Disclaimer - I do not own Methos, Duncan MacLeod, or Dawson. I do own the bookstore, Red, Ree, and Rita. I'm playing in someone else's sandbox, with their toys, but I also brought my own.

Chapter Twenty-One

'Oh what webs we weave'

"Are you alright, Ree?" Red asked.

"She's just gotten a terrible shock." Dee sighed, and smiled gently. She got a watery smile in return.

"I thought the creepy bastard couldn't walk around in sunlight." Rita protested, coming down the stairs with her arms full.

"Upstairs with those!" Ree barked. "No magical items are to leave the upstairs research room! We've got normal customers too, you know!"

Dee nodded. "You, buster, upstairs. Ree...."

"I'll be alright."

"No, Ree, you're coming upstairs too. Rita, can you watch the desk?"

"Why?"

"She doesn't want you down here so he can get at you again. And no, that wasn't the creepy bastard, Rita. It was a sending." Red laughed. "After you, sir...." She nodded at the stairs.

The blond laughed. "Don't worry, Ree, I haven't broken your shop yet, have I?" She handed the bundle off to Methos, who was a bit bemused by being called 'buster'.

Ree was firmly entrenched in the big ancient wing back chair, the wide leather seat making her look smaller than she really was. "So, research summary?"

"One, our daemon is a creature of the dark, loathes sunlight." Red said. "We're going to do a sunlight containment spell, but I can't think of one strong enough."

"There was that rumor of that one major player up in New York-" Dee was cut off by Red's head shake.

"Alright, what do the government files say?"

"Short duration bursts of sunlight created by extreme panic only. Apparently she had trouble with some creatures that go bump in the night herself. I don't know much more. We tend to avoid those players." Red sighed. "We're lucky we've got as much as we do. Besides, that was the seventies. She's in her sixties by now."

"Well, that won't work. Short bursts do not translate to long term imprisonment." Dee slumped down into a chair at the desk.

Methos got a soft request from Ree, and fetched a slim book from a shelf. She paged through it.

Then held it out to Dee. "Would this work?"

"What?" The Wolf Totem accepted it, and her eyes widened. She looked at the cover of the book. "This is... a six hundred year old grimore. Damn. Don't suppose you'd be interested in selling this?"

"It's my family line's grimore." Ree said, shrugging.

Red's eyebrows rose. "You've got a family mage line? Damn. So, Dee?"

"A description of a purifying spell in which to imprison Dark Creatures using the powers of deities of sun, nature, and man." Dee read from the open page. She scanned through it, and whistled softly. "Awful lot of power required for this. Complicated too. We'd trap the damn monster in a crystal, and mount it somewhere it would get lots of sunlight. And summoning gods! I don't recall this sort of thing being popular to do in the old days."

"Old days? How about the modern days? I don't think I've ever heard of someone summoning a god in this day and age." Red muttered, and looked over Dee's shoulder. "I think this is a mage priest line. Ree?"

"Mom used it a lot. I'm not sure, myself."

The brain storming session went on for quite some time, Methos making himself comfortable, and playing door guard. His cell phone rang about two in the afternoon, making everyone look up. He smiled viciously.

"You did? That's great, MacLeod. We're at Ree's shop now. Do you happen to know where Joe is? Mmmhmm. Hand the phone to him, would you?"

"Yeah, Joe. Check at my apartment before coming by here. There might be something there for me, but I had Amanda ship it under both our names. If it's there, bring it by the shop. Bring my journals too, would you?" He paused. "If you tell MacLeod how to get into them, Joe, so help me-"

Red snickered slightly, but he ignored her.

"They're in my bedroom, in the wooden chest. It's locked, though. Just have MacLeod carry it down to the car." He laughed slightly at something Joe said. "Oh, chances are looking alright at the moment."

He nodded, and hung up the phone "Good news, MacLeod took out Rapheal."

Ree's cheer made them all blink for a moment.

"Ree?"

"Less said, the better." Her tone was flat.

Never the less, Dee began to question her, until Red held up a single hand.

"Hold it. Dee, you're forgetting one thing. I've already taken a statement. The Bureau knows this is being handled by independents, with a little help. But they do not like everyone knowing what a criminal's been up to."

"Does that mean you'll have to take him alive?" Methos sighed wearily.

"He's up for six definite murders, living sacrifice of virgins. There are four more missing. Questions won't be asked if I say he was 'shot trying to escape' or some other such rubbish." The feral smile made Dee twitch.

"I'd forgotten you were government."

"I'm government, and Maria Amberain is an office mascot. Our token non-magical. No one official is going to stop us, and I can even requisition heavy assistance." Red smirked.

"Knock knock."

They all looked towards the doorway.

Rita leaned in it, arms full of grocery bags. "We've got three things of chicken noodle soup. Four pot pies, and a cake that looks absolutely scrumptious, along with enough cookies to feed a horde of boy scouts. I am pleased to know I am not alone in the mission to put some meat on Ree's bones."

From her seat in the old wing back, their hostess groaned.

"I flipped the sign to closed, put a note for fish guy and Dawson to come on up."

