We spent most of our private dinner with our hosts in silence at first. I shifted my food around with my knife. While I hadn’t drank my dreamwalking tea yet, Maya’s stringent self-denial had a strange effect on my appetite. My focus turned anywhere but the food on my plate or the mead in my cup. I would have to fill my belly after I woke next.

“Banal conversation doesn’t seem to be warming you to my household, Lord Midir.” Finvarra slashed his knife into the hunk of beef on his plate. He sliced a corner off and tossed it into his mouth.

“Did you come to dangle your superior position or your human wife in front of my husband?” Una’s toe nudged my calf under the table. “Either way, you have my thanks for the entertainment.”

I tucked my legs under the bench as I watched the mead swirl within my cup. Perhaps if I avoided eye-contact with Una, she would give up her game.

“Nothing banal has ever thrilled me, your majesty.” Father sliced through his smaller portion of pork and his knife cut smoother than Finvarra’s. “And I came to speak of what will happen if I am elected, Queen Una.”

“What will happen?” Finvarra propped his elbows on the edge of the table. “You were always so eager to please your elders, Lord Midir. I remember when Bodb turned the might of Tir Na Nog against your many sons after they refused to submit to him. You let him do so with hardly any protest. That reputation leads me to believe you will fall in line with his edicts and his philosophy without hesitation.”

“My family is in power and has been for quite some time.” Father thrust his knife into his meat, not bringing it to his mouth for a long moment as he stared Finvarra down. “A united front is crucial for a united people.”

“You are a ruler of many,” Mother said with her genial smile. “Surely you understand the importance of you and Lady Una, as an example, showing that you are of one mind to your subjects. That is how it is with m’lord and his family.”

“Of course I understand the struggles of rule. I have led one of the more prosperous provinces since before the walls closed.” Finvarra’s dry expression softened toward Mother as he directed his full attention to her. It was too affectionate. His muddy irises radiated subtle power.

Una’s toe crept up and brushed my knee.

“Isn’t this supposed to be a diplomatic dinner?” I scooted my bench back and slid closer to Mother. “Can’t either of you keep your limbs and magic to yourself?”

“Hush, Little Key.” Finvarra flicked at my remark. “Your elders are speaking.”

“That’s my son and the next Lord over Bri Leith you’re speaking to. He is more than the Key Bearer,” Father interjected as he reached for his sword hilt.

“I know that.” Finvarra sighed as he reverted his gaze toward Father. “That doesn’t change that his power will revert to you, if you are elected. What do you intend to do with it?”

Una’s leg slid away and she crossed her ankles under her seat. For the moment she seemed sated, and gave me a pleased grin from across the table. I didn’t slide the bench back to its original place.

“I would make sure it isn’t abused by those who might expose our existence to the humans,” Father replied through gritted teeth. “It would be irresponsible to risk another mass slaughter of our people.”

“And you’re implying that I would be one of the abusers?” Finvarra glared.

“My lords, let us keep this civil. Midir, it is not proper to insult a generous host, even by implication.” Mother placed her hand over Father’s sword and addressed Finvarra next with a straight back. “Allow me to ask this, your majesty. Are m’lord’s comments unfounded?”

“I may have a reputation for ravishing a few too many human girls and spreading my spawn across the mortal regions of Connacht.” Finvarra shrugged and smirked at Mother, his meaning clear as a spring day. “What of it? Each one enjoyed the act as much as I did.”

“Was that before or after you drugged them with love potions?” I let the comment slip and crossed my arms over my chest. While Father may have wanted to win the election, that didn’t mean I had to help. I needed Riona to be able to make her way across Tir Na Nog. Subverting our sire seemed the best chance to make that happen.

“Daire of Bri Leith, Lord of Ivy, must I send you to our quarters?” Mother said, slipping into that authoritative tone that brought me to heel as a boy.

“No, Mother.” I shrank in the bench.

“Are you sure? Were he my child, I would have sent him there already,” Una said. “I’ll be happy to escort him for you.”

“I will handle my child myself.” Mother turned her stern warning on Una, as fierce as Father.

My chest warmed at the familiar protective treatment. I squeezed her hand under the table. Mother squeezed back.

“Let’s return to the subject at hand.” Father leaned against the table, letting go of his sword. “While I will not relent on keeping the Key’s power contained, I do intend to be more flexible than my older brother with requests. I understand his election and your opposition to him has split our line in twain. It would be better for both of us if we were to reunite it. The edicts would remain, but you could have more say in other matters. I intend to be fairer than Bodb, less strict about granting requests and favors to those who remain loyal.”

