Camulos’ grip on his sword tightened but he chose to sheathe it. “We’ll see,” he mumbled.
…
The sun was dawning about the time Sierra was able to reach a sign that indicated a Scottish national landmark was just ahead. Obviously the Standing Stones were important to the Scots in trying to understand their culture and history, but what they didn’t know was that it was an important place for magicks all over the United Kingdom as well. When she saw that the Súmaire had left in the general direction of the stones, she guessed that this would be the destination.
She still didn’t know for certain since she had only reached the grounds, but with it being so early in the day she moved without fear of being spotted by humans. Being caught by the Súmaire was another thing entirely.
Sierra moved across the grounds surprisingly quickly having just travelled hundreds of miles in a day and a half, albeit saving her legs some by traveling through megaliths whenever she came across them. After checking many of the magick sites in the area and ruling them out, she finally found herself hiding behind a wall at the welcome center working up the courage to look around the corner.
“Come on, Sierra, be brave,” she whispered to herself.
After a deep breath the Gnome drew up the courage to look; what she saw made her instantly recoil and hide again.
“Heavens! There’s a whole lot of them out there.” She didn’t recognize any of the other beings aside from the Vampire and his compatriot, but there were some very powerful and frightening gods in the proximity.
She held up the palms of her hands to her mouth and began to whisper, weaving her messenger to life. Just as its wings began to flap Sierra felt herself being grabbed by the scruff of her neck and hoisted into the air. She closed her eyes as she was jostled about; feeling like her brain was going to fly out of her ear. Finally she was released, but when she slammed into the ground she felt her ankle snap sending an incredible amount of pain through her body.
“I found a spy, Master,” Peigi said with a bow towards Crannog.
“Put her with the humans and stand guard. Elathan would be rather angry if anything were to happen to them—yet.”
…
Dorian reached out and hugged Airmid. “All thanks to you for giving us our Brendan back!”
“After seeing what he’s capable of, everyone in Otherworld and Earth should be grateful,” Garnash chimed in.
Brendan held up his hand. “We’re in the home stretch here, gang, and whatever happens in the coming moments is going to determine everything for us. I don’t know if we’ll win or if we’ll lose, but I just want to say that I wouldn’t want to… well I wouldn’t want to try to save the known universe with anyone else.”
“Maybe you gave him too much potion, Airmid; now he’s all soft and gushy,” Rohl joked.
“That being said, there are a few things that we’re going to need to stop Elathan.” Brendan pointed down at a map of Otherworld spread out on a large wooden table. He made six blotches in specific places throughout the six realms, one blotch per realm.
“We’re looking for blobs of goo or something?” Frank asked, puzzled.
“When Dad had located the dominion pulse of each realm and tried to corrupt it with one of Elathan’s tokens, the pulse actually split in two. Part of it remained hidden but had been corrupted by the evil trinket.”
“Okay, so what happened to the other half of the pulses?” Lizzie asked.
“That’s where these marks come in.” Brendan looked into each of their eyes for understanding. “While I was in my trance I learned a lot of things, but the most important lesson was about the other half of the pulse. They, for lack of a better word, rejected Elathan’s evil and, well, I guess they hid in the realms.”
“So these things are alive?” Frank inquired.
Brendan shrugged and glanced towards the gods and goddesses in the room, none of whom could offer up an answer.
“The pulses are like the soul of the realm, so I’d say yeah, they’re alive.” Brendan pointed down at the spots again. “As far as I know, these are the exact locations where they are found in each realm.”
“What if one of the Watchers finds them?” Dorian asked softly.
Brendan looked at her with loving eyes and nodded. “Then we take it from them. We are in a war, whether we like it or not, and we can’t afford to lose, at least we can’t afford not to try to win.”
“The Earth can’t afford that either,” Garnash added.
“What do we need to do?” Arawn asked.
Brendan still couldn’t believe that he was standing there with the great Celtic warrior he had seen so much of in his visions. Even stranger was that Brendan was a descendant of this great man. But the strangest part of all was that he was a descendant of a goddess. He knew there would be time to mull it over later… or at least he hoped there would be.
“We are going to divide into teams and try our best to recover the pulses and then meet on Earth,” Brendan said flatly.
“Simple as that?” Frank observed.
“Simple as that,” Brendan replied.
“Agreed,” Arawn added.
“So what are the teams?” Boann asked.
“And how do we know what the pulse looks like?” Argona added.
Airmid nudged Dorian. “Show him that shard you found in Mag Mell.”
“Oh, yeah.” Dorian reached into her back pocket and pulled out the jagged mineral and laid it on the table. “Have a look.”
“What is that?” Rohl hopped onto the table for a chair and got closer to the object. “It looks almost like a transparent quartz, but I can feel power from this rock.”
Brendan hesitated. In his opinion, Arawn—the first Protector and the Celtic warrior—should have been the one to take over the mission. Brendan didn’t feel worthy.
“You doubt yourself, Brendan, but you can do many wonderful things,” Argona interjected as she looked at all of the others gathered. “We’ve all witnessed it.”
