PROLOGUE
“Row faster, Ciaran! We’re almost there!”
“I’m trying!”
A young freckled boy and his not much older companion held on to a rickety boat while only one of them tried to battle the currents pulling them back from their destination. The shore was coming closer and closer but with each metre it was harder to push the oars.
“Get the rope! I can see the dock!”
The lad reached behind him and pulled out a thick rope from between cloth sacks, quickly made a hoop, which he then threw to catch one of the posts. Once the hoop tightened, he started pulling both of them closer to the land. The old sloop wobbled as they hit the rocky sand. Ciaran was the first to stretch all four of his legs after nearly five hours of cramped journey. His hooves made a funny shlooping sound on muddy grassland that bordered the shore at the edge of the forest as he trotted happily around the trees just to feel his muscles again.
“Ruairi…we’re here! We’re finally here!” Ruairi responded with an equally wide grin but also gave his centaur friend a pointed look. “Yeah…hah…why don’t you help me get the sacks?”
Ciaran did that and also helped pull the lad out of the boat, after which he plopped on the wet grass panting and breathing hard. His cheeks were red and he could feel his clothes uncomfortably stick to his skin.
They were not far from the main border of the largest Druidic settlement in Wales, protected by enormous standing stones. Ruairi knew that the runes prevented their people from being traced by the Ministry of magic and that they were planted here a long time ago. However, he never paid much attention during history lessons so he wasn’t sure what kind of magic exactly could be traced by those barbarians. It didn’t matter now. He and Ciaran were going on an adventure far away from any settlement, magical or not.
He looked at his closest friend and smiled until his cheeks hurt from the effort. They were finally here.
“Did you pack a tent or sleeping bags?” Ciaran asked. Ruairi nodded. “I also packed some of your favourites.”
“Like what?”
“Potato and bacon pies. Mom made them just yesterday.”
Ciaran whooped with joy and galloped from one end of the docks to another. They were usually empty in the evenings so no one would see a centaur doing a happy dance.
“I honestly can’t believe we’re here! I thought we would surely die gallivanting through the mists of Avalon but no, your talent with Wild magic pulled us through!” He stopped his jolly trotting and slowed just before gently lowering himself to be closer to his friend on the ground. “Speaking of wild magic, how are you feeling? Most druids from the High Circle would be exhausted after such a long journey and you’re only fifteen winters old.”
Ruairi closed his eyes and concentrated as his mentor taught him. He felt the wet cold grass tickling his neck and ankles. Smelled petrichor after long-awaited rain and gently tried to connect with the nature surrounding him. Wild magic always felt incredible and this time was no different. Despite his exhaustion, he felt a gentle and warm embrace of earth and local flora. Daisies bent down to hug his cheeks, high grass swirled like waves on a roiling sea and a few bees landed nearby resting their wings while buzzing happily.
Ruairi opened his eyes and stared at Ciaran and all Ciaran saw was an endless ocean of green.
“I’m tired but happy. I’m fine.”
…………………………………................................
The evening turned into a cold night and a full moon guided Ciaran and Ruairi on their path beyond the stone border. They eventually reached a broken hill and a valley with an abandoned cave nearby. It was too late to hunt a rabbit down but their provisions should be enough to last a few days at least. Ciaran’s bow rested against a fallen tree.
Ruairi bit his lower lip in deep concentration while hitting flintstones against each other and trying to light a fire. It wasn’t easy. Everything was still damp from mist and rain. Ciaran took to watching their surroundings. He didn’t notice anything alarming so far but this part of the forest was unknown to them and he’d rather not be taken by surprise by whatever dangers lie hidden in the shadows.
“How’s the fire going?”
“Almost there…just a moment…”
Unfortunately, fire stubbornly refused to appear and Ruairi was almost tempted to use the last bits of Wild Magic to help things along but doing so beyond the Stone Borders would be most unwise.
Ciaran must have thought the same because his tail twitched and he bent down to take stones away from his friend. “Let me help you. At this rate, you’ll freeze to death even with the help of magic.”
“Hey! I was almost done!”
“Sure. And I almost turned into stone waiting for you.”
Ruairi huffed in annoyance but reluctantly let Ciaran start a bonfire. The centaur noticed the mood and paused to comfort his friend by gently petting his cheeks. “I’m sorry, A graidh . It isn’t you who’s incompetent, it’s me who’s impatient.” He was right but it didn’t stop the freckled young man from scowling. “I know…”. He covered his hands with their own and tried to break the sour mood with a fond smile. “Teach me?”
“Of course. Look at the leaves and the sticks you brought. The smaller ones are too damp so you need to put drier feed, perhaps one found in this cave instead of from under the logs. It was good thinking, though.”
