They Mostly Come Out At Night (24 page)

The King stood with his bride and surveyed the outsiders. "Yes, they bring much ill with them, but strength and selflessness as well. Look at the large families huddled together. Most of those children do not share the same parents, but yet they are cared for. How could I be the one to send them back out into the world?"

His wife did not reply, but her eyes saw not only the goodness of the people. She also spied the pickpockets, the liars, the adulterers. She felt fear.

Finally, the tall woman exited the temple, exhausted and gasping for breath.

"What took you so long?" the handsome outsider barked at her. "What happened in there?"

She did not answer him, but instead turned to speak with the king. "It spoke to me," she began, in a voice saturated with awe. "It will have us, despite our flaws, if we pass three tests. One of strength, one of trust, and one of love."

The Magpie King nodded. "Will you attempt these tests for your people?"

The woman met his eyes with a look of pure fear, but then hardened herself and nodded her acceptance.

The following day was the day of strength. As the sun peered over the horizon, it illuminated a tall cliff that stood behind the temple. From their make-shift tents the most eagle-eyed outsiders could just make out a castle at the top of the cliff.

"The test of strength," the Magpie King directed the outsider woman. "You must climb this cliff, and arrive at my home before nightfall. Otherwise, you all must depart this forest."

"It is a trick," the sly stranger warned her. "Look at the size of that rock - this is an impossible task. Come away now. There are other ways to win this forest."

But the tall woman ignored her companion and steeled herself for the climb ahead. When the sunlight finally made its way to the forest floor, she threw herself at the rock face and began to climb. At first, it seemed as if the man had spoken truthfully - this climb did indeed appear to be impossible. However, fingers and feet found previously untouched crevices, and by mid day, she had climbed higher than the majority of the outsiders could see.

A small party of the Corvae and outsiders made their way to the top of a winding path that was the main route to the Magpie King’s castle. There they waited, but the woman did not arrive. Afternoon came and went, and evening began to fall, the yellow orb of the sun sheltering beneath the treetops. The outsiders began to despair, and the Magpie King took it upon himself to scale down the cliff to locate the stranger.

He found her, eventually, sheltered beneath an overhang that blocked her path. She was rigid with fear, and exhausted from her exertion. "I have failed," she moaned, softly. "I have failed them."

"You have not failed, sister," the Magpie King assured her, brushing a lock of hair out of her eyes and guiding the mouth of his water skin to her lips. "Your companions are not far above us now, but evening threatens to fall. Retreat a few paces, and then begin your ascent in a new direction. You will be in their arms again soon."

She gave a nod of thanks, and followed his instructions. As the last light of the day fell, her hand came over the edge of the cliff to grasp that of the Magpie King. The trial of strength had been passed.

The next day was the day of trust. The Magpie King brought the woman to a wild part of the forest, where thick bushes with needles the size of knives grew in great thickets.

"The razor-trees are as sharp as any sword," the Magpie King explained, "and any brush up against them will mark you for life." To demonstrate, he gently rubbed a green apple along one of the nearby protrusions. The fruit fell apart in his hands.

"However," he warned, "this is not the greatest threat. The thorns also carry a deadly poison that will give you a swift, if not agonising, death." All outsiders recoiled from the plants at this information.

"Your challenge," the Magpie King continued, "is to travel from one end of this thicket to the other. Blindfolded."

The woman took a few moments to digest this information before looking to the Magpie King in confusion. "But then, how?"

"There is a safe path through this part of the woods, known to all Corvae." At this, the Magpie King nodded and his people spread out before him, amongst the deadly thorns, awaiting the beginning of the trial. "They shall be your eyes for this task. They shall instruct you on how to move through the forest unharmed."

The cunning man laughed again at the presentation of this challenge. "Another ploy," he counselled his companion. "They could not lose you on the cliff, so they seek to kill you here and blame it on your own fumbling. What will the rest of us do once you, the greatest of us, have fallen? They will force us to leave these lands."

But the strong woman remembered the kind words of the Magpie King on the cliff on the previous day, and she accepted the blindfold gladly. The soft cloth blocked her vision and she took tentative steps forward.

"Hold, sister," came a voice to her right. "The way forward is not safe," came her instructions by the unseen Corvae. "Instead, walk towards my voice, and continue on that path until you reach my son."

Taking a deep breath, she turned to the speaker and walked towards him, and continued to do so until a new voice instructed her to do otherwise.

This continued for many hours. The strong woman was passed from father to brother, from wife to grandmother, a long chain of forest people guiding her to safety. All went well, and her confidence began to grow. As it did so, her pace quickened, eager as she was to regain her sight.

"Sister, no," came a shout to her left. She felt a small shove to her side that caused her to side-step slightly, and she then stood rigid with fear. Beside her, she could feel the earth tremble as a body collapsed, frantic convulsions and pain-wracked gurgles signalling the end of a life.

Panicking, the woman lifted a hand to her blindfold.

"No, sister."

She recognised the deep tone straight away.

"Your task is almost complete, but all would be forfeit if you stole back your vision now. A Corvae has fallen here, but in doing so she has saved your life and the fate of your people. Honour her - turn towards me and walk, slowly."

