by S.J. Drew
hands reassuringly. "But summer's not over yet. Let's just enjoy what time we have."
"That sounds like a good idea. But I still don't know what to do about the creatures. I don't want anyone to get hurt."
"That's a generous thought. I like that about you," he said. "Generous, courageous, beautiful, and deep like the ocean."
"How poetic."
"I try."
They watched the ocean in silence before one of the summer's many freak storms swept in and forced them to head to the house for cover.
When Nora was with Corbin, she focused on their time together. When Nora was not with Corbin, she focused on her investigation of the strange creatures. She went to the woods and tried to find footprints and took pictures of them. She was a little scared to be in the woods by herself, but she stayed generally near the boundaries of Castle Hill since it seemed the creatures would not follow her there. She would have liked access to the band's emergency kit, but since she didn't know what the creatures were she wasn't sure anything in there would work on them. The best she could come up with was putting a horseshoe in her purse. The ocean was getting angrier and she knew something would be happening, and soon.
Nora was investigating some of the strange tracks one day when she heard an odd noise. She wasn't foolish enough to move toward the source of the noise but she did stand up and look around.
"Hello?"
No one answered, but she kind of expected that. She touched her cross necklace reassuringly and then started to move in the direction of Castle Hill. She heard movement above her and looked up to see what she guessed was a crow fly off in a hurry.
"Yeah, that's not ominous," she thought, quickening her pace.
There was another odd noise in the direction she was moving and now she was certain she saw eyes.
The head of a black, shadow-like creature appeared from the bushes. It made a low noise like a growl and showed a mouth full of very real and very pointy looking teeth.
"Okay, as Leah would say, this is where I run," she said, and did exactly that, trying to get around the creature so she was running generally in the direction of Castle Hill. Nora skidded to a stop as more of the black, shadowy creatures emerged in front of her. She turned to run another direction but realized she was surrounded. Now that she couldn't run she got a good look at them. They almost seemed to be made of tar and their shape constantly changed as they walked although ‘walking’ wasn't really adequate to describe their method of locomotion. Some didn't seem to have legs at all and just slithered along the ground; others had six or nine or more legs and loped forward with an awkward gait. What didn't change were their sharp, white teeth, all of which were bared at her. She clutched her necklace and readied her purse to use as a weapon to fight them off. "God help me," she thought.
Suddenly Corbin leaped over the ring of creatures, picked Nora up in his arms, and leaped over the other side of the ring carrying her as though she weighed nothing.
The creatures howled and started to chase them.
"We can't outrun them," Corbin said as he easily maneuvered through the woods. "They'll pick up your scent."
"What are you talking about?" she asked, too stunned to make much sense of what was happening.
"We'll have to take to the air."
"What?!"
He jumped and two giant black feathered wings burst from his back and ripped his shirt and jacket. In defiance of all laws of physics, his wings provided enough lift to send them soaring into the air.
Nora grabbed him tightly around the neck and buried her face. She could hear the angry howls from below but didn't dare to look down. "I'd really, really appreciate it if we could land," she said in a small voice.
"I won't drop you," he said. "You're perfectly safe."
"I'm also acrophobic!" she snapped.
"Acrophobic? I don't know what that word means."
"Fear of heights!"
"I'm sorry. I need to make sure the monsters have lost the trail. I'll set you down as soon as I can." Corbin circled above the treetops for a few minutes and then finally landed in the family graveyard. "I've landed. You can let go now."
Nora unclenched her fists and awkwardly regained her feet.
Several black birds, either crows or ravens, flew out of the woods, landed on the weathered headstones, and stared at Corbin.
"We should be safe at least for a little while," he said, his wings folding around him like a cape. "But I don't know when they'll be back..."
"What the hell is going on here?" Nora demanded. "What are you? What were those things?"
Corbin looked taken aback. "I just saved your life."
"You're not human! What the hell are you? And don't you dare lie to me!"
