The Phantom Queen (The Guardians of Tara Book 3)

by S. M. Schmitz

  “Macha offered to bring me to our new healer, but I’d rather not argue with Fate. If this was my destiny, there are far worse places to be.”

  Both Midir and Lugh nodded, completely understanding that Findias was so much the paradise promised to mortals. Perhaps their afterlife offered something more, but Midir had been extremely happy here for a long time.

  “We’re going to my old house,” Midir told Macha, but once again, a speaking god couldn’t finish his sentence.

  “Midir!” Lugh exclaimed excitedly. “What if you can’t remember this promise because whomever you made this promise to is one of our traitors? And what if he’s keeping you from fulfilling it or remembering?”

  “He’d have to be more powerful than me,” Midir argued.

  But Lugh quickly shook his head. “No, not at all. Fate is more powerful than you…and maybe Selena. Seriously, don’t piss her off again.”

  Midir sighed and tapped his foot impatiently.

  “I miss Cameron,” Lugh teased.

  “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but so do I,” Macha agreed.

  Midir sighed again and tapped his foot at her.

  “By breaking your promise,” Lugh explained, “this geis was set in motion whether you knowingly broke it or not. And not even you can overpower Fate.”

  “Do you think Badb really knows who it is?” Macha asked. “Because this god may well be our traitor so it wouldn’t technically break her geis by identifying who our traitors might be, would it?”

  “Oh, so she told you about this before me, too?” Midir demanded.

  “I’m her sister,” Macha responded. “I’ve known for hundreds of years that she was waiting on Midir and Étain to be reincarnated. And who do you think were the first people she told when she got the prophecy about the heirs?”

  “So you know who this asshole is, too?” Midir pressed.

  “No,” Macha insisted. “She didn’t tell us much more than you probably know now.”

  Lugh tapped at his chin as he thought. “Perhaps it’s only because she doesn’t know about this murder yet. But even if she can remember more than I think she does, I’m not sure she’d be able to tell us anyway. She had to let you do things on your own with remembering your past life. She couldn’t interfere by just telling you and Selena the truth. She had to agree to that so she’d be led to you and Étain once you were reborn.”

  “Something’s not adding up,” Midir murmured. “Badb’s own anger over discovering we had traitors among us…she didn’t know who they were and as smart as she is, she would have put the pieces together by now.”

  “Cameron?” Ukko called.

  Midir looked over his shoulder at the Finnish thunder god and slowly shook his head. “He’s gone. Only his memories remain because they’re my memories, too.”

  Anita blinked at Midir then up at her husband. “He’s not joking…I’m not as powerful a psychic as you, but I can’t find Cameron.” She choked on a startled gasp and Ukko bit his lip, clearly unsure as to how he could help his distraught wife.

  “This can’t be permanent,” Ukko said then directed his attention to Lugh. “Can it?”

  “I don’t know,” Lugh admitted. “I filled many roles for the Tuatha Dé, including historian. And anyone surviving a geis once they’d broken it is unheard of. But I believe there’s still hope. Fate chose Cameron—and even Midir—for a reason and it won’t let them go so easily. We won’t be able to undo this transformation though, to find out for sure if Cameron can be saved, without uncovering what the geis is and fulfilling it.”

  Ukko’s worried eyes shifted to Midir and he asked, “Can I help?”

  Midir was a little surprised by the Finnish god’s offer and more than a little surprised by Lugh’s acceptance.

  “I could use a psychic right now. Badb is keeping her distance so she doesn’t inadvertently betray her own promise.”

  Ukko kissed the top of Anita’s head and assured her, “We’ll find out how to get Cameron back. Next time you see him, he’ll be annoying the hell out of you again.”

  Anita sighed and corrected him. “He never annoyed the hell out of me.” She glanced in Midir’s direction then corrected herself. “Rarely. He rarely annoyed the hell out of me.”

  Ukko smiled at her and brought her hand to his lips before letting go so he could join the Irish gods in their quest to discover why Midir’s old life had taken over his new one, and worse, why he’d become an angry and vengeful god.

