The Banshee's Revenge

Chapter 2



Toby Williams was pissed off at the world.

He scowled at his son Gabe who found it more convenient to flirt with the customers than to stock the beer in ice. Unfortunately, Gabe either didn't see the expression or chose to ignore it because he continued chatting with the pretty red head at the end of the bar as if he had all the time in the world.

Toby ripped open a case of beer and stuffed the cans in the cold ice, all the while wondering why the clock seemed to be moving so damn slow. Closing time for Merlyn's Bar was still hours away, and though he'd only come on shift at seven that evening, it felt like an eternity had gone by.

Too many rude customers, too many demanding chicks, too many sloppy drunks who spilled beer all over the pool table--it was all getting to Toby, the man who prided himself on always having it under control.

"Hey Toby," one of the regulars called out. "Slide me another Shiner Bock this way, would ya?"

"Slide me a fiver and I'll f*ckin' think about it," Toby snapped back. "You still haven't paid your tab from last week."

"C'mon, man. It's just one beer."

"This is your third one tonight. It adds up, so pay up if you want another."

Toby turned away from the customer and trudged into the back room. The sounds of the bar became muffled, but the dull headache he'd been fighting didn't allow him to enjoy the quiet. Grabbing the aspirin from the shelf in the stock room, he chewed down four tablets, and then swigged whiskey from his silver flask to help the medicine on its way.

"Goddammit," he cursed, not even sure why he was cursing.

It occurred to him that he could probably create a small time spell and speed the evening up. Such things were in his wizard repertoire, though he rarely used them. Magic was a delicate thing and should never be abused.

And lately, there had been way too much abuse of magic going on.

But he didn't want to think about that, didn't want to think about her.

Jacqueline--the blonde haired half banshee who'd stolen his heart and then lost control of herself. Toby had been powerless to stop her. It burned him more than he cared to admit.

Why had she run from him? Why wouldn't she allow him to help even now? All she had to do was ask.

"Women," he muttered. "Damn women and damn banshees."

"Who are you talking to?" Gabe hurried through the doorway. He stopped and stared at his father a moment with narrowed eyes. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Toby snapped. "Nothing at all. Except I don't know why I bother to have you work here. All you do is talk to little Miss Redhead and let people open tabs they never pay out."

"That's not true," Gabe protested with a sarcastic grin. "I talk to the blondes and brunettes, too."

"No, you don't."

"Okay. Maybe I am a little selective these days, but I can totally claim ignorance on the tab thing. I thought you did that all the time."

"For people I like."

"And who exactly would that be these days?" Gabe raised an eyebrow in challenge as his father glared at him. "You're not exactly the friendliest dude in the bar."

"I own the place. I make sure the beer is cold and the peanuts are available. I don't have to be f*cking friendly, too." Toby frowned and handed Gabe a broom. "Go figure out how to use this."

Toby stomped out of the room and back behind the bar. Cigarette smoke lingered in the room, mixing with the sharp scent of beer and cheap wine. All around him, patrons were happy and smiling as they told jokes or snickered at someone else's behavior.

For years, the same scene had played out and it had never bothered Toby before.

Now it irritated him like a splinter stuck in his foot.

"Toby."

He turned, ready to pounce in anger at whoever was about to ask him for something. Instead, he closed his mouth and forced himself to listen to the red headed woman standing before him.

"What's up, Angela?" he asked. "Gabe is in the stockroom doing his job so you'll have to wait five minutes before you can attempt to stick your tongue down his throat again."

He regretted the words as soon as he said them. Angela's eyes filled with hurt tears, but she blinked them away.

"I'm sorry if the friendship between Gabe and I bothers you," she said.

"Friendship? Is that what you call it?"

"We flirt a little, but nothing is going on, and I've never stuck my tongue down his throat!"

Toby grunted his doubt.

"You sound like a bear when you make that noise!" Angela snapped. She glared at him a moment before her expression softened. "I just wanted to ask…well…I just wondered if you'd… heard from Jacqueline?"

"No." He debated with himself, and then asked the question. "Have you?"

"No. Nothing." Angela sighed. "I just don't understand what happened. Why would she suddenly decide to take a vacation? I'm supposed to be her best friend. She tells me everything, but on this one, I'm completely in the dark. I mean, it's been almost three months! What are you not telling me?"

"Nothing! I told you before, Jacqueline decided we were getting too serious, and she wanted some time to clear her head. That's why she left." Toby lied. "I don't know what else to tell you. Maybe you weren't as close to her as you thought."

"Whatever. You know nothing about the bonds of best friend sisterhood, Toby. I figured she would have called me by now just to say she was okay or to talk. Something is wrong."

"I’m sure she's fine," Toby said, irritated at her constant questioning. For weeks, they'd had a similar conversation every night. Angela would be so much easier to deal with if she was in on the truth. But Jacqueline had not wanted to rock her best friend's world with tales of wizards, banshees, and other things that went bump in the night. Out of respect, Toby kept his mouth shut.

