room. “Go,” she commanded. “Find my father.”
The tiny balls of red light floated like lightning bugs around the room. Some soared into the rafters while the others darted in and out of dark spaces in the tower. Finally, they all converged on a damp, shadowed area in the north corner. They settled in the base of a wrought iron cage and glowed.
Dorian’s breath caught in her throat. Her father was there, but he looked terrible. Death couldn’t be far behind, or maybe something worse than death––like being Morna’s pawn. Duncan’s head turned slightly and he mouthed her name.
Dorian lost her head. She stood up and cried out. “Father! I’m here!”
She began to run across the room, closing the distance between herself and the cage. Her footsteps were so loud on the stone floor. Time slowed, or maybe she did. It was taking an impossibly long time to get there. She was caught off guard when a black figure seamlessly slipped out of the shadows and impeded her path. She skidded to a stop at Dullahan’s feet and fell on her backside. She looked up at the demon.
“I’m here, too, Your Highness,” bellowed the headless one.
Chapter 19
Sacrifice
A presence enveloped all of the Gaelic kingdoms and observed. The balance of magic was nearly warped by the witch, but somehow the little Leprechaun was hanging on. It was doubtful that Duncan would be able to last much longer, though. The presence thought about how interesting the entire scene was and wondered how it would end. Could the witch pull off the coup of magic or would this unlikely group, which the presence had set in motion, come through? It had been so long since the presence had involved himself in the affairs of man. The last time he did he lost his mortal life. He couldn’t let the humans down again. The boy‘s birthright was the only chance the world had. It was in his hands now.
…
Flashes of orange, blue, and purple slammed into the attacking red-eyes and Sidhes. Lizzie’s staff crushed the skull of a female Rua and, just before it crumpled to the ground, Lizzie gave it a front kick and sent it into four other gray-skins.
Biddy’s blue wings shone brilliantly in the dim lighting of the hall. She zoomed in and out of the cantankerous leathery bat-like freaks. They slashed at her, but she evaded the attempts. Sharp barbs flew from her wings and knocked several of the Sidhes to the floor. Some of them were pinned to the ground, while others limped along the ground with holes sliced into their wings. They pumped their fists at her in anger, but were relatively powerless to do anything about it.
Rory shot his arrows like Robin Hood and darted in and out of stomping feet. He kept a wary eye on the Sidhe King because he had not attacked yet. He shot a final arrow into the eye of an unfortunate Rua when he noticed a change in Wardicon.
The Sidhe King dropped to the floor and convulsed. He wretched and vomited out black ooze before his body convulsed and he rolled onto his back. He screamed in pain as his body swelled and bulged. His hands and feet extended and long grizzled claws forced their way out of his fingertips. His pointy ears protruded further. His facial features grew more contorted and grotesque. When he had finally stopped howling and changing, Wardicon stood to his full height, which was over seven feet tall at this point, and fixed his eyes on the ones with the colorful magic.
“Holy crap,” observed Lizzie.
Wardicon howled ferociously and snatched up a Rua who had stumbled too close to him. He used both hands and tore the undead in half and chucked the halves at Rory, Biddy, and Lizzie.
“Okay,” swallowed Lizzie. “That has to be the grossest thing I’ve ever seen.”
Wardicon took two steps forward and strained his now very developed and corded muscles. He opened his jaws and roared and salivated.
“What do we do?” shouted Biddy.
“Run!” answered Rory.
And they did.
They ran back to the stairwell knocking red-eyes and Sidhes out of the way. They took the steps two at a time and ran as fast as they could up the spiraled staircase. They ran faster when they heard Wardicon hit the first step.
…
“Stupid, little girl,” Dullahan provoked. “Did you think that you were going to stop us?” A frightening, hollow laugh echoed out of the hole where his head should have been.
Dorian crab-walked backwards as Dullahan advanced and raised his sword. He slammed it down and struck nothing but stone. A spray of sparks lit the air as Dorian flipped out of the way. She turned on the spot and blasted Dullahan with a lightning bolt of red energy in the chest. He fell backwards and skidded on his back. His chest smoldered and smoked, but h
e was hard to defeat and sat upright.
“Why don’t you just die?” Dorian cried.
“You first, Princess.”
