Chapter 22
Her Father’s Daughter
Breanna was an excellent fighter, and if you did not know her father, then you would have easily thought she got her fighting skills from Alina. The two women moved in unison around their enemy, stalking their prey and biding their time before striking.
Eversor’s orange hand sent off different spells at the women. Their smooth moves counteracted Eversor’s perfectly. If an orchestra were set up around the battle, it would have seemed like they were dancing.
At one point, it appeared that Eversor got the upper hand on the women. Eoghan tried to rush to Bre’s assistance, but Cole cast a sleeping spell over him to prevent him from interfering.
The o’Conaill brothers stayed out of Bre’s and Alina’s way, but noticed a member of their group was missing. They heard a dog whimpering in the background and realized Lupa had not been in any of the fights, which is unlike the daughter of Mars.
She moaned and writhed painfully in the high grass, scratching at the dirt as if begging for help. Brian and Cailean ran to her after ordering Nikolaos and his brothers to keep an eye on Eversor. Cailean reached her first. He knelt down and placed a hand over her abdomen. Lupa winced as he lightly stroked her fur.
“What’s happening?” Cailean’s voice shook as he asked Brian, who knelt on Lupa’s other side.
Brian shook his head, unable to provide an explanation.
Lupa coughed and a golden feather ejected from her mouth. She tensed up and then fell limp. Brian and Cailean tried to heal her, but her breathing stopped completely. Cailean and Brian held their own breaths in anticipation for her chest to rise. They narrowed their eyes to see through the dim morning light for the slightest rise of breath.
Suddenly, a rumble echoed through Lupa’s chest. She let out a low growl, warning the brothers of her aggression. Every muscle tensed as she stood up baring her teeth. Her eyes no longer a bright blue now were a liquid gold. Brian and Cailean quickly backed away from her.
“Lupa, it’s us. What’s wrong?” Brian fearfully asked.
Lupa dug her claws into the dirt then bounded over Brian’s head, sprinting towards Alina and Breanna.
Lysandros, Cole, Leo and Nikolaos thought nothing of Lupa’s actions. They assumed she had her own clone to contend with and was now going to help the girls. They quickly lost that assumption when Lupa tackled Alina and ripped the whip out of her hand. She then lunged at Bre, but Clover slammed into her mid-air, knocking her to the ground. The two dogs continued to wrestle and snap at each other in a blur of white and grey fur.
An evil smile appeared on Eversor’s face and he let out a screeching whistle. Lupa halted her attack and trotted over to Eversor. Her fur was ruffled with patches of blood around her neck. Clover, not taking her eyes off Lupa, slowly limped next to Breanna.
Eversor patted Lupa’s head as he chuckled, “Good girl. Sit. Stay.”
“What have you done to her?” Nikolaos shouted. His mouth hung open as he stared in horror at Lupa.
“I haven’t done a thing. It was her own action of killing the eagle,” he said, brandishing his wicked grin. “She is my servant now. Ha-ha! I have to say, I never thought I would have a daughter of Mars as a servant! This is a victory, despite not killing any of you. With her at my side, the chances of you dying have greatly increased, Princess,” Eversor said to Breanna but stared at Alina. "The next time we meet, many will die and one will be reborn."
Aurora hissed and readied herself to pounce, but when she lunged at Eversor, he and Lupa vanished.
Everyone looked to Brian for answers.
“Well?” Leo asked impatiently.
“Well what? We just lost a powerful ally and Eversor gained a powerful weapon,” Brian snapped, losing his temper.
“Yes, but how?” Nik paced in front of the group, trying to wrap his head around the situation. “And what did he mean by one will be reborn?”
Cole woke Eoghan up from the sleeping spell. Cailean had to hold him back from attacking the brothers.
“The blood of the Birds of Elpis is tainted with whatever power remains from Elpis’ spirit. I remember a rumor that if the blood enters your body you could become touched in the mind, clearly a possession and not a mental affliction. I see it is one of the more accurate rumors,” Brian rubbed his temples trying to remember more. “As for who will be reborn, I am afraid to speculate before we have more facts, although I greatly fear the answer.”
“So when Lupa killed the bird, she ingested the bird’s blood,” said Lysandros. “Isn’t that ideal? We handed him a beastly demigod capable of tearing apart an army. On top of that, we have to worry about what is being reborn. Where are we supposed to find those answers?”
“We’ll worry about this later. Is everyone alright?” Cole looked around, particularly at Breanna.
Clover lay on the ground with her head on Bre’s lap as Bre nervously stroked her back.
Cole and Nik moved to help her, but Eoghan held out a hand to stop them and walked over to Breanna. Brian knew Eoghan could handle the situation and turned to continue the conversation.
“Heal her. Please, please heal her,” Breanna begged with tears welling in her eyes. Her hands, covered in Clover’s blood, had patches of grey fur stuck to them.
Eoghan knelt in front of Bre and swiped her hair from in front of her eyes. “You can heal her, Bre. Remember what I said back in The Forest of Tásúil. You are all connected. If you are healthy then she will be healthy. You need to learn to share your powers.”