"But how do you really know she's okay? I thought you loved her. Why aren't you more concerned?" she pushed.

"Concerned?" Toby could feel the blood rushing to his face. "I'm very concerned, Angela! But there is only so much I can do. If she doesn't want to be found, then that's that."

"That's it?" Angela shook her head. "I don't understand any of this."

"And you think I do?" Toby sighed. "Look, I'm sure she'll call you soon. Right now, why don't you go sit your little ass down at the bar and continue flirting with Gabe? Or better yet, get out of the bar and take him with you. It's not like he's getting any work done."

Angela glanced over her shoulder and Toby followed the direction of her gaze. Gabe was sweeping behind the bar. His dark hair was just a little too long and it slipped into his eyes. Toby supposed his son was handsome enough. Hell, half the girls who came into the bar went gaga over his dark, brooding look. It appeared Angela was no exception. The little twinkle that blossomed in Angela's eye when she looked at Gabe, the way her smile grew just a tad brighter--Toby could tell more than a flirtation was developing between them.

He didn't like it.

"I suppose I don't have to remind you that he's still a kid and kind of a loose cannon," Toby watched the smile slip a little on Angela's face.

"I know that I'm being a cougar," she said, lightly. "But he's not as immature as you like to think."

"Whatever you say," Toby snorted. "I'm not the one sleeping with him."

"Neither am I."

"Yet." Toby frowned. "It's not too late to back off."

"Why would I want to?"

"So that you don't get hurt, of course!" He shook his head, amazed she didn't understand. "I’m not playing around here. Gabe isn't all he might seem. And I know Jacqueline would want you to be careful, too."

"You know what? I know what she would want for you, too," Angela tossed her red hair. "To shit or get off the pot. Stop waiting around and go get her back."

Toby could practically see steam pouring from her ears as she strode off. A small pang of guilt hit him. After all the bad things that had occurred to Angela in the last six months, he should be more encouraging of her happiness even if it was with Gabe. But for some reason, seeing the two of them together just irked him.

And as for her suggestion about what he needed to do…he'd tried finding Jacqueline. It just hadn't worked out.

Frustrated, Toby tossed his towel on the bar and decided to go outside, maybe take a walk down by the river. Doing so always calmed his nerves and cleared his head.

Slipping out into the night, he followed the path behind the bar that led to the water. The spring air was still nippy; a reminder that winter had just fled for another year. Toby stuffed his hands into his pockets and tried to relax.

Slowly, the scent of lavender gathered around him, soothing his weary spirit. It caressed his skin, reminding him unmistakably of Jacqueline. The soft herb had been one of her favorites and he'd often used it to help calm her when she'd been worried over her powers.

Where was it coming from now?

Toby stopped in the middle of the path. He strained to distinguish the sounds around him and identify them one by one. Everything seemed normal and no one else appeared to be around.

And yet…

He had the oddest feeling of being watched, and his heart pounded a little harder as he thought about what the smell might mean. After searching for months for Jacqueline with no success, Gabe had suggested she might eventually come to check up on Toby, but if she did so, it would probably be under the veil of invisibility.

Gabe's suggestion was to create a magical charm that would go off if Jacqueline was near.

"Think of it as a banshee alarm system," he'd joked before taking a small piece of Jacqueline's clothing and casting a spell on it. "Put this in your pocket, and if you start smelling lavender, you'll know she's around. Since lavender is a scent you associate with her, it should be a great tell."

But Toby had never thought it might work.

Yet, here it was--the strong scent of lavender.

"Jacqueline?" he whispered.

Only silence answered.

"Are you there?" He looked around, trying to separate the shadows. "I've…I've missed you."

Toby could have sworn he heard the tiniest of sighs. Carefully, he turned his head to the right, hoping the darkness would reveal more than just shadows. The trees swayed their delicate branches which were just beginning to show signs of green, but there was nothing human there.

Desperate, Toby lifted a hand and threw out an illumination spell.

"Reveal."

There. A tiny shimmer of something in front of him.

"Babe, if you're here, I really need to talk to you," Toby said. "I know you think I betrayed you, but I swear it was just a misunderstanding. Death played us both for fools."

Was that a hand on his head? Fingers rustling through his hair? He closed his eyes, savoring the small touch.

"I will always love you. Please show yourself to me. Let's work this out."

But no one appeared and the scent of lavender grew faint. Maybe he'd imagined it all along.

Toby continued down the path to the water. As he drew closer, he could make out something lying on the ground. Curious, he quickened his pace.

"Damn," he swore when he realized what the shape was. A body. And it belonged to someone he knew. "Foster, what the hell did you get yourself into?"

