Luathara - Book Three of the Otherworld Trilogy

by Johnson, Jenna Elizabeth

I almost screamed out loud. They were all identical, but my eyes were trained on the one closest to me. It was a bull. A giant bull with horrible, black horns and blood-red eyes, and there were so many of them. They opened their mouths and bellowed, revealing unnaturally sharp teeth and the same furnace-like throats the Cumorrig had. And like the Morrigan’s hounds, these bulls appeared to have been dead for quite some time. Their heads were nothing more than skulls covered in black hide, the rest of their bodies patched together carelessly. But I had no doubt they were strong, and there had to be well over a hundred of them.

  “Magnificent, aren’t they? You see Meghan, the Dotarbh are Donn’s pets, and they will come in very handy when I march on your mother and my other fellow Tuatha De later this morning. But let me return to the point I'm trying to make. You have told me that unless I release your brother, you will use your power to destroy my army. Well, here’s what will happen if you do. You are powerful Meghan, I won’t deny that. But you aren’t powerful enough to fight me and my faelah and stop Donn and his Dotarbh. Their master has given them an order, you see. If you continue to refuse my demands, then they are to seek out my dear, charming son and, how did I put it?”

  She cupped her chin in one hand and tapped her cheek with a finger as she looked up into the leaden sky.

  “Ah!” she cried, then lowered her gaze and glared at me with such malice I almost fell to the ground. “Rend him limb from limb.”

  “NO!” I shouted, unable to help myself.

  “Yes, I will,” she spat. “You know I will. And he won’t stand a chance, you know he won’t. Even in his riastrad, he died fighting only ten of my Cumorrig. He will certainly perish against a few hundred Dotarbh.”

  Tears stung my eyes, but I ignored them. "You said," my voice rasped, "you said that if you had me, you'd leave him alone, that you'd leave everyone alone! So here I am, take me and do what you will, but call back your army and let my brother go!"

  The Morrigan’s cruel laughter crackled through the magic-tensed air. “Foolish, foolish Meghan! When are you going to learn that I never stay true to my word? I have no honor and you cannot outsmart me!”

  I shot the goddess a look of pure hatred. She knew my weaknesses far too well, but I knew hers also: she was far too arrogant for her own good, and that's what I was counting on. I couldn't have anticipated the Dotarbh, there was no way for me to know that they were to be a factor in this horrible game. But all hope was not lost, at least not yet. Patience Meghan, patience. Your chance is coming soon . . . Cernunnos's magic burned inside of me, but I tamped it down with my own as the spider worked to hide my thoughts. Yes, my chance was coming. I just needed to get into the Morrigan's lair, find my brother, and then let that godly magic loose to wreak my vengeance.

  “Come, come little girl, your sniveling bores me. Come join your little brother and I’ll leave Caedehn be. At least until he comes with your mother and her friends to confront my army. But by then you and that other whelp of Danua's, and your wonderful magic, will be locked away safe where I can use it to replenish my own glamour after the fight.”

  I hesitated for a split second. Every instinct in my body was screaming at me to turn and flee. Unfortunately, my heart was now running the show. If I wanted to save Cade, my mother and Aiden, I had to be willing to make this sacrifice.

  “Surrender!” the Morrigan screeched, sounding like the raven she often embodied. “Your attempt at swaying me has failed and you cannot escape!”

  Very well, I thought as I stepped forward.

  Immediately, the faelah acted, several of them breaking free of their line and moving around to encircle me, locking the Morrigan and Donn in their ring as well. My heart leapt into my throat. Yes, I was doing this willingly and for the ones I loved, but that fact didn't banish my instinctual desire to run. As the god of the dead continued to study me, I tried very hard not to squirm or break down into a full out panic attack.

  "Check her for weapons," Donn said, his voice trembling with the raw power of an earthquake.

  I sucked in my breath as the Morrigan turned her gaze on me. Her eyes flashed red once, and then I watched the dark cloud of her magic creep across the ground. The tendrils of smoky glamour poked and prodded me like fingers. When they got to the top of my right boot, the Morrigan chuckled, "What have we here?"

