The Lady Lies Sleeping

by Hypatia

 

Part 2

 

At 6am, though it was still dark, the town was awoken. An explosion that shattered the silence; the small cottage that Catherine Jones and her husband lived in was destroyed by the blast. It brought people out into the streets and it brought the demons to the people.

Donald, Aiken and Father Grant were travelling back to Donald's house when the explosion occurred, even though it was on the other side of the town it could be heard over the car engine. The glow of the flames was also clear in the pre-dawn darkness.

"Oh Shit, that is going to bring people out. With those things wandering around there is going to be a lot of dead people."

"Some will die, some will live," Aiken said almost nonchalantly Donald glared at him.

"People live, people die and that is the way of things. The beasts will not kill all though, they seek adoration. The more that serve and worship them, the more pleasure they will get. They live to subjugate, they live to rule and they live to destroy hope," Aiken replied.

"Why?" Donald asked.

"For it is their nature, one cannot deny the nature of a man or a beast, it is what they are."

"What are these things though?"

"Exactly what they seem," Aiken replied, "the source of all mankind's fears, those that oppose for the sake of opposing and those to who a life is but a mere amusement. They are everything that was banished in an earlier time and yet as always they return."

"How do we get rid of them then?"

"That is easy, like all things this time was seen, The Lady lies waiting for she will call and the great dance will begin again."

"This is making absolutely no sense to me at all," Donald protested.

"Ah, that is part of the fun in life, learning something new…finding something out about the world that you had no inkling of. Ah, to be young again and to look at the world with the wonder of young eyes. Always so full of questions are the young, it makes even the oldest soul feel young again."

*****

As the people of the town emerged at the sound of the explosion, the beasts began sating their need for destruction. Indiscriminately they struck, taking a person and relishing the terror it caused. For a while the three creatures so very alike, Satan, Lucifer and Beelzebub allowed this destruction. It weakened the resistance of the humans, made them more malleable and grateful even for the fact that they were allowed to live. Eventually though, they began organising their forces, bringing them under control again. Death was but a tool to be used, domination was the prize and the key to that was live humans, humans who would follow orders and fight their fellow men for whatever gifts were promised…even if the gift was only life.

*****

"Quickly I need some help here," Donald shouted as he entered the house half dragging, half carrying the body of the priest. Angela took one look at the bloody wounds and ran into the kitchen, from where the sound of vomiting could be heard.

"No time for that," Donald said scathingly as he began pulling out drawers looking for his first aid kit, "throw up later if you must, but for now I need help."

Angela continued retching into the sink as Donald went back into the living room and began attending to the priest.

"Andrew get some pressure on that wrist there, use a towel from the kitchen, we have to stop this bleeding and get that woman in here too. Her flock, what is left of it is no bloody use, the dwarf has buggered off and we need some help."

"Can I help?" Mary asked.

"Yes get pressure on that other wrist, we shouldn't have pulled the stakes out, god only knows how much damage we have done. Leaving him there was not an option though," Donald replied.

"What did this?" she asked clamping the bleeding wrist in a tea towel that Andrew threw to her.

"A big bugger with horns and a tail, calling himself Satan. The worrying thing at this stage is that I can find no reason to disagree with that, if there is a Satan, I am bloody sure that was him."

"There is no such thing," one of the three women from Angela's coven said, her voice betraying the doubt she now had about this.

"Listen love, that bastard says he is Satan, looks like Satan and from what I have seen is an evil bastard like Satan. That is enough for me to believe that this is Satan. I for one do not intend to argue the theological impossibility of its existence with him," Donald replied.

"Am I doing the right thing?" Mary asked trying to defuse the situation.

"Yes love, just keep the pressure on and the bleeding should stop. He isn't going to die on us from these wounds, but I would be a lot happier if we had a doctor looking at him. We haven't, so he is just going to have to make do with my not so tender ministrations."

"How come you seem to know what you are doing?" Mary asked.

"A little before your time I am afraid love, I was on the shore at Bluff Cove when all hell let loose. This believe me is a minor wound."

"Bluff Cove?"

"A bay just a short way from Port Stanley…anyway I have seen much worse than this, if anything kills him it won't be these."

"An expert are you?" Angela asked sarcastically, returning to the living room looking slightly worse for wear.

"Oh yes, when it comes to how people die, I am an expert with the medals to prove it. If you can tell me how to kill these bastards, I don't mind showing you."

"Very quick to kill, aren't you?"

"What would you prefer I do? Perhaps we can make a circle and chant at them, or even think happy thoughts? These bastards are killing people in my town and I intend to stop them."

"How?" Angela asked.

"They dislike iron and steel, we know that and didn't you say something about your wand?"

"A wand is not a weapon, merely a way of channelling energy."

"And a rifle is just a way of channelling kinetic energy to a bullet. Anything and everything should be considered at this point. Do you know anything about this lady that Drum keeps going on about…is it one of your gods or goddesses?" Donald said as he began bandaging the priest's wounds.

"No, not with how he talks of her. Perhaps she is a local creature, one of the fey…a creature of some power though."

"Fey, are you meaning fairies, elves and the like?"

"Don't speak with derision about things you have no understanding of, the fey creatures are real, but have little contact with humankind, they should not be underestimated though."

"Underestimate a fairy, come on love get real, the world is falling to shit and you are talking about fairies."

"Real! Real is the last thing we want or need at this time. There are creatures running around calling themselves Lucifer and Satan, the only one who seems to know what's going on is a man that claims to be the oldest creature created. We are not in the real world anymore, we are in the world of magic and as such this is my realm. We sit tight here until Aiken Drum gets here, then we try and find this lady he is talking about," Angela was shouting at Donald now. This man had swept away the serenity and composure she tried to keep in her life, in a way that the creature Lucifer hadn't.

"No we need weapons, iron, steel, crosses, explosives, guns and fire. The longer they are in charge, the more people die; we need to take the battle to them. They cannot be allowed to wander unopposed, if they want a war we should give them a war."

"Well we haven't got any of that stuff, this isn't a war, its survival. If those things are what they say they are we are talking all the worst bits of The Bible, this is Armageddon."

"Well sitting on our arses quietly isn't going to ensure our survival, all it will mean is when they come we will die here," Donald said, "and I for one don't intend to die."

*****

Aiken was not happy, much had changed with time and even with his frequent contacts with mankind, he had not expected changes like this.

It had only been a matter of a few hundred years since his last real contact with people, up in Scotland as they called it. They had been a good people, living life to the full, dying bravely and singing songs about their hero's and their foes. They were people he understood, despite the fact 'The Lady' would not approve of them. They were the type of people he sought out, people living more in the world of Lord Herne, than The Goddess and they were people he loved.

Now though the nature of man seemed to have changed, yes there was still the occasional spark, but with all that had been gained in knowledge, something most basic had been lost. That something was needed now, as was a belief in themselves and a belief in the most basic fact that these things existed.

He had some hope, Donald of The Blood had some of the nature of his ancestors, though as yet he hadn't chosen his path. That was a problem though. If The Lady were here, then whichever path he decided to walk, Aiken would have been proud to walk with him. Now though unless he found her, the man's path would be a dark one, alone…whichever one he chose.

The Lady's absence though was upsetting. It had been a long time that he had waited to see her again, now he doubted that he ever would see her. There had been protection for her while she slept, the stones, the spells and the earth, but mankind had no respect for any of these now. The stones had been moved, the earth had been violated and the spells would not hold on their own, they were a seal rather than a ward of protection. The thought of violating the sanctity of The Lady's resting place had been something that hadn't been anticipated.

Without The Lady the choice was no longer his, he would do what he could for those here, but the swift death that was the best they could hope for and was something he could not give. Even if all were lost though, he and Donald of The Blood would have the last dance and however strong the beasts were, it would be a dance they would long remember. Though it would be a dance that saddened his heart, the problem with these people was that they were so short lived.

Or was the problem with him, should he harden his heart to the needs, hopes and dreams of those around him?

That was something he could never do, that would be against his nature and one may not go against nature…so he would suffer the loss of those he cared for again and again. In that Lucifer had his measure, he was impotent to save those who meant most to him.

"Why?" he asked turning his eyes up to the heavens.

No answer came…not that he needed an answer, a lifetime as long as his without caring, without loving, without friendship, would be an eternity of torment. Lucifer might consider it a weakness, but his passion was his greatest strength.

He continued on his way, searching for a clue to why The Lady hadn't appeared, he now feared the worst; she would not stand by and let these creatures have free reign on the land…she was tied to the land and their presence an abomination to her. The thing was if the lady was gone he had nothing left to offer, his power had been squandered…not squandered, used in a good cause. There was power here, but like so many creatures being a creature of power did not mean he could use it. Many of the Fey though magical creatures had little power to use.

Once he knew what had happened to her though, then he could try to make plans…until that time he had no other options.

*****

The entity known as Chaos, was unimpressed by the destruction in the town, the sensations though were sweet. Some though it could feel opposed it, the creatures that fed on what it willingly gave, knew of them and feared them. Not that it mattered, there could only be one victor in this conflict and it was not going to be of this planet, amusements though were welcomed…for what was existence but an interconnected chain of sensations and amusements?

*****

"What do we do now Sergeant?" Andrew asked after the priest was made comfortable.

Donald thought about it his instinctive answer of 'I have no idea' wasn't one for this time. People were looking to him for leadership and as such he had to have the answers.

