The Prophecy (Children of the River Book 1)

by Ren Curylo

“Why couldn’t we have met Oseyan on a warmer beach?” Skill asked, shivering. She was in a larger form, now, and wedged between the Lilitu and the goddess.

  “I don’t know. I asked Oseyan a couple of weeks ago to check on the Selkie for Adamen, and this is where he told me to meet him.”

  “It’s cold here,” she complained.

  “You didn’t have to come, Skill,” Moriko said.

  “Oh, I couldn’t let you two go alone. Someone has to look after you.”

  Moriko and Adamen both giggled.

  “What?” Skill asked with indignation. “You aren’t done with your crossbow lessons, Moriko, and if it wasn’t for me, Adamen would have you standing around with your shoes hanging out of a tree.”

  “I have no desire to learn who I’ll marry,” Moriko said.

  “Bah,” Skill said, “marriage is overrated.”

  “How would you know?”

  “Look,” Skill said, avoiding the subject, “there’s something moving in the water. Is that your Ocean God?”

  Moriko looked where Skill indicated. “I do believe it is.”

  “Good evening, ladies,” Oseyan said walking up on the beach. He had been naked when he rose from the water, but with a wave of his hand, he was wearing a blue and black uniform similar to Moriko’s as he approached. “It’s a little chilly tonight, isn’t it?”

  “Yes,” Skill agreed.

  Moriko introduced Skill and Adamen to Oseyan.

  “Why didn’t you build a fire? It would have kept you warm until I arrived.” He snapped his fingers and a small heap of firewood appeared. He passed a hand over it, making it burst into flames. “That should help until we’re done,” he said.

  “Did you find Muirgan?” Adamen asked excitedly.

  “I did,” Oseyan said. “I’m afraid the news isn’t good, however. She’s living with her bob far out at sea, she’s alive but she is not well off.” He had a grave expression his face. “And her husband, Aindréas is dead.”

  “Dead?” Adamen said in shock.

  “Yes, he was murdered,” Oseyan said. “Right before Muirgan’s eyes. I didn’t speak to her, though I did speak to the elder of their bob. He gave me as many details as he had. It happened almost six months ago. She arrived home in rough shape after wandering the ocean for a month or more. She held a private conversation with her father the day she returned to the bob but she hasn’t spoken since.”

  “Oh, no,” Adamen said, shaking her head in disbelief.

  “I don’t know what to make of her story,” Oseyan said. “She said the human who held her captive, Yann, found them on an island and he sneaked up, invisible, and cut Aindréas’ throat.”

  “Invisible?” the three females said in questioning unison.

  “How is that possible?” Moriko asked.

  “That’s what I wondered,” Oseyan said. “We all know humans cannot manage such a feat on their own.”

  “He’s human, a plain old human,” Adamen said.

  “Without magic or a special charm, a human couldn’t do it,” Skill said. “There aren’t any humans in this realm who possess the kind of magic that would take.”

  Oseyan warmed his hands over the fire. “You’re absolutely right. I went to Blackpool to find this Yann fellow and find out more about the situation.”

  “Did you find him?”

  “Aye, Adamen, I did. He was almost too wasted to be of any use, but I did manage to sober him up enough to learn a little. He described a woman, small and slender, with long black hair, and sweet, soft features, about your size, Adamen. This woman had black eyes and pointed ears. Does she sound familiar to any of you?”

  “Aye, Oseyan,” Adamen said, her tone was as grave as Oseyan’s face had been. “I believe the woman is my mother, Queen Erish.”

  “That makes sense. She gave him a wishbone charm that allowed him to row his dory invisibly through the water and moor on the island where Muirgan and Aindréas were. It also allowed him to sneak up on them invisible, as well. He remained invisible until…”

  “Until he attacked Aindréas,” Skill said. “Typical invisibility magic. There are two types. There is the kind that lets you be invisible until you move, and there’s kind that lets you be invisible until you attack. Creatures that cannot invis themselves naturally can only do those two types. It’s the physics of the mortal world,” she said.

  Her three companions looked at her oddly; all were surprised to hear such serious dialog from the normally lighthearted, fun-loving Pixie.

