"Wait. You're going to miss the best part. Don't you want to hear the stories?"

"What stories?"

"About Halika Dacome, the earlier alien encounters, flashing lights over the town. I thought you might find it interesting, as you're new here. It is our legacy after all."

"Our legacy?"

"Yeah, Warminster's legacy. If you don't know the stories you won't be one of us."

There was nothing like reverse psychology to make me feel even more out of place. He had a point. I should stay and get to know the myths surrounding the town.

"You'll stay too, you won't leave me here?" I said pensively.

"Of course I won't, come, there are some people I want you to meet," he held out his hand to me and after a moment I took it. We walked back to the site area in silence.

The cordoned arena had been dismantled, opening up the wide grassy clearing. It was hard to believe that we were still on top of a hill. People were sitting on deck chairs, in groups mainly, surrounding small fires. Some were melting marshmallows and others were peering into telescopes appreciating the bright star lights. But most were still staring in awed silence at the bright twinkling sky above, holding their signs high.

"Hey, Aiden, over here!" A voice called out to our left.

"Hi Barry, just the person."

We walked towards the small cluster, all were seated.

Aiden shook hands with Barry and then introduced me.

"So, how did you like the evening, Rose?"

"Um, interesting, actually." I looked at Aiden and laughed.

"I thought you might be able to help Rose with some of the myths of this town," Aiden said. "Rose, that's Agnes, Daisy's friend, Bert from the Down End farm, the one near your house. Doug owns the off-license in town and Reg runs the local paper."

I said Hi to them all, and they all smiled back welcoming me.

"Well, you've come to the right person," Maggie said on the right. "Ain't no one knows the stories as Barry does, ain't that right?"

"Aye," "Tis right," and other comments were made.

"Sit down, Rose, what would you like to know?"

Someone brought two more chairs, and made room for us. The fire crackled in the centre launching yellow and red light onto the faces around me.

"Why is Warminster linked with aliens?" I asked. It hadn't been my first question but that one would wait.

"Well, some say that it's 'cos we're out in the open here. Nothin' surrounds the town, and the area is filled with mystical energy. There's some folk who say that the mounds like Cley Hill and Silbury Hill are in fact beacons to extra terrestrials who want to land on the area. Truth be told, no one really knows why they come, but there's plenty who've seen 'em."

"Have you seen one?" I asked.

"As a matter of fact, I 'ave. It were a cold night, an' I was walking my dog, Bessie. She loves to run on this 'ill, lots of rabbit's and some such, you know. Anyways, Bessie were missing, I called and called but she never returned. I walked down the hill and 'eard something' behind me. I looked back and there it was."

"What? What did you see?" I said, my eyes were wide in anticipation.

"A green man, tall as me, eyes large as saucers."

"Wow, what did you do?"

"Well, me thinks I would run, but I couldn't move. I just stood and he walked right past me as if I weren't even there. 'Course I looked round after but he'd gone, disappeared."

"And then?"

"Well, Bessie came back, scared out of 'er wit's at summat. She's ne'rn gone near this hill since. Prefers the back 'ills. I tried to bring 'er back but she jus' digs 'er 'eels in, won't move, daft dog."

"And you think it was an alien?"

"I 'ave never ever seen one since, and I've looked, but I swears on my soul, it were an alien man. I can still see him, clear as day in my 'ead."

"Were you scared?"

"Funnily enough, I weren't. I was more worried about Bessie to really take it in."

"What about flashing lights, lot of people see things in the sky?"

"Well, I have a different theory about them flashin' lights; I don't think they're no alien spacecraft, I think that's Halika Dacome."

He spoke the name so reverently I was shocked. I needed to know more. I glanced at Aiden who was silent, with his hands in his lap, staring into the fire.

"I keep hearing that name, Halika Dacome. They said it tonight in the summoning."

"Aye, you may 'ave dun."

"She be a myth, a legend, from these parts," Maggie said.

"Monster more like, she's a killer," Doug added.

"She's not either, and you know well enough what she's done for us in the past," Barry said. The others were silenced.

"Halika Dacome's real?" I said surprised.

"Aye, as real as you an' me."

"So, where does she live? Why isn't she here?" I asked even more intrigued.

"No one knows where she is. She hasn't been seen for a long time now. Rumours are that she's gone and left us, to go somewhere east."

"What? Like London?"

"No, Rose. Like China, Japan, the old Orient."

"I don't understand."

"Well, I'll start at the beginning. Some say at the dawn of time she fell from the sky. Others say that she reincarnates into another living being. 'Course no one knows for sure."

"At least, none that's telling," Reg piped in, and winked at me. He was an odd man.

"Aye, she landed on this earth for whatever reason and can't get home, or don't want to. Either way, she's been around these parts for centuries."

"So why do they call for her return?"

"She's got healing powers, and there's folk around here that need healing. Farmers and such like, mostly. She's a defender of many, a mercenary for few, and bad folk see the evil side of her. It's said that during the Second World War, she helped the farmers yield maximum harvests for the war effort, kept the folk fed when rationin' was brought in. Ain't nothing' evil 'bout that."

"Why do you think she's gone away?"