“What sorts of requests would those be?” Finvarra raised his eyebrows with genuine intrigue.

“Giving the boy more of a role, for instance.” Father gestured toward me. “What he describes from his visions of the modern mortal world is even more dangerous than before, but they also have marvels. We might be able to watch humanity for a time and consider mingling with them in limited quantities.”

I dug my nails into my trousers. Using the Key’s power to win Finvarra was solid strategy. Father would never actually grant that lecherous king free reign to kidnap as many human women as his loins desired. He could hint all he wanted, and feel secure knowing me and the Key would die after his election.

My eyelids drooped as Maya’s presence dozed off. My time had come.

“Excuse me.” I stood from the table and gave Finvarra and Una an obligatory bow. “I must take my leave.”

“So soon?” Una pouted.

“There are matters back in Bri Leith which demand my attention.” I wet my lips as I struggled for a vague enough excuse. “I have left them for too long.”

“The way he tends his gardens puts my work ethic to shame. If only he was that studious with combat, he would rival me.” Father glanced up at me with raised eyebrows. Was he checking to see if I meant to meet with Maya without outright asking? He meant to provide an excuse for my absence, of that I could be sure.

“Combat never did interest me, whereas I cannot deny the temptation of flora.” I answered his assistance with a subtle nod.

“Take the time you need.” Father looked back to his host. “I’ll come to collect you tonight before it becomes too late.”

“Yes, enjoy your errands.” Finvarra lit up as he returned to ogling my mother. Surely he didn’t think Father would leave her unprotected in such a viper’s nest.

“My wife will come along, as well,” Father added. “A night-time stroll will be refreshing.”

I walked down the hallway that led to our quarters, then jogged past the guards patrolling it. Maya’s spirit shouldn’t linger too long without me.

* * *

After drinking my concoction, I tucked Brigid’s mirror in my belt pouch and collapsed into my bed. While nerves tormented my mind, making the tea had drained my body. No amount of worrying would keep me awake for long. I lost consciousness for a long moment of dark nothingness.

A new jolt of energy spurred me to wake. I opened my awareness before looking around. Vivid power wound throughout my room. It skittered across the glowing stones in the ceiling, within the packed soil walls, along my mirror. Opening my eyes showed me this in the form of colored lines with Ogham symbols scrawled upon them. The thick gold threads reminded me of Father, hard and earthy. Delicate emerald coils curled between those and filled in any gaps. They thrummed with the same rhythm as my energy. No wonder Uncle Aengus had enjoyed this form so much. The sensation of beholding power with my eyes rather than my extra sense would simplify manipulating spells.

I focused on my torso and my legs as I went to sit upright. Added weight made doing so a feat of strength. I managed to roll from the bed and float to the floor. The air seemed thicker than a bog as I hiked the short distance to my mirror. Aengus had described his spectral form as light enough to soar. This wasn’t right.

When I stared into the mirror, no reflection looked back. At least that effect had turned out correct. The dense wards over the mirror’s frame pulsed strong.

“Daire?” Maya’s annoyed voice brought me back to my goal. I heard it in my mind rather than my ears. It lacked the extra layer that changed Maya’s English to the Aos Si’s language. “If you’re not a ghost right now, I’m gonna make you one if you don’t show your ass up.”

“This is good. We may use our connection to communicate.” I pulled myself up to my mirror and leeched from the wards’ power to activate the portal. It didn’t leave me as winded as my physical form, a small mercy. I managed to reach through. “Meet me at my mirror and take my hand. I think I botched the spell. I need help coming to you.”

“You got it.” A couple moments passed, then someone tugged on my arm.

The sudden force sent me stumbling through. I tumbled head over heels in the empty air. The gold and green of my room transitioned to blue-grays that emitted a soft hum. Black shrouds dimmed a rainbow of blue, teal, amber, orange, yellow, and silver ovals. Those curtains hid a series of mirrors connected throughout Tir Na Nog.

Maya grabbed me and halted my spinning. She moved me through the air like I was a feather as she set me on my feet.

“How are you—”

Maya clapped her hand over my mouth and panic radiated through her emotions.

I turned my head. Riona’s gaze met mine.

Any heat in my body drained at once.

My sister pursed her mouth and looked away to a silver mirror with Queen Cliona’s apples and Lady Aine’s sunbeams. A Bean Sidhe with light hair and a gray tunic was in the glass, Aoife from Bodb’s announcement feast. Riona must have already started currying favor in the south. Had she really given up on the north’s vote that quickly? Or was she confident enough to move on?

