Cameron sighed and rubbed the heart-shaped red stone Selena had given him between his fingers. “Badb… on a scale of one to ten, how certain are you about this pregnancy?”
“I’m certain, Cameron.”
“But if it’s so rare,” he started but Badb touched his hand and smiled at him again.
“Let’s put your mind at ease,” she offered. “That’s why we’re here.”
She waved for them to follow her again, and he cast one last glance at the stone Selena had given him before wrapping his fingers around it and offering his girlfriend a scared but mischievous smile. “She was certain the first demigoddess we gave the Sword to was the real heir, too. I’m thinking we shouldn’t trust her judgment.”
“I can still hear you, Sun God,” Badb called over her shoulder.
“You don’t think I’m ever going to let you live that down, do you?” Cameron called back to her.
“If you want confirmation, then let’s find out where she’s taking us,” Selena suggested.
Cameron relented and followed Badb back onto the path that ran beside the stream. He’d never been to this part of Murias, not in this life anyway, but something familiar stirred within him. Midir’s memories slowly resurfaced as they walked the well-worn path toward the modest castle, and Selena gave him a curious look. He could sense she was also trying to remember who lived in the small palace ahead of them. Étain knew this place as well, but memories that old could be awfully fickle.
“Semias,” Cameron finally breathed.
Badb smiled at him and asked, “What did you expect? A Walgreen’s?”
“Stay out of my head, Crow,” he snapped.
Badb laughed and pointed to Semias’s home. “You’re not even part human anymore. Our world and our lives operate by different laws. Semias will be able to confirm what we already suspect, and he can tell you about the child Selena carries.”
Selena stopped walking but didn’t let go of Cameron’s hand, which made him stumble over his feet. She blinked at Badb who shot her a, “What’s your problem now?” look.
“What kind of things can he tell us?” Selena asked.
Badb waved her off. “Nothing if we don’t actually get inside his palace and talk to him.”
Cameron glanced at Selena then blinked at Badb, too. “What exactly is he going to do to her?”
“What exactly do you think he’s going to do?” Badb asked.
“He’s not a doctor. I don’t want him touching her.”
“I don’t want him touching me either,” Selena added.
Badb rolled her eyes and pointed to Semias’s palace. “Walk. He doesn’t need to touch you. I’ve told you. We’re not human. And Semias was right about each of my children. He was right about my sisters’ kids, too.”
“They have children?” Cameron asked. “Seriously, where are these people?”
Badb sighed, a sorrowful sound, as he and Selena followed her closer to the palace in the valley. “Even gods grow up and create their own lives, Cameron. But Macha only had one son who was killed in battle.”
“Meiche,” Selena said quietly. “Legend says he had three hearts with three serpents coiled inside.”
“Again with the snakes?” Cameron interrupted.
“There were no snakes in his heart, Cameron,” Badb said. “He was a warrior like his mother and a brilliant one, but long ago, we took sides in the wars of men and Mac Cécht fought against him and defeated him.”
“One of the Tuatha Dé killed him?” Selena gasped.
“Yes,” Badb answered. “We didn’t often find ourselves divided, but no god is perfect. None that we know anything about anyway. Meiche and Mac Cécht never liked one another though. It shouldn’t have surprised any of us that their rivalry turned deadly.”
“Poor Macha,” Selena whispered.
Badb nodded. “We’re far luckier than humans though. We can still see those we’ve lost by going to Findias.” Badb paused outside the palace door and took a deep breath. “No matter what he says, just know I will always love you both and defend you to my death.”
“What is that supposed to…?” But Cameron’s question was cut off when Semias pulled his door open, his eyes quickly scanning the small group before settling on Selena.
“Ah,” he said.
“Oh my God,” Cameron whispered.
Selena smiled at him and said, “I’m assuming you mean yourself since you’re the only god who could be responsible for this.”
Cameron just nodded.
Semias held his door open so the gods outside could enter his home. “Tea?” he asked.