  The magic worked its way down into my shoe, extracting the broken arrows I'd shoved there before leaving this morning. The tendril of power wrapped itself around the makeshift weapon and returned it to the Morrigan like some sick, ethereal tentacle. I bit my cheek. I had expected them to find Enorah's dagger, but I'd hoped they would overlook the hawthorn.

  The Morrigan eyed my rudimentary weapon and arched a brow at me. "What did you plan to do with these? Carve a whistle whilst in confinement?"

  She let loose a soft snicker of amusement as her dark magic continued its job. When it moved up to my torso, I tensed. Under my shirt and wrapped securely to my back was the dagger. It was too obvious to miss, and if she had found the broken hawthorn shafts, then she would definitely find the knife. The black smoke caressed the blade and I closed my eyes slowly, waiting for the Morrigan's cry of discovery, but the magic moved on in its search for more weapons. Finally, the smoke pulled away and returned to its wielder.

  "Nothing more," the Morrigan said to Donn in a bored tone.

  I felt my eyes grow wide with surprise. Her magic had been all over that dagger. How had she missed it? Then I remembered how the blade had so thoroughly destroyed the faelah outside of the Dagda's abode. Perhaps Enorah's weapon was more magical than I'd previously thought.

  I turned to the Morrigan, my face set rigidly in what I hoped was a mask of defiance, and felt an invisible rope of glamour bind my arms to my sides.

  The Morrigan looked up at her partner. "I'll just be a half an hour or so. If you want to start without me, I can catch up."

  The god of the dead looked up and narrowed his eyes. "I think I'll join you in case she tries anything."

  The Morrigan snorted a laugh. "What could she possibly do now?"

  Donn remained impassive.

  "Fine," the Morrigan snarled, "but first instruct your pets to lead my army onward. We'll have plenty of time to catch up to them before we meet Danua and her allies."

  Before the Morrigan tugged me forward, I thought I heard Donn turn and mutter something in the ancient language. The demon bulls, the Dotarbh, let out a resounding bellow that echoed up and down the line of faelah, then started forward, moving west. The Morrigan’s monsters quickly followed suit, a black, oily wave of death rolling over the land and covering it with their filth. The earth trembled as the army moved out, and I couldn't tell if it was Eile herself protesting their existence or the result of so many feet marching in unison.

  The ice-laced rain began to fall as we took our first steps into the crevasse I knew would lead us to someplace unpleasant. My magic shivered beneath my skin, but I held it back. We weren't finished yet, oh no, not by a long shot. But when the time came, I would let all the magic I contained come boiling forth like a storm of vengeance.

  Sending up a silent prayer to whoever was listening, I hoped I would see Aiden soon and that somehow, I was going to get us out before Donn and the Morrigan could destroy everything I loved.

  -Twenty-Two-

  Duty

  The walls of the narrow canyon were practically vertical, the ground we walked on littered with stones of all sizes and the remains of unidentifiable, dead creatures. Three times I almost gagged as the stench cloyed at my nose. The few faelah that hadn’t followed the Dotarbh scurried around us, fighting with one another as they picked at the rotting flesh and broken bones. Hurrah. Another scene that would be giving me nightmares for all eternity.

  The Morrigan strode before me, her dress of dark evil swirling about her like a black cloud as Donn, still chillingly silent, took up the rear. Eventually the canyon came to an end. Ancient, Celtic ogham letters and knot work designs adorned a massive sto
ne doorway pitted with large recesses. I nearly fainted when I spotted what resided inside the primitive shelves. Human skulls, or more likely, Faelorehn skulls. At least twenty of them formed a gruesome border around the entrance to the Morrigan’s realm. Two great, dead trees, their limbs bleached white and free of leaves, protruded from the rock wall on either side of the door. A flock of ravens decorated their branches like nightmarish Christmas ornaments, the half-blind, white spirit guide who had brought my message to his master sitting higher than all the rest. The birds let out a chorus of caws when the Morrigan approached, and she smiled and scratched at their necks as they greeted her. Donn merely crossed his arms and gave a sneer.

