Things You'll Never Know

It was unmistakable. The putrid, meaty smell that I knew so well. Danger was in the air. The grey fur along my back instinctively stood out as I tried to sniff out the direction of the threat. But I was certain it would come from the West. They almost always came from the west.

That would give me a slight advantage, as the dawning sun sent bright shards through the forest trees at my back. My ears twitched back and forth. I heard the eerie whistle of beating wings. But not the deafening beat of the host. Just a scouting party. And I knew who they were looking for.

 I was in the middle of the glade, and it was too late to retreat to the safety of the forest. So I dropped my kill to the ground and drew my sword, Whisper. It was too late to reach behind for my bow and lethal rowen arrows but I had the protection of my leather breastplate inlaid with iron-studded runes. Three Sluagh came, flying low over the dense canopy. No sooner had they spotted me than the winged horror in the middle released an invisible bolt. Its aim was true. I fended it off with my tempered iron blade. It fell onto the lush grass at my feet and fizzed out of existence, leaving a deep brown stain no bigger than a weaving loom needle. The poison at its tip had not been deadly but would render you helpless to resist being carried off to their master.

I raised my sword, ready to welcome the attack. They swooped. Thin as skeletons with leathery wings and black claws, longer and sharper than my own. They attacked as one. I ducked sideways, flashing my sword. The iron blade cut through one wing like paper, and the Sluagh crashed to the ground emitting a piercing high scream.

The other two, missing me completely, swung around to come at me again. That gave me time to finish the wounded creature. It would drink no more souls today or ever. Its wings were flapping, but slowing. The cold iron would finish it soon enough, but I was not in the mood to wait. Its cold, dead eyes watched me as I plunged Whisper deep into its heartless chest. It screamed, but I did not see it die a second time because the other two were bearing down. Another invisible arrow bounced off my breastplate as I thrust my blade upwards, gutting what passed for innards from the belly of a vile fiend. It died before it skidded to a halt on the grass behind me, leaving a trail of fetid, foul entrails. 

I did not have time to kill the final undead demon. It swung round and flew off over the treetops back to where it had come from. To report its findings. Damn!

Leaving the dead rabbit, there would be no time for food now, and the mutilated Sluagh. I turned, licked drying blood, so dark it was almost brown, from my hands, and jogged back into the cover of the forest. I must get back to the Princesses, and we must get moving before the demon host had time to catch us.

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“Lady. Are you okay?” Princess Olivia asked me as I emerged from the undergrowth. Her eyes were wide like saucers, she had twigs sticking out of her long, unkempt hair. She looked terrified.

“What’s that all over your fur? Princess India asked? Is that? Is that blood?”

“Not mine.” I said. “But we’ve been discovered. We need to get moving.”

“I’m hungry.” Olivia said. 

“Not now, Your Highness.” She would understand when she was older. “We need to get going now. I dealt with two, but the third Sluagh escaped, which means that Balor and his Fomorian Court will be on their way.”

“What? No. Wait. Balor?” Princess India stood. “Come on, Livie. Do as Lady says. She is sworn to protect us. 

“I will not relent until I get you both back to the safety of the Tara Palace and your mother and father.”

“You won’t let Balor’s eye get us, will you, Lady?” Princess Olivia began to cry. I knelt beside her and gently wiped the tears from her face. She leant forward, and I nuzzled her.

“Be brave, my young princess. I will protect you both with my life.” I gave the dirty smears, left by her tears, a quick lick and stood. “But we must go now.”

We trudged throughout the morning in the forest. Ancient trees leant in and the thick autumn covering occasionally moved as a tiny creature scuttled away at our approach. We were a procession of three. Myself in the lead, sword drawn whiskers twitching. Princess India followed with Princess Olivia close on her heels dragging her rag doll, by the foot behind her. Both princess’s eyes darted sharply from side to side at every sound or rustling of leaves.

Olivia, being the youngest, lagged behind. She needed rest and food. I heard running water. A creek. We headed towards it and saw rows of blackberry bushes drinking in moisture from the damp earth. There was no time for hunting and cooking, so we set about the blackberries as if it would be the last meal we ate. I prayed it wouldn’t. After we had eaten our fill, we drank from the creek, and Princess Olivia hummed a tune. Then broke into song. I was relieved to see her spirits lifted, so I didn’t stop her singing despite the fear of being heard.

“Shush, Livie.” Princess India whispered.” Someone, or something, will hear.”

“It’s okay I said.” Looking around. ‘Just keep it low. The babbling creek will drown out your singing.” 

Princess Olivia smiled for the first time that day, and Princess India scowled until Olivia finished her song, and we continued our journey.

I knew that eventually we would have to cross the Great Salty Bog. But going around it would mean at least a 5 day detour, and that was another five days for Balor and his host to find us. So, The Great Salty Bog it was.

