Chapter 84
Avalina happily cantered Mitternacht through the forest, heading for the ridge. The sun had not begun to rise yet, and she wanted to watch it from the ledge. It was always so beautiful.
As the ledge pointed west, she could not see the sunrise straight on, since the forest behind her was in the way, but she could see the aftermath.
Dismounting, she watched the sunrise in all its blazing glory, the sky slowly turning from dark blue to all shades of pink and red as the ball of fire in the sky steadily began to creep over the horizon, peeking through the trees.
Gazing out over the landscape, she couldn't help but worry. The Horned King had returned not long ago, and he had already been to Prydain once and warred against it for some time, before mysteriously disappearing.
And now he was back, and everyone was afraid. She was too. They all remembered the horrors his armies had rained upon the countrymen the first time. So many had died. . .
Something faint against the horizon caught Avalina's eye, and she strained against the dim lighting, trying to see. It had a pale, greenish color, and it seemed to be spreading.
Puzzled, she fished her spyglass out of her saddlebag and trained it on the spreading mass, wondering what it was. To the naked eye it looked like mist.
Narrowing her eye against the rising sun's glare at the corner of the glass, she could see the mist slipping through the cracks in the treetops so far away, before finally coming out over a bald hill, where she could see clearly.
It wasn't mist at all.
An army of skeletons, clad in armor, dragged across the landscape, carrying all manner of weapons. Their bones, mainly their chest cavities, glowed that deathly green.
They looked like Death.
Avalina gasped, dropping the spyglass.
'The Cauldron-Born!'
Leaping to the saddle, she galloped Mitternacht for home as fast as he could run.
'He's finally done it!' She thought in a panic.
'He's finally gotten the Black Cauldron!'
Avalina had no idea how he had amassed so many skeletons, but one thing was for sure.
He would be taking no prisoners.
She had to warn Prydain. She had to get her family out of harm's way.
The forest whisked by as she galloped home.
'Run, run run!'
Crashing out of the treeline, Mitternacht galloped right up to the farmhouse, Avalina leaping from the saddle before he'd even stopped.
"Momma!" She screamed, crashing into the house.
"We have to go Now!"
Dragging her mother outside, she told her in a rush, "The Horned King's finally done it, Momma! The Cauldron-Born are on their way here! We have to go!"
Her mother turned white.
"I'll pack some things. Fetch your brother, he's in the field waiting on you."
Galloping to the pasture, she saw her brother's irritated face.
"I've been waiting for you for half an hour," he grumbled, but as Avalina told him the news he paled.
Leaping up behind her, they headed back to the farmhouse, but suddenly, Mitternacht braked hard to a halt, throwing her brother off.
The horse leaped and shied as Avalina reached out a hand to help Arran back on.
"Mitternacht, steady!" Avalina cried, before looking up suddenly as the horse stilled for a moment.
Walking skeletons came lumbering out of the trees, heading straight for them.
Avalina's heart jumped in horror.
"Arran, hurry!" Avalina said, reaching out to him, "Get on!"
Arran shook his head, picking up a shovel that was leaning against a tree.
"No, Avalina. Go. Mitternacht can't outrun them with two passengers. Get Mother and get out of here."
"Arran, no!" Avalina cried in horror, realizing what he meant. "Get on, quick!"
"I'm sorry, sister."
With that, he threw a sharp stone at Mitternacht. It bit hard into his rump, earning a scream from him as he leapt forward in terror.
"Avalina, Run!"
"Arran, no!"
Finally pulling her fighting horse to a stop several dozen yards away, she turned back just in time to see her brother disappear beneath a swarm of skeletons. She heard the crunch. . .
"ARRAN!"
Avalina screamed in horror.
"NO!"
Skeletons turned in her direction, fingering their weapons hungrily.
Avalina turned her horse and ran, a crimson puddle spreading over the forest floor where her brother had disappeared.
Smoke filled the air as Avalina raced to the clearing. She had to get her mother. . .
Breaking through the treeline, she reined Mitternacht to a stop, her eyes widening in horror.
The farmhouse was on fire. So was the barn. Her mother lay in a pool of red by the farmhouse door, the Cauldron-Born stepping back as they finished the job.
Avalina could only stand there, completely frozen.
The Cauldron-Born turned on her.
Mitternacht shied away and galloped to the east as fast he could go, hammering down the forest trail.
Tears blurred Avalina's vision as she sobbed aloud, gripping her horse's mane tight.
Her family, gone. Just like that. And now they were after her.
She fancied she heard the skeletons clanking behind her, but she was crying too hard to look back.
Racing, racing. . .
Mitternacht skidded to a stop, rearing as he did so. Avalina was not prepared and was flung off mightily as he shied wildly to the right, screaming in terror.
She flew through the air and landed hard on her back on the ground, the impact driving the air from her lungs.
Stunned, she lay there for a moment, before slowly sitting up with a groan, looking dazedly around the clearing.
Avalina gasped in horror.
The Horned King stood in the clearing, not twenty feet from her.
And he was coming closer.
Her heart threatening to close off her airway, Avalina struggled to get up, but her legs wouldn't work right. . .she resorted to crawling backwards across the clearing, unable to take her eyes off the monster in front of her that was rapidly closing the distance between them.
She wanted to scream. She wanted to run. She wanted to be anywhere but here. She wanted Mitternacht.
Her back hit a tree as his aura swept into her lungs on her next breath, choking her.
Gagging, she pushed fruitlessly against the ground with her boots, trying to back up farther, but it was no good.
