The world around him mellowed a little as James slid Claiomh Solais through the loop of his sword belt that hung around his waist. When the sheath slid into place on the loop of his sword belt, he let it fall to his side and let it rest against her leg. A gentle warmth of spring sunshine replaced the normal feeling of cold steel against his leg.

  James shifted and moved, testing that the magical blade would move like a standard sword as he marched and went about his duties. A few small adjustments placed the blade exactly where it should be to move comfortably with him. Certain that he was as comfortable as he could be, he turned back to the glowing divine being that lounged on his couch, even though he’d just asked him to get ready to leave.

  “Whenever you’re done lying around, we should probably get over to the Quartermaster’s office before they go to lunch. We can come back for the book and complete some more training. It's not like we’re getting much else done right now anyway.”

  Lugh pushed himself to his feet and straightened his etheric armor before walking towards the door. His head shook in mock disappointment as he spoke in the accent of the Emerald Isle.

  “Oh, the dry wit of the warrior, how you plague me. I’ve been the God of Warriors for two millennia, but I will never understand where it comes from. Perhaps it's a curse that’s placed on the weapons they're given.”

  Without waiting for James, Lugh stepped out into the hallway that led to the back door and picked up the backpack that held the book and keys as he passed. James grabbed his cap off the hook by the door and jogged after. By the time he caught up to the god, the back door had been thrown open. The typical black clouds of a fall rainstorm were beginning to build in the distance, casting long shadows over the garden that was barely big enough to grow anything and the one-car garage that sat on the edge of the lot.

  A strobe of light that was no stronger than a camera flash caused him to blink and look away from Lugh as he reached the garage door. When the white fuzz disappeared from James’ vision, the god had shifted to the form of a well-dressed admiral with close-cropped salt and pepper hair. He pulled open the side door and stepped inside the dark room.

  Jogging to catch up with the god admiral, James stepped into the garage and found the divine being sitting inside the still locked car. He unlocked the car and climbed into the driver's seat, not speaking to the god that managed to annoy him and give him hope at the same time.

  His fifty-year-old Mustang activated with a roar before he could turn the key, and the garage door opened behind them without warning. James just shrugged to himself at the magic that the god casually wielded and shifted into reverse. The grinding of loose gravel against the tires filled the cab as he slowly rolled out of the garage and onto the side streets, turning the car to point in the direction that would carry them to the USS Constitution.

  The life swimming in the split realms of his vision forced him to shake his head, trying to let his muscle memory take the lead in driving as he worked through all of this new information. When that didn’t help, he finally turned to look at Lugh.

  “Can you help me with this vision issue? My mind isn’t able to tell what is real and what isn’t.”

  Lugh gave a hearty laugh at his plight before responding.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Everything you’re seeing is real. They are just in separate realms.”

  Pulling the car to the side of the road, he turned and looked over at the god, his gaze as icy as any Gunney that had ever been asked a stupid question.

  “You know exactly what I mean. I need to know what will die if I hit it with my car and what I can drive through. If you don’t do something, I’m just going to pull this car back into the garage and go take a nap. I don’t have to report until tomorrow, so this can wait.”

  Lugh shook his head in disappointment as he reached up and touched James’ right temple and muttered a few words. The Marine’s vision went black for a split second before resetting back to what it had always been. When he looked back over at god, Lugh explained.

  “You can turn it off and on by touching your temples and saying ‘Gan Radharc Fey’. You can turn it back the same way, except you say ‘Fey Raharc’.”

  James reached up with both hands and massaged his temples, testing the ability to turn that vision on and off. Sure that he would be able to control what had felt like a curse, he set his vision to normal and began to drive. For several blocks, they drove in silence before the Irish God of War reached over to the radio and turned it on.

  He spun the dial on the old radio without listening to the channels. When he stopped, “Welcome to the Jungle” by Guns N’ Roses blared over the old speakers. Sitting back into the seat, Lugh glanced at James before starting to sing at the top of his lungs.

  A single line escaped his lips, sounding like a bleating sheep, before James slapped at the button to turn it off. He gave the god a quick, dirty look before focusing on the road as he spoke.

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  “How is a divine being so bad at singing? It seems like there should be some requirement that you be good at that if you want to get into heaven.”

  Shaking his head, Lugh leaned his head back and closed his eyes, his voice wistful as he answered.

  “You’re confusing the Christian afterlife with mine. Mag Mell is a paradise like heaven, but the only people who sing there are the people who wanted to sing in their lives. My job is to protect that land, not to serenade its residents.”