"We need a lookout, upstairs in the front bedroom. We need to know when these things come and we have to be ready," Donald replied.

"How do we fight them?" Mary asked. She impressed Donald; despite the fact that she had landed in this chaos without the knowledge of Angela and her coven she was coping better than some of Angela's girls. He wasn't surprised though; farmer's daughters often had hidden depths.

"Iron and steel," Donald replied, "that's how we got Father Grant out."

"You fought them, you and that little man?" she asked with some awe in her voice.

"Well not exactly fought," Donald admitted sheepishly, "though Mr Drum did hit the one called Satan a couple of times."

"How did you get him out then?" she asked.

"We bluffed it, we went there taunted it for a bit then used bullshit and laid it on thick. That is why I think we can beat these things, that is why we have to take the battle to them, because if we are hiding we lose that advantage."

"So you didn't fight them," Angela said accusingly.

"No we didn't, but they were scared. If they are scared whatever 'The Firstborn' says they can be hurt."

"You think you are the one to hurt them?" Angela asked.

"It doesn't matter what I think, they think I can and that is enough."

*****

It was to the centre of the town that Aiken had been drawn, he didn't know how he knew, but this was the place he had to come. It was often that way, sensations, feelings and instincts. Some creatures had a more direct form of communication with The Earth, The Goddess and even Lord Herne, but not him. Maybe it was something to do with his relationship with The Goddess, if she knew his mind he would not be able to delight her and surprise her as he did. He stopped outside of the building and looked up at the large letters.

"One day I will have to take the time to learn these things," he said aloud, "they seem to be becoming more and more important."

He had started to learn once, long ago in a city called Constantinople. There a man had started to teach him to read so he could learn about 'The Good Book', but other things had taken president, the warriors heading to the east. That had been a time when he had not followed his nature and stayed far away from the battle. A battle should be for a good reason, honour, love, vengeance or hate, never because a man calls god by another name. There had been many wars after that time, some he had participated in for no other good reason than to fight besides one he called friend, others though he had stayed far away from. There had been a bitter taint to the wars of modern times.

The doors to the building were locked, though with some pressure they were soon opened and the alarm that started ringing he ignored. He walked inside looking around, his eyes not needing any extra light to make his way along the still dark corridors. The many objects on the walls he ignored, now he was intent in his purpose, he could feel her…here of all places…so far from where she had been left safe.

It was a side room he was drawn too, full of glass cabinets and pictures on the walls, pictures of 'The Lady's Bed', maps and writing. Finally he stopped before the longest glass cabinet, looking inside at objects he recognised, objects he knew from long ago. An Athame of bronze, a crystal, beads now loose rather than strung around the neck they should adorn, odd scraps of clothing and a broach…a broach that he himself had given her. Next to these scraps of a life, displayed to the world in a final indignity was his lady…she who loved all life so much that she was willing to give up her own, now bones with but a few scraps of flesh clinging. Though her face was unrecognisable as the woman he had known so long ago, the other evidence was clear…The Lady who waited was no more…

There was nothing stood between the beasts and the earth, which they had coveted for so many ages…and his power was gone…

*****

The knock at the door broke the tension between Angela and Donald. They were not getting on, too many fundamental differences separated them. Donald though having spent all his adult life getting along with people, in the armed forces and in the police, found the woman one of the most irritating people he had ever met. Aiken's arrival was a welcomed respite from having to talk to her.

"I fear all is lost Donald," Aiken said as he came in carrying two large swords, either one larger than him.

"What do you mean, lost?" Donald asked suspiciously.

"The Lady is gone…lost…her resting place violated she has succumbed to the ravages of time…she is dead," Aiken replied sadly, his anger he kept tight control of. The actions of others were not the fault of these children and had he not made a rash choice, which may have doomed them all.

"Well what can we do?" Donald asked.

"We can make sure that they do not take you alive, if you must fall you will fall swinging a blade and fighting. You make them pay for everything in blood."

"What of you, you cannot die?" Donald asked him.

"There will be time enough to reflect on my actions, I am as to blame as man is for this. I used what had been given for this time to save others, rather than to leave them to the mercy of Lucifer."

"You saved people, that is nothing to blame yourself for." Donald replied.

"Not people a family of whales, stranded on the beach. I would of left them, but Lucifer knew I cared for them…he would have made an example of them. They would have suffered because of me, he would have tortured them because of me."

Donald was silent for a minute, digesting the information that all hope may have been lost, for the sake of a few whales. He wanted to grab the little man and shake him, demanding to know what the hell he had been playing at; to ask him had he a rational thought in is head when he followed such a ludicrous path.

But he didn't…he just nodded slowly, looking at Aiken's face, which was full of anguish.

"It may have been the wrong decision, but it was a good cause, I would hesitate to leave anything for those creatures," Donald admitted. "What can we do now then?"

"I know not, there has always been a Lady in the time of darkness. Yet now I find her protection stripped from her, displayed in a glass box for the amusement of others. Her bones are not even allowed to rest in the land she gave all for. All I can say is that while any remain alive I will fight; will you fight alongside me Donald…though it may cost you your life? Will you stand besides me as we face them and fight as only one of the blood can?"

"Yes," Donald replied something within him reawakening, something that had remained suppressed since the last time he was in a battle, now twenty years ago.

"That is The Blood speaking, it is awakening in you. Do you feel it? Soon there will be a choice to be made; always there is a choice. You must decide which path you will follow, either that of The Hunter or that of The Goddess…you must walk one of these paths."

"Which one is right?" Donald asked.

"Both are, both are right and on both I will walk besides you, as you travel the path…but both will bring you pain, grief and even bring your death. Those of The Blood never have long life, but they do great things."

"You are the only one who seems to know what's happening, what do we do?" Donald asked ignoring this reference to his death.

"I cannot say, I am here, the lady is not, this is not how it was meant to be," Aiken said sadly.

"Is here safe, can we find or make somewhere safe?"

"Here is not safe, it has no power, the walls are just walls. They would do nothing to keep out that which wants in," Aiken said. "We need a place of power and the power of the coven to allow any safety this night."

"What do you mean, a place of power?" Donald asked.

"He means somewhere like 'The Lady's Bed', somewhere where ritual is associated with for years," Angela said suddenly jumping into the conversation.

"Well neither 'The Lady's Bed' or the church offered much protection tonight," Donald replied sharply.

"Ye cannot be fighting amongst yourselves tonight, it is what is in the air that makes good people fight amongst themselves, it is what makes brave people tremble and all people lose hope," Aiken replied almost as sharply as Donald, it got both their attentions fixed on the man, if he was a man. "It will need both of you, I know not how you can survive this, but if you are firm and if you have hope you may find a way. Conflict amongst yourselves will kill all here, you two are the keys in this puzzle I have been left with, but I know not the answer."

"We need somewhere safe to work from, to plan and to get these people to safety. We need to move all the people we can to that place and then figure out what to do," Donald said.

"The Lady's Bed is a place of power, even since it has been moved," Angela replied, "we can get everyone here up there in the cars."

"No, we need everyone we can, I have neighbours here, friends too. This is my town, my people and my responsibility, we need to get everyone we can to safety."

"Donald, we need to get these people to safety, they may be able to help us, the others at this time are of no importance. Though their loss would sadden me deeply, we must think of what we can be doing to stop them," Aiken said sadly.

Donald walked towards the small man with his hand outstretched, Aiken held out one of the large swords with the blade reversed, so Donald could grasp the handle. It was heavy, a lot heavier than he expected. This was not a modern weapon, such as was used in the Napoleonic Wars, this was from an age when subtly and skill were no substitute for raw power and aggression. Despite the strangeness of the weapon it felt right in his hand, like his old SLR had felt after many years of use. The blade though bright bore many marks, scars of battle, this was no decorative item; it was a weapon to kill with.

"Where did you get it?" he asked Aiken as he stared at the blade, memorised by the simplicity of this weapon.

"The place where The Lady now lies, a large building with many things in…these were on a wall, just hanging there. I felt they might be of more use here."

"The museum, yes they are more use here, better than an axe anyway," Donald agreed.

"The things around you take on a little of the spirit of everyone who touches them, initially it is the creator who gives a weapon its power. Then later. especially with a weapon it becomes a personal item, so closely tied in with its owner that often they lie together in the same grave. These have some of the essence of their owners, good men who died long ago. These should lie with them, but they do not mind this cause, it is a noble one which they are happy to join," Aiken replied.

"Are you saying the swords have personalities?" Angela asked.

"Do you doubt it? Does not your wand have the essence of what you are in its very fibre, if you had an Athame would it not be for just your hand to use? It is not the swords that have life; it is that life has left an image on them. It is a shadow of the people who once were."

"I can feel it," Donald said taking a stance with his sword; it seemed to guide his hands rather than he that guided the sword.

"You will feel it, it is almost time for battle. Have you not felt the call before, has not your blood been awakened, bringing a fire to your heart."

"Yes," Donald replied remembering Goose Green, the slowing down of the world around him as the action became more frantic. Almost instinctive knowledge of what was about to happen had saved him more than once, diving to the ground fractions of a second before the line of tracer cut across where he had been standing, the urge to run just before the mortars began their deadly rain and the sure knowledge that a field was mined. The problem was that it was only his own skin it saved, never those around him, at one point he became convinced that it was his luck that was costing his friends their lives. Then he had tried to take all the risks himself and found that though he seemed blessed, he was not invulnerable. They had sent him to Bluff Cove, supposedly for a minor wound, but it was his actions his officer had been worried about. There on the beach he had watched the planes come in low, the explosions in the ships still full of men…Oh god the men they had pulled from the water. Soon after he had left the Marines, looking for a new direction in his life and he had found something. It wasn't what he was seeking, but he could live with it, back in the place he had been so keen to leave.

