The portal in my mirror turned between a vision of blue-tinted flowers and solemn pines and my own shuddering limbs and fading glow. My eyelids were great weights wanting to fall. Once they did, my legs would come down with them. I couldn’t sustain the portal long enough to push myself through.
The pounding steps of guards thundered behind me and one called to the others. My end was at hand. They would catch me. Whether they took me prisoner or submitted me to my family, I would rot in a dungeon pit awaiting Samhain’s final hour.
A crimson-stained hand, my only indication of Maya’s presence, broke through the remnants of the portal. Two strong, solid limbs seized my tunic and pulled.
I tipped over and fell into the mirror. I lost purchase on one end of the frame. My fingertips caught and held fast to the other. The soft liquid magic closed over me, and by extension the mirror I grasped. I closed my eyes and girded myself for whatever happened next.
A firm, but cushioned surface with a stiff frame absorbed my fall. I opened my eyes to find myself hovering over the courtyard’s rough-hewn stones rather than laying upon them. Something tightened and shifted under me. Muscle? A body?
“M-Maya?” I stammered as my face filled with heat. What parts of her did I lay on? Her chest, her stomach, her thighs? I would’ve scrambled off, but my limbs slumped as if the bones had melted and all they left was loose bags of flesh and joint-less sinew.
Maya’s smeared hand cupped under my arm. The rest of her pushed me up and dragged me toward the grass. The green stalks tickled, but served as a far less embarrassing pallet than my full-figured friend.
After long moments of deep breathing and rest, I lifted my mirror to my face. I had seen and spoken to her through it earlier because she had its twin in the dream state with her. I tapped it once to trigger the connection, but nothing happened. That portal had drained my power to the final drop.
“By Danu’s bosom.” I borrowed Aunt Brigid’s favorite curse as I fumbled through the haze clouding my mind. How else could I remedy this?
Maya’s red hand rummaged in the air where her chest should be. Through her brassiere? The bronze ivy leaves on my mirror’s frame flashed. Of course! If she initiated the enchantment, I wouldn’t need to expend energy sustaining it. Maya’s crooked grin appeared a moment later.
“That plan…sucked,” Maya said, her voice hoarse. “How are we burying this thing?”
“I’ll need your help for as long as your shape lasts.” I pushed myself upright. “I can’t make my flowers do anything in this condition. We will have to dig with our hands, I will need to rest, and then I can muster the power to properly hide the Cauldron.”
“I’ve got the time, I think.” Maya sighed but something firm thumped my back. “Catch your second wind. I’ll start digging.”
* * *
Maya’s dream-self lasted as long as it took for us to dig the hole for the Cauldron. The sacred object stayed small as she dumped it in, then her bloody hand vanished. My breathing came easier, and I had better mobility in my limbs. I glamoured any bloody remnants from my clothes, marked the Cauldron’s place with a little mound, and drizzled what other power I’d recovered into it. A few green shoots sprouted along the soil before I collapsed on the path.
Running footsteps reverberated by my ear.
I jolted up. Father raced toward me.
“Father, I didn’t expect you yet.” I looked beyond him. No one trailed after. “Where’s Mother?”
“With Brigid at Tara.” Father stooped before me and offered his arm. “Bodb has called an urgent gathering.”
“What for?” I locked my arm on his and forced myself not to check the bald gap in my flower bed where the Cauldron hid. Later I could come back to finish my work. A summons from the High King didn’t leave me much choice.
“He only told me that something jeopardizes my campaign.” Father hoisted me to my feet and led me toward the nearest scrying pool. His power flowed into the water and the reflection of the sky transformed to Tara’s main fortress. “And that all of us must attend.”
My stomach soured as I speculated. It could be about Una’s disfigurement, or the Cauldron. Would Una have brought her testimony to Uncle Bodb? Refuting her claim that I attacked her would be simple, considering the truth was far different. I was unsure if the guards had seen me go through the portal, but they would notice their region’s treasure missing. So long as I could say with certainty I had not stolen the Cauldron, since I had only aided Maya, that should be enough to convince them of my innocence.
