The Phantom Queen (The Guardians of Tara Book 3)

by S. M. Schmitz

  “Wind god,” Cameron reminded them. “Who’s the wind god outside?”

  Loki crossed his arms defensively and answered, “I want to negotiate. My help and telling you what I learned about Huitzilopochtli in exchange for my permanent freedom.”

  “Your freedom is triggering Ragnarok!” Tyr growled.

  Selena held up her phone and announced, “Got it! Ehecatl is the Aztec wind god…although he was supposedly just a manifestation of Quetzalcoatl. You did kill him, right?”

  Cameron nodded then thought about it as his fire flickered from another gust of wind. “Nobody went into the river to retrieve his body, but yeah, even gods can’t survive a spear to the heart…can they?”

  “Think Huitzilopochtli harvested his heart?” Macha asked.

  “Macha,” Nemain groaned.

  Macha grinned at her sister and shrugged.

  “Oh my God,” Selena breathed.

  “At what point will all of you just stop saying that and specify which god you’re invoking from the outset?” Cameron asked.

  “Never,” Selena answered. “And what if Huitzilopochtli did harvest his brother’s heart, so he has all of Quetzalcoatl’s power now?”

  All of the gods and the lone demigod stared at Loki who shuffled his feet and lifted his chin in the air again. “I’m not confirming or denying anything until I get my guarantee that I’ll remain free.”

  “So apparently, it’s really just Huitzilopochtli out there,” Cameron told the Guardians. “Except Loki basically already told us Huitzilopochtli isn’t really here even though the hummingbird minions are definitely outside dive-bombing my fire igloo.”

  “Let your fire go out,” Tyr suggested. “We’ll fight whomever is out there and if they take Loki, so be it.”

  “Ragnarok,” Selena reminded the war god.

  Tyr shrugged. “Might be inevitable anyway. He destroyed his cave. I’d rather see him dead than free.”

  “Well, if you’d killed him the first time like you should have…” Cameron started, but Thor grunted at him and interrupted him.

  “Oh, for God’s sake, let it go.” Thor lifted Mjölnir and pointed it at the young sun god. “You. Clearly, I’m invoking you.”

  “I’m going to let the fire go out,” Cameron decided. “Selena, try to keep the hummingbirds away from us. Everyone else, if you see a god, kill him. Jasper…just stand there and continue to be useless.”

  “I hate you,” Jasper sighed.

  Cameron smiled at him and extinguished his fire. The hummingbird warriors immediately dove toward the assembled gods, but Selena’s telekinesis prevented any of the tiny birds from reaching them. Another gust of wind, which inexplicably didn’t affect the hummingbirds, sent some of the gods stumbling into each other. But as Loki had suggested, there didn’t seem to be a god in the Basin for them to fight.

  “What the hell is taking you all so long?” Badb asked.

  Cameron jumped at the sound of her voice and spun around. “Stop doing that!”

  Badb snorted and shook her head. “Never going to happen. Why are you being attacked by little birds?”

  “You already know why,” Cameron answered. “But where is Huitzilopochtli? Gatekeeper, go find him…we’ll wait here.”

  “Hey,” Selena snapped. “I’m the one keeping those birds from reaching us. And it’s not easy. We’ll wait somewhere there aren’t thousands of tiny birds trying to kill us.”

  “Nemain isn’t going anywhere,” Badb said. “I’d ask why Loki is with you, but something tells me your answer won’t be brief and it looks like you have bigger problems right now.”

  “We have bigger problems right now,” Cameron corrected. “If you’re going to show up and annoy the hell out of me, you have to stay and do something useful.”

  “Annoying the hell out of you is useful,” Jasper argued. “Believe me: We all find it very useful.”

  Cameron flipped him off before grabbing Loki’s shirt and pulling him closer to Badb. “Read his mind. Tell us what we need to know about finding Huitzilopochtli, but leave out all the pervy details about everything else.”

  “Pervy?” Loki scoffed.

  “Dude,” Cameron scoffed back. “You somehow fathered a giant snake and a wolf, and mothered an eight legged horse. It doesn’t get pervier than that.”

