The Quirkes of Magic

Dó: Lost and Found

   "You have to take risks. We will only understand the miracle of life fully when we allow the unexpected to happen."
                -Paulo Coelho
The nephilim turned his head to satiate his curiosity and stared at the tallest Winchester.
"Father?" Jack questioned. Then, with Danny's assistance, stood up. Danny averted her eyes as to avoid Jack's nude form and directed her calming gaze to her brother.
"No...no, no, no. I'm-I'm not your father, Jack. It is Jack, right?" Sam replied calmly, although obviously freaked out.
Dean's voice rang up the stairs, calling for his siblings, "Sam? Danny?"
"We're in here." called the youngest Winchesters in unison. Dean entered the room, spotted Jack, and immediately opened fire. "No!" cried the younger siblings. The bullet grazed Jack's right shoulder, just missing Danny. Jack started screaming, instinctively, in reaction to being attacked. The echoes of force shattered every window in the nursery and levitated the siblings, keeping them suspended for a few moments, before it sent all three Winchesters flying backwards. Each of them lost consciousness.

"Danny... Danny... Dianaimh." The darkness cleared and she was in the garden. The garden back at her mother's home in Gentlenesse, New York. The multiple fruit trees each had their blossoms in full bloom, an enchanted sky of pink and white. The grounds were packed closely with bright splashes of color, but purple had always been her mother's preference. Glorious aromas filled the air. The marble gazebo stood prominently in the center of the acres of magnificent labyrinthine space behind the manor. The hanging pots practically overflowed with herbs, from moss to verbena and the aurelian rune-work glimmered and glinted in the welcome May sun. The small table before her was covered in a tablecloth of the most intricate, pearl lace and atop it the lavender, porcelain, Victorian tea set she painted as a child. The shotty handiwork of a toddler marked this set as her mother's favorite, which to many would seem blasphemous considering her extensive collection of fine China. The cup on her saucer was filled with a bright crimson liquid that sent a grin to her face, raspberry tea. The small plate beside it held a lemon/berry tea sandwich. On the tea tray in the center sat the tea pot brimming with the vibrant solution, the matching sugar jar and creamer cup, a pot of fresh honey, and the cake stand with an assortment of finger sandwiches piled on. The small table was set how a five-year-old Danny would have set it for herself and her mother for teatime, but instead of the girl's usual raspberry tea, the cup on the other side was brimming with what the teenager was sure to be Irish Breakfast Tea.
     "Mom." Danny whispered at the cup, entranced by distant memories.
     "I'm here, Love." Danny's head shot up at the familiar Irish accent. In the previously empty seat before her now sat her mother. She was dressed in her garden clothes, which typically consisted of a white and flowy floral sundress, gold sandals, her red hair in a low braided bun, large sunhat, pearl earrings and necklace, and her ring and jean jacket. However the last four items were missing on Ríoghnach's visage. She beamed at her, now grown, daughter and reached out to grasp her hands. Danny could feel it. She could feel her mother's contact upon her skin.
     "You died." Danny stated, pulling away. "Did you at least get what you wanted?"
     "Mourning Dove? I don't understa-"
     "You were eaten alive by a hellhound, Mom. That means you made a demon deal. That means you're in Hell. So, did you get what you wanted?"
     Ríoghnach's eyes teared, "You've misunderstood-"
     "Have I?"
     "Yes! Yes, Danny, you have. We don't have much time together and I have to explain myself. Please!" She took her child's silence as a cue to keep speaking, "I made that deal to protect you."
     "From what?" Danny entertained, stirring honey into her tea.
     "From yourself. There was a reason why I separated you and your sister. You-you were too dangerous for her to be around. As you are aware, you and your sister have different fathers and Eibhlín is six months older than you are, although you are twins. Three months before Lee was born I was walking down Orchard Avenue and I was stopped by the Mishra's daughter, Moira, she was four at the time. She is a seer. She warned me about the latter of my unborn daughters, you. She said if you weren't delt with that you and everybody within a thousand mile radius of you would die. You're newborn body wouldn't be able to contain the blast. I made that deal because my magic wasn't strong enough to stop whatever was going to happen to you, but a demon could. So when Lee was born I sent her to live in London with her father. Outside the blast zone. When you were born the deal was sealed. I kept you by my side for as long as we had left together. You were never supposed to see what you did."
     "Six, I was six. The demon gave you six years instead of ten?"
     "It was a fair price for such a tall order. I couldn't bare to lose even one of my girls. When the demon died his influence was broken." Danny brought her cup to her lips before returning it to its saucer.
     "The glowing ribbons? That's what that was?"
     "Yes. I'm afraid it's not over, yet."
     "How do you mean?"
     "Before the deal was struck I installed a magical safety net within you. The demon's power kept it intact, but your body is ripping it to shreds. My magic is persistent though, and lasts forever, even after I die."
     "Like the border around town?" Danny muffled through a mouthful of tiny sandwich.
     "Yes. Now there is just scraps of my magic trying to hold you back and only half working."
     "Meaning?"
     "Meaning you won't be able to control what's to come as you should be able to. It makes you notably dangerous." Her form flickered, "We're out of time together. I likely won't be able to contact you ever again." Her form began to fade as Danny attempted to hold her mother's hand, but passed through it.
     "Mom?" The earth surrounding the gazebo crumbled into a chasm of incandescence.
     "You have to break the spell, Dianaimh! You're the only who can!" The luminosity swallowed the sky.
     "I can't. I don't know how. I'm not like you, I'm not a witch!" The great marble structure evaporated into lambency.
     "You are so much more than you will ever be able to fathom." she beamed at her daughter once more, tears clouding her vision, "I love you!" She too, vanished.