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“She can’t see us, right?” Maya muttered the question more than spoke it.

“Nor can she hear us. She can possibly sense the activation of my mirror. She’ll only notice something came through if she inspects it further,” I reassured in my normal tone. “Let us hope for no more unwelcome surprises.”

“Fine, what’s next in the battle plan?” Maya mock saluted me in an imitation of modern, human military.

“You lead the way to the Spear. I make sure you do not run into any magical pitfalls.”

“Great.” Maya walked toward another mirror on the other side of the room. “Nothing’ll go wrong with that.”

“How are you moving that naturally?” I trudged a few steps behind her. “I feel as if I’m swimming through sludge.”

“You think it’s got something to do with the Key?” Maya backtracked and pulled me toward her. I sailed with the motion. “Okay, so as long as I move you, you’re fine.”

It was odd. We passed Riona speaking to Aoife. Their mouths moved, yet their voices were too muffled to hear.

“How are we going to get past the curtain without her seeing?”

“Very carefully.”

“Please tell me you’re being funny.”

“I do not have every answer we need.” If only I did then I wouldn’t need her. She wouldn’t have to face this danger and neither would I. “That’s why I need your help. If there’s a great deal of risk involved, so be it. Please, tell me I can count on you.”

“Yeah.” I felt a wave of conflict crash through our connection as Maya glanced at Riona. Did she want to stay in Tir Na Nog? Was she hesitant to continue deceiving my sister? Would that turn her against me?

“If I can’t then I will die.” I dug my fingers into her spectral arm. The desperation of my situation flooded me all at once. “I don’t care how slow and gradual it is, if it is peaceful or painful. I want to keep tending my flowers and taking care of my mother. I’ve been trapped in Bri Leith all my life and there are so many things I’ve only witnessed. I want the freedom to live as I see fit. Is that asking too much?”

“Don’t start crying on me now.” Maya pulled me forward toward a mirror and solid determination overcame her guilt.

Maya inhaled and held her breath as she lifted the curtain and threw me under it. She huddled next to me while I fiddled with the blue strands of magic. Relief helped my shaking fingers to draw on the mirror and activate the portal, as I had with the one in my bedroom. We pressed on through.

* * *

The two of us walked into a full main hall. Everyone from Kelpies to Selkies dined on Manannan’s famed pork and apples while the Master of Enchantment himself presided over the celebration. None of them turned toward our ghostly presences. We remained unseen, for the moment.

The whole of Manannan’s cavern had so much magic weaved throughout it, I became dizzy trying to focus on it all at once. Varying shades of blue and aqua green tied together and trailed into the great body of water lapping against the cliff face. I had only visited Manannan’s abode a scant number of times, but it seemed largely unchanged.

Mannanan talked with King Ilbrec, who sat on his right side. Even though Ilbrec held the authority, all looked toward Manannan as if he were the true leader. Rumors abounded throughout Tir Na Nog that Manannan’s step down from power was only a ruse to appease the other provinces. His influence still extended across Uliad through his son and into Mumhan through his daughter.

A distinct hulk of auburn energy wearing a bear-skin cloak lounged across from the water lords. Bodb had visited? Uncle Aengus’ lilac aura stretched in a great web between Manannan’s constructs. My slimmer uncle paused and glanced over his shoulder. He pursed his mouth at the standing pool Maya and I came through.

“We need to hurry. Either Manannan or Uncle Aengus will notice us if we linger too long.” I tightened my grip on Maya’s hand. “Did you find out where the Spear is?”

“Not exactly, but I know he’s got a treasure room where he keeps his important crap.” Maya pulled me around the throng of socializing aquatic-Aos Si toward the opening in the cave.

“And where is that?”

“It’s under where he keeps his animals.” Maya pointed past the cliff to the briny waves below it. “There’s more caves down there and staircases cut into the cliff.”

“How is your swimming?” I peered over the edge to the jagged rocks below.

“I can do it good enough to float.” Maya leaned forward and joined me in staring at the abyssal water. “No way can I hold my breath for that long.”

“No need for that. You’re a ‘ghost,’ remember?”

“I guess.” She glanced my way. “What about you?”

“Why do you think I asked you?”

“You’re getting everything lessons as soon as we get out of here.” Maya tightened her grip on my arm. “Let’s find those stairs. I don’t want to know what’ll happen if we fall and hit those rocks.”

Maya combed along the cliff edge and looked as if she were navigating the maw of an ancient leviathan. She twisted around any seafolk she came across rather than standing and waiting for them to move. If only I could do more than stand and wait. She covered quite a distance before she waved me toward her.

