The chain rattled with each step Sky took down the
darkened corridor. Her legs, thin and weak from lack of food and
exercise, struggled under the weight of the manacles as she tried to
keep up with the line of prisoners.
Time's up, she thought grimly as she took the final
steps and stopped on the raised platform before the massive arch built
twenty years ago as part of New Tara's ritual glade. To her left she
could see the circle where the druids performed their ceremonies. There
were a dozen white robed figures there now, laying out the candles,
incense and ritual tools needed for the Samhain rite. Soon the archway
would shimmer into life and Sky, along with the other prisoners, would
take their final walk through the veil, into the other world, into
death.
She watched the figures, her eyes drawn to the odd
squiggle emblazoned on the front of their robes. It was familiar, but
she couldn't quite remember where she'd seen it. Seeing it now made her
stomach clench with anger so she turned away, keeping her gaze firmly
fixed on the archway.
The chants began, deep voices resonating through the
glade as they spoke the Gaelic words. Sky kept her expression neutral
but inside, her mind was stewing with resentment. This was not the world
she'd been born into, but one simple act by a drunken college student
had sent everything into upheaval.
When Evan Sien had slurred an oath at the rock that had
tripped him up twenty years ago tonight, he'd inadvertently opened the
mythical veil separating the worlds. Where most neo-pagans had believed
that on all hallows eve the veil thinned allowing people to speak to
their ancestors, Evan's blunder had proved a much more fantastical
truth.
The veil could be opened.
With irrefutable proof of the druid's beliefs, the
entire world had been thrown into chaos and soon fanatical groups were
slaughtering those who didn't believe. Her parents had died in those
early days; now she'd be with them again, in the otherworld.
The chanting continued. Candles flickered in the chilly
fall breeze. Around her the other prisoners shifted uncomfortably, and
Sky could practically hear their hearts thunder, smell their fear. For
many, death was an end, but for Sky, who'd been raised in the Coven's
orphanage, it was a new beginning.
Sudden silence filled the air, and the breeze died. In the unnatural
stillness, Sky felt the hair on her arms rise. Then, with a whoosh of
air that sent her long hair spiralling up like a whirlwind, the veil
appeared. The crowd that had gathered to watch the execution suddenly
began cheering as the arch shimmered with silver and gold light until
everyone assembled had to avert their eyes from the veil's harsh
brilliance.
Guards came forward, each wearing a pair of sunglasses.
Sunglasses were one of the few things from before the Coven to remain;
most modern technology had been banished in the rush to conform to the
ancient druidic lifestyle. Sky decided that only those things that were
to the Coven's advantage were accepted.
Her fellow prisoners had turned away from the veil, but
Sky had no trouble staring into the bright light. When a guard offered
her a blindfold, she shook her head, her eyes riveted on the hypnotic
lights before her. Somewhere through there were her parents, and soon
now she'd see them again for the first time since she five years old.
Finally the line began to move forward and Sky's heart
leapt. Each prisoner stopped at the threshold, held in place by a guard
who removed their shackles, then nudged them forward again. One by one,
the men and women ahead of her disappeared into the swirling miasma of
light.
"Hold up there, little one." The guard said
when Sky didn't stop as instructed. With a few clicks of a huge cast
iron key, the binding's she'd worn for six months fell away and she felt
like she might actually fly through the veil.
She took a step and fell into a screaming spiral of
light.
*
"Skyana. Wake up, child." The voice was soft
and sweet and surrounded her like a warm blanket. Sky blinked and opened
her eyes to see the most beautiful woman she'd ever seen smiling down at
her. Silky black hair haloed by the sun, perfect creamy skin and ice
blue eyes flecked with silver, she looked like an angel.
This was not her mother.
"Who are you?" Slowly Sky pulled herself up to
sit opposite the woman and watched a frown of confusion pucker that
perfect brow.
"I am your mother."
Sky choked. "No you aren't. My mother had brown
hair, green eyes and she never would have looked that good in that
dress." The woman claiming to be her mother wore a white gown
cinched rightly below her breasts. It seemed to be made of layers and
layers of white gauzy fabric that swished and flowed around her feet as
though a gentle breeze blew them, though Sky could feel no wind against
her face.