  “Right,” Oseyan said. “Yann sneaked up and sliced Aindréas’ throat. Muirgan ran away into the sea with her pelt as fast as she could go. She hid in the waves until Yann left in his boat, before returning to the beach and put Aindréas’ skin on his dead body and dragged him back into the water.”

  A strangled noise escaped Adamen. “Why would my mother do this?” she asked, shaking her head. “I didn’t think she was capable of this kind of meanness. Granted, she’s been hard and demanding but not like this.”

  “Muirgan is heartbroken, angry, and completely bereft.”

  “Who could blame her?” Moriko said. “I would want revenge if it were me.”

  “I surely cannot blame her,” Adamen said.

  “I hope Muirgan gets well and kills that mac soith,” Skill muttered before she disappeared, leaving her companions to finish their talk with Oseyan without her. She returned with an armful of driftwood for the fire as he was returning to the ocean.

  “I can’t believe Erish would do such a thing,” Adamen said. “But, I didn’t believe she would have forced a Selkie to kidnap me and bring me home, either.”

  “You are probably better off if she doesn’t realize you are aware of this, Adamen,” Moriko advised.

  “I am sure of it,” she said. “I cannot abandon my people and I need to stay close to make sure she doesn’t harm any of them.”

  “Perhaps you should see about removing her from power,” Moriko said.

  Adamen shook her head. “I don’t think that’s possible. However, I will keep an eye on her and I’ll stop her if I see anything untoward happening in our grove.”

  “Skill and I will check in on you from time to time as well. But I don’t think you should stay with your mother in her house any longer.”

  “Oh, I’m not,” she said. “I’ve been staying with some friends at the edge of our grove.”

  “Good idea,” Moriko said.

  “What’s that noise?” Skill asked looking around. She quickly popped into her Pixie form and vanished in less than a heartbeat.

  The other two, at Skill’s alarm, disappeared as well, though they stayed near the fire.

  The air crackled around them again, and the ground shook. A tall, blonde woman appeared before them, on the opposite side of the fire from where they were. Moriko recognized her instantly.

  “Ah there you are,” Chéile said as Moriko became visible again.

  I will never run away from this bitch. “What do you want, Chéile?” she asked coldly.

  “I came to warn you,” Chéile said, looking down her haughty nose at the smaller woman, as Moriko rose to her feet. “Stay away from my husband,” she spat. “Or you’ll be very, very sorry.”

  “I haven’t seen your husband,” Moriko answered in a like tone to the one Chéile had used. “If you can’t keep up with him, it’s not my problem.”

  Chéile narrowed her powder blue eyes at her rival and said, “I know he’s looking for you, and you’d better remember he’s off limits.”

  “He’s my commander,” Moriko said. “If I have business with him, I will not shirk my duty for you. I’ll see him when I see him.”

  Chéile raised her fist to Moriko and punched the air from across the fire. The breath in Moriko’s lungs went out in a woof and she flew backward several feet, landing on her back and sliding across the sand into a dune.

  Moriko was up instantly and hurling a powerful punch at Chéile’s face. In the same instant, Adamen and Skill b
oth launched an attack. A tiny, silver bolt flew through the air and landed, burying itself deep into the woman’s right calf.

  Chéile yelped in pain as a barrage of hen’s eggs smacked into her, exploding on her head and face in rapid succession. Adamen reached into her pouch once more and pulled out another handful, ready to launch those, too.

  Chéile screamed and limped a few steps away before pulling the crossbow bolt from her leg. She dropped it on the sand and Traveled away.

  “What the Ifreann?” Adamen asked, placing her eggs carefully back into the pouch.

  “Yeah, what in the Outer Darkness,” Skill asked. “Don’t you think it’s a little weird to carry eggs around in a sack tied to your belt?”

  Adamen shrugged. “Raccoons like them,” she said.

  “How come they don’t break in your pouch?”

  Adamen shrugged. “I have no clue. It’s a special pouch, Moriko made it for me. It’s like hers.”

  “It’s a laghdaigh bag,” Moriko said.

