The Banshee's Revenge

Chapter 12



"No!" Jacqueline shouted. "No, she can't have the baby."

Morrigan smiled.

"I can and I will," she explained as if speaking to a small child. "You have no say in the matter now that the deal is done. Death needed a way out, you needed to be free of the rage in order to go about your business, and the scales of nature will once again be in balance."

"But my child, the baby, it won't really be alive." Jacqueline grabbed Toby's arm. "Toby, she's killing our baby."

"The baby will live," Morrigan soothed.

"But she won't be right. Her real soul will be dead, replaced by Death."

"So what? It won't be your problem, Jacqueline. Once the baby and Death are gone, you will die."

"What do you mean?"

"Do you realize that the only thing sustaining you all these months has been Death's essence and the growing life inside you?" Morrigan smiled. "Once both are gone, you'll die thus fulfilling your true destiny to become a banshee. You'll finally be whole and free of humanity. I mean, just look at yourself. That charm you wore helped you feel normal again, didn't it? Without it, you are nothing but anger and rage. How can a child live like that? Who would want a mother who couldn't love?"

The implications of all Morrigan said hit her. No more pain, no more anger or need for revenge. Just a quiet existence.

"Toby," she whispered. "How could you do this?"

"I'm sorry, but I didn't know how else to save you. You can't go on like this."

"It's not just you he's saved, Jacqueline, but the world. If you continued along the path you'd set for yourself, everything in this universe would eventually be thrown off because of your actions." Morrigan reached out and placed a hand on each side of Jacqueline's stomach. "What's one child anyway for the greater good anyway?"

So many feelings rolled inside of Jacqueline. Remorse, exhaustion, bitterness--she could hardly keep up with them all.

She became conscious of a feeling of warmth spreading across her abdomen. Morrigan's eyes were closed and a white light spilled from her hands which were still placed on either side of Jacqueline's stomach. A sense of peace filled the room and a great heaviness was lifted from her.

A moment later, the shape of a small newborn child appeared in Morrigan's arms.

"There you are my darling," the goddess whispered to the baby. "I've got you now."

The sound of weeping filled the room, but it took Jacqueline a moment to realize that it came from herself.

*****

Toby tensed as Morrigan held his daughter.

It had taken every bit of self-control he possessed as a man and a wizard to not leap forward and grab the child. He'd made a promise and no matter how painful, he was going to see it through to the end. While he still wasn't entirely sure he could trust Morrigan to hold up her end of their bargain, hope still leapt in his heart and that hope had grown stronger with each passing moment.

Jacqueline's emotions were coming back to her--without the aid of the charm.

That had been the whole point of wearing it. She needed a taste of what it was like to be human, and hopefully that taste would lead to a need for more. Rage was getting shoved aside to let other elements of her humanity in. There was a small window of opportunity where she could defy the odds.

She could remain human.

The deal, putting the charm that accelerated the baby's growth--everything would be worth it if the next few minutes played out as he and Morrigan gambled they would. The only thing that worried him was that she'd taken the charm off too soon; that her trust in him wasn't strong enough to override whatever lies had been told to her.

"Please," Jacqueline whispered. "May I hold the baby?"

Morrigan smiled and bent over to hand the child to its mother.

But Jacqueline's waiting arms only filled with air as the baby suddenly disappeared.

"Well, aren't you a cute thing," Arwan cooed from the entrance of the pool room. In his arms, lay the baby who began to cry. "Too cute for this world."

"Arwan, what are you doing?" Morrigan demanded, her eyes flashing with anger. "That child belongs to me."

"Not anymore, mother." Gwydion pushed past Arwan and roughly took the child. "It belongs to me."

"No!" Jacqueline screamed and tried to get off of the table. "Give her back!"

"She was never going to be yours. You were just the vessel," Gwydion sneered. "And now I'll make my own deal with you and your wizard."

"We don't make deals with you. Where is Gabe?" Toby stood, peering over Gwydion's shoulder into the other room. His heart thundered with fear at the unexpected twist in their plan. "If you harm my children, I will kill you myself."

"Gabe is in there lying next to that whore he fancies. He wasn't as strong as he thought he was." Gwydion said. "The baby will come with me. I will allow it to live as long as you stay far from me."

"My dear, you are hardly a suitable parent." Morrigan crossed her arms. "Someone like you should never be allowed to breed much less raise children."

"I could say the same for you, mother. And you should know a great deal about being an unsuitable parent."