"Maria Logan was your earth mother, and she birthed
you, but we made you."
Sky frowned. "And where is this? Where are my
parents? My earth parents?"
The woman frowned again, her full lips pursing
delicately. "This is Tir-N-Aill, the home of the Gods. You're earth
parent's came to us long ago and they were buried with the others."
A chill descended over Sky. "Buried? But why? This
is the otherworld, where our ancestors wait for -" The woman was
shaking her head, her expression sad.
"I'm afraid this isn't the otherworld. Perhaps it
would be best if we waited for the others to arrive."
Footsteps crunched on leaves and for the first time Sky
realized they were sitting in a forest clearing with soft light spearing
through the branches and butterflies of every color dancing between the
beams. The woman turned and smiled, and sky saw a group of men and women
approaching.
Her eyes bulged as she took in the group. Men built like
bulls with muscles rippling in the flickering light carried massive
swords, bows or axes. Women with delicate features and long black hair
wore gowns similar to the first woman's but in a shimmering array of
jewel tones. Sky looked down at the ragged and filthy clothes she'd worn
for six months and felt like a peasant dropped among royalty.
"Ah, Bridget, I see our lost one has
returned."
"Indeed Nuada, and she is in need of answers."
"Bridget? Nuada? Those are the names of -"
Sky's jaw snap shut on the final words. Celtic Gods? Could it be?
"Yes, daughter, we are Gods. As are you."
Bridget told.
Sky let her gaze sweep the newcomers and their earnest
smiles made her shrink back. Then she saw one man regarding her with
suspicion, his blue eyes narrowed in a frown.
"Are you sure she is the one we sent?"
Bridget sighed and motioned behind Sky. "She isn't
with them, isn't that enough proof?"
The man's frown grew more pronounced and Sky felt
herself wanting to cringe away from his gaze. Instead she turned to see
what Bridget had been pointing too and she gasped.
A pile of bodies, filthy and tangled, their eyes staring
sightlessly in random directions lay only feet from where she sat. Sky
scrambled to her feet and stumbled away, nausea burning her stomach. She
recognized the grizzled features of the old man whose cell had been
across from hers. He'd always sung to himself before he'd gone to bed,
soft songs about the Son of God. She'd never heard music like it before.
"How did this happen?" She whispered. They
were all supposed to emerge from the veil, whole and clean to rejoin
their family members who had already passed.
"Well, we were hoping you could tell us. You came
home, we assume it's because you'd found the answers you were sent to
find." Bridget answered.
"Excuse me?"
"That is why you've returned isn't it?"
"Camulus, calm yourself. You'll frighten her."
Sky was past the point where he could frighten her. She
was one short step away from freaking out and finding her self only a
few feet away from a pile of dead bodies wasn't helping.
"Perhaps we can continue this conversation in a
more pleasant environment." A woman in blue suggested. The others
nodded their agreement and Bridget cupped sky's elbow gently leading her
away from the grisly sight. They walked in silence through the trees
until they came to another clearing, this one containing soft lounge
chairs and piles of green cushions.
"Perhaps you'd better start, Bran." Bridget
motioned to one of the men and he sighed, his expression grim.
"Twenty years ago, as the years are judged on
earth, we felt the veil part and every year since then, on the holy day
of Samhain, it opens. We knew something unusual had happened, but it is
only possible for us to view the mortal lands on that one day and so we
needed more information. In a vision I saw an immortal child born to
mortal parent's who could right the balance and bridge the gap between
our worlds."
Sky knew she must look doubtful. The words made sense in
a poetically obscure way, but she didn't understand what they were
supposed to mean. The man, Bran sighed and scratched the side of his
nose. "Unfortunately we were unsure of what that meant, and of what
we were to do. In the end we decided to create the immortal child and
send it to earth hoping that it - you - would instinctively know what to
do."
"But how was I to know what to do when I didn't
even know I was supposed to do something?"
"Unfortunately, our plan had a few flaws, as
Camulus has repeatedly pointed out these many years." Bridget sent
the suspicious looking man an annoyed scowl. Unphased, he turned to Sky
and frowned.
