Chapter 13

Courage

Groans, moans, and the low rattles of breathing were the only things Duncan could hear in his cage. The sad part was that he wasn’t aware if he was making the noises or if his cellmates were. He could see that Osis was floating near the top of her cage like a kid doing the Dead Man’s Float with her friends in the pool, only he wasn’t sure if she wasn’t dead. He wanted to ask, but that was going to take energy and that was something that he just didn’t have enough to expend for the question. He was concentrating on keeping Morna out of his mind, out of his magic, and that was draining all of his energies.

Duncan spared a look in Wardicon’s direction, and his old friend was curled up like a ball; his chest was slowly rising and falling. The Sidhe King’s will power was long gone, and his mind, body, and clan were now under the control of the witch.

That’s what she wanted. She was after the magic, but Duncan knew that she was also building an army. But why? What need did she have for an army? She also seemed to want to add the Leprechauns to that disdainful hoard. He was not about to let her have them.

Not while he was king.

…

The travelers walked cautiously along the path. All, except Lizzie, of course, were thrilled with their new magical weapons, but none of them were really looking forward to using them. If it came time for them to put the weapons to the test, then that meant they were under attack. They all knew it would happen, but that didn’t mean that they had to look forward to it.

Gorgoch stopped the group when they entered a diminutive clearing. There was a small river that was roiling ahead of them with much faster moving water than what would have been expected considering that it was a small river and the terrain was relatively level. It hadn’t rained much, as far as Brendan could recall, so it just looked weird.

“That’s one fast-moving river,” stated Rory.

“That’s what I was thinking,” agreed Brendan.

“Don’t forget that it flows through a cursed forest,” pointed out Dorian. “It’s not like it has to follow the normal rules of nature.”

“Good point.” It unnerved Brendan to think about magic as a real thing. He was only just beginning to understand the world, and now his experiences in Ireland and Scotland were teaching him something entirely different. He wondered what Newton would have thought about all this.

The group walked further on the path and spotted a creaky wooden bridge. “That’s where we’ll have to cross,” said Gorgoch lifting one ghostly hand to gesture toward the bridge.

“You think?” scoffed Lizzie sarcastically.

“Keep your eyes open, folks. This is a good place for an ambush,” Dorian said readying her hands. They began to glow red and emitted a crackling energy.

They drew closer to the bridge and had a much better view of the river. It was bubbling and foaming and flowing like mad. It was also black. It didn’t look like oil or sludge, but like regular river water, only dark and opaque.

“Okay,” began Brendan. “Is that the grossest water ever or what?”

“It’s pretty gross,” agreed Lizzie.

Gorgoch searched the area suspiciously. “I have a bad feeling.”

Just as he finished his sentence a streak of green shot out of the trees and slammed into Gorgoch smashing him to the ground. The green form and Gorgoch slid through trees even though the trees tried to move, they were too slow and became shattered into a million shards. The pair were instantly out of sight.

“Gorgoch!” called Dorian. Whatever had attacked him had dragged him away.

“What in the world was that?” asked Lizzie.

“I believe that was the Cu Sith,” answered Biddy. “Let’s hope it can’t take Gorgoch’s soul.”

“Isn’t he all soul?” asked Brendan.

“Oh, bad dog!” called Lizzie. “You leave him alone.”

A moment later the river itself came to life and spewed forth several boiling forms onto the shore. They seethed and roiled on the spot changing into different shapes, all of them menacing and gruesome.

“What in the world are those ugly things?” asked Lizzie.

“Those are Kelpies,” answered Rory. “They are fowl creatures.”

The Kelpies shape-shifted into hideous monsters. One became a dragon while another became a minotaur. Two others resembled velociraptors. The rest took the form of demons. Though they all came in different forms, none of them could shake the black water look. They all boiled and bubbled and roiled within the shell of the creatures they became.

“What are we supposed to do against these things?” Rory said with a cracking voice.

“We take them out and we do it fast.” Dorian took the lead and the five squared off against the black water Kelpies.

The Kelpies hissed and bared their fangs. The dragon let out a battle cry and the Kelpies sprang into action. Dorian didn’t have to tell the others to fight because the fight was brought to them.

The odds were overwhelming at seven to one, but the five had magic on their side. Sure, they were fighting hideous creatures of the dark with killer claws and stupendous strength. The group didn’t have the numbers on their side or the home-field advantage. All of that didn’t seem to make that big of a difference though, since each one of them had become supercharged by Dorian’s gifts.

Demons charged at Rory who was perched atop a stone on the banks. He let loose with an arrow and nailed an ugly Kelpie between the eyes. It fell to the banks in a splash. Rory was ready to reach back to find another arrow, but one appeared in his bow without his help.

“Now that is cool,” he exclaimed. He continued to fire at the Kelpies. He had a moment and looked out to find Biddy. She was in the air avoiding the slashing claws of a few of the demon Kelpies.

