Chapter Nine - The Barghest
We passed through the abandoned castle grounds unobstructed and headed out past the moat of mist and toward the marshes. The night was cold for summer and the mist that always sat as a blanket on the marshland made it seem even cooler. The smell of damp moss rose up from the ground, filling my nostrils whenever we disturbed a deep patch of marshland. My boots were sodden but they were nothing in comparison the Merl's drenched robes that were obviously becoming heavier from wetness as he struggled through the marsh.
"Do you want me to hold them for you? Your robes I mean." I asked as Merl looked at me with initial confusion.
"No need, we're nearly at the mouth of the forest now." He said, plucking something from his pocket and placing in on his tongue.
"What's that?" I asked. Merl pinched the item between his fingers again in order to answer.
"This is a moth wing, you are well aware that I am not welcome in the forest therefore I must go in disguise." He stated.
"What! So I'm going in there at this time of night all alone?" I felt my stomach tighten in fear.
"Of course not Violet you blathering ninny, I will be there with you. Simply follow me in my moth form until we reach the location of the Barghest sighting."
"How am I supposed to see you? I mean it's dark and moths are tiny." I reasoned.
"Ah, yes but this particular moth is a rare form of luminescent ghost moth, so rare in-fact that I waited for this particular fellow to die of natural causes. Therefore, to fully address your question my girl, most thankfully, after my many years and vast experience of life I have acquired the ability to think ahead. Be assured that you needn't worry about the fine detail too often." Merl quipped sarcastically.
"Of course, sorry." I shrugged, a little disappointed that my only excuse to turn back had gone out of the window. I really didn't like the idea of venturing toward the forest in the dark without Merl-in full human form- by my side. He placed the moth wing on his tongue once again and in a similar fashion to the way he had transformed into a gangly black dog last summer, he slurred the enchantment 'Athru.' Once again Merl morphed into a new being entirely as his human form swirled violently in the air, wrapping in on itself, defying all I was ever taught about the laws of physics. His transformation concluded as he fluttered in the air, a brilliant lemon coloured moth.
I stood on the spot for a few moments, looking out at the ominous forest that loomed before me. It seemed less romantic now that I was no longer in the safety of the castle, now the trees were not being caressed by the silver moonlight. Merl fluttered into my head impatiently. Great! So this was going to be his method of communication, who would have known that moths could be grumpy! I thought as I swatted him away with my hand.
"Okay, Okay, go on." I urged.
I followed the Merl moth through Reaping bird territory. I would have been terrified of passing through here without my beloved bow in the day but at night, it was relatively safe. I'd read up on Reaping birds a little over the winter, it seems that although they are undoubtedly the most deadly predators stalking the Falinn Galdur skies, thankfully for us they never went on the hunt at night. I trudged on a short while longer until I could see the heavily cylinder shapes of the trees shattering the little light that shone down toward them. The night was dark, the forest was darker still. My every instinct screamed out at me to flee. My body buzzed with adrenaline at the prospect of slipping between the towering mysterious trees and toward whatever creatures waited in the blackness of the forest.
"Are we almost there?" I asked nervously. Merl moth fluttered backward, after landing on my lips he stayed there for a moment. It was a signal to be quiet so I did.
As we passed the tree line, my usually steady hands began to shake. The last time I had passed through Thistlewick forest I had been poisoned with tree sap by a Spriggan and fought a Changeling. Now I was heading in the direction of something reputedly more frightening and undeniably deadly. Merl moth was bright and easier to follow in the forest yet I felt an acute fear of losing track of him. As I walked briskly behind the fluttering Merl, I heard the snap of a twig underfoot. My head instinctively snapped toward the direction of the sound but my eyes saw nothing in the black. My mind began to swim with a thousand possibilities as my heartbeat raced. It could be a Changeling, a Spriggan or something altogether more sinister. What if it was one of the Gnarls that were rumoured to be heading south? Even worse, what if it was Agrona herself? I felt my hands begin to glow with an involuntary warm, white heat as Merl moth flapped furiously around my head. I tried to will myself to stop the magic but it was useless. The more stressed I was becoming the warmer the glow of my palms. I jabbed them into the armholes of my corset dress making a straightjacket out of myself. It helped dim the glow a little but the warmth of my hands stung when pressed against the soft naked skin of my chest. Merl moth seemed to realise that there was nothing I could do to stop the light and was no longer fluttering above me. Instead, he had shot off in a northerly direction and I followed as discretely as I could. With every second that passed, the heat in my hands grew in its intensity. I felt a tear of pain in the corner of my eye but I continued to follow.