He sighed. "I suppose it was only a matter of time before you found out. The name 'Corbin Bailey' is not entirely unsuitable to describe me, which is why I chose it, but it is not my name. I do not give out my name." His voice had changed and now had an inhuman echo to it.
"I didn't ask your name," she snapped. "I want to know what you are, and your name doesn't tell me that anyway!"
"We met once before I came to this place. A few years have passed for you since then."
"Just answer the damn question," Nora said through gritted teeth. "What are you?"
"I am the ruler of raven, rook, and crow."
"Raven, rook, and crow?" she repeated. She noticed the birds. "I remember now! You were that god that those girls accidentally summoned during the Ren Fair."
He nodded.
"You said you were sleeping, or something. What are you doing here in Maine? Why were you pretending to be human and dating me? And what do you have to do with those monsters in the woods?"
"I am neither alive nor dead, nor fully asleep nor awake. I told you then in due time I would fall fully asleep and return to my world, but that time is not quite yet," he answered.
Nora crossed her arms. "Okay, I don't think I understand that, but fine. Why did you decide to play human and date me?"
"You and your three friends intrigued me. I have been alone for countless years and the chance to even partially wake up does not occur often, to say the least. I watched the world and eventually decided to engage with it, and you."
"Why me? Why now?"
"You impressed me, and I found out that you would be away from your friends, and that would provide me with more time to spend with you," he said.
"That sounds stalker-ish and creepy," she snapped. "You watched me? You watched us? You followed me?"
"Why are you angry? You wish to be famous. You have not made it difficult to follow you. Crows have a great gift for memorizing faces so they watched for you. And even if I chose a more human way to find you, it would not be difficult. I believe that's the purpose of social media, is it not?"
"Fine, that's a fair point, actually. But still. It's been years since that happened."
"For you. For me, it has not been so long. And soon I will sleep again."
Nora blinked back tears. "What-what were those things? Where did they come from? Are they coming back? Are they going to hurt Aunt Victoria? Or anyone else?"
"They are creatures of shadow and nightmares. Those in my pantheon have been long forgotten, but some of our creations have managed to outlast us," Corbin said with a sort of angry smile. "My minions are the natural harbingers. Other gods created unnatural dark creatures as servants. Those monsters exist elsewhere but I'm afraid they have been drawn to this place by me. I would not bring them here intentionally; I think they are seeking their old ruler."
"Can you get rid of them?"
"I can only draw them away. I do not have enough power to drive them away. But they would dare not enter the graveyard, for that is partially my domain. And they will not cross the boundary to your family's land anyway. It has been blessed over the decades your family has held it and as
such is anathema to those things. But they are free to roam the woods."
"So other people could get hurt?" Nora asked.
"They cannot see those that cannot see them. Most people would be safe enough, although a close encounter with them might, as you say, creep them out."
"And animals? What about animals?"
"The animals are not safe. I agree with your assessment that the missing pets will not be returning."
"Will they leave here?"
"When I leave, they will follow me, and we shall all return to our dreamless, endless sleep."
"When are you leaving?"
"The next dark moon."
"I'm not an astronomer," she said dryly.
"Three days," he clarified.
"Three days?" she repeated, aghast. "Three days! When the hell were you going to tell me you were a forgotten god? Were you just going to say, 'Hey, Nora, I'm that god from the Ren Fair. It's been fun so long?' What the hell is wrong with you? You can't just do that! Even if you weren't a god, it's a hell of a thing to spend so much time with someone and just up and leave them just like that!"
"I'm sorry, Nora," he said.
"Sorry? Sorry? You're sorry! Oh my God, you don't have a clue, do you?"
"I really don't know what you mean."
"Why did you decide to pretend to be human? Why did you lie to me about everything? Why did you try to date me like a normal person? What do you want from me? Do you even care about me at all?"
He moved to her and attempted to hold her hands, but she kept her arms firmly crossed and drew back a step. "Of course I care. You intrigued me, and I wanted to know more about you, and I wanted to engage with humanity. So I took