"Do you have the First Blade, Sara?" Cathain asked.
"Ah, a pointy piece of glass with black and white curlicues? Yes, I have it - and I saw what you went through to carry it. What does it do?"
"It is a branch of the Tree of Life. I don't know how it will serve you."
"John, my Conchobar, gave it to me. That is he managed to tell his mother to give it to me though he's dead."
"John has served you well. You have the ring, too. That is good. The Three ages of Man are reunited - the Ages of Stone, Bronze, and Iron. You must keep them safe - and the safest place for the First Blade is to carry it."
Sara winced at the memory of the sympathetic pain she felt just watching the ceremony. "So who can install it? Druids?"
"The First Blade is from a time earlier than the Druids. You must find a shaman."
"And where would I find one of those laying around?"
"Ask. Farewell Sara."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The next morning Sara was antsy. She went for a walk and found a gravel pit. Throwing rocks sounded like a good idea. So that is what she was doing when Danny appeared.
"Hey, Sara."
"Hi, Danny." Sara continued to pelt the opposite wall of the pit with stones.
Danny sat on a boulder and watched for a while.
"OK, Danny, what are you here for?"
"Just dropped in in case you needed someone to talk to."
"Gee, why would I need someone to talk to?"
"Because you're not a good listener?"
"I'm a great listener!"
"In your dreams."
"Some vision quest. I'm being harassed by a ghost!"
Sara picked up another handful of rocks.
"Danny, you're a great friend. Would you tell me the truth if I ask you a question?"
"Try to."
"Hum, OK, Ian arranged to get John into New York and then captured, Irons was the one that ordered it, and me - I go in with guns blazing and no backup. Which one of us is responsible for John's death?" She threw another rock.
"Maybe you're asking the wrong question."
"Are you going to make me guess or can you just tell me?" Another rock.
"What are you after here? Who to punish? Or whether you should feel guilty?"
"Yes, and yes. If I can blame Ian or Irons then maybe I don't have to feel bad about screwing up."
"But . . . ?" Danny interjected.
"Damn it, Danny! I got you killed and I got John killed! All because I don't plan, I just barge in!"
"You did what you thought you had to do."
"That's no excuse for incredibly bad judgement! It's bad police work and it's really hard on my social life!"
"Maybe John and I were going to die anyway."
"Oh, yeah, that helps. Every time I screw up I'll just say that it was meant to be! - I'm still the one that got you killed!"
Sara sat down and put her head in her hands. "I really screwed up and I lost two of the people I care most about. It seems like the Witchblade just gives me the power to screw up in even more spectacular ways. It gets me in some crazy situation and then I'm the one that jumps without a parachute. If this thing is going to work I've got to get smarter. Otherwise I'm a menace to everyone involved."
"Ah, a pointy piece of glass with black and white curlicues? Yes, I have it - and I saw what you went through to carry it. What does it do?"
"It is a branch of the Tree of Life. I don't know how it will serve you."
"John, my Conchobar, gave it to me. That is he managed to tell his mother to give it to me though he's dead."
"John has served you well. You have the ring, too. That is good. The Three ages of Man are reunited - the Ages of Stone, Bronze, and Iron. You must keep them safe - and the safest place for the First Blade is to carry it."
Sara winced at the memory of the sympathetic pain she felt just watching the ceremony. "So who can install it? Druids?"
"The First Blade is from a time earlier than the Druids. You must find a shaman."
"And where would I find one of those laying around?"
"Ask. Farewell Sara."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The next morning Sara was antsy. She went for a walk and found a gravel pit. Throwing rocks sounded like a good idea. So that is what she was doing when Danny appeared.
"Hey, Sara."
"Hi, Danny." Sara continued to pelt the opposite wall of the pit with stones.
Danny sat on a boulder and watched for a while.
"OK, Danny, what are you here for?"
"Just dropped in in case you needed someone to talk to."
"Gee, why would I need someone to talk to?"
"Because you're not a good listener?"
"I'm a great listener!"
"In your dreams."
"Some vision quest. I'm being harassed by a ghost!"
Sara picked up another handful of rocks.
"Danny, you're a great friend. Would you tell me the truth if I ask you a question?"
"Try to."
"Hum, OK, Ian arranged to get John into New York and then captured, Irons was the one that ordered it, and me - I go in with guns blazing and no backup. Which one of us is responsible for John's death?" She threw another rock.
"Maybe you're asking the wrong question."
"Are you going to make me guess or can you just tell me?" Another rock.
"What are you after here? Who to punish? Or whether you should feel guilty?"
"Yes, and yes. If I can blame Ian or Irons then maybe I don't have to feel bad about screwing up."
"But . . . ?" Danny interjected.
"Damn it, Danny! I got you killed and I got John killed! All because I don't plan, I just barge in!"
"You did what you thought you had to do."
"That's no excuse for incredibly bad judgement! It's bad police work and it's really hard on my social life!"
"Maybe John and I were going to die anyway."
"Oh, yeah, that helps. Every time I screw up I'll just say that it was meant to be! - I'm still the one that got you killed!"
Sara sat down and put her head in her hands. "I really screwed up and I lost two of the people I care most about. It seems like the Witchblade just gives me the power to screw up in even more spectacular ways. It gets me in some crazy situation and then I'm the one that jumps without a parachute. If this thing is going to work I've got to get smarter. Otherwise I'm a menace to everyone involved."