Morrigan by Jonathan King (cat reading book txt) 📕

a fire. He didn’t even eat me in the end; he gave me to some boy who bit his thumb all the time.” The Salmon rolled her thick, glassy eyes. “I could have solved world hunger, cured cancer, taught everyone the meaning of life. But I can’t. Because I’m dead.”

“What is the meaning of life?” Abel asked.

The Salmon peered at him. “I don’t see how it’s going to do you much good now.”

“Okay, I’m dead,” Abel said, sitting with his back to the pond. “You don’t have to rub it in.”

“I’m only stating a fact,” said the Salmon. “It’s what I do.”

“Yeah, Salmon of Knowledge. I got it.” Abel looked around at the foggy rest area. “So tell me, Smart Fish, what is this place?”

“Smart Fish,” the Salmon muttered. “Not that I’m obliged to tell you, but this is your first stop on the road to the afterlife. There are many liminal spaces between planes, worlds that only exist to lead to other worlds. This one exists primarily for the dead. Someone will be along shortly to guide you to your final destination. I know where that is, by the way, but I’m not telling.”

“It’s okay,” said Abel. “I’ve got a pretty good idea.”

“People get all kinds of escorts,” the Salmon went on. “Some get Valkyries, others get Keres. I’ve seen skeletal boatmen and gods with the heads of ibises. You’re most likely to be led to your fate by the Morrigan, given your personal relationship with her.”

Abel dipped his head to hide a smile. “I hope so. It’d be nice to see her one last time.”

“You’re quite fond of her,” said the Salmon. It was a statement; the Salmon didn’t ask questions.

Abel nodded. “She can be bloodthirsty and difficult and a little loose on morals, but she really cares about people. That’s something I haven’t seen much of in my life.” He laughed. “Guess I don’t have to worry about my life anymore. I’ll miss her, though.”

“Which is your only qualm about dying.”

“Like I said, I know where I’m going.”

“Knowledge can be a comfort,” said the Salmon. “Sometimes.”

The glass doors slid open, and an older man in a bathrobe and moccasins shuffled in, glancing dazedly around.

“Of course,” the Salmon said with a sigh. “I should let you people accrue more before going through this whole spiel.”

“Hi there!” Abel leaped to his feet. “Welcome to the afterlife!”

“Liminal space before the afterlife,” the Salmon muttered.

“I’m Abel,” Abel said, shaking the man’s hand.

“Terrence,” said the man, his voice shaking. “I’m sorry, why am I at a rest stop? And why doesn’t my back hurt?”

“You’re dead,” the Salmon explained. “Someone will be along shortly to escort you to your final destination.”

“Oh,” said Terrence. “I suppose that explains the sharp pain in my chest. It’s gone now too. So’s the arthritis. So that’s good.” He cocked his head. “And this must be heaven. I can hear the loveliest music.”

“It’s not heaven,” said the Salmon. “Does no one listen?”

“It’s ‘Stairway to Heaven,’” said Abel.

“Not that,” Terrance said, shaking his head. “Something else. It’s got to be an angel singing.”

“An angel?” Abel didn’t hear anything … and then he did. And it was all too familiar.

The doors opened once more, and the Dearg-Due stood in the opening, singing her haunting a cappella tune and beckoning to the old man. Abel’s breath caught in his chest. She couldn’t be here, not in the safety of death. But she was here with a siren song, and Terrence floated toward her with a trembling smile and tears shining in his eyes.

“Oh, not again,” said the Salmon. “Miss, I have to insist that you stop this. This will only end in tears. I would know. I know everything.”

“Terrence, don’t! It’s a trap!” Abel grabbed the man’s arm, but Terrence was stronger than he looked and shook him off. Then the song started seeping into Abel’s brain, and he scrambled for focus. The commandments backwards: Thou shalt not covet, thou shalt not give false witness, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not commit adultery…

“Terrence!” he called again, but the old man had already taken the Dearg-Due’s hand. The vampire flashed Abel a wicked wink and led her prey away, and the doors slid closed behind them. Abel chased after them, but when the doors opened again, they were gone.

“No!” Abel spun around and strode back to the Salmon. “Where did she take him? How can she be here? And why didn’t you stop them?”

“The Dearg-Due collects souls like him and stows them between the planes as ghosts,” the Salmon said, answering the questions in order. “She walks a line between life and death that allows her access to this liminal space. And while I am decidedly the greatest mind the world has ever known…” She waggled her fins. “I. AM. A. FISH. I’ve tried for the better part of a century now to dissuade people from following her, but no one ever listens to me. As per usual.” She gave a frustrated growl. “I’m almost surprised you weren’t seduced yourself. Almost, mind. I knew you wouldn’t be.”

Abel shrugged. “Once bitten, twice shy. Literally. I don’t get it, though. She’s a vampire. She needs their blood, not their souls. What does she get out of kidnapping them?”

“Aside from the perverse thrill? She’s employed to do so.”

“Cora.” Something clicked into place in Abel’s mind. “She’s collecting ghosts. She’s had the Dearg-Due take Morrigan’s place and siphon off souls. A hundred years’ worth.” He gave a low whistle. “That’s a lot of souls. Is she building an army?” Her promise of an empty world rang in his ears.

“Yes,” said the Salmon, “though I don’t know what for. Not because I lack the ability, only the desire to know what goes on in the twisted brain of the Caorthannach.”

“The queer what now?”

“The creature you call Cora is really the Caorthannach, a demonic entity older than the world. Some say she birthed the devil himself, which is patently absurd, but understandable, as she’s given birth to