The Phoinix: Age of Demigods (32 page)

Druantia snapped her fingers and her
appearance returned to its natural beauty. “Are you going to let me
in our not?”

Eoghan moaned behind Druantia and
Haley’s laughter abruptly ceased. She ignored Druantia’s question
and walked over to the unconscious, wounded man. “How long has he
been like this?” Haley asked while feeling Eoghan’s
forehead.

“He is none of your concern, High
Priestess. Now let me into my grove.” Druantia crossed her arms and
pouted unattractively.

“It is
my
grove, Druantia. The Celtic
pantheon established the rule
that
fertility goddesses
need
permission to enter nemetons
for a reason. They do not want you marrying every man you get your
hands on." Haley didn’t take her eyes off Eoghan as she spoke.
"Brothers, come help me."

"Who is he, Hale?" the brothers asked
in unison.

"He is a MacBeatha and a member of the
o’Conaill clan,” Haley answered. “We must get him
inside."

Before Cadman and Caedmon
reached Eoghan, the closest oak tree swung a branch down
and scooped
Eoghan off
the ground.

“
He is my husband-to-be
and future King of the Druids. With your powers of divination,
Druidess, you should have seen that.” Druantia confronted Haley
with a victorious smirk as she held Eoghan hostage. “If you wish to
care for the young Gàidheal, let us cross the
threshold.”

“Very well,” Haley growled. She
stomped her staff on the ground and the line of fire protecting the
nemeton vanished. Haley watched helplessly as the oak trees passed
Eoghan’s limp body into the Nemeton of Arras.

Once inside, a
large
,
lush green
circular clearing surrounded by woods
,
greeted Druantia. A giant white
oak tree in the center of the nemeton appeared to be centuries old
with Celtic knots carved into its trunk. Dense
forest
of colossal oak trees
protected the circle. Illuminating mushrooms wound up from the
moss-covered roots to the trees’ canopy. The fading sunset
peeking through
the
trees
cast
a
faint rainbow across a creek
that
circled the clearing. The soft, slow trickling of
water
,
combined
with the translucent hues of rainbow
,
added to the serenity of the
nemeton.

At least twenty Druids
circled the great white oak. They wore forest green cloaks with the
hoods pulled over their heads
,
shielding their faces in shadows. The Druids
swayed in unison as they eerily mumbled their prayers.

“Ahh, it is nice to see
the Prayer of Sunset. It’s not often performed,” Druantia
said
as she passed
the Druids, who paid her no attention.

“You
,
of course
,
would not see
it
,
because the
various warriors you choose to sleep with every night do not pray
to nature,” a voice rung out through the nemeton.

The Druids stopped
mid
-
prayer,
surprised by the disembodied voice.

Druantia rolled her eyes, waved her
hand dismissively, and continued walking. “If you slept with one or
two of the warriors yourself, Nemetona, you would see how much they
pray.” Another wicked smile crossed her face as she glanced over to
Caedmon and Cadman. Both men blushed at her comment.

A woman emerged out of the trunk of
the closest oak tree to Druantia. Instantly, everyone in the
nemeton dropped to their knees, bowing to the goddess.

Nemetona was a petite
goddess, slender and pale. She had short hair that swept across her
forehead but did not come down past her ears. She had deep brown
eyes with flecks of green
, and
was only covered by several
thin
,
long
branches with a few oak
leaves
stemming off the limbs. The branches wrapped
around her legs then flowed around her lower waist. Two limbs moved
up to wrap themselves twice around her breasts. She was
barefoot
,
but
soft green and blue moss appeared under her feet as she
walked.

Druantia laughed at Nemetona’s
appearance. “Dressed like that I am surprised you have not slept
with throngs of our warriors, Nemetona.”

“The groves I protect are
natural and untouched; therefore
,
I should be natural and untouched. I merely cover
myself as much as I do out of respect for our Druids,” Nemetona
said and bowed politely at the Druids still kneeling. “Why are you
in my grove, Druantia?”

“I am Queen of the Druids. I have a
right to be wherever they may be,” Druantia stuck her chest out
proudly.

Just above Nemetona, the
tree she had emerged from slowly brought Eoghan down and laid him
at
her
feet.
Nemetona raised an eyebrow accusingly as she said, “Do you care to
answer truthfully, Cousin?”

Druantia pouted and folded her arms
across her chest childishly.

“He does not belong to you, Druantia.
You are disturbing a destiny that should be left alone. If it is
rocked too much it will only delay the outcome of our world,”
Nemetona kept a strict face while scolding Druantia.

“Oh hush, Nemetona. You
have always been an extremely depressing goddess
:
A waste of beauty and power.”
Druantia snapped her fingers and Eoghan woke from his
slumber.

Eoghan was startled at
first
.
The last
thing he remembered was Breanna throwing him into a tree. Now he
gazed up at a half-naked woman wrapped in tree branches and a group
of Druids.

“Who are you?” he looked up at
Nemetona.

“I am
Nemetona
,
and
Druantia here has brought you to the…”

“The Sacred Grove of Arras,” Eoghan
stood up and finished Nemetona’s sentence. He stared at the white
oak. “I never in my life thought I would see The Great White Oak of
Arras.”

