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It seemed that the poor weather, which was becoming increasingly poorer by the minute, was keeping a all but the stoic regulars a away from the Dundalk Arms pub. For the three sisters that sat at a table in the rear of the building, it wasn't necessarily a bad thing. The regulars recognized them but didn't feel the need to treat them any different from the way they always had.
The world knew them as The Corrs.
Dundalk knew them as Andrea, Sharon and Caroline. The two elder sisters had even worked behind the bar at one time, before fame and to a lesser degree fortune came to them. It was always a hard struggle to get those dollars. Jim, their elder brother was working on a deal as they spoke which meant that their usual gathering of four was one short.
The sisters continued to chat anyway, in many ways waiting until the rain cleared. As yet it didn't look like it was going to.
"Trust the British Isles for bad weather." Andrea peered over her sisters shoulder.
"It was fine this morning."
"It always is in the morning Shar. It's to trick you into going out."
"Well at least we found shelter. Warm and dry." Caroline noted, taking a sip of her drink. "Not to mention familiar."
"Well. It was nice walk while it lasted."
"You know, I get the feeling that this town hasn't changed in a few hundred years and it never will. Not that that's a bad thing mind."
"Like a fairy town." Andrea laughed. "Stay here and never grow old."
"If only." Sharon sighed. "Besides, I don't think the touring circuit in Dundalk is that wonderful."
"We could always quit music and go back to waiting tables." Caroline shrugged.
"Speak for yourselves. I've never had another job." Andrea looked out the window again. "I think that storms getting even worse you know."
"It would."
"I mean really worse. Look."
The two older sisters turned their heads and looked outside. On the street rain was falling with such ferocity that it was hard to see to the other side.
"I guess we have to hope it doesn't flood."
"I don't think it ever has Andrea." Caroline pointed out. "The geography's all wrong for it. If you'll excuse my, I think this beer is filling me up faster than I remember."
Caroline rose and walked towards the bathroom, down the corridor at the back. She knew the bar like she knew her home and, though she remembered having to complained about the distance when she had worked here, it would have seemed out of place had it been any other way. When she exited the rooms she noticed that the rain still hadn't stopped. In fact it was just as heavy, pelting on the roof and ground in it's driving melody. It almost seemed to have a musical undertone. Caroline raised an eyebrow in curiosity. She really could hear a musical tone. But when she listened closer she realized that it wasn't the rain, rather and instrument being played.
Pipe music.
She crossed to the back door and realized that the sound was coming from outside. She opened the door, stepping back from the driving rain. The sound was much clearer now, a definite pipe sound, though witch type it was impossible to tell.
Caroline poked her head out the door, searching for a source to the music. At the end of the wet ally way, sheltered by a small over hang was a man in a shabby brown cloak, playing a small pipe solemnly.
Caroline watched and listened and the more she did, the more she felt the passion in the music. There was a soft melody, a haunting tune that danced through the air, ignoring the drumming rain. It was undeniably beautiful music, especially in the midst of such a furious storm.
"Hello!" Caroline yelled but her voice seemed to be lost in the rain.
Yet the music carried perfectly, her hearing becoming more adjusted to it until it was almost stronger in her mind than the beating of the raindrops. She waved her hand but the man gave no sign of noticing her. Normally she wouldn't even have considered walking out into the rain but the music was so compelling that she felt she ha to go and talk to the man. She took a deep breath and stepped out into the rain. Within seconds her dress was soaked through but she was forced to walk, not wanting to slip in her heels. The man moved about the corner.
"Wait!" she called, trying to speed her pace. Even though he was gone she could still hear the soft music in the air, giving her something to follow. She slipped off her shoes, carrying them in her hand and walking around the corner just in time to see the man vanish yet again. She hurried along, ignoring the discomfort of her saturated clothes as best she could There was no use worrying about getting wet now. She rounded another corner, seeing him enter a side door. She ran after him, slipping once and dropping her shoes. Not wanting to lose track of him she left them, entering the building.