  Once the birds were appeased and they had returned to their guard posts, the goddess turned to the doorway and gently ran her fingers down its surface, muttering something under her breath as magic flared from her palm. I felt it as clearly as I felt all magic, a strange tugging at the back of my knees, as if someone had taken a rope and was trying to pull my legs forward into a bend. Could this be some sort of well-disguised dolmarehn?

  The rock shifted and a stone slab in the shape of a massive door swung inward, the icy air hissing free like the first breath of the risen dead. Goose bumps broke out all over my skin despite my warm cloak. A black abyss yawned before us and as I peered reluctantly into the opening the Morrigan shoved me.

  "Your cell awaits, princess. If you behave yourself I'll let you share with your brother."

  I tensed, but forced myself to relax. Good. That's exactly what I was hoping for. Despite the fact that my every last instinct screamed at me to flee in the opposite direction, I made my shoulders slump and shuffled forward, attempting to adopt the guise of an acquiescent prisoner.

  The Morrigan moved to follow me, but something stopped her. I peeked over my shoulder to see Donn's gloved hand grasping her arm. He pulled her closer and hissed something under his breath, his black, disheveled hair and beard hiding most of his expression. I strained to hear him, but he used the language of Eile. If only I'd asked Cade to teach it to me earlier . . .

  The Morrigan jerked her arm back and snapped at him, her eyes flaring red. "I hold everything she cares about in the palm of my hand. Believe me, once she's in that cage with her brother, there will be no escape for her."

  Donn growled at her. Actually growled.

  "You wish to put the two offspring of Danua and that Fomorian in one cell?"

  The Morrigan snorted and grasped her skirts, turning to walk away and herd me further into the pit of darkness that gaped before us.

  I braced myself for another shove when Donn barked out, "You fool of a woman! To come this far and risk combining their magic?"

  I froze where I stood, my heart catching in my throat. No, no, no! Could Donn have any idea what I had planned? Was I that obvious, or had he figured it out? But if he hadn't, wouldn't the Morrigan know what I was up to? Was she, like me, playing dumb until all the dice fell into place? I knew they hadn't read the thoughts in my head. My second little spider was keeping the details of my plot nice and out of reach, but that didn't mean they couldn't read my actions, actions I'd thought I'd hidden from their immediate observation. Then I swallowed hard as another thought came to me. True, they couldn't see what I was thinking, but could they have detected the magic I used to hide the secrets I kept?

  The Morrigan, who was trying, unsuccessfully, to force me into her underground lair, paused and let loose a deep sigh.

  "Donn, I'll tell you one more time: leave the thinking to me. This Faelorah may have power, but it is in no way greater than yours or mine, and she has not had time to hone it either. As for her brother . . ."

  She yanked on my arm so that our eyes met. Look terrified Meghan. Appear meek and beaten, but make sure that burn of hatred shows as well. Huh, like that was difficult to do at the moment.

  "He is in absolutely no condition to be aware of his magic, let alone use it."

  Another jolt of dread coursed through me then and I felt my eyes grow wider. What had she done to Aiden?

  The Morrigan smiled and I could have sworn the temperature dropped a good ten degrees.

  "That's right Meghan dear, you have lost and any tricks you planned on performing with your brother won't work. He's a bit incapacitated at the moment."

  "Wh-what did you do to him?" I asked, my voice raspy.

  "Nothing, though I did give him a draught to make him sleep. He'll make a wonderful sacrifice once this is all over. Unfortunately, I haven't had the time nor the means to do much more than drug him."

  I choked back the bile that threatened to rise as the Morrigan shoved me further down the tunnel. A sleeping potion would wear off, sooner or later, and I was praying it would be sooner than later.

  * * *

  The trip down into the bowels of the Morrigan's domain was one of the most terrifying experiences of my life. The tunnel, though spacious and lit with torches hanging in cruel-looking sconces, gave me a sense of extreme claustrophobia. Every now and then the path would branch off, as if we were following the trail of a giant ant hole, and the distant noises of pain and suffering came floating up from their depths. Five minutes into our journey I could no longer feel my fingers or toes and by the time we reached our destiny my whole face felt numb.

