Garnash wasn’t helpless and grabbed the beast’s arm and whispered a small incantation sending a massive blast of heat into its plump vein. The Bendith shrieked in pain and released him. Biddy changed her course and angled her body to catch her friend from the air.
Garnash followed her eyes and saw that the Bendith had changed course and was flying straight for them. He thought it was the end until a streak of speed came from the Goblin’s left and tore through its body.
“What was that?” Biddy asked, unable to do anything but hover and keep Garnash afloat.
“Griffin!” Garnash yelled as the griffin circled back around.
Griffin shrieked and then dove down into the fight.
Biddy smiled just before a powerful stream of sound slammed into their bodies. She tumbled from the sky, losing track of Garnash along the way before slamming harshly into the ground. Somehow she was able to move her head; she looked up and saw Meghan—a little worse for wear—standing over her.
“Someone will die at my hand tonight,” the Banshee declared changing into her true form.
Meghan began to draw in her breath, but just before she had the chance to exhale, a massive hand slapped her and sent her flying out of sight.
Biddy shook her head and then through a few moments of clear vision she saw the Magog Queen Arleen leaning down to pick her up.
“I’ve got you,” Arleen said as Biddy lost consciousness.
…
“Finally!” Elathan exclaimed.
The Emerald Crown of the World had opened for the golden god and he stood before it in awe.
“Beyond this threshold lies magic and power like you have never known,” Caoranach whispered. “You may be an ultragod now, but soon you will be more than a god—you will be an Immortal.”
Green light glinted in Elathan’s eyes as he gazed at the opening in wonder for a moment longer, a violent war still raging behind him. He reached out and pulled Angie and Oscar through the air with his power. They may have said something, but Elathan didn’t hear them. He was transfixed on his destiny.
The golden god stepped into the opening, followed by Caoranach, and took his first steps towards supreme power.
…
Arawn pulled his sword out of the top of a dragon’s head and dropped to the ground next to Brendan. “Before I forget,” he said, extending his hand and holding up the pulse of Ann wn. “Take good care of this one. It’s my favorite.”
Brendan took the shard and absorbed it quickly. “Elathan is already in the Crown.”
“Go!” Arawn shouted.
Brendan turned and came face to face with Lir and Warnach.
“Look at his eyes!” Lir said obnoxiously. “You’re not afraid, are you O’Neal? Even your eyes have gone white.”
A thought hit Warnach as he looked at Brendan’s pure white eyes, and he reached into his pocket to touch the shard he had found in Caer Wydr. Unfortunately for him the motion caught Brendan’s attention.
“Hand it over,” Brendan ordered, looking past Lir and Warnach at the opening, which was slowly beginning to close.
“Hand what over?” Warnach asked, playing dumb.
The Protector had lost his patience and was running out of time so he reached out with his power and pulled the pulse from Warnach’s pocket. The pulse flew through the air and broke apart into granules as it traveled the distance into Brendan’s skin.
“No! That was mine!” the wizard Giant took two steps and tried to cast a curse on Brendan who held up his hand and deflected it back onto the god.
Warnach’s clothes caught fire and he screamed and fell to the ground. Brendan grabbed the giant by the back of the pants, disregarding the fire, and tossed him over the ledge into the water about two miles offshore.
Lir’s face didn’t betray his fear. He had seen some powerful beings in his days of battle but nothing quite like the Protector. “What are you?”
“Human,” Brendan said and he marched past Lir without fear.
“What’s the matter, Lir? The kid too tough for you?” Argona asked, her whip resting behind her as she stepped in to take Brendan’s place.
Lir twisted the Corpse Trident in his hands. “This is going to be fun.”
…
Brendan reached the opening just as it sealed itself up.
“No!”
His shoulders slumped briefly having thought that he had missed his chance, but the old man in the library’s image came to mind. “Of course!”
The words flowed naturally from his mouth. They came fast, and he could see the point of light expanding.
The war raged on around him, and he fought back the urge to join his friends especially since Caoranach’s poison had made the fight even more difficult.
It felt like an eternity had passed, but Brendan could see he was making progress. The passage into the Crown had opened halfway—just enough for him to pass through. He was about to dive in when Dorian called to him from behind.
“I’m coming with you!” she declared. “I’m coming with you!”
He took her in his arms. “It’s too dangerous in there.”
“I love you, and we are going to see this through to the end,” she said. “Did you forget my promise?”
He took her face gently and kissed her lips.
“I guess not.”
They took hands and dove through the Crown’s threshold onto a pristine marble floor. They had left the battle and entered the war.
…
Camulos stuck his head out from around one of the Standing Stones and looked in through the opening. He saw Brendan and Dorian round a corner and move out of sight.
“Now’s my chance,” he said, diving through the opening just before it shut behind him.
Chapter 23
The Emerald Crown
Olwen had only traveled by tether three times in her life, and all of them had happened in the last day. Her eyes were squeezed tight when she finally felt solid ground beneath her feet, but her ears were wide open. The sounds of fierce fighting and roaring beasts assaulted her hearing, causing her to cover her ears with her hands. When she was finally brave enough to open her eyes she recognized the yellow veins popping out of many of the creatures on the battlefield. They displayed the same aggressive behavior that the boars had in Corways, only the dragons among the bunch wouldn’t be stopped by bamboo shoots.