Caroline stood in the dark, dripping on the floor. It looked like an old warehouse, abandoned and dusty. But the sound of the pipe still came and Caroline entered cautiously following the music. It seemed to be more complex now, almost as if there were more than once voice, harmonies and melodies playing over each other. The man sat in the middle of a clear space, playing away at his pipe as if he had not noticed her. Caroline walked closer but did not want to talk for fear of interrupting the music. It was even more complex now, a rhythm that swirled and changed, ringing in her ears as so many notes seemed to overlap. She closed her eyes, trying to pick the tune that felt so familiar, to decipher the code that she sensed within. Her minds eye was filled with images, of peaceful flowing streams, green meadows and warm sun.
Peace.
The music made her feel so peaceful, so relaxed. It was not a fatigue but a blissful state of being, to be lost in the music the was more beautiful than she had ever imagined. Slowly the music stopped but somehow it still flowed in her mind, keeping her relaxed.
"You like my music?" asked a smooth voice.
Caroline opened her eyes to see the man looking up at her, his face mostly hidden in the cloak. "Yes." Caroline smiled as she thought of the music.
The Piper blew of a swift series of notes then addressed her again. "You may listen as much as you want. What is your name pretty one?"
"Caroline."
"Well Caroline, you must feel uncomfortable in those wet clothes."
"A little." she admitted.
"Well remove them."
She wrinkled her brow for a second but he resumed his playing and Caroline was soon too engaged to think of anything else. She peeled off her wet top and dress and stood in her underwear and soaks, still entranced in the music.
"Remove those too pretty one. Do not be afraid." he said then resumed playing once more.
Caroline nodded in agreement and removed her wet bra, slid her panties to the floor and pulled off her socks. Then she knelt naked before him, feeling no shame as she listened to the wonderful sound of the pipe. The Piper seemed to watch her as she swayed gently to the music, water dripping from her hair and running down her body. Caroline hardly noticed the water or the cold, too wrapped up in the sound of something so beautiful. As she listened it flowed through various rhythms, rolling itself over in her mind until she couldn't think of anything but the music, the gentle wafting tune.
Her hands hung limp by her sides, head slumped over onto her chest, eyes closed as she listened to the melody playing.
It time with the music her torso swayed back and forth, as if a gentle breeze were touching her body gently. Gradually, so gradually that she barely noticed, the music began to change pace, ever so slightly gathering more speed, more energy. Likewise Caroline felt her body moving in time, speeding up her entranced dance routine. The Piper began to speed even faster until rather than a soft melody it was a dancing tune, a vibrant piece.
Caroline's hair flicked from side to side, dropping further water to the floor as it moved. Her pulse was quickening with the music and she felt herself breathing faster too. Still the piper played faster, each note seeping into her mind and body, filling her with energy. The music was no longer a peaceful meadow, it was now a burning fire, building a heat inside her that was rising with every increase in pace. Caroline could feel it, basking in the pure pleasure that the music was giving her, something she had never felt with such intensity. It was beyond a simple enjoyment, it was a desire, a passion for the music. She yearned to draw in every note and in doing so every note charged her with a further thrill, tweaking and tingling her senses.
The music was coming hard and fast now, Caroline's heart beating heavily within her chest which heaved as it took in every breathe. Faster, more intense, a hotter fire burning, burning inside her. The music stoked that fire, fueled her desire, her lusts. She wanted the music to touch her in ways she had never imagined sounds could do. Yet it was. It was igniting sexual desire within her, she could feel her body reacting and she knew she wanted more, she wanted the piece to come to it's conclusion and to draw her with it.
The Piper played faster and Caroline could no longer repress her gasps of delight as it filled her with it's energy.
Like a voice to accompany the instrument her moans beat out their rhythm alongside the pipe sounds, filling her with further passion. The pipe hit it's highest note, holding there. Caroline accompanied it with a long sustained squeal then collapsed, an incredible flow of passion flooding her, release flaring through her body in waves, still in time with the music. Carolina gasped and moaned, almost unable to cope with the ecstasy she was feeling inside her. The music was so powerful, so dominant in her mind that she felt like letting everything go. Beside her, the piper played on.