Dropping to his knees, Toby examined the body. Someone or something had done a real number on the wizard. With a shake of his head, he said the words to a regression spell. The world whirled around him as it rewound to the moment in time when Foster had been killed.

Silently, in horror, Toby watched the gruesomeness of the wizard's death.

When it was over, he released the regression spell and heart sick, stumbled over to the river. He splashed water on his face, wishing it could erase everything he'd just seen. But it was too late. Time to face the truth.

His Jacqueline, the one he'd fallen for, was gone.

In its place was a horrible creature that he barely recognized.

As Toby contemplated this new revelation, a small circular light appeared in the sky above him. He stared at it, wondering what it could be. A UFO? A shooting star? With careful precision, the ball of light descended. It hovered above the water for several seconds before it stretched and grew into the shape of a fierce looking woman.

"Toby Williams?" She stood on the surface of the water. When he didn't immediately respond, she shifted her weight impatiently. "That is you, isn't it?"

"Yes. Who are you?"

To his astonishment, the woman walked across the top of the water towards him with a demeanor that reeked of haughtiness and arrogance. Her waist length hair was a rich shade of mahogany, and it swung loose around her long blue gown. On her hip a lethal looking sword caught the moon beams and shimmered. A small gold band with a Celtic symbol etched on it sat on top of her head.

"I am Morrigan," she said.

Morrigan, The Goddess of War and Strife. Toby had become very familiar with the lore surrounding her the last few months. He'd even started working on a spell to contact her for help with Jacqueline's half banshee problem, but had been interrupted by the Spark family and their plans to kidnap him.

"You should kneel before me," Morrigan instructed when he continued to stand there. Wordless, Toby dropped to his knees. "That's better. You are a supplicant in my eyes. I will hear what it is you desire."

"Um…I don't want to hurt your feelings or anything, but I didn't summon you," Toby said. "I mean, I was going to, but things changed."

"Of course you did not summon me! You don't have the power to do so. However, I know you, my boy, and I am always keen to watch over those I've gifted with my kiss. That includes their offspring." Morrigan frowned as she noticed the dead body behind Toby. "Are you responsible for this man's death?"

"No."

"Is the one they call Jacqueline Huston responsible?"

Toby hesitated.

"Don’t lie to me," Morrigan warned. "I already know our newest little banshee is causing a great deal of problems. She has no control over her powers and no regard for the rules I laid out millennia ago for reapers of the Irish, Welsh, and Celtic clans. That is unacceptable. I can see by the misery in your eyes that she is indeed responsible for this wizard's demise, too."

"What are you going to do?" Toby kept his voice respectful, but he worried over the goddess's answer. He knew all too well what happened to the last half banshee that tore up Europe.

"Not that." Morrigan laughed softly. "Your thoughts are loud, wizard. Besides, there is no Box of Souls strong enough to hold Jacqueline now. She has consumed Death's spirit which gives her extra strength even though Jacqueline is not dead."

"She isn't? I thought maybe Death's essence had destroyed her. She doesn't look…human anymore." Toby said.

"Men are always swayed by the way a woman looks. Some things never change," Morrigan said, with a small smile. "And as for Jacqueline's current state of being, certain circumstances have come into play that keeps her alive."

"What do you mean?"

Morrigan gave him a speculative stare.

"Rise, Toby. You may walk with me." She turned and delicately stepped over Foster's body. Toby had no choice but to follow her along the river bank. "Jacqueline still holds a piece of humanity inside her."

"So she could be saved?"

"I doubt it. But as they say, anything is possible. This piece of humanity won't stay with her for long if things don't change."

"How can I help her?"

Morrigan stretched out her hand and touched the branch of a low hanging tree. Instantly, a small white flower blossomed, giving off a sweet smell.

"Humanity is so fragile," she said, stopping to look at the flower. "Humans are always doing things to harm one another. It's a shame really."

"Some humans are interested in helping their fellow man."

"Are you one of those humans?"

"I like to think so."

Morrigan continued walking and Toby noticed all around them plants were blossoming and blooming.

"Tell me what you want most in this world, Toby." Morrigan stopped and gracefully stooped down, running her hand in the water. "What is your desire?"

"Jacqueline."

"And is that all?"

"I want her to be happy."

"Such simple needs," Morrigan laughed softly. "You are an interesting man, capable of creating unique offspring."

"You mean Gabe?" Toby shrugged. "I didn't really think about creating something unique. I was just in love with Gabriella."

"Something special is in your genes or in your DNA, as the ones you call scientists say." Morrigan stood up and faced him. "I will help you with what you desire, but it will come at a price."

"Doesn't everything?" Toby couldn't quite keep the sarcasm from his voice. "What is it?"

"In order to help Jacqueline retain her humanity and become controllable, you must help her hold on to the last shred of humanity, that last spark keeping her alive," Morrigan said.

"Tell me how?"

The goddess smiled.

"You must help her keep the baby growing within her alive."