As the light which seemed to radiate from the centre of the pool reached the corners of the cavern it became clear that they were not alone with Cassandra and Methos. Another man stood watching in abject horror as the knife moved through the air and blood welled from the body staked to the rock.
In the split second it took to complete these observations Cassandra's companion recovered his wits and stepped forward to meet them.
As Gerald moved towards them Duncan took a defensive stance and placed a hand on the hilt of his sword, but did not draw it. Connor moved to flank him, taking a similar stance, but Gerald did not spare either of them a second glance. He walked past them to stand in front of Catriona. His voice, when he spoke, was hoarse and cracked, yet sounded oddly loud in this place.
"Please," he said, "I've tried to reason with her, but it's as if she can't even hear me. Whatever she intends I'm sure that this is not the way to achieve it. You must stop her."
Catriona looked at him but instead of replying lifted her head to the cavern ceiling and let her voice take flight. A sharp, piercing, top C sharp reverberated around the room, the low discordant hum ceased suddenly and the basin in Cassandra's hand shattered, scattering the contents on the floor and finally causing Cassandra to notice their arrival. She snarled and turned, hands claw-like, to tackle the threat. Seeing Catriona, she launched forward burying her hands in her opponent's hair and screeching in rage.
"Why? Why did you stop me? You of all people know what he is and what he owes me. You know I have the right to conduct this ceremony. why are you opposing me?"
Catriona regarded her calmly and, ignoring the hold the woman had on her hair, reached out and gently stroked her cheek.
"I do know that you have the right to a ceremony," she said gently, "but Cassandra, surely you realised that this method would not restore your soul but further compound your misery. That which is lost by violence cannot be restored by the same means."
"But in your book you described the ceremony this way," Cassandra said," I was careful in my research, everyone said you were the best authority so I used your book."
Catriona hung her head. This was her fault, as she had surmised it would be.
"I'm sure you read the chapter on the ceremony most carefully, but what you have chosen to employ is the ritual described by Julius Caesar. Unfortunately , as I go on to say in the succeeding chapter, he was no friend to the Celts and spent a lot of time and trouble ensuring that their religious beliefs were presented in as unfavourable a light as possible. I have never written down the actual ritual employed in the Soul Loss Ceremony, though if I'd known how important it would be to give an accurate rendition of it I would have done so."
Cassandra seemed to shrink before their eyes from a fearsome and enraged avenger to a haunted and unhappy woman.
"Then I've wasted my time and achieved nothing more than pain here." She whispered, her face gone grey.
"If you'll permit me?" Catriona asked, stepping into the the pool.
Cassandra stood aside to let her go and then slowly followed her across.
It seemed to Joe that all the tension in the air was suddenly leeched away, leaving them feeling lighter and bringing with it an air of freshness. a sweet scent wafted gently through the cavern to replace the foul stench from before.
Catriona waded across to the standing stone. Methos raised his head from his chest where it had dropped when the basin had shattered. His eyes were glassy, which given the extent of blood loss he had suffered was not surprising. As Cassandra, following behind, approached her captive he flinched slightly but did not make a sound.
As if they had previously discussed the action the two women withdrew the stakes from Methos' hands and released the manacles that bound him to the rock and gently eased him into a sitting position on the ground -Then Catriona gathered some water in her cupped hands and offered it to him to drink. Methos swallowed the water thirstily before sagging back against the rock again. Cassandra meanwhile had removed her scarf and, dipping it into the pool, began to bathe Methos' chest where the wounds were already beginning to heal slowly. When all traces of her assault were gone she sat back and watched as Catriona stood and helped him to his feet. Removing the bolt of green cloth she wore across her shoulders she handed it to him. Methos took it and wrapped the cloth around himself expertly until he had achieved a neat toga and then the three of them returned to the others waiting on the strand of the pool.
Joe glanced at his watch and saw that it was now just ten minutes before midnight. Whilst it had seemed to take forever to stop the false ritual in reality less than four minutes had passed. Nevertheless he was nervous. If Catriona was going to perform the Soul Loss Ceremony and reach the height of it by the 'witching hour' she needed to work fast. He had no idea how long it would take, but it had sounded as though it might be a complicated procedure.
As they returned to the group Gerald moved forward to Cassandra and took her by the arms. For the first time since this whole sordid business had begun he saw a clear light in her eyes. The madness which had claimed them for the past few months was gone. He pulled her towards him but she resisted, turning instead to Methos. She lowered her head and then raised it to look into the eyes of a man who had always made her emotions veer wildly out of control. Seeing the calm visage he presented did nothing to assuage the guilty feeling in the pit of her stomach. Guilt was something she was not used to associating when it came to her feelings towards this man and she didn't like it. However, until she had a chance to make reparations she felt there was nothing else she could do but apologise.
"I know that mere words cannot wipe out my actions, I thought what I was doing was the only way to redress the balance between us, but now I realise that I was wrong. Can you forgive me?"
To everyone's surprise Methos took her hands, knelt before he and kissed them before lowering his head and hands to touch her feet.
"I have nothing to forgive you," he said, his voice a mere rasp, "I do have to ask for your forgiveness, though I have no right to it. I tried to justify what we did, what I did to you and others by passing it off as normal, because the times were different. I owe you a life......."
"Not a life Methos." Cassandra interrupted him. " A soul, but not a life."
As she spoke she reached down and drew him upright again.
"I was seeking to restore my soul, I have no need of your life, I know that now. But I have wasted the time and desecrated the ceremony. It seems I shall have to settle for your forgiveness and leave the matter of my soul."
"Not necessarily." Catriona said. "If you are willing to allow me to conduct the ceremony I am willing to ensure that all souls are restored to the proper state of being."
It seemed as though Duncan, Gerald, Connor and Joe held their breaths for an eternity whilst they waited for Cassandra and Methos to make a decision, but to Catriona their acceptance was almost instantaneous. She breathed a prayer for aid and began to prepare for the ritual ahead.
end of chapter 42.
feedback can be sent to: sharonmarais@sam27.demon.co.uk