Cameron wrinkled his nose and told him, “At least Ukko offered us coffee.”
“Ok,” Semias laughed, “coffee?”
“No thanks,” Cameron said.
Semias squinted at him but smiled. “What kind of Irish god doesn’t drink beer or tea?”
“Semias,” Badb interrupted, “we have to get back to Earth. But you clearly already know why we’re here.”
Semias nodded and gestured toward the chairs in a large sitting room. “I know Selena’s pregnant, so I’m assuming you wanted confirmation and to find out what I can predict about their child.”
Cameron felt something stirring within Selena’s mind, some combination of excitement and love and relief tinged with fear. She couldn’t shake Badb’s odd assurance that no matter what, she would always love them and would die for them. Cameron couldn’t stop obsessing about it either.
Semias sat beside the young couple and tilted his head as he studied them. “Strange,” he murmured.
“What?” Cameron and Selena asked at the same time.
“I can see so little,” he said, more to himself than to them.
“What can you see?” Badb asked.
“Only that you’ll have a daughter,” Semias answered. “As beautiful as her mother. A goddess… but I can’t tell anything else about her at all. Not even what her gifts will be.”
Cameron swallowed and glanced at Selena who’d paled. Her voice quivered when she asked him, “Why do you think you can see so little?”
Semias shook his head slowly. “I don’t know, Daughter of Danu. In over two thousand years, I’ve never been able to see so little about one of our future gods.”
“You knew,” Cameron hissed at Badb. “You knew something was strange and didn’t tell us!”
“Cameron…” Badb responded, but Cameron didn’t want to hear her excuses. Not now. Not when something might be wrong with his child.
“Go to Hell,” he told her.
He twisted his hand free from Selena’s grip and brought himself back to the room he and Selena shared inside the Dagda’s palace where he closed his eyes and tried to calm himself down but without Selena, he worried it might be impossible. He didn’t want to hurt Badb though, not again, so he concentrated on his breathing and tried to convince himself that just because Semias knew so little about the daughter they would soon have, she wasn’t necessarily destined for something truly horrible.
Fate couldn’t be so cruel.
He stuffed his hand into his pocket and pulled out the stone Selena had just given him. It had warmed after being pressed against his body, and as he ran his fingers over the smooth surface, he felt some of the anger receding like waves at low tide.
He sensed her presence before she had a chance to knock softly on his door. Cameron opened his eyes and sighed. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to be alone or not, but she was his queen. Even if he wanted to tell her to go away, he couldn’t.
Bridget opened his door and closed it quietly behind her.
“When you get angry, I’m surprised all of Murias can’t sense it,” Bridget told him.
Cameron shrugged. “Maybe they can.”
Bridget nodded. “Maybe. Wanna talk about it?”
“No.”
“Fair enough.”
“What’s the point?” he asked her. “You’re as powerful a psychic as Badb. Don’t you already know why
I’m upset?”
“Yes, but talking about it can still help,” Bridget answered.
Cameron shook his head. “Did Badb know more than she let on? She’s always doing that to us.”
“Possibly,” Bridget said. “I’d have to ask her. But if she didn’t say anything, it might be that she knew Semias would be able to give you better answers than she could.”
“Semias couldn’t give us any answers though,” Cameron explained. “That’s the problem.”
“And you automatically assumed it’s because your child is damaged or destined to be evil,” Bridget countered. “I understand your fear, but my first assumption is that it’s because the two most powerful gods to ever exist have created a new life. Imagine the power that child will have.”
Cameron blinked at her and took another slow, deep breath before responding. “I guess it would be impossible for any child of Selena’s to be evil, right?”
Bridget laughed and put an arm around his shoulders. “That’s true for you too, Cameron. You’re scared and I sure as hell don’t blame you for feeling that way. But have some faith. You and Selena wouldn’t even be here if Fate didn’t have incredible plans for you.”
