Cameron folded his arms across his chest and mumbled, “I’m not bitter.”
Badb shot him an and-I’m-not-stupid look then told Selena to just bring her sandwich since gods had a tendency to be impatient.
Cameron flipped her off for the sandwich comment.
Selena snickered and took one last bite of her po-boy, and made a mental note to thank Cameron for her fancy sandwich, then she and Cameron followed Badb through the wide hallway back into the cavernous hall, teeming with gods and goddesses she didn’t recognize. She slowed down as they stepped into the hall and the deities stopped talking amongst themselves, their eyes settling on Cameron then her.
She wanted to back up into the hallway, to retreat into her room and hide from them all, even Badb. She’d assured the war goddess she would be willing to accept her fate as the next goddess of healing but there were so many expectations, so many hopes and aspirations among this group for who they assumed she would be, but she wasn’t at all convinced she could be this goddess. After all, she hadn’t even been able to heal Badb on her own.
Selena felt Cameron’s hand wrap around hers and she looked up at him. He offered her a reassuring smile then whispered, “See? Told you this place is weird.”
Selena laughed then covered her mouth with her other hand when her laughter echoed off the marble walls of the quiet palace.
The Dagda thought that was funny, too.
“Let’s sit,” Badb suggested. “Our druid’s prophecy is being fulfilled, and if we wish to retain the Otherworld, we must swear our allegiance to Selena’s safety first and foremost.”
“Hear, hear,” Athena agreed.
“What?” Selena squeaked.
Badb ignored her.
She pulled her to the long dark oaken table in the center of the room and Cameron followed her, still holding her hand, and Selena watched the eyes of the assembled gods and goddesses as they waited for her to sit down first. She wanted to turn to Cameron and tell him he was right: this place was weird. And it made her ready to go back to Earth.
Badb sat on her other side and her sisters approached the table, nearly indistinguishable with their golden hair also swept up into neat twists and their emerald green dresses that highlighted the kinds of bodies only goddesses possessed. Selena glanced awkwardly at her blue jeans and LSU t-shirt, a gift from Cameron, and pulled nervously at the neckline. She heard Cameron sighing and met his eyes, but he only shook his head at her then turned his attention to the Dagda who stood at the head of the table.
“Thank you, friends, for traveling here to meet Cameron and Selena, and for your quick arrival amidst the news that our enemies are assembling against us again.”
She heard grumbling at the end of the table amongst the Greeks but they were temporarily foregoing English to complain about the Norse and the Slavs.
“Question,” Cameron interjected.
Badb groaned and Selena smiled to herself. She was going to have to become one of the Tuatha Dé just to keep Cameron out of trouble.
“I’m worried about the Norse and Slavs, too, of course, but Selena and I can’t set foot on Earth without the New Pantheon hunting us down. And if Selena is really key to your success in this upcoming war, then Ukko is likely to switch tactics from trying to abduct her to killing her, right?”
Badb shrugged. “Not necessarily. Ukko may or may not ally with the Slavs again. Last time, there wasn’t even a United States, let alone a New Pantheon. He’s at the helm of an organization he controls that is becoming more and more powerful. I’m guessing he’s more likely to try to coerce Selena into working for him now. You know, offer her whatever she wants in exchange for her loyalty to him and his New Pantheon.”
Selena scoffed and shook her head. “He can’t give me what I want most anyway.”
Cameron raised an eyebrow at her, but Badb just nodded as if she already knew what Selena meant and that just made Selena blush. Yet again.
She hoped once she became a goddess this blushing thing would cease, because she was sick of it.
A Greek god Selena could only guess might be Poseidon, which surprised and scared her, leaned his elbows on the table and peered at the Dagda. “I’ve already had to give up the Aegean. I’m not giving up my sea here. If those bastards want it, they’ll have to kill me first.”
“Well, I’m pretty sure that’s what they’re planning on doing,” Badb snapped.
Poseidon just waved her off.
“Another question,” Cameron interrupted again.
