Celtics Rising: Birth of an Oracle

by Leo Charles Taylor

  The warrior arrested his movements, nodded his head in acknowledgement of the bird, and returned the blade to the safety of its ethereal sheath. He didn't know who this witch was, but she didn't fear him, and that gave him great pause.

  The black bird cawed again and then turned its head back to the building before it. This time, it made no pretense about what it was watching. It looked once more at Camulas, gave an odd wink, then took to the air. It began to circle the area, climbing higher and higher. Camulas knew it would eventually reach James' floor, and he watched it as it did. More than one pass was made by the avian, but with no place to land, the bird eventually perched on a building across the street. From there, it continued it surveillance.

  It was a worried and vigilant Camulas that Arinai discovered when she made her way down the street and to his position. She followed his gaze and soon saw the bird that had his attention. She attempted to soothe it with music. The attempt was as unsuccessful as she knew it would be. The bird didn't even flinch at her attempt, a fact that she found annoying.

  "It could have at least acknowledged my power," she told Camulas.

  "The other two are gone. They took off into the night."

  "Probably just regular crows," she said, more with hope than actual belief in her statement.

  Camulas growled as he considered the situation. Arinai calmed him by putting a hand to his arm and offering encouragement.

  "I believe I have found a useful test for our oracle," Arinai said. "If you’ll wait here, I'll see just how powerful he has become."

  "If he can’t pierce your persona, what makes you think he can pierce hers?" Camulas asked.

  Arinai smiled as she stepped away and called back to her friend.

  "You forget," she said with arrogance, "we’ve been specifically trained to block him."

  "We may not be the only ones," he yelled back in response. Camulas was both amused and worried by the slight hitch in her step. She obviously hadn’t considered that fact.

  Arinai entered the building, ushered in kindly by the lobby attendant, who was then gracious enough to use his own card to grant her access to the elevators. She got off on James' floor and knocked on his door. It took several tries but he eventually opened for her. He was very tired and slightly disheveled. Nodding his head and without saying a word, he stepped aside and allowed her access. She thanked him, and made her way to the living room. The mess in the kitchen was unexpected.

  "Vera?" she asked.

  James nodded.

  "How is she?"

  "She’s resting. I checked on her a few minutes ago. I think she’ll be ok. I just wish I could help her more."

  "May I see her?"

  James nodded his head and, being too tired to participate, went back to his chair. When Arinai found her, Vera was indeed resting. The girl's breathing was labored, but all the other signs were good, including her appetite. It was obvious that she had eaten a great deal; the amount of garbage around the bed revealed that fact.

  She must have been famished, thought Arinai.

  The goddess checked the extremities and was pleased to find everything in order. It was upon examining the wrists that she found something odd. Arinai paused to examine the ligaments.

  Oh, I know this, she thought to herself as she grew apprehensive.

  She had encountered it before, although not in this exact form. Arinai felt along the wrist and arm, pressing at points along the way. She eventually found what she feared, and as she stimulated the area, Vera's hands began to deform. Bone could be felt to distend and the skin changed hue and texture. Arinai quickly let go; she didn't wish to wake this sleeping creature. She then took a few moments to verify another suspicion. It didn't take long; the feet shared the same deformation as the arms.

  Backing away, she watched Vera sleep. The loud labored breathing told her that this was a beast that needed its rest. Whatever Vera was becoming, she wasn’t done becoming it.

  "And the torch passes," Arinai whispered, recalling her own past—recalling her own birth.

  She had feared this might happen. The rise of this age might well be similar in form to the rise of the last. And that rise had left little room for the ancients of the prior ages. Vera was something new, and the new often replaced the old—a fact that could well mean the extinction of all of them. All except James and Vera who were the children of this new age.

  Arinai left the room, making sure to close the door for privacy. She did not need Vera learning anything that might make it back to Badir. When she returned to James, she found him in his chair—he had fallen back asleep—and much like the previous day, it was very early or very late depending on how one looked at it. She woke him, and he arose slowly. He smiled at her, and she found that she enjoyed producing that smile.

  "Coffee," he said in a hoarse voice.

  She returned his smile before taking the time to learn his kitchen well enough to brew the drink. While she did, he rubbed his eyes and made his way to a stool at the island.

  "This place is a mess," she commented.

  "I know," he said, "just step around it or kick it to the side. I’ll clean it later. So, what brings you here at this ungodly hour, anyway?"

  Arinai raised her eyebrows at the phrase, ungodly hour. She laughed when she saw his smirk. He had an odd sense of humor, and as she smiled and chuckled to herself, she decided that she liked it.

  "There was a raven outside. I was hoping that you could probe it for me."

  "A raven?" he asked, tiredly.

  "Yes, a raven. It was outside with companion crows. Those have since gone, but I think the raven is still here. You may be able to see it from your window—if it hasn’t left."

  James looked at her with very tired eyes and a face that expressed disbelief. Arinai found a coffee cup and waited for the pot to brew so that she could fill it.

