“I wasn’t even sure if it was real. Up until now, I thought that it was just a terrible dream.”
“It’s real. You’re in danger, Keira,” Weylyn warned. “Something powerful is coming, and we don’t even know how to fight it.”
Orin leveled a cold stare. “How can we protect you if you don’t tell us these things?”
“And the prophecy?” Keegan asked. “You said if we fail, the spirits of the dead will invade our world?”
“That’s what she told me.”
Brann slammed the book on the table. His eyes became all black, as he uttered words so low we could hardly hear him. Suddenly, the pages started flipping so fast, it caught all of us off guard. I gasped. They began to slow down, and finally, they halted. Brann started running his fingers over the open page, reading aloud.
“Entry 124
Lug and Be Chuille summoned me today. It is decided. Tomorrow we will finally face off with Carman and her three sons. Mercy will be granted to Dub, Dothur, and Dian only if she is willing to cooperate. I fear she will never do that. Carman is a skilled warrior and a very powerful witch. That is why I, The Morrigan, have been asked to be my peoples aid. If we triumph in battle, I must banish them once and for all.”
“Entry 128
The battle raged for many days. Finally, Carman and her armies were vanquished. I was summoned by Crichinbel to banish her sons. I arrived upon the hilltop to find Carman drained of all magic, and chained to an old oak tree. Her three sons were battered and bruised. But they refused to surrender, even though they were chained. With my magic, I banished Darkness, Evil, and Violence from our lands. They did not go willingly. They fought every step of the way, hissing and spitting their promise. Swearing one day they will come back and repay the pain inflicted on their mother times three.”
I realized that even though I was still in the room, I could also see and hear everything he described, almost like I was watching a family home video.
“Entry 130
It has been done. Crichinbel, Lug, Be Chuille and Aoi have stripped Carmen of all her power and left her as helpless as any mortal. The blight on this land will finally end, and we can finally start to rebuild.”
Brann paused, turning to a final entry…
“Entry 138
I awoke from a dream, where I saw a prophecy of the future. They will come back. They will wage war, and try to destroy all the mortal world. This battle, when it comes, must be fought by one of my own, and only she will be able to stop the sons of Carman.”
Then something even more astonishing happened. Brann reached a passage written in verse. He continued reading... but it was not Brann’s voice we heard. It was the melodious voice of The Morrigan, singing the verse as lyrics, a lilting song of musical enchantment:
“...A day will come when she no longer dreams
For it will be her the daughter of the fairy queen
Veiled far from mortal sight
Her magic grows strong both dark and light
A curse wrought down while chained to a tree
Will be returned but times three
Of darkness, love and the blackest fire
And all the power of man’s desire
With beauty bright and bloody red
Will she slay those who should be dead
She will call upon those far and near
To help banish what’s not welcome here
Not one, not two, not three, but four
Shall help her win the greatest war
And when Phantom Queen lifts the veil
Beware your steps and do not fail
For if you fall, my dear daughter,
You will lead us all to Slaughter…”
When he finished singing these lyrics, Brann remained in a blank trance, gazing into a mysterious void, out of his body.
It took Keegan only a second to bring all of us back, as he cracked wise: “My gracious, Nelly. Your warble puts the sweetest songbird to shame.”
Brann instantly snapped out of his fugue state. “Bite the back of me bollocks, ya cheeky wanker!”
This brought gales of laughter. Nervous laughter, but it snapped all of us back to the here and now. Brann closed the book, and turned to me. “It seems these three brothers are after coming back, to avenge their Oul Dear Ma.”
“Aye,” vouched Keegan, “and it’s your skin they’re wanting.”
I suppressed a sudden urge to punch him in the throat. He’s obviously correct. It is about me… killing me.
“Fuck them. They wait around thousands of years, but just as I come along, all of a sudden it’s revenge time?”
Katie gives me a half smile, half cringe. “Guess you hit the Lotto.”
“How am I supposed to fight ancient evil? I can hardly walk up the stairs without falling! Un-fucking-believable!”
I didn’t mean to yell at them, but what the hell? This wasn’t exactly the inheritance I was expected when I came to Ireland. Hello, Keira. Here’s your castle, here’s your pot of gold… oh, and here’s your thousand-year-old curse of death from all the demons of Hell...
My eyes started to burn. My life, the life I once knew, had been thrown out the window. And now? Everything had just become a fight to stay alive. I grabbed the book and dropped it back in the wood box. It landed next to the letter, and the little silver box. I slammed the lid back on. I wrapped my arms around the box, and started walking out of the room.
“I’m going to get some fresh air. And I don’t want to be followed. That includes you, Dante,” I hissed. The dog dropped down with a miserable whine. “I’m sorry, all of you. This is… too much to deal with, and I am so pissed off, I’m…” I’m ready to nuke the whole Emerald Fucking Isle and every fucker on it. “Just stay away. I don’t want to melt anyone’s face off with my defective magic.” I spun on my heel and walked out of the room.
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After a
