 DARKSIDE
CH-6 I took a step forward, hoping to draw them toward me and away from the others. I watched the rise and fall of each lance, dipping in rhythm as the horses’ hooves threw clods of earth and leaves up behind them in the mad rush to ride me down. The riders crouched forward, gripping tightly with their knees, pulling their elbows in close and gritting their teeth as they braced for impact. The Sidhe Lords' eyes narrowed in concentration, and I marveled at the perfect union of horse and rider intent on my destruction. I raised my sword, determined to take at least one of them with me, when a hail of arrows rained down upon the riders. They punched through plate and mail, not deep enough to kill, but more than enough to break the charge. The stallion to the right galloped off toward the stream as the Sidhe astride it took an arrow through his left eye and toppled from the saddle. Another horse went down with two arrows embedded in its neck at one of the few places unprotected by armor. The third rider wheeled quickly and fled in retreat. There were only two remaining foot soldiers now, and they too fled toward their Lord as he busied himself snapping off the arrow shafts that were little more than a nuisance. He raged then, shaking his sword at us and screaming his frustrations in the language of the Sidhe; then he and the two foot soldiers retreated back down the path and out of sight. I turned to check on Josh, Alex, and Leanne, and suddenly wondered if we were any better off. A semicircle of nine archers, each with arrows notched and bows drawn, had us pinned against the bole of the tree where we'd made our stand. They were Sidhe as well, but not like the others. These men were dressed in bright colors. Soft pastels in fine silks draped over gleaming armor in as many shades. I had the sense that this armor was also alive, but where the black armor seemed parasitic, this armor nurtured its host. The wind had died, and the air around us seemed charged with electricity. A light breeze carried with it the scent of apples and cherry blossoms, violets and vanilla. I kept my sword pointed at the ground and held up my left hand in casual greeting. "Hi. How's it going?" I heard Josh groan. "They're going to shoot us for sure," he mumbled. The archer in the center of the group lowered his bow and motioned for the others to do so as well. He spoke a few words of command, and the rest moved off suddenly to retrieve arrows. He approached Leanne, stepping over the body of the Dark Sidhe she had dispatched. He stopped just in front of her, his huge almond-shaped eyes unblinking as he drank in every detail of face and form. His eyes were a startling deep green, and Leanne fidgeted as he studied her. She clenched her fists, and the corners of her mouth twitched ever so slightly, as if she fought the urge to expose her fangs. Suddenly the Sidhe bowed low, then straightened and turned to address me. "An interesting menagerie you have here." He smiled, showing even, white teeth. "A vampire, a shapeshifter, a mortal and...you?" His brow knotted in puzzlement as he studied me for a moment. "What are you?" "I'm dead," I told him. His eyes narrowed briefly as he considered what I'd said; then he simply nodded. "You are fortunate that we are the ones that came to your aide, and not a human company of archers, for they would surely have killed you, or left you to the Dark Sidhe." There was something about him that rubbed me the wrong way. Maybe it was a sense of smug conceit. He was tall and slender, even under all the armor and robes, and his long, red hair was swept back from a face too pretty to be merely handsome. His lashes were long and curved, his lips full, and his skin lightly tanned, smooth and unblemished. He had a way of looking at you as if he were sizing you up and finding you wanting. "We owe you," I said. He smiled, more of a smirk really. "I know." He turned and held out an arm to Leanne. "Our camp is not far from here. You can freshen up, and perhaps we can find some new clothes for your friend." He glanced briefly at Josh, whose own clothes were in tatters from the transformation. Leanne hesitated a moment, then took his arm. She shot me a warning glance over her shoulder, though I wasn't sure what she meant by it. Was she warning me to keep on my guard, or just to behave myself? Josh put his arm around Alex, who had been untouched by the battle. She had paled a little, but otherwise seemed little the worse for wear. I wasn't sure what bothered me more, the fact that she seemed little affected by the ordeal, or that our new host had completely ignored her