Day 15 of Midwinter, Sunset

  Cruachan, Midlands

  Annwn

  I didn’t rest long after my chat with Diarmuid. Instead, I began riding again after Gaoth had properly watered and fed himself. We rode, that day, from before the sun had risen until it started to set. We had maybe an hour left of natural light when I made it to the outskirts of Cruachan.

  The temple of Cruachan was a sprawling ancient monument that dated back to before the Sages. Little is known of its origins, but it is known that a malevolent force took up residence there around the time the four cities were founded. For over four thousand years, pilgrims and travelers have avoided the sanctum and halls inside of Cruachan.

  But whatever claimed the temple as its home has refused to leave the walls of that massive structure. Over the years, foul smells and strange noises have been witnessed emanating from the double doors leading inside. But those are not enough to stop a weary traveler from using the exterior grounds of Cruachan as shelter from weather and enemies.

  Gaoth slowed his stride as we passed the first crumbling structure on the far perimeter of the temple grounds. It became immediately clear to me that a group of people had quickly extinguished a fire in the area and were hiding in the rubble surrounding me. Hiding meant one of two things. Either they were hiding because they were afraid, or they were hiding with the intent to cause harm. I was banking on the former based on my conversation with Diarmuid.

  “Hello there,” I bellowed from atop Gaoth. I briefly thought about my breastplate, which was in plain sight. It wouldn’t help alleviate the concerns of anyone hiding from view. “I mean you no harm. I have just come from the company of Diarmuid and your fianna.”

  A few heads shot out from behind old buildings that had been picked apart over time by scavengers. One of the heads was lower to the ground than I had expected. The boy had a curly mop of hair. Unlike the others, he gradually emerged from his hiding space and began walking my way.

  “Sétanta,” a woman called from across the ancient street. “Get back… don’t go near him.”

  I thought it best to try and alleviate some of the concerns and dismounted. I slowly approached the boy.

  “Hello there lad,” I said and crouched down to his level. He looked at me for a moment, but his eyes found Gaoth standing behind me and studied him intensely. “Do you like horses?”

  “I like all animals,” he said. Sétanta hadn’t given me a second glance after his eyes landed on my mount. I could see a group of twelve or so people beginning to come out into view. The woman who had said Sétanta’s name, came to stand beside him and took his hand.

  I stood and bowed my head. Her delicate brow furrowed slightly. “My name is Tadg mac Nuada.” I immediately held up my hands when she flinched hearing my father’s name. “I am not here in that capacity.”

  Upon hearing my name several of the men and women in the crowd placed their hands closer to their sword handles. I pretended not to notice and went over to Gaoth. “Sétanta, would you like to meet my horse?” The boy nodded and pulled away from the woman. “His name is Gaoth. It means…”

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  “Wind,” Sétanta interrupted. “I have heard of him. But I know of a faster horse.” Gaoth shook his head and whinnied at that.

  “I think old Gaoth here disagrees with you,” I said, smiling widely.

  “Móralltach is faster, but Aonbharr can run on the water.” The boy was talking about the horses of Aengus Og and Manannán mac Lir. I had seen them run wild together at a summer festival many moons ago. The others were fast, but Gaoth had run circles around both of them.

  “Why have you come?” The woman asked me.

  “I am merely passing through. There is an errand that needs my attention northeast of here.”

  She picked the boy up and fully faced me. “And you are resting here this evening?”

  Again I bowed and motioned to Gaoth. “With your consent, yes, we would both appreciate it.” I added, “Your leader asked me to tell you that they will be along no later than Midday on the morrow.”

  She nodded and began carrying the boy away, leaving me to tend to my mount and my own equipment. The bulk of the fianna members began getting out their own equipment and rekindling their fires.

  For the first hour, I sat alone, munching on some salted venison. I had taken the tackle off of Gaoth and brushed him down. Then, he wandered outside of the ruins, likely to graze.

  Throughout the ruins, I could see people huddled around campfires. I had watched Sétanta keeping an eye on Gaoth as he ran off into the darkness. The air was growing colder, even next to the fire. It got cold enough that I pulled Gaoth’s saddle blanket off of a nearby stone wall and wrapped it around my shoulders.

  Hearing a noise to my left, I looked beside me to see Sétanta setting at my fire. The boy was also wrapped up in a blanket and was getting dangerously close to the flames.

  “Why is it so cold?” he asked me between shivers. I tucked the blanket in around him and scooted him back from the fire. The woman emerged from the darkness behind us, watching my interaction with the boy. Her face was wistful and perplexing to me.

  “Deichtine,” the woman said, sitting on the other side of the boy. “My name is Deichtine. I’m sorry if I was rude earlier.”

  I gave her a knowing smile and looked back into the fire. “Believe me… I understand.” We sat in silence for a time, each of us looking into the fire and processing what my last statement had meant.

  “Tadg…” Her voice was weak, like she had something caught in her throat. I looked over and Deichtine’s eyes were wide open and full of fear. Her mouth was stuck in a scream, but no sound came out. Her skin took on a grayish pallor.

  Looking down, I saw Sétanta frozen in fear, his skin the same grayish color. It struck me then what was happening. My mind went back to the time on the Stern Beauty in the Straits of Segais only weeks before. The Bánánach had come!

  I jumped up, flinging off my blanket. My sword was already in my hand and I slashed in a wide arc around the surrounding darkness. The beasts were intangible and nearly invisible in the dark, save for their amber eyes. Even still, Vowkeeper met resistance as it moved through the air.

  Screams and screeches lit up the temple grounds. Other members of the fianna were battling their own Bánánach. I yelled out, while I maintained our perimeter with my wild swings. “It is the Bánánach. You need magic weapons or cold wrought iron to defeat them!”

  Staring intently into the darkness outside of the firelight, I could see three sets of glowing eyes. They were just biding their time, waiting for me to either lose focus or tire. Instinctively, I reached down and picked up Deichtine and Sétanta, each under an arm. My sword flopped in my hand as I ran desperately away from the eyes. “Get to the temple!” I yelled, passing the other people.

  I could feel the chilly air surrounding the Bánánach just behind me. My arms burned as I tried to hang onto the dead weight of the people I was carrying. Making it to the stairs leading up to the temple doors, I ran inside. Many others followed in behind me. For the moment it appeared that the Bánánach were hesitant to come into the building. I wondered if the creatures could just phase through the walls around us. Our only hope lay in the thickness of the stone.

  “Barricade the entrance,” I commanded, trying to think of anything to keep the phantoms away. Only seven other people had made it inside the temple, but they each worked to find some debris to litter the entrance with.

  Silence. The world was quiet then. We could hear the wind blowing across the plains. We could hear the faint breathing of those who were getting their lives sucked away just outside. Then, to our utter horror, we heard the cracking of stone pillars and felt the shifting of the foundation beneath our feet. The temple was about to collapse.

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