Issac saw that Gregory was a very powerful manipulator of existence, his magic was strong but he hadn’t attained it through hard work like Issac had. Gregory owed much of his skill to heredity; he had many relatives in his bloodline who were very serious practitioners of magic, and one was a previous Master of Universal Arcana, Issac’s current title.
Gregory wasn’t a bad man, he was born into privilege and he stumbled upon his magical inheritance when he turned twenty and his aunt disappeared under mysterious circumstances at the large party his family threw in his honor. From that day, Gregory could see spirits of the dead and he eventually learned to manipulate spirit energy. He mostly used his powers for good, to rid the world of the hostile spirits he encountered, but that all fell away during the Ill Nights.
Issac removed his hand from Gregory’s brain and replaced the top of his skull; when he was done, Gregory looked as though nothing had happened.
“I may have judged you too harshly,” Issac said.
“I understand your anger,” Gregory said, “and I’m sure you understand my urgency now. Did you see it in my mind?”
Issac nodded. “I saw it. That was no devil, Samin.”
“What was it?”
“Do you know why Earth magic is ineffective against things not of this Earth?” Issac asked.
“Because the rules and laws of physics are subjective, and the frequencies we master as practitioner’s of magic on earth are calibrated for this spacetime.”
Issac was truly impressed and he nodded his approval.
“You continue to surprise me. So, put it together, your devil is an alien.”
“But how did an alien emerge from Oweynagat?”
“Many things emerge from that cave,” Issac said. “We should ask the Morrigan.”
Gregory’s expression changed to one of near horror.
“The Morrigan isn’t to be bothered,” Gregory said, not looking at Issac.
“So she was more upset than I was?” Issac chuckled.
“If you don’t help me, she’ll do worse than suspend my magic. She blames me that she can’t go back to Oweynagat. She said I let it become the true mouth of hell.”
“It was never the mouth of hell, and she’s the one who let people believe that, she probably spread the stories.”
“Well,” Gregory said, “we’re not here to talk about her…”
“We have to go see her now,” Issac said.
He lifted his left hand and as he did, strings of navy blue energy seemed to issue from his fingertips. The strings of energy animated and increased in length as they became interwoven and formed an oval doorway that was a foot taller than both men. It glowed like a sign lined with neon before them.
Issac pushed Gregory toward the oval before he could protest and the man disappeared through it. Issac jumped into the neon blue behind Gregory.
When he emerged through the neon doorway, he was on a grassy hilltop and the sun was bright out overhead. It was cool despite the sun and Issac saw Gregory shiver in his short sleeves.
“Why are we in northern Ireland?” Gregory asked, looking around himself. “The Morrigan is probably in the south.”
“She is three women now,” Issac said and pointed to a woman sitting in the grass among stones that breached the grass in a circle around her.
There were people walking around, inspecting the stones, but they didn’t seem to notice the woman and she paid no attention to them. The woman had fair skin, but even from a distance, Issac saw the darkness of it, like her skin was opaque and showed a smoky inside. Her hair was black and jagged at the ends and as they approached her, Issac thought her hair was composed of black feathers. She had a pleasant face, but she had a menacing look with her eyes closed.
“Why are you all here?” Gregory asked the few people who seemed to be inspecting the stones in the circle.
“The Morrigan called us to watch over this place,” a big man with ratty clothes and hair, and streaks of dirt on his face said and stood with arms crossed in front of Gregory and Issac, as his two companions stood behind him.
“Badb,” Issac said to the woman, ignoring the two men and one woman who stood between them, “I’d like to have a word with you.”
Her eyes opened the instant he said her name and she smiled. She waved a hand, with black fingertips that looked as though they had been dipped in ink, and the three people walked away into the hilly field like a small herd of sheep.
“Master,” Badb said and stood. As she stood, a lightweight dress fell down around her legs and the straps of the dress left her shoulders exposed. She was a solid woman and muscles bulged her arms.
“You mock me?” Issac said with a smile.
“I am only showing respect where it is due,” Badb said and motioned for him to join her in the circle. “It hardly happens that the Universal Arcana Master is from Earth, it bodes well on all of us magic users. It gives us all a boost. So was it you who rid the world of Illuminatos? I must say, I rather enjoyed all the chaos, my sisters sent me here to steady my lust for carnage and being worshipped always centers me.”
Both men approached the stone circle, but when Gregory tried to follow Issac inside, he was met with a fiery barrier that burned black with blue edges and his shirt was singed, along with his nose, lips and forearms.
“I have resisted every urge in me and it is the wisdom of Anann that is the reason you still breathe Samin. She says it’s not your time, so go pray to her and beg her continued favor while we grown folks converse. You are not welcomed in my presence.”
Issac looked back at Gregory who had noticeable burns on his face, chest and arms that were dark black like Badb’s fingertips. He walked away with his head down.
“Blame me,” Badb said and sat on one of the stones in the circle. “It was our responsibility too, but we have to delegate, there is always something to attend to, and a Samin was the only other Earthling to achieve Master. They seemed trustworthy, but they forgot this duty. I don’t blame them, it’s easy to forget, the magical alterations to that cave were solid and held for a very long time. But even the slightest misalignment can create a hole, and you know the magic that it’s containing, even a small amount of it is too much.”
“Something is loose,” Issac said. “Has the cave been restored?”
“And reinforced,” Badb said, nodding her head. “The thing that emerged from it is a nightmare even to Fomorians, a magical being from a land beyond the stars.”
“It’s magical?” Issac asked. He assumed the creature was a wild animal from a distant planet, but if it was capable of magic then it had to be intelligent.
“Of course it is,” Badb said. “I think they are planning a takeover, they seem to like the food much better on this planet.”
“Are there guardians of the gateway on the other side? Or is it just a planet full of those things?”
“There are guardians, and they must have been outsmarted. It seems it’s just our problem to deal with. I am happy to assist you, there are two of them and they are expert hunters, masters of camouflage.”
“How do we find them?” Issac asked. “Are they still in Ireland?”
Badb chuckled, “You came here and at least one is there, in America. You suspended Samin’s magic?”
“I have it now,” Issac nodded and lifted a hand with his fingers extended up. A ball of green energy ignited there.
“Those things had to be covered in this magic, the holes in the cave were small and they had to squeeze through. Trace the thing that is shedding this magic and use the Wisdom of Danu, a spell Samin knows well, to see anything in it’s true form.”
Issac bowed before the woman.
“You may accompany me if you wish,” he said, “but I have the Samin for backup.”
“I wish you well on your journey then, Universal Master,” Badb said with a wave. “This should be an easy problem to handle for one of your skills, and I could use more time of worship. Be well, and do punish the Samin harshly. Those burns are painful while the black persists, but it is only temporary.”
Issac found Gregory wallowing in the grass. He created a portal with his blue magic underneath Gregory and he fell out of the pastoral scene screaming at the top of his lungs. Issac laughed and jumped in after him.
PRL Serials 