Aloft

by J F Rogers

  Morrigan’s sisters brought the only source of comfort and belonging. But none brought love. No love existed in this place.

  I continued racing through the endless cavern of Morrigan’s memories and emotions, collected over thousands of years. How would I find a small amulet in such a place? What if I got trapped in here? Forever?

  Chapter Forty-Three

  ◊◊◊

  BURNING SHIPS. FALLEN BODIES in pools of blood. A large man with an enormous stomach and a Viking helmet, laughing like he’d just witnessed his nemesis’s demise made me pause. A beautiful woman with a pregnant belly emerged behind him. A trail of many women with pregnant bellies followed.

  Was I supposed to learn something from this? Or were they distractions keeping me from my quest?

  Nothing solid, no points of reference helped me navigate. Was I walking in a straight line or circles? Death and destruction followed wherever I went, bringing a sick satisfaction. No. Worse. A sadistic joy and an insatiable hunger for revenge that made me want to puke.

  The only source of light came from the glow pulsing from my hands, threatening to fade. Did Morrigan sense my presence? She had to.

  A picture of Morrigan emerged from the cloud, and the sensations shifted as if someone else’s emotions intermingled with hers. Was I nearing the place where the witches merged?

  God, how will I find the zpět?

  The space recoiled with rage, lifting me on a billowy cloud, tossing me, as if wanting to purge me. I flew through the void and tucked into a roll as I landed. Whatever made up this space, gravity didn’t work the same here. It was like being harnessed on a trampoline. A whirlwind swept me up again, then dropped me. I fell with a soft thud.

  A stream of smoke came at me. As if realizing tossing me didn’t work, the space switched tactics. I ducked. Another came at me, then a series of strikes. I scampered away from each one.

  I stood, arms splayed, eyes darting, ready for another onslaught. Who knew the torture I’d endured from Maili’s beloved contraptions would come in handy? I hoped I’d have a chance to thank her.

  Until then, I had to figure out what was happening. Why the sudden assault? Whatever it was attacked when I first arrived. Could that be because Morrigan wanted to reject the light I brought with me? But then it left me alone. Why barrage me now? Was I getting close to the zpět? Or was it because I prayed?

  I should test it.

  God, please lead me to the zpět.

  Again, the swirling cloud of memories acted like a tormented bull, desperate to purge itself of the rider clinging to its back. It hoisted me into the air and threw me, but it was a wasted effort. I landed safely. And it needn’t disorient me. There was no point of reference in which to get my bearings. This was the ideal place to get lost.

  I moved forward. Whether in a circle or a straight line, well, I had no way of knowing. But something shimmered up ahead. Like a moth to a light, it drew me in, taking shape as I neared. A window, like the one in my dreams. I closed in with caution. Could this be where their minds merged, where God had said I’d find the zpět?

  I searched around the portal, groping the floor with my glowing hands. But I didn’t find anything. Either this wasn’t the place or…

  If this was it, I only had one option—crawl through the window. I gulped.

  I inched toward the thing and poked my head through. Black, like this one. Should I enter? What if it wasn’t the right place? What if it was another level of Morrigan’s consciousness and I fell deeper and deeper into her warped mind?

  My glow dimmed.

  No, God wouldn’t steer me wrong. This had to be it. The glow pulsed, strengthening with my faith. I’d have to trust God brought me here for a reason and jump in.

  I took several deep breaths, calming my mind, and stepped through the portal into the blackness.

  Three windows surrounded me. Though they were bright, they couldn’t penetrate the darkness. I’d come through the closest one, but I didn’t dare move from the spot. If I searched the darkness or tried another window, I’d lose track of which I’d come through. There was nothing to orient myself. What if I needed to return this way?

  If only I had something to mark the correct exit! But I had nothing.

  Taking another deep breath and willing my dulled hands to reignite, I let go and padded to the center. God would see me through… somehow.