presence. It was as if she didn't exist for him. The other archers had finished collecting their arrows, and they fell into line behind us. We veered off the path we'd been following for the better part of the morning, and hiked along the winding streambed instead. I noticed that Josh had retrieved the shotgun and had shoved a Beretta 9mm into the back of his pants. That one I recognized. It was just like the one dad had been shot with. I kept the sword in my right hand, as I had no choice. Leanne hadn't provided me with a scabbard. The tip of the rapier was slick with blood. I knew that I should wipe it off on something, but there wasn't anything nearby and I wasn't about to use my clothes. There was enough blood on them already. Maybe it was the sight of all that blood--blood that I had spilled--but I felt myself trembling, and my stomach had gone all queasy. I'd never killed anyone before, certainly not up close, and with a giant butcher knife. Butcher. The word called up images I did not want to remember: the sound a sword makes as it hacks through muscle to the bone; that meaty thunk followed by hot, spurting blood and terrified screaming; the coppery smell as someone's life essence splatters you; the sudden stench of fear; and the look on their face and in their eyes as they realize what you've done to them. I hurried to the river and threw up, voiding what little food I'd eaten since last night. They waited for me, my friends with a look of concern, the Sidhe with one of disdain. I washed my face with fresh, clean water from the stream, then rinsed my mouth out. I felt better, but only a little, and rejoined our party as we resumed the march. "Let's hope you never get used to it, Bumper," Dad said. I nodded. "Hey, Dad. Where were you? We could have used you." "To do what? Jump out and say 'Boo!'?" He had a point. "Keep an eye on these fellows," Dad said. "They're not as bad as the Dark Sidhe, but they're still faeries. They have a habit of toying with people for their own amusement." I wanted to ask Dad what he meant by that, but he had vanished again. Alex came back and held my hand, and I felt better. She was handling this all much better than I was. I don't know, maybe she'd grown up with this sort of thing; maybe not. She looked up at me. "Everything will work out, you'll see." I could see that she truly believed that. There was no doubt in her young mind, and I wished I had her optimism. I squeezed her hand, and we walked on in silence until we came to the Sidhe camp a few minutes later. Brightly colored tents surrounded a blazing fire in the midst of a small clearing. Most of the tents fronted the river where it had broadened and formed a cozy beach. Tigers, bears, and wolves paced back and forth in wheeled cages evenly spaced throughout the encampment. Pennants flapped in the cool offshore breeze that carried the scent of meat turned on a spit over the open fire pit. Tables laden with fresh fruits, breads, and cheeses circled the pit. Sidhe couples lounged on pillows and carpets as they feasted, laughing and singing to the accompaniment of minstrels, or splashed playfully in the river. Alex grinned up at me. "Lions and tigers and bears. Oh my!" I laughed. It was the first really good feeling I'd had since the battle. "Speaking of which, has anyone seen Bear?" Josh shook his head. "Dogs hate faeries. I doubt you'll see him around here." It occurred to me that dogs were usually pretty good judges of character. Our host, still arm in arm with Leanne, made to step out from the forest into the meadow where the camp was set up, but I grabbed Leanne by the shoulder and halted them in their tracks. They stared at me as if I’d lost my mind. “Sunlight. Vampire,” I pointed out. The meadow sat in full splendor of the noonday sun. The Sidhe studied me for a moment with those huge, unblinking green eyes of his, obviously wondering just how stupid I was. Finally he said, “Lhiannan has nothing to fear here,” and they stepped out into the sunlight. I guess he knew what he was talking about. After all, she didn’t burst into flames or anything. Josh and I looked at each other for a moment, and I mouthed, “Lhiannan?” but he just shrugged, apparently as in the dark as I was. I couldn’t recall that any of us had introduced ourselves, and wondered that he knew her name, or a variation of it. Our host, who hadn’t bothered to give us his name either, led us past a couple of posted guards and into the encampment until we stood before the largest of the brightly colored tents. We were beginning to attract a small crowd, and several of the Sidhe formed a small semicircle about