Sardinian Charm

Every night at midnight, the purple clouds came to dance with the blushing sky. It was as if the clouds knew where they were meant to be. It offered a momentary relief to the plainness of the sky—the ever blushing sky above this part of the world. The only thing in the sky that would ever change were the clouds, and they only came out at midnight.

Here, in Villacidro, Sardinia, the sky no longer darkened at night to its picotee blue, with devouring shades of indigo. Starlight no longer twinkled, and the moon never rose. There was no more independence to the sky. The sun could no longer fully set nor rise again the next day, nor could daylight enthral the plants to grow big and tall, not here, anyways. The sky had stalled, as if broken-hearted and uninvolved in the natural order of things.

Is brebus, the prayers against evil, were the causes for the paused sky overhead, or at least selected verses were the cause. As long as the radio frequency that played those verses of the prayers on loops were refreshed every twenty-nine and a half days, as with the should-be lunar cycle, then the spell would hold the sky. For six months, the sky had been held.

The European Union was under immense global pressure. There were international calls for the EU to order Sardinia to release the sky. But the radio frequency playing is brebus was not an official one. To add pressure, all of Italy was about to face financial penalties and sanctions from the international community, if the island, with special statute, did not comply. It was of international concern as perpetual nights and never ending days, and everything in between, besieged the whole of the world.

Villacidro, a mouse when compared to the powers of cities, let alone countries and unions, was the town at the source of this sky-stopping prayer. The town's commune was searching for the source, but had little motivation to find it. It delayed the nights, and the nights without aid were the issue in question.

Sabina was a member of the Sisinnio Special Council, or SSC. They petitioned Rome for help against the influx of Lamies to the entire Campidano Mediano province, and later the whole of the island. Lamies were not native to Sardinia, and far more ferocious than the local is Cogas—the native species of witch.

Lamies were a breed of witch that worked predominantly at night. Their upper bodies and heads remained a human in form. They looked pleasant, and seductive in an appearance of kindness, while their torsos and lower bodies would morph into large snakes after dark.

Lamies hunted and insanguinated their victims. This was to prolong their youth, but little official studies had ever been conducted on the invasive witch species. Their victims could be anyone, and they drained their unlived years away. Children were decidedly a favourite of the Lamies, which added to the theory of the feeding on the victims blood being the source of their long lives. Highly trained hunters were needed to deal with the invasion, but hunters did not come cheap.

The petitions to Rome for help never went past the initial applications. Italy’s governmental instabilities led to a new president every couple of months, and the applications would have to be started all over again, as they required Presidential Orders and special authority for fundin. The SSC had no money to fund hunters on their own. The population had rapidly decreased over the last couple of years, so even if funding hadn't been an issue, bodies were in short supply to be trained up as hunters.

Sabina tired of the never ending red tape and bureaucracy. She, and a small group of locals, built a small radio tower out in the woods. It was a forty minute hike from Sa Spendula, the islands tallest waterfall. It was close to Villacidro, so the group would not risk getting caught after curfew on any roads, yet far enough out of the way that no one should stumble upon it for some time. If there was no money to fund hunters, their was no money for the officials to pay for searches, even with the EU and Italian government ordering it so.

The group took turns going out in pairs to refresh is brebus. Every twenty-nine days, a pair would go out and preform the ritual and re-chant the needed versus of the prayers, before layering the versus into the loop that the radio signal broadcasted.

Thirty days had now passed. Yesterday, the pair who were to go out, were caught by one of the rare armoured vehicle patrols that the commune could afford to send out on the odd night.

Breaking first curfew, after six-thirty in the evening, was punishable by a steep fine and house arrest. Breaking second curfew after nine at night, was punishable by death on the spot, or a long prison-term. Thankfully, it was first curfew the other pair were caught breaking.

The group had never had to wait longer than twenty-nine days to head out before, and Sabina could feel the prayer weakening throughout the thirtieth day. But her and her cousin, Alessio, needed to wait until after second curfew, when another armoured patrol being out was unlikely, especially after catching a pair the night before. No one in the town was dumb enough to risk it once word spread of someone being caught, not for a while at least. But if they were caught, with Sabina being an SSC member, they would both have the book thrown at them.

Sabina and Alessio sat in the courtyard of their grandparent’s villa most nights, watching the midnight dancing clouds. They kept the conversation light and innocent. Most conversations these days revolved around the current state of witches and the problems they wrought. But around their grandmother, that topic was avoided by all the children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews. Sabina’s grandfather was one of the first victims of the Lamie influx. He died over two years ago, and their nonna never got over it.