  Loki opened his mouth to defend himself, but Selena shouted, “I don’t care! Just get rid of these birds!”

  “He doesn’t know where Huitzilopochtli is,” Badb said. “But he’s certain he’s not in the Basin. He never actually met Huitzilopochtli. One of the other Aztec gods would come to him with directions.”

  “If he’s not in the Basin, then why do we keep encountering the other Aztec gods here?” Thor protested.

  “Because they are here,” Badb clarified. “Loki isn’t sure, but he thinks Huitzilopochtli is somewhere in the Thirteen Heavens.”

  “If their world still existed, they wouldn’t need to invade ours,” Selena countered. “Quetzalcoatl wouldn’t have been living in the swamp, and he wouldn’t have had a home in our Otherworld.”

  Badb nodded in agreement. “I’m just telling you what’s inside Loki’s head like Cameron asked.”

  “And thanks for leaving out all the pervy parts,” Cameron added.

  Badb arched an eyebrow at him and replied, “Oh, I’m saving that for when you’re really pissing me off.”

  “I’m smiting her,” Cameron pretend-warned Selena. “Pre-emptive smiting. That’s allowed, right?”

  “Still concentrating on keeping those birds away from us,” Selena reminded him.

  Cameron sensed the arrival of the gods before any of them could physically manifest near the Guardians, and he narrowed his eyes toward the patch of trees where Xipe Totec would appear. Something within him shifted again, and his normal thoughts and feelings shifted with this anger that resurfaced. His Spear lit up in his hand and fire leapt from his fingertips as he murmured, “It’s about time. This serpent bastard isn’t getting away from me again.”

  “Cameron,” Selena whispered, but he ignored her. Only a small part of him even registered her concern, but even that small voice was quickly silenced by his own anger and desire for Xipe Totec’s blood. That voice, his voice, was buried.

  Because Cameron, the silly and playful sun god, had ceased to exist.

  Chapter Ten

  Xipe Totec, appearing as a giant serpent, hissed at the gods and a large dog, Xolotl in his animal form, appeared at his right. On Xipe Totec’s left, another serpent manifested, hissing angrily at the gods who stood in the center of the clearing awaiting their arrival.

  Cameron lifted his Spear and threw it at the goddess. As his Spear pierced the skin of the serpent, Chalchiuhtlicue transformed into her normal guise, the Spear penetrating the goddess’s throat. Her hands wrapped around the handle as she staggered backwards, but Cameron didn’t give her or the other Aztec gods, joined by Chalchiuhtotolin and Tonatiuh, the chance to fight back. He marched toward the dying goddess and yanked his Spear free. Her body fell forward, and Cameron immediately lifted his arm to throw it at the nearest god.

  Xipe Totec immediately transformed into a man and held up his hands. “Wait, Sun God. We’ve come this time for the prisoner you’re holding. I’m asking for a temporary truce in order to negotiate his fate.”

  “Go to Hell,” Cameron hissed back.

  “Cameron, wait!” Selena yelled.

  His arm paused in the air, but he didn’t turn to look at her. “What for? I’ll kill them all now and end this.”

  “You can’t,” she pleaded. “He’s asked for a truce. We have to honor it.”

  Cameron snorted but his eyes remained on the Aztec god he was prepared to kill. “I don’t have to honor anything. You’re worried about Fate’s intervention, but Fate can go to Hell, too.”

  “Selena,” Badb said quietly. “Get him out of here.”

  Cameron felt Selena attempting to pull him from the Basin, but he resisted and refused t
o leave. Her footsteps crunched against the dried leaves and snapped the twigs that had covered the forest floor as she approached him, but he still wouldn’t look at her. He was sick of these gods and their games. They could all go to Hell.

  “You,” Selena demanded, her voice tightly edged with her own anger, “are coming with me. And if you think you’re stronger than me, I’ll prove how wrong you are.”

  Cameron’s arm finally faltered as Selena continued to pull him toward the Otherworld because the young goddess was right. He wasn’t stronger than her.

  As the Basin vanished, replaced by the always warm and pleasant temperatures of Findias, he gritted his teeth and turned on her. “Why did you do that? I could have ended this! Isn’t that what you wanted? To defend the countless idiots who are too stupid to realize how helpless they are?”

