Day 13 of Midwinter, Nightfall

Fortress of the Blind, Brú na Dallta

Annwn

The second my eyes closed, I felt like I was falling into the night sky. I saw stars above and below me. I knew I wasn't seeing the actual sky, though, because this sky was too perfectly black to be anything natural.

I floated in the artificial darkness for a time, feeling surprisingly at peace. It had been several days since I had actually slept, since the night on the Slí Draíochta with The Morrigan. I became aware that the stars around me were flickering gently, which added to my sense of relaxation.

As the flickering continued, I got the strange feeling I was being watched. I began to hear a low harmonic humming, quiet as the buzzing thrum of hummingbird wings. But the sound grew louder and louder. The flickering of the stars brightened as the volume of the humming increased. I soon noticed irises and pupils in the stars and realized that they weren’t stars after all...the points of light filling the sky around me were eyes.

Within the humming, I could pick out the sound of multiple voices chanting. I recognized the tone and pattern of the music hum. It felt familiar to me, and I welcomed it almost against my will. It told me it was okay to be tired and that they had come to help ease my weariness.

The brightening eyeballs expanded into full faces, and I began to feel a tug within the universe I floated in. The faces blurred as the universe skewed around me. They commanded me to join their song. At the same time, I felt gravity pulling me out of the galactic hole. The voices became increasingly urgent, making me want to join their song, even for just a note.

I felt my mouth open as my vocal cords warmed to the idea of creating an imperfect harmony with the voices, but as I watched, the stretching and pulling molded the faces into something deformed and grotesque. I suddenly saw them for what they were and my head swam as the sensation of rising made me nauseous.

A familiar voice came from far away. I felt a sudden physical pressure resonating down my arm. Another sharp tug and my eyes flicked open. My arm was being yanked up and down violently. I could hear Tadg’s panicked voice yelling out, “Wake up Bren!”

The tension on my arm suddenly disappeared, causing my arm to fall. A severed section of bed sheets followed. A clawed hand reached through the cell door to palm my face. My newly crafted sword was already in my left hand and I brought it up to strike at the arm of the monster, slicing it rapidly through the air. There was a warm, wet splash across the back of my head and neck as the clawed hand went limp.

Turning, I could see the Bodach in the hallway. There were more than I could count in the split second I needed to act. But I already knew what I was going to do. I had rehearsed this in my mind multiple times before going to sleep. I charged the door with all my new strength, shattering the metal structure from the frame.

Broken sections of stone and rent metal flew past me as I continued my brute force push across the hall and through the opposite window. Two Bodach that happened to be pinned between the door and the window went shooting out into the night. I found myself standing in the middle of a crowd of the Boogeymen. Some stood in front of Tadg’s cell, while others seemed to be awaiting their turn to get at me.

I didn’t wait for them to act. My hands extended toward the creatures on either side, as I released a powerful energy blast that would have made any X-Man proud.

In retrospect, I should have put less power behind the blast. I fell to my knees, having channeled too much energy through my body. I looked up, my vision spinning, to see the bloodied mash and broken bones that now painted what remained of the prison walls. In several spots, the building had collapsed in on itself and the window of the cell block had shattered up and down the hallway.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

As Tadg’s cell door collapsed inward, I could hear him extricating himself from the rubble. Beyond us, from the town and harbor, I heard the screams of soldiers as they awoke to teeth and claws of creatures from their worst nightmares. The musical hum remained in the background of my mind, and I prayed it wouldn’t get as loud as it had the night I had faced the first of the Bodach.

I took a second to pull enough ambient energy from the environment to steady myself. I was careful not to pull from Tadg, but I found I had to reach farther out into the world to replenish my stock than I ever had in the past.

Tadg paused in what remained of his doorway, gazing first at the bloody, destroyed hallway, then at me, still sitting on the sticky floor. He stepped closer, extending a hand to me. “I’ve never seen anything like that before.” His voice was quiet, with a slight tremor in it.

