In today’s episode we read Chapter 31 – Dealan-de - in which Lucas has a terrifying encounter with the mysterious woman that has been flitting in and out of his and Magpie’s lives for years
The Skylark Bell is brought to you by: Phaeton Starling Publishing and Things with Wings Productions.
The Skylark Bell official website - http://www.theskylarkbell.com
The Skylark Bell on Instagram: @theskylarkbell
Author/Producer: Melissa Oliveri - http://www.melissaoliveri.com
Join Melissa's Patreon for early access to podcast episodes, music downloads, and more: http://www.patreon.com/melissaoliveri
Melissa on Twitter: @melissaoliveri
All music by Cannelle: http://www.cannellemusic.com
Cannelle on Instagram: @cannelle.music
Official Merch Shops: http://www.melissaoliveri.com/store
This week's Boopod Network podcast partner is Generally Spooky: http://www.generallyspooky.com
Another podcast of note, The Grim Cities: https://anchor.fm/thegrimcities
FULL TRANSCRIPT:
Things with Wings Productions presents: Episode 31 of The Skylark Bell, Wingspan. I am your host, Melissa Oliveri.
In our previous episode, Magpie realises she is the one who saved Lucas from the car crashed that claimed his parents’ lives when he was a child.
In today’s episode we read Chapter 31 – Dealan-de - in which Lucas has a terrifying encounter with the mysterious woman that has been flitting in and out of his and Magpie’s lives for years
Be sure to listen through to the end of the episode for a preview of a paranormal podcast I quite enjoy called Generally Spooky. I’d also like to mention another podcast called The Grim Cities which touches on eerie and inexplicable occurrences in the Twin Cities and beyond. If you enjoy spooky podcasts, it is well worth your time to look them up. Check the show notes for links.
Now, it’s time to settle in… grab a blanket, and a warm drink… and let’s get started.
Lucas stands in the forest, unsure what to do next. Now that their plan has worked, at least to the point where Magpie was able to travel from present day Scotland, he feels a bit lost. The gnawing thought at the back of his mind that they didn’t really think this through starts taking hold. How would he know if Magpie was successful in preventing him and Cormorant for going for a ride that fateful day? Would he come back to Carnifex House and find her, Manon, Alfred, and Cormorant, all restored to the age they were when he left? Was it still 2049 right now, or had he also somehow slipped back 30 years without realizing it? “There’s only one way to find out,” he says out loud as he starts walking in the general direction of Carnifex House.
It is almost dark by the time Lucas finally walks out from the shadows of the forest and into the field that stretches between the tree line and Carnifex House. He pushes his exhausted body on, hopeful that he will find Magpie, his Magpie, waiting for him when he returns. Lucas’ heart sinks as he gets closer to the house and finds it dark. It is exactly as it was when he and Magpie left this morning. The caretaker’s cottage sits a little further down the field, equally silent and desolate.
Lucas lets himself in the back door, the silence of the house closing in on him. “Magpie, where are you?” he whispers. He wanders into the living room and starts a fire in the fireplace, then makes his way to the kitchen to warm up some soup, even though he isn’t hungry. Finally, he curls up on the sofa with a blanket and falls asleep.
The next morning, Lucas is half expecting Magpie to show up at the front door, or come down from upstairs, or be walking back from the paddock behind the house… but the house sits in the same state as the night before. Lucas decides to pull on his boots and go back to the forest, hoping perhaps Magpie has reappeared there.
He walks across the field and is about to enter the forest when a small voice pipes up from behind him, “I told you not to go into the forest.” Lucas turns around and sees a small boy with large blue eyes peeking from behind the rock that marks the boundary of Carnifex land. The boy looks vaguely familiar, and it takes Lucas a moment to realize where he’s seen him before, at the beach the day he and Cormorant disappeared! It was only a few years ago for Lucas, but in this boy’s timeline it has been 30 years, he should be an adult by now! Lucas stands there, staring at the boy, who stands there staring back. “Where’s your big, weird horse?” asks the boy after a long stretch of awkward silence.
“He… he didn’t come back, when I came back,” stammers Lucas.
The boy nods like he understands exactly what Lucas means, “That happens sometimes,” he says. “Are you trying to go into the forest to find him?” asks the boy.
Lucas shakes his head. “No, I’m trying to find my… wife,” he says, wincing at the pain the word inflicts on his heart.
“Oh,” says the boy, “did she go into the forest too?” he asks, his gaze never leaving Lucas’ face. Lucas nods, and looks down at the ground. “I think Dealan’dè tricked her. I think she tricked both of you,” he says.
“What?” asks Lucas, looking back up from the ground, but the boy is gone. Lucas tries to remember the boy’s name. His father had called for him when it was time for them to leave that day on the beach. It was a short name, unusual… Ash! That was it! “Ash? Are you still here?” he says, leaning to look behind the rock, but all he finds is grass and wind. Lucas turns around and walks back toward the house, he can come back to the forest tomorrow, right now he needs some time to think.