“Where are we?” Colym asked. “Oh, no! Dorian’s gonna kill me!”
Olwen led Colym to the welcome center wall where she sat down and began to push her fingers through the dirt.
“This is no time to pluck dandelions, Olwen. We have to get you out of here,” Colym said in a panic.
She ignored him and searched the ground for just the right ingredient to cure the beasts. She knew she needed to act. She couldn’t stand to lose her new friends on top of everything else she had suffered.
…
“Isn’t it glorious!” Elathan gushed, hardly able to contain his excitement at entering the same cavern as the source of the green light.
It was a massive, molten sphere of pure green energy freely floating in an open space off to the side of a generously-sized marble pathway. Elathan could feel the raw and ancient power radiating off of the behemoth.
“What is it exactly?” he asked Caoranach.
“This is the key to all power for life in all of its forms and locations, not just Earth and Otherworld,” she cooed.
The golden god understood his place in the cosmos. He knew he was the key to unifying all life. He knew the power was his for the taking. In that moment, Elathan understood that the Earth was a speck of dust and no longer his destiny. He was made for bigger things.
“Remember, this venture will require sacrifice,” Caoranach said, moving her eyes to the two humans.
“I think we have the perfect offerings.”
…
Lir jabbed forward with his trident trying to spear Argona in the stomach. While his reach was long, her whip was ev
en longer so she lashed out and struck him consecutive times across the arms.
“I’m going to strangle you with that little string,” Lir growled.
He was about to rush her when a bolt of lightning struck right at Argona’s feet, tossing her to the ground. Lir, seeing an opportunity to pounce, charged forward with his Corpse Trident held aloft.
“Goodbye, Argona. Now you d—”
Lir’s eyes went wide when he looked down and saw Arawn’s broadsword sticking out of his chest. Arawn marched forward and grabbed the hilt of his weapon and kicked Lir away from it.
“Don’t look so surprised, Lir,” Arawn suggested. “Gods were never immortal.”
Lir held his chest and then let out one last breath.
Arawn swung his sword around and sliced in two the fachen that tried to sneak in from behind, but he didn’t see Tannus looming nearby waiting for his chance.
Lightning zipped down and struck Arawn in the head as he fell to the grass. Argona snapped her whip out and wrapped it around Tannus’ throat and pulled him directly towards her, energizing the weapon at the same time. Tannus screamed as he was pulled through the air straight into her boot. He crumpled to the ground like a wet paper sack.
Arawn moaned and then got to a sitting position, his hair smoking. With some effort, he managed to stand. Then Argona picked up his sword and handed it over to him.
“All in a day’s work,” he quipped.
“Let’s see if we can’t thin this herd a little bit,” Argona offered.
…
“This place is strange—like the Chamber, but older,” Dorian observed, holding Brendan’s hand tightly.
He nodded his agreement and took in the surroundings. “I haven’t seen anything quite like this in any of my visions either. You’re right, though, it feels ancient.”
Brendan looked at the smooth quartz walls and the elegant marble floor and scrunched his brow. “I don’t think any of this is what it seems, you know?”
Dorian shrugged. “As long as the floor doesn’t fall out from under us.”
“Right.” Brendan stopped for a moment and placed his free hand on the wall where two plates of quartz met.
Instantly he was thrown into a hazy vision of the same room. Beings moved around in blurs constructing the Crown by hand and magic, but it was old magic by the feel of it. Seconds later the vision ended and Brendan blinked his eyelids to clear the spots.
“What is it?” she asked.
“Nothing, just a blurry vision,” he replied. “We’re on the right track though. Whoever built this place is older than anyone on Earth or Otherworld. I felt their ancient magic.”
“Come on then; your parents can’t wait any longer.”
…
“Where’s Frank?” Lizzie asked, opening her eyes.
“Here!” he called, blasting a stream of fire the sword had absorbed from a stray dragon blast. “Are you alright?”
“Fine,” she replied, trying to get to her feet.
“She needs rest. She’s sustained damage to her internal organs,” Airmid revealed. “My waters are repairing the damage, but it takes time.”
The megaliths surged to life yet again, this time bringing dozens more niseags and fachens into the battle. Creatures of Otherworld outnumbered Lizzie and her compatriots ten to one with over half of the enemy mutated by Caoranach’s poison. Things were not looking good.
“Help me to my feet,” Lizzie requested.
Frank pulled her up and kissed her. “Don’t die.”
“I’ll try not to,” she said. “You neither.”
“It’s a deal.”
…
“Fachen? I really don’t like those things!” Olwen said as she continued to search the earth for the right combinations of ingredients.
“Jannie Mac! There’s monsters of all kinds out there,” Colym said, acknowledging the danger they were in. “Olwen!”
“What?” she asked as she opened her eyes in time to see a Brag stalking towards her with strings of drool oozing from its mouth.
“Crush,” it grumbled and lifted a heavy trunk of tree high above its head.
