Cassandra was pacing back and forth impatiently awaiting the return of two of her proteges. She had spent the entire day snapping at the rest of her entourage and now they were keeping their distance and trying to avoid incurring her wrath. They had soon learned that it paid not to cross her.
"Finally!" She exclaimed as the two immortals entered. "Are they in place?"
"Everything went according to plan. The bugs are in position and no one appeared to notice anything untoward."
"Good." She signalled to one of the others to connect the receiver. " Let's see what my dear friends are up to then."
The speaker crackled a little before the tuning settled and the clear voice of Joe Dawson rang through the room.
"So as I was saying there are no other sightings as yet. No one has heard of or seen Cassandra, her watcher hasn't called in and I am worried about her. Frankly I think we should be on our guard here."
Cassandra looked smug. "Idiots. You couldn't find beer in a brewery." She was not fond of the watchers organisation by a long way and if ever there was anything she could do to scupper their plans or activities she would do. She had after all had a lot of practice in pulling the wool over their eyes over the millennia.
Duncan was speaking now and he sounded distinctly unhappy.
"So who are these two unknowns Joe? I never heard of either of them. What the hell did they want around your place?
"Hey. I'm not the mind reader around here." Joe was protesting." If you want to know things like that maybe Catriona Will be able to help you. Just don't make me omnipotent OK?"
There was a grunt and then in the background the sound of another person moving.
"Methos?"
It was Joe's voice full of concern.
"Did he eat anything apart from that oatmeal you gave him?" He asked anxiously.
"Not a thing Joe. I tried to encourage him but he seems not to hear half of what I say to him. I can't figure out if he's ignoring me deliberately or if he's just lost in the mists of time. We need to keep our guard up. I'll stay the night and we'll take it turns to watch."
"It's a deal." Joe said. "I was going to ask you to stay anyway. Catriona suggested it if you must know. But what is he doing, and where the hell is he?"
Cassandra heard the two men move, presumably to go and check on the errant older immortal.
"Such concern for such a monster." She said disgustedly. "I used to think you were so honourable Duncan, but you obviously have different values from those I credited you with. Perhaps you need to be persuaded to think again about your 'friend'."
She almost spat the words out and the men around her looked nervously at her. She was unpredictable at the best of times..what they didn't know was if this was the best of times.
She turned to regard her little band of followers. "Well boys you have done well so far. Keep track of what's going on and let me know as soon as anything of consequence occurs. I am going to meditate and I do not wish to be disturbed without good cause. Is that clear?"
Her voice had changed from a venomous hiss to a purring invitation. She was met by a silent acquiescence from the group of men. Satisfied she nodded at them and swept out of the room.
Methos had been sitting half listening to Joe's account of the two 'stray' immortals he'd tracked down. He'd found it increasingly hard to concentrate. Even hearing Joe relate that Catriona had identified the woman from her vision as Cassandra barely registered with him. The porridge Duncan had made him eat earlier was clawing at his insides. He felt flushed and cold at the same time and not a little dizzy, even though he was seated. Realising that his 'meal' was about to make an unscheduled reappearance he grunted and shuffled unsteadily to his feet. His subconscious guided him to the bathroom where he collapsed to his knees and leaned, groaning, over the bowl of the toilet. He was shaking as his stomach heaved and ejected the unwelcome intrusion of oatmeal and milk. His retching did not subside for some time and he felt colder and shakier by the time his body finally ended it's rejection of food.
He should have known better, he reflected ruefully. It had been quite some time since he'd been able to keep any form of solid food down. Coffee and the occasional beer he could cope with, anything else refused to stay put. In actual fact, though he was not aware of the time factor, it had been almost nine weeks since he'd managed to cope with any form of food.
He tried to rise, with the aim of clearing up the bathroom and himself, only to find his vision closing up like a kaleidoscope. As he fell in a dead faint he cracked his head on the edge of the toilet bowl, opening a cut behind his ear. A fair amount of blood flowed on to the mat and the floor. The immortal healing process seemed to be slow to kick in and by the time Duncan and Joe arrived the wound was still open and bleeding freely.