“Keep your hands to yourselves, boys,” she cried. Biddy zoomed in and out, feeling that there was nothing much she could do but cause a distraction. If that was all she could do, then she was going to do it well. She zipped around the battlefield and acted like an annoying bug.

She flew high above and tried to find a place she could be of some use. Noticing Rory was starting to bite off more than he could chew, she dove at a group of newly transforming Kelpies. “Leave him alone!”

They spotted her coming and they changed their forms into ravens and clawed at her as she drew near. She changed courses and narrowly avoided the razor sharp talons. The Kelpie ravens pursued her, and Biddy had to will herself to fly faster and harder. She could hear their hissing and feel their breath at her rear. She figured that this was it. She wasn’t scared, though. She didn’t give up or give in to the beasts. She turned and lashed out with her will. To her surprise, several feathers were flung from her wings and shredded the Kelpie ravens to pieces. Black water splashed against her face as the creatures rained down on the earth below.

Dorian looked up as droplets of black rain fell from the sky. The drops sizzled away as they neared her and her magical red glow. She looked out at the river and watched as more Kelpies rose and transformed into one creature or another. She blasted here and there and evaporated many of the filthy beasts. She mostly watched out for her friends as she kept one eye on the large dragon that squatted on the bridge and hissed and roared.

Brendan decided that he was going to be fearless. What reason was there not to be? The creatures were made of water, after all. How tough and scary could that be?

He soon found out.

The smaller demon-like Kelpies weren’t much trouble, but when the Minotaur charged, Brendan was put on the defensive. This Kelpie was huge and fast. It exhaled a black mist as it ran at Brendan. The American dodged to the right and rolled to his feet in time to see the Minotaur annihilate a very large and thick oak. Now he knew why he should have been somewhat frightened.

The giant, ugly creature didn’t bother to turn around to face him again. Instead it reformed itself, and the face poked out of the back of its head. It let out a fear-inducing battle cry and charged again.

“Whoa!” Brendan exclaimed as he spun away and slashed at the creature’s leg. The blade passed through with little resistance, but the creature showed no effect. He could see it smile as it turned back again. It held out its arm and a giant club took the place of its hand.

“Come on! That’s not even fair,” Brendan admonished.

The beast slammed his club down and nearly crushed Brendan. A quick step to the left allowed him to keep breathing. It lashed out again with the heavy club and drove Brendan back. It slammed the club down and Brendan backed away. The scene played out like that until Brendan teetered on the bank of the black river.

The Minotaur paused and looked at Brendan as if to say that the end was near. Brendan glanced down at the babbling blackness and he knew that if he went in there then it was the end.

“Can’t we talk about this?” asked Brendan.

The Minotaur shook its head slowly.

Brendan narrowed his eyes and stared at the creature defiantly. “Okay, chump, bring it.”

The large Kelpie reared back with its club and then dropped it down at Brendan with tremendous intentions to crush. Brendan raised his sword to block and when the two connected, something incredible happened. Brendan lost his footing and nearly fell into the water. The only thing that kept him out of it was the fact that his sword was stuck in the Minotaur’s club.

The beast hissed and laughed until it realized that Brendan hadn’t fallen into the water. It looked around for him and then spotted him dangling from the club.

Brendan looked sweepingly back at the ugly thing and waved. “Hi. Uh, don’t mind me.”

The beast grew furious and tried to shake him loose. Brendan called out for help.

Lizzie held her stick out and cursed silently at her bad magical luck. “Stupid stick,” she mumbled.

The demon Kelpies didn’t care that she was unhappy with her weapon and didn’t bother to wait for her to get a new one before they attacked. If they would have been smart they would have waited, or better yet, they would have ran.

They charged her with the insane rage of hungry predators, but when she began to splatter the Kelpies in every direction with her staff, they started to take a new approach. They circled around her, and they looked like they felt confident.

Lizzie saw their plan. “That’s a bad move, fellas.”

They charged all at once, but Lizzie was too fast for them. She leapt into the air and spun. She forced her staff out in a wide circle and by the time she had landed her attackers had been reduced to puddles of black water.

“Lizzie,” hollered Dorian. “How are you holding up?”

Lizzie looked at the black carnage and smiled, “Oh, I’m good.”

She turned her head when a cry for help rang out from the banks of the river. “Brendan!” She ran as fast as she could to help.

“There’s no way that I’m going into that water, pal!” Brendan clung to his sword for dear life as the beast unsuccessfully tried to shake him loose.

Suddenly, the creature stopped shaking Brendan and held a very surprised look on its face.

“What the… ?” said Brendan in surprise.

The beast dropped to its knees and Brendan’s feet found soft footing on the grass. He yanked his sword free and glanced down where a purple staff was jammed up in between the Minotaur’s legs. Brendan looked past the beast’s big head and saw Lizzie waving from just behind its shoulder.

“Oh, thanks, Liz,” he said.

