Well, cover me with feathers and call me a chicken. Every instinct in me said this was all insane, and all the insane things I’d been going through said insane was perfectly true. Perhaps all the Looney Tunes madness in my recent life were samples of these ‘gifts’, or whatever. The strange dreams of power and prophecy, the manifestations of magic black smoke, even the ability to create my own dramatic special effects. It’s all batshit crazy. Which makes perfect sense. As for the part about Edna... it made sense too. But that didn’t make me feel any better.
“You know,” I told her, “all this time I just thought I was weird. Or unlucky. Even going crazy. It was the only way I could explain any of it.”
“Except for magic.”
“That would be as good a theory as anything.”
“What has happened to you has nothing to do with luck. Although...” Here the Morrigan hesitated, her brows knitting. It was a peculiar expression for such a regal woman. I wondered if something was making her sad or worried. “Were it not for the vile forces conspiring against our bloodline, your life might have been very different.” Really, I would have never guessed. “I understand how being the last hope can be painful. Perhaps, then, I should apologize for the burden I have placed on you.”
The Morrigan’s words felt so heartfelt that I felt myself get misty eyed. “It’s… I guess it’s all right,” I said. “What’s done is done. It’s not like you can go back in time and stop my mom from dying and me going into foster care and having the messy life I did. Unless you can, in which case I’d really like full disclosure here.”
A short, sharp laugh like a crow’s call came from the Morrigan. “I may be magical, but I’m not that particular type of magical,” she said. “You have a good outlook. All anyone can do in life is march forward. Even I do not have the power to change the past, but if you’re ready to march forward and claim your destiny, even with its burdens, I can tell you more.”
“I don’t really see a choice,” I said. “Even with all this weird magic and cryptic bullshit. What’s the alternative? ‘Evil is coming, with Darkness and Violence’. That’s not much of a future.”
“Wisely put. I am glad you’re willing to take up the mantle, in spite of your misgivings, which are justified.” The Morrigan sucked in a breath and continued. “And so, to the problem at hand. The Donn of Tech Duinn has gone missing. He is akin to... ah, what’s that god’s name... Pluto, I believe.”
“No, I think Pluto is a dog. In Disney cartoons? Kinda like Goofy, but without clothes.”
“Pluto is the Roman name for the God of the Underworld. His classical Greek name is ‘Hades’,”
“As in ‘hot as’, right?”
“I suppose so, yes.” The Morrigan frowned. “At any rate, the Donn of Tech Duinn presides over the state of limbo, where souls come to be judged before moving on to the otherworlds. However, with the Donn missing, I am the only one who is able to preside over the House of Donn. The only barrier to keep the souls of the dead out of your world. That is why I cannot leave this place. Chaos would ensue between life, and death.”
“That sounds, uh, complicated,” I mumbled, unsure of what the Donn’s absence had to do with me (but I suspected a ‘sidequest’ was coming).
“It’s essential the Donn be found soon, but there is one more essential detail to consider. Come here to me.” The Morrigan paused to make sure I was giving her my full attention. “You must stay safe at all costs. If you die, then my last tether to this world is severed, and I die with you. I would join the ranks of various divine and mystical brethren who have suffered similar fates. The world will lose more magic, which spells out disaster for any remaining divine beings. It becomes impossible to maintain the old ways of magic.”
My thoughts immediately drifted to Brann. If the Morrigan died and more magic was lost, would he lose his powers too? That would be a devastating blow, and I can only imagine how he would feel. The Morrigan had played a card close to my heart, and it worked - I was convinced of the importance of magic. “Okay, I’ll do my best,” I said. “But, if ‘evil forces’ are coming for me, ‘safe’ sounds problematic. Got any, uh, ‘protips’?”
“Use your head,” the Morrigan said with a smirk. That stung a bit. Taking that water bottle from a creepy stranger wasn’t exactly smart. “There are ways to protect yourself, and fight the approaching darkness. First, you must learn to wield your magic. To understand it, to control its properties - much like witches and wizards of old did.”
Oh, thanks. I’ll give Harry Potter a call. She went on.
“You must also learn to trust yourself, and be careful in whom you place your trust. You have four guardians you can trust, but the choice of who you must not trust is difficult for everyone.”
“Trust myself, huh...” My head was spinning. Between ‘proof’ of magic, and being the Morrigan’s literal last hope, my first test would be not to freak out about getting murdered by demons.
“I can give you one small spark of true power. It will help you to unlock the great forces within you.
