“How did you two fae straylings escape my fortress!?” she hissed.
Oh yay, we were going to have a little chat before we attempted to obliterate one another on this hilltop. Fine. I had lots to say to her.
“You put Danua's two children together then left us to be guarded by your worthless hounds,” I retorted, my voice shaking a little. "What did you expect?"
“The bars on that gate were charmed!” she ground out. “You should never have been able to break free!”
“That was your mistake,” I responded, calling my combined magic to gather into one, solid sphere of power.
Just a little longer, I whispered to myself. You just need to keep control a little longer . . .
A screech and a white flash flew into my line of vision, breaking my concentration for a split second. Meridian . . .
Too late, I realized what she was doing, but I screamed nonetheless. "No!!"
A red flash of power zapped through the air and slammed into my spirit guide, sending her cart-wheeling into a thicket of oaks growing up the side of the hill, white feathers flying everywhere.
Crying out in pure anguish and hatred, I turned my eyes on the Morrigan and almost charged at her.
No Meghan, you've come too far and suffered too much to let it all fall apart now, my conscience reminded me.
Gritting my teeth and fighting back a new wave of tears, I glared at my enemy. The Morrigan merely returned my look of disdain. I didn't have time to wonder about Meridian's fate, because in the next breath the goddess continued on, as if taking out my spirit guide were as noteworthy as smashing a mosquito.
"So then Meghan, after escaping my lair and killing my hounds, do you still think you are strong enough to fight me?" she hissed in a quiet voice that suggested she had a very thin hold on her own temper. "Even with the paltry power you're siphoning out of your brother, you stand no chance against me. Do you think I've simply been killing these Faelorehn scum and leaving them to rot?"
She cast her hand around, gesturing towards the plain below. "Do you have any idea the amount of power I've accumulated since this battle started? I've given you every opportunity to join me and I am weary of this game. You die today, Faelorah, you and your worthless brother and that pathetic son of mine. You all die and I get all that power I've always wanted without the headache."
The Morrigan wiped the blood and sweat from her forehead, seeming to take pleasure in the act.
“Your words don't frighten me, Morrigan," I retorted. "I have survived your murder attempts twice already, and you know what? I learned something from those experiences as well. I'm not the ignorant little Faelorah you once thought I was. But Donn was right; you let your superiority get in the way of caution.”
I lowered my voice, though it was still hard to speak over the building wind of the storm and the continued percussion of the battle below. "Just think about it. You laughed at him for believing it unwise to leave Aiden and me alone. Looks like he had a point, huh? Makes one wonder what else you've been wrong about."
The Morrigan’s eyes shifted, and for once I saw something other than anger, hatred and conceit in their crimson depths. I saw doubt. And I saw fear.
"You may be the most powerful goddess in Eile, but everyone has a weakness, and I know yours," I said, my voice harsh and angry. "Your arrogance has caused you to underestimate me, to become lazy on the details. All I had to do was behave the way you expected me to behave and bide my time. Well Morrigan, your time is up!"
I drew the immense ball of power closer, sending it spinning into a spiral just in front of me. I could feel Aiden’s shield of glamour wavering. He had done so well, considering how little he knew about magic, and I understood that it was now or never. One shot, I had one shot to either end the Morrigan's reign or annihilate all that I loved.
“You cannot kill me!” the Morrigan screeched as she covered the last several yards that separated us, lifting her arm as that dark power crackled along her skin.
“No,” I said harshly, my voice not sounding like my own. I could tell that my eyes glowed brilliant blue, like the magic I was building. “No, I cannot kill you, but I can destroy you.”
