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Eda Langford had always prided herself of being able to cast magic almost by instinct. But circumstances had altered that. Firstly, she had lost much of her power when she lost her quest to Rachael. Secondly, the transport spell, though simple, had not been easy.
And thirdly, her mind found it difficult to concentrate when plummeting towards the earth at alarming speeds. Her knuckles were white as she gripped Keenan's hand and she sensed that he was even more scared than she was. He was nothing more than a dabbler and he had been thrown into the deep end.
"Oh well." Eda sighed. "At least I don't die a virgin"
Despite herself she smiled and gave Keenan's hand a squeeze. He didn't respond but she forgave him. The ground drew closer and closer, faster and faster. Then it moved on a tangent. Eda felt a gust of wind swirling about her, blowing her still damp clothes and her red hair into her eyes.
A moment of discomfort was more than a willing trade for a moment of hope. They were slowing down, angling towards the earth gently until they hit the ground with little more than a light thump. Eda stood up slowly, still holding Keenan's hand and noticed for the first time that they were soaked to the skin again. Wiping her fringe from her eyes she scanned the street. She was expecting to see some sort of magic practitioner. Just not the one she saw.
"Are you.." Eda pointed in confusion.
"Yes." the blonde nodded. "Let's get under cover."
Willing to agree with anyone who could get her out of the rain, Eda moved after them, half dragging a still rather dazed young man after her. When they reached a house they entered, following the woman inside.
"Caught them!" the blonde called up the stairs.
"Lucky." Came the reply.
Eda and Keenan followed and found themselves in a spacious but cozy flat, a fire burning in the corner and three more young women sitting at a table. Keenan looked at the four faces.
"Bewitched?" he asked.
"To be sure. I'm Edele, this is Sinead, Lindsay and Keavy."
"Welcome to my humble abode." Sinead motioned to the walls.
"Er.. I'm Eda. This is Keenan. I.. guess you saved our lives..." Eda scratched her head.
"I guess so." Sinead shrugged.
"Um.. How exactly did you do that?"
"Well," Sinead cast a quick glance around to the others who nodded in approval, "given that you fell out of the sky I'm going to assume that you're aquatinted with magic. Well, we're nature witches. Earth, Fire, Water and in my case, and lucky for you, wind."
"You.. caught us with wind?" Keenan shook his head.
"Well, a gust of wind. It's pretty wild out there so there's plenty to harness."
"I think I need to sit down." Keenan sighed and promptly sat on the carpeted floor.
Eda looked at Sinead and shrugged. "It's been a day of new experiences for him. Um.. Okay.. so you're nature witches. How much do you know about what's going on?"
"In a nut shell?" Edele began to count off on her fingers. "Something is messing with nature, creatures that shouldn't exist do, Ouroboros, the Earth serpent is out over Dublin, ready to destroy the world.. have I missed any?"
"The Guardian of Balance seems to have messed up with her job." Keavy added.
"That one I know." Eda frowned. "I tried to contact her but I couldn't. Wherever Rachael is, she's beyond communication."
"Rachael?" Lindsay looked up from the book she was reading.
"The Guardian.. I.. We competed for the role. I failed, she got it." Eda shivered at the thought of her actions that night.
"So.. you know the Guardian of Balance?"
"Knew. Briefly. You know Rachael Leigh Cook? The actress?"
"Yeah." Lindsay raised her hand.
"Well that's her. I guess there's some sort of celebrity magic thing huh?"
"You have no idea." Edele sighed. Eda had no idea what she meant but went on anyway.
"Okay.. In my opinion, that.. serpent thing is our first priority. What do you know about it?"
"Well we have a spell to banish it." Keavy lifted up the book which they had failed to read.
"Only it can only be read by one born to magic." Edele took the book and passed it to the red headed witch. Eda looked at the page, scanning it intently.
"You can read it?" Lindsay looked up hopefully.
"Um.. yeah.. I'm kind of.. well I'm a changeling."
"Figures." Edele shrugged. "So what does it say."
"Just a few words that have to be sung."
"Well singing shouldn't be too hard." Sinead smiled to the others.
"Only you have to be sisters." Eda added.
"Well, that means you and me Keav's" Edele nudged her twin.
"Not unless your triplets. There are three parts."
Keavy sighed and put her head down against the table. "Why can't they just have wands like in the old days."