******
"Where did Caroline get to?" Sharon looked out towards the back door.
"Out back? You don't think she's sick do you?"
"We've been drinking this stuff for years. She shouldn't have had a problem."
"Well I'll go check if you want." Andrea volunteered and headed for the door.
Sharon nudged her drink but left it on the table. Usually it was Jim who was the protective one but in his absence she was something of a mother hen to her younger siblings. Not that they weren't more than capable of looking after themselves.
"Sharon?" Andrea called in a concerned tone that made the elder sister look up from her drink.
She could tell without another word that something was bothering Andrea. That was enough to get her off her seat and out towards the back.
"Is Caroline okay?"
"I don't know. She's not here."
"Not here? Where could she have gone?"
Andrea pointed to the back door which was wide open, rain pouring down onto the floor. "Out there? Why?"
"I've no idea but it's the only other way."
"So what do we do?"
"My suggestion would be that we check it out."
"You mean walk out in that weather?"
"Why not? Caroline did."
"Great. So much for keeping dry."
"We have to find her right?"
"Right." Sharon nodded reluctantly and stepped out into the rain. After the initial shock it wasn't too bad. There was no concern about hurrying to keep dry because there was no chance of it.
Andrea followed her, her dress instantly clinging to her legs. Sharon's trousers were doing the same but she ignored it and started moving. "Which way?" Andrea asked.
"That way leads to a dead end." Sharon noted. "So I'd say that way."
The sisters walked, trying to keep the rain and their soaking hair from their eyes.
"I doubt anyone will have been out to see her." Andrea yelled over the pounding rain. "Left or Right."
"Right."
"Why?"
"Lucky guess."
They kept walking, occasional overhangs giving them shelter but nothing offering comfort from their wet clothes. "You realize of course that these leather boots will be ruined." Andrea noted.
"Caroline can buy you new ones if we find her."
"Shoes."
"What about them?"
"Caroline's shoes."
Sharon turned to see her sisters shoes discarded in an ally way. There was no doubt in their mind that they were Caroline's but she also didn't know why she would drop them.
"In there?" Andrea pointed to a door.
"Why not?" Sharon shrugged and opened the door.
The sisters stepped out of the pouring rain and into a scene which made them far more uncomfortable. Caroline was kneeling, stark naked before a man in a shabby brown cloak playing shrill, unpleasant tunes on a pipe.
"Caroline?" Sharon called. "What's going on here?"
Caroline, swaying as if to some music they couldn't hear, did not respond. The piper looked up at them. Under his cloak they could see two glowing red eyes. They stared at the petrified sisters then blinked. A quick burst of shrill notes echoed through the warehouse.
"Um.. Sharon.." Andrea tapped her sisters shoulder.
"What?" she replied only now breaking her gaze from her nude sisters entranced form.
When she did she realized what Andrea meant. In the darkness of the warehouse red eyes were becoming visible in their hundreds, all coming closer and closer.
"Run!" Andrea screamed and bolted for the door, hurtling out into the rain with Sharon close behind. When they made the street their pursuers burst from the warehouse.
Rats.
A tide of rats was chasing after then, scurrying forward with their unnatural red eyes glowing. Andrea and Sharon sprinted as fast as they could, for the moment staying ahead of the creatures.
"Where are we going?"
"To cross.. the main bridge.." Andrea puffed, battling the awkwardness of running in her dress.
"The bridge."
"Evil Spirits.. can't cross water.. I learnt some things before I left school."
"Evil Spirits? You think these are evil spirits?"
"I don't think they're mistreated pets. There!" she pointed to the bridge ahead. The rats were not gaining ground but kept a steady pace, their waves filling the street behind the sisters.
Twenty meters.
Andrea cast a concerned look back at the rats.
Ten meters.
Sharon looked down at the stream. As she did she lost her footing, her heeled boot giving way under her. She sprawled forward onto the ground. Andrea's momentum carried her forward onto the bridge where she instantly turned.
"SHARON!" she shrieked as her sister tried to hobble to her feet.