The next morning, Lucas decides to head back to the forest. Magpie hasn’t returned and nothing in his current timeline has changed. Something has gone wrong; he can feel it in the core of his being. He grabs a satchel and fills it with food and a bottle of water before slinging it over his shoulder, then slips his feet into his boots and heads out, walking through the field with determination. When he comes to the first line of trees he walks in without hesitation, but after a few more steps he stops to look around. The forest looks different than it did before. He clearly remembers the overgrown path curving the opposite way last time he was here. He stands still, unsure which direction to go. Suddenly, something falls from high above his head and lands at his feet. Lucas looks down and sees an acorn. He stares at it for a moment, almost as if he’s expecting some mythical creature to come crawling out of it, but the little acorn just sits innocently on the ground. Lucas shrugs and takes a few steps. On a whim, he turns around, picks up the acorn, and tucks it into his satchel.
Finding sudden motivation, Lucas makes his way deeper into the forest, in the general direction of the arch, to the best of his knowledge at least. He pushes deeper and deeper in, to the point where his feet start to ache, his legs are getting tired, and his arms sting from being scratched repeatedly by errant branches and twigs. Lucas is about to give in to his aching body and sit on a log for a break when he hears the mesmerizing singing a little further down the path. Picking up the pace, Lucas continues forward, and soon finds himself in the small clearing with the arch. Relief floods through him when he sees a woman standing beneath it with her back to him, her wild red hair flowing down her back.
“Magpie! I knew you’d come back!” he says, breathless, but filled with joy.
The woman turns around. Her lips are pressed together tightly, but in his head, Lucas can hear her voice, “I. Am. Not. Magpie!” Magpie’s name echoing as the woman’s haunting song turns into a shrill, high-pitched sound like a thousand whistling tea kettles. The woman’s face becomes twisted with rage and Lucas steps back, terrified. “Farfalla?” he whispers, confused. The Farfalla he left behind in Pocket was a beautiful, happy young woman. Who is this creature, who seems to be able to send thoughts into his mind? Who can hypnotize anyone she chooses with her song? Who seems to be able to control time and space and distance?
“Dealan-dè,” the name echoes in his head. The druid that everyone in Pòcaid has feared for hundreds of years, the one who is responsible for The Vanishings. “Dealan-dè tricked her, she tricked you both…” the boy, Ash, had said.
Lucas sees a flash of silver as the woman takes an object out from the folds of her robes. She holds it high above her head and smashes it to the ground. A blinding flash of light causes Lucas to shield his eyes as his surroundings fade away. He stays crouched low to the ground, shaking. He has no notion of how much time has gone by when the sound of trotting hooves finally makes him look up. He is still outside, leaning against the side of a wooden building, his feet firmly placed on a dirt road. Lucas stands up and walks around the building to see if there is a sign on it that might help him figure out where he is. His heart stops when he sees “Bunting’s General Store – Now Open!”. He is in Pocket, that much he knows. He walks up the steps and enters the store.
“May I be of assistance?” asks a man from behind the counter. Lucas is disoriented, the inside of the store looks completely foreign to him. He turns to the man and notes how dressed up he is, with pleated pants, a shirt and a vest. On his face is a large mustache that curls at either end, like something out of a turn-of-the-century photograph.
“I was hoping to find a newspaper,” stammers Lucas, feeling grossly out of place.
“Right over there, son,” says the man, pointing to a small stack of papers behind Lucas.
Lucas thanks him, walks over to the table and picks up a paper. He feels a mounting sense of panic when he sees the date, Monday, July 8th, 1895.
Lucas rushes out of the store and starts running toward Meadow Lane, he needs to get back to the oak tree, to try and make it back to his own timeline, or Magpie’s timeline, any timeline but this one!
The dust from the road settles down in a cloud around him as he stands by the road at the bottom of Meadow Lane. The house is under construction, he can see a group of men sawing boards and hoisting them up to create the beams for the ceiling.
Lucas’ heart sinks as he realizes the vast field in front of the house is bare, the oak tree has not even started to grow.
He is trapped.
Thank you so much for listening. Join me next week for Wingspan chapter 32, Today’s Special, in which Magpie once again finds herself in the town of Pocket, where she comes to a startling, and devastating realisation.
The Skylark Bell is brought to you by Phaeton Starling Publishing and features original music by Cannelle. If you are enjoying this story, please consider leaving a rating on Spotify or a review on Apple Podcasts, they help give the podcast visibility so others can find and enjoy the story. You can also support my work by subscribing to my Patreon where you get early access to episodes as well as MP3 downloads of the music, artwork, behind the scenes videos and more! Just check the show notes for links to Patreon, my website, and social media accounts.
Before I go, I’d like to share this reel for a podcast I quite enjoy called Generally Spooky. Listen to tales from Scotland’s history, legends, and stories. If you’re enjoying the supernatural side of The Skylark Bell, and share a love of Scotland with our characters, be sure to listen to General Spooky.
Once again, thank you for listening – I’m Melissa Oliveri, writer, host and producer of The Skylark Bell Podcast.
