by Sasha Parker
They all closed their eyes and Coni began to speak. "Great spirits of the past to now, help us find this girl somehow. Blood of the Blessed Five she be, find her now, so mote it be."
The crystal hovered over the map and began to circle around and around. A slight breeze blew through the room that no one seemed to pay any attention to. Everyone had their eyes glued to the crystal and the map. The circles it was making were getting smaller and smaller. Coni continued to chant and the sisters began to join her. Then the crystal dropped to the map, marking a place. The men leaned over the women, trying to find the area where the crystal landed.
"That is the back of our property. At the base of the hills," Coni said.
"Do you have a better map of that area?" Ronan asked Coni.
Coni stood back and said, "Yes, I will go get it." She quickly left the room to find the map.
She was back within moments, carrying a map that showed the area better. She began to point to different spots on the new map. "This is where the hills begin and these are the caves that I am aware of. I'm sure there are more, but these are the ones we played in as children."
"I remember those caves. We used to play in them too. There are so many of them. Then there is the creek that runs along here," Ari said as she pointed on the map.
"The best thing to do is to scry again on this detailed map while we head out to that area. We will carry radios for you to contact us on when you get a closer location. It's going to take us a while to get there," Brendan told everyone in the room.
Lachlan nodded. "I agree. Let's get some radios, Aedan and Myles, you stay here with the women. Lock down the castle until we get back. Whoever this is may be trying to draw us out and away from here."
Aedan and Myles both agreed and headed out to secure the castle doors and windows. Erin and Sheela went with them to help while Coni, Calli, and Ari began to scry again. Julie continued to fill drinks and watch in awe as the sisters looked for Kira. Julie's only thought was how amazing it was that these women had the power they did and grateful that it would help to find their sister.
Reilly, Lachlan, Brendan, and Ronan headed to the Guardian's office that Reilly and Lachlan had set up when they arrived. The office was large and setup with a state of the art computer system. There was one whole back wall filled with monitors, a large conference table with a back section that when Reilly pushed a button on the wall opened into a storage room. The storage room was stocked with everything they could ever need. It had firearms, ammunition, Kevlar, climbing equipment, and radios.
The men began to take out radios and hook them to their waists with utility belts Lachlan got from the storage room. Each man checked that the batteries were fully charged, and Reilly looked up the area on the computer. He printed out two copies and handed one to Brendan. The men consulted the maps and then agreed on which way they would take to get to that location.
After letting Aedan and Myles know they were headed out, the men began their hike to the location where the map began. They had ATVs provided by Coni to get them as far as they could go on them. Brendan and Ronan were tense as they left, knowing they had to get to Kira. She was their match and in danger. They didn't know who the enemy was, but they did know one thing, they were going to get their woman back one way or another.
Chapter Three
Kira woke in a dark place. She couldn't see very far in front of her and she could feel the dirt under her. She slowly pushed herself up into a sitting position. Her hands were still tied, so it was a struggle but finally she was sitting up and began to feel around her. She couldn't hear anyone near her but felt cold rock behind her. She scooted back until she was leaning against the rock.
She knew her sisters would be looking for her. Since Erin had gotten into so much trouble when she went to Dublin, when she returned, their grandmother had them do a spell to link all the sisters so they would know when the other was in trouble. Well, she was damn sure in trouble.
She could hear water trickling somewhere near her, so she knew she had to be in a cave. She remembered they had played in caves on the family property as children. She hoped she was in them, she knew them well. Ari had made them all explore each one so they knew the ins and outs in case they ever got lost.
Her thoughts were interrupted as she heard men's voices and they weren't far from her. She knew they would come for her soon and she needed to have a plan. Being blessed with the power over earth, she knew what she had to do. She dug her hands into the soil around her and began to talk to the earth.
"Earth, hear my cry, come to me now, keep me safe from the danger somehow. Grow around me, cover me well. Keep me away from the men from hell." She chuckled as she said her spell. Her grandmother had said to be specific and creative. Kira thought she had been.
The earth under her began to rumble a little and then soft grass grew under her, making her a bed to lay on. Then she saw tall stalks begin to grown up in a circle around her, then closing over her head. When all the growing stopped, she had a nice little shelter enclosing her in its safety. There were sharp thorns on the outside and she knew it was tight enough the men wouldn't be able to get to her.
The men's voices came closer and closer. Kira hunkered down in her shelter, praying it would hold and keep them away from her. She couldn't see anything beyond her little shelter, but she knew the men were now really close to her. She saw a flash of light and knew they were carrying flashlights with them. She heard one of them swear and she felt the earth shake as he stomped up to her shelter.
Kira heard a curse as she knew the man had tried to stick his hand in to get to her. She now knew the thorns had done their job. She took a deep breath and dug her fingers into the grass beneath her. She had to be calm and listen to see if she could find out what they wanted with her or who had her.
"You need to come out of there, little witch," a menacing voice said to her.
When she didn't say anything, another voice said, "You are going to die for this, you bitch." There was more stomping but it was going away from her so she knew they were moving away.
