“TRY AGAIN!” Dub yelled.
“Only the Dagda knows where the knife is hidden, but he, like so many of our kind, is long gone.” Carefully, the Donn surveyed the room, never letting the evil brothers notice his sweeping gaze.
“You think that I can call it forth, though I cannot,” the Donn sighed. “It was forged by the Master Druids of this temple, with their magic. Only they can sense the power of the Bone Knife, and reveal it. Alas, they are gone as well.”
Dub cracked his neck to the side as Dothur let out a low growl.
“It may be called The Bone knife of Donn, but I have no claim to it. I’ve never even seen it.”
“Lies!” a deep voice boomed, as Dian strolled from one of the many hallways. “You are the God of Death, are you not? In order to forge the Bone Knife, the Masters needed a tiny spec of your power, in order to magnify it.”
Donn looked at Dian with wide eyes. “Our mother was well versed in the ways of dark magic. I would rethink the way you answer our questions, Donn. So once again, where is the knife?”
Donn stood up and limped around the center of the room, carefully thinking of what he was going to say next. He cut his eyes toward me quickly, as if he were trying to get my attention. “Listen up,” he said a little too loudly. Katie nudged me on the shoulder. Whatever his game was, he was trying to tell us something.
Grabbing for That Bone
- Keira -
“I was but a soldier in the Miliesian army,” the Donn told Dian, “when one of our Druids had a vision…” He went into a long digression about how he incurred a curse that brought on a deadly plague. The disease struck down many score of his fellows, including him. His brethren blamed him, and cast him into a small boat, and set him adrift to die. “But before I perished, my little boat beached on a small island. And there I died, on that barren and rocky island.”
“Then how did it come to pass that you became Donn?” Dian demanded.
The Donn continued his stertorous elocution. Katie nudged me, and I noticed, too. As he distracted the Triple Axel Assholes, the old Donn was surreptitiously tracing something with his finger in the dust on one of the pews. I couldn’t see what the Donn was drawing from here, nor could Katie. Then, I saw her face light up, as an idea hit her.
“I never wanted this job, but it is my burden.” Dub still scowled, but Dian nodded, listening to every word. The Donn focused on him. “You want to save your mother, do you not?”
“Don’t be stupid,” Dub spat. “Of course we do.”
“Then release me,” thundered the Donn. “Let me return to Tech Duinn. I can cross the plains and retrieve her soul. I am your only hope to bring her back.”
Dian’s eyes narrowed at the old man. “You expect us to believe you, all of a sudden, you want to co-operate with us? I’m curious to know why?”
The Donn’s voice lowered. “My life force has weakened. You can see it yourself. My power is almost non-existent. I need to go back.”
Almost soundlessly, Katie chanted some words. Her eyes began to glow, a faint milky white. Meanwhile, the Donn raised his voice, so that evil brothers wouldn’t hear her.
“I can help you. I can raise your mother. Not only that, I can bring back to life all your comrades who perished in battle. We can build an invincible army. One not even Death can defeat. You can finish what you started so long ago.”
Suddenly a covey of birds flew into the temple. They were mixed, different breeds, colors, sizes, and they perched up along the rafters. The brothers stopped talking and looked around.
“It seems as though we have visitors,” Dothur said, suspiciously.
“So it appears,” Dub agreed. “I don’t like it. We’d better go search the temple. If Keira found her way here, that could be a problem.”
A chill snaked through my body as Dian’s eyes lit up at the mention of my name. “Do let me know if our little angel of death is here,” he said with a psychotic smile that made me want to vomit. “I’ll remain here, with our guest.”
Dothur and Dub walked out together, leaving Dian alone with Donn. A blue bird flew down from the rafters, landing next to the Donn. The bird cocked his head, black beady eyes finding the Donn’s marking in the dust.
Katie’s eyes appeared blank and empty. But she began drawing a symbol in the dirt, and I realized her power to commune with animals allowed her to see through the bird’s eyes. Badass!
When Katie finished her drawing, her eyes stopped glowing, and the birds flew away. Satisfied with what has happened, the Donn wiped the symbol off the pew. I stared down at the strange symbol. “I’ve seen this before,” I realized. “In my lessons with Brann. A Quaternary Celtic knot, a four corned symbol with closed paths.”
Knots to the Irish are like plaids to the Scots, identifiers of sorts. Where have I seen this knot? I forced myself to concentrate. Boom! It hits me. A book, with pictures of the treasures of the Tuatha. This knot symbol was associated with Brigid, a mythical warrior.
Great. But what was the Donn was trying to tell me? I searched my mind for anything I’ve learned of the Goddess Brigid.
Brigid... Brigid... Brigid... Nothing. I needed inspiration...
In what seemed like a quick blaze of light, inspiration came. Of course it did. Because Brigid is goddess of inspiration.
