by Marc Lindsay
‘Where’s he now?’ Jason asked.
‘Running an errand,’ Ulysses replied. Jason thought that strange, but decided to keep that to himself.
‘Well, I better get on with my cleaning duties, can you tell Selene I’m at the south end when she gets in?’ Jason asked and Ulysses nodded. I might do some research in the meantime, Jason thought and quickly departed.
By the time Selene arrived Jason had been cleaning shelves for only half an hour and at the same time looking for books on Persian mythology, in particular anything he could find on Kava and the helmet of Rostam. He had only been able to find a couple of books and they appeared to be full of information. When Jason had first started working in the library he had hated conducting his cleaning duties, however after discovering his birthright and the secrets here, the work didn’t feel like a chore but more like caring for a horse and with Selene by his side it actually felt like they were just hanging out. Today though Jason was itching to leave and show Selene something.
No sooner had Selene arrived at work Jason whisked her back out the door, giving both her and Ulysses a vague excuse about schoolwork and chores at home. And even after they had departed Jason refused to say much about their true destination as they entered the forest. Once he was sure they were alone, he changed form into that of a white speckled paint horse and using his alien clothing created a saddle for Selene to sit on. She didn’t normally mind riding bareback, but the very nature of her straddling him both excited him and made him feel a little dirty at the same time, and the last thing he wanted to do was take advantage of her.
‘Are you going to tell me where we’re going?’ Selene asked. As they trotted easily along one of the forest trails.
‘You’ll just have to wait and see, I want to get your first impression,’ Jason replied cryptically.
‘Are you expecting trouble, is that why you wanted me to bring my bow,’ Selene said.
‘Not really, besides I thought you might get to practice while we’re out here.’
‘That’s not much of an answer, but I like your idea. I have only really practised when I’m stationary so I’m interested to see if I have the same level of success when I’m moving around,’ Selene said, as she lifted the bow from around her shoulders and removed an arrow from her quiver, Selene notched the arrow and pulled the string back. Carefully taking aim at something in the distance she released her hold and the arrow took flight with a melodic hum?. Jason watched its flight as it struck something within the branch of a pine tree, both the arrow and its target, a pine cone fell gracefully out. Jason snorted his nostrils.
‘Whoa that’s impressive,’ He said.
‘Yeah, even I have to admit, I’m mildly impressed,’ Selene said.
‘How about I pick up the pace and see what you’ve really got,’ Jason said and before she could reply he took off in a strong gallop. Again Selene notched another arrow, took aim and fired. Another pine cone fell from a tree.
‘Faster,’ Selene cried. Jason obliged moving at a blinding speed along the trail. Selene fired again hitting her mark, over and over her arrows never missing their target. Jason called out a warning that there was a log ahead, and as he leapt Selene fired two arrows in quick succession into the one target, both hitting home. Jason landed and pulled up, Selene holding her bow above her head triumphantly and letting out a jubilant war cry.
‘Did you see that,’ Selene said.
‘I did, that was incredible, do you want to retrieve some of your arrows?’ Jason asked. But Selene shook her head and pointed to her quiver which still held an abundant set of arrows.
‘How can that be?’ Jason asked puzzled.
‘It’s all part of the magic, for whatever reason the quiver never empties, it just replenishes them as they’re used. And the arrows I’ve fired disappear after a while, how insane is that,’ Selene said.
‘I suppose it’s no crazier than alien clothing that changes appearance from its host’s mental commands,’ Jason said.
‘Hey, are you please going to tell me where we’re going? The suspense is killing me.’
‘Well since you asked so politely, and the fact that we’ve just about arrived at our destination, we’re going to conduct a recon on the orchard,’ Jason revealed. They breasted a small rise and below they could see a dirt road leading into the gates of the orchard. The passage through was dark and ominous as thick twisted oaks marked the entrance, their appearance bordered on the grotesque, Jason’s first thought was that they looked like a pair of demonic hands reaching out from the earth. Large black wrought iron gates had been erected between the two trees, their presence clearly indicating that no one was welcome.