The youngest sister tried to step forward but saw it was too late. The tide of rats was already upon her sister. They swarmed around her like water, turning the street into an ocean of black and gray fur and glowing red eyes. The force of the tide knocked Sharon off her feet and somehow the rats seemed to wash her away, carrying her back the way they had came, away from her protected sister.
The rats hissed at Andrea, trying to reach her but striking an invisible barrier above the stream. In a mass they broke away, turning and flowing back down the street, taking Sharon with them. Andrea fell to her knees on the bridge and despite trying to be as brave as possible, the burst into tears.
******
When the tide of rats finally let her go, Sharon found herself staring up at the roof of the warehouse once again. She tried to rise to her feet but her stomach lurched and her head spun, dizzy from the seething mass that had brought her here. She staggered to her hands and knees to see the piper playing before her younger sister. Caroline was just as entranced and just as naked as before. The piper continued to play the discordant notes but Caroline seemed to react to them like they were beautiful music. Sharon watched as her sisters eyes drooped slowly then fell shut, her body slumping but staying up right. Sharon had had enough.
She staggered to her feet and charged angrily at the piper. Before she got to him he turned at her, blowing at his instrument. Sharon felt as if her head was being split in to by the shrill note that burned from the pipe. She fell to her knees, clutching at her ears and trying to block out the sound. Even then the whine cut into her like daggers, penetrating her skull and clawing at her mind. She screamed aloud but the sound was lost in the volume of the one endless note. A note which seemed to be rising higher and higher every second, stinging her deeper and deeper. Caroline made no hint of hearing the sound. Sharon continued to scream.
******
There was a pounding at the door of the Dundalk library which attracted the librarians attention, even over the pounding rain. Mrs. Cassidy Grady had lived in the town for sixty years, thirty five of those at work in the library. But she couldn't remember any storm as violent as the one outside now. It seemed unfeasible that anyone would be out in it. She had closed the library but she wasn't going to turn anyone away, certainly when their knocking sounded as desperate as what she heard now. She opened the large wooden door and a black, drenched figure almost fell inside. Mrs. Grady stared at the figure for a second before recognizing her.
"Andrea Corr? What on earth are you doing out in that weather child?"
Andrea pushed her soaked hair away from her eyes, even with her face as wet as it was, it was clear she had been crying.
She wasn't crying now.
"Mrs. Grady. I can't explain. I don't have time. I have to use your books."
"But Andrea, you're soaking wet."
"I'll drip dry. Right now I need to find a way to save my sisters."
"Save them?" the old woman's voice was grave. "Save them from whom."
"From the Pied Piper. Or his god forsaken Celtic equivalent."
******
Sharon writhed on the ground, unable to find release from the shrill sound. What had begun as a pain in her head, now spread to the rest of her body and she shook uncontrollably, dull pain flooding through her as she twitched. It was as if the musical vibrations were sinking right to her bones, the pain numbing her body. The strength seemed to be fading from her body, her energy crushed down by the shrill sound. The pain in her head became less intense, more like a dull ache and likewise in her body, slowly fading but taking with it her muscle movement. Finally it was nothing more than a numbness that spread all over her body. Sharon lay on the floor, unable to move apart from the occasional twitch. The music, or at least the note, had served to paralyze her completely. The piper stopped playing and looked at her with red eyes. Dust clung to her black pants and top, driven in but her contortions and stuck with the wetness of her clothes. She lay on her side, looking back at the piercing red eyes helplessly.
"Ngghng.." she tried to speak but her tongue wouldn't obey her.
The piper smiled at her and beneath the cloak she could see sharp bent teeth. "You do not like my music." he said with a soft voice that did not match his face. "It's such a shame. Your sister had such wonderful musical taste. She finds it enchanting." He placed a kiss on Caroline's cheek. The woman remained fast asleep. "But you tried to fight the music. You couldn't let it flow."
As he walked he crossed to the fallen musician, kneeling down beside her. "You don't appreciate my sounds. Perhaps then you will appreciate my touch." The piper placed his hand on her thigh gently.
"Ghuh.." Sharon coughed in protest, unable to even protest verbally.
"Yes. Perhaps you are tender in other ways." His fingers began to stroke her leg through the damp fabric of her trousers.