This time the smile was genuine.
Suddenly, they heard a crack from the cave entrance.
Ciaran’s response was to immediately grab his bow and pull an arrow towards the danger. Ruairi, slightly slower, pulled out his bow and arrows. Although the moon shone on the entrance to their cave there were still enough shadows between the trees for enemies to hide among them. They listened intently, trying to decipher what did the sound belong to. A wild boar? A bear? They were sure that the cave was abandoned long ago.
Then, a cold voice whispered like death in the void:
“Crucio!”
Ruairi screamed in the most excruciating pain he has ever felt and fell down just as an arrow flew from Ciaran’s bow. Someone yelped and another, higher-pitched voice of a woman screamed at them. “You filthy beast! Muggle fucker! You’ll pay for that! Bombarda!”
An explosion erupted and caused a massive chunk of the cave rock to fall on a still writhing Ruairi and he felt something pin his legs to the floor. He clenched his teeth and looked up to see who attacked them.
It was too dark to see anything but then one of the three wizards cast Lumos and Ruairi saw cruel faces of two men and one elegantly dressed woman.
“When the local muggles talked about seeing a centaur we thought they must have drunk too much of their swill but when they mentioned a hooded boy resembling a wizard, well…we were intrigued, to say the least”
“And disgusted” added the taller man on the right. The one on the left nodded approvingly.
“Indeed. And what have we here? Not a wizard but a muggle boy fornicating with an animal.” She tutted. “You truly have no shame. Perhaps someone ought to teach you a lesson.”
“Just kill him”, grunted the man on the left. She shook he head and smiled like a spider examining their meal caught in a web. “No, my dear. Let me have some fun first.”
Ruairi breathed hard, afraid and panicking but managed to glance down where he last saw Ciaran. The only thing he saw, however, was two hooves and a shock of blonde hair from underneath the rubble. He didn’t know if Ciaran was breathing or dead and it caused him to panic even more.
The elegant lady stepped forward and grabbed his long red hair to stare at her face.
“We’re doing the world a favour, getting rid of your kind. As for him…” she looked at the centaur. “I will show mercy and kill him quickly.”
“No. No, no, no NO! Please, don’t!”
„Avada-„
„DON’T YOU DARE!”
Lightning struck her in the chest and the last thing Ruairi remembered was how Wild magic in its brightness illuminated a brooch clasped on her cloak depicting three entwined serpents. A coat of arms. Then, he fell unconscious and the world went black…
…to slowly bring him back in the light of day.
The cave was cold and eerily quiet. Sunlight lit some part of the cave, enough to see the devastation and piles of rubble surrounding two people. Ruairi lifted his head, still pulsing with pain. He looked around and immediately noticed that Ciaran was in the same place as before. Nothing changed.
He tried to get up but he couldn’t feel his legs.
He couldn’t feel his legs.
He pulled himself forward, using whatever power he had in his muscles and reached Ciaran. He began to take each stone, piece by piece and throw them aside to uncover his beloved friend. It took what felt like hours before he finally saw blonde curls now grey from dirt and dust.
“Ciaran?”
There was no response.
“Ciaran, can you hear me?”
The centaur didn’t move. Ruairi touched his arm and nearly jumped in fright, feeling coldness that didn’t bode well.
“Ciaran? Please, Ciaran! Answer me! Ciaran…?” He started shaking his friend, pushing and prodding and refusing to believe that he was gone until the moment when he got close enough to listen to the beating of his heart.
It was gone.
Ruairi whined and claimed Ciaran into his arms while the tears fell in small rivers down his cheeks. This cannot be. They were going to see magical creatures and visit a wizarding village. Maybe even capture sights near Loch Ness. There was so much to do. This could not be the end.
And no one knew they were here.
Ruairi spent the next hour choking and gasping and trying to catch his breath but deep down he knew that if he didn’t get some help he would be stuck in this cave and die like Ciaran. A part of him wanted that. He wanted to be reunited with Ciaran, to glide through the glenns and forests picking berries and stealing Mrs Mairi’s bacon pies fresh from the oven. Would it be so bad if he just… closed his eyes? Just for a moment?
But then he thought about what his friend would think. If he joined him in the afterlife only to say he gave up so quickly and had nothing new to add, no adventures to talk about. The temptation to reach the Great Beyond was incredibly tempting but Ruairi knew Ciaran wouldn’t want that.
So with a great effort, he cast a spell using the last droplets of Wild Magic and created flowery vines which entwined around Ciaran’s body, and waited for the inevitable avalanche of consequences this one act of love would create.
The Ministry will know. The world will know. He’ll tell Ciaran all about it later.