( Part XXXIII )
"It is over, Ghost. You just don't know it yet." The Woman was firm in voice, no matter what trembles may have been stirring within.
The voice sounded as if it was lost in some other time, a hollow era on some other world. "I never asked for this, but there will be repercussions if you mess with me." The Oracle's eyes were getting wider and wider, before going blank as he collapsed backwards in a faint. It was almost comical to see him slumped against someone who wasn't there.
The Woman didn't dare look upward, to see how her companions were progressing.
---
In the balloon basket, Ken and the Man were finishing preliminary relaxation. One toggled switch saw some pouches around the edge of the basket open. Little bundles began to unroll, and unroll, and unroll...
Then, without a word, the atmosphere changed. A great wave of peace spread out, and the surrounding clouds began to coalesce into a new configuration. The stubborn patch of cloud to the East began to toss off screamers, but the new patch right next to the basket tried to hold its shape. It was a struggle.
---
The Oracle was lowered gently to the ground, a courtesy that wouldn't have been expected. Two footprints could be clearly seen in the gravel of the rock garden, shimmering slightly. "What are they doing up there?" Screamed the voice of the Ghost, and suddenly the Woman felt an iron grip at her neck, not quite right for stopping the flow of air but close.
"They're damping down your power. That's what they're doing. It's also what I'm doing." She was utterly calm now. "Do you know what it is we do exactly?"
---
The ribbons unfurled from the pouches completely, and stretched out in the air, following the odd patterns formed by the clouds. For almost fifty metres in all directions the colours wove and rewove, forming subtleties that had never been seen before in any of the previous Patterns. There had been ball pools previously, mosaic floors, the sand curtains at the clifftop crater and even the tablecloth of prophecy. Now, a massive circle of ribbons tangled deliberately across the sky above the chapel, spiralling and coalescing around the nodes of their Pattern, and a clarity spread pervasively. It was majestic, pretty and just a little frightening. Every injured animal in a mile's radius suddenly recovered and went home for a nap.
Ken and the Man were smiling as they almost-slept.
---
"You see, Mr Ghost, we're healers. We heal people. Welcome to clinic."
The phantom was becoming visible as the great calming power swept over them. His patch of vortex in the atmosphere was almost completely subsumed into the ribboned swirls.
"No. Please. Don't do this. Don't help me. Please help me." Sobs were being pushed out between the words.
"You will be helped. It's what we do." The Woman looked him in the eye, and removed his hand from about her throat. Then, with all the skill at her command, she healed the Phantom.
The ribbons in the sky flared.
---
The Two looked down at the pale and wan figure lying in the centre of the healing Pattern in the chapel. Ken was taking observations and organising transport back to their base in Scandinavia, where final recovery would commence. The Oracle was packing, his memory still gone, but relief was evident in his face. All his prophecies seemed positive, apart from the one about the baked potatoes which was probably an anomaly.
"How on Earth are we going to explain to people that it's safe to move back here again?" Mused the Man.
"I wouldn't worry about it. The government will send in inspectors, none of whom will get sick, and make up some stupid and credible story. That's what they always do. That's what happened with the Iron Horse." The Woman smiled a cynical smile. "Until then, we might have to get away for a while."
"Will they ever let him go? What do you think?"
"Maybe. It depends on what really happened. The omens are good. Maybe, one day, we will be one more in number."
"Children, children." Ken wandered over. "You might want to help escort the patient back to base camp. And then, well, perhaps you'd be interested in taking on a small side job while you're on holiday. Have you ever been to Montevideo?"
"Oh, for crying out loud, Ken!" The Two exclaimed in unison.
"Definitely grouchy. You definitely need to sleep more. Off you go. He shooed them off mischievously."
"You heard the man, milady." One roguish smile emerged.
"I sigh at you, good sir." Hand in hand, they went for a nap.
Yes, it's an end, but it's also a beginning. At least we finally got the ribbons into it.
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