Chapter 7
Angela sat on the bed teaching a number game to a freshly washed Clare while her brother was taking a bath in the bathroom. It was actually a memory game using fingers to remember important things. Angela recalled when she first learned this game from her mother. It was part of the reason why she had a fairly good memory. She didn't obsess with the fingers anymore having found mental ways of remembering but that always was a basis for the list that had built up in her mind.
Clare thought it was fun as she tapped her thumb with one hand and said, "Help Absolution."
Angela smiled and nodded in approval. The girl was a quick learner as well as her brother. They were also very quiet when things were talked about. She figured that was how they were able to eavesdrop on conversations they weren't supposed to be hearing. She watched as the girl made her way up to five and said, "Very good Clare. Now you'll have a good memory like…"
"Like you," Clare replied. "Absolution remembers everything. The most important things."
Angela chuckled. She was going to have to nip this in the bud. She had explained to them earlier after they got back that they had to ask Sam if it was okay to call him Sammy. When they asked why she said that some people like their names and didn't want people to change it. She also said that it was a personal thing between him and his brother. They nodded in unison. She asked, "Why do you keep calling me Absolution?"
"Because you are," Clare replied not quite understanding the question. She didn't know if Angela was asking a trick question or teasing.
Angela smiled and replied, "I wield Absolution. It's the name of my sword."
"Uh-uh," Clare replied shaking her head. "It is the name of the person who will bring Absolution. Don't you know your own stories?" She continued to frown at Angela. She couldn't understand how someone couldn't know what others knew about them and all the good things that they did. William had told her all the stories about Absolution and now she got to meet her and she was saying that she was not Absolution. It didn't make sense.
Angela looked at the little girl who was frowning at her in puzzlement. She noticed that they grew very attentive with serious matters that they shouldn't be involved in though when she explained what the Rose of Tralee was, they pitched in to a degree by encouraging to talk about it.
After she said that the Rose of Tralee was the guardian of the triquetra, the questions started. Normally Sam would have asked her first but Dean beat him to the punch. Dean asked her, "Okay so it's a guardian. What does it guard?"
"It guards on of three pieces of the seal of the triquetra," Clyde piped in. "Our tribe guards one and the other two guard the other pieces."
Angela made a slight motion for Clyde to be quiet. She replied, "He is right. The seal consists of three pieces that form the triquetra." She took the necklace that Clare had taken off of her neck to hand to her to show her. She held it up for the boys to see it.
"Wait a minute. I've seen this symbol on Bibles. It stands for the Father, Son and Holy Ghost thing," Dean replied.
"Actually no. It's origins go back to pagan times. The almond shape that forms the point thing there is supposed to be symbolic of the feminine aspect of nature… mostly the eh uh. The symbol itself has been used to refer to the maid, mother and the crone and other things but is primarily a part of Irish or Celtic roots," Sam explained. He had rushed the end since he didn't want to mention what the almond shape was. That would have been fodder for Dean's porno reality for at least a week.
"Thank you for the history lesson," Dean replied. He had picked up on Sam's hesitation and figured that it was something of a sexual nature. Oh Sam was going to get the Dean Inquisition on his ass the moment the kids were asleep. "You really are a nerd. The both of you." He pointed at his brother and Angela.
"At least I lived it," Angela replied with a slight smirk. She hadn't missed the thought that dawned on Dean's mind and showed itself on his face. "Anyway the seal I don't have a clue as to what it seals but it is broken up into three pieces and each is guarded by one of the three Celt warrior tribes."
"So wouldn't the tribe be the guardian?" Sam gave a slight frown in confusion.
"It would make sense," Angela replied as she handed the necklace back to Clare. "However it was made known to me that there is a guardian. My guess is that there are multiple traps or guardians protecting this seal."
"So they Harry Pottered the thing," Dean simplified in typical Dean fashion. "Must be something huge or bad. So why the three pieces?"
"Why anything?" Angela countered with a slight shrug. "I suspect numerology plays a part but it confuses me too. When a seal is broken it loses its potency in what it was supposed to seal." She shrugged her shoulders. "Anyway the tribe's guardian was kidnapped or stolen and more likely it is here in Lakota."
"So we're dealing with a witch and a missing guardian. My kind of case," Dean muttered with sarcasm.
The rest of the way was more or less discussing what the arrangements were. Angela made it clear that they would stay with her. At the time it was more like she snapped at the boys when she said it. It wasn't that she didn't trust the boys with the kids it was… well rather complicated to understand. True she became like a bulldog when the kids were threatened when she first stayed with the tribe in Ireland but…
Sitting there with Clare, Angela came to the conclusion that it was that female thing her mother tried to make her understand when the issue about getting married and starting a family came up. She would accept that but that didn't mean that she was going to jump into a guy's bed and get pregnant for kids of her own. That was highly unlikely and probably never will be. She looked down at the girl and replied, "I know the stories told about me but I am not Absolution. That person I never met."
