Disclaimer: We don't own Sweep. Do we really have to say that in every chapter? I think after a while it gets redundant, but ... (shrug) Whatever. Don't own it. Don't sue. Don't have money to pay court charges. Anyway, stuff to know: the word "Abhainn" means 'river.' The spell isn't ours, either. If you want the web address, e-mail us and we'll send it to you. The quote at the beginning comes from William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. I don't think that he'll sue me, on account of he's dead, but ... eh. He's Shakespeare. He can do whatever he wants. The song is Nana Mouskouri's "Early One Morning." Its lyrics and music counter the chapter in a way that I think is effective ... if you could hear the song, I guess it would make more sense to you. Never mind. Ignore the ramblings of the mentally unstable author and review when you finish! :D
Part XIX: Wicker Man
Cowards die many times before their deaths;
The valiant never taste of death but once.
Of all the wonders that I yet have heard,
It seems to me most strange that men should fear,
Seeing that death, a necessary end,
Will come when it will come.
Morgan
Luckily, Bree, Robbie, and Raven saw through my pessimistic "there's nothing we can do" and suggested that I ask Brighde Lachlan, the store owner that Bree and Robbie had met for the first time the day before, if she had a car and, if she did, if we could borrow it. Brighde wasn't at the shop when we ran down the main street and into it, but the guy behind the counter took us to the apartment above the shop, where she was eating breakfast with two young kids who I assumed must be her grandchildren.
"Morgan," she said, looking confused. "What can I do for you?"
"Do you have a car?" I asked breathlessly. "Our friend is in the hospital, and we really need to get there somehow. We wouldn't ask normally, but you're the only one that we know in town ..."
A mix of emotions flitted across Brighde's face, some that looked to me like shades of worry, anxiety, and apprehension.
"Well ... yes. Yes, of course. My car is parked outside. Which hospital?"
"Antrim," Bree said. "The closest one to here."
She looked at us with an incredulous expression. "It's not the closest one. There's one fifteen minutes south of here."
This sunk in with an ironic jab. I sighed and sent Hunter a witch message, hoping against hope that he would actually respond to this one.
Hunter, did you know that there's a hospital fifteen minutes south of Portrush?
His reply was instant and sounded quite aggravated. No, Morgan, I didn't. I obviously do now, though, because that's where we are.
I quirked an eyebrow. But Sky's note said that you guys were going to Antrim.
Alexis pointed out that there was a closer one.
Oh. We're coming down now. Brighde offered to take us. Or, rather, we asked if she would.
Morgan, she works for the council! We can't trust her anymore, remem –
I cut him off and blocked his access to my mind.
"Let's go," I said. I had no reason not to trust Brighde. She had never been anything short of genuinely friendly to me. Hunter could just be overly paranoid sometimes.
Early one morning just as the sun was rising
I heard a young maid sing in the valley below
Oh, don't deceive me
Oh, never leave me
How could you use a poor maiden so?
Sky and Hunter just glared at Robbie, Bree, Raven, Brighde, and I when we met them in the waiting room at the hospital clinic in a cute bedroom community a few miles outside of Portrush.
"We told you not to come," Hunter said, sounding irritated.
"Did you really think we'd listen?" Bree asked rhetorically.
"How is she doing?" Raven asked softly.
Sky sighed and shook her head, sinking back in her chair. "I don't know. They won't tell us anything. I don't think they're even done examining her yet."
"What was wrong with her?" Robbie asked worriedly. "I mean, why did you guys leave the lodge in the first place?"
"She woke me up around three a.m. with a witch message," Sky said quietly. "She was ... in a lot of pain. I don't know, all I can guess is that her ataxia is somehow acting up again ..."
"But she was taking her medicine," I argued. "She was doing so well. This doesn't make sense."
"Are you all the ones that brought Alwyn Niall in?"
We turned to look at an aging doctor in confusion.
"Alwyn Niall?" Bree asked in confusion. "She's not –"
"Yes," Hunter said quickly, standing up to face the doctor. "Is she ... how is she doing?"
The doctor sighed and looked away for a moment. I felt my heart sink. This couldn't be good.
Sky bit her lip. "It's not ... good news, is it?"
"I'm afraid not," he whispered. "Her ..." He sighed deeply again. "I suppose there's no easy way to say this. Her muscles are deteriorating, Mr. Niall. The muscles in her legs are ... just dying. The cells are ceasing all life functions at an astonishing rate. We're attempting to slow the deterioration, but I honestly don't think there's very much we can do."
"Her muscles are deteriorating?" I whispered. "Is that ... I mean, is that supposed to happen?"
"Ms. Niall has a degenerative disorder," he said gently. "I'm afraid, in her case, there's not very much that can't happen in such a volatile situation."
"Is she ... is she in pain?" Sky asked, her voice tight.
The doctor nodded slightly. "I'm afraid so."
"Will she be okay?" Bree asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
"I'm ... we're not sure. But, from the looks of it, there's little chance that she'll ever be able to walk again."
No one spoke for a very long time after Dr. Callahan walked away. Sky looked at Hunter after a moment, barely disguised desperation in her eyes.