In his excitement, he held
his hand out behind him for his best friend to take. When his hand
remained empty, he turned quickly to find
that
Bre, the one person who should
always be at his side
,
was
nowhere to be found.
Her absence caused panic to surge through his
chest, followed by a pang of guilt
in
thinking she may still be cross
with him.

“
What is wrong, my sweet?”
Druantia asked.

Druantia’s words caught him off guard
and he did a double take at Druantia. “My sweet?” he shook his head
wildly to move on from his shock. “Where is my group? My Bre? She
should…”

Druantia cut him off,
irate with his choice of words
.
“Your Bre?
Your
Bre?
”

The trees creaked and the wind
whistled through the branches as Druantia’s anger grew.

“
Let me tell you
something, Eoghan MacBeatha,” Druantia emphasized every
syllable
.
“Your
precious Breanna nearly killed you. If it were not for me healing
you and bringing you to my grove...”

“My grove,” Nemetona corrected her,
but Druantia ignored it.

“You would have died
because of that ungodly
girl
,” Druantia continued,
furious.

Be quiet,
Eoghan
.
She will
kill you if she thinks you are not solely hers
, said a familiar voice in Eoghan’s head
,
a voice he could not
put
a face
to
.
Bow your head
and apologize, then compliment her vanity.

Eoghan followed the
desperate warning
and
said
, “I apologize for misspeaking, My
Queen. A frivolous child such as Breanna does not compare to the
beauty of a goddess.”

Druantia looked pleased.
Eoghan took
it
as
a sign of
her
forgiving his emotional indiscretion.

“Much
better
.
Now, let
me create a place for us to sleep tonight.” Druantia bit her lower
lip with anticipation.

Druantia
whistled
,
and
suddenly the trees
wove
their limbs together to create a beautiful open
floor dwelling with only the treetops as a roof. It was raised
above the ground
,
and the trees formed stairs up to the floor created
by
their limbs. Druantia
waved her hand and furniture appeared on the floor: chairs, a stone
fire pit, tables, and a large bed.

“Druantia, you have come
to the grove for a proper wedding. The proper way is to have
separate sleeping quarters
,”
Nemetona sighed disapprovingly and then turned to
address Haley
.
“Druidess, take Eoghan to your tent and look after
him
.
I believe he
still needs to be filled in on a few aspects.”

Nemetona appeared worried
as she gave Eoghan another sidelong, pitiful glance. She spoke
psychically to Haley,
this is not Eoghan’s
destiny, but there is nothing I can do without sending Druantia
into an uproar and killing Eoghan
,
or worse, Breanna
.

Haley nodded in response. She kept
behind Eoghan, keeping herself out of his view and slouched halfway
into the shadows of the trees.

Druantia
huffed
,
displeased
with
not spending the night with Eoghan and even more upset that
Haley was the one taking care of him. However, she did not protest
because they agreed to perform the wedding ceremony. She winked at
Cadman and Caedmon and then beckoned them to her newly formed
shelter.

Haley shook her head in
disappointment as her brothers
followed
Druantia. “Some bride to
be,” Haley sniped.

Keeping to the shadows,
Haley continued to hide her face. She grabbed Eoghan by the arm and
dragged him over to her sleeping arrangements. It was a large hut
made of perfectly cut tree limbs, bright colorful
leaves
, and white silk
ribbon. When they entered, Haley waved her hand and another heather
bed appeared in the corner of the room, opposite of her
own.

“I know you, but how?” Eoghan shifted
around the room, trying to get a better look at his
host.

“We met in passing a long
time ago,” Haley
said and
turned her back to him. She
moved
about the room, tidying things
uncomfortably.

“Where? When?” Eoghan
repositioned himself in front of her, but Haley was quick and
turned before Eoghan gazed upon her face.
Strategically, she moved to a dark spot in the room, just out
of reach of a candle burning on an end table. Eoghan followed her,
still trying to sneak a glance.

Haley cowered backwards
from Eoghan. She licked her finger and thumb and snuffed out the
candle on the end table. She sought sanctuary in the coolness of
the darkened area. Standing
in
the dimmed light
,
her anxiety eased and she confessed, “There is no
need for concern. I assure you that our meeting was a small
happening in a grand scheme.”

“You saved me from
Druantia’s wrath, for which I thank you
;
but the way you said it, it felt
familiar,” Eoghan said, moving closer and squinting to makes out
the lines of her face in the dark. Haley accidently put herself in
a corner and Eoghan was quick to
close
the gap between
them.

Butterflies filled her
stomach as Eoghan drew closer
.
Her breathing sped up, and her heart raced. A
panic attack rumbled in her chest, which made her panic even more.
She placed her hands defensively out in front of
her
,
and when
Eoghan reached to grab her wrist, she shot out purple light that
created a protective barrier around her. Even though Eoghan could
not move closer, the light betrayed Haley as it illuminated her
face.

Eoghan stumbled backwards, shocked by
the sight of his host. He never would have thought it to be
her.

“Haley!” Eoghan gasped,
trying to get back to his feet. “How
?
Where?” He stammered.

The light disappeared and Haley undid
her breastplate as she walked to a nearby chair. The breastplate
made a loud clang as she tossed it on the table and unbuckled her
sword from her hip. The echo of the clattering breastplate served
as the physical sound of her panic transformed into
anger.