"So what do we do with her now?" He asked.
Bran sighed and shrugged his massive shoulders. Another
man coughed and hefted a perfectly formed eyebrow. "I think it
might be time to try Camulus's plan."
Triumph flashed on the handsome God's face. "At
last!" He yelled, and jumped to his feet. His bicep flexed as he
reached for his sword.
"Camulus, sit down. We still need information and
Skyana is the only one who can give it to us."
Sky watched the God hesitate before he dropped heavily onto the padded
settee. His eyes had narrowed again and she felt the urge to burrow into
the pile of cushions.
"Very well, what information do you have for us?" He asked,
his tone implying that he doubted that it would serve much purpose.
"I - well, what do you want to know?"
"What exactly happened twenty years ago?" Bran asked.
"A drunk college student tripped on a stone in the park on his way
home from a party. He picked up the rock and cursed at it, though he was
so drunk that what came out was apparently unclear to his friends. The
veil opened and a man stepped into the light claiming to be a Celtic
warrior."
Bran sent Camulus a nasty look. "So this is your fault."
"It is not. I felt the veil open, as I've told you, and tried to
determine the cause. I did not know that I would unable to cross the
veil's threshold, or that they would be able to see and hear me."
Bran looked doubtful, but turned back to Sky. "And then what
happened?"
Sky explained how the world went crazy, how neo-pagan groups rose up and
forced reforms claiming that the veil proved that the Celtic Gods were
the true Gods. "Within months there were public trials and millions
of people who refused to denounce their own faith were executed. It
became a crime to be seen in public without an athame and pentacle,
which is why I was executed. I'd been running late and forgot my athame."
"Bran we have only a few hours before the veil closes. If I am to
succeed, I must go now."
Bran closed his eyes for a moment and sighed. "Very well, but you
must take Sky with you. She is the only one who can cross the
threshold."
Sky blanched and saw that Camulus didn't look any happier about it than
she did.
*
The veil shimmered before her, harshly beautiful against the lush green
of the forest behind it. Camulus stood beside her, his face stern and
angry. Behind her, the other gods assembled, their radiant beauty
outshining even the fierce brilliance of the veil.
"Let's get this over with." She said, holding out her right
hand for the man beside her. He hesitated a moment before fitting his
large calloused hand around her small delicate one.
"Do you know what you're doing?" He asked.
Sky grinned up at him. "Nope. Not a clue." And she stepped
forward into the swirling lights and fell. Her vision wavered and then
she was sprawled on the hard packed ground in the middle of the New Tara
ritual grove.
"Don't you dare pass out on me!" Camulus growled, hauling her
to her feet and shoving her bodily behind him.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?"
"Stay put." He instructed.
Sky wrenched her arm from his grip and peered around his upper arm and
groaned. A dozen or more armed guards were approaching, swords drawn,
expressions grim. "Was this part of your plan?"
"Nope." Sky snorted. His tone plainly said that while it
hadn't been part of the plan, he'd obviously hoped it would happen. She
supposed that there weren't a lot of battles for him to fight in
Tir-N-Aill.
Not seeing any other options, she let him have his fun. He moved with a
speed that left her gaping and she wondered if all Gods moved like this.
She had to admit he was spectacular to watch, but when she saw more
guards swarming the grove Sky knew even his unearthly skill might not be
enough.
"Camulus, more guards!" She called, but he'd already shifted
his position. He had a come-and-get-me grin on his face, a fine sheen of
sweat glistened on his bare arms.
Sky watched. Her breath lodged in her throat as he dodged, parried, and
lunged. She had no doubt he could keep this up indefinitely, but the
grove was packed with guards now and she didn't think even a God could
defeat them all. Besides, these were men, misguided and well
intentioned. Even she could see that there was no evil in them.
"Stop! Camulus, we'll find another way!"
He ignored her. She'd been pretty sure he would.
Ok, they said I was a goddess. Start acting like one. Sky stepped
forward, her hands outstretched and reached deep into herself, gathering
strength fiber by fiber. "ENOUGH!"
