hello my friends in the macbeth universe! sorry I haven't posted in three months! i almost had a full chapter but then forgot all about it! there won't be that many updates from now on but I promise the story will get finished-i don't believe in discontinuing!

thanks for reading, friends! peace out!

-banner-

It's a few days before Dad clears me to go back to my regular room—and my regular bed, although they have to burn all the blankets and pillows I was using when I got sick. I'm still pretty shaky, but I can keep food down and the lingering aches have faded.

The funeral for Calum, Heather, Ardis, and Katavid is held the day I'm discharged. My formal tunic is suddenly far too big for me, and I realize I must have lost several pounds while I was sick. I wonder if Fleance is any better—he was already a pretty skinny guy.

Bagpipes play while the four caskets are carried out to the Dunsinane cemetery. I'm helping with Calum's rough-hewn rowan coffin, Dad standing on the other side. Guards take up the back half, and Mum carries Ewan behind us. Next comes Heather's casket, carried by female servants, then Ardis's, carried by Fleance, Banquo, and Kniertje, with Caoimhe walking behind them. Bringing up the rear are Katavid's trainee healers, carrying their mentor's coffin.

The caskets are laid in the ground and covered with earth, and the headstones are erected as the bagpipes play mournfully. The sun breaks over the highland hills, staining the sky pink and orange and casting golden light over the dewy grass.

We stand there for several long, sad minutes, and I fight the urge to burst into tears. My little brother and sister are gone. So is Fleance's sister, as well as the physician who's treated my family for years. And I can't shake the feeling that the Shift somehow caused the plague outbreak with my breaking the altar and raising the Fallen Stones. I don't know if magic was contained in that circle, but I have a horrible feeling that it's just going to make things worse.

After a long time, we walk back to Inverness. Fleance falls into step beside me, and I realize that he is indeed much skinnier than he used to be. His cheekbones stick out sharply, and he still seems shaky on his feet.

"You okay?" I whisper.

"No," Fleance mumbles.

"I'm sorry," I tell him, putting an arm around my smaller cousin. "It's hard, I know. But you'll see them again."

Fleance sighs. "I know. I guess I just need to do something to get my mind off it. Do you want to go back to that room and see what's in there?"

"Sure," I reply. I really don't, but if it will take my cousin's mind off all the death and destruction…

When we return to Inverness, I insist that I have to take a nap before we go anywhere. We had to get up really early for the funeral, and I'm exhausted.

I drag myself back to my room and collapse on the bed, which has new, uncontaminated blankets and pillows. I pass out almost immediately.

When I wake up, I change into a more comfortable tunic and slip on my soft leather ankle boots. Almost as soon as I'm dressed, I hear a loud knock at the door.

Opening it, I see Fleance standing outside, and I wince at the appearance of his too-hollow cheeks. But despite the plague having taken such a severe toll on him, he seems ready to jump into anything—as usual.

"Let's go!" Fleance exclaims, dashing to the stairs. "We've got to hurry!"

I follow him to the statue of Sinel, and we drop into the tunnels. They seem even darker and narrower than I remember.

After a few minutes of crawling, we reach the little room at the end of this tunnel. I pull myself out of the cramped darkness and squint in the dim lighting. There doesn't appear to be anything in here…

Fleance runs a hand over the wall, muttering to himself. "I wonder if there's a secret compartment…"

He stops. "Got it!"

Fleance digs his fingernails into a tiny, almost invisible crack in the wall, then pulls the stone back to reveal two long, intimidating staffs. One is made of dark brown wood and has blue feathers and flowers attached to the top, where it splits into three separate branches. The other is made of blackwood and has crow feathers and black flowers in the crook where the branch splits.

This might be a terrible idea, but I reach out and grab the black staff.

Immediately, blinding white light shoots from the staff's end, and I realize there's a gleaming black stone in the middle of the feathers and flowers.

As the light bursts forth, I feel the Shift awaken.

Pain shoots through my skull, so intense that I drop to my knees—and let go of the staff. The pain fades quickly, but the glow doesn't.

And then I hear a voice.

"Fourteen years have we waited for a new Patron…"

I get to my feet and back away, immediately running into Fleance. I want to curl up into a ball and hide.

"Now you are here. Embrace us, Banner…"

And for a moment, I think I see two twisted, evil faces in the light.

Needless to say, I scream.