‘I can see what you meant when you had told me about this place giving you the willies,’ Selene said. Jason had changed back to his human form. ‘I never said the willies! And this wasn’t even the area I came upon, it was about a mile that way,’ Jason said pointing to the fence that spanned out from the left hand side of the gate.
‘You didn’t see this and still felt the darkness, maybe there is something worth investigating around here,’ Selene said. Just then the sound of a vehicle could be heard in the distance and Jason and Selene ducked down behind a bush and watched patiently. After a minute a plain white sedan came into view, the words ‘Perigord Rentals’ stencilled on the door. The car pulled up at the fence and a figure climbed out. They strained to see who the visitor was from the cover of the bush. The figure pushed open the gates which screeched open sounding like the cries of some hell bound soul. It wasn’t till the figure turned to get back into his car that they saw the figure was Kava, they both gasped in surprise. Kava must have heard them as he stopped and scanned his surroundings. Jason and Selene clasped their hands over their mouths and dropped even lower to the ground, their hearts beating wildly in their ears. After several tense seconds Kava appeared satisfied that he was alone, climbed back into his car and drove in leaving the gates open as he did so.
Once the car was now only a faint noise in the distance, Jason and Selene rose to their feet.
‘What’s Kava doing here?’ Selene asked.
‘I knew there was something dodgy about him,’ Jason said pleased.
‘Hang on we don’t know that anything is wrong.’
‘Wrong, are you kidding me, he sneaks off to a place that looks like the entrance to hell, and you’re telling me it’s not dodgy.’
‘I’ll grant you that this place doesn’t exactly give off the warmest of vibes but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s evil,’ Selene warned. Jason shook his head. ‘And how do you know he’s sneaking off, from my understanding, he was running an errand, your words.’
‘Yeah but…’
‘Did Ulysses say where he was going,’ Selene prompted.
‘No, but…’
‘Well there you have it.’
‘I know what you’re saying, but that doesn’t change the fact that I’m getting some pretty bad vibes from this place and this whole Kava situation.
‘Well if it makes you feel better, ask him about it later on, fair enough,’ Selene said.
‘You’re right, I’ll ask, it’s not like we followed him here, just a coincidence that we all happened to be here at the same time,’ Jason replied more to himself than Selene, as if he were going over an alibi.
‘Doofus,’ she said shaking her head with a smile. ‘Now that you’re happy with this situation, how’s about we traverse the fence line and continue on with your recon.’ This seemed to please Jason as he nodded back.
They had been walking for about ten minutes giving the perimeter a wide berth. They were both impressed with the construction of the fence, acknowledging its expanse and heavy design and how much work and hours would have gone into its erection. Selene suddenly stopped.
‘What’s up?’ Jason asked.
‘I was thinking that this is as good a place as any to sneak in,’ Selene replied. Jason hesitated remembering how he felt the last time he was out
here. ‘Hey, if you don’t want to that’s fine.’ Jason shook his head.
‘No, no, I’m good,’ he said, and without another word he strode over to the fence and bounded over it brazenly. Selene watched him then quickly followed.
As they made their way into the orchard they came across their first scarecrow mounted high on a solid cross of oak. The effigy was dressed crudely in old clothes, boots and wide brimmed hat, its hands and head were crafted from old hessian material. The face had been roughly stitched depicting a hideous looking expression. The strangest thing about the scarecrow was the fact that sitting silently upon its hat, shoulders and outstretched arms were a multitude of crows and ravens. The figure and its avian friends all appeared to be watching Jason and Selene venture forth.
‘That right there is the creepiest thing I’ve ever seen,’ Selene commented.
‘You’re not wrong,’ Jason replied. They walked widely around the scarecrow and continued on. As they made their way deeper and deeper into the orchard they found more and more scarecrows, each one different than the last but similar in its hideous visage and murder of crows.
