The fairy Eriu sat on a large toadstool in the backyard playing a happy tune on her flute. Around her the insects in the yard, along with the other fairies present, listened merrily to her play as a gentle breeze blew her golden locks back. As she finally finished, she looked up to see Maire scurrying over to her. The pooka, in her usual squirrel form, was obviously upset about something. "Maire?" the fairy asked, "Maire, what ails ye?" "Eriu," the pooka said, "Have ye seen yer grandmother 'Athas?" "Aye, I b'lieve she's inside the cottage. Why?" The squirrel looked off towards the front yard, "I don't know. I... I sensed somethin' a short while ago, but what it was I couldn't tell ye," the pooka's voice drifted at it looked back at Eriu, "Ye say she's inside?" "Aye, I..." her voice drifted off as the squirrel ran for the cottage, climbing up the outside of the building and in through the library window. "Hmmm... Now I wonder what be troublin' her so," Eriu muttered. ...... As the pooka looked around the library, she heard voices coming from the living room. "Now, now," 'Athas said gently, "Th' lass'll be fine." "I... I'm sure you're right," Mia conceded, "And yet... and yet there was something in our parting. Almost a finality to it, if that makes any sort of sense." "Th' lass?" Maire asked as she came into the room, "What's wrong, where be th' wee lass?" "She had to go into the city," Mia explained, "She's supposed to interview an author." "Maire?" 'Athas asked as she studied the pooka, "What's wrong? Ye look troubled." "Aye, tis true enough. A few minutes ago in the front yard I... Sensed something. I know not what it twere, and it lasted but a second at best, but..." "Wait," Mia said as a sinking feeling set in down in the pit of her stomach. She got up and went to the hearth for her stones. ------ "Right," MacAulay said with a smile as he, Donovan and the Yamanba stood in a bus depot, "She's fallen for the trap. O'Brian, here's the ticket," he said as he passed the Irishman the paper in question, "It will take you to Oak Street in Hudson Valley like Yumiko indicated. Can you find the house she described once you arrive there?" "Aye, that t'will be no problem," the Irishman answered. "Good. Now then, once you arrive at the cottage, call me on my cell phone. By that time Miss Lloyd should already be with me. And remember; we have to attack both at the same time, I..." "Well wait a second," O'Brian interrupted, "What of the Yamanba? She's supposed to take care of the pooka for us, will she be going with me or staying with you?" "Shhh," the witch in question hissed as she closed her eyes, "I see..." she muttered before whispering in a hoarse voice a spell in ancient Japanese and Chinese. ------ "What in th..." Mia gasped. "Tis not possible," the ancient fairy 'Athas whispered. The elf had removed the rune stones from their pouch and cast them. She then cast them again. Both times, all the stones had landed face down, refusing to give any sort of reading about Arine's safety or the presence Maire felt out in the yard. "Tis no accident, Milady," the pooka said, her ears and tail sticking up, "Tis magic. Aye, and a powerful one at that!" Mia was now quite frightened, "Magic?" she asked, "Who, why? Surely not that O'Brian. If he were powerful enough to do something like this, he would've used his powers when I faced him in Arine's apartment." "Mmm... Mayhap he has an ally or two," 'Athas suggested. The elf's eyes widened at that. She quickly turned to the pooka, "Maire..." "Fear not, Milady," the solitary sidhe said as she transformed once again into a great eagle and flew out of the cottage. As Mia watched the fairy leave, she realized she had no idea where her beloved was going for the interview. She picked up her phone and quickly called Arine's cell phone number, only to be startled when she heard a ringing sound coming from the kitchen. She rushed into the room, followed closely by 'Athas who was flying close behind her. There, on the dining room table, was Arine's cell phone where she forgot it. "Damn it," the elf said as a tear slowly made its way down her cheek. ------ The Yamanba opened her eyes and smiled. She then pulled a small coin out of her pocket and tossed it. Grasping it out of the air, she looked at it. "Heads," she said, "I stay with MacAulay. The pooka will be following the blonde." "Very well," Donovan said as he got in line to board the bus, his shillelagh clutched tightly in his hands as he bore a murderous smile. As the Irishman