Chapter 3: The Celt
May the Road Rise up to Meet you,
May the Wind Always Be at your Back,
May the Sun Shine Warm Upon Your Face,
The Rain Fall Soft Upon Your Fields,
And Until We Meet Again,
May God Hold you in the Palm of his Hand. – Old Irish Blessing
Location: New York City.
The Hall was filled to the brim with hundreds upon hundreds of people. A single 8-sided cage lay in the middle of the hall, and a well-dressed man walked into the middle of said cage holding a microphone.
"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! ARE YOU READY FOR OUR MAIN EVENT!?" the man in the middle of the cage shouted loudly into the microphone.
The crowd's applause spoke for themselves, men and women of all backgrounds cheering like they were in the very roman coliseum itself. Baying for the blood and violence they wanted to see so badly.
"INTRODUCING FIRST IN THE WHITE TRUNKS! WEIGHING 144 POUNDS! FROM DETROIT MICHIGAN! MICHELLE ROMERO!"
The crowd cheered loudly for the 6-foot Latino woman who showed off her quick reflexes with a few jabs and then raised her arms into the air. Her hair was tied up into tight braids against her head and her rock-hard abs flexed when she ceased showing off to the crowd.
"AND NEXT IN THE BLACK TRUNKS! WEIGHING 135 POUNDS! FROM DUBLIN, IRELAND! OUR OWN UNDEFEATED CHAMPION! CARA MORIARTY!"
The cheering of the crowds intensified as the woman of the hour cracked her neck back and forth and stepped forward.
Some would say she had hair kissed by fire, skin as pale as snow and eyes bluer than the sea itself. Stood she would be around 5 feet 7, with a lean athletic build and freckles peppering her face in all the right places.
Cara was stunningly beautiful, like a princess from an ancient Celtic fairy-tale her father used to tell her.
But Cara was anything but a princess
On her left bicep was a Celtic designed tattoo, of a Celtic knot enshrouded by Black Raven feathers.
Both women stepped into the centre of the ring with their arms raised in a defensive position. Cara offering her fist forward in a sign of respect. Cara had seen this woman fight before and she wanted this to be a good fight.
But her opponent just scoffed and held up her fists in an aggressive stance.
'Oh, so it's going to be like that eh?' Cara thought to herself.
She hated when her opponents didn't show sportsmanship.
Michelle made the first move, going for a left jab which Cara dodged and countered with a right hook. Staggering back Michelle was surprised at the strength behind that punch, Cara was in good shape but she wasn't built to the same level as her opponent.
The right hook gave Cara the opportunity to rush in and land a few quick left jabs, Michelle was able to lessen the impact of the strikes by blocking but that gave Cara the opening to grab her head and bring it down upon her knee.
Several times.
Now, tough fighter or not. It always sucked when you got a knee in the face.
Michelle staggered back, squeezing her eyes shut in pain as she tried to put some distance between herself and Cara. But her efforts were in vein as Cara continued her onslaught, rushing forward, landing rough body shots, viscous right hooks and left hooks pounded into Michelle's mid-section, making it harder for her to concentrate.
When Michelle threw a right hook of her own, Cara ducked and countered with an uppercut. Blood shot out from Michelle's nose as she swore she felt something break. Cara once again grabbed Michelle's head and threw a viscous elbow into her face.
Blood clouded Michelle's vision as Cara has cut open a wound above her eye. A move like that was designed to further mess with an opponent's ability to fight. Michelle then broke the hold and tried to back up.
That's when her back hit the metal cage.
Cara ran up and delivered a running knee right into Michelle's face. Once recovered she began reigning down vicious blows that her opponent had no defence against. Within a few seconds Michelle was on the floor, Cara relentlessly pounding her face in with right hooks and elbow shots.
The referee was quick to split them apart, and once Cara was standing she quickly and calmly walked back to her side of the ring.
The fight started and ended within 15 seconds. And Cara didn't have a scratch on her.
Cara sat on the bench in her locker, a towel wrapped around her shoulders. She had taken off her gloves and was routinely taking deep breaths.