Father and I entered through the pool and emerged from one of the feasting yard’s many standing stones. We walked into Tara’s fortress and stopped inside the main hall.
Bodb sat in his golden throne with the Dagda’s Club in hand. Mother huddled with Aunt Brigid and Uncle Aengus to the left of the High King’s seat. Father led me to stand with them.
Across from us stood one of Tir Na Nog’s legendary figures: Manannan Mac Lir. The enigmatic Master of the Seas was our most ancient elder who had seen every war and conflict of our race. He had fashioned Tir Na Nog itself and was the only surviving original patriarch of a house, the most numerous family left. His blue eyes shifted like pools without any whites or pupils within them. The shifting stone gray cloak he wore concealed his fabled third leg, a deformity he’d kept despite that it prevented him from ruling according to the Aos Si’s ancient laws. His presence dominated the room. Its influence matched all of the Dagda’s Brood’s powers combined.
“We have all assembled.” Bodb tapped his club against the floor and the peal boomed against the empty walls. “Manannan Mac Lir of Emain Ablach, Master of the Seas and Enchantment, state your purpose.”
“I have come to find what is rightfully mine.” Manannan’s words flowed from his mouth, penetrating my thoughts as if he projected himself rather than spoken. “The Spear of Lugh was recently discovered missing from its chamber. No traces of residual magic were found, but my spells were tampered with and my security measures activated. It did not disappear on its own. It has been stolen.”
“And what made you insist that I call together my house for this matter?” Bodb tugged on a small braid of his beard.
“The testimony of Connacht’s Queen.” Manannan narrowed his focus from Bodb to Father. “She claimed that her agents could not find the Cauldron after Lord Midir of Bri Leith proposed their latest feast that would leave it unguarded, and after the Key Bearer attacked her just this very night. One of my trusted healers is tending to her eye as we speak.”
My family collectively gawked at me.
I shrank nearer to Mother, reverting to a small child. Should I have felt humiliation at their prying eyes with secret exposed? Their gazes pinned me there and brought flashes of Una’s slithering magic holding me captive. What if Maya hadn’t come? The possibilities of what her wandering hands would have done once they joined her creeping energy… I rubbed my arms to stave off my sudden chill.
“I highly doubt my son would attack anyone.” Mother wrapped her tender arm around my waist. “He has too gentle a nature.”
“And he’s incompetent at combat.” Father stepped between Manannan and me, rubbing the pommel of his sheathed sword. His barb didn’t have the same sting behind it when he used it in my defense. “He would only have need of violence if he had to defend himself. Lady Una has hounded him at every turn since we first came to Cruachan.”
“That does not change the facts of her testimony.” Manannan shifted under his cloak, but the fabric hid him too well for me to tell how. “Either you or your heir seem to have contributed to the Cauldron’s disappearance.”
“I’ll grant you the circumstances seem suspicious. Let King Finvarra confront me himself,” Father said. “You have no reason to link us with your missing treasure.”
“Do I not?” Manannan raised his eyebrows as he looked to Aengus next. “Your foster son and youngest brother is known as a wily trickster. He persuaded King Ilbrec to invite him to Emain Ablach before the Spear of Lugh was taken and is more than capable of performing such a feat.”
“I was there to offer balance while you entertained the Lady of Irons.” Uncle Aengus rolled his eyes, but all humor dropped from his expression. “You have to recognize she will wreck what’s left of us if she wins the High King’s seat.”
“I will not be deterred, welp.” Manannan’s sharp tone cracked the air and I winced. “Two out of four of our race’s dearest possessions are lost. This has not happened since you created the Key. Someone saw that change is coming and chose now to strike. The fact that none of you seem concerned strikes me as suspicious. This house has defied tradition by naming a chosen successor rather than calling for candidates, securing their rule for ages to come. Do you seek to centralize your power even more by claiming the most powerful objects the Aos Si possess?”
