Gates of Eden: Starter Library

by Theophilus Monroe

  27

  CÚ CHULAINN GRIPPED Fand's hand tightly as the two lovers stood outside Ulster's gates.

  "You have to tell her the truth," Fand said.

  "I know," Cú Chulainn said. "I just hate what I know this is going to do to her. I mean, she just lost her father... and now to lose the one who she'd thought was about to become her husband?"

  "If you wish to be with her..."

  "No," Cú Chulainn said, waving his hand. "I want to be with you."

  "Then find the strength to face her in your love for me."

  Cú Chulainn nodded. Still, he feared Emer more now than any foe he'd ever faced. He didn't want to hurt her. He never wanted to hurt her. But all he'd ever done since he first laid eyes on her, training with Forgall, was bring her pain. Still, she loved him no less. Why would a woman continue to love a man who brought her only heartache? Matters of the heart, Cú Chulainn had learned in many tales, were rarely sensible. And what he was about to do didn't make much rational sense, either. But he had to follow his heart.

  Cú Chulainn took a deep breath. "I'll be back shortly."

  Fand shook her head. "I'll come with you, my love."

  "Are you sure that's wise?"

  Fand shrugged. "I can vanish should any threat befall me. But I want to be there for you..."

  Cú Chulainn nodded. Fand, who had no real means to defend herself other than to feel into the invisible ether, had more courage at the moment than he did.

  No sooner did they pass through the gates and Emer was upon him, wrapping her arms around her would-be husband. "I was so worried, husband! When you left, and the army fled but you did not return..."

  "I am well," Cú Chulainn said, grabbing Emer by the shoulders and putting some space between them. "Emer, this is Fand."

  "Fand?" Emer asked, tilting her head. "Are you a..."

  "I am a faerie," Fand said.

  "Husband, why would you bring a faerie..."

  "Because I love her," Cú Chulainn blurted. He hadn't meant to be so direct.

  Emer scrunched her brow. "You love her? As in, you care about her well-being..."

  "No," Cú Chulainn said. "I'm in love with her. I've always loved her. Ever since I met her as a boy. I'm sorry, Emer. I never thought I'd see her again. But the army that came, they'd been sent by the Faerie King... and I ended up rescuing her from the very King who sought to kill her..."

  Emer turned her back to him. Her shoulders quaked. Cú Chulainn lifted his hand and put it on her back.

  "Don't touch me!"

  "Emer, I'm sorry... I never meant..."

  "You never meant what?" Emer turned around and poked Cú Chulainn repeatedly in the chest. "That you would leave me without a father? That you would woo my heart and then leave me before consecrating our marriage bed? No, of course you didn't mean to do that. It was purely an accident!"

  Cú Chulainn took two steps back. "Emer... I..."

  "What is the meaning of this?" The voice came from behind Emer. King Conchobar, now his hair turned completely gray, marched toward them with purpose. "Is this a faerie you've brought into Ulster's walls?"

  "He says he loves her," Emer said, kicking at the dirt.

  A wide smile split the king's face. "A marriage with one of the Fae... the possibilities... what is your name, young lady?"

  "I am Fand..."

  King Conchobar tilted his head. "Fand, Manannán mac Lir's queen?"

  "Unbelievable!" Emer cried.

  King Conchobar raised his hand. "What is the meaning of this, that you should come to love Ulster's prized champion?"

  "My husband seeks my life," Fand said. "Sétanta rescued me."

  King Conchobar stroked his beard. "A curious predicament... should we allow you to stay and marry our warrior, you may be able to heal our wounded in the event of war... the strength we'd have against any other army."

  "I could," Fand said, nodding. "But I do not know if we can stay..."

  "Rubbish!" King Conchobar exclaimed. "I insist that you do!"

  Cú Chulainn sighed. This wasn't what he wanted. He'd dreamed of leaving Ulster behind, building lodgings in the forest where he and Fand could live out their lives. He had to think of something. "If the Faerie King raises up an army against us, on account of me marrying his wife... he'd be able to heal their wounded, too."

  "Then we would be evenly matched. And his soldiers still couldn't breach our walls."

