Chapter 3: The Two Of Us

School ends at three p.m and I head home. Carol and Max promised to pop up around four-thirty and since Kelly left today, I'll be home alone for now. Due to the bus being maintained this afternoon, most students decide to either get a taxi or just walk home. The lucky ones have their parents pick them up and of course, I'm not one of them.

I like walking through this part of the area. Lots of green and sunshine, grass covers most of the terrain and trees provide shade, a creak not so far from where I add a nice little finishing touch. This place was just made for lazy Sundays and picnics.

"Hey, Santiago! You didn't forget about us did you?" Brandon calls out as he comes out from behind some trees. In less than a moment, his friends join him and I'm immediately surrounded by four huge rugby guys. This is not how the day was supposed to go. I thought I had managed to vex them at school, what the fuck happened?

"Guys come on, I've gotta get home, no one's at home today so I gotta be there to watch the place." I plead walking slowly in between Brandon and Thomas who are standing in front of me.

"Well then, I guess after we have some fun we can walk you home and maybe you can give us parting gifts for the trouble," Brandon says as he shoves me back.

"I don't know where Kelly keeps the money so... Can I just go?" I respond to the suggestion Brandon made. He can't expect me to fork up cash that even I don't know where she keeps.

"Oh, that's a bummer. I guess your cash will do then. Say hi to your Aunt for me when you get back and tell her I'll be ready for our date on Saturday. She'd better show up or else." Brandon says as he punches me hard in the gut. Pain floods through the lower part of my stomach and I almost spit out last night's dinner.

"Ugh!" I cry out as I fall on my knees

"Come on Sammy. That was just a jab. Nothing big. Now say thank you for our protection and fork over our money."

"Human, would you like a demonstration of my abilities. I can give them to you. All you have to do is agree to cooperate." Abhartach appears again in my mind. I've got nothing to lose at this point.

"Fine but you give me full control when I ask and I'll help you return to your realm," I say and immediately a laughter of triumph is all I can hear before I feel a rush of power flood through me.

"Very well human. It appears you are not as foolish as I thought you were."

My senses grow sharper, I can hear a bird landing on a tree branch hundreds of metres away from me. I can see Brandon's blood circulation, his pulse. I can smell what Thompson had for lunch earlier and honestly, it's all a bit too much and too fast. I throw up violently on Brandon's shoes and that's when things get physical

"What the fuck? Did you just?" Brandon asks pacing about in disgust and throws a punch at my jaw. I block it, my muscles strengthen and I can feel stronger than I usually do.

"I will share my battle prowess with you, all you need to do is think what u want and it will flow to you like Instinct. Haha, let us test the limits of our compatibility." Abhartach sneers in my head once more.

I break Brandon's hand with a simple turn as I hold it and throw him aside, he is light. He lands violently on a tree multiple paces away and cries out. I move towards Thompson and I'm already in his face before he even notices, I'm faster it appears. I throw multiple punches in his face and he passes out before he even falls to the ground.

The two boys behind me all stare at me in shock and I feel thirsty. I begin to remember the sensation I had when I first transformed. But no, not this time. I might go to jail if I feed on people this close to me so I just look at them and let out a grin.

"Fuck, Chad... Get him!" One of the boy's screams and of course Chad rushes to me but he comes armed with a baseball bat. He must have borrowed it from the school gym.

Before the bat even lands I take a hold of it in one hand and effortlessly crush it, breaking it into two separate pieces and a few fragments and splinters. I move to grab his shirt and lift him off his feet. A smell of urea fills my sense of smell and I realise he's pissed himself, wimp. I punch him twice and his face makes a breaking sound and I throw him aside, careful not to do any permanent damage.

I see the remaining boy running off, he's got good instincts, it appears he meant to use Chad as a distraction and is already about two hundred metres away from me. I run after him and within a second, I'm behind him and grab his shirt, pulling him back. He punches in retaliation and I dodge but what comes next is surprising. He throws a series of punches and kicks that show experience in some martial arts. I instinctively block and circle him. I take a hold of his arm from behind and kick his right side. He winces and shakes my arm off, proceeding to flip me but I land on my feet. He kicks and I block it, within less than a second I lower my body and sweep him off his standing leg and he plummets.

