The Morrigan Sisters

Part 4

"An'... that should be all." Iwan pats the straps of leather tethering my supplies to the horse, a black mare. He gives me a once over as I swing on the black hooded cloak. "Yer sure ya don' want me to come with ya?"

"Aye." I climb onto the beast, patting her mane. "Padraig needs ya here. B'sides, we cannot spare a person. I can do this meself."

Iwan nods. "Then good luck to ya. And may tha Morrigan be merciful."

I take off on the mare, heading north to the Paps of Morrighan, where the goddesses are often told to be found. It is my best chance of finding them. If I cannot meet them with my eyes, I will pray and summon them using a spell. That's what Iwan had packed for me.

It takes the better part of the day to reach the bottom of the crest of hills, flying over moorland and grass fields and through sparse wood, and by then, the sun is near ready to set. I tie up my horse beside a stream and look around; the trees are closer together here than they were while I rode. I will have to search on foot, so I untie the satchel from the horse and quickly follow the stream up into the hills.

The farther I walk, the more I wonder how I will ever find them, or if they even want to be found. What if Da was right, and I'm only chasing a ghost? A phantom, an imagination? Then all this is for naught, and I am wasting my time.

I pull to a stop, doubt and despair gurgling inside of me like poison. Flashes of memory come at me then, vivid and clear as the water in the stream. The fires of the attack, the men carrying off my sister like a bag of meat, being trampled under the feet of terrified people. My resolve is made up. I am going to find the Morrigan if it's the last thing I do.

All night long, I trek all across those hills; I cry out to them, pray to them, but there is no sign. Neither raven feather, nor footprint. The sisters are nowhere to be seen. I search well on into the night, when the sliver of a moon is rising and barely piercing the veil of tree cover. I pull a candle and flint from my satchel and, once I have light enough to see, painstakingly make my way through the woods. It is time for a spell.

I have saved this as a last resort. Spell casting is dangerous, and without proper training or the added Magick of a cingulum cord, the energy drain from a summoning spell can easily kill a person, druid or not.

It is difficult with the little light that I have, but I eventually find a thicket of young oak trees with a small clearing in the center. It is so small, that if I stretch my arms out, I can touch the saplings on either side of me. But it will have to do. Using a fallen oak branch, I cast my circle, calling to the North, the East, the South and the West. My white candle sits in the middle of the drawn circle, and I pull out the dried sage, my cingulum cord, and a small, stone blade from my satchel.

With the cord draped over my neck, I prick my finger with the blade, the drops of blood falling around the candle. A slight hum vibrates the air. I take in a breath and say to the night, "With deepest love an' respect, I invite inta this circle o' the four ancient elements, the illuminatin' radiance o' tha Morrigan. O great ancient ones, I call upon thy presence, mysterious an' divine, ta be wit me now in this space an' time, ta witness, protect, and guide tis witch's rite of Magick. So mote it be."

I hold my breath, and...

Silence.

Nothing stirs in the woods around me except the softest breeze in the leaves overhead. I shake my head once, nearly all of my energy drained by the spell. And yet, I must have done something wrong, said something wrong – they are not here! The heavy weariness falls on me completely then, and I head back to my horse. I must try again in the morning. I will try until it works. I have no other choice. When I drag myself back, the mare has settled down, and I sit beside her; sleep comes over me quickly, trumping my defeated thoughts.

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Thank you for reading!

This short story has been published, among others, in an anthology titled New Legends: Caster, Castle and Creature, which is available online for purchase, as well as in major bookstores.

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