Cameron finally smiled back at her even though he doubted he’d ever be able to shake the fear that the child he hadn’t even met yet but already loved was somehow irretrievably lost to them forever. “All right, Your Highness. Can I ask you to do a favor for me then? You know, since I likely have to go fight another huge ass snake or something.”
“Anything, Sun God,” Bridget promised.
He pulled open the bottom drawer of the nightstand by his side of the bed and removed a small bag then handed it to Bridget. “Can you bring these to Goibniu and ask him to make two rings? One for my future wife and one for my future daughter?”
Bridget opened the bag and poured a few of the colorful stones into her open palm. She smiled at them and flipped them over in her hand. “You gave her this red one.”
“How did you know?”
She placed the stones back in the bag and shrugged. “I don’t always know how I sense some things. Perhaps it was just in the back of your mind. But I’ll make sure to ask him to use that one for Selena’s ring.”
Cameron felt another familiar presence—the most familiar in either world—and Bridget hurriedly stuffed the bag into her pocket before Selena could appear in their room.
“Cameron,” she said gently.
“Did he tell you anything else?” Cameron asked before she could finish whatever she’d wanted to say.
“Not really,” Selena answered.
“I’ll leave you two alone,” Bridget interjected. She kissed Selena’s cheek before leaving, but Selena hardly noticed.
“He was able to offer us some hope,” Selena finished. “Sort of.”
“Sort of…” Cameron repeated.
“There is someone who might be able to tell us why Semias can predict so little about our daughter,” Selena said slowly.
“Oh God,” Cameron groaned. “Lugh.”
“Exactly,” she sighed. “And we have absolutely no idea how to find him.”
Chapter Three
Night had fallen by the time the triune of Irish gods returned to a motel on the outskirts of Baton Rouge where the rest of their group had rented several rooms in preparation for yet another search in the Basin for the gods who continued to evade them. London and Thor, who had been joined by his war god, Tyr, sat on opposite beds scowling at the television and occasionally yelling or cheering but never at the same time.
Cameron glanced at the screen to see who was playing.
“London,” he warned, “I swear to God, if you’re rooting for Alabama…”
“Hell no!” she interrupted. “And I don’t know which god you’re swearing to, but it doesn’t matter. No self-respecting college football fan roots for Alabama.” She shot Thor a fierce, mischievous look, and Thor returned it.
“One conference loss,” Thor told her. “Tell me: how many losses does Florida have?”
“God,” Selena groaned. “Not more football.”
Cameron crossed his arms over his chest and scowled at them both. “Florida and Alabama? That’s it. You’re both banished.”
“Can I stay if I’m a Notre Dame fan?” Nemain asked.
“Why are you a Notre Dame fan?” Cameron asked back. “When’s the last time anybody cared about Notre Dame?”
“When they made that movie,” Badb supplied helpfully.
Cameron nodded seriously. “Tyr, this is your only chance. Don’t screw it up. Who’s your favorite team?”
“Um,” Tyr stammered. “I, uh, don’t like football.”
“You’re my new favorite god,” Selena told him.
Tyr smiled at her, but Ukko and Jasper’s sudden appearance in the room surprised them all and diverted their attention away from the game. “Of course you’re all sitting around arguing about sports when we have an increasingly longer and longer list of gods to worry about,” Ukko muttered.
Jasper’s eyes drifted to the television and didn’t move. “Great,” he mumbled. “Bama’s up. If this gets any worse, you should totally smite this television, Cameron. Or that team.”
“He’s not smiting an entire team of college kids,” Selena scolded.
Jasper just lifted a shoulder at her but continued to watch the game.
Cameron’s own attention had returned to the TV, and he found it difficult to look away as well. “Aw, come on!” he yelled. “They let them get the first down from fourth and three!”
“Time to start smiting,” Jasper agreed.
“Can I help?” London asked.
Jasper nodded so Selena scolded them all again.
