I crossed the street to the park and sat down on one of the benches. The nausea hadnt let up. If anything, I felt worse, weak and disoriented. I shut my eyes for a second.
When I opened them again, I was no longer looking at the wide steps and columns of the museum. The scene in front of me had changed.
A blur of gray-brown branches. Across from them, a tall, narrow house obscured by snaky, tangled wisteria vines. Sirens and an emergency light flashing, cars speeding by. A doorbell hidden in a stone gorgons head. Screams and the sound of a struggle. A mans voice, familiar but somehow terrifying. Blurry figures wearing animal masks. A bound figure, lying on a stone table.
I felt something nudging my ankle, and I snapped out of the vision with a cry, startling the poor dog who was sniffing my shoe. The dogs owner pulled it away, giving me an indignant look.
Goddess, what was that? I wondered. Id never had anything like it beforea waking vision, something that just came to me with no prompting. It was clearly connected to the dream Id had. But it was differentmore real somehow. Was I seeing Killian being tortured by Amyranth?
I had to talk to Hunter. I sent him an urgent witch message. Then I sat there, shaken, waiting for him to answer. But there was no response. Hunter, now is not the time to ignore me, I thought. I tried again, letting my fear permeate the message.
Still nothing. I felt a flicker of fear. It wasnt like him to ignore an urgent summons. Had something happened to him? After waiting another minute I tried Sky. But she didnt respond, either. Were my messages even getting through?
Trying not to give in to panic, I found a pay phone and pulled out the phone card my parents had given me for emergencies. I punched in the number of the apartment. No one answered, but I left a message just in case Hunter or Sky came in.
Next I called Brees cell phone. Bree picked up at once. Speak, she said loftily.
Its me, I said. Where are you?
In a cab, stuck in traffic. She sounded irked.
Bree, I said, I think I saw Killian.
What? Where?
I told Bree about the vision Id just had. Im sure Ciarans got him, only I cant figure out where they are. Ive got to find that house, I finished. I thought of how Hunter had used what wed seen when Id scryed to find Killian. Maybe Bree and I could do the same thing. I need your help.
Okay. Bree sounded hesitant. Umwhat can I do?
You know the city better than I do, I said. Think about what I described and help me figure out where it might be.
Oh, I get it. Cool idea, she said. Umokay, you say you saw a blur of branches?
When I said yes, Bree said, It sounds like this house you saw was by a park. Maybe Central Park.
Right. Makes sense, I said, feeling a flicker of excitement.
Okay, now, where, exactly, were the trees?
I closed my eyes and tried to call up the vision. I was standing on a corner. The house was across a narrow street from me, and the blur was in my right eye. I think the trees were across a wide street from the house. Yeah, the house was on a corner. The front door faced a side street. At the corner there was a wide avenue, and the trees were on the other side.
Now were getting somewhere. Okay, lets think. Describe the avenue. How wide was it? And which way was the traffic going? Bree pressed.
Jesus, Bree, I said, frustrated. I wasnt paying attention to traffic patterns.
Think, she insisted over the blare of horns. Could you see any cars at all?
I forced my mind back to the siren and the flashing emergency light. The light was on top of an ambulance. I followed it in my mind until a blue SUV passed on its left. It was at least four lanes wide, and the cars were going both ways, I said. It was two-way traffic. Hey! I knew most of the avenues were one way. That narrowed it down a lot.
Brees voice rose with excitement. It sounds like the house is somewhere on Central Park West. Two-way traffica wide avenue with a park on one sidea fancy houseI cant think of anyplace else in Manhattan that looks like that.
Bree, youre brilliant, I said fervently.
Where are you now? she asked.
Right by the Museum of Natural History.
Perfect, Bree said. Why dont you just walk along Central Park West and see if you can find anything that looks familiar?
Bree was rightit was perfect. I might be within a few blocks of the house right now. I might actually find Killianand Ciaran. I felt my chest constrict with fear.
Morgan? Are you there? Bree asked.
Im here, I said. Listen, Im going to look for this place. Can you try to track down Hunter? Tell him I need him now!
