Chapter 28 #3
Béfionn stood when daughter and granddaughter walked down the dock to her. She went to her granddaughter and gently wiped the remaining tears from her eyes. “That crown looks at home on your head, Queen Uathach,” said the goddess.
“Thank you, Grandmother.” Uathach bowed. “You will visit me in Lethra?”
Béfionn cupped her cheek. “Frequently. On that you have my oath.”
Booted feet slapped against the stone stairs and Tabiti burst into the room, jogging down the dock to them.
“You were going to leave without saying goodbye?” she asked Scáthach. She hastily bowed to Béfionn.
“I didn’t want to take you away from your students,” said Scáthach.
“They’re students. They need to practice waiting.
” Tabiti threw her arms around Scáthach, hugging her tightly.
“You have given me the one thing I’ve always desired but never believed would come to me—my own school to rule.
Thank you, my friend.” She stepped back and bowed low to Scáthach. “Thank you, Goddess of the Dead.”
“If you have need of me, send the shadows. I will come,” said Scáthach.
Tabiti’s eyes went wide and her brows disappeared into her hair. “I’m really Queen of Shadow? It’s not just a title?”
Scáthach laughed. “Yes and no.”
“What she means, Queen Tabiti,” said Béfionn, “is that it would only be a title were it not gifted by a goddess. Shadows will come to your call. Be wise in how you use them.”
“Always, Goddess,” said Tabiti.
“Excellent,” said Béfionn. “Shall we go?”
Scáthach looked at Leannan, who was sitting at the goddess’s side, grinning her doggy tongue-lolling grin up at her. “What about Leannan? Can she come with us?”
“Well,” said Béfionn. “This sweet girl will one day exist in the Summerlands, but if you want her with you now, I will carry her with us.”
Scáthach crouched before the deerhound. “What do you want, my good girl? Go with Uathach to Lethra, go with me to Hy-Brasil, or remain here with Tabiti? It is your choice.”
Leannan tilted her head, studied Scáthach before woofing softly and licking her face, then trotted over to Tabiti and sat by her side.
Tabiti frowned down at the big dog. “Really? You choose me?”
Leannan’s tail thumped against the wooden dock and she woofed again.
“That’s yes, in case you were wondering,” said Scáthach.
“Definitely a yes,” said Béfionn.
Tabiti looked down at Leannan, sighed, and patted the big dog’s head. “I’ll take good care of her,” she said reluctantly.
Uathach snorted. “More like she’ll take care of you.”
“It’s her job,” said Béfionn with finality. “Dogs take care of us.” The goddess nodded to her daughter. “Are you ready now?”
Scáthach hugged Tabiti again and then pulled her daughter into her arms one more time. “I will see you soon, Little Fry.” Uathach nodded and wiped away fresh tears. Scáthach drew a deep breath and released it. “Yes, I’m ready.”
Béfionn walked to the very edge of the dock with Scáthach at her side. “Sister mine, Cliodna, Goddess of Seas and Waterways, take the Goddess of the Dead and me home,” Béfionn said in her musical voice.
The same brilliant turquoise artery of water opened a glistening blue tunnel before them, just under the surface of the gray water.
Béfionn faced her daughter. “You enter the tunnel mortal, but you will emerge immortal, washed in the lifeblood of our Underworld, baptized by Annwn, and welcomed by Hy-Brasil.”
“Will it hurt?” Uathach asked in a small voice.
Béfionn smiled back at her. “No, Little Fry. It will not cause your mother any pain.” She turned the smile on Scáthach. “Follow me, beloved daughter.” The goddess dove gracefully into the water.
Scáthach looked one last time through mortal eyes at Dunscáith, Tabiti, Leannan, and her daughter, and saw the truth.
They were ready to soar without her; they’d been soaring without her for the past many months.
And now she, too, was ready to embrace her destiny.
She smiled. “I love you,” speaking the words to all of them before following her mother.
The warmth of the arterial waters claimed her, pulling Scáthach with her mother as she swam with the impossibly strong tidal pulse.
This journey was different from any of the others—so much different.
This time she wasn’t separate from the artery.
This time it filled her, permeating her skin, her spirit, her heart, her mind, and her blood.
She felt its power and its sentience. She knew when she changed—when she shed the last of her mortality—and it was glorious.
The arterial tunnel ascended, and she broke the surface beside her mother. The goddess Béfionn lifted her arms high over her head and proclaimed, “Behold Scáthach, Goddess of the Dead. Welcome her!”
As Scáthach strode from the water and onto the beach of Hy-Brasil, hundreds of bears stood on their hind legs and roared welcome.
The joy of true homecoming filled her and she spread her arms wide.
Her laughter pealed throughout the isle as she watched new tattoos form, covering her arms from shoulders to wrists with images of her mighty bears.
Scáthach had truly come home.