“What do you think that was?” Dorian asked, her hands beginning to glow softly.
“I’m guessing we just entered dragon country,” Brendan said, checking the skies.
One giant, scaly, clawed hand reached over the top of a peak of granite and dug its talons deep into the stone. Small bits of rubble tumbled down the incline and crashed around Brendan and Dorian’s feet.
“That can’t be good,” Dorian said.
A second claw dug into the top of the peak followed by the biggest creature either of them had ever seen.
“It can’t be!” Dorian exclaimed. “A muirbrech is just myth.”
“Muirbrech? Well, Leprechauns were once myth to me, too, and now I’m in love with one!”
The muirbrech’s massive head carried two dark red eyes, a long snout with too many teeth to count, and short jagged horns over the ridges of the brow. Its body was a light blue, covered in door-sized scales and spikes. It pulled its body up to straddle the stone face and then bellowed out a bone-shaking roar before planting its eyes on the young couple.
“Besides the obvious, what else should I know about a muirbrech?” Brendan asked.
“Uh… it eats dragons supposedly.”
“Great,” Brendan deadpanned.
The muirbrech adjusted its position and roared in Brendan and Dorian’s direction and then tore a chunk of rock from the granite and threw it at them. Brendan used his powers to swat the boulder away before it got too close.
“We know it’s not very welcoming,” Brendan quipped.
The creature leapt down from its position attempting to squash the Earthlings, forcing Brendan and Dorian to jump out of the way. The muirbrech’s tail lashed out and smashed into Brendan’s back knocking him across the rocky landscape. Dorian’s hands flashed red and she fired consecutive energy blasts at the beast’s face. It growled a few times and then swiped its talons at her catching nothing but air thanks to her quickness.
Brendan pushed to his feet and took a second to right his orientation. He spotted Dorian dancing around the claws and jaws of the creature and figured that this had gone on long enough. He struck the creature with a pulse—with the intent to incapacitate—square in the face and stunned it.
“Are you okay, Dorian?” Brendan said as he trotted over to her.
“Yes… look out!” she screamed.
Brendan turned in time to see the inferno build in the creature’s mouth as it spouted a massive stream of fire at them. The Protector raised an energy shield just in time and stood against the massive force and heat from the muirbrech. Brendan strained against it, sweating with muscles clinched. Dorian ducked in close to Brendan’s back to avoid the fire that flowed over the edges of the shield.
Finally, Brendan expanded his protection and sent a pulse of energy back at the creature slamming it in the face once more. The fires stopped instantly as the Muirbrech tumbled away from them and over the side of the cliff. Brendan and Dorian ran to the edge and looked down to see the beast swimming away.
“Well, that was intense,” Brendan said, grinning meekly. “Let’s find that cave.”
Chapter 3
Hidden
Lailoken screamed, and that was the only command the Loken needed to initiate an attack. The tribal warriors sprinted forward with their sharp teeth bared and their weapons ready to strike. Their approach was practically silent seeing as how they were barefoot. Only the subtle slapping of the balls of their feet gave any audible warning.
Garnash smacked his hands together bringing to life the ancient Gnome magic that his father, the previous king, had taught him to master as a young Gnome. “Here we go again!”
The Smith sisters pulled out their wands while Simmons took aim with his gun at a light-skinned redhead with braids who happened to be leading the group of screaming Loken.
“Eat lead!” He squeezed the trigger with satisfaction, but his face dropped when the Loken flicked the bullet away with a casual swipe of his mace.
The redhead leapt into the air intent on smashing a hole through Simmons’ head, but Garnash spring-boarded off of Frank’s shoulder and landed briefly on the Loken’s face. It only took a quick chant to activate a small blast upon contact, which sent the wild man skimming across the pathway. Garnash landed nimbly at the detective’s feet and glanced up.
“Uh… thanks,” Simmons said gruffly.
“Don’t go all sentimental now, Simmons,” Rohl said with a laugh. “It’s not like he brought you flowers.” The Púca morphed his form from his diminutive, fury natural state into a four-armed gorilla with ram’s horns. “Time to have a little fun.” He charged forward and knocked two Loken aside and head butted a large muscular female in the face. Her head must have been hard as a rock since they both had to take a step back.