Bree hesitated a moment. Morgan, promise me that if you find it, you wont go in there by yourself.
Im not planning on it, I said, feeling a rush of warmth at her concern. Breethanks for your help.
I hung up and made one more call, this one to Robbies cell. After all, he was somewhere just across the street. But all I got was his voice mail. Robbie had turned off his phone, and I didnt have time to search the museum for him.
I tried Hunter one more time. Still nothing. Was he okay? I just had to trust that he was. And I had to trust in the fact that there were no coincidences. Fate was guiding me. I took the fact that I was on Central Park West as a sign. I was being guided to find Killian.
Focusing my eyes straight ahead, I saw the park in my peripheral vision. The blur of branches in my right eye was very much like what Id seen in the vision.
I started walking north, and my senses began tingling. They were charged the way the air is charged before a summer rainstorm. Everything was about to break wide open. I passed a vendor selling hot roasted chestnuts, a dog walker with half a dozen yapping dogs pulling him along. The winter wind was at my back, sweeping up Central Park West, propelling me. A sense of urgency was building; adrenaline was coursing through my veins.
At the corner of Eighty-seventh and Central Park West, I stumbled to a sudden stop, my heart hammering. There it was.
The house had four stories, and I could glimpse granite facing behind a tangle of thick, gnarled wisteria vines. Three stone steps led to the front door, where a doorbell was embedded in a stone carving of a gorgons head. It was exactly what Id seen in the vision.
A thin, icy cloak of fear settled around me. I was standing in front of the place where Amyranth held Killian.
11. Fated
Samhain, 1983
The rumors are true. She lives. Ballynigel was razed to the ground by the dark wave, yet Maeve Riordan and that fawning blue-eyed half-wit, Angus Bramson, managed to survive. Goddess, Ive lost track of the number of times Ive wished them both dead and in everlasting torment. Especially her. In the space of two enchanted weeks she opened my heart and destroyed my entire life. My marriage became a hollow sham, my home a prison. Grania hates me. The childrenwell, they respect my power, at least.
Im leaving Scotland, leaving Liathach. The coven has grown in strength and magick as never before. We took part in the destruction of Crossbrig, which gained Liathach their much coveted Wyndenkell spell books. But the Liathach witches are weak, fearful. Theyve been ruled too long by Granias family. They think Ive led them into danger. They want to retreat. Well, let them. But I wont be a part of it.
I dont care about leaving Liathach. I should have done it years ago. All that matters is that I find Maeve. She has done the impossible. She survived the dark wave. Ive scryed, and Ive seen her. I know that she still holds me in her heart, that we are still meant to be together. I cant live without her another day. Now I must find her.
The only question is whether it will be to tell her how much I love heror to kill her.
Neimhidh
The house was old, a part of the city left over from the nineteenth century. The worn stonework had a faded elegance, and the thick tangle of wisteria vines reminded me of the Briar Rose fairy tale. A sleeping princess hidden behind a wall of thornsBut Killian was no fictional princess, and I was no rescuer prince. Now that Id found it, what on earth was I going to do?
I crossed the street to another pay phone and called Bree again. Shed just gotten back to the apartment.
I found it, I told her. Its right on the corner of Central Park West and Eighty-seventh. Have you heard anything from Hunter?
Nada, Bree answered. Any idea where he might be?
Nothing immediately jumped to mind. Hunter was always so careful and secretive about his work. He told me only what he thought I needed to know.
Umtheres a Mexican witchs shop he took me to off Hudson Street. Shes the one who told him about the woman hes searching for. She might give you the address.
Ill find her, Bree promised. But first Ill leave a note here in case he comes back.
Im going to stay here and keep an eye on the house, I told Bree. If you find Hunter, will you tell him to meet me here?
Okay. But call me again in twenty minutes, Bree ordered. I want to know that youre safe.
I promised I would. Then I sat down on one of the park benches that offered a clear view of the house. It was not a day for sitting outside. The air was damp and bitter cold. Within a few minutes I could hardly feel my feet.
But I could feel the house. Even though I was across the street from it, I could sense powerful magick wrapped around it.
