Chapter 26 #2
“That could be.” Laura pointed at him. “It’s like… Schrodinger’s victory. You’ll have defeated the Morrígan when you realize how, but until then, she still has power. She is both defeated and undefeated at the same time.”
Godrik frowned. “That does make an odd kind of sense.”
“No, it doesn’t!” Carys felt like she was losing it. “How does that make sense?”
Duncan cleared his throat. “I would like to point out that if we’ve learned anything over the past couple of weeks, it’s that god-type things are full of contradictions. The three Mothers admitted as much tonight.”
“Exactly,” Laura said. “Our brains would literally break if we tried to understand all of it at once, which is why our natures split in two when we’re born.”
Carys muttered, “I feel like you’re all as completely lost as I am, but you’re trying to say things that sound like they make sense to make me feel better.”
Naida raised her hand again. “I would like it noted—if Laura is taking notes—”
“I am.”
“—that I also feel that no one understands what is happening,” Naida finished.
“Thank you!” Carys turned to Naida. “But did you know that humans created the two realms? Like, the fae control the gates as they are now. Do you all have your own stories about their origins?”
“No, but I never thought about it much.” Naida shrugged. “And I don’t know that the three Mothers truly know either. I suspect that all this is a story. There may be other stories equally true.”
“The fae woman is correct,” Angus said. “Sure, those ladies are older than me, but multiple worlds have existed as long as humans have.”
Cadell sat up straight. “Which would imply…” He saw the glare that Carys pointed at him. “Nothing. It implies nothing.” Silently, he said, It does imply that humans had something to do with the division of the worlds.
Why can we talk here?
Cadell shrugged. “I feel very powerful.” He turned to the wolf. “Do you feel it?”
Godrik nodded. “I do. I don’t know that I could shift, but I definitely want to.”
“Maybe because the Mothers are here,” Naida said. “I also feel very well.”
A bright full moon shone on the water of Swansea Bay, lighting a path in the smooth water that led out to the depths of the Atlantic Ocean and the vast realms of the deep.
“I need to figure out how to get to Annwn,” Carys said. “It’s a place where people are both living and dead.”
“Another contradiction,” Laura whispered.
“I do not advise it,” Cadell said. “Especially not after the news this morning.”
They all turned to the dragon.
“What news?” Laura asked.
“There is a new barrow risen on Glastonbury Tor,” Cadell said. “That makes three places of power for the Morrígan. Three seems to be an important number for her.”
“Triangles are inherently stable,” Laura said.
“The Morrígan is three-natured,” Angus said.
Carys looked at Cadell. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do,” she admitted. “You all were there today. Do any of you have ideas?”
Dead silence in the room.
“I don’t like the idea of you going to Annwn,” Duncan said quietly.
“But I also hate the idea of the Morrígan taking over the world and provoking a giant supernatural war that would absolutely thrill her.” He took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
“So whatever you decide to do, lass, I’m behind you. ”
Carys walked over to Duncan and wrapped her arms around him. “I’m going back to the bookshop in the morning,” she said softly. “I think maybe just me.”
“No,” Laura said. “We’re all in this together, Carys.”
“She’s the daughter of two worlds,” Angus croaked from the corner. “She’s the only one who can go where she needs to go.”
Carys curled up next to Laura on the sofa in front of the fire.
Lachlan had spread a UK road map on the table, and the others were gathered around it.
“Carys will do whatever she thinks is best,” he said, “but I think it would be prudent for us to think of plans to confront the goddess.” He glanced at Carys. “Just in case you don’t realize how you have already defeated her.”
She shrugged. “Fair.”
“Agreed,” Cadell said. “A forceful response can be a last resort, but at least it gives us options.”
Duncan grabbed a red marker. “She’s raised mounds on Glastonbury Tor.” He put a large red dot on the map. “Around Stonehenge. And Avebury.”
“What’s in Avebury?” Laura asked. “I forgot about that one.”
“In the Shadowlands, there is a large fae fort there,” Naida said. “It’s been empty for many years, but it was once the home of a powerful queen.”
