Chapter 36

London

Cassandra had not had any luck at the manor house the night before. Oh... she had found what was apparently the immortal's hidden access, but without a key code... she couldn't unlock the entry nor disarm the alarm system. Frustrated that she couldn't get in... yet elated that she'd apparently found what she sought... she'd left... quietly slipping through the darkness away from the house and its observers... observers she now felt were likely Watchers rather than law enforcement.

"They've lost sight of him... whoever he is... and they hope to pick him up again if he returns," she'd thought. What troubled her most about them... was that they were so obviously there. So few immortals knew of the Watchers... did this one know somehow? It was a puzzle.

Now... by daylight... she'd formulated a new plan. She'd have to bring Barlow back in. Perhaps he knew where she could get the kind of equipment necessary to crack the access code without setting off the alarms. Then he could watch her back... or watch the hovering Watchers while she searched the manor house for clues. Surely he would be happy to help... he'd been wanting to last night. He'd already called her cell once today and left a message.

Cassandra sipped her tea and considered exactly what to say to her young student that would keep him firmly on her side... subservient to her will... in thrall to her without having to resort to the voice. She needed to save that with him now until she needed to fight him... as she feared she might have to one day.

***********

Palestine, ca 900 b.c.e.

"My thanks," Xandra whispered to the old man handing her the choicest fruit from his basket in the market stall. She smiled and placed it within her own basket and continued her shopping. She liked this new "thing" she had learned. "With it," Lilith had told her, "you need never fear what men may wish to do." Xandra had reveled in the power of her "voice". She was finding it all too easy to use it to get what she wanted. Lilith had told her to practice it in small ways until she felt confident in it. "Like your gift of prophecy, it has always been a part of you," the Ancient had said. "You just need to learn to develop it." So Xandra was developing it.

It did not work on the old potter. He'd laughed and said he'd listened to the Ancient's voice far too many years to be susceptible to one just beginning. But others had been. One by one... Xandra had used the power on people of the village. One by one... they had done small things for her... sometimes as small as a simple smile.

Returning to the cave system with her basket of "gifts", Xandra saw the old one standing thoughtfully at the shore gazing out at the water. Her black hair and her great muddy brown cloak blew in the ocean breeze. Lilith leaned on her staff and seemed oblivious to Xandra's approach.

"It is time for me to move on," she said at last. She gazed at Xandra sadly. "I have stayed too long in this place as it is. Be careful child with what I have taught you... they are your birthright... but they may also be your death if used wrongly. Prophecy used too often can lead to madness. If the gift of suggestion is used too often on a man... he may turn on you."

"How is it you know these things?" Xandra set the basket on the sands of the shore. Lilith laughed and pulled the crystal from her pack. As it glowed within her hands she stared thoughtfully... sadly at whatever she saw and then handed it to Xandra who gazed at the forms of the horsemen. Her eyes widened and hatred rose. Xandra could taste bile as she contemplated what she would one day do to them... what she could do to these men. Then something shifted about them... the face paint and the wild costumes seemed to fade so that she saw them in strange dress... clean-faced, their hair short... Kronos... with the scar through

his right eye, Silas with his stupid grin, Caspian... she shivered in the heat... a maniacal gleam in his eye, and Methos... cold, calculating, betrayer of trust. Xandra hissed.

Lilith took the crystal from her hands. "You will one day find them again. Be certain when you do so... that you do not let your hatred rule the day. Change is the one constant of this world Xandra... and we who live so long... must remember that. We grow and change... or we die." Lilith wrapped the crystal in cloth and replaced it within her great satchel. "I go now..." and turning, she faded away into the rising mists of evening.

Behind her Xandra heard the chuckles of O ro' dred. "And she leaves as always... fading into the mists of time. One of these days I really must learn how she does that."

"Does she control the weather?" Xandra asked.

"Perhaps... or perhaps she only knows when the mists rise of their own accord and uses them to make her entrances and exits." The old potter shook his head. "I will be moving on as well in a day or so... You have learned all you can from me. It is time you find a proper teacher... one who will teach you what I cannot. Now then girl, what have you brought from the market for our dinner?"

*************

London

Cassandra mused over that last memory of Lilith. She'd had power... Cassandra was certain of it... but had the Ancient truly had all the power she seemed to have possessed? The old potter, O ro' dred, Cassandra had seen occasionally over the centuries... but Lilith? Never again had the Ancient deigned to greet her. Cassandra had heard legends in the centuries that followed... legends of a woman of magic who had green eyes... but she had smiled secretly at those legends... some of the tales might have been about her.

Her gift of prophecy had at long last led her to the Highlands... to await the coming of Duncan MacLeod... he whom she had seen would defeat a great evil. To Cassandra... there could be no greater evil than that of the horsemen. In the end, MacLeod had defeated them... all but Methos. He failed to see the danger that the betrayer was... but he would... one day he would... and Cassandra wanted to be there when he did. But since that time... since she had turned from him angrily... Cassandra had seen no further prophecies. With Lilith's crystal... perhaps her gift would return... and the way would be clear.

She sipped her tea once more and calmed her mind. She would call Barlow soon... arrange to meet him. They would plan their next attempt at the house... she would seduce him with smiles and comments about his abilities as a researcher. She would dress provocatively... she would scent her hair and oil her body... she would use the tricks women had been using for centuries on men... Hopefully it would be enough to keep him off-balance and agreeable until the job was done... and then? Cassandra sipped her tea once more... once Cassandra had the crystal... Nathan Barlow would no longer be necessary... he might, in fact, be a liability.

***

On the far side of London, Nathan Barlow fumed. Cassandra had yet to contact him. Had she even gotten the message? Angrily he paced about his flat and considered calling her once more... He started to push re-dial... then paused. He did not wish to appear desperate... merely agreeable. Somehow... the longer he was involved in this mess... the more he did for her... the less she seemed to consider him... how he felt. It was as though everything was spiraling away from him... as though he was set on a path and had no choice but to follow. Nathan Barlow was tired of following.

Angrily he tossed his cell phone at the wall, listening as it gave a satisfying "crash" and then fell to the floor... broken. "Witch!" he screamed at the phone. Now what was he to do? Barlow stood very still and considered his options. He did not know where she was... he did not know how to contact her except by the cell phone number she'd given him... He could still call her... from another phone, but not right away. First... he needed to do a little more research into that property.

Grabbing his long coat and saber... he headed out the door. Time to take control of his own destiny.