All of the gods and goddesses sighed and looked at him, some irritated, some amused. Selena squeezed his hand and bit her lip so she wouldn’t laugh.
“If people remembering you guys gives you power, why is it the Greeks are like… second in command here? No offense, Badb or Dagda… is it ok if I call you Dagda because the Dagda gets annoying after a while.”
The Dagda opened his mouth, but Badb didn’t let him speak. “Because we led the last war and we led the Greeks into victory,” Badb explained. “And today, we are still quite powerful because of our own destinies. Because of yours and especially because of Selena’s.”
Cameron nodded knowingly. “I believe it about Selena, but unless annoying the hell out of the Norse and Slavs has become an effective way to wage war, I’m not so sure about me.”
The Dagda laughed and told him he could call him Dagda from now on just for that.
Selena suspected he would have agreed to it regardless; the Dagda seemed to think Cameron was the most entertaining thing to happen to the Otherworld in centuries. Perhaps he was because nothing ever really changed here unless a bunch of pissed off gods decided to have a war.
“Cameron,” Athena said, “we saw what you were capable of against Quetzalcoatl. You’d never even held a spear before. Do you really undervalue yourself so much, or is it only that you don’t want to be here?”
Cameron blinked at her then shifted awkwardly under the scrutiny of all of those deities watching him. Truthfully, Selena wanted to hear his answer, too, but she didn’t like that they were making him so uncomfortable.
“Why is my fate more important?” she deflected. “If we can’t find the Cauldron in time, I may not be the healer you even need. I had to get Cameron’s help just to heal you, Badb.”
Badb shot the Dagda a warning look, and he quickly closed his mouth again. Cameron must have noticed because his fingers reflexively tightened around her hand, his distrust of the gods and their games growing the longer they sat in this hall and listened to the half-truths they told.
“Selena,” Badb said gently, “you could have healed me on your own. Of course I appreciate Cameron’s willingness to help save my life. But the power is in you. The only reason you faltered is that you doubted your own strength, and when a god is filled with self-doubt, he weakens himself. If you don’t learn to trust yourself and your abilities, you won’t realize just how remarkable your gifts are. You don’t need the Cauldron to transform you into a more powerful deity. It’s already in you.”
“That’s the first thing I’ve heard yet I fully believe,” Cameron added.
Selena shook her head and slunk lower in her seat. All those eyes. And they were just staring at her. Cameron attempted to rescue her.
“What about Asclepius? Isn’t your healer still around?” he asked the closest Greek god. Selena had no idea who he was. She hoped he wasn’t Asclepius.
“No, Asclepius was a demigod but his knowledge of healing allowed him to evade death for a long time. But Zeus killed him, remember?”
“Oh, right,” Cameron said. He looked down the table at the assembled Greeks and asked, “Is one of you Zeus?”
The Greeks glanced at each other then eyed Cameron with the same what-is-wrong-with-this-guy expression so many other gods had given him recently. “No,” Ares finally answered. “Zeus was killed in the last war. His brother, Poseidon, has taken his place at the head of our pantheon.”
“Just wanted to make sure before I said that g
uy was a real…”
“Cameron!” Selena hissed. “You’re going to get us killed! Knock it off!”
Cameron’s eyes sparkled mischievously, and he grinned at her. “What? I was just going to say he was a real player. Ukko’s got nothing on Zeus.”
Badb rolled her eyes and rubbed her forehead. Tears trickled down the Dagda’s red face as he shook his head at the man who had apparently decided to become the jester of the Irish court.
“Keep it up, Cameron,” Selena warned. “One day, when we find that Cauldron and I’m on this pantheon, I’ll put you to work in the kitchen making me sandwiches while I rain out all of your football games.”
“You can’t rain out the Saints’ games because it’s an indoor stadium, and you’re not a weather goddess anyway. And you don’t need to become one of the Tuatha Dé to convince me to make you whatever you want.”
You. I just want you.
Selena stared at the table and tried to shrug it off. “The Dagda controls the weather. We all help each other out, right?”
