Mother cleared her throat loudly. I quickly shot her a What gives? look.
She nodded, her wild eyes fixed on me, talking to me silently.
I squinted at her, giving her a Go ahead and do what you think you should do look.
Mother gripped her shotgun and then let out a loud raspy cry, “Izzy, pull!”
I immediately knew what she had meant. I shot my hand out, focusing all my energy on one of the massive monoliths, wiggling it, and plucking it out of the ground, its mass flew over the demon’s body, drifting above her head ready to drop at a moment’s notice.
Lainahwyn laughed brazenly, gazing up, “That stone will not kill me, MacAlpin.”
“No,” I said coolly, my lips curving up into a tight smile. “It won’t.”
Behind me, I heard the shotgun safety clicking back.
“But,” I mumbled to myself, “Mother’s shotgun will.”
Mother fired an iron slug from her shotgun. A powerful shell rippled through the air targeting the demon’s head, the demon’s silvery eyes bulged, realizing her impending doom, she let out an unearthly wail before the iron slug pierced her head, exploding it into a million pieces, her torso shook violently, crumpling to the ground.
Mother snuggled up next to me, clapping me on my back, snorting, “You’d think she figure out these decoys, eh?” she said, congratulating me.
The demon was dead.
Chapter 27
♦♦♦
Izzy
The Màrmann dispersed into the landscape, fleeing for their lives. I had no idea if they were still blood-sucking Màrmann, thirsting to eat any man, woman, or child that crossed their paths. Or if they returned to their original states, real men, searching for their homes, who were once lulled in by the demon’s charms.
Though, right then, I didn’t give a rat’s arse – who or what they had transformed into.
Fergus was free!
Along with Hamish and Edgar, of course, but Fergus, he was mine! My body rippled with true joy, knowing that now we could be united and spend the rest of our lives together as husband and wife. There were no restrictions for the Guardian of the Moon Pendant being with a civilian, just a Sentinel of Light.
My face beamed, clapping my hands together ecstatically, watching Fergus slink out of his chains, tossing them aside. He was a true Scot’s man through and through. His scruffy face shined with glee, his feet kicked up into a dance as he pranced toward me, his elbows bent upward jovially, swaying his neck back and forth, parading around like a school boy, elated he just got out of his meeting with the principle.
Time then quickly began to change, shifting into a slow crawl, each moment played out as if it were in slow motion.
Fergus’s chestnut eyes met mine, shining brightly.
I laughed loudly, doing my pathetic little dance of shimming my arms up and down as if I was in Saturday Night Fever.
Fergus raced toward me, his arms open wide, bubbling with joy.
I opened my arms wider, welcoming him back to the real world. Free of demons.
Fergus gave me a genuine smile, his boogying body just a few feet away from me.
“I love you!” I called out to him, gleefully, thinking of how long I wanted to hold him in my arms and there he was, right in front of me, racing to me, wanting me, smiling excitedly.
I couldn’t ask for more. A new life with the man I loved, and who loved me back, no matter how long or short it was. I was going to live my life to its fullest. And it was all going to start right now, at this moment in time.
Amen!
My jaw dropped open and I stopped dead in my tracks. The hair on the nape of my neck stood up, tingling with icy chills, exploding all over my body into tiny goose bumps.
Fergus’s eyes rolled back into his head, a desperate look of surprise flashed across his face, his shoulders sagged down, his legs buckled, and his body crumpled to the tall grass, moaning.
I blinked in disbelief. A large shadowy figure emerged from behind where Fergus stood.
It was Vyx.
Bile rose in my throat at the sight of his repulsive face. I gulped and swallowed it back down, ready to spew it in his face if I had to.
Vyx sneered, laughing wickedly, his ivory bone knife sticking out of Fergus’s back.
“Noooo!” I cried, my feet racing toward Fergus, my knees sliding through the damp grass, hoisting his body up onto my lap, my arms crushing around him, rocking him back and forth.
Fergus raised his hand, cradling my cheek. “Don’t run away, lass,” he whispered, with heavy lids. “Go and fight.”
