Luathara - Book Three of the Otherworld Trilogy (40 page)

“You should have let her hit me Caedehn,” Danua said from her seat.  “I deserve it more than anyone.”

"No, my queen," Cade murmured over his shoulder, "she would have regretted it."

I forced the anger and the tears to fade away as Cade comforted me.  I was livid and hurt and confused.  I wanted to claw Danua's eyes out, but another part of me wanted to hold her close. 
She had opened up to me only a few minutes ago, and despite all the times I'd told myself I didn't give a damn about what she thought, her willingness to let me in was like a balm to my soul.  We all made mistakes and most of us spent the rest of our lives trying to make up for the worst of them.  My mother, the high queen of Eile, was no different than anyone else.  She was trying to right a wrong she had made a long time ago and I could either continue to hold it against her or I could help her through it.

Sniffing back my tears, I pushed Cade gently away, smiling weakly up into his worried face.

It's okay Cade.  I've got this.

Are you sure?
he asked as he brushed a hand down my cheek.

He had finally removed his gloves and his fingers were warm and rough.  I shivered slightly from his touch and reached up to take his hand.

I lifted his fingers to my mouth and brushed his knuckles with my lips. 
It's just a lot to take in at once, but I can get through this.

His fingers squeezed mine before releasing my hand.

“Meghan, I know you think that the Morrigan is after your magic, that this whole mess is your fault, but you’re wrong.  It isn’t about you, it’s about me.”

I opened my mouth to argue, but she held up a hand, halting whatever speech I was about to make.

“No,” she said harshly, her eyes growing hard again
.
“No, you wanted to know everything and so you shall.  I lied to you Meghan, I know this, now give me a chance to make amends.  Your father is Fomorian, I did not lie about that, but I wasn’t honest about the details of our relationship.”

She
gaz
ed up at me, her eyes growing soft
once more
.  She quickly flicked her glance towards Cade before looking at me and continuing once again, “As you have now gathered, I did not stop seeing him after you were born.  He crossed over into our world to visit me, and I crossed over into his.  We tried so hard to stay apart Meghan, but we couldn’t.”

She glanced up from her lap and grinned crookedly as she looked at Cade
again
.  “I can only imagine you understand what I’m talking about.”

The soul-deep burn of my anger subsided a little.  Was she no longer so averse to Cade?  And then a strange, but very likely, thought invaded my mind.  Danua had been so against Cade because she didn’t want us to end up like her and my father
, separated by the inconvenient
conventions
of society
.  I should have been furious at her, but if I listened to her words without letting my emotions tarnish them, then all I could see before me was a woman trying to protect her own heart and those her heart belonged to.  Not a queen, not a powerful Faelorehn goddess, but a mother.  My mother.  And just like that, all my anger fled.

“The last time I saw your father was the day after Aiden was born.  He was the one who took him to the mortal world and made sure he became part of your foster family.”

Fresh tears filled my eyes, but my hatred and distrust was gone.

“I know you cannot forgive me Meghan, but please, for Aiden’s sake and your own, please believe me.”

I stepped away from Cade and he let me go.  I knelt down in front of my mother, the all-powerful Danua, and took her hands in mine.

“I believe you mother, I believe you.”

She cried out, standing up and pulling me into her arms as she did so.  We both had tears in our eyes as we stood there, making that bridge stronger and allowing our hearts to heal, if only a little.  I felt light on my feet as I finally allowed myself to forgive my mother, and although I welcomed the feeling like a gentle winter rain, the acrid sting of severe anger threatened to spike through me
once more
.  One wound had been repaired, but another was still torn wide open.  The Morrigan had my little brother; Danua's son, and from the sudden rush of magic swirling around us, I could tell the high queen of Eile was thinking along the same lines as I was.

"Now," she eventually said, holding me at arm's length and screwing her beautiful face up into an expression of vengeance, "we get back your brother and knock so much power out of the Morrigan that she'll be nothing more than a legend for the next thousand years."

* * *

The moment my mother and I
recomposed ourselves
, Danua asked Cade to inform the Tuatha De to meet in her counsel room as soon as possible.

Cade gave her a short, formal bow then cast me a reassuring look before quietly stepping out of the room.

Once Cade was gone, s
ilence descended upon us like a
heavy frost.  Yes, Danua and I had just
taken that first step in healing our mother-daughter relationship
, but it would take time for us to get used to each other.  When a heavy log fell in the fireplace,
crackling and sending up a flurry of sparks,
the high queen cleared her throat and said, "Shall we?"

She held out a hand, indicating a door that I knew led to
her coun
ci
l room.
  Nodding, I went ahead of her, opening the door and stepping into the familiar room from those several nights ago when I saw the Tuatha De gathered together for the first time.  At the moment, the large room was silent, the huge, oval table
sleeping like a beast in the darkness.
I
n the next few minutes my mother
used her glamour to
light the candles and
the fire, then summoned someone
to bring us tea.

Danua sat in her chair, the one with the highest back, and gestured for me to sit next to her.

"And now we wait," she said simply as she took a sip of
her
steaming tea from
a
delicate cup.

I copied her, but before long the
oppressive
silence returned.  I had absolutely no idea what to say to her.  I wanted so badly to ask her about my father, but when I opened my mouth, the words
just wouldn't
come. 
You've just been through an emotional blender Meghan, and now it's about to be set on
high
speed.  No wonder you can't speak.
  Thank you, conscience . . .