“I think in our world, there are three stone circles,” Duncan said. “National heritage marker on the map.”
Naida said, “So it’s a place of great power in both our worlds.”
“Apparently yes.”
“Okay, so in each world, these points represent old power.” Lachlan took the edge of a large book and drew a line between each one. “What is in the middle of this area? What of note?”
Duncan walked over and looked at the map. “Some nice woods around there, but nothing that I can remember.”
“What is the white horse?” Godrik asked. “That is marked on the map. What is that?”
Duncan shook his head. “I think it was put near an ancient burial spot nearby, but it was made later. It’s not very old.”
“But the barrow is,” Godrik said.
“There are barrows and earthen mounds all over Salisbury Plain,” Duncan said. “It’s impossible to say if the Morrígan is going to use one for… I have no idea. Naked maypole dancing? God knows.”
“The plain is also a place of Epona’s power,” Naida said. “The horse goddess is worshipped on the plain. Even today there are probably followers of her cult. The Morrígan would avoid it, don’t you think?”
“Or that may be part of the attraction,” Laura said. “Wouldn’t that be like a little extra eff you from the Morrígan? This is what you get for keeping me locked in the Shadowlands for so long?”
None of this felt right. None of this made sense.
A third barrow had risen on Saris Plain, so clearly there was a reason, but the Morrígan had her sights set higher than a few stone circles in Southern England.
Carys walked over to Duncan. “Can you look at the social media feed for Macha?”
Duncan nodded. “That account you sent me?”
“Yes.”
He quickly pulled up Macha’s feed while Lachlan, Godrik, Naida, and Cadell argued in the background.
“There.” Carys spotted Macha’s distinctive red hair from over Duncan’s shoulder. “There she is.”
When Duncan had searched for Macha, a flood of images poured over his small phone screen.
Macha in fields.
Macha in trees.
Macha half-naked and riding a horse.
Ironic or a statement?
There was a video posted just a couple of hours ago that showed a topless Macha from the back, walking up a hill as the sun set. As she reached the apex of the hill, she turned, covered her breasts, and coyly curled her fingers in a come-along gesture.
“That one.” Carys pointed at it. “Look at the comments on that one.”
When Duncan clicked on the post, there was no location listed for the video, but there was comment after comment that all said roughly the same thing.
I’m there. ??♂???
I’ll follow you anywhere.
On my way.
Coming. LOL. ??
“Okay,” Carys said. “Click on the profiles and see if any of them look like they’re in that location or something similar.”
“You think they might actually follow her?”
“You remember her in Gorne Wood, don’t you? She’s inviting the whole world to follow her. She wants acolytes to build her power, and she’s using the internet to gather them.”
Duncan nodded. “Right.” He started clicking on profiles while Carys walked over to grab Laura’s phone.
“We have an idea,” she said. “Macha posted on her socials this afternoon. She’s walking up a hill. We’re trying to figure out if anyone in the comments knows exactly where she is. It could be in this area.” She pointed to the triangle on the map.
Duncan was sitting in a chair, his feet kicked up on an ottoman, scrolling through his phone. “Come on, one of you horny nerds is into geography, aren’t you?”
“Cley Hill!” Laura shouted. “Does that sound familiar to anyone?”
“Cley Hill is named on this map,” Naida said. “It appears from the legend that there is a monument of some kind there.”
“Two of these guys in the comments are certain that she’s walking up Cley Hill,” Laura said.
Lachlan stood over the map and marked Cley Hill with a question mark. “It does fall within the boundaries of the triangle.”
“Tomorrow,” Carys said. “Tomorrow morning I’m going to go to that bookshop and get some real answers.
I’m going to figure out how to get to Annwn so I can talk to my mother and Seren.
” She raised her chin. “Because something tells me that they’re the ones who can tell me how I’ve already defeated the Morrígan. ”
She turned to Duncan, who nodded. His face was grim, but he nodded.
It was the nudge of confidence she needed.
Carys looked around the room. “So if I manage to return from Annwn alive, I’m pretty sure we’re all going on a trip to Cley Hill.”