  Eventually we spilled out into a massive chamber. Well, I stumbled but the Morrigan, with her usual grace, took the small staircase like a fog spilling over a range of hills. Donn opted to stand at the top of the stairs with his arms crossed. It's a good thing I couldn't feel my hands because the small stones that lodged themselves under my skin were the size of lentils. Shivering, I dragged myself to my feet, taking deep breaths of the icy, semi-fetid air and wondering why I felt so exhausted.

  I glanced around and nearly gasped at what I saw. The chamber was, in reality, a huge cavern, complete with stalagmites and stalactites and a small stream meandering along the floor. That's not what surprised me the most, though. Several feet in front of me there was a natural formation of rock acting as a dais with a dark throne perched upon it. The tall chair resembled my mother's in Erintara, only this one was composed of black stone and the skeletal remains of several creatures I didn't know the names of. The perfect seat for a goddess of war and death.

  The sconces, which housed the hundreds of blood-red candles and torches lighting the huge place matched the throne, but that was about as far as the macabre decor went. The cold floor was draped with thick, rich rugs in dark shades of red and gold. Delicate, tasseled curtains hanging from the walls suggested passageways into other rooms, and a great, roaring fire just behind the throne took away the bite of the freezing air.

  The Morrigan turned to share a few clipped words with Donn. He nodded once, then turned on his heel, his boots grating into the hard ground of the cave and sending a raspy echo bouncing off the walls. I assumed he was satisfied with my impending imprisonment and was off to accompany his monsters to the battlefield.

  "Is my domain not splendid?"

  The sudden sound of the Morrigan's voice, cutting through the trickle of the stream and the soft breathing of the Cumorrig sleeping by the fire startled me out of my stupor. I could only nod. As much as I hated the Morrigan and everything connected to her, this cave was beautiful, in an underground, Phantom of the Opera sort of way.

  She sighed and brushed past me, her skirts trailing far behind her as she crossed the wide room and climbed up the stone steps and into her throne. She threw one leg over the arm rest and crooked one elbow up onto the opposite knee.

  "It's a pity things had to end this way. If only you and Caedehn could have seen things my way, we might have been able to work something out."

  She shifted in her seat and brought her leg down so that she could lean both elbows on her knees.

  "Unlike your mother, I would have blessed your union with my son if you two had joined me in my plans. But now you and your brother will be mine, slaves bent to my will. Or I may just destroy you both and take what ma
gic you have to offer. Of course, that all depends on how today's battle plays out."

  She grinned, a wicked cut to her mouth, and her eyes glittered like rubies.

  I kept my mouth clamped tight and stood as straight as I could.

  "It doesn't matter," I said once I'd gathered my loose emotions. "Cade won't have to worry about protecting me on the battlefield now. I won't be a distraction to him and he'll have a better chance of defeating your faelah army. And besides," I said, taking a quick and pity-filled breath, "if you kill us after all this is over, at least I'll be with Aiden, to offer him what comfort I can."

  I hoped with all my might it wouldn't come to that, but if it did, I would have to push aside all my regrets. You knew this could be a possible outcome Meghan, my conscience reminded me, so you must live with that decision. Yes, there is still a chance that things will go your way, but this isn't over yet.

  The Morrigan narrowed her scarlet eyes at me and then started clicking her tongue as she slowly shook her head back and forth. "You see, still the weak little Faelorah you were when we first met. Letting useless emotions rule your decisions."

  The goddess sighed again and pushed herself to her feet, the dark cloudy smoke of her magic swirling around her.

  "Well then, as you know, I'm going to be quite busy for the next several hours, so I'll have to lock you up until I have time to deal with you. They say you shouldn't keep all your eggs in one basket, but in this case, I think it would be wise."

  She leveled those eyes on me again then raised a hand and snapped her fingers, the sharp sound bouncing off the walls. The Cumorrig jolted awake and quirked their half-rotted ears at her, only to pant when they recognized their master. I almost threw up at the sight of their decaying tongues.

  The soft sound of a heavy blanket crumpling to the ground soon pulled my attention away from the hellhounds. Near the base of the dais, where a curtain had been hanging on the wall and covering what I had thought might be another passageway, was a small indentation carved out of the wall. Black iron bars ran from the tiny room's ceiling to its floor, a gate complete with a lock in its center. And there, curled up on a blanket in the furthest corner sat . . .