Chapter 3: Scrying

Okay, another chapter is up. Um, nothing more to say. Read and review, please.

                                                                                                                           JadeMoon**

~Morgan's POV~

            I led Hunter back to the inn. He was limping slightly, and he kept coughing. When we made it back to the inn, Hunter immediately curled up on the couch. I sat next to him, undid the buttons on the top of his shirt, and placed my hand on his breastbone. I murmured a spell, and glowing yellow light spread across Hunter's chest. His breathing became more regular, and he stopped coughing. "Thank you," he whispered. Within a few minutes, Hunter was asleep. I covered him with a blanket and rose from the couch.

            I walked to the window and watched people scurrying around on the harbor. I was startled to feel tears running silently down my cheeks. I wiped them away and turned from the window. A smile spread across my face as I watched Hunter sleep. He looked peaceful. The telephone rang, and I walked toward it. I had no idea who was calling. "Hello?" I asked.

            "Hello, this is Max Davis from the New Charter. Is this Morgan Rowlands?"

            "Yes," I replied hesitantly. "Can I do something for you?" I had no idea who this guy was.

            "You are Hunter's girlfriend, right?" I was about to say yes when he continued. "I know that he traveled to Wales to see you. This morning he was supposed to catch a ferry to Wexford. He never made it here, and neither did the ferry. Do you have any idea where Hunter is?"

            "Yes. The ferry went down," I said, waiting for Max's reaction.

            "Oh," he said, his voice devoid of concern. "Where is Hunter now?"

            "He made it back to shore, thank the Goddess. He's sleeping now."
            "Huh," Max said. "So I assume Hunter will not be here for the meeting."

            "Obviously not," I said. I was pissed that this guy couldn't care less if Hunter was okay or not. "Can I take a message or anything?"

            "No, no. Just have Hunter call me back. He knows the number. Goodbye." I was about to say goodbye when the phone disconnected. What's with that guy? I turned around to see Hunter staring at me.

            "Oh, I'm sorry, love," I said. "I didn't mean to wake you."

            "That's all right. We have stuff to do, anyway," he added, smiling devilishly. "But first," Hunter said, his smile dissipating, "I need to tell you what happened."

            "Oh yeah," I replied faintly. My joy of finding Hunter made me forget to find out what happened.

            "Okay, about as soon as the ferry took off, a storm came up out of nowhere. A wave took the ferry down, and I jumped off, deciding to swim to shore. I turned around and saw a- a…" Hunter stopped and looked down, shuddering.

            "It's okay, keep going," I urged gently.

            Hunter regained his composure and continued. "There was a bith dearc." I gasped and covered my mouth with my hand. "Yes, a bith dearc. It was coming for me." I shook my head, whispering, No. "I was able to dismantle it, and while I was performing the spell, there was this voice on the air. Of a Scottish woman. She told me to give it up. She was trying to do tath meanma on me, but I couldn't pick up who she was. Once I got to shore, the woman screamed No and left my mind. After that I blacked out."

            I was in shock. I couldn't believe someone had tried to come after Hunter. "Whoa. Do you, um, have any Scottish enemies?"

            Hunter gave a half smile. "I don't think so. But someone might be angry with me because of something I could have done to a relative or a friend. Maybe it has something to do with the New Charter."

            "I thought we were behind all this. And now it's snuck up on us again."

            "I know, Morgan. But we'll get past it again." He got off the couch and wrapped his arms around me. I leaned against Hunter and sighed. Yesterday had been so happy, but today just left me completely drained. I stepped away from Hunter and looked up at him.

            "We need to scry," I suggested. "Maybe we'll get some leads."

            "I agree. Which shall we use- my leug or fire?"

            "Fire, of course," I said, grinning. Two minutes later we were leaning over a red candle, staring intently at the flame. Speak to us, I coaxed the flame. Show us your secrets. Show us what we need to know. An image appeared in the flame, and I leaned slightly closer. I saw a crumbled old castle surrounded by lush green fields. I blinked, and the image changed. I saw the faintest outline of a person in shadow. Who is that, I asked the fire. Show me its face. The person moved around in the flame and turned to face me. Before I could see its face, the image changed to an island. It was raining heavily, with thunder cracking and lightning bolts appearing in the sky. "Morgan," a demonic - sounding voice said. "Morgan, I'm-." The voice stopped abruptly, and an image of fire roared. It blinked out as quickly as it appeared.

            I sat back, feeling confused. "What did you see?" I asked Hunter.

            "The same as you. A castle, person, and an island."

            "Did you hear the voice and see the fire?" I asked.

            Hunter frowned. "What voice, and what fire?"

            "A voice said, Morgan. Morgan, I'm- and then it was cut off."

            "Could you make out an accent?"

            "No," I said. "It just sounded demonic. Like a monster. And the image was of a roaring fire. It appeared and disappeared pretty quickly."

            Hunter bit his lip. "This isn't good at all. Now something may be after you. Goddess, I hope not. I want whatever it is to leave you alone. It's not fair that you should be involved."

            I smiled sorrowfully. "Sorry. But because of who I am and because of my relationship with you, people are going to come after me, too."

            Hunter nodded. "I know. It's pretty unfair." He smiled and stood up. " I don't know what to make of all this. Where did you think the castle was? I'm thinking maybe Ireland, judging by the intense greenness."

            "I think so too. I didn't see the face of the person, so I don't know if it's a man or woman. And that island- I have no idea where that could be."

            "Me neither. I just can't concentrate on anything now. Morgan, how about we- you know? It'll help get our minds off of all of this for awhile." Hunter said, smiling mischievously.

            "Of course," I said, laughing. I fell onto the bed and waited for Hunter. Laughing, he took off his shirt and threw it on the floor. I quickly recited the anti – conception spell and waited for Hunter to come join me. Oh yes.

AN: Okay, I'm going to try to be faster with updates. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Now review!