"It feels right, though I don't want it too, I didn't like what I became in battle."

"These are not men we face though Donald, these are creatures that must be driven back where they came from. We cannot do that, but we can protect the others. Maybe The Priestess can call, I know not, but it is better than letting the beasts have them without a fight."

"Call? Call who?" Angela asked.

A scream outside cut Aiken's answer short, it was close too close…it suddenly stopped.

"Time to start moving, get warm clothes from upstairs, get whatever you want to defend yourselves and do it quickly," Donald said. "This place is no longer safe, we are moving out."

*****

There was frantic activity in the street where Donald lived; confused people were stumbling out into the early dawn to find themselves being told they had to run for their lives. Some having known Donald believed him, others believed the strange little man who also carried a large sword and others believed the women or the injured priest. Many though refused to believe, secure in the knowledge that such things cannot be and with that began to head back to bed.

"Donald we must leave, they are coming…can you not feel them?" Aiken said worriedly.

"No we must get them to move, we must get them safe," Donald shouted at him, "if we leave them here they will die…won't they?"

Aiken didn't respond, just looked sadly at Donald, neither admitting nor denying it.

"I should have put my uniform back on," Donald said angrily, "they may not listen to me, but they respect the uniform."

"These people wouldn't listen, with you in jeans or in a uniform, now come on we have to move, NOW," Angela shouted at him.

"NO," he shouted back at her, memories of a lad no more than seventeen flashing through his mind…for twenty minutes he had tried to breathe life into his burnt body…to no avail.

"No they have children, I will not leave them for those things," he began hammering on a door that had closed on him when he had tried to explain.

"Move your arses, shit is coming, hell is coming and anyone who stays here is dead," Donald shouted, the door opened again and a man in his pyjamas and a dressing gown looked at him.

"Get back to bed and sleep it off…I never thought you were one who got this pissed up." Donald grabbed the man and dragged him out of the doorway.

"Everyone out now, before I burn the fucking house down," he shouted. A few moments later a woman appeared clutching a young girl, both were in their nightwear.

"Donald they come," Aiken shouted.

"Where?"

"That way," Aiken pointed his sword along the road back towards town.

"Andrew get them out of the houses, get them to safety, I will slow them down." Donald shouted and began running towards the town.

"Yes Sarge," Andrew shouted back to the rapidly moving figure, "right now ladies and gentlemen you heard the sergeant, let's move it out."

*****

As he was running down towards the town Donald realised that Aiken Drum was matching his pace.

"What the hell do you think you are doing?" Donald demanded.

"Keeping my word, I said I would walk besides you, whichever path you took."

"You should be protecting the people back there, they need you more than I do," Donald protested.

"Do not try to lie to me Donald of The Blood, I was telling lies before mankind learned how to grunt. Ye think I may be mistaken about being unable to die and as such be protecting me."

"Whatever, get back and I will try to give you some more time," Donald said, coming to a stop in the middle of the road.

"I am The Firstborn, I am the Dancer, I am the Goddess's favourite and I have never refused a fight in a good cause. Pick your ground wherever ye choose and you will find me there, for as I was first I will be last and I dance with those I choose to…either as foe or kin," Aiken looked up at him, his expressive face said much more than his voice ever could and there was sadness in his face.

"Do you refuse me this honour of fighting beside you? Would you rather I found my own ground and fought alone?"

"No," Donald said, "I just don't want anyone to get hurt."

"I thank you with all my heart, but now is the time for battle and face it with your blood boiling, your heart racing and your mouth singing…if you must die, then die with a song on your lips…The Goddess likes a song."

"I don't know any songs, never been good at that sort of thing, how about you sing one for her after I am gone?"

"If that is what you wish, I will sing you a song of your deeds and great they will be," Aiken replied.

"This is our ground isn't it," Donald said looking around, the road narrowed here, barely wide enough for one car to get through, the terraced houses fronting onto the narrow pavement.

"Yes, this is our ground, look behind you the sun is rising and she will be in their eyes as they attack."

"These things don't just live in the dark," Donald said with a hopeful tone to his voice.

"No, though mans fears are based around the dark, the things that he fears most walk in the daylight as well. Mankind just wishes that all the monsters would leave with the darkness."

"If there is anyone that can hear me and you want to live, you start running for The Lady's Bed," Donald shouted as loud as he could, a few curtains began to twitch.

"You do not try to make them leave?" Aiken asked.

"No, I had enough problems with people who knew me, here I would have no chance. When those things come though, then they will run and they need to know where to run to."

"Is this because you love them less?"

"No," Donald protested loudly, "I know people though and the last thing they are going to do is leave their homes on my say so. Those bastards though should get them moving when they come."

"We are being watched," Aiken said looking up at a bedroom window.

"Let them watch, they ain't seen nothing yet."

*****

Andrew was beginning to get irate, people were not moving as fast as he wanted them to, others were trying to take possessions with them and a few were refusing to move at all.

"Listen I don't care if you decide to stay or not, you have two more minutes and then I am out of here. I grab the sergeant in the car and we are gone."

"Why don't we just get out of the town?" one man asked for the fifth time.

"Because the town is sealed, you aren't getting out…not until this is over," Angela shouted at him.

"Sealed how?" the man demanded as he urged his rather overweight wife into his Audi.

"It doesn't matter how, you aren't getting out of the town. If you want somewhere safe we are heading to The Lady's Bed, there you might have a chance and believe me, here you have no chance at all."

"It was Satan, he has come…this is the time that was spoken of, this is Armageddon," Father Grant shouted from the back of Mary's Land Rover where he had been carried to by Andrew and Donald before he left.

"What's he talking about?" the man demanded.

"It doesn't matter what he is talking about," Angela said turning to the man, "just look at him, something did that to a priest and they are coming this way. Do you want to be here when they arrive? If not you know where to go. Otherwise do what the hell you want; we haven't got time for all this."

Suddenly the sound of screaming could be heard from the direction of the centre of town, only to be cut short and replaced by laughter, a laughter that sent shivers through everyone stood there.

"That's it…fuck this for a game of soldiers," Andrew said pulling himself back together. "Mary, get that Land Rover out of here. Anyone else who's coming move out now, because in a very short time this place will be very unhealthy."

"I need to get my children up and dressed," a woman protested, who up until the laughter had been more worried about them being woken, than what was coming.

"Get them dressed quickly," Andrew said trying to keep his temper, "and bring blankets. Make your own way along to The Lady's Bed."

"I haven't got a car, my husband has it. He works nights in Truro, you won't leave me here, you won't let whatever that was get my babies? Please don't let it get my babies…" the woman was weeping and pleading, but doing very little to get her children.

"Angela can you help her get her kids sorted out, the rest of you move out," Andrew shouted as another scream was heard from the direction of the town, more screams could be heard further off, though the nearer one was not a scream of fear, it was the last scream of a dying man.

"I just hope the Sergeant can buy us enough time," Andrew whispered.

*****

"We have to go and stop them," Donald said as the scream suddenly ended. Taking a firm grip on the sword he began to walk down the road towards the town.

"No," Aiken shouted at him, Donald stopped and looked at him.

"Why not?" he demanded.

"Because that is what they want, they know you are here, they can feel you. They want you to fight on their ground, rather than yours, there you would be harassed from all sides, falling in a matter of moments."

"What about here?" Donald asked.

"Here we can at least slow them, last for a while and in that do what we can,"

"Will you do something for me?" Donald asked.

"For you, anything that it is in my power."

"When I fall, will you get back to the others and try to protect them?" he asked.

"Yes," said Aiken, "whatever I can do, I shall do."

Down the road movement could be seen, shadowy figures pursuing a naked young woman.

"This way, quickly," Donald shouted to her. The things following her though were close on her heels, parodies of people and animals all cast by the same madman.

"Help me," she screamed.

"No Donald, it is a lie," Aiken said restraining him with his small hand, "feel it, it is wrong. That thing is but an illusion."

Donald looked at the woman and something did feel wrong as he did. It was nothing he could actually identify, more like the sick uncomfortable feeling that lingers for hours after an accident with the crossbar of a bike.

"Do you feel it?" Aiken shouted.

"Yes I feel it," Donald shouted back.

"Now feel your blade, it knows, it will aid you all it can."

Again Donald concentrated, memories flashed through his mind, memories not his own. Battles, not like he had seen in fiction, knights in armour engaged in swordplay with chivalry and honour. Brutal battles, hacking, slashing, no subtly just an all-consuming murderous rage it was murder, the blade biting into the face of a man on his knees begging for mercy. A child no more than thirteen losing his blade then his life as he panicked at his approach and a woman naked fleeing her attackers, taking the blade across her exposed belly and screaming in an inhuman wail as her form changed to that of an animated corpse.

"That's the way," Aiken screamed at him, "give them no quarter."

"No," Donald shouted, as the wounded figure crawled away.

"What?" Aiken demanded as the following creatures backed away.

"I stay in control, I will not let my rage rule me again," Donald said firmly, "I will face them, but I will know what I do."

"You are not giving in to the bloodlust that lives within you?"

