Chapter the Fourteenth: Rot.

We slept until after lunch time and only lazily recaptured the kitchen in order to grab a coffee and some sandwiches. We put together a list of the information we had unearthed in Sara's memories and agreed that we had to gather a defence to protect ourselves against this guy: Shaw. There were prayers that had to be made and we both took them as seriously as had her parents. I anointed her with a mixture of oils she brought out of the kitchen cabinets, lit candles and drew symbols on her belly. Finally we kissed and the spell was complete. I thought I could feel the spell drawing through me as we spoke the words and performed the rituals. I looked at her in an earnest way, hoping to reassure her. "I don't think we left anything out, that ceremony was the one that your mother and father used when you were a baby and was probably the strongest they could devise."

"We should get Valerie and Amy covered as soon as we can." She said, packing the parts of spell together. I felt honoured that this woman accepted my other loves so completely and I agreed we should get there right away. Sara made arrangements to go visit her relatives and try to make sense of some of the things we had found. I had to go back on my own and made my way to my house in deep contemplation of the events of the day. We agreed to meet there later that day.

Amy and Valerie had to be called from their dormitory and eagerly jumped into the car to get back to my place. Their smiles disappeared when they saw my countenance and the journey took on a sombre mood. On the way I told them about the situation and had to do an awful lot of reassurance to calm them down. Both girls were deeply fearful and not all of it was for their own safety. It was quite difficult to hide my own fear from them.

We ate a light supper and waited for Sara to arrive. It was early evening when she rang the door bell. She came inside with a bustle, she had a lot of information that we all had to hear and it was in very short order that we all sat down on the couch where she began.

"I went to see my Aunt Aileen and Uncle Aiden. They have a farm down towards Reddington." She took both my hands in hers and continued. "It took me quite a bit of struggling before they let me even come back to you, you know?" She looked at me with a half-smile on her lips. "They are truly frightened about the way things are happening."

She went on to tell me that the old couple had been reading 'signs' for several weeks and her story had shocked them into a frenzy of activity; telephone calls, prayers and songs. It wasn't until she managed to get through to them, how much she was in love with me and how I had been chosen by Queen Mab, the good queen herself, that they agreed to work for us. She went on to tell us how there was to be a gathering of our friends on the next Sunday; a new moon. It would give me a chance to consolidate any plans I might have on how we might proceed.

Tonight though, I was expected to go there and prove my claims. The fact that she and the two teens were joined with me did make them vulnerable but so long as I kept their identities hidden, it was difficult for Shaw's followers to get at them.