We emerged from the trees into bright afternoon sunshine, but that would be short-lived. The bog extended as far as we could see, which wasn’t very far because it was shrouded in a dense mist.

“Do we have to go through that? Princess Olivia said. Voice trembling. “It looks very scary.” I thought she would cry again, but she held it back. She was made of stronger stuff.

“It looks bad.” I said. “But it’s the least dangerous way.” I hoped I sounded more reassuring than I felt.

“It smells disgusting.” Princess India said. 

And indeed it did. The brackish smell of rotting foliage and sulphur even stung our eyes as we took our first steps into the place where, rumour had it, Sluagh emerged from its rancid pools. 

“Take care girls,” I said. “Follow my footsteps along the dry edges between the pools. Try not to step in them. 

“We won’t.” They said in unison. I feared they would. But it’s often best to expect the worst. It makes you more prepared.

Picking our way between the deep, dark pools was slow. The air was still and oppressive, and the mist clung to us like a yet blanket. All was silent except for the gentle squelch of our footsteps on the thick moss and the occasional sniffle from one or both princesses.

A splash came from a pool not far away. 

“What was that?” Princess India called over my shoulder but before I could reply, Princess Olivia screamed. A small, hardly formed, black-clawed hand had emerged from the pool next to us and had hold of Olivia’s rag doll. 

“Miss Betsy. It’s got Miss Betsy!” Olivia shouted, tugging for all she was worth. I moved back along the edge to help Princess Olivia. Princess India stepped back to let me pass.

“No!” I shouted. But it was too late. India lost her footing in the black, slippery mud and fell back into the pool with a loud splash.

The hand grabbing Miss Besty immediately let go and moved rapidly across the pool towards Princess India. It didn’t need to go far, and it had her by the ankle. She screamed. Olivia screamed as a black, eyeless head appeared out of the water. It screamed louder still. It was an horrific scream of triumph. Whisper was out of its scabbard in the flick of an ear. 

“Don’t move a muscle.” I shouted.

I brought it down hard onto the wrist of the newly formed Sluagh and it shrieked in fury as its head fell away. But it kept its grip on Princess India’s ankle. Whisper sang as I swiped sideways at the demon’s head with all my might. The top of its face and head flew off into the pool and, to my horror, where brains should have been, only maggots streamed out onto the surface of the water. They quickly disappeared beneath the surface.

I heard more splashes coming from the pools all around us. Princess India’s face was a stricken rictus. The fetid, inky water had washed away any tears of terror. I grabbed her arm and hauled her out of the pool. She was shivering. I didn’t know if it was cold or terror, but we couldn’t wait to find out. 

“Run! I shouted at both of them. “Run and don’t look back.” 

They did, and fast. Faster than I thought possible. I followed, Whisper in hand, glancing back at shadows that, thankfully, could not yet fly. Then I heard the distant beating of wings. I focused my ears. The Sluagh hoard was still a way off, but closing.

We bounded through the Great Salty Bog because our lives depended on it. I could hear the princesses breathing fast and heavy and, switching my ears back, I could hear the ghostly screams of the un-formed demons falling further behind.

“Keep going, girls.” I shouted, forgetting formalities. "We’re outrunning them. We’re going to make it.”

And indeed we were. Through the mist, I could see welcome rays of sunshine falling on grassland of dry brown fields. We were nearing the edge and safety. We were going to make it. Then I saw a cloud of dust on the horizon growing larger while behind us the thick mist swirled to reveal the closing, screeching winged menace. In front of us, moving with incredible speed were the giant forms of Balor and his Fomorian host. We were trapped. We couldn’t go back, but worse waited for us ahead.

Like most of my kind, I was grateful, at least, to be standing on dry land once more. Until I heard the deep booming voice of Balor.

“The game’s up Lady.” So smug. So patronizing. “There’s nowhere to run.”

The cloud of dust settled as Balor and his hideous army came to a halt a fifty feet in front of us. I smiled. His host of Fomorian giants numbered only thirty. He had underestimated me yet again.

The Princesses were still breathing heavily, but I saw that their blue eyes radiated defiance as they looked up at Balor, not fear. I could not have been more proud of them. I removed my bow and quiver, of rowan wood arrows, from my shoulder and handed the bow to Princess India and the quiver to Princess Olivia. Then I pushed them gently behind me whispering.

“On my cue toss those to me.”

I turned and looked Balor in two of his eyes.

“Glad you could make it, Balor.” My voice was calm, but my heart was racing. “I wondered when you would show up.”

“That would be King Balor to you.” He boomed, “I wouldn’t miss this. I’ll have those humans now.”

