Day 5 of Midwinter, Sunset

Lough Dearg, Emain Ablach

Annwn

If the entrance to the cave she had created was any indication, the creature was Loch Ness-sized. Perfect.

We crept down to the lake. The rainfall created eerie ripples throughout the surface of the otherwise placid waters. There, in a rocky outcropping, I could see a T-shaped cave. The main tunnel of the cave disappeared into the earth, while the arms of the T-shape appeared to be entrances to access either side of the lake.

The rock surrounding the cave had odd patterns. When I was back on Earth, I used to stare at my bedroom ceiling on the nights I couldn’t sleep. I would find patterns in the ceiling’s rough coat of plaster, imagining all manner of things. My mind was doing the same now with the rocks of the cave. The recesses of each crack seemed to hold giant mouths of teeth and sinister eyes.

Now that I was closer, I could see the water itself wasn’t blood at all. It was what we called a Red Tide back on Ériu. The water temperature must have increased, allowing for the red algae bloom. The corpses of fish and frogs littered the shoreline, the smell of their decomposing bodies filling the air.

“Well, this is horrible,” I said, pinching my nose at the stench.

“You were expecting a day at the park?” Roo peered at the red water in front of us. “I called her a demon wyrm. Did that sound like a pleasant creature to you?”

I shook my head. “Did the oilliphéist cause the red algae or did the algae attract the oilliphéist?”

“Do I look like a bloody cryptoveterinarian?”

“Is that really a thing?”

“Yeah, okay. I made that up. Just wanted to see if you would fall for it.”

We cautiously made our way around the edge of the water. Ruadan was very careful not to step in the water, so I too, avoided it.

“From here on out, there is no talking.” His face was serious. I nodded.

We turned into the mouth of the cave. The trench the wyrm had dug was lower than the actual lake itself, so there appeared to be an entire river’s worth of water below our feet. To avoid touching the water, we had to boulder along the walls, a task made harder the further we went due to the increasingly limited light.

Ruadan pointed at the dark water below, gesturing with two fingers to his eyes to indicate we should watch for disturbances. We had managed a mostly silent journey so far, but as I watched, his foot jostled a loose rock, sending it tumbling into the water with a loud splash.

We froze, clinging to the walls. After a few agonizing seconds ticked by, we heard an ominous rumbling from the depths of the tunnel. It was pitch black down that far, making it impossible to see if something was approaching.

Ruadan gestured at the large cracks in the side of the walls, before attempting to push himself inside one. As I looked around for a crack big enough to fit my body, I felt the water from below splash up onto my feet. I watched as a single wave pushed through the tunnel as if something large had done a cannonball somewhere close.

I frantically tried to force myself into a small crack, but quickly realized only half my body would fit. The water beneath me surged again, then calmed, the water level brushing up to the very tip of my shoes. I froze, my ears straining for any sound other than the thundering of my heart trying to escape my chest. I could hear nothing in the darkness, see close to nothing—but I knew the wyrm would likely be able to hear and see me, and there was nothing I could do about it.

Or was there? I suddenly had an idea. I floated the Stone of Destiny from my pocket, moving it to be centered on my feet. I willed the Stone to get as thin and tall as possible, and before long I had molded a makeshift rocky structure that was shielding me from view. Hopefully, I hadn’t done it too late.

I felt the pressure in the space change and watched as the water level receded at my feet. I chanced a glance from behind my rocky shield. It was still very difficult to see, but my eyes were adjusting. I reached over to tap Ruadan, but found only a rocky hole where he’d been. He was gone.

My heart pounded even harder. Where was he? Had he left me? What should I do now? I felt a hundred questions race through my mind at once, but I needed to act. The beast had just passed by, perhaps to check the entrance of the cave. The only option I had was to go deeper into the cave and hope there was a dry place to hide.

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I edged along the wall as quickly as I could, and finally came to a raised area of dirt. A clearing! Just as I was about to chance a quick use of my Control Energy boon in order to light up the area with some of my blue light, the serpent let out a disturbing screech from the mouth of the cave. The noise echoed back into its lair, turning my legs into wet noodles.

I knew the creature would be coming back soon. I needed to formulate a plan of attack OR a plan of escape. I looked around to try to see if I saw sunlight. Even the smallest bit of light could mean an escape ahead. Nothing. I felt around on the ground. My hands moved over something that felt like bones. Were any big enough to pull a Luke Skywalker in the rancor’s mouth trick? It didn’t feel like it.