"Now what do we –"
"I don't know, Sky," he said sharply. "Believe it or not, Hunter doesn't always have a plan."
"There's nothing we can do to stop them from getting her now," Bree whispered. "We can't be here 24/7 to protect her."
"She won't even be out of the ER for quite a while, I'd estimate," Sky said. "And then Recovery ... if all goes ... better. She should be under constant surveillance by doctors, regardless." She looked semi-hopeful. "Maybe we have a while to form a concrete strategy."
"Hunter, I have to get back to Portrush," Brighde said softly. "Will you be all right?"
Hunter avoided eye contact with her, looking from Sky to me. "Yes, Brighde. Thank you. Thank you very much."
She left after a whispered "you're welcome."
I bit my lip. "Why Alwyn Niall?"
"Who else?" Hunter asked rhetorically. "We couldn't tell them that she was the missing patient from Antrim that's been making local headlines."
I nodded slowly, but then mentally slapped myself.
"We left Mike at the lodge."
"I'm sure that a teenager can spend an hour alone in a locked hotel, Morgan," Hunter said sarcastically.
I sighed. This was the sort of thing that made him feel like a burden to us. How could I have just forgotten to wake him, to bring him with us?
"I have to get back," I said quickly. "I have to make sure he's okay."
"Morgan, we have more important things to worry about than Mike right now."
"Killian wasn't there this morning when we left. I know this is serious, but he's there alone."
"Aren't you investing a little too much in him?" Hunter asked sharply, and his words vividly reminded of a less-than-pleasant conversation that we had recently had.
"He's my brother," I said simply. "Shouldn't I be?"
Remember the vows that you made to me truly
Remember how tenderly you nestled close to me
Gay is the garland
Fresh are the roses
I've culled from the garden to bind over thee
Imagine my anger to discover that Mike wasn't at the lodge when we returned about two hours later. The doctors had steadfastly refused to let us in to see Alexis, or "Alwyn", and promised to call the lodge when something was discovered. Sky and Hunter were both furious, but when Bree reminded them that Alexis was safe for the time being, Sky bitterly responded, "That doesn't mean a thing."
I was going to talk to Mike and apologize for running off without him, but all that I found in his room when I returned was a scrap of paper on the bed.
Hey, sis!
Mike and I decided to go back to Cork for a couple of days, and then we'll probably do Dublin. Imagine my shock when I realized that we've been in Ireland for several weeks now and we haven't done the American 'tourist' gig. He seemed upset when you lot weren't there, but I told him that it must have been something urgent. We'll be back in a few days. Two weeks, maximum.
Killian
P.S. Don't worry too much about him. I'm capable of being responsible when I want to.
Rude much? I mean, the two of them just took off? Great.
I knew that Mike brought something out in Killian that most people couldn't, a sense of responsibility ... Killian was very protective of him. But still ... who knew what kind of trouble they could get into in Cork? I didn't even know if Killian had finished that business that he said he needed to when he had first arrived in Portrush. Hopefully, though, they'd be back soon. Killian had left what I recognized as his favorite lighter on top of the note. Collateral, maybe.
I sighed.
"Morgan?" Bree was standing in the doorway. "Do you want something to eat before we start?"
I looked at her in confusion. "Start what?"
She raised her eyebrows. "Um, the circle?"
"What circle?"
She sighed. "You really were out of it in the car back, weren't you? We're going to do a healing spell for Alexis at the power sink in the basement. Sky and Hunter were talking about it the whole ride home?"
I shook my head. "No ... I mean, no, I don't want anything." I rubbed my head, which was starting to hurt. "No, I'm good for a spell."
Bree smiled. "Good. You looked really tired in the car, and it's only noon. Are you okay?"
I nodded. "Yeah."
"Where's Mike?"
"He and Killian took off."
"And just left a note? How rude."
I nodded in almost detached awareness. "I know."
Here now I wander alone as I wonder
Why did you leave me to sigh and complain?
I ask of the roses
Why should I be forsaken?
Why must I here in sorrow remain?
When I stepped down the stairs into the basement, followed by Bree, I saw that Hunter and Sky had already set up everything that we'd need for a circle. Incense, water, a candle, and a bowl of dirt stood in the four corners of a large circle, and a fat blue pillar candle dressed with cinnamon oil stood in the middle. "Abhainn" was carved into the candle, and I recognized it as Alexis's magickal name.
Hmm. I'd have to get myself one of those someday.
"Ready?" Bree asked.
"Almost," Hunter said. "Does anyone have a lighter?"
How ironic. "I do," I said, pulling Killian's out of my pocket. "Killian left this here. Sort of a promise that he'll be back, I suppose."
"Killian's gone?" Sky asked, unable to help the hopeful note that appeared in her voice.
"He took Mike with him," I said sullenly. "They went to Cork, and then they're going to Dublin."
"He could be gone for days," Sky said. "Weeks, even. That's just awful."
"Are we doing this or not?" I asked touchily. I knew that Sky had justified issues with Killian, but every so often, her self-righteous rants got on my nerves.
"Yes," Hunter said. "Everyone in a circle, now."
The six of us joined hands in a circle around the blue candle.
