Disclaimer: See Chapter 1...blablabla

Chapter 14: Call for help

It was about 8 o'clock in the evening that somebody rang at the door of the Roxtons' house in Avebury.

John was sitting on the sofa in livingroom at that moment. He noticed that the bell had rung, but he was too preoccupied to give it another thought. Marguerite had already put Alasdair to bed and then had gone to sleep herself. She had had a hard day and because of the exhaustion she had had trouble to keep her eyes open. That's why she had gone to bed so early.

John on the other hand couldn't sleep. He thought about what had happened that day: The incident with Alasdair and Marguerite talking to Dierdre... All this sounded too weird to be true. But he believed what Marguerite had told him and he had seen what had happened to Alasdair with his own eyes. It had made him feel so helpless and most of all useless. He was not able to protect Marguerite or their children from that evil.

Someone knocked. John looked up. It was George Challenger standing in the doorframe.

"Good to see you, ol' boy." Challenger said, entering the room. "I wish it was under different circumstances." John stood up to greet his friend and nodded.

"Yes. Thanks that you've come."

"When I heard that there was something wrong with Marguerite? What did you think me to do? I took the next train from Kensington, London to Pewsey, Wiltshire¹ and from there a young man was kind enough to bring me here. I came as fast as I could..."

(Author's note) ¹ = It has to be that complicated, because as far as I know is there no railway station in Avebury. Especially eighty years ago…

"I know." John quickly said while Challenger looked around.

"Where is she?" He asked.

"She has already gone to bed. I can't blame her for that. The last two days have been pretty hard for her, no wonder she was tired." John sat down again and invited Challenger with a gesture to do the same. He accepted and took a seat next to John.

"So what exactly has happened?"

"If only I knew..." John sighed.

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"My god! That must have been a real shock for her..." George whispered to himself, when John had finished telling what he knew.

"And for you..." He added turning to John.

"Don't worry about me, George. It's Marguerite, Alasdair and our daughter, who need your help." Challenger raised an eyebrow.

"Your daughter? So you know you're going to have a daughter? How?" John shrugged.

"Don't ask me..."

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The two men spent half of the night discussing. There were only some glowing chips of wood left from the fire, which had been crackling in the hearth.

"John, I have to be honest," Challenger finally started with a sigh. "I don't have a clue how to help Marguerite. I'm so sorry."

John shook his head.

"There must be a way." John replied with determination. He just couldn't accept the fact that there was no way for to him help her. Challenger put his hand on John's shoulder as a silent gesture of understanding.

"And I'm sure there is one, but…" George started an attempt to cheer him up, but as soon as the words were out he realized how hollow and meaningless they sounded. There was no way cheering a man up, who was sick with worry about the condition of his beloved, apart from telling him a solution to make things better again. And he had none. Unless…

"Perhaps we should go to that stone circle again and have a look at the place where she'd disappeared. Maybe we'll find something that'll give us a hint what is wrong with her. But we won't see anything now that it's dark. We should wait until tomorrow." He suggested.

"Maybe it's too late if we postpone this until tomorrow. I don't want to risk Dierdre coming back again and doing something to Aly, the baby or Marguerite. She certainly has the power to kill one of them. We must go now, George." Although Challenger knew that it was most likely there wouldn't be anything they would find in the dark, he kept his opinion to himself.

"Alright. We'll go now." He said instead.

They were standing in the hall just about to go, when they heard a voice from behind.

"John, is that you?" It was Marguerite, who just came down the stairs with Alasdair in her arms. The two men turned and Challenger, who had already opened the frontdoor, closed it again.

Marguerite still looked a bit drowsy. Her eyes were no more than slits and her hair was a bit wild.

"George! You've already arrived here?" She said in surprise when she had become aware of Challenger's presence.

"Yes, I came as fast as I could." Marguerite didn't pay much attention to George's answer, because she had noticed that the men were wearing jackets.

"Where are you going?" She asked.

"Just going to check something." John quickly answered, before George could say anything. "But why are you up? You should get some rest."

"Your son… I awoke, because Alasdair was crying. I guess he'd had a nightmare." She often referred to Alasdair as "his" son when she was annoyed or tired.

"Is that true, little one?" Alasdair just turned his head and rubbed his eyes with his tiny fist.

"He's tired, John. Not the best mood to have small talk with his dad. But what exactly are you planning to check on?" She asked although she knew very well that John was not willing to tell her.

