Episode 7: Part 1
The school bell sounded and students filed out of their classrooms of the science building to enjoy the end of their morning classes. As they walked down the bustling hallways from their Biology class, Connor Walsh and Noelle Moreau discussed the quiz they had just taken.
"Geez… we studied really hard for that quiz but I'm not sure I even did that great," Noelle sighed as she pulled out her trademark orange wool hat and prepared to walk back out into the cold air. "How do you think you did?"
"Probably not much better," Connor admitted glumly before his phone buzzed and he stopped to check the message.
The two halted and Noelle watched as a warm smile lit up Connor's face before he tucked his phone away. "Good news?"
"Oh… sorry about that," he replied as he buttoned up his peacoat and they walked outside, "It was my mom. She said that my cousin will be coming in to visit for Thanksgiving in a couple weeks. He's a Navy officer stationed out in Hawaii. He and I don't get to see each other very often, but we're still really close and I love hanging out with him."
"That sounds like a nice little holiday treat for your family then," Noelle said brightly as they crossed the quad and headed toward the Student Union for lunch.
The Summer Knight nodded again with a little laugh, "That's not even the best part. He'll be bringing his fiancée along too. I guess while he was stationed out there, he met some local Hawaiian girl and fell head over heels for her. I'm sure we'll all have some fun teasing him about it."
"Aww, now that sounds really romantic," Noelle sighed dreamily before the two heard their names being called. They turned in surprise to see their friend Eliza McConnel standing in front of the bulletin board posting signs just outside the entrance of the Union.
Hey! Connor! Noelle! I'm glad I spotted you," Eliza grinned as she hurried over and handed them some colorful fliers, "There's going to be a big student music concert coming up in a few days. You should totally come by and invite your other friends too!"
Connor studied the flier and raised an eyebrow, "Sure… looks like this thing is going to be a mini benefit concert?"
Eliza nodded slowly, "Yeah… Adam Duerte, one of the seniors in the music program just fell ill and is in the hospital. Everyone loves him and was really looking forward to some of his new material that he was coming out with. Just recently, he was working feverishly on composing a bunch of new songs and was hoping to get recognized by some talent scouts that were going to be in town."
"Is that what made him sick? Working too hard?" Noelle asked curiously.
Eliza simply shrugged, "Hard to say. It was so strange and sudden. He just keeled over and fell into a coma for a few days."
"Geez. I hope something isn't going around campus," Connor muttered, "If it's a virus, that sounds pretty dangerous."
Eliza sighed then gave a hopeful look, "Well as awful as it was, I still hope you guys can come. We'll have a whole bunch of local talent playing to show our support for him."
Connor smiled and nodded toward his friend, "Yeah, sounds good Eliza. We'll be there. In the mean time, you want to join us for lunch? We were just heading inside."
As the three walked inside the Union, the newly elevated Fomorian general Leanansidhe walked the grounds of Somerset Valley University and approached the Union. By now, she had changed her clothes and appearance so that she could blend in with the other Somerset students and get a sense of what she was up against. As she ambled by, she caught sight of Eliza's fliers on the bulletin board and gave a curious smile. While her first priority was still finding the knights and drawing them out, she suddenly had a clever idea to do that while giving herself a power boost. She took the flier off the board and tucked it away into her coat with a devilish smile. For now, she would just have to be a little more patient.
Later that week, the four knights sat together in the seats of one of the school's small auditorium theaters used for plays and small recitals. The event looked to be well attended and organized as a good sized crowd of students enjoyed performances from various student musicians. All sorts of genres and styles of music were being performed with a focus more on country and folk music which Adam Duarte had been known to perform.
While they sat enjoying the show and listening to Eliza do a set of Irish tunes on her guitar, Quinton gave Connor a little nudge in the side, "Hey man, I'm surprised you didn't decide to sign up and perform. The girls and I thought you were pretty good on your fiddle when you played for us at O'Doyles."