“Our priority has been and always will be the preservation of our people,” Bodb cut in. “I commend you for bringing this to my attention. I will see to it that this thief is found.”
“If you truly wish to find them, allow me to assist.” Manannan swept his cloak aside and withdrew a silver chalice encrusted with jewels. I knew that magical object from tales. If three lies were spoken over it, the vessel would break. If three truths, it would join together again. “The Dagda’s Brood has nothing to hide, aye? Hold this as you answer my questions and I shall be satisfied.”
“What use is a truth-telling cup with those who cannot speak falsehoods?” Brigid raised a brow Manannan’s way.
“It discerns both lies and deceptions.” Manannan held the goblet out to Bodb first. “Shall the oldest start?”
“How are we to know you aren’t putting on this show to hide your own guilt, m’lord?” Uncle Aengus crossed his arms over his chest.
“Then allow me to demonstrate how my creation works.” Manannan returned the cup to his breast while he set his cloak over his shoulder, leaving his chest exposed. “I did not take the Dagda’s Cauldron from Connacht, nor do I desire to. Neither me nor any of my family or subjects fabricated the theft of Lugh’s Spear, nor do we desire to. I do not seek the power of any of the sacred treasures of the Tuatha De Danann, only that they be restored to their rightful places.”
The chalice glowed a soft blue after he finished reciting his statements. Soft power made its surface glisten and its jewels twinkle. It seemed to accept Manannan’s word as truth without a hint of misdirection.
Father tightened his grip on his sword and Uncle Aengus’ arms stiffened infinitesimally. I set my own hands behind my back, hiding how my fingers twisted around one another. How could I manage to outwit such blunt magic?
Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.
“Since I am the oldest, I will pass the cup to you next, my liege.” Manannan held the goblet out to Bodb. “Then you may give it to Queen Brigid, and down the line by age.”
“If this farce is the only way to satisfy you, ask your questions.” The High King took it.
Manannan asked the same three questions of Bodb and Brigid: “Did you take the Spear or the Cauldron? Did you help take the Spear or the Cauldron? Do you know who took the Spear or the Cauldron?” They were simple and clear in their wording, which made them all the harder to avoid. When both Bodb and Brigid answered all three with plain denials, the cup shone brighter.
It went to Father next. He held the goblet to his chest, grumbling about how the entire activity was a farce. To the first and second questions, he answered no. Manannan focused on the cup as he asked whether Father knew who took the treasures. That would be the third truth. I watched with baited breath. Would the enchantment differentiate between certain knowledge and conjecture? Did Father even suspect me?
Father hesitated a fraction of a moment before his reply. “No, I do not know who took them.”
The silver shimmered and the sapphires sparkled.
Manannan scrutinized Father as he passed the goblet to Aengus. Father revealed nothing behind that stoic mask. He had centuries of practice, after all.
“The craftsmanship is lovely.” Aengus made a little show out of taking it when his turn came, turning it this way and that as he did when examining something’s spellwork. “I take it the number of truths had to be three so that the magic could tell between true truth and deception? A good balance.”
“You would do well not to patronize my arts, infant.” Manannan’s eyes darkened and swirled like whirlpools. The room darkened as wisps of storm clouds formed over our heads. “Did you take the Spear or the Cauldron?”
“I assure you, I have no reason to.” Aengus tapped one of the jewels along the goblet’s rim. “Next question.”
“Did you help take the Spear or the Cauldron?”
“You couldn’t come up with a better sign than something that repairs and destroys itself?” Aengus mumbled a few more criticisms under his breath. “As for your query, why would I help if I had no reason to take it?”
“I will continue to ask questions until that chalice gleams or breaks. Avoiding answers will not help you.” Manannan’s clouds thickened and a rain drop pricked my nose. “Do you know who took the Spear or the Cauldron? A clear answer this time.”