“Hey, ugly!” Della squeaked from above the Brag’s head. “Pick on someone your own size.”
The Brag’s arm morphed quickly; it shot its fingers up and grabbed Della out of the air. It lifted her head towards its mouth and was set to eat her when an oak tree sprouted straight out of the ground and carried the creature forty feet in the air. The Brag dropped Della as the branches all began to squeeze in on it, holding it in place.
Della dropped down and landed next to Olwen who was bright eyed and breathing heavy. “Thanks, I was almost eaten there.”
“No problem,” Olwen offered, sitting back against the wall.
“And here I was thinking I was saving you,” Della said shyly.
Olwen caught a glimpse of a flower partially jammed into Della’s pocket where she had kept the shard. “You might have saved the whole lot. Can I have that flower?”
“Sure,” Della dug the rest of it out and gave it to the young goddess.
Olwen moved quickly and sprinkled the mashed-up flower over the base of the oak tree. Nothing happened at first, but soon bud after bud popped out of the tree trunk traveling vertically up the tree and onto the branches.
“Shake for me, please,” she asked the oak.
The tree did as directed.
Fresh pollen came out in large clouds and caught onto the wind. The dust cloud moved in like a heavy fog over the battlefield, enveloping everyone.
Fighting came to an immediate halt.
A strong wind off the waters rolled in and cleared the air to reveal that all of the mutated beings had returned to their natural state. Even the Súmaire’s spell over Peigi had been broken, and the Ruas were back to human form, albeit rather frightened.
“You don’t need the demon’s poison,” Dewi shouted angrily. “I want their blood!”
…
The fog had been lifted from Peigi’s mind letting her think clearly for the first time in a long while. She recalled the atrocities that Crannog—she knew his name now—had done, and it made her sick that she had played a part in his crimes. Sure, she hadn’t known things like Dryads or Brownies existed, but that didn’t change the fact that they were alive until they crossed paths with him. Someone had to do something about it, but who? She had already tried and failed, simply getting caught in his web and lost under his control, but then again hadn’t she handled two Banshees with relative ease?
Suddenly, arms wrapped around her body trapping her arms in place. She struggled until she heard his voice.
“So you’re free from my control? I guess you served your purpose and I can now finish off the whole family,” Crannog said.
“No,” Peigi said as she threw her head back and cracked Crannog in the nose, causing black blood to flow from it.
He let her go and held his nose, stumbling back and nearly stepping on Sierra who managed to hop out of the way. Peigi moved fast and delivered several punches to Crannog’s midsection while avoiding a few random swipes from his claws. Finally she reached up and grabbed him by the throat and found herself hoisting him into the air. She stared at her arm as it began to change, becoming more animal like.
She panicked and dropped the Súmaire to the ground and grabbed her arm with the other hand. Crannog stroked his throat and then melted away into his inky cover.
“Next time,” he promised, zipping off into the distance.
Peigi hardly registered anything he said since all she could hear was her own heartbeat thumping in her ears. She barely heard a small voice calling to her from ground level.
“Are you okay?” Sierra asked.
Peigi sat down next to the Gnome, still holding her animal-morphed hand.
“It’s fine,” Sierra promised. “Everything is okay.”
“How can you say that when my arm looks like a tiger’s claw?”
“Because all you need to do i
s calm down and breathe,” Sierra encouraged and laid her small hand on Peigi’s back.
Peigi did as she was instructed and closed her eyes, blocking out the sounds of battle and death, calming her mind. Slowly her hand returned to a more human appearance and she felt encouraged.
“What’s wrong with me?” she asked Sierra.
“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with you. I think you are about to go through a period of self-discovery. But first, can you help us win this war?”
Peigi saw her blades lying not far from her position. She picked them up and looked back at Sierra. “Kill the ugly ones, right?”
“Mostly—just not the Giants,” Sierra replied.
Peigi nodded and then rushed to battle. She had a lot of issues to work out and sword fighting felt as good as any therapy.
…
The pathway was long, but Brendan could finally make out the source of the emerald light they had been glimpsing for the last stretch of the walk.
“What do you suppose that is?” Dorian asked.
Brendan shook his head. “I’m not sure, but I think it’s a safe bet that light is the emerald part of the Emerald Crown of the World.”
They fell silent as they approached the bright green orb. Elathan was standing before it with his arms held aloft chanting something from a language that Dorian had heard before, although Brendan was familiar with the words. Oscar and Angie were lying prone on the marble pathway at Elathan’s feet.
Elathan finally lifted his obsidian sword and gripped it in two hands high above his head. He finished his incantation and began to drive the blade down.
“Stop!” Brendan screamed, lashing out with his powers and striking Elathan in the back.
Elathan stumbled forward a step and then looked back at Brendan and Dorian.
“You dare interfere with my ascension?” Elathan growled.
“Let them go. Now!” Brendan ordered. “This is between you and me.”
Elathan’s face changed, and he laughed aloud. “You and me? You are nothing and I am about to become everything.”
Elathan lifted his sword again and was about to stab Oscar, but Brendan reached out and spun Oscar out of harm’s way. The Protector pulled out his sword and glared at the golden god.
The Bloodline Inheritance Page 26