The ground shook and the crowd, who'd been cheering the fight, began to
scream as the footings on the audience platform cracked and swayed. The
fighting stopped and Camulus turned, his face purple with rage.
"You dare to stop me?"
"I'm not letting you kill hundreds of people just because you're
bored."
Before he could answer, four bars of light closed around them and
Camulus looked over her shoulder. The look of rage disappeared, replaced
by recognition and hatred.
*
Ah, home sweet home. Sky thought as she shoved at the manacles on her
ankles. She knew they wouldn't come off, but she had to try anyway.
She'd done the same thing every morning during her six-month
incarceration.
"You can stop glaring at me now."
"You are an idiot, and it's your fault we're in this mess!"
"Oh please, like you could have just fought your way through
several hundred guards."
"I could have very easily. Now we are trapped on earth. The veil
has closed now that the sun is rising."
"It could be worse."
"I doubt that."
Since she was pretty sure he was right, she kept her mouth shut, but
after a few minutes she turned to him again. "What was your plan?
Surely you didn't think you could just walk in and smash the
stone."
"Of course not."
"Then what was your plan? What do we have to do to right the
balance?"
Camulus sighed and ploughed his fingers through his hair. The chain
attached to his wrist smashed him on the nose and he cursed. "There
was no actual plan, other than for me to come to earth and repair the
damage."
"So we just need to smash the stone?"
"I thought so, but now I'm not so sure. We didn't realize so much
of earths culture had been altered by this and even if we destroy the
veil's anchor stone, we won't affect the balance."
"What exactly is this balance?"
"There are several different sets of Gods, all real and all with
there own section of the otherworld. When one group gains more
followers, the power they hold increases. When their followers turn away
to another religion, their power decreases.
"For thousands of years on earth, the Celtic Gods have been all but
forgotten, and with so few to believe in us, our power has weakened.
Then, twenty years ago our power surged drastically and we had no way of
knowing why. Even with most of the power base at our control, we can not
see the comings and goings on earth."
"But how can this be fixed? We can't make people stop believing in
you."
"I don't know. I hadn't thought this far ahead. The surge of power
was like a drug, and none of us could think straight enough to come up
with a real plan. It was all we could do to keep the power from going to
our heads, acting irrationally."
Sky's eyebrow rose but she wisely kept the comment about his rationality
behind her teeth. "So what do we do?"
"I don't know, but I think I know how this all started."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that it was no drunken college student who found the stone
and accidentally spoke the incantation that opened the veil. The chances
of all the elements coming together at the right time are nearly
impossible."
Sky felt a shiver of apprehension skate over her skin and something told
her that their situation was direr than she'd thought. "Then what
do you think happened?"
"Who is the leader of this so called Coven?"
"Evan Sien, why?"
"Because the priest conducting the ceremony today wore the Sigel of
Evnissyen; the God of Strife."
The similarities between the names struck her immediately and she felt
the blood drain from her face. "You mean this was all started by
one of you? But why?"
"To shift the balance so that he could gain power, and I am afraid
that the only chance we have to right this situation involves doing the
impossible. We have to stop an immortal God who has more power than all
the Gods in the entire otherworld combined."
*
With the Celtic Gods cornering the market on power, Camulus had no
problem breaking through the chains, though he insisted on waiting until
nightfall so that no guards would see him using his power. Sky saw his
point; it wouldn't do them any good to add more proof of the Celtic
God's existence. Spending another full day in this miserable cell made
her sin crawl, but she kept her mouth shut. He'd probably tell her it
was her fault they were here in the first place, and she wasn't in the
mood to hear I-told-you-so from him again.
She slept; after so many nights spent on the hard packed floor she
dropped off almost as soon as her head touched the ground. When she woke
she felt surprisingly refreshed, and decided it must be because she knew
she'd not be spending countless more nights sleeping in this damp cell.
The late afternoon sun slanted through the narrow window cut high into
the wall. Some time ago the guards would have brought dinner, but Sky
found she wasn't hungry.
"Are you awake?" Camulus's voice sounded rough. Sky sat up and
turned to see him sprawled on the dirt a few feet away from her. His
eyes were red and he looked as though he hadn't slept at all.
