Goddesses of War (The Guardians of Tara Book 4)

by S. M. Schmitz

  “How many times do I have to ask you to stop doing that?” Cameron said.

  Lugh smiled and shrugged at the young gods. “If she could invoke the right god by saying it, let her. It would make your job a lot easier right now.”

  “Not with a ghost in the room,” Cameron argued. “I’d rather you not be completely destroyed.”

  “Exactly,” Badb hurriedly interjected. “So tell us what you need to tell us then get your stubborn ass back to Findias.”

  Lugh turned his smile toward Badb and shook his head. “I’m going to be paying for this for a long time, aren’t I?”

  “Lugh,” she warned.

  “Okay,” he laughed. “I’m pretty sure all roads have led back to Cameron because Fate is leading them here. Whatever happens now with Huitzilopochtli and his allies, it won’t end gods’ quests for power and it won’t end their ability to become evil, but Hanna has to be born. She has to become the next Guardian of Tara because as the old worlds of the gods become fewer, the more they’ll compete for any world that’s left… including Earth.”

  “That’s it?” Selena asked. “Lugh, we already knew all that. Loki made it sound like we’d been missing something.”

  Lugh’s deep blue eyes shifted to Cameron again. “We all have. Your ancestry is much more complex than any of us realized.”

  “Um… is there a god of sarcasm?” he asked.

  “I think you’re it,” Nemain supplied helpfully.

  Lugh nodded smartly. “Definitely, which means you can’t be descended from one. But apparently, your father isn’t the only demigod. His ancestry traces back to Dian Cécht and me as you figured out months ago, but it’s your mother’s ancestry that is so surprising.”

  “Please don’t tell me I’m part Norse,” Cameron groaned.

  Lugh snickered and offered, “If you were, it wouldn’t so bad anymore… unless you were related to Odin.”

  “Oh, for God’s sake, Lugh,” Badb started, but both Lugh and Cameron interrupted her at the same time.

  “Which god?” they asked.

  Badb crossed her arms angrily and Lugh shot her a sheepish grin. “Sleeping on the couch for a while, aren’t I?”

  “I think I could use that martini now,” Athena complained.

  “Meeting Lugh has explained a lot about Cameron,” Selena teased.

  Nemain groaned and rubbed her forehead. “His mom. Focus, Lugh.”

  “All roads lead back to you, Cameron” Lugh repeated. “I can’t prove it, but Fate has always whispered truths in my ear, and I know I’m right about this. Even your parents’ marriage and having you… it was all part of Fate’s plan.”

  Cameron squirmed as all eyes turned on him and he did the only thing he could when he got nervous and uncomfortable. He brushed it off with a smartass comment. “Well, that would explain their marriage, actually. My mom is way too good for my dad.”

  “Maybe,” Lugh agreed. “And if she is, it’s in her nature to be better than most of us.”

  “Oh my God,” Badb whispered. Her pale gray eyes widened. She’d either figured out what god Lugh was referring to or had gotten tired of waiting and just pried in his mind for that information, but however she’d learned about this part of Cameron’s past, her surprise worried him because he couldn’t tell if her reaction was a good “Oh my God,” or a bad “Oh my God.”

  “Okay,” Cameron said slowly. “I give up. Which god?”

  “Goddess,” Lugh answered with a smile. “Cameron, you’re descended from Danu.”

  AS THE OLD gods of the Tuatha Dé gushed about his ancestry, Cameron cut them off once again, exclaiming, “We’re all descendants of Danu, aren’t we? It’s why everyone calls us Children of Danu, why we’re literally known as the Tuatha Dé Danaan.”

  Badb shook her head, her eyes still filled with a reverence that he wanted to remove immediately. Surely, he could figure out a way to piss her off enough that she remembered he was still just the silly, often annoying man he’d always been. “No, Cameron. Danu is considered our Mother Goddess just as the Dagda is considered our Father, but it’s not literal. Most of us aren’t descended from them. In fact, I didn’t know there were any direct descendants of Danu still alive until now.”

