The Demon of the Three Rivers – Chapter 08

This is the 8th Chapter of “The Demon of the Three Rivers”. To find the whole chapter list click here.

Also, do remember, this is a prequel to “The House in the Lake”, so, if you haven’t read “The House in the Lake”, there will be some spoilers.

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When Lugh’s foot touched the waters where the three rivers used to connect, where the rock and the house now stand, he felt the impurities he purified, right away. And it wasn’t only the demonic ones that were there. It was also the one the humans created by murdering eighteen people at once.

That’s why he created the rock and the house. That’s why he created the Sacred Lake. That’s why he set the reefs around the rock, and that’s why he created the illusion of the mists. He intended to stay there all along, on the land which caused his birth, but he wanted to keep such humans away from him.

And then he found they had been told that he had asked for the lives of the eighteen. And he was disgusted by their praises towards the one whom they thought to be a murderer. But nonetheless, he remained there – in the lake, though, not on the land – to watch over them and offer them his love, in the hope they would come to understand what it means to be divine and good, and what is evil and wrong.

And the years passed, but nothing changed. If anything, the newer generations, the ones who hadn’t met the murdered ones, would praise him even more for accepting the sacrifice. But the God of the Lake had been taught by the Sun God to be forgiving, loving and patient towards humans. So, he kept his hopes for a brighter future to come.

Then, one morning he was at his porch, enjoying the heavy rainfall. And then he saw a father and his son at the shore, getting in their boat.

“Are they crazy?” he thought and kept watching them.

And the father brought the boat near the reefs. And then a prayer came to his ears.

“God of the Lake, I offer you the life of my son. Bless me in return with a long life to live.” And then the father threw his son in the lake. Almost on the reefs.

Lugh jumped onto the lake’s surface and shot across to find the kid. He found him, just in time, and pulled him out of the water and into his embrace, and took him back to the shore. Then he waited for the father to return, and when his boat came close, he broke it into smithereens, throwing the shocked man into the shallow waters.

“This man should never use a boat again.” And he returned to his home.

He had never before touched a human child, so he didn’t know if the purity he felt was this child’s alone, or if every child has the same feeling, but when they grow up they lose it and praise a murderer for his crime. But he would keep an eye on this kid. And he would allow this kid to see his house and him.

And a few days later, the kid went to the shore, and sent a float to him with some incense, some fruits and a message.

“Thank you for saving me! You are as bright as the sun and more beautiful than anyone.”

And the God of the Lake smiled, for the first time in five thousand years.