"No, I have before and I swore never again. I will do what must be done, but I will do it knowing full well what I do."

"Then you have made your choice, Donald of the Blood and I stand beside you as I swore I would. Here they come…"

Three creatures were running up the road, the smallest about the same size as Donald, the largest at least half as big again. The largest stood on the retreating corpse of the woman crushing an arm as it did so, rendering it useless so the creature was now pulling itself along the floor by one arm. The horrific image made little impact on Donald as they attacked, fear was now a thing of the past and he was clear headed. He knew what he had to do…

Aiken engaged the smallest one, his blade sinking deep into the creatures belly, it howled for a moment or two until its head was cut clean off…letting a foul black substance run from its neck. Though obviously mortally wounded the creature did not die, claws tried blindly to grasp at Aiken until he nimbly ran round behind the headless body and slashed at the backs of its ankles. The body dropped to the ground immediately.

Donald met the two baring down on him; obviously he had been deemed the greater threat. The first met the great sword swung with all the force Donald could muster, cutting almost two thirds of the way into its body. The force of the blow carried it into the path of its companion who stumbled and fell to its knees. As it looked up its deformed head met the blade on the reverse swing, decapitating it above the level of the upper jaw. A yellow serpent-like tongue still moved in the hollow left by the sharp teeth, the jawbone flapped, only attached by skin, now the bone and muscle had been severed.

The body though tried to stand, tried to continue its battle despite the loss of the majority of its head, Donald kicked at it and it began tumbling down the hill when it eventually stopped it stood and began blindly feeling around for Donald.

"Donald!" Aiken shouted and Donald turned to see the first demon, the one he had cut almost in half, grasping at his leg. Aiken's sword removed the hand, then the creature's head; with a shove it too began its decent down the hill.

"How do we kill them?" Donald asked.

"We cannot kill them, hurt them…yes, we can maim them, but killing them is beyond the power of man or I."

"What about the ones…" Donald hesitated a moment as realisation hit him, "the ones with no heads?"

"They will heal, with time."

"So we will not win this battle?" Donald asked.

"The battle is never won, it just moves from place to place. The Lady would have brought all the players to this new arena, giving it balance."

"What can you do, how can this lady be brought back?"

"I know not," Aiken admitted sadly, "all I can do is fight besides you, as you fight to save others."

"Well lets hurt the bastards, cut them all up small enough and they aren't going to be much of a threat are they?"

"As I said, lets give them a fight they will long remember," Aiken replied. He could feel that Donald knew the impossibility of what he faced. This was a sacrifice nothing less; he was sacrificing himself for a little time, for people he felt responsible for.

"Heads up, here they come again," Donald shouted.

*****

"Fuck this," Andrew said to Angela, "they are taking too long, I need to get the sergeant. He isn't going to do much against those things with a sword."

"He has The Firstborn with him, he shall protect him," Angela replied.

"No, he had a weird fucking dwarf with him, don't start getting all mystical and surreal with me. These people have had long enough, they should be out of here by now and they are not my responsibility anymore."

"Well whose responsibility are they? They look to you in that uniform, are you going to desert them and if so which ones…the old and the children as they are the slowest?"

"Fuck you," Andrew replied quietly, "and fuck them too."

"No I don't think so," Angela said.

"COME ON PEOPLE MOVE IT," Andrew screamed, people were now coming up the hill too, from the direction that Sergeant Jameson had gone. This was not a good day to find his sense of responsibility he decided.

*****

"Why are they coming like this?" Donald demanded of Aiken after the fourth small group had been dispatched back down the hill. Body parts still moving littered the ground around the two of them, Aiken kicked at a clawed hand that was uncomfortably close before he answered.

"You," he said, "because of you and what you are. There is always one of The Blood at these times, as there is a priestess and The Lady. They are what are needed to start the great hunt and for a while, at least, return these things back to the shadows they come from. They fear you…"

"But we haven't got The Lady, Angela doesn't have a clue what she is doing and you are without power. What the hell can we do against them?"

"I know not, all I do now is what I can do…fight," Aiken replied.

"You fight well Firstborn," Donald said.

"As do you Donald Jameson of The Blood, tis many a long year since I stood alongside one like you."

*****

"That's the lot, anyone else can make their own way," Andrew shouted, though there were no more stragglers.

"You have done what needed to be done," Angela said.

"Don't tell me what I have done or haven't done, you started all this shit," Andrew snarled back at her.

"Lets go and get him," Angela said indicating Donald's car, which Andrew had prevented anyone using.

"About bloody time, if anything has happened to him due to your pissing around…" Andrew said leaving the threat hanging as he got in the car. "What's this us?"

"Well Kemosabe, you need someone who knows what the hell is going on, as you run in playing 'The Lone Ranger' and save the day," Angela said as she got in the other side of the car.

"Just don't…" Andrew replied. "Just don't…"

*****

The easy fight they had started with was gone, these were no longer the weaker creatures attacking them as they came; they were determined and strong. Donald was tiring now, though the little man next to him seemed to be inexhaustible, a taloned claw was something to be nimbly avoided rather than something to be blocked with the sword…the blow saved for removal of the offending limb or the head of the creature. Donald though was now battling for his life, the muscles in his arms burned from the effort to lift the heavy sword and his breath was ragged gasps.

"How many more?" he gasped between foes.

"How many fish in the sea, how many pebbles are on a beach…this is not a battle we will win…this is to perhaps give those left some time," Aiken replied.

"This is something heroic then, something for a cause…something I am not going to get away from,"

"You can see, as I can, to try to leave this battle would cost you your life," Aiken paused and for a moment a look of worry crossed his face. "They come…they who rule here…a trinity of power."

"Who?" Donald asked looking down the road where the mass of creatures seemed to be parting.

"Lucifer, Satan, and Beelzebub…all that mankind fears is waiting in the shadows, now walk the earth this day."

A car horn sounded and Donald looked back up the road, at the point just before the road narrowed his car was waiting and Andrew was waving. He looked down the road at the three creatures approaching.

"Do you think we can reach that car before they get here?" he asked.

"No," Aiken said glancing, "you couldn't."

"But you could…now go," Donald cried starting walking towards the approaching creatures.

"Donald…no," Aiken said.

"Make it mean something. Go, protect them and when you too fall make sure they have paid for it. Now go…" he carried on walking down the road the blade of the sword resting on his shoulder. It was talking to him, not in words, but in feelings, sensations and fragments of visions. This was what it was created for, not for the battles of man against man, they were but fleeting things, as Donald knew this was what he had been created for…this was his time.

"Goodbye Donald Jameson, you do your ancestors a great honour by taking your place at their side, fight well, die quickly and never surrender to your fears," Aiken said, turned and ran back towards the car.

*****

"What the bloody hell is he doing?" Andrew shouted as Donald began striding down the road towards the oncoming demons.

"How should I know?" Angela demanded. "It looks like he is going to fight them."

"But we are here to get him…"

"He wouldn't get here in time, those things are too quick."

"I can get closer," Andrew said putting the car into gear and beginning to head down the narrower part of the road, only to find Aiken blocking the way.

"Move your arse or I will run over you," Andrew shouted at him, the little man raised his sword.

"Either you stop this thing or I will, it is the time for us to leave this place,"

"But the Sergeant?" Andrew protested looking down the road to where Donald was making short work of two smaller demons in advance of the three formidable beasts.

"No, it is time to leave…"

"But the Sergeant…" Andrew said as the little man opened the back door and climbed in.

"He has chosen his path, now go honour his memory by choosing your path and following it as bravely as he has," Aiken said placing a hand on Andrew's shoulder.

Andrew looked back down the road; the three huge creatures had halted at Donald's advance. He swung his sword at the one with the erect phallus; the creature met his blade with a huge forearm and screamed in pain. The other two beasts gave the man no quarter though, both attacking him from the sides and Donald Jameson fell, smaller beasts running in to help finish him off. The man made no sound as he was overwhelmed, for a moment or two more his sword could be seen moving then it fell.

"That is how one of The Blood dies, making Lucifer, The Light Bringer scream in pain and taking twenty demons and the Great Three to subdue him, it is a death to be proud of, now go man…make his death mean something, let us get this lady and all the others to safety," Aiken said squeezing the mans shoulder.

"Yes…yes…lets go…we must go now…" Andrew said his eyes full of tears, he put the car in reverse and headed backwards to a point he could turn around.

*****

Chaos was amused by the fall of the human; he had a spark within him a spark of everything Chaos hated…as did the little man and the woman. They tried to bring order to chaos, peace where there had been conflict and love where there had been hatred. A futile effort though, as everything alive was created through chaos and conflict, it was the nature of life. This battle though was almost over and Chaos now knew that this world would fall and once again that which was called Order would mourn their passing.

*****

"Get close to the stones," Aiken shouted at the milling people possibly three or four hundred out of a town of seven thousand. The people did not question him, things that they had seen this morning had numbed their minds and they blindly followed.

"What of the others in the town?" Angela asked.

"We can do nothing else, some will die most though will survive, for it is the fear that they relish. You though one of power would be first to die, so prepare yourself you must close the circle."

"Me, what of you?" Angela asked.

"In there I can do nothing, the protection the circle offers is but a prison to me. This side of the barrier I can try to do more, though what I know not."

"What do we do?" Angela again asked.

