Mid-Week Flash Challenge - Week 296

This week's picture prompt was created by Gatto Mezzioviaggio. I don't know much about them as they only have an Instagram account with no links. But it says in their bio: 'AI Post-photographies / synthography of Mezzoviaggio cat. "Mezzoviaggio" is the (spurious) Italian translation of Midjourney.' 

A darkish tale of demons. 

The General Guidelines can be found here.

How to create a clickable link in Blogger comments can be found on lasts week's post here. 

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Invasion

She jerked awake,her body covered in sweat. It was them; they were coming. The recurrence of thedreams had escalated and it wouldn’t be long now.

Tabitha jumped out of bed and ran to thewindow of her little cottage. The grey muted light of pre-dawn pressed upagainst the windows. There was a low fog on the ground which wasn’t unusual asthe village was low-lying where three river’s met.

Despite its abundance in fertile land, thisplace had an energy that repelled a lot of folk. But it didn’t repel Tabitha;it was why she was here.

She hoped her plan would be enough againstthese demons. They were dark and intent, and they wanted her gone.

She moved round the house, casting herwards with utterances and arm waves. She hoped they would help to keep themout.

There were two pots on the stove that wereon a constant simmer. She lifted the lid on one and sniffed. They were almostready.

She returned to her bedroom and dressedswiftly, choosing grey rather than black – easier to disappear in the gloom. Shepeered out of the window again. Nothing looked different, but she could feelthem coming.

Back in the kitchen, she quickly tipped abit of the liquid into a cup from the left pot, the one that was now ‘cooked’, andsipped on it. She took it with her as she moved round the house repeating thewards while she lit a fire in the hearth in the lounge.

Then she went back into the kitchen andpoured a little out of the right pot into a saucer and placed it on the floor.Everything was set.

She went to the front door and wrapped hergrey shawl round her shoulders and left the house.

Tabitha walked through the sleeping villageout into the woods beyond and then up a hill, where at the top a huge uprightstone stood. It hadn’t been crafted, she’d brought it here when she firstarrived. It was taller than her but she had ways of moving things which didn’texert her.

She placed a hand on it and felt the linescrossing, pushing back at her. She also felt their presence; they were movingin, slowly, and heading straight for her cottage. She slid down the stone andslumped onto her knees as the tincture began to take effect. It made her twitchand tremble for a few minutes. She closed her eyes and let it take hold.

Once it had, she got up and ran with allthe speed she could muster back to the cottage, but rather than go in she waitedon the front porch.

Dawn was approaching but all it did wasmake the fog glow and swirl. The birds were not yet awake, so the only sounds thatreached her came from the demons as they travelled ever faster over the landtowards her. The hissing growing louder the closer they came. They were momentsfrom her door now.

She stood up and walked tentatively to hergarden wall, listening, then jumped up and perched on it.

She could see them, in the distance bobbingalong, their heads just above the mist. Their yellow eyes glistened in the halflight. She resisted the urge to jump down and greet them.

There were nine of them and she was onlyone.

Their arrival was like a swarm and theycovered the grounds of the house sniffing and licking and looking. Then theyclimbed, jumping up onto the roof and doing the same there. The fire in thehearth blocking their exit in via the chimney.

There was no way in, Tabitha knew that. Shewaited on the wall. They hadn’t notice or sensed her. She was pleased her planhad worked. She’d thought they were more astute, but a demon with a focusedpurpose missed the obvious. They were expecting to find her as herself, not asone of them – a black cat.

They sat around the cottage for some time.She basked on the wall watching the sun rise keeping her eye on them. Shewondered how long they would stay.

Then one ear pricked up and then anotherturned its head and as one they were on the move again, back the way they came.

She watched from her place up on the wallas they disappeared down the road. She saw them turn, going up the hill. She jumpeddown and followed, keeping her distance.

She tracked them up to her stone where shefound them circling it like some kind of collective madness had possessed them –and maybe it had.

They moved faster and faster until theylooked like a black rotating circle. Tabitha had to look away, it made her eyeshurt to try to watch.

Then a lightning bolt shot up out of thetop of the stone and they vanished.

Tabitha waited a few minutes, but all wasquiet. She walked to the stone and sniffed round it. Nothing. They had gone.The stone had taken them. Her work was done.

She padded home and jumped up at the handleof the front door – something they hadn’t thought to do thanks to her wards –and let herself in. And once she had consumed some of the fluid in the saucerher human form returned.

She stoked the fire and sat down by it. Divertingdemons wasn’t an easy job but someone had to protect this place.