Blades of Ash: An Unbreakable Sword Series Prequel (The Unbreakable Sword Book 5)

by S. M. Schmitz

  Blades of Ash

  An Unbreakable Sword Series Prequel

  S.M. Schmitz

  Copyright © 2017 by S.M. Schmitz

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Created with Vellum

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Also by S.M. Schmitz

  Chapter One

  Badb loved Tara even if no one in Tara loved her anymore. She was a relic, a goddess from an era long gone, yet her heart had belonged to Ireland for so long, she could never let it go. Every time the Dagda told her it was time for the old gods to move on, she found herself back on Earth, wandering the halls of the palace of the great kings who had fought alongside the Tuatha Dé. Perhaps it had been their greatest mistake to take sides in the wars of men because the god who had replaced them all remained mysteriously absent from both the Otherworld and Earth.

  Centuries had passed since an Irish king last reigned here. Each Treasure of the Tuatha Dé had been moved to the Otherworld, including the Lia Fáil. But she still couldn’t abandon Ireland.

  Badb stepped off the stone steps of the palace and into the cool, damp morning air. She sensed his presence before she saw him and smiled, her heart immediately feeling lighter and less burdened.

  “Didn’t you say you’d never step foot in Ireland again?” she teased.

  Lugh shrugged and smiled back at her. “It’s impossible for me to stay away when you keep returning.”

  Badb arched an eyebrow at him and put a hand on her hip. “And you think I couldn’t handle myself if the Normans showed up?”

  “That’s the problem,” he responded. “I think you’d slaughter them all, and that’s not what we do. The Irish no longer wanted our help when the Normans invaded, and we can’t interfere now. This isn’t our world anymore, Badb.”

  The war goddess crossed her arms defiantly and lifted her chin in the air, but she knew her boyfriend was right. This wasn’t their world anymore. “It was bad enough when the Norse showed up.” She even wrinkled her nose as if she could smell those Viking bastards nearby.

  Lugh laughed and put his arm around her shoulders. “We’ve been battling the Norse for thousands of years. We’ll…”

  But another familiar presence startled them both, and it was another presence that always made Badb smile. “Athena?” she asked. “What the hell are you doing here?”

  Athena grunted in response, her dark brown eyes filled with the war frenzy that always accompanied her into battle. And if she’d tracked Badb down in Ireland, the Greeks, the Tuatha Dé’s cousins and oldest allies, obviously needed their help. Badb’s sword appeared in her hand and she demanded, “Who is it? And where are they?”

  “Sumerians,” she hissed. “They’ve lost their followers over the past few centuries and they refuse to accept it. They think they’ll get Olympus from us. I’ll burn them to the ground.”

  “The gods or their heaven?” Lugh asked.

  Athena rolled her eyes but humored him, not only because he was the love of Badb’s life but no god in the Tuatha Dé or among their allies disliked him. He truly was the master of all things, and a friend to whomever accepted his friendship. “The home of the gods, Lugh,” she answered. “Obviously. Although you probably could burn the Sumerians to the ground.”

  “Have they already invaded Olympus?” Badb interjected. “Because if so, we probably just lost the war by standing here talking instead of fighting.”

  “We do seem to encounter that problem a lot,” Lugh added helpfully.

  Athena waved him off and claimed, “We don’t often lose. Sometimes, we’re just a little late to the action.”

  Badb sighed impatiently and asked again, “Are they in Olympus or not?”

  Athena nodded and told them, “Outside our gates, actually.”

  Badb touched Lugh’s arm and suggested, “Go with Athena. I’m going home to grab my sisters.”

  Lugh’s Spear, one of the Treasures of the Tuatha Dé, appeared in his hand, the bright blue flames illuminating the tip, the sign that his Spear was ready for battle. “Tell the Dagda as well. He’ll want to be there.”