  Even the Olympians watched him with a new respect, which just made him want to jump out of the hotel window. Hell, even Ukko was looking at him differently.

  Cameron waved her off. “So what? I still don’t get why this is such a big deal.”

  Nemain tilted her head at him and asked, “Do you know what Danu was the goddess of?”

  “A fertility goddess, which may explain how Selena got pregnant so quickly,” Cameron responded.

  “Sort of,” Nemain corrected. “Danu was a goddess of everything. We still bear her name because she gave our family a world to live in and she made the ultimate sacrifice for us when that world was threatened.”

  “Wait,” Selena said. “I thought the Otherworld originally belonged to the Nemedians?”

  “We’re all descended from the Nemedians… sort of,” Badb countered. “You’re a direct descendant of Macha, the Greet Queen, which is why the Stone of Fal should belong to Hanna. But given Ailill’s ancestry from her too, he could also claim it. You both have such complex ancestries and such powerful ones. I can’t even imagine how complicated it must have been for her to get just the right bloodlines for thousands of years to culminate in you both.”

  “So again,” Cameron sighed. “How does Danu fit into this and why are we known as the Children of Danu instead of the Children of Nemed? Other than the fact he was a tremendous asshole.”

  “Because Danu liberated our ancestors from the Fomorians and drove them from our world. And then she sacrificed herself to save those who’d been captured, including the Dagda,” Badb explained. “Cameron, you’re descended from the greatest hero of our history, the greatest war goddess of our pantheon.”

  “Danu was a goddess of war?” Cameron asked stupidly.

  “She was the goddess of war,” Nemain replied. “Which explains why you’re so brilliant in battle.”

  “But I’m not!” Cameron protested. “I have Lugh’s Spear and it’s like magical or some shit. That has nothing to do with me.”

  “Cameron,” Ares said, “I gave you one of my spears to fight Quetzalcoatl, and as a demigod, with a spear that wasn’t even your weapon, you killed a god. Do you have any idea how difficult that would be for most demigods? For any demigod?”

  Badb touched his arm gently and smiled. “All roads lead back to you because Danu will see her people safe once more.”

  “Oh my God,” Selena whispered. “Danu is Fate.”

  CHAPTER FIVE

  As the sun set on the Crescent City once more, Cameron and Selena found themselves walking the empty streets of the French Quarter alone. They’d left the W Hotel to escape the mixture of adulation and excited questions, none of which Cameron had answers to anyway. He watched the sky warily for more invasions, expecting the reincarnated Tarhunt to return any moment, but so far, the sky only held wisps of orange and pink clouds reflecting the last of the sun’s rays.

  “How did Loki know any of this?” Cameron finally asked.

  “He often seems to know things he shouldn’t,” Selena agreed. She slowed her steps and pointed to an empty restaurant across the street. “That’s where we had lunch with Thor.”

  “Yeah, and where I still think Nemain cheated somehow.”

  Selena watched the empty restaurant for a few moments then tugged on his hand to get him to cross the street with her. “Danu is an ancient goddess. Far older than any living god… even the Sumerians. She’s been able to interfere in not only our own lives but the lives of gods from pantheons all over the world. How?”

  “From Chaos were born day and night and the Earth and love,” Cameron murmured.

  Selena stopped in the middle of the street and looked up at him. “Day, night, Earth, and love…” she repeated. “Danu is one of the original pri
mordial deities.”

  Cameron shivered and pulled the zipper higher on his jacket. “I wish Lugh hadn’t told anyone. What do they expect from me? I’m not her.”

  “No,” Selena agreed. “But we have to assume he’s right because really, when is Lugh ever wrong? She chose you, she chose us, for a reason. She’s likely been planning our fates for thousands of years, Cameron.”

  “I liked it better when Fate was just some nameless power that did whatever the hell it wanted,” he complained.

  “Because you’re afraid of disappointing her,” Selena said.

  “And you’re not?” he asked.

  “Of course I am,” Selena assured him. “But she’s brought everyone to you because she has faith in you. Think about that… one of the most powerful entities in the world has faith in you.”

