Disclaimer: Okay, Part 22 here! Yay! The song belongs to Utada Hikaru … and yes, it is Japanese pop, but it's one of Wiccan #2's favorite songs … anywho, this story is ending up pretty long … I can't say exactly how much is left, but when this is done, then comes the epilogue. I've already got the story planned through to the end, and I might post the epilogue as a separate story. It's longer than one chapter, that's for sure. Considering what'll happen by then … but I shouldn't give away any more! Review at the end and tell me how much you hate me and how much you hope it's just an illusion. You'll see what I mean ; )

moon-faery69: Hehe, thanks :D Yup, I wrote more. I like writing … (hides in embarrassment) I guess I'm just a dork that way. But … then … all of us have accounts! Does that make us dorks? (wonders) Nope, because writing is awesome and so is Sweep … therefore, the dorkiness of us is minimal … wow, what have I been saying? I'd better shut up now.

Raynornlimegreen: Wow … I mean, my God, wow! Lol, that was certainly interesting to open up my email and see about fifty little buttons that say "Review Alert!" Wow again … hehe, words can't really describe the way I feel right now :D I'm so happy! Lol, here's the next chapter!!!

Part XXII: Epiphany

When you walk away
You don't hear me say
Please
Oh, baby
Don't go
Simple and clean is the way
That you're making me feel tonight
It's hard to let it go

Morgan

On some strange subconscious level, I felt a little bit of surprise. This was actually one of the better nights of sleep that I had gotten in several weeks. I was stranded in a mansion in the middle of nowhere in a strange continent and country and had no idea where I was, and yet for some reason I was sleeping like a baby. It must have been the exact second that I collapsed onto the bed that I fell asleep; I didn't even remember feeling my head hit the pillow. All I knew was that I felt safer and warmer than I had for a long time. It was almost as if …

Hunter. Goddess, just the thought of him, even a fleeting one, was enough to stir a tiny twinge of pain. He had taken the room down the hall from mine. He hadn't even bothered to ask if I wanted to share one. But I could understood that. I probably would have said no anyway … I wasn't ready to deal with that just yet.

I always felt safe and warm whenever Hunter was with me. Since our fight, I hadn't … this was nice, though. The bed sheets had been a little dusty. The windows in my room were grimy and covered with curtains, which were bathed in gross layers of dirt and filth. I had managed to make the place look semi-clean, though. Plus, the bed was actually comfortable. Someone really rich must have lived here once. The sheets were made of white silk.

For all of the dust around the place, it may not have been a five-star Hilton resort, but it'd do for the time being.

I was walking somewhere familiar … where was it? Looking around, I saw green grass and rolling hills. The sun felt so warm on my bare shoulders, and the grass tickled between my toes. I smiled to myself. It was such a beautiful day.

Looking off into the distance, though, my eyes narrowed. What was that up there? I strained my eyes and began to walk faster, squinting into the distance. I felt the wind whishing past me, and suddenly I was standing in the middle of a circle of graves. My eyes widened; it was the Ballynigel cemetery. The wind was beginning to whip past me faster, stinging my eyes. I looked down at my grandmother's grave and shivered suddenly and violently.

I saw myself tied to it. There was a cut above my left eyebrow, and blood dripped down the side of my face. I looked battered and bruised, and I was unconscious. My eyes narrowed as I stared at myself. One moment, though, I was there and the next I was gone. I looked at the grave in confusion. My mirror image was no longer tied to the grave. I looked around, searching. Where had the vision gone? My eyes glanced at the sky, and I took a step backwards in fear. It had been sunny and clear blue a moment ago; now it was dark and stormy. It looked like the dead of night instead of mid-afternoon.

I felt goose bumps and rubbed my arms violently. I was so cold that I was shaking violently.

You see this world?

I looked around me in panic. The trees were swaying so fiercely that I was afraid they would topple over within minutes.

This is the world that cannot be allowed to exist.

I saw my friends. They were crying. Hunter was striding down an empty street surrounded by skyscrapers and huge buildings. It was raining and pitch black. He was soaked, but his pace didn't slow at all. The determination in his eyes scared me.

