CHAPTER 7
It was light outside when I opened my eyes, and I quickly got ready and went downstairs. The kitchen, once again was full, with Hattie sitting at the table with pot of tea and cups at the ready. As I entered, all eyes were on me, a look of anticipation and worry on the faces of the gathering. 'Sit down dear, have a cup of tea and relax before you tell us your dream.' As she spoke she was pouring the tea and nodding her head towards the chair beside her.
I took the seat, and the offered cup. I sipped at the tea and felt myself relax, and then I started to recount the happenings of the previous night. It was mainly silent throughout my narrative, except for the odd gasps and whispers now and then. Whenever I said a name I had heard, I was asked to repeat it for confirmation, and it was written down. It was not until I had finished, that the room came alive with discussions and theories. All were in agreement that we were to be in for a hard fight. The woman in charge, I was told, was Epona, and on Samhain, which I knew as Halloween, she changed into Cailleach Bheur. From that time she looked like an old hag, although in reality she was eternally beautiful, and she would bang her huge staff on the ground bringing frost and snow. Once winter is upon us, she has formidable power, but her reign ends at Beltane, May Day eve, when Brigit, the goddess who ushers in spring, takes over. It was well known she hated to relinquish her power, and now and then she would hire underlings to hamper the coming of spring. She had never tried anything like this before though. She was not strong enough on her own, but with Dagdar by her side, she would be hard to beat.
'First things first,' Hattie said. 'We must stock up on all we need, if we are to have a chance, we cannot run out of food, herbs and fuel. We must also go back to old ways, no electrical devices or technology that the Gremlins can sabotage. We must ask the Wood Nymphs if we can harvest extra wood for the fire and the range, it’s going to be very cold. Once our defences are sorted, we can begin to plan our counter attack. It is only five weeks till Samhain.' Again she organised the groups and in a flurry of activity, the work on our defences began.
My job was to drive to various nearby towns to stock up on food and fuel. Questions would arise if I did all this in one place. The basement was cleared as a storage area and guarded by a small gang of Leprechauns. I ventured out twice a day, filling my car each time, with the items on my list that Hattie had wrote.
The Wood Nymphs agreed to our request and each one gave extra wood from the trees they inhabited. These were stored against the walls in every room, as nothing could be left outside once the winter began. All our helpers were to move in the cottage also, except those who thrived in the cold. I went out again and bought camping beds and sleeping bags, more than enough for our needs, but the extra could be stored for emergencies. The fairies could not stay in their Brugh, which was the inside of a fairy hill, for fear the ice of the witch would seal them in, so they too moved in.
I telephoned my friends and my publisher to say I was going away for a couple of months, and not to worry if they couldn't contact me as I wanted seclusion to write. My family lived abroad, so they were safe, and I contacted them to say I was going on a trip to America for a couple of months. I didn’t want them worrying about me and trying to return to England. I told my publisher I was doing well with my new book, and needed the seclusion to finish it; a lie, but he was happy. I tried to warn them all of a severe winter coming, and urged them to take care and stock up. This was all I could do, as who would believe the truth? I wished I could have done more and the regret nagged at me, but I had work to do, if I was going to save any of them.
As soon as that was done, the task of storing anything the Gremlins could use against us began. The electricity was disconnected and lighting replaced by oil lamps. The old range was fine to use, as it was wood burning, and I had bought a huge old fashioned kettle to boil water in. Two weeks had passed and we had stocked up as much food, wood and other essentials, as the house would hold.