Reality Echo Read Free

would not have made use of the radio we left behind for you.”
    “Well played, Brigid,” Epona said. “There are some things we are not capable of handling. The Fomorians were balanced against us because we at least had the advantage of homemade rifles crafted by our gunsmiths while they relied more upon their brute strength and natural endurance. However, things have shifted.”
    Brigid glanced at one of the mountain scouts. The man sat on a rock, a five-foot-long rifle resting between his knees. Though she was not one who took much interest in the minutiae of musketry, it didn’t take a firearm fanatic to realize the quality and art involved in the production of the long weapon, nor was it any surprise that the rifle’s bore was designed to fire cartridges that were meant for more than any normal person. Externally, the arms that the scouts carried were hand-carved wood and steel, the wooden furniture painted and adorned with runes to bless them. The steel barrels were set into heavy firing mechanisms, single-shot bolt action by their appearance, and there was no mistaking the half-inch cavernous hole at the end of the long tube. Taking the opportunity to get a closer look at one of the long brass fangs that were stuffed into a belt loop around the scout’s waist, she recognized the .50-caliber cartridge that was the same type that Grant used for one of his favorite weapons, the M-85 Barrett.
    The fact that the scouts chose this as their primary rifle caliber when it was likely that they would encountertheir hated enemies meant that the Fomorians were not simply deformed humans, but creatures of phenomenal strength.
    “You said that Kane would recognize them when he saw them,” Brigid said. “Unfortunately, I don’t recall any past lives as he does. How did you, er, recognize him?”
    Epona chuckled. “I would be a poor water witch if I could not identify the modern embodiment of Cuchulainn.”
    Brigid’s lip curled at the mention of that name. It was what Fand, the half Tuatha de Danaan and half Annunaki daughter of Enlil, had insisted on calling Kane. She claimed that he was her destined lover, reborn in order to reunite with her. Though Brigid’s affection for Kane wasn’t of a lustful nature, the thought of Fand sinking her claws into Kane was repulsive. He wasn’t particularly interested in the long-lived demigoddess himself, a surprise considering that Fand was a statuesque being who could have been a Greek sculpture come to life.
    “Don’t tell me you’ve got some kind of link to Cuchulainn,” Brigid spoke up.
    “No, but you can’t begrudge me a girlish crush on such a hero, can you?” Epona asked.
    Brigid clenched her eyes shut. She finally opened one eye, glancing out of the corner toward Grant, whose face was split with a broad smile.
    “You’d think Kane was some kind of immature wish-fulfillment fantasy, all the women he gets,” Brigid complained.
    “Maybe this time you’ll get some interest,” Grant said.
    Brigid raised an eyebrow. “As good-looking as Bres the Beautiful sounds, I don’t think I want to be genetically manipulated to become a Fomorian. From what I’ve heard, my options are missing limbs, missing eyes or the head of a goat.”
    Epona studied Brigid for a moment. “You would not be changed. There is nothing of the blood in you.”
    “Your granny-witch sight, lady?” Grant asked, raising an eyebrow.
    “I can see Cuchulainn in your friend. I can see Fomorian tendencies, or the lack of, in you two,” Epona said. “Do not fear, large one.”
    Grant waved her off dismissively. “Whatever.”
    Something crackled in the distance, and Brigid’s and Grant’s ears instantly picked it up as the sound of gunfire.
    “Kane?” Brigid asked as the Sin Eater snapped into Grant’s grasp.

Chapter 2
    When the crackle of gunfire cut through the quiet mountain air, Grant sprung to his full height, his Sin Eater deploying instantly, launched by a flex of his forearm muscles.