our group. An elegant blonde, looking like she’d just stepped off a fashion runway in a cream white haute couture gown that hugged her slender figure, sashayed up to our host. “I see the hunting has been good, Luchtaine,” she said, “though this is strange game you bring to our banquet.” Luchtaine smiled. “I admit it is not our usual fair, Badb, but from the way you eye yon shapeshifter, I think I’ve found something to please your palate.” The blonde winked at Josh. “He does look a rather tasty morsel,” she answered, and the gathering burst into laughter as Josh blushed a deep red. I stepped up closer to Leanne and whispered into her ear. “This is sexual innuendo, right? I mean, they’re not going to eat us, are they?” She elbowed me hard in the ribs, and I grunted in pain. “Just checking.” “I’m sure the Queen will wish to speak with you after all this time, Lhiannan,” Luchtaine said. “I will seek an audience for you now. In the meantime, eat, rest, and make yourselves comfortable.” He bowed low, then turned and entered the tent. Badb already had her arm about Josh’s shoulders and was leading him over to a mound of cushions. “Let’s see about finding you something indecent to wear,” I heard her coo at him as he glanced about nervously. “I’m very flattered, miss, but I’m a happily married man,” he began. Badb stopped and whispered something in his ear, and he blushed again. The look of panic on his face was priceless. Dad appeared suddenly. “NO, Alex! Don’t eat that!” Leanne’s hand shot out in a blur of motion and plucked a peach from Alex’s hand just as she was about to bite into it. “Sorry, honey, but you can’t eat the food here,” she told the startled girl. “If you do, you can never leave.” Alex shrugged, and accepted an orange that Leanne retrieved from the knapsack she still carried. I guess the kid was used to strange, inexplicable rules like this, and just took them all in stride. Personally, I could see where that kind of attitude could come in handy when raising a teenage girl. “Sorry honey, but you can’t date boys until you’re thirty-five or you’ll turn into a warthog.” Man, you could get away with murder! I turned to thank Dad, but he’d vanished again. Leanne took a big bite out of the peach. “I thought you said we couldn’t eat the food here?” I asked her. “Nope,” she mumbled around a mouthful of peach. “I said Alex couldn’t eat the food here; Alex is mortal. I’m safe. So are you, in case you were wondering.” I shrugged, and snagged a crisped, brown pheasant breast from a platter off the table in front of me. I hadn't really felt hungry since I died, but the smell and the taste of food still enticed me to eat. There didn't seem to be a knife or fork to be had, so I tore into the breast, savoring the tender, juicy meat that had been spiced and flavored to perfection. "You might want to put that blade away, James," Leanne suggested. "Iron makes these people nervous." I still held the rapier in my right hand. I stared at her helplessly for a moment, not knowing what to do with it. Leanne waved a young servant girl over and whispered something into her ear. The girl nodded, then curtsied and ran off only to return a moment later with an ornate scabbard done in black leather. Several straps with tiny silver buckles ran horizontally along its length. I could tell they were just for show, but it was a nice effect. It lent the scabbard an air of strength, and insinuated that all the straps were necessary to keep such a deadly blade restrained. The girl handed me the gift and was off again in a flare of skirts and tangled red hair. The sword slid easily home, and Leanne helped me to belt it about my waist. Now that I had a hand free, I scooped Leanne up in my right arm and pulled her close for a kiss. She tangled her fingers in my hair for a while, then stepped back and smiled. "Is that your pommel I feel, or are you just happy to see me?" "Is it big and knobby?" Her eyes glinted wickedly. "Why yes, it is." "Then it's my pommel." "Ahem." The sound of someone clearing their throat behind us interrupted any further witty discourse. "The Queen will see you now," Luchtaine announced dryly. From the look on his face, I'd say he disapproved of beautiful young women cavorting about with dead guys. Leanne gave me a quick peck on the cheek and said, "This shouldn't take too long. Just try to stay out of trouble while I'm gone." I gave her my best "who me?" look, but we both knew I wasn't fooling anybody. Luchtaine took her by the arm and escorted her into the main tent. I did a quick search for the rest of the gang. Poor Josh was still trying to disentangle himself from