Redemption (18 page)

“Come out boy!”
the rider demanded.  “I grow impatient!”

The horse tossed
its wild mane and Rebecca caught sight of eyes that glowed like red-hot coals. 
Isaac shifted and peered upward, trying to make out the rider.  He tensed and
squeezed her hand.  “Dullahan,” he breathed.

The horse and
rider moved a few more steps down the path and Rebecca finally got a good look at
the black knight perched on the massive horse.  He was tall and broad, powerful
looking.  And under his arm he carried his own head. 

The face, thank
God, was hidden from view against his body.  Blackness issued from the neck of
his armor, like a black soul escaping.  “Death waits for no man, Isaac,” the
rider taunted.  “You are mine!”

Rebecca barely
dared to speak.  Her words were hardly more than a sigh.  “It’s Irish?”

Isaac didn’t
peel his gaze away from the being that was calling his name and beating the
bushes at the roadside with that wicked sword.  “Yeah.”

Rebecca’s heart
hammered in her chest, and she was so intent on keeping silent that she was
sure the monster could hear her heartbeat.  “How do we get rid of it?”  Surely,
his Irish granny had told him stories about this one too.

Isaac glanced at
her.  “I don’t know…”  He furrowed his brow for a moment before he came up with
the answer.  “Gold.  In the stories, gold always stopped the dullahan.”

Rebecca stared
at him, wide-eyed.  “Gold?  Where in the world are we going to get gold?”

The horse let
out a shriek and plunged off the path, headed right toward them.  The dullahan
swung his murderous blade in a powerful arc, cutting through the saplings and
underbrush with ease.  Isaac and Rebecca broke and ran, dashing through the
forest, dodging trees and boulders and staying just out of reach.  The horse’s
hooves thundered behind them, growing closer by the second. 

“Damn it!” 
Isaac shouted.  “I don’t have anything to give it!”  He shoved Rebecca away
from him.  “You go that way, its following me!”

She didn’t have
time to protest as he went crashing away into the woods.  “Over here, you
bastard!”  His deep voice carried through the heavy mist.  The dullahan went
thundering after him, promising death.

Rebecca pushed
her thick hair back from her face, desperately wondering what in the world she
could do.  A dull metallic gleam caught her eye.  She glanced down at her
hand.  Her wedding ring.  She dashed after Isaac and the dullahan, hoping she
would be able to find them in the fog. 

The horse
snorted up ahead, and the dullahan shouted Isaac’s name, clearly growing
agitated with the game of cat and mouse.  Rebecca steered around them.  A long
arm shot out and wrapped around her waist as a big hand covered her mouth.  She
was pulled under the shelter of the prickly branches of a big pine tree.  “Shh,”
Isaac’s warm breath tickled her ear. 

Rebecca twisted
free and immediately started trying to get her ring off.  She hadn’t taken it
off since her wedding several years ago.  She had gained weight since then, and
the smooth band wouldn’t budge.  Isaac moved close, speaking in a whisper. 
“What are you doing?”

She grunted and
pulled at the ring.  It bit into her flesh and refused to budge.  She wiggled
it back and forth, trying to work it over her reddened skin.  “My ring,” she
hissed.  “It’s white gold!”

There was a
crashing near at hand.  “Found you, Brennan!”  The dullahan was elated.  “Your
soul is foul.  Dark.  Oozing pain.  It will be a perfect addition to my
collection!”  The sword cleaved the low hanging branches of the tree just
inches from where they stood.  Rebecca and Isaac stumbled back. 

“Get it off!” 
She held out her left hand desperately. 

Isaac took her
hand and swiftly inserted her finger into his mouth.  Heat blossomed in her
stomach as he swirled his tongue around her finger, then withdrew the digit. 
The ring slid off.  Rebecca glanced up at Isaac with fire in her eyes.  He
didn’t have time to protest as she shoved him down and darted past him.  She
rushed the headless figure and brandished the ring.  “Gold!” she shouted. 
“I’ve got gold.  Leave him alone!” 