Fleance and I turn around and bolt down a random tunnel, and I realize it's the same one we used to escape my parents last time. As we crawl as fast as physically possible, I hear the voice echoing through the tunnels, but I'm too terrified to make out what it's saying.

We come to the end of the tunnel, which still has bars over the exit, and I skid to a halt as Fleance slides out and turns back expectantly. "Come on, Banner!"

"I'll get stuck!"

"No, you won't!"

I have no choice. I pull myself through the bars, surprised to discover that, while it's a tight squeeze, I actually fit. I guess the plague has that one upside.

Fleance helps me to my feet, and we run as fast as we can down the river, which is swollen from the recent rain. Trying not to slip on the bank, we start to head up to the secret passageway we used last time—but the light comes bursting out of the tunnel we just left, and I shield my eyes as it shrinks into a tiny sphere. Is it going to dissipate? Maybe it'll just fade away.

But it does no such thing.

The small ball of light explodes, and I'm thrown backward by the force, landing dangerously close to the bank of the river. I hear a high-pitched scream from Fleance, then a splash, then a roar.

The river has overflowed.

The water scoops me up and hurls me down the passage, suddenly much higher than it should be—I keep hitting the ceiling. I vaguely remember that there's a gate between the underside of Castle Inverness and the outside. I really hope we don't just slam into the gate.

We don't. The floodwater completely breaks down the wooden bars, and I burst out into the highlands, having completely lost sight of Fleance. I can hear other screams reverberating through the air as I break the surface, and then the massive, ground-shaking sound of something collapsing.

Castle Inverness falls.

As the water spins me around, I watch at least half of my home crumble into the merciless waves, and then I'm tossed back under the surface of the flood. Debris fills the water around me, coming at me from every side as I hurtle toward my inevitable doom.

I feel my lungs fill with water, and my last thought is that this is all my fault. None of this would have happened if I didn't have the Shift, if I hadn't tried to find what my parents knew I shouldn't. They were right. They were always right, and I should have listened.

I close my eyes and let the flood take me.

-fleance-

I gasp for air as I pull myself out of the floodwater, desperately grasping at the roots and rocks in Birnham Wood. I can't believe I got all the way to Dunsinane—that flood must be really powerful.

It takes considerable effort, but I drag myself onto the wet, muddy ground and collapse, coughing violently. I manage to expel all the water from my lungs and let my head rest on the soft grass, trying to slow my breathing.

After a few minutes, I sit up, taking in my surroundings. Rain pours down through the trees, and the floodwater is spreading steadily over the forest floor. I don't want to be swept away again, so I struggle to my feet and limp over to a large tree. Climbing up, I settle myself in the crook where its massive branches split. I lean back against the wood and look over my body, checking for injuries. I can't detect anything worse than a few cuts and bruises, and maybe a twisted ankle—although I think that's from when we were running and not from the flood. I flex my ankle gingerly, wincing when it twinges slightly. It's not a bad injury, though—I don't think it will slow me down too much.

I scan the floodwater to see if anyone else has washed up here, but I see nothing except water, trees, and the old well passageway that I fixed a few days ago. I wonder where everyone else went—did anyone make it out?

No one appears for the next several minutes, and the water is rising steadily higher. I'm slightly worried.

After several minutes, my eyelids start to droop and I drift off for a few moments, then jerk back awake when I realize I'll fall into the water if I fall asleep. I really don't want to drown, so…

Peering down at the water, I realize it appears to be flowing faster. That's rather concerning—I wonder if it's reached Castle Dunsinane yet.

It strikes me that I should probably help everyone evacuate before the water floods the castle. I pull off my boots and slide down the tree trunk, careful not to put too much weight on my twisted ankle.

I wade through the waist-high floodwater to the well, realizing that water is starting to pour through the narrow opening. That tunnel is going to fill up soon and flood the healing wing, then fill the castle from the bottom up. I have to make sure everyone gets out.

Squeezing into the narrow space—I think I made this a little too small—I cautiously creep down the wet tunnel. It doesn't seem flooded yet—until I get to the lowest point, at which the water completely fills the tunnel. I'm going to have to swim.

I take a huge breath and dive under, feeling for the edges of the tunnel. If I run out of breath, I'm not going to be able to turn around because of how narrow this is. I think the water is making the tunnel slowly collapse.

After several long, terrifying seconds, my head breaks the surface and I climb out of the water onto the muddy floor—which is so slick I can barely keep a grip on it. But I finally reach the end and burst out through the stone wall.