  Badb nodded in agreement then crossed the veil into the Otherworld. She hesitated only a moment at the door of the Dagda’s palace before pushing it open and calling for her sisters. “Macha! Nemain!”

  Her sisters, who together with Badb formed the feared Mórrígna, immediately appeared, looking almost identical to one another. “War? Mortal or immortal?”

  “Immortal,” Badb answered. “When’s the last time we’ve fought alongside men?”

  Macha shrugged and said, “Technically, we never fought alongside them. More like… intervened on their behalf.”

  Badb blinked at her then snapped, “Is this really that important right now?”

  “Depends,” Nemain answered. “In whose war are we about to get involved?”

  “Greeks,” Badb explained. “The Sumerians are attempting to invade Olympus.”

  “In that case…” Nemain produced her sword and gestured toward the door, even though they wouldn’t be leaving that way. “Let’s go.”

  The Dagda poked his head out of his great hall and rubbed his fingers down his long reddish-brown beard. “Did I hear you say the Sumerians are attacking the Greeks?”

  “Lugh is already in Olympus with Athena,” Badb told him.

  The Dagda stepped into the foyer with his war goddesses and gripped his mace in his hand. “We should destroy those bastards once and for all, if for no other reason than they’re the enemies of our Egyptian friends.”

  “They’ll do what they always do,” Nemain sneered. “As soon as they begin to lose, they’ll ask for a truce.”

  “Then we should invade them,” the Dagda countered.

  “What we should be doing,” Badb argued, “is getting to Olympus before all of our friends die!”

  Macha shook her head at her sister and teased, “Always so melodramatic. The Sumerians are no match for the Greeks.”

  “You know what?” Badb decided. “I’ll go on my own.”

  She left Murias and appeared at Lugh’s side in Olympus, muttering about how incredibly obnoxious her own family could be. Lugh bit his lip as he grinned at her and glanced over her head. “Oh, I don’t know. The Dagda isn’t so bad.”

  “He’s right behind me, isn’t he?” Badb asked.

  Lugh just kept grinning at her.

  “Obnoxious?” Nemain repeated.

  “I’m guessing my sisters are right behind me too,” Badb said smartly.

  “Not now,” Athena groaned. She pointed to the edge of the field with her sword and narrowed her eyes at the gods who still hadn’t shown themselves. “Cowards.”

  “What are they doing?” the Dagda asked.

  His old friend and leader of the Olympians crossed his arms and said, “Cowering. Isn’t that what cowards do?”

  “Zeus,” Badb sighed.

  The Greek god of
the sky lifted an eyebrow and winked at her then seemed to remember her powerful boyfriend was standing beside her and cleared his throat, facing the edge of the field again. She’d lost count of how many times he’d hit on her, and Lugh had never bothered to defend her anyway, which seemed to mystify Zeus. But Lugh knew better than anyone that Badb was not only perfectly capable of defending her own honor, she didn’t want any other god to do it for her.

  “Does anyone actually know why the Sumerians showed up in Olympus if not to fight us?” the Dagda tried again.

  “They’ll fight,” Ares insisted. “But they’re up to something.”

  “Then we’ll go meet them,” the Dagda announced. “We Irish will go so you can stay behind in case anyone slips through… keep them away from your palaces.”

  Zeus nodded in agreement and clapped his old friend’s back. “Be careful. We all became a bit irrational when we began to lose our followers. This is a relatively new panic for them.”

  Badb tossed her hair over a shoulder and said, “Not that new. And none of us invaded other worlds just because we were pissed off about losing our place on Earth.”

  The Dagda just shrugged and swung his mace from hand to hand. “Let’s go find out what these assholes want then.”

  Lugh leaned down to Badb’s ear and whispered, “I’m not actually that curious.”

  “Move it, Sun God,” Badb teased.

  The Tuatha Dé had only walked fifteen feet when the ground shook beneath them. Badb grabbed Lugh’s arm to stay upright and quickly checked on her sisters before scanning the horizon. “What the hell?”