"I'm awake."
"There is food if you want it, though it barely qualifies as
food."
Sky laughed. "Well you can't expect a gourmet feast." She
looked over to the tray where a bowl of congealed stew sat. It did
indeed look thoroughly unappetizing. "I'm not really hungry."
"You should at least eat the bread. You've been through a lot in
the last two days."
Sky shrugged and picked up the slab of bread and for the first time
realized he was being nice. She blinked and peered at him through her
lashes as she nibbled on the crust. Without the scowl on his face he
looked even more handsome. Black hair, lightly tanned skin, deep blue
eyes, he was the very image of what she'd always thought a Celtic God
would look like.
She dropped her bread.
She'd dreamed of him! During her nights in prison she'd dreamed of a
warrior fighting at her side to bring down the Coven.
"Oh my!" She whispered.
"What's wrong?"
"I just realized something." Sky turned to face him fully.
"Camulus, I need to know, what powers does a Goddess have?"
"Every Goddess is different, but if you are asking what powers you
have, I can't say. You apparently have some control over the element
earth, but beyond that I don't know." He watched her for a moment,
their eyes locked together. "What is it? What's wrong?"
"I think I know what we have to do."
The sun took forever to sink behind the horizon. Sky sat in the growing
gloom, her mind swarming with possibilities but everything led to one
uncomfortable conclusion. It was perhaps a stretch, but she believed
that if her reason for being was to right the balance, then she didn't
exist as a strictly Celtic God. Logic would dictate that in order to
control the balance, she needed to have a bit of all the - well factions
was as good a word as any.
In her dream, she and the man who she now knew was Camulus, had tried
combining their powers to destroy the shadowed creature at the end of
the long corridor. They'd failed. Then Camulus had jumped in front of
her, and had taken a bolt of green fire to the chest. In her dream, he'd
died, and the world had been destroyed.
"Camulus, what happens when a God dies?"
"Gods can't die, they are immortal."
"Can they be killed by other Gods?"
"Skyana, Gods are immortal, they can't be killed. We need to move
now if we're going to complete our mission before the sun rises
again."
She sighed, and held out her wrists. She didn't like his certainty that
he couldn't be killed. She'd seen him die; she knew it was possible. Not
for a minute did she doubt that her dreams had been some kind of
prophetic vision.
Within minutes they were free of the chains and Camulus had disengaged
the lock on the door.
Together they crept down the narrow corridor, past
empty cells that would soon hold more innocent men and women.
Camulus dispatched the guards with a few well-aimed punches and they
moved from the prison section into the Coven's main offices within
minutes.
"I always wondered why the prison was built onto Evan Sien's
compound."
"He's the God of Strife, he gains power from the pain and suffering
of those in the prison."
"Greedy little bastard isn't he?"
Camulus snorted and continued walking. Their footsteps echoed eerily on
the marble tiles. "We're close, I can feel it." He walked on
until he came to a door. "It's in here."
"What is?"
"The Veil Stone." The door creaked when he opened it, and Sky
winced at the sudden loud noise. Camulus stepped into the room and she
followed, closing the door softly behind her.
The stone sat on a small pedestal draped in black velvet. A single beam
of moonlight illuminated it and Sky saw that it wasn't anything special
looking. In fact, it looked like an average hunk of granite, except for
the low humming sound it seemed to be creating.
"I thought destroying the stone wouldn't solve the problem."
"It won't, but it will bring me a measure of peace."
"Good point. How are you going to-"?
SMASH! His mighty fist came down on the stone and it crumbled into dust.
"Dammit, Camulus! Are you trying to wake everyone up?"
He shrugged. "It hardly matters. Evnissyen will already know we are
here." He turned and grinned boyishly at her before pushing her
back out the door. "I'm going to miss having this extra power to
call on."
"Camulus, what a surprise." The new voice jolted Sky away from
her musings about Camulus's looks. She turned and saw a tall whip-like
man dressed in white robes emerge from the shadows in the hall.
"Evnissyen." Camulus greeted him, his expression turned grim.
"Don't tell me you are here to stop me. And with a mortal child at
your side. You always did have a weakness for mortal women."