On the way, I had expected the night-time forest to be eerily silent but instead it was alive with the clamour of nocturnal creatures. Sounds that I shouldn't have feared like the owl swooping overhead or the screech of a fox, made me nervous. As much as I didn't really want to meet the Barghest I would be glad when we finally reached our destination and Merl transformed back into a his usual self. At least then, I wouldn't feel so alone.
We walked for what I guessed was around a mile or so, we were just beginning to reach a denser part of the forest , where a thicket of thorn bushes intertwined and worked its way up into the trees, when Merl moth's fluttering became erratic. He spiralled one way and then dipped the other as his tiny wings grew in size sending him off-balance. I didn't know if this was part of the plan and in my paranoid state I thought that maybe something was going horribly wrong. I reached forward automatically to catch him but my eyes struggled to adjust to the dark. I soon realised that perhaps this was not the best move, as I overreached causing myself to fall face first into the dirt of the forest and interrupting Merl half way through his transition. As he stood before me now, mostly grumpy old wizard but with two huge glowing moth wings, he did not seem too pleased.
"I'm sorry." I stated sheepishly as he pulled me to my knees and then onto my feet. At least the fall into the cool wet ground had soothed the glowing heat in my hands. I could smell the mud, smeared across my face and tangled in my hair. If it were light out, we would have both looked ridiculous, but in the darkness, Merl's predicament was much more obvious than mine was. "I'm really sorry." I said trying to emphasise the point.
"You will be sorry." A deep, inhuman voice spoke the words followed by a low guttural growl. "You will be very sorry you have entered my lair on this night but I am not sorry you came." It snarled mockingly. My heart beat against my rib cage in fright but I stood firm on the spot. Trying to hide my fear, I instinctively adjusted my posture to full capacity as the tiny hairs that covered every inch of my body stood on end. I felt like a wild animal, desperate to run but ready to fight.
"Very good," Merl began "But I'm afraid we have not walked such a long way tonight to be eaten. There are much more important things at hand." He stated calmly, patronising the beast before us.
"Such a shame." The beast growled. "I can hear the wet blood throbbing through the younglings heart. I can smell it, as sweet as berries and soft too. I could tear at it, so smooth against my fangs, beautiful, dripping wet blood." I could hear that the beast was smacking his lips with hunger. My stomach turned at the thought of this creature. If it wanted to attack, then I wasn't going down without a fight. My fear evaporated with the beast's violent threats, all I could feel now was an overwhelming sense of anger. No, not just anger, I felt a red blanket of rage wrap around my body and absorb into every pour on
the surface of my skin. It travelled through my system, souring my blood, pulsing through my veins and entering every fibre of my being. I felt the heat again but this time it was more intense and concentrated in the very ends of my fingers. My teeth chattered involuntarily.
"I'll rip you to pieces." I spat as my lip curled upward in disgust. The beast growled its response. I couldn't see the Barghest from its position behind the thicket, but I could sense its form change as it crouched toward the ground, tensing every muscle for the attack. I should still be frightened, Barghests' were reputably terrible beings but I did not feel like my usual self. It was becoming increasingly difficult to control the rage that had awakened within me. Had the Pandora's Box finally become unlocked? Had I lost it completely? Merl held out his arm in front of me. I couldn't be sure if he was trying to protect me from attack or prevent me from attacking, in the moment I didn't care, all I could think about was pulling the hideous creature limb from limb.
"Well, this simply will not do." Merl eyed me speculatively. "There is no benefit to either of you if a battle ensues tonight." I didn't stand down, neither did the menacing Barghest. Merl's cheeks reddened with annoyance but his voice remained even. "As you wish, tear each other apart but remember Violet, you have an enchantment to complete and people to save." Merl's words snapped me back to reality. I felt the anger subside as quickly as it had arisen, it was like a ruby wave washing back to the ocean from the shore. My mind swam, what had gotten into me?
"I care not about your enchantment or your people and I will feel the soft meat of her flesh as it slides down my throat." The Barghest growled.
"In that case, you shall not have the key to your freedom." Merl stated. The Barghest stepped out from behind the thistles. Its pronounced muscular shape defined in the light of the stars. Its salivating mouth held rows of razor sharp teeth that were dripping with fresh blood. I looked over its bulging shoulder and into the thicket were the solitary leg of what looked like a deer shot out. It slammed its weighty paws into the ground with each step as if to extenuate its physical prowess. As the Barghest came closer, I noticed a tinkling sound that seemed out of place in the current situation. It wasn't until the Barghest was practically upon us that I realised the sound was coming from a collar around its neck. It was an odd kind of collar, more like a charm bracelet, with different silver trinkets jangling together as the Barghest moved. I couldn't tell in the dark what the trinkets were other than one huge iron padlock that sat in the middle of the Barghest's massive chest. I wasn't angry anymore but I wasn't afraid either. As chilling as this beast was, it was nothing compared to the witch Agrona.