Lizzie and Frank were under attack by a trio of Loken, two males and one female each with a highly-aggressive style of fighting, but that suited the teen couple just fine. Lizzie had been mostly using her staff to defend herself, but when a blonde-headed male snuck his knife in and sliced a gash in her left bicep, she decided to not mess around any longer. Her staff whizzed around her body faster than a helicopter blade, making it look as if she was encased in a globe of purple light. She spun out of her approach and stretched out her staff’s end to catch the blond right in the middle of the back. The assailant went flying through the air and rolled off the path into the leafless brush.
“Wow, Lizzie!” Oscar cooed from near the opening of the ghost pub.
Lizzie took the bag off her back and tossed it to Oscar. “See if anything is useful in there, Dad.”
Oscar opened the bag and saw some familiar objects. There was a silver flask, a bracelet, a bell, and a medallion. He removed the medallion and stared at it. He couldn’t help himself even with the craziness of battle raging around him. The circular metal piece meant something to him, but he couldn’t place it. So much of his past was fuzzy in his head. Conchar had taken everything from him, even his memories, but he was determined to get it all back.
The clanging of Frank’s sword drew Lizzie’s attention, and she began to come to his aid, but the sudden appearance of a halberd on fire directly in front of her face brought her to a sudden stop. The halberd swung toward her head so she dropped into a backbend, but the heated staff sizzled through the air right above her eyes. She thrust her staff directly over her head on instinct and planted it into the ground. A split second later the fire halberd clanged off the energy staff leaving her safe and untouched. Lizzie gripped the staff tightly and shot her legs backward making her feet connect with Lailoken’s chest. The hairy man flopped backwards and rolled onto his knees where he gripped his chest.
“You’re very strong, Protector,” he observed as he got to his feet. “But not strong enough to save us from what is to come.”
“As you can see, fuzzy, I’m not doing this alone,” Lizzie said, pointing to the group behind her.
“How dare you disrespect me!” Lailoken yelled as his halberd blazed within his grasp.
“No disrespect intended; I just call ’em like I see ’em.”
Lailoken charged forward again, this time with his own weapon twirling before him. Lizzie switched her grip to the yen and yang position as she edged backwards. Lailoken pulled his halberd low on his right side and in a single motion thrust the spear end directly at Lizzie’s head for a killing blow. Lizzie slid her left hand forward to act as a fulcrum, and using her right hand she struck diagonally over the Lailoken’s head and knocked the fiery halberd free of the hairy man’s hold. She followed it up by somersaulting forward into the air and landing a hammer-like kick to Lailoken’s head. The boisterous leader crumpled to the ground and groaned.
“Lizzie, look out!” warned Frank as he charged towards her and punched a Loken in the face, disabling the guy with one blow.
Lizzie held her staff at Lailoken’s throat and stared. “Tell your dogs to heel or this purple staff is the last thing you will ever see again.”
<
br /> “Enough,” whispered a cool voice on the wind.
Everyone stopped moving immediately as the surrounding temperature dropped. Panting breaths floated out in small puffs from the fighters.
“Lailoken, you are a fool and should be punished for delaying those who do important work,” the feminine voice scolded from within the air around them.
“I beg forgiveness, Mistress Morrigan,” he said, rolling onto his knees into a penitent pose.
“Morrigan?” Lizzie asked. “Where are my brother and Dorian?”
“Where they should be, young Protector, just like where you are about to be.”
A faint image of the beautiful pale goddess shimmered to life, life-sized, but transparent. What struck Lizzie the most was the depth of the Morrigan’s emerald green eyes, is if she was looking into the very soul of Ireland.
“Away,” the Morrigan commanded and Lailoken and the others scampered away as quickly as they had appeared. The Morrigan turned her attention to Lizzie and the others. “Earth’s Protectors are needed in Otherworld.”
Lizzie turned back to look at her father and then back at the powerful being before her. “Is that where Brendan and Dorian are? Otherworld?”
