The Morrigan: Damaged Deities (42 page)

“He grew up knowing about supernaturals.  And he wanted tae be one, too.  But Kristian was born without any supernatural genes.  Kade didna have the heart to tell him the truth, so since they were boys, he led Kris tae believe that he was a kelpie, he just hadna hit maturity yet.  Kris knew enough that a kelpie’s first transformation took place in the water…”

A painful lump lodged itself in Kamden’s throat and he stopped.

Blinking, Macy looked away, but kept her expression controlled. “So he drowned.  I’m sorry,” she quickly muttered.

“Aye,” Kamden answered, his voice rough. “His death destroyed Kade.  He felt responsible.  Thought he should have been able tae save him.”

“That’s the hero in him.”

Pressing his fingertips into his forehead, Kamden rubbed at the pain, his eyes closed.

“So just tae sum it all up.  My brother, Kade MacLeod, was the hero, Cú Chulainn and the horse trainer, Morrie Brandon, was—”

“Is!” Bev interrupted him.

Kamden looked up, glaring at her. “Is the goddess, the Morrigan?”

Bev nodded.

Kamden had so many more questions, but they would have to wait. 

Nan spoke up. “I think it’s time we talked to the Morrigan now.  It’s time she knew the truth about Cú Chulainn.  But I must see him first.”

All the blasted women in the room seemed to know exactly what Nan meant. 

Meanwhile, Kamden didn’t feel any more understanding than when the two goddesses came knocking on his door. 

With a huff of annoyance, he slapped his knees and stood up. “Aye, I’ll go fetch him then.  If my brother is willing tae leave his room.”

C
HAPTER
T
HIRTY-
S
IX

 “Either war is obsolete, or men are.”

R. Buckminster Fuller

Surprisingly, Kade had been more than willing.  He had answered the door with the look of a man at his end, his eyes wild and red, his hair messy where he’d been clutching it. 

But all it took was Kamden telling him that Nan and Robina were downstairs for Kade to interrupt whatever it was he was doing behind that door.

And though it filled him with guilt and shame to leave Morrie in the room, Kamden stood aside as his brother shut the door behind him, a white t-shirt in his fist. 

“She’s sleepin’, anyway,” he explained in a low gruff voice, racked with the same guilt. 

“Have ye had any sleep?” Kamden asked him.

“Nay.” Kade pulled on the shirt as they walked down the stairs; neither said another word. 

His jeans hung low on his hips and Kamden wondered if either of them had eaten anything during their time in captivity.

The women’s shushed conversation stopped the moment Kade entered the study like a storm ripping at the ocean’s waters. 

“Nan?  Rob?” His wild eyes showed his surprise at their youthful appearance, the same Kamden had felt himself.  But then his brother noticed their mother and that look took on a darker turn. “What the fuck?”

Bradana rolled her eyes, sighing as she took a drink in hand. “Hello to you, too, son,” she muttered before taking a drink.

Planted at the entrance of the study, Kade crossed his arms over his chest, his shoulders tensed, straining against the cotton of his shirt and said, “What the fuck is she doin’ here?”

“She brought us,” Nan explained.  She stood and came over to Kade, taking his arm and drawing him in. “Please, sit.  There’s much we must discuss and not so much time.”

“What are ye doin’ here, Nan?  And why do ye look so young?”

“I’m unable to hold onto the glamour much longer.  My magic is fading, it has been for a very long time.  But something’s going to happen soon that will bring the magic back.  And there’s much you need to know before then.”

“What? I doona understand, Nan.”

She gestured to the chair she’d been occupying. “Please, dear. Sit. I’ve much to tell you.  There is much to be explained and very little time.  Samhain draws near.”

Frowning and still maddened, Kade glanced around the room, slowly lowering himself into the chair.  His nostrils flared. “What are the lyin’ hag’s lyin’ sisters still doin’ here?”

“I never lied!” Bev cried.

Nan sat primly on the ottoman before Kade and took his hands. “The goddess speaks the truth.  She was the one who turned you immortal.  She’s the one who denied you death, not the Morrigan.”

“You make it sound like it was a bad thing,” Bev complained.

Kade’s cheeks flushed red, his eyes blazed as he looked upon the goddess.

“Do ye know the things I’ve done?  Do ye know the lives I’ve taken?” Pain swam within his fury. “Ye made me a monster!”

“There’s more to it than just that, Chulainn,” Nan tried her best to soothe him, but something she said caught his attention. 

“And a simple thank you would suffice,” Bev grumbled, crossing her arms.

Nan glanced at Bev and while the goddess looked annoyed, she surprisingly remained silent.  Kade kept his gaze fixed on the Seer.

“What did ye call me, Nan?” he asked, his voice soft with disbelief.

Nan tilted her head to him in sympathy. “I know who you really are.  And I know the Morrigan did not change you.  She guarded over your death, as she said she would when you first met.”

“How do ye know my story, Nan?  I’ve no’ told ye this about my past.  I’ve no’ told anyone.”

She smiled. “I’m a Seer, Kade.  I see the past as easily as I see the future.  And my family has been on this land for as long as you have.  I may know you better than you know yourself.”