  “I want a la-dedah pouch, too,” Skill said, eyeing it covetously.

  “I’ll make you one, Skill,” Moriko said. “Don’t get any bright ideas about taking hers.”

  Skill shrugged. “I’ll wait for the pouch,” she said. “It’s the eggs I’m interested in, now.”

  “You can’t eat them raw,” Adamen said, wrinkling her nose in distaste.

  “We could cook them if we had a skillet.”

  “I have a skillet,” Moriko said as if this was a perfectly normal conversation. She reached into her pack and withdrew her camping skillet.

  As they scrambled the eggs, Skill asked, “Who was that bitch anyway?”

  Adamen said, “Was that…”

  Moriko said, “Yep that was Chéile. Doesn’t Ársa have good taste, though?”

  24 days later Feralis 28 763

  Springmeadow, Old Cliff Cardosa

  Muirgan Unbeknownst to anyone in the bob, Muirgan was aware of Oseyan’s visit to check on her. He had asked many questions about her. She knew that he had come at the behest of Adamen. Her heart was heavy for her own loss, but she was pleased to know that Adamen was safe. Hopefully, her child was, too. She didn’t think she could bear it if that child was dead and she had lost Aindréas, too.

  Muirgan awoke early in the morning on the day she decided to be the sword of justice in an unfair world. She realized she had made a decision during the night, though it had taken her over six months to get to that place. It was the first night’s sleep she had experienced that didn’t end in her waking, screaming in terror, racked with the shakes and a cold sweat When she awoke, everything was clear in her mind for the first time. She would grieve for decades, perhaps centuries. She would never forget what Yann had done. When she opened her eyes to greet the sunrise, she knew with certainty what she must do. The only thing she lacked was the knowledge of how to exact her revenge.

  She spent several weeks tailing Moriko across Lerien. She was grateful that Moriko preferred walking and it was in her favor that she also liked camping near water. It wasn’t always salt water, but at least it afforded Muirgan the opportunity to return to her skin to swim and eat. She wasn’t adept at living on land even though she had done it for nearly two years.

  She found she was learning more than she expected from following Moriko and watching her. She was grateful Moriko wasn’t in a hurry to do anything except interact with her environment. One of the first things she learned about Moriko was the woman’s character. She found her to be kind, considerate, and empathetic to the living creatures around her. She found her to be honorable.

  Muirgan meant Moriko no harm. She was following her because of her relationship with Adamen. She had followed Oseyan to the beach the night he met the three of them, Moriko, Adamen, and an unknown Pixie. She had lingered, watching them after Oseyan had returned to the ocean. She had seen the goddess come and attack them. She had seen the trio rally against her, sending her scurrying away.

  In that moment, a kernel of an idea was born in Muirgan’s head and she intended to nurture it into a full-grown plan, and so she continued following Moriko, waiting for her opportunity to see Chéile again. She knew she’d be back. Chéile isn’t the kind to take a shot and leave it alone, Muirgan thought. And so far, she was right. Chéile had come back three times during the last week. Moriko had faced her alone each time and they had argued, spat words at one another, but Chéile hadn’t physically attacked her again. Muirgan was sure it was because Chéile didn’t have the advantage yet, and was equally sure that would change the instant she felt things were in her favor.

  What I am waiting for, she thought, as she trod along several paces behind Moriko, is for Chéile to linger after Moriko left, rather than running off like a scalded dog. So far, that opportunity had been elusive. That’s all right. I can be patient. I have no one to go home to anymore.

  As they made their way through the forest path, Muirgan took care to keep a discreet distance behind Moriko and move as silently as possible. Moriko stopped walking unexpectedly and stood still listening. Suddenly, a woman appeared before her, but it wasn’t Chéile. Muirgan moved closer for a better look and recognized her as Anoba, the guardian of the river.

  “Hail, Moriko,” Anoba said. “Hello, sister,” Moriko answered back. “What brings you here?”

  “I came to invite you to Na Réaltaí for the banquet we’re having tonight.”

  “No, thank you,” Moriko said.

  “Don’t you even want to know what the banquet is for?”

  “No,” Moriko said, shaking her head.