"Do not promise me my freedom lightly wizard." The Barghest warned.
"I never make a promise lightly." Merl answered.
"This does not excuse you, you must still answer my riddles, refuse or answer incorrectly and my bloodlust will be sated tonight." Merl nodded his compliance. "Step forward thrice and turn about left, there the door to the fairy kingdom awaits." The Barghest growled. Both Merl and I did as we were told, taking three steps forward and turning to our left. A smattering of huge leaves crunched underfoot and the summer breeze whistled in the air but the sound of the Barghest stalking backward and forward behind us was unmistakable. As always Merl's nerve did not waver, unusually neither did mine. I'm not sure if adrenaline was still pulsating through me veins, obscuring my rational thought or maybe it was the beautiful doorway of glowing lights that stood before us now but I was not afraid. I was ready.
"Ever more you take, ever more you leave." The Barghest snarled.
"Footsteps." Merl answered quickly. The Barghest rumbled his annoyance. It took a little while longer before it spoke again.
"Ever circling in the forest yet never steps a foot in the forest." The Barghest offered. Merl stroked his beard reflectively as his brow furrowed in consideration. Ever circling in the forest but never in the forest? I repeated in thought. How is that possible? Wind? No, wind doesn't really circle. Merl hadn't answered yet either, he was looking reflectively at the tree trunk that stood behind the doorway. The Barghest smacked his lips together greedily. "My patience is wearing thin." It warned.
"Bark." Merl stated before flapping his moth wings proudly. I nudged his arm with my elbow, now was not the time to make demands of the angry beast.
"Disappointing, the final riddle I will make more difficult. I am ravenous." The Barghest warned.
"Oh, bark like tree bark!" I spoke before thinking, Merl suppressed a snigger at my stupidity. Thankfully, the Barghest didn't seem to notice I had spoken. Instead, it continued with the final riddle.
"If you do not know, then it is something. If you know, then it is nothing." The Barghest snapped every word with violent enthusiasm. It was sure we wouldn't be able to guess. I contemplated the words for a short while, gazing up through the gaps in the towering trees and beyond into the starlit sky. What a stupid riddle, I thought, sure it wasn't even a riddle and that the Barghest was simply more determined to eat us than it was to be free.
"If you do not know then it's something, if you know then it's nothing." I repeated quietly. Subconsciously my hands reached toward my neck for my twine necklace, I was trying to find comfort in fiddling with it, as I used to when I was unsure. All my warm fingers found was the bare skin of my neck, my necklace still tucked away in my leather sack. Merl looked speculative, he was looking at me and I could tell by his face that he knew the answer. He knew but he wasn't saying, why wasn't he saying? I raised my eyebrows at him, willing him to answer. The Barghest snarled quietly behind us but Merl still didn't answer. Oh no, he wanted me to get it, what was this? I was sure there are much better times to teach me whatever life lesson he thought I needed to learn. I shook my head at him in disbelief, yet he did not answer. The beast stopped its pacing and approached, its rancid breath pushing strings of hair over my shoulder. As the loose strands tickled my skin, I felt the pressure to answer. I was going to have to say something. Stupid riddle, that wasn't a riddle. A riddle! A riddle was exactly what it was. I turned my head to face over my shoulder, the snarling Barghest was so close that my nose was almost making contact with its wet and bloodied snout.
"A riddle." I said confidently. The beast barked its annoyance into my face, its spittle flying into my hair but I didn't flinch. I didn't flinch because I was right. I didn't flinch because I felt elated. Yes Merl knew the answer but I'd come to this conclusion alone.
"Do not forget your promise to me." The Barghest barked as a turquoise portal flew into existence. Merl did not answer as he tugged at my hand, pulling me toward the swirling vortex before us.
Once again, I was shot through the ether and subjected to forces that my body was not built to withstand. My stomach responded with the threat of vomiting and my head swam with dizziness. I was glad that this journey was over quickly.
"I hate portals!" I shouted as I tumbled out the other side, Merl was upright and flexing his wings impressively. I was not so graceful, feeling the cold white cobbled path press against my cheek as I came to a stop a little way further than Merl. I got up and brushed myself off. Surveying my surroundings, I noted that the forest we were in now, felt like something quite otherworldly even compared to Thistlewick Forest. Ominous black birch trees extended toward the violet skyline, thorn apple weeds and hemlock grew in thick tumbling thorn bushes so dense that heading in any other direction would have been practically impossible. With no moon in the sky, there was little light to see by. The cobbled pathway that led through the forest was narrow and with Merl's huge moth wings beside me, it seemed even tighter.
