Ballyclonmor, Meath, Ireland

The town was quiet. It was late, most were in their homes, doing what they could to try to sleep. But sleep was often hard to obtain as of late. Something was happening to their small town, death seemed to linger over them and the feeling of dread couldn't be shaken.

Six deaths in two weeks.

All at the hands of the evil that plagued their town. The Banshee's wails still rang in their ears, someone was going to die tonight. And the sad thing was, everyone in the town was starting to get used to her keens. He was told to wait and watch for it, up in his wood tower, to warn everyone when it came. Maybe the one whose time was coming could be saved.

What use is that? It's been tried before, why should it be different this time?

Suddenly he felt a hand grab his shoulder. He jumped up to his feet and whirled around, awkwardly holding the blunt sword in his hand, pointing it at whoever was there.

"Careful Liam! It's only me, no need to go swing that thing around." said the stunned man in front of him.

"Connor, what are you doin' out here? Shouldn't you be inside like everyone else?" Liam leaned the sword back up against the wall of the tower, still shaking from his friend's unexpected arrival.

"Nah, I couldn't sleep. But who can? Figured you'd like a bit of company. Better to have two sets of eyes lookin' out rather than one." Connor offered him a wide smile. Somehow, that smile always made him feel better.

"Well, I can't argue with that." He said, doing his best to sound cheery. "Now, if only we had a bit of ale to calm me nerve, things would be even better." They laughed a quiet laugh. Turning from each other, they looked out over the land. Rolling green plains as far as the eye can see, only cut through by the river Boyne and the edge of forest in the far distance. The air was cold, a chill that went straight to the bones. The two men were shivering, making it hard to concentrate on their task.

"I would settle for a small fire." Connor said through his chattering teeth. Liam was ignoring him, something had caught his eye. Far in the distance, on the peak of a hill near the edge of the forest he saw a shadow. He squinted and leaned out a bit over the wall to try and get a better look. Connor noticed the look on his friend's face and looked in the direction Liam was looking. "What do you see?" he whispered.

Liam said nothing for the moment, then he pointed in the direction he had seen it. "There. A shadow, somethin' is movin'."

"Are you sure? Is it him?"

"I don't know." Liam said, slightly annoyed that he couldn't clearly see it.

"I could just be an animal, a sheep or somthin'."

Liam shook his head, "No, it's too tall to be a sheep, defiantly a man. Maybe we should sound…" Liam and Connor turned quickly to the other side of the tower where they heard the sound of horse crying out in the distance. There they saw the horseman and his steed on the road that lead to the river. Darkness seemed to surround it, its yellow eyes the only thing that was bright. It was rearing on its hind legs as it announced its presence. On its back, an odd looking man. They couldn't see what was wrong with him, he too was shrouded in darkness. And he seemed to be carrying a lamp in his hand. The horseman turned in the direction of the village and to charge at them.

Liam's mind started searching for where he had seen this man before. It gnawed at him, he could feel the name ebbing its way to his conscious memory. Then it hit him.

"DULLAHAN!" Liam cried as he rang the bell above him. Lights went up throughout the town as everyone woke up. The men ran out of their homes carrying whatever they felt could defend them.

"Are you sure that's what it is? I didn't think he came to these parts." Connor yelled as he and Liam climbed down from the tower.

"I'm sure of it. What else could it be?" Connor had no answer. When Connor reached the bottom, he grabbed a very sharp staff leaning against the tower. He ran to join the rest of the men gathering in the center of the town. There was a feeling of hopelessness among them, knowing that no matter what they tried to do, someone was going to die. Liam made his way next to his friend.

"The tales say there's only one thing that can stop a Dullahan…" Connor started to say.

"…And we don't have much of that around here." Liam interrupted. Connor reached for the cross that hung around his neck under his shirt and pulled it out, saying a quick prayer. There was silence all around them, and no sign of the Dullahan.

"Where is it?" someone whispered. The only thing that Connor could hear was his heartbeat.

The faint sound of a horse running was heard and quickly grew louder as the Dullahan rode closer. Each of the men prepaired themselves for the attack in their own way, unsure as to what to expect.

"Here he comes!" one of the men shouted.

The Dullahan came full speed towards the group and plowed right through the middle of them. Some men fled, some froze in fear, some tried to fight him off but they were knocked off to the side. The men were scattered around, either of their own will or the Dullahan's. The Dullahan turned and was charging towards Connor and Liam. They stood their ground, Connor pointing his staff and Liam holding his sword. Liam let out a battle cry and ran towards the Dullahan.

"Liam! NO!" Connor yelled, trying to reach for his friend.

Liam ignored him and swung his sword around. When he met the Dullahan, he was knocked off to the side. The Dullahan continued to charge towards Connor. He was frozen with fear, his mind kept telling him to run, move, jump, anything to get out of the way. The Dullahan was almost on top of him when it unexpectedly stopped, his horse rearing up. The Dullahan seemed to fear Connor. Connor stepped back, surprised at the turn of events. He couldn't help but look at the head that it carried in its hand. It glowed yellow like a lantern. This was the Dullahan's severed head.

Out of nowhere, Liam attacked the Dullahan. The Dullahan easily knocked Liam back. Using a rope, the Dullahan lassoed Liam's foot. With a quick kick, the Dullahan rode off, dragging Liam behind him. Connor watched in horror as his friend was being dragged off, dragged to his death, his cries for help quickly fading away.

Connor could do nothing but cry out in anger as the rest of the townspeople gathered. He turned around, looking at everyone else. His eyes caught a young woman's and they just stared at each other. She quickly looked away from him and made her way through the crowd away from Connor.

Liam was dragged for miles towards the forest. He cried in pain as the skin on his back was being torn at by the rough terrain. When they finally stopped, Liam could do nothing but curl up in a fetal position he was in so much pain. The Dullahan circled around him, seeming to analyze what he had caught.

"Good work, this one is perfect." The voice that Liam heard carried death on it. He could feel his heart stop, he had never heard something so evil in his life. A dark figure approached him, shrouded in a long dark cloak. He could tell it was a man, a very thin man with long limbs. Liam couldn't see his face, it was just empty. The man looked at the Dullahan and gave him a quick nod. The Dullahan turned its head towards Liam and they locked eyes. Liam could see the Dullahan's mouth move, saying his name. At that moment, Liam felt like he was being ripped out of body from the inside out. He could do nothing but scream.