Up until this point, only Rob had ever been with me whenever the Morrigan decided to show up and talk to me.
“Charice. Gavin. This is the Morrigan,” I said. “This is my brother and girlfriend.” It felt weird not mentioning the wizard. “That’s Nehemiah.”
She nodded in turn.
Last time I’d seen the Morrigan, she’d tasked me with confronting Diarmuid, Donn’s son. Chaos was overpowering Order since Donn made a pact with Balor in Tech Duinn, and the Dearg Due here in the Bay Area.
Since the Morrigan aided and enabled me to fight my Ban-he self, Asen Scáth, she felt it only fair that I do a favor for her in return. In both cases, whether she helped me, or I helped her, it ended with me fighting someone in a showdown to death. So I was beginning to be wary of her ‘help’.
“I confronted Diarmuid and did my best to thwart Chaos. Did I satisfy your last request?” I asked her.
She nodded. “Yes. You hindered Diarmuid and the Dearg Due from causing more havoc together.”
“And Gavin and I killed the Dearg Due this morning,” I said, nonchalantly.
Nehemiah and Charice’s heads whipped on a swivel towards my brother and me. I folded my arms across my chest. “So I’d say, yes, we absolutely hindered their plans.”
The Morrigan’s eyes widened. “You two removed the Dearg Due?”
“And a lot of her Children,” I admitted. “They never expected an attack in broad daylight. Who knew?”
The Morrigan remained calm and collected, but I could tell she was impressed. “Well that is reassuring. Things are not as bleak as I feared.”
“Bleak?” said Gavin. “We just told you we offed the Dearg Due.”
“Yeah. Look around,” I motioned. “The Dullahan’s skull got smashed into a million pieces and we just finished cleaning the park when you decided to show up. We’ve checked two huge enemies off the list.”
“I hate to be the bearer of ill tidings, but this is but a pale shadow of what is to come in two night’s time.”
“What’s two nights from now?” I asked.
“Halloween,” said Charice.
“Not exactly,” said Nehemiah. “To be more precise, it’s Samhain.”
“Sam who?” I asked.
“It’s the night when the barrier between Earth and Tir na nOg is almost nonexistent,” said Nehemiah.
I wanted to tell the wizard to shut up, but my mind raced at the implications. “So, monsters will be able to come over freely between here and there?”
“Yep. That’s why historically people dress up as monsters, so as to blend in with the real creatures of Chaos coming over from the Otherside. But you can see that does little good.” The wizard eyed the carnage around us.
“That’s part of it,” said the Morrigan, “but your understanding of the scope is still too small.”
I faced the Morrigan. “It gets worse?”
“Far worse. The Tuatha and the Fomorians were banished not just from Ireland, but from Earth completely. If they venture here they lose a considerable amount of power. This is why you were able to stand toe to toe with Diarmuid. If you faced him on the Otherside you’d be simply outmatched.”
The remembrance of my fight with Donn, and my brief interaction with Manann mac Lir proved her point. In one case it took all of my friends and everything I had just to stand up to Donn, and in the other case I’d been KOed with one headbutt from mac Lir and imprisoned like an elementary schooler on time-out.
The Morrigan continued. “But during Samhain, the veil between the worlds is so thin that the banishment is rendered almost void.”
“So not only can monsters come through uninhibited, but the Tuatha and Fomorians as well,” said Charice.
Gavin let out a long whistle.
“Holy crow,” I said.
“This,” the Morrigan waved at the death around us, “is but a small taste of what lies ahead.”
Nehemiah looked the least surprised out of all of us. I glared at him, demanding an explanation. “This isn’t my first rodeo. Some years Samhain sucks. Other years it’s not so bad. Remember, the monsters have our whole world to spread out and cause chaos. What’s to say that they will come here specifically?”
The Morrigan gave an irritated smile. “Donn is searching for something. He has been for years. He’s narrowed down his search to the confines of the Bay Area. That is why out of all the world, most of his focus has been growing here these past few months.”
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
What could he possibly be looking for? Or maybe who? One thing was for sure. By standing up to his Dullahan, fighting his son Diarmuid, and slaying his partner the Dearg Due, I was sure that meant Donn would want to pay me and my friends a personal visit.
Gavin cleared his throat. “So we only have two days to prepare for a visit from Donn?”
The ivory skinned woman nodded her head.
“Well what have you got for us?” I asked.
The Morrigan looked puzzled. “I’m not sure I understand your question.”
“Every time you and I speak, you inform me of some way to even the odds. What have you got for us? Another sword to quest for? A magical spear maybe? Or some lost hero of old to find and rally to our side?”
“This meeting,” she said, as if that was an answer.
“This meeting what?” asked Charice.
“Me disclosing this vital information to you. This is what I give you.”