"How could you never have met that person when you are that person?"
Angela gave a slight chuckle and replied, "I know because the person you talk about is a good person. I am not."
"Yes you are," Clare replied with a firm voice. "You wouldn't have sung the song if you weren't."
"I sang because I wanted to at the time and you asked me."
"That makes you a good person."
The argument was futile and Angela gave up telling Clare to keep playing the game while she knocked on the door to check on Clyde. He was making a lot of splashing noises in there and at one point she thought she heard a neigh. She asked, "Clyde, are you almost done or are you horsing around in there? You need to go to bed."
"Coming."
The boy was out quickly and dressed in a shirt that Dean loaned stating that it was too small anyway. The subject of clothes was not too much of a big deal when it was discovered that the kids actually had packed a small bag with a change of clothes. The only thing missing was night clothes. Since Clyde offered his shirt, Angela offered one of hers for Clare and it solved that issue.
Clyde bounded out of the bathroom and was on the bed in a single bounce. He sat next to his sister and turned to look at Angela. "What next?"
Angela gave a slight chuckle. She replied, "You two are going to bed. Come on." She walked over and moved the covers. "Come on or you won't be coming when I look for the Rose."
Clyde pouted slightly and crawled under the covers. Clare hesitated. She asked, "Where will you sleep?"
"Don't worry about it sweetie. Right now you need to go to bed." Angela smiled and peered at Clare as the girl started to yawn. "Did I just see a yawn? Come on. Into bed."
Clare finished her yawn but she still wasn't satisfied. However she wasn't going to convince Angela of anything. She glanced at her brother and they silently communicated. She looked at Angela, "Can you tell us a story?"
Angela got the feeling that these two were good at the manipulation game. She was good herself but then again Dean was easy since he was in love with the Impala and pie and in particular her pie. They were good kids too and that she could see. She picked up Clare and tucked her in. She listened to both of them ask her again for a story and they added please to the mix. She finally said, "Have you ever heard of the Knights Smith and Wesson?"
Clare and Clyde frowned slightly at her. They had heard of many stories but the names that Angela used were strange to them. Clyde was interested and asked, "Are they heroes?"
"Well what is a hero exactly?" Angela countered with a question. She didn't know why she was telling a story this way or even the one that came to mind. Yet somehow it felt right. "Sir Smith and Wesson were brothers in every sense of the word. They watched out for each other and would gladly lay down their lives for one another. They traveled on their horses Chevy and Impala around the land battling the monsters to save the people."
"What kinds of monsters?"
"All kinds," Angela replied as she sat on the edge of the bed and leaned against the headboard. She extended her legs and crossed them at the ankles. She gave a slight smile at the kids and continued, "Some monsters they never heard of but they fought bravely while searching for the one thing that took away a person that meant a great deal to them.
"One day Sir Smith and Wesson traveled to a village on their way to fight a group of monsters that were killing people in a large town. They stopped to get a bite to eat and book a room for the night. While they were staying the night, Sir Wesson had a dream but it was no ordinary dream. He lived the dream."
Angela continued the story of how she and the Winchesters worked together on their first case. She modified it so it fit with the knights and fair ladies plotline. It wasn't hard since she had lived with the tribe before and they more or less had lived like the town time forgot to age. Things were different now since they started adopting some modern things. By the time she was finished, she found that the kids had nestled beside her and were fast asleep.
Angela gave a knowing smile as she stared down at them. They really were little stinkers since they got what they wanted. She wasn't going to wake them by moving. Normally she would star gaze for a while and then go to bed. She gave a yawn herself and decided to skip the star gazing. It's not like she had a date or anything. Smiling she looked over at the canister of salt and with little effort she salted the windows and doors. When that was done, she made a slight motion with her fingers and the lights shut off.
Before closing her eyes, Angela did a sweep of the room out of habit. She could see in the dark as well as any nocturnal animal. Satisfied everything was all right for the night, she glanced down at the kids. They hadn't moved so she relaxed a little and began to fall asleep.
The land was… green. It was like being back in Ireland again. The grassy moor was the same as well as the path that led to the lake. She was wearing the infernal dress that she always seemed to appear in though this time she had the pendant with the eagle that Nana had given her around her neck. Wearing courage like a badge, Angela walked down the familiar path finding that she was in bare feet and she could feel the moist dirt filter between her toes just as she remembered doing when she suddenly stopped.