Tears skated tracks down my face and my breath quivered out, leaving my lungs aching inside. “I will, Fergus. I’ll fight, I’ll fight for you,” I gushed, carefully laying him back down onto the cold ground, his blood staining my black leggings.
Vyx stood before me, snarling, smelling bad and stinking up the Isle of Moon.
I stood erect, a whirlwind of power spun around my head while lightning bolts flashed across the heavens, electrifying the velvety night’s sky.
This was it.
It was time for me to put Vyx away.
For good.
Vyx stood before me, growling, flaring his yellow teeth like a dog, his Neanderthal back facing the smooth silvery, purple glass that shimmered within the Portal’s doorway.
“Go ahead, lass,” Vyx said contemptuously. “It's what you want. Go ahead, strike me dead,” his index finger tapping at the crease between his brows. “Plant a rock right between my eyes.”
Sure, I wanted to send him back to kingdom come and wipe him off the face of the earth, once and for all, but something pulled me away from those thoughts dancing around in my head. No, Vyx deserved to feel what it was like to be chased, to be hunted, to always be on the run, afraid for his life, begging for the peace that comes when the lights go dark forever. Yes, he needed to live, to feel the fear, and to always be on the run.
“You're such a fool, Vyx,” I said, noticing his beady black eyes averting toward the rippling doorway.
I so wanted to pulverize him, right then and there, but I treaded lightly. I will wait, bide my time, letting him feel all the pain he has caused all of us, if he could feel anything at all.
“It's time for you to run, Vyx,” I said disparagingly, flicking the back of my hand at him, shooing him away like annoying bug, “Go on… run!”
Vyx’s face fell, his eyes squinting at me for some further meaning. Slowly, he stepped backed toward the Portal, his torso inching toward the lustrous liquid pool, fluctuating between the two stones, his legs shaking uncontrollably with fear, twitching, and itching to accept my invitation to flee.
“Have fun spending the rest of your life looking over your shoulder,” I teased, narrowing my eyes and coiling my lip into a sinister smile.
Vyx’s tapped his index finger onto its fluid surface, sending an eruption of lavender waves on its facade.
“Just remember there are no buses in the Otherworld,” I reminded him, kindly, “to push me in front of when I come looking for you!”
Vyx gave me one last snicker, sliding his burly hand into the liquid pool, its glistening surface melting around him, swallowing him whole, its illuminating amethyst glass enveloping his whole body, dissolving around him as stepped through it, fleeing like a coward through the Portal.
And then Vyx was gone.
I raced back to Fergus, cradling him my arms.
“You fought well, didn’t you, lass?” he gasped, a moon shadow cast upon his face, catching the golden flecks in his eyes.
“I did,” I said with misty eyes. “Leigheas is here, she’ll fix you up, just right.” I craned my head up, my eyes scanning the area, searching for her, shouting, “Leigheas!” over and over again into the darkness.
Hamish sidled up next to me, aware of his son’s fatal condition. “My son,” he wept, placing his gnarled fingers upon his chest, feeling his heartbeat fading, “how could I ever repay you? Saving me from that...” H
e paused, flinching, holding back a burning tear, a hard grimace etched into his face. “…demon!” He scowled.
“Dad,” Fergus wheezed, his frail fingers grazing Hamish’s whiskers, slapping his face lightly. “I’m not dead yet, you wanker.”
Hamish and I laughed through teary eyes.
Anabel approached from behind, silently, kneeling down beside me, her eyes soft, holding back some unfathomable secret.
“What?” I snapped, my arms pulling Fergus in tighter toward my bosom, his eyes heavy with sleep, a pool of blood swelling beneath his weakened body.
Anabel swallowed hard, and began to speak cautiously. “Leigheas has used up all her power.”
“What?!?” I lashed out at her, my eyes searing with heat.
She placed her hand gently on my shoulder. “I’m sorry, Izzy,” Anabel said sorrowfully, “she can’t heal, Fergus.” Then she backed away from me.
I froze.
I was silent, unwilling to hear her words as they rung into my ears.
I gulped the words down like bad medicine. What did she mean Leigheas can’t heal Fergus? That was her job to heal people when they were injured or dying!
