LITMIR.BIZ

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said it.

      “Rhiannon’s.”

      “How, Dad? She’s dead.”

      He nodded his head slowly. “Yep, yep. She died today giving birth to her.”

      “Her?” I felt sick, even though I’d known the baby had to be a girl child. Epona’s Chosen was always gifted with a girl child as her firstborn.

      “Rhiannon named her Morrigan,” Dad said.

      “Did Rhiannon die here? I don’t understand. How did she get out of that tree?”

      Dad sighed. “I only know what happened secondhand. Rhiannon was dead when she got here. An old shaman found her and helped deliver the baby. He told me that Rhiannon had made a deal with a dark god to break free of the tree. She was to be his High Priestess—both she and Morrigan were supposed to pledge to his service—but the birth of Morrigan changed her. Or I guess fixed her would be a better way to put it. Rhiannon denied the dark god, but she was so near death that the god wouldn’t release her. So she called on Epona, and the Goddess answered her.”

      “Epona forgave Rhiannon?”

      “She did,” Dad said.

      I know it was wrong—selfish of me and more than a little hateful, but knowing that Rhiannon had reconciled with Epona made me feel ridiculously jealous.

       You are now, and will forever be my Chosen One. My love for Rhiannon does not lessen my love for you, Beloved.

      Epona’s voice in my head made me jump guiltily.

       Pay attention now, Beloved. Your father must be made aware of Pryderi’s intentions.

      And suddenly I knew why Epona had pulled me through the fiery tunnel that separated our worlds, and it wasn’t just for me to tell Dad about Myrna or for me to understand what had happened to Rhiannon.

      “Dad, are you keeping Rhiannon’s baby?”

      “Yep…yep…” He looked down at the child and touched her cheek gently before continuing. “It was Rhiannon’s last request. But there’s more to it than that, Shannon. This baby is so much like you were. I have to help her—I can’t let her go to strangers.” His eyes begged me to understand. And, oddly, I did.

      “She looks just like Myrna. It’s really weird. I suppose it makes sense. Rhiannon and I could have been twins. And Clint and ClanFintan are mirrors of each other—” I broke off abruptly with a gasp. This was Clint’s daughter! Had I chosen to stay in Oklahoma and not returned to my life in Partholon, Clint would be alive today. He and I would be together. My next child would have been his…I clamped down on those thoughts, forcing myself not to cry…not to regret…

      Dad looked only momentarily surprised. “Clint’s daughter, huh? I’m glad to hear it. I liked that young man.”

      “So did I,” I said quietly. “Did the shaman say anything about finding Clint’s body by the tree?”

      Dad met my eyes. “No. And I’m sure if his body had been there the old man would have mentioned it.” He paused. “So Clint is dead.”

      Although it wasn’t a question, I nodded. “It was the sacrifice of his life that returned me to Partholon.”

      “Yep…yep…He was brave. I’ll be sure to tell Morrigan what a good man her father was.”

      Which reminded me. “Dad, I’m here because Epona wants me to warn you. That dark god that broke Rhiannon free from the tree?” Dad nodded. “His name is Pryderi. He’s really bad news. They call him the Triple-Faced God, when they call him anything at all. Most people in Partholon won’t even speak his name. A long time ago he was Epona’s consort, but he betrayed her because he wanted her power. She banished him, but he wants to come back.” I spoke the next words as the Goddess whispered them through my mind. “His power feeds on worship.” I paused, sifting through the knowledge Epona was giving me. “It’s like he’s a vampire. He literally drains the good from those who worship him. He thrives on the ashes of their souls. And he needs a High Priestess as a go-between, so that his evil intentions are hidden from his worshippers.” I drew a deep, shaky breath. “He wants to use a daughter of Epona’s Chosen to win a hold on Partholon. That means even in Oklahoma Morrigan will not be safe because we all know sometimes people can travel from Oklahoma to Partholon.”

      I was shocked to see that Dad didn’t look one bit surprised. He only nodded slowly and said, “Yep, that’s basically what the shaman told me. It’s why Rhiannon asked Epona to forgive her. So that her spirit could be free to watch over her daughter and try to keep her from being lured to the Dark Side.”

      Despite the seriousness of the situation, his wording made me smile. “The Dark Side, Dad? As in Darth Vader?”

      “Seems like a reasonable comparison.”

      A laugh bubbled out of me. “I suppose you’re right.”

      “So I’ll just have to be sure that the Force is strong with her,” he said, chuckling.

      “Seriously, Dad, Pryderi is going to come after her. Raising her could put you and Mama Parker in danger.”

      “We know that, Shannon. This isn’t our first time around the dance floor.” Then he smiled at me. “Dark gods or no dark gods, parenting is a damn tough job. You’ll see.”

      I frowned at him. “I’m talking about an evil deity sniffing around, not about the terrible twos or an obnoxious teenager.”

      “Obnoxious teenager is redundant,” Dad said automatically, and I had to force myself not to smile. Dad had been teaching and coaching for about a zillion years. He and I definitely saw eye to eye on teenagers.

      “You know what I mean,” I said.

      “I do.” He paused and then sighed. “What would you have me do, Bugsy, give her to the state to raise? I imagine that would be playing right into Pryderi’s hands.” He shook his head before I could answer. “Nope, nope. I won’t do that. Mama Parker and I decided. We’re going to raise her and do our best by her.” He smiled at me and his eyes were shiny with familiar love. “It worked once before. You didn’t go over to the Dark Side. It’ll work again, Bugsy old girl.” He cleared his throat and added quietly, “This little girl is all I’ll ever have of you or my granddaughter. In this world, it’s the closest I’ll come to leaving a part of me behind. You can’t really mean to ask me to give that up, can you?”

      I blinked fast, trying to clear the tears from my eyes. “No, Dad. I can’t ask you to give that up. I just want you to be really, really careful.”

      “I will. I give you my word on it. Plus—” he grinned “—Rhiannon’s ghost is supposed to be around somewhere. I imagine she’ll help out with the more boogerman-like aspects of parenting Morrigan.”

      I glanced around, almost afraid I’d see a spooky version of myself lurking about. “Dad, that’s just weird.”

      He barked a laugh. “No weirder than your spirit floating around my living room while your body’s in another world.”

      I shrugged. “You have a point.”

       Tell him he has my blessing, Beloved. You should not stay any longer. Having your spirit separated so far from your body is not healthy.

      “Dad,” I said hastily. “Epona says I gotta go in a second. But she wants me to tell you that you have her blessing.”

      Dad bowed his head respectfully. “Tell Epona I appreciate that, and I’ll be sure Morrigan is raised spending plenty of time in the country around trees, and that she knows the Goddess’s name.”

      “And horses,” I added, intuitively knowing Epona would approve. “Be sure she’s around horses.”

      “Yep, yep. Just like you,” he said. “I’ll be sure she has her own mare.”

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