The Banished Bandraoi

Four letter word

The cawing of the crows perched on top of my mother's shrine statues irritated me. She never spoke to me directly, only through these disgusting black birds. I got up and put my cloak back on. I had fallen asleep meditating. My magic needed to be at its strongest since I was on my own, especially without my staff. Meditating helped me connect with the witches and goddesses that communed to create me. Powerful dark magick was used to create me and connecting with it would give me unmatched strength. I would have been much stronger if I had been meditating every day, but I had derailed when I was distracted by the mortal two days ago. 

It was good that he did not want me in his life. Now I could focus on what was important; finding my staff and talking my crazy mother out of causing an apocalypse. Meditation was the surest way to get through to her. Since I was an unmarried demigoddess, I had no access to her realm other than through solitude and meditation. 

Suddenly, I heard a rustle in the bushes. I lifted my arms ready to attack when a face that I knew all too well emerged. Diarmuid Ua Duibhne. Bastard demigod cursed to never find true love. He was the one my mother and the council of witches wanted me to marry. If I married him, they would have control over me for the rest of my immortal life. I would be confined to the temples to serve my mother and act as a link to her for her worshipers. My job was to tend to the mortals' needs, in between pregnancies of my own. That was not the life I wanted for myself. 

"What are you doing here Diarmuid?" I demanded, not lowering my arms. He was a trickster as well; that was how he earned himself his curse. He smiled.

"Byrne, Byrne. Lower your weapons. I am not here to hurt you. I come bearing gifts... and a message," he said slyly as he walked around me.

"Get on with it then! I want you out of here!" I growled at him.

"Ah! Do you not love me anymore, my dear Byrne? Have I lost what little of your heart I had won over? I thought we were making progress, my love," he responded with a chuckle.

"Say what brought you here and leave, Diarmuid! And never call me those loathsome names ever again!" I said through clenched teeth. 

He sighed. "This is the thanks I get after saving your life? If I didn't take you to the hospital when I found you, you'd have been devoured by the woodland monsters." He paused, waiting for a reaction. When none came, he continued," I suppose you've been looking for your staff?" To that, he got a reaction. My scowl deepened and flames licked the tips of my fingers. I would burn him into a crisp in seconds. He would take a few weeks to heal, but it would hurt more than regular burns. 

"Give me my staff," I growled as flames sparked off my fingers onto the ground, lighting some dry leaves on fire. He had been burned once by me before. He knew how much it hurt. He knew that the scars from spell-fire never disappeared. He took a cautionary step back and sighed. 

"Diarmuid, you know you need me. I am the only way you will ever become a god again. If you do not give me my staff, I will die in this apocalypse. We both know that you want to be a god more than anything else in any of the realms. Now, quit your foolish games and let an actual diety commune with the superior gods and goddesses," I said so calmly that it startled me and made him glare in suspicion. 

"Fine. If you want it, come and get it," he answered after a moment of silence. He smiled, knowing that he was better at combat than I was. Thing is, I could use the gifts and skills of those who had died in my hands as my own. I conjured the spirit of a katana wielder who attacked me while I was meditating in the high mountains in China. He was a worthy opponent who almost took my life. 

Flames grew in the form of swords in both my hands and I grinned when I saw the look of shock grow on Diarmuid's face. This was going to be a delicious victory. 

"I hate you. Remember that," I snarled

He feigned shock and gasped. "Not the four-letter word I wanted to hear. Especially from you."

I grinned slightly and lunged towards him.

A few minutes later, I had him pinned on the ground, face down, with one of my flame katanas at his neck. Victory against this curded creature always felt so good. 

"Now," I said, having barely broken a sweat, "my staff? And the message?"