“Aw, damn it,” Hades groaned. He looked over his shoulder again and grimaced. “So I’m supposed to let them destroy my world too?”
“Well, hopefully, it won’t take us long to kill An and then they’ll lose their power,” Zeus offered. “Or better yet, just die with their creator.”
“I’m risking our underworld on a hopefully?” Hades shot back.
“And our ability to get inside those walls,” Nemain added helpfully.
“And our ability to quickly kill An,” Macha added just as helpfully.
“There’s a reason I rarely leave the underworld,” Hades mumbled.
“Don’t blame you,” Lugh agreed.
“Brother,” Poseidon sighed, “we wouldn’t have asked if we had any other options. But we can’t kill these monsters, and we deserve revenge for the destruction of Olympus, don’t we?”
Hades groaned again but nodded. “All right, but on one condition. You can control water so come with me… at the very least, if this doesn’t work as you hope, you can try to drown them in one of my rivers.”
“Think your rivers are deep enough?” Badb asked.
“Don’t know,” Hades admitted. “But I’ll bring them to Lethe. Maybe they’ll just forget they’re giant scorpion rage monsters.”
Zeus blinked at him then snapped, “That may be the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard you say.”
Hades just smiled at him and tugged on Poseidon’s arm. “There are seven of them. Get ready to dunk them in the river because I’m going home.”
Poseidon glanced at Zeus and told him, “If I die, and I probably will, make sure Triton gets my pearls.”
Zeus snickered then asked, “Your… pearls?”
The Dagda elbowed him in the ribs so he yelped and was quickly hushed by all of the gods and goddesses waiting for someone to do something so they could either invade An’s home or go back to their own. Poseidon shook his head at his younger brother and told him collecting jewels from the sea was a better hobby than collecting women.
So, quite naturally, Zeus laughed.
And, also quite naturally, got elbowed in the ribs by the Dagda again.
“Oh, for God’s sake. I’m taking on the scorpion men myself,” Athena muttered.
“For you,” Hades said, holding out an arm to stop her, “I’ll do it. But your father’s still an asshole.”
“Obviously,” Athena agreed.
“Hey!” Zeus protested.
“Just take the scorpions and go,” Badb begged. “Otherwise, we’ll be here for the next two hundred years.”
“That I agree with,” Hades said. He pointed a finger at each of the scorpion men as if counting them again then they all disappeared, along with Poseidon.
“Guess that’s our signal to invade,” Lugh observed smartly.
“And we should probably hurry,” Badb observed just as smartly.
They approached the walls carefully, squinting into the bright sky of the Sumerian heaven as they tried to figure out just how they’d get past the tall, thick walls. “Still think I shouldn’t fly over?” Badb asked.
Lugh shook his head and told her, “Nope. We should just be able to appear on the other side, but we’re all weaker in An’s world. We’ll face the same problem trying to invade Asgard.”
“True,” the Dagda acknowledged. “I’m not even sure you can turn into a crow here.”
Badb arched an eyebrow at him then turned into a crow, just to prove him wrong.
“At least fly to the top of the wall and tell us what you see,” Athena suggested.
“Are you crazy?” Lugh hissed. “An could have a thousand archers in there just waiting for us!”
But Badb had become impatient with their bickering and inaction so she ignored her boyfriend and flew to the top of the wall where she perched on the warm stones and peered inside An’s city. Each building had been constructed atop a massive ziggurat, an attempt to replicate the world in which they’d once been worshipped.
Gods and goddesses standing outside with their weapons in hand kept their attention on the same spot of the wall, most likely where the gate they expected the invaders to come through was located. They could sense the presence of the alliance of gods who’d come for revenge but knew they wouldn’t be able to enter An’s city without going through the single gate, which had been guarded by the fearsome scorpion men.
Badb hurriedly flew down from the top of the wall and immediately transformed into her regular appearance, as the beautiful blond goddess who’d long ago captured Lugh’s heart. He let out a breath and narrowed his eyes at her. “Don’t ever do that again.”