“That’s it?” I yelled. “You come all this way to drop an atomic bomb of bad news on us only to say, you’re welcome, and seeyah?”
The Morrigan straightened her back and raised her voice. The air about us blackened and I felt strange magic emanate from her. I felt short and small and insignificant.
“Everything you have been through Sean O’Farrell, every bit of information I’ve given you, every enemy you’ve defeated. That is what I’ve given you.”
A knot formed in my stomach. Thousands of doubts rushed through my mind as I put two and two together. Under the best of circumstances, I gained the most power when I’d been on the Otherside, drew power from the Oak leaf, and had my friends’ lives threatened. Only then had I reached my full power. But now the Morrigan was telling me, not only would the fight be brought to my home turf, and not only would I not have access to enhanced power that Tir na nOg granted just by me being there, but Donn himself would be here in a matter of two nights in full power.
To make matters even crazier, we knew he was looking for something, and obviously whatever he was looking for would be used for his twisted schemes, so we had to stop him. But we didn’t know what he searched for. Even though the attack was narrowed down from the whole world, to just the Bay Area, that was still like trying to find a single lost Lego piece in a two story mall. It was impossible to know where he’d be and beat him to it.
“You’ve known all along,” said Gavin. He spoke to the Morrigan. “If this happens every year, you knew this whole time.”
His tone sounded almost accusatory, as if he were blaming the Phantom Queen for something.
“All of these things Sean went through, they were just tests that you guided him through to get him here, weren’t they?”
“You’re implying that I’m some sort of master mind, playing both sides of the chess board,” answered the Morrigan. “Make no mistake. I have never set up enemies to fight Sean. I have only ever done my part to guide him through imminent confrontations. Do not dare mistake my grace for manipulation.”
Gavin scowled but said nothing. “Then you must know about our dad.”
The Morrigan shook her head. I didn’t believe her, but I filled her in on my dad’s return. I left out the part about Nehemiah and I fighting. I figured she knew already, but was playing dumb. No need to rile up my emotions all over again while the guy was standing only a sword swing away from me.
“We need a way to heal our dad. He’s not himself. He’s still stuck in the mind of a dog.”
“Interesting,” said the Morrigan. “Most peculiar. But stranger things have happened. I see that you are most distressed at this revelation. You’ll need to set that aside until after Donn’s attack on Samhain.”
“No,” I yelled. “We didn’t mourn the loss of our father, only to set him aside the moment he returned. I know you know a way he can be healed. Tell us.”
“If healing your father cannot wait until after Samhain, then you must act with haste. Go at once, this evening into Tir na nOg. Seek out Dian Cécht the healer. I must warn you though, while he is a great healer, his mind wanders frequently. Immortality has taken a toll on him.”
“He’s our only option?”
“The other healer I had in mind has not been seen in Tir na nOg for years. And you have already met Brigid, and managed to make her your enemy.”
“So, mad Dian Cécht it is,” I groaned.
“If you win over his favor, he may be able to heal all of you,” said the Morrigan. She glanced from Gavin, to Charice, to myself, and Nehemiah. She lingered on each of us, her eyes glazing over, as if seeing each of our internal curses.
“Well, Dad is the top priority,” I said, looking at Nehemiah in particular. I figured I’d better set the expectations. “Then Gavin next, since his issues give him severe headaches. Then Charice. Your wings are at least hideable.”
“You should be next Sean. You have the Keening.”
“I’ve dealt with it.”
“Temporarily,” reminded the Morrigan.
I rolled my eyes. “This is so stupid. It’s theoretical. If we even find the healer, and even if he will heal any of us after he heals Dad, then that’s going to be the order. Dad, Gavin, Charice, me, and the wizard.”
“What makes you think I’m even coming?” asked Nehemiah.
“You’re the one who betrayed my dad in the first place. And since I didn’t kill you last week, you still have a chance to right the wrongs you committed. Of course you’re coming with us.”
His expression turned stoic, but guilt has a way of shutting people up. He grumbled something about frickin’ Lord of the Rings crap.
“But we don’t even have Tain,” said Charice. “We’d have to pick him up first. And might as well get Rob.”
The Morrigan nodded then grabbed a handful of mist and threw it over us like a cloak.
“What the heck?” asked Gavin.
When the fog cleared we stood in Sensei’s backyard right outside the in-law unit. Inside, Tain barked and cat-Rob poked his head out. “Hey. What’s happening y’all?”
I rolled my eyes and beckoned Rob and Tain to join us. “Alright Morrigan. We’re ready. Send us over.”
One moment the tall woman stood before us. The next moment, a massive crow cawed into the night summoning the mystical fog once more.
Thick clouds enveloped us for about a minute. Strange sensations prodded my mind and my internal sense of direction dissolved.
When the fog cleared this time, it was no longer night time and we were no longer on Earth.