“And it’s all-natural, baby,” I joked, rising. “Do you have your sword?” I stumbled a bit as I stood, my head slowly clearing.

“It’s right here. Are you okay?”

“I just overdid it a bit.”

“Come on. I know the way out of here.” He stopped and turned to me. “If we encounter any changelings along the way, we WILL stop to help them fight those monsters.”

At my nod, Tadg turned and ran, seeming to know without asking that I would follow. I had no idea how many Bodach had come to Brú na Dallta, but based on the commotion, it was a lot. From the sounds of it, the entire complex was awake and had taken to arms. The night air was filled with the sound of clashing swords and the screams of dying men. If ever there was a real-life haunted house, it would have been the Fortress of the Blind at that moment.

Tadg led me down a flight of stairs and into a wide corridor. From where we stood, I could see the hallway we had been paraded down the night before. Tadg hesitated.

“What is it?” I asked.

“Father is this way.” He pointed in a direction that would take us deeper into the building. “The exit is that way.” He pointed in the opposite direction.

“You think your father needs a bodyguard?” I raised my eyebrows. “Everyone here wants to kill us. Your dad only has to worry about the damned nightmare monkeys.”

As if on cue, a door burst open and a small group of soldiers appeared in the doorway, their backs to us as they fought whatever was on the other side of the door. Tadg and I rushed to assist, taking up flanking positions. Four unarmored men armed with swords and daggers backed through the door. Bodach began to pour into the room after them. I counted three in the seconds before Tadg and I began hacking at them. I didn’t dare use any more of my Control Energy boon after nearly passing out upstairs.

One of the Bodach lunged to attack me, while a second moved toward Tadg. The third surged at the retreating soldiers. Though the blades I had crafted were crude and unwieldy, they were more than up to the task, slicing cleanly through the monster. He slumped to the ground, cut nearly in two at belt level.

I turned to find Tadg holding his own against the second Bodach. It looked like so far he had managed to avoid any of the dangerous claws. I readied a sneak attack, and when the opportunity presented itself, I rammed my “sharp pole” through the monster's spine. Tadg sliced with his sword, decapitating the beast and splattering me with gore.

“My mouth was open!” I said, as I gagged and tried to spit the blood out.

We turned to find only a single soldier left standing. The body of the third Bodach lay before him, surrounded by the bodies of the soldier's companions.

The man appeared to be in shock. His eyes flicked rapidly between us and the bloody, shredded bodies of his fellow soldiers. His trembling hand held his sword high.

“Listen to me,” Tadg said, his voice soothing. “We are not your enemy…”

Before Tadg could finish, the man charged Tadg. I didn't hesitate. I brained him with the butt end of my sword before he could reach the other man. He collapsed at Tadg’s feet. Tadg scowled at me.

“What’s the plan, oh captain, my captain?” I put the tip of my sword to the ground and leaned on it in my best attempt at a tough guy pose.

“Goodbye, Bren,” Tadg said. He looked like he wanted to say more, but didn’t.

I nodded. I had wondered how long he would stay with me. “Until next time?” I asked.

“We are even now," Tadg said, his words clipped.

“WE are,” I agreed. “But there are still many things to put right.”

Tadg looked away. “The war is just beginning, Bren. The scales will be unbalanced for a long while.”

“Will you balance them?” I asked. Tadg merely frowned at my words before turning to run further into the building.

I headed for the entrance. The screams had lessened, and I made it to the front set of double doors just as the rising sun began to lighten the sky. I couldn’t remember if the Bodach could operate in daylight, but it didn't matter if they disappeared now. The Bodach's part in my master plan was complete, and now it was time for phase three.

A bell rang out in the city. At the sound, men and women in various states of preparedness came out to the streets. Some were bloody or visibly rattled from the recent battle. Some wore armor, but nowhere near all. All stared at the harbor, toward the source of the ringing. My eyes followed their gaze to the horizon. In the distance, I saw the Fomorian fleet advancing in attack formation.