"Close the circle and open it for no one and maybe pray for The Goddess's help, for that is what it will take now. So stop asking questions and start doing, can you not hear them approaching. They now number thousands and second by second their power and their number grow…close this circle now and protect these people as you are all they have."

"Me, I can't do anything to…" Angela began to say but was interrupted by Aiken raising a grubby finger to her lips.

"You have faith, you have power and you have strength. Now believe in yourself and do what you must."

"What happens if they come? What happens if they get in?" Angela demanded almost hysterically

"You face them with your eyes open, if it is to be your fate to fall at their hands…make it hurt them for every life they take. Show no fear of them child, for a spirit such as yours is eternal. Now go…you have work to do, as do I." Aiken gently pushed her towards the people and turned to leave.

"Can I come with you and help?" Andrew shouted to him.

"Not this time, but a time will come when we shall fight side by side. If your valour is half as strong as your love then it will be a sight to remember. Now though your place is here, the woman needs your strength and the other woman your love," Aiken said and he started running back towards the town.

Angela closed her eyes a moment drawing on her inner power, before her the elements were ready.

"Oh Lady who created all in nature,
We seek your protection at this time
When all around us is raised against us
When all around us is dark
We turn to the light that you offer
And ask that you keep all within her safe
So mote it be."

*****

Aiken skirted the approaching creatures; the people in the town were now forgotten in their lust to destroy those who dared escape. Aiken though ignored them; at this time he had something else to do. Especially now when all seemed so dark the hero must be honoured, his flesh returned to the earth and the cycle of nature allowed to continue. For even if all fell, as long as the earth endured some of what made The Blood special would endure. It was a task that he could not postpone, for he knew so well that later was something that none of them might have.

The body was in the road, a bloody lump of flesh. Claws had raked the man as he fought, lacerations had opened his face to the bone and his innards lay scattered around him. Aiken knelt in the blood and carefully replaced the strewn intestines within the abdominal cavity, which had been opened up by four claws raking across his belly like knives.

"Why is it always like this, why must it always be so violent?" Aiken whispered his voice hoarse with emotion.

Gradually he put the body back in some sort of order, ignoring the blood and flesh that adhered to his hands, he noted with a wry smile that the blade that Donald had borne into battle was still grasped by his right hand. He caressed the blade for a second, feeling the new sensations imprinted on the metal; if it was possible the weapon was proud of itself and he who had carried it…it was now time for both of them to be laid to rest. Aiken laid the blade along Donald's body in emulation of warriors of old, for he had earned his place alongside the best of them.

Without effort Aiken picked up the man, though careful balance was needed to keep the sword from falling and to retain his grasp of his own. He walked up the road towards the outskirts of the town seemingly unconcerned about the possibilities of other demons. At a small copse he stopped and laid the body down carefully, before beginning to dig at the hardened earth with his hands…after a long while apparently satisfied with the shallow scrape he laid the body in it and carefully arranged the sword on his breast.

"I am sorry Donald of The Blood, you deserve better than this and if I can I promise you will have better. A hero though often rests upon the field where he falls, left to be picked over as carrion by animals on four legs and some that walk upright on two, you at least shall rest undisturbed, that is the least I can do for you."

Carefully he covered up the body and rearranged some of the leaf litter over the disturbed earth.

"Sleep well," he said before turning and leaving without looking back.

*****

The circle was made with only moments to spare before the first of the demons arrived. Some of the people within the circle panicked and ran at the far side of the barrier before realising that they were protected, at least for the moment.

Angela could feel her strength being drained as the creatures began their attack on the circle.

"Help me, help me keep them away," she said.

"How?" a man near to her asked.

"Give me your strength, help me…there are too many…"

"How?" the man asked.

"Concentrate on me, pray, meditate or whatever you need to do to clear your minds…then it will flow."

A small number of those that sheltered in the haven of Angela's making took heed. The surviving members of the coven became the first to help, showing others the way to help; the burden almost unbearable for one was shared amongst many and for a while at least they were safe.

*****

Aiken was already ancient when he asked a question of a man, a mere child by Aiken's measure, yet wise beyond his years.

"Are you the great king who has come to free these people?" he had asked.

"What makes a king great?" the wanderer had asked in response.

"A great king is a leader, beloved of his people and one who will win great battles," Aiken had replied.

"Battles do not make a man great, nor does money or power," the man had answered looking around at his companions. "A great king is one who would lay down his life for the one person most insignificant amongst all of his people."

"Can a man be insignificant?" Aiken asked amused by this verbal exchange.

"One man should never be insignificant, he is gods creature and as such is as important as the greatest of men," the man replied.

"What of you then, can you be the most insignificant of men and the greatest, can you lay down your life?"

"My future is written ancient one, though I may fear my fate I will not stray from the path for my father watches over me," the man replied with a smile. "What of your fate?"

"My fate is written also, I was here when the world was created I shall be here at the end when naught else remains and my fate is to see all those that I call friend, all those that I love, pass away before me,"

Though he had never understood the nature of the man, his message was strong. His surrender to his fate was a victory and those who he considered enemies became those who revered him most. His words though had stayed with Aiken, too often on the field of battle he saw a king sacrifice men by the thousand with no thought, only to sue for peace when his own life was endangered. The Blood were different; there had never been one of The Blood who had given less of himself than he asked from his men. They still died, but occasionally there was one who made another choice, one who would not lead men to die but would die in their place. For one man to give his life for another was brave, for one to give his life so many could be saved was heroic, heroes though often died too young.

Donald's sacrifice troubled him though; the choice was his and had he decided to lead the people here it would have been a glorious battle, but pointless. His death had saved some for now, but still it had been pointless…those that he saved were safe only for a while, as was the world, and there seemed no way to win. This though was a fact of life, at some point all things had to end and as always The Firstborn was here. Maybe this was his purpose for being here at this time, not to save mankind but to witness its demise, to dance one last time as the world he knew ended.

"There is power here yet, power in the earth, power in the air, power in the trees and there is power in the people," Aiken shouted. "If there is a way to stop this I shall find it."

"And you will fail Firstborn," the voice of Lucifer replied. "Without your lady you are powerless."

"Me powerless…Never," Aiken shouted looking around to see where the voice came from. "While I have two feet I will still kick your arse back where it came from."

There was no response from the creature and no sign of where it was hidden; Aiken knew though that a time of reckoning was close.

 

*****

The load shared between those who were willing and able, Angela was able to turn her attention from the immediate protection of the people around the stones, to the immediate needs. They were cold, scared and some of them injured in their flight from the town. She had little if nothing to treat the injured with though, her kit was at home and the selection of plants in this small area minimal.

"What are you looking for?" Andrew asked as he saw her studying the ground.

"What ever there is, some of these people need help. There isn't much here though except for blood," she indicated where the other members of her coven had fallen, no bodies remained, but the crimson stains on the grass marked where they had fallen.

"What more of that magic shit?" Andrew said angrily. "Haven't you done enough damage already?"

"Listen to me, we did not bring those things here," Angela replied angrily.

"No of course you didn't and you're not thinking about playing with your magic potions now," Andrew snapped back.

"It's herbalism, I'm a professional herbalist. You know, a doctor who believes in natural remedies,"

"It's all a load of crap," Andrew said.

"What I do is either crap or its real, make your mind up. Look, I am sorry your sergeant died," Angela said grabbing his arm as he turned away, "but it wasn't our fault."

"Well it was someone's and they are going to pay…"

"Things you know nothing of walk this world, many cultures understand them but we in the west have lost the knowledge, except for stories. These things are no ones fault, they just are…" Angela said more gently.

"Are you telling me that those things walk amongst us unnoticed?" Andrew demanded. "I don't know about you but I think I would notice a huge hairy beast with horns and a tail calling itself Satan. I haven't seen him down at the fucking supermarket and I sure as hell haven't seen any of them in the pub. Those things are not natural."

"I think these things are natural, we have just forgotten what nature is and how terrifying it can be to be part of it," Angela replied.

*****

Aiken was worried, little in his long life had ever worried him; this though was something beyond the experience of the oldest of those who walked the earth. The powers were trapped, that which filled a universe, was bound within the borders of the town. He had created a great circle encompassing the whole world except this town, effectively separating the town from everything. That in itself was creating stresses and disturbing the balances that held the universe together…however the power that had come was trapped here too, separated from existence by its own strength and there was the second circle, Angela's circle, a circle within a circle, keeping out all that was being kept in by the greater circle. Or was Angela's circle keeping in all that his greater circle was keeping out? The forces and the powers were unbalanced, Aiken wasn't sure if the world, or the universe, could survive this…whatever happened though he would be the last…for he was the first and before the end he had a score to settle. Be it the end of everything or just the day before tomorrow, before the sun rose again on this place he would have his day with Lucifer.

"Lucifer, Lucifer…where are you?" he shouted getting to his feet. "I am coming for you Light-bringer. I am going to kick the shite out of you and present Lord Herne with a new horn."

As a flash of lightning followed by a roar of thunder announced the atmosphere's protest to the forces at play in such a small area, Aiken his sword in hand started his solo hunt.

