I tilted my head as he thrust the sword at me, almost severing my head from my shoulders. I felt the ice cold incision leave a hairline cut running across my throat. He hadn’t cut very deep, and he definitely did not hit my artery, but blood ran freely down my neck all the same.

I grimaced. “Not another ruined T-shirt.”

I swung at him wildly but he teleported and reappeared behind me, putting me in a half nelson with one arm. His other hand closed over my fist with the strength of an iron vice. Twisting my arm, he pinned Fragarach against my own throat.

“This was fun, he said, “but I’m afraid this blade brawl is over, luck boy. Tell me, why did you attack me?”

Of course I wasn’t going to tell him. But with Fragarach at my neck I felt my throat convulse. Almost like when my inner Ban-he tried to scream from within me. I felt the answer rising up. I fought against it, but I felt power surge from Fragarach, like it was forcing me to answer.

“The Morrigan sent me to confront you,” I said.

“I knew it,” he hissed. “Curse that meddling crow. Tell me your name.”

Again I resisted. Again the Answerer forced a response out of me. “Sean O’Farrell.”

He snickered at me. “Sean O’Farrell, I’m going to kill you now, but not before I show you the real crippling power of the Answerer.”

I felt his arm tense as his muscles tightened, preparing to give me the deathblow. I would’ve reached deep inside to pull out some hidden reserve of Good Luck, but there was none. I had been running on full power this whole fight, using every trick in the book I knew. And Diarmuid still won.

So much for being a thorn in Diarmuid’s side. I doubted losing was what the Morrigan had in mind for me.

“Sean, I pray tell me, what is the most painful experience you have ever felt?”

My breath caught in my throat. I did not want to talk to a psychiatrist about this sort of stuff, let alone my worst enemy’s son. I didn’t even know how to voice my feelings most of the time, but the magic of Fragarach had a way of cutting to the heart of the matter apparently.

“When my father died,” I said.

Immediately a hot tear streamed down my face. I felt naked and ashamed. Ashamed because the tear came so quickly. Ashamed that I hadn’t gotten over the loss of my father. Ashamed that I had not said the loss of my dad and my sister. Her death mattered to me too. Perhaps because I’d avenged her death I had gotten over it. That’s what I’d tell myself to help me sleep, if I ever got out of there alive.

“Awe poor little Seanny,” whispered Diarmuid.

I tried to head-butt him with the back of my head, but he crushed me with renewed strength. His hot breath tickled my ear. “You mock me and my father, but deep inside you’re the one with daddy issues.”

Anger washed over me. I was furious that he whittled me down to nothing, that he knew my deepest pain. But the more I fought against him the more he compressed me hard enough that I began to choke.

“What is your deepest fear, Sean?”

I felt the answer ascending from my heart. Even I did not know what lay in the depths of my soul. And there was no way I wanted to hear it.

Just as hopelessness sank in an earsplitting roar ended the interrogation.

We went down to the ground in a heap.

I got to my feet as fast as I could to find a snarling werewolf grabbing Diarmuid by the throat. It was my werewolf-dog, Tain. Sure enough, he had come here to the Dearg Due’s lair.

Whether he came here to fight the vampires himself, or he came because I was here, I didn’t know. Either way, like man’s best friend, he was there and he was about to save my butt.

As vicious as me and Diarmuid’s attacks had been towards each other, we were nothing against Tain’s savage werewolf strikes. He brought an unrelenting onslaught of clawed attacks and toothy bites to Diarmuid. He threatened to put the undead boy back in the grave. He sliced Diarmuid’s V-neck shirt and designer jacket to shreds, even drawing dark oozing blood from the boy. Diarmuid tried to crawl away but Tain caught him by the ankle and yanked him high overhead before slamming him back down on the cement floor.

The undead son was caught off guard by Tain’s swift attack and had no time to teleport. Enraged, Tain threw Diarmuid up against a pillar sending cracks through the cement.

Seeing Diarmuid still conscious and fighting for life, Tain slammed Diarmuid into the pillar again. Diarmuid tried to attack Tain with his swords, but the werewolf’s arm was so beefy that he couldn’t get the right angle to even slice through fur, let alone pierce skin. Finally Diarmuid mac Donn’s arms fell limp at his sides. Both swords clattered to the ground.

With one last heave Tain slammed him so hard into the support pillar that he crushed it entirely, hurling Diarmuid’s body right through the cement.

That section of roof collapsed, flooding the room with thick dust and debris.

Tain strode victorious from the wreckage through a cloud of ground cement, then turned on me.

I thought of our last encounter, on the rooftop, after he shredded that thug.

“Eh Tain. It’s me Sean.”

Tain’s eyes acknowledged me and for a split second I saw what Diarmuid beheld. Raw savage fury.

He fell down on all fours and crawled towards me. The room creaked. Another cement slab of the ceiling came crashing down not ten steps away from me. But I dare not bolt and tempt Tain to demolish me. Or worse.

Tain was so close then that his dog breath washed over my face. My heartbeat matched his panting. I gripped my blades tight ready for anything.

Before I could dodge out of the way, Tain’s tongue licked the whole of my face.

“Ew,” I said. “Thanks Tain.” I buried my face in the crook of my arm to get the werewolf slobber off.

The room lurched.

I turned and ran before the entire room caved in on us. Tain had the sense about him to flee with me. Even if the room came down on him, he was so resilient, I doubted it would hurt him that bad.

I’d done what I set out to do for the Morrigan. Now I owed her nothing. And I found my dog, who was not going to eat me. Take that Ole’ Yeller.

Time to get back to my friends and make sure they were winning their fight too.