Dullahan sprung to his feet, charged forward, and slashed out with his sword as he pulled his ax from its loop. They found the surface of a red shield that formed in front of Dorian. The impacts were fierce and powerful. The first one drove her to her knees. The second was an uppercut and sent Dorian across the room until she landed on the altar and slid into one of the chairs knocking them to the ground. She hit her head in multiple places and she was seeing stars, but Dullahan’s heavy boot steps brought her back to her sense in a hurry. He jumped on top of the altar and began to bring his ax down upon her. She blasted the chair, and it flew into Dullahan, crashing him to the stone floor.
She had bought herself a little time to think. What should she do? How do you defeat a demon? She glanced around and saw that the contents of her bag had spilled out. What caught her eye was the small container of the golden dust of the force field residue. She lifted the vile and dumped it into her palms. Her body was overcome with a golden glow and she stood up. There was no way she was going to be able to hid when she shown like a candle.
“It doesn’t matter what color your magic is, girl. You can’t beat me.” Dullahan twirled the ax in his left hand and strode forward.
Dorian took a deep breathe and jumped on top of the alter. “Bring it.”
…
The griffin circled over the Black River and screeched triumphantly. It peered down into the mist and dust to find the swordsman’s body. It flew lower and searched. It needed to confirm that the boy was dead. Morna would not be too forgiving if the swordsman were to show up again.
The griffin landed on the banks of the Black River with soft feet. It walked closer to the water and stared down into the current. It’s own reflection looked back at it. It snorted and sniffed and was pretty satisfied that the swordsman was dead. It leaned over and lapped at the water. Killing people was a thirsty business.
Water dripped off its beak and made ripples in the river. It began to walk away and take to the air when bubbles rose to the surface. The griffin stopped and looked over its shoulder. It was just one or two bubbles at first, but the griffin knew that magic was hard to destroy. It came back and readied itself for a fight. It pulled its paw back and spread its claws. The bubbles came up faster and larger until it looked like the river was boiling.
A silver magic was obvious in the river, and the griffin growled. Brendan burst from the water, throwing energy from his body without even thinking about it. He searched around and then spotted the beast on the banks with its mouth hanging open in surprise.
He stared at the griffin and its eyes took on a silver glaze. Brendan, whose body was shining brightly, walked out of the water and mounted the griffin.
“Back to the castle,” he said, tapping his heels on its sides. The griffin sprang into the air. “I hope we’re not too late.”
…
“Get outside!” screamed Lizzie, leading the sprint.
She and the Leprechauns made their way across the drawbridge and across the moat. Wardicon wasn’t far behind and once he hit the openness of the outdoors, he took to the skies and surged at his enemies.
Rory fell onto his back and shot his arrows into Wardicon’s eyes. Temporally blinded, the large, mutated Sidhe crashed into the ground and slid into a tree.
“Great shot, Rory!” complimented Biddy.
They crossed onto the land and became ready. Wardicon blinked the orange arrows out of his eyes and wiped the wetness from them. He glared at the group and snarled.
It was frightening and nightmarish. Lizzie wanted to wet herself, but didn’t think it would help any. She would just be wet and scared instead of just scared.
“We need to stick together and move. No one sits still for long,” strategized Biddy. “You strike and then you move and the next one takes a shot.”
“Maybe he’ll wear out,” offered Rory.
“Or maybe it will just make him angrier,” suggested Lizzie.
“Either way it’s better than just letting him rip us to shreds.” Biddy flapped her wings and narrowed her gaze. “Here we go.”
Wardicon took to the air and roared. He flapped hard and rose high above them. Biddy zipped up to confront him and fired barbs in rapid succession pelting the Sidhe king. They did little more than annoy the creature like the thorns of a rose, but it was effective in drawing his attention. He pulled up short of crashing down on Lizzie and Rory and went after Biddy instead. She was a fast flyer, though, so she was not an easy catch.
Rory took the opportunity to fire several arrows into the beast’s buttocks. Wardicon stopped in mid-air and shot a hateful look back at the archer.
“Run, Rory!” screamed Lizzie.
Rory ran and Wardicon pursued, swooping low and stretching out his claws to snatch the annoying little Leprechaun up. Lizzie started swatting stones from the banks at Wardicon. A few actually hit the big lug.
“Hey, ugly!” she taunted. “Come pick on someone your own size.”
