Mike smiled, understanding the vague reference. “Do you know whether Nero fiddled during the great fire of Rome?”
Mabon turned to Alayna. “He’s a sharp one, too.” He looked back at Mike. “As for Nero, the story is twisted.”
Cernunnos cut him off. “Don’t you think we should let this young man learn on his own?”
Mabon shook his head rapidly, seemingly annoyed. He spoke like a pissed-off teen. “This is learning. This information isn’t in the history books, and the accusation has been debated strongly on both sides. Also, this is allowing him to learn about a subject he showed interest in. Would you rather have him go home and look it up on the internet?”
Cernunnos spoke like a calm father about to blow his top. “Enough with the dramatics. Tell your story already.”
The smile of a child getting his or her way spread over Mabon’s face and he turned back to Mike. “He was playing music when the fire started, and he stopped once the word of the fire had reached him. Whether he had started the fire in the first place is up for another debate and, unfortunately, I don’t know the true answer to that one. Even if Nero wasn’t responsible, it doesn’t excuse the myriad of duplicitous stunts he carried out in his day.”
Mike said softly, “Sorry. I forgot you guys don’t care much for the Romans.”
“Not I,” said Mabon.
Cernunnos chimed in, “Nor I. None of us, really. The mortals tend to hold a grudge and pass it down to the next generation. A few thousand years tends to mellow one’s soul out a bit. Live and let live. Forgive and forget. Love and let love.” He turned to Blodeuwedd. “Isn’t that how it goes?”
The owl-shifting Goddess giggled, and responded, “Something like that. Close enough for now.”
Mike couldn’t believe how cool the Gods and Goddesses were and planned to sit quietly and take in as much information as he could. And just like that, Mike’s tongue went rogue again as he stared in awe at the youthful God. “How do you stay so young?”
Mabon said, “Our mutual friend, Merlin, imbued me with a silent spell that somehow has stopped my aging. I wish I were strong though, like this beast here.” He pointed at the muscular God to his right.
The God pulled his hood down, exposing a head of close-cropped red hair and freckled red cheeks. He smoked a pipe that smelled like cloves and pinecones. His tight white cloak was cut in a way that revealed his massive chest and shoulders. “My name is The Daghdha. I am the God of Wisdom and Power. I’m really not as special as Mabon makes me out.”
“I have to admit, I thought you all would speak in an ancient language or sound differently. I didn’t expect jokes and to feel so comfortable around you. I mean, I’m still shaking from the excitement.” Mike held his wobbly right hand out for everyone to see.
The Daghdha cleared his throat and spoke in a soft tone, unbecoming of his physical stature, but his voice captured the room’s attention. “Many people see Gods and Goddesses as unapproachable and intimidating. Once someone gets past the awe, we adapt to each person we are talking to. We have extensive knowledge of languages and different dialects within those languages. I could talk to Plato in his most familiar tongue one minute, and the next I could talk to you and sound like a person from your neighborhood. There has also been so much material written about the Gods and Goddesses throughout history that you must be careful. Even some of the most accepted stories about us aren’t true. Be careful who you listen to.”
Cernunnos tossed a sunflower seed toward his beard, and a baby robin poked out and snatched the treat out of mid-air. “I’ve often met mortals that tell me I don’t look how they expected me to. And all I can say is, sorry for letting you down.” He laughed and gently thumbed the top of the fledgling’s head.
The Daghdha said, “I believe we should allow our female counterpart to go first.”
“Thank you,” Blodeuwedd said. “When thinking of magic and its properties, we look no farther than nature. I’m going to talk to you about plant magic. That doesn’t mean you are going to assemble an army of ferns and flowers to help. Most magic is in plain view, yet most people don’t understand that.”
A winged cherub flew around the table with a round of drinks in silver chalices. The nude boy set a drink in front of each person at the table before flying out of the cave.