"You see, I am very skilled at finding my way into peoples hearts." The hand ran over her up, up her stomach. "And once I have stolen a heart, given them their dreams, then they are mine." His hand cupped her breast, fingers stroking through the wet cloth. "They are mine forever."
Sharon felt a helpless sickness rising in her stomach as the fingers rubbed at her. She could feel the gentle touch, so soft and pleasant. She wanted so much to move, to get away from the groping hands but there was nothing she could do. The hand massaged her breast stronger, fingers swirling about as Sharon felt her nipple rising to press through the fabric. The piper rolled her onto her back, kneeling over her and massaging her breasts with both hands, running over the fabric of her top with gentle precision.
"You can feel it pretty one. The music of another sense, the music of your body. You cannot deny you enjoy it. And the more you do, the less you will fight me. I will give you a pleasure you have never imagined, I will play a symphony on your tender flesh. So tender."
Sharon knew in her mind that he was right. There was something magical in the touch of his hands, something that gave her feelings she had never experienced before. Already her breasts were flushed, nipples erect and longing for further attentions. And she knew that this was simply the introduction. He would not stop until he had played her body like an instrument form head to toe, brining out ever ounce of pleasure she could experience. Then her soul would belong to him.
In her mind she knew she would fail. In her heart she did her best to hold on. But the touch was so tender and pleasant, she didn't know how long she could. She felt the hand beginning to hitch up her top, to slide over her damp skin. Then she heard a door slam open.
"Leave my sisters alone!"
Sharon gasped at the sound of her youngest sisters voice. The piper spun, glaring at Andrea with his red eyes. He lifted his pipe and played a quick bar of music. The rat eyes lit up in the dark, heading slowly towards her. Andrea made no move to run. The rat's began to scuttle across the floor as Andrea took a breath.
"My voice this hear by this rat pack My rhyming words will hold you back."
The approaching creatures stopped in their tracks, seeming to eye her with curiosity.
"No rodent tooth, no rodent paw Shall touch upon the sisters Corr."
The rats retreated, slinking back into the darkness. The Piper turned as he stood, leaving Sharon still immobile at his feet.
"You know some of the old spells." he smiled with his sharp teeth.
"I'm a musician. Rhymes are easy."
"But sadly I am not a rat. Your words cannot save you from my magic." The Piper raised his whistle to his lips.
"No." Andrea nodded. "Not my words."
From her wet jacket she drew a small whistle pipe and began to play. The piper began to play too. While the piper's song was a soft melody, Andrea played vibrant, lively music, music of dancing and freedom of spirit. The musics clashed with each other, each seeming to battle for dominance. The piper shifted his tone, towards happiness an sunlight, a warm day, peaceful and content. Andrea countered, bringing in a storm, cold rain crashing down on the peaceful fields.
She kept her eyes on the piper, not daring to stop for anything more than a gasping breath. She knew that she had engaged the Piper in a duel of music and that she couldn't stop until one of them failed. She only had to hope that she had the strength to pull it off. The Piper tried to pull back to the peaceful scene, blowing off the storm and clouds, reverting to a serene happiness. But Andrea took the tone and pushed it further, becoming a celebration that the storm was gone, vibrant and alive once again. Sharon's fingers flexed.
The Piper tried to pull it back to a lower mood but Andrea held it their, a dance beat, lively, awake. Caroline's eyelid twitched. The Piper pulled his music to a lower tone, cutting under her. His song became sad, terribly sad, a song of heart ache and loss. Andrea could feel the pain in the pt of her stomach, knowing that she was being absorbed by the music. The sadder it became the harder she fought, a dying beat of struggling optimism. She piped in short sharp beats, flailing against a tide of depression. Sharon moved her arm.
Tears rolled down Andrea's face as she felt a loneliness and sorrow she had never known, emotions that threatened to drown her in despair. She stamped her foot pushing her head forward, blinking the tears away as best she could. She tried to ignore the sad sight of the Piper, looking past him. Sharon was crawling. Sharon was moving.
Hope.