"Now you're just trying to hurt me," Morrigan mocked, but her tone changed to one of warning. "I don't want to harm you, son, but I will if you don't return the baby to me."

"Not a chance." Gwydion turned to Arwan. "Let's go."

"Morrigan," Toby pleaded. "Do something?"

Before she could respond their attention turned to Jacqueline who moaned in pain. He was shocked to see how pale her face had become. A thin line of sweat dotted her forehead and the smell of decay filled the room.

"She is dying," Morrigan said. "Her time has at last come."

This wasn't how it was supposed to go. Frustrated, Toby glared at Morrigan who only shrugged her shoulders.

"Even the best laid plans can go wrong, my dear," she said to him.

"I never should have trusted you." Toby's anger rose. Why had he made a deal with her? If only he'd known about the Merlin angle. "You're doing this because Jacqueline is Merlin's daughter? Some sort of revenge thing, right?"

"Wait a moment, Gwydion." Arwan grabbed the wizard's arm, watching Jacqueline struggle. "She's one of mine. I'd like to make sure she makes the transition."

Angela and Gabe staggered into the room. Gabe's hair was standing on end as if he'd plugged his finger in a light socket and his face had a pale, sweaty sheen to it, but other than that, he was alert.

"What's going on?" Angela said, holding a hand to a cut on her forehead. "Where did these people come from?"

"Gabe, get her out of here," Toby ordered.

But Angela rushed past and hurried over to the pool table.

"Oh, god, Jacqueline," she whispered, taking in the sight of her best friend's pale, agonized face. "What's wrong with her, Toby?"

"She's dying."

Tears filled Angela's eyes and she gripped one of Jacqueline's hands.

"Can't you do anything to stop it?" Angela asked. She looked over her shoulder at Gabe. "Can't anything be done?"

Her words echoed the question Toby had been asking himself over and over the last few months. He thought about how he'd hunted everywhere for Jacqueline, how he'd never stopped loving her. He remembered the way she smiled and the look of delight in her eyes when she made him laugh. The scent of her perfume, the toss of her head, the way she ran her fingers through his hair during their moments of passion--it all rushed at him--along with anger.

He always had done the right thing. Never being someone to act rashly, Toby liked to weigh every action, every use of magic done carefully in order to make sure that his actions never harmed another. It was a code he lived by.

But right now…rage just about blinded him.

What was happening to Jacqueline, to their child, was so unfair.

Toby Williams had had enough.

Leaning over, he kissed Jacqueline on the forehead and then turned to face Gwydion. The old wizard lifted an eyebrow and grinned.

"Careful, Toby. You wouldn't want to do anything to hurt the child."

Saying nothing, Toby walked slowly towards Gwydion. It pleased him when Gabe fell into step beside him.

"Give me the child, Gwydion, or face the consequences," Toby said. "Or are you too much of a coward to fight me?"

"I am far more powerful than you," Gwydion said.

"You keep saying that, but I noticed you didn't exactly stick around to prove it at our last encounter. A wizard's snare is a pretty easy way out."

"I have always loved a good wizard fight, Gwydion." Arwan held out his arms as the wizards squared off. "And you assured me that you didn't run away the last time you faced them. So finish it now. Hand me the child."

Gwydion hesitated a moment before using a transport spell to send the child to Arwan.

The old wizard rubbed his hands together.

"Let's begin."

*****

"There is no need for you to die in such pain. You can be saved from that," Morrigan whispered to Jacqueline.

All around them the fight raged in the pool room. The three wizards tossed fireballs at each other that hissed in the air and the smell of sulfur from their exertions lingered everywhere. Yet, Jacqueline was only dimly aware of it.

The taste of iron was in her mouth. Bitter and metallic, she recognized the sharp tang of blood as her body shut down, organ by organ.

"Listen to her, "Angela urged, as she cowered next to the table to avoid getting hit by one of the wizards.

A blue wash of light circled the pool table and Jacqueline watched as a fireball bounced off it.

"I've cast a small protection shield that will keep us safe," Morrigan explained." As I said, there is no reason for you to die like this. You can be saved from all this pain."

"How?" Jacqueline croaked out the word, trying hard to focus.

"Kill the child."

She shook her head, rejecting the thought.

"I know it seems harsh, but it's the last shred of humanity that connects you to this world. With that part of you dead, you can quickly pass on. The nightmare will be over. All this fighting ends."

Over.

The pain would stop.

Oh, but that did sound nice.

"Arwan," Morrigan commanded the god. "Bring that child here."

Without hesitation, he walked through the blue shield.