“Can we please talk about the Norse and Slavs?” Athena groaned.
“You’re going to have to get used to this,” Badb warned. “They never stop.”
Cameron nodded and said, “Totally my fault.”
“And we do sleep,” Selena added.
“But not together,” Cameron said.
“Making it weird again.”
“Then I fit in here. That’s… not where I was hoping this conversation would go, actually.”
“Are you sure you found the right demigods?” Poseidon asked.
“Yes,” Athena answered for Badb. “I saw them both in that swamp. Believe me. They’re the ones we’ve been waiting for.”
Cameron’s fingers tightened around her hand again, but Selena didn’t like the way they were talking about them either. She may have placed her trust in some of these gods but not all of them. And she still suspected Badb knew more about their destinies than she was letting on.
A god sitting across the table from them leaned back in his chair and picked up his chalice, because apparently in the Otherworld, people still drank from chalices, and nodded toward Badb. “An immediate plan seems simple enough. Just accompany them to Earth as soon as you can all go to search for the Unbreakable Sword. Once you find it, bring it back here. Then you can begin your search for Nuada’s heir.”
“Aonghus, only you would make it sound so simple,” Badb scolded. She sounded like a mother scolding a child, much the same way she often reprimanded Cameron or Selena.
“Aonghus,” Selena whispered. “You’re a love god.”
Aonghus smiled at her and sipped from his chalice again. Selena pulled her hand away from Cameron’s and touched it to her cheek. She wished she could disappear again.
“Don’t worry, Selena,” Cameron said. She thought his voice sounded bitter again. “I don’t see a bow and arrows over there. You’re safe.”
Selena shook her head quickly as she stared into his beautiful chocolate brown eyes. She’d hurt him when she’d only wanted to protect him. “No, it’s not that…”
“Doesn’t matter,” Aonghus interrupted. “Finish your lovers’ quarrel later.”
“We’re not lovers,” Cameron interrupted.
Aonghus waved him off. “If you say so. Badb, there’s nothing wrong with my plan because it’s the only thing we can do. They will live here where we can better defend them, and you can search Earth for our treasures at times that it’s safer.” He turned his pale blue-green eyes to the Dagda and begged, “Father, just tell her.”
“That’s about as much of a plan as I have,” the Dagda admitted.
“Oh,” Aonghus added, “and give him the Spear already. The traits of both Lugh and Cú Chulainn. How could we lose then?”
“No!” Selena shouted at him. “If Badb hasn’t already told all of you that isn’t going to happen, then take it up with her. But leave Cameron alone.”
Something impish and knowing flashed behind the love god’s eyes, but he shrugged and dropped the subject and held up his chalice. “Our friends have brought us their best wines. Don’t let it go to waste.”
Selena pulled her chalice closer, but Cameron just stared at his. She wasn’t sure what his expression meant, but it pained her and she bit the inside of her cheek to focus on anything other than crying for the man whose future she wanted to save, even if it meant alienating him from her forever.
“I don’t drink,” he mumbled. “And I’m going to take a walk. You can give me the Reader’s Digest version later.”
Cameron pushed his chair away from the table and left the hall, his footsteps echoing off the marble as the room fell silent again. She heard Badb sigh, but Selena kept her eyes on the chalice in front of her and occasionally sipped from it to appease her own pantheon as well as the guests she didn’t want to offend. She was sure Aonghus was right and this wine was unparalleled, but she couldn’t taste anything. Her mind and body had become numb.
She picked out pieces of conversations as they floated past her, variations of Aonghus’ plan to somehow allow Selena and Cameron enough time on Earth to accomplish an impossible task while keeping them safe from both the alliance of Norse and Slavs as well as the New Pantheon. They had enemies everywhere now, and even the Otherworld would become dangerous as soon as the Norse alliance decided it had the support it needed to wage a second war.
And they most likely would strike soon in the hopes the Treasures of the Gods remained hidden, and the Irish pantheon remained weakened as a result.
