Chapter Seven

AN: I'm glad everyone seems to like Kayleigh, 'cause she's coming back later with a couple friends. More mythology to follow. If it's starting to get confusing, please let me know and I'll try to tone it down some.

Kenzi bounced down the stairs into Trick's Lair while Bo and Tamsin followed at a slightly more subdued pace. "Hit us up, Giles," the human said as she flopped down onto the long couch.

"Huh?" Trick asked, thoroughly confused. Bo and Tamsin were biting their lips to stifle their laughter.

"It's a pop culture reference," Kenzi explained, and the statement was so meta that Bo couldn't contain her giggles any longer. Trick scowled at both of them.

"Sorry," Bo managed, trying to school her face into neutrality again. Her grandfather shot her one last glare before bringing his books out again.

"Bo, Kenzi, I need you to call Lauren and Dyson and put them on speakerphone. Dyson and Hale are in the Light Archives and Lauren and the Morrigan are in the Dark Archives, so this way we can all have contact with each other and share our findings." As the two women nodded and started making the calls, Tamsin took the opportunity to slide the book she'd pilfered back onto its shelf. The majority of it had been gross speculation about Valkyries and what little there had been on the bond was everything she already knew. As preferable as it was for the secrets of Valkyries to be unwritten, it was equally frustrating.

"Can you hear me?" Dyson's voice came through Kenzi's phone.

"This isn't a Verizon commercial, wolf-boy," Evony's sarcasm echoed from Bo's mobile.

"Told you they'd start arguing the second they answered," Kenzi smirked at Tamsin, who matched her expression.

Bo rolled her eyes. "Save the feud for later; we have more important things to worry about. Right – who's focusing on what?"

"Most of the information in the Dark Archives outlines the nature of the Tuatha themselves, but not a lot of history," Lauren spoke. Tamsin couldn't help but note the way Bo tensed at the familiarity with which the human talked about the Dark Archives.

"The Light have less on the Tuatha but more on the ancient sídhe. It took us a good long time, but we found some varying accounts of the first tearing of the veil, and I do mean varying," Hale said, both annoyed and impressed.

"Let me guess: everyone wants the credit for the heroic deeds?" Bo asked.

"Just about."

"Right, well, we've got the Tuatha family tree here and some more of the history," the succubus continued.

"You know this is unprecedented and insane, don't you?" the Morrigan commented. "Light and Dark working together? Sharing information? This is how you know we're really in trouble."

"Didn't sídhe both Light and Dark come together to fix the tearing of the veil the first time?" Dyson noted.

"Sídhe are sídhe," the Morrigan protested.

"And right now, Fae are Fae. So just stop arguing and start reading."

"Big words, succubus. You'd better have a book in your lap, too."

"I've been looking through this spider web of a family tree," Bo groused.

"If you think that's a spider web you should see Greek pantheon," Tamsin told her. "That's a web even Arachne wouldn't want to spin."

"Who and what?"

"Nevermind, baby Fae. Just get back to climbing your tree."

"Hey, I found something on the battle, but it's not much," Dyson spoke up. "It says here the ground was stained white and red."

"White?" Bo repeated in confusion.

"The ancient sídhe and Tuatha bled white," the Morrigan explained. "Ask the Valkyrie – she's probably killed a few."

Tamsin rolled her eyes, even though she knew Evony couldn't see it. "You said it yourself – I wasn't invited to that battle."

"Maybe not that one, but didn't you say you were at the battle with the Milesians? Whose side did you fight on then?"

"Enough," Trick warned. "Save your petty squabbles for later."

"Anyone find anything that might identify the Wanderer as sídhe or one of the Tuatha?" Hale queried.

"If this family tree is anything to go by, he's not one of the Tuatha," Bo replied. "It seems like everyone on this tree is dead except for Mór Ríoghan."

"Yeah, but they're still in the Otherworld," Evony retorted. "Tír na nÓg houses a lot of dead warriors, but the rest of the dead go to the Red Palace, ruled by Dunn. There are a lot of theories as to where in the Otherworld it is, but it is in the Otherworld."

"So one of the Tuatha could have escaped?"

"That's doubtful, but not all of the Tuatha marked dead are actually dead. Well, only one that I can think of."

"Which one?"

"Dagda, who was Lord of the Tuatha for a long time. It was said he died in his home at Brú na Bóinne, but there's no actual record of his death."

"Help?" Bo pleaded to Trick.

"Brú na Bóinne sort of encompasses all the stone tombs in the Boyne Valley in Ireland, but it's most commonly used to refer to Newgrange, the most famous of the tombs," Tamsin answered instead. "Dagda was one of the only Tuatha not to be murdered or killed in battle, so it's entirely possible that he didn't actually die."

"What, being killed was the only way to die in ancient Ireland?" the succubus quipped.

The Valkyrie shrugged. "Ancient everywhere, really."

"Ok. So. The Wanderer could be one of the Tuatha. Great." Bo slumped back on the couch. "How long have we been at this? I have a headache."

"Not even a half-hour, Bo-Bo," Kenzi replied sounding just as weary. "Longest half-hour of my life."

"No, that's when you're hungover," Bo corrected her.

"True."

"Have you found anything else on the battle?" Trick cut them off.

"Nada," Lauren replied, and the others could almost hear her shoulders slump.

"Nothing here, either," Dyson replied. "What we need is someone who was at that battle or someone who knew someone there. The nature of Irish lore is storytelling, not writing. What Irish Fae history we do have was written down long after the fact."

"Well, Tamsin's friend has a friend who's a gan-ka-nock or something," Bo spoke up.

"Ugh, gancanaghs," the Morrigan groaned. "Suck-ups all of them. Not even remotely charming."

"Maybe not to another sídhe," Tamsin theorized.

"Whatever, Valkyrie just – "

A low growl from someone's end cut her off, rendering everyone deathly silent. "Dyson, please tell me that was you," Bo all but begged.

"Not me," the shifter replied, just as wary.

"No, it's coming from our side," came Lauren's voice, an octave higher than usual. "How did they get in?"

"I don't know, but we've got to get out," the Morrigan shot back.

A bark that sounded more like a roar sounded through the phone's speaker followed by a series of crashes and Lauren yelling for Evony to run. Bo and Tamsin leapt to their feet, Bo grabbing her phone as she did so. "We're on our way!"

"The Archives are always in the compounds! We'll meet you there!" Hale called, and the others could hear the sound of running on their end as well.

"You can't come to the Dark Archives!" Evony protested in a shrill voice.

"We're coming to get you whether you like it or not!" Bo shouted into her phone before racing up the stairs and out the Dal with Tamsin close on her heels.

For the non-Buffy fans wondering why Kenzi's comment was meta, "It's a pop culture reference" is a direct quote from the show.

Glossary:

Dagda: Pronounced "DAG-da" (nice and simple for once). Lord of Plenty and leader of the Tuatha for a long time. It was said he died in...

Brú na Bóinne: Pronounced "BROO na BOYNE." The area of the Boyne Valley in County Meath, Ireland that houses three passage tombs: Knowth, Dowth, and Newgrange. I'm taking a wild guess about Dagda dying in Newgrange specifically, as most people associate that particular tomb with the term Brú na Bóinne.

Dunn/The Red Palace: Dunn was the Tuatha who reigned as Lord of the Dead in his keep The Red Palace. There's no Wikipedia entry that I can find; I'm getting this from the book Legendary Ireland.

gancanagh (as I forgot last chapter): Pronounced "GAN-ka-noch" (soft "ch"/"gh"). A male sídhe known for seducing women. Ancient Irish pipes (the smoking kind, not the musical kind) were called "gancanagh's pipes."