Inhale through the nose.
Exhale through the mouth.
'Don't lose control' she kept telling herself.
'Keep it in check'
'That was enough to keep it sated'
'Right?'
Cara reached up and let her red locks free from her pony tail. Her bright, fire red hair splayed out in a veil of crimson. Cara opened her eyes with a final exhale. She looked down at her shaking hands and squeezed them tightly. With another exhale, Cara's breath became visible, as if she were in a freezing cold room.
"Keep it in check…keep it in check" She whispered to herself.
"That was a hell of a fight out there" came a voice. Cara looked up to see the announcer from before, adjusting his tie and giving her a smile of approval.
"Thanks" Cara murmured as she held her hands in front of her and squeezed her eyes closed.
"I wish half the girls and guys we get in this place put on shows like you Moriarty. You should consider going pro, I mean a girl like you would be world champion within a year" he smiled.
Cara didn't react to that, she simply kept her rhythmic breathing going. A slight shiver to her as she sat there in her MMA gear.
"Anyways, I think you definitely earned this" the Announcer pulled out a thick white envelope from his jacket and put it down next to her.
"Cheers" Cara said as she reached down and picked up the envelope.
"You don't talk much do you?" he asked.
"No"
The announcer was used to this kind of behaviour from a lot of the fighters that came through. A lot of the rough and tough crowd were silent and kept to themselves. You could vent your frustrations out in the ring, you could take out your aggressions on your opponent.
If only the real world were as simple as that.
"I hope we'll see you again Cara. You bring in the best crowds, ah and before I forget. Romero said she would be wanting a rematch soon, I can tell she is feeling bitter it ended that fast"
"Not my problem. If she wants another beating I'll oblige" Cara replied with her eyes closed.
"Haha, nice one. Very zen warrior deals you got going on. But like I said, next fight will be big money! See you next time lassy" the announcer laughed, putting on a really bad Irish accent that sounded more Scottish than anything else.
Once the announcer left, Cara growled to herself.
"Gobshite"
Later that night, Cara had made her way to the place she would usually find herself after a tough night.
O'Connor's Irish Pub. Nothing quite like a little taste of home after a fight.
Cara now wore a black leather biker jacket with the left sleeve missing. On the back was a design of a Black Raven spreading its wings while perched on a Celtic cross. Under said jacket was a loose fitting grey vest and a pair of ripped blue jeans. She wore blue sneakers and on her right hand a black leather fingerless glove, while on her left hand she wore a black fishnet glove.
"Hey Cara, what can I get you?" The Bartender, a tall man with a bald head and pale skin asked.
"Hey Jim, just the usual please" Cara replied with a small smile.
"Sure. How's your day been?" Jim asked as he retrieved a whiskey glass put in a few Ice Cubes.
"The Usual, people needed their faces turned to mincemeat and I was happy to oblige" Cara replied.
Cara Moriarty, age 19. A Regular of O'Connor's Pub, was anything but a regular lass. Her 'job' was that she was a female Cage fighter. Contrary to what many who met Cara at first glance believed, she was a very rough individual. Whoever noticed her lack of sharp, well-kept fingernails could probably guess that she wasn't a woman that cared about how she looked too much.
"I heard from some of the regulars that you didn't even get a scratch this time" Jim remarked as he filled her glass with some good old Irish Whiskey. Jim always got her the top shelf stuff, and with the payday she got today she could afford to fill her glass with it.
"My opponent didn't have a sense of sportsmanship" Cara replied, picking up her glass and taking a sip.
The alcohol was smooth and just what she needed tonight. The burn in the depths of her stomach staved off the cold she had been feeling all night.
"Poor girl, you must have messed her up something fierce" Jim replied with a chuckle.
"If she wanted to stay pretty she shouldn't have gotten in the ring" Cara replied.
Jim chuckled at the remark but watched with a caring eye as Cara kept her eyes closed when she took another sip. Something was bothering her and he didn't know what.
"You sure your ok?" Jim asked.
"I'm fine Jim, it's just…its one of those days" Cara smiled faintly.
