Page 21 of Rise of the Morrigan

Play coy... feign some interest or fascination with the man... lure him in...

"Fear Doidrich," Babd said out loud. The name just came to her. How did she know it? She wasn't sure. Her sense of perception, it usually just gave her vague impressions, not names and facts.

The man's disposition suddenly hardened. "This one's a witch!" he shouted toward a tent where Fionn had retreated, presumably to meet with the Dagda.

Babd huffed. So much for playing the flirt.

Fionn appeared at the entrance, his face red with fury. "None of my daughters are witches!"

"But this one is, for sure! She spoke my true name—only a witch would know it."

Fionn narrowed his brow, piercing Babd with a stare that would make most children her age and to run and hide beneath the bedsheets.

A second later another figure appeared from the tent. He was a towering man—in fact, if what Babd and her sisters had discerned was true, he wasn't a man at all. He was the Dagda, the great god. He'd merely accommodated himself to the appearance of a man—a look he'd mostly gotten right aside from the fact his proportions were slightly out of whack. His torso was longer than that of a normal man which gave his legs the appearance of being too short. Though, when he stood beside Fionn, the two had legs of similar length. Nonetheless, the Dagda towered over Fionn, his shoulders above the top of Fionn's head. The Dagda had a long, red, beard and pale skin. Still, the good god had kind eyes and a youthful energy about him.

It was hard to tell his age—his skin was soft, like that of a man not yet twenty, but his countenance also exuded a wisdom that suggested he was much older. Despite his awkward proportions, he wasn't awful looking at all. Macha could do worse, should he choose her. At least that's what all three sisters had presumed was most likely until the Dagda spoke.

"All three of them will do."

Fionn stomped his foot on the ground. "The deal was for one of my daughters as your bride, not all of them!"

"The deal," the Dagda said, staring down at Fionn, who was a rather tall man himself, "was formy choiceof your daughters."

"But what would you do with three wives? A single wife is enough to vex even the most patient of men! And you dare take three?"

"I am not a man. Need I remind you of that? All three of these girls, in their own way, possess ideal virtues."

The Dagda approached Macha.

"This one is the fairest girl of the land. Her beauty would be the envy of all the gods. But one such as me requires more than beauty. I need a wife with whom I can converse, who may not be my equal but can at least engage matters of the mind."

The Dagda strolled over toward Anand, placed one of his massive hands on her shoulder. "This one will do nicely for that."

Then the Dagda approached Babd. He looked at her curiously; she shot daggers back at him. "This one, what is her name?"

"Babd," Fionn said. "Of my three daughters, at least this one has nothing that might draw her to you. She is the plainest of the three, good for little more than housework."

Babd wanted to curse at her father. But she thought better of it and bit her tongue.

"But that's the one!" Doidrich screamed. "She's the one who knew my name. She must be a witch."

Fionn bellowed a deep laugh. "Babd? A witch?"

"None except my mother have spoken my true name until now," Doidrich said. "But this one knew it the moment she saw me. Divination is the only answer."

Fionn, his jaw dropped, looked at me intently. "Is what this boy says true? Did you speak his name, a name you could not have possibly known?"

"I don't know how I knew it," Babd said. "He must've said it. I swear, I'm no witch."

"The witch lies," Doidrich said.

The Dagda approached Babd and looked at her in the eyes. "You cannot lie to a god, my dear. I can see through you."

"I don't know how I know his name. But I swear, it has nothing to do with witchcraft."

"Now she speaks the truth," the Dagda said. "And perhaps you are right, Fionn. Maybe she is good for little else than housework. But all the other gods know I have more than enough of that to do. Besides, she intrigues me. I stand by my terms—I'll have all three."

"Surely there's another way," Fionn said, a hint of urgency in his voice. "You've already taken my wife. Now to claim all of my daughters?"

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