It is the world that magick's most evil influence will create.

I shivered. Where was that voice coming from? It sounded so close.

My arms were pulled tight to my sides. I struggled in vain and cried out in pain as what felt like sharp knives pierced my skin. I couldn't move my arms or my legs; I was under a binding spell. I struggled as I felt the heat increase. I was burning up.

It is the world that you will create.

My eyes snapped open immediately. Someone really was talking to me. The first things I saw when I opened my eyes were the bloodshot eyes and cracked brown skin that had haunted my mind for the past twenty-four hours.

"Good morning, Ms. Riordan," a deep voice growled from the depths of the Diobhail's throat. "It has been a while."

You're giving me
Too many things
Lately you're all I need
You smiled at me
And said
Don't get me wrong, I love you
But does that mean
I have to meet your father?
When we are older, you'll understand
What I meant when I said no
I don't think life is quite that simple

My heart clenched painfully as icy cold terror began to spread through me. I took a deep, shaky breath as I tried to move but couldn't. Beads of sweat trickled down my face, and I struggled against the spell; I felt like I was on fire … and not in a good way. I gave a cry and looked wildly around me. I wanted to yell out to someone, but I couldn't open my mouth.

"Don't bother trying to talk," the Diobhail said with a sadistic, gruesome smile. "It is your turn to listen, Ms. Riordan."

I opened my mouth and cried out silently. Hunter! Oh, Goddess, what was going to happen to me?

When you walk away
You don't hear me say
Please
Oh, baby
Don't go
Simple and clean is the way
That you're making me feel tonight
It's hard to let it go

Hunter

A sharp, searing pain in my head instantly awoke me from sleep, and I bolted upright, gasping and clutching my head, which was pounding agonizingly. I looked around me, unable to see anything in the darkness of my room. I was trying to listen, straining my ears for any sounds. Suddenly feeling very much like Ms. Clavell, I realized that something was very wrong. The air rippled around me. Something nearby was emanating an enormous amount of power. It was almost stifling.

Hunter!

Oh, no … Morgan …

I instantly made a break for the door, throwing it open and running out into the hall. I stopped abruptly right outside Morgan's door, breathing even more heavily. Something was in there, I could feel it … but, Goddess, the power … I had never felt so much power coming from one place before. Not from a power sink or a bith dearc or anything.

"You need to learn your place."

I tried to reach for the door, but I couldn't touch it. With every second, it seemed to get farther away from my outstretched hand. I could barely think; the heat was suffocating.

"This universe has not spent billions of eras perfecting good and evil to have one little witch destroy the equilibrium."

What was that voice? What was it saying?

I knew what I had to do, but …

"I will not allow a frail human to destroy my clan."

I threw open the door.

"Ceangail!" The words had issued from me before I had even thought about, even registered what I saw before me. The mere split-second image that rushed through my brain of Morgan locked in a binding spell on her bed with a Diobhail standing in front of her faded into an image of Morgan gasping, her breathing raspy, on the bed and an unconscious demon on the floor in front of us.

I distantly heard Sky come running to us from the other end of the hallway.

"What happened?" she demanded.

I looked at Morgan, still breathing heavily, unable to understand. My mind wasn't functioning correctly. It was all a haze.

She looked about to cry. I saw the sheer confusion in her eyes, the fear, and I understood.

The daily things
That keep us all busy
Are confusing me
That's when you came to me
And said
Wish I could prove I love you
But does that mean
I have to walk on water?
When we are older you'll understand
It's enough when I say so
And maybe some things are that simple

Ropes and chains bound the Diobhail to a thick stone column in the manor's dining room. It seemed strangely out of place next to the dusty antique tables and chairs and bookcases full of volumes of Irish history. Morgan, Sky, Robbie, Raven, Bree, and I stood around the column in about a fifteen-foot circle, staring at the sight before us in stunned horror.

"H-How did it get in?" Bree finally asked, still staring at the demon. "No one heard it. Last time, they made a racket."