Even though Jim sounded American, Jim O'Connor's family had been in the states since the potato famine. He was of Irish decent and through the countless years he had not lost any sense of his heritage. He was a good sort, hospitable, friendly, someone you could open your heart to and would always listen.
One thing that Jim always said was that the moment someone stepped through the doors of his pub, they were family.
Cara always felt at home at O'Connor's.
"Well, if that's the case. I feel that drinking alone is the last thing you need" Jim said as he got himself a glass and began adding cubes.
"Are you sure Jim? Should you be looking after the bar?" Cara asked.
"The others have the bar covered. Besides, it's my pub, before that it my father's and my Grandad's before him, and they would beat my ass from beyond the grave if they ever found out I let a lady that's down drink by herself" Jim smiled as he filled his glass and topped up Cara's.
Cara smiled, Jim always knew how to cheer her up.
"What do you say? Drinking Buddies?" Jim asked as he raised his glass.
"Drinking Buddies" Cara confirmed as she clinked her glass with Jim's.
After taking a long chug, Jim was quick to engage whatever topic was on his favourite patron's mind.
"So, as friends…what's on your mind?" Jim asked as he topped up their glasses.
"I don't know Jim. I've been in this country for the past 6 years, and no matter how much time passes I can't stop thinking about home" Cara replied, her smile fading.
"It's probably a question you are used to but, why not go back? Give your folks a visit? With the cash you make from your fights it can't be that expensive" Jim replied.
"It's…not that simple" Cara replied.
"I know its weird hearing a man that sells booze for living say this, but keeping things bottled up isn't always a good thing" Jim said before taking another swig.
"No offence Jim, but…It's not something I like talking about, especially in public" Cara replied.
"Fair enough. Just know that if you need someone to talk to, I'm all ears" Jim replied with a reassuring smile.
"Duly noted" Cara took another swig of her whiskey and gave out a satisfied sigh.
"I Think I should probably be getting home, it's late enough as it is" Cara smiled.
"Need me to walk you home?" Jim asked.
"Did you seriously just ask me that?" Cara raised a brow.
"Let me rephrase that, do you want me to?" Jim asked.
"…Yeah, I could use the company" Cara smiled.
The walk home was long, but Cara liked it that way. The feel of the cool night air against her skin felt pleasant and the moonlight reminded her of when she would walk through the Glen as a child with her parents.
Her parents.
Cara sometimes found herself thinking out them, about what they would think of her now.
All these years later.
"Aren't you cold?" Jim asked, gesturing to the fact that Cara only had one sleeve on her Leather Jacket. Jim on the other hand wore a zipped-up leather jacket and blue jeans as the cold seemed to affect him more.
"Nah, I'm good with the cold. Besides, its always been warmer over here in the states than back home" Cara replied, putting her hands in her pockets.
"What is Ireland like?" Jim asked.
"Excuse me?" Cara asked.
"Ireland, the Home Country, what's it like? I've never been there myself, All I've heard about it is stories from my Grandad about how beautiful it is" Jim replied with a shrug.
Jim definitely struck Cara as a man that was proud of his Celtic heritage, she could understand that. She still felt nostalgic from time to time about the country of her birth and how it must have changed from last she saw it.
"I haven't been home in 6 years Jim"
"Well I've never been there in my life"
"Why don't you take a flight then? Go on vacation?"
"One, I have a business that I swore to my old man I would look after, and two, I don't want this walk to be a long awkward silence" Jim replied with a smirk.
"It's…mystic in its own way. One of the few places on earth that still feels natural. Everywhere you look there is green. The weather isn't always great, but on a good day you feel like you live in a perfect world…like all the bad things in life are just a nightmare you woke up from" Cara explained, staring off into the distance as she described it.
Jim looked at the way Cara stared longingly into the sky, at the moon.
"Then, why did you leave?" he asked with a raised brow.
Cara's brow furrowed at the question as she remembered the reason why.
Flames turn to icicles.
Screams die in the air.
The shapes dancing on the shores.
The falling raven's feathers in the air.
