Five Daughters

Aisling rolled her eyes at him.

"Do you need help getting on Cal?" Abaddon asked.

She snorted inelegantly before manipulating the wind elements to lift her onto the large bird. She might not be as strong as the people on Panthalassa or have wings, but she was not helpless.

Abaddon chuckled before hopping behind her on Cal. Unlike Aisling, he did not use any magical power or even his wings. His core physique was sufficient for most things that regular people couldn't do.

"Shouldn't you be in front so that you can direct Cal?" Aisling asked.

"Cal, to Auspex." He ordered the bird before he asked. "Can you talk with animals?"

He had been curious about this aspect of her powers. He knew of a demi-angel who could speak all languages, including those of animals. He wondered if it was the same with her.

"All Druids can communicate with animals, but I would not exactly call it talking with them." Aisling laughed as she enjoyed the wind on her face as Cal rose in the air.

"I did not know it was part of your druidic heritage. I met a couple of Druids in my days in the secular world. They were extremely cagey about their abilities." Abaddon spoke with some nostalgia.

"Honestly, I can no longer tell what bloodline some of my powers originate. When I was younger, I had already chosen the path of an elemental witch. I was going to become a spell caster. It is one of the popular magical professions for powerful witches." Her lips stretched into a faraway smile.

"Usually, our coven would select a few witches for power development while others would have to follow more conventional career paths like medicine, potion-making or general business. I was the most powerful witch in my cohort. People estimated that I would be the coven leader in no time."

Abaddon could see that Aisling was sharing something important to her, so he did not interrupt.

"When I started manifesting some druidic powers, my father's clan was elated. It was unexpected. My father is not a strong druid, and women rarely manifest such abilities. There was no hope for anyone in our family becoming a druid."

"Why?" Abaddon spoke when Aisling was silent for too long.

"My mother is a very powerful elemental witch. She is the current coven leader, and her domain extends over a third of Ireland. Speaking traditionally, my father married into our coven instead of my mother marrying to his clan."

Aisling laughed a little. "To make the matters worse, I have only sisters. I heard that my mother and father agreed that if they had a son, he could take my father's surname and join his druid clan. But then, my mother gave birth to five daughters."

Abaddon's lips twitched a little at the image.

Aisling laughed more freely as if she could sense his thoughts. "My father and everyone who has met my mother is convinced that it was a setup. Everyone thinks she used a spell or something to make sure that she did not give birth to a son."

"Would she do that?" Abaddon asked.

"I have met her, so I stand with the majority." Aisling also believed her mother had used some tricks.

"So what happened after you manifested druidic powers?" The man asked.

"I became the hotcake in Ireland. Everyone wanted to be associated with the powerful witch and druid. My mother developed an entire career development plan for me until I turned three hundred years. She would retire then, and I would take up her position as coven leader."

"How old were you?" Abaddon's heart ached at the thought of a small Aisling with such a burden.

"I manifested druid powers at eight years and saw the career plan at eleven. One of my sisters showed me the plan when we got into an argument about something. As expected, it sent me on a rebellious path." Aisling remembered the day clearly.

"I can't picture you as rebellious," Abaddon said with teasing irony.

"You can joke about it. But I did become a rebel after seeing the complete plan. She had even chosen my husband and determined the number of children I could have without affecting my powers." She sighed.

Hearing that, Abaddon realised why Aisling was sure that her mother had used magic to guarantee she would never have a son. The level of control she exercised over Aisling's life bordered on crazy.

Also, inexplicable jealousy sprouted in his heart as he thought about the planned husband for Aisling. At that moment, he wanted to descend upon Ireland and find that undeserving man.

The intensity of his unfounded fury cause sparks of black fire with gold sparks to appear in his hand. Moreover, the sclera of his lava-like eyes bled black as the monster within arose.

Aisling sensed something and started to turn her head. Abaddon forced his power back. When Aisling turned, she only found the beguiling face of an angelic demi-angel.

"What happened next?" He asked with a smile.

Aisling shrugged off the strange feeling and looked ahead.

"My rebelliousness led me to the point where I became a banshee. And here we are."

"How can you cut the story short?" Abaddon felt short-changed at the abrupt end.

Aisling laughed.

"I have to save something for our next trip. No, wait. You tell me a good story for the next trip, and I will tell you the next part of the story."