"I don't know," Morgan whispered. "I was just dreaming, and then he was there. Talking to me. He was in my dream, and I woke up and he was right there in front of me."

"How did you manage to knock him out, Hunter?" Sky asked me quietly. "Something this big and clearly powerful …"

"It was his own power," I admitted. "I could feel it from way in my room … he was washing the whole manor in it. The strange thing was that it … it didn't feel evil. It was … just neutral. Just magick. It was infusing." As much as I hated to admit it … "I probably couldn't have knocked him out if I hadn't had that extra power."

"Is anyone else just a little worried about those chains and ropes holding him?" Robbie asked, looking anxious. "I mean, this guy is huge. And by huge I mean muscular. There's no way that –"

"We spent half an hour putting spells on those chains," Sky said grimly. "All I can say is that they had better contain his powers." She looked to me. "I wish we had our supplies with us. I could do a spell to bind his magick, but …"

"We need to find out what these guys want from us," Morgan whispered. "We can't keep running from them."

"Hmm … what they want from us …" Robbie pretended to think. "Well, since they've chased us across half the freaking country, I'm thinking it's nothing good."

"If it's any consolation, if they wanted us dead, they probably would have done it a long time ago," I said unhelpfully.

"Please don't say dead," Raven groaned. "This is bad enough as it is without thinking about the worst-case scenario."

"So … what do we do with him?" I asked, raising my eyebrows and motioning towards the demon's unconscious form. "I mean … we don't know who he is or …"

"Well, I'm thinking that doing anything more than knocking him out isn't a good idea," Bree said matter-of-factly. "I mean, for all we know, he's their leader. They'd get pretty mad if we offed their boss."

Something about her sentence struck me.

"Leader …" I whispered, the thoughts forming rapidly in my head. "Leader … oh, Goddess, this must be the leader! It has to be! We didn't feel that kind of power coming from the others in the lodge that night."

"You're right …" Sky looked thunderstruck.

"The patches …" Morgan whispered, staring at the Diobhail.

"What patches?"

"The patches all over his clothes, look …" Covering the demon's robes and cape were patches of rough brown hewn cloth. I gasped when I examined them closely.

"Ur for resurrection," I whispered. "Os for strength and power … Rit for world events and the continuum of the world … Ka for power … Ar and Sig for leadership." I swallowed heavily. "I think you're onto something. All of these runes … they point to power. That one there? A divine destiny. This guy isn't just any Diobhail, he's their leader."

"Oh, God …" Robbie whispered, looking pained.

"… What do we do?" Bree asked tentatively after a terse moment of silence.

"Go back to bed," I whispered.

"Excuse me?" Robbie practically yelled.

"You expect us to be able to sleep when there's a demon chained up in the dining room?" Raven asked tensely.

"I'm serious," I said. "There's nothing more that can be done. We have to hope that these chains are strong enough to hold him with our spells on them." I bit my lip. "Our magick has almost, if not fully, returned, so they should hold him somewhat well." I looked from my cousin to my … what were we now? Exes? "Morgan, Sky, and I will take turns standing watch."

The uproar was almost instant.

"Excuse me?" Bree demanded. "There's no way we're letting the three of you –"

"What do you suggest we do, then?" I snarled. "In case you haven't noticed, we're trapped in a manor in the middle of nowhere with no supplies and a horde of ethereal spirits after us! Now I may not always have a plan, and when I do have one they might not always work, but right now, if you have another suggestion, feel free to enlighten me!"

There was silence from Bree.

"I thought so," I said quietly. "Now I'll stand the first watch. The rest of you lot can –"

"No," Morgan whispered. "I'll do the first one. I want to be here when he comes around."

"Morgan –" I began softly.

"Don't," she whispered, glaring at me. "Let me do this."

What could I do but nod? As the rest of us left the living room and Morgan shut the door behind us, I couldn't help the uneasy feeling that was growing in the pit of my stomach at that very moment.

When you walk away
You don't hear me say
Please
Oh, baby
Don't go
Simple and clean is the way
That you're making me feel tonight
It's hard to let it go

Morgan

I sat on the floor across from the Diobhail and drew my knees up to my chest. I didn't start, just looked up when a raspy, deep voice spoke from the middle of the room.

