The demon

 

The shrill neighing tore through the stillness of the midday. It sounded unreal for this quiet corner of the world. As Piova, Nemiran, and Andreas appeared from the house, the horse snorted and galloped towards them. Nemiran and Andreas smoothly drew their wands, but Piova whispered ‘No need for those, he’s just scared.’ The beautiful, black, creature stopped a fair distance from the humans and gave another shrill neigh. ‘It’s alright, no one will hurt you’, Piova whispered as she slowly walked towards the animal. ‘It’s alright’ she kept whispering.

The animal snorted, hoofed the ground, and backed away a few steps. Piova kept advancing and whispering. Nemiran and Andreas pocketed their wands and followed her from a distance. The horse snorted and hoofed again, but softly this time, and didn’t back away. As she neared, Piova held out her hand; the animal softly snorted, gently bobbed the head, but stood still. As she caressed the great muzzle, he lowered the head and gave her a gentle nudge.

As the gents gathered around the couple, the horse calmly surveyed them for a moment. Then he gently backed away and trotted towards the forest. But he stopped after a few yards, turned his head, and gently snorted. ‘He wants us to follow him’, Piova exclaimed and three of them set off after the horse. Soon, they were inside the forest. Like a fleeting shadow, the horse kept disappearing and appearing in the dappled maze. His human escorts kept following him in silence and from a distance. They were almost on the other side of the forest when Nemiran noticed it, someone was laying on the ground.

On a crisp autumn morning, farmer Bearnard decided to take a ride. He loves to wander around the valleys and the gullies and the mountains and the meadows, and he has been doing it for ages. There isn’t any place in his wanderland that he hasn’t been to. ‘No, there’s this place I have never been to’ he thought to himself, ‘It looks like a great day to visit that place’ he thought to himself again, then he started to amble on. How long did he travel, one hour, couple of hours? This mystic place makes you lose the sense of time. He went along a river, through some clumps of woods, in and out of some ravines; and now stood on the edge of a forest, beside a huge, fallen tree.

‘It shouldn’t be here all these years,’ he muttered to himself. He can remember this giant, fallen tree for as long as he can remember; and this patch of forest is the one place he hasn’t been to in all his years of wanderings. Something always kept him out, something always held him back. ‘Well, not today’ he gave a low growl as he steered his steed along the edges of the forest in search of an opening. There wasn’t any. He was a stubborn man and ignoring the strong reluctance of his ride, he drove him through the slightest opening he found next. There was a mild popping sound and a strange sensation of being sucked into. A moment later, he was inside the forest. The startled animal neighed and reared and threw his rider off the saddle. Bearnard caught a glimpse of the swirling maze of the forest before losing consciousness.

‘It’s that muggle Bearnard’ crackled Nemiran, ‘Isn’t he one stubborn…’ the swearword stopped just as he caught the contemptuous glint in Piova’s eyes. The horse gave a nervous snort as the unconscious body floated off the ground at the twirl of Nemiran’s wand. ‘It’s alright’ whispered Piova as she gently tickled his muzzle. Soon a weird procession made its way through the forest; Nemiran and Andreas on either end of the floating Bearnard with Piova and the horse bringing up the rear.

The three gents went inside the house as Piova and the steed remained outside. A strange sputtering noise broke the lull and soon a Four-wheel drive made its way from behind the house. Andreas parked the vehicle in front of the house and went inside, he came out carrying the still unconscious muggle and laid him in the back-seat. Nemiran walked up to the odd couple, ‘I have modified his memory, now we will take him somewhere near his farm’ he explained to Piova. ‘What about him’ she asked while gently stroking the horse, ‘I want to ride him’ added the soft, clear, voice. Nemiran froze for a second before an audacious smile lighted up his face, ‘The little lady can do with your help, Andreas’. The older man gently hauled Piova on the back of the horse.

She leaned forward and whispered ‘I will be fine, I will be careful’. ‘Take good care of her’ Nemiran crackled as he roughly stroked the horse. The horse snorted softly. The forest track seemed too narrow for the vehicle, but somehow it comfortably glided in. The horse trotted along from a distance. Soon, all of them were on the other side of the forest.

Bearnard woke up to a mild bumping and swaying. His gentle groaning made the others aware of his awakening. ‘Drink this, it will clear your head’ the younger person on the passenger seat handed him a steaming cup. The drink definitely cleared his head, then it suddenly hit him. ‘Where’s Demon, where’s my horse’ an agitated voice blurted out. ‘He is coming along, my niece is riding him’ the younger person replied, then he added to his older companion ‘Maybe we should wait a bit till they catch up, eh, Andreas’. The vehicle stopped and all three got out.

‘Your horse came to us, and when we followed him we found you unconscious on the edge of a forest down there’ Andreas gestured down the gravel road. ‘Ah, I must have hit a branch or something’ Bearnard muttered, ‘Thanks fellows, sorry to put you in a bother’ he said heartily as he shook hand with Andreas. There was a moment of awkwardness as he turned to Nemiran; though hidden under his cloak, it was clear that his right hand was limp. But Nemiran appeared unflustered, ‘Meh, It was no bother’ he said in a warm voice as he gave Bearnard a light, cordial, hug.

‘You fellows aren’t from around if you don’t mind me asking’ Bearnard sounded hesitant. ‘No, we are from the city’ said Andreas as he handed steaming cups to him and Nemiran. They started to sip and exchange their life stories. The farmer talked about the mysterious mountains and wonderful valleys and the travelers talked about great cities and strange lands. There was a sad lull after Nemiran finished the story about the accident that took away Piova’s parents and mangled his arm.

After a while, they could hear the soft clopping and a mirthful voice. Demon hastened to a trot as soon as he saw the advance party. ‘Please sir, forgive me for riding the horse without your permission’ Piova said, as soon as she got down. Bearnard’s weather-bitten face lit up like an autumn afternoon, ‘Ah, you must be Piova, eh’ he said in a warm, coarse voice, ‘You have my permission to ride him anytime you want to’ he added. ‘In fact, why don’t you ride the rest of the way too’ he looked at Nemiran for approval. ‘Excellent idea’ the younger person crackled as he opened the back-door for the old man.