  Lugh sucked in a quick breath and for the first time in their long relationship, pulled Badb behind him protectively.

  “What are you sensing?” she whispered.

  Lugh shook his head slowly, and Badb allowed herself to pry in his mind. She rarely violated his privacy, but now seemed like a good time to put her psychic abilities to good use on her boyfriend. Much to her disappointment, even his gift of powerful intuition couldn’t identify what was before them, only that something had entered Olympus that made him extremely nervous.

  “Um…” Nemain mumbled. “Is that what I think it is?” She pointed to a strange shape quickly approaching, but before Badb could convince her brain about what her eyes were seeing, multiple odd shapes joined it.

  “Okay,” the Dagda decided. “I never signed up to fight scorpion men. I’m going home.”

  “Aqrabuamelu,” Lugh whispered.

  “I’ve never seen a scorpion that big,” Macha said. “Or a man, for that matter.”

  “Just kill them!” Badb screamed.

  Lugh refused to let go of her arm and kept his body in front of her as he lit a fire beneath the scorpion men. They continued to run toward the Irish gods as the flames danced around their bodies.

  “So… if fire doesn’t hurt them, I’m guessing my Spear won’t,” Lugh said.

  “Lugh, let go of me!” Badb demanded, but instead of releasing her arm, he threw his Spear. The bright blue flames created a trail of light along the shaft, and as always, the Spear hit its mark. And as he’d guessed, his Spear fell to the ground, unable to penetrate the hard exoskeleton of the scorpion men.

  When Lugh still refused to release her, Badb transformed into a crow and flew out of his reach. She heard him yelling at her, begging her not to venture near the monsters, but her family was in danger. And she’d been willing to die for them her entire life.

  As she circled above the heads of the scorpion men, she let out her signature battle cry, which always disoriented and confused her enemies. But the scorpion men didn’t even slow down. She cawed louder, but it still had no effect on the Sumerian monsters.

  Her family was forced to withdraw with the Greeks whose arrows pelted against the rock-like exterior of the giant scorpions. As she returned to Lugh’s side, a scorpion’s tail whipped over its head and slammed into the ground, causing it to shake again, but more violently this time.

  All of the gods fell, unable to rise again until the ground stilled.

  “No,” Athena moaned.

  Badb followed her gaze and saw the sides of her palace beginning to crumble. “It can be repaired,” Zeus immediately assured her.

  “If we don’t stop those mutant arachnids, we won’t have anything left to repair!” she yelled.

  The sky opened up and lightning fell like rain against the invaders, but it proved as useless as Lugh’s fire. The Dagda harnessed his power over the winds in an effort to help Zeus, but they couldn’t even slow the enormous scorpions down.

  “Do something, Father!” Ares shouted.

  Badb had known Zeus her entire life, and in all that time, she’d never seen him look so helpless. He ran a hand over his face and shook his head.

  Lugh spun around and grabbed both of Badb’s arms this time. “I’m taking you home. Now.”

  Badb shot him a look that she was pretty sure conveyed, “Like Hell you are,” but the scorpions stopped before reaching the assembled gods. Their legs dug into the soft ground of Olympus as the Olympians and Tuatha Dé backed farther away. But they didn’t have anywhere to go. Athena’s palace blocked their path, and all they could do was watch helplessly as they waited for the scorpion men to act.

  With some unspoken signal, each tail soared through the air and slammed into the ground, causing the gods to fall once again. But this time, the scorpion men didn’t stop. Over and over, their tails slammed into Olympus and each time, the ground vibrated, at first like the aftershocks of an earthquake but the longer the scorpions attacked Olympus, the stronger the impact until no god could right himself and the buildings crumbled around them.

  “No,” Lugh cried. He held onto Badb and wrapped her in his arms. “The Sumerians haven’t come to steal Olympus. They’ve come to destroy it.”