“I did my job!” I hissed at Anabel, “Tell her to get over here and to do hers!”
Anabel stared at me wide-eyed, her delicate fingers grazing my forearm. “Izzy?”
“What?” I barked angrily, “I told you to get her and to bring her to me!”
“Izzy, look at her,” Anabel remarked, turning her head toward the farmhouse.
I gazed down the hillside, noticing a small feeble body, curled up in a tight ball, trembling uncontrollably within the purple heather. Blane knelt beside her, his hands sliding up and down her arm, warming her, trying to comfort her.
“She can’t help you,” reiterated Anabel, her eyes full of sympathy, “not until the dawn comes.”
I closed my eyes shut, straining to understand what was actually happening.
I took in a nervous breath, “Fergus,” my lips quivering, “you have to hang on, Fergus. Hang on until the sunrise.”
Fergus’s breath was heavy, wheezing in and out in a slow crippling breath, his body sagged, his hands flopping to the ground.
“Fergus?” I shook his body hard, pressing him into my chest. “Fergus!” I cried, sobbing uncontrollably, clinging to him frantically. “Don’t you leave me, Fergus. Don’t you dare leave me here alone!”
My whole world crashed around me as his body lay lifeless in my arms, slowly turning cold to the touch.
He was gone.
All those dreams I had of us had vanished. All my hopes for the future had disappeared. A lifetime of bliss ripped away in an instant. I don’t know how long I sat there on that damp hillside, holding Fergus in my arms, wishing how I could have changed things. What could I have done differently? Where did I fail? I did my best, I gave it my all to free him, to do right by him, and now he was dead, his lifeless body icy cold in my embrace.
I felt a crowd grow behind me in the bleak darkness. Shuffling around, they were waiting for me to let go, to say goodbye, but I didn’t want to let go. I wanted to hold on to Fergus forever. Why couldn’t I have that? Why couldn’t I ever get what I wanted? Everything I fought for just seemed to slip through my fingers. It didn’t matter how much I tried.
It was true – Karma was a bitch, and she just didn’t like me.
I wiped the back of my hand against my wet cheek, flipping my wrist over and staring at the long vertical scar that was etched into my skin for eternity. I swallowed hard. It was just another reminder of all my failures.
“You have something of mine,” said a deep raspy voice, cutting through the dismal darkness of my life.
I whipped my head around, staring into the dark sullen eyes of the Ankou.
“You can’t have him!” I shouted at him through gritted teeth, clenching my hands into fists around Fergus’s dead body.
The Ankou chuckled, tilting his cloaked head back into a beer belly laugh, and then he quickly turned back into his solemn stature.
“No,” he said grimly, “I do not want his body, for he has not been touched by the Otherworld.”
I looked at him crookedly. If he didn’t want Fergus, what the hell was he doing here?
The Ankou raised his scythe, pointing toward his growling motorcycle and the yapping skeleton dog, panting heavily as he chased Skullsplitter around the smoking bike.
I plunged my hand into my deep pocket, sliding out the skeleton key, and tossing it into the Ankou’s emaciated hand. “There,” I scoffed, “you happy now?”
The Ankou folded his willowy fingers over the key and nodded at me.
“Never thought in a million years, I’d be seeing an Ankou!” said the willowy voice behind me.
I swung around to see a ghostly version of Fergus, a misty veil of his body hovering within a cloud of swirling vapors.
“Fergus?” I whispered to myself, awestruck.
“You didn’t think I’d leave you without a proper goodbye, lass?” Fergus said silkily, drifting above milky-white tendrils of mist, his light feathery eyes meeting mine.
“I… but?” I took a deep sharp breath in, blurting out loudly, “You’re dead!”
“‘Tis true,” he answered gently as if he were reading my mind. “I didn’t feel a thing, Izzy. I feel,”
“You feel?”
“Aye, heavenly,” Fergus said smiling brightly, his wispy hands cradling my tear drenched cheeks.
A sudden sense of relief and calmness filled my body from his caress, relieving me of all my pains and heartaches. My body felt as if it were wrapped in a soft fluffy blanket. I closed my eyes for a brief moment, allowing the peaceful energy to fill my soul.
