Aidan could barely sleep. Something still didn't feel right with the sanctuary. He kept having a dreadful feeling he was being watched. The cold winds flew through the hallways, like a dying man breathing his last breath. Brendan was asleep in the bed across from him; his apprentice had barely uttered a word since the attack at Kells. He kept shivering as he tossed and turned in his cot.
'Is he dreaming?' Aidan thought, as he observed his apprentice.
"Brendan?... Are you alright?" Aidan whispered.
"Uhhh... Ahhhhhh! Crom!" Brendan screamed as he woke up abruptly.
"Brendan!? What's wrong? Are you alright?!" Aidan gasped, as he rushed to his side.
Brendan was shaking, he had buried his face in his hands; he looked as if he had seen a ghost. He felt cold to the touch too, almost unnaturally cold.
"I-It was a bad dream." He panted heavily.
"What happened?" Aidan asked.
"We were being sacrificed to Crom Cruach; He wanted his eye back... But it slipped from my hands and broke! He got angry and tried to rip out mine instead!" Brendan shivered, before lifting his face from his hands.
Aidan gasped in horror as he caught sight of the streams of blood trickling from Brendan's eyes. His apprentice's eyes were wide open, as if he were afraid to close them again.
"My god Brendan!... W-what happened to your eyes?! They're bleeding!" Aidan said breathlessly.
Aidan couldn't stop starring at his apprentice's bloody eyes, he finally forced himself to look away when it became too unbearable to look at.
"I don't know. I woke up and this happened," Brendan shuttered, and tried fruitlessly to wipe the blood from his face.
Aidan regained his senses and helped clean off the rest of the blood with the edge of his cloak.
It broke his heart to see Brendan this way.
"Can you still see, lad?" Aidan asked with concern.
"My eyes still sting... But I can see fine now, I guess," Brendan mumbled, still rubbing one of his sore eyelids.
"Good…"
"…Brother?"
"Yes, Brendan?"
"...Can I rest with you tonight?... I don't want to be alone," he asked timidly.
Aidan smiled.
"Yes... of course you can, lad." He answered gently.
Aidan paused for a moment to clean his bloodstained fingertips with his cloak. Fearfully wondering who or what on earth injured had Brendan in such a way.
Pangur stepped aside and let Brendan settle into the straw bed with Aidan.
Brendan felt comfortable all nestled under the warm covers and straw, but he was still wide-awake.
"Is there something else troubling you, lad?" Aidan asked while raising an eyebrow.
"I just can't see how Riley could stand such a place as this. Doesn't feel right here," Brendan relied.
"Ah, so you feel it too, eh? Indeed, something doesn't seem right about this place. And I'm afraid the same goes for these brothers and your friend, Riley." Aidan whispered grimly in return.
"Hey! Riley might act odd at times, but he'd never do us any harm!" Brendan snapped.
Aidan looked puzzled, he never heard Brendan raise his voice at him before.
"Now easy, lad! I didn't mean anything like that! He just seems to be acting a bit strange since the last time we saw him, that's all." Aidan assured.
Brendan's frown faded.
"How long have you known him anyway?" Aidan asked, while petting Pagur ban.
"Heh, as long as I can remember. Riley and I have been friends since we were little. He was an orphan like me, but he was a troublemaker too. He was taken care of by the villagers, but he never had anyone to officially return to and would move from family to family," Brendan answered.
Aidan raised an eyebrow.
"He'd always stick around with the refugee's kids playing hurling. We first met when I took a slitter to the head. He'd go into the forest and bring me back things, like berries, hawk feathers, or animal fangs. He'd occasionally get me into some mischief too. But it came with a price."
"Let me guess, your uncle forbid you to see him?" Aidan said.
Brendan nodded.
"Uncle didn't approve of me being around him, he thought he was a bad influence on me and kept me off of my duties. But Riley would always find a way to seek me out somehow," Brendan continued.
"Hmp, that's beginning to sound familiar to what we went through," Aidan added with a smirk.
Brendan snickered, "Yeah, I guess you're right."
"Well, Riley seems like a good lad. I tried to talk to him once, since he hung around you, but for some reason he never wanted to talk to me, he would just give me the cold shoulder and leave," Aidan said.