Andrea fed her music from her heart. There was hope. There was always hope, hope that she could rise above despair and fear and free her sisters. Once again the vibrant notes pushed forth, drowning the bitter black tune. Andrea could feel her lungs started to ache for more air but she pushed on, a morning song, after the darkness was over, a reawakening.
Caroline opened her eyes. The piper played more frantically, this time a whirling dance, too fast to keep in any sort of time. It was a discordant string, a chaos mass that Andrea struggled against. She tried to keep rhythm in her playing, to maintain order but the wild mass kept creeping in, causing her to dip and bop, her speed slowing and speeding up.
She could feel a heat building inside her head, no longer getting the air she needed but still she played on, knowing that there was no stopping until either of them fell.
The room began to spin before her, the madness of the Pipers tune assaulting her senses. She staggered, almost unable to stay on her feet, let alone hold a steady rhythm. She was losing and she knew it. A particularly insane spurt of notes threw of course and she stumbled back, almost falling to the ground. Two arms caught her. Sharon held her youngest sister tight, not letting her fall under the Pipers music as she had done. Andrea kept playing as Sharon held her but it was still almost impossible to keep any sense of timing. She felt as if she was losing her mind in the maelstrom of music. Then out of the chaos came a sound.
A simple clicking beat.
One. Two. One Two.
A rhythm, something to follow.
A lifeline back to the world of sanity.
Andrea played with the beat, holding it in her mind, paying around it until the chaos seemed to be forced into remission.
Her balance returned, though Sharon kept hold of her. The warehouse came back into view. There, behind the Piper was Caroline, dressed only in her jacket as she beat a metal bolt against a pipe. It was the drum beat she needed. Andrea played further, ignoring the fire in her lungs and a bursting head. She played a song of freedom and passion, of choice and discovery, of friendship and family. Her notes swirled through the air like a mist, engulfing the music of the Piper, awakening his sleep, brightening his darkness, destroying his barriers. With a flash the silver pipe flared with light. The Piper fell to his knees in exhaustion. Andrea would have done the same had not Sharon caught her.
"I.." gasped Andrea, sucking in huge gulps of air.
"It's okay Andrea.. You won.."
"No.. She shook her head. "There's one last song to sing."
Andrea looked at the Piper who gazed back at her with defiance, knowing that she could not harm him directly. Nothing of the natural world could destroy him and in time he would return for his revenge. Unless.
"Captured souls my voice now frees...."
The red eyes went wide with horror.
"Do with your keeper as you please."
"NO!" screamed the Piper, his voice cracked and hoarse.
In the darkness eyes appeared. Hundred of red eyes, no longer in the thrall of their master. They were the souls the Piper had taken, they were what the sisters would have become. Now they were free. From the darkness they lurched, a massive wave of darkness, flowing out and over towards the Piper. The clung to him, biting and shredding his cloak, his skin, scratching with hundreds of black claws. Still they piled onto him further and further, clinging to him, weighing him down until there was simply a black seething mass. Caroline crossed to the others, throwing on the last of her wet clothes as she watched in fascinated horror. There was the sound of screeching beneath which came a faint yet horrifying scream.
Then the mass seemed to fold in on itself, the mass collapsing under it's own weight. It shrunk down until there was nothing left. Nothing but a small silver pipe left on the ground. The sisters hugged tight, looking down at the instrument.
"You could take it." Sharon suggested.
"It's not magic." Andrea shrugged, holding her sisters tightly.
"It could be a souvenir." Caroline shrugged.
"I'd just lose it anyway." Andrea turned back to the door she took a step and turned back to her sisters. "Are you both okay?"
Sharon exchanged a glance with Caroline. "We're... We'll cope I think. And we always have each other right."
"Yeah." Andrea nodded with a smile as she opened the door and looked out into the rain.
Caroline adjusted her still damp clothes. "It's been a wired day." she shook her head.
"Well..." Andrea said flatly, staring outside. "I don't think the day's over."
The three sisters stood and looked out at the stormy sky. Multicolored lightning filled the air and shapes flew about in the black clouds. The real storm had arrived.
THE END??
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