She gestured again with one hand, the fingers twisting and twining and Steren gasped in pain. Her other hand moved subtly and Culhain who had started to lift his sword to attack froze, immobile as now were the rest of party.

A glow encompassed the group and above each of them the form of their spirit guides began to take shape. Dark feathers of the Badb clothed the air above Gwern, Dresta and Culhain, but above Steren the glow brightened, shifted, and an albino peacock stretched and lifted her ethereal feathers to the sun, fanning them gracefully.

“The Pure One,” whispered Gwern in awe. “The white means she is of godly descent…”

“Indeed,” said The Morrigan coldly. “The half mortal daughter of Fagus; the child for whom I have been searching for so long.”

“Leave her alone,” said Culhain through gritted teeth.

“He needs to pay!” screeched The Morrigan, dark clouds of smoke billowing as her ire rose. “He has cavorted with a human, and his chosen followers shall pay.”

“Then make him pay in the same fashion,” said Dresta. “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. The Fagus is the guilty one, not the innocents of Clan Raven.”

The Morrigan paused, and the magical forms of the four faded, Culhain staggering as she released her hold on him.

“What you say has merit warrior,” she flicked a finger and Dresta drew a sharp intake of air as his clothing disappeared. “And what do you say to a little fun warrior?” She stepped from her cloak and walked around him, inspecting his physique, as naked as he. She ran a hand across his broad shoulders, muscles and scars goosepimpling at her touch. “Do you give yourself as a worthy sacrifice to your goddess to save your people?”

“You will cease your attacks and leave Clan Raven alone?”

“You have my word.”

“Dresta, be careful, you seek to bargain with the gods, and a capricious one at that.” At a gesture, Gwern’s fingers flew to his mouth and he grabbed his own tongue, hauling it painfully from his mouth.

“A word more from you druid and I’ll have you bite it off, do you understand?”

Gwern nodded and she carried on inspecting Dresta’s naked form. She smiled and instantly she was clothed head to toe in satin, he in pure white armour. “Your people will be safe Dresta, and we shall be together…”

He held up a hand and took hers and the two disappeared from the circle, leaving the others to the lichen crusted stones and bracken.

“What the hell just happened?” demanded Culhain.

“Dresta just sacrificed himself to save our Clan,” said Gwern sadly. “A brave man. Stupid, ignorant and a brute sometimes, but a brave warrior who’s name shall live in our histories.” He turned to Steren. “My Lady, I owe you an apology. Your father was right to send you on this quest. Without you we would have failed.”

“He’s not my father though is he.” She trailed off and picked up her bow. “I am the bastard by product of a god who has little care for us. Why didn’t he ever tell me?”

“Brechan has raised you as his own Steren. You are all he has left of his beloved queen.” Culhain walked over and hugged her. “Come, my Lady. We have a Clan to cheer up.”

Steren nodded and set her jaw. “I’ll scout ahead, watch for my markers.”

As they watched her lope down the trail Culhain turned to Gwern. “How much time do you think Dresta will buy us? Do you truly think the Morrigan will give up her persecution of the Clan?”

Gwern shrugged. “I have no idea Culhain I’m afraid. “She may get bored in a few minutes, she may decide to turn him into a frog, or she may dally with him for an eternity just to punish Fagus. Capricious and unreadable are the gods. Let us just enjoy the peace while it lasts.”

“Agreed. I think you’ll be explaining to King Brechan how we lost his best warrior though. He’ll never believe me in a million years…”

~ The End ~

Round 4 of the Fantasy Smackdown. Based on the Pictures in each of the chapters. Pics 2, 4, 5 and 7 were used with the theme being Celtic Myth and gods who walk the earth...