  Cú Chulainn shook his head. "I don't know..."

  "I insist," King Conchobar said. "Emer, my dear, I know this news must cause you great pain. But I urge you to accept this union as what is best for Ulster."

  Emer clenched her fists. "What choice do I have..."

  28

  I HADN'T ANTICIPATED King Conchobar would embrace the union between Cú Chulainn and the faerie. It was but a minor complication. I'd intended to reveal to Fand, after the two left Ulster together, that her husband loved her still, that the Fomorians were acting of their own accord. I'd hoped she'd be moved by her honor and return to her husband. There is nothing more important to a faerie than her sense of honor.

  Anand had an idea... it had worked before with Aife. We'd used her to assault the Fomorians, to turn them against the faerie to wound Cú Chulainn's heart. But Aife believed in vengeance. For her, to allow anyone who'd wronged her to escape her wrath was to admit defeat, to acknowledge a weakness—something contrary to her instincts as a warrior.

  Emer had no such beliefs. She wasn't a warrior. She wasn't a killer. But she was a woman whose heart had been spurned by the very man she loved. She was angry. She was wounded. Her heart churned with a perfect recipe of emotions suitable to conjure up a drive for revenge.

  But to kill a faerie... it wasn't easy. She'd need a unique blade, one poisoned by my cauldron... one vested with the power to take whomever it stabbed through death and into rebirth with a single strike. I could provide her with such a blade...

  All at once, Fand could be put away with and Emer, if not punished by the king for the murder, would be the one who killed Cú Chulainn's beloved. He'd never return to Emer after that. Yes, Cú Chulainn would have to mourn the loss of Fand... but as an eternal deity, I had the time to wait. I'd soothe him in the wake of his loss... I'd gradually present myself as a new chance at love... it would work. If Emer pulled it off. Either way, I could always revert to my original plan and reveal to Fand that her husband desired her still. She'd leave to preserve her honor. But would that put Cú Chulainn's love for her to rest? Not likely... he needed to lose her, to mourn her, and to heal.

  Kill the faerie...

  I only whispered the suggestion in her ear as she wandered Ulster's streets. My whisper was subtle enough that she might think the idea was her own.

  Emer shook her head. "I think I'm losing my mind..."

  Kill Fand... I can help you do it...

  She'd realize, now, that it wasn't just her imagination speaking.

  "Who's there?"

  I appeared in front of her. "Dearest Emer..."

  Emer gasped.

  "Your heart cried out to me and I have answered."

  "Are you..."

  "I am the Morrigan. I am the Phantom Queen."

  "But you are a goddess of war! Of war and death! That is not who I am. Killing her is not the answer..."

  "Death is but a turning of a page, one season turning to another, even as one moves from childhood into adulthood, so too does one pass from death to life. It is time that the faerie should complete the cycle, that she should return to me."

  "Then why don't you kill her yourself?"

  "That is not my way. I do not assault mortals."

  Emer shook her head. "I don't understand. Why do you care about my broken heart?"

  "Your heartbreak simply affords me the opportunity to collect the faerie. It is her time. And you are the one I've chosen as my instrument to return her soul to me."

  In truth, I'd never ushered a faerie from death to rebirth. Would the cauldron work on the
Fae? Probably not. But she didn't know that. I imagined the faeries had some other deity, some other force, to whom they appealed in their own cycle of rebirth. Still, what Emer did not know I'd use to my advantage. This had to succeed... it was my best chance, yet.

  "Very well," Emer said. "I will take her life and my own. Provided you will take me, too, to your cauldron. I am weary of this life. My father is gone, and my husband, too... his heart now belongs to another."

  I smiled. What she wanted... it was well within my power. And more than that, it would work to my advantage. In a single night, both Fand and Emer would be out of the picture forever. And I would be left to console Cú Chulainn for as long as it might take until he came to love me, as he did the faerie, as he'd once hoped to love Emer.

  "I will be with you," I said as I held out the blade I'd prepared for this very purpose.

  Emer took the blade, her hand trembling as she grabbed it by the handle.

  "It will take only a small strike, anywhere on the faerie's flesh, and the blade will accomplish my purpose."

