"The Morrighan"

"So here is the deal Caly; we will run some tests on you. First me, then Pronab, then mother, and we will see how you react to them. This way we will have an idea of what kind of powers you have."

"Gabrielle, what if I don't want to know?"

Gabrielle frowned as she looked at Caliope, Amra standing behind her with both hands on her shoulders. A few moments of silence followed Caliope's words and suddenly she started laughing.

"I am joking, of course I want to know. Relax a little or you will make me start worrying." Caliope finally released the tension in the environment.

Early in the morning while they were having breakfast, Gabrielle suggested to gather in a room and start to explore Caliope's mysteries. She agreed immediately but Amra hesitated.

'Are you sure you want to do this?'

Caliope turned her head towards him and nodded.

'That means you won't have secrets for them any longer.'

She looked down and pondered, her only secret to everyone else was the one she shared with Amra, she finally got up from the table and took a deep breath before speaking.

"I really want to know more about my powers, but please understand if I need to rest or I don't feel comfortable at some point." She sounded firm and secure, Elaine nodded and gave her a smile.

"We will go as far as you let us."

Now, sitting on the only chair in the empty room, she felt a bit anxious and nervous at the same time; but she was trying hard to show courage and she knew Amra was not going to let anything happen to her.

"Go on, Gabrielle. You are the one starting? Will you explain to me what are you going to do?"

"That depends." She paused as she walked slowly from side to side in front of her. "I guess I will go easy on you since I like you and all that." Finally she smiled and winked at her. Caliope chuckled and sighed a bit more relaxed. "As you might know, our powers come in different ways, and we manipulate things differently. I am a reader. That means I can read people's minds."

Caliope was caught by surprise and opened her eyes wide.

"Dont worry, I haven't read you yet." Gabrielle tried to release her tension. "It's not like I go around hearing what people think, or a switch to turn on and off. I will it to happen."

"Ah, yes. Of course." Caliope nodded.

"A reader, as the name says, reads the mind of someone. So it is an art one has to master."

"And she excels at it." Said Elaine proudly. Gabrielle looked at her and giggled.

"Fine, go ahead, read me. Do it before I chicken out and run away." Caliope tried to tease and Gabrielle followed with a laugh.

There were only Elaine, Gabrielle, Vanessa, Pronab and Amra in the room with her, a wide living room emptied for a purpose. Her chair was comfortable but she wasn't really; she felt a little tensed but anxiety made it easier to cope. Her heart pounding a million miles per hour.

Gabrielle stood up and in front of her, she smiled kindly.

"Will it hurt?" Caliope asked suddenly.

"Hurt? Oh no, it won't darling." Gabrielle replied with a grin and stared deeply at her. The room filled with silence, one that seemed to trap everyone.

Caliope and Gabrielle stared at eachother for what seemed uncountable seconds; Gabrielle's gaze was penetrating and filled with intention, Caliope looked back waiting for the unexpected to happen. After some minutes Gabrielle's gaze started to change slowly, sweat would come out of her forehead if she were able to produce any Caliope thought. She started to worry.

'I can see her trying to get inside of your head but unable to. Are you blocking her love?'

Caliope heard Amra as clear as the breathing of everyone else in the room. She broke the eye contact with Gabrielle and looked at him shaking her head. "I am not doing anything to prevent her, at least not on purpose. I am not even thinking on what can she do to me, I don't know how her power works."

Gabrielle buffed. "I cant enter her head, as simple as that!" She turned around in frustration. Elaine rubbed her daughter's shoulder and smiled gently at her.

"Let me try it, before her transcendence I was able to affect her. Perhaps I still can." Elaine gave a step forward and Caliope looked at her.

"Yes, please Elaine." She answered, adjusting herself in the chair and relaxing.

Elaine walked to her and showed her hand. "This will be ok. I will just touch your face."

Caliope nodded. Elaine's hand reached to her cheek and softly caressed her cheek. She smiled at her soft touch and looked up at her. She remembered how once a very nervous version of her eased at Elaine's touch once before starting their trip and the new found memories made her giggle. Besides this, Elaine's smile faded quickly and she ended up stepping behind and releasing her. "I can't seem to have any effect on her. This is frustrating!"

Caliope felt nervous and started to worry; she never thought there would be so much difficulty in finding out what she really was. Amra was quiet but also nervous, he walked now next to her and put one arm around her shoulder defensively.

"Well, now it is time to let Pronab give it a try." Elaine said with caution, acknowledging Amra's new stance. "We are just going to try and see if you are immune to all kinds of powers, mental and physical. But if you are too nervous about this we can pass this test for now."

She shook her head and put a hand on the one of Amra's that was resting on her shoulder. He looked down at her worried but she smiled at him. "I will be fine, you are all here, nothing can go wrong for me when I am surrounded of the coolest angels on earth."

Amra smiled and leaned down to kiss her. It took her by surprise, but also she could feel the tension in the kiss. He was truly worried.

Pronab walked in front of her and lifted his hands, slowly some dark glowing chains materialized in them. The chains seemed to lose glow slowly, as he kneeled in front of her. "This should not hurt you, and you know how it works. The chains will react with your essence, if you tell a lie, they should restrain you tighter, if it is a true, it will slowly release you. I will just put them around your hands ok?" He almost whispered as Caliope nodded. Her hands, there was nothing bad in trying this just on her hands, she thought. Vanessa looked at the scene nervous for her friend, but also with curiosity.

