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Nox’s lips pulled into a tight, petulant line. “I heard a laugh and my name. Me, and the three,” he added.
“The three?” Nelson instinctively reached for his notepad.
Nox gave his head a stubborn shake, tipping Nelson off. He wrote an M and circled it, prepared to run whatever came out of Nox’s mouth by Merlin later. “Two possibilities. First, the Morrígan. We already saw an offering to them outside.”
“Makes sense. But what do you have to do with them?” Nelson asked, watching Nox closely.
He forced out a loud breath as he raised his hands. “So little or possibly everything,” he posited, going into professor mode and further raising Nelson’s hackles.
This could be brilliant or it could be bullshit, he thought but gestured for Nox to continue. He bowed his head appreciatively.
“As I said outside, the Badb was one of three sisters called the Morrígan. One sister married to the Dagda and the other two married to Neit2, the god of war. According to The Book of Invasions and The Battle of Magh Tuireadh3, two saga texts of the Irish Mythological Cycle, the Morrígan joined the Tuatha Dé Danann when they fought the Fir Bolg and the Fomorians for control of Ireland. They were, in a way, the Dagda’s battle mascots and brought good fortune to the Tuath Dé in times of war. That’s what they have to do with me. In theory,” he added.
“Hmm…” Nelson would ask Merlin for copies of the texts. “That’s why they’re known as the battle crows.”
“Yes!” Nox whispered. “And why I’d never fear the Badb Catha. They foretold the fall of the Tuath Dé’s foes and picked their dead bodies clean after the battle. Off the battlefield, the crow has always been a friend of the witch, bringing omens and trinkets.”
“Like lockets?” Nelson asked with a questioning look.
Nox narrowed his eyes. “Among other things. But it is entirely possible that the Morrígan could be the three.”
Nelson hummed in agreement as he stood over the pentacle and copied the symbols around the perimeter. “Makes sense,” he said, then raised a brow at Nox. “Now, save us some time and tell me who you really think it’s referring to. Because I will ask Merlin later.”
Nox gasped dramatically and swatted Nelson’s sleeve. “How dare you? And it’s so hot, the way you saw right through that.”
“I can see why he’s picked the battle crow as his sign or…familiar,” Nelson said, airily waving his notebook at Nox. “If he wants the Dagda to think he’s stronger than you and ready to join him in another war.”
“Nelson…” Nox whistled appreciatively and wagged a finger. “When we get home,” he warned and widened his eyes.
“Sure,” Nelson said with a shrug. “After I ask Merlin who he thinks you and the three might be.”
“Come on!” Nox stomped his foot and pouted loudly.
“Nice try, though.”
“There are many mythological things that come in threes…” Nox stalled until Nelson glared at him threateningly. “But another possibility is the Dagda’s sacred treasures—”
“Hold on!” Nelson flipped all the way back to his notes from their second morning together, after he told Nox about the first “Uaithne” dream. “The Dagda’s sacred treasures…” He read when he found what he was looking for, casting a hard look at Nox as the missing pieces finally slid into place, courtesy of the Badb. “His uaithne, His coire ansic4, and His log mór5. They were His most powerful three and the reason a triskelion is His symbol.” Nelson rubbed his forehead as he remembered Nox’s excitement that second morning and later, when he was telling Merlin about the dream. “The harp, the cauldron, and the staff… So, if you were right and the harp wasn’t just a literal harp but one of His counsel of warrior priests and it’s somehow me, who are the other two?”
“You’re asking scary questions again, Nelson,” Nox said as he looked around the room.
He was too calm compared to the furious panic cresting within Nelson as he quickly calculated all the horrendous consequences, now that he finally had all the pieces of the puzzle. “I think it’s about time someone did because he—whoever this is that thinks he’s the battle crow—knows more about you than we do.” Nelson shook his head, turning from the pentacle and heading for the door. “We’re leaving now. I’ve had enough.”
1 C’ainm atá ort (Kine-um ah-tah ort): What’s your name?
2 Neit (Neeth) The Celtic god of war, sometimes described as the husband of the Badb.
3 The Battle of Magh Tuireadh (Mwee-turra): A mythical plain in Ireland and the scene of two important battles between the Tuatha Dé Danann and the Fir Bolg (Feer-buhl-uhg) a race of men, and the Fomorians (Faw-mah-reean) mythological beasts often depicted as giants for rule of Ireland.
4 Coire Ansic (Kwee-ra On-sik): The Dagda’s magick cauldron of plenty, said to never run empty and please all who sat with the Dagda.
5 Log Mór (Lo-rich Moor): The Dagda’s magick club or staff, said to have the power to kill with one end or restore life with the other.
Twenty
It was difficult to tell how Nelson was taking the news. He hadn’t spoken much on the way home from Julian’s. But, Nelson rarely spoke so it was tricky, deciphering if his taciturn brooding was normal brooding or if this was the calm before a bigger and more devastating storm.
“You, I’m not ready for yet,” he told Merlin as he hung up his coat in the foyer.
