Page 36 of Secret Origins
“Donn Cúalinge, the minotaur, has not told Danu anything yet.” She looked so proud at her words that I got suspicious straight away. “He does not want to displease her. Her punishments are harsh.” With a shrug of her shoulder, she continued. “Danu sent him to find where the flair came from and remove it from existence. The Bull of Danu himself reasoned that Érenn had two daughters, and that was all he told her, as well as that you would be easily removed because you are so weak. It is good for Danu to believe this. Before you face her, we have a lot of work to do. Until then, you must kill Donn Cúalinge. And you must make it look like someone else did it.”
“What you are saying is I’ll have the scars and bruises from it, but someone else will have the glory, huh.”
“You want glory, child?” Her freaky black eyes had a manic glint in them that scared the shit out of me. “Or do you want to take your rightful place and avenge your parents?”
“I’m not placing this hot ass on any throne.” Slicing a hand through the air, I made sure we were on the same page. “Avenging my parents, on the other hand … you got yourself a deal. Plus, I hate the bitch Danu and her cow.”
“We shall see. All in good time.” Smiling, she was rubbing her hands like some cartoon villain. “Kill Donn Cúalinge. After that is done, we must face the shadows of torment.”
“You’re not selling it, girl. Your sales pitch sucks.”
“We will destroy everything Danu has been plotting for millennia’s, step by step.” Not hearing a word, I had a feeling she was lost in her own crazy head. “Oh, how I look forward to seeing the look on her face when it is done.”
“Okay, psycho. I’m not playing your games. You do what you have to do, and I’ll just go be awesome or something … faraway from here.”
“Yes.” I jumped at her shout. “Go kill the Bull of Danu. We will take it one step at a time. I will keep Danu occupied enough until there is no stopping what’s coming for her.”
“As long as you keep your crazy ass away from me, we’re good.”
“After Donn Cúalinge is no more, keep your head down. I will come to you when it’s time and the next phase shall begin. And by no means”—The creature crowded me, bringing her face so close to mine our noses touched, and even though I was taller, I didn’t dare wonder how she managed to do that—“let anything remove that crown from your head. Am I clear?”
“Got it. Kill a cow, keep the crown. Crystal clear.” I wanted to be out of that place yesterday.
“I have waited a very long time for this.” The glee was pulpable, and it raised goosebumps on my arms. “Now, go.”
The room started fading, but it left a very heavy, unsettled feeling in the pit of my stomach. Somehow, I got myself thrust into a shitstorm, and it wasn’t even one of my own making. Gods were trying to kill each other or take each other’s place by using me as a bone thrown between hungry dogs. All I wanted to do was stay alive. I could do that, right?
The odds did not look like they were in my favor.
23
“Ishould’ve stayed with that loony girl. Now that I think about it, I can totally deal with that type of crazy. Much better than this. Ouch.” While talking to myself, my hands fleeted over my body to make sure I was still in one piece.
“Myst?”
Fenrir was so busy fighting the minotaur that he called out without turning to check on me. I was so sore, and I had every intention of allowing him to keep at it while I stayed stretched out on the disgusting ground. Not even the stench bothered me as long as I didn’t have to move. That was until I turned my head to the side to see what I missed.
“Stop!”
My shriek jerked Fenrir’s arm to the side, the fired bullet ending up pinging off something from behind the bull, ricocheting back, and forcing him to duck while cursing up a storm. The troll braved coming out when I was busy chatting with crazy girls, darting around the minotaur to distract him while Fenrir almost made the cow go boom. No, there would be no piñatas tonight. The General could test his bullets some other time.
“Don’t you dare shoot him.” I scrambled to my feet, wincing and grimacing from the pain. I felt like a semi had hit me, reversed, ran me over, then hit me again. “There will be no shooting tonight.”
“I think she hit her head,” the troll huffed, darting diagonally and barely avoiding the minotaur’s swinging arm.
“I can still kill you, so don’t think I won’t.” My threats fell on deaf ears.
“My name is Gregor.” He grinned a second before a fist caught him to the side of his head and he pirouetted around, bouncing his head off the opposite wall. His body dropped like a rock, but it left him out of the fight.
“I don’t get it,” I deadpanned to Fenrir.
“He heard us talking about how you don’t want to know the names of those you might have to kill.” Fenrir grimaced as if he finally smelled something foul and he hadn’t been present in the alley of deadly odors until now.
“That’s because you have a big mouth.” At his cocked eyebrow, I realized my slipup. “Not that you were right or anything. But he doesn’t know that, does he?”
“Right.” He did not look like he believed me. “Why aren’t we shooting? I thought we were going to test the bullets. It’s the perfect opportunity.”
“We had a change of plans.” Finally seeing my sword, I rushed forward and snatched it off the ground. I must’ve dropped it when I was knocked out. “The cow needs to die. As in dead, dead. Permanently removed from the board game instead of just put to the side for future use. You know? No flicking it off.”