“Okay,” Badb quickly agreed. “It would be pretty pointless to fly back up there considering I’ve already seen inside the city.”
“Badb,” he warned.
The war goddess smiled at him and quickly kissed his cheek before addressing her friends as quietly as she could. “The gate is along the west wall, but there are several dozen armed gods and goddesses just waiting for us to come through it. We need an alternate way in.”
“Only you, your sisters, Montu, and Horus can fly, Badb,” the Dagda argued. “And I’m not convinced your battle cry will have the same effect here.”
“Neither am I,” she admitted. “I can tell something is… off. This is a world where we’re not welcome. We’ll have to rely on our intellect and prowess in battle.”
“In other words, we’re gonna die,” Lugh sighed.
“Hey,” Athena interrupted. “I’m a goddess of wisdom. Speak for yourself.”
“Okay, Goddess of Wisdom,” Lugh teased. “Impart some wisdom on us.”
Athena tapped the flat edge of her sword against her boot as she stared back at Lugh. “Well, I never said wisdom comes immediately.”
Badb rolled her eyes and added, “Or at all.”
“I do have a plan, smartass,” Athena retorted. “I’m just… working through the details. Everyone shut up and let me think.”
The gods shuffled their feet impatiently for a few moments before the dam burst, and Ares gushed, “How long is this going to take? Because I’m thinking we could just grab a ladder from Murias, go around to the other side, and climb over the wall.”
“I’m thinking Hades and Poseidon are probably dead by now,” the Dagda mumbled.
“I’ve got a rope ladder at home,” Lugh interjected. “I’ll bring it back here and the Mórrígna can fly one end of it over the back wall… if that’s all right with the Goddess of Wisdom.”
Athena flipped him off before she went back to thinking.
The Dagda tipped his head back to survey the high walls again then shook his head. “I don’t know, Lugh. They’ll sense us moving and beat us there. We have no advantages here.”
“Aha!” Athena exclaimed then promptly got shushed by the gods and goddesses standing next to her. She lowered her voice and repeated, “Aha!”
“I feel like I’m supposed to say something, but other than, ‘What the hell is wrong with you?’ I’ve got nothing,” Apollo told her.
Athena jabbed her sword toward him, and he just smiled at her in return. “You stay here,” she instructed. “Some of us are going back to Murias for the rope ladder. Summon Artemis and both of you shoot as many arrows over the walls as you can. It’ll distract the gods within while we get the ladder, hopefully return exactly where we need to be, and scale the wall. The rest of you start walking to the east side to lead them away from us. As the gods by the gate move toward you, some of you stop and cause another distraction. The Dagda can pretend he’s trying to break through with his mace. Ares can… okay, I honestly don’t know what you’ll do with a spear. Figure it out.”
“I hate you,” Ares teased. “Who’s actually going inside the city then?”
“Badb and I will be,” Athena answered. “And most likely Lugh because he’s suddenly convinced he can’t let her out of his sight. Seems a little controlling to me, but…”
“Athena,” Badb sighed.
&nbs
p; Athena held up her hands and grinned at her friend. “Oh, and her sisters. Between us, how can we lose?”
“Yep,” the Dagda said, “definitely Zeus’s daughter.”
“How do you explain Badb’s ego then?” Athena asked him.
“Whose side are you on?” Badb demanded.
Athena just grinned at her friend again.
“Ladder,” Lugh reminded them.
“Artemis,” Athena reminded Apollo. “And bring lots of arrows.”
“This is a terrible plan,” Zeus muttered.
Badb had just enough time to see the Dagda nodding before Lugh pulled them to their home in Murias. Badb looked around their dining room and put her hands on her hips. “I don’t remember a ladder. Do we even have a ladder?”
“So… define ladder,” he answered.
“Lugh!” Athena exclaimed. “I just sent our family and allies on a mission based on your assurance you had a ladder that could get us over that wall!”
The sun god smiled at her and replied, “Oh, I’m getting us inside An’s city. We’re just going under his wall… not over it.”