The town, and island, stood still for a year and a half, while the world let their problem pass them by. The town, and soon the whole island, were all held hostage by the invasion of Lamie witches.

Sabina and Alessio spent many nights at their nonna’s, keeping her company since her husband’s passing. Fewer and fewer could visit Sabina's nonna over the last two years. Some family moved off island, and others simply disappeared. But six months ago, when Sabina and Alessio, along with the others in their small group, started the prayers against evil and stopped the sky, the duo spent near every night at their nonna’s villa, much to her delight.

That night, their nonna had come out a number of times to see and check on the pair. She offered them sugared toast if they were still hungry. They declined, so then she offered to heat up some of the leftovers from dinner. Her offers grew into more elaborates meals, as the refusals from the pair continued.

Finally, Alessio requested mirto, the myrtle berry flavoured liquor ubiquitously found around the island, and in people’s homes. This appeased their grandmother, who also brought out slices of pecorino and mortadella, a few bits of fruit and fennel, for the pair to graze on, before she saw herself to bed.

A shot of alcohol was helpful in quelling the nerves of the pair, who mentally readied themselves to go out after curfew, into the woods and into the mountains.

Sabina and Alessio waited a short while longer, to ensure their nonna was fully asleep. After a while, they quietly stood and put on their backpacks, which were hidden by the back gate.

They slipped out, after they watched to make sure the street was clear. An armoured patrol vehicle catching them was unlikely. Even if one was out on patrol, the villa backed onto a quiet and narrow alley, with only a few houses between them and the tree line. Still, it was a good to look around before setting off, as a Lamie could be out on the prowl in human form.

While a Lamie could not fully change into their beastly half-snake form without the complete darkness of night, and therefor not feed, they could still hunt and kidnap victims away for when the inevitable darkness of night returned.

Sabina and Alessio cleared some distance from the town before either of them spoke.

“I think we are far enough out.” Alessio breathed a sigh of relief after twenty minutes of walking in silence. Staying silent was not a strong suit for him, culturally or personally.

“Still, best to keep it to a minimum. Is Cogas still roam these woods. Not as terrifying as a Lamie, but they would not approve of what we are doing: stopping the night. And you don’t want to end up of the wrong side of them.” Sabina calmly replied.

“Give me a mainland Strega any day of the week. At least you know where you stand with them. You never know if a Coga, or heaven forbid a hive of Cogas, have an ill intent against you. Will they do nothing, will they grant you health, or will they hex you and your family? Who knows!?” Alessio grew more cautious with the volume of his voice after a glance from Sabina.

They passed the waterfall and had a little ways to go. It felt as if the sky was darkening quicker than it should, even given the delay in refreshing is brebus, there should have been more time. It was possible that the verses of the prayers against evil were fading in potency the longer they went on. Sabina grew more and more uneasy as they walked on.

Suddenly, Sabina stopped in her tracks.

“Shh…” Sabine hushed, with one finger over her mouth, before Alessio would ask anything in a loud voice.

“What is it?” Alessio had a panic in his voice that he tried to mask under his whisper.

The rustling nearby became apparent to the both of them. They both looked around for the source. Their mission was time sensitive, which only made the tension more palpable as they waited for the reveal.

The hairs stood on the back of their necks and their breathing deepened. They peered as best they could through the oaks and shrubs around them. A snap of a twig cracked from behind them, followed by charging hooves pattering on the ground.

A wild boar hurdled through the shrub. It charged at them. They tried to run. Sabina scuttled up some boulders and a cliff face, too steep to be followed by a boar. She thought Alessio was right behind her, until she heard his screams. He was knocked down by the boar. His leg was visibly hurt. His pant leg was torn and there was blood. He tried for his rifle but the returning board charged too fast.

Alessio used the rifle to counter the boar’s offence. The rifle got caught in the tusks of the boar. The boar cleared Alessio, but made off with the rifle. It furiously tried to shake it off of its head. It gave Alessio the time he needed to limp to a large and nearby tree, and to climb.

“Go!” He shouted across to Sabina. “Is brebus are too important. If the darkness of night comes, we are both as good as dead.”

“Just… tell me! How bad is your leg?” Sabina was worried but the boar was free from the nuisance caused by the rifle that had been stuck on its tusks. It was stomping and huffing, ready to charge at either of them, should they descend.

“I’ll be fine, my cousin!” He shouted words in a reassuring tone. “By the time you get back, the boar will be gone. We can grab the rifle and you can carry my sorry self back to nonna’s. Go now, be quick. We don’t have much time.”