*********
Many miles away, and utterly unaware that they held the key to saving their land, three sisters stepped into a pub and began to drip onto the floor. Rather than returning to the main rooms the Corr sisters sat down, leaning against the walls of the hallway.
"Next time, don't go running after strangers." Sharon scolded her middle sister jokingly.
"I was enchanted." Caroline shivered slightly. "It's not like I had a choice."
Andrea cast quick glances at her sisters. "That Piper... he didn't.. I mean.. you were naked Caroline."
Caroline closed her eyes and lowered her head, taking a deep breath as she though of how to respond. "He didn't touch me.. at least.. not physically. I mean, it was just the music.. In retrospect it was.. invasive.. but at the time it... well it was heaven."
"Well he sure touched me physically." Sharon growled angrily. "Only I'm lucky I was clothed."
The sisters were silent for a few seconds.
"But you're all right?" she asked the general question.
"It wasn't.. like we were .. raped." Sharon almost choked over the word. "I mean.. it wasn't real.. it was magical."
"I think the problem is that it was magical and it was real. Just like that storm out there."
"Andrea, what are you talking about?"
"Sharon.. Caroline.. Do you believe in magic? Keep in mind that one of you was just enchanted, one was kidnapped by rats and we all saw a cloaked piper vanish."
"That's all the proof I need." Caroline wrapped her arms about her body. "Sharon?"
"I.. I'll believe it for the time."
"So what now?" the youngest sister asked.
"What.. now?" Caroline was unsure of what she was asking.
"Well something really big is happening out there. There's a storm, a really vicious storm of magic and we're the only ones that know about it. What do we do?"
"Andrea, what are you getting at?"
"What I'm getting at is that I want to get out of here! I want to get away from magic to a nice rational, safe world! I don't want to see another glowing eye or.. or magical pipe again. How do we get away from magic?"
When no answer came forth Andrea thought about the question further. "What do we do now?" she asked weakly, her fatigue and emotions catching up with her all too suddenly.
*********
"What do we do?" Eda paced back and forth, dripping on the floor of Sinead's apartment.
"Three sisters." Edele chewed her pencil.
"Three singers." Keavy added.
"The Corrs." Keenan called from where he was lying flat on the floor.
"What?"
"The Corrs. Three sisters, musical. Not that that's any help to us."
"Why not. Why don't we go and get them?" Eda latched on to the idea.
"Well for one thing we have no idea where they are." Sinead pointed out.
"Dundalk." Keenan added again. This time everyone turned to him.
"It's their home town." he explained. "So I'm a fan, so what?"
"Okay." Edele closed her eyes and noted the details. "They're in dundalk, we're here. How do we get them?"
"Fly?" Eda suggested.
"Weathers too crazy. And it's a fair way away."
"How far can you fly?" Eda asked out of interest.
"Well the Atlantic wasn't a picnic." Lindsay commented.
"Atlantic? When did you cross that?"
"Oh Judgment Day." Keavy shrugged.
"Um.. wouldn't I remember something like that?"
"No. You wouldn't. Lets keep on track here. How did you get here?"
"I.. followed the breaches to their source. Ouroboros."
"Ouroboros is the cause of some of the magic breaches. But The World Serpent shouldn't even exist." Edele replied.
"Neither should Cait Sith. But I saw one of those earlier too."
"What if you transported to a breach close to Dundalk, then tried to find the Corrs."
"It's dodgy at best." Eda bit her lip. Firstly, we don't know if there will be any breaches there, secondly we might not be able to get back and third, I need a fairy ring to do it."
"It's our best shot." Sinead noted. "Even if it's only a one way trip, it's something. Maybe the spell can be cast from there."
Eda shook her head. "Ouroboros has to hear it. It's a sleeping spell to return him to the ocean depths. And we still don't have a fairy ring."
"We have five witches." Keavy pointed out. "That'll do."
"How much magic can you focus with five witches?" Eda looked at her.
"Plenty, trust me." Edele smiled knowingly.
"Okay. Five witches. That means..."
"I have to go through and get them." Keenan hopped to his feet. "Go for it." He slung his back pack over his shoulder and walked into the center of the room as the others formed a circle.
"You'll get back here safe right?" Eda asked.
"Sure." he smiled and kissed her softly.
Eda stepped back, linking hands with the others and chanting the words of the spell, hoping Edele and the others knew what they were doing. There was a flash of light and when it cleared, and Eda saw that Keenan was gone, she knew they did.