  Emer nodded. Her hand continued to shake as she held the blade and examined the blade. "And will the blade do the same for me? Can I cut myself on my finger or thumb or must I plunge it into my heart?"

  "Again, dearest Emer. A single cut will suffice. Though the deeper the blade strikes, the quicker it is sure to act."

  Emer took a deep breath. "Thank you, goddess. I will join you in the cauldron of rebirth before the sun rises."

  I nodded, gently stroked Emer's cheek, and wiped away a tear. "I promise you, dear Emer, you will find happiness. You will carry with you the lessons of this life and finally realize your heart's desire in the next."

  I ASSUMED THE form of a fly that I might follow Emer as she approached the chambers—chambers of honor given to Fand and Cú Chulainn that they might enjoy whatever comforts Conchobar offered. He had great plans for them, given the power she brought to Ulster by being wedded to his prized champion.

  Emer moved with trepidation, each step down the hall deliberate as she approached and pressed open the door. She was dressed in black, perfect for maneuvering through the shadows.

  She pressed open the door. Cú Chulainn and Fand both laid together, a blanket covering their bodies while the man she'd once hoped to become her husband slept. But the faerie... she was alert. She looked upon her lover with wide eyes, stroking his long hair...

  The look on Emer's face... She saw the love Fand had for him. She was second-guessing her intentions.

  You must do it, I whispered as I buzzed near Emer's ear. Do not be dissuaded... the pain will only last a moment, then it will all be over.

  "You truly love him," Emer said calmly. She was supposed to sneak up and take the faerie by surprise.

  "I do," Fand said.

  "I came that I might have my revenge... but how can I blame you for what your heart desires?"

  The faerie smiled kindly. "I never meant for you to be hurt... this is not your fault, Emer."

  Emer sobbed. "I know... it just hurts..."

  "Where did you get the blade?"

  Do not answer her!

  "It was given to me by the Morrigan."

  "The Morrigan. Are you certain?"

  Emer nodded.

  I wanted to scream. They couldn't know I'd set this up. If Cú Chulainn learned of my manipulations...

  "This is not the first time she has interfered in these affairs, I fear..."

  Emer shook her head. "I believe she was there at our wedding. There was a raven who crowed continually. Cú Chulainn was distracted by her... he must've known..."

  I buzzed around the room in a fury. But the situation was still salvageable. Cú Chulainn already knew I'd taken an interest in his love life. But he believed I'd supported his desire to be with Fand. And he wasn't wrong. I did want him to be with Fand only that I might pull them apart again, that I might break his heart that it might heal again devoid of his love for her.

  Emer lifted the blade and pressed its sharp edge to the palm of her hand.

  No, Emer!

  If she took her own life, but left Fand alive, Cú Chulainn would turn to his faerie bride for comfort. The tragedy would only deepen their love.

  I appeared in full-form and with a bolt of energy zapped the blade out of Emer's hand.

  At that very moment, a golden cone of energy appeared in the middle of the room.

  A man in a black robe and hood appeared—it was Doidrich. He quickly grabbed the knife from the floor and charged after Cú Chulainn who was just starting to stir in his bed.

  Emer dove across Cú Chulainn's body, shielding him from the blow, as the blade struck Emer in the shoulder.

  "No!" I screamed. I grabbed Doidrich and threw him against the wall.

  Fand retrieved the blade from Emer's back. The power of the cauldron, it was already starting to work... only I'd never seen what it would do when someone yet to die was exposed to the potion brewed from the cauldron. She wasn't dead yet. The cut was shallow enough that it would still take some time to work. How much time, I couldn't say.

  Fand placed her hand over the would and channeled faerie magic into Emer's body. A golden glow enveloped Emer's body. She healed her before the poison and the blade took her life.

  Emer screamed. "But I wanted to die! Without my love, without Cú Chulainn, what is left of this life worth living!"

  "You!" Cú Chulainn shouted when he spotted Doidrich. "You come to kill me at the Faerie King's behest?"

  Cú Chulainn was overcome with rage. He charged Doidrich as the ríastrad began to emerge.