“No, I don’t know for sure. I could give you a host of theories though.” Aengus rubbed his throat. “Do you think you could fill this for me? I’m parched.”
Manannan didn’t respond to my uncle’s last taunt as he watched the goblet. It glittered as bright as it had with the rest of the family.
“You should divulge those theories,” Manannan said as the clouds overhead thinned.
“And you said you would stop your questions when it gleamed.” Uncle Aengus thrust the goblet out to me.
I considered it as an idea dawned on me, inspired by my mentor’s irreverent behavior. As long as the enchantment had less than three truths it would not shine, so the same must be true of deceptions. I could outwit this thing at the cost of irritating Tir Na Nog’s creator.
“The Lady Etain is not exempt from this test.” Manannan trailed his gaze to Mother beside me.
Mother’s shoulders twitched and the corners of her eyes crinkled as she squinted. She dug her nails deeper into me and trembled.
“My wife is not part of the Dagda’s Brood,” Father interjected. “And her truths change with her moods. Not even your magic could discern between them.”
“She is within a human body, is she not?” Manannan raised his brows at Father. “My enchantment should work best on her.”
“I won’t drink from it!” Mother stepped behind me and made me a shield between her and Manannan’s intense gaze. “It’s a potion to fog my wits again. Do you think me dull? I am the Queen of all Eire and I did not earn my place by being so naive.”
“See what I mean?” Father said dryly.
“Enough of this game.” I snatched the cup away from Uncle Aengus. “Mother has not the means nor the motive to aid or commit a theft so grand.”
The cup grew cooler in my hand as I recited that absolute truth above it. Only two more left.
Manannan’s nostrils flared as he addressed me. “Tread carefully, child.”
“I will do as I please.” I tilted my chin up to better face him since he towered head and shoulders over me. “Go on with your questions.”
“Did you take the Spear or the Cauldron?” Manannan started.
“That would be a terrible idea. I wouldn’t take them. It would ruin me.” I spun the goblet as if imaginary liquid swirled within it. It pulsed cold again. Two truths down. One more left.
The clouds over our heads thickened until they blotted out the ceiling. Fat and gray, they resembled Riona’s toxic aura when she lost her temper. Manannan persisted. “Did you help to take the Spear or the Cauldron?”
“Why would I help rather than take them myself?” I couldn’t answer this one without deception. “My power isn’t as grand as all that.”
The silver grew warm on my palm. If it pulsed cold with truth, then it must have sensed my deceit.
“You take too much after Aengus.” Manannan’s lip curled. “Do you know who took the Spear or the Cauldron?”
“If I did not do it and did not help, then it would stand to reason that I don’t know who did it.” The goblet pulsed warmer. I added my final truth: “And yes, I do take after Uncle Aengus. He taught me everything I know.”
The cup turned icy under my touch, its jewels twinkling as it made itself whole.
“There you have it. All of us clean and your toy left without a tarnish.” Aengus took the goblet from me and handed it back to Manannan.
“This one hardly provided any definitive answers, only conjecture.” Manannan looked away toward Bodb. “I seek to question the Key Bearer further.”
“You stated that you would be satisfied when your Cup of Truth shined for all the Dagda’s Brood. It has done so. You have no need to bother us further.” Bodb pounded his club against the ground. “This gathering is adjourned.”
“I volunteer my services in finding this thief, as repayment for my son’s cheek.” Father stepped up and scruffed my neck. He pulled me into a bow as he offered Manannan the same. “I’ll take him and his mother home straight away and meet you at Emain Ablach.”
“See that you do.” The storm clouds rumbled and flashed with thunder when Manannan wrapped his cloak around him anew. A curtain of fat raindrops fell around him and the Lord of Enchantment vanished behind it. The precipitation winked out after him.
Father groaned as he removed his circlet and smoothed his hair back. “This is a fine mess you’ve gotten me into.”