  "Oracle,” Arinai said as she stared at the coffee pot. “The ravens of our lore are very powerful. The Morrigan was a three souled entity hidden within the dark magic of that bird. She rained cruelty upon our people for a very long time. And she wasn’t the only one. The raven form is a very powerful demon, varied in its cruelty as well as its powers. The only consistent trait is that they always represent women. However, for all of that variety, neither Camulas nor I have much effect on them. Camulas might be able to defeat one with his sword, but their ability to change shape and wield magic makes that very difficult, and it’s not a battle he would relish to engage in. I could go on, but suffice it to say, there is one of these demons outside of your building."

  Arinai pulled the pot, filled the cup, and offered the coffee to James, reaching across the island as she did.

  "Got it," he said as he took the cup. "Bad bird.”

  James shrugged his shoulders and figured, why the hell not. Taking his coffee with him, as every aspiring oracle should, he made his way to the window and looked out. He couldn’t see a crow; it was still dark and a few hours until sunrise.

  "I don't believe in magic either," he said loudly as he added another item to the list of things he didn't believe in. Arinai didn't disappoint him in her response.

  "Neither do I."

  James chuckled to himself, took a sip of coffee and turned his attention back to the city and the bad bird he was meant to locate. Rather than physically searching, he set about feeling for the demon. To his amazement, he felt several.

  "Oh, wow!" he whispered as he felt the beings whose presence were becoming easy for him to find.

  There was a Dearg, a succubus, and even a lycan. To those ranks he could now add a banshee, a sidhe, and a hell hound; the large dog was masquerading as a Saint Bernard, and even sported a City of Seattle dog tag.

  Oh, very clever, thought James as his mind envisioned the dog in the alley across the street.

  The raven was found perched on the opposite building. When he felt it, he knew he had been detected in return; the raven's conscience turned to him. It was powerful, perhaps as powerful as Arin
ai and Camulas, but for some reason he could see into its mind—a feat he had yet to perform on Arinai.

  At first it was murky, but as he concentrated, he could discern images, and then sounds could be heard. The raven fought his intrusion, but he pressed on. It was a battle of wills, one the raven was more experienced with, but one that James, for some reason, was winning.

  He pushed and the demon pushed back, much like a child against its parent. The fight was useless and James knew it; he could sense that the raven knew it as well. While she was powerful, his was an attack that she was unaccustomed to.

  The fight changed suddenly when the floodgates of the raven's mind opened, and James' thoughts rushed inward. He was momentarily stunned by the action. It was as if he had been pushing against a door only to have it open rapidly. However, now that he was through it, he found that he was trapped.

  His mind was wrapped in feelings and memories and passions that weren’t his own, and a singular foreign thought entered his mind. Hello, lover, the beast said with an odd sense of mischievousness. This thing was welcoming him with glee, and James feared that wickedness.

  He could feel the power of the demon and even understood her play. She knew she couldn’t resist him forever and therefore had allowed him in. Now that he was in her mind, she held him tightly, showing him what she wanted him to see. He saw people burned at the stake, children murdered, battles of magic, dark caverns filled with bones, and many other cruel images. The smells hit him next, and his mind recoiled as he sensed the stench of sewered alleys, burning flesh, and the rot of the dead. The raven reveled in it. James felt like he would vomit.

  It took a moment, but James was able to extricate his mind, ripping himself from the bird's chaotic emotions. When he did, he found that his hand was to the window, his coffee was on the ground, and Arinai was at his side.

  "What happened? Did you see her? Do you know who she is?"

  "That thing is evil," he said as he caught his breath. "It doesn’t know who I am, but it now knows some of my power. I could feel that it wants to kill me or control me. Power is all it craves, and inflicting pain gives it pleasure."

  "A name, did you get its name?" Arinai asked earnestly.

  She was practically pleading and James could sense it. He stood more to attention and thought for a moment, trying to recall the images without adding emotional strife; he needed a disconnect from the horrors he had seen.

  "Deboin,” he said, “her name is Deboin."

  Arinai sighed in relief.

  "It's not the Morrigan," she said, apparently happy with that fact.

  Arinai then begged for all of the details, and James was happy to comply. They fetched more coffee, and he told her everything that he could remember. Arinai wasn’t amused. Whoever this Deboin was, she was powerful.

  When he was finished with his tale of the raven, James brought Arinai up to speed with the developments of Vera. The goddess listened, and then comforted her oracle.

  "James," she said, using his first name very purposely. "She doesn’t hate you. She is angry and upset. She is also in mourning. I can sense that in her. She lost her family, and her world is changing. To be honest, I'm amazed that she isn't going insane. For someone so young, she is surprisingly strong."

  James straightened up slightly at the comment about Vera's age.

  "Do you think she is too young for me?" he asked absentmindedly.

  Arinai replied by inquiring why he asked. James then told her of the conversation he had had with Vera's father. He had originally omitted that part of the evening from his account of Badir's attack; it hadn’t been relevant at the time. Arinai nodded in understanding and smiled slightly.

  "James, when I was younger than her I had already killed a man. He was a Roman Centurion that Camulas allowed to live long enough so that I could take his head."

  James appeared shocked.