  “I need to see his old house,” Lugh explained. “I can read the history of objects by touching them. We might uncover the promise he made, or at least, whomever he made it to…unless you can find all that locked inside his mind.”

  Ukko studied Midir for a few seconds before shaking his head. “No, and I doubt even Badb could. I can see them, but they’re blurred and I can’t make out anything specific. It’s like his thoughts and even some of his memories are trapped in their own glass prison, and we all know there’s only one way out of an enchanted prison.”

  Lugh nodded then told Cian, “If you think of anything else about your attackers that might help us, send for me right away. What did they want with some old relics in Ireland anyway?”

  “They weren’t after the relics of our great kings,” Cian replied. “What they wanted wasn’t there. They were looking for the Stone of Fal.”

  Lugh ran his fingers over the walls of Midir’s old home, but Midir was still fixated on why a few Irish gods would kill someone for a treasure that would be useless to them. Lugh patiently tried to explain why again. “I told you…any descendant of Nemed’s can use the power of the Lia Fáil. Just because Fate chose Hanna as the final Guardian of Tara doesn’t mean a different descendant can’t use its power. The Lia Fáil is different than the Treasures the Tautha Dé crafted and imbued with power.”

  “Whoever designed the Stone of Fal did a remarkably bad job then,” Midir argued.

  “Nemed himself did,” Lugh responded. “And you already know he didn’t care if its power was passed to a god who would use it unjustly.”

  “Isn’t this your singing rock?” Ukko asked.

  Lugh snorted then let his hand fall. “Yeah, but it won’t sing for anyone except Hanna. Unlike my Spear or the Dagda’s Cauldron that only transfers power to intended heirs, the Lia Fáil will make any descendant of Nemed’s more powerful. That’s why there are gods willing to murder people over it.”

  “So we make a list of any surviving descendants of Nemed,” Midir suggested. “And then we work our way through that list.”

  “It’s not that easy, Midir,” Lugh countered. “We don’t know who might be descended from Nemed. They’re such an old race. Even if you try to find the few remaining descendants by asking around, most gods probably don’t know anymore. After all, Étain didn’t know.”

  “Well, it’s a better idea than walking around Findias in the hopes you’ll touch something that magically gives you answers,” Midir snapped.

  “It’s not magic,” Lugh countered.

  “Lugh,” Midir warned. He wasn’t in the mood for another of the old sun god’s speeches. Of course, he wasn’t in the mood for anything. He didn’t even want to see Étain.

  Lugh looked around the empty house one last time and relented. The couple who lived here now had immediately agreed to give Lugh access to their home as soon as he’d asked, and they’d even left so they could have privacy. But Lugh didn’t want to displace the demigods too long and had promised he’d be quick.

  Midir found himself jealous over Lugh’s reputation and the reverence other gods and demigods had for him even though he’d never been jealous of it before. He could easily recall a time when he had also revered Lugh, one of his closest friends, because the sun god had earned everyone’s respect and admiration.

  “I want to look around outside before we leave,” Lugh announced. “You and Étain grew violets in a garden right outside your bedroom.”

  “I know,” Midir said irritably.
“I’m the one who grew them.”

  Lugh shrugged and opened the door, allowing the sunlight to spill inside in a golden stream of warmth. For a brief moment, a strange feeling stirred in the back of his mind, but it vanished as quickly as it had emerged.

  “What was that?” Ukko asked.

  “What are you doing in my head?” Midir snapped.

  “That’s why I’m here,” Ukko snapped back.

  Lugh’s eyes darted between them then settled on Ukko. “What did you sense?”

  “I’m not sure,” Ukko admitted. “It might have been one of Midir’s memories, but I don’t think it was…I think it might have been Cameron.”

  “One of Cameron’s memories?” Lugh asked. “They’re the same person, really, so…”

  “No,” Ukko interrupted. I think it was Cameron.” Ukko pointed to the yellow strip of sunlight that bathed the wooden floors and added, “Like he was trying to climb out of the darkness and into the light. Or, more accurately, out of a glass prison.”

  “Oh my God,” Lugh breathed. “But…that’s impossible.”

  Ukko snickered and smiled at the old sun god. “It’s Cameron. I’m convinced nothing is impossible when it comes to him and Selena.”

