The Claíomh Solais

The Claíomh Solais extract

The clock struck midnight.  Seosamh and Damien got up and as quietly as possible snuck out of the bedroom. The wooden boards of the house creaked and groaned as the two went down the stairs. As they went out the door, they grabbed their flat caps and Seosamh grabbed a lantern so as to provide some light. The town was only dimly lit due to the restrictions on electricity. Seosamh, despite having a scarf tightly wrapped around his neck felt chilly. He whispered to his brother.

“Wow, this land sure gives me the creeps at night.”

“I know, but look on the bright side, we don’t have routine visits from bomber planes like the Englishmen do.”

“Yeah, all the more reason to go to America, no bombs, no poverty, just fancy parties.”

The boys grabbed Damien’s bicycle and cycled off into the night away from the relative safety of the town and into the darkness of the countryside. Above them, the moon was glowing like a spotlight while the trees blew in the wind. Seosamh couldn’t help but feel as if his whole body was shivering because he felt as if the two were being watched by something. It always felt like that when you went into the night in Ireland.

They cycled till they reached the dig site. The site itself looked more ominous without the presence of men working there and the breeze of the ocean still blew across the headlands. The boys could even hear the waves crashing against the rocks. As they parked their bicycle, they could see an elegant-looking car coloured in a vibrant red parked near the encampment. Damien knew that this was the car of his boss, Mr. Trent so he didn’t go near it but on the other hand, Seosamh was captivated and felt tempted to approach the vehicle. Seeing this, Damien grabbed him.

“Seosamh, come on, will ye?”

“But Damien, I’ve never seen a motorcar like that, have you?”

“Alright Seosamh, but remember what we are here for?”

“I know, oh, where are the tools?”

“Follow me.”

The boys went to the truck where all the tools were. Damien kept his eyes on the sleeping wolfhound as he eased into the space as gently as possible. Seosamh held the lantern firmly in his hand while Damien took a spade. All around them, crows started to gather. These big coal black birds could barely be seen but they croaked their mouths off so they were loud enough to be heard for miles. Even the wolf hound stirred at the sound. The sight of so many crows left both boys unsettled.

“Eh, is this a bad sign? Crows were the creatures of the Morrigan, were they not?” Seosamh asked.

“Yes, they were…”

“Oh no, she’s the goddess of death, that can’t be good.”

“It was your idea to come and dig here, so come on, there is no turning back.”

The dig site itself was already worn by the repeated hammering away at the earth by workers during the day. Although the earth below him felt unstable, Damien persisted till he reached the centre of the place. Using what strength he had, Damien plunged his spade into the earth and yanked out soil while Seosamh observed him. Seosamh knelt down while shining the lantern on Damien’s efforts, allowing his older brother to see what he was doing. For now, regardless of what happened, Damien kept digging even though his arms ached. He was so focused on his digging that he didn’t even notice that the wolf hound was barking as loudly as possible. Then, Damien plunged the spade even deeper than he had before. When he yanked it out again, all of a sudden, the ground began to shake.

Deeply alarmed, Seosamh and Damien scrambled back from the area as the ground started to split open. The split revealed a stone staircase that went deep into the ground, deeper than their eyes could see. The sight of this left the lads speechless. Seosamh’s mouth opened wide open while Damien turned to him and said under his breath. “Sweet Mary, mother of Christ, we’ve just found an entrance.”