  "Don’t be so alarmed," she said."The Roman legions were all men, but the lands they invaded had many female warriors. While I wasn’t a warrior per se, I wasn’t adverse to the task. I had been raised on the stories of Boudicca, as had all our people. She was a warrior princess from Briton, the land across the water, and the Roman legions rued the day they flogged her and raped her daughters. She led armies against their legions and fought against many Romans, leading them to their deaths. She died long before I was born, but she serves the point. The Keltoi women are warriors, and in the heat of battle, I took a man's head, and that night Camulas took my virginity. A day of battle and a night of sex led to a very sore body the next morning."

  James listened to her tale as he had before: in fascination. He had forgotten the original topic, but Arinai reminded him.

  "Vera will come around,” she said. “She is hurt, and the best thing you can do is to just be there for her. And no, I don’t think she is too young for you. She is a willing woman, and that’s all you need to know."

  James was doubtful with regard to Vera's anger and couldn’t respond, although he did appreciate the comfort.

  "Hey," Arinai said as she moved to him. "It will be okay," she said reassuringly.

  James smiled weakly, then took Arinai carefully in his arms. He hugged her and thanked her for her kind words. She smiled, hugged him back, and told him that he was welcome. He kissed her head softly, grateful that he had support at this troubling time.

  "Traitor!" came a loud call as the lights flickered before burning brightly and then going dark.

  "Liar!" came another accusation, and James felt himself thrown away from Arinai. He hit the window and bounced back to the floor.

  "Coward!"

  This time he felt himself picked up and thrown across the room. He couldn’t see his attacker, but there was no doubt it was Vera. Arinai tried to reach James, but a powerful motion threw her over the island and into the refrigerator. She hit it hard and landed awkwardly.

  When he tried to regain his footing, James felt his throat tighten as a strong grip took hold and began to lift him. It wasn’t a human hand; he could feel the leathery skin as he fought for air and attempted to pull himself free.

  A cacophony of noise erupted in his ears, causing immediate pain, and he found himself ignoring the grip on his throat as he put his hands to his ears. He wasn’t the only one who had to protect against the auditory onslaught. Vera released her grip, and James fell to the ground. He kept his hands to his head, but the noise pierced his skull. James cried out at the dissonant sounds as if they could be reasoned with. He had never experienced such pain. Apparently neither had Vera. She could be seen fading in and out of visual range, but remaining mostly in shadow form; she could now be located, just not seen clearly.

  A loud thump could be heard as she threw herself at the glass outer wall of the apartment. It held. Again she tried, and again it held. A frustrated and piercing shriek cut thru the room, and both sounds vied for dominance. James cried out in pain as both tones pierced his mind.

  He looked toward the kitchen. In the darkness, he could see Arinai's form. She was standing and holding her own. She didn't move. She simply stared in the direction of the anguishing figure of Vera. James was in pain and yelled for it to stop. It didn't, but it did change. The dissonance calmed and became more peaceful, and with the peace, James began to relax. He hadn’t realized how hard he was breathing, but now, as the sounds dissipated and became serene, he calmed and his breath slowed. Vera wasn’t so easily swayed. She let out another shriek. It hit his ears as hard as the raucous music had, and he was once again in pain.

  A shadowy form moved swiftly across the room and Arinai was physically hit by something. Once again, she bounced against the kitchen appliances. Before she could regain her footing and continue her musical attack, the front door flung open, ripping it halfway off its hinges. A figure could be heard at the building's emergency stairwell, then racing down the metal stairs. In the matter of a few seconds, the apartment was eerily silent.

  James stood slowly. Arinai was soon at his side and he
lped him get to a chair. After a moment, James tried to stand, but Arinai didn't allow it.

  "I have to go after her," he said.

  "I wouldn't suggest it."

  "Well, I'm going anyway."

  "No!" Arinai cried. "You can’t help her. She is angry and feels betrayed. This was all a misunderstanding, but she won't see it that way, at least not yet. You’ll need to wait until she calms down. Going after her now will only make matters worse. We must let her go and pray that she doesn’t harm herself or others. Humans don’t take kindly to our species' wanton acts of destruction."

  James knew that Arinai was right, and even if he could muster the strength, he should wait until later.

  "Can you feel her?" Arinai asked. "Is she safe?"

  James calmed and reached out to Vera. She was hard to find—she seemed to have a natural immunity to him—but while she was difficult to locate, this difficulty was varied from what he experienced with Arinai. With her, he felt active resistance; with Vera, it was just challenging to feel her presence at all. He did eventually find her, and he smiled when he did. She was angry but safe. When he realized where she was, he gasped.

  "What is it?"

  "She’s fine, but she's at 8th and Pine."

  "Is that bad?" Arinai asked.

  "Arinai, 8th and Pine is 6 blocks from here. I can also feel her at height. She's on top of a building somewhere,” he said, giving Arinai a look of disbelief. “She has been gone less than a minute. How in the hell did she get that far that fast?"

  "Many of our species move at great speed. It’s not uncommon."

  James still couldn’t read Arinai's mind, but he could discern information from her human attributes, and he sensed that she was lying. Or at the very least, she was not telling him the whole truth. Arinai smiled and held to her statement. She hadn’t lied. Many of their species could move rapidly. However, very few could move that rapidly, and James sensed the truth from her.