*****

Chaos was slow to recognise its imprisonment, its fascination with the affairs of the ephemeral creatures took its attention away from its surroundings. Only when it tried to spread, to encompass the whole world did it encounter Aiken's barrier. The barrier flared across its whole length as Chaos tested the boundaries of its imprisonment, the more force it applied, the firmer the barrier became. It was trapped, the creatures here had done what those so long ago had done, imprisoned the entity for their own purpose. It fought, letting loose all the power it could muster at this time; it was but a feeble effort, cut off from the universe it was crippled. For a moment or two the intellect retreated, becoming a baser creature screaming and fighting, not knowing that the power it fought was its own. The uncontrolled power caused the greater circle of Aiken and the lesser circle of Angela to flare, the colours starting off at the green of the Northern Aurora, working through the reds, orange and yellow as the energy increased. Realising that its rage would do nothing, Chaos ceased its efforts. For a moment or two it pondered its predicament and came to the conclusion that those within the smaller circle those protected were its enemy…its captors. They lay safe beyond its reach, but not necessarily beyond the reach of the creatures that awaited them outside the smaller circle, they would have all the power they could live with; they would be its weapon.

*****

The Earth itself was rebelling against the powers that were brought into existence in this place. Aiken knew that the shaking was just one symptom of the stresses being brought to bear on this small area. The assault on nature by the unearthly energies was as painful to him though. Trees were being forced into leaf, weeks and months of growth in a matter of hours, destroying the cycles that they depended on. He walked through a field in his search for Lucifer, the summer flowers underfoot crackled as they broke at his footfall, the frost, which had not and would not clear this day, created fragile blooms that shattered as if made of glass.

He could feel the power at play, sustaining and empowering his enemy, yet unavailable to him. Without The Lady he was as Lucifer said impotent, a conduit for a power that only she could wield. Soon though he would have his time with The Light-Bringer, then perhaps it would be the time for the last dance, perhaps this would be the end of the world and as he was first he would be last.

"Lucifer I can feel you," Aiken screamed into the teeth of the gale he faced and he peered through the gloom and the beginnings of snow at a shadowy shape lumbering away from him.

"Lucifer, you can't hide from me, I can feel you beast and I know your stench. Now turn and face me here and now…if you have the courage."

"Firstborn, I think the time has come to deal with the irritation your existence poses," Lucifer replied turning around to face Aiken. Lightning revealed his features for a moment before they were lost in the gloom.

Aiken ran forward, a yell escaping his throat as he did so, the sword raised high above his head. As he reached the beast he swung with all his might, but the blade was stopped inches away from Lucifer's chest by a blade that the beast held.

"A pretty toy I found buried in the ground," Lucifer said thrusting Aiken away. The Firstborn went tumbling backwards but was on his feet before he had stopped moving.

"Do you recognise it?" Lucifer asked. "It caused so much pain, yet it serves me now…"

"Ye defiled the grave of he who fell?" Aiken asked his rage growing.

"Yes," Lucifer answered in a matter of fact manner. "It causes you pain, that is reason enough to do anything. You are the Firstborn, most favoured, for that alone I despise you."

Aiken again ran forward and blade met blade, this time with a shower of sparks as they slid along each other's length.

"Is that the best you have in you Firstborn?" Lucifer asked. "Well the time has come to show you what power is."

Lucifer swung his blade with such speed that Aiken only just managed to block it with his own, the impetus of the blow though again knocked The Firstborn to the ground. As he leapt to his feet again, it was in time to block another fearsome blow and again the smaller man was again sent tumbling.

"You cannot die Firstborn, yet now for the first time in your life you can feel fear. There are many things worse than death and we shall have an eternity to explore them all," Lucifer said with a leer.

Aiken was silent. Fear was something he didn't know, there was apprehension in his heart though and that was akin to fear. The beast was far stronger than it should be at this time and Aiken knew it spoke the truth, should he lose this battle then death was something he would wish for.

*****

Pain…pain…an all-encompassing pain…the one focus of life was pain and through that pain Donald realised he still lived. The nerves of his skin were on fire, a different pain from the multitude of wounds that he had suffered at the claws of the demons. It had surprised him that the mortal wound, the wound, which had opened his side, had hurt so little compared to some that were mere scratches in comparison. There had been no tunnels of light or loved ones waiting for him, just a darkening as he lost consciousness and now pain. He lay there for a moment with the pain and cold; lying twisted on the ground, face down in the earth. He realised the soil that his face was lying in wasn't interfering with his breathing, because he wasn't breathing and he couldn't remember when he last took a breath. He lay there for a moment or two more, remembering the beasts tearing at him as he lay on the ground, trying to reach the blade again and came to the conclusion he must be dead.

After a few minutes letting his mind come to terms with the fact he was dead, he decided that the lack of life wasn't all that the churches had made it out to be. He was cold, in pain and was uncomfortable due to the way he was lying.

He took a breath and retched as he inhaled soil, he sat upright and coughed repeatedly. Eventually the heaves that controlled his body eased, though the pain still endured and he looked around him.

He was at least a mile from where he had fallen, in the countryside away from the housing estate. He couldn't think how he had arrived here; he had fallen on the narrower stretch of road on the hill. Around him a storm was raging, snow was falling and a gale blowing and for some reason he was surrounded by daisies and other wild flowers, a flash of colour very out of place at this time.

He carefully stood up and gingerly looked down to see what damage had been done to him in the battle and for the first time in his life Donald Jameson fainted.

*****

The battle was going badly for Aiken, only his speed and agility had saved him up till now. For over an hour he had faced Lucifer and for over an hour every attack that he had used had failed. The creature was too strong for him and too fast. If another came to Lucifer's assistance the balance that was achieved so far would be lost and he knew he would fall to the beasts ministrations.

He leapt high into the air swinging at the head of the beast as he passed over the sword the beast carried, again blocked his blade and the beasts strength threw the little man away.

"Do you yet know fear?" Lucifer demanded of him.

"No," Aiken replied through gritted teeth as he got up from the ground again.

"You will soon…and pain…and despair," Lucifer promised.

*****

The fear was turning to pure terror in the people within Angela's circle. While the sun shone there had been some hope that the creatures could be held at bay, as the storm had grown in its fury outside the circle and the sun had been lost in the gloom, people's hearts had fallen.

The strain was on Angela again, the panic in people's minds even those of her own coven prevented them allowing their minds to reach that place where she could use that energy. Only a few devout Christians with their prayers were offering any help at all…and for those few she was sure, if they survived, she would be indebted to for the rest of her life.

"What are you going to do then? We can't stay here doing bugger all just waiting for them to come," Andrew demanded.

"Listen to me very carefully, I shall say this only once…" Angela replied the strain in her voice obvious. "If you think I have power to bring those things here then fuck off, before I turn you into a toad…if you don't, then fuck off and let me concentrate. Unless of course you would rather they were in here with us?"

"How long can you hold it?" Andrew asked with no mockery or anger in his voice, just concern this time.

"I don't know," Angela replied taking a slightly hysterical tone of voice. "We come up here, we do our thing, we go home…this sort of thing isn't supposed to happen. I know the theory of what I am doing, but as to how the hell I am doing it I haven't got a clue. So how am I supposed to know how long I can hold it…"

"It's ok," Andrew said taking her hands in his gently, "and I apologise, I'm scared shitless."

"As are we all," Angela admitted, "can you see if you can calm them down a little?"

"I'll see what I can do," Andrew said releasing her hands and turning away.

"As will I," Angela whispered as she looked through the shimmering green haze at the masses of creatures that awaited her failure. Again and again they had assailed the barrier, now though they waited, knowing that the weather held outside the circle was doing more to tire the defenders inside than anything they could assault them with.

*****

"Oh Firstborn, your tongue, always so quick, is silent now," Lucifer said as the two apparently mismatched opponents faced off, neither yet having gained an advantage.

"My tongue is mine to use or not as I see fit," Aiken replied shouting against the teeth of the gale; snow stuck to his clothes, hair and beard and in places it was now up to his knees hampering his movements. Lucifer seemed immune to the elements, the snow seemingly to melt upon contact with him.

"Firstborn you know you are beaten, this is a fight that is beyond you. Feel the power of this night and surrender now. I may be merciful," Lucifer said his blade lowered.

"Seek mercy off you?" Aiken screamed. "NEVER."

"So be it," Lucifer replied, lunging towards Aiken, only to have the Firstborn step aside at the last second. Aiken raised his sword to strike the beast across the back as it passed and hesitated…

Above the sound of the wind, could be heard a scream.

"NO," it seemed to echo through the earth and the soles of Aiken's feet and he turned, Lucifer was forgotten as he was trying to sense its source. He glanced at the huge figure of Lucifer for a moment then turned, running towards the town.

"Firstborn, you do well to flee from me," Lucifer screamed. "It will do you no good though, before the sun is seen on this place again, we shall rule."

*****

In the snow Donald lay trembling. He knew that if he didn't move he was risking hypothermia, but now he was beyond caring. His life had been taken from him, slain by creatures out of religious mythology and in return he had been given an existence of pain…and now this…

"YOU BASTARDS," he screamed hoping that one of the creatures would come and finish him; anything was better than for them to leave him like this.

He rolled onto his side, the snow cushioning the uneven ground, but his body resistant to the change of position and as much as he could, curled up in the foetal position, gently rocking and sobbing as he got colder and colder, the snow covering him gently in a deadly blanket.

"Oh My Lady," came a voice from behind him, he ignored it, the cold and the shock too much for him now. He felt himself being picked up from the ground and moved against his will, he didn't have the energy to fight his kidnapper so he lay there slowly losing control and consciousness once more, as he approached death, this time in a more peaceful manner.