The Summer Knight shrugged, "I probably would have, but Eliza has this bad habit of springing these things on me last minute so that I have no time to prepare."
As Eliza finished her set and left the stage amid cheering and applause, she was met by a beautiful young red headed female student carrying a small gold colored lyre. The disguised Leanansidhe hurried up with a hopeful look on her face and greeted Eliza.
"Uh, excuse me miss. I know you're one of the event organizers and I was hoping I could perform too. I'm really sorry I'm late and I didn't get a chance to register. Adam is a friend of mine too and I wanted to do something for him."
Eliza gave a kind hearted smile and shrugged, "Yeah sure. Why not? Another musician couldn't hurt. You can go next, uh…"
"Leanne," the young fey woman smiled brightly as she shook Eliza's hand, "And thank you! I intend to floor the audience with my music tonight."
As Leanansidhe walked up on stage and took a seat with her lyre, the audience began to quiet down as they all turned to look at the mysterious new performer. None of the other music students recognized her and wondered if she was a new freshman or maybe a local girl. From where they sat in the audience, both Quinton and Connor were captivated by the red headed girl in the green dress on stage.
"I… it can't be…" Connor stammered in complete shock. "She's…"
"I know what you mean," Quinton said dreamily, "She's beautiful, isn't she?"
Laura and Noelle both rolled their eyes before Connor shook his head, "No, it's not that… I think I know her... when we were young and…"
He was cut off as Leanne gave an angelic smile and introduced herself. As she began to strum the little harp, she started to sing a song in the old Gaelic tongue. The song was lovely but tinged with a sense of longing and melancholic sadness. Each note of the melody blended and harmonized with her honeyed voice drawing the rapt attention of all the people in the room.
"Oh my God…" Laura said in a hushed whisper, "This is the most beautiful song I've ever heard."
Both Quinton and Noelle nodded as small tears welled up in the corners of their eyes having been moved by the unearthly music. Only Connor remained semi-focused, instead fixating on Leanne's face while trying to recall some old memory from long ago.
He didn't get long to think as he suddenly felt himself grow slightly numb and light-headed. Whether it was from the music or some other strange magic he couldn't quite tell. He glanced over and saw his three friends all show signs of discomfort before he turned his eyes toward the rest of the crowd. To his shock, Connor watched as the other students that were present all began to sway and faint one by one.
While each fatigued student collapsed to the floor, the lyre of Leanne twinkled with the unearthly light of fairy of magic. She wore a dark smile on her face and closed her eyes as if savoring the feeling that her magic lyre was inflicting on the crowd. Whatever she was doing, she was using some dark enchantment and drawing strength from it.
As the other students collapsed and fainted in weakness, Connor turned to his fellow knights who were the only remaining spectators, "Come on everyone… we have to stop that witch."
He staggered to his feet and called upon his armor along with the others in a flash of light. At that, Leanansidhe opened her eyes and leveled her gaze upon the four warriors in front of her. She gave a surprised look before breaking into a smile, "Well… isn't this fortunate. I didn't think I'd be able to draw all four knights into the crowd today. I hope you enjoyed my music."
"I think we've heard enough," Connor retorted feeling his strength return as the powers of the knights' fey armor protected the four. "Who are you and what have you done to these people?"
The red headed woman laughed and transfigured her college student clothes into that of a regal flowing green Celtic style dress. While still striking and beautiful, she took on a somewhat wilder more aggressive appearance, "I am Leanansidhe, handmaiden to Lord Balor and a new war chief of the Fomorian Host."
"No way! She's one of Balor's field commanders?" Noelle gasped in shock.
The fey woman gestured to the fallen spectators, "Your precious people here are still alive, but they've graciously donated some of their life force energy to me so that I may end yours."
"I've had enough of her," Laura snarled as she drew her rapier and surged forward up the stage, "Let's give her a curtain call!"