  “No,” Selena answered. “I want to defend the countless innocent humans and demigods who live on Earth. And I want our daughter to be able to take her place as the next Guardian of Tara.”

  Cameron rolled his eyes and waved her off. “Same thing. Instead, you’ve let those assholes live and get away from us.”

  “Cameron,” Lugh said, appearing on the sidewalk beside them. “You don’t know what Selena just saved you from, what happens to gods who refuse to honor the rules of our warfare. Do you really want to become a god no better than Odin or Huitzilopochtli?”

  “In case you haven’t noticed,” he replied bitterly, “Fate has already damned me. What difference does it make now?”

  Lugh shook his head. “I don’t believe this is permanent. A geis is uniquely Celtic, but the rules of war among gods are universal. And breaking those rules does have permanent consequences.”

  “This isn’t a geis!” Cameron yelled. “God, you think you’re so smart, but…”

  “Which god?” Selena whispered, but Cameron didn’t answer her.

  “This is just me,” he finished. “And all of you need to stop assuming I’m someone I’m not.”

  The beauty of Findias was replaced by the stone walls of the Dagda’s palace as he returned to his parents’ room and threw the door open. His father, who had been sitting at the desk beneath the window at the far end of the room, slowly rose from the chair and took a deep breath.

  Cameron was prepared to end this ridiculous feud once and for all.

  “No,” Alison groaned. “Cameron…”

  “Relax, Mom,” he interrupted. “I’m not casting you out.”

  “And you’re not casting your father out either,” Badb said from behind him.

  Cameron’s fingers curled into fists as he glanced over his shoulder toward the Irish war goddess. “Shouldn’t you be in the Basin letting our enemies get away?”

  “Don’t you know by now that you and Selena have been my biggest priority since I first found you?” Badb answered.

  “Since you ruined my life, you mean,” Cameron spit out.

  “Did I?” Badb asked. She entered the room with him, completely unconcerned about his uncontrollable temper and her own history with its consequences. “Tell me, Midir. How often have you looked at Étain and regretted the decision you both made?”

  He sucked in a quick breath and that violent temper flared within him. “You’ve known all along. You always do this. Your boyfriend is sending us on this wild goose chase after a geis when it’s our fault!”

  “Lugh senses things,” Badb corrected. “And he’s sensed something extremely similar to a geis on you, Midir. And you also know I can’t interfere with your memories or destinies or I’ll face the same fate.”

  Midir shook his head and protested, “I don’t remember making any bargain! How can I be held responsible for something I don’t remember?”

  “I don’t know as much as you think I do. You can remember, Midir. And you must for Étain’s sake. She’ll soon have the child you both wanted for so long. Is this the legacy you want to leave your daughter?”

  “Daughter,” Alison whispered, but Midir ignored her.

  He closed his eyes and flexed his fingers, stretching them before curling them again. “This wasn’t me…I treated people fairly and compassionately. How could Étain have loved a god who didn’t deserve her love?”

  Badb stepped closer to him and put a hand on his arm. When he opened his eyes again, her pale gray eyes were boring into him, hard yet kind, stern yet loving. “Of course this wasn’t you, Midir. And it’s not Cameron either. But you think too little of Lugh if you’re willing to dismiss what he’s sensed. I can’t tell even him what little I know about what’s consuming you now. Midir has to do this on his own.”

  “And Étain knows nothing,” Midir confirmed.

  “No, but everything you’ve ever done is for her,” Badb told him. “Go back to Lugh. Let him help you. I’ll keep Selena here unless either of you needs us.”

  “Badb,” Midir whispered, fear coloring even his breathy words, “What is happening to me?”

  “You made a promise, Midir,” Badb answered. “And knowing you as well as I do, I’m certain you never intended to break it. You just didn’t remember who you are for so long…it is sort of like a geis in that regard. Remember whom you called the night Étain was murdered, whose help you immediately sought, and let Lugh help you now.”

