The Passing Bell Tolls for Thee

37 Body and Soul

Geoff's mind was clear. His arm was broken or maybe fractured, but he thought he could get to his feet, if April kept Ben talking. Smokey dragged himself over to Geoff and began kicking his face. He pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed Cress.

She answered immediately. "What's up, Geoff? You still at Oakton?"

He whispered. "Call the police and tell them to come to the King's Oak clearing on Oakton. Ben is insane and wants to kill April and me as a sacrifice to Hydd."

"That old story. Geoff, are you drunk for once?"

"He broke my arm, Cress. Make the call and then go to the church and ring St. Duncan's bell."

"That's a myth, Geoff," she said, "Tom, you heard all this. Call the police." Tom's voice whispered in the background. Geoff heard him talking and hoped it was to the police.

"Ring it, Cress. I don't know if Ben or Drew or whoever is in that body, will react to it, just go to the tower and ring it. You have your keys, right?"

Ben said, "Hydd approaches."

April looked at King's Oak, where a large stag stood. The stag walked tree into the shadows and the horned man walked out.

"What happened?"

Geoff peered over the stone, watching as Hydd approached them.

"There was a stag, now he's a horned man," said Geoff. "Ring that bell, Cress. It's not just our lives; our souls may be at stake."

Tom said into Cress's phone. "We'll ring the bell and get there as soon as we can, Geoff. The police are on their way."

April watched Hydd, his eyes on her. "I don't know what you put in that coffee, but I'm having a bad trip."

"No trip," Hydd said in his deep, ragged voice, forcing the unfamiliar syllables out. "Except beyond the border to the otherworld."

April stooped, grabbed the metal coffee thermoses, and banged one hard on Ben's knee. He howled, and she whacked the other in his face. She didn't want to run and leave Geoff, but Ben and his accomplice were too much for one woman armed with a couple of thermoses.

She threw a thermos at the strange man with the horn headgear. It hit a horn and fell to the ground. Hydd took a step closer. She hit Ben again with the thermos and heard his nose break.

He growled and lunged for her. She tripped him up and ran around the buggy. She hopped in, hoping she could start it up and run Ben and the other one down. No keys. Ben must have them.

She got out and ran around the buggy with Ben following her. He clasped her jacket. She shook it loose, and ran away. Hydd grabbed her. She grabbed one of the horns and knew that the horns were growing from his head. She wanted to scream, but forced herself to stay quiet.

"Now." Ben, holding his bleeding nose, got rope from the buggy, and turned to her.

Groaning loudly, Chico ran in the clearing at the horned man. At last, the monster who killed his sheep was here, and could not disappear, along with the man who helped the monster. Chico ran straight into Hydd and knocked him over with 400 pounds of fury. April fell to her knees as Hydd released her. She was free. She ran away from the fight and leaped over the stone to Geoff. She helped him to his feet.

"Let's try to hide in the forest," she whispered. He put his good arm around her shoulders.

Ben got to his feet and hit Chico with the rope. The llama's mouth worked, and he vomited on Ben, three stomachs worth. The smell reached April and Geoff.

Ben screamed at the smell, and dropped the rope, clawing at the vomit on his face.

Hydd got to his feet. Chico groaned, snapped at him, but missed and swung his head at the monster. Hydd jumped aside and resumed his stag form. Chico kicked at him, biting the stag before kicking again. Hydd drove his antlers into Chico's neck. Chico froze, trembled, and stepped back, blood pouring from his wounds. He lay down, struggled feebly, then laid his head down and died. His brilliant eyes darkened. For a moment the clearing was still.

A bell rang, faint and clear, in the distance.

"St. Duncan's bell," Geoff said to April.

The stag turned in the direction of the sound and became Hydd. The bell rang again. "No! No! No!" he screamed. "I will not be stopped."

Ben staggered over to him, wiping more vomit away. "Get them while you can. I want my vessel."

"Fool! Duncan comes. We are undone."

St. Duncan's bell rang again.

Hydd screamed. He jerked his head around swiping the horns against Ben. Ben gasped, staggered, then fell, bleeding from the stab wounds. He twitched and lay still.

Hydd faced April and Geoff. She was trying to get him away, but he moved slowly.

Hydd strode across the clearing and leaped on the flat stone. St. Duncan's bell rang again. Hydd flinched, but stood on the stone. He watched as April helped Geoff lean against a tree and turned to face him, armed with a thermos.

A dog bayed, and a great hunting mastiff ran from the woods at Hydd. Hydd turned just as the dog leaped at him, knocking him down. Hydd turned back to stag, and fought the dog, but the dog was relentless. Hydd turned back to horned man, ran for the King's oak, and tried to climb it. The dog dragged him down, and held him.

A man came from the woods. He was stocky, of medium height, with the fair hair and blue eyes of an Anglo-Saxon. He wore rough woolen clothes, and carried a staff.

"Good dog," he said. He reached down and hauled Hydd to his feet. Hydd was now a man, hornless, and shrieking. The man with the staff slapped him and he stopped screaming. The man nodded at April and Geoff. "Drew Ramsey will not steal another life. Hydd will cross the boundary no more." He hauled Hydd into the shadows, with the dog following. They disappeared.

St. Duncan's bell rang.

April helped Geoff stand up and tried to help him to the buggy.

"Ahhhhh! Moment, please. Let me sit down." She helped him sit on the ground and he rested against the stone. He closed his eyes, sighing with relief.

St. Duncan's bell rang again.

Geoff texted Cress: 'Safe now, you can stop ringing.'