Page 46 of The Silent Mountain
“The creature,” the harbinger growls.
The creature? He must be talking about the mare!
I take the front, leading him and Tynan to the tent Cassie is hiding in. A flock of birds follows us, but one swipe with Cù Sìth’s tail and they are gone.
“Cassie!” Barbara yells while fighting herself through the birds in the tent. There are too many of them, surrounding Barbara and clawing at her. Cassie is hiding in the furthest corner, the mare in the cage right next to her. Her eyes are wide in fear, and she buries her head in her arms.
Before any of us can act, Cù Sìth lets out a loud growl. It shakes the ground and makes my head spin, and for a split second, I can see and feel it all. I see Ita’s body in front of me, the mortal wound she received, I feel the pain once more, the loss. Ros groans in pain while Tynan lowers his head, whimpering slightly.
Around us, birds drop to the ground, and Cù Sìth stops his battle cry. I try to get my emotions under control, remembering from Shayan that this is Cù Sìth’s power—to awaken the deepest fears in someone. He did it to target the birds, but it did have some effects on us too. Barbara drops to her knees, looking tired and sad, her arms full of scratches, while Cassie looks at us through teary eyes.
I swiftly shift to my human form, hurrying to her. “That's the battle cry of Cù Sìth,” I reassure her. “Everything is alright.”
Cù Sìth tilts his head. “I apologize, but it was necessary.”
His words seem to pull Cassie out of her haze. “The harbinger,” she whispers. “He is really here!”
Cù Sìth turns his head to the cage that the mare is kept in. “They didn’t get him, fortunately.”
“That’s what they were after?” Tynan asks, back in his human form as well.
Cassie gawps at him and blushes, averting her gaze. I completely forgot that we are naked after shifting back to our human form. I don’t need to look for something to cover myself with for long, because Favian hurries to us in the tent, with relief on his face when he sees us. Then, he swiftly takes off his coat and puts it around me. Tynan, meanwhile, unceremoniously takes the tablecloth off the table and wraps it around his body.
“Cù Sìth said the birds were targeting the mare,” I tell Favian.
“Why?”
“Because it’s not from this realm,” Cù Sìth says, circling the creature in interest. “It shouldn’t be here.”
“I thought mares were just uncommon in our area?” I ask.
“They are uncommon in this whole realm. They were banned from here,” he says. “Only myths and legends about them remain.”
“So, it escaped?” I ask.
“Maybe,” Cù Sìth lowers his head to stare at the malicious creature. “I would like to do my own research.”
“Of course,” Cassie blurts out. “Research, however…whatever…” she pauses. “This is a dream come true! The harbinger of death in my tent.”
“One's dream is another’s nightmare and the other way round, I guess,” Tynan mutters.
Seeing how they have it under control, I remember that Barbara got hurt during the attack. Fortunately, Stefan is already tending to her. I still want to make sure that she is alright though, and follow both of them out of the tent. “Barbara…”
“I’m okay, Alana,” she shows me the scratches. “It’s all just on the surface.”
“I still want you to get them treated,” Stefan says. “It was slightly stupid to jump into a flock of deadly birds.”
“She was defending Cassie,” I say.
“That’s why I said it was onlyslightlystupid,” he says.
“Don’t be so patronizing,” Barbara chuckles. “You sound like my father. Maybe that’s why the king always glares at you.”
Stefan sighs. “I don’t think that’s the reason,” he says.
His words stir my interest, but it’s not the place to enquire further. Stefan is right, Barbara needs to see a healer.
“Still so gloomy,” Barbara teases.