“He’s here!” Granny shouted elatedly, twirling around us in her shimmering ectoplasm.
“Who’s here?” I asked curiously, after being awoken from my trance.
Granny grinned from puffy ear to puffy ear, her translucent spirit gesturing toward a brightly glowing man, enshrouded in a heavenly light, sprinkled with diamond sparkles, a golden halo crowning his head. He stood there looming on the crest of the hill, his blue robe illuminating against the misty plum sky, a molten golden staff cradled in his left hand.
“It’s time to go,” Granny’s eyes lifted to Fergus.
Fergus nodded.
I swallowed thickly, fighting the urge to choke up. “I don’t want you to go,” I argued, wanting more time with him.
He smiled at me, leaning down slowly, his misty lips grazing mine. “Lass, you have to let go.”
I wanted so much to be with him to spend the rest of my life with him and now he was a ghost. “I don’t want to let go,” I whimpered, aching to kiss him one last time.
His feathery fingers tried to rake through my hair; instead the hairs on my head stood on end, every nerve in my body on full alert. “My time here on earth is over, lass. Don’t you see? There’s a better place for me, one with no more demons. Only love.”
“But…”
“Izzy,” Fergus said softly, “always remember me the way I was.”
I snorted back a few tears. “A fighter,” I mumbled.
“Aye,” he answered sweetly, “You have so many great things to do. So many more fights here on earth. You have to be brave and promise me that you won’t stop fighting for the truth. Will you do that for me, lass?”
I looked at him through glassy eyes, nodding repeatedly. “Aye,” I replied, “I’ll stay here and fight for you.”
I heard a loud wailing sound coming from mother.
“Mother!” Harriet gushed to Granny, weeping heavily through her wild animal eyes.
“There, there now, child,” Granny consoled Harriett, her ghostly hands trying to stroke her frizzy red hair. “No need to worry about me. It’s time for me to go to Eternity.”
Harriett blubbered uncontrollably, her arms lunging outwards, trying to hug and to hold onto Granny’s spirit with no luck.
“Harriett!” wailed
Granny.
“Yes, Mother?” Harriett sniffed, her red-rimmed eyes gazing up at Granny. “You did good, child.”
Harriett smiled crookedly across her blotchy face.
“You came back here,” Granny continued. “You faced your fears and you killed that demon!”
Granny spun around, noticing the silhouette of a fiery red head standing next to the holy man. “Rose,” Granny muttered in disbelief.
“That’s her?” Anabel asked to Blane, his arms planted firmly around her waist.
“Aye,” Blane answered with a tight lipped smile, “that’s Rose.”
Rose raised her delicate hand toward Granny and Fergus, waving them toward her, the dark background framing her red hair as if it were set on fire.
Fergus’s eyes beamed at me, “‘Tis time to go, lass.”
I gulped down a few tears. “I know,” I said humbly.
“Would ya look at that?” Fergus bellowed, staring off toward the crest of the mountain.
John had appeared next to Rose, holding her hand and waving eagerly.
My lips trembled with joy.
“Can you believe that?” Fergus said joyfully. “That wanker! Wait till I get me hands on him.”
I laughed for the last time with Fergus. He began to drift away through the patchy fog, his radiant light meeting Granny along the hillside, carpeted with fragrant heather bushes. Their two glowing spirits levitated up toward the mysterious holy man, Rose, and John. All of them stood there briefly, smiling cheerfully, waving at us as we waved back. Then they turned their backs to us, a brilliant white light appeared as they slowly walked into the blinding light, as it enveloped them whole.
And then they were gone.
Chapter 28
♦♦♦
Anabel
Once the Portal was open, a moonbow casted a prism over the MääGord standing stones, enshrouding the stones in a colorful lunar rainbow. It was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen.
Izzy on the other hand, didn’t see it. She was crouched beside Fergus’s grave. We buried him underneath a patch of wild bluebells, nestled along a rocky waterfall just beyond the MääGord standing stones. Izzy didn’t say a word as Blane tossed the last scoop of dirt on top of his grave, tapping it gently with the back side of his shovel.
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