*********
"If we don't move soon, we're going to get hypothermia." Andrea shivered slightly and her sisters nodded in agreement.
Caroline got to her feet and peered out into the ally where rain was still pouring.
"I say we go home, get into some dry clothes and try to stay as far away from all this as we can."
"I agree." Sharon rose too. "If we try to take on magic then we could get ourselves killed"
"Gee," Andrea said glumly. "The specter of death is hovering over us.
Outside there was a flash. At first Caroline thought it was simply lightning but when she looked out into the rain she realized it was more. There, dripping wet and snarling at her, was the biggest dog she had ever seen. It was matted all over with thick black hair and stared at her with glaring red eyes.
"Um.. dog.." she stammered, taking a step back.
Andrea and Sharon turned and stopped still when they saw the monstrous beast. "I think.. that it's another magical creature."
Andrea didn't dare move. "Maybe.. it just looks threatening."
The dog crouched, jaws slavering and ready to pounce. "Caroline?" Andrea whispered. "RUN!"
The two older sisters twisted and ran back. The hound pounced. Andrea slammed the door, catching the beast in full flight, sending it tumbling to the ground. The door broke off it's hinges. For a split second Andrea starred at the dog and the door, casting a quick glance at her sisters. Then she ran, leaping off the steps, into the rain and sprinting down the ally way. She had to hope that the creature would follow her rather than her sister. When it did, she didn't feel quite the sense of victory that she thought she would. To make matters worse she was running the wrong way. Towards the dead end.
Andrea reached the wall, looking up at a fire escape she knew she couldn't reach. She pressed her back against the wall, looking at the dog as it approached, slowing and stalking her once more.
"First rats now a dog." she thought to herself. "I'm having a bad animal day."
There was a flash of lightning but the hound ignored it. "Give me your hand quickly!"
Andrea looked up to see a hand reaching down. She didn't have time to think about whose it was. Instead she grabbed it and jumped, an arm pulling her up. The beast leapt, missing her ankles by seconds. She fell forward onto the covered fire escape, looking at her rescuer, a young man who seemed as wet as she did. She swore he hadn't been there when she first looked. She opened her mouth to thank him but he wasn't looking at her at all. Instead he was fumbling in his pack for something. He produced a small plastic bottle and poured out a handful of powder, sprinkling it down on the creature that leapt up for them. As it struck the creature it stopped jumped, slumping to the ground and eventually melting into the shadows altogether. Andrea cast a confused look at him.
"Wolfsbane." he shrugged. Only then did her look at her more closely. You're Andrea.. Andrea Corr!"
"Um.. yes.. who are you?"
"Keenan Oakley. Maybe you've heard of me? Sorry that was a joke.. Look... I'm here o find you, and your sisters. We need your help."
"My help? My Help!" Andrea finally snapped under the strain. "Do you know what I've been through. I've seen both my sisters Kidnapped and molested, I've outrun a wave of rats and a giant dog, out played a magical Piper and now you're asking me to do more!"
"Um.. yes." Keenan replied sheepishly.
"Forget It! I am finding my sisters, going home and not facing any more stupid magical animals ever. I'm just a musician. Now get me down from here."
"I.. I can't let you do that."
"What?"
"Andrea, we need your help. The whole world is in danger, we need three sisters to sing.."
"Then find another three sisters! This is Ireland. There should be plenty. Why me? Get me down from here."
Keenan rummaged in his back pack as she spoke. "Are you listening to me? I want to go home!"
Keenan blew a cloud of powder into her face. She coughed and waved her hand, blowing the cloud away.
"Now what did you do.. that... for...." Andrea felt her mind going hazy as the dust did it's work.
"Sorry." he said, more for his own sake than hers. "I don't think we have time to argue this."
Keenan looked at the woman who stared back with a passive expression. For a second he couldn't help but look at her body, her black wet clothes clinging tightly to her skin, skirt just reaching her knees, hair matted against her neck. He shook his head. He wasn't the type, this wasn't the place or the time and too many people were counting on him, Eda included. She knew he was trustworthy as he did her, their souls having merged for a brief time. He shook his head again. He didn't have time for fantasizing, decent or otherwise.
"Andrea. I want to reply honestly to all my questions. All right?"
"Yes." she whispered.
"I want you to know that I can't make you do anything you don't want to. All this dust does is but you into a peaceful state"
"Okay."