"The castle is going to flood!" I yell, startling all the healers. "You have to get everyone out!"

Somehow, no one questions me. They all begin to pour out of the wing, healers scooping up young children and helping the elderly limp out. I burst out the door, tracking mud all over the carpet, and start shouting my message to the whole castle.

Soon, just about everyone has left Castle Dunsinane and climbed into the highlands. I make a final round of the castle to make sure there's no one else, then sprint out into the hills as the flood steadily creeps up on Dunsinane.

When it hits, it's not gradual. A massive surge of water leaps forth from the swollen river, consuming the whole castle in a single heartbeat.

I stand there, my eyes wide, as Castle Dunsinane falls, crumbling into the waves just like Inverness. At the bottom of the cliff everyone is standing on, the water is rising, spreading across the highlands.

I sink to my knees as I realize that just about the whole of Scotland is going to be flooded—and it's still raining.

What are we going to do?

-banner-

I open my eyes to find myself slumped over a chunk of rock that must be part of the castle. I'm half-submerged in water and covered in mud, and pain flares in my skull when I look up.

Reaching up to the back of my head, I discover a small bump. I hope it isn't what knocked me out—I don't remember hitting my head, just inhaling a ton of water. Nothing else appears to be injured worse than some bruising and a few scratches, so I gingerly push myself to my feet.

I appear to have been spit out of the flood only about half a mile away from Castle Inverness, and the highlands between us are submerged in water that comes up to my chest. Several unconscious guards are lying on a massive chunk of stone, and my uncle Banquo is collapsed over a fallen tree. They all seem fine, so I decide to go look in the castle for anyone who couldn't get out.

Wading up the small hill, I wince as I take in the crumbling walls and broken glass from the windows. I hear faint coughing and then the soft cry of a toddler. Hurrying toward the castle, I spot a small hole in the middle of a huge pile of fallen stones—I hope there aren't people trapped under it.

I climb up to the hole and get down on my stomach, peering into it. It's pitch-black in there, and I'm not sure if anyone's inside.

"Hello?" I call. "Is anyone there?"

No one answers, but there could be unconscious people trapped under the pile of rock. I need to go in and make sure no one's in danger of being crushed.

I wiggle forward, feeling around the space. It appears to open up considerably, and I scoot further inside.

It proves to be a bad idea. As I pull myself in, the stone shifts slightly, the hole tightening around my middle. I realize that this is a bad idea and gingerly try to move backwards, but the stone above me scrapes against the others and drops down a few inches, pressing firmly down on me and enclosing me in its rocky grasp. I realize far too late that I'm stuck.

After that, I start panicking, trying desperately to wrench myself free. The stone just sinks down farther, pressing against my back and gripping me in a painful vice. By the time I gather enough sense to stop struggling, I can barely breathe.

As I try to take deep breaths, I realize that the water is still rising—my legs are completely submerged now. Before long, it's covered the half of my body still outside the hole. The only reason it hasn't seeped into here and covered my head is because the rock has pinned me so firmly in the narrow space—I'm acting as a stopper. If I somehow manage to get out, the water will rush in and probably drown me. Someone else would have to come rescue me—so I decide to alert people to my presence.

"Help!" I wail. "Help! I'm stuck!"

No one answers, so I call again, yelling until my throat is sore.

"Help, please! Someone help!" The rock tightens its grip on my stomach and I yelp. "Ow! Help!"

Still no answer.

I kick my legs furiously, trying to pull myself free, and my feet don't even break the surface of the water anymore—soon it will pour in through the miniscule cracks in the pile of stones and drown me.

"Help," I gasp, exhausted and breathless. "Please…"

I go limp in the confines of the stone, panting. But I can't get enough air—the hole is too tight. I'm probably going to die down here.

Then an idea comes to me—what if I tried to use the Shift? Could I move the stones before they crush me?

I close my eyes, even though it's pitch-black, and concentrate as hard as I can, straining to move the stones and free myself. After only a few moments, I feel the pull of the Shift in my stomach, and water starts to leak in at the edges of the hole. I muster all my strength and force the Shift to explode, and the stones suddenly spring apart. Immediately after I come loose, I push off backwards and swim up to the surface as fast as I can.

Gasping, I pull myself out of the water and collapse onto the stone, curling into a ball and wrapping my arms around my sore midsection. My back hurts, too, and my head is pounding. I could have died in there.