The strong woman turned to the Magpie King and began to walk. She rejoined the chain of voices, which eventually led her to the edge of the thicket. She was greeted by the cheers of her people, but this time her sense of victory was muted by the sadness surrounding the Corvae at the loss of one of their own.

The day of the final trial arrived. This was held back at the temple, in front of the assembled outsiders and a host of Corvae larger than any the outsiders had yet seen. The Magpie King stood at the head of the gathering with his wife at his side, a look of stoic sadness on both of their faces.

"The trial of love," the Magpie King began. "This is the most difficult of all tasks, yet can be completed by any assembled here." His voice rose at this, allowing all to hear. "Think hard about everything this woman has done for you," he counselled them. "She is not the only one who can provide for her people."

He allowed a pause for this to register with all assembled, and then continued. "For the trial of love, the Great Magpie demands a sacrifice. For countless generations, the Corvae have lived here without malice towards each other. Yes, we have had arguments, but we never forget that we are one people. If you are to become Corvae, the Great Magpie demands a sign that your people are capable of this too." He scanned the audience now, his gaze resting on nobody specific, although all felt that his speech was intended for them and them alone.

"The Magpie demands that one of you sacrifice your bonds with the Corvae. The rest of the people assembled here will join us with our arms stretched open in welcome. They shall become Corvae, they shall live and find peace in the forest."

"But one shall be cast out, exiled from the forest. Your knowledge that this sacrifice will save every other outsider here is the only balm you shall be offered."

"Preposterous," the handsome outsider shouted in response. "Do you really think that any of us would be foolish enough to give up so much and never benefit ourselves? My people, listen to me. Do not be taken in by these false promises. We have the ability to force our way into this forest without any sacrifices needing to be made."

A great murmuring broke out among the gathered outsiders. Although many of them were in agreement with the cunning man, many more were raising their voices to address the Magpie King. They were looking to save their friends, their family.

The strong woman turned to the Magpie King, and for the third day in a row a look of fear was etched on her face. "Do not let them volunteer first. Let me take this final burden."

She then stood up and shouted above the rising noises from the crowd. "It is me. I am to be exiled." She turned in desperation to look at the Magpie King.

After a pause for consideration he nodded his approval.

Within the hour the Magpie King stood atop his castle, his sharp eyes picking out the forlorn figure making her way to the forest border. Below him, two peoples mingled, becoming one. The sites for new villages to house the outsiders - no, the new Corvae - were already being planned.

And as he watched a handsome, tall man slink around the borders of the campsites below, a bitter scowl on his features, the Magpie King wondered what exactly he had invited into his domain.

His gentle sobbing told Mother Ogma that Lonan was awake. She waddled over to his bed and rested her hand on his head.

"Now, dearie, nothing too much to worry about. A couple of fingers is a small price to pay for how unbelievably stupid you were last night."

Lonan shrugged her off him, sat up and eyed his ruined hand. Sniffing he replied, "He's dead, Mother Ogma."

"Yes, I have to say I’m rather proud of myself. Who would have thought I had it in me, at my age?"

"No, not that monster. Adahy. He was killed."

Mother Ogma's brow creased. "Now, dearie. Surely last night's events have helped you to see that all this dream nonsense has been leading you astray? That wasn't even a Wolf out there last night."

"No!" He half-screamed his answer, causing Harlow to jump up in response.

To Lonan's surprise, the old man continued to move, flailing around on his bedsit. Mother Ogma moved over to him again to calm him down.

"No, Mother Ogma," Lonan continued in a lower tone when Harlow had settled again. "He was there last night. The Magpie King, exactly as I told you."

She clearly did not believe him. "Then why did he not stop that thing from hurting you?"

"That's just it. He told it to kill me. It was working with him. You must have got a good glimpse of that thing that ate my fingers - it even looked like how I described the Magpie King. Almost."

"I don't understand then. If this Adahy is who you say he is, why would he want that to happen to you?"

"He wouldn't. That isn't the kind of man he is. Was. He was a good king, Mother Ogma. He was going to make us safe…"

"Perhaps it was the other one then? Maedoc?"

"Seems more like him, but that couldn't be right. They were at the palace in my dream last night, the party was still happening…" Lonan slipped into silence.

"What is it, dearie?"

"My dream last night. The party was still going on. The party that began the night before."

"That seems unusual, dearie."

Lonan cupped his head in his hands and gave out a groan. "I've been a fool. They don't mean anything, the dreams, do they?"

"Perhaps. But I've heard the dreams of madmen before, and very rarely do they remain so consistent. The Magpie King last night - are you sure it was him? He was the same as in your dreams?

"Every last feather, yes."

"Well then, there must be truth there. None of our stories describe him in such detail."

"Yeah. Yes, that's right. That part still makes sense. But everything else is so different. No Wolves outside, but instead those… birds?" Lonan shuddered, clutching his bandages again. "And the timing of last night’s dream, that was all wrong. It should have been a day on from when I last saw Adahy, not just an hour or so."

He raised his eyes to look at Mother Ogma. "I thought my dreams were showing me events as they happened. I was wrong."