When The Storm Hits

Chapter 25: Seen It All Before

With my arms wrapped around the Black Rider, we rode the horse away from Landon's house. The horses hooves slid down the gravel driveway, as we reached higher speeds. When we made it to the bottom of the driveway, the Horseman and I slid off the mare.

In front of me stood the carriage, no longer a figment of my dreams. The box shape of the sitting area was made out of a black leather material, and the wheels were made out of dark wood. On top of that, the whole thing was covered in human bones. There were femurs attached to the wheels, whole upper bodies attached to the walls of the cab like trophies, and various other bones used as decoration.

The horseman stepped towards the cab and opened the door to the carriage. The handle looked to be made out of a shortened clavicle bone. He then stepped back so I could climb in. The inside of the carriage seemed to be a lot bigger than how it looked on the outside. Just like in my dream the soft interior was brightened by candles that lined the wall. I watched through the small window in front of me, and saw a corpse in an extreme stage of rot climb up into the drivers seat. He grabbed ahold of the reigns with the one arm he had, the other one looked like it had been torn off. Then the Horseman claimed in after me.

"Are you scared?" He asked me.

"Not really. This is just like the dreams I have been having." I said. The Rider gently placed his hand on top of mine.

"That is what I hoped, that the dreams would acclimate you to the real hunt." He said squeezing.

"May I ask you something?" I stared at the ground.

"Of course Lillian." He said.

"Why do you treat me the way you do?" I asked him.

"Well, to start, the Banshees are the leaders of our clan. They are like our queens, held in very high respect of all the Dullahan. Another reason is that, as I have watched over you, and seen the kind of person you are, I can't help but love the person you are. Even my host body has strong feelings for you." His shoulders turned slightly away from me , if his head was attached I imagined he would have his head bent down in shame.

"You have a host body?" I asked him.

"Oh yes, the Dullahan spirit can not have a body of its own. We are only allowed out at night." He said. I could have sworn I heard a laugh come from the head.

"Who is your host?" I asked him, touching his shoulder.

"He does not want me to tell you. He is ashamed." The Horseman's voice said.

"Will he tell me some day?" I frowned.

"Of course, when the time is right." The Horseman then let go of my hand and distanced himself from me. "We are here."

The two of us climbed out of the carriage which was stopped just outside of the woods that lead to the priests cabin. Like clockwork, the Horseman chose one of the mares, detached her from the rest of the beautiful black horses. He climbed up into her saddle while I head the lantern case, and then he pulled me up after him.

"Are you ready to ride?" He asked me.

"Yes," I said slightly out of breath.

The Rider dug his heels into the mares side and she shot off into the night. We rode through the thick forest, dodging various branches that hung over the trail. I laid my face against the Horseman's back and closed my eyes. The cold winter wind felt nice, the clothes I wore kept me warm. Suddenly the mare came to a halt.

"We are here already?" I asked climbing down.

"Yes, you know what to do?" He questioned.

"Of course." I said. Planting my feet on the ground, I leaned my head back and sucked in a huge breath. And then I screamed. Just like in the dreams my body felt as if it was tearing itself apart as energy exploded from my mouth. Blue light burst out around us, and then the feeling of power filled me. This was who I was meant to be.

"Very good, his soul has detached itself." The Rider said taking my hand.

We walked towards the small cabin, before phasing through the wall. I watched the small man asleep in his bed while Rider walked towards him. He stuck his hand into the air, grabbing something that was invisible to me. He took whatever he was holding and shoved it into a small leather pouch attached to his waist. Then Rider grabbed the man by his graying hair and pulled. In my dreams, this was the part where I usually woke up, but not this time. This time I felt the blood spray out on to me, and watched it as it dropped onto the floor. Sadness filled my chest.

"We should go," the Horseman said.

I didn't say anything as we walked towards the horse. The Rider pulled me onto the mare and took me back towards the carriage. Even when we rode in there, I was still silent. When we got to my room, not a word left my mouth. That is, until I noticed that the 14 year old boy who should have been sleeping on my couch was no longer there.

"Aidan!?" I screamed. Turning around wildly, I noticed that the Rider was gone and so was my brother.