The flash of her mother's eyes.
The smooth voice whispering in her ear.
The blood spraying on her face.
All images that had haunted her whenever she shut her eyes. It was hard finding sleep whenever those images made their way into the black matter of Cara's head. The sounds and the images as vivid and as detailed as they ever were.
"Don't fucking move!" whispered a voice angrily from behind the two.
Cara swore she recognised that voice from somewhere.
"Wait a minute…turn around Bitch" the voice said again, directed at Cara.
Cara slowly turned around to meet eyes with a very bruised yet familiar face. It was her opponent from earlier that night. Michelle Romero, and standing behind here were two very large men, wearing hoodies and dark clothing.
"Well, well, well. I didn't expect it to be you. I guess fate really is on my side today" Michelle smiled. She had the early signs of a black eye and was still pretty beat up, which is probably why she was pointing a Dessert Eagle in Cara's face.
"Friends of your Cara?" Jim asked nervously.
"Hardly, this bitch cost me big time today. But luckily here she is and I bet she has her winnings still on her" Michelle smirked.
"You might not be thinking this through. But you should probably put the gun down and just walk away" Jim said with a nervous tone.
"Fuck off Baldy! You are lucky you aren't on the floor right now! Now the both of you get in that fucking alley or I blow your brains out!" Michelle whisper yelled at the two of them.
Cara really didn't want Jim to get hurt in this situation. This was her problem, and she had to solve it herself. Cara nodded to Jim, signalling to do what the armed woman said.
The two turned to the alley and began walking, when close enough they found another three men in dark clothing waiting for them. Apparently, Michelle had planned out an ambush for whatever poor soul happened this way.
"Now, I've been waiting all day for this" Michelle smiled.
*THWACK!*
Michelle pistol whipped Cara in the face, sending the red head falling onto the floor. Cara reached up to feel the cut on her bloody lip.
Jim immediately acted for Cara's defence, he went for Michelle's gun but one of the men grabbed him around the waist and threw him against the wall. Jim quickly turned to attack and swung a right hook at one of the large men. His punch connected and the man staggered back.
"Ooooh, Lover boy wants a piece!" one of the men laughed as they began pulling out switchblades, 45's and pipes.
"Leave him alone! I'm the one you want!" Cara yelled at them, wiping from the blood from her mouth.
"Oh, don't worry bitch, we'll take our time with you once we are done with hero over here" one of the men laughed before kicking Cara in the gut.
Cara clutched her gut as she fell down. the pain was bad, but not as bad as the feeling returning. She thought she had sated it earlier in the ring, but it came back with a vengeance. The throbbing inside her became unbearable and her lungs felt like they were filled with ice.
Cara's hands started shaking badly, and Jim saw it.
"Cara!" he shouted in worry before taking a swing at another one of the men. He missed by a mile and was met with a lead pipe to the head.
Blood splattered in the air and Cara's eyes went wide.
"What happened to that tough girl act? Turns out you are just as pathetic as all the people in this city" Michelle laughed as she kicked Cara in the gut again.
Cara's vision became blurry.
Jim fell to one knee, blood pouring from an open wound in his head. The men gathered around were just laughing before one with a switchblade stepped forward and drove his knife into Jim's mid-section.
Jim gasped in pain and could only look at Cara with a look of failure in his eyes. He was taught his entire life to stand up for what he believed and to not just be a bystander. He thought he could be brave like his father and grandfather but he was wrong.
He was
Only human.
Jim fell to both knees, clutching his gut, the blood running through his fingers.
"Sorry man, nothin personal" one of the men laughed pointing his gun at Jim's head.
*BANG!*
…
…
The bullet fell to the floor harmlessly.
Michelle and the men looked with wide eyes filled with shock as if all the air had left the space they inhabited.
It had happened in barely a second. One moment Cara was on the floor clutching her gut, and the next she was clutching Jim to her chest with her back to them
They thought the bullet would kill her.
But it didn't bounce off her skin. nor did it stop short and fall to the ground like there was a field around her.
No.