The fairies' watched us from the bushes, just as Madge said they had all those years before. They were tittering and whispering in small voices that were undiscernible to my ears.
"Ruddy fairies." Merl whispered under his breath. He obviously didn't like the fairies any more than I did.
"Magic them then." I said a little childishly.
"I'm afraid my magic is not nearly as
potent in the fairy forest. Let us just get the ointment and be out of this abysmal place." He said. I nodded. I couldn't have agreed more, this forest was warm, damp and dark and I didn't like it one bit. Merl held out his arm, inviting me to go ahead of him. I started in the only direction I could go, straight ahead.
The cobbles were hard under my feet. Everything in the forest seemed so surreal I wondered how they were made and what they were made of. I would ask Merl, but not now. I walked along the path confidently at first, until I realised that the closer we got to the huge emerald willow tree that sat at the end, the closer the thorn apple trees got to our feet. Not that the path got wider, that would be an impossibility but with every step closer to the nest the branches begun to extend outward until they started to slam warning shots hard into the ground, very nearly catching us on the feet with the spiky little mace-like balls that sat on the end of them.
"Ruddy thorn apples" Merl muttered as one particularly long branch caught his robe, ripping it at the hem.
"I think they are trying to warn us, they want us to stop." No sooner had the words left my lips than a thick branch swung around at my lower ankle pulling me to a ground with a thump. I heard the bone in my little finger crunch under my weight as I put out my hand to stop the fall.
"Owww!" I shouted as the sting from the fractured bone reverberated around my hand. Merl pulled me back to my feet as the fairies in the trees around us erupted in animated laughter. As I got to my feet and dusted myself down once more with my opposing good hand, the same thorn apple branch came down again. This time I jumped out of the way just before it connected with my foot. The part of the path that was hit by the impossibly strong seedpod crumbled into particles of white dust that bellowed into the air blowing a cloud of white smoke into our faces.
"Hold your breath until the cloud has passed." Merl warned, before taking a deep gulp of air. I did as he said, instantly putting my good hand to my mouth and covering my nostrils. The rustling in the trees around us became frantic as the excitement of the fairies reached a higher state of agitation. It took only moments for the cloud to dissipate but by the time it had cleared, I was gasping for much needed oxygen.
"What was that?" I asked a little panicked at the same time as ducking out of the way of another seedpod.
"This path is cobbled with the bones of the dead, if you were to breathe it in, it would likely poison you where you stood. Run Violet, or we might not reach the nest alive!" Recognising the urgency in Merl's voice, I began to run down the cobbled path and toward the beehive-like fairy nest. I was followed closely by Merl, who was a little slower due to the backward drag on his wings.
"Ruddy wings!" I heard him bellow from behind in exasperation. The thorn apple bushes grew in both stature and violence the closer we got to the nest. The seedpods that were relatively small in the undergrowth we had already passed were now the size of bowling balls with razor sharp spikes. They came down with such substantial force that they broke the path in two wherever they landed. My heart raced and I was dizzy with adrenaline as Merl and I ducked and dived out of the way of the pods.
The chaos worsened as the fairies hidden in the black birch trees began to arise and swarm, like a cloud of angry wasps, above our heads. An ever-increasing amount of tiny humanoid fairies joined the swarm, appearing from all directions. Emerging from behind the ebony leaves of the birch trees and creeping from the dark tree roots like little demons, the more of them that joined the fray, the greater the buzz of their swarming. I bounded onward, nearly losing my footing once again which would have been disastrous given the size of the seedpods and the thickness of the clouds they were creating. We reached the nest as the high-pitched buzz came to an intolerable crescendo. I raised my hand to my head to cover my ears, the fractured bone of my little finger stung when I pressed it against my cheek but it was worth the pain to dim the noise.
Everything was happening so fast, I could do little more than watch as Merl pulled at the branch from which a giant silver-grey beehive hung like a teardrop. Running his bony fingers down the bumped edges, translucent goo came away and stuck fast to the tips. I turned to survey the damage that had been done to the path, an acute sense of dread bubbled from the pit of my stomach. There was no longer a path. It had been destroyed by the crashing seedpods. Left in our wake was a pile of crumbled bone fragments below a poisonous cloud of thick white dust. I stood on the spot stunned, hoping that Merl had some kind of plan but from his own surprised expression on viewing the damage to the path, I realised he didn't. A mixture of both disbelief and panic suddenly hit me. Merl always had a plan. If he didn't know how to get us out of this awful place then I certainly didn't.