Pulling up my tunic, I wince as I discover that my stomach is badly bruised and that there's a big scrape on my back. I shouldn't have gone in there—it was a terrible idea. Oh well, at least I had good intentions.

"Banner?" comes a frantic voice. I look up to see Fleance—scraped up and limping slightly, but there.

"Hey," I rasp, climbing to my feet. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah—nothing broken—but I heard you screaming, what happened?"

I rub the back of my neck sheepishly. "I was going to make sure there weren't any people trapped in the rubble and I climbed into a little crack in the rock. The rocks kinda fell on me and I got stuck."

"How'd you get out?" Fleance asks, his eyes wide."

"I used the Shift," I tell my cousin. "The water was rising really fast and I couldn't move, so I decided to try and channel the Shift to move the rocks—and it worked! I think I might be able to control it more now."

"Wow," Fleance breathes. "That's really cool. I'm sorry I didn't come faster, though."

"It's okay," I reassure him. "You probably couldn't have pulled me out anyway—it was really tight."

"I don't doubt it," Fleance says, smirking.

"Hey!" I yelp, indignant. "It wasn't my baby fat this time! I almost got crushed!"

Fleance shrugs. "I suppose I'll believe you."

Suddenly, I remember the noise I heard earlier—it sounded like a young child, coughing and crying. We need to find and rescue them.

I tell Fleance about this and he agrees that we need to go find that kid. Whoever they are, I hope they're okay.

We begin climbing the piles of rubble, calling out to see if anyone is trapped—or at least present. It only takes a few minutes before we find the source of the voice I heard. When I see it, I gasp and run forward.

Ewan is huddled on a chunk of stone, his tunic dirt-streaked and torn and his face tearstained and bruised. He looks up plaintively and bursts into tears, burying his little face in my shoulder as I pick him up.

"Hey," I whisper, stroking my baby brother's hair. "It's okay, little guy. You're safe. I've got you."

Ewan stops crying after a few minutes and mumbles into my shoulder, "Where'd Mummy an' Dada go? I hasn't seen them for hours."

"I don't know," I say softly. "I haven't seen them either. I'm sure they're okay, though—we'll go look for them. Are you hurt, buddy?"

Ewan sniffs, wiping his nose with his small hand. "I banged my head an' my knees an' my elbows an' my shoulder an' a lotta other tings, but is not bad, I pwomise."

I sigh and hurriedly scan the toddler, looking for any obvious injuries. All I see is a bruise on his forehead and another one running the length of his cheekbone, nothing serious. Ewan has also lost his boots—so have I, I realize. And so has Fleance. What are we going to do without shoes?

Deciding to worry about this later, we set off across the rubble, looking for anyone else that might be trapped or unconscious. If we have to crawl into any holes, though, I'm making Fleance go in.

I stub my toes on several pieces of rock, and by the time we're forced to conclude that no one was in the rubble, my feet are almost as badly bruised as my gut. We haven't found anyone in the wreckage—there could be people in the intact rooms of the castle, but I don't know how to get to them.

"Mum?" Ewan calls, his baby voice weak and scared. "Dada?"

"Ewan!" cries a voice. "Banner! My babies!"

Mum hurries over the pile of rubble, her thick brown hair lying limp and tangled on her shoulders. Dad follows, his tunic torn and his arms slightly scraped, his eyes wide with concern. Neither of them look badly hurt, and I breathe a sigh of relief before Mum lunges forward and wraps me, Ewan, and even Fleance into an embrace.

"Are you boys okay?" she asks tearfully. "Are you hurt?"

"I don't think so," I reply. "What about you? And have you—have you seen Fleance's family?"

"Banquo was back there with Kniertje," Dad says, jerking his head in the general direction. "And Caoimhe was with them, so they're all okay."

Fleance breathes a sigh of relief, and Dad continues. "Should we go out and keep looking for anyone else trapped in the rubble? We'll see if there's anything we can do to help them, and then we'll figure out what to do to rebuild Inverness."

We climb to the top of the massive pile of rubble that used to be my home, and I gasp as I take in the ruined highlands. Chunks of stone and fallen trees are strewn everywhere, and the water stretches as far as I can see, shining silver in the weak sunlight. The landscape is totally destroyed.

And it's my fault. All my fault.

I did this. I destroyed my castle, my country, my family.

How am I ever going to stop it?