Looking around she took in her surroundings. There was a sense of peace here much like that one time she woke up to find herself lounging on a chair, in a dress which she didn't mind wearing, by a lake and with someone that gave her a sense of peace. Here she was by the shore of another lake but it was different since it was from a time when she was beginning to recover from the place of cold fire. Yet there was something off about it.
Glancing around Angela took in the applied senses and everything. She was probably the most pathetic when it came to dreams since she always seemed to manage to spoil them. Then again she was the one who insisted on the training from Morpheus and she had learned to tell the difference between an average dream and a dream walking dream and this was more along the lines of a dream walking dream.
A ripple from the lake caught her attention. Angela turned to face the lake to watch. There was a slight breeze as her hair rippled and the surface of the water began to break through. Angela was not afraid however and watched as something large broke through the surface with a whinny.
The kelpie was magnificent. The water rippled down its flanks and mane. It was dark like a cobalt blue and the eyes were blue green. Its tail looked sort of like an otter tail since it wasn't hair. The appearance alone was unlike any horse that Angela had ever met. Even her old mount Thunder of the Sky was more like a normal horse than the kelpie that came out of the water but the kelpie was a sight on its own.
Angela felt no fear of the kelpie as she stood at the lake's edge. She watched as the creature tossed its head and shook the excess water off. It certainly was not like the other dreams she had before. It was actually pleasant for she didn't feel threatened by the kelpie. She certainly had heard stories about what they were capable of but she was not getting that from that creature.
"I see you are not afraid of me."
Angela looked up to find that the kelpie as looking directly at her. It was the same concentration one used when talking through the mind but she could hear the words as if someone had been talking to her. Angela gave a wry smile and replied, "What is there to be afraid of?"
"My kind are known for killing. We lure our victims to the water's edge and drown them and eat them." The kelpie gave a slight toss of its head as of to confirm that. It also pawed the water with its hoof as if to prove it was vicious.
"If you had any intention of harming me you would have done it already," Angela replied as she started pacing the water's edge. She took in the sensation of the moist soil between her toes. "If I were to venture a guess, I would say that you are either asking for my help or warning me away. Which is it?"
The kelpie tossed its head almost as if to laugh at Angela. "You are right. I would have acted by now and I am sure that you considered the possibility that I was going to be friendly for a while and then commit treachery."
"That is a possibility," Angela replied. "That would be nothing new to me. I have had that happen to me before." She stood in a cool and calm posture looking as relaxed as she did when she paced the shore. "Treachery is a well-known dance."
"Indeed it is. Your manner suggests it but you are also alert."
"As I said I have done that dance before," Angela replied. It was interesting talking to the kelpie while it was not moving its mouth. One thing she knew that was the cardinal rule when it came to the dream world was that the dreamer has control over how they appear in their own dreams or when they dream walk. When involving other parties, there was some grey area but it was basically the same. Yet Angela would never consider appearing in a dress unless it was from a memory. In this case she was wearing the dress that the tribe had made for her when she stayed with them.
Angela studied the kelpie more before she continued, "If we can agree that neither of us intends one another harm, then we could move on as to why I am here talking with you and vice versa."
The kelpie gave a slight bow of its head in agreement. "Very well, warrior called Absolution. I am here to ask for your help."
"That is hardly surprising," Angela replied, "But I wield Absolution."
"You cannot deny who you are though you may try. They will eventually piece it together. He will piece it together."
"And I see that once again assumptions are being made. I am not what people say I am and we can leave it at that. As to helping you, I can assure you that I am on the case. You are the Rose of Tralee that has been kidnapped from your tribe." Angela held her hands in front of her. She tentatively rubbed her palm that had the scar. The assumptions people made about her based upon the stories they heard, it was… uncomfortable.
The kelpie gave a toss of its head, nodding in agreement. "Yes. I am the Rose, the guardian of one of the three pieces of the triquetra seal. You once summoned me by my song."
Angela nodded in understanding, "You came and I thought you were one of the pets belonging to the ones after me. You remember me?"
"It is not hard to remember a voice that can fill a heart with hope and beauty and peace."
Angela gave a slight noise that sounded like a scoff. It came out like a hum. "Yet how could something as beautiful as that come from someone who is more or less and ugly thing? An anomaly and an abomination but what's done is done. As to who captured you, do you know who?"
The kelpie nodded. "I do but the spell she used prevents me from telling you where I am and my assumed form. If you…" The kelpie turned its head to look up at the sky.
Angela followed the movement. Something was going on. She could feel it in the air. Some mojo was working hard in the dream realm. "What is it?"