"In the name of the Goddess and God who breathe life into us all," Hunter began, "We consecrate and charge this candle as a magickal tool for healing."
"In the name of the Goddess and God who breathe life into us all," the rest of us repeated under our breaths, "We consecrate and charge this candle as a magickal tool for healing."
I could see Alexis in my mind's eye, her face white with pain while she tried not to cry out. Her muscles were burning in agony, like a thousand wooden splinters had pierced them. I gasped slightly, but then I began chanting the rest of the spell with the others.
Magick mend while the candle burns
Sickness will end and health will return
Harm to none
So mote it be
We circled the candle again and again, and its flame drew in and out of focus. One moment it was there, the next it was gone. I blinked rapidly, trying to clear my vision, but everything was suddenly blurry.
Magick mend while the candle burns
Sickness will end and health will return
Harm to none
So mote it be
I suddenly felt cold. It was a warm day outside, and the basement had been stiflingly hot when we had first come down here. I shivered, and I noticed how cold Bree's hand felt, too. Then I felt something familiar.
"Hunter!" I tried to cry out. "Hunter, Sky, there's something in here!"
But no sound came out.
Magick mend while the candle burns
Sickness will end and health will return
Harm to none
So mote it –
My vision went black as the floor rushed to meet my head, and I gasped in pain as I felt myself hit the basement wall. I opened my eyes, shaking, covered in a cold sweat, and saw that the circle space was empty. The candle had burned out, and the incense stick was not so much an incense stick anymore as a little pile of scented dust on the ground. The bowl of water had spilled onto the wooden floor, and the candle for the element of fire was no longer lit.
"What the hell was that?" I heard Bree's angry voice say from somewhere to my left.
I stood up quickly but grabbed the shelf nearest to me quickly. I was suddenly extremely dizzy. And something else felt ... strange. Odd.
I took a step forward, and I saw that, somehow, everyone else had been thrown out of the circle, too. Bree, rubbing her back with a grimace, was in the process of sitting up from where I assumed she had hit the staircase. Robbie stood up from next to a shelf full of canned beans, the blood already clotting on a small cut on his arm, and I saw Hunter, Raven, and Sky sitting up, too. Sky was examining Raven's elbow, which she had skinned on a corner of the concrete wall so deeply that it must have hurt like crazy.
"It's not bleeding, you'll be okay." She looked at the rest of us and then at Hunter. "What just happened? Did you –"
"Yes," Hunter said, his voice tight. I looked between him and Sky curiously. What were they talking about? "Yes, I felt it, too."
I raised my hand. "Um, do any of you feel weird, too?" I looked down at myself again. Something inside me didn't feel right. It felt ... empty. Suddenly still. Like all of my muscles had suddenly turned to jelly. "It feels like something in me is missing. Like, an organ."
"We broke the boundaries," Sky whispered, staring at Hunter with a new shock in her eyes. He looked grim and bit his lip slightly.
"Bugger ..."
"Can I speak for the rest of us when I say, 'Huh?'" Robbie asked.
"We broke the boundaries of the circle," Hunter said, looking at the burnt out pillar candle in dismay. "Something pushed us out."
"But why do I feel this way?" I asked desperately. "Why do we feel this way? Seriously, I think my stomach is gone or something. I feel really ..." I took a deep breath to calm what felt like a massive blood rush to my head.
"When you destroy the boundaries of a circle, it inhibits your natural powers," Sky whispered. "That's why, if you absolutely have to leave while doing magick, you're supposed to cut entry and exit doors."
"To make up for the disturbance to its ..." Hunter faltered.
"Electromagnetic field, metaphysical spectrum, etc.," Sky supplied.
"Yes, that," Hunter said firmly. "In order to make up for the disturbance to its metaphysical surface, the magick needs to take power from you. It, essentially, 'sucks you dry' so that it disperse itself and not be broken entirely."
"So it took our magick?" I whispered, a cold feeling spreading through me. "Will we get it back? Ever?"
Hunter laughed slightly. "Of course we will. Just ..." He sighed. "It can take upwards of a day, even two sometimes. It just depends on how much power was taken." He grimaced. "Since the circle was punctured at six points ... I'm going to say that it'll probably take quite a while."
"But why?" Robbie asked. "Why did we all get punched out of the circle?"
"There was something in it," Sky whispered.
I laughed in a kind of sarcastic, hysterical way. "Of course there was! I tried to tell you, but I couldn't ... I couldn't talk."
"What was it?" Hunter asked immediately. "Did you recognize it? Some kind of spirit?"
"It ..." I was suddenly finding it much harder to breathe. "It was a Diobhail. I recognized its essence, it ... it seemed familiar."
No one spoke.
"Well ..." Robbie said after a while, still looking shocked, "what do we do? Why did they do this to us?"
"We don't know anything about them, nothing useful," Sky said softly. "But ... I mean, they have to be planning something, right? Why else would they want us to lose our powers?"
I'll probably never forget the pounding fear that those two sentences instilled in me.
Thus sang the maiden, her sorrows bewailingThus sung the maid in the valley below
Oh, don't deceive me
Oh, never leave me
How could you use a poor maiden so?