  Midir sighed and looked at Badb’s hand still resting on his arm. His mind seemed so jumbled and chaotic, tinged with the panic of a god who realized he was fighting a losing battle. And if Badb was wrong, if Lugh couldn’t help him undo the curse that was taking over his mind, he would ultimately lose the war.

  Midir knocked on Lugh’s door who opened it almost immediately. He’d either sensed Midir’s presence or had been awaiting him. Lugh held the door open wider and waved him in.

  “Where’s Étain?” he asked Lugh.

  “Selena,” Lugh corrected.

  Midir grunted and pushed past him. “Does it matter?”

  “Of course,” Lugh replied. “Just this morning, you would have insisted you’re Cameron.”

  Midir crossed his arms and waited for Lugh to get to his point already.

  Lugh rolled his eyes and mumbled in ancient Gaelic, and for the first time in a long time, Midir understood every word.

  “I am not being an obnoxious asshole,” Midir protested.

  Lugh raised an eyebrow at him and crossed his arms, too. “Oh? Then who are you planning on apologizing to first?”

  “Lugh, just help me figure out what the hell is going on with me,” Midir sighed. “Once again, Badb knows exactly what it is, but she apparently can’t tell me.”

  “Yeah, that’s about as much as I know, too,” he admitted. “She told me you made some sort of promise shortly before your reincarnation, but she really can’t talk about it. To be honest, I don’t think she remembers much so we’ll just have to figure this out together. We’re a couple of smart guys. We can do this…right?”

  Midir blinked at him then let his arms fall by his sides. “Please tell me you’ve got more for us to go on than that.”

  “Um…we were good friends once so I knew you well. Does that help?”

  “Lugh,” Midir groaned.

  The old sun god held up his hands and laughed, “All right, I can come up with something better. Although it would make my job a lot easier if you’d drag up some of those old memories and just tell me what you promised and to whom.”

  Midir threw his hands up and exclaimed, “If I could remember, I wouldn’t need your help!”

  Lugh squinted at him and shot back, “Maybe you don’t want to remember.”

  “Why the hell wouldn’t I want to get my life back?” Midir snapped.

  Lugh shrugged and continued to study his old friend in this young god’s body, so Midir studied his old friend in his old body back.

  “Knock it off,” Lugh warned. “You’re freaking me out.”

  “If you can’t pull the info from my brain, what’s the point of scrutinizing me like this?”

  “Actually, I was just thinkin
g,” Lugh admitted. “We should go to your old place where you and Étain lived. Maybe I’ll pick up on something or maybe it will trigger this elusive memory.”

  Midir lifted a shoulder because he didn’t have any better ideas. As they stepped out of Uscias’s red palace, Macha’s presence stopped them both, not because she’d come to Findias but because she wasn’t alone.

  “Macha?” Lugh called.

  The war goddess lifted a hand at the old sun god and shot a strange look at Midir before turning to her unfamiliar companion. “Cian, Uscias will show you around.”

  “Cian?” Midir repeated. He glanced at Lugh and added, “Obviously not your father.”

  “Named after him,” Macha explained. “A fairly young god, though, who was defending some of our most revered sites in Tara. No one has bothered them—or him—for hundreds of years…”

  “Someone murdered him?” Lugh interrupted.

  “Why else would I be here?” Macha answered. “Or him, for that matter.”

  “But what do our relics mean to other gods?” Lugh persisted. “The occasional defilement by mortals is to be expected, but a mortal can’t kill a god.”

  “I was murdered by gods,” Cian confirmed.

  “Gods?” Lugh asked incredulously. “From what pantheon?”

  Macha and Cian exchanged nervous glances before Findias’s newest arrival took a deep breath and stuffed his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “Ours.”

  “Ours,” Midir and Lugh whispered at the same time.

  Cian nodded then quickly added, “They were more powerful than me and masked their identities. I only know there were three of them and they were Irish.”

  “And you, Phantom Queen…I’m assuming they were gone by the time you arrived?” Midir asked.

  Macha’s pale gray eyes, almost identical to her sister’s, darkened as she nodded. “Unfortunately, those traitorous bastards were long gone by the time I felt his spirit calling me.”

  “You should have brought his body to Selena,” Uscias said but Cian stopped him.