*****

Warmth and pain woke him for this the third time; the pain was the same assaulting his body all over. The cold though was gone. He hesitated before opening his eyes, too much was going on in his life for him to want to open them. He was lying on something soft and he could smell a coal fire, so he had to assume he was in a house. There was someone here with him, more than one person; there was a muted argument going on somewhere close by.

"…dead what hope will you have then? If this is the way to stop those things then you will have to wait a while. Have some faith and pray for our salvation," an elderly woman's voice said.

"What sort of weapon is faith when it comes to the fight?" the voice of the Firstborn demanded. "Do you think prayer will keep the beasts from the door? The martyrs who died for their faith all have one thing in common, no matter what they believed, they all died. Time is of the essence, out there the beasts are unopposed and the earth herself rebels at what is being done to her, this would be the end for all…but for one…"

"All you will have if you drag her out there is a corpse and what good will that do you?" The elderly woman demanded, they moved off the argument continuing but the voices lost to Donald.

He opened his eyes and looked around, the room was gloomy lit only by the glow of the fire. He could see Christmas cards on a mantelpiece; in the centre was a carriage clock marking the time…twenty past two. He had been unconscious the better part of the day or possibly long into the night, it was hard to tell.

"Don't try and move yet," the woman's voice said as he started to struggle against the blankets that seemed to be trapping him. "I would rather you were in a hospital, but I don't think that will be possible with everything that is going on. So you just rest, hypothermia is no joke, much longer and your strange little friend would have been bringing in a corpse."

"He should be," Donald whispered, "I should be dead. Those things killed me, I died…"

"Maybe they decided not to, or maybe Our Lord saved you…"

"No," Donald said sitting up suddenly as the memories came flooding back again, "I died, sword in hand fighting against the evil…"

"I think you are probably all mixed up," the woman suggested.

"NO!" Aiken protested loudly. "The memory can play tricks, but this is no dream of one who is confused. It was a glorious battle, one that will long be remembered…by me if by no other."

"If I died how am I here," Donald asked.

"I know not," Aiken replied. "You have been born again from the flesh of the earth, she rarely intervenes in the matters of man or gods, but this time the assault is against her. You have been born again. As one was left in the earth for this time, you have come from the earth in our time of need. I am at your service, as always, My Lady."

The world took on a strange feel for Donald for a moment or two, the pain he still felt diminished as for a second the world seemed to swim around him. It felt like a dream or a nightmare, ever since Alan Manley's episode last night the world had become such a strange and hostile place. Looking around he saw Aiken stood next to a woman obviously of great age…was she another of the beings that seemed to be bringing such madness into his life?

"What have you done to me?" he demanded, his voice weak and strained.

"Nothing," Aiken replied. "You are a creature reborn of The Earth, one to take the place of she that was lost…and you are beautiful My Lady."

Donald couldn't see much of himself through the tattered clothing he wore, but beautiful was not a term that came to mind. He had been reasonably proud of his body, though not as fit as when he was in the military he had not let himself go. Glancing down now though, he could see the oversized pendulous breasts resting on his huge belly. The tattered remains of his shirt hid nothing, his trousers were worse his hips and rear having destroyed what had remained of them. He was suddenly very self-conscious about what he had on display and pulled the blanket around him.

"I'm a fat freak," he whispered as a fit of shivering took hold of him again.

"Be thankful love, your padding is about the only thing that kept you alive out there. Had you been one of those stick insects that they seem to like so much on the telly, you would have been long dead by the time your little admirer found you," the old woman said. "Now let me make you a cup of tea."

"What has happened to me and why do I hurt so much?" Donald demanded of Aiken as the old woman disappeared into the kitchen.

"You are one with the earth, you feel her pain," Aiken said his eyes never leaving her. "It has been so long Lady, I have missed our time together."

"I never knew you before tonight," Donald protested.

"I have known you since the first mother walked upon the earth, you are eternal," Aiken replied.

"I'm Donald, the one who fought alongside you, not your lady," Donald protested again.

"You were Donald, a warrior of great skill and courage that sustained him until the end; one who died to give life to others. Now though, you are The Lady and you shall save all," Aiken replied.

"I can stop those things?" Donald asked disbelievingly.

"You have a power, you are the key, though you shall not fight them."

"How do I do it?" Donald asked him.

"I know not. I know my part, but as to how you do it…it is as much a mystery as how a bird knows where to fly in the winter," Aiken said sadly.

"Would Angela know?"

"She may, the ways of a woman's magic are different to those of a man. It is the difference between The Goddess and Herne, both have a power that is similar, but it is different for each," Aiken replied.

"We have to find her then," Donald said firmly standing up, his modesty forgotten.

"You are going nowhere," the old lady shouted in reply, as she walked through carrying a tray with three cups and a teapot. "First of all you drink this, then we have to find something for you to wear. There is a little bit too much of you, for anything I have around here."

"I can't spare the time," Donald said. "If I am able to stop this I must."

"You can and you will," she said firmly, "I may be an old fool and there is much happening that I don't understand today. I don't know what those things are, I don't know what you and your little friend are, but I do know if you go out there dressed like that you will die of cold long before you face those things. Now sit down, drink your tea and let me think a moment."

Donald and Aiken sat down without argument.

*****

 

Though there were many more people in the town than had taken refuge with Angela at The Lady's Bed, Aiken knew, on the whole, the rest of the population of the town were safe at this point. The creatures; the demons, were more concerned about the few that they could not reach than the many that were helpless.

That though did not mean that it would be safe for the elderly woman to travel with them. His arguments though seemed to be unheeded.

"Ancient mother, your kindness has been most welcome, but you should stay here where it is safe," he said as he watched her putting on her coat. She just stared at him for a moment before tying a headscarf under her chin.

"Listen to me, I know these creatures and while I and The Lady are safe, I cannot promise to be able to protect you too,"

"Protect me?" she said with humour in her voice.

"Yes Ancient Mother, there are things that you cannot comprehend that walk upon the earth this day," Aiken replied.

"Its not Ancient Mother, that makes me sound like some sort of fossil," the woman replied. "Sarah, Sarah Ellison and I think that you have less idea of keeping this girl alive in the cold than I have about those things. I heard you while I was making the tea and though I normally wouldn't believe such things, today there is much that I will believe, things that I wouldn't have believed yesterday. I do however comprehend that this might just be the end of everything if nothing is done."

"Sarah, there is much danger out there," Aiken said.

"It is no safer here, there is nothing to stop them coming in. If you and her can stop this, then with you is just about the safest place to be,"

"Then let us go," Aiken said.

"The girl can stay here and clean herself up while we go and acquire some clothes for her," Sarah replied.

"But…" Donald started to say, but quickly realised that there was little point in arguing with this woman. The world might be falling to shit around her; but she wasn't going to change her mind.

"The bathroom is upstairs, there is plenty of hot water get yourself cleaned up, you look like you have been digging in the earth."

"Oh no Ancient Mother," Aiken replied and saw her expression, "Sarah, I mean, she has not been digging, I buried her."

"As I said to a member of the Free French back in forty two, I don't care what you foreigners do at home, but we don't go in for that kind of thing here in Cornwall," Sarah replied. "Shall we go, or are we going to wait around for the next apocalypse?"

"Give me a warrior…I have never understood the ways of women," Aiken replied shaking his head. "We go…but it must not be far and it must not be long. The Lady must be kept safe at all costs."

*****

In the tiny and gloomy bathroom, Donald tried the light switch unsuccessfully; he had the feeling, with what was going on outside, that electricity would be more than he could hope for. In the mirror he caught the first glance of himself and had to use the wall to support himself.

The woman looking back at him was overweight that was the first thing that struck him. A double chin and chubby face looked back at him, not that she could be called ugly or pretty, more motherly sprang to mind. She would not be out of place as the mother of a large family, with children fussing around her skirts as she worked in the kitchen.

His dark hair seemed longer and he brushed a lock that was hanging over his forehead away with a dirty hand.

The woman in the mirror copied him.

There was no panic in him, surprise and fear were things from earlier in the night, now all he felt was numbness…or was it serenity?

Slowly he began stripping away the tattered remains of his clothes. The marks from the demons teeth and claws were obvious in the fabric, each one bringing a memory of the sensation when it occurred. Underneath the fabric though the flesh was pink, whole and unmarked. Whatever had happened to him, however much he objected to it…it wasn't his other option…death.

The body underneath the clothing was revealed to him, the dirt obscuring little, though there was little there that he did not expect by this time. Large breasts, a flabby belly, wide hips and fleshy thighs and arms…between his legs was that which defines a woman.

Still there was no fear in him, no more shock, not even revulsion at what he found…it was what he expected and in some ways it felt like he had always been this way. He filled the bowl with hot water and began to wash the unfamiliar flesh, to rid himself of the dirt of his grave.

"Are you done yet dear?" a voice behind him asked. He reached for the towel and turned around to find Sarah standing there.

"Nearly," he whispered.

"Good, you clean up nicely. Your friend and I have been doing some breaking and entering. Mrs Haywood at number thirty two is a big girl, even bigger than you, so seeing they weren't around we have requisitioned some of her clothes."

"You shouldn't have," he replied.

"If you are the key to stopping all this, then you cannot go running around in the buff. Summer yes…quite possibly, but even then you might object to the audience, you seem shy enough with me."

"Things are strange, too strange to try to explain," he said apologetically.

"I can believe that, when you are done come through to the bedroom. I will give you a hand getting dressed," Sarah said. "Are you sure you can fight these things?"