Before long I'm on top of him and two controlled punches are more than enough to knock him out. In all honesty one was a knockout, the other was for my enjoyment.

I feel more alive than ever. It is the best sensation I've ever felt.

"Was it up to your expectations?" Abhartach asks while chuckling heavily.

"It's the best sensation I've ever experienced. What's happening to me?" I ask whilst examining myself.

"I have made your body one with mine, we will now share abilities, memories, experiences. Except neither of us will be able to invade into the other's consciousness if the other does not will it. In other words, I won't be able to see and communicate with you if you block me out." Abhartach explained, he sounded quite proud of the current situation.

"Alright. I guess I'll head on home and we can discuss this further there."

"We'll get there faster if you run in this form, just try not to get identified."

I immediately head home and the speed at which I move is astonishing. I bypass people on bicycles easily and whenever I jump, it's like I jump across ten feet up and a few metres across in one leap. Damn this is awesome. I also attempt parkour, which of course in my normal state would've just been a free ticket to the hospital for a couple of weeks.

I flip across obstacles, go through otherwise impossible spaces and even swing on a few tree branches, propelling myself forward with each swing. Before I know it, I've run the entire three kilometres back home on foot in less than ten minutes.

"I am an ancient being, I'm a descendent of the Tuatha Dé Danann also known as the tribe of gods. We were the original natives of this land but the Fomorians, an equally ancient race of powerful beings killed off most of us with help from outside invaders known as the Milesians. Those of us who weren't killed were banished to the realm of Otherworld where they became the Aes Sídhe, a deformed and weaker race of whom they once were." Abhartach explained his history in somewhat unbelievable tales. If what he is saying is true then how come I've never even heard of this.

"So you're telling me that there was a tribe of beings with god-level power? And that there was some other race capable of going to war with such beings? If so, then where are these Fomorians and who the heck are these Milesians?"

I had a lot of questions, someway I knew that he wasn't lying but then it doesn't make sense.

"Young one, Milesians are the ancestors of the natives here. They sailed from a foreign continent and wished to settle here. After they struck a deal with the Fomorians, the land was as good as theirs and they had already devised a means to dispose of the Fomorians thus killing two birds with one stone. Then they wrote history in their liking, altering events and erasing us almost completely from history."

"Wow, so pretty much every direct descent Irish person is a Milesian?"

"Every Irish person with Irish heritage, probably. This land is filled with a lot of history. After the entire fallout, only a few Danann remained and from still we were defeated. I was one of those. They trapped my soul into that blasted dagger and here I am." Abhartach sneered.

"So only I can hear from you?"

"That is correct. We communicate on a Telepathic level."

To be honest It's a bit off to have a voice in your head but I think I can get over it.

"You need to train both your mind and your body from now onwards so that you can handle the stress of using my power. Without the proper form, the backlash will be serious. You've only turned twice so far so the effects will not be noticed."

"So what, I'm supposed to get buffed up and shit?" I ask with a sarcastic tone. The last thing I need is more work.

"No, your body just needs to be fit and as for your mind, exercise it. Do mental activities, sharpen your senses, indulge yourself in knowledge. You'll find that a mind as sharp as the body can be a dangerous weapon." Abhartach seemed to be enjoying giving me tips but I'll do my best to do what he says, I guess I'll try to do what he says, can't hurt to try.

I began meditating an hour ago and my mind feels alleviated. I see things in my mind, past experiences maybe. I see Abhartach, wearing armour and he seems to be commanding an army. His black wavy short hair moves with the wind and his tall physique is intimidating.

Within moments, the army charges. They appear to be approaching gigantic warriors, they look at least seven-foot tall. These must be the Fomorians he told me about. One of them throws a spear and it pierces one of Abhartach's easily. The spear also manages to carry him off the ground and propels him backwards, piercing two men behind him with ease. That one throw was astounding.

For every Fomorian death, three or four Danann died. This cycle continued until the High order arrived. There looked to be quite a few of them but they were somewhat larger than the Fomorians. They towered and Abhartach stood beside them. One of them was horned and with a wave of the hand sent trees sprouting from the ground. The trees and vines crushed and tangled the Fomorians and before I could see any more, the doorbell rang abruptly.