"This isn't about me. It's about ending this and restoring the
human world."
"Miserable humans. Why do you care about their plight? You just
said you enjoyed the extra power they've given you."
"It's not right, Evnissyen."
The God of Strife laughed and Sky felt the skin on her arms prickle.
"You can't stop me, no one can."
"I can." Sky said.
"I think not, child." Green fire flared from his fingertips
and Sky knew that her dream was about to come to pass. Camulus growled
and flung himself across the hallway, blocking her body with his.
"Camulus no!" She twisted and pulled him down to the floor.
The green fire struck his shoulder and he screamed. They crashed to the
hard marble together, his large body pinning her to the tile.
"Why did you do that?" He whispered.
"Because this is for me to do. You can't let him destroy you."
She struggled against his weight until she'd pulled herself free.
"Gods can't die, Skyana. I told you that."
But she'd seen in her dream that they could, and she wasn't going to let
it happen, not to him. Even if the fate of the world didn't depend on
it, she wouldn't let him die. Her eyes flickered to the God standing a
few feet away, green light illuminating his robe and his skin. She
shivered and crawled away to hide in small alcove until she could catch
her breath.
Evnissyen laughed. "You thought you could kill me? Camulus, you
know that Gods can't be killed."
"They can be controlled." Camulus said, his voice rough with
pain.
"Do you really think that one God, alone, can defeat me? I'm more
powerful than any of you! Not only do they worship me as a God, but as a
leader!"
Sky watched, paralyzed as Camulus bled onto the marble floor. She could
end this now, had to end it now before Evnissyen sent the green fire
again
Stepping out from alcove, she spoke. "Evan Sien! Stop this
minute!"
"Ah, the little mortal child. You think you can stop me?"
Sky swept her arms around her head, called forth the tiny parts of
herself that held the power of each God. Green for the ancient earth
Gods: Nuada, Bridget and Rhiannon. Blue for the Gods of the frozen
north: Odin, Freya and Thor. Red for the Gods of the East: Buddha, Enlil
and Enki. Gold for the Gods of the Desert sands: Mohamed, Rha and
Christ. One by one the power of a dozen faiths filled her until her
hands glowed with pure white light.
"No! It's not possible!"
Sky extended her hand towards the God of strife and pulled. Green fire
erupted around him and he screamed as the light began to drift down the
long corridor towards her.
"You can't do this! Who are you?"
Sky ignored him, concentrating on pulling Evnissyen into herself. He
screamed again, his voice shrill with panic. Sky closed her eyes, and
gritted her teeth
Then there was silence.
Opening her eyes, Sky scanned the corridor and found herself alone in
the darkness.
"Camulus?"
There was no answer. She hadn't really expected one. Somehow she'd taken
all the gods into herself, their power, and their essence. She was the
God now. For one brief moment she thought of what she could do with that
power, how she could change the world. But she knew she couldn't do it.
She'd been created for a reason, and now she had to fulfil that purpose.
Even if it meant ending her existence.
The power swirled inside her like millions of fireflies in the night.
Before fear could overtake her, she let the power free. Instinct took
over and she carefully balanced the power of each God before releasing
its essence back to the otherworld.
One by one they left her, and with each she lost a bit of herself. When
at last there was only one left, she sank to her knees, her eyes heavy
with fatigue.
"Well done, Goddess of Balance." Camulus hovered before her,
his blue eyes twinkling. "I'm sorry I every doubted your
power,"
"Camulus. Don't leave me! Please, I-" but he was gone.
With the power dissipated the light disappeared leaving her in darkness.
Sky groaned and collapsed to the cool marble and let exhaustion overtake
her.
*
"Skyana, wake up."
The voice was rough and deep. It penetrated the fog in her mind like a
hurricane force wind, snapping her awake.
"What? Where am I?"
"Tir-N-Aill of course." Camulus said, chuckling. "Where
did you think you'd be?"
"I don't know. I thought I was dead."
He laughed and ran a calloused hand down her cheek. Sky pressed her face
into the caress. "Silly girl, I told you that Gods couldn't
die."
The End