"I have fought them, that was the time for me to fight…now is not the time for me to battle…" his voice drifted off to silence, something was there in his mind a knowledge that he could not reach.

"Are you sure you are well?" the old woman asked.

"I don't know," Donald whispered in response. "There are places in my mind I cannot reach, places that have always been there but before today I didn't know they existed."

"I don't think you are well…and I am not too sure about your little friend, perhaps it would be better if you both stayed here, where it is safe."

"Nowhere is safe this day and if it is not I who walks amongst the evil, then who?" Donald asked. "It is my task, my purpose for existing and what I have done many times before. In the darkness one must stand forth before the beasts, one must defy them and one must call…"

Donald staggered for a moment, the conflicting memories causing turmoil within his mind…Sarah was at his arm to support him by the time the world came back into a sharp focus.

"The cold almost killed you, are you sure that is not a part of this confusion you feel?" Sarah asked looking up at him. He realised how much shorter he was, this woman had to be under five feet tall yet he was only a few inches taller than her.

"I died before the cold of my grave chilled me to the bone, I am here now only for the task that I was created. If I stay here or go outside I must face my destiny once more, but if I go to meet it I might just save some from those creatures," she replied. "I am The Lady, I am the incarnation of the earth…"

"You must do what you must, but you are not leaving this house until you are dressed," Sarah said firmly.

"You are kind to strange visitors who arrive on your doorstep," The Lady said to Sarah.

"It is a strange day and at this time kindness is something that might be repaid," Sarah said taking the flannel and continuing to clean the filth of the dazed woman.

"Kindness is something that is always repaid many times over, this time of danger is no exception," The Lady laid a hand on the elderly woman's head, still covered with the headscarf. "May your life be full of laughter and joy until that time when you are ready to leave this realm."

"And what happens then?" Sarah asked amused by this strange blessing.

"Then you shall be welcomed into a greater consciousness," The Lady replied.

*****

Donald rather than The Lady was led to the bedroom, there was a duality in his mind, but not an oppressive presence. Even with the interlude in the bathroom when The Lady seemed to take control, he knew it was not a case of control. Donald Jameson was dead and gone, as was The Lady that Aiken waited on…an amalgam of the two had been created, a creature of ancient times and modern times, but no more human than The Firstborn.

"The underwear is new, it still has the label in," Sarah said passing him some knickers. He/She looked at them for a moment, simple cotton with small yellow flowers decorating them, for a second something within rebelled, then it was gone. There were more important things at this time than how he felt about clothing, the male part of him was rational enough to realise that it was too cold to go without. He pulled them on, turning his back on Sarah as he did so, pulling them up so that they covered his belly button, controlling some of the flab that he was finding the most difficult thing of his change to come to terms with.

"You are going to have to cope without a bra, Mrs Haywood is a lot bigger than you, in some areas, it would only offer moral support," Sarah said with a smile.

"Whatever you say," Donald replied. "It will be dark soon, then they will be stronger…I need to get to The Lady's Bed before the sun sets."

"Well let's get you dressed,"

Thick black ribbed tights came next, clinging to his legs and bringing some warmth to his chilled body. A t-shirt and then a jumper confined his breasts a little; the weight on his chest was strange, uncomfortable yet familiar and reassuring. As with the rest of the clothing, the long denim skirt was too large, the elastic waist though compensated and somehow he/she knew that battle was not her purpose. She didn't need to be running around fighting…it would do.

"Thank you," she said to Sarah as she pulled on a pair of boots that came up to just below her knees, they again were too large but Donald was thankful for the fact that they only had a low heel; he wasn't going to complain.

"Can you stop them?" Sarah asked her.

"If I can't nothing on this world can stop them, but you will wait here, where it is safe and warm," Donald replied…or was it The Lady…he was The Lady…she was him…Donald though was gone.

"Do I need a name?" he asked Sarah, confusion about who he was and what he was in his mind.

"The little man says you are 'The Lady', that is as good as a name at this time," Sarah said gently, her hand now reaching for the confused woman's head. "I am not sure exactly what has happened to you, or what you are, but I want to believe in you, in both of you."

"Believe in us," The Lady said firmly her confusion gone. "For we are real and unlike those things that walk out there, we have a place and a purpose on this earth…when those things are banished to the shadows, when they are only known in the darkest of dreams, I shall be waiting for the next time they appear and The Firstborn will walk the earth as he will."

*****

"Oh My Lady, you are beautiful," Aiken announced as she entered the room. "It has been too many years since we were last needed."

"The years pass swiftly for me, while the darkness is not here," The Lady answered.

"Beautiful?" The part of her mind that was still Donald then asked in amazement.

"You are the mother to all the creatures of the world, all will see you and love you," Aiken replied.

"It is late in the day Firstborn, your complements though most welcome must wait. We may yet be too late…" The Lady answered, as that which was Donald was once again suppressed.

"Tis my fault, the power I had I squandered, believing that if all else failed there was power enough here to call you,"

"There was power in the earth enough to create me," she answered, "but I feel the earths pain. Now we must act, for there is not much time left."

"You can get a coat on before you think of going anywhere young lady," Sarah said firmly.

*****

"Something is happening," Andrew said to Angela.

"I can see that," she replied a little more sharply than she had intended to, the strain of maintaining the barrier was hard on her. Then again, before today she had considered it more of a spiritual thing, protecting the sanctity of their rites than a physical thing.

"What do you think they are doing?" Andrew asked her.

"I don't know, there are a lot less of them now than there were, but all they need to do is wait. The cold will kill us soon enough."

"I thought perhaps they were losing interest in us," Andrew replied.

"Possibly, but whatever happens they are outside we are stuck in here, unless The Firstborn can do something we are finished."

"What do you think the dwarf can do?" Andrew asked with derision in his voice.

"The Goddess only knows what he is capable of…"

*****

They started walking towards The Lady's Bed, her coat tightly buttoned and a pair of gloves slipped on her hands at Sarah's insistence. She had to admit that she was glad of Sarah's assistance, the weather was bitter. Even through the layers of clothes, the cold was reaching her. The part of her personality that had been Donald was busy analysing sensations, the cold air blowing through the tights on his legs, the haven of warmth under his heavy skirt, the strange oscillations of different parts of this body and the strain and discomfort that was caused by his unfettered breasts as he walked. The personalities present were blending, though memories were not forthcoming. It was more an acceptance of what he was, what her purpose was and the feeling that something had to be done to stop the pain she felt.

"We are not alone," Aiken said grasping the sword he still carried more firmly. "They feel your power…"

"No Firstborn, it is not power they feel, it is that we are everything that they oppose," The Lady replied the answer coming unbidden. "They fear the light yet are drawn to it like moths to a flame…knowing that within is the seeds of their own destruction."

"Then we can destroy them?" Aiken asked eagerly.

"No, for without them we too would cease to exist, with them there is a balance in the world," The Lady replied.

"The world though and the people would carry on, they would be safe though it would cost us our lives…" Aiken said, his voice reflecting the conflict in his mind.

"No, both we and they are needed. We are both part of the nature of man, without them, or us, what would man be? Where would the spark that makes mankind special come from if not from us? Where would all life be without conflict and love?"

"I can fight them though?" Aiken asked.

"Oh yes Firstborn," she said with a smile. "You may have your sport with them."

"What is happening to me?" the Donald part of the personality asked, as it re-established some dominance within his mind. "There is no way I could have known that…"

"You are 'The Lady', she is you," Aiken answered looking up at her face to see if there was understanding. "Worry not, she lives within all mankind for she is a reflection of the earth and nature, she will not harm you."

"She is taking over my mind…" Donald said with fear in his voice and Aiken reached up and took his hand.

"No child," he said gently, "she is part of you and always has been. You will always be you, but now you are more…much more. With that change comes power, responsibility and wisdom. Ease your mind let her become part of you, for you are 'The Lady'."

"What will she want of me?" Donald asked.

"Nothing, you have given all that you could and that gift will be repaid again and again and again. Before you fought the creatures in vain, knowing that eventually you would lose. Now you will never lose…" Aiken replied with a smile. "The Lady who sleeps has awoken and will shake this world to the bones."

"How?" Donald asked.

"You will know when it is time."

*****

"Is that you back child?" Sarah asked at the sound of knocking at her door. There was no answer.

 

"Who's there?" she shouted as the knock came again. Again though there was no answer.

For a third time there was a knock at the door.

"Go away, or I am calling the police…" Sarah shouted trying to peer through the frosted glass at the side of the door, to see who was outside.

There was another knock, but this time the door shuddered from the power of the blow, there was a second and Sarah backed away from the door. At the third blow the door shattered and she screamed as she saw the huge dark figure outside.

"Thrice you denied me woman, that will not be forgotten. My kingdom has come on earth and non may deny Lucifer," the beast roared.

"Go away," Sarah croaked.

"The Firstborn always has been fond of his pets, that is his weakness, that will be your undoing and that will be your and his doom," Lucifer said crouching down to enter through the doorway, for a moment he became trapped in the narrow entrance. He flexed his muscles and stood up, masonry and timber doorframe shattered with his strength. "The Firstborn always was a fool, he cared and he cares about you, that will be his undoing."

The beast moved forward quickly, far quicker than the elderly woman could move and a clawed hand grabbed her arm. With no regards to the frailty of her age, Lucifer dragged the screaming woman out of the house.

(continued)

 

 

 

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