“If you ever were a king. You’re not now. You’re a demon.” I smiled looking him up and down. He was eight feet tall with horns on each side of his bull-like head.. “But you dress well. I like what you’ve done with your tunic.” He looked down and smoothed it with his huge hands. “Is it bear skin?” Beneath his tunic his dark muscled body was criss-crossed with glowing lines. He had fire inside him which he released through his eye.

“Cat. It’s all cat fur. I killed them myself."

He was such a narcissist. The worst possible trait of a demon. But he had reminded me. The sun was now low in the west, and we didn’t have much, time.

“But your friends, they are letting the side down. ‘Look at them. Their tunics are filthy, their armour rusty and they smell worse than that bog.” 

His giants glared at him. Not the brightest creatures, they were were wondering why they didn’t have nice cat fur tunics.

“Stop this foolishness, Lady.” He shouted. “Unless you want to be the crotch I’ve been meaning to add. Give me the humans.” His eyes never leaving my iron sword.

“Never. You know I am sworn to protect humankind.” I held Whisper at the ready. “You will never have them and you will never kill them.”

“Kill them? Ha! Not today Lady.” Now he was going to reveal his plan. “They need to remember this back in their world. And, when they don’t forget, the the gateway will open for us too.” He narrowed his two open eyes. The third and largest remained closed, for now. “We have all but defeated the first humans here. Tara is surrounded. Cut off, and now it’s time for me to destroy The New Age of Humankind.” He looked through me to my charges. “These pathetic creatures are my key to unleashing hell on Earth.”

India and Olivia looked out from behind Lady.

“We are not pathetic.” India said.

“You are pathetic.” Olivia said. “Because you can’t love.”

“You will never succeed, Balor.” I spat. “The world these girls come from is far from perfect, but it contains a magic so powerful you can never know or understand it.” I paused. “You don’t even know of its existence. Yet it is more powerful than any evil you can muster. I protect that magic, and that’s why I can’t be defeated.”

“Enough…. “Get them and bring them to me.” He said to two of his Fomorians. “My eye will do the rest. It will make them remember, and then the rout can begin.

“What about our tunics?” One of the two giants said.

“Tunics? What about tunics? Stop wasting time and get those humans.”

“We want tunics like yours.” The other said.

“Oh, for the hate of Satan!.” Balor held his arm out as he looked at the two trembling giants. ‘Have the cat! You can have Lady and do when you like with her. Make a shawl for all I care.”

Smiling now and forgetting the Princesses, the two hulking giants lumbered toward me. I took my chance.

As soon as they were close, I dived sideways rolled over, and came up slicing through the first giant’s hamstring. The cold iron bit, poisonous to the demon, it went down screaming. The second brought his axe down, but I stepped forward and pushed Whisper into its thigh as the axe stuck in the ground behind me.

The sun was touching the horizon now. There wasn’t much time. Balor had to act.

“Now!” I shouted, looking at the, now unprotected, Princesses. Olivia threw the quiver and India threw the bow.

Balor’s criss-crossed lines grew wider and brighter. I drew a rowan arrow and strung my bow in one fluid movement. Flames gleamed dark red from his body. I smelled burning fur as his beloved tunic was set alight. 

“Now, I shall have access and all of humankind will fear me.”

His third eyelid was too heavy to open by itself so, he slowly began to prize it open with his hands. I released my magical arrow, and it found its mark. Burying itself deep into Balor’s huge eye. His obscene squeal of pain sent the circling Sluagh off in all directions and the horde of giants stood stupefied. The princesses covered their ears to stop the noise. 

I hope they were paying attention because just then, as the sun set, bringing night to this world, the gateway opened.

“Now!” I shouted. They may not have heard me, but they knew what I meant. Amid the confusion and screaming, two innocent princesses jumped through the bright circle of light directly in front of them. As I made to follow an axe, must have been thrown by a dying giants, buried itself between my shoulder blades. It sliced my heart. Momentum carried me through but, my heart stopped. Life left my body and the gateway slammed shut behind me.

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The grey-furred cat lay sleeping at the foot of Olivia’s bed. It opened its eyes as morning sunlight forced its way around the curtains, lighting the room. Both girls were still asleep but the cat was hungry. She stood and stretched a stretch only a cat can do. It walked to the head of the bed and patted Olivia on the forehead with a paw. Olivia opened her eyes and the cat mewed.

“Lady.” Olivia said. Still half asleep. A little hand came out from under the covers and scratched Lady behind the ear. The cat purred. Across the room India stirred and pushed herself up on one elbow.

"Mum. Dad.” She shouted. “Lady wants some biscuits.”

There was a short silence and then all three heard the unmistakable sound of cat biscuits being shaken in the bag.

Lady leapt to the floor in a single bound and trotted out of the bedroom, tail up straight. Descending the stairs she thought. I lost a life again. I must be more careful but, I did my job. I saved the princesses, and I saved humankind. They are safe again... At least for today.