The Morrigan’s eyes grew wide and she pulled in a deep breath, calling upon every last reserve of her own immense glamour as it condensed into a brilliant crimson blaze in her hand. But before she released it, I screeched at Aiden to pull the shield away and simply let the power I controlled pour forth, the great, spinning sphere surging forward as it continued to pull more magic from my self-inflicted wounds and every pore in my body. It stung, the way a healing dose of medicine stings away infection, and the air was swooped from my lungs. I felt suddenly like an empty shell and I collapsed to the ground just as my magic crashed into hers. An explosion that rent the dark sky and sent shock waves rippling across the land rumbled like the roar of the earth itself. Above all the chaos and cacophony and pain from the magical explosion, a primitive scream, filled with hatred, anger and anguish, rang out.
It felt like my eardrums would burst and I recalled a few things before the darkness came. One, I didn’t feel any pain anymore, which in its own way was a blessing. Two, I could sense more than hear Aiden’s sob of realization when I crumpled beneath him. Good, that meant he had listened to me and hadn’t let his flame of magic go out. And the last thing I experienced before I lost all sensation was Cade’s anguished voice and his words splaying across my mind in brilliant red, Meghan! NO!
* * *
I floated in darkness for a long while, waiting to be taken to the afterlife of the Faelorehn. Did we have an afterlife? Or did we just drift around in nothingness? It didn’t seem fair, that we would have a conscious and have nowhere for that conscious to go once our bodies died. But maybe it was different for us because we were immortal; we weren’t supposed to die.
I inhaled a deep breath and let it out slowly, wondering why I was breathing if I was dead. Maybe it was something that followed the spirit; something done more out of habit than necessity.
Time passed, how much though I could not say. Eventually the darkness that surrounded me faded away and I was shrouded in mist. Not a single sound disturbed the quiet, and as the mist swirled and unfurled before me, I saw something familiar. A huge tree, its many branches and upturned roots tangled together to create a sphere. The Tree of Life. So, I really was dead, my spirit returning the great Tree. It made sense and I had, after all, used up every last speck of my magic. I only hoped that I had taken the Morrigan with me, or at least hit her so hard she wouldn't be solid again for centuries.
The Tree seemed to beckon me, but before I could so much as set foot on the first stepping stone, I glanced down and saw my reflection in the water. The mist had parted, blown away on a gentle, indiscernible breeze, and the grey and white monotone of the glade became suffused with a golden light.
What I saw in that pool was shocking. The girl, no, the young woman, who stared back at me was absolutely beautiful. True, she had the same color eyes as me, only they were a clearer, brighter hazel than my own, and my hair . . . that tangled, curly mess that had more than once tempted me into shaving it all off, fell in perfect, dark curls down my back. A beautiful white, long-sleeved gown replaced the torn and bloody clothes I had worn when confronting the Morrigan, but my feet were bare. I looked like some little girl's guardian angel but without the wings.
“Yes Meghan, that is you.”
The voice startled me, and I jerked my head up. A tall man, a pair of many-pronged antlers protruding from his head, stepped out of the pale mist that remained and came my way. Cernunnos.
“It is you, but it is how Caedehn sees you.”
“I don’t understand,” I answered.
And I didn’t. I was dead, lost in the spirit world, I assumed. Cade was safe, I hoped, and alive in Eile. Along with Aiden. So why was Cernunnos here talking to me? Had he died in the battle too? Maybe because he didn't have his magic to protect him?
Cernunnos only grinned
and gave a slight shake of his head.
“Not many of us ever know how lovely we look in the eyes of the one who loves us. This is my gift to you; to know how Cade sees you. This image represents more than just physical beauty, but your spirit also. As you can see, I chose well.”
I blinked at him, confused.
“I thought my gift from you was your magic, the magic of a god.”
“Yes, but that gift you paid for. You kept your word Meghan; you didn’t tell a soul about it, except for Aiden, and you used it when it had the best chance of helping others. When it could show you just how strong and great you could be.”
I tried not to feel bitter. “And yet, I am here.”
Cernunnos’s brown eyes sparkled and became almost green. “Yes, you are here.”
