Hellboy: Fate & Famine

Ireland 1959

The hags weathered, old fingers traced the ancient grooves that decorated the stone hand in front of her. Hellboy rattled fingers of his left hand against the wooden table. "Come on lady, I've got places to be and things to do.", he said in his gruff voice. The old woman raised her head and looked at him with her piercing green eyes. She pulled her attention away from his right hand and folded her hands in front of her. "But where would you be going this time", she replied gesturing to the window with a quick glance at the window. Hellboy turned to look only to see a bright yellow orb nestled in the night sky. The shutters on the window quivered as a gust of wind weaved through the landscape, letting out a deep howl. "I really must be going", he said as he stood up. Hellboy made his way to the door but was stopped by the woman's crackling voice. "You must be cautious.", she muttered, "There's a storm brewing and you're in the middle of it." Without saying another word, he continued through the small wooden archway and into the howling cobblestone streets. As he closed the door behind him, he heard the hag call out, "Farewell Mr. Boy.". His cloven feet knocked against the street as he made his way to towards the hills.

Hellboy, had been dispatched to Ireland that morning to investigate cases of dying livestock and crops. He was invited to multiple farms that had reported their crops turning black and crumbling to ash overnight. On one of the properties he saw a trail of hooves burnt into the land. The owner of the farm had told Hellboy he saw the rider make his way towards the hills and into the depths of the night. Hellboy followed alongside a dirt road that weaved through the vast grassy plains. The wind pushed his coat back, revealing the pistol which given to him by The Torch of Liberty, an old friend of his surrogate father. A faint wail came from the distance. At first, he thought it was the wind, however this was proven false when a deafening series of booms followed. Just over the horizon, a bright crimson flash lit up the night sky followed by the crack of a whip. The sound was like thunder and not before long the source of noise was revealed. Just over the hill came a dark figure on horseback. The horseman was speeding towards the detective at an alarming rate and soon enough Hellboy was able to make out what he was seeing. The steed sported a dark red coat of hair which helped exaggerate its pale, white eyes and malnourished frame. Dangling from the horse's saddle was a murky metal bucket which bounced with his stride the horse made. The rider slapped the side of the horse with his gloved hand, causing the steed to pick up its pace. The rider had a similar, if not more, grim appearance than the animal it was on. The rider was wearing a pitch-black uniform with a black trailing his back. In one hand the figure held an elongated human spine which he flicked in the air causing a thunderous crack and burst of scarlet light from the end of the whip. Underneath the opposite arm was a severed head, its bright inflamed eyes darting back and forth. The head seemed to be rotting, with gaps in the flesh missing. A chunk of meat was peeling from the cheek, exposing the off-white bone inside. However, the most peculiar thing about this figure was that poking out of the popped collar of the uniform was a bloody stump. Before Hellboy could react, the phantom flicked its skeletal whip at him, causing the bones to wrap around his left bicep. Droplets of blood formed on his arm as the vertebrae of the whip dug into his skin. Hellboy fell a sharp tug and the whip tightened around his arm. He fell to the ground with a deep thud as his head hit a rock and everything went dark.

Hellboy awoke to hear a chorus of whispers. His eyes opened and began to adjust to his environment. He could see torches hanging from the earthen walls of the room, providing a flicking glow. Around him was a crowd of humanoid creatures looking down at him. Each one was covered in scales and wore a long and filthy fabric that wrapped around its body like a toga. The group parted and from behind them came a stout man with a red beard and a single fiery eye imbedded in its forehead. On top of his head was a glistening silver crown. The light from the torches reflected off of the headpiece and onto the walls, producing a dancing luminescent mirage on the walls of the cave. The man wore a fur pelt wrapped around his waist like a kilt. "Son of a- ", Hellboy muttered before being slapped by the cyclops. "Balor, King of the Fomorians, you royal bastard.", Hellboy said. "Hellboy, demon turncoat, it's a pleasure to meet you too.", Balor replied with a deep and boisterous Irish accent. Hellboy slowly rose, standing up straight. He was now face to face with Balor, meeting the kings gaze. "So why did you bring me to your…", Hellboy paused to look around at the dirt walls, "…humble abode." The king let out a booming laugh, and almost as if they were on cue, his subjugates let out a choir of cackles. The group ceased their laughter, allowing their master to speak, "I had to remove you from the equation." Balor gestured with his arm and almost immediately his subjects shuffled towards Hellboy, ceasing him.

The minions struggled to keep their grasp on Hellboy. He began to twist his torso back and forth and soon enough he managed to break free. Hellboy swung his right hand around the crowd, sending them flying backwards. His fist continued to swing his fist like a hammer, taking out the large number of creatures. Hellboy almost forgot about Balor until he felt the sharp thud on his back. Hellboy turned around the see the king wielding a club, with an angered looked emblazoned across his face. The king leaned back and let out a howl, a call for help. Within seconds, Hellboy could hear the crack of thunder growing loud and soon saw the white eyes of the horse pierce through the darkness. Hellboy planted his feet and readied himself. Just as the horse was about to crash into him, he lunged to his right avoiding impact and immediately turned to face his attacker.