Brendan’s hand was shaky as he reached out for the ridged pulse. All of their eyes widened as his fingers moved closer and closer to it. The shard began to vibrate and tipped in his direction. It jumped straight into his palm. He pulled his hand back involuntarily, causing everyone there to jump back in surprise.
“Whoa!” Brendan exclaimed as the shard turned to liquid in his hand and was absorbed into his skin. His hand glowed white for a few seconds and then his normal color returned. He looked up at the others in shock.
“What does that mean?” Lizzie asked.
Arawn patted Brendan on the shoulder and chuckled. “I think it means that Otherworld is behind you.”
“Behind him? More like in him,” Garnash quipped.
Brendan glanced down at the map again, and to his surprise little points of white light flashed to life on the paper. Mag Mell and Tech Duinn did not contain a light but the others did. Tir na nOg had two.
“I’m getting a visual on the other pulses. It looks like all but two have been found, and one of them is no longer in Otherworld at all,” Brendan informed them.
“Where could it be, then?” Lizzie wondered.
“Earth,” Argona replied. “That’s the only other place that it could go.”
“Okay,” Brendan said aloud as he started to reconsider the situation.
“What’s your call, boss?” Garnash prompted.
“We’re going after those pulses,” Brendan declared with confidence.
…
“Our people are getting restless, dear,” Biddy observed as a few of the Leprechauns and Gnomes began to argue amongst themselves. “Knock it off, you nutters!”
The small group mumbled a few last words and then went their separate ways leaving Biddy to shake her head at the idiocy of the infighting.
“Unbelievable! The whole world could be ending, and they’re squabbling over nothing,” Biddy said.
“We live in nervous times, Bid. I don’t blame them for being squir
relly,” Rory said.
“Look, Rory, Sierra’s message!” Biddy shouted and pointed at a flittering energy butterfly bouncing on the air heading their direction.
The butterfly landed softly on Rory’s shoulder and each of them strained their ears to listen.
“I’ve found the Súmaire and he’s not alone. Gods are with him. I’m scared,” Sierra said through her messenger, pausing to gather her thoughts. “They are here at Callanish, at the… argh!”
The message cut off with the sounds of Sierra struggling against someone or something, leaving Biddy to gasp and cover her mouth.
“What do you think has happened to her?” Rory asked.
“Whatever it is, it’s not good,” Biddy responded, a tear trickling down her rosy cheek.
Chapter 18
Mind Games
Simmons glanced down at his phone in the cup holder between the two front seats of his car.
“Oh, no,” Ken mumbled as he stared at his own phone’s screen. “This is not an isolated event, Simmons.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s happening all over the world. People are filming these mutated creatures attacking people and livestock. Brazil, New Mexico, Japan, Europe… literally everywhere! These things are trending online, Simmons, and we know that can’t be a good thing.”
Simmons’ phone chirped again and he reached down and grabbed it. “Hello? Yes, I saw. If anything is local send me the address. I’ll check it… really? Meet us there.”
“Where are we going?” Ken asked.
“Sam’s Creek, kid. That place must be cursed.”
“Fantastic,” Ken said flatly. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes.
“It’s not like you had a date or something, we all know that,” Simmons said with a laugh.
Ken shook his head and tried to get a few minutes of rest, since he had no idea what they were going to encounter at Sam’s Creek.
…
Sierra observed the two humans who were her fellow prisoners as they talked softly to each other and held hands. They didn’t appear to be too distraught about their detention or the fact that several powerful and evil gods were surrounding them. They just smiled and occasionally shared a brief kiss.
It was beginning to drive Sierra insane.
“Okay, enough already!” the Gnome shouted in a hushed voice.
“Excuse me?” Oscar asked with his brow raised.
“The pair of you are behaving like a couple of teenagers at a coffee shop rather than prisoners!”
“And you are?” Angie inquired politely.
Sierra sighed and introduced herself, before asking, “So what’s up with you two?”
“I’m Oscar O’Neal and this is my wife Angie,” Oscar said as he gave a general explanation about their long time apart and their experiences over the past few months.
“And to answer your question about why we can be calm comes back to the fact that we believe in our children’s abilities to save us,” Angie added.
Sierra looked around and shook her head. “I hate to say it, but I wouldn’t hold your breath. I’m seeing three gods, a Súmaire, and well, that one there looks human, but I would bet that she’s something more.”
“What tells you that?” Oscar asked.
“I don’t know, just something about her. It’s like she’s not really here, you know?” Sierra observed.
Angie and Oscar exchanged knowing glances. “We have both been under someone’s influence before and its like you’re you but just a foggy version of yourself,” Angie confessed. “Maybe we can help her.”
“Young lady,” Oscar said, getting to his feet.
Instantly Peigi turned around and pointed to the ground. “All prisoners are to remain seated.”
Oscar studied her eyes and knew that their guess was accurate. “Right now you’re not yourself. We can help you.”
Peigi’s eyes were blank but the corner of her lid flickered. “Sit down.”
Oscar held up his hands and sat back down next to Angie. “There’s someone controlling your thoughts and actions; you need to know that we want to help you. The next time a decision is made that you wouldn’t normally make come back and talk to us. Okay?”