Blodeuwedd continued, “Plants are different from trees and animals. Plants live much shorter lives. A plant lives in the here and now. Sometimes they only bloom for a single season. They have to fight the elements of nature and adapt over time, but a plant teaches us about the ability of magic. You can use the buds and flowers of plants to make potions, elixirs and creams. Turn them into candles that you can use for special spells, conjuring or invocations. Once you learn about the properties and healing effects of one plant, you can combine herbs and plants to create the desired outcome.”
Mike took a drink of what tasted like red wine heavily fortified with cinnamon. He had become intoxicated by the unparalleled allure and flowery fragrance emanating from the Goddess. Her emerald eyes, fringed with sweeping purple eyelashes, twinkled in the firelight and acted like a magnet for Mike’s attention.
Blodeuwedd scratched her nose and went on with her lesson. “Plants are great friends of the physician. They are the main source of healing pills and have helped to cure many different medical conditions. It will seem like magic until you fully understand the properties of a plant and the effects that they can carry. One must be overwhelmingly careful with regards to what plant ingredients one is mixing. It is much easier to make poison than a healing agent. It’s even easier to use that poison for malicious intent. That would be considered dark magic. However, if you keep it all sorted properly, it’s just like a mixed alcoholic drink. If you add the right quantities together, your drink will taste good, and your pill will cure whatever ailment plagues you.”
The Daghdha said, “I believe this is where I come in. I will teach you about another great source to use when you want to tap into magic. What is a tree?”
Mike shrugged his shoulders with a quizzical look on his face. “They are big. Strong, I guess.”
The Daghdha smiled. “Two good guesses. A tree is the sum of all trees that came before it. It carries the knowledge from hundreds of thousands of years. Before the dinosaurs roamed this earth, trees existed. They survived an event that the mighty dinosaurs couldn’t. Why?”
“I’m not sure.”
The Daghdha took a sip of his wine. “Adaptation. The dinosaurs couldn’t do this. The food they needed was suddenly gone. Trees lived on because their support systems were underground. The roots lived on, and more trees eventually sprouted back up. It was a rebirth. A renaissance, if you will. They studied the new conditions of the earth and figured out how to survive.”
“I guess they did, huh?” Mike hadn’t realized he had spoken.
The Daghdha didn’t answer his question but continued with his story. “Now you have to tap into that knowledge. They connect us to all worlds. Their roots go underground and to the underworlds, and also stretch into the ocean. Their branches reach into the sky. They are also the storytellers of the earth. They know all the secrets as they have seen it all. They have thousands of years of wisdom.” He turned to Alayna. “Make sure he reads The Battle of the Trees.”
Cerridwen coughed from her cauldrons. Mike realized she was clearing her throat in an attempt to make a point.
The Daghdha stared at her, and said, “It’s a wonderful story by a wonderful author who must have had a wonderful mother.”
Cerridwen laughed and went back to stirring.
Alayna leaned closer to Mike, and said, “I’ll have to give you that story to read, too. It was written by her son.”
The Daghdha blew his nose into a handkerchief and lay it on the table. “That is the original smother, right there.” He pointed to the cauldrons. “Where was I? Ah, yes. You may never assemble an army of trees but that’s not the point. Each tree has different structures and prope
rties. Once you learn those specifics, you can assemble an army consisting of complementing items. In The Battle of the Trees, each tree provided a different skill, if you will. Much like infantry complements the cavalry and they are in turn complimented by the archers or snipers.”
“I see.”
The Daghdha rubbed his long orange goatee and smirked. “Good. Many people hear just the title of that story and they think the magic is forcing trees to fight your battles. The true message, at least the one I take from it, is when going into battle, form an army of warriors that complement each other. An army full of simple strongmen is destined to lose to an organized bunch of learned folk. You don’t just take an army of the biggest trees. Once you study these trees, you will find some that you hold dear to your heart. Your experience will determine which trees are unique and special to you and no one else. Then, when you develop a relationship with that living organism, you ask to borrow a branch to craft a wand. Only then will it have true power.”
