Page 29 of Rise of the Morrigan

"If you were better than any man, you wouldn't need to use my mother as a bargaining chip in a desperate attempt to compel my affections."

"Once you lie with me, wife, you will know pleasures beyond compare. There will be no more compulsion..."

I laughed out loud. "You flatter yourself too much, even for a god!"

"I made you, woman! And I can unmake you!"

"They callyouthe Dagda? Thegoodgod? You're no better than a brutish man. In fact, you're worse because you have power. You will not unmake me. To do so would be to admit your failure. And I suspect, from what I can tell, you're too proud to admit that you, the great Dagda, could not even convince the wife you made for yourself to join you in a tryst."

"You're infuriating, woman!" the Dagda stomped his foot, sending a quake through the earth.

"Goddess," I said. "I am not just a woman. I am a Goddess. And you will treat me as such."

"You're my phantom queen!"

"And I am the queen of what, exactly? Your own proclivities? Thank you, but I'll pass."

I turned my back to him and he shouted and a loud thud echoed across the room. I turned back to examine the source of the sound. The Dagda had released his over-sized manhood—or should I call it, his godhood—and slammed it on the table. I covered my mouth to prevent my laughter.

The Dagda's face turned red in a fury. "You cannot say you are not impressed by this!"

"Impressed? And you callmea phantom... that thing is frightening!"

With a fury, the Dagda covered himself again and stomped out of the room. I suppose wounding a god's pride might have consequences. But in truth, I felt sorry for whatever bull he must've stolen that thing from. It was hideous. And to think I'd find itpleasing? It seems the cluelessness of most men, when it came to the things that might please a woman, was a trait they'd inherited from the gods.

Do not forget—I was once Babd, and her gifts remained mine. I was perceptive enough to realize that once the Dagda's fury had subsided he'd return to me like a puppy begging for a treat. Sure, he might have to go on a rampage through the countryside first. A few earthquakes and storms might befall the local clans as a result. But he'd get over it and come to his senses.

I'd spent most of my life in trepidation. In different ways, as Macha, Anand, and Babd, I feared Fionn in various ways. I always used my various assets—Macha's beauty, Anand's intelligence, and even Babd's cleverness to remain aloof and unrecognized—to appease Fionn's wrath. I'd lived in fear of an insecure man before, and I wasn't about to do so again—even if that man is a god.

I wasn't sure how I felt about my new divinity. I had all the memories of Macha, Anand, and Babd. None of them had died. Their lives now flowing together like three small streams now merged into a single, unruly, river. And like the mighty River Hafren, I was wild. Untamable. I would not be directed. I would forge my own path. And if I had to defy a god to do it, so be it.

The door creaked. The Dagda walked in, his head hung as low as was possible for a deity of his towering stature.

"My apologies, wife..."

"What are you apologizing for?" I asked, smirking and mildly amused by the Dagda's predictable though sudden change of approach.

"I have ruled eons without a woman that was at all near my equal. It is all I ever wanted. Yet, still, now that you are here I treat you like a mere mortal."

"You treat humans like that?"

"Most humans... they consider it an honor to..."

I huffed. "Taking thatthingwould be no honor for anyone."

The Dagda sighed. "My point is that I wanted to be loved by one who was in every way equal to me that once it became possible I did not know how I should behave. This union... it is as new to me as it is to you."

"I doubt that," I said. "You're still yourself. I am... I don't know what I am. We are all here, all three of us. Which as I see it means your task is triply difficult. Should you desire that we desire you it takes more than demands or expectations. You must win over all of our hearts—even if our hearts now beat as one."

The Dagda nodded. He opened the door and gestured toward its opening.

I cocked my head. "You're kicking me out?"

"I'm setting you free, Morrigan..."

"Free?"

"That I might win your heart properly. You are free to pursue a love of your own. You must come to know what I have known for ages upon ages... that love with mortals inevitably breeds only pain. And perhaps, in time, you will come to desire me as I do you."

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