"But I thought he was on Gwydion's side," Angela said. "I'm so confused."

"A ruse. My son is an idiot. A god like Arwan will always be faithful to me." Morrigan smiled at Arwan. "Isn't that so?"

"Indeed," Arwan said. "Gwydion needs to be taught a lesson. I knew he was out of line the moment he first approached me about killing Jacqueline. I went to Morrigan to better understand the situation. It's amazing the clarity you can find in a goddess's bedroom."

"You mean, you two…?" Angela shook her head. "And I thought I got around."

"I owed Morrigan a favor. So I agreed to stay help stir up trouble, to bring things to a head. It wasn't hard with Hades on my back."

"Your baby is dead, Jacqueline," Morrigan said, softly. "What you gave birth to was no longer even your child. Death killed its soul."

"No," Jacqueline cried, grief overwhelming her. "No!"

"I’m sorry to break it to you like this, but everything going on is part of greater plan," Morrigan took the baby from Arwan, bouncing it soothingly. "Death has been reborn."

"I don't…I don't believe you."

"See for yourself."

Morrigan held the baby out. Jacqueline could see the stark blue eyes of the child turn blood red.

"Oh, god," Jacqueline whispered. "Not my child."

"So you see, this is why the baby must die." Morrigan laid the baby on the table next to Jacqueline. A silver knife materialized in her hand. "Things like this should not be put off."

"What are you doing?" Horrified, Angela reached forward to stop Morrigan, but was pushed away. From the floor, she wailed, "Jacqueline, you can't let her kill the baby. It's just a child."

"An evil child who stole the life your own baby would have had." Morrigan lifted the knife into the air, her eyes intent on the task at hand. "You can't possibly have feelings for a thing like that. I take revenge for you. I kill the thing that harmed you most."

"Jacqueline, don't let her do this!' Angela screamed

Jacqueline felt horror well in her at the sight of the knife shining in the air. For a brief moment, she imagined it plunging forward, silencing Death who had tormented her all these months. What sweet vengeance that would be!

But then the baby cooed and its head shifted her direction. The blue eyes of her newborn child looked at her, almost as if it recognized her as its mother. Something in those small innocent orbs reminded her of Toby. There was no sign of evil, no sign of the malevolent creature inside. Her child's spirit was still in there--she was sure of it!

She glanced over to see Toby staring at her through the barrier Morrigan had created. His eyes pleaded with her as he mouthed the words, "I love you."

In that moment, Jacqueline felt the rage and doubt flee from her heart.

She wanted this baby to live.

No matter the cost.

Without thought for anything else, Jacqueline summoned her last reserve of strength and grabbed the baby. Holding it close to her heart, she glared in defiance at Morrigan.

To her surprise, Morrigan smiled.

"Good," she said. "I would have hated to have guessed wrong and failed the prophecy."

"What do you mean?" Jacqueline asked, but there was no time to hear Morrigan's answer. She could feel a change happening inside her.

It was different than the cold and pain of dying.

It felt like…well, like life was starting again.

"Oh, wow," Angela said, watching Jacqueline's face. "That is cool. Better than any facial cream I've ever seen advertised."

"What's happening?" Jacqueline asked.

"Your humanity is taking control," Morrigan said. "Toby always knew it was still in you. You just had to have a reason to see it for yourself. Saving the child, even though it could have a terrible entity inside it, activated your humanity. You no longer need my kiss to remind you of who and what you are. Congratulations. You just stopped the dying process."

"Am I better? Will I still be struggling with my powers?" Jacqueline took a deep breath, feeling her body warm to the new changes. "What if I lose control again?"

"You won't," Morrigan said. "At least, I hope not. That's really up to you. I'm leaving my charm for you to wear."

"So I'm still a half banshee and still human?"

"For the time being."

"And the baby?"

"The baby is special," Morrigan said. "As all babies are. Merlin must have mentioned the prophecy to you. It has yet to be completed."

"But the baby…is it healthy?"

"Death is inside it, though she can't control the child completely. That's one of the reasons I would like you to give me permission to care for the child for a while. "

"Isn't that part of the deal Toby made with you?"

"Yes, but I'd prefer to have your blessing, too. Toby loves you and he knew this would be a huge sacrifice if our plan even succeeded. This doesn't mean you can't see her when you want, but this child is a new thing, a new being. It needs to be kept safe from those who would want to harm her." Morrigan glanced at the fight still raging around them. "There are others like Gwydion out there who want nothing more than a weapon such as this."