Leanansidhe sniffed and easily evaded all of Laura's swift strikes with ease. As Laura shifted her stance and went for another attack, she was shocked as Leanansidhe summoned a Celtic sword of her own and parried the slash before striking the Winter Knight away with a counter blow. Laura flew off the stage and landed hard on some chairs in a stunned heap while Noelle and Quinton jumped in to assist.
As Noelle hurled her curved falcata sword like a boomerang, Leanansidhe dodged while blocking a strike from Quinton's sickle. As the Spring Knight tried to charge his weapon for another attack, the fey witch sniffed and waved her arm causing the weapon's magic to temporarily fizzle. "You think you can stop me with that petty magic?"
She grabbed Quinton by his shoulder plate and hurled him into Noelle with surprising strength as the Autumn Knight caught her blade and tried to charge forward. Like Laura, the two knights were sent tumbling off the stage in a dazed tangle of armored limbs. Leanansidhe turned with a malicious grin toward Connor while he bent over Laura to make she was okay first. "And now that just leaves you Knight of Summer."
Connor growled and drew his own sword now seeing his three comrades in trouble, "I don't know where you came from or what trick you're trying to play on me, but I'm not going to let you hurt my friends."
The witch laughed and flew off the stage before locking blades with the knight. Both combatants staggered from the force of the impact and momentarily skidded on the ground. As they exchanged blows with their swords, Leanansidhe lashed out with her free hand and struck Connor with a powerful blow to the side of the head. As he staggered for a moment, his helmet went flying off and clattered to the floor.
To his surprise, Leanansidhe froze when she saw him and lowered her guard slightly. She gave an almost confused frown and murmured quietly to herself, "Connor?"
In his moment of desperation, the Summer Knight tried to regain initiative and drove his enemy back with a forceful push of his weapon. Leanansidhe backpedaled for a moment and was caught off guard by the Summer Knight's sudden follow up attack, turning her body just in time to mostly evade the blow. Connor's blade glanced off the edge of the lyre which was slung around the witch's side and the sword made a small tear at the edge of the faerie's waist section of the dress.
She recoiled and backed off as Connor stood his ground and lowered his own weapon slightly as if encouraging them to both stop fighting. Leanansidhe growled to herself and waved her arm, retreating from battle in a puff of green smoke. When the haze cleared, the Summer Knight remained standing in place trying to calm his breathing before sheathing his blade.
"What happened there?" Laura asked as she slowly pulled herself up to her feet with Quinton and Noelle's help. "You looked like you had a clear shot on that Fomorian."
"I'm not sure she's a Fomorian. She can't be," Connor frowned to himself.
"Connor? What's wrong? You look really spooked," Noelle prompted gently.
He shook his head and knelt down to check on the fainted form of Eliza, "I'll explain later and we need to talk to Kristen… but first we should try and get help for these people."
The other three exchanged an uneasy glance before nodding and going to find help for all the comatose concert-goers.
Later that evening, the four Hibernian Knights went into town and gathered for an after hours conference within Kristen's antique shop. As they sat down by the crackling fireplace, they recounted their sudden encounter with the mysterious new Fomorian general and how all the victims had been taken into the local hospital for bedrest. Kristen sat with her hands folded in a thoughtful manner before Quinton shifted uneasily in his seat, "So that's what happened Kristen… any idea what we're up against?"
The Druid paused and frowned to herself before leaning back in her chair, "According to old Irish legends, Leanansidhe is a beautiful but monstrous creature who likes to take mortal lovers or admirers. The name itself roughly means "faerie lover" and is derived from a similar meaning in old Gaelic."
"If she's a lover, she didn't seem to be too affectionate," Laura pointed out while still rubbing a bruise on her thigh that she had received from the battle.
Kristen nodded slowly, "In the old legends, Leanansidhe is a muse who was especially drawn toward artists and musicians and she often grants them brilliant inspiration and creativity… all in exchange for the mortal's love and devotion. Unfortunately, she feeds off their life force and often causes her victims to go mad and waste away quickly until they die."