I gritted my teeth and tried not to regret my choice. I had known this could happen, so I had to live with it, so to speak. But now that this was all over, and now that I had the woodland god here with no one to interrupt, I took a deep breath and asked the same question I'd asked him the day he bestowed his magic upon me, “Why me? Why did you give this gift to me? Of all the Faelorehn you, or the Spirits of Eile, could have chosen, why did you choose me?”
Yes, he had already given me an answer, but there had to be more to it. And now that we were both in the spirit world, I thought maybe he'd be more honest with his response.
“Because you were the most innocent. Of course, your brother would have been an even better choice, but he is far too young to understand. You, Meghan, you who knows next to nothing of our world, who is not yet blinded by the power you possess, no one but you could have done this.”
“But to keep it secret from everyone, to let them live in fear for that long? To have sacrificed so much when they could have known my gift of power would make things right in the end?”
“Ah, but what is a sacrifice worth if it is not given from our hearts? It is worth nothing, Meghan, if there is nothing to lose. That is what makes it a sacrifice; that is what allows it to hold its own power.”
I glanced at him once again, then at the Tree looming only yards away.
"I think I have to go now," I murmured.
As I took a step towards the Tree, Cernunnos reached out and grabbed my hand gently.
"Oh no Meghan, not today," he said, his own words quiet.
"But," I turned towards the Tree again. "I think-"
"No," he said more firmly this time as he pulled me away from the stepping stones and deeper into the mist. "The Tree can wait."
Slowly, the warm, fuzzy orange glow of the enchanted meadow faded away and an image of Cade’s worried face appeared before me. I smiled, my eyes prickling as they filled with tears. Oh, how I had missed him, floating around in this strange state of death. But then my grin vanished and I felt a stab of pain. This was wrong. I had died so he wouldn’t have to. Had my sacrifice come too late? I bit my lip and choked on a sob. Not fair. Not only had Cade died too, but shouldn’t the afterlife be free of such painful emotions?
Then his hand found my cheek and he stroked my face gently. His eyes shone and he released a great breath.
“Oh my love, oh Meghan.”
He sighed again and drew me close, pressing his forehead against mine.
“I thought I had lost you.”
I was confused. What?
But you have lost me Cade. I’m sorry. I lied to you about my extra magic, all this time. But don’t you see? I did it to protect you, and Aiden and everyone else. Please forgive me. I thought it would be enough. I thought I could save you.
I didn’t realize I had been using shil-sciar until Cade’s lips met mine as he answered me. No Meghan, no. You did not die, but you almost did. Gods, you were so close I nearly went crazy. My riastrad is nothing compared to the state I was in when I found you.
His arms wrapped around me as he trailed kisses across my face. It felt as if he would never let me go and I sighed, enjoying this comforting fantasy while it lasted. There was no way what he told me was true. I couldn’t have survived that fight. My candle flame had burned out.
Eventually, Cade stopped kissing me and took a deep breath as he pulled me even closer, tucking my head in against his chest and under his chin, his strong hands splaying across my back. I melted into him, barely registering that it was our bare skin that touched. I sighed again and grinned, wishing with all my heart that what Cade had told me in this afterlife dream was true.
A moment later everything went dark again and I knew that the next time I woke, this bliss would be nothing more than a memory.
-Twenty-Four-
Consequence
I woke again to the sensation of someone stroking my face. Blinking the blurriness from my eyes, I noticed that Cade was with me.
"Where am I?" I murmured.
"In our room at Erintara," Cade responded quietly.
"Am I dead?"
Cade grinned, his eyes filling with tears. "No my love, no. You are very much alive."
But what about the Tree of Life? My conversation with Cernunnos? Then I remembered the dream I'd had of Cade just afterwards. Perhaps it hadn't been a dream after all.
I took a shuddering breath. "Are you sure?"
Cade tilted my chin up and kissed me gently, his lips lingering on mine.
Very much so.
My voice was rough when I spoke again. "How?"
And then he told me everything that had happened.
"I was halfway up the hill when your glamour hit the Morrigan, and the shockwave knocked me off my feet for a good thirty seconds. By the time I made it to your side, Aiden was there, crying silently over you with his hands pressed to your skin."