She dug her hands further into the earth and said softly, "Wonderful earth, thank you for your safety. I need you now to come to me again, keep the men out of this den. Grow the vines so they may heed, with thorns so sharp that they may bleed."
The ground rumbled harder this time and then she heard rustling all around her. She knew the vines had come and covered the entire area she was in. She was so tired and her head hurt from where the man had knocked her out. She leaned down and felt the plastic tie on her wrists, so she began to try to chew it off. After a while, it popped off and the blood rushed back into her hands and fingers. She moaned with the pain of it but was grateful they were now free. Now all she had to do was hope, hope that help would come soon.
*****
"Sir, this is Daniel. We have the one of the earth. We are at the caves."
The man sitting at his desk sat forward and gripped the phone. "Why are you at the caves and not here?"
"The Guardians were pursuing us and we lost two men. It's now only myself and Thomas here."
The man growled. "I need her here, you idiot, not there."
"Um, there is one other thing. She has made these vines grow around her and we can't get to her now. We don't have anything to cut through it. Our magick isn't strong enough, we have tried."
The man sighed loudly and ran a frustrated hand through his hair. "Fine. I will send a couple of men to help you cut her out. They will be there after dark as we are not that far away."
"Okay. I will text you our location."
"There is no need. I know where you are." The man hung up and then bellowed for his men.
One of his men stepped through the door and he explained the issue. The man agreed to send two men to the caves to help retrieve the witch. His plans were coming together finally. He would use the sister as bait to bring the others to him. He would have the power of the Five, then he would rule the Council. Due to the Da
rk One being injured during his attack on the sisters right before the wedding, he knew the Dark One would try to seek revenge for that at some point. Hopefully, once he got the power of the Five, he could hand the sisters over to the Dark One and he could do whatever he wanted with them.
He smiled. Yes, that thought pleased him. Let the Dark One kill the sisters, but after he got what he wanted. He needed their power to rule and he would do whatever it took to get it.
*****
'Anything?' Ronan sent the question to Brendan.
'Nothing,' Brendan sent back.
'We are nearing the caves, keep alert,' Ronan warned.
Ronan and Reilly were coming up the south side of the caves, while Brendan and Lachlan were coming up the north facing of the mountain. They had been searching throughout the night and as the sun had begun to rise, they had made it to the caves. They had seen no evidence of anyone passing through that area, but with magick involved, that didn't mean anything. As Ronan was approaching one of the caves, Reilly signaled him to stop. Reilly pointed up to a set of caves above them. Ronan could see the climb was not steep and then he heard a noise from the direction that confirmed they had found a hideout.
'Brendan, we have movement over on our side. We are going up to check it out,' Ronan sent.
'We are on our way. Wait for us,' Brendan ordered.
Ronan sighed. Even though they were twins, Brendan always tried to act older. He was, but only by seven minutes. 'Hurry up,' Ronan growled.
Ronan filled Reilly in and as they waited for the other two men to arrive, they scouted out the area around the set of caves where they had hear noise, discovering that they would be able to approach the south side of the caves without being noticed. Ronan and Reilly had already called their swords forth, preparing for anything. They had also found a trail that led up to the largest cave, deciding that that would be where they would find someone hiding out.
Brendan and Lachlan soon joined them and called forth their swords as well. Ronan and Reilly showed them the cave where they believed someone to be hiding. As they were getting ready to approach the trail, a man came out of the cave and began to descend the trail. The four Guardians blended into the woods around them, watching. The man went down the trail and then headed toward the southern end of the mountain. They could see him holding a cell phone out, he seemed to be trying to get a signal.
The Guardians used hand signals and decided Brendan and Ronan would go up to the cave while Reilly and Lachlan would keep an eye out for the man with the phone or anyone else. Ronan and Brendan began to go up the trail to the caves. They approached the opening to the largest cave slowly and quietly, flanking it on either side of the entrance. They listened for a few moments, heard nothing, and then made their way into the cave.
Once they entered the mouth of the cave, they saw there were natural holes in the ceiling in different areas so it was easy to see walking in. As they went deeper, they heard a man's voice.
"You had better come out of there!" A man was talking harshly to someone further in the cave. They heard a lot of rustling and then a yelp from the man. With furrowed brows of confusion, they quietly crept further into the cave.
The man was mumbling to himself and more rustling was heard as they approached a rear section of the cavern. There was little light and the Guardians had to strain to see. What they saw shocked them to their core. There was a man trying to get through a veritable jungle in the back of the cave. There were vines everywhere, filling every space available. There also seemed to be sharp thorns due to the number of yelps they had heard from the man.
Ronan snuck up behind the man and knocked him on the back of the head with the butt of his sword. Ronan shook his head, the man hadn't even sensed them there because he had been so intent on trying to break through the vegetation. The man fell like a stone while Brendan called upon his magick to light up the section of the cave they were in. Both men were shocked to see the whole cavern filled with vines and growth.
"Where is she?" Ronan asked.
Brendan shook his head. "I don't know. I can't see anything through this mess."