“It seemed nothing more than a silly power play.” I shook his hand off my neck. “Why should I go along with it?”
“Because Ilbrec listens to him and according to you he already favors Riona.” Father wagged his circlet at me. “I’m placing Brigid in charge of the estate while I’m gone. I should hope you treat her and your mother better than you did Manannan Mac Lir.”
“I will behave as I’d like to behave.” I glanced over my shoulder to Mother, still huddled behind me. “Do you wish to go back with me and Aunt Brigid? We will keep your wits intact. No more fog.”
“I won’t believe it unless I witness Midir giving Brigid the order with my own eyes.” Mother let go of me and readjusted the disheveled part of her bodice. Her transition back to calm seemed far smoother than it should. “I deserve as much after demeaning myself with that performance.”
“That was an act?” I looked over her, hardly recognizing the woman.
“I thought the timing of your fit was too convenient.” Father offered his hand to Mother with a proud smile. “Shall we?”
“Yes—” Mother blinked too hard, and her shoulders locked up. She stumbled back a step and rubbed her eyes. When she next looked upon us, Father and I, it was as if we were strangers with the panic that filled her face. “You’re not Eochaid. You’re…where is my daughter? Where is Little Tainy?”
“She died an old woman with a heroic son who cherished her.” The happiness fled Father’s face as Mother reverted. He held her eyes, his own pleading. “Dear heart, please remember the progress we’ve made since then.”
“No! You are not my true husband.” Mother smacked his hand away. “You keep me locked away and steal my children for your own ends. May the Morrigan take you so I can wither away in peace.”
“Mother, I’m right here. He hasn’t taken me away.” I took her fingers in mine. “Please think back on this past week. Do you recall what happened, where we were?”
“Daire?” Mother flinched at my touch but didn’t pull away. She closed her eyes and pressed the heel of her hand against them. “I said sweet things of him but…but then why would I strike him? I hate him. I would not bed someone I hate. Who put these images here? I’m…I’m so confused.”
“Breathe in and out Mother, slow and steady.” I frowned as I took her shoulders and guided her toward the mirrors at the front of the room. “Let’s go home. Then you can rest and recollect.”
“Yes. Rest…give me eternal rest.” Mother’s voice came as a pleading whimper as she held onto my fingers tight enough to rub my knuckles together. “I don’t want this anymore. It hurts too much. End me, please.”
I didn’t reply as I walked with her the rest of the way to Bri Leith. Right when I thought things might be improving, she reminded me that the problem still persisted, no matter how we tried to help it.
* * *
I covered the Cauldron’s hiding place with the same purple flowers I’d used to conceal the Spear. It would be easier to find after we had the Sword and were ready to complete the ritual. Once sweat stuck to me and dirt caked my boots from so much manual labor, I settled into my bed. Brigid had taken Mother on a walk of the grounds after we returned, advising that I stay behind for both of our sakes. The domed walls pressed in rather than comforted. Light from the glowing stones set into the ceiling glared oppressively against the softer stars coming through. It all felt wrong, too vulnerable. Had someone invaded my most private sanctuary?
I checked the wards along my skylight, my door, my mirror. They remained solid and without tampering. Augmenting them would take more power than I had. At the very least I shouldn’t be alone. By myself I was defenseless.
I called Maya through my small bronze ivy mirror. It flashed white in time with my heart. Fear wormed its way through my bloodstream and the light pulsed faster. Why didn’t she answer?
The larger gold looking glass hanging from my wall rippled. I scooted against my bed’s nearest pillar, gripping at my dagger sheath. Empty.
Maya stepped through, and concern knitted her heavy brows together. “You look like a cornered opossum. How’d it go after I left?”
“Warn me next time you plan to enter unannounced.” I held my chest, willing my heartbeat to slow. “Manannan interrogated my entire family and I to see if we had taken his Spear or Finvarra’s Cauldron. I managed to outwit his Cup of Truth, but he still suspects me. We have to work fast. We don’t have much time left.”
