Read Online Spirit Storm by E.J. Stevens - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: E.J. Stevens
Tags: Teen Paranormal
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would learn how they managed to control the spirits of the dead on Samhain. Was it an innate power combined with their own immortality, or was there an item or ritual that they used?
The legend that I came back to over and over again was the Echtra Nerai, The Adventure of Nera, from the Ulster Cycle. The story was a fascinating one. During a feast on Samhain, king Ailill proposed a test of bravery. He offered up his golden sword as reward to any man with courage enough to go out into the demon and spirit plagued Samhain night and tie a circle of twigs around the ankle of one of the men hanged the day before. To win the sword the man must do this and return to the king’s feast hall. Though many men tried they all were attacked by demons and spirits and came fleeing back to the feast hall unsuccessful, all except for one man, Nera from Connacht. Nera braved the spirit filled night and tied the circle of twigs to the ankle of the hanging dead man.
At this point the story got weird or, well, weirder. The corpse became animated and Nera, for some reason I hadn’t quite worked out yet, ended up carrying the dead man around on his back. I so hoped that wasn’t the magical way to survive the spirits of the dead. I did not want to carry around a smelly corpse all night. No. Way.
Anyway, while he was giving the animated corpse a piggyback ride around town, it asked for water so Nera carried it to a house, but the house burst into flames. The next house they tried was surrounded by a moat of water that they couldn’t cross. When they approached the third house they were finally able to enter and the corpse drank three cups of water, but then spit the last few sips of water on the people living there which killed them. Again, not real clear on the water spitting of death, but that’s what the stories all said.
This was where the different versions and translations of the story diverged. Some claimed that Nera went willingly to the underground kingdom of the Sidhe, while other accounts say that he was taken prisoner, and other stories said that he was either aided on that night by a Sidhe woman, or that he stole something from her. Whether he was said to stay with the Sidhe for a year, willingly or not, or if he only had the one interaction, the story always ends with Nera surviving the spirits of the dead and successfully returning to the feast hall of the king. More than one account bragged that Nera stole, or was given, a treasured item of the Sidhe. What if this item was what helped him survive the spirits of the dead?
So much for sleep tonight. I crept down to the kitchen and turned the coffee maker on. The smell of freshly brewed coffee flooded the room, blending with the ever present odor of burning brownies. I grabbed my mug and stuck it under the stream of coffee. Don’t try this at home kids. As soon as I had a full mug I carried it back upstairs and turned on my computer.
I now could narrow my focus to items the hero Nera may have taken from the Sidhe. I grabbed my notebook and pen and settled in for a long night of searching. The probability of figuring out what the item was, if it even existed, was not good and the odds of being able to locate it were even worse, but I tried to remain hopeful. The power of positive thinking and all that, right? But even I wasn’t prepared for what I found.
Chapter 11
October 24 th
I just may survive Samhain after all. The idea was intoxicating. I was also a bit giddy from lack of sleep, so I began my day laughing maniacally. I would have made a good stand-in for any mad scientist. Dr. Frankenstein eat your heart out.
Today wasn’t a school day which meant I could have slept in if I had fallen asleep at all, but Emma had sent me a text asking to come over early and I eagerly accepted. I couldn’t wait to tell her about what my research had uncovered. I pulled on a clean black cami top, black paratrooper pants, and my 14-eye doc martens. I layered a black mesh top
The legend that I came back to over and over again was the Echtra Nerai, The Adventure of Nera, from the Ulster Cycle. The story was a fascinating one. During a feast on Samhain, king Ailill proposed a test of bravery. He offered up his golden sword as reward to any man with courage enough to go out into the demon and spirit plagued Samhain night and tie a circle of twigs around the ankle of one of the men hanged the day before. To win the sword the man must do this and return to the king’s feast hall. Though many men tried they all were attacked by demons and spirits and came fleeing back to the feast hall unsuccessful, all except for one man, Nera from Connacht. Nera braved the spirit filled night and tied the circle of twigs to the ankle of the hanging dead man.
At this point the story got weird or, well, weirder. The corpse became animated and Nera, for some reason I hadn’t quite worked out yet, ended up carrying the dead man around on his back. I so hoped that wasn’t the magical way to survive the spirits of the dead. I did not want to carry around a smelly corpse all night. No. Way.
Anyway, while he was giving the animated corpse a piggyback ride around town, it asked for water so Nera carried it to a house, but the house burst into flames. The next house they tried was surrounded by a moat of water that they couldn’t cross. When they approached the third house they were finally able to enter and the corpse drank three cups of water, but then spit the last few sips of water on the people living there which killed them. Again, not real clear on the water spitting of death, but that’s what the stories all said.
This was where the different versions and translations of the story diverged. Some claimed that Nera went willingly to the underground kingdom of the Sidhe, while other accounts say that he was taken prisoner, and other stories said that he was either aided on that night by a Sidhe woman, or that he stole something from her. Whether he was said to stay with the Sidhe for a year, willingly or not, or if he only had the one interaction, the story always ends with Nera surviving the spirits of the dead and successfully returning to the feast hall of the king. More than one account bragged that Nera stole, or was given, a treasured item of the Sidhe. What if this item was what helped him survive the spirits of the dead?
So much for sleep tonight. I crept down to the kitchen and turned the coffee maker on. The smell of freshly brewed coffee flooded the room, blending with the ever present odor of burning brownies. I grabbed my mug and stuck it under the stream of coffee. Don’t try this at home kids. As soon as I had a full mug I carried it back upstairs and turned on my computer.
I now could narrow my focus to items the hero Nera may have taken from the Sidhe. I grabbed my notebook and pen and settled in for a long night of searching. The probability of figuring out what the item was, if it even existed, was not good and the odds of being able to locate it were even worse, but I tried to remain hopeful. The power of positive thinking and all that, right? But even I wasn’t prepared for what I found.
Chapter 11
October 24 th
I just may survive Samhain after all. The idea was intoxicating. I was also a bit giddy from lack of sleep, so I began my day laughing maniacally. I would have made a good stand-in for any mad scientist. Dr. Frankenstein eat your heart out.
Today wasn’t a school day which meant I could have slept in if I had fallen asleep at all, but Emma had sent me a text asking to come over early and I eagerly accepted. I couldn’t wait to tell her about what my research had uncovered. I pulled on a clean black cami top, black paratrooper pants, and my 14-eye doc martens. I layered a black mesh top
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