  Cameron exhaled slowly and closed his eyes. “You’re not helping. In fact, you’re giving me performance anxiety.”

  “Well, that’s a first,” she teased.

  Cameron snorted and opened one eye to peek at her. “I’d much rather this kind of performance anxiety, to be honest. I don’t need to feel emasculated on top of everything else.”

  Selena kissed his cheek and nodded toward the restaurant. “Let’s see if the soda fountain is still working.”

  “Just use your telekinesis,” he pointed out. “Don’t need…” But his voice trailed off as a strange ruffling sound behind them told them they were no longer alone in the French Quarter.

  “Please tell me that was an escaped parrot from the aquarium,” Cameron said.

  “They have parrots in an aquarium?” Selena asked.

  “We should probably go check it out,” Badb announced as she appeared on the sidewalk beside them.

  Cameron jumped and turned on her, pointing an accusatory finger in her direction. “I’ve told you to stop doing that! Where are the bells? You’re each getting one.”

  Badb drew her sword as her eyebrows pulled together. “I heard it but I can’t sense it,” she mumbled.

  “Maybe it is just an escaped parrot,” Selena said hopefully.

  The ruffling sound echoed around the Quarter again and Badb shook her head. “That’s not coming from a bird.”

  Cameron’s Spear appeared in his hand, the bright blue flames lighting up the darkening street. “Okay, if it’s one of Koschei’s soulless minions, what good will it do to kill him? He’ll just come back.”

  “Because if we don’t kill them, they’ll kill us,” Badb countered.

  A black shape, distorted like a shadow, leapt from the roof of a nearby building, landing soundlessly on the sidewalk in front of the Irish gods. It straightened and stretched, its amorphous edges sharpening until it took the shape of a man, only it remained as wispy as a shadow, an illusion of someone else’s reality.

  “Nergal,” Badb hissed.

  “The god or one of his demons?” Selena asked.

  “One of his spirits,” Badb corrected.

  Beside the first one, a second spirit emerged from the darkness of an alleyway, rising like smoke from a dying flame. Movement from both ends of the street warned the gods they’d been surrounded by the same spirits that had spread an incurable disease through the capital of Texas.

  Cameron leaned closer to Badb and whispered, “Can a spear and sword kill a spirit?”

  “Don’t know,” she whispered back. “But Nergal must be around here somewhere.”

  A louder sound, like footsteps against pavement, caused Cameron to lift his Spear and aim toward the direction of the footsteps. “Nergal,” he shouted. “If you think I won’t torch you just because you’re in one of my favorite cities—”

  A man’s laughter interrupted him and the end of the street shimmered then a god’s form appeared among the living shadows that had surrounded it.

  But Cameron wasn’t facing Nergal as he’d thought.

  He found himself staring into the eyes of a ghost.

  “Enlil,” he whispered.

  And the Sumerian god who’d sought revenge for his son just smiled.

  CAMERON GROANED and rubbed his eyes, sitting up slowly as he tried to place himself. Why was he here and not on a street in the French Quarter with Selena?

  And then he remembered.

  “Selena!” he shouted.

  Only his own voice reverberating off of the metal walls answered him.

  He tried to stand up but something pulled him back down. In the complete blackness of that room, he couldn’t tell what had grabbed him but whatever gripped his arms and legs sent shivers down his body, like fingers of ice on his bare skin.

  So many shadows had descended on them at once, and as Badb and he both positioned themselves around Selena to protect her, Nergal’s spirits had passed through him, taking his breath away and forcing him to his knees.

  He could still hear Selena screaming his name as he blacked out.

  Cameron groaned again and tried to rub his forehead because he had a splitting headache, but whatever had pulled him back down still held onto him and refused to let him move. He closed his eyes instead and thought, “Some badass descendant of Danu and Lugh. I’ve been defeated by a goddamn shadow.”

  He had no idea which of those gods was supposed to be damning the shadows.

  But his disbelief quickly turned to indignation. If Danu had really become the goddess of Fate with seemingly unlimited power, where the hell was she now? And how could she let anything happen to Selena—the young goddess she’d granted three lives to because she alone had deserved them and she alone could be trusted with bringing a goddess destined to have unparalleled power into their worlds?