Brendan sighed, "I suppose he was jealous."
"Jealous? Of what?" Aidan asked.
"Well... Of you and me spending time together. Riley and I got into a fight a few days after you came to Kells; he said some awful things about you, like you were stealing away our friendship. I tried to explain why we were doing this but he refused to listen. He never knew you or why we both were committed to finishing the book… Sometimes I think he just wanted things back to when it was just me and him," Brendan said with a melancholy of voice.
"I see... I didn't mean to come between you two, I-I didn't know. If only the abbot didn't forbid the refugee's to enter the scriptorium, then maybe we could have shown him the book and let him join us, that way no one would have to be alone," Aidan replied.
"That would have been nice... I think he would have liked it," Brendan murmured.
'Then why does he suddenly like this place?... Then again, there's nothing left at Kells now, is there...' He thought.
Suddenly they heard something large slithering down the hallway.
"What is that?" Brendan whispered.
"I don't know... Get down!" Aidan gasped, before pressing Brendan down as pale blue light illuminated their cell through the narrow window.
They could hear a deep hissing sound growing louder as it got closer.
Pangur began to puff up her fur and growled. Aidan's grip grew tighter around Brendan as the figure stopped outside of their cell.
'Is it going to just stay there?' Brendan thought fearfully, as he began to break out in a cold sweat.
Cautiously he peeked over Aidan's shoulder and stared into the window.
A large creature with night blue scales was growling and sensing around for life. Brendan finally caught the sight of an empty rotting eye socket that blindly stared back at him.
Brendan quickly got down to get out of sight.
'I-it can't be! Is it Crom?... No it can't be! I saw him devour himself! It can't be!'
He saw a burst light glowing from the leather satchel; could it have been the eye?
The air became thick and heavy; it grew harder to breathe as if they were both inhaling smoke.
The creature deeply hissed at the rays of light. Its teeth glinted like bloody Viking swords as it readied itself to strike the wall down.
Suddenly a loud bang echoed through the corridor and the figure made a bloodcurdling shriek and charged in the direction of the noise.
Brendan and Aidan's ears were still ringing from the sound, but they both sighed in relief to find that the creature had moved on.
Pangur leapt down and curled up on the blankets, yet she still didn't let her guard down.
"I... I think it's gone," Brendan whispered hesitantly.
"I think it's best that we leave at sunrise, Brendan. This place isn't safe, especially with this… "Thing" stalking us in the shadows. And with the Vikings' on the move, we'd better not waste time." Aidan responded back, growing a tad paranoid about the encroaching danger.
"I agree." Brendan repled, looking a bit uncertain.
"We could still try to see if Riley would want to come along, though… After all he means so much to you." Aidan added.
"I don't know, Aidan... I have a bad feeling that the Riley I knew has changed. He barley recognized me as a friend when we set foot in the sanctuary… I'm not sure he'll want to join us," Brendan replied doubtfully. "But nevertheless I won't turn my back on a friend! " Brendan replied.
Aidan nodded.
"Then we must try and get some rest, lad, you'll need your strength for tomorrow," Aidan smiled and ruffled Brendan's hair.
"Good night, Brendan."
"...Good night, Brother Aidan."
Regardless of what he said earlier, the young apprentice still couldn't sleep, he felt too restless to relax. Not to mention paranoid about whether that that creature would return.
Brendan could hear his master lightly snore, but it didn't bother him, in fact he preferred listening to that than hearing that dreadful screech from… Whatever that was.
Brendan shivered as he felt the cold chill coming from the small window.
Aidan cracked one of his eyes open, he slipped his arm around his apprentice and held him close.
Brendan blushed and peeked over his shoulder; Aidan merely winked at him and went back to sleep.
The young apprentice quietly giggled and closed his eyes to finally rest.
It felt warmer with Aidan's company, and Brendan was thankful for that... He was practically the only family he had left.
At the same time, Riley didn't escape his mind either. His thoughts began to intertwine with his dreams as his consciousness began to wonder in the darkness.
'I hope you haven't gone down a path where I can't find you... Riley."