The Heart of War (70 page)

It was all she could to hold the sword up enough so that the tip did drag and dig into the stone floor as she made her way around the altar to where Cernunnos stood. “And the Staff,” she said quietly although she had no idea how she was going to drag the sword with just one hand—without totally damaging the blade—and still manage to hold the Staff high in the air with the other to conduct the energy coming down from Above into the floor Below. As she requested, the Staff appeared in Cernunnos’ hand and he held it out to her. Alena wrapped her arm around the hilt of Ares’ sword to keep it close and upright while she grabbed the Staff with her free hand. Deciding there was no other way she was going to be able to do this; she wrapped her arm around the Staff as she did the sword, trying to keep both of them in balance.

Gods, how does he even pick this thing up?
Alena wondered as she began to chant while drawing the Sacred Circle around the Great Horned God. Just dragging it, trying to keep the tip on the ground very lightly, made her shoulder scream out in protest as little sparks flew the space between the blade and stone.

“De réir an Cumhacht Sword agus Stone, a thabhairt mé síos go léir Power na cruinne a bheidh le mianach amháin.”

(By the Power of Sword and Stone, I bring down All the Power of the Universe to be mine alone.)

Before she could finish the chant the first time through, a great clap of thunder boomed in the night. It made her jump in place and turn toward the window. Upon the second round of the chant, the crystal at the top of the Staff began to glow as the sparks from the blade, so heavy in her hand, gave out larger discharges. Finishing the fourth round of the chant, coming back to the starting point, thunder rolled again, this time so loudly it shook the windows in their panes. Alena began to fear that she was actually going to pull this off for him.

“An Ciorcal Ró-Naofa é arna gcaitheamh, a ligean isteach ar bith nach mbaineann.”

(The Sacred Circle is cast; let none enter who does not belong.)

Now came the hard part.

Alena entered the Sacred Circle and stood before Cernunnos who had assumed the Power Position and stood straight with his arms crossed over his chest. Trying very hard to hold both Sword and Staff aloft, Alena, still speaking Gaelic, called out and began to Draw Down the Sun into the Great Horned God:

“O Powers of the Universe, Listen now to the words of Cernunnos, the Great Horned God, the Guardian of All Things Wild and Free, and Keeper of the Gates of Death, Your Son, Your Lord, Your Master, Your God, the One whose Call you must answer.”

Cernunnos spoke in his native tongue with a deep commanding voice. “I, Cernunnos, stand in the darkness of light. Heed my call. You are my children and I am thy Father, thy Lord, thy Master, thy God. Know that I am the Wild Untamed Wind, the Fury of Storm, and the Passion in the heart of every living creature. Come unto me and learn the secrets of Death and Peace. I am the Scourge and Flame, Blade and Blood these are mine to command and so is the whole of this land. See All before You whom I have slain. Tonight their Power I gain. To this, You will lend Your Strength, Your Blessing for my power cannot be denied, by my word alone You must abide.”

The arm holding the sword as high as she could possibly get it began to quiver and shake before Cernunnos was halfway through his little speech. The Staff hummed and glowed at an alarming rate, the illumination grew brighter and brighter until a bolt of energy shot not out from it but down to from the Heavens above. The cracking sound it made when the bolt struck the crystal almost made Alena drop the Staff, as she was sure it was going to splinter into a thousand pieces in her hand, if not from the force of the jolt than from the force of the reverberation within the wood. As the bolt of energy and the wood in her hand got to know each other, it seemed to her that they developed an odd give-n-take relationship. The lightning from above giving energy to the Ritual and the Sacred Circle, the Staff giving, not of itself, but of her. Something was being drawn out of her even as the Powers in the Heavens was drawn down by her ready to be transferred to Cernunnos through Ares’ blade.

Now she was supposed to speak again as she slowly lowered the sword and touched it to his head while keeping the Staff in the air, but her strength was rapidly giving out and Alena began to fear that she would end up slicing, but not killing, Cernunnos where he stood. That would be very bad. That would not make him happy at all. Leaning back in an effort to keep her balance while her arm, very accustomed to labor and strong in its own right, struggled to keep the twenty-pound sword in the air as it began to waver out of control. “Anois tá an uair a chloig, a thabhairt do do Dhia, Cernunnos, an cumhacht…”

(Now is the hour, give to Your God, Cernunnos, the Power….)

The sword began to weave as her arm shook and the muscles there threatened to give out before she could say the last words.