  I shuffled forward, groping the darkness. My elbow bumped into something rough. I used my glowing hands to see the pillar and ran my fingers along the cold stone until I reached the top. I bumped something. It clanged on top of the pedestal. Could it be? I held my breath. Something circular lay on its surface. My heart squealed, daring to hope this was the zpět. It had to be. Isn’t this where God said it would be?

  I snatched it up, and a cord dangled, hitting the back of my hand. Yes, this was it. I put it around my neck, and it clanged against Drochaid’s replacement, making me feel like an Olympic athlete with a collection of medals.

  The floor quaked, and I fell. I fought to stand in the dark. The windows pulsed and faded as if warning me to get out. Which one had I come through?

  The ground pitched again.

  God, help me choose the right one.

  The lights of the furthest window stopped swirling and dripped and faded like the aftereffect of raining fireworks. The whole thing melted and disappeared. My heart squeezed into my throat, choking me. The window to the right of the one that had disappeared gave a final pulse before dissolving like the first.

  I jumped up to the last window before it vanished. Then I clamored through, dropping over the other side. I pulled my legs over the edge and lay there panting as the window evaporated. Smoky memories whirled around me. This had better be Morrigan’s head.

  The bitterness and anger stuffing the cavern intensified. A scream tore through the clouds. I covered my ears and ducked as it swooped near. Visions of me being murdered in various ways squelched the sadness and images of Morrigan’s sisters. So, these things weren’t just memories, but imagination as well. Desires.

  If Morrigan didn’t want me dead before, she did now.

  I had to get back to where I belonged. But how? What if that window dissolved like the others?

  The hazy thoughts seemed to understand my predicament. They swelled and slithered together like a serpent. The head hurled itself at me. I sidestepped it, and the thing dissipated.

  Did she know I invaded her conscience? Was she looking for a way to exterminate me?

  I ran through the nebula, creating a foggy wake.

  God, You got me here. With Your help, I found the zpět. I trust You to get me out.

  I glanced at the additional amulet just to be sure it was the zpět. Either that or it was a carbon copy. The thing lit up. A beam of light shot out, like a super-focused flashlight into the fog. I ran, only able to see a few feet at a time, but with each step, I saw just enough to take the next steps, keeping my eyes on the light and avoiding the violence attempting to take shape.

  The foundation shook as it had where I’d found the zpět, and I faltered, regained my footing, and kept going. Another quake threw me. I tried to get up, but the ground rose, ballooning into an ever-steepening hill. On my hands and knees now, I tried to crawl, but I kept sliding.

  I had to keep going, focusing on the light. But I couldn’t scale the mounting slope. Smooth with no footholds. I slid a few more feet. This was worse than Maili’s ever-changing so-called training contraption. I gritted my teeth and lunged up the incline, then fell on my face and slid to the bottom.

  “Agh!” I smacked the floor, then peeled myself up to stand on the level ground behind me. The zpět’s light aimed upward, over the hill. I raised my glowing hand. Everything just looked black. There was no way to tell if the mound had any scalable nooks. Could I go around? Images of myself in various stages of death hedged me in on both sides. Disturbingly creative means. Nice work, Morrigan, you sick freak
. Bile rose in my throat.

  Take hold.

  Was that God? Even in here? Take hold? Of what?

  I reached for the zpět. The blaze streaming from it was solid, like a glowing rope. I latched on, and it retracted as if attached to a winch. It pulled me up over the hill, through the smoke, toward a crumbling window.

  Oh no! Don’t disappear!

  I clutched the glowing rope as it dragged me across the expanse. My gut wrenched at the agonizingly slow pace. Had I taken too long? My fingers tingled, tempting me to let go and run. But no. Something told me to hold on even as I watched the window dissolve.

  The beam delivered me to the window and extinguished. I scrambled to my feet and dove headfirst through the melting portal onto the field by the shore.

  I caught my fall and turned to see the last of the dripping light. The swirling lights that had once been a gateway to Aodan, then Alastar, and finally to Morrigan disintegrated like the others. I dropped onto my back. “Phew!” That was close. Too close. I placed a hand on my heart, expecting to feel it racing. In this place, I didn’t need to catch my breath. Still, I needed to rest from the mind trip. Smoky tendrils of Morrigan’s negative energy, cut off from their source, recoiled above me and burst into tiny puffs that rained and evaporated midair.