Selena pushed her chair back and stumbled to her feet. Badb immediately stood up, too. “I’m going to take her outside for some air.”
Badb wrapped her hand around Selena’s arm and led her toward the back of the palace, although Selena wasn’t drunk. She wasn’t even tipsy. But Badb probably already knew that anyway. The war goddess always seemed to know more than she admitted. Badb pushed on a heavy wooden door and the warmth of the air in the Otherworld washed over them, a pleasant tingling on Selena’s skin. She couldn’t help wondering if she would feel sensations like these the same way once she accepted the Dagda’s Cauldron. Maybe that’s why the gods had such voracious appetites when it came to anything of which mortals would eventually tire: eating, drinking, sex. Perhaps nothing satiated them anymore because they couldn’t feel anymore.
Selena pulled her arm free from Badb’s loose grip so she could bend down and take off her shoes. She wanted to feel the grass beneath her feet, even if the grass here didn’t behave normally. Badb watched her quietly then reached out for Selena’s shoes. “I’ll leave them by the door.”
“He’s going to hate me,” Selena said softly. She remained sitting in the grass, running her fingers through the blades just as she had when she and Cameron had inexplicably transported themselves to this world on their own.
“Don’t be ridiculous, Selena. He loves you, and there’s nothing you could ever do that will change that. But I know what you’re doing.”
Selena swallowed and focused on the burning pain in her throat for a few seconds before she could answer her. “I have to. If I told him the truth, we both know he’d be more likely to take the Spear even though he wants nothing to do with this world or the Tuatha Dé. I can only tell him if he changes his mind because it’s what he wants.”
“He wants you, Selena.”
Selena shook her head and blinked away tears then forced herself to her feet. “As a demigoddess. A mortal. Not as one of you.”
Badb sighed again and slipped off her own shoes, throwing them by the door next to Selena’s. “Let them argue for a while. In the end, we’ll do what we think is best anyway.”
“Then what was the point of this meeting?”
“Oh, we have to make everyone think they’re part of the decision making process. But when it comes to you and Cameron, I’ve always been in control and they know it.” Badb grabbed her hand and Selena let her lead them through the soft grass toward the first hi
llock behind the palace. It tickled her feet and she turned to see if they were leaving footprints, but just like the last time, the grass looked undisturbed.
“Why are you in control over Cameron and me?” Selena asked, turning back toward the hillock. She scanned the horizon for Cameron but didn’t see him. A burning pain in her chest reminded her he was probably trying to avoid her.
“Because you are our future, and I am the guardian of the Tuatha Dé. We were never the largest pantheon in the world, Selena, so we mourn each loss deeply.”
Selena watched the grass under her feet for a while before asking her about the Dagda and his own story because his presence on Earth didn’t match the myths she’d studied. “I thought Cethlion killed the Dagda. But that’s obviously wrong, too.”
She thought she noticed Badb grimacing, but maybe she’d only imagined it, or maybe she’d only squinted against the sunlight. “You’re right. The Dagda is obviously alive. The Irish had no written language either, Selena. When monks began writing down the stories of the Tuatha Dé, they changed some things by accident and some stories they changed intentionally, like our entire race becoming fairies that hid in the hills.”
Selena smiled and playfully pushed Badb as they ascended another hill. “Oh, come on. I totally believe Noah has descendants in Ireland. They’re most likely the ones who transformed you into a fairy.”
Badb laughed and rolled her eyes at the monks who had massacred her history. “And they left a bunch of us out. We’ve kept those who have largely been forgotten alive because our pantheon never died out and was at least remembered in folklore, but we have dozens of deities even you may know nothing about.”
“How are the Tuatha Dé so powerful then? The Greeks and Romans wrote about their gods, and their mythology has gone through so many periods of renewed interest, I’d think they were invincible by now.”
“There aren’t any Roman gods. They’re the same gods as the Greeks.”
Selena sighed and rolled her eyes. “I realize that. But the Roman humans wrote histories and theologies.”
Cities of the Gods (The Unbreakable Sword Series Book 2) Page 2