“Hurry up!” Cernunnos hissed when she appeared to freeze in place looking as though she had been stabbed and was suddenly bleeding out. All of the color drained from her face, even her wounds turned white. “Finish it!”

Off the left of them, the heavy wood door flew open and there stood Ares. “Not on my watch,” he growled and stormed into the room. Alena’s eyes turned toward him but she didn’t seem to recognize him, she didn’t move away from Cernunnos, she just stood there as if a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming car. Her arms held out like the hands of a clock at 5:00, she was struggling with the weight of his sword.

“Circle is Sacred!” Cernunnos spat. “You cannot enter! You cannot stop this!” He turned back to Alena. “Finish it, you bitch, or I swear I’ll finish him!”

Still coming forward, Ares took the time to cast his eyes downward for a moment and take in the newly scratched Circle on the floor. The God of War was not going to allow a little etching to stand in his way. Holding up his daggers, both of them smeared with the blood of the Druids who had guarded the outside of the door—they had been so enrapt in watching the Ritual through the peep door in the wood, they never heard Ares coming until he slit their throats from behind. Standing in the Great Hall now, with the excitement of the coming Battle filling every inch of him, Ares gave Cernunnos a winning smile. “Watch me,” Ares whispered. He flung one of the daggers at Cernunnos only to watch it come in contact with the Sacred Circle and fall to the ground outside of it.

Cernunnos let go a hearty laugh as he stood fast, tall, and strong, believing the Sacred Circle would protect him as his Destiny approached.

Help was so close and yet so far away. Alena turned her eyes from Ares and tried to speak again even as she felt the life force within being sucked away from her. “The…the…power… to…” Suddenly she could not remember the words or, for a terrifying moment, even what words were and how to form them. She just stood there reeling on her feet with the sword bobbling in her hand.

Maybe the Sacred Circle Alena cast kept out Ares’ weapon but it was not going to hold back the God of War. Ares charged at it full bore, with his head down and his shoulders squared as though he were about to head butt a bull. As his big booted foot crossed the line, Ares felt a mild tingling and slightly cold sensation encase him head to toe but no force held him back. To him it seemed, no force even tried. Cernunnos’ eyes grew wide with surprise and terror when Ares fully entered the Sacred Circle, crushing several of the bottles at his feet. “What’cha got to say now?”

“NO!” Cernunnos bellowed as he watched the bottles shatter and their little glowing contents begin to float about the room. “Get back here! I command it!” he shouted to them.

While the Great Horn God railed, Ares grabbed his sword out of Alena’s faltering hand; he pushed her aside to a safer place, while he struck out with the blade. Cernunnos jumped back as Alena fell to the floor with the Staff in her hand. With the sword gone, the energy coming into her through the Staff now shot out her fingertips in great streaks of purple lightning. It bounced around the room, blowing holes in walls and shattering the large window at the end of the room. Smoke from the fire outside began to pour into the structure while the Staff continued on destroying tables and chairs as they exploded and caught fire in the Great Hall. Colorful tapestries hung everywhere here and it wasn’t long before they also turned to flame, great blazes of fire ran up the walls in search of the oak beams before the fuel of the tapestries could be spent.

The God of War, handsome face twisted in anger, eyes filled with fiery determination, brought fire to his blade as he lashed out with it. Again Cernunnos backed up and away from it, his own hooves crushing the bottles at his feet, until they were over the perimeter of the Sacred Circle and Ares was following him. Soon his own big boots were over the line as he chased Cernunnos out into the room. Finding a small piece of her mind left to her, Alena rolled over the line. “The Sacred Circle is broken!” she said in the loudest strongest voice she could muster. “All are dismissed, go in peace!” she gasped, as she lay weak and dizzy on the floor.

“Or go in pieces,” Ares hissed at Cernunnos.

“You bitch!” Cernunnos shouted as the room drained of the Ritual Energy she had raised for him. The wind outside ceased its howl. The rain stopped. The thunder was heard no more. He turned his raging eyes to Ares. “This ends now.” Cernunnos tossed a large ball of deep red energy at Ares and stood in awe as the God of War batted it away with his flaming word as though he were in the World Series. The energy hit the far wall high near the ceiling, blew a hole straight through as it rained down chunks of rock and debris. The heavy oak beam gave way; part of the upper floor fell into the Great Hall.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Ares agreed.