"Now I want you to help me. I want you and your sisters to sing a song."
"A song?"
"Yes. A very special song. A magical song."
"Magic?" her eyes widened slightly in discomfort.
"Yes. It's magic Andrea. And I don't want you to be afraid of it. There can be good magic and bad magic. I want you to help us do good. You want to do that right?"
"Yes."
"So why won't you?"
"I'm scared."
"Scared of magic."
"Yes."
"Andrea. I want you to close your eyes." She did so, her expression not changing.
"Now, I want you to imagine a forest. It's spring. It's warm and sunny. Can you imagine that?"
"Yes." she smiled slightly.
"Now I want you to remember when you were young. I want the Andrea in the forest to be a little girl. Can you be that girl Andrea?"
"Yes." came a childlike giggle.
"All right Andrea. I want you to look at the small rings of mushrooms, can you see that."
"Uh huh." she nodded.
"How did it get there?"
"Um.." she thought for a second. "Magic?"
"And how does rain fall from the sky?"
"Magic?" she offered again.
"And what makes rainbows?"
"Magic." she replied, this time certain.
"All right. Now I want you to be grown up Andrea."
"Okay." she replied, her voice returning to it's even, though still passive state.
"Do you believe in magic?"
"Yes."
"But mushrooms aren't magic are they?"
"No."
"Or rain or rainbows?"
"No."
"But once upon a time they were for you? Do you remember? When you didn't understand them. Magic is how we explain things beyond our perception. Until today I never fully believed in it. I bet the same is true for you. But when you were a little girl, every thing unexplained was magic. Even the things you were scared of, like the monsters under your bed. Or lightning."
Keenan paused for a second, partly to let her soak in his words, partly to figure out where he was going. "Once you believe in magic, there's not going back. Just like you can never be a child again. But you have to believe in good magic too, otherwise everything will be too scary. I want you to see both sides of magic, the sunshine and the darkness. Then you have to decide for yourself."
He took a pinch of another power and blew it at her. Again she coughed and this time she looked up at him. "You.. you had me under a spell."
"Yes. I'm sorry. you were getting panicked.. I had to make you understand that not all magic is hurtful."
Andrea smiled as a thought crossed her mind.
"You had be alone, entranced and in tight wet clothing and you didn't even cop a feel. If anything's a sign of good magic, that is."
Despite his nerves Keenan laughed. "Come on. Let's find my sisters."
"Twenty minutes ago you said you never wanted to deal with magic again." Sharon argued with her youngest sister who had reappeared, no longer hunted by a dog but accompanied by a young man.
"I had a change of perspective. Look, we're needed."
"To sing a song?" Caroline asked incredulously.
"Well, it's more of a spell." Keenan pointed out. "But it has to be sung by three sisters to work."
"What if we don't?"
"Then Dublin, and everybody in it, is doomed. And that's just the start."
Andrea turned to her sisters. "Jim's in Dublin." she swallowed nervously. She could only hope their brother was holed up somewhere safe.
"All right." Sharon sighed in resignation. "What are the words?"
"I don't know. They're written down."
"Where?" Caroline asked, wishing her jacket was warmer.
"In a book."
"And where's the book."
"Er.. Dublin."
"Okay Mister Wizard, how do we get to Dublin? Broomstick?"
"Just link hands and concentrate on something in Dublin. A favorite spot, a loved one, anything."
The four joined hands and closed their eyes. Jim. thought Andrea in Unison with Caroline and Sharon. Eda. Keenan concentrated. There was a flash of light, bright enough for them to see, even with their eyes closed.
"What was that?" Andrea asked with a hint of fear.
"A sign of success." came a voice.
The three sisters and one young man opened their eyes to the warm interior of a Dublin flat. Caroline looked about at the inhabitants.
"Bewitched are witches. I knew there had to be a reason for their success."
"Hey!" Sinead said indignantly.
"Um.. can we skip the musical rivalry and get straight to saving the world." Eda suggested.
"Okay." Sharon took lead. "What are the words and where do we sing it?"
"The what is easy." Eda lifted the book. "The where is hard."
Thunder boomed in the sky and water pelted down. It was not weather in which music would travel well, meaning that for the floating leviathan to hear the spell, the Corr sisters would have to get close to it. That meant flying. The seven music stars floated in a defensive bubble that rocked as it moved closer to the beast. All of them were forced to marvel in terrified awe at the size of the creature, larger than a city block, body tangling itself in hundreds of knots, curling and waving through the air.