Badb's attentions, while Alex sat cross-legged across from some huge, hairy, wart-covered ogre--playing paddy whack. Alex didn't seem too concerned with her father's predicament, so I decided who was I to butt in. I wandered off toward the lake and did the typical loner thing--I stood on the grassy shore and skipped rocks. I really sucked at it too. I was just about to try something easier, like throwing rocks at the swimmers off to my left, when I heard her behind me. "You're looking good, James." Suddenly I couldn't breathe. Everything inside me tied itself into tight, hard knots, and something hammered at my chest. I turned to face her. "I was wondering if I'd see you." Alison smiled. "I couldn’t stay away." She looked just as I remembered her. I loved the laugh lines around her eyes. They were the only things about her that hinted she might not be sixteen. But then, I'd loved everything about her. Alison was petite, with big, brown doe eyes, full lips, and this mischievous grin that caught you off guard, surprising you with the fact that she was in no way as innocent as she let on. She had a way of staring at me through those blonde, tousled locks that left me helpless. My friends had teased me about being whipped, and they were right, but I had been happily, blissfully whipped. Alison had taught me long ago that the world was a wonderful place filled with magic. I guess I'd forgotten that. I had forgotten a lot of things since her death. "What took you so long?" I asked her. She moved closer, gliding across the long grass as only a ghost can. A nonexistent breeze played about her hair and ruffled the light blue cotton print dress that hugged her slim figure. The faintest hint of Eternity, her favorite perfume, scented the air. "I've never left your side, James. You just weren't ready to see me." "I'm not so sure I am now," I told her truthfully. She looked sad all of a sudden. "I can go if you like?" "No!" I all but shouted at her. "Please, stay a while." I took a deep breath to clear my head, but it really didn't help much. "You smell great," I told her. Alison's eyes lit up the way they always used to when she teased me. "I didn't know ghosts smelled like much of anything." I shrugged. "Dad smells like spray starch and old spice, and Grandpa...well, Grandpa always smells like someone just pulled his finger." She laughed, and I wanted to hold her so bad, but I knew she wasn't there. Not really. Alison looked wistful. Somehow, I got the feeling she was thinking the same thing about me. Who knows? Maybe I'm not really here either. “I worry about you,” she said. “You just cut yourself off from everything after...after I died.” “I really don’t want to talk about this.” “I’m sorry about Sarah, too. I know she misses you.” I turned away from her and stared out across the water. Why was she dredging this up? “Kids are resilient. Besides, she has her father,” I said. Even though they’d been divorced for five years, Alison’s ex still got custody when she died. Boyfriends, even live-in boyfriends, don’t have much in the way of rights where children are concerned. “You can’t just keep clamping down on your feelings, shutting everything away.” “Yes I can!” I hadn’t meant to shout. The last thing I wanted to do was hurt Alison, but I just couldn’t deal with this. Not now. Maybe not ever. I turned back to her to tell her I was sorry, but she was already fading. “Sooner or later, you have to live again,” she whispered; then she was gone. “Too late.” I heard something whine to my left, an
eerie, discordant sound. Bear pawed at my leg. He always knew when I was
hurting. I tried to scratch behind his ears the way he liked, but I still had
trouble focusing on him. He slobbered all over my hand, and then he was gone
too. Nothing seemed real anymore, but then, nothing had for a long time. Not
since the day the police had arrived at the door to tell me that Alison had lost
control of her car and slammed into the streetlamp. She’d been pronounced dead
