Goddess of War

Maitho was in a painting. It was the only way to describe the scenery around him. The blue of the sky and the green of the land looked like two hands frozen before they could meet for a clap. But there were gradients to the base colors. Swaths of clouds looked like they were airbrushed on the blue canvas. The land held its own decor, with trees, cliffs, patches of dark soil, and other features coming together to create a mosaic that was both serene and elegant. On one side, the land seemed to stretch all the way to the horizon. While on another side, a gentle stream flowed from one side to the other. In the distance, hills loomed over the land like watchful guardians.

For the first time, Maitho felt his body loosen itself. It wasn't just that he felt calm. All his muscles seemed to be taking a break, as though they too were admiring the view. He hadn't realized that he was sitting on the grass until he brought his knees closer to his chest and wrapped his arms around his shins.

Time seemed to pass. Neither he nor Epona made any attempt to speak. Doing so would break the sanctity of the vista before them. Such a place demanded reverence. One never disturbed its tranquility unless they absolutely felt the need to.

When Maitho next opened his eyes, he was staring at the sky. The grass beneath him felt cool against his skin. It was as though thousands of tiny hands were holding him afloat. He didn't want the feeling to end. At some point, he had drifted off to sleep without even realizing it.

He pushed himself up into a seated position. Next to him, Epona was curled on her side. Her breathing was steady and her eyes danced behind closed lids, probably in the midst of a dream. Maitho took a few moments to simply live in the moment, in a place that felt so paradisiacal that he wondered if it was time to die, he might just come here to live out his last moments. Will that be a selfish thought?

A tear rolled down his cheek.

He laughed because he was about to cry. Then he cried because he laughed.

It was then he realized that he didn't want to shed tears, nor enjoy his predicament. He just wanted to avoid the fear. But why should he avoid anything? The more he ran away from the things that scared him, the more he would feed the monster chasing him. It would grow. Become a gargantuan beast. And so he decided to face his fear. He allowed the truth to wash over him.

He had just eleven days left to live.

Fortunately, Maitho didn't have big goals. All he did was live from one day to the next. It was oddly relieving, yet disappointing at the same time. He felt relieved because he didn't have too many unfinished dreams in life. Yet he was disappointed that he had allowed himself to live without a grand purpose.

When he felt that he had no other emotions to exhaust, he allowed himself to take in his surroundings. His breathing settled down. The tears stopped as though his body had turned off an internal valve.

He realized that he couldn't wait things out. Sure, there wasn't much he could do, but there had to be some course of action he could take.

He wondered if there was a way to speak to have a conversation with the car from this dimension. "Hey Quinn, you there?"

It didn't take long. The response came faster than Maitho expected. "I never left. Feel better, dear?"

Did he feel better? It was hard to say. But for now, his mind felt clearer. "I feel focused."

"Focus is progress."

"This place," said Maitho, taking a deep breath and allowing the air to clear his lungs. "I wish I had known about it before."

"You know now. You can stay here for as long as you like."

Maitho shook his head. "There's a lot that needs to be done."

"Why is it that you are the one who needs to do them?" There was so much concern in the voice that Maitho wondered what he had done to deserve it. After all, he had known the car for less than a day.

"Because I'm the only one with the same fate no matter what choice I make." Maitho pushed himself to his feet and dusted his pants. He needed a starting point. There had to be a strategy he could apply. But with all his options cut off and the few allies he had turning against him, he wondered whom he could depend on. "I'm at the bottom. And I cannot see the light above me. I don't know where to go from here Quinn."

There was a silence borne out of respect. Maitho understood that sometimes, there never really was an appropriate response to give. He liked that Quinn sometimes just listened, like a friend who wanted to be there to help.

Then it occurred to him that perhaps he didn't need to find allies. Someone else could.

"I just realized that we may not have to be alone," said Maitho.

"What do you mean?" inquired Quinn. The curiosity in his voice was obvious.