Cara and Jim were shielded, by a huge pair of Black feathered wings, sprouting from Cara's back. And the bullet bounced off the feathers like they were made of metal.
"What….the fuck?" Michelle whispered, quickly reaching up and grabbing the cross around her neck.
Cara stood up slowly, cold air drifting from all around her as her wings unfurled and stretched out wide. Her wingspan was huge, it could have enveloped 10 people.
But when Cara turned they wished they were blind.
There were jet black veins emerging from the skin around Cara's eyes stretching out like a mask that covered her upper face.
The cut on her lip and any signs of physical injury were long gone.
Her once beautiful blue eyes themselves were eerily white like a blind woman, but the irises were pin point pupils that moved around unnaturally.
Her once bright red hair was now turning black at the tips and creeping up to her head like a chameleon.
Her head tilted to the side and her brow furrowed in anger.
"What the hell is this?" One of the men asked in utter confusion and fear before pointing his gun at Cara.
Cara reached out and grabbed the muzzle of the gun, and before the man could pull the trigger it shattered in his hand. Pieces of the gun fell to the floor like broken shards of ice.
Cara angrily punched the man in the gut, sending him flying into the wall with a sickening thud. From there she flexed her wings, using them to slice apart the men's weapons like a hot knife through butter.
Cara propelled herself into the air and thrusted her wings, delivering a devastating dropkick to two men at once, easily breaking their jaws with her kicks. Three men were already down and the next two tried to get the jump on her by rushing the woman.
Cara spun in place and her wings swung in an arc. With a splatter of blood, her wings sliced through the men's heavy clothing and into their flesh. Their wounds weren't fatal, but they hurt like hell. Cara jumped up, her wings propelling her to a flying knee in the closest man's face.
With only one man and Michelle left, Cara propelled herself into the remaining man and thrusted him into the wall, grabbing both sides of his face, he screamed as he felt his skin go freezing to the point where it felt his face cracked under the pressure.
Cara angrily slammed his head against the wall with one hand, causing bits of his face come loose against the wall. Cara kneed him in the gut and threw him to the ground angrily.
"Don't come any closer!" Michelle ordered, holding her gun up and pointed at Cara's head.
The look Cara gave her couldn't have been more terrifying. The image in front of her was like something from a nightmare. The huge black wings extended from Cara's back, her eyes, the black veins emerging from her eyes across her face. The mix of black and red that was her hair.
Cara just walked forward slowly, her fists clenched at her sides.
"You said Fate was on your side today" Cara said coldly.
"I said stop!" Michelle ordered, her voice shaking in fear.
"Fate is not yours, nor will it ever be" Cara coldly said before her left wing sliced the gun in half.
Michelle felt the tears biting at the edges of her eyes. Cara lunged forward and slammed Michelle against a wall, leaning forward until there was barely a few inches between them.
"Fate is mine…and you shouldn't have hurt my friend" Cara growled as her hands wrapped around Michelle's throat and began to squeeze.
The exhilaration of battle felt good, it sated that dark hunger deep within her soul. No one knew of what was within Cara, she herself scarcely knew, but the feeling deep within her constantly hungered for blood, for battle, for combat.
To bring fate to those who would rob and cheat it.
Cara began to smile as she felt the life slip away from Michelle, until a voice spoke up.
"Cara, don't!" a gasping voice called out.
Cara looked to see Jim on the floor, clutching his bleeding gut with blood running down his head.
"You aren't a killer, you aren't like them" he gasped as he felt his vision falter.
Cara's eyes slowly turned from their piercing white back to sapphire blue and worry entered her mind. Dropping an unconscious Michelle to the floor, Cara rushed over to Jim and held him to her chest.
"Jim! Jim! Don't close your eyes! Don't close your fecking eyes you arsehole!" Cara panicked until she heard a voice she hadn't heard in years.
"It is not his time to die child. Fate smiles upon this one, you know of what to do" the smooth feminine voice whispered in her ear.