She put both arms together and her palms up as if welcoming what he was going to do. He smiled comfortingly at her as he put the chain around barely twice. The chains seemed cold at first touch, but nothing different nor scary in her once they were around. After a few seconds, the chain acquire life on its own and adjusted itself around her wrists tightly. Not too tight, not loose either; just enough pressure, then they became lifeless.

He got up and gave a step back, looking at her with kindness. "Lets begin with a simple question, do you love Amra?"

Caliope chuckled and looked up at him. "I love him with all my heart." Amra brushed the back of his fingers on her cheek. She felt the chains give in smoothly and gently. She smiled wide and looked up at Pronab. "They work! they are reacting!"

Elaine and Gabrielle both jumped with joy and Pronab nodded, leaning closer to remove the chains. "We have what we need, now let me remove this thing off you."

He put his hands on the chain and it let her go instantly, as if they were no more than cold simple chains. He lifted his hands and the chains vanished completely.

"So this is what we know; you are immune to some mental powers, but affected by physical objects or manipulations." Gabrielle said as she walked around the room pondering out loud. "My contacts said the dark ones refered to you as their Morrighan; which at first didn't make sense."

"The goddess?" Caliope asked.

"Yes, the celtic Goddess, you are correct." Gabrielle answered. "But this a is tricky area, there are so many possible meanings."

"What do you mean?" Amra asked, he was now pulling Caliope up and in between his arms.

"You see; as a celtic Goddess, Morrigan was associated with death and I can't link her to anything like that." Gabrielle stopped walking and looked at Caliope who had gasped at her words. "Oh don't take it wrong Caly, I am starting for what I know for sure you aren't."

Caliope nodded at her but was still taken in surprise by what she said. Gabrielle gave her a smile and continued. "In one of the archetypes or forms, she is a wise old woman, the Crone. She is compassionate and a healer, but you aren't a healer. The negative mirror is the bitter old woman, you aren't that either." Gabrielle resumed her walk and moved around the room sharing more information as if she was a machine of pure knowledge. "Then there is the shapeshifter archetype, with the ability of changing as the name says, her appearance. You haven't change in any way so far, and throughout all the time you had been with them and myself. So that can't be either. Which leads us to the last one, the one I think is closer to you. The Warrior." She grinned and focused her eyes on Caliope. "Of course! physical strength it is only partly of what a warrior has, and you as an Asteria will learn to have more strength than ever in your past life." She walked towards Caliope smiling from ear to ear. "While there is a negative side of the Warrior, that of wanting to win at all costs including abandoning your ethical principles to prove you are supreme, you are a battle Goddess that feeds on those who have fallen. What this means is you will fight to protect your rights and your life, as well as the life of those you love. Am I mistaken with this?"

Caliope shook her head still not finding words to reply to all of what she was saying. Gabrielle giggled and looked at Elaine. "She is the symbol, the goddess they look, the stereotype of what they need in their side."

"It makes perfect sense, she is not a common Asteria, she is the chosen one to be at Amra's side." Elaine nodded.

"All this seems so unreal to me." Finally Caliope spoke. "I know, months ago angels were unreal to me too, which is why I am not discrediting anything of what I am hearing. But please let me sink in what I just heard. I am supposed to be a Warrior Goddess for the dark angels? How? with what powers?"

"Darling, you see; plenty of what Gabrielle is telling you is the interpretation of people about past figures. There was once a woman who fought at our side without being an Angel nor an Asteria. She was courageous and a fierce opponent to them. To humans back in those ages, she was like a Goddess; and just as myths and legends, her story was passed from generations to generations. She represents a powerful force, and that is what they see in you. They want you because you represent power. Might not be direct power manifestations of you, but your presence, what you represent, that is what is most important to them."

Caliope nodded slowly. "The one who woke up Amra, and gave him a reason to fight."

Elaine nodded. "We still need to find out what specific powers you might hold. Usually Asterias, as they were once humans, have subtle powers such as healing certain kind of wounds or a kind of telekinesis. You haven't presented any of these manifestations, but if what you mean to them is this, the Warrior Goddess, then your powers will certainly be physical manifestations; it is what belongs to your name, to what you represent."

There was silence after what Elaine said, and Caliope lowered her head almost ashamed. Gabrielle interpreted this act as a sign of worry. "Caly, you will be ok, don't worry."

She nodded and lifted her gaze to give her a smile. Amra squeezed her tight in between his arms and he brushed his lips on her earlobe. She shivered and blushed. 'When will you let them know of your powers?' She heard him whisper in her mind.

"If I have no mental powers, why I was once available to communicate mentally with Amra? Although right now I seem to be incapable of this."

"That is completely normal to you both, a unique way of communication between the two of you. Even while you were human this happened, so you should not worry about it either. In time it will come back to you as well as your memories are." Elaine reassured her. "Anything between you two is not in the books, is unique and different." She chuckled.

"Ok, thank you. I really appreciate all the effort of you to help me. But I need some fresh air if you don't mind." She said attempting to move towards the door. Amra stopped her by not releasing his grip on her; when she turned to face him he kissed her lovingly. 'You will be ok. I promise.'

Caliope blushed and smiled. "I love you too." she said at him and he chuckled. A storm of thoughts and questions arose in her head, a new way of living was just beginning.