Instead of trying to come up with a meaningless conversatio
n, I glanced out the window.  An icy rain pelted the landscape, painting it
in various
shade
s
of grey.  I alternated between chewing on my fingernails and drinking my tea, trying so very hard not to think about what I knew was coming.  This meeting that was about to commence would be it.  We were going to war.  And not only did I have to worry about protecting Cade and myself, but I had to worry about Aiden too.

Without knowing it, I took a deep breath and released a huge sigh.

"I know Meghan," my mother said softly, causing me to start.

I turned my eyes
to
her.  Carefully, she set her teacup back on its saucer, the delicate chirp of porcelain meeting porcelain ridiculously loud.

"This is a terrible test on someone so young, but I want you to know, no matter what happens in the coming days, I am very proud of you."

Suddenly, I was blinking back tears
again
.  I wanted to believe her, but her behavior from several months ago, when we had met for the first time, and even more recently, had me doubting.

Danua only smiled and shook her head, tears gleaming in her
own
eyes.  "I was a fool, my dear daughter.  Seeing you made me think of myself, so many years ago when I was young, and the anger I expressed was more towards myself than towards you.  But you stood up to me; you refused to budge.  You are far stronger than you think Meghan.  Don't you ever forget that."

The tears streamed down my face, and as I lifted my sleeve to wipe them away, the door burst open and in poured Cade and the Dagda.

For some reason, seeing Cade's foster father sent one final fissure through the dam and the flood burst free.  I jumped up from my seat and threw my arms around him.

"Whoa!  Meghan dear!  What's amiss?"

I felt the heavy weight of his arms wrap around me, one of his hands patting me on the back.

"Your young man here woke me from a dead sleep.  Has the Morrigan attacked?"

Without thinking, I peeled my head back and blurted, "She has Aiden!  The Morrigan has Aiden!"

Confused
cornflower blue eyes regarded me for a few moments.

"Aiden?" the Dagda said.

I bit my lip.  Stupid emotions.  I guess I should have thought this through before assuming that Danua wouldn't care if everyone knew about her other child.

"Aiden is my son, Dagda, born of the same father as Meghan.  Like my daughter, we hid him in the mortal world, conveniently within Meghan's own family.  The Morrigan somehow discovered this and passed through the dolmarehn, taking him from his foster
parents
.  She holds him hostage here in Eile."

I felt all the muscles in the Dagda's arms grow stiff, then he cursed.

Danua sighed deeply, her age showing on her face for a split second, then lifted her clear, ocean-colored eyes to Cade's foster father.  "We no longer simply have a war to fight, but we have a rescue mission to attempt as well.  I suspect the Morrigan wishes to keep Aiden as a way to bait Meghan and myself."

The Dagda carefully set
me down, then crossed his arms.
  He furrowed his brow in that all familiar thinking stance I had often seen him in, then took a deep breath and released it.

"The others will have to be told.  And we cannot make any plans until we know exactly what we're dealing with."

Danua nodded grimly.

"We'll have to create a distraction," Cade added, resting his hands on his hips
and letting his head hang low.

After a while he glanced up at me, his emerald eyes gleaming.
 
"If anyone knows how to antagonize the Morrigan, it's me.  Besides, she isn't exactly pleased to know that my death didn't stick.  She'll find it hard to concentrate on the big picture with me standing in her trail and reminding her of her weakness and failure."

"No," I blurted, stepping forward and grabbing onto Cade's arm.  "No, you will not offer yourself up as bait."

"Meghan, we need a diversion," Cade said in a lower voice.  "I'm the best candidate besides you, and there is no way-"

"Enough!" Danua said, throwing her arms in the air.  "We will not discuss this any longer, not until the rest of the Tuatha De get here."

She picked up a large bell and rang it twice.  "Now, let's have something to eat.  Meghan and I had some tea, but we'll need several more pots soon."

In the next breath, a door at the side of the room swung open and two male servants came in carrying a tray.  The tantalizing aroma of
savory
stew and fresh bread filled the room and soon our worries were set aside as the four of us paused to eat.  I couldn't put Aiden from my mind, not entirely, but it was nice to have a distraction if only to let my emotions take a breather.

"Caedehn," Danua said looking up from her meal, "did you relay my message to all my guests
?
"

Cade nodded.  "They told me they'll be down as soon as they can."

"What about Enorah?" I asked, suddenly remembering Cade
had
wanted to check for her.

"Not here yet.  I'm guessing she had a slower time getting away from the Weald than us.  I expect she'll
arrive
by tomorrow at the latest."

I nodded, but before I could get back to my meal, the door burst open again and in strode Epona and Nuadu, followed by Lugh, Goibniu
, Oghma
,
Cernunnos
and a few others
.  I gritted my teeth at seeing the god of th
e Wild, his magic flaring in my chest as
it recognized his presence
.

"What is the meaning of calling us all together on such short notice?" Lugh wanted to know.  "Has the Morrigan
struck
?"

With all the grace she possessed as high queen, my mother calmly explained the situation, and as the details of her story unfurled, the tension in the room wound tighter and tighter.

When she finally finished with her tale, Nuadu spoke up, his voice silent but resonant, "Well then, there is no question
as to what we must do
.  We must try and rescue the child."