Luathara - Book Three of the Otherworld Trilogy (25 page)

The pounding grew louder and in the next moment a herd of horses broke free of the trees.  Like a flock of birds, they moved as one and followed the stream down to the river bank.  I gasped so loud that I stumbled in place, Cade catching hold of me.

Led by the most beautiful cream colored mare I had ever seen, the herd tore through the shallow river, sending up great plumes of water.  I had half a mind to bolt; to find a tall bolder to take refuge on so I wouldn't get trampled, but the magnificence of the herd kept me glued in place.  Well, that and Cade's firm grip on my arms.

The herd's leader didn't pause until she was a few feet in front of us.  Her ears were pinned back against her head and she was breathing heavily.

"Steady now, you know me," Cade said firmly but calmly.

The pale horse drew back on her hind quarters and let out a loud whinny, but as she descended back to the ground, her form faded and morphed into something else entirely.

My mouth dropped open and my eyes grew wide.  No longer was I staring at a horse, but a tall woman w
ith great tangles of pale blond
hair falling over her shoulders and reaching the backs of her knees.  I had seen the Faelorehn transform before, particularly the Morrigan and then Cernunnos, but for some reason this change took me by surprise.

I made a sound that could have been a squeak and pressed myself against Cade.  He only
smiled softly, squeezing one of my
hands in his own, and all I could do was chastise myself for being lame.  Honestly, I had within me magic powerful enough to rival the gods, and I was afraid of a tall woman?

The woman who had been the horse just seconds ago turned to her herd and raised a hand.  The
agitated
horses stilled immediately and perked their ears forward, their large eyes now gleaming with intelligence and curiosity.  The woman turned back around and eyed me suspiciously, her sharp, clear grey eyes flashing to hazel then gold.  She drew in a deep breath through her nose and I distracted myself by counting he
r freckles.  I had a feeling I
could be at it all day and I'd never reach the final number.

"Caedehn," she finally said, her voice clear and crisp and her eyes now trained on him.  "What brings you to my realm?  Is this the lost Faelorehn girl everyone has been speaking of?"

I instantly snapped out of my daze.  Okay, two things.  One, I wasn't lost and two, everyone was talking about me?  Alright, maybe that was a pointless thought.  After my mother had announced to her entire court that I was her illegitimate daughter, I couldn't be too surprised that I had become the
latest source of
gossip
in
Eile. 
But I resented being considered
lost
.

Forgetting my earlier apprehension, I cleared my throat and stepped away from Cade.  The horse woman snapped her eyes back to me and I ignored the unease that formed in the pit of my stomach.

"I am Meghan Elam, daughter of Danua, and you are?"

Cade stiffened next to me and for a dreadful moment I was afraid I might have said something to anger the woman.  I didn't know her, after all, and the fact that she could take on the guise of a horse meant she was very powerful.  Probably one of the Tuatha De; a goddess of the Celts.

I bit my lip and fought the urge to back down.  Way to go Meghan . . .

The woman merely arched a pale eyebrow at me and, without smiling or adding any emotion to her voice, she said, "I am Epona, but some call me Rhiannon.  I reside over the horses of Eile."

For about five seconds I simply stared at her, at a loss.  Then I remembered reading about her in some of the stories in my Irish mythology book.

"Oh,
I'm sorry
," I fumbled with my words.  "I'm just tired of being
talked about like I'm some sort of novelty
.  I didn't mean to offend you."

I stuck out a hand, hoping to make peace, but
Epona merely stared at it for a split second, her own eyes wide.  Eventually, her lips quirked up into what could only be considered a smile.  She reached out her own hand and took mine, shaking it firmly.  A jolt of power shot up my arm and I hissed, fighting the urge to let my own
glamou
r break free. 
I
struggled
against the rush of power and gradually
my magic quailed
.  Unfortunately, it took a little more effort to get
Cernunnos
's gift back in line.  A half a minute (and a slight headache) later, it finally settled.  Thank goodness I'd had all that time to practice controlling it . . .

Epona released my hand and took a breath, casting her glance on Cade.  "So, she has spirit, your Meghan.  I guess I shouldn't be surprised, considering she's Danua's daughter."

The horse woman crossed her arms and smirked at me.

Speirling, who had remained strangely quiet this entire time,
decided to make his presence known and
let out a small whicker, his ears pricked forward and his eyes bright with joy.

Epona forgot us for a moment and glanced over at the black horse.  Her face broke into a genuine smile and she stepped forward, her hand reaching out to Cade's
stallion
.

"Speirling!  My dearest, how is Caedehn treating you?"

Speirling tossed his head once and dug at the earth with his hoof.

Epona patted his face and murmured something in the language of Eile.

Without looking back at us, she sighed and said, "I take it you've come for a horse for Meghan."

"Yes, if you have anyone to spare," Cade responded.

Huh?  A horse for me?  I blinked up at Cade and though his smile was small, his eyes were bright with
humor
.

"Very well, I shall ask them."

Epona stepped away from Speirling and faced her herd of horses.  She crossed her arms and simply stared at them.  As we waited, I took this time to study all of them.  They all resembled Speirling: strong, sturdy animals with that aura of Otherworldly power and intelligence about them.  Some were as dark as
Cade's horse
,
while
others were pure white or grey or brown.  Many were all the shades in between and several more were multi-colored.

Finally, a red stallion trotted forward, tossing his head and whinnying.  He was the most brilliant shade of chestnut I'd ever seen on a horse, and he was a bit smaller than Speirling.