I thought I saw a flicker of movement in one of the upper windows, and a knot of dread lodged itself in the middle of my chest. I wished I could go off searching with Bree, I really did. The idea of staying here on my own across from this house that practically oozed evil terrified meespecially knowing that Ciaran might be inside.
I hunkered down in the cold, concentrating on the house. No one came in or out. Nothing more moved in the windows. Even the wisteria branches barely moved in the icy wind. There was a bleak stillness about the house that suddenly made me wonder if I was wrong and the place was completely deserted. Magick can fool most people, I reminded myself. But not me.
I extended my senses to see what sort of magickal defenses or traps there might be. I picked up resistance at the door, a warding spell of some sort, but it didnt feel very serious. The house wasnt nearly as heavily spelled as Cal and Selenes house had been. I couldnt sense any electronic security systems, either, just the requisite New York combination of heavy-duty locks on the door. Only one of those bolts was actually shut. Strange.
I glanced at my watch. It was nearly three oclock. I wondered if Bree was having any luck finding Hunter. Was there some way I could find out what was going on in the house at that very moment? I could search for Killians aura.
I concentrated, trying to remember what it had been like. A pattern traced itself in my minds eye so clearly that I could almost hear Killians voice. And then what I was hearing were cries. I felt the struggle again, the helplessness, the overwhelming sense of terror and despair.
The vision was gone as quickly as it had come, but I knew what it meant. Killian was in the house, captive yet reaching out, crying for help. Maybe he wasnt calling to me specifically, but I had an awful feeling I was the only one who had heard him.
I couldnt wait for Hunter to show up. Hang on, Killian, I muttered. Im coming.
I stood up and immediately began to tremble. Who was I kidding? I was a seventeen-year-old witch with all of two and a half months experience in my craft. And I was about to go up against a coven of evil Woodbanes and the witch whod killed Maeve and Angus? Maeve and Angus had been trained in Wicca from the day they were born. If they hadnt been able to stop CiaranThe odds were beyond insane. Ciaran had killed Maeve, his mùirn beatha dàn. What would he do to me, her daughter?
Yet I couldnt discount the dreams and visions. I was sure Id had them for a reason. I could almost hear Hunter reminding me that according to Wicca, nothing is random. Everything has a purpose. I wouldnt have been given those visions if I hadnt been meant do something about them. Even the fact that the school boiler had burst now seemed part of some inevitable plan. I was here in New York City because it was my fate to save Killian.
Goddess, help me, I murmured. I drew in deep breaths, calming and grounding myself. I had all of Alyces knowledge and more raw power than most blood witches ever encounter. I was strong, stronger than Id been three weeks ago when Hunter and I had fought Selene and defeated her. If Ciaran was in that building, didnt I owe it to Maeve to try to stop him once and for all?
I can do this, I told myself. I was meant to do this.
I walked up to the house and stepped onto the first of the three stone stepsand stopped as a feeling of dread snaked around my insides and whispered in my mind,Turn away. Come no farther. Go back.
I tried to step onto the second step, but I couldnt. Terror immobilized me, the feeling that taking that one step would seal my doom.
Its a repelling spell, I told myself. Its designed to keep you out. But theres nothing really behind it. I willed the spell to show itself to me. There was a moment of resistance before I saw a glimmering on the winter air. The rune Isthe rune of obstacles, of things frozen and delayedrepeated again and again, like a series of crystalline icicles. I visualized the warmth of fire melting the runes of the warding spell, and within seconds I felt their power weaken.
The spell snapped, and I reached the top step. I found another spell on the door itself. I felt a surge of exhilaration as I realized I knew exactly what to do. It seemed so clear. Either the binding spells werent all that complicated, or I was stronger than I realized.
This time I drew power up from the earth, from the roots of the wisteria, from the bedrock below. I gathered all the energy poured into the city streets by the myriad inhabitants of New York City. A boisterous, defiant power swelled inside me. I let it build, then flung it at the spell that guarded the door. The spell shattered. The one bolt that had been shut on the other side of the door shot open. And I stepped into the house, nearly surfing on the wave of my own magick.
