she started saying
all kinds of stuff."
Colin
slapped the girl's face gently, trying to rouse her. "What kind of
'stuff?" he asked absently.
"About — oh, I don't know — the city of the temple and
the dragons in the earth — real sci-fi stuff," Jonathan said awkwardly.
"That the dragon would rise up against the city of the temple and against
the temple, that was it. And something about the path of the eclipse."
It
did not sound like ravings to Colin — in fact it sounded oddly cogent — like prophecies still held
by his own Order — but that might be mere coincidence. What was important now
was finding out just what was the matter with Jonathan's girlfriend.
At that moment Claire's eyes opened,
staring unfocusedly past Colin at something that only she could see. In the
illumination from the streetlamp he could see that the pupils were wildly
dilated, the iris only a pale silvery ring around the edge of the pupil.
"The
Sun," she said in a hoarse distant voice. "The City on the Hill — Master — He's hanging on the tree
and I won't — " Abruptly she jerked forward, trying to get out of
the car. "I can't stand it," she muttered in a more normal voice.
"Get out — get away. Stop it, stop it, stop it!"
"Be
still," Colin commanded strongly. He suspected what her problem was, now.
Claire bore certain signs that Colin had been trained long ago to look for, of
a psychic Sensitive whose centers had somehow been forced open. Now she was
defenseless, with no shield against an onslaught of sensory input from this
world and the next. With the thumb of his right hand he sketched the seal of
the pentagram upon her forehead, and had his suspicions confirmed when Claire
fell back into her seat, limp.
A
magickal seal would have had no effect on any mundane ailment, but it had
worked here, giving Claire a momentary peace. Without knowing how the Kether
chakra had been opened, he did not dare to try to close it, and it would take
him time that Claire did not have to find out. She needed to be in a safe place
until her centers could be closed once more.
While
one of the basic tenets of parapsychology held that the psychic powers were
not at all supernatural — being a gift that, though rare, was a normal part of the
human sensory appartus — it was axiomatic that unless one were dealing with a strong
Sensitive, forcing open the psychic centers of the mind would lead at most to a
flurry of wild hunches and perhaps a few bad nightmares. Not to the sort of
reaction Claire London was manifesting — unless she truly had not had
any inkling of what she was.
Colin
glanced back at the house. Take her inside? But no — if she was already open and
unshielded, bringing her there could be the worst possible thing for her.
Colin's wards were strong, but what lay inside them, though it was of the
Light, was something too intense for the uninitiated to stand against. Taking
her into the house would only make matters immeasurably worse.
Who
did he know in the Bay Area who was equipped to handle this sort of crisis?
"Alison,"
Colin said aloud.
Greenhaven
was a protected place, one dedicated to the Great Work, and Alison Margrave was
rigorous and conscientious in her banishings. No force that Alison did not
choose to admit could enter this place while its guardian lived. Claire would be
safe there.
"Professor?"
Jonathan's voice was frightened. "What did you do? What's wrong with
Claire?"
"Don't
worry, Jon, I think she'll be all right if we can get her the kind of help she
needs. I'm going to take her to a friend I know. See if you can get her
into the backseat; I'm going to go get my
all kinds of stuff."
Colin
slapped the girl's face gently, trying to rouse her. "What kind of
'stuff?" he asked absently.
"About — oh, I don't know — the city of the temple and
the dragons in the earth — real sci-fi stuff," Jonathan said awkwardly.
"That the dragon would rise up against the city of the temple and against
the temple, that was it. And something about the path of the eclipse."
It
did not sound like ravings to Colin — in fact it sounded oddly cogent — like prophecies still held
by his own Order — but that might be mere coincidence. What was important now
was finding out just what was the matter with Jonathan's girlfriend.
At that moment Claire's eyes opened,
staring unfocusedly past Colin at something that only she could see. In the
illumination from the streetlamp he could see that the pupils were wildly
dilated, the iris only a pale silvery ring around the edge of the pupil.
"The
Sun," she said in a hoarse distant voice. "The City on the Hill — Master — He's hanging on the tree
and I won't — " Abruptly she jerked forward, trying to get out of
the car. "I can't stand it," she muttered in a more normal voice.
"Get out — get away. Stop it, stop it, stop it!"
"Be
still," Colin commanded strongly. He suspected what her problem was, now.
Claire bore certain signs that Colin had been trained long ago to look for, of
a psychic Sensitive whose centers had somehow been forced open. Now she was
defenseless, with no shield against an onslaught of sensory input from this
world and the next. With the thumb of his right hand he sketched the seal of
the pentagram upon her forehead, and had his suspicions confirmed when Claire
fell back into her seat, limp.
A
magickal seal would have had no effect on any mundane ailment, but it had
worked here, giving Claire a momentary peace. Without knowing how the Kether
chakra had been opened, he did not dare to try to close it, and it would take
him time that Claire did not have to find out. She needed to be in a safe place
until her centers could be closed once more.
While
one of the basic tenets of parapsychology held that the psychic powers were
not at all supernatural — being a gift that, though rare, was a normal part of the
human sensory appartus — it was axiomatic that unless one were dealing with a strong
Sensitive, forcing open the psychic centers of the mind would lead at most to a
flurry of wild hunches and perhaps a few bad nightmares. Not to the sort of
reaction Claire London was manifesting — unless she truly had not had
any inkling of what she was.
Colin
glanced back at the house. Take her inside? But no — if she was already open and
unshielded, bringing her there could be the worst possible thing for her.
Colin's wards were strong, but what lay inside them, though it was of the
Light, was something too intense for the uninitiated to stand against. Taking
her into the house would only make matters immeasurably worse.
Who
did he know in the Bay Area who was equipped to handle this sort of crisis?
"Alison,"
Colin said aloud.
Greenhaven
was a protected place, one dedicated to the Great Work, and Alison Margrave was
rigorous and conscientious in her banishings. No force that Alison did not
choose to admit could enter this place while its guardian lived. Claire would be
safe there.
"Professor?"
Jonathan's voice was frightened. "What did you do? What's wrong with
Claire?"
"Don't
worry, Jon, I think she'll be all right if we can get her the kind of help she
needs. I'm going to take her to a friend I know. See if you can get her
into the backseat; I'm going to go get my
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