"Dunno, couldn't say. She's not been seen for many a year. Rumours say she's gone home, deserted us or gone east. Some rumours claim she has a same such friend in Japan, one like her, but who knows. But there's bad folk in town now, they spread fear into people's minds. But Halika Dacome saved my mother once and we don't forget it."

"What happened?"

"Years ago, when my family lived at Imber, where your grandmother comes from, there used to be a cart regularly visit town. One night, it was late. The wind took over the empty cart and pinned my mother for near on six hours. There were no lights and the way was long. Halika Dacome lifted the cart as if it were a feather. My dear Ma's legs were so broken they were like matchsticks, but Halika Dacome healed them with her magic power."

"Was your mother all right? Did she walk again?"

"Walked, danced, you name it. She were better than before the accident. She grew old quickly though, but woe betide anyone who had bad words for Halika Dacome."

"Did your mother ever see her again?"

"Nope, never. My ma'd liked to have thanked her proper like but she never saw her, just had her mark."

"Her mark?"

"Those who 'ave dealin's with Halika Dacome are left with a mark, a sign of her presence, like."

"What does it look like?"

"Like nothing' I've seen before, A few lines over one another. An 'L', then reversed. Like a...a...what's them Egyptians use?"

"A hieroglyph," Aiden said.

I was so engrossed in the story I hadn't observed Aiden. He sat calmly with his fingers entwined together in his lap staring into the fire. His face was powerful but angelic at the same time. He seemed at peace. But then for the first time I noticed his eyes gleaming in the fiery flames. I shrank back into my chair, dumbfounded.

Aiden's eyes were sapphire blue and exactly the same sparkle and clarity as my emerald green eyes. I was so taken aback in surprise, I stopped breathing and my pulse quickened as I stared. I had never seen eyes so brightly coloured. I was so lost in my observation, I hadn't realised that Barry had continued the story.

"That's it, one of them. An 'eiroglyph. My mother has it on her forearm, inside of 'er elbow, she tried to scrub it off but it stuck for good."

"Wow," I uttered and breathed again.

"There's some who say they've seen 'er with a black dog. You look out next time you be drivin'. Black Dog farm, Black Dog Inn, it's all 'cos 'ov 'er."

"She has a dog?"

"Used to. Some used to see her regular like in Imber with a dog. None seen it since, mind. Maybe it died."

We were all silent for a moment, staring into the warm flames of the cosy fire, the mood of the evening was buoyant still until others starting speaking.

"Halika Dacome is just an ol' wives tale, told to scare children," Reg said.

"She steals yer will, makes it her own, then yer dun for," Doug added.

"No, she's real, she's absolutely real, and no mistake," Barry confirmed.

"Barry? Why do they always call her Halika Dacome? Why not just Halika? It's such a mouthful!"

Barry thoughtfully stared into the embers of the fire. "'Tis considered a great discourtesy to call her anything else other than 'er full name. 'Er name is her status, 'tis who she is. She was of noble blood 'parently, so no one dared call her anything else."

Aiden, who had been silent throughout, suddenly sprang up in alarm as if hearing someone calling his name. It made some in the group jump.

"I'll be back in a minute," he said and ran, dodging around the small congregated groups until he was out of sight.

I leaned back into the chair feeling comfortable and warm from the fire.

"So, anything else you'd like to know about our Weird Warminster, Rose?" Barry asked.

"Yeah, there is something. Does an emblem of three stars, like a triangle shape mean anything to you?" I asked with extreme trepidation.

"With a black background?" he replied.

I shook my head. "I'm not sure."

"Well, the only emblem I've ever seen like that was the old Priory emblem. I think I saw it in the Longleat library, they still have a flag on the wall to show where the old building stood," he said thoughtfully.

"Is that the Priory ruin that Longleat was built on?"

"That's the one. The Monks were members of the Black Canons of the Order of St Augustine. They devoted their life to God, became chaste, weren't allowed to own possessions, or land, but were allowed to offer pastoral advice and care in the local communities."

"What happened to them?"

"In the 15th century another band of Monks took over the Priory, and the Order was dissolved. They'd run out of money, and couldn't continue as a going concern. Rumour has it that some turned to Black Magic."

I was so engrossed in Barry's story that I had briefly forgotten the others at our fire. They were all listening with eagerness, and nodding in confirmation.

"So what about the emblem? How is that linked?"

"They wore velvet cloaks, with a triangle on the back stitched in gold. The three points was a motif of their most treasured possession donated to them from an ancient King. They weren't allowed to sell it but had to keep it safe for when the time came."

"What was the 'possession'?"

"No one knows. An' if you ask me the time came and went for them poor monks. 'Parently some went to Longbridge Deverill, others to Hinton Charterhouse near Bath. The Priory was passed to the Crown, who bought it for next to nothin' and then the family of the present owners of Longleat bought it from the Crown. 'Tis a long and complicated history but, needless to say, ther'are no monks 'round here any more."

Doug spoke then. "My mother used to tell tales of the old Monks. She used to say if you went to Ragland Wood at night, you'd better watch out 'cos the Black Monks would turn your body inside out."

"My old ma too," Agnes said. "They'd practise Black Magic in those woods, behind the Priory where no-one'd see 'em. Used to torture animals, goats and such like. 'Tis rumoured the woods are still haunted."