"I thought that they would never leave."

I couldn't help but smile slightly, in spite of myself.

"I knew you were awake," I said quietly. "How much did you hear?"

The demon gave a low, mirthless chuckle. "Everything from 'Last time, they made a racket.' You know, I was fairly impressed. Those at the lodge were my best soldiers, and you managed to escape them."

"How did you find us?" I asked, my voice still soft.

"It was not difficult," he said simply. "Now, my question, Ms. Riordan, is how much time will pass before you allow your friends to know that I am not, as you say, 'out cold' anymore."

"I'm not planning on telling them," I said calmly. "Not before I can ask you some questions on my own."

"Ask away," he said, as lightly as one with a deep, menacing-sounding voice could.

"Why are you after us?" I whispered. "We haven't ever … I had never even heard of you until we checked the Akashic Records." The Diobhail was silent. "But you've obviously heard of me." I stood up slowly. I was taller than he was when I was standing on my feet.

"There aren't many who haven't heard of you, Ms. Riordan," the demon said with a satirical smile.

I smiled wanly. "Of course. Woodbane prodigy and all that crap." I sighed. "So … you want to kill my friends and I, don't you? I mean, that's why you've been chasing us across Ireland, isn't it, Muireadhach? Can I call you that, by the way? Muireadhach? I saw the inscription on your robe in runes." I paused. "It means 'chief'. You are their leader."

"To a great many," he said, and in his voice I detected a hint of … what was it? Pride? Superiority? "More than you know."

"Tell me, then."

"A thousand here," he said. "You would be amazed how stealthy we can be when we are forced to come to the physical realm."

"A thousand, huh?" I asked, not put off at all. "Seems like a pretty low number for a guy of your stature. I mean, you're a Yao Ming, height-wise. I sort of assumed that you'd have this massive empire or something. Even Wyoming has more people than that."

"A thousand here," he whispered, "and five million in our home. The astral planes. Five million that I could summon instantly with a …" He demonstrated. "snap of my finger."

That was a bit more disturbing.

"We haven't done anything to you," I muttered. "Hunter and Sky have more experience with your type, of course … demons and monsters and whatnot …"

"The Diobhail are not demons or monsters," Muireadhach growled, and I sensed a small rise in the anger in his voice. "We are a proud race."

"How very Lord of the Rings," I said sarcastically.

"It is not your friends we want," he said firmly. "They do not concern us. They are strong, the two that you mention, but not as strong as you. Not as strong as the Woodbane prodigy, as you called yourself."

"So it's me," I said with a sigh. "Of course it's me. I'm the one that everyone's always after. Selene and Cal, my father, Amyranth …" I looked at him. "What do you want with me?"

"To warn you. To make you listen to reason."

"If you think I'm going to take advice from a demon –"

"I knew that you would react this way," he said. "So I thought …" He grinned grotesquely. "A presentation … a demonstration, if you will … would be more suitable."

I choked suddenly and quickly. The air around me suddenly was stifling. It smelled like burnt, rotting flesh. I could smell blood. I looked at the floor in front of me. A corpse was lying at my feet. A corpse with familiarly blonde hair and vivid green eyes. Green eyes that were bloodshot and staring upward, empty of life. Hunter was dead.

I stepped back in shock and almost tripped over an arm lying in my path. I whirled around and instantly covered my mouth to keep myself from vomiting. Bree and Sky were behind me, and I could tell instantly that both were dead. Their wrists were slit to their elbows and blood was pooling on the floor. Robbie was lying a few feet away. His skin was unnaturally pale, almost translucent. There was a gunshot wound in his chest. Raven was to my left, a deep stab wound embedded right in her heart. I gasped and cried out as my stomach gave a heave.

"Who …" I barely managed to choke out. "Who …" I couldn't stop myself. I vomited onto the floor, my stomach churning. Instead of feeling better, I felt even more sick. "Who … who did this?"

One word was all it took. Just a one-word answer from the demon in front of me.

"You."