Before answering, Maitho took a few moments more to consider his response. He didn't want to be the reason that the now divided Celtic team would find themselves forming even more gaps between members. But then again, he couldn't imagine another play. He needed a little advantage. More importantly, he needed support. "How many other Celtic members can you reach?"

The surprise was unmistakable in Quinn's voice. "All of them. You have to understand that Brigid might have already thought about what you are going to suggest."

He had indeed considered that, but Maitho knew that if he allowed assumptions to stop actions, then he might as well lie down on the grass and watch time pass by until his end. "We can't do this on our own. It's just the three of us against the entire Norse pantheon. Not to mention our former allies and possibly even Charon."

There was a sigh from Quinn. In the silence that followed, Maitho felt a stirring behind him. He swiveled around to see Epona rub her eyes with the base of her palms. She looked at Maitho, then seemed to realize something. Through quick movements, she fished out his smartphone. When she unlocked the screen, the voice recording was already open. She showed the device to Maitho, who understood what she wanted him to do. After adjusting the slider, he tapped the 'Play' button.

Brigid's entire conversation played out with no one interrupting the recording. Maitho didn't feel nervous. Instead, each passing second of the audio gave him that much more relief. It felt really good sharing a problem with someone else for the first time in his life.

He reached out and tapped the stop button after the point when he knew Brigid had spoken her last message.

"I never doubted you, Maitho," said Quinn. "But I wonder what compelled her to such extreme measures."

"Ahm gaun'ae ask her someday." There was fire in Epona's eyes. She had just lost trust in the one person whom she relied on. It was hard to imagine what she must be going through at that moment.

Maitho wanted to give her a moment to think, but knowing that time wasn't on his side, he decided to move to the idea he had in mind. "We need to reach out to powerful Celtic Guardians. Anyone who can bolster our numbers. Who can we rely on?"

"No one," said Quinn without even taking a break to think. Maitho's heart sank. "But that does not mean we can't try."

"Who dae we reach oot tae first?" said Epona.

Quinn's silence meant that he was considering the question. "Well, we do have the God of War against us. By that, I mean Bevan. Perhaps we can even the scales with the Goddess of War."

"Morrigan?" The look on Epona's face meant that she had considered the same option too.

"For starters, yes."

"Why her?" said Maitho, looking at Epona. "I'm not going to reject any help. But why specifically her?"

"If I know Brigid," said Quinn, "then she will be looking for help too. She is going to go for the most powerful Celtic Guardian."

"Liam." Epona spoke and inhaled through her mouth. Her face spoke of someone whom she revered, but also feared.

"That would be Liam Dagda, descendant of Dagda, God of Wisdom." Quinn's voice had taken on a somber tone. "The leader of the Celtic pantheon. If we go straight to him, then chances are that we might come across Brigid. Between us and her, Liam is going to pick her side. It isn't because he is unfair, but rather because ten times out of ten, he is going to pick the people he cares about. His own."

"So we simply pick the next powerful Guardian?" said Maitho. "It's a smart plan."

"More than that, my dear. If we have Morrigan, then we can go see Liam. He is more inclined to believe her over Brigid. Two reasons. First, Morrigan is wise and her judgments are swift. Second, if she takes your side, then it is for a bloody good reason. He will notice that. He will definitely notice that."

"I trust you guys," said Maitho. "I don't care if we have to go to hell itself. I'll take your word for it."

Even Epona looked taken aback by that statement. She opened her mouth to say something, but then pursed it immediately, a scowl forming on her face.

"My, my. That definitely made my heart skip a boop." Quinn's voice contained its trademark humor.

Maitho couldn't help but shake his head and smile. Then another thought occurred to him. "But don't you think Brigid might have the same thought as us?"

"Na she wonae," said Epona.

"Why's that?"

As a response, Epona looked Maitho straight in the eye. "Because if we are gaun'ae speak tae Morrigan, then we neit tae break intae a prison."

"More specifically, Maitho dear," said Quinn. "We are going to break Morrigan out of a maximum security prison."