Peigi held her stare on Oscar momentarily and then returned to her post. The man’s words rang throughout her mind casting a small bit of doubt on herself. There may have been truth to what he said, but she wasn’t sure. Is my mind still my own?
…
The Leprechauns and Gnomes of Corways began to gather near the center of town at Rory and Biddy’s request. Fergus and Tevis stayed on the edge of the town not wanting to accidently step on any of their smaller friends.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” Biddy called out, “we have some news to share about Finn, Sierra, and Sinead, and I hate to say, but it isn’t good news.”
She looked out at the faces she knew so well and recognized just how weary they all were—weary of all the fighting and battles they’d had to endure and yet still feeling as if peace would never come. She slowed her breathing and shared the sad news about the small group of travelers. The weary faces turned to a wide range of expressions from grief to anger.
“Now Sierra has been taken captive at the Standing Stones of Callanish and from what we could gather from her message is held by some very evil individuals,” Rory added.
“What do you mean?” Colym asked during a moment of sobriety. “Are you telling us that Elathan has brought back other gods?”
“Sierra didn’t mention Elathan’s name specifically, but I think it’s fair to assume that to be the case,” Biddy replied honestly. “We don’t know what exactly he’s doing or why he’s returned. All we know is that this is not a good thing.”
“Well, let’s go get Sierra back!” shouted a Gnome from somewhere in the back of the gathered group.
“They can’t take one of ours!” echoed another Gnome.
Rory held up his hand. “Please, calm down. We are talking about going up against gods and doing it without Brendan, Dorian, or Lizzie.”
“Where have they been?” a Leprechaun asked bitterly.
“Abandoned us, they have!” shouted an agitated elder.
“No,” Biddy responded. “Have you lost your heads?”
Arguments began to break out throughout the group leaving Rory and Biddy to unsuccessfully try and shout above the crowd for silence. Silence did fall when the megaliths’ runes began to light up. A thick fog rolled out from the space in the center covering the new arrival from view. Rory could feel the anxiety in the pit of his stomach as he and everyone else froze and held their collective breath.
“Who are you?” Colym shouted, his red beard bouncing as he stared at one of the strangest women he had ever seen.
The fog started to clear and when Biddy finally saw her, she knew it meant Corways was in a lot of trouble.
…
Warnach stood on the shelf of a mountain in Caer Wydr and stared out at the frozen realm. Glaciers moved slowly across its surface forming odd flatlands interspersed among the titanic peaks. He had yet to explore the realm that was given him by Elathan, but he did know that of all of the Watchers he would have the most peace. Only a handful of gods and goddesses chose to call the realm of the heavens their home, and they lived in fishing villages near the seas.
Peace and tranquility had ruled his days until he received Elathan’s summons to Earth a few hours before. He reached into his pocket and took out the little white shard and turned it over in his hand.
“It looks like Elathan’s search has come to an end. Earth’s days are numbered,” he said to the mineral.
Warnach walked forward and into a set of megaliths and uttered the ancient words. He was quickly sent through the tether and emerged on Earth, a place that he had only ventured to once in his youth.
Camulos and Lir were already there, scowling at each other like two fachen squaring off. Elathan was distracted and nosing around the stones. Off in the distan
ce Warnach spotted the Seeker; a sadistic smirk found its way to his face.
“Good of you to join us, Warnach,” Camulos said sarcastically, looking up at the Giant’s face. “One could think you delayed yourself on purpose.”
“Why would I care what you think?” Warnach said.
“It looks like you can’t get along with anyone today, Camulos,” mocked Lir.
“I promise you this, when all is said and done it will be me with all the power,” Camulos huffed. “When that day comes, you had better hope that I’ve forgotten all about you and your brashness.” Camulos stormed away walking toward Elathan.
Lir snickered and walked in the opposite direction leaving Warnach alone with his thoughts and his jagged mineral.
…
“Open your eyes, Ken. We’re here,” Simmons said before shaking the college student.
“Okay. Okay, I’m up.” Ken wiped his eyes and stretched. “That was quick.”
Simmons handed Ken the shotgun. “Put these extra shells in your pocket. I heard something up ahead, so we’re going on foot.”
Ken nodded and exited the car. He walked a few steps behind Simmons with the shotgun in hand, ready to use it if necessary.
“Make sure you don’t shoot yourself—or me—kid,” Simmons warned.
“No worries.”
They reached the creek, which was a little more than a trickle at the moment and made their way up the embankment to look out at the marred land and the peculiar megaliths.
“I don’t see anything,” Ken observed. “What did your partner say was going on out here?”
“Help…” called a soft, weak voice.
Simmons’ ears perked and he hopped to his feet and scanned the area. It took him a moment to spot an injured man, but once he did he sprinted over to him.
“Edwards?” Simmons knelt down and began checking his partner over for injuries. “What happened?”
“Check my phone…” Edwards said before he went completely limp.
“Edwards!” Simmons shouted.
He stood up in frustration. Ken recovered the fallen detective’s phone from the ground and saw that Edwards had been recording. Ken opened the video and watched the action.
The Bloodline Inheritance Page 21
