Family Ties: Frozen in Time
I walked down the street alone. All I wanted to do was crash on my bed. I missed Killian, and Ciaran had made me feel like crap. Tonight, had really drained my powers, and I wished that I had someone to go home to. Appropriately it started to rain. So, I hurried up, and could see the hotel in the distance.
A few minutes later I walked through the hotel lobby, straight to the elevators. I was exhausted both physically and emotionally, so I wasn't even paying attention to my surroundings. I stumbled down the hallway, into my room. I collapsed on the bed and began to cry. I have no idea how long I laid there, until I fell asleep.
You know that annoying feeling you get when someone stares straight through you. How you can actually physically feel someone staring at you, well that is what woke me up. I blocked myself, and panickly looked around. Of course Ciaran was sitting on the couch on the other side of the room.
"Are you trying to scare the hell out of me?" I mumbled, still half asleep. "Don't you know it's creepy to stare at someone when they sleep?" I continued to mumble.
"Don't you know it's stupid to join Amyranth" he replied back with a tone in his voice that I couldn't place. I knew this was not going to go well. "I guess my parents forgot to mention that to me" I replied half-jokingly. He looked at me, and I could tell he was contemplating something. "You don't look that good", and that is when I remembered I was still wearing my clothes from last night, my shoes were still on, and my hair looked like I had gone through a hurricane.
I was sitting up on the bed now, and I was well aware I looked terrible. I was probably completely tomato colored since I had spent most of last night crying. I realized that I couldn't look at Ciaran right now. I knew that I had gone against everything he wanted by joining Amyranth, and I did not want to face that.
He seemed awfully quiet too, and that was very unlike him. I used to joke, that he talked so much that it seemed that he liked to hear himself speak. There were mornings, that he kept talking about spells, constellations, and he would never stop. Today was different though.
I was looking around the rest of the room, when my eyes fell on two very large cups of coffee. I really could have used some coffee right then. As I reached out for them, Ciaran said "Not until we talk". I knew he was messing with me. We're both night owls and he knows I cannot function without coffee.
"What do you want me to say?" I replied hastily. I wanted to get this conversation over with. As I finished this sentence Ciaran started on a long monologue.
"Are you out of your mind? Do you have any idea what you got yourself into? Are you trying to get yourself killed? Is that it? I know you've had a crap few years, but really? You joined Amyranth! That was your response? I told you to get out of town! Hide! Lay low! Go to Alaska or something! Move to Australia or something! Take Killian and disappear! That was my point! Not run to America to join Eagruth, to join Amyranth! What in the world did you tell them anyway? They must have figured out that they've seen you before? They could have killed you on the spot! Did you ever think of that? Third time is a charm Morgan! It's not your job to save the world? ….."
He continued talking, and talking, but he wasn't yelling. He was venting. He really couldn't tell me anything, because he knew he was being a hypocrite! He did the exact same thing years ago.
"….Are you aware your brother, is out here? Do you know that? Listen Morgan, you know Killian has no idea about all this. You know he's going to think you have lost your mind. What are you going to tell him? Oh I forgot to tell you I decided to join Amyranth on a wing! Stop looking at me like that! You look like you're about to burst out laughing. It's not funny! I know you think I am being a hypocrite, but I started this for different reasons. When I joined Liathach I had no idea it was going to get this big. I wanted to do something good, I was sick of people and their thoughts about Woodbanes! I never realized I'd be here almost 40 years later. I don't wish this life on no one Morgan, especially not you! You're being foolish, Leave Now. I can't watch you do this to your life! You have lost practically everyone ever since you figured it all out. Once you figured out you were my daughter, everything has gone wrong for you. I know I am no parent role model but this is ridiculous. I know you are making a huge mistake…."
He seemed to be slowing down…it sounded like he was trying to make excuses to himself. He was trying to convince himself that there were other options for me, but we both knew there weren't. I had already become teary eyed, somewhere during his speech, and now I was sitting there crying silently, trying to think of a retaliation. Ciaran was still talking when I finally had the gumption to talk.
"You think I'm doing this, without thinking this through. I would love to hear a suggestion from you, because you know that even if I moved to Australia, Amyranth would find me and kill me. If they think I'm one of them, they wouldn't kill me, they wouldn't go after Killian, and they wouldn't go after you. It may be selfish, but I don't want to lose anyone else. I'm sick of it. I can't take that responsibility. I have had enough, with running away from Amyranth. I know you want out from them, but I can't deal with that either. Do you have any idea who they want to replace you with? I'm damned either way. Amyranth needs to be disbanded, and the only way that can be done is from the inside. You know that, and whether you admit it or not you could use the help."
There it was. We had both finally shut up. I reached over the bed, and grabbed the cup of coffee. We sat there in silence. Ciaran sat back down on the couch. He had been pacing all this time, and I was still sitting on the bed. I was trying to calm myself down, as I felt a strong sensation of magic coming from somewhere else in the Hotel. I looked at Ciaran, and headed for the door. I recognized that pattern of magic, and dreaded what I was going to see. Ciaran followed right behind me, he put a few layers of concealment on him, so that no one would see him. We got off the elevator, and we were faced with something absolutely crazy. All the people in the hotel lobby, were literally frozen in time. They stood there like statues. I knew exactly who could work a charm like this.
I turned around to see the two of them rolling on the floor, attempting to fight, they were mumbling spell after spell, throwing witch fire at each other. Both of them actually looked pretty pathetic. I knew they were just fighting out of anger and frustration. I ran over to them, and tried to separate them. Ciaran stood silently behind me so that neither of them would notice him. I was so mad at both of them. Firstly because well Hunter promised he would leave town, and secondly because Killian was stupid enough to follow Ciaran to San Francisco. As soon as they both saw me they stopped, and stared. Killian aimed a witch fire at me, but he knew better than that. "Are you out of your mind?" he shouted after me.
I tried to maintain my cool. "All of you, upstairs now. You're going to get us killed." I said sternly. All four of us, headed towards the elevator. As the doors were closing, I released the charm and the people started moving again, like nothing had happened.