  The longer Cameron lay in that dark room where invisible hands kept him tethered to the ground, the angrier he became at their abandonment. After everything they’d done for Fate, for the Tuatha Dé, for the innocent humans who had wanted no part in the Games of the Gods, didn’t they deserve this last victory, a happily ever after with no more Treasures of the Gods to find and no more Battles of the Gods to fight?

  Cameron pulled on his arms again, but again, they couldn’t move. He felt weak as if he were only just beginning to recover from the flu.

  “You assholes want to let me go?” he asked the dark room.

  Not surprisingly, the spirits that held him down didn’t answer him.

  “Fine,” he pretended to compromise. “How about some aspirin then? Because my head is killing me.”

  They didn’t even ask him what was wrong with him or call him an obnoxious asshole. He got no response at all.

  “You’re the lamest jailers ever,” he mumbled.

  Cameron, her voice whispered in his mind.

  His eyes snapped open and he stared into the darkness, his heart racing because he feared he’d only imagined it. He couldn’t feel her anywhere so how could she possibly be near?

  Cameron? Oh God, love, please answer me, she begged.

  Selena, he whispered back. Where are you?

  I don’t know, she admitted. It’s dark and I think I’m alone… but they took Badb too. And it would be stupid of Enlil and Nergal to keep us all together in the same building.

  Yeah, he reluctantly agreed. But we’re likely still in New Orleans. I mean, last time Huitzilopochtli tried to haul us off to the Seventh Heaven, it didn’t work out so well for him.

  So what? He’s going to almost kill us on Earth then come harvest our hearts?

  Sounds about right, Cameron told her. How did you find me? I can’t even sense you.

  Selena grew quiet and Cameron began to panic, imagining a hundred different reasons the only woman he’d ever loved could no longer speak to him. But he slowly felt her presence touching his mind again, her own confusion and fear, but as always, it was colored with hope and the faith she had in him.

  I could never lose you, Cameron. You’re a part of me, remember?

  He smiled even though he still had no idea how to free himself, let alone find Selena and Badb to rescue them.

  Maybe
, she offered, they’re making us sick and that’s why we feel like shit. Kind of like Loviatar did with Ukko’s gods.

  Yep, that would explain the headache.

  You’re a healer too, Cameron. And if I’m right, you’ll get enough of your power back to get away from them.

  I can heal sore muscles from getting thrown off a twelve-foot high camp, he responded, remembering one of the few times he’d had to use his healing power on himself. Selena had noticed, of course, but he hadn’t told her yet he could heal people, and besides… they’d been running from Ukko and the New Pantheon and had more important things to discuss than an extraordinarily rare gift they shared.

  But there was a huge difference between healing bruises and healing some supernatural plague.

  Selena, I can’t draw on your power anymore, and my gift isn’t strong enough for whatever this is. I could heal the worst of your hangover but this?

  She laughed in his mind and he found himself smiling into the darkness again. Love, she offered, there is nothing you can’t do. And Hanna and I need you so stop screwing around wherever you are and come find us.

  His own airy laugh escaped his lips and those icy, invisible fingers gripped his arms tighter. He had no idea if Nergal’s spirits were psychic and had overheard his entire conversation, which meant they knew what he was planning, or if they were only reacting to his behavior. Regardless, he needed to hurry.

  He took a deep breath and concentrated on the wrongness of this pain. It was definitely nothing like the injuries or illnesses he’d suffered as a demigod, probably because there was nothing natural about it. Just as with all of his gifts, he wasn’t sure how it worked, but as he concentrated first on the pain in his head, that splitting headache dulled until it vanished altogether. The fingers that held him down twitched nervously as he began to heal his body and the spirits realized what he was doing.

  One of them let go of his left arm to attack him but Cameron reached across to the phantom holding his right arm and threw him across the room. The silence in his prison was finally broken when the spirits screeched, a deafening noise that made the hair on the back of his neck stand up.