by Amy Sumida
Yes, I realize that two Wild Hunts and two shapeshifting clans were a bit of an overkill for one woman... literally an overkill. But this was the Morrigan; Phantom Queen, yadda yadda yadda. She had nearly killed several people I loved and me. Then we thought we had killed her and it turned out to be just an illusion. Her magic was elite as far as war was concerned. Premonition, Shapeshifting, Darkness, and even Victory were on her side. She could see every move we made before we made it... usually.
But Brevyn's version of Morrigan's dark cloaking was still clinging to us, shadowing us, and Morrigan was left fumbling in a different kind of darkness, one that she wasn't at all familiar with. I could see the stark terror in her face and the panic in her flailing movements. Morrigan was surrounded by wolves; half of them growling and snapping at her while the other half kept her allies from reaching her. For the first time ever, the Morrigan had no idea what to do.
Then the rest of us strode up.
“You are outnumbered and outclassed!” High King Cian called out. “Surrender!”
The High King spoke the truth, even without counting me among his allies. Nearly all of the Kingdoms of Faerie had sent troops to supplement King Cian's forces. The Tuatha dé Danann may have been impressive warrior gods, but they were up against a force of gods and faeries nearly four times the size of their army. Despite that, it seemed as if Cian were using my presence to force a surrender from the Tuatha.
“Never!” Shouted Bodb Derg. “If the Godhunter wants me, she can come for me herself. I welcome the challenge!”
Arach huffed in irritation and started over to Bodb. I angled my body in front of him. Arach paused, looking down at me in annoyance with his glowing, yellow eyes. I shifted into my half-dragon form. The scales that adorned my body in this particular form gave me enough coverage to assuage my modesty while also allowing me to speak. I suppose I could have shifted into a full dragon, but Tara was not made to hold dragons, and its halls were already full to bursting with gods and faeries. There simply wasn't enough room for both Arach and me to take dragon form.
“We are not here to take sides,” I called out to Bodb. “I am as I have ever been in this feud: neutral. We are here for one woman only”–I pointed my clawed hand straight at Morrigan–“the bitch who stole my baby. Also known as; She-who-is-about-to-be-slaughtered.”
The gods went silent.
“Arawn will kill Lesya if I don't return!” Morrigan screamed.
“Arawn is dead!” I roared and delighted in the pain that swept over Morrigan's face as well as the gasps from the Celtic gods. “My daughter is safe, and you will never harm another person I love. I will make sure of that.”
“Impossible,” she whispered.
“Oh, didn't see that coming?” I asked her. “You underestimated my son, you fucking feathered freak, and it's the last mistake you'll ever make.”
“That's my girl!” Fenrir growled.
“Vervain!” Lugh called to me. “Will you not help my mother and me?”
I looked toward the sound of Lugh's voice and saw him standing beside his father. Ethniu–his mother–and Isleen were also with him. I lifted my brow at Isleen, and she gave me a gracious nod. Isleen and Lugh had been having romantic problems, mainly because Lugh had outed their relationship to all of Faerie without Isleen's consent, but it looked as if they had worked things out.
“You promised me that I would not be involved in this, Lugh,” I said.
“I did,” he admitted. “But you're here now, Vervain. Will you not help us?”
“I cannot take sides in this,” I refused. “You stand with one force, and Finn's family stands with the other.” I waved a hand at Bodb Derg, and he lifted his brows in surprise. “Odin also has friends here. My loyalty is divided.”
“So, you'll do nothing?” Lugh asked.
“High King”–I looked away from Lugh to his father, and bowed–“you came for your son, didn't you?”
“I did, Queen Vervain,” King Cian confirmed.
“Then take him, his mother, and all of your troops back to Faerie.” I pointed toward the remains of the tracing room. “Let these gods fight their own battles. You already have what you came for. The rest of this doesn't concern you.”
“I would dearly love to do that, but Lugh's mother is stubborn.” Cian grimaced.