at the scene. # One thing you can say about the Sidhe, they’re real party people. I heard singing and laughter coming from the tents, and then several of the women rushed me. They swarmed across the meadow, all bright smiles and flowing hair, and ringed about me. The next thing I knew I was being dragged toward the camp with flowers in my hair and a wreath around my neck. They shoved me down onto some cushions, and some pretty little redhead vaulted into my lap and fed me passion fruit. Faerie women; they can be so coy. Alex sat with her back to the ogre now, who was busy brushing her hair. The ogre glanced over at me and winked, then gave me the thumbs-up. I hoped it meant the same thing in ogre-ese that it did in English, and not, “As soon as no one’s looking, the little girl’s an appetizer.” Josh seemed to be doing a fairly decent job of fending of off Badb’s advances. Well, at least he was half dressed, and it was the important half too. If Badb’s hands roamed anywhere near as much as the redhead who had taken up residence in my lap, that was more of an accomplishment than you might think. Several musicians walked amongst the troop, and a harpist in a brightly colored cloak sat cross-legged on a carpet at the entrance to the Queen’s tent. He was older than the rest, probably the oldest person I’d seen since the Sidhe had taken us in. His long, dark hair was graying, and the lines of his face were deeply etched. There was something about his eyes, a sadness there that made him look even older. He smiled wistfully at me, then plucked a few notes and tilted his head to the side for a moment. He turned a peg on the harp, then, satisfied, began to play an energetic tune. It seemed familiar, as if it were an old favorite that I’d long ago forgotten, but I knew that I’d never heard it before. The musicians, with the exception of the harpist, cavorted about the group, playing and dancing at the same time. Flutists and fiddlers stomped their feet and twirled about, while a bare-chested man hopped up onto the table and beat out the rhythm on a Celtic drum. The air was thick with music, an almost tangible substance, and I felt as if I could reach out and pluck a chord and hold it there in my hand. Harmonies and subharmonies intertwined, first one dominant, then another. I could have sung whatever I pleased, even off key, and it would have meshed perfectly. The drum roared in my ears, and my body throbbed to its cadence. The melody wrapped itself about me and filled me up until my being hummed in resonance. I leapt to my feet, bringing the redhead with me, and spun her about as we joined in the revelry. The music was infectious, and we danced, sang, and laughed about the fire while the animals paced back and forth in their cages. I remembered Alison and smiled. The pain of her memory seemed distant now, almost unimaginable. The thought of her kindled a warmth of spirit within me, and a feeling of joy so intense that it was almost painful. I staggered then, but the song swept me up again and pulled me along in its wake. I wanted to stop, to rest, but the music would not let go. It called to me, commanded me, forced itself upon me and ravished me with the promise of bliss and nirvana. Extreme pleasure and pain are but opposite sides of the same coin, and that coin tottered on its edge so that I laughed and cried, and couldn’t tell the difference. The cords in my neck stood out as I tried to scream. I arched my back and flung my arms out wide as I was pulled up onto my toes and stretched almost to the breaking point. I felt the agony of Alison’s loss as if it had just happened, as if I stood on the curb and watched as her car wrapped itself around the telephone pole. Ecstasy wrapped itself about anguish as I saw my mom, sneaking into my room at night when she thought I was asleep to kiss me goodnight. Then misery again as she accepted the folded flag at my dad’s funeral. Elation when Michelle Sands agreed to go to the senior prom with me; grief as my grandfather lay wasting away in his sickbed. One by one the best and worst moments of my life engulfed my spirit, tearing at my soul so that the old wounds bled freely, then cleansing and healing my battered psyche. Something burned like a white-hot flame in the pit of my stomach; or maybe it was the chill of bitter frostbite. It spread from there, snaking through my spine and diffusing outward to my fingertips and toes and to the top of my head. The flame fed upon the memories, both good and bad, building in intensity until I couldn't contain it any longer. A burst of blinding light radiated outward in ever widening concentric circles from where I stood. Wave after radiant wave issued forth from the nexus that I had become, and finally I found my voice and screamed myself raw. The Sidhe caught by the blast where thrown to the ground. The shock wave buffeted the tents and trees, rattled the animal cages, and hurled tables about, spilling food and drink everywhere. It ceased suddenly as, spent, I collapsed in a heap to the grass. I watched weakly as the harpist, the only person apparently unaffected by what had happened, stood slowly and made his way to my side. "I am the bard, Thomas the Rhymer," he said as he knelt beside me. "Feel better now?" ******* |