A man in gray armor that resembled a shark’s hide strode toward me.

I walked and waded through the invisible muck keeping my astral body so sluggish.

The armored Aos Si would bump me and knock me over the cliffside.

Maya soared over and yanked my arm. I pitched forward.

The shark lord dove into the waters below.

Maya dragged me to a worn away patch of stone she’d stopped at. Just as she’d described, smooth stairs cut into the rock led into the crashing waves. The current seemed strong to make the water spray like that. While we would likely not need to breathe, how would the ocean’s force affect our astral bodies?

Maya went down first with me trailing after her. She paused once the water lapped at her ankles.

“You ready?” Maya inhaled and her cheeks puffed out as she held her breath.

“That doesn’t matter.” I gulped as I braced myself.

Maya dove in, still holding my hand with one arm.

The water slid over me as we immersed ourselves. Its pressure pushed and the current’s force tugged on my body, but nothing cold or wet seeped under my clothes. Our hair rose into wispy tendrils from our heads and flowed with the waves.

I exhaled and inhaled, a test to see if my theory was correct. No briny fluid rushed into my lungs. Could I speak as well?

“Maya,” I said, tapping her shoulder. “It appears I was right.”

“Ah!” Maya let out the breath she’d held all at once, but no bubbles floated to the surface. “Don’t do that. You scared me—woah!”

Something pulled her away from the stairs, taking me with it. It held us suspended against our will for a heart-stopping second.

Maya reached out and grabbed at a groove in the jagged stone. She slipped. Her fingertips came away with glowing red scrapes along them.

She reached again. Her grip held, anchoring us.

“I need two hands for this.” Maya hissed and her arm trembled. “Grab my waist or my leg or something.”

I snatched the hem of her shirt with my free hand and let go of her. While Maya reinforced her grip on the groove, mine started to slacken.

The water slapped us back toward the stairs.

I managed to lock my elbow around Maya’s waist. No doubt my sleeping physical form would start perspiring soon.

Maya climbed down like that the rest of the way, finding hand-holds in the cliff while I clung to her. The waves threw us back and forth in a constant rhythm. We found a steady pace the longer we went until another cavern opening came into view. Great white horses and a pair of pigs gallivanted inside the grassy space. It must have been Manannan’s idea of a stable. Maya managed to switch her hold to the stairs themselves until we passed it and continued downward into unknown chambers. If Maya’s information was accurate, the next one should have the Spear.

We came to the next opening along the stairway. The main hall above the water and the stables had about the same texture of magical threads winding through them. Manannan seemed to make the treasure room’s enchantments with a looser weave. Not a single living being wandered inside behind the barrier sealing out the water. The objects within shined white like a cluster of stars brought down from the sky.

“This should be it.” Maya went to touch the barrier.

“Don’t.” I tugged on her shirt. “There is magic there. Take me over, first.”

Maya pried me off and guided me by my hand. The fierce push and pull of the current had calmed the deeper we went, making her able to hold on to both me and the rocky grooves.

I peered closer at the small blue strings. Ogham script covered them. Good, that meant I could better surmise how to manipulate them. Reading over the different commands, my initial guess about the function of the barrier proved true. I rearranged the pattern to permit us entry without flooding the cavern. So long as I didn’t invoke my own power, the dream state should grant me anonymity so Manannan couldn’t trace my magical signature.

A portal within the barrier opened. I waved Maya in first, giving her a triumphant smile.

Maya swam through and tumbled into the room, rolling out in a heap of legs and purple-tinted hair. I tumbled through after her. I crawled to the portal and arranged the Ogham back the way I’d found them and the portal closed. As Maya stood and wiped off her trousers, I examined what Manannan’s treasure chamber held.

Each artifact had its own rack or clay mannequin, arranged so that admirers could observe each display. I recognized a few of the items, like a silver goblet encrusted with sapphires and a silver sea vessel without sails.

One mannequin had the flaming helmet and unpierceable coat Manannan gave to his legendary foster son, Lugh. It made sense that figure also held Lugh’s Spear, one of our most sacred items brought back on the winged ships from our ancestral home far north. The silver tip gleamed without a hint of tarnish and the yew wood of the handle seemed newly carved. A subtle blue aura without any Ogham written on it flowed under the bright glow of the artifacts. It seemed attached to the mannequin itself, but I couldn’t surmise its purpose without looking closer.

“Where are we hiding it and how are we getting it there?” Maya asked as she approached the mannequin.