Too late. I felt the pressure change again inside the cavern and a wave of water splash across my feet and legs. The monster had come back to its lair. It was in the room with me and must be able to see in the dark. In that case, there was only one thing left I could do. I activated Control Energy and lit up the cavern.

There are moments in your life that people never forget. Birthdays. Graduations. Weddings. But seeing your own reflection in the dead eyes of an oilliphéist may outweigh them all. I will never forget lighting up the lair of Caoránach and seeing her massive form stretching before me in the dim blue light of my boon.

She was as long as two school buses, with a head the size of a mini Cooper. She was a true serpent, as she had no arms or legs, though her scales looked more like those of an alligator or crocodile. What she lacked in appendages she made up for with a prehensile tongue from between rows of jagged teeth and and a massive tail that split suddenly to resemble a battle-axe with a stinger in the middle.

I slowly backed away from her as she traced my movements, coming forward. I knew I had only seconds before she would attack, so I switched to offensive mode.

The energy that had been building in my hands to illuminate the space shot forth and slammed into the oilliphéist at full power. She screeched again, disappearing back into the water. That had been a great shot! I lit my hands again and looked around, ready for a second attempt.

But where was the beast? The water had gone placid again, the water level sinking down. I felt a slight shift beneath my feet, and dived to the side as the sand and dirt beneath my feet exploded. Caoránach erupted from where I had just been standing. I rolled and came to a ready position, bringing out the Stone.

The serpent came to rest before me and hissed. An internal light emanated from inside her mouth and the two oozing wounds in her chest from my earlier blast radiated light. And was it warmer in here?

I sent the Stone flying forward. It struck the serpent in the nose at half of its large size. Black blood sprayed as I recalled the Stone. I was about to blast the creature again, when something smashed into my side. I felt my ribs crack as I was sent slamming into the wall of the cave.

Caoránach began to come for me then. She didn’t hurry. There was no need. I could barely catch my breath, let alone get to my feet. My meshmail had saved me from being cut in half, but the sheer impact of whatever had hit me felt like it had turned my insides into pulp. I coughed, seeing blood splatter out of my mouth.

My whole right side hurt too much to even raise my arm, but I managed to fire off another energy blast with my working left hand. The blast made a third hole in the beast’s chest and the cavern grew even hotter. The light pouring out of the creature’s wounds lit up the cavern. I struggled, trying to stand, but collapsed again in pain.

Caoránach raised its tail. I could see the stinger now. It was monstrous, the size of a safety cone. That was going to hurt. I watched as the stinger drew back before darting forward at my prone body. I managed to bring the Stone up to blunt the attack. It saved me from being impaled by the stinger, but not from the force of the attack. The pressure of the stone on my shattered ribs was agony.

“Hey,” whispered a voice from somewhere above me. “See if you can get her to come forward a little more.”

“Roo?” I coughed, more blood dribbling out of my mouth.

“Who the hell else would it be? Get her to come forward.”

“Like TOWARD me?” I gasped from beneath the weight of the Stone and the massive stinger pressing into it. But then I saw it… a golden thread of rope laying in the mud just in front of me. I saw the rope stretch across the beach and up the side of the wall. Ruadan had formed some sort of massive snare, like a much larger version of something Les Stroud would make if he were trying to trap a rabbit. Let’s hope it worked on giant lake demon-serpents.

I used all my mental might to push the stone away from me and staggered to my feet. It was excruciating. I felt the right side of my body sag under my own weight. I took a deep breath.

“Come and get me, you prehistoric turd!” I backed myself up against the wall of the cavern as I shouted. This was it… if whatever Ruadan had planned didn’t work, there would be no escape for me.

Caoránach came closer, looming over me and peering down menacingly. She was so close now that the light and heat from her wounds burned my skin. What sort of infernal innards did this thing have?

Suddenly the golden rope went tight and contracted around her body. There was a sickening ripping sound and the beast wailed as her body was torn in two.

Her head smashed into the ground in front of me, spasming in pain. I had no idea if a division like this would kill the serpent or if it would regrow like some sort of Greek hydra, but I didn’t waste any time finding out. I used my left hand to awkwardly draw the dagger, willing it to transmogrify into the largest sword I could carry with one working hand. Then I dove onto the creature’s head and used my body weight to drive the blade downward with all my might. Searing pain erupted in my right side, and I fell back from the still thrashing serpent. I activated the stone in front of me, and using the last of my energy, hammered it onto the handle of the sword, like I was telekinetically hammering a nail, until the beast went limp.