Morrigan tried to use our distraction to escape. She shapeshifted into a crow and shot out of the circle of froekn surrounding her. The feathered Hidden-Ones descended on her and snatched her out of the air, cackling in delight. As they held her and forced her to the ground, Morrigan shifted back to human, but this time, she became her red-haired, Macha form–the Goddess of War. Macha pulled a blade of flames out of thin air and brandished it about her. The feathered Hidden-Ones continued to cackle maniacally as their brethren stepped forward. These were fire faeries; even the feathered ones were immune to the flames. Hell, magma couldn't hurt them.
Macha's eyes went so wide that the whites showed all the way around her irises.
“Can't see what they're going to do next?” I taunted her. “Oh no, what ever should you do? Will the Godhunter stab you in your side?” I feinted toward her, and she jerked away. A Hidden-One standing behind Macha, snatched at her, leaving a deep wound on her arm. “Or will one of my faeries do it for me?”
I smirked as Macha screamed.
“Help me!” Macha's form shimmered back into Morrigan; the dark-haired queen who seemed to be the alpha of her multiple personalities. “Help me, or you will fail!” She shouted to the Tuatha dé Danann. “I'm your greatest warrior, you fools. Without me, you will surely lose this battle.”
“Did you take Vervain's child?” Bodb asked Morrigan calmly.
Around him, there was a mix of Fomorians and Tuatha dé Danann gods, but none of them were fighting anymore. The Celts were too fascinated by the drama playing out before them. Celts, like most gods, loved drama. Evidently, they loved it even more than war.
“The Godhunter is the reason we lost Tara!” Morrigan screamed. “She could have helped us, but she refused.”
“She is not a Celt,” Aengus said, his boyish features hardened by the intensity of battle. “This is not her fight, and you should not have asked her to join us, in the first place.”
“We needed her,” Morrigan hissed. “I foresaw it. We could only triumph with the Godhunter beside us.”
“Then we were destined to fail,” Manannan said. “Our fate is not Vervain's responsibility.”
“Her nightclub made it possible for Bres to break the Fomorians out of their prison,” Morrigan snarled. “She owed us. The very least she could have done is help us drive the Fomorians away from our home.”
“I don't care if she was the one who delivered the death blow to Dagda,” Bodb ground out, “you don't involve children in revenge. It's just not done. Innocence deserves to be respected and treasured, not used as coin for barter or vengeance.”
“Tell that to Fand,” Lugh snapped.
“Fand has been banished, High Prince.” Bodb lifted his chin. “It was one of my first acts as king.”
“She has?” Lugh looked from Bodb to Manannan.
“She has,” Manannan confirmed. “I'm sorry, Son. I had no idea of what she'd done. I have dissolved our marriage.”
“He's my son!” Cian snarled. “And you kept him from me, Manannan! You, who I helped to win the hearts of the Celts. I allowed your god magics to bond with fey and you betrayed me, all of you!”
“Enough, High King!” Bodb slashed his hand down. “You know that they believed they were acting in your best interests, and now justice has been served as best as I could provide it. There is no more to be done to assuage your righteous fury.”
“I will have my son and his mother safe,” Cian declared. “That is what shall be done.”
“So be it,” Bodb said immediately. “Do as the Godhunter suggested and take them from Tara, with our blessing and humblest apologies.”
“I cannot leave my people!
” Ethniu declared. “Bodb Derg wants us to leave because then he has a chance.”
“Go, Ethniu,” King Elatha said gently. “You were robbed of your motherhood. Go and reclaim it. We shall be fine without you, Daughter. We do not need the Fey to fight our battles.”
“Mother, please,” Lugh begged her.
“As you wish,” Ethniu whispered, her eyes going from Lugh to Elatha so that it was unclear who she was speaking to.
“Return to Faerie!” High King Cian called to his troops, and they gathered into formation.
King Cian led them out, with Lugh and Ethniu beside him, but Isleen broke away from their army as soon as she drew level with us. She came to stand beside Arach and me.
“Isleen!” Lugh called.