The rider stepped down from the horse, whip in hand, and sprang towards Hellboy. He raised the whip and snapped it, letting out a disorienting burst of light. Hellboy stood in place, bewildered, and prepared to attack. He swung his right hand at the headless phantom and missed. The spectre dove to his steed and grabbed the bucked that hung from the saddle. The rider splashed the contents of the bucket onto Hellboy, causing a cascade of dark, crimson liquid to pour down Hellboy's face. The liquid was warm to the touch and gave a burning sensation as it streamed down Hellboy's face. The riders severed head let out a short and gurgled. Hellboy was filled with raged and yelled out, "OK THAT'S IT. YOU WANNA PLAY DIRTY NOW?!" He reached for his belt and felt around for his pistol, but to his surprise the holster was empty. "Shit…", Hellboy exclaimed before lunging out of the path of his attacker. The phantom was descending on Hellboy, all seemed lost. Then a grim screech pierced through the room and a murder of crows bustled through the air into the cave. The crows began flying straight into the earth, causing a dark mist to form and from the mist, a woman. The woman had fair, pale skin and was dressed in a thick cloak made from the shadowy feathers of a crow. Two parallel lines of black war paint streaked down her bald scalp and down her face, giving her the look of a dreadful, yet beautiful, warrior.

A silence fell upon the room as she looked around. The stillness was interrupted by Balor, who was clearly enraged. "Morrigan, you righteous witch!", he roared. Her eyes darted in his directed and she strode towards him. Now within feet of her opponent she raised her hands and brushed the cheek of the king. "Oh, you ignorant man", she whispered to Balor. Morrigan spun around and raised both arms towards the horseman. From the deep opening of her sleeves flew several crows that sped towards the figure. In the blink of an eye the birds collided with the rider, flying straight through and ripping a hole in its torso. Balor let out a loud gasp and had a stunned look on his face. "You bitch!", he screamed, "We had a treaty!". The woman slowly turned her head and replied to Balor, "That treaty was broken when you sent Dullahan there," pointing to the headless corpse that was now lying motionless on the ground, "out onto my land. He killed the crops, the land, the animals. You imbued him with famine and sent him out to destroy. I let you slide with your little stunt in '45 where you nearly ravaged this entire island, but I will not sit idly by and watch you kill my land and in turn, my people." She walked over to Hellboy and raised her finger to his horns, still dripping from the Dullahan's blood. Hellboy knew better than to attack Morrigan. Morrigan was the goddess of earth and sovereignty, but she was also the goddess of war. She scraped her nail across his horn, picking up a small pool of the blood. She strode towards Balor and wrapped a hand around his throat, pinning him to the wall. "Eye for an eye", she stated in a cold and demeaning voice. Balor struggled but was no match for the great queen clutch. She tapped her finger in the air, dripping the blood into the king's exposed eye. The goddess let go and walked backwards as the king fell to his knees and wailed. Morrigan held out her hand to Hellboy, "Here, let me take you home.", she said. Hellboy didn't think he could trust the savage queen; however, he didn't know how to navigate out of this cavern. He reached out and clicked her hand.

There was a flash of darkness and the deafening flutter of wings and then they were suddenly on the cobblestone streets again. The two walked down the streets before Hellboy spoke, "Thank for the assists. I had them though, I was just getting started." The woman chuckled softly and shook her head. "So, what was all that back there", Hellboy asked. "For a long time, I have had a long-lasting feud with Balor. We designed a treaty to protect both our people, however he has never been one for keeping promises. He imbued his rider, The Dullahan with famine and has been sending him on rides through the country killing everything in its path.", Morrigan responded. Hellboy was trying to act like he understood but just continued on with another question, "And the whole thing with the blood?" The goddess gave a frightening smile and responded, "as you may know, The Dullahan is a phantom rider. The soul of the fallen hero Cú Chulainn risen and cursed to ride until the end of time. The bucket he carried contained the tainted blood of the hound he had slain, the Hound of Ulster. If anyone who crosses his path comes into contact with it, they are cursed to go blind in one eye. Be that immediately or further down the road, they will inevitably lose their half their sight. In Balor's case, he will lose all of it.", she stated as she let out a little laugh. The wind wailed as the two walked down the moonlit streets and she turned to Hellboy. "I must leave you now. It has been a pleasure saving your life.", she said with a smile, "Farewell Mr. Boy." Her cloak of feathers began to turn into a cloud a mist and she was soon engulfed. From the mist came a flock of crows, as the soared into the wonderous depths of the Irish countryside. Hellboy looked up at the murder of crows and smirked. His cloven hooves tapped against the cobblestone street. From behind his came another set of footsteps. These steps were fast and in a hurry. "Sir!", a voice called out, "Sir! I need your help!" Hellboy let out a deep sigh and turned around to see a frantic man, clearly in a panic. "What might the problem be?", Hellboy inquired. "My daughter!", the man pleaded, "My daughter is missing, my dear Alice is gone! She has been stolen! Please sir, can you help us?"

To be continued in…

Hellboy: The Corpse