The huge horse
whirled, nearly stomping on her, but she held her ground.  She glared up at the
dullahan.  “Take it and leave!”  She threw the ring as hard as she could.  It
arced upward and landed in the empty neck of his armor with a hallow clink. 
The dullahan gave an angry shout and disappeared in a swirl of damp, frigid
air. 

Rebecca stood
there panting, braced for a fight, until Isaac’s hand touched her shoulder. 

“Your ring,” he
said softly.  “That was your wedding ring?”

She just nodded,
still staring at the place where the dullahan had disappeared. 

Isaac dropped
his hand and leaned tiredly against a tree, his face pale and wan.  “Thank
you,” he said finally.  “I know how much it meant to you.”

Rebecca
shrugged, still not looking at him.  “It was only a ring, it wasn’t worth your
life.”  She started walking back toward the path and Isaac fell into step
beside her.  “Besides, I should have taken it off a long time ago.”

When they reached
the path again, their footsteps faltered.  A massive door hovered in front of
them, right at the base of the mountain.  Half of the tall, arched panel was a
blinding white color.  The other half was a deep, midnight black.  While light
seemed to emanate from the white portion, the area around the black half was
steeped in shadows. 

“Well, that
certainly seems symbolic,” Isaac said with a faint attempt at humor. 

Rebecca took a
deep breath and grasped the handle.  “No more than anything else around here.”

~~~~~

The narrow path
wended along the ridge of lush green mountains, as if they walked along the
humped spine of some huge, slumbering beast.  At times, it crossed deep valleys
where clear streams could be seen winding their way along the channels carved
into the hillside.  At other times, the path would rise, and they would be
wrapped in mist, their footsteps and voices oddly muffled. 

They came across
just such a misty passage near the end of the fourth day. 

“We should stop
here,” said Isaac, his deep voice hushed in the foggy cocoon. 

Rebecca peered
around.  The mist was thinning, but visibility was still limited.  “Here?  But
there could be anything lurking just on the other side of that fog.”

He shrugged. 
“True, but if we can’t see it, then maybe whatever’s out there won’t see us
either.”

It was sound
logic, except for the fact that this wasn’t the real world.  Rebecca was pretty
sure whatever monster the dream had in store for them next wouldn’t have to
rely on sight to find them.

Still, her arms
and legs felt heavy, and they were moving at a snail’s pace.  They would need
to stop soon, before they dropped.  “I suppose this is as good a place as any.”

Isaac took her
hand and led the way off the path.  “We won’t go far.”  He glanced at their
linked hands and away.  “I don’t want us to get split up in this fog and get
lost.”

Rebecca squeezed
his hand in acknowledgement.  She couldn’t imagine facing a horror like the
ones they’d seen all by herself.  They hadn’t walked far when they came to the
bank of a small pool.  The fog here was dense, thicker, and more humid than
before.  Rebecca’s steps slowed, and she hesitated as Isaac strode forward.  He
glanced back at her in question.  Then, seeing the weariness on her face,
dropped her hand. 

“I know, I know.” 
He said, holding up a hand to ward off her protests.  “But it feels different
here.  Less menacing.  Let me look around the edge of the pond.  I won’t leave
the water, so I’ll keep my bearings.  You stay right here.”

Rebecca tossed
her hair back out of her eyes and squared her shoulders, not wanting to seem
needy.  “Sure, whatever.”  But she didn’t like it.  She didn’t like the thought
of being separated, not even for a minute.  This place was too unstable.  It
could change at a second’s notice.

It must have
shown on her face, because Isaac’s expression softened.  “Don’t worry, I’ll be
quick.”  Then he darted off along the edge of the pond, disappearing from
sight. 

Isaac hadn’t
been gone long when she felt a cold presence at her back.  Rebecca spun to
watch as the dark, robed figure drifted out of the shifting mist.  “Beautiful
scenery,” rasped the hooded man.

She crossed her
arms and tried to look as if he hasn’t unnerved her.  “Just great,” she said
sarcastically.  “Such a nice, clear view of the mountains.”  Visibility was
about four feet at the moment.

The robed figure