Everyone turned his or her attention to Cernunnos, who was feeding himself and his birds sun-dried blueberries. He shrugged his shoulders. “Sorry, I’ve heard him ramble on with that story so many times, I drifted away. I suppose you want to know about animals, too?”
Chapter 21
MIKE NODDED IN SILENCE, and Cernunnos set a handful of the sun-dried blueberries on the table. The God pushed the baby birds back into the depths of his bearded nest. “Much like trees, animals carry a long history that can be used when we think about the changes certain species have gone through to survive. Most people want to jump right into animal shifting and don’t realize that requires combining two types of magic. Don’t be overwhelmed. It isn’t exponentially difficult. Magic is just like building blocks. Once you learn the basics of magic, combining two forms is simple. But you need those basics to build bigger acts of magic.”
He picked up his silver chalice and downed most of the liquid, spilling some onto his wild beard. “I ask the people who want to shift right away, how well do they know the animal they want to become? Do you know its history? Its tendencies? How about its spirit or soul? I tell them to think about the thousands of years of development that animal has gone through. The experiences. The knowledge that animal has gained. That’s the true magic. Connecting to these animals brings us closer to nature and the elements.”
Mike took another drink of the fortified wine while Cernunnos continued. “I could blow smoke up your behind and tell you that if you stare at an animal long enough, you’ll eventually take its form. It might be humorous but cruel all the same. The real magic is learning the secrets of the animals so that you can make use of nature. Once you have a true connection with nature and animals, the magic really starts, but it’s a long process. You don’t ask a girl you don’t know to marry you, right? The same goes for animals. You wouldn’t try to shift into an animal you barely know. You will find animals that your soul aligns with, and then—and only then—can you even think about shapeshifting.”
Mike listened to the Gods and Goddesses for a few hours and flew back to the Deep Burrow on the back of Redridge. Alayna led him to the elevator portal to get back to his normal world.
Alayna and Mike went back to his house. Mike’s apartment was sweltering due to the fact that the box fan was broken. Opening windows didn’t provide any help, only swirling the stale, hot air around the tiny dwelling.
Mike’s phone rang, and he snagged it out of his pocket. He recognized the number and answered.
“What’s up, Emily?”
“Not much. Did you get some sleep last night?”
“Yeah. Surprisingly, I got a lot. How about you?”
“I tossed and turned a lot. I wish you would have stayed here. I always sleep well when you stay here.” She giggled.
Mike noticed Alayna staring at him, and he turned his back on her. “Did you get ahold of the tarot reader yet?”
“Still no answer. I drove by his house earlier, and his driveway door was still open.”
Mike looked out the dirty window. “Was that van still parked there?”
“Yep. I swear I could hear growling sounds coming from the house so I just pretended like I was turning around in his driveway and got the hell out of there.” She sounded frightened.
Mike turned around, and Alayna greeted him with a smile. He stepped around her and walked toward his room. “Smart move. So what are we going to do?”
“I went shopping and got some stuff to make dinner. If you want, you can come over for dinner, and hopefully by then Tucker will have answered the phone. If not, I say we eat dinner and go by his house, and if that garage door is still open, I think we might need to go in.”
Mike got into his room and covered his nose. He spoke in a nasal tone. “I don’t want to break into anyone’s house. What if he has a gun and shoots us?”
“I think you might be breaking up a little. You sound weird. Just an idea, but we could take our gun with us.”
Alayna had followed Mike into his room so he walked to the kitchen. “Yeah, but he would be waiting and ready for us on his home turf. Plus, I don’t really want to have to shoot anyone. George is one thing, but this guy is a real person. I’m just not sure I could do that.”
“I will.”
“What?” Mike was stunned.
“I’ll do it. I mean, this guy has been calling me nonstop and randomly stopping by my house for days. Not normal behavior. Now that we finally have the amulet... Wait, you still have it, right?” she asked in the tone of an irate mob boss.
Mike didn’t appreciate her killer edge and wondered if Alayna had been right. His voice cracked, “Of course. It’s in the top drawer of the dresser in my room.”