We both locked eyes for a moment, looking at one another for some kind of direction. I felt a sharp pain, like a dagger cutting through my flimsy clothes and running down the supple flesh of my back. I pulled my hand away from my head to try and feel for the source of the pain. The din created by the fairies above invaded my mind making it harder to think. I felt another dagger-like pain, this time near my ankle and then another at the back of my neck. In a very short space of time, I had been hit so frequently that it was hard to tell which area of my body the blows were raining down on. I began to feel dizzy, so dizzy. My fingers hummed with the numbing sensation of 'pins and needles' and my knees bent with weakness. Suddenly, the weight of my head seemed too heavy as it sat on my neck. Lulling forward, I caught site of a crimson pool of blood around my feet. In a moment of utter helplessness, I dropped to my knees. Still the blows came, I imagined the spikes of a hundred arrowheads embedded into the skin of my body but the truth was it was the fairy swarm that were attacking me. Gazing up into Merl's face that contorted with both horror and pity, I could tell my situation was dire. No no no! It couldn't end, not here, not like this. There was too much left at stake, too many people who needed me and even more who needed Merl.
"Jestin." I begged but I was so weak the words stuck to my lips where they formed. I faded quickly and all was black.
I was back, back on the cliffs-edge with the incensed witch Agrona. Renewed like a phoenix raised from the ashes of her own funeral pyre, she fixed me with the same glare I had seen before, a glare of pure hatred that chilled me to my core. How had I gotten here? Was this some kind of terrible afterlife? My heart pumped its protest, attempting to force its way out of my ribcage. Then the witch did something that scared me more, she smiled. The smile was cold, it didn't touch her evil eyes but it was a smile nonetheless and it was terrifying.
"Dum dum dum dum." She whispered. The sounds tumbled from her upturned mouth like silk. "I hear your fear sweet?heart." The pause was as deliberate as it was menacing. She approached me, the fierce wind whipping her long curled hair into the air in a way that made it seem as though she was touched by fire once again. I stood frozen as by my own fear and curiosity as she grew close to me. She came so close I could see the porcelain smoothness of her skin. Over her shoulder, I saw the ashes of the fire twist and turn into a new form. The form of a large muscled being, a shadow of ashes that loomed over Agrona's shoulder menacingly. I wanted to run, to retreat down the cliffs edge but my body wouldn't respond to the command.
"I can hear the wet blood throbbing through the younglings heart. I can smell it, as sweet as berries and soft too. I could tear at it, so smooth against my fangs, beautiful, dripping wet blood." Agrona spoke in the rasping voice of the Barghest to the shadow being behind her. She reached out her hand toward my chest and pushed through the skin, pulling at my heart, tearing it out. I winced as the arteries that were trying to desperately to tug it back, grew too taught and snapped. I felt no pain, only the poison of her touch, the all-consuming darkness. The deepest shade of black and I wanted it to be over. As I fell to my knees, I witnessed the witch raise my heart to her mouth and bite into the muscle hard. Drops of blood spurted out filling her face with speckled spots of plasma and platelets. I felt my last breath drawing in. It was fire to my tired lungs. Lungs that were no
longer necessary. A tear formed in the corner of my eye falling from the cheek and racing my discarded heart to the floor. She had thrown it away. She had taken it from me just to throw it away!
"No. This is wrong, all wrong!" I heard her scream furiously before the light faded once more.
The room was dark, a cupboard I think. I tried to move but something cold and hard around my wrist stopped me. I was chained to the spot, manacled by my wrists and ankles, that wasn't the worst of my problems. I hurt, I hurt so badly I wanted to writhe around in agony, I wanted to scream but I couldn't. I was mute but I could feel every scratch, every little dagger mark as if salt had been rubbed into each wound. I couldn't comprehend why. I couldn't comprehend anything, nothing made sense anymore only the pain. When would this all end? All I want is for this to end. There is no more island, no more magic, no Merl, no Bettery, no Dahlia, no heir- just pain.
I hear a growl, a low growl. It is familiar, it is beautiful, and it is bliss. I feel his soft lips brush against the scratches. One by one, my open wounds close and the pain ebbs away. I want to tell him I'm sorry, that I'm coming to find him, that I love him. I cannot, no words will form in my mouth. Instead, I rub my fingers through his soft curled hair and he kisses away the wounds on my wrist in response.
"Jestin." I whisper as I open my eyes.