boarded the bus, Nicholas MacAulay turned to the witch. "Let's go," he said, as the two headed for the apartment the druid had rented for the occasion. -An Hour and a Half Later- She got off the bus and took in her surroundings. She shouldn't be here. She shouldn't have taken this assignment. The woman she loved was in danger, that's what Katie had said. Her beloved elf was in danger, and instead of staying by her side she was out here to interview some fantasy author who was big over in Europe. As she hailed a cab, she thought of how strange it sounded. The two of them knew each other less than two weeks, yet already Arine felt a bond with her unlike any she'd shared with anyone previously. As she sat in the back of the smelly cab, she began to brood over the situation. On the bus, somehow she felt like Mia was in distress. A wave of fear and sadness seemed to temporarily wash over her, and she reached for her cell phone to call and check up on the elf. That was when she first noticed she didn't have her cell phone on her. She was about to panic when the feeling suddenly subsided a bit, but it left behind a dull sense of foreboding. The taxi stopped, and Arine paid her fare and walked towards the apartment building, unaware of the eagle soaring high overhead who was watching her. Inside the blonde reporter boarded an elevator and hit the floor button. ...... "She is here," the witch said, "As is her guardian." "I see," the young druid said as he tried his best to hide his own nervousness. He tried to reassure himself by remembering that, after all, he didn't have to kill the girl, simply keep her here until O'Brian was finished with the Shea elf and Yumiko dealt with the pooka. "Where is the pooka now?" he asked. "Above the building," the Yamanba answered as she went to one of the apartment windows. She opened it and, as Nicholas watched, climbed out and scurried off on the narrow ledge. Just then, someone knocked on the apartment door. ------ This was it, he reasoned. It had to be; the fairy-tale like quality of the house, its distance from the bus station, everything matched the old witch's description. He pulled out the cell phone the druid gave him and quickly dialed the number. ------ "I'm sorry I'm a bit late Mr. MacAulay," Arine said as she entered the apartment, "I think it only fair to point out that I can't stay too long, so let's start the interview right away." "Really?" Nicholas asked as he eyed the attractive blonde in front of him, "And why is that?" "Well, let's just say I have a friend who needs me, I..." she was cut off as a cell phone went off. The gangly young man in the ponytail in front of her pulled the device out of his pocket. "Hello? Really? Good. Yes, my end is secure," he said as he closed the cell phone up. As a now suspicious Arine watched, he then went to the apartment door and locked all the locks out of the room. ...... Maire suddenly felt a sense of foreboding, but was at a loss as to what could've been the cause. As she flew once more around the building, her eagle eyes widened as she saw an old woman with wild white hair climbing up the sheer wall of the outside of the apartment complex. She flew closer, her guard up as the woman reached the roof and turned to her with a wicked smile. "So," the woman said, fixing her bloodshot eyes on the eagle that was swooping down toward her, "You're here to protect the blonde, eh?" Maire landed on the roof, shifting her body into the form of a great black horse with yellow eyes, "Arine!" she cried, "What have ye done wit' her?" "She's safe enough for the moment," the witch cackled as she started to float slowly above the roof's surface, "But in order to get to her," she said as her eyes began to glow red, "You'll have to get past me." ------ Donovan stepped up to the door of the cottage, looking disdainfully at the knocker on the door. He looked down, and saw a small pile of salt on the porch. Absentmindedly he kicked the salt aside off the porch and proceeded to knock on the door. "Hold on," a woman with a slight Irish accent called out from inside. A few seconds later, the sounds of someone unlocking the door could be heard, and the door was cracked open a bit, "Hello," the voice said as the spicy smell of incense hit the Irishman's nostrils, "May I help you? I..." "Heathen bitch!" O'Brian shouted as he kicked the door open the rest of the way and swung out with his shillelagh. His intended victim was able to avoid the blow, but fell backwards as she tripped over a loose