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Southend

17.

by MistThing, published on January 16, 2001

...The skies were dark with fury, traversed by random, sparse blue lightings. The yellow moon was flawed. A sharp bird's cry made Gabriel lower his gaze to the ground, and notice the black raven standing on the cliff's edge. The raven cackled again, its piercing cry portends menace. It flapped its wings, soaring up and circling above three times. A fog thickened quickly around Gabriel, blocking his view completely. He drew a breath...the air smelt like sulfur. The fog cleared as rapidly as it formed... A dark, hooded figure was standing on the edge of the abyss, where the raven once stood. The woman lowered her hood, unleashing thick, long strands of raven-black hair tangling about down to her bare feet. Her fierce look went through Gabriel, making him fall down to his knees, raising his arm to cover his eyes. The woman threw her head back, releasing a raven's cry. Gabriel uncovered his eyes. The woman disappeared. Three black-haired women, an exact replica of the former, took her place. The three are HER.

...

Gabriel was startled from his short sleep to find Grace awakened too, her eyes wide-open with fear.

- "Gracie?"

- "I saw it too, Gabriel" - there was wonder in her voice - "I dreamt your dream. I know who the hooded woman is."

He held her, not knowing what else he could do. Then he took off his talisman, and put it around Grace's neck. "Who is she, Grace?"


Chief Inspector MacAlister sat back in his chair, pressing his fingers against one another. "Talk to me, Donaldson."

- "Well, we used a tracing device on Knight's bike, as you asked. He rode with Miss Morrigan Campbell to Portnahaven, and we lost them both there. We got hold of the local pub's bartender, and scared him enough to confess a kidnapping charge."

- "What impression did you get from Knight at the Port Ellen guest house?"

Donaldson frowned thoughtfully. "Gabriel Knight didn't quite take to my showing up in there all of a sudden, offering him my instant Celtic translation services. He had no one else to turn to though, so he asked my help in translating Miss Campbell's tape."

- "And?"

- "I gave him the exact translation, MacAlister."

MacAlister stopped pressing his fingers and sat still, studying Donaldson. "You did what? What the hell did you tell the guy, Donaldson?"

Donaldson returned a calm gaze. "I gave him the exact contents of the tape, as I delivered them to you a few hours ago. He deserved to know what he was dealing with."

- "As I felt when I first phoned him to New Orleans, Sir" - remarked Saunders.

MacAlister got up of his chair and leaned forward on the desk. "First... You, Saunders, bringing Knight to Scotland, against my orders, exposing him to religious fanatics... Then you, Donaldson, giving him the exact words of a known terrorist without consulting me... When this is all over, consider yourselves both worthy candidates for a Clan Trial..."

- "With all due respect, MacAlister" - answered Donaldson pleasantly - "You are not my superior, not in the Clan hierarchy aspect and certainly not on the force. I believe you don't see the true seriousness of the situation. These are not your everyday terrorists we're discussing."

- "I'll have to agree with that observation, Sir" - Saunders spoke with determination - "On the base of what I'd seen, I guess that Campbell and her followers have increased their activity immensely during the last few weeks, and especially the last four days. They're preparin' fer somethin', Sir."

- "Don't tell me you also believe in that prediction-sh*te, Saunders!" - MacAlister faced the two, enraged.

- "Listen, MacAlister" - Donaldson spoke quietly - "The Council has ignored for decades its primary role. Defend, MacAlister. Boldly Defend. The Chief Druid priestess of an extremely dangerous cult is currently holding two innocent lives in her hands, and the Council is doing nothing... Wake up, MacAlister. The Council is convening tonight at Finlaggan. There is still - barely - enough time to make them understand, and you are the one to do it."

MacAlister turned and faced the wall, thinking. His ancestors' picture glared at him silently. He then turned to Donaldson. "Explain it to me again. The whole bloody business."

- "Fine" - Donaldson flicked his fingers. "I'll have to talk some history, MacAlister. Lets go back in time, then... The first true Celts originated from the 'La-Tene' culture in central and Western Europe... The exact time of the Celts arrival to Britain is not certain - my guess is, from the second millennium BC, although some say, later... There was no single Celtic race; the only unifying bond between all the Celtic tribes was their common priesthood, the Druids. In the Celtic society, the Druids held role of philosophers, judges, mages, teachers…even doctors. Their office was sacred. They held authority over every tribal chief. Later, with the development of the Celtic church, the Druids practically disappeared. Are you getting this so far, MacAlister?"

- "I thought you said we were running out of time, Donaldson" - MacAlister rasped and sat in his chair again, listening - "So, are you saying that Morrigan Campbell is a Druid Priest, the head of a cult that managed to survive through the centuries ?"

- "Partly, yes..." - answered Donaldson - "This cult is different, though, from the original Druids. Before the Celtic Druids, there was an earlier priesthood: A Megalithic Priesthood. The Megalithic Priests are the ones that built the giant stone circles and alignments all over Europe... The age of some Megaliths is dated even to 4600 BC! Much earlier then the Celts..."

- "Is there a point to all of this?" - snorted MacAlister.

Donaldson smiled patiently. "Chief Inspector... I suspect that Miss Campbell is the chief leader and the high priestess of an ancient cult that mixes the elements of Megalithic Priesthood and the Celtic Druids... Cult members are chiefly Campbell bloodline. This cult had been for centuries on a constant countdown to a big event, supposed to occur very, very soon..."

- "How soon?" - Interrupted Saunders.

- "My staff calculated the date to be 27th of September 1996, when a total moon eclipse is going to occur..."

- "Well that's not so soon, is it?" - said MacAlister - "Present date is 27th July, 1996, half past midnight. Why are you in such a hurry, Donaldson?"

Donaldson's expression was a grave one. "Things changed quite unexpectedly during the last three weeks... Something caused Morrigan Campbell cross entire Scotland in an amok , mapping her sacred Megalithic sites... She said in Knight's tape, 'My calculations are showing that the power center had shifted'. She could have meant, a shift in location or a shift in time... I guess it's the latter. Something made those religious extremists go ballistic ahead of their schedule."

 

Last update: October 24, 2007


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