Cara reached out and placed her hand over Jim's stomach. Black veins crawled around her hand and up her arm. Grimacing in concentration, Cara grunted as the sound of flesh resealing filled the air. Jim's vision began to return to him as he felt this warmth take over him. The pain slowly fading away as he saw Cara, leaning over him with her hand on his stomach.
"Cara? What…" Jim began to ask until he realized that the blood loss wasn't playing with his mind. Cara had a huge pair of black feathered wings sprouting from her back and black veins covering the skin around her eyes.
Cara removed her hand to reveal that Jim's wound had sealed itself shut, as it he had never been stabbed at all. Cara looked up at him and brought her hand to his head.
"What are you…"
"Shhhh. Quiet now" Cara whispered as he felt the wound in his head seal and the throbbing pain cease.
Jim slowly stood up and looked at Cara, standing there in the alley, the moonlight shimmering across her black feathered wings.
"Cara, what are…what are you?" Jim asked.
"…forget you saw me" Cara whispered as she glanced away into the distance and brought her hands up, hugging her arms to herself. Her wings began to detract as the floor beneath her began to freeze.
"Cara, what do you mean?"
"I'm sorry Jim…" Cara whispered before her wings stretched out and with a great flap Cara was sent flying into the air like a soaring raven. Her shape quickly disappeared from Jim's sight, leaving him there in the alley, surrounded by the unconscious and badly beaten bodies of their muggers.
Cara landed on the roof with a thud, the moonlight outlining her shadow against a nearby wall. Her hands began to tremble as a sickening cracking sound filled the air. Falling to her knees, Cara's wings retracted back into her back, the cracking of bones filling her ears.
The black veins retracted back into her eyes and left her face as it normally was. Her hair returning to its vibrant red colour. Cara let out a deep exhale, her breath visible and frost against the air as she stood up and cracked her neck from side to side.
Cara opened the door to her apartment, closing and locking the door behind her. Her apartment was simple and efficient, not many personnel effects. A single TV, a kitchen, a bathroom, a bedroom, the only thing that stood out was a liquor cabinet that was clearly restocked regularly.
She took off her jacket and hung it up before walking into her bedroom.
On her way there she stopped by the mantlepiece, picking up a framed photo. The photo was of a family of 4. Two adults, a redheaded woman with pale skin and a bearded man with shoulder length brown hair, a brown-haired boy and a redheaded little girl. They all looked happy, especially the little girl that took after her mother.
Cara looked at the photo for a solid minute before putting it back in its place.
Lying there on her bed was the only companion she had known for the past 6 years. A huge dog, a St Bernard with a big happy look on his face.
Bubba.
"Hey Bubba, did you miss me?" Cara whispered as she cradled the head of her St Bernard and scratching behind his ears. Bubba's tail wagged as Cara sat down on her bed and her canine companion laid his head on her lap.
Bubba whined as he sensed the sadness that his owner was feeling and rubbed into her. Cara hugged Bubba to her chest as tears slowly ran down her cheeks. The memories would haunt her tonight, and she hoped when she awoke that the hunger wasn't back.
No, Cara Moriarty was anything but a Princess.
And this wasn't a fairytale.
So, everyone, I present to you Cara Moriarty. A Character I had so much trouble deciding on…yet so much fun writing for. I hope you all enjoyed reading it, as Cara holds a special place in my heart as a representation of my very own Irish Heritage.
Now as for where Cara's powers and abilities come from…those of you who know a fair bit about Celtic Mythology will already have some ideas, if not…well it will be developed in time.
Yeah guys, I did say a lot of these characters would be damaged. But don't worry, next chapter won't end as depressing as this one did.
As always be sure to leave lengthy reviews and tell me exactly what you thought. Ask any questions you want and ill be sure to PM you back answers. Any kind of Feedback is welcome, the longer and more detailed the better.
Next Chapter: The Metamorph
EDIT: Yeah, according to reviewer "rmarcano321" there is such a thing as Foxy Boxing...I had no clue what the hell this was before he brought it up in his review and to lay any suspicion's to rest, the opening fight is a UFC style MMA fight between two female fighters. There is nothing sexual about it and I hope this little edit helps put that to rest, thank you.