Cade shuddered but then forced himself to continue. "Immediately I sought out your magic and couldn't find any. I panicked, thinking the worst, but then I felt a steady stream of another's glamour keeping the tiny spark of your candlewick going."
"It was probably Cernunnos's magic, not mine," I murmured without thinking.
"No. It wasn't his," he replied, no question in his voice.
I stiffened. How did he know?
"Once we got you safely inside Erintara and I knew you were going to stay with us, Cernunnos pulled me aside and explained everything."
Cade pressed his lips to my temple and I could feel his mouth curve up in a grin. "I gave him a black eye and a few broken ribs before the Dagda pulled me off of him."
"What?!" I cried, struggling to sit up.
Oh no, that wasn't going to happen. It felt like someone had thrown me into an industrial strength drier full of broken glass and gravel and then hit the heavy duty button. I hurt all over.
"He deserved it for what he put you through, and he even said so after his nose stopped bleeding."
Ugh. I was so tired of people getting hurt. "Will he be okay?"
"Now that he has his glamour back he will be," Cade answered.
I sighed and snuggled back against him. "Cade?" I murmured.
"Hmmm?"
"Not that I'm complaining, but why are we naked?"
He chuckled and said, "Helps with the magical transfusion. I've been sharing my glamour with you to help you get stronger. That's what kept the spark of your magic from going out you know, the magic that was being poured into you."
Ah yes, the conversation we'd been having before I got sidetracked with my concern for the antlered god. "So who was it then? Who kept me alive?"
Cade turned my face so that I looked directly into his dark green eyes. "Aiden," he said quietly, "Aiden was the one who kept your magic from dying."
Tears welled and fell before I could even register them.
"Is he okay?" My voice was hoarse and my throat hurt, but I didn't care.
"He's with Danua right now. He's a bit weak, but she managed to break whatever spell of silence the Morrigan placed on him and when you're both well enough to travel, we'll pay a visit to your family in the mortal world."
I nodded. Now that I knew everyone I cared abou
t was safe, sleep pulled at me. Before I drifted off, however, one more thing came to mind.
"The Morrigan?" I mumbled.
"Gone, my love." Cade kissed me again. "And when Eile raises her again in a thousand years or more, we will make sure she never gains back the power she once had."
* * *
I later learned that I'd been unconscious for three days, during which time the Tuatha De gathered their people to head back to their own realms. They possessed the task of spreading the news that the Morrigan had been vanquished and that those faelah who survived the battle, the ones not controlled completely by her power, had scattered to hide until she returned again. Or to cause their own mischief. As for Donn, well, Cade told me he had disappeared after my blast of power hit the Morrigan. No one thought that the god of the dead would be making an appearance any time soon.
On the fourth day after the great battle, I woke up to find a familiar set of dark eyes regarding me from the bed post.
"Meridian!" I cried, a sob catching in my throat.
Cade stepped out of the bathroom with a towel around his waist when he heard my cry.
I shot my glance to him, the joy at seeing Meridian distracting me from his splendid state of undress.
"I thought the Morrigan killed her," I said.
Cade shook his head, a small smile on his face. "We found her in a grove of trees under the care of a small colony of twigrins."
I continued to stare at him, confused.
Cade crossed the room and took a seat on the bed next to me.
"That's right, I never told you about that characteristic of your favorite Otherworldly creature. Twigrins like to fix things, well, repair things that are damaged. They use their special magic to mend broken branches or crushed flowers, or sometimes heal the twisted ankle of a fawn."
I was smiling broadly now. "Or cure a white merlin who has been hit with a blast of bad magic?"
"Precisely," Cade said, giving me a quick kiss on the top of my head.
I reached up and gave Meridian a scratch. She cooed and closed her eyes.
Safe, she sent on a mental sigh. No more hurt.
Luathara - Book Three of the Otherworld Trilogy Page 34