Hounded

Is it here on the premises? « Oh, now that was a good one. Much better than asking where it was, which would allow me to be vague. This was a yes or no, and unfortunately, since the answer was yes and I had promised to answer truthfully … Well, I could lie. Except that I thought she would know it, and it would be the same as saying yes while giving her just cause to swerve off the high road.
    » Yes, « I admitted. She beamed at me.
    » Thank you for not lying. Last question: Which member of the Tuatha Dé Danann have you most recently seen in corporeal form? «
    Whoa. Why did she want to know that? » The Morrigan, « I replied.
    Her eyes widened. » The Morrigan? « she squeaked. Oh, now I got it. She had expected me to say Bres, and then she could surmise that I had killed him with the sword that I still had on the premises. But now she couldn’t surmise that at all. She could surmise, instead, that since I’d seen the Morrigan and lived, I had a death goddess in my Five or My Circle or whatever. And maybe the reason Bres didn’t » come home « last night was because of the Morrigan, and not because of me. But this line of reasoning implied that she knew about Bres coming to see me yesterday.
    » How many people in your coven are helping Aenghus Óg to take the sword from me? «
    A veil fell across her features. » I am sorry, but I cannot answer that. «
    Bingo, as they say in church halls on Wednesday nights. » That’s a shame. And we were being so candid with each other. «
    » We can still be candid about other subjects. «
    » I doubt that. It sounds to me like you are allied with Aenghus Óg. «
    » Please. « The witch rolled her eyes. » As I said on the phone yesterday, if that were true, then why would we want to humiliate him? «
    » You tell me, Malina Sokolowski. «
    » Fine. We do not want anything to do with the Tuatha Dé Danann. Mortals who have dealings with them rarely end happily, and while we are not your average mortals, we still are not in their weight class, if you will allow me to use a boxing metaphor. «
    » I will allow it this once. I would find it more amusing if you would use gamer jargon from now on, like, ‘If we fought the Tuatha Dé Danann, we’d get so pwned .’ «
    She smiled at me, understanding that I had made a joke even if she had no clue what being pwned meant. » We would actually like to help you, Mr. O’Sullivan. We think Aenghus Óg will be displeased if he discovers why he is unable to perform, and he may turn his wrath against us as well as you. So if you two are to fight, we would like to ensure that you are the winner. To that end, is there anything we can do to help? «
    There was no way I was going to let them » help. « I was sure it would backfire on me. But this was a golden opportunity to fish for information.
    » I’m not sure, « I said. » Tell me about the Zoryas you mentioned. Are they the source of your power? «
    » When did I mention the Zoryas? «
    » You swore by them when you threatened Emily. «
    » Ah. Well, yes, the Zoryas are star goddesses known throughout the Slavic world. The midnight star, Zorya Polunochnaya, is a goddess of death and rebirth, and, as you might expect, she has quite a bit to do with magic and wisdom. It is she who gives us much of our knowledge and power, though the other two Zoryas are helpful as well. «
    » Fascinating, « I said, and I was being serious. I hadn’t heard much about the Zoryas before—old Slavic deities had rarely come up as a topic of conversation in my travels. I’d need to do some research. » You don’t do any mucking about with the moon, then? «
    » No. « She shook her head. » That’s another kind of craft. «
    » Then I’m at a loss as to how you can help me. What sort of thing did you have in mind? «
    » Well, since you seem to be fairly accomplished at wards « —she gestured around at the store to the spells she could sense— » perhaps we could help you with some offensive capabilities. How were you planning to attack Aenghus Óg? «
    Did she really think I would answer that? » I think I’ll just improvise. «
    » Well, we could increase your speed. «
    » Unnecessary, but thank you. «
    Malina frowned. » I get the feeling that you do not really want our help. «
    » You are correct. I am very grateful for the offer, however. It is kind of you. «
    » Why would you refuse our aid? «
    » Look, I understand you would like to expiate the debt your coven owes me for