As soon as the words left her mouth, she regretted it. He changed courses and headed directly at her. She was fast, but she wasn’t fast enough to escape him. He slashed down, and she went into defensive mode blocking his arm with the staff. The contact with the staff burned Waridcon’s flesh and he retracted his arm quickly. He howled and slashed out again, only this time without trying to make contact.
They circled each other and Lizzie was scared to death. This was a nightmare come true and she had to hold her ground. She couldn’t run. She couldn’t hide. She had to make a stand.
Wardicon had his back to the moat and cocked his head at Lizzie. He leaned his head back and howled at the water. For a moment, the tension was the only thing boiling in sight, but suddenly the water started to churn and a large water beast shot out of the water and landed at Wardicon’s side.
“Heavens!” cried Biddy. “It’s Usis!”
Usis the Merrow Queen had mutated as well. Her once beautiful features were gone, replaced by the mangled and demonic characteristics of a dragon. To Lizzie she looked like the Loch Ness Monster on steroids.
Usis climbed onto land, towering over Wardicon. Black water rolled on her back and fell in drops onto the grass.
“Talk about out of the frying pan and into the fire,” observed Rory.
…
Dullahan ran at Dorian and swiped his sword at her ankles, but met nothing but air as she catapulted herself into the air and flipped over the headless demon. In mid-air she couldn’t help but glance down into his neck, but there was nothing to see except for swirling black smoke. She assumed it was his essence or his blackened, evil soul. Either way, she didn’t want to see it again.
She landed and sent flames of red at Dullahan’s back. His cape was consumed, but he simply tore it away and threw it aside.
“Why do you delay the inevitable?” he asked. “In a few short minutes, your clan’s magic with be Morna’s and you will be her slave.”
“That is tempting, but I think I’d rather keep my mind and my magic, thank you very much.”
“Suit yourself. Time to die.” The demon closed in on her and lashed out with his sword and ax, battering at her protective golden shield.
She felt each blow as if being hit while inside a punching bag. She held her arms out instinctively as he struck her with each blow. She was knocked left and right; her head was ringing from the onslaught. He side kicked her in the chest and skipped her body across the floor. She came to rest next to her father’s cage.
She looked at him through woozy, belabored eyes. “Father,” she whispered.
“Oh, how touching,” hissed a voice from across the room.
Dorian looked over and watched Morna cross the tower floor. She stopped and stood above the fallen princess and the weakened king. “Is this reunion all that you hoped it would be?”
Dorian held her hand out and put it into the ca
ge. She rubbed her father’s arm with her finger. “Let him go.”
“Ha!” cackled the witch. “Give up, child. You’ve been defeated. Your little Leprechaun friends and the girl are just about to die, your spirit friend has turned on you, and my griffin has destroyed your insignificant boyfriend.” She stared hard into Dorian’s eyes. “All hope is lost.”
Lightning flashed and thunder clashed and Brendan, riding atop the griffin flew through the window, much to Morna’s surprise.
“All hope lost?” He jumped from the griffin’s back, executing three perfect flips, and landed in front of Dorian. “I don’t think so.”
Morna glared at the griffin and spat, “How could you betray me?”
“It really wasn’t his fault. I’m just too dang charming,” said Brendan. He nodded and the griffin flew from the tower.
He hacked down with his sword on the cage’s lock. “Take your father and go. I’ll handle this.”
“Who do you think you are?” Morna screamed.
Brendan fixed her with a stare and recognition beset her eyes. She knew who he was or at least from where his power came. “It’s too late, boy. The Leprechaun magic is mine.”
“We’ll see about that, witch.”
“You will lose,” she croaked.
Brendan looked over at Dullahan. “I think she’s talking to you, handsome.”
Dullahan took a tighter grip on his ax and sword. “You talk too much for someone who’s about to die.”
“You talk too much for someone without a head. Seriously, that’s creepy.”
Dullahan roared and attacked. Brendan was more than ready and rushed to meet the challenge. Metal clanged on metal. Demon strength met resistance from some newfound strength within the American. Strike for strike, the boy parried and blocked and was up to the challenge. It didn’t matter if the headless demon used the ax or the blade, the boy countered. Brendan sidestepped a frontal attack and spun into the air and placed a roundhouse kick squarely into the demon’s sternum. Dullahan flew backwards and skidded into the middle of the tower floor.
The Obsidian Dagger Page 17