‘I don’t see the point?’ Selene said.
‘What’s that?’
‘My understanding is that there are hundreds of acres of these apple trees, and I’m guessing that there would be hundreds of these scarecrows out here as well,’ Selene said.
‘Think about it, how long would it take to create them all and the reality is they don’t even work,’ Selene said shaking her head. Jason chuckled.
They walked on for nearly an hour, not seeing anything other than trees and scarecrows and now the sun was starting to set, they decided to turn around and head back home, the disappearing light casting long dark shadows upon them, the ever feeling sense of dread slowly getting stronger, Jason held Selene’s hand tight, she gave him a grateful squeeze back. Along the way they both marvelled at how strong the scent of apples filled the air and in an attempt to alleviate the mood Jason stopped them.
‘What’s the matter?’ Selene asked. Jason gave her a rueful glance.
‘I don’t know about you but the smell of those apples is driving me crazy, do you want one?’ Jason asked as he climbed the nearest tree.
‘Sure why not,’ Selene answered. Jason was now perched up high surrounded by the ripe fruit, he didn’t know if it was because of the fading light but all the fruit appeared to have an almost golden hue to it. Spying an impressively large specimen he lingered longingly, his hand poised beside it.
‘Hurry up, what are you waiting for?’ Selene called out. Jason didn’t know why himself, it almost seemed a shame to pick it. Then unceremoniously Jason plucked it, immediately he regretted his action as a dark fear ripped through him. He didn’t bother grabbing another instead he dropped cat like to the ground.
‘What’s the matter?’ Selene asked seeing the look of dread on his face.
‘We need to get out of here now!’ Jason said.
‘Why?’
‘I don’t know, but something’s wrong,’ Jason said, he then froze as if something had caught his hearing. Then Selene heard it too. Footsteps, running. Lots of footsteps, light on the grass, coming from all directions.
‘Run!’ Jason said, transforming into a werewolf, he grabbed her by the arm and pulled her into the direction from which they had come, despite the speed in which Jason was moving, Selene appeared to be keeping pace. They both glanced around not knowing what to expect, then they saw their pursuers. Scarecrows by the dozens, their stitched up faces twisted into demonic expressions of rage. Their straw filled bodies nimbly ducking and weaving through the maze-like rows of trees.
‘Jason fly us out of here now,’ Selene squealed in terror. Jason looked about.
‘I can’t, the canopy is too dense,’ he replied.
‘Look out,’ Selene said pointing ahead. Advancing towards them were more scarecrows, just as fast and just as frightening. They stopped in their tracks, and so did the scarecrows. They stood back to back in the dimming light. Scarecrows in every direction now slowly advancing. Their vast numbers forming a tight ring around the pair.
‘What do we do?’ Selene asked.
‘Armour up, we’re going to have to fight our way out,’ Jason growled in his werewolf form. Selene’s clothing melted away and reformed into black combat clothing similar in appearance to riot gear worn by tactical units, hard protective pieces covered her chest arms and legs as well as a black helmet and boots. Selene slowly unhooked her bow and notched an arrow.
‘I don’t know what we’re facing here but aim for their heads,’ Jason whispered, Selene nodded back. The scarecrows were now only ten metres from them, their numbers were so many that in the dark they appeared almost infinite. Both sides had stopped as if awaiting some horn or bell to signal the start of battle. Jason took a deep breath and let out a roar in challenge, the scarecrows returned in unison with an ear blistering shriek, then they charged.
Jason and Selene moved almost as one, a mixture of brute force and graceful speed. Jason using his bestial muscles and claws to rip and tear at his opponents sending their straw filled bodies to the ground. Selene was able to fire volley after volley of arrows into her assailants. Jason’s words had proved correct as headshots appeared to be the only way Selene’s arrows were able to inflict any damage to them, and if they were lucky enough to get close to her she wielded her bow like that of a staff, just like her grandmother had instructed. Despite their success, they wouldn’t be able to keep their pace up as the scarecrows had sheer weight of numbers on their side.