  Doidrich quickly lifted his hand and shot Cú Chulainn with a bolt of energy, the same lightning he'd cast before. My beloved fell, his body convulsing, on the floor.

  Fand charged the blade that I'd given to Emer, the one infused with the cauldron's power, and overwhelmed it with power until it dissolved into thin air.

  "It was her!" Doidrich said, pointing at me. "She was the one who did all of this!"

  "I only came that true love might be realized..."

  "That you would make the warrior love you, you mean," Doidrich said, sneering through his cowl. "That you might dissuade his heart away from either of these noble women!"

  "I confess," I said. "I do love Cú Chulainn."

  "She was the one who gave me the blade!" Emer added. "She told me to kill the faerie."

  Doidrich smirked as he released Cú Chulainn from his spell. Now that Cú Chulainn knew the truth, Doidrich had no reason to kill him. Now, in his jealousy, Doidrich was going to torment me by letting him live, by making me watch as Cú Chulainn chose the woman he'd love.

  "And my husband..." Fand said.

  I lowered my gaze to the ground. "He loves you still. It was I who set the Fomorians against you."

  "You what!" Cú Chulainn shouted as he approached me, clenching his fists in rage.

  "I was setting you up that you might be her hero... that you two might be together."

  "Only you had other plans after that, did you not, Morrigan?" Doidrich asked.

  "What Emer said is true. I am the one who gave her the blade."

  "I can't believe this!" Cú Chulainn shouted, his eyes piercing me like daggers. I couldn't even bear to return his stare with a glance.

  "I only wanted you to love me, Cú Chulainn. To love me as I love you..."

  "These plans of yours... if you loved me you wouldn't try to have the one I love murdered and turn the other woman whom I love into a murderer, in turn!"

  Fand cocked her head slightly. She'd heard what I heard. He confessed he loved them both. Either way, my plan had been foiled.

  "My plans were misguided, I see that now."

  "Misguided?" Cú Chulainn rolled his eyes. "You are a goddess... how can you be so misguided?"

  "I was but a girl once," I said. "Three girls in fact. And you are the only one—mortal or god alike—whom I ever saw who could claim all of our hearts. But your heart, it always belonged to others..."
<
br />   "If my husband loves me still," Fand said, taking Cú Chulainn's hand. "I must return to him."

  "You what?" Cú Chulainn asked, his rage against me quickly changing to disbelief.

  "The love Emer has for you... she was ready to give her life to save you from the blade. The depth of love she has for you, Sétanta... it's the sort of love that can only be consecrated by a vow. It is a vow you've taken for her as I took one like it for my husband. Consummated or not, your words and promises were spoken. It was wrong for me to come here to be with you. You should be with Emer."

  "Fand... I don't know what to say..." Emer said, shaking her head. "I do not know if I can move forward with my husband knowing his heart was so easily swayed from his vows once before. So long as that memory haunts me, I don't know that I can ever love him again in quite the same way."

  "Your memory," Doidrich said. "That is the problem, is it not?"

  "What are you doing, Doidrich!" I demanded.

  Cú Chulainn raised his hand to silence me. "Be silent, Morrigan! You've done and said too much as it is!"

  Doidrich reached into his cloak and retrieved two vials. "Unfortunately, this will only work on humans. However, if each of you—Cú Chulainn and Emer—take this potion this entire affair will be forgotten. Cú Chulainn, you will forget you ever loved Fand. And Emer, the heartache you now feel will vanish. You two can be happy, together, again."

  I didn't speak. Cú Chulainn was right. What I'd done was wrong. I was ashamed. And there was nothing I could say.

  Cú Chulainn and Emer both took the potion from Doidrich and swallowed it quickly. Fand stayed just long enough to watch. She had to see it as I did. By taking the potion, Cú Chulainn made a choice. Fand had of her own accord declared she'd return to the Faerie King. But he could have tried to stop her. He didn't. He chose his human bride over the faerie, and he never even gave me a moment's consideration.

  The moment he swallowed the potion, Fand disappeared. Presumably, she'd returned to Manannán mac Lir.

  After swallowing it, both Cú Chulainn and Emer looked up and saw me even as Doidrich disappeared in the shadows. "Who are you?" my beloved asked.