The Voice

Prologue

                                                 P r o l o g u e   -   1 9 8 3

Callum O'Brien was tired. He always seemed to be tired nowadays. Cancer can do that. But still, he forced himself to climb out of bed, to get dressed, and to walk into the kitchen. When his wife Mary saw him, she couldn't hide her smile. She poured him a cup of tea before he could even ask and handed it to him. He took a sip, thankful for the strength it would give him.

"Daddy, look what I did!" A light voice called. Callum grinned. It was his daughter Siobhan and her voice was like angels singing.

"What is it, bean?" He asked, walking over to the kitchen table where she sat. She lifted a large piece of paper from her lap and handed it to him. He sat down in the chair opposite of her and studied the picture. It was good. For a six year old at least.

He grinned at the wobbly outline of a house and the three stick figure people inside. One was tall and had dark hair, another shorter with long yellow hair and the last was tiny with brown hair. The grass was an unflattering shade of green and there was some sort of animal out in the yard.

"Do you like it?" Siobhan asked, her eyes wide, waiting for his judgment. Callum found himself unable to hold off his smile and placed the picture down on the table. He smiled at her and nodded.

"I love it." He said. Siobhan's grin stretched from ear to ear. "It's actually the best you've done yet. I do have a question, though." He said. Mary came out of the kitchen and studied the picture with a smile. She sat down next to Siobhan before Callum continued. "Is that a dog in the yard?"

"Nope." Siobhan answered excitedly. "It's a cow."

"A cow?" Callum questioned. "What on earth is a cow doing in the yard?"

"Eating grass." She said simply. Callum barked out a quick laugh and Mary grinned.

"Of course it is, Cal, what else would it be doing in the yard?" She teased, before turning her attention back to Siobhan. "We have to be leaving soon, bean. Go on and get dressed for school."

"Alright." Siobhan said, rolling her eyes. Callum gave her a sympathetic look before she bounded off to her room. His heart throbbed with sadness and he took a sip of his tea.

"How are you feeling this morning?" Mary asked, looking at Callum with concern. He made sure his expression was bright before answering.

"I'm feeling good." He lied. "Better than I have for the past few days." He saw in her eyes that she was doubtful but instead of pressing on, she took a breath and grabbed his hand.

"Maybe we can do lunch today?" Her voice was hopeful, and Callum felt himself nod.

"Sounds wonderful." He said. "Do you want me to take Siobhan to school today?" The question was asked out of habit and he regretted it as soon as it passed his lips. Mary sighed and looked at him sadly.

"You know what your doctor said." She said, her voice light. Callum nodded.

"No operating heavy machinery, I know." He said. "I just forgot for a moment." Mary nodded and stood up, checking the watch on her wrist.

"Siobhan, sweetie we've got to go!" She called. Callum quickly drained the rest of his tea and pushed himself away from the table. Siobhan came from her room wearing bright green pants and a pink jumper. She ran to Callum and jumped into his open arms. He winced slightly, but ignored the pain as he hugged her.

"I love you, Daddy." She said, granting him a kiss on the cheek. He sat her down on the floor and mussed her hair. She batted his hand away with a smile.

"I love you, too, bean." He said. "Now, have a nice day today at school. Make me proud."

"I will." Siobhan said earnestly. She ran over to Mary and grabbed her school bag from the hanger behind the door. She slid into her shoes and opened the door.

"One o'clock for lunch?" Mary questioned, halfway out the door.

"Yes, ma'am." Callum called, earning a smile before she pulled the door shut behind her.

After waiting ten minutes to make sure they weren't coming back, Callum headed for the kitchen. He put his cup in the sink and ran cold water over his hands. He splashed some of the water onto his face, hoping it would make him more alert and ready. He turned the water off and grabbed a hand towel from the counter. He dried his face and let out a sigh.

He could sense it was close to the end for him. He could almost feel death's icy grip reaching towards him. Honestly, he wasn't scared anymore. Of dying, at least. The only thing he couldn't stand was leaving Mary and Siobhan alone. This wasn't what their life was supposed to be. Siobhan was supposed to be the first of many children and he and Mary were going to grow old together. That's what they had planned. But life has no care for plans, and death comes when it does.

Shaking his head, Callum placed the towel on the counter and turned towards the hallway. He walked until he reached the floor below the attic and thought for a moment. What he was about to do was dangerous, risky, and probably stupid. But he had to do it.

"It's now or never." He said to himself as he reached up and pulled the string. The ladder fell lazily to his feet and he stepped on to it. He climbed up and fumbled for the light switch. The incandescent bulb flickered a bit before settling on a dim lighting. Callum looked around at all the boxes, searching for one in particular. When he saw the familiar handwritten message 'Just In Case' on the side of a box, he headed towards it.

Sitting down, he pulled the box into his lap and opened it. When he found the old leather-bound book, he felt something inside of him smile. The last time he'd held it in his hands was when he'd moved out of his family home. He'd sworn that he'd have nothing to do with them or their magic again. As he was storming out, his older sister Morwenna had forced the book into his hands, along with a sack filled to the brim with other things of the like. He'd tried to refuse but Morwenna insisted they were his birthright.

Try as he may over the years, he just couldn't seem to get rid of any of it. He was happy now that his dear sister had the sense in her head that he lacked. Without this book, what he was about to do would be impossible.

Callum flipped to the back of the book immediately, part of him wanting to stop and savor the familiar and brittle pages, but he knew time would not wait for him. He scanned the last few pages until his eyes met what he was looking for. He took a deep breath to relax himself and closed his eyes. He needed to get in touch with powers he hadn't used since he was eighteen, and he didn't know how long it would take.

Fortunately, his powers were anxious to be used and he felt connected to them almost immediately. He opened his eyes to read the words scrawled on the page and then closed them again. He repeated the words in his head a few times and then began to speak them.

Astral projection was a simple feat, one any witch could perform. But astral projecting into a specific point in the future was hard. And frowned upon. After all, after seeing the future, you could easily return to your body and make sure certain events never happen. That's why this spell was forbidden. But Callum was dying. Consequences would not haunt him for this expedition, and he only wanted to know one thing.

Would Siobhan grow up okay without him?

He focused on Siobhan and Mary and everything about them that made him happy as he repeated the words again and again. He asked the spell to take him to see Siobhan all grown up. And he prayed that she was happy. The words were still spilling from his mouth, but they had long since lost all meaning to him. And then he felt something.

Time was tugging on his soul. He let it take him without a fight and suddenly everything was dark and Callum was falling.