“Under,” Athena repeated slowly.
Lugh arched an eyebrow at her and lifted a small spade from a basket in the corner. Athena and Macha immediately objected, but Badb put a finger over her lips and nodded toward Lugh, the unparalleled in all arts, the master of all things. He put his lips next to the dark metal and even though Badb could see them moving, she heard no sound.
As he finished his enchantment, she finally smiled and glanced at her best friend and sisters. “Let’s get inside that city so we can begin our quest for revenge.”
Chapter Four
Lugh placed the enchanted spade at the base of the wall surrounding An’s city. Inside, Badb could hear the shouts of the gods as they fired arrows back at Artemis and Apollo, and as the Dagda struck the wall with his mace, arrows began to sail toward him as well. Zeus and the Egyptians continued to make their way around the wall, one occasionally pausing to strike it so they could confuse the Sumerians inside the city.
Badb watched the spade as it began to spin like a tornado, a hole widening and deepening until she lost sight of the small tool altogether. Lugh grabbed her hand and nodded toward the tunnel his spade had created then kissed her and jumped in.
Badb quickly followed him.
Her feet hit the soft, clay-like ground but in the complete darkness of the tunnel, she couldn’t see ahead of her. Behind her, she heard her sisters and Athena landing and sensed each of them hurrying to catch up to her and Lugh. As they reached the end of the tunnel, Badb peeked up through the explosion of light pouring into the blackness and shot her boyfriend a “Now what?” look. He answered her by putting his hands around her waist and lifting her so she could reach the grassy edge of their exit.
Once she pulled herself out of the tunnel, she turned and reached for the others. The distractions their family and allies had been creating continued, but the Sumerians had realized they were just diversions. They’d been tricked and there were gods within their walls.
Badb gripped her sword as the Sumerians appeared before them. The Greeks and Irish couldn’t fully summon their powers here, but it was irrelevant anyway since the rules of warfare among gods forbade using their control over the world around them.
One of the Sumerian gods shouted something in a language Badb couldn’t translate then turned back to her, asking, “What did you do with our scorpion men?”
“Sent them to Hell where they belong,” Badb snapped.
“Technically,” Athena corrected, “Hades… which isn’t Hell. At all.”
“Seriously?” Badb sighed. “You’re going to do this now?”
Athena just grinned at her and shrugged.
“I’ll give you credit for ingenuity,” Pabilsag said, ignoring the goddesses’ bantering. “But you came to our world with your best warriors. It’s as if you want to leave the Otherworld for the victors. Without your sun god and the Mórrígna, who’s left to protect your realm?”
“Do you always talk this much before a battle?” Lugh asked. “Because I have to be honest: It’s incredibly annoying.”
Pabilsag shouted to the Sumerian gods again, which Badb interpreted as his command to attack. Not surprisingly, she was right. The Sumerian gods advanced on them, their swords and spears and maces drawn. Pabilsag had been right about one thing too: The Irish and their allies were vastly outnumbered. Lugh threw his Spear at the closest god, and Badb stood beside him so she could deflect the spears and arrows that sailed toward him. Even in the world of their enemy, Lugh’s aim was perfect and his Spear pierced the head of the god then returned to his hand.
Badb swung her sword and knocked another arrow to the ground. From the tunnel, she noticed Zeus and Montu emerging first, followed by the others who had obviously realized the battle had begun and had hurried to their aid. Montu immediately began his own hail of arrows against the Sumerians as the Dagda defended him with his mace much like Badb had been doing for Lugh.
Athena analyzed the battlefield, and even here, in this hostile realm, Badb could hear her thoughts turning toward a solution that would bring her family victory. And given they’d grown up together, Athena obviously knew her best friend was listening, hoping she had a plan to win this battle, so she quickly apologized. I’m sorry, Badb. It has to be done.
Badb wanted to beg her to reconsider, to send her instead, but Athena wasn’t psychic. And she was already yelling at Nemain in Gaelic, a language the Sumerians were less likely to understand than Greek or Coptic. “Fly over their heads and head toward the largest ziggurat. That’s most likely where An is hiding. Montu, as soon as she’s out of sight, follow her.”