Sabina climbed the last stretch of the cliff and ran as fast as she could. She made it to the small breeze-brick hut the group had built for the small radio tower. She went inside and unpacked her bag with full haste. She knew the verses of is brebus by heart, so did not take long before she was chanting, even before all of the ingredients were in front of her.

She repeated her verses when all was ready. The beeswax candle was lit and burned bright, and the shallow silver bowl was filled with saffron and bull’s blood. She dipped the round Nuragic stamp in the saffron and blood mixture, and then pressed the stamp once onto each of her two forearms. She flicked on the microphone and recorded her chant. She continued to chant as she worked to loop it into the current recording being broadcasted.

Sabina finished her task. She breathed a sigh of release as she continued to feel the vibrations in the blood-stamps on her arms after she hit play, and ceased her own chanting. It was a sign the magic of the prayers were working in the new loop.

Sabina headed outside. Her victory was short lived. To her dismay, there was Alessio, bleeding from his leg and forced onto his knees. A hive of is Cogas surrounded her and Alessio.

“You betray us, sister. This is not the natural order of things.” The leader spoke.

The leader’s viper’s tail lifted. It showed just at the bottom of her long skirt. It was an intentional move. It revealed who and what she was. She was a Coga. A witch native to the island, and less friendly by nature than a Coga with a tail of a cat. She placed her hand, softly, on Alessio’s shoulder.

“Out of respect, for who you are, Sabina,” The leader’s voice hissed as she said Sabina’s name. Her nostrils morphed more snake-like and her tongue appeared to fork at the tip. “We will let you and this, person, hide here in the hut until morning—when the danger of the Lamies hunting and feeding time has passed. But make no mistake. If you try anything like this again, we will let the Lamie witches know of your involvement.” The leader squeezed Alessio’s shoulder until he groaned and yelled out in pain.

The leader signalled the others. Some went inside the hut, and destroyed the radio equipment. Others knocked over the tower itself, while the rest remained on guard around Sabina and Alessio. Sabina felt the vibrations of the spell from the blood-stamps on her forearms dissipate in an instant.

The hive of these Cogas then, without saying another word, walked away. They faded into the landscape, as the darkness swallowed the night sky. Moonrise was visible in the distance and starlight burst through. There were no more purple clouds dancing with a blushing sky.

Sabina lifted Alessio up and helped him in. She then barricaded the door to the hut, before turning to tend to Alessio’s leg would.

“What did the Coga mean; what you are?” Alessio looked straight at Sabina. He was sweating, but his skin was cold. He had an urgent look on his face, but a body that pained to move.

“You mean, you never once wondered who my mother was, or our family’s other curse—why so many daughters of the men in the family go missing?” Sabina finally spoke after a minute.

“Your mother? The German tourist woman?” Alessio asked.

“German? I was told Swedish once, Norwegian another time. Doesn’t matter where she was from. But what she was. She was a huldra.”

“Bull, huldras are extinct. Died out the same time the giants in the north of the island died out, like a thousand years ago.”

“And yet…” Sabina was slow to continue. Alessio interrupted her before she could continue.

“And the women through nonno’s lineage? Bad luck, they were taken by is Cogas, Lamies, and other wild monsters. Some just ran away. Like my sister ran away. It’s all just bad luck.”

“They weren’t taken by is Cogas, they were Cogas. They left to the wilds to find hives to live with. The family’s curse. Since the days of the first Sisinnio. I’m a daughter in our family, a Coga, but I’m also a huldra—a hidden on. Unlike is Cogas, I can hide my tail, as well as having and the ability to hide a tree-bark back. But my cows tail is what interests is Cogas. It’s why they want me to join them. Bulls and horned cows are revered, since the Nuragic times.” Sabina finished wrapping Alessio’s leg as best she could. A sad and disconnected look sat on her face.

“I don’t see any horns.” Alessio laughed. “Besides, if you were a hidden one, shouldn’t you not be telling me about it?... And besides, I don’t believe for one second, my sister was a witch, I would have known!”

Sabina looked up into the eyes of her cousin and smiled. She wanted to take his pain away, and to let make him better. She wanted to tell him where he could find his sister.

But she could smell it in his wound. She couldn’t smell it before, not until they were inside. It was faint. It was not the smell of his leg wound from the boar. But it was from the small prick that had pierced his skin when the viper-tailed leader of that hive of is Cogas squeezed his shoulder. She pierced her venom into him. Sabina’s cousin would not make it until morning.

Her eyes swelled red and heated from the tears she held back. If she healed him, the viper-tailed Coga could see it as an offence and slight against her. She could retaliate against the whole family, including Alessio and their nonna. If she doesn’t, he had a very painful death ahead of him.