  Chapter Two

  Badb sat beside her best friend on the hill overlooking the Dagda’s palace in Murias and gently put her hand over Athena’s. What could she even say to a heartbroken goddess who’d just lost her home? Her entire world? And how could the Sumerians of all gods inflict so much destruction on Olympus? The Greeks and Tuatha Dé were two of the most powerful pantheons in the world. Something wasn’t adding up.

  “The Dagda has offered you all permanent residence here,” Badb finally said. “I know it’s not the same, but the Egyptians have been living with us for centuries. You won’t be out of place here. You’re among family.”

  Athena blinked at the stars of the Otherworld’s sky and sighed. “We have no choice now. It’s gone… not just the buildings and structures, but our world. Badb, how could this happen?”

  Athena finally looked at her best friend, her eyes wet with tears and her cheeks streaked with the salty rivers that had been flowing since they were forced to abandon Olympus.

  But Badb didn’t have any answers for her. She hated that almost as much as she hated the loss of Olympus. “When we left, we assumed we’d be able to return and rebuild,” Badb offered. “I don’t think the Sumerians were powerful enough to make your world vanish altogether. They had help. And we’ll find out who did this.”

  “Help,” Athena scoffed. “Who doesn’t resent us for being so powerful when they’ve lost so much of their own strength?”

  Badb shrugged. “We have nothing but time, Athena. We’ll eventually figure it out. And they’ll pay for stealing Olympus.”

  Athena rested her head on Badb’s shoulder, who immediately put her arms around her friend. She had her suspicions, of course, about who orchestrated the raid on Olympus and how they’d managed to destroy the realm of the Greeks.

  And she was already planning a way to destroy Asgard in return.

  Like Lugh, Athena possessed a gift of intuition although hers was often limited to accurate predictions of what her enemy was going to do. Even though she couldn’t hear thoughts like Badb, who was psychic, she must have sensed where Badb’s emotions and hatred were being directed because she lifted her head and hissed,
“The Norse.”

  “Who else could have done something like this?”

  “I’ll kill them all myself,” she insisted.

  “No,” Badb insisted back. “You won’t. You’ll destroy their world with our help and they’ll suffer like you are now.”

  Athena thought about Badb’s revenge then nodded. “What is a god with no believers and no world? We’ll make them so powerless they’ll wish we killed them instead.”

  “Exactly,” Badb agreed. “They’ve been a pain in the ass for thousands of years. They chased us from the mainland then their people even took my beautiful Tara from me. We’ll crush them so thoroughly that they’ll never rise again.”

  Athena wiped her cheeks and almost managed a smile. “It’s about damn time.”

  Both goddesses sensed his presence and glanced over their shoulders as Lugh sat behind them on the hill. “Apparently, Zeus is trying to drown his sorrows. Someone should stop him before he gets into another literal pissing match with the Dagda.”

  Badb snorted and shook her head. “I’m not intervening this time. I can’t wipe the last incident from my memory… and to be honest, I’m still kinda traumatized.”

  Lugh nodded in agreement and fake-grimaced. “I think we’re all a little traumatized by it.”

  “Ares is probably under the table by now,” Athena sighed. “I’m going to check on him.”

  “Athena,” Lugh said softly. “We won’t let this go unpunished.”

  “I know,” she said. “And I’m sure you already guessed they’ll be coming for the Otherworld next.”

  “Yeah,” he agreed. “We need a bigger alliance. We’ll cast our nets wider just as the Norse are expanding theirs.”

  Athena swallowed but refused to allow tears to fall again. She lifted her head higher and rose from the ground, and Badb admired her friend’s strength once more. She waited until Athena had disappeared inside the Dagda’s palace before scooting back to sit beside Lugh, resting her head on his chest as he enveloped her in his embrace. It was the most comforting place she’d ever been, and while she’d had plenty of lovers—both gods and men—none of them had ever made her feel so at peace and so much like she belonged in his arms.