"Wow… that sounds pretty morbid," Noelle shivered, "Almost like a vampire creature… but it does explain why Adam, Eliza, and all the rest of those music students were so susceptible to her powers."
Kristen nodded again before turning to Connor who had been unusually quiet, "Connor, you said the monster looked familiar to you."
"She's not a monster," he insisted forcefully, "She can't be... she's just Leanne."
The others fell silent and stared at him for a long moment while the sounds of the crackling fire filled the void.
"I grew up with her," the Summer Knight said quietly, "At least, I think I did... Leanne MacClure lived just across the street from me and we played together all the time when we were little kids. She was the first friend I made when my family moved here to Somerset Valley."
"That can't be right," Laura reasoned, "Leanansidhe's an ancient legend. I'm willing to bet humans and faeries don't age the same way. Aren't many of the elves of the Four Courts at least several hundreds of years old?"
"I know it sounds crazy Laura, but I can't explain it either," Connor sighed in frustration.
Quinton cleared his throat, "You know Connor, among the four of us you're the one with musical talent. Do you think maybe this faerie's crazy mojo is just messing with your head right now?"
"Why don't you tell us a little more about this Leanne you grew up with," Kristen said calmly as she raised a hand to quiet the others.
Connor sighed, "I moved here just before I got to middle school and the transition was kinda rough on me. I remember I got picked on a lot and had trouble making friends."
"Now I find that a little hard to believe," Quinton said with a gentle chuckle.
Connor gave a dark smile and shrugged, "The MacClures were my neighbors across the street and Leanne was the first one to reach out and be my friend. She was always really outgoing and adventurous and we wound up becoming great friends. We'd always play together or go exploring around town to find fun… you know, typical kid stuff."
"What happened to her?" Noelle asked gently.
Connor looked toward the fire and his face grew dark, "To be honest… I don't know. She just went missing one day and no one ever saw her again. Leanne and I often played at the edges of the woods when we were young and she was always trying to explore deeper and deeper. I had always been too scared to go, especially since she had gotten in trouble a few times by her parents for it. Some think she was kidnaped while others think a wild animal might have gotten her… either way, no one ever found any trace of her."
The others fell silent again while listening to the story before Connor looked back to them, "After all that happed, I decided to make something positive out of it and follow her example. Because Leanne was brave and friendly and outgoing, she had helped me when I felt shy and lonely so I wanted to do the same for others… even if I don't always get it right."
"Which explains a lot then," Laura said quietly with genuine sympathy in her voice.
Quinton also gave his roommate a grateful nod having gained a completely new perspective on their friendship.
"Sorry guys. I didn't mean to get so dark just now," Connor said in slight embarrassment, "It's just something I don't like to bring up around others."
"But it's still good that you told us," Kristen replied, "We can always try to figure out later if there's some connection between those events but right now the fact remains that Leanansidhe or whoever she is, still poses a threat... especially since she's hurt several students with her powers."
"How are we going to fight her Kristen?" Noelle asked, "Leanansidhe didn't look like it on first glance, but she's actually really tough."
The Druid furrowed her brow and thought before looking to the other knights, "Starting tomorrow morning, I'm going to do some more research and look into it. In the mean time, you four should stay ready to respond in case she shows up again. At the very least we can try to chase her off again."
Connor nodded and rose from his seat, "Sounds like a plan. If it's all the same with you guys, I'd like to make a quick hospital visit tomorrow to make sure Eliza and the other students are okay. Whether she's a general of Balor or not, we're going to make sure that Leanansidhe pays for hurting our friends."
A/N:
To the Guest reviewer question, I do plan on following through with some guest appearances from the other series. Remember, good world building takes time and patience. I don't believe in just rushing to get to crossovers without a purpose and natural development within the series plot... at least that's my philosophy about good storytelling. We'll get there in time so just trust me.