"Bloody hell." Duncan swore. He knelt beside the still form of Methos, noting the fact that his skin was grey and covered in goose bumps. "Looks like my warrior's breakfast has been rejected." He quipped, attempting humour as a way of keeping himself calm.. and failing. "He's still breathing. " He told Joe. "I'll carry him to the bedroom. "
Joe started to move back to make room for Duncan to lift Methos but as Duncan's hand closed over Methos' wrist the older immortal jerked away, mumbling incoherently. Then he curled in on himself, much as he had done earlier in the day, wedging his body between the toilet and the wall. No matter what Duncan tried to do, or what he said, Methos could not be budged. Attempts to touch him caused Methos to wail or scream like a mortally wounded animal. When Duncan merely sat back and spoke soothingly Methos responded by flinching and sobbing.
"Dammit all, this is getting ridiculous !" Joe said. "Once in a day is enough, but three times!"
"I don't know what to do Joe. If he were mortal I'd call a doctor, but I doubt that even Anne could help us out here." Duncan looked distraught.
"We both know exactly who to call Mac. Catriona said she thought Methos needed watching carefully for signs of further distress and she told me to call her if there were any problems. She helped him before. We have to believe she can help him again.
"I'll call her Joe. Just don't go near Methos for now OK?" Duncan said. "I owe her an apology and I want her to know that I trust her in this matter."
Joe nodded and then remembered something. "She doesn't have a car - if we have to wait while she calls a cab it could take a long time, and I'm not sure we can spare any right now. You call her and I'll drive over to her place and fetch her back."
"OK Joe, good thinking." Duncan said as he began dialling Catriona's number on his mobile. He sat on the edge of the vanity unit watching Methos flinching as if to avoid blows and listening to his harsh gasps and strangely childlike crying. It took a lot of self control on his part not to offer reassurance in the form of touch. However, knowing that the response would be an increase in the older immortal's distress helped him to hold his instincts in check.
He breathed a sigh of relief as Catriona answered her phone.
"Catriona MacLeod." She said.
"Uh Catriona it's...."
"Duncan? Whatever is the matter? You sound terrible."
"I'm fine - well maybe not fine but it's Methos I'm calling about . He seems to be having a seizure, a nightmare. Oh God! The truth is I don't quite know what to call it."
"It's Ok Duncan," Catriona said soothingly, "I get the picture. Where is he at the moment?"
At Joe's on the bathroom floor, and he's making awful noises, listen." he said, holding the phone away from his ear so that the wailing noises would carry down the receiver.
Catriona heard the desperate sobbing and could almost picture the scene. What's more she knew exactly what afflicted Methos. Swallowing hard she called Duncan back to the phone.
"Still here ." Said Duncan grimly.
"Whatever you do don't touch him. I take it you'd like me to come over?"
"Yes ....but Catriona.....I owe you an apology. I acted like a prize jerk earlier."
"No Duncan, not at all..you acted like a good friend to Adam . I don't blame you for being suspicious...I'm just glad you trust me now. Now listen carefully, it could be a while before I get there and in the meantime I'd like you to do something for me."
"Anything, you name it and it's yours." Duncan said.
"Do you remember any lullabies from your childhood?" She asked.
"Well yes, but ...."
Good then I want you to sing all of those you remember and to keep singing until I get there. Understand?"
"Not really but if you think it's a good idea I'll do it..though my voice isn't exactly good for singing."
"That won't matter at all, believe me," she said, "it may sound daft Duncan but it aye works."
"OK then." Duncan agreed. " And Joe's on his way to fetch you so you won't need to call a cab."
"Great. Good thinking. Now start singing Duncan I want to hear it. " She commanded.
Duncan began to sing an old lullaby his mother had often sung when he was hurt as a child. As he began to sing the memories of those times, the feel of his mother's arms around him, the comfort he drew from her, all rushed back to him. He closed his eyes, feeling the melody wash through him and the rhythm start to ease the tension he felt out of his body. It seemed to be affecting Methos also. His sobbing lessened and his breathing deepened a little. The occasional moan was still to be heard between the gruff phrases Duncan sang, but the desperation had distinctly lessened. He hadn't lied when he'd maintained he wasn't a singer, 'but the effect was the same and that was the main thing' Catriona thought.
"That's great Duncan, you're doing really well, keep it up." Catriona said. "Joe's just pulling up so I've got to go. Keep singing till I get there. Repeat yourself if you have to just don't stop singing." So saying she hung up and Duncan was left to continue his 'serenade'. Feeling glad that it had at last stopped raining, Catriona gathered her coat and keys and rushed down the stairs two at a time to meet Joe just as he was opening the driver's door.