“See to your mother,” Isleen said to Lugh. “I must stand with my King and Queen. My loyalties are not, nor shall they ever be”–she gave him a meaningful look–“divided.”
“I understand, and I love you,” Lugh said grimly. “Thank you for coming to help us. I will never forget it.” Then he took his mother's hand and escorted her to safety.
I gave Isleen a grim smile before I turned to Morrigan. “Now, that's settled. Let's get on to my business.”
“Hold, Godhunter!” Bodb strode up.
I turned to glare at him. Bodb's eyes were the only thing that betrayed his unease at seeing my fury. They flinched a little around the edges. My own eyes were glowing, I could see their light reflected on the scales covering my chest, and I knew what Bodb saw: an enraged dragoness with fire in her eyes.
“I must know the truth,” Bodb insisted. “All of it. I cannot make a decision without all of the facts.”
“Fair enough,” I grunted. “Ask away.”
“You asked Vervain for her help at the Battle for Tara.” Bodb turned his attention to Morrigan. “When she refused, what did you do?”
“I took some froekn men to help her see things more clearly,” Morrigan said.
“She kidnapped my brother and then nearly killed my husband and me,” I added. “All because I refused to pick a side in a war I had no part of.”
Bodb narrowed his eyes on Morrigan. “That was not honorable.”
“I do what needs to be done,” Morrigan hissed. “As I've always done–the deeds you shining gods would never lower yourselves to do. I am the darkness lurking within your hearts. I know the evil you desire, but have no courage to bring forth. I bring it forth! I am the Phantom Qu–”
A massive dragon paw smashed Morrigan, cutting off her words. The assemblage of gods gasped.
“Not again, Arach,” I muttered.
“Son of a she-lizard!” Fenrir cursed as he rushed over. “That kill was meant to be shared, Dragon. Not cool! Very not cool!”
“She lives,” Arach purred wickedly as he lifted his foot.
Sure enough, Morrigan's head was intact and attached to her body, so she was still alive. How she managed to live was pure magic since her rib cage was crushed and her heart was most-likely pierced by the broken bones, if not a bloody pulp entirely. She was gasping raggedly, wetly, with blood dripping out of her mouth and pouring out of jagged wounds in her torso.
“That's for calling Lesya a pain in this ass, bitch,” I growled into her face.
“Little frami?” Fenrir lifted his brows in question.
“Have at it, Dad.” I waved him on. “I had the first kill; you can claim this one.”
“Excellent!” Fenrir growled and leapt onto Morrigan.
Over his massive shoulders (Fenrir was in werewolf form, which was even larger than his usual human form) leapt more froekn, including Trevor, and my fire faeries merely stood in a circle, enjoying the show. I looked up at Arach, and he smiled his dragon grin down at me.
“I kind of wanted a piece of her,” I said to Arach, already regretting my decision to let Fenrir have the kill. I contemplated jumping into the mosh pit.
“You did?” Arach's scaled brow lifted. “Which one? I shall sneak a claw in and grab it for you, A Thaisce.”
“Forget it,” I huffed and rolled my eyes. Then I changed my mind. “Wait; actually, I want her foot.”
“Which foot?” Arach asked.
“Her right one.” I grimaced at him. “I don't care; it's a damn foot.”
“Well, I'm only aiming to please,” he harrumphed as his paw slid beneath the pile of snarling, furry bodies. He pulled forth a foot and held it aloft. “Is this all right?”
“It's fine, thank you,” I said. “Hold onto it for me, please. I didn't bring my purse.”
“Of course, A Thaisce. Our people will look after your trophy.” Arach tossed the foot to the Host, and they started throwing it back and forth among themselves like a... well, like a football.
“Dagnabbit!” I snarled. “You just stole one of my jokes without saying a single thing.”
“Revenge is afoot, A Thaisce.” Arach smirked, satisfied smoke curling out of a nostril. “We shouldn't waste any joy we might find in it.”
“Arach! That was my other joke!”
“You two are monsters,” Bodb whispered. “I can't even ...” He kept muttering to himself as he walked away.