“How long is that?” She slid my desk chair over and sat.
“Ten days.” The number had seared itself in my memory, a counter that flashed every morning, letting me know how long I had left to live. No…how long I had left to save myself. “We’ll have to take a different tact with the Sword, in case one of us is caught again.”
“Do you need to talk about that?” Maya leaned over me.
“My family knows that I had to defend myself against her. They won’t suspect that you’re involved.” I wiped my soil-smeared palms on the hem of my tunic, my fingers trembling some. “Are you…that cannot have been easy for you.”
“Adrenaline helped. I’ll get over it,” Maya said. “That’s not what I’m worried about. Screw cultural differences. What she did wasn’t right.”
“But she’s a political ally.” I sighed as I laid back. “I’ve been lucky so far that none of my family has asked why I was wandering the halls alone. If I bring it up, then they might suspect I was behind the Cauldron.”
“I get that.” Maya squeezed my knee, the closest part of me in reach of her. “But I’m still here when you’re ready, alright?”
“I will…remember that.” I gulped down the quivering lump in my throat and refocused my thoughts. “It’s better we talk of other matters first, like how we’re going to get the Sword, then steal the book back from Uncle Aengus.”
“Your dad still planning on visiting all the council leaders?”
“No. He’s stopped his campaign to help investigate where the treasures are. What about Riona? Any progress?”
“She’s dead set on leaving west for last.” Maya wrinkled her nose in thought. “But so far the south queens haven’t budged any. She’s hit a dead end.”
“We should plan for when the Sword is available to us at least.” I rubbed the bridge of my nose as flashes of that experience went through my mind. “It will probably do us as much good as this last time.”
“Hey, we still pulled it off,” Maya insisted. “Think of how bad it would’ve gone if we didn’t have that plan, huh?”
I repressed a shudder at that imagined disaster. Me painting half-thought excuses to escape Father and attempting to sneak past a legion of guards to reach the Cauldron. I would’ve expended all of my energy bringing Maya to Cruachan, then hurt myself trying to send her away. Una’s agents rather than the queen herself would drag me to her chambers and no one would know, not even Maya.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean you should actually imagine that.” She frowned and fiddled with her lip piercing between her teeth. “Let’s plan a little, talk a little, and see where it goes, alright?”
“I doubt I’ll be able to do more than one portal by then. Perhaps in the meantime I can add a detection enchantment to your mirror so you can find the Sword. We’ve used the dream draught too much and shouldn’t use it again, lest someone start to suspect me using that magic.” The logical steps came mechanically, one thought after another. It wasn’t long before other feelings crowded over the cool comfort of reasoning. I trailed off as my ideas shriveled.
Silence emptied the room while varied noise filled my mind like an overflowing cup. Only ten days left. Mother’s condition worsening. The unknown abyss of death looming like Una when she had me pinned with her magic. Waiting for the inevitable to happen and unsure if anything I did could change it.
“Woah, slow your breathing.” Maya moved from the chair to the edge of the bed so she sat with me rather than nearby. “Sit up. Bend over. Remember: in, hold, out, hold. That’s it.”
“I can’t stop this. Why can’t I stop this?” My voice came out thick as phlegm obstructed my throat. “We should be further by now. I should be able to do something more.”
“It’s been awhile since you panicked. I can’t blame you.” A firm arm came around my shoulders. “Good ideas for the Sword. I’m happy with those. Now tell me what’s going on with you.”
My doubts and fears and conflicts spilled out. The Key, Mother’s condition, even how both situations paralleled my encounter with Una. I almost let slip that I’d felt jealous of Riona for having Maya’s affections, but held it in. That burden was so much lighter, it weighed nothing right then. After all, Maya wasn’t with my sister, she was with me. And as long as I had her solid presence to cling to while I floated adrift, that was enough.