The Morrigan gave a slight smile. “If you and your family are to be successful, then there is much to be learned, Lizzie O’Neal.”
The Morrigan closed her eyes for a brief moment and then snapped them open. Like her eyes, the doorway behind them shone in a blinding green light. “Stepping through that portal will deliver you to Earth where some of you will no doubt be needed.”
Four green beams of light shone out of the brightened doorway and landed on Simmons, Ken, and the Smith sisters.
“Oh, we can take a hint, honey,” Wanda declared.
“Not the first time we’ve been asked to leave,” Patty agreed.
Simmons and Ken looked at each other and then back at the Morrigan. The detective holstered his side arms in a huff and without a word walked directly into the green doorway and vanished. The others remained silent until Ken said, “If you see Brendan again, tell him he’s got an ally back in New York.”
“I’ll tell him,” Lizzie said.
“Come on, girls. Who knows what’s awaiting us back home,” Ken said before he stepped through and disappeared.
“I’m going to miss my girls,” Rohl gushed as he transformed back into his normal form.
“It’s not like we ain’t gonna see you again,” said Patty.
“For real,” Wanda added.
After a small wave the Smith sisters traveled back to Earth, leaving the rest of the group at the mercy of the Morrigan.
All eyes turned back to the Morrigan. Lizzie cleared her throat. “So, what do you want us to do?”
…
“Della? Where’s my coffee?” Tannus called from the sitting area in the great hall. He was trying to catch up on the news of Otherworld since his banishment to Earth some two hundred and fifty years before.
“Coming,” she replied from the kitchen.
Della had never made coffee prior to that moment; in fact, she had never even heard of coffee. Tannus had brought the ground up coffee beans and a strange machine that he had retrieved from Earth on one of his outings. He told Della not to tell since he wasn’t sure how Elathan would react to him going off realm, even if it was for only an hour. Powering the machine wasn’t too difficult since Tannus could just zap it with a controlled burst of lightning.
The whole idea of something like a coffee maker was foreign to Della. She had heard of mechanical things that existed in Tir na nOg, but there was nothing like this in An wnn. The only metal they had went to useful things like weapons, tools, and containers. Once the brewing began, she learned quickly that the smell was amazingly aromatic and appealing; she decided that she really wanted to try the black liquid, but she wasn’t sure if her new liege would allow it.
Della poured the dark liquid into a cup and placed it on a tray. She carefully carried the tray into the great hall, although her hands were shaking in rhythm with her nerves, causing the cup to tremble. When she walked into the great hall, Tannus was perusing several pieces of parchment. This struck Della as odd since not much was ever recorded in the six realms. Most beings either didn’t value recorded history or they had memories that lasted centuries. Apparently some of the gods thought writing down what was going on in the realms was a good idea. Tannus seemed to be enjoying it so much that he failed to notice the Puck as she drew nearer to his chair. He tossed a roll of parchment about the Great Debate of Sarvaloo off to the side in Della’s direction. She didn’t see the roll and stepped right on top of it causing her foot to slip and her balance to falter.
“Ahhh!” she screamed as she fell backwards, the tray flying from her hands.
Tannus glanced over and watched the whole fiasco. He saw her land hard on her back, the tray flip end over end through the air, and his precious cup of java spilling out in a liquid stream until the cup smashed into the floor and broke.
“You idiot!” he growled as his eyes clouded over.
“I’m sorry, sire, I…”
She felt the electricity in the air long before the lightning bolt appeared from the ceiling. Instinctively, Della dove out of the way as the bolt struck the spot where she had just fallen.
“Please, Lord Tannus, forgive me.”
His breathing was heavy and there was a bit of sweat beading on his brow, but his eyes widened at the sight of the scorched stone in his great room.
“I—I’m sorry, Della,” Tannus sputtered. “Forgive my temper. I’ve been without my powers so long I forgot how they can affect me emotionally.”
Della looked up; she was clearly shaken but unharmed.
“Let’s go pour a couple of cups of coffee. I would love for you to try it.”