The goddess eyed him and said, "Are you certain Lasair?  You will be the horse of the high queen's daughter.  That's a big responsibility you know."

The red horse merely dug at the ground and rumbled.  I could only assume it meant he was sure about taking on the task of carrying me around the countryside.

"Very well," Epona
replie
d, dropping her arms to her sides.  "Come, meet your new mistress."

She reached out a hand and gestured for the horse to step up to me.  I stiffened for a moment, nervous once again, but the Otherworld didn't have any cars and it would be nice to have my own horse.

"Meghan, this is Lasair, and Lasair, this is Meghan.  You will need to rely on one another and trust each other's instincts if you are to work together.  My horses do not belong to anyone, Meghan, they serve you willingly and may return to me whenever they please.  If you wish Lasair to serve you, then you must be prepared to work as a team.  Do you think you can do this?"

I nodded, trying not to flinch as she took my arm and placed my hand against the horse's forehead.  As soon as my skin made contact, I could feel his thoughts and concerns.  It wasn't exactly the same as speaking to Meridian or using
shil-sciar
with Cade, but somehow I knew what he was thinking, what he was feeling.

"He'll obey you now, but you must never abuse his loyalty or his trust."

I
pressed my lips together
and nodded.

"Thank you, Epona," Cade said, giving her a slight bow.

She nodded sharply, and stepped away from us.

"We will see you in Erintara
at the end of the week
, I believe."

"Yes," she answered, her voice growing grim and her eyes burning with anger.  "I am ready for the battle to come.  I will lose no more of my horses to the Morrigan."

She glanced over at Lasair, who had pinned his ears back against his head.  I could feel his anger pouring over me, and I took a step back.

"Fear not Meghan.  He lost his sister to the Morrigan several years ago, and he has not forgotten it.  I believe this is what encouraged him to become your companion.  He is ready to defeat her great evil as well."

I nodded and reached out a hand to my new horse.  I stroked his neck and slowly his anger melted away.  I smiled, sending thoughts of encouragement his way.

We took the
extra
saddlebags
from Speirling
and draped them over Lasair's shoulders.  He didn't seem to mind, holding still until we had everything secure, including my longbow.  I decided to keep the quiver on my back.  It seemed more secure there and I didn't want to lose any arrows, especially if there was a chance of being ambushed by faelah at any given time.

Cade gathered up Speirling's reins and climbed onto his back.  He then reached out a hand and helped me up behind him before leading the black stallion over to the red one.  I was reluctant to get onto Lasair's back without a saddle or bridle, but the horse was calm and I could sense his encouragement.  Once settled securely behind his neck, we turned to look at Epona.

"Until I see you in Erintara then.  Be sure to stay clear of the faelah and anything else the Morrigan throws your way."

With that, the goddess transformed back into the cream-colored mare, tossing her head and whinnying as she led her herd back across the river.

Lasair watched her and the other horses as they disappeared behind the trees on the opposite riverbank.  He whickered softly and I leaned forward to pat his neck.  I ran my fingers through his mane and smiled.  I could feel his sadness, but his pride was stronger.  Casting aside my own doubts and fears, I leaned forward and wrapped my arms around his neck.  Lasair
nicker
ed with affection and
before I knew it, we were on our way toward the Dagda's once again
.

* * *

We followed the river for an hour before turning south again.  The trees eventually gave way to the rocky ground I had grown so familiar with when traveling to the Dagda's.  The horses moved at an easy pace, not too fast and not too slow.  Just after mid
-
day I caught a glimpse of a familiar group of hills rising up from the level earth.

"Not
much further now," Cade called over his shoulder.  "Fergus, go on ahead and let
them
know we're on the way."

Fergus barked once and took off, Meridian chattering as she hurried after him.

Yes Meridian
, I sent after her,
go right ahead
.

I smiled when she sent me an apology.  She had grown rather fond of Fergus and ever since nearly losing him
in spring
to the Morrigan's wrath, she had been even more intent on watching over him.

Settling back into the rhythm of Lasair's smooth gate, I relaxed and prepared myself for an easy end to our journey.  Unfortunately, that's not what Fate had in mind.  The first wave of faelah exploded from the earth a split second before Meridian's warning screech tore into my mind.  The dark creatures rose from the uneven ground as if the soil had been as heavy as tissue paper on their backs.  Of course, by the way they were built it didn't surprise me that bursting from the earth was no difficult task.  Compact and close to the ground but with powerful legs, the creatures didn't even bother to stop and shake the mud from their
hides
.  They simply emerged and charged, their broad, crocodile-like mouths hanging open, their long spiked tails trailing behind them.  Let's just say shock didn't even come close to describ
ing my first reaction.

"Meghan, your bow, quickly!" Cade snarled from Speirling's back.

I snapped out of my stupor and reached down, trying my best to untie the knot holding my bow in place while simultaneously staying atop Lasair.  We were still moving forward at a steady pace and the faelah were charging towards us, covering the distance at an alarming rate.

My fingers shook and I could feel sweat breaking out on my forehead.  I gritted my teeth as my adrenaline surged, awakening my glamour.  I would have loved to just fry our approaching enemy, but unfortunately I had to use my own power to suppress the magic Cernunnos had given me.  The blue rose was fighting harder than ever to burst open and spill its magic into the world.  Too bad my gut instinct was telling me this wasn't the right time to use it.

I cursed as the first monster slammed into Lasair.  He gave a fierce whinny, but kicked out with his front legs, catching the faelah before it could do any damage.  I slipped and almost fell, but managed to catch a handful of the horse's mane.