drifted toward the edge of the pond, his long, crooked staff clutched in a
pale, bony hand.  There was a rumble of sound in the distance that could have
been the call of some horrible creature, or maybe just distant thunder.  Her
dark visitor stooped by the water, where he swirled one bony finger in the
milky depths.  He paused at the rumbling sound and tilted his hooded head,
listening. 

“A piece of
advice,” he rasped, with something like humor.  “This is a good place to spend
the night.  I think you’ll find everything you need right here.  If I were you,
I wouldn’t move from here until morning.” 

Rebecca barely
registered that death sounded tired.  Then he straightened and drifted back
into the fog.  She watched silently, expecting him to return suddenly and try
to startle her.  But the minutes dragged on in silence and she supposed he was
done with his worthless visits and obtuse statements for the time being.

It was several
more minutes before she realized that Isaac should have returned by now.  She
stood there in indecision, wondering if she should go after him, or if she was
better off staying where she was so they wouldn’t miss each other in the fog. 
As she stood there, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth and shifting from
foot to foot, a masculine
whoop
of surprise made her jump.

“Isaac?” she
called worriedly.

“It’s okay,” he
answered almost instantly, his voice laced with laughter.  “I’ll be right
there.”

The breeze
picked up and the mist shifted a bit, so that Rebecca was able to see Isaac as
he approached.  One pant leg was dark, soaking wet to the knee.  He grinned at
her.  “I got too close and slipped in.”

She shook her
head in disbelief.  “What took you so long?  Did you find a place to spend the
night?”

His blue eyes sparkled
and he held out a hand.  “Come on, you’re not going to believe this.”

Rebecca slipped
her hand into his and followed him into the fog, stumbling occasionally on the
odd rock hidden among the thick, lush grasses that grew here.  Every now and
then, the breeze shifted, taking some of the fog with it, so they could see
glimpses of the mountainside.  The pond turned out to be more of a small pool. 
The hillside was dotted with a chain of them. 

Isaac hurriedly
led her to a larger pool near the end of the chain.  “Look,” he breathed, as
the mist shifted again. 

Rebecca sighed
at the sight that met her eyes in the hazy glow of the setting sun.  A small,
thin, waterfall tumbled down a rock outcropping, dropping into the pool.  Thick
fog rose from the surface of the water, and she turned her eyes to Isaac,
puzzled. 

“What’s wrong
with the water?”  She said.  It looked like most of the fog was actually coming
from the little pools.

Isaac laughed. 
“Hot springs,” he said excitedly.  He crouched by the water, pulling her down
with him.  “Feel it!”

Rebecca
reluctantly stretched out her hand, expecting some horrendous water monster to
strike out any second.  Instead, she let out a little
ooh
of surprise as
her fingers slipped into the hot water.

Isaac smiled
back at her, then stood and nodded at the grassy clearing just behind them. 
“And look at this!”  Her eyes followed his to a small, brightly colored tent
made from drapes of heavy silk material that had been cast over the branches of
a nearby tree.  A pile of thick cushions in deep reds and golds spilled from
inside.  

Rebecca turned
to Isaac in disbelief.  “This… is this some sort of challenge?”

He shook his
head.  “I really don’t think so.”  He ran a hand through the back of his hair
and looked at the ground, sheepish.  “I sort of… imagined it, and there it
was.”  Just like the lighter.  Isaac’s imagination seemed to have some power
over this world, though it never seemed to have any effect on the demons and
monsters that inhabited it.

He shrugged.  “We
can sleep here tonight.  And in the meantime…” he kicked off his shoes and
socks, then pulled his t-shirt off over his head.  “I’m taking a bath!”

Rebecca stared,
momentarily distracted by the broad expanse of lightly muscled chest now on
display.  His nipples were pierced, she noted with fascination.  He turned to
glance back at the pool, and she caught a glimpse of the beautiful phoenix
tattoo that covered his sculpted back.  She stood and hastily turned her back
as he started in on his fly, squelching the urge to let her fingertips explore
that glorious body.