Hexed

breath whuffed out of me as the Morrigan’s fist slammed down onto my stomach and pushed up on my diaphragm. » What did you just say to me? « She grabbed my jaw and yanked it to face her, so that I saw her eyes glowing red as I fought to recover my breath.
    » Ca—cuh—curse your meddling, « I managed to wheeze.
    » That’s better, « she said, and released me. I guessed there would be no cuddling session.
    › Um, Atticus, are you maybe finished now? I’m really hungry. ‹
    Oh, Oberon, I’m so sorry. She wouldn’t let me go .
    › It’s all right. Are you okay? Because it sounded like she was pulling out your short ’n’ curlies in there. ‹
    Yeah, I bet you never had a French poodle treat you like that .
    I turned to the Morrigan and remembered my duties as host. » May I offer you any refreshment? « I asked. » Perhaps a meal within the compass of my limited pantry? «
    » I will accept whatever you see fit to offer me, « she said.
    Statements like that cannot be taken at face value. It sounded like she’d be happy with a sardine sitting on a Ritz, but, in truth, if I offered her anything but the very best in my house, I’d be insulting her.
    I tiptoed gingerly out of bed, bruised and bleeding and stinging where sweat had trickled into the wounds. Everything hurt because I was completely drained of power. I’d have to go back outside and draw some strength from the earth to begin healing, and I felt as if all I did anymore was spend my time fixing up my damaged body.
    › Holy Cat Fight, Atticus! She scratched you up pretty good, ‹ Oberon said when I emerged from the bedroom.
    Yeah, it was a festival of pain. Let me close up these cuts and I’ll start in on our very late breakfast .
    Since I’d completely missed the morning routine I’d been looking forward to upon waking up, I decided I’d have it anyway, even though it was afternoon. I put on a pot of coffee and then spent a few moments in the backyard, soothing my screaming skin. Feeling marginally better, I returned inside and played the latest release from Rodrigo y Gabriela on the stereo while I cooked an enormous breakfast: three-egg omelets with cheese, diced ham, and chives, a couple of packages of maple-flavored sausage (mostly for Oberon), skillet potatoes mixed with chopped white onions and red bell peppers, and toast with butter and orange marmalade.
    The Morrigan emerged from the bedroom as I was plating everything. She was freshly scrubbed and groomed and nude, and she sat down at my kitchen table without a shred of self-consciousness. I didn’t have a stitch on either, and I felt pleased to have a small time where I could behave like a Celt again, without worrying about the social customs of Americans.
    The Morrigan was making an extraordinary effort to be affable as I served her. I think she tried to smile politely as I gave her a cup of coffee (she took it black), but it was a dismal failure and I pretended not to notice. Oberon, for his part, was eating his sausages as quietly as he could, casting nervous glances at the Morrigan to make sure she wasn’t coming after him with those fingernails.
    She paid me compliments on the food and drank five cups of coffee to my one, in addition to a glass of orange juice and a taller glass of water. She also asked for a second omelet and two more slices of toast.
    › Where is she putting it all? ‹ Oberon asked as he watched her shovel it down.
    I don’t know. Go ahead and ask her if you like .
    › No thanks. I want to live. ‹
    Once she finally proclaimed herself full and dispensed with another round of obligatory thanks, the niceties of custom had been observed and she could proceed to business.
    » Have you wondered where I’ve been the past few weeks? « she asked.
    » Yes, the thought had crossed my mind. «
    » I’ve been occupied with a civil war in Tír na nÓg. The battles have been glorious. «
    » What? Who was fighting whom? «
    » Aenghus Óg’s partisans decided to rise up against Brighid and myself, despite the fact that their leader had fallen and failed to follow through on his promises. After the first wave broke, a purge was necessary, and that took the majority of the time. «
    » Did any of the Tuatha Dé Danann fall? «
    The Morrigan shook her head. » They were all lesser Fae to one degree or another. But they had some impressive weapons bequeathed to them by Aenghus Óg. Brighid’s new armor got a strenuous test. «
    » Brighid took up arms