As Connor related what had occurred Duncan's expression grew tight.
"Which way did they go?" Joe asked, as he put his coat on.
"Towards the harbour district," Duncan replied as Connor looked blank. "Travelling at speed too."
"But who else besides us knew that methos would be here tonight?" Joe said, regarding Connor who was still pale from the loss of blood he'd suffered. No matter how many times he witnessed immortal re-awakening, he never got over the strangeness of it.
Catriona stood, her face was white and she seemed to be shaking almost as much as Connor.
"Cassandra." she said.
"How can you possibly know that it was her?" Duncan said. He turned to Connor. "Could you identify either of the people in the car?"
"Not exactly," Connor replied, sighing and wincing at the pain that lingered in his chest from where he'd been shot. "It certainly could have been Cassandra, one of them did appear to be a woman."
"It was Cassandra." Catriona insisted, pacing a little. "I'm so stupid, I should have known she would lie in wait for him on the most auspicious and propitious occasion for her quest to be rejoined, and Halloween in the perfect time."
"The perfect time for what?" Joe asked. "What is going on?"
Catriona told them of the scene she had witnessed in her vision nearly thirteen weeks ago. "I should have known," she said " all the elements are in place, all the people in the vision are present and it's the best time for a ceremony of they type Cassandra was conducting."
"So if Cassandra has Methos, your vision seems to be telling us that we need to be there too. Can it help us to find them?" Joe asked.
"Anything at all that can give us a hint?" Duncan's voice was strained with anxiety. All his instincts telling him to run and deal with this threat to Methos, but logic telling him that he needed to resist impulsive action and figure out a plan before hand.
Catriona looked at them, but it was as if she did not really see them, she closed her eyes to give herself a better focus and tried to clear her mind. Trying to push aside the tension she felt, the guilty feeling that she might have played some part in bringing Cassandra's plans, for this night of all nights, to fruition.
Taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly, she guided her inner eye through the memory of her Lughnassadh vision. She described everything she saw as she focused on the journey she had made. Moonlight over water, a steeply sloping landscape, and in the distance a lighthouse. Below it, on a rocky shore an opening in a cliff wall, inside, a hollowed out chamber and a pool containing one standing stone. At this point she stopped, she did not wish to relate the ceremony enactment. The hope was to reach Cassandra in time to prevent it from beginning. She opened her eyes and looked expectantly at Joe and Duncan.
"Lighthouse Park" they said together.
"And unless I'm much mistaken," Duncan continued, "that cavern is on Holy Ground."
It was the signal to start moving and they all headed out to Joe's People Mover.
"Well at least that's one thing," Joe said in relief as he got behind the wheel, "Cassandra won't kill him on Holy Ground. However angry she is she won't risk that."
"I'm afraid that she could kill him, and probably will," Catriona said, "but as I understand it, she's safe as long as she doesn't behead him."
Joe shook his head as he started the vehicle moving. "I've never fully understood the rules governing The Game and Holy Ground, and I guess I tend not to think of an immortal as dead unless he's lost his head."
"Many people make the same error Joe, " Connor said wryly, "but let me tell you; we still die when our hearts stop beating and though we come back as long as our heads are intact, nonetheless we still suffer the pains of death as well as those of re-awakening. However, I agree that Cassandra, whilst she might actually kill Methos many times will not take his head on Holy Ground. So from that point of view he's safe, but I have to say I don't like the image Catriona has painted of Cassandra's plans for our friend, and the sooner we get to them the better."
Duncan nodded in agreement, his face giving nothing away except for the tell-tale twitching of his jaw.
Joe seemed to care not one whit for the road conditions, which were wet with spray - making for poor visibility. Any driver daring to get in the way might have been subjected to being driven off the road. It was a measure fo the concern they all felt that none of them asked Joe to slow down.
Fortunately, though, it was the weekend, the bridge across the bay was not closed for repair work. The only other route to Lighthouse Park would have meant taking a detour to the ferry or further on to the next bridge which would have added between one and two hours to the journey time. As it was it would take at least forty minutes to get to the lighthouse, and the longer it took to get there the longer Cassandra had to wreak her vengeance on Methos.
There had been the inevitable delay in following whilst they waited for Connor to revive and for Catriona to recount her vision. Cassandra of course had to cover the same distance, but she'd had the advantage of a head start, and since she had headed to the harbour district it made sense that she might have had a boat ready and waiting to speed her across to the lighthouse by the most direct route.
All of these things added up to one indisputable fact, Methos had already been with Cassandra for almost an hour and it might still be nearer two by the time they negotiated the steep paths that led down to the lighthouse and around to the cavern on the shore below. The thought of what Cassandra might do to their friend in that length of time weighed heavily on their minds as they continued to speed through the night.
end of chapter 40
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