‘We have to do something, quick,’ Selene said as she fired a couple of arrows off.
‘I’m thinking, I’m thinking,’ Jason replied as he looked for a way out. ‘Maybe,’ he whispered, then transformed, his hairy muscled skin became scaly and hard, a long neck powerful head and jaw, then finally large leathery wings. Jason glanced about then let loose with a jet of green mystical flame from his mouth. The closest scarecrows burst into flames, but continued to advance.
‘It’s not working,’ Selene cried out. Jason then took another breath then turned his flame onto the canopy above, the intense heat setting it ablaze. Now with the sky visible above Jason grasped Selene tightly within his arms then sprang into flight.
The scarecrows stopped in their tracks as they watched Jason and Selene climb up into the heavens and out of their grasps. They soared up into the dusk sky now free from the danger below.
‘Look out,’ Selene cried. Jason peered down in time to see black tendrils pouring out from the opening in the canopy. Jason barely had time to register the new threat when it struck them. Black crows in the thousands swarmed them on every side, pecking and scratching at their faces. Selene was the most vulnerable as Jason struggled to shield her from the onslaught. He roared and let loose with another stream of green cleansing fire, crows burst spectacularly into flames around them. Jason continued to rise into the sky spinning wildly in an attempt to prevent further assault. This tactic worked momentarily however he was unable to maintain the effort required, and as soon as he stopped the crows enveloped them.
‘We have to do something fast,’ Selene said as she flailed in his grasp. Jason looked frantically around until he found what he was looking for.
Diving down Jason swooped across the tops of the trees using his leathery hide to both shield Selene and scrape their black feathered tormentors into the high reaching branches with some limited success. Ducking and weaving he rose and fell into the trees like some ancient seafaring monster moving through the ocean. But for every crow that was crushed against the trees and Jason, a dozen appeared to take its place.
With each rise and fall Jason slipped lower and lower back into the depths of the forest, every so often a mob of scarecrows were waiting for him to descend. They leapt onto Jason with the intention of dragging him down with sheer weight of numbers, however their straw filled bodies lacked the required density to achieve this. Jason swooped up toward t
he sky as Selene let out a piercing war cry followed by a volley of arrows each one finding its target, those that she missed were whipped from them by branches. This continued on for several minutes, Jason was either moving low in the forest or in the air just above the tree tops, both spaces were heavily occupied by assailants, every so often Jason would unleash a blast of green fire to clear his path from oncoming threats, but mostly he fled with Selene held tight.
One second they were being chased, then the next they were not, Jason was flying close to the forest floor with no pursuers on foot. He glanced up and was surprised the dense canopy gone, stopping in mid-flight he hovered in place looking around puzzled but still ready for an ambush. They glanced back and could see the boundary fence separating the orchard from the rest of Perigord forest.
‘Where are they? Why have they stopped?’ Selene asked. Jason slowly lowered to the ground and transformed back to his human form after gently placing Selene down. They both stared back towards the orchard which now appeared eerily deserted.
‘I think that whatever force was controlling those things and making them attack us, has only a limited range,’ Jason said.
‘So you think that they only have power within the boundaries of the orchard?’ Selene asked.
‘Exactly, Jason replied, despite this drawn conclusion they waited quietly for several minutes to clarify this theory, Selene with bow and arrow raised, Jason simply standing poised ready for combat. Once they were both satisfied that no attack was forthcoming they departed the area.
They wasted no time on their arrival back at the library, intent on reporting the night’s incident to Ulysses and Ms Jax. They found the pair in the staff room and in the company of Kava. All three appeared to be having a late supper of fruits and cheeses.
‘Kava are you…,’ Selene began but was interrupted by Jason who gave her a gentle nudge with his elbow.
‘Ah, you’re back already?’ Jason asked.