Della nodded and slowly followed her master into the kitchen, convinced now more than ever that no god could be trusted.
…
“So, how are we going to guess the correct cave, Brendan?” Dorian asked. She slid down a steep rock face, across a small gap, and onto a rock ledge that opened up to the sixth cave that they had come to. “What we’re doing so far hasn’t been working.”
“I know it’s not working, Dorian,” he replied, a little too sharply. He peered into the darkened cave and heaved a sigh. “Do you have a better suggestion than going cave to cave?”
Dorian didn’t have a chance to answer since a choir of howling voices bellowed from within the darkened mountain hole grumbling in some unknown language. Multiple pairs of shining orbs began popping up reflecting what little light there was outside of the cavern.
“Do you smell that?” a gnarled voice screeched from the darkness. “Earthlings have come to Brugh. How delicious.”
“What do you think we’re up against this time?” Dorian asked as her eyes flashed over in a crimson red, deeper than any red magic that she had previously conjured.
“I think we are about to find out.” Brendan’s body zipped to life in a sizzling silver glow.
Twenty Redcaps lurked out of the cave brandishing their daggers and maces followed immediately by a handful of shape-shifting Brags transforming their bodies into a slideshow of monsters. The creature’s mouths were drooling and beginning to foam at the thought of rare Earthling flesh for a meal.
“Twenty-five on two… I like our odds,” Dorian said. “Shall we make quick work of them?”
“Shut your filthy mouth, Earthling,” the lead Redcap ordered. “You walk in Lord Elathan’s realm in Lord Dewi’s lands. None shall pass without paying homage to the powerful gods.”
“Dewi?” Dorian asked.
“He’s this big, ugly dragon-looking guy. Kind of has a bad attitude, too,” Brendan answered.
The Redcaps grumbled to one another while the Brags transformed into zombie-like versions of Magogs.
“You shall never speak ill of Dewi, vermin!” the lead Redcap chided. He turned to the others and began screaming in hi
s native language, and his band of Goblins responded irately by hooting and jumping up and down.
“Death! Death! Death!” the Redcaps chanted.
“We prefer to just talk with you guys real fast,” Brendan said, raising his slightly glowing hands as a show of peace. “We have a few questions.”
“Kill the Earthlings and bring me their heads,” the leader commanded.
The first wave of Brags roared and surged forward opening their maws and baring their claws determined to behead Brendan and Dorian. They didn’t make it very far before they began to take on a silver glow and rise into the air.
“Listen to reason,” Brendan implored the Redcaps and Brags. “We don’t want to hurt you.”
The Redcaps wouldn’t listen. The next group of Goblins ran beneath their kin who were dangling in the air without fear, slashing and hacking as they approached the Earthlings. Dorian took to blasting their weapons out of their hands, causing a look of burning pain on the Redcaps’ faces, but the blows weren’t fatal.
“Kill them! Kill them!” the leader shouted while grasping his injured hand.
“Okay, I’ve had enough of this,” Brendan declared, his eyes alive with silver energy.
Suddenly, the entire battalion of Goblins were tossed into the air and then allowed to fall harshly onto the stone ground. The Redcaps bounced like tennis balls off of the rocky surface and one another until they ended up in a pile of groaning bodies. Brendan kept the Brags, who were in their Magog forms, high in the air until their rambunctious nature forced him to send a surge of electricity into their bodies, making them fall into unconsciousness. Once they stopped moving he placed them on the ground next to the Redcaps.
“Now,” Brendan announced as he stalked forward and bent over to snatch the leader of the Redcaps by the scruff of his neck. “Where do we find Dewi?”
“Wait. What’s that sound?” Dorian asked.
Something white and silver was moving quickly over the ridges, fast and steady, as if it knew the terrain better than any other creature in Brugh. Its path along the way caused it to dip in and out of sight until it hopped and charged at Brendan. He was about to reach out and snare the creature, but before he could react the beast planted its own head directly into the rear of the Redcap that Brendan held sending him flying out of Brendan’s grasp and over the ledge.
The Bloodline Inheritance Page 4