I stood in a high-ceilinged foyer. The floor was inlaid marble, patterned in black and gray. A staircase led to the upper floors. I sent a witch message to Killian. Where are you? Lead me.
The next instant I was flat on my back, hit with a binding spell stronger than anything Id ever experienced. It forced my arms flat against my sides, clamped my legs together, pressed down on my throat so I couldnt utter a sound, compressed my chest so that I fought for every breath. Oh, Goddess. Maybe I wasnt as strong as Id thought.
Quickly I cast a spell to loosen all bindings.
It did nothing. My mind reeled in panic.
I tried the spell that had worked so brilliantly just a few minutes ago. I extended my senses out and down, searching for a connection with the ground beneath me. The hollow echo that came back was mystifying. It was as if the earth itself was empty, flat, drained of anything to give. And I was left in a place where waves of dark magick swirled around me.
Alyce, I thought. Surely Alyce knew something that would help. A spell came to me then for bringing light in the midst of darkness. I began to visualize a single white flame, growing brighter, hotter, blazing through all the dark energy, consuming it, purifying the space around me.
I almost blacked out as something that felt like a blade of jagged ice plunged into my stomach. Its an illusion, I told myself, remembering how Selene had attacked me with pain. I willed myself to go beyond it, to keep picturing the flame devouring the darkness.
Another blade drove into my back. Aaagh! My own strangled cry panicked me. I felt the icy blade cut through skin, muscle, bone, and the flame in my mind guttered out.
As if to reward me for losing the spell, the pain stopped.
I glanced down at my body. There were no bloody knife wounds. They had been an illusion. But the binding was real. I couldnt move. I glanced around me, searching for the source of the power that was holding me prisoner. ThereI felt magick like a dark, oily cloud swirling across the town houses pristine floor. The magick of several witches, working together.
Nausea rose in the back of my throat. I was completely overpowered. What had I done? How could I have been naive and stupid enough to believe I could go up against an entire coven of Woodbanes? The second Id walked into the house, Id walked into their trap.
A slight figure in a black robe and a mask walked toward me. The mask showed a jackals face, carved out of some sort of dark wood and horribly exaggerated, with an enormous snarling mouth. My fear ratcheted up another notch. Other masked figures appeared: an owl, a cougar, a viper, an eagle.
Weve got her, the jackal said, in a voice so perfectly neutral, I couldnt tell if it was male or female.
Wheres Killian? I demanded. What have you done with him?
Killian? the witch in the owl mask repeated. The voice was distinctly female. Killian isnt here.
But youre going to drain him of his power! I said stupidly.
A giddy, high-pitched laugh erupted from the jackals mouth. Oh, no, were not.
We never wanted Killian, the owl said.
Youve been misled, the viper agreed, and all of them burst out laughing. The vipers narrow golden eyes glittered as it stared at me. Youre the one were going to drain.
12. Ciaran
February 28, 1984
The beginning of spring is a time to sow the seeds of dreams for the coming year. Here in a tiny village called Meshomah Falls, I am a boy again, full of fantasies and dreams, eager to welcome the promise of spring. I found her. Today Maeve and I saw each other for the first time since I left Ballynigel. I knew in that instant that she still loved me. That nothing had changed, that it had all been worth the wait. Goddess, I see the universe every time I gaze into her eyes.
We waited until evening, for she insisted on making some excuse to poor, pathetic Angus. Then she led me out beyond the town, through a narrow band of woods, across a meadow, and up a hill to a field. No one will see us here, she said.
Of course not. One of us will work a spell of invisibility, I said.
That was when Maeve told me shed given up her magick. I couldnt believe it. Ever since she left Ireland, shes led a half life, her senses shut down, a prisoner of her own terror. You never have to fear again, I told her. Bit by bit I coaxed her open. Oh, the joy that was in her eyes as she let herself sense the seeds in the earth beneath us, the tender green shoots waiting to break the surface. Then she opened herself to the skies, the stars, the pull of the incandescent spring moon, and we gave ourselves to pleasure and to each other.
Goddess, I have finally known true joy. All the pain I have gone through, it was all worth it for this.