"What do we do? She has to be here somewhere," Ronan said frustrated.
"I'm not sure," Brendan said, sounding just as frustrated. "Kira? Can you hear us?" he called out. "It's safe to come out now, sweetling."
*****
Kira woke to hearing the man yell at her in frustration in not being able to get to her. She grinned as she heard him yelp several times, being stuck by the thorns that Mother Earth had provided to protect her. Good, serves that fucker right, she thought. She could hear him trying to hack through the vegetation and felt comforted by the fact that she knew he wouldn't be able to get through. She was comfortable in her little cocoon, the soft grass had provided a nice bed to lay upon, and she had fallen asleep.
She was shocked to hear someone calling out her name. It was the deep voice of the Guardian she had met at the wedding. Brendan, right? She could hear him talking to the other one, Ronan. They had come to get her, they were there in the cave. She was shocked they had found her but knew her sisters had to have helped. She put her hands into the ground again and said silently, 'Thank you, Mother, for protecting me. My rescuers have arrived. They need to get to me, pull back now and allow them passage.'
Ronan and Brendan watched in shock and awe as the vegetation began to slowly recede into the ground, disappearing as if it never was there. As the vines vanished, they saw a smaller grouping of vines that began to slowly shrink away to reveal Kira in the middle as if it had kept her in a small lush cave of her own. Once it was gone, Kira slowly sat up and looked over at the two men.
"It took you long enough," Kira said haughtily, then she began to stand.
Both men looked at her in surprise and then realizing she was rising, rushed to her to help her stand. "Are you hurt?" Ronan demanded.
Kira took their proffered hands as they helped her rise to stand. Both kept hold of her hands and Ronan slid his other arm around her to steady her. "I'm okay. They didn't hurt me except when they knocked me on the head." She reached up to touch the tender spot and Brendan pushed her hand out of the way.
"Let me check it, sweetling," Brendan said gently as he began to examine her head. He probed around the spot and then said, "It doesnae look too bad, but we will have a doctor look when we get you back to the glen."
Kira shivered at their voices and comfort poured over her. She had to shake herself mentally and take a step back or she would have thrown herself into their arms. It would not do to get too close, she reminded herself. Kira had grown up very close to her sisters and loved them very much but she had never been good at relationships. She didn't have any real friends, outside of her sisters, and men were non-existent. She had had one serious relationship that had ended over a year ago.
She shook her head as if to clear it but the memories were all too vivid.
Chapter Four
Kira was a visiting professor at Georgetown University in Fairfax, Virginia. She traveled all over the world, going on digs and doing studies, sometimes for the University or for companies that she contracted out to. She had even published several books on the subject and known the world over. She was in high demand and it had taken its toll on her as of late.
She had been seeing another professor at Georgetown, Stephen Bollock, who was also in her department. When the opportunity had come up to go on a dig, she had invited him to go along. He had jumped at the chance, being on one of Kira's digs lent prestige to one's reputation in their field. She had been asked to go to Kuala Lampur on behalf of the University in order to study a possible find of Tektite and its properties. Tektite was natural glass that formed from terrestrial debris ejected during extraterrestrial impacts. In other words, it came from outer space.
She had thought by asking Stephen to go with her, they could see where their relationship was going. They had dated for a few months, going out to dinner and a movie. So far nothing had really sparked
for Kira, there had been kisses and a few make-out sessions, and they had sex a few times. Kira wasn't sure that was in the cards for them, but she hadn't ruled it out. Stephen was what anyone would think of when they thought of a professor of geology. He wore the tweed jackets and was more engrossed in a rock than in the people around him.
Once on the dig it had taken Kira about a week to figure out Stephen was an ass. He seemed to try to take over at every turn. He had tried to undermine her authority with the workers and had even gone so far as to tell the student interns he was in charge. Kira was so frustrated she had wanted to send him packing, instead she had confronted him.
"I am only trying to help," Stephen whined.
"Well you aren't helping, you are hindering this dig! The students are getting confused because you are telling them one thing and then I try to give them instructions. They don't know what to do or who to answer to."
"Well someone needs to take charge. You are being too soft on them," Stephen sniffed disdainfully.
Kira sighed. "This is your final chance, Stephen, or so help me I will send you packing," she told him hotly.
Stephen’s face reddened and he sneered at her as he said, "You are so full of yourself. No wonder the sex isn't good, you are too frigid. Stuck in your own world. Good luck with that."
With that, Stephen had moved his things to a separate tent and proceeded to ignore her for the most part. That was when small issues had started to come up. There had been permit problems, scheduling issues, and then there had been the threat against Kira herself.
They had been at the dig for about a month when Kira had found a significant amount of Tektite. She was excited to see that it lacked any microlites to confirm it was authentic. She couldn't wait to get it back to her lab, but first she needed to log it in. She carefully wrapped it and placed it in the pouch that hung from her utility belt. Then she checked the site to ensure she was the only one left and began to crawl out of the cave-like structure she was in. She knew her colleagues would be pleased with this find. This may be able to get her tenure with the University and then maybe she could settle down.