They spread the food about, and Methos looked a little lost as conversations turned esoteric. Red and Dee were discussing the best use of a South American glyph in warding spells, in conjunction with weather alarms.

All he could understand was that heavy weather patterns would interrupt whatever ward they were using.

"Actually, if you've a touch of Bardic gift, or know someone with a touch of it, you can hang an air harp, and bespell wardings into it, so the wind from the heavy weather will activate the back up wards." Maria chuckled, and Dee blinked.

"Hadn't thought of it. I was using a crystal base, spelling it, and then putting the fragments in each lintel or window frame."

"Don't forget the roof tree." Red snorted. "And the largest fragment should go exactly in the center of the house."

Methos blinked, and Rita shook her head.

"You guys are getting me lost. Now, I can understand Ree keeping up, her father was one hell of a mage in the day, but I got lost about two minutes ago, and I swear Adam's eyes glazed over twenty minutes before that."

Red and Dee paused, and grinned slightly.

"Keeping up? I haven't been keeping up! I've understood only about half of what they've gone on about!" Ree snorted. "So, Rita, I was going over the books while I was down there." She smirked as the blond paled, swallowing slightly.

"I, uh, well-"

"Do you want another job?" Ree grinned. "You've done fine, Ms. De Salvo."

"Phew. At least you had the software, and run a decent computer. Hey, I told the mages that showed up that the library was doing a private study jam right now, because you're in a spot. Is that alright?"

"It's fine. I'd really rather not involve so many mages in the spell work." Ree sighed.

Dee nodded. "Too many cooks spoils the cake."

"Did Gov hop in?" Red tilted her head, frowning. "He's a damn good warding artist, and he works on the prisons, locking up natural gifts. I figure we can use some of his talent."

"Not without invalidating the ward itself. These spells rely on the struggle. The more he fights, the stronger they get. They also are about four layers thick, and feed off sunlight." Dee shook her head. "Although I'd no idea the prisons have spell wards on them."

"About the only kind of magic you can do while a prisoner is blood magic, and the guards keep an eye open for that sort of shit."

"Sex majicks?" Dee's eyebrows rose. "They're nearly impossible to ward out...."

"Well, that can be done, but there's a mage on duty twenty-four seven, so they can siphon off the power and prevent the prisoner from using it for nefarious purposes. We do have one fellow who's asked permission, he needs to defeat a rather nasty infertility spell. So he and his wife are, well, breaking it down bit by bit." Red grinned. "He got so embarrassed asking, apparently."

"Can't say as I blame him." Rita shuddered. "That's a taboo subject."

"What's a taboo subject?" MacLeod's soft burr made them all look up.

"Sex majicks." Ree offered. "Can't say as I mind it being taboo."

"I don't want to know." Joe snorted from behind him, as MacLeod set the chest down inside the door. "The package is in the car, Methos."

"I'll get it." The lanky Immortal stood. "If I have to listen to anymore spell craft, I'm going to be able to use it!"

"Actually, you can." Red frowned. "I think all Immortals have the potential to be spell casters, but it has to be awoken. Both you and MacLeod can be mages if you learn. Although I think you're more a shaman than a mage, per se."

Methos returned with the package, smiling at them, and settling down in one of the chairs, opening it cautiously.

Naturally, all eyes were on his hands, and the package.

The sword that came out glittered slightly.

Ree frowned, "That couldn't be-"

"No, it's not, but it's a copy of it. I thought it would be apropos, if I used this." Methos grinned.

"I don't believe you kept it."

"Well, the original version of the sword did belong to my oath-sister." He looked at her. "It's still yours." He offered her the blade.

Runes sparkled on the cross-piece, engraved cautiously.

"We scratched ours in with a rock." She snickered, studying it carefully.

"Much nicer to have it professionally done."

MacLeod frowned. "What does it say?"

"One side says 'friends and family', the other side says 'justice and responsibility'. It was her idea." Methos nodded to the plain pommel.

One had a glyph, the other was blank.

"My name's on the one side. I never knew hers, not really...."

"Oh, it was Mahna." She shrugged, and stood, balancing the blade.

"Sweet." Red stood up. "You could whomp Lord Frederick's ass with that, I'll wager."

"Probably." She frowned. "Battle tested?"

"I've taken three Quickenings with it. That blade's as sturdy as it gets."

"Well, if it's taken down Immortals, surely it can handle one pitiful demon, right?" Ree grinned at Methos.

"Right." He nodded.

Author's Note:

I'd like to thank everyone for their patience, waiting for an update to this. I really am sorry. Over eight months! Yikes! But, despite battling depression and a serious plot hole, I kept returning to this story, in my notes, again and again.

I finally worked it out sometime last week, and sat down to type it three days ago. I finished it today. I have a new meditation CD, and a favorite new incense. I am still lacking in inspiration, but I'm hopeful that forcing myself to sit and write in spite of a lacking desire has jump started this story once more.

Once again, my profound apologies for this long delay. I hope you've enjoyed this chapter.

The next one will be a view of our least favorite demon, and then I finally get to do the conflict. I've been looking forwards to that conflict for a long time. I've written, and re-written, the conflict chapter(s) nine or ten times. Now, where did I save them?