“I will transport it from my little mirror to the one in my quarters.” I reached into my pouch and took out the ivy-laced looking glass in question. “You take hold of the Spear and slip it into the portal. I’ll hide it from there.”

“How’d you bring that…?”

“The spell transfers anything on your body in sleep to you in spectral form.” I motioned to my tunic and boots. “Otherwise neither of us would have our clothing.”

“Whatever. So, where are you going to put the Spear? Under your bed?” Maya wrinkled her nose. “Don’t you guys have a sixth sense for magic stuff?”

“You’re correct, but I can conceal it.” I rolled my eyes. “Where is your faith?”

“I left it back with my belief that supernatural shit wasn’t real.” Maya hesitated just before taking the Spear’s shaft. “Are you sure nothing’s going to happen if I grab this thing?”

“As long as you don’t seek to battle anyone, it should behave.” I thought back to Aunt Brigid’s lessons about the sacred treasures. “It may be a twinge blood-thirsty after so many years without use. I’m sure you’re too stubborn to fall for its antics.”

“You’re talking about this thing like it’s alive.”

“No. It only has a will of its own.”

“You lost me.”

“All magical objects develop a will the older they become.” I touched the frame of my ivy mirror. As I worked on my portal, emerald lines sprouted from my fingers and curled around the glass. My body sank as the pressure I’d felt since we started increased. “I shall explain more when you next visit. Fetch the Spear, and we will be on our way.”

“This is all going way too well.” Maya’s nerves put me on edge through our connection. “The other boot has to drop any second.”

“You worry too much.”

A wave of foolhardy courage passed over Maya. She wrapped her fingers around Lugh’s Spear.

The clay statue’s eyes flared to a deep cerulean. The white power of the helmet grew an orange, red, and yellow light as its flame came to life. The magic of the ancient artifacts it wore grew blinding, including the Spear.

“Let go of it!” I shouted. The blue aura on the mannequin was tied into the white energy of the Spear. Before, the weapon had been dormant. Manannan’s subtle enchantment woke it up.

Maya jumped back, but the statue launched forward. It whipped the hungry tip of the Spear out in a wide arch. A large tear spread across Maya’s shirt and a red light flashed from her stomach.

She cried out and fell to the floor of the cavern, clutching her stomach.

Her white hot pain tore through me as well. I fell to my knees. My body went into shock and froze.

The clay figure strode toward the fallen intruder.

How could I stop it? I had to act but I couldn’t move fast enough. What could I do? The Spear thrived off of war and blood. It guaranteed victory and scared the strength out of weaker opponents. After thousands of years without use, dormant, what would it crave most?

The statue suspended the Spear’s head over her like a French guillotine ready to drop. I barely scrambled to my feet as it thrust down.

“I challenge you!” I cried.

The Spear stopped.

Maya rolled away. Through our connection, I felt a kind of battle frenzy pulse through her veins and dull her pain.

I held my small mirror in front of me with a waiting portal in its glass. It had to catch the Spear. Then this ordeal would end.

The statue turned its blank face and the Spear’s head toward me.

“Mighty Spear, carried from Glorias upon the winged ships and wielded by Lugh of the Long Arm,” I said, parodying my father. “I challenge you to combat.”

The mannequin came at me in a flash, almost too fast to follow.

I raised the mirror, but the weapon clashed against the edge of the frame and knocked it away. My mirror’s thick frame absorbed the blow and the glass stayed intact.

The Spear lunged for me again.

My legs tightened as I willed my body to dive out of its way. The pressure that haunted me distorted my movements.

The statue stabbed for my chest, a killing blow. I wouldn’t dodge it in time.

A wave of animalistic fury surged through me from Maya. She rammed at the Spear while its clay figure’s back was turned. Sheer momentum broke its enchanted grip.

Maya hugged the shaft tight to her chest. The point never grazed me.

The flame of the helmet extinguished. That clay mannequin stayed in its battle stance. Its open, empty hand seemed to reach for us.

Maya fell to her side and curled around the weapon with her knuckles going whiter than mine. Her spurt of courage wore away and left her a shaking mess.

“You stopped it.” I trudged beside her and gradually sat her up. My spectral complexion grew fainter. I retrieved my mirror from where it fell nearby, the bronze also fading. “Pass it through the mirror. You’re almost done.”

Intense focus stilled Maya’s trembling limbs. She pried the Spear out of her fingers and pushed its point through the portal.

“You did well. So well. Wake up. Check the wound.” I rubbed her back as she also disappeared. A colossal pit of debt formed between us. I wasn’t sure I could ever repay it. “Thank you.”