The kelpie was still looking at the sky in the distance. "Trouble." It then turned its head back towards Angela and looked at her intently. "I have to go. Please help. Do not let the witch find the key. To get in you need to sing."
It was the most cryptic thing that Angela ever heard but she was used to hearing things that didn't often make sense. She did that all the time with her riddles and rhymes. Sam caught onto them quick and Dean was quick when she made allusions of a sexual nature. She stood on the shore as she watched the kelpie snort. "What key are you talking about?"
The kelpie continued to snort and it dived back under the water. The last thing that Angela heard was, "To get in you need to sing."
Angela stood on the shore of the lake pondering a few things. The kelpie didn't return so she took it to mean that whatever had the kelpie in fear had caused it to wake up. What puzzled Angela was that she was still here. Most dream walking experiences ended when one woke up. The other usually followed in suit. This was most unusual and her senses went on alert.
She was rewarded when there appeared leather clad warriors. Some had the animal pelt look and she recognized the Celtic symbols on it. The warriors circled her with their weapons drawn. Angela looked around as they circled her. Someone obviously knew of her conversation and they were going to end it. Suddenly she heard a voice echo through the sky, "So someone things they can take my rose from me? Not going to happen. Kill whoever it is. No one takes the rose."
Angela watched the warriors circle and getting ready to attack. She came to the conclusion that the one who sent the warriors didn't know who she was. That could be an advantage… if she got out of the dream realm alive. Well she wasn't going to be efficient fighting in a dress even though she managed to when she was with Sam in Chicago. She thought fast and she was in leather pants and a white shirt along with knee high boots.
Well it was a bit better than the dress. This was the dream realm and usually anything goes. Angela dropped into a fighting stance. One of the warriors started forward. With her war whoop, Angela dodged the blow and gave a nice strike to the back of her attacker. The fight was on.
Haley looked around as she was dragged away from the canal by the very strong grip of Rose. When Rose came into her room that night, Haley thought it was going to be the usual chit chat that the singers had with one another. The chit chat that contained thinly veiled insults and comments about who was the best in the club. Haley was ready for it even though she didn't have time for it since it was her night to perform. When Rose came in to one's room however, you couldn't just ignore it.
Rose came in with her usual manner until the door was firmly shut. Then she started talking while walking around, looking for something. Haley found it odd for Rose and would have questioned her about it but the words Rose had chosen kept her answering and countering the insults. It wasn't until Rose was sure that they were alone that she dropped the act and started asking questions and they were the kind of questions that Haley would have avoided entirely since she spent her life hiding it.
How Rose found out that she was a witch was beyond her. Haley didn't even know why she needed her help until Rose started asking questions about dreaming and summoning and other strange questions. Haley gave what she knew but hesitated and demanded to know more. Rose couldn't or wouldn't explain fully except to say that she needed help and asked her for it. Haley was suspicious about Rose's attitude but she couldn't sense any deception and agreed.
It was after Haley's performance that she found the note from Rose asking her to meet her at the canal. Haley was a little bit nervous since that was where that poor boy Ryan was found completely out of his mind. Still she changed into suitable attire and grabbed her purse and headed towards the canal where she found Rose waiting for her, staring at the water running and humming some little song that seemed to fit the rhythm of the babbling brook.
As it turned out Rose needed to contact someone through dreams and Haley wasn't sure how they were going to do that. Fortunately she had her spell book and some ingredients. It didn't take long and Rose was asleep by the canal. Haley stood watch to make sure no one was around. When Rose suddenly awoke, Haley knew that there was trouble.
Rose grabbed her and led her away from the canal. As soon as they were a distance away Rose started grimacing. Haley stopped to check on her but Rose said, "Run Haley. Stay away from the club. She will find you."
Rose continued to grimace as if she were fighting something. Haley wasn't sure of what was going on. "Rose, what are you talking about?" She tried to grab Rose's hands away from her face to look her in the eye and check on her.
Rose lifted her head and Haley could she a flicker of light in Rose's green blue eyes. A shadow was starting to come across her face. Rose said, "Stay away. She's too powerful. Can't fight it much longer."
Haley took a couple of steps backwards. She wanted to run but she couldn't leave Rose there. "Rose, what's going on? Who's too powerful?"
Rose had to get Haley away from her. With any luck, she may come across Absolution or one of the tribe. They would be able to find her. She shouted, "Go Haley. Stay away. Now!" Rose then let out a feral yelp that had Haley start to run away.
A/N: Ain't that cute, a story for the night. Then of course there is dream walking and a very scared Haley. What in heaven's name is going on in Lakota? Find out more next time on Flight of the Song...