“Red Crow my ass!” I called after him. “I'm going to start calling you 'Red Chicken,' Bodb Derg.”
Bodb determinedly ignored me and kept walking.
“Are we good here?” Odin asked. “My Vikings are getting antsy. Unless we're going to take part in this battle, I really should get them back to Asgard.”
“We're done,” I said to him. “Just like the High King, we have what we came for.”
The armies of the Tuatha dé Danann and the Fomorians were standing around in a tense awkwardness, unsure whether they should start fighting again or wait for confirmation of Morrigan's death first. I wondered if they'd just shout 'Game on!' or something like that after we left.
“Godhunter!” It was Cailleach Bheur, a goddess I hadn't seen since she had visited Faerie awhile back. “Will you desert us? They killed Nuada and Dagda, were they not your friends. Am I not?”
“All of my friends joined me in my territory when we thought we'd found my daughter. As it turns out, that baby was a changeling of Morrigan's creation, and I only just today rescued my real daughter,” I said calmly as the sounds of Morrigan's screams started to fade into whimpers. “But you wouldn't know any of that, Beira. Because you were not among the hundreds of gods and demi-gods who were there. You didn't help me look for Lesya, because we are not friends, we are acquaintances, and acquaintances don't fight wars for each other.”
“I didn't know that your child was missing,” she protested. “I would have helped if I had.”
“It was your fellow goddess who took her,” I pointed out. “If I fought for anyone today, it would be the Fomorians.”
“We'd be happy to have you!” Bres called out.
“But I'm done fighting for today,” I declared firmly, giving Bres an irritated look. “I have rescued my daughter from Ireland and killed her abductor. I have seen my High Prince and his mother safely home. I have claimed vengeance for my family and friends. Now, it's time for me to go home and see to my children. I dearly hope that all of you will give up this nonsense and hug your own sons and daughters tight tonight. Perhaps you could find some gratitude for the immortality that human sacrifice has given you, instead of squandering it on petty feuds.”
As I spoke the words, something lightened inside my chest, and I began to levitate. I looked around me in shock as I rose into the air as high as the soaring ceilings allowed and spread my arms out wide. I had no control over my actions or the light that was emerging from my skin. My head flung back, and the lock of starlight in my hair lashed out with lightning. The nine-pointed star inside my chest blasted energy from my body with a crack of thunder. The light I emanated was piercing, so bright, that I had to close my eyes against it, and still, it burned through my lids.
The world had gone silent around me, and it felt as if I were touching the mind and heart of
every being in Tara. I had given the star direction with my fervent hope for peace, and it was an order that the star had finally been able to fulfill. Hatred eased, and weapons clattered to the floor as reason broke through the bloodlust of millennia. The Tuatha dé Danann stared at their Fomorian cousins, and neither side could understand what had brought them to such extremes. This war was pointless.
As the glow faded from my skin and I slowly descended to the floor, the Fomorians and the Tuatha dé Danann let go of their hostility toward each other. Hands reached across the distance of battle and blood, grasping similar hands in truce. Hugs were exchanged, and then joyful tears started to flow.
“Ugh,” Arach huffed in disgust. “Why do you insist on ruining our fun, wife of mine?”
“I didn't do this,” I whispered in awe as I watched thousands of years of hatred simply vanish.
Of course, you did, Al said in my head. And I'm proud of you, Vervain. You have taken the next step toward your destiny, as I knew you would. Just wait till I tell Faerie! You not only refrained from picking a side, you took the sides away completely. You have healed a pantheon today, preventing both human and god deaths. I knew you wouldn't step foot off the path, no matter what tempted you. I knew it!
“Well, maybe just one little foot off the path.” I smirked as I reached out and caught Morrigan's foot as it passed over my head.
Chapter Forty-Two
We prepared to trace back to Pride Palace, all of us except for Odin, who had taken his Vikings back to Asgard. I had invited the Norse Hunt to a celebration at Pride Palace, but they looked uncomfortable even to be addressed by me, and Odin quickly declined on their behalf.
