Lo! to the vault
Of pavèd heaven,
With sorrow fraught
My notes are driven:
They strike the ear of night,
Make weep the eyes of day;
They make made the roaring winds,
And with tempests play.
--William Blake
------------------
Whatever it was drew nearer...
Waghowl sent a long, mournful howl to the heavens. Erin shivered, she had never heard such a primal, despairing sound. The little vixen looked to Bratis, who stood facing the horizon with a grimly set jaw and an apprehensive look in his eye.
"Dad," Erin tugged at Bratis's sleeve. "What is it?"
Bratis started, then looked down at her gently, his face etched with worry. "I don't know." He glanced around. "But you must hide until it passes..."
His golden eyes darted about searchingly up and down the alleyway. At last, he found what he'd been looking for. He pushed aside a heavy garbage bin, revealing a small crevice in the wall, just large enough for a small fox. "Erin, you hide in here until I tell you to come out, all right?"
"But-"
"No buts!" Said Bratis firmly. "We haven't much time. I don't know what the danger is, but I could never forgive myself if you got hurt," his eyes were pleading.
"It's for your own safety."
Erin sighed and slipped into the hole. Bratis pushed the bin back into place.
"You'll come back for me, right?" Asked Erin tentatively from her hiding place.
"Of course I will..." Bratis' voice sounded far away.
In her mind's eye, Erin could see him gazing into the distance. That tingle was growing more intense, almost becoming like a buzz in the back of her brain...
Flash! Crash! Was it a noise? Oh no, it was here! Erin felt a wave of panic wash over her as something hit the village like a bolt of dark lightning. She could hear pawsteps of someone running outside, it sounded like Bratis. She could just barely hear the metallic ring as he unsheathed his sword. She heard him give a wild battle cry, a cry that was part anger, part fear.
In her dark shelter, Erin couldn't see any of what was happening, and the stench from the garbage bin overpowered all but that one acrid smell of fear. All she had to go by were faint sounds, and feelings...
No! Not again! More and more! Would they never stop coming? Wave after wave... fear, darkness, screams... Erin jumped at one of the stronger shocks and hit her head on the wall of her hideout. Colored specks floated before her eyes, her mind drifted away...
* * * *
Consciousness!
Erin was disoriented. Where was she? Why couldn't she stretch out? Why was it so dark?
Then the memory came back, and with came the present with it's horrid reality. What was that dream she'd just had? She couldn't remember.
She listened carfully. No sound. Not even the obligatory rulte of leaves or a bird chirping. It was too quiet...
Whatever had been there seemed to be gone, that evil foreboding was totally absent. No fear, no darkness, no emotion at all. Only silence...
Why hadn't Bratis come to find her?
Panic struck again. Disregarding all caution, she bagan shoving at the bin that blocked her exit. It was heavy, but she managed to move it enough to squeeze out.
The light outside was blinding! Erin blinked hard as she waited for her eys to adjust, but she could already tell that something was terribly wrong. The silence still prevailed, and now, without the smell of garbage to block it, she became aware of something else... the smells of burning and death...
She could see again. The once bustling streets of the village were littered with the remains of buildings, market stalls.. and other creatures.
Erin sat down, her mouth hanging open in horror at the sight. Near the entrance to the alley lay the gutted corpse of a squirrel, eyes wide open in frozen terror.
The thought played over in the back of her mind, where is he? With a whimper, she sprang forward, over the body of the squirrel and into the street, and began a frantic search for Bratis.
At every turn, she encountered death and destruction. Part of the village was on fire, but it had not yet spread far enough to worry her just now.
Homes had been destroyed, their inhabitants fleeing into the street only to meet their horrible ends amongst the already great pools of blood and piles of bodies and rubble.
Erin turned another corner- and stopped short. There he was!
Bratis was propped in a sitting position against the side of a ruined building, leaning on his sword, which was smeared with blackish-colored blood.
With a strangled cry, Erin leapt forward. "Dad! Dad!" She cried and licked frantically at his ears and face. "Arr! Wake up!"
Golden eyes flicked open, ears laid back in pain, the fox heaved a heavy moan and looked up at her. And smiled.
"Erin." He rasped.
"Dad!" Erin was in hysterics. She flung her paws around his neck and sobbed.
Bratis winced and clenched his teeth. "Careful- ow!"
Erin withdrew a bit sheepishly. She could see now, he was badly wounded, blood oozed from several wounds in his chest and stomach. "I'm sorry." She said.
Bratis shook his head, then tried to hoist himself up from the ground... And toppled over on his side. "Erin," he gasped, "I'm afraid I'm not-"
"No! Don't even say that! I'll take care of you, don't worry!" Erin tried to sound confident, but her heart trembled. What could she do? No creature could survive wounds like that with anything less than a miracle plus the help of an expert healer. Erin had neither of those commodities on her side.
Bratis took a deep breath and coughed up blood. "Erin, come here. I must tell you something."
Erin laid down with her chin resting on her forelegs. "I'm listening." She said quaveringly.
"Erin," His voice was choked with emotion and sadness. "I'm not your real father."
"What!?" Erin's head reeled. Had he just said what she thought he said? She couldn't take it. There was too much trauma already. She remained still.
"Ah-Alright, I'm listening..." She closed her eyes. This wasn't happening. It was too unreal...
"Erin, now pay attention," said Bratis painfully, "the evil that attacked this village today is still abroad in the land. You must warn the knights. You must go to the city..."
This isn't happening. It's not real. I think i'm dreaming. But I can't be dreaming, can I? The sky, the sky seems real, I can hear and feel the same as always...
"Remeber the history of the revolution? Erin, listen to me. Your parents killed the king and Queen, but the infant prince survived."
Erin's attention returned. "What? But the books say-"
"The books say what I told everyone else. That all members of the family were dead. But I lied, Erin, I betrayed my own friends. I had secretly rescued the prince. His name is Apollo."
"I see..." Erin was unsure what to make of all this. "Why are you telling me?"
"Because, when I die, the scret would die with me if I did not tell it. I have always wondered whether I did the right thing. Someone must know, but it's a secret that can't be told to all. Apollo doesn't know it. Not even his adoptive parents knew it."
"Why-are-you-telling-me..." Erin closed her eyes and sighed. She didn't want a secret to carry, she wanted to go home, go back to their happy life in the forest... but she kept listening.
"Erin, don't give up. The lives of many creatures depend on you now. You are the child of Seumas and Deirdre Ruadh! You are the hope and legacy of everything we revolutionaries stood for. You must go to the city, must warn the knights... and tell Apollo that I'm-" He choked again. A tear trickled down his cheek. He coughed up more blood.
Erin started crying.
"Erin," gasped Bratis, "your parents made me swear that if they died that I would take care of you. And I have, haven't I? Have I done it?" His voice wasn't one that wanted thanks, merely one that wanted closure, affirmation.
"Of course you have," sniffled Erin, "how could I ask for more?"
Bratis sighed and coughed some more. He could feel life draining away. But he had an answer. He'd done the right thing. All the mistakes he'd made in his life really didn't matter. He'd done the right thing with Erin. And That was good enough...
Erin could sense his aching to be gone, to let the pain end. She leaned over and kissed his cheek. "I'll miss you." She said.
"We'll meet again someday, little Erin. Don't worry about me." A cough rattled his broken frame.
"I love you, big fox."
"I love you, little fox." He reached up with the last of his strength and brushed her cheek with his paw, then closed his eyes... and was gone.