carpet. ------ "Mia!" Arine cried out, clutching her chest and gasping for air suddenly as an overwhelming feeling of fear and distress fell upon her, "I've got to get out of here! She needs me, I..." "No!" Nicholas said menacingly as he stood between her and the door, "You're not going anywhere!" The blonde's eyes widened in horror as she suddenly realized she'd fallen for a trap. As the sounds of a small explosion were heard coming from the roof, the frightened reporter's hand brushed against her pocket where she kept a certain walnut... ------ "Great Grandma!" Amadora cried as she and the rest of the De Luca clan ran into the room where they heard the crash. They found the gypsy matriarch standing above a smashed vase leaning heavily on her cane, a pained expression on her face. "Great Grandma, what is it?" Amadora asked worriedly. "The fair one," the old woman gasped, "The elf's betrothed, she's in danger. As is our Mia," she added, feeling distress coming from her old elfin friend as well. She then turned to the other family members in the room as she held her right hand up to get everyone's attention, "The time has come," she called out, "Our Mia, as well as one who is under the protection of the De Luca Strega clan is in danger! You know what to do," she added ominously. The third floor of the building the Strega lived in suddenly became a hive of activity as the men all went into one set of rooms while the women headed for another. As the men and women quickly began to remove their clothing, Amadora and a group of the other youths quickly ran to the hidden cupboards where they retrieved the jars of flying ointments, as well as the cursed lemons, brooms, and a large quantity of wolf pelts. "Once each month," Gemma De Luca called out as one of her grand nieces helped undress her, "And better when the moon is full, then you shall honor her who is queen of all the Strega..." ...... "...And ye shall be free," Guiseppe De Luca, Gemma's youngest brother called out as the men around him hastily undressed. "And as a sign ye art truly free, ye shall be naked in your rites," he continued as several of the male children who were still considered too young to join in the rites ran into the room with the wolf pelts and flying ointment. As the men quickly applied the greasy substance to the furs and tied them around their hips and loins, elsewhere the De Luca women were applying the flying ointments to the brooms and their underarms. ------ "O'Brien!" Mia gasped as she quickly got back to her feet, "How did you find my house?" "I had some help from a Scottish druid and a Japanese Witch," he answered as the elf ran for the library where her own shillelagh was. He ran after her, swinging his weapon once again in an attempt to hit the elf. ------ Another explosion took place as the Yamanba threw a second fireball at the pooka. The sidhe quickly dodged it as she transformed into a goat and started to run head first at the witch. ------ "Look, I'm not going to hurt you," MacAulay said, "I'm just supposed to keep you here until that O'Brian nut is done with the elf, so just sit down and..." he stopped as the blonde seemed to crouch down, bringing her fists up to block her face, "What the... What do you think you're doing?" Nicholas was answered by a punch to his face. "Ow!" he cried out in pain and shock as he clutched his now bleeding nose. Looking angrily at the woman in front of him, he swung out at her. She ducked the blow, landing one of her own in his gut. "Let me out," Arine shouted angrily, "Now, or I'll..." she was cut off as the druid pulled a brown powdery substance out of his pocket and blew it into her face. The blonde suddenly became dizzy, and everything went black... ------ "How much longer before it takes effect?" one of Amadora's younger cousins asked. "I'm not sure," the apprentice Strega conceded, "Hopefully soon," she added as a sound came out of one of the women's room. She and the other young ones ran and opened the door to see Gemma and a group of other women lying naked and unconscious on the floor, knocked out by the powerful narcotics in the flying ointment. Above the prone bodies however hovered the ghostly forms of their spirits, flying upon ethereal brooms. "Watch over our bodies until we return," one of them said. The group then began to cackle wildly as they flew out of the room through the wall. Meanwhile, from the rooms the De Luca men were in, the sounds of howling could be heard.
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