Only Badb seemed focused on finding out what Ukko and Jasper had learned in D.C.
“Please tell me the President decided to stay out of our business,” Badb pleaded.
“Um,” Jasper responded. He glanced away from the television to look at Badb before lowering his eyes. “It’s worse than we thought, actually.”
“How can it be worse?” Badb groaned.
Ukko grunted and narrowed his eyes. “NATO, that’s how. Apparently, only two member countries voted against involving forces at any sign of provocation by either Loki or Huitzilopochtli.”
“Dude,” Cameron hissed at Jasper, “why did you have to tell them about any of these gods?”
“Because it’s my job!” Jasper protested. “The New Pantheon is a government agency, you know. I have to answer to the President!”
“Bet Ukko didn’t answer to the President,” Cameron mumbled.
Ukko just shrugged.
“They don’t know what’s been happening in the Basin then,” Selena decided. “They could easily consider that a provocation.”
“They know some of what you’ve been doing there,” Jasper said. “The fire that killed Bašmu attracted news reporters from all over the country. But there’s a big difference between fighting giant serpents and wiping out several square miles of a national refuge.”
“That wasn’t our fault,” Cameron reminded him.
“And destruction of a forest is nothing compared to the loss of life that will occur if humans get involved,” Nemain insisted. “Don’t they understand even their militaries can’t compete against gods?”
“Obviously not,” Ukko responded bitterly. “I spent decades helping these bastards, and suddenly, they think they know better than me? Let them learn the hard way then. I’m done.”
“Ukko,” Selena protested but Ukko cut her off.
“No, Selena,” he said. “In their minds, we’ve always been a hazard to this world, what they think is their world and theirs alone. That’s why the government started the New Pantheon in the first place. They wanted to keep tabs on us. I thought we’d developed a mutual understanding of one another, but we’ll always be a danger in their minds. They’d just as soon wipe us out along with gods like Loki and Huitzilopochtli. I’m glad I quit. And I
’m sorry I left this mess in Jasper’s hands.”
Ukko took a deep breath and finally glanced at the television no one was watching anymore. “Be careful,” he cautioned. “I’m afraid you’re on your own.”
Selena sighed, but Ukko was already gone.
All of the gods stared helplessly at the empty spot where the Finnish god had been standing seconds before. Even though Tyr had joined them, they had just lost a powerful god who would have been a valuable asset in tracking down Loki and Loviatar, and without him, their situation seemed unbearably impossible. Selena collapsed heavily onto the edge of the mattress near Nemain, who put an arm around her and tried to assure her they could prevent a catastrophe and tremendous loss of life by focusing on finding Loki and Loviatar first. Huitzilopochtli had been planning his coup for centuries, and it seemed unlikely he’d make his presence known to the world before he had the power of the two gods he wanted most.
Jasper rubbed his eyes and stifled a yawn. “London, Ukko was my… ride. Can you get me back to Houston? I’ve got to brief my own agents so we can figure out how to tackle this problem before NATO goes ape-shit over some minor thing you gods do to each other all the time.”
London swung her legs over the edge of the other mattress and nodded slowly at her boss. Cameron was pretty sure he’d never seen the young goddess look so serious. He wondered if he had the same expression on his face, too.
“I know you don’t all trust me,” she said. “I’ve always been a jokester. I can’t help it. But I’m nothing like Loki, and I joined the New Pantheon because I don’t want to see people get hurt. I thought I could help people. If NATO goes through with this…”
“The U.S. has enough weight that if Loki and Loviatar show up here, it’s unlikely NATO forces will be called out first,” Jasper explained. “They’d be a last resort if our own military fails.”
Cameron snorted and threw his hands up, exasperated and angry with the absurdity of their situation and the stupidity of the men in charge of safeguarding this world. “If the U.S. military can’t handle two gods, what the hell makes them think any military can?”
The Battle Cry (The Guardians of Tara Book 2) Page 2