Neimhidh
Youre the one were going to drain. The words echoed in my ears, and I suddenly saw it all with sick clarity.
My dreams and visionsthey had all been premonitions of what was to be my own ordeal in this house. Not Killians. Somehow the council got that one key detail wrong when they interpreted the dream. The wolf cub on the table wasnt Killian. It was me.
Some rational part of my mind wondered why Id appeared as a wolf cub, but before I could make sense of it, the jackal said, You will come with us.
I stared up defiantly. No.
The figure waved a hand over me, and I was suddenly on my feet, the bindings loosened just enough to allow me to follow like an automaton. Fury at my own traitorous body swept through me, but I could no more resist the spell to follow than I could break the binding spell.
I followed through a parlor and a dining room, through a kitchen to another staircase, this one leading down.
We descended the stairs into a cellar. How could I possibly escape? The cellar door would close, and terrible things would be done to me.
The cellar was lit by a few black candles set in wall sconces. The owl held out a robe made of a thin, shiny brown fabric. Take off your clothes and put this on, she said.
The robe spooked me. I flashed on an old movie where they burned witches at the stake and made them wear robes like this for their execution. Whats it for? I asked.
The witch in the hawk mask drew a sign in the air, and I doubled over again in agony.
Do as youre told, the jackal said.
They watched me change, and I felt the dull burn of shame over my terror as I took off my clothes and put on the robe. Then I was forced down into a chair, and two more masked figuresa weasel and a jaguarcame into the cellar with a steaming cup. They forced me to drink its contents. It was some sort of hideous herb teaI recognized henbane, valerian, belladonna, foxglove. The smell was so revolting, I gagged with every sip.
When Id drained the last sickening drop, they left me. I felt the liquid moving through me, slowing my thoughts, deadening my reflexes. Then my body started to tremble uncontrollably, and I was hit by a wave of dizziness. If Id been able to move from the chair, Im sure I would have fallen to the floor. The floor itself seemed to be swaying, the walls spinning. Menacing shadows crawled in the corners of my field of vision.
I took a deep breath, trying to center myself. I whispered a quick spell drawn from my Alyce memory, and after a few moments the hallucinatory shadows receded a little. The dizziness and sluggishness remained, though.
At last I heard footsteps on the stairs. The owl and weasel returned. Hes ready for you now, the owl said.
I had no doubt of who was waiting for me. Ciaran. My mothers mùirn beatha dàn, the one shed loved. The one who had killed her.
The owl waved a hand over me and muttered an incantation. Again I stood and followed with jerky motions. The dizziness didnt pass, but I found I could walk through it.
We walked up to the first floor, through the kitchen, and then up the main staircase to the second floor. I was led into a wood-paneled room lit by candles. A fire glowed in the fireplace. I was shoved into another chair. The two masked witches left and shut the door.
Ciaran stood in front of the fireplace, his back to me. He wore a robe of deep purple silk with black bands on the arms. I fought down a wave of nausea. My mothers murderer.
He turned to face me, and for a disorienting moment the trembling and the nausea vanished. In their place I felt surprise and a massive sense of relief. This wasnt Ciaran. This was the man from the courtyard and the bookstore, the man with whom Id had such an affinity, the man in whom Id placed such an immediate trust.
The nausea returned an instant later as I realized just how badly Id misplaced that trust. Now I could feel the darkness of his power, like a cyclone of roiling blackness.
Ciaran watched me.
I never asked your name, I said, my voice once again my own.
But you know it now, dont you? he asked. His face was harsh in the firelight, his eyes unreadable dark slashes.
Ciaran, I said quietly.
And you are Morgan Rowlands, he replied courteously.
Oh, Goddess, how could I have been so blind? Youve been playing with me all along, I said. You knew who I was even before we met.
On the contrary, he said. I only realized you were the one Selene destroyed herself over when we talked in the bookstore.
H-how
I became curious when I sensed how powerful you were. So when we got to talking about scrying, I decided to find out more about you. My scrying stone is bound to me. Even though you were the one holding it and I was on another floor altogether, it showed me what it showed you. I sawwas it your sister? coming out of the Widows Vale Cineplex. The name Widows Vale rang a bell, and then when you gave me your name, that clinched it. Truthfully, he went on, I hadnt planned on taking care of you quite so soon, but when you just put yourself in my hands like that, I couldnt pass up the opportunity, could I?