  James studied him out of the side of his vision, keeping most of his focus on the road. At a surface glance, Lugh seemed to be happy with his lot in life, but the tension in his jaw said otherwise. Not wanting to pry too much into the emotions of a god, James focused back on the road before speaking again.

  “So if your job is to protect Mag Mell, what are you doing here? It seems like working with a single warrior in Boston wouldn’t do a lot towards protecting the Otherworld. Am I missing something?”

  Lugh finally broke from his fake trance and looked over at him, his voice serious for only the second time since they’d met.

  “There’s a lot you’re still missing, and I promise to work with you to understand it all. We have to be careful, though, because we don’t want any of the shades to access your unprotected mind and steal our secrets. I can answer what questions I can, though. It’s pretty well known by both sides in this greater war.”

  He shifted slightly so that he looked like the Marine officer that he was impersonating.

  “The mythological realms were once very localized. Each realm had a matching land on this planet where people who worshiped us could be accessed. When the Americas eventually opened up to the world, it changed everything for how pantheons ruled, as the locals quickly became the minorities because they refused to unify. The gods discovered that when your people organize in mass in a new place, another gateway to your other realm opened up and creates new pathways for the dark forces to breach our perfect realms.”

  With a motion of his hand, a map of the United States appeared in front of him. Green dots appeared all over the map, and his fingers crossed over them as he spoke.

  “In Ireland, there are only four portals to the Fey Realm, but in the United States, there are sixty-five. The rest of the world has experienced a little of this, but this country is quickly turning into a hub of portals and magic. In the beginning, the different pantheons warred for control of this economic hub for all of the realms, but eventually a treaty was signed about the same time as your Declaration of Independence. It established this world as a free realm for three hundred years to allow the populations to stabilize. Fifty years before that, we gods are allowed to fully mobilize our followers in order to form a new pantheon.”

  James slowed slightly to turn onto M Street before heading for I-93. He glanced over at his passenger and the map that he studied with a different level of focus. The god’s fingers moved from one point to another, each lighting up with his touch. He breathed deeply with each contact before moving on to the next one.

  When he finally turned to look at James, Lugh spoke with a new level of concern.

  “We need to get you up to speed quickly. Several of the smaller portals are under siege, and my warriors are barely holding on, but you’re going to help me fix that. The different armies of darkness are pressing our people hard, and I’m not sure how much we can take if we don’t push back. If we don’t establish the forces of light as the dominant gods, this land could fall to darkness’s control permanently.”

  James turned slightly to look at the god of war when he stopped at a red light. He made sure that his voice held as much confidence as he could muster as he responded.

  “I may not know exactly what is so important about this mission. But the fact that Vic thought that it was important is good enough for me. What can you tell me while we drive? I don’t want to waste any time if I can help it.”

  Taking a deep breath, Lugh shifted in his seat to look at James as they turned onto the freeway.

  “Well, I’ll do what I can; most of this will be easier to show you. We’ll take care of that stuff after you have orders. It will be a lot easier to move around and train once you are officially attached to my team.”

  He waited until James gave him a nod of understanding before continuing the explanation.

  “Sorry about the tangent there. Let's get back to the things that are important right now. The Fey realm is a layer of space-time that lies between this realm and another. Since Man first spoke, this realm has been the place where all expressions of human emotion are dumped. Once beliefs and religions were formed, these focused the energies and gave them form. That’s where the Gods came from, along with the rest of the plants and beings that you see with your fey sight on.”

  The car slowed slightly before speeding up again as James glanced over at the god.

  “Wait, did I understand that right? You’re telling me that the Fey Realm is just a figment of people’s emotions and beliefs? Then why didn’t you disappear when Christianity took over Ireland?”

  A snort of laughter escaped the god’s lips before he could respond.

  “That was true about the first gods that filled this world, but most of those that you know from legend were real people who merged with the Fey Realm. For example, I was born in 536 BC by modern reckoning in a small village in Munster. If I remember right, it’s now covered by a suburb of Cork.”

  James sat silently and let him talk. Lugh’s eyes drifted east to the sea as he spoke, his eyes a glowing emerald green in his reflection on the window.

  “I was a farmer’s son, but my talent was with a spear and shield instead of a plow. Between that and my connection to the Fey Realm, I was quickly lifted by my people. I went from a talented warrior and raider to a ruler, then on to be even more. When I died, my soul didn’t take the normal path. Instead, I was reborn like you see me now.”

  Lugh’s voice drifted into the ether as he was lost in memory, turning to look out to the east and his long-lost home. James drove on, not wanting to break the spell of the moment. As they reached the base, Lugh turned to James again. “Let's get your journey started.”