"S' OK Joe. Duncan told me there's a problem." She announced as she opened the passenger door and climbed in. "We'd best get going, and whilst you drive you can fill me in on everything that's happened since I saw you last."
Joe nodded his assent as he started the engine, pulling out of the car park with a squeal of tyres worthy of a formula one driver.
As she listened to the tale Joe told, Catriona's brow furrowed. "The two immortals you traced, how new are they?" She asked urgently.
"Dermot Hanrahan and Gerald Farley are around two and three years into their immortality respectively." Joe replied. "Why?"
"What would be really useful would be to know where they met their first deaths and who's students they are or were. Then cross reference all of those details with reports on Cassandra over the same period of time. I have a really nasty feeling that she had something to do with them paying you visit. I have an even nastier feeling that she is responsible for Methos' current problems."
"But how?" Joe asked. "The last time she saw him was in Bordeaux." He hesitated, looking at Catriona and wondering how much he should say about those events.
"It's OK Joe, I know perfectly well what happened last time they met. I know that Methos saved her life for the third time in a week and that she was going to take his head with Silas' axe. I also know that she has in no way forgiven him for what happened in the Horsemen's camp and that she'd do just about anything to get there revenge on him, including forcing him into a fight with another immortal. Even by making him believe he's gone mad and asking Duncan to take his head. She is more than capable of all those things. Don't underestimate her Joe. She's not a woman you should treat as a marginal problem. She's a major threat. And as for her voice. I know you've heard Duncan and Methos say that she can only use it on those who are weak or open to suggestion, but believe me when I say that she is devious enough to be able to use her voice in such a way as to make her victims think that everything they do and say is of their own free will. I've felt the aura of energy that she radiates - even in the vision it was so strong I could almost touch it. Never be in any doubt that she is dangerous in the extreme."
Joe cast a worried look at Catriona. He had always had a healthy scepticism about what he termed 'the supernatural'. Until, that was, he'd discovered the existence of immortals. Then of course he'd found that Hamlet had been right, there were definitely more things in heaven and earth than he had ever dreamt of. Even so he was still having trouble assimilating the notion of druids, telepathic skills, visions and whatnot.
"So how come Mac and Methos haven't felt this 'aura' ?" He asked, frowning a little.
"Because you need to be another 'adept' Joe. It's not like feeling another immortal by their buzz, or rather perhaps it is. But this is not something that is bound solely to Cassandra's immortality. This is a talent she had long before the Horsemen came and destroyed her people. Her immortality has allowed her time to build on that talent but she is no Ollamh. That's where I have the edge over her. She has limited training and she has perverted it's use. If I am right and she is behind all of this I can use those limitations against her. I should have seen this before but I was lulled into a false sense of security, imagining that there was no threat from Cassandra as long as Connor was not here."
Remembering this reference to Catriona's vision Joe nodded. "So does this mean that you can prevent the events in the vision from taking place now?" He asked.
Catriona closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "No Joe I cannot. This will only be a temporary measure. The final showdown will still take place. All I can do fro now is postpone that and put Methos on his guard against Cassandra and her devious machinations. I can also prevent her from messing with his head any further.."
"And who's to say what the outcome of the 'final showdown' as you call it will be?" Joe wanted to know.
"God will see that justice is done and that right triumphs Joe. Only God can say what the final outcome will be and we, the objects of God's love and care will be the instruments of that justice."
"I thought you didn't believe in God." Joe said, puzzled.
"Oh yes I believe in God, I just have different ideas about God than those you'll find in the Christian tradition."
"So in essence it is you who decides?"
"No Joe, not me, all of us, all the people, those who are prepared to listen to God within them, or perhaps it's easier to say those who listen to their inner voice. We use the knowledge we have been given to make our judgments. The main problem is that so many people have forgotten how to 'listen' to that voice. That's when we make errors in judgment or through ignoring our inner voice we become capable of acts of violence , evil, of inflicting pain on others and on ourselves. We need to learn how to be listeners and acknowledge those aspects of ourselves that lead us to hasty and imperfect actions. Only then can we begin to become perfect beings in God's image. If you like, it's our 'prize' for learning our lessons well."
'God,' she thought, 'I didn't mean to give a theological lecture!'
She could see Joe mulling over what she'd said and she hope she hadn't sounded totally crazy to him. She had little time for other thought though as they drew up outside Joe's house.