  Lugh’s luminous blue eyes searched Midir’s as if trying to see inside his mind and he nodded. “Yeah, he somehow channeled his control over fire in Hel. Nobody should have been able to do that. Even the Norse can’t channel their powers in Hel.”

  “If you two are done discussing how great Cameron was, can we get on with this useless treasure hunt?” Midir asked.

  “As you know,” Lugh argued, “treasure hunts aren’t necessarily useless. You helped find the Unbreakable Sword.”

  “Cameron did,” Midir countered. “And that asshole is dead.”

  Midir pushed past his old friend and into the blinding light of Findias. He squinted and held up a hand to shield his eyes then realized the light in Findias shouldn’t be so bright. But it was the last thought Midir could form before collapsing to the ground, and the brilliant light was replaced by a depthless darkness.

  Chapter Eleven

  “Midir?” Lugh said. “Come on, old friend. Wake up.”

  Cameron felt hands gently shaking him, and he slowly opened his eyes and groaned. “Dude, stop shaking me. I think I’m hungover and I’ll totally throw up on you.”

  “Cameron,” Ukko gasped.

  Cameron turned his head and blinked at the Finnish thunder god. “Um…am I in Findias?” He sat up and rubbed a sore spot on the back of his head while glancing between Ukko and Lugh then added, “Am I dead? Again? Let me guess: Badb finally snapped and killed me.”

  Neither god had a chance to answer him or explain because Selena suddenly appeared amongst them. “Cameron!” she exclaimed, falling to her knees so she could throw her arms around his neck as she cried against his shoulder.

  “Hey,” Cameron said softly, putting his arms around her and smoothing her hair. “Baby, what’s wrong?”

  Her body heaved with painful sobs, but he was almost positive he wasn’t really dead. He couldn’t imagine what had upset her so much, and the only thought that he could hear from her was an overwhelming fear she’d lost him forever.

  Lugh sat back from them and took a deep breath. “You can’t remember…you can’t remember anything from today because you were sort of dead. And, somehow, you came back.”

  “Uh, the last thing I remember is being in the Basin in my fire igloo with Loki. Where the hell is that bastard anyway?”

  Selena sobbed into his shoulder in response. She couldn’t even fix her own thoughts on the memories of their encounter with Loki. He could feel her trying, but she remained too scared and heartbroken. He wanted to reassure her he’d never leave her, but something had obviously convinced her otherwise.

  Another familiar presence tore his attention away from Selena, but when Badb appeared by Lugh, he couldn’t greet her—not even with his usual smartass comments. Because Badb had been crying, too.

  “Okay,” Cameron said slowly. “Someone needs to start explaining why I was lying on the ground in Findias and why Selena and Badb thought I was dead.”

  The war goddess shook her head though. “Not dead exactly. Imprisoned beyond our reach. If you’d only died, you wouldn’t be lost to us. You would just be here forever. We’d mourn but not in the same way.”

  Cameron sighed impatiently and shot her a “Do a better job of explaining, Crow, or I’ll totally smite you,” look. Hearing his thought, Selena laughed against his shoulder and tightened her grip around his neck, threatening to choke him, but he didn’t ask her to stop. She’d truly thought he’d been ripped away from her. How could he ever ask her to let go?

  Badb hastily wiped her eyes and tried again. “The geis…it’s real, Cameron, but Lugh was wrong about Cú Chulainn passing some curse onto you. It has nothing to do with him.”

  “My father,” Cameron said quietly. “I blamed him…” And he only thought his relationship with his father was broken before.

  But once again, Badb surprised him. “Your father knows it wasn’t your fault. I explained what a geis is and that its effects were controlling you. And after you threatened to cast him out of Murias…”

  “I what?” Cameron interrupted. Yeah, he’d been pissed off at his dad, but he’d brought his parents to the Otherworld to protect them. Why would he have condemned his father to death anyway by sending him back to Earth?

  Badb was about to answer him when Macha showed up, immediately kneeling beside him and kissing the side of his head then giving him a look that he interpreted as, “You’re lucky Selena’s in your arms, or I’d totally kick your ass.”