“You’re breaking up again. That’s good. Great, really. Anyway, now that we have his precious object, he disappears. I’ll do whatever it takes to get that money. I won’t try to kill him, but if it comes down to it, I’ll shoot his ass.”
Mike didn’t know how to respond. He hadn’t seen this cold side of Emily before. She hadn’t even hesitated when she had offered to shoot Tucker. “Why don’t we talk about this over dinner?”
“Sounds good. You got a ride over here?” Emily asked.
Mike paused.
She said, “Just kidding. I’ll pick you up in, like, an hour. I’ll text you before I leave.”
“It’s a plan. Can’t wait.”
“Me, too. See ya in a little bit.”
“Alright, bye.”
Mike started to smile, but faltered at the sound of Alayna’s voice. “That sounded like a nice, friendly conversation. What were you two lovebirds talking about? Vacations together? Walks to gaze lovingly at the setting sun? Murdering someone?”
Mike was caught in the middle of a tense situation and didn’t know what to do. “Stop listening to my phone calls. I’ve already warned you about that several times. I don’t want to have to do it again. And we were talking about having a nice dinner tonight. Sorry, but you aren’t invited.”
Alayna laughed. “But I could have sworn that I was on the guest list. That sounds like a lovely dinner. It’s the morbid dessert you two were talking about that has me scared for you. I know she’s been afflicted. I don’t know who’s done it, but this shady character sounds like a prime suspect.”
“How do you know she’s been afflicted? You haven’t even met her yet.”
“Oh, Micheal, Micheal motorcycle. I hadn’t met you until a week ago, and I know everything about you and your past. My people gather intelligence much like the FBI or CIA and we have agents everywhere. George used a conduit to lure her in, and Tucker McSeamus seems like the most likely candidate to be that conduit.” Alayna scooped two spoons of fine Columbian beans out of a canister embellished with a renaissance scene and put it into the coffee maker.
He jerked his head toward her. “How do you know his name?”
Alayna wiggled her nose as the first drops of coffee hit the pot. “Mike, how long are you going to keep up this act of
naivety? My people and I, we are trying to help you. At a certain point, though, you should want to help yourself and your town. I can’t keep twisting your arm.”
Mike sat down at the table. “I hate to go back to this, but I’m still not sure if you are real. I know about the punch, and the secret world, and everything seems so real to me, but it also is such a fantasy. I need something solid I can count on. This is the first solid relationship I’ve ever really had with a girl. Other girls, it was just going to the bar and that was it. So stop trying to ruin this for me.”
“You fall in love way too easily. You need to watch that. And you can cut the bullshit, Mike. You know I’m real. You know the Gods are real. What’s the true problem?”
Mike lowered his head. “I’ve been failing at everything I do since my mom died. I know you say I share this bloodline with Merlin, but I’m scared. That plant is making me more intelligent, but we both know that I’m truly dumb. What if that plant wears off? What if I fail?”
“Mike, we are all afraid of failure, and I’d be lying if I didn’t say there will be bumps along the road, but you can do this.”
Mike still wavered. “This would be the hardest thing for me to do in my whole life. I haven’t been able to do the easy stuff. Have you seen my high-school grades?”
“These are excuses, Micheal. The sooner you shed them, the stronger you will be.”
Alayna poured two cups of coffee. She handed a mug with Albert Einstein on it to Mike and kept her special Beatles mug to herself. “Then I don’t know what to do. If you would just show a little gumption, you could acquire stronger magic than most in the world can only dream of possessing. It will only take about a month. Can you feel some of the power already?”
Mike blew on the coffee. “I don’t know what I feel right now. I’m all mixed up. I feel different. I know that. I do feel more confident. Not sure why, though. And my words keep changing right before I say them.”
Alayna passed the sugar and sat down at the table. “We’ve just started, too, Mike. And the Plant of Knowledge will never wear off, but it’s just a foundation that you have to continually build on. You’ve only tapped the surface of your potential so far. Even that small taste should have showed you that you are special.”
Modern Merlin Page 15