Bre closed her eyes for a moment but impatiently opened them. Tears streamed down her face. “It’s not working, Eoghan! Fix her!”
The pain in her daughter’s voice pulled at Alina’s heart. She left her discussion with Brian to join Eoghan and Bre. She sat next to Clover and held her hands over Clover’s body. Within seconds, the patches of fur grew back and the gashes in her neck and legs healed.
The wolf rolled over to look at Alina. Breanna could feel the wolf’s gratitude swelling in her own chest. Clover licked Alina’s face and the queen laughed from her unusual thank you. Breanna flung her arms around Clover's neck, knocking them both over.
Brian caught Alina’s eye and motioned for her to rejoin them.
BY the time Alina returned, Cole furiously waved his arms around as he spoke. “There is no way in Tartarus you are making us go there now! That is where Eversor will expect us to go. You are out of your mind, o’Conaill.”
“Not to mention there are too many enemies there, besides Eversor, for us to live through. There has to be another way,” Nikolaos looked to Alina for reassurance.
“You have Gaelic blood in you; our people will protect us. I told you all earlier, we have to go to Cymru. This meeting with Eversor changes nothing,” Alina tried to comfort her sons. “Cole and Leo, go ready the horses. Brian and Cailean, gather as much food and water as you can. Nik and Lysandros, you both need to smother the grudge between you. There is no room for contempt on this quest. Now bundle as much kindling as the horses will carry. From here on out, boys, the weather will be cold and harsh.”
Each of Alina’s designated pairs set out on their duties. Lysandros and Nikolaos were reluctant, but neither said a word when Alina raised an eyebrow at their protesting expressions. Breanna’s cheerful laughter caught her attention. She smiled contently, watching Breanna frolic with her animals.
Eoghan walked up to Alina. She threw her arms around him and began to sob. Eoghan stood rigidly still, stunned at the queen’s emotional breakdown. All he could do was awkwardly pat her back and hope he had done nothing to invoke the sudden behavior.
“Thank you,” Alina cried into Eoghan’s shoulder. “You saved my sweet Propheteia. Thank you, Eoghan MacBeatha.”
Alina released Eoghan and left to sit down with Breanna. She playfully fell into her daughter, knocking Breanna and Leora over.
Still taken aback by Alina’s reaction, Eoghan smiled at the sweet sound of Bre’s laughter.
He stood quietly in the background, arms folded behind his back and chest slightly puffed as he stood guard over Alina and Breanna relaxing. The tension in his shoulders eased as he watched the two behave as if nothing had changed in the past two weeks.
Brian and Cailean were the first to return with sacks of berries, seeds, and water. Cailean lightly bumped Eoghan’s shoulder, snapping him out of his guard-like stance. “Well done. You saved The Queen. Two out of the three royals is not bad for the situation we face,” Cailean sighed.
Eoghan stared at Breanna and shook his head. His brows furrowed as if in pain. “She will be devastated. She was so close to her father.”
Brian nodded and gripped Eoghan’s shoulder comfortingly. "She has her father's powers now. She needs to train and you need to be the one to train her."
Eoghan tried to protest but Brian cut him off, "Your destinies are intertwined. By helping Bre with her powers, you are training yourself as well. You could learn a few things from the granddaughter of Mars. You two need to survive together. The Druids can only give either of you so much protection."
“Bre’s skills today may prove to be more useful than Druid protection,” Cailean added. They were far beyond what we have taught her in lessons. She is truly her father’s daughter. Speaking of which, how did she get Remus’ sword?”
“She is the rightful Queen, protector of the world and the bloodline of War himself. The sword can only be wielded by the royal lineage of Mars. She summoned it in her time of need. She may not be aware that she summoned it, but her powers called out for the aid of War, and War answered,” Brian responded.
The three brothers, along with Lysandros, rejoined the group. Leo loosened the reins to let the horses graze. “I’m going to ask this one last time: are you sure we need to go to Cymru?” Leo asked, annoyed.
“The Celts are a war ridden culture. There are many rogue tribes with no alliances. They don’t care who they fight as long as they get the loot after the battle. They are a savage people,” Cole addressed the group, folding his arms stubbornly across his chest with his affronting remarks.
Cailean, who stood next to Cole, quickly withdrew his dagger from his belt and lightly pressed it to Cole’s throat. “We go back a long time, friend, but do not forget these are my people you call savage.”
“As well as mine,” Alina said, rejoining the group after overhearing the conversation. “There has been enough argument on the matter. I will not listen to anymore. You will obey my wishes. We leave now,” Alina said with undeniable authority.
Cole rolled his eyes and sighed, irritated, but remained silent. The rest of the group nodded at her decree. They each saddled their horses; Eoghan and Breanna rode together on Whisper.
The group set off towards the Gaulish coastline, dreading contact with any rogue Celtic tribes on their journey. Little did they know the Celts were the least of their worries…