Kamden could sense his brother’s impatience.  He had always had a soft spot for their former nanny, but it seemed the horse trainer upstairs held a stronger draw for him.

“What is it that you need tae tell me?”

“While I can’t interfere in your life and the choices you make, I can make sure you have all the information you need to make those choices carefully. 

“The tradition of Samhain has been a part of this world long, long before you were even known as Cú Chulainn.  Though it’s considered little more than a playtime now, it was a very important day to the supernatural world.  It was the day the gods allowed the legends and humans to mingle together.  It was so the humans could see the gods and still believe.  Continue to worship them.  It kept the magic in the world.  The Morrigan helped make that happen.  She had to join with The Good God, Dagda, in order for those worlds to unite.”

The color drained from Kade’s face. 

This was a part of the story Kamden was at least a little familiar with—the coupling of The Morrigan and the god, Dagda, over the ford—but it would seem his brother had a more personal stake in the matter. 

“What is the point o’ all this, Nan?”  Kade pulled his hands free and sat back, poised to leave.

“Just remember that.  Remember that there are some things in the world that are beyond you.   That are bigger than you.  And your goddess is one of them.”

It looked like Kade didn’t want to hear what Nan had to say to him.  He seemed perfectly content to continue on with his lunacy of hate. 

Kamden didn’t understand that part, though.  He didn’t know what had happened between the two of them to place him in such a state.

Kade stood and looked down at Nan with dull eyes.  Whether her words took purchase in his heart, Kamden couldn’t tell.  But Kade sounded defeated when he said, “I’ll send her down tae ye.”

“Kade—,” Nan stood up and stopped him in the doorway.  She leaned in close and spoke softly, but Kamden could still hear her words. “How is the beast?”

Kade frowned and exhaled a slow breath. “Still clawin’ at me inside.”

“The full moon is tomorrow,” she looked up at him with a warning in her wide eyes.

“Aye, I know it.  Honestly though, I had no’ had time tae think much of it.”

“If you claimed your mate tomorrow night, you could control the beast.”

Kade’s hard gaze latched onto her with a moment of fury. “She is no’ my mate.”

“Is she not?” Nan countered and crossed her arms. 

After biting back whatever reply he had for the Seer, Kade left the room and its occupants remained quiet for awhile.

Bev smiled at her sister and something silent was shared between them. 

From it, Bev maintained her odd upbeat demeanor, while Macy grew more sullen.

“How did you guys manage to end up back here?” Bev asked Kamden.

“What do ye mean, lass?” he replied, not understanding her question.

“The MacLeod clan was located further north, in the upper Highlands.  How did you and Kade manage to end up here, almost to Ireland?”

“Ah.  After the Battle of Culloden, our father and most of our clan was killed.  Kade brought the few of us who remained down here where he still owned this land.”

“That’s because this is close to where he lived as Chulainn,” Bev nodded, but Kamden just shook his head, still unable to reconcile his brother with the legend.

“This family definitely has its share of skeletons,” Bev said to her sister. “It all explains Morrie’s interest in the family.”

“How so?” Kamden asked.  The sisters ignored him.

“As long as
something
finally draws her out of retirement,” Macy grumbled.

Bev closed her eyes and threw her head back, twirling like a manic ballerina before perching herself on the back of an armchair. “Please!  She’s no more retired than Peyton Manning.”

Macy stopped her pacing of the room and frowned at her sister. “What do you mean?”

Perking up, Bev crossed her legs, balancing on the chair back.  Kamden was shocked she could move so nimbly in all that tight leather.

“Do you really think she hasn’t been involved all these years?”

“Involved in what?” Kamden was growing frustrated, but the sisters continued on with their conversation as though he weren’t even in the room. 

He looked to the others, but they were no help.

“What do you mean?” Macy demanded, her teeth clenched.

Bev rolled her eyes. “All that shit you’ve caused, all that strife you’ve stirred up, do you really think she would let you go unchecked?  When you were convincing those Virginians that it was about states’ rights and not slavery, who do you think was preparing the Union army?  When you pushed that Yugoslav to take a pot shot at ol’ Prince Ferdinand, who do you think was teaching a soon-to-be American general how to maneuver tanks in France?  When you were goading that funny-looking little Austrian into invading Russia, who do you think was whispering in his other ear, convincing him he could actually take Africa, too?  She didn’t check out until before Vietnam and that little conflict was a total ass-fuck because of it.”

“What are you saying?” Macy finally dropped her arms, turning a pale face on her sister. “That Morrie always picks the winner? The Morrigan always wins?”

“I’m saying there has to be a winner!” Bev laughed though she didn’t seem to be amused. “We need war, but the humans need something to fight
for
.  You only care about the battle, you don’t care how long it’s waged.  But Morrie knows that in war, there needs to be peace, no matter how short-lived.  And for peace, there needs to be a victory.  So the humans know
why
they keep fighting.  That’s how we thrive.”

“Could one of ye crazy lasses please tell me what the fuck ye’re talking about?”

The two sisters turned to Kamden, surprised by his outburst as though they hadn’t caused it themselves.

“We’re the goddesses of War and Sex,” Bev threw up her hands nonchalantly. “We sort of need war and sex to go on being…goddess…ly.”