  “I told Ársa it wouldn’t work.”

  “He sent you here?”

  “Yes,” Anoba said. “But you are getting an award, so you might want to reconsider coming.”

  Moriko shook her head. “I don’t need to be there for that, or anything else.”

  “You’re getting an award for taking on the Fae.”

  “Someone had to, they need protection. It makes sense for me to do it.”

  “I’ll help you out, though, Moriko,” Anoba said. “There’s no sense in you doing it all alone. There are, after all, a lot of Fae folk who live in the water.”

  “I appreciate that, Anoba,” Moriko said. “I do have my Tardigrada suit here, but I won’t turn down an offer of help.” She patted the small bag at her hip, indicating that she kept her hard armor suit in the bag with her other belongings. The Tardigrada suit would allow her to survive in unfavorable conditions, including extreme temperatures, airless, weightless conditions and even the intense pressures in the ocean depths.

  “Have you seen Chéile again?”

  “She’s managed to find me three times more,” Moriko said. “I don’t know how she’s doing it, though.”

  Anoba shrugged. “I don’t either, but I can only assume that she is getting better at Traveling. She’s been studying and practicing different skills, I’ve noted.”

  “She intends to be as big a danger as she can possibly be.”

  “She’s fou,” Anoba said, using a slang term for crazy. “I absolutely believe that she is the viper my mother spoke of.”

  “Did you ask her? Your mother, I mean, not Chéile. I doubt she would admit to her true nature.”

  “I haven’t had the opportunity. Lately, she has been feeding me information about The Prophecy without me being able to speak directly to her. I hope she will soon.”

  “You’ll be fou, too, before too long,” Moriko said with a laugh.

  “I wanted to ask you something, Moriko,” Anoba said.

  “What’s that?”

  “I wanted to ask you to keep an eye out for people talking about having children with the gods. According to The Prophecy, it’s about to become a critical issue.”

  “Oh, mo dhia,” Moriko said. “Is that already going on?”

  “Yes, some of these people will be adults by now, so we should be seeing some impact from it. If you hear stories of people being accused of strange crimes, or witch
craft or anything like that, let me know so I can investigate.”

  “Are you expecting that sort of thing?”

  “Oh, yes,” Anoba said. “I’m expecting that and more. You know how humans react to things that are new and different.”

  “Yes,” Moriko said, “They kill it.”

  “Precisely,” Anoba said. “And there are some of them that we cannot allow it to happen to.”

  “How do we tell the difference?”

  “Oh, I know the difference,” Anoba said. “I cannot get into specific names, however, but there are some of these hybrids that will be far more important than others.”

  “I suppose that Adamen’s child is one of these,” Moriko said.

  “Yes,” Anoba said. She and Moriko understood one another and the Forest Goddess knew she wouldn’t sugar coat anything to save someone’s feelings. “He is, Moriko, he’s vitally important. I can’t say why, or how, but he will be important many, many years from now.”

  “I guess there will be others who are as crucial to the world,” Moriko said.

  Muirgan’s heart pounded as she eavesdropped on their conversation. While she didn’t fully understand the implications of this prophecy they spoke of, she realized that she unwittingly played a part in nearly derailing one crucial aspect of it. If she hadn’t contacted Ársa at Adamen’s request, that child would likely be dead. She knew it was Erish’s intention to kill him at birth. Bitterness swelled in her heart for Erish. She was relieved to know that Erish had been thwarted and the child had survived.

  “Yes, Moriko, there will be. Some of them will be my own. And I tell you, I am not looking forward to any of that part of The Prophecy.”

  “What will you do, Anoba? Any children you have with mortals or whatever won’t be able to be raised on Na Réaltaí.”

  “And I wouldn’t want them to be,” she said. “I shall leave them all with their mortal parent. I have never truly wanted any children. I know you realize that men, generally speaking, are not my…um…thing.”

  “I kind of knew that, Anoba,” Moriko said with an odd blush and shy grin. “Some people we left behind in the old world had some issues with it, but I don’t think anyone who came along with us from the old world is among those. If there are any prejudices these days, it’s only among the mortals.”