The Horror and the Wild

VIII. Evil Eye

December 14, Monday

Owen wandered far into a wicked, wasting garden and found that the twisted plants had overrun cracked and weathered headstones. He'd found himself in a graveyard. The world was lit in shades of gold and the shadows were long and black from the light of the dying sun. Owen knelt in front of the headstone before him, but the inscription made no sense.

Cillian MacDuff.

But Cillian wasn't dead. He just wasn't. Owen didn't even really believe Cillian could die. A group of ravens fluttered away as he stood, and voice behind him said,

"Do not stand at my grave and weep."

Owen turned to see Cillian there, the setting sun behind him creating a perfect halo.

"I am not there," he continued, reaching forward to wipe the tears from Owen's face. "I do not sleep."

Owen frowned, grasping Cillian's hand and holding it to his cheek for fear that the druid would disappear if they lost contact. "Then why do you have a headstone?"

"Nothing is eternal," Cillian said. "But dead stars still burn."

Owen felt his frown deepen, but Cillian used his free hand to smooth Owen's expression. Then he stood on his toes and kissed Owen's forehead. Before Owen could respond, a flock of ravens enveloped them both in the darkness of their feathers, pulling Cillian away from him.

Owen woke to the sound of fluttering wings, finding a bird careening around his ceiling as though it had been pulled from his dream. Frowning, he rubbed the sleep from his eyes and got up, trying to grab at the bird. It wasn't the raven he sometimes saw lingering about. No, this bird was something small; probably a wren or a thrush.

His windows were closed, so how it had gotten in was a mystery to him. All he knew was that he wanted to get it out and try to catch another hour of sleep.

The frustrating thing about small animals was that they were too frightened of a human's size to realise that the human was only trying to help them. So when it flew under his bed, Owen sighed and got down on the floor to try and find it. Finding the bird fluttering about beneath the furniture was easy. But as he tried to catch it, he saw something drawn on the floor.

With a sigh he crawled back out from beneath the bed and tried to push it out of the way so he could see the chalk lines in full. Dani must've heard him fumbling about, because there was a soft knock on the door. Owen went around and opened it for him, and the teenager peered into the room.

"What's going on in here?" he asked. "If you had more game, I'd think all that banging around meant you were getting busy. But you? You'll be a virgin forever."

Owen felt his face burn as he sputtered indignantly. He wasn't quite sure what to say in response to that. He first thought to defend his honour, but then he thought to mention that celibacy was part of the priesthood. Then he considered that perhaps he simply didn't owe the teenager an explanation. But as the thoughts warred in his mind, no words came out of his mouth.