After exiting the watery passageway, I found myself soaring over a valley of coral reef fields. Schools of fish swimming in unison darted out of our way. A forest of seaweed vines brushed my legs. Rays of moonlight cut through from the surface above, cascading down, illuminating the azure seascape.
So beautiful was the scenery around me that I didn’t notice I was still breathing. I gasped, then remembered I’d donned the cohuleen druith and I was safe. Enbarr continued to gallop, but we were more or less flying underwater, like a penguin. Though I could feel the water against my skin, the magic cap made it feel less dense somehow, like moving through a misty breeze.
Dead ahead of us, we approached a massive upside down cone-shaped structure. The narrowest part of the architecture at the bottom was built into the seafloor. From the top of the structure where the cone shape was widest, upside down tower spires reached towards the sea floor but did not touch it. Tilting my head sideways I realized I was viewing an aquatic castle that had intentionally been built upside down. Turquoise and teal light from the water’s surface illuminated the magical construction.
Obviously Enbarr was familiar with this castle and I surmised it was her home. She moved closer towards the surface of the water and I could better see the top half of the castle, the part above water. If I were able to view both halves of the castle above and below water simultaneously, it would look like a massive spinning top submerged exactly halfway in water. The mare now led us towards a ramp opening at the bottom of the castle.
A herd of seals swam alongside us and proceeded to follow us right up to the castle ramp. Enbar went on galloping up the ramp until we came to an invisible wall that held the water at bay. As soon as we crossed the threshold of the doorway into the palace, we stepped through a wall of water into a space full of air.
The mare continued trotting along the palace floor. The seals followed us through the water wall too, but no sooner had they crossed the threshold did they shift into trident-armed men and women.
“Selkies,” I said under my breath. Seal shifters of the sea, and the royal guard of Manann mac Lir, I surmised. With guards in tow, Enbarr moved through several tall and narrow corridors almost like a royal procession, except the tridents were angled more towards me.
We came to a large regal double doorway, which opened by itself and we entered the throne room. A stunned doorman recovered in time to raise a conch shell to his lips and blew it like a horn, signaling our arrival. The mare trotted up to a few steps in front of the throne and then dipped her head to let me get off. On the throne sat King Manann mac Lir.
Guards rushed me from all sides, pointing tridents at my heart. I raised my hands and fell to one knee.
“I await your command, Your Highness,” said the most decked out guard of the group, obviously the captain.
“Stand down,” said the King firmly. He had long salmon colored hair that fell to his shoulders. A thick mustache shaped like two crab claws covered his upper lip and was woven neatly into his long salmon colored beard. On his head he wore a crown made of pocked coral reef embedded with sharks teeth and seashells. Apparently he took the whole king of the sea thing and owned it.
He arose from his throne slowly. He towered over me boasting a bare Herculean chest and shoulders to match from which hung a cloak of woven dried seaweed. He walked over to the mare stroking her nose and whispering to her softly. Then he chuckled and looked at me. “Enbarr tells me you rescued her from the clutches of some dastardly Merrows.”
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“Yes, your highness,” I said. Then my eyes opened wide with realization. I heard him speaking ancient Gaelic but I could understand every word, and somehow when I spoke he seemed to understand me too. I wanted to ask Rob about it, but wouldn’t you know the little hob was nowhere to be found. In fact I hadn’t seen him since before the seal team surrounded us.
Manann mac Lir fixed his turquoise eyes on me and commanded me, “Rise young lad. Tell me your name and what land you hail from.”
“Uh, my name’s Sean O’Farrell. I guess I hail from the Bay Area.”
“The Bay Area,” he said slowly, testing the words. “An Irish man of the sea, like myself,” he said, eyeing my orange hair with slight smile. “Only one of noble heart would be able to ride Enbarr. What brings you to my courts Sean O’Farrell of the Bay Area?”
I gulped, and took a deep breath. “I am on a quest to kill a beast, Your Highness. The only weapon that can stop this beast is Fragarach, The Retaliator.”
The king laughed, scoffing at me. “And what? You seek to request my sword?”
“Yes.”
The laughter faded from his eyes. “You would take the symbol of my right to rule? What need of it have you?”
“I seek to destroy the stallion of death. The Kelpie.”
Manan mac Lir snorted as he stroked the water mane of Enbarr. “I care not for the pathetic quests of mortal men. Nor do I care for whether the Kelpie lives or dies. You think you are the only one with troubles, lad? Who do you think is responsible to ferry the bodies of the drowned dead? Me! Who has had to fight the Fomorian chum, Balor, for the theft of those dead bodies? Me! Not to mention Tethra trying to expand his corrupt kingdom, Mag Mell. I’ve got my shells full, besides a kingdom to protect and rule! Were it not for me, all of Tir fo Thuinn would fall to Chaos.”
I decided to try a new tactic. “The Morrigan told me I could find the sword here. She sent me.”
The king’s shoulders grew bulged and his neck veins popping out. Note to self, apparently name-dropping the Morrigan was not a good idea.
“That meddling crow,” he said spitting. “Always sticking her beak in the middle of things, muddling them. Making misuse of her immortality for morbid gains.” He said her name again like a curse “The Morrigan. Phaaa!”
I switched to begging. Begging was always good. “Please your highness. I meant no disrespect. I—”
But the king cut me off. “Where do you hail from again? The Bay Area? Where’s that?”
“It’s in California.”
“California. Phaaa!” He spat. “North or South?”
“Kinda in the middle really. North I guess.”
“NorCal. Phaaaa!” He spat. “I’ve changed my mind about you Sean O’Farrell. Despite what Enbarr tells me, I don’t care for you. Guards,” he motioned for them to move forward. “Execute him.”
Trident points closed in on me like needles in a pincushion.
“Wait!” I pleaded. “I’ll tell you the truth, your Majesty.
“A little over two years ago the Kelpie drowned and murdered my sister. I have traveled across space and time to get the sword from you. Please let me avenge the death of my sister.”
With deliberate steps the king returned to his throne. He poised his hands together in front of his mustache. “That is a much better reason to ask for The Retaliator. Still, I care not for the revenge quests of mortals. But, I will spare your life.”
I sighed a breath of relief.
“Strip him of his weapons and throw him in the dungeon.”
Metal clinked as the armored guards obeyed their king.
“Crap,” I said. These people weren’t my enemies. But I wasn’t going to get locked up without a fight.