So Henry and Muhammed and Nancy left the house. The banshee followed them, but did not make any noise. They left the town, and wandered through the fields with no apparent direction, muck like the B”esht’s horses.
As the walked along, Henry began to sing:
“The despot’s heel is on thy shore,
his torch is at thy temple door,
avenge the patriotic gore, that flecked the streets of Baltimore,
and be the battle queen of yore, Maryland! My Maryland!
Soon they came upon a clearing in the woods, where the horseman with the crown and the wagon chasing him, were stopped and conferring quietly. OneOfMany seemed to be leading the discussion, from which the words “morgul”, “genius”, and “short subtitle” could be heard out of context.
Henry boldly walked into the group, and strode up to the horseman. “In the name of Muhammed, I demand the crown.”
The horseman looked scornfully at him, and responded:
“In spite of ice, in spite of snow,
in spite of all the winds that blow,
in spite of hail, and biting frost,
take thyself and get thee lost.”
Muhammed also wanted the crown, since he had always fancied one. So he sidled up to the horseman’s horse, and put a burr under its saddle.
(continued) (you’ll participate if I say you will)