The owl at the window last night?
Was spying on you, he confirmed. But then, we were already on the alert. Weve been watching the Seeker ever since he came to the city. It was easy to discover what his mission was, and after that it was childs play to set the trap, feeding you the clues that would bring you to us. I gave you the vision of Killian in the candles flame and the vision you had today. I even helped you break the warding spells on this house. My dear, you should have known you dont have that kind of ability. Not at your level. Ciaran regarded me with a rueful smile.
Id been such a fool. Time and again hed manipulated me. And Id never even suspected.
Tell me. His tone sharpened with the command. Wheres the Seeker now?
I dont know.
His dark eyes raked me. How, I wondered, had I ever thought him distinguished and trustworthy? All I saw in him now was the predator, waiting to devour his prey.
Ciaran steepled his fingers. Perhaps I shouldnt have blocked the messages you tried to send, he murmured, as if thinking aloud. Perhaps I should have made it easier for him to find you. Then he shook his head. No, hes clever enough that hell find you anyway.
I sagged, despairing, as I understood what Ciaran meant. If Hunter did find me, then he would be destroyed along with me.
There was a knock on the door, and the hawk witch entered the room. I watched in disbelief as she handed Maeves pocket watch to Ciaran. We found this in the girls jacket.
Ciarans face went totally blank for a moment. Then it grew pale and distorted. Leave! he snapped at the hawk. Then he whirled on me. Where did you get this? he demanded.
You should know! I lashed back, glad for the chance to tell the truth. You gave it to my mother before you murdered her!
Ciaran stared at me, his eyes wide with undisguised shock. Your mother?
And I realized that Selene had never told him who I was. Shed never told him I was Maeves daughter.
He bolted from the room then. I took it for the last moment of triumph I would ever know. Id actually shaken the leader of Amyranth. And Id only have to pay for it with my life.
Exhaustion descended on me like a heavy cloak. I hung my head, let my eyes close, giving in to the drug theyd fed me.
That lying, manipulative wench Selene! She knew this girl was Maeves daughter and she never told me! What other secrets did she keep from me?
Maeves daughter! You wouldnt know it from the girls looks. She doesnt have Maeves delicate, pretty face, the sprinkling of freckles across her nose, the soft waves of reddish-brown hair. All she has of Maeve is her power. Though theres something about her eyes thats damnably familiar.
How did Maeve and Angus manage to spawn that one without my ever knowing? And how the bloody hell did she find out what happened at the end? Even those who knew Maeve didnt know we were mùirn beatha dàns, and no one, save Maeve and Angus, knew about how the fire started. All witnesses are dead.
Selene couldnt have told her. Selene knew nothing of what was between me and Maeve. Ordid she? Ive never been sure just what Selene did and didnt know. All of which raises the question: What else is there that Selene didnt tell me about this girl?
My thoughts are heaving like the sea. Theres something at the edge of my mind, a disturbing presence on the edge of consciousness. It has a truth to show me.
Damn it. What is it? What is it?
Hunter, putting the silver chains of the braigh on David RedstoneMary K., huddled in a corner of Selenes study, confused, frightened, and spelledCal, absorbing the cloud of darkness that Selene hurled at meHis beautiful golden eyes
No! I started out of my stupor, shaking and grieving at the images that kept parading in front of me. For a moment I couldnt imagine where I was. Then memory returned. The house with the vines. The masked witches. Ciaran.
I was now in a much larger room. My head ached, and I felt even dizzier than before. With effort I focused my eyes on the ceiling, on the leaves and vines and ornate plaster molding, all horribly familiar. Black candles flickered from sconces and from an elaborate silver candlestick atop an inlaid ebony cabinet. Black drapes covered the windows. I cast out my senses. They were frighteningly weak, but I could still faintly detect objects of power inside the cabinetathames, wands, crystals, animal skulls and bones, all emanating dark magick.