The Horned King reached toward her, his eyes alight with a black fire so terrible no words could describe it.
She saw Death in those eyes.
He grabbed her by the throat and pulled her to her feet, Avalina fighting to break his grip as he tightened it.
"So, this is the maiden that would have given me so much trouble," he purred sickeningly, staring right in her eyes, freezing her to the core.
"We can't have you running off to warn all of Prydain, now can we? It would ruin my grand victory, and conquests are so much more interesting if you do not know they are even coming. Don't you agree?"
Avalina choked in his grip, unable to move a single muscle, paralyzed by his glare as his aura began to suffocate her completely, drawn deeper into her lungs with every little gasping breath she managed.
She had heard it said many times that the eyes were the window to the soul. If that was true, then this creature, this monster in front of her, possessed one as cold and invisible as Death. It was then she realized exactly why everyone was so terrified of him. Why his name was only ever mentioned in whispers, even then so quietly it could barely be heard.
He possessed no heart. That meant he could do anything without a single drop of remorse or the tiniest second thought to hinder him.
An equine death scream echoed out of the trees to filter into the clearing.
Avalina would have screamed herself if she had been able, knowing what had happened.
'They got Mitternacht!'
The tears came harder, making seeing all but impossible.
She shook uncontrollably as the Horned King lightly ran his clawed fingers over her forehead, smoothing away her messy hair from her face.
"Perhaps you would like to see what happens when the Cauldron needs another body," he purred, running his claws slowly through her hair.
Avalina shuddered violently at the action. Black spots danced in front of her eyes as her lack of air began to take its toll. The Horned King's hold on her was the only thing preventing her from falling to the forest floor.
She tried to plead with him, beg him to stop, beg him for. . .something, but she couldn't even breathe. . .
He chuckled darkly, tightening his grip, the sound vibrating through her very soul. It was a sound of purest, blackest evil, and she heard his nearly delirious victory in it, lacing every tiny syllable.
"Ohhh, yess. Revenge. Is. *MINE.*"
His eyes flared blood red right as Avalina felt herself sink into blackness, the smell of Death the last thing she was aware of.
Avalina screamed and screamed, finally shaking herself awake with the noise.
Sitting violently up in bed, she realized she was choking and gasping on her own breath, tears pouring down her face.
The bed was shaking as badly as she was, and even after coming to, she kept screaming until she realized she was in her room and not trapped in her dreamworld any longer.
Feeling her throat tighten horribly, she leaped out of bed and barely made it to a bucket in the washroom in time as her stomach heaved violently.
She stayed on her hands and knees on the cold stone floor for what seemed like centuries, feeling ice cold one second and burning alive the next.
She continued to cry as her stomach kept heaving, even after there was nothing else for it to empty.
She sensed an Invisible in the room, before a cool washcloth was carefully placed on the back of her neck. She could almost hear it whisper something in sympathy.
When her stomach finally quit heaving and her sobbing reduced to hiccuping gasps, she felt them help her to her feet.
A bath was drawn in record timing, the Invisibles helping her out of her sweatsoaked nightgown. At any other time she would have been terribly embarrassed, but she was in so much pain at the moment she didn't care.
The warm water reduced her shivering, but did not stop it. The pain, however, was mostly washed away with the water.
When they helped her back into the clean sheets (That had been changed) she lay there shivering violently for hours, staring at the wall, not daring to sleep again.
A fresh wave of sobbing softly wrung itself from her as she huddled into the fetal position under the blankets, wishing with all her heart she could be somewhere she knew she was safe.
The Horned King had been walking aimlessly through the halls, not going anywhere in particular, simply walking, when he realized he was at Avalina's door, a moment before the most terrified screaming he had ever heard came through the wood and rang painfully against his eardrums.
Instantly, he snatched at the doorknob to go in, but an Invisible held him back.
"No, Sire!" It hissed, "You can't go in there!"
He yanked his arm away, but refrained from opening the door with bared fangs.
He heard her retching and gritted his fangs together tighter, hearing her choking sobs as well. The waves of terror coming from the other side of the door nearly pushed him backwards.
This continued for some time.
"What happened?" He snarled, his eyes flickering dangerously.
"Another nightmare, Sire."
"Another one?"
He bit back a growl. These mortals were pathetic! They couldn't even handle something as simple as a little scare.
"Not just any dream, Sire," the Invisible answered.
"One of us stayed to observe, and we're afraid it had no natural causes."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, Sire, Avalina seems to be receiving dreams from. . .a dark source. Namely. . .it seems that the Cauldron is doing it."
The Horned King's eyes widened.
"What?"
"Or at least, Arawn is. That's as close as we can determine."
The Horned King shuddered slightly at the mention of his old master, before clenching his fists in anger.
"How is this possible?" He snarled.
"We don't know. Possibly because her aura is so strong, it makes it easy for him to get where she can sense him, and he works into her dreams."
"Why is he doing this?" The lich hissed.
"We do not know. There may be many reasons. One we can guess at is that he is determined to take you back to the Cauldron by keeping Avalina afraid of you."
The Horned King's eyes flashed solid red, listening to her sobs behind the wood.
"He did this to her?"
"It seems that way."
The Horned King's voice was like stone.
"Can you prevent them?"
"Now that we know where they are coming from, I think so."
"You," the Horned King dredged out furiously, "Had better keep your word."
I have the one hour loop of Requiem For A Dream on Youtube to blame for this terrifying chapter. Music inspires you, man. XD I freaked myself out when I went back to proofread the thing. I wish I was joking. 0_0 I'm so awesome, sometimes I scare myself XD.