Bean Sidhe

Bean Sidhe

Written and Illustrated by Reagen Dandridge Desilets 

Edited by Sandie Britt

Porcupine Publications

Anti-copyright 2012 Reagen Dandridge Desilets

Give credit, share often.

ISBN 978-1-937311-13-1

Smashwords Edition

Free Celtic Fonts at http://www.ireland-information.com/freecelticfonts.htm

Printed with the spirit of

I dedicate this book to those that dream, to those that love, and do so with no restraints. 

Keep dreaming and keep loving... always.

What is "Bean sidhe"?

Irish Gaelic bean sídhe, woman of the fairies, banshee : bean, woman (from Old Irish ben; see gwen- in Indo-European roots) + sídhe, fairy (from Old Irish síde, genitive of síd, fairy mound; see sed- in Indo-European roots).

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FOURTH EDITION COPYRIGHT ©2000 BY HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY. UPDATED IN 2009. PUBLISHED BY HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Chapter 1 - Here and Now

Niya raced through the forest in hopes of reaching the river's edge in time. The moon was high and full on this cloudless Sunday evening, lighting her way in the darkness. The Appalachian air was cool and crisp, filling her lungs with clean, fresh air every time she inhaled. The moonlight danced off the different color leaves of autumn, with yellow and orange shimmering like gold, providing extra light for visibility along the forest floor. There were no discernable signs of wildlife at all, so she was able to listen for her foe. For everyone else in Appalachia, it was a calm, clear and beautiful night. 

But not for Niya. She was trying to stay collected and together, but the urgency in her quest kept her spirit in a sort of panic. She focused hard and held the rowan wood cross around her neck in her hand to better calm and focus her as she ran. She reached the river bank and fell to her knees, frantically searching the ground for it. After a couple of minutes, she found it - an ancient silver comb. "Yes!" she exclaimed and took off running back through the forest towards the house.  

She could hear its scream and it chilled her to her core. It was the wailing she was dreading and she couldn't tell what direction it was coming from. She cleared the woods and reached the front yard of the house. People were standing on the porch and they had this look of dread on their faces. Niya could also see from the second floor master bedroom window the worried look of Erin, Declan's wife. She personally knew none of the faces she saw, but knew who they were. What she was about to do was for them, for Declan. He was lying in bed, dying and he had mere moments left to breathe his last breath. She had to do this to try and save him. She had determined it wasn't his time, that he was too young and that these people needed him and she wanted to make sure they had him. 

The wail came again, though this time it was freakishly loud, hurting her ears as it reverberated through her head. A girl on the porch screamed and froze in terror as the rest of them fled inside the house. Niya knew this was it, it was time. Her foe was right behind her. She took off the rowan wood cross and held it in her hand, with the antique silver comb still in the other hand. She slowly turned, eyes at the ground, as she wasn't sure she was ready to look upon this being. She lifted her face and looked up, deeply gasping in air, until their eyes met. The face she saw was a sad and tortured face, with centuries of tear stains and eyes red as blood from eons of crying. But this was it, this creature was here to take him to the other side and Niya was not going to let it happen. She now dared to start the standoff with this creature... this bean sidhe.