# VI: The Five Silver Bullets explained — Short Fiction

> Chapter companion for Short Fiction by Manly Wade Wellman.

## What happens

The narrator, armed with a revolver loaded with five silver bullets by Jaeger, ventures out into the night to confront the Flying Horned One. He witnesses the monster beating his worshippers with a stick and using a magical diagram to open a portal. The Flying Horned One forces his followers into the portal, and the narrator fires his bullets, ultimately causing the monster to fall into the portal himself, which then closes.

## Themes in this chapter

### Supernatural Evil and Occultism

The chapter features the Flying Horned One, a demonic entity summoned through occult rituals, and the use of magical diagrams and incantations.

### The Power of Belief and Ritual

The worshippers' rituals and incantations are shown to have tangible effects, such as opening a portal, highlighting the power of belief and ceremony.

### Sacrifice and Redemption

The Flying Horned One sacrifices his worshippers by throwing them into the portal, and the narrator's actions may be seen as a form of redemption for his earlier passivity.

## Character check-ins

### Sergeant Jaeger

Jaeger gives the narrator the revolver with silver bullets and sends him to fight the Flying Horned One, believing him immune to evil magic.

### Peter Dole

Mentioned as someone the narrator previously defended from a flogging.

## Key lines

> Of me he had made a champion, in this frontier strife of angels good and bad.

Jaeger had turned me into a hero in this battle between good and evil on the frontier.

_The narrator reflects on Jaeger's influence, casting him as a champion in a cosmic struggle._

> I was seeing such a thing done.

I was witnessing a magical attack on a person through their clothing.

_The narrator recognizes the witch's method of harming at a distance by beating a garment._

> Power to resist evil magic kept me safe.

My ability to withstand dark magic protected me.

_The narrator concludes that his immunity to evil magic, as claimed by Jaeger, saved him from being taken into the portal._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_37_se/chapters/vi-the-five-silver-bullets
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_37_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_37_se/chapters