"Nothing important. Just go back to bed and sleep." He said a bit more harsh than intended. Almost immediately he regretted what he had said, because she hated being ordered around and he was well aware of that fact. But she didn't seem to be angry with him. On the contrary, worry was now showing on her face.

"You're going back there, aren't you?" John said nothing, but the glance he cast at her told her everything. She shook her head.

"John, I…" She started, but he interrupted.

"Marguerite, I don't expect you to understand this. It's…" This time it was Challenger, who stopped John from finishing his sentence, when he noticed into which direction the conversation between the two was heading.

"I better put Alasdair back into his bed." He said carefully and wanted to take the little boy from Marguerite. But she backed away.

"Not necessary, George. If John plans to go back to this stone circle, I'm coming with him and so does Aly." She said in a tone that didn't allow any protest. John wanted to say something, but he knew that he had no choice, but to take her with him. He knew how stubborn she could be.

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"Marguerite, I don't expect you to understand this. It's…" Marguerite heard John say. There was a short silence before George suggested putting Alasdair back to bed, but it was enough for Marguerite to perceive the low voice inside of her.

"Morrigan?"

"Yes, my dear. It's just me."

"Are we in danger?"

"No, not yet, but you have to follow your mate now. It's absolutely necessary that you come to Avalon as soon as possible."

"But I don't know how to get there!"

"Just follow your instinct."

"What about Alasdair, our son?"

"Take him with you. He'll be save in Avalon. The same goes for the wise one. Our leader will be pleased to meet him. We are all waiting for you. Hurry!" Then there was silence.

"Morrigan?" Marguerite asked once again, but there was no answer.

"I better put Alasdair back into his bed." George's voice called her back to reality. He wanted to take the little boy from he, but she backed away.

"Not necessary, George. If John plans to go back to this stone circle, I'm coming with him and so does Aly." She said with determination.

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John didn't like the thought of Marguerite and Alasdair accompanying them. What if she would disappear once again? He felt so miserable when he knew there was nothing he could do to prevent a coming danger. He looked at her. She was holding Alasdair tight to her body to make sure he wouldn't get cold. The sleeping form of the little boy was wrapped in a woollen blanket, because there was an icy wind racing over the open fields. He could see that she was shivering with cold.

"There are times when I really miss the Plateau…" She said to him in an ironical way. John knew that she was just trying to distract him from his worries. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

"Better?" He asked.

"A bit." George, who had been leading the way turned around and looked at the couple.

"Where exactly is it, now? I mean, the whole village is surrounded by an enormous stone circle…" Marguerite nodded although she wasn't sure whether George could see that in the dark.

"It is the stone circle surrounding the village. Over there!" She pointed at the stones straight ahead.

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It took them only a few more minutes before they finally stood in front of the standing stones, which were rising into the nightsky. Some of them were at least ten feet high.

John's eyes rested on Marguerite. He knew that she was seeing something that he couldn't. She was starring at the stone circle with fascination and fear at the same time. To his amazement he suddenly felt her hand searching for his. He squeezed it gently.

"It's there again. The light…" She whispered so George wouldn't hear it.

Their eyes met and somehow each of them knew how the other one felt. It was a very intense moment of complete understanding.

Marguerite was sure that she had never felt anything like this. She had seen the glowing and shining arising from the stones and all the memories from the last time she had been standing here. It had frightened her. If anything like this would happen again? She wasn't sure if she could stand losing even more members of her family. The best thing to do would be running away like she had always done. If a situation had gotten too precarious she had run away. Why bother about anyone else? They could take care of themselves, couldn't they? But now there was John, Aly and their daughter and the only one who could save them was she herself. There had never been anyone she had been responsible for, but now it was different. Those people she called family and friends, they trusted her and being with those people had brought her peace for the first time in her life. There was something she owed them.

And the look she had exchanged with John had shown her all that. She had been searching for support in his green eyes and she had found it. Now there was no more fear. She was determine to save the ones she loved. No matter what would happen to her.

And with that thought she stepped into the light once again…

End Chapter Fourteen…

Author's note: So here we go again! I hope you enjoyed it. It took me so long, because we had a lot of work to do in school (I had to write a report as a substitute for an exam) and we moved not long ago. My parents had this wonderful idea of building a new house. And so I was offline…

We got summer holidays at the moment and I planned to finish this story in the coming weeks. If I'll succeed??? Place your bets:) I don't think so, because there's such lovely weather…

Anyway thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter and to those who added me to their favourite list! You are pals (Sorry for that, but we read "Death of a salesman" just lately)!