26/02/2023
Excerpt from "The Chosen"
Moggy was still unsure and not a little irritated by the fact that her younger siblings had displayed powers while she had not, but she accepted Brid’s reassurance with good grace.
Later that evening the household settled down for another quiet night. Olorun, Dorian, Morrigan and Lugh - who was on one of his frequent visits - set into a game of cards. Brid and Nora were chatting over a nice glass of claret, and Rose and Sarah were enjoying flirting with Frank and Isaac, and mercilessly teasing Isaac, much to Frank’s amusement. Moggy subtly checked to see that everyone was pre-occupied, thus deciding that she could slip out unnoticed. She had befriended a boy who lived in the Peter’s Row area of the city, and, tired of adhering to the chaperone rule, decided she could slip out for a liaison whilst everyone was otherwise occupied. This was her own familiar home ground, and she was comfortable in it and did not see why she needed minding.
Cutting across St. Stephen’s Green, as she reached the statue of King George II, she became aware that she was being followed. At first, she was slightly vexed, one of the household had obviously spotted her leaving and had sent someone to shadow her. As she got to the impressive edifice of the new College of Surgeons building, which was about to open the following year, Moggy glanced back as she turned into York Street. Something told her that her pursuer was not friendly, and to her horror, her instincts turned out to be correct. She spun around just in time to see the glint of a blade in the hands of her burly pursuer, and she froze on the spot. A dozen thoughts were running through her head; why had she not listened when told not to go out alone? How she wished at this moment that she had one of the wolves with her, as the menacing figure got nearer to her. She let out a scream.
She heard a growl coming from behind her, and turning, saw the flaming red eyes of a huge dog, bearing its razor-sharp teeth. Contrary to what she was hoping for, this was not a wolf but a beast as large as a pony and black as the darkest night, its eyes like two flaming embers in the pitch blackness of its face. Although it was a summer evening and darkness had not yet fallen, it suddenly seemed like a moonless midnight. Watching them close in on her, Moggy found herself caught between the assailant on one side of her and this hellhound on the other, and she could do little but brace herself for her inevitable fate.
