The sound of horses footsteps stopped me in my tracks. The sound was closely followed by such hideous wailing that my hands went to my ears, trying to block the noise out. I looked to the others, and from the expressions on their faces, I knew that they could hear it too. Katherine's brow was furrowed, and her face screwed up. Her eyes darted around to each of us and I frowned at her.
Scathach narrowed her eyes and Bribry whimpered by me. His ears moulded down to his head and his tail tucked beneath his body.
"What is it?" Mund cried over to Scathach.
Scathach pursed her lips and looked in the direction of the sound. I followed her gaze, my heart racing. I didn't like the sound of the horses gallop coming towards us. The wailing had become unbearable and I gritted my teeth together.
North grabbed his sword in its sheath, Jack and Nightlight both grabbed their sticks, Mund had his boomerangs at the ready, Scathach stated into the forests darkness, her hand gripping the hilt of her own sword. Sandy made a long whip with his sand, Alvern looked unsure, and I realised I had never seen his powers. What could he do?
I held my hand out, ready to blast the on comer away.
The ground vibrated under my feet as the horse came closer. The wailing was continuous and whoever was making the noise certainly had a pair of lungs on themselves.
The galloping slowed down to a trot and the wailing finally stopped. But two figures emerged from the shadows, both on horseback. I took in a sharp breath at the headless man— the man who announced my death, basically. His eyes, now without fire in them, bore into mine and I felt a chill down my spine. A bead of sweat crossed my forehead and I felt suddenly weak as though he was sucking the life out of me with his gaze.
I looked away from him, which was hard to do. I felt almost froze into place.
The woman's appearance seemed to flicker continuously. One second she was an ugly old woman, with grey hair which was knotted and bushy; the next she was a beautiful young woman with eyes like the sea, and hair so fair and glossy looking. I instantly knew that she had been the one making the wailing.
Her facade confused me, so I looked to the ground, feeling like I was going to drop to the ground in confusion.
"You bring a message," Scathach said. Her eyes narrowed further until they were just slits. It was clear that she didn't like the thought of the message.
The woman nodded, and finally her image stopped shifting. She was now just a beautiful young woman and I felt a pang as I realised that each boy/man was staring at her as though she was the most beautiful woman to ever roam the world.
And she was beautiful, which made it worse. But even those sea-green eyes had a look that made me shiver.
"I come with a message from the Otherworld," she replied. Her voice was smooth and velvety. Although we were in an enclosed area, surrounded by trees and shadows, her voice seemed to echo. "Balor is waiting there. He knows you seek him. He awaits you."
"In... The otherworld?" Scathach sounded uncertain of this news. "We've just come from the entrance! How could have he passed without being noticed?"
The woman raised a brow at Scathach. "Surely you even know the answer to that, warrior."
Scathach nodded. The woman gave a brisk smile at her. Her head turned to me, and for a split second I saw myself dying— fire surrounded me and I was in the middle taking my final breaths of life. Then I blinked and I was back to normal. The woman nodded her head to me and together, Dullahan and herself rode away into the shadows.
"Who was that?" Nightlight asked, staring off into the place where she had vanished. Katherine scowled at him but he didn't seem to notice. None of the boys' did.
"Your worst nightmare," Scathach replied. I could tell she was tormented about something, and I knew it was about the Otherworld. "That was two omens of death," she explained when we all looked at her confused. "Dullahan–" I shivered "— and the Banshee."
Alvern choked. "The banshee?" he exclaimed in shock. "That girl was the banshee!? But she's so–" He stopped himself when he realised who he was talking to. His face went pink and Scathach looked amused.
"Beautiful?" she suggestedu. Alvern shrugged embarrassed and she managed a chuckle. "Yeah. That happens sometimes. You're lucky she didn't decide to stay as an ugly hag. No one likes that side of her." He gave her a sheepish smile at her response. "But that wailing is never a good sign. It is believed that when the cry of a banshee is heard, someone is going to die." Scathach shrugged. "She's also the messenger of the otherworld."
"This is not sounding so good," Jack said.
He had no idea. First Dullahan said my name, and then we heard the cry of the banshee and I saw my own death. It was not good at all. Could I somehow cheat death, though? Would it be possible to do so? I doubted it, but still.
I've died before.
Maybe the Man in Moon would take pity on me and help me before I do die. I doubt he'd take pity on my again, to be honest. He's already been kind enough to return me from the dead once... I would never ask him to do the same a second time.
However, I would pray that I don't die in pain. Was that too much to ask?
Maybe I could even chill in the Otherworld for awhile, with the other spirits we saw when we reached Tech nDuinn.
Scathach snapped me out of my thoughts. "I believe that Balor entered the otherworld through another place. He couldn't have gotten through in Tech nDuinn. It's impossible. But there could have been another place he entered." She looked to be in deep thought for a few minutes and no one dared interrupt her.
After a minute she let out a groan of frustration. "I can't think of anywhere!" she spat. Her expression then turned thoughtful. "But we could always travel by sea."
We looked to one another, noting the strange glint in her eyes. She sighed. "Don't you lot know anything about Celtic mythology?" She snorted at the word mythology. "There's various ways to enter the otherworld, but I could never do any of them with you lot. But, through the seas I could bring you to the otherworld. As long as our feet never touch the ground we will be okay. But be warned: time is not what it seems to be in the otherworld. A day could be a month. A week could be a year. And when you return, once your feet touch the ground, time will catch up with you at once. It will be painful... Even for immortals."
"Is it dangerous?" I asked her.
"Well... That all depends," she replied. "Mostly the otherworld is a paradise. It's a place of happiness. But if Balor roams there under the King of the Otherworlds nose, then I can't imagine what it is like anymore."
"I guess we going to Otherworld," North said, sheathing his sword.
"I guess we are, mate," Mund replied, frowning. "This is definitely gonna be promising."
"Definitely," I agreed with a shrug.
Blanaldmksks. I don't even know what I'm doing anymore (joke, joke). But blah.
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