He slashed out and chopped the Minotaur’s head off with a single motion. The head and body held their form until they landed in the black water. There they were absorbed by the current.

“Nice use of stick, little sister,” smiled Brendan.

“You know, sticks are cool,” she smiled back.

They ran back into the battle to help Dorian with the Dragon.

…

Dullahan was enjoying the show from his vantage point astride his demon steed. The horse was anxious to charge down the path and enter into battle as well, but Dullahan held the reigns steady. The stallion only tugged a few times before it got the message. It took to snorting out balls of fire and making the trees shift their roots to avoid the heat.

Dullahan didn’t mind or care about the trees at that moment. He was too busy making notes about his adversaries. They fought well with their Leprechaun weapons. The small Leprechauns were moderately effective while the Leprechaun princess showed that she was a good leader and a valiant warrior. The humans were holding their own as well. The Kelpies hardly stood a chance, but Dullahan knew that before he sent the mindless fools into battle. The group was much more formidable since he had first faced them on the road in Ireland. They had courage and skill and of course they had that insipid Gorgoch, but they were also short on time. That desperation was going to be their undoing. That was going to make them take chances, and that gave him the advantage.

…

Gorgoch was having a hard time dealing with the vicious jaws of the Cu Sith. It had already shone that it could tear through his visceral being. Luckily for him the ghost dog only tore at the vapor-like clothing that he wore, but that was enough to make Gorgoch know that this apparition could do him some serious harm.

The jaws snapped shut in blood-thirsty bites attempting to separate Gorgoch’s spirit half from this realm. Gorgoch had his forearm in the Cu Sith’s throat, so that prevented it from laying its large fangs into his ghostly form.

“Heel!” he commanded.

The beast had all the leverage, though, while it had him pinned on his back. Normally he would just turn to vapor and move away from the threat, but the Cu Sith could do the same thing, and then it might take him out while they were in that form. He was stuck for a moment unless something in this dynamic changed.

…

When Brendan and Lizzie arrived at Dorian’s side, they saw a young woman who was powerful, smart, and agile. They also saw a Kelpie dragon that was all of those things but also enormous. They were all nearly vaporized by the dragon’s version of fire breath. Dodging to the right, Brendan caught a whiff of the toxic fumes the thing spewed down at them and he nearly puked.

“Oh man!” exclaimed Lizzie. “That has to smell worse than your soccer shoes.”

Normally, Brendan would have responded in kind, but the dragon lashed out with its large claw and nearly smashed him. Jibbing his sister took a place on the back burner.

Dorian launched three consecutive blasts into the beast’s throat, but the thing showed little effect. It absorbed the attacks and gave it back to them in return. It slashed claws, snapped its jaws, whipped its tail, and spit stench-fire. The three were nimble, but growing weary from the battle. A tail caught Brendan and knocked him headlong into one of the bridge posts. The backside of the creature’s paw connected with Lizzie and threw her some twenty feet away. That left Dorian.

“Fine, you foul bugger,” Dorian railed in anger. “You are going to wish that you never tangled with a Leprechaun.”

The dragon roared and reared back on its hind legs. It opened its maw and launched itself at her. In a single snap it took the Leprechaun princess into its mouth.

“Noooooooo!” screamed Brendan. He spun to his feet and charged forward with his silver sword gleaming.

The dragon snorted and shook its head. Smoke began to trail out of the side of its mouth and nostrils. Its lips parted and a red light leaked from the opening. The dragon began to wail in pain until its head finally exploded!

Dorian flipped out of the opening and landed gracefully on her feet right in front of Brendan who skidded to a stop.

“I hate Kelpies,” she quipped.

They had time for exactly one smile, two chuckles, and three breaths before the entire Black River began to come to life. Hundreds of Kelpies began to emerge from the river.

Lizzie walked up behind Brendan and Dorian. “Don’t these things ever stop?”

“They are mindless creatures that can rearrange their bodies so that they never get tired. They never give up.” Dorian exhaled the last of her three breaths. “It’s likely that they will just wear us down and overrun us.”

Biddy carried Rory over and they dropped down to land on Lizzie’s shoulders. “We can take them on, Dorian,” said Biddy.

“Don’t give up hope yet,” added Rory. “We’ll get to Duncan in time.”

“He’s right, you know,” boomed a voice from above.

The five looked up and saw the enlarged form of Gorgoch holding the Cu Sith by the scruff of its neck like a puppy.

“Aww, demon puppy,” said Lizzie.

Gorgoch flung the Cu Sith way out of the Black Forest and well out of sight. His face still shimmered, but the others knew he was smiling.

“Look!” yelled Rory. “The Kelpies are running for it!”

They watched the Black River fill itself back in as the riverbed became full once more. In a matter of seconds the water was calm and slowly moving along.

Gorgoch shrank back down. “Let’s go. We’ve been delayed too long.”

With that they crossed the bridge very wary of what could be coming their way.