  It was gone.

  The sun shone once again. Hope permeated the space. Sparkles shimmered on the water. I took a deep breath. It was over.

  Thank You, God.

  The bright sky pulsed. Well done, my good and faithful servant.

  Chapter Forty-Four

  ◊◊◊

  I WOKE IN THE center of the pentagram. As if little time had passed while I was fighting Morrigan’s demons. Had I died?

  I touched the amulet. Both were there, Drochaid’s replacement and the zpět.

  The witchy sisters gawked. Their eyes wide, mouths open yet rendered mute.

  Morrigan found her voice. “Noooo!” She rushed my enclosure, both fists poised in the air, ready to strike. But she slipped past the barrier onto the pentagram. I crab-walked from her, then scurried to stand, keeping as much distance as possible before she strangled me.

  The two sisters dashed to her side.

  I backed away, right out of the circle. Whatever I did in Morrigan’s mind must’ve affected her spell here. The barrier had broken. I continued my retreat as the sisters skulked closer, caging me in. Their sinister eyes bent only on evil. And their gnarled fingers ready to mutilate me.

  My brothers writhed against their invisible bonds. Too bad whatever I’d done hadn’t eliminated that spell too. How would I escape these witches now? I had the zpět. Wasn’t that enough?

  Wait. Hadn’t God told me to give it to Him? I’d left the dream space too soon. Now what should I do? My heart squeezed, and air stilled in my lungs as the sisters closed in.

  “Back away from her!” Pepin materialized between us. Where had he come from?

  The witches paused, startled by the small man stepping between them and their revenge.

  Morrigan’s black eyes narrowed. “Kill him.”

  The pech showed no fear. He widened his stance as if expecting them. He reached out to something. “Grab them!”

  Who was he talking to?

  Pepin latched on to Macha and disappeared. Morrigan and Badb disappeared too.

  I turned to my brothers and Kai. “What happened?”

  They shook their heads and fought their binds. Then, as if the bonds magically fell away, Kai pitched forward, catching himself before toppling.

  He dashed to my side, grabbed my arm, and inspected my wrist. The wound had stopped bleeding. I must not have cut myself as deep as I thought.

  “I’ll fetch a bandage.” Alastar rummaged around the shelves, toppling things in his mad hunt. “This will work.”

  Fingers tender, Kai touched my face. “Are you all right?”

  “I think so. But—”

  He grasped my chin and kissed my lips. Whatever I was going to say a distant memory as his soft lips lit everything within me on fire.

  He released me, his soulful eyes peering into mine. Pink coloring his cheeks, his dimples deepened.

  Alastar and Declan stood frozen, eyes wide. Cheesecloth dangled from Alastar’s hand. He glanced down. Then, as if remembering what he’d been doing, he stepped up to wrap my wound, stifling a smile as he tied the bandage.

  Higher-level brain functioning returned. “What happened? Where did Pepin come from? And where’d he go with the witches?”

  “I don’t know.” Alastar tied the bandage on my wrist. “But his timing was ideal.”

  “A little late if you ask me.” Kai held my arm in a tender grip. “Can you stand?”

  “I think so.”

  Kai and Declan helped me to a chair.

  “Where’d you get that?” Kai pointed to the zpět. “Is that—?”

  “The zpět. Yes.”

  Alastar, Declan, and Kai exchanged glances, mouths agape.

  “How’d you find it?” Alastar asked.

  “You’d never believe me if I told you.”

  “Try us.”

  As I opened my mouth, Pepin reappeared and reached for me. “Come with us.”

  Declan stepped forward, hands on his hips. “What do you need her for? She’s lost a lot of blood.”

  Despite that fact, I wasn’t woozy.

  “We need her to finish this.” Pepin wagged his sausage fingers in the air, impatient for me to grab hold, his amber eyes pleading. “Come with us if you want. But everyone needs to link hands.”