Lindsay was doing most of the flying, which for seven people was rather taxing. Keavy was focused with keeping the rain away from them and Edele with fending off the creatures that flew at them from every direction. The sphere moved towards the head of Ouroboros. A massive serpentine mouth whipped back and forth, trying to dislodges the tail within. If it manage to do so, legend had it that the world would end. Given that the Earth Serpent was a legend itself, that seemed an unpleasant but highly likely answer.
"Ready?" Sinead asked.
"Ready enough." Caroline nodded and joined hands with her elder and younger sister.
The took a single, deep breathe and began to sing, their voices merging into one.
"Codladh Fada
Codladh Domhain
Deireadh, deireadh an Turas" *
They sung the words over and over, keeping their rhythm and harmony. The song was being sung, now the serpent had to hear it. Sinead focused a tunnel of wind towards the creature, blowing each word towards it, magnifying the sound with vibrations.
"Codladh Fada
Codladh Domhain
Deireadh, deireadh an Turas"
Edele struggled to fend off increasing swarms of creatures that attacked them, Keavy aiding her with directed torrents of water. Ouroboros stirred, seeming to slow it's struggles as the ancient words from the mouths of three sisters echoed in it's mind. There was a message within them, a command in a dialect it somehow new. A command to sleep, to cease it's struggles. The Earth Serpent tried to roar but it's tail was firmly lodged. Over and over the words drove on, the creature fighting less and less, it's coils ceasing their thrashing, it's gargantuan eyes slowly sliding shut.
"Deireadh, deireadh an Turas"
Ouroboros slept. Gradually the massive body started to fade, it's tangle becoming more and more transparent until there was nothing more to see. The storm died away gradually, the thousands of creatures also returning to their realms, no longer drawn by the prospect of the end of the world. Sinead placed her hand on Lindsay’s shoulder, the winds now lifting some of the magical strain from the earth witches shoulders. Quickly the sphere descended to the ground and the seven bustled indoors before they were seen by the people coming out of their houses to admire the sudden break in the storm.
"Um.. There are no more breaches." Edele pointed out as she briskly dried the clothes of the three sisters.
"Which means we can't send you back." Keavy finished, also drawing the moisture out of their outfits.
"That's okay." Sharon put her arms about her sisters. "We can track down Jim. We have plenty to tell him."
"I'm sure." Sinead smiled. "By the way... I like your music."
"Thanks." Andrea laughed. "I like your... well some of it."
"I think I can accept that." the blonde nodded.
"You know..." Caroline thought aloud. "Saving the world is kind of a rush."
"We know." Lindsay smiled knowingly to her friends.
"What do you.. Never mind.." Sharon shook her head. "We'll keep this magic thing a secret."
"Thanks." Edele finished her drying "You have no idea what it could do to our lives."
"Let alone record sales." Andrea raised an eyebrow. "Think of the publicity."
"Good luck out there." Keavy laughed as she opened the door, the three sisters walking down the stairs.
"Luck of the Irish." Sharon smiled.
The three sisters walked out onto the street, almost stunned by the sunshine. Across the sky their was a wide rainbow, stretching over the houses.
"Magic can be good." Andrea smiled as she looked at it and though her sisters didn't know exactly what she was talking about, they had a fairly good idea."
"I hope they'll be okay." Sinead commented as she watched the Corrs walk down the street.
"They should be. No point worrying them further." Edele nodded.
"Meaning?" Keavy asked her sister.
"Meaning that we still have problems. No Guardian of Balance and a fragile reality. At best we have a temporary reprieve. But I have no idea what to do now but wait."
"You could have a shower." Lindsay giggled slightly. "If there's any hot water left."
"Linds!" Edele mock scolded her friend. "Give them a break. They deserve some relaxation. We all do."
"Yeah but we don't have any boyfriends handy."
There was moment of nerves then they all laughed anyway. It was all they could do. While inside the bathroom, wrapped in steam and each others arms, two lovers embraced, in body and soul. Keenan had found the magic he had been looking for. Eda had found her path to redemption. Each had found a kindred heart, a light to guide them on the road ahead.
For soon the road would be very dark indeed and more dangerous than either of them had imagined.
* From Celtic
Long sleep
Deep Sleep
The end, end of the journey
THE END??
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