"I can see her when I want?" Jacqueline looked down at the small child who looked so peaceful now. "I don't know if I can give her up."

"It's not giving her up, my dear. It's providing her with a type of protection you would not be able to give her."

"I understand," Jacqueline said softly.

"She's so beautiful," Angela cooed, touching the baby's soft skin. "Just like her mother."

Jacqueline grinned.

"I'm glad you're here, Angela. I'm sorry I threw you into a wall."

"Me, too. You owe me some drinks and a bottle of Tylenol to help stop the pain in my head." Angela laughed and looked through the blue shield at the wizards. Gabe took a hard hit to the head and she bit her lip, worried. "Any chance you can stop this pissing contest, Morrigan?"

With a smile, Morrigan collapsed the blue shield and raised her hand. The fireballs in the air froze in place, causing the wizards to turn and look at her.

"It's over, Gwydion," she said, calmly. "The baby is mine and Jacqueline has her humanity back."

Toby hurried over to Jacqueline, while Gabe stayed in a defensive position, keeping an eye on Gwydion.

"Are you hurt?" Toby asked, searching her face. "What happened?"

"I found my humanity, thanks to you," she whispered and kissed him softly. "Everything is going to be alright."

"But the baby…Morrigan's going to…" he broke off.

"She's going to take it. I understand."

"Not if I can help it," Gwydion shouted and aimed all his power at the couple on the couch.

Morrigan blocked his magic with a wave of her hand.

"Settle down," she admonished, anger causing her face to flush. "You're really making me angry now."

"So what if she's got her humanity," Gwydion sneered. "I can kill her easier now. And as for the baby, you don't really think it's safe from me in your realm?"

"No, I don't," Morrigan said quietly. "I'm sorry to do this to you, son. But you are leaving me no choice."

She thrust a blast of blue light at Gwydion. The light wrapped around him in a roar of angry energy, the smell of ozone crackling in the air. His eyes opened wide while his mouth twisted into a silent O of pain.

Little by little his body began to disintegrate.

It started with his fingers turning to a fine dust which crept up his arms and through his torso. He shriveled before them, only his eyes telling of the agony he was going through. They beseeched Morrigan to stop her magic, but she carried on.

A wind blew through the room taking the last bits of Gwydion away as easily as a Fall leaf gets carried through the air.

Morrigan heaved a great sigh and Arwan placed a comforting arm around her shoulder.

"It's done," she said without looking at them. "You have nothing more to fear from him."

"Oh, Morrigan," Jacqueline said, full of sympathy. "I’m sorry."

Morrigan turned, the ghost of a tear in her eye.

"I'll be back tomorrow for the child," she said, firmly. "We'll talk more about the future then."

Without another word, the goddess vanished.

Arwan smiled at Jacqueline.

"I expect you to start reaping your kinsman's souls as soon as matters are settled with Morrigan." He glanced at Angela, sexual hunger in his eyes. "I don't suppose your friend is a banshee or reaper?"

"No," Gabe spoke for Angela. He stepped up to Arwan. "She's human."

"A pity. She'd be a lovely addition to my court."

With a suggestive wink at Angela, Arwan disappeared.

"We'll leave you two alone. You guys probably have a lot to talk about. I know we do." Angela pushed Gabe towards the door, her tone serious as she started asking him questions. "What's this about you killing Eric?"

"Thanks." Toby waited till they were out of the room and then turned to Jacqueline. "Are you okay?"

"Yes," she answered, cradling the baby in her arms. "Have you taken a good look at your daughter?"

"She's beautiful. Like her mother."

"Thank you." Jacqueline reached up and touched his face. "And thank you for not giving up on me."

"Never. I love you."

"I'm lucky."

"Can you…can you forgive me?" Toby closed his eyes. "Our daughter is going away because of me."

"We'll still see her. You did the right thing. We can't give her the kind of protection she needs right now and Morrigan knows how to deal with Death. It's all part of the prophecy. Our child will come out of this alright."

"And us? Will we make it?"

Jacqueline studied him, thinking about what the future might hold.

They'd been through hell already. What else was there that they couldn't conquer?

"Yeah. We're gonna make it. I can feel it, wizard."

"Good, banshee. I'd have hated to go through all this shit for nothing."

Jacqueline laughed, pleased when Toby started laughing, too.

As if knowing that her parents were full of joy, the baby cooed and a feeling of peace descended on them.

For Jacqueline--being in the arms of her man, holding the baby close--it was nothing short of magical.