  Whatever he’d done, he was pretty sure he deserved it.

  “We need to return to Earth,” Macha said, wiping the tears from her own eyes. “Nergal and Tarhunt are trying to pull us into another confrontation by storming through Houston.”

  Cameron grunted and finally relaxed his grip on Selena so he could disentangle her arms from his neck. “I’m all right now, love. I mean, I probably won’t be when Tarhunt rides his huge-ass serpent toward me, but maybe Thor will pull his weight again and kill this one, too. That is a lot of weight to pull.”

  Macha smiled at him and let out a slow breath. “Just…don’t leave us again, okay?”

  “I don’t remember leaving you the first time,” Cameron pointed out. “How can I promise not to do it again?”

  “Because now you know you’re stronger than this geis,” Lugh told him. His eyes settled on Selena and he smiled, too. “And I think I know why you refuse to allow any force, no matter how powerful, to keep you imprisoned.”

  Cameron kissed the back of Selena’s hand and shrugged. “Any god lucky enough to spend eternity with her would do the same.”

  “As nauseatingly sweet as this is,” Macha interrupted, “Houston is still under attack. And Thor is currently babysitting Loki while trying to keep Tyr from killing him. We probably need to hurry.”

  “Right,” Cameron sighed. “You coming with us, Crow?”

  Badb snickered and stood up, holding out her hand to help Selena from the ground. “Like I’d let you have all the fun.”

  “If this is your idea of fun,” Cameron joked, “Lugh’s doing something terribly wrong. It had been five hundred years. Maybe he forgot how to do it.”

  “Hey!” Lugh protested, but Badb jumped to his defense at the same time with her own threat. “Just for that, I’m telling you all the pervy details I learned from digging around Loki’s mind.”

  “I’m sorry,” Cameron hurriedly told Lugh.

  Badb snickered again and threw her arms around him, whispering, “God, I missed you.”

  “I’d ask which god, but I’m assuming you mean me.”

  Badb nodded and let go, quickly kissing her boyfriend before turning back to the young gods of the Tuatha Dé. “Let’s go hunting for a couple of asshole gods.”

  “As often as we do this, you’d thin
k we’d be better at it,” Cameron observed smartly.

  Lugh laughed and patted his back. “Ukko and I will keep trying to uncover something about this geis. When you’re finished on Earth, come back to Findias to see if we’ve made any progress.”

  Cameron caught Ukko watching him, and he thought even his former enemy looked relieved, which really freaked him out. But he didn’t want to admit that in front of Lugh, whom he still wanted to impress, not as the god he once was but the god he’d become as Lugh’s heir, so he just grabbed Selena’s hand and told Badb, “If Thor won’t kill Illuyanka, it’s all yours,” before bringing the Guardians back to Earth to defend it once again.

  Cameron gazed up at the tall glass and metal building then offered Selena a mischievous smile. “Ukko used to work here and then he handed it over to Jasper. Not such a loss if this building gets destroyed.”

  “You’re not nearly as funny as you think you are,” Jasper told him.

  “Probably not,” Cameron agreed.

  “Haven’t we had this conversation before?” Badb asked.

  “Probably,” Cameron replied, flashing her that same mischievous grin. “Want to go find my reindeer?”

  Badb put her hands on her hips and scowled at him. “Don’t even think about it.”

  “Where is everyone?” he asked. “Last time we were here, I thought it was a good thing we could just teleport around because the street was total gridlock. And now, we’re in a ghost town.”

  “The National Guard and NATO have already arrived,” Jasper explained. “After Austin, they’re not taking any chances, and they’re keeping everyone at home unless it’s an emergency. If they see anyone out, they’ll stop you...and if it’s not an emergency, they’ll haul your ass off to jail.”

  “Damn,” Cameron sighed. “That’s almost as horrifying as whatever Nergal and Tarhunt are planning.”

  Macha shrugged and reminded him, “You grew up in this region. Ever seen what happens when the entire city attempts to evacuate at the same time?”

  “Yeah, but Nergal and Tarhunt targeted residential neighborhoods in Austin. Why would anyone think people would be safe by forcing them to stay home?”