The two Gods charged at each other like the Wild Beasts they were. Both with heads down, shoulders back, but here Cernunnos had a distinct advantage with those antlers, or so he thought. Running at each full speed, Ares kept his eyes focused closely upon his adversary, knowing that just before the two of them met head-on, Cernunnos would bow his head a little further before he brought it up with great force, hoping to rip flesh from bone. He intended to cut off Cernunnos’ head but he misjudged the swiftness the Half-Stag possessed and by the time Ares swung with the blade, Cernunnos was already on the upward swing. Ares sword sliced through the Great Horned Gods antlers, severing many of them and leaving them smoking on the stone floor.

Cernunnos stood up his full height while his hooves trotted in place; he threw back his head and let out a cry of pain and anguish at the loss of his majestic antlers. Nostrils flaring and his right hoof scratching at the floor, Cernunnos’ eyes narrowed on Ares. “I’m going to kill you with my bare hands.”

“Bring it,” Ares dared. “Let’s see what’cha got.” His heart raced with the thrill of Battle as his brawny body broke out in a light glistening sweat. From behind him came a familiar sound, one that made Ares smile wider and one that made Cernunnos scowl further. It was the sound of breaking glass. Alena reached the bottles; she was freeing the souls trapped within them as quickly as she could. Small balls of light floated everywhere. “Ooops.”

That bit of mocking enraged Cernunnos to the point where he could no longer see straight. His objective became not Ares but the bitch behind him. He had to get to her before she could destroy every last one of them. His hoof scratched at the ground again as he settled back on his haunches and made ready to pounce. As the God of War waited for the coming attack, he realized at the last second he misgauged Cernunnos’ target. Like the Great Stag of the Forest he was, Cernunnos leapt high over Ares’ head and well past the God of War to land in front of Alena. No thought or hesitation, he turned around and kicked out backward with one strong hoof connecting with the space between her breasts, sending her flying backward halfway across the room. Landing on the cold floor, after taking the force of the brutal heart-kick, Alena slid a few more feet before she came to a silent rest near the burning tables. She lay there motionless; Ares wasn’t even sure she was breathing.

Then it was Ares who could not see straight. All around was lost to him and there was only Cernunnos before his fiery warring eyes. Holding his flaming blade in line with his right shoulder and turning his body in the same direction with his armor facing his enemy, Ares charged at the Great Horned God with an ear-splitting warrior’s cry. Crossing over the remains of the Sacred Circle his heavy boots demolished the remaining bottles—bits of colored glass flew everywhere in dust and shards. The last of the souls Cernunnos had captured were floating free about the room as though they were watching and awaiting the outcome of the Battle.

With no horns for protection, Cernunnos relied upon his magick to combat the God of War; he tossed more streaks of hot energy at Ares, some of which Ares deflected away with his blade and others struck the heavy leather armor where they smoldered but did not burn through. Eyes cast quickly to the woman on the floor; Cernunnos used the Powers of his Mind to call the Staff to his hand. He held it up crosswise and blocked with it when Ares came down with his sword in a long hacking motion. The wood creaked as the blade struck it but it held up, for how long that would remain true Cernunnos was unsure. Pulling back on one end and striking out with the other, Cernunnos tried to strike Ares’ jaw but Ares was much taller than Cernunnos and he had time to move out of the way of the blow. The Staff sliced through the air with a loud
whoosh
.

Never one to miss an opportunity, Ares came up quickly after having ducked down and landed a vicious upper cut on Cernunnos’ lower jaw. In his mouth, the teeth of the Great Horned God shattered like the crystal bottles at his feet. Swiping his hand across the broken jaw and spitting out a mouthful of broken teeth, his hoof scratched the floor as his heart raced. Not one for hand-to-hand combat, Cernunnos struck out almost blindly with his fist. It connected with Ares’ flank but that was only because Ares hand leapt into the air and was on the downward swing using the force of gravity to propel his fist, guarded by those heavy rings, into Cernunnos’ cheek. The force of the blow drove Cernunnos to his knees as his cheek and nose splintered inside and out. Ares did not stop there, he had great follow-through and kept the strike going. He clipped but did not break Cernunnos’ neck and his collarbone took the last bit of the hit and cracked as Ares landed on his feet only to keep up the assault. Planting one hand on each side of Cernunnos’ head he brought his knee up sharply into Cernunnos’ chin, breaking the remainder of the Great Horned God’s face while it forced him to a seated position on the floor. “You think you can violate
my
woman, hmmm?
My
Sister? Who the hell are you? You’re nothing,” Ares spat vehemently as he followed Cernunnos’ body down.