Hounded

asked. » This is based on solid evidence? «
    The crow flapped its wings in irritation and cawed. » If you wait for evidence, it will be too late, « she said.
    Relief washed through me, and the tension melted from between my shoulder blades. » Ah, so this is just some vague augury, « I said.
    » No, the augury was quite specific, « the Morrigan replied. » A mortal doom gathers about you here, and you must fly if you wish to avoid it. «
    » See? There you go again. You get this way every year around Samhain, « I said. » If it isn’t Thor coming to get me, it’s one of the Olympians. Remember that story last year? Apollo was offended by my association with the Arizona State Sun Devils— «
    » This is different. «
    » —Never mind that I do not even attend the university, I just work nearby. So he was coming in his golden chariot to shoot me full of arrows. «
    The crow shuffled on the bust and looked uncomfortable. » It seemed a plausible interpretation at the time. «
    » The Greek deity of the sun being offended by an old Druid’s tenuous relationship with a college mascot on the other side of the globe seemed plausible? «
    » The basics were accurate, Siodhachan. Missiles were fired at you. «
    » Some kids punctured my bike tires with darts, Morrigan. I think you may have exaggerated the threat somewhat. «
    » Nevertheless. You cannot stay here any longer. The omens are dire. «
    » Very well, « I sighed in resignation. » Tell me what you saw. «
    » I was speaking with Aenghus recently— «
    » You spoke to him? « If I’d been eating anything, I would have choked. » I thought you hated each other. «
    » We do. That does not mean we are incapable of conversing together. I was relaxing in Tír na nÓg, thoroughly sated after a trip to Mesopotamia—have you been there recently? It is magnificent sport. «
    » Begging your pardon, but the mortals call it Iraq now, and no, I haven’t been there in centuries. « The Morrigan’s ideas of sport and mine varied widely. As a Chooser of the Slain, she tends to enjoy nothing so much as a protracted war. She hangs out with Kali and the Valkyries and they have a death goddesses’ night out on the battlefield. I, on the other hand, stopped thinking war was glorious after the Crusades. Baseball is more my kind of thing these days. » What did Aenghus say to you? « I prompted.
    » He just smiled at me and told me to look to my friends. «
    My eyebrows shot up. » You have friends? «
    » Of course not. « The crow ruffled its feathers and managed to look aggrieved at the mere suggestion. » Well, Hecate is kind of funny and we have been spending a lot of time together lately. But I think he meant you. «
    The Morrigan and I have a certain understanding (though it’s too uncertain for my taste): She will not come for me as long as my existence continues to drive Aenghus Óg into twitching spasms of fury. It’s not exactly a friendship—she’s not the sort of creature that allows it—but we have known each other a long time, and she drops by every so often to keep me out of trouble. » It would be embarrassing for me, « she explained once as she was ushering me out of the Battle of Gabhra, » if you got yourself decapitated and yet you didn’t die. I would have some explaining to do. Dereliction of duty is difficult to justify. So from now on, do not put me in a position where I must take your life to save face. « The bloodlust was still on me at the time, and I could feel the power coursing through my tattoos; I was part of the Fianna during that episode, and there was nothing I wanted more than to have a go at that pompous snot King Cairbre. But the Morrigan had chosen sides, and when a goddess of death says to leave the battle, you leave the battle. Ever since I earned Aenghus Óg’s enmity all those centuries ago, she has tried to warn me of mortal dangers coming my way, and while she occasionally exaggerates the danger, I suppose I should be grateful she never underestimates it or neglects to warn me at all.
    » He could have been playing with your mind, Morrigan, « I said. » Aenghus is like that. «
    » I am well aware. That is why I consulted the flight of crows and found them ominous regarding your position here. « I made a face, and the Morrigan continued before I could say anything. » I knew that such augury would not be sufficient for you, so, seeking more specifics, I cast the wands. «
    » Oh, « I said. She had actually gone