  Were the pech using Turas?

  Once my brothers, Kai, and me linked hands, Pepin snagged mine. The moment we connected, more pech stood in our midst with Drochaid hovering in the air before one. He brought us to April 24, 1521 BC, when Stonehenge was whole and unplugged Drochaid from the stone.

  “What are you doing?” Fear crept into my throat, choking me as I searched beyond the outer circle for demons, waiting for despair to overtake me. “We can’t stay here.”

  “It’s safe for the time being.” Pepin moved to the edge of the inner circle. “To finish God’s work.”

  “What are you talking about?” I followed him, keeping my eyes peeled for danger.

  “The angels are waging war with the demons, holding them back. Morrigan and her sisters are being contained until you return the zpět.” Pepin spun around, eyes wide. “Where are they?”

  My heart sank. “But I missed my chance. I was supposed to give it to God.”

  Pepin paused his frantic search. “You haven’t missed anything. You’re to give it to the angel, as he instructed.” He continued his hurried pace along the inner circle.

  “What if it’s a trick?” I chased after him. “What if the demons disguise themselves to get the zpět back?”

  “Bah.” Pepin waved me off with a flick of his wrist. “That’s not—”

  Bright light flashed before us, flickering. An angel took shape within the light.

  Pepin stopped short, and I ran into him, catching myself on his shoulders. He dropped to his knees before the celestial being, and I did the same, keeping Pepin between us. If he’d been about to say it wasn’t possible for a demon to disguise himself as an angel, he was right. There was something dangerous that instilled fear, but beyond that, a hope no demon could fake.

  “Fear not. You have done well. The demons are secure, but we’ll need the zpět to ensure their eternal imprisonment.” The angel closed the gap, his light brightening and dimming as if a kid played with the dimmer switch. “Have you brought it with you?”

  “Yes.” Pepin bowed. “Fallon has it.”

  “Do not worship me.” He stepped closer. “I’m only an angel. God’s messenger.”

  Pepin cleared his throat. His posture shifted from a worshipful bow to a cower.

  I understood why he bowed. This creature wasn’t God, but his persona commanded respect. He shone as if he b
asked in God’s presence regularly. What must it be like to stand before God? I shied from him as he neared.

  “Do not be afraid, Fallon.” He reached out. “I’ve come to destroy the zpět and return Morrigan, Macha, and Badb to Hades for eternity.”

  I removed the zpět from my neck and handed it to him. Our hands touched for a moment. Power and love surged from him to me, erasing the fear. The reality of heaven and everything God promised pulsed through me.

  The angel left the circle. “Remember to use Turas with caution. And only for God’s glory.” He leveled his gaze at me. The light surrounding him intensified and enlarged, then disappeared with the angel.

  Chapter Forty-Five

  ◊◊◊

  I TURNED TO PEPIN. “What was that? How did you get Turas back?”

  A slow smile lifted the edges of Pepin’s beard and crinkled his eyes. “That’s why we needed Drochaid.”

  “You mean it wasn’t just a gesture of good faith toward your people?” I placed my hands on my hips.

  “Well, it was.” Pepin shrugged. “While the armies marched this way to face Morrigan, a remnant returned the way we’d come, across the seas to the selkie lands.”

  “But not you.”

  “Of course not.” A scoff accompanied his crossed arms. “We were concerned my disappearance might rouse your suspicion.” He wagged a finger at me. “You’re not one to let things go. If you wondered where I’d gone and connected it with my taking Drochaid, you might suspect I’d gone for Turas. Then Morrigan would know, and we’d lose the surprise. We couldn’t chance her intercepting our plans. The selkie knew the way, and I gave instructions how to work Turas once they arrived. Many of them had seen it in action when we reclaimed Bandia.”

  “And you got out of having to travel overseas,” I said.

  “Yes, well. That did work out in my favor, didn’t it?” His smile returning, he flourished a chunky bow.

  “Thank God.” I dropped onto a rock as if I’d lost the energy to keep standing. “If you hadn’t shown up when you did… ” A shudder ran through me.