I fell backwards over the edge and turned in the air like a cat till I was falling feet first.

Rob’s little hob hands wrapped around my wrist and he tried to stop me from falling to my death. I weighed a lot more than the little hob. He could easily zip through the air by himself, but with my extra mass we both fell. He grunted, gnashing his teeth and lifted with all his might. We weren’t flying, or even levitating, but he did slow my fall. Still, I slipped from his grasp.

As luck would have it, I had tumbled over a section of the building that had an overhang above a warehouse dock door. I fell feet first onto the overhang and managed to duck into a sideways roll. The sheath pushed into my back and I grunted in pain, but it was better than shattering my feet.

“Whew,” I exclaimed. But it wasn’t over yet.

The Sluagh screeched, its angry cry echoing off the abandoned building into the night. I looked up as it perched on the edge of the structure looking down at me, rage in its humanoid eyes. It ducked its head and dove.

“Oh shoot,” I said, and moved to the edge of the overhang and had just enough time to sling the gun over my shoulder and grab the edge with my hands. I hung from the edge then let go.

The slanted dock beneath lessened the impact of my fall. I hit the dock with another sideways somersault that sent my shotgun flying away from me, then leapt to my feet running.

A gust of wind ripped past me as the winged beast landed. My shotgun lay beneath the sharp talons of the demon fowl.

It launched its head at me snapping its beak at my face repeatedly. I ducked and dodged to and fro all while trying to keep my fear suppressed. I might have bitten off more than I could chew. I started consciously trying to move the fight towards my car.

At the same time I unleashed the Luck Magic that I felt growing within me once again. My left hand started glowing green and the Celtic knots began to swirl. Yes! It was working. I cocked my fist back ready to deal a magical blow when a flash of fur and fangs leapt onto the giant bird.

“Tain!” I yelled with surprised pride as my dog latched on to the bird’s neck.

The two animals wrestled each other to the ground but my dog was clearly outmatched just by the sheer size of the bird. Still, he managed to rip a few chunks out of the Sluagh’s neck. But then the bird beast began plucking pieces of my dog’s coat with its hooked beak.

I needed to even the playing field but my shotgun was behind the Sluagh. My car was just a sprint away now. I spotted Rob shivering. “Swellfellow! Help Tain,” I commanded, then raced back to my car. I hopped in the driver seat, flooring the gas pedal. Smoke billowed around my tires as I spun the car around to face the beast. I flipped on my high beams and lay on the horn. My dog was getting thrashed and Rob was still where I left him, frozen like a popsicle. Why wasn’t Rob helping?

Tain knew what the horn and lights meant. But the bird didn’t.

As I neared the beast to do battle, my dog managed to scamper away from the bird. The Sluagh turned to look my car dead in the headlights. We collided hard and my tires caught traction on the feathered fowl. My Mustang trampled the bird underfoot as I went up and over it like a massive, winged speed bump. Then I slammed on the brakes, coming to a smoking full stop.

I unsheathed my katana as I got out of the car. I had to give it to the bird, this beast was hard to put down. It struggled to get up, but it arose nonetheless. Dark, inky blood pooled on the ground beneath the bird.

I realized the thing was mortal.

The knowledge flooded me with confidence, which in turn fueled my power. Both of my hands glowed brighter. This time the swirling Celtic knots extended not just to my hands but to my katana as well. Soon my blade and hands blazed together. I brought the blade back for the kill stroke.

With the quickness I didn’t know it still had left, the monster arose and snatched Tain in its talons. It beat its giant wings and began to rise into the night sky.

“No,” I shouted.

Without thinking I stood my ground and slashed my sword in the direction of the Sluagh. The energy stored in the blade flew at the beast, a visible emerald soaring slice. The Lucky slash flew through the Sluagh, severing it in two halves. The dead bird and my dog fell to the ground.

I ran over to see if Tain was all right. He had landed on top of the half of the bird that had talons. Green smoke and steam rose from the corpse. The atrocious smell invading my nostrils caused me to hack and cough. The talons of the bird still had my dog in its death grip and I had to pry them open to get Tain out.

I got him free and fell on my back exhausted.

Tain licked my face with gratitude.

“We did it boy, we defeated the monster.”

---

The three of us rode back to my place in relative silence.

I kept waiting for Rob to apologize. When he remained quiet I spoke up. “What happened back there?”

The silence hanging in the air was almost as thick as the shame.

He grunted, “I’m sorry Sean.”

I shot a glare at him. “Sorry doesn’t cut it. My dog could have died and you were just watching.”

Rob shrank into his chair looking at the floor.

“Do you owe me a life debt, or not? You got my back, right? That means you got my dog’s back too.”

Rob nodded slowly.

“Do you know how much Tain means to my mom? He was a stray. My mom took him in after my dad…” I sighed, unable to finish. “He’s part of the family okay.”

“Okay,” he mumbled.

I nodded. “Good.” I saw a tear run down his face. I looked away, pretending not to notice. Immortal but not impenetrable, I learned.

I sighed. I just laid it on pretty thick. He froze. That’s what some people do Sean. Fight, flight, or freeze.

I leaned over and gave him playful slug on the shoulder. “Don’t be so glum, chum. Just come through for me next time.”

He nodded but kept quiet.

“When we get home, I need you to wash Tain and tend to his wounds. Do that, and we’re cool.”