Badb groaned, but she couldn’t help her sister, who had already transformed into a crow and flew above the heads of their enemy. Arrows immediately filled the sky as Nemain headed toward An’s home atop the tallest ziggurat. With some of the archers distracted by Nemain’s flight, Athena and Ares stepped across the battle lines. Badb’s heart beat wildly as Nemain disappeared behind one of the temples.
Montu transformed into a falcon and again, the sky filled with the arrows attempting to kill the shapeshifting gods. But like Nemain, he didn’t fly in a straight path and just as Nemain’s flight had distracted some of the Sumerians so did Montu’s. Zeus and the Dagda flanked the Sumerians, causing their lines to thin but they were still outnumbered.
“Macha!” Athena shouted. “Follow him. Everyone else: right echelon.”
The Dagda and Osiris dropped back while Lugh and Badb stepped forward to form the slantwise attack Greek mortals had made so famous. Macha flew above them, and Badb only allowed herself to breathe because the Sumerians were obviously confused. They’d once again been caught off-guard and, as expected, attempted to compensate for the distance between them now. Athena immediately took advantage of their confusion and ordered them to charge the disorganized lines of their enemy.
Athena and Apollo, who formed the tip of the echelon, flanked the Sumerians first and some of them seemed to realize they’d been outwitted. Ninurta was the first to disappear from the battle. Badb gritted her teeth as she clashed with Ishtar because she’d come across Ninurta before, and she’d been hoping to have the chance to kill that bastard.
Instead, she ran her sword through the goddess of love and war whose opposite attributes had always made her unpredictable and a tremendous pain in the ass, then swung her blade toward the closest living god and found herself face to face with Marduk.
“If you attempt to use Imhullu here,” Badb warned, “we’ll retaliate.”
Marduk laughed and lifted a shoulder. “Go ahead, Morrigan. Summon your powers. Let your weather gods try to fight my wind.”
His infamous net, which created devastating winds when cast, appeared in his hand and Pabilsag backed away from the Dagda to yell, “Put it away, Marduk!”
“What for?” Marduk asked. “They’re powerless here.”
“F
ate will punish you,” Pabilsag hissed. “Now put Imhullu away.”
But instead of putting his enchanted net away, he threw it at Badb.
“No!” Lugh yelled. A wall of fire erupted in front of the war goddess, the flames swirling in angry tornadoes as they merged with the powerful winds Marduk had generated.
Badb gasped and backed away. How the hell was Lugh summoning his powers here? And what would happen now that he and Marduk had ventured into forbidden territory?
“You cheat,” Pabilsag shouted.
“Marduk cheated,” the Dagda countered. “We’re allowed to defend our own.”
Pabilsag narrowed his eyes at the Dagda, but he didn’t respond with words. Instead, the sky darkened and rippled as if filled with undulating waves. Lugh moved closer to Badb, grabbing her hand as he watched the sky with her. “Utukku,” he whispered.
“I give up,” Athena whispered back. “What are these things and how do we kill them?”
“They’re spirits,” Lugh replied. “And I have no idea. I don’t think we can kill spirits in their own world.”
“Why don’t we have any evil spirits we can summon?” Zeus pouted.
“Spirits can be destroyed when they’re not in a land of the dead,” Badb argued. “So how do we destroy these?”
“They aren’t dead,” Lugh explained. “More like the Valkyries. They’ve always been spirits.”
“Then what do we do?” Badb exclaimed.
Lugh tapped his fingers against his leg then said, “Be right back.”
“You’ll…” But Badb couldn’t even finish asking him where he was going or why he was leaving.
He disappeared and Athena grunted at the spot where the Irish sun god had stood. “Sometimes, your boyfriend annoys the hell out of me.”
Blades of Ash: An Unbreakable Sword Series Prequel (The Unbreakable Sword Book 5) Page 3