use his power, knew he would regret it later. But Reaghan’s life could be in danger. Whatever it was Mairi and Odara kept secret must be terrible indeed to inflict such sorrow.
All Galen knew was that he had to have Reaghan in his life. Being with her allowed him to be normal, allowed him to forget the powers his god gave him.
He wouldn’t let her be harmed. And if using his power made Mairi more afraid of him, he would shoulder that as long as he knew Reaghan was safe.
As much as Galen didn’t want to, he grabbed Mairi’s arms. Instantly images of her talking to Reaghan and watching over Reaghan flashed in his mind.
Galen pushed deeper, searching for more. There was an image of Reaghan standing at the loch, but she was dressed in a gown from another era. Then he saw Reaghan with Mairi once more down at the loch. The two leaned over the water so their reflections were visible. Reaghan’s was the same, but Mairi was just a young girl barely older than ten summers.
Galen dropped his hands, his lungs burning for air as he processed what he had seen. “What have you done to Reaghan?” “I have done nothing,” Mairi stated as she blinked from the rain that fell into her eyes.
“I saw her with you when you were just a young girl. You two were looking into the loch at your reflections.” Mairi’s face paled and she raised a trembling hand to her mouth. “How did you…?”
“My god gives me the power to read people’s minds. Reaghan told me of a parchment she found regarding her and the Foinaven Mountain. She knows you are keeping things from her.” Mairi’s hand shook as she wiped at her face. “We would never harm her. It is our duty to protect her.” “You keep saying that,” Galen bellowed over the storm.
Lightning lit the sky as he paced in front of Mairi, unmindful that the rain was coming down even harder.
“Galen, there are things you don’t know, things you cannot know.”
He paused and leaned down so his face was near hers. There would be no more half-truths. He would know all of it. “I can find out. Shall I dig deeper into your mind?” “You see images,” Mairi said, though she shrank away. “But you do not hear what is going on.” “I can hear what a person is thinking. All I have to do is touch you.”
For long, heart-thudding moments, Mairi stared into his eyes. She finally sighed and lowered her gaze. The rain ran down her weathered face, falling into her deep wrinkles. “You came for the artifact.” “I did, but how is this relevant to Reaghan?”
“Galen, Reaghan
Galen blinked and stepped back from the elder. He shook his head as her words sank in. He had known. Somehow, deep down, he had known, but he hadn’t wanted to believe. “How?” “What is happening to Reaghan she did to herself in an effort to keep hidden from Deirdre.” Galen couldn’t breathe. His world was tilting around him, threatening to break apart at the seams. “Why? I need to understand, Mairi.” “Galen?” Logan said as he walked around the cottage. “Is everything all right?”
“Nay,” Galen answered, his throat hoarse as he yelled. “Everything is not all right. Reaghan is the artifact, Logan. Reaghan.” Mairi took a step toward Galen. “You cannot let her know.”
“Explain yourself,” Logan commanded.
“Every ten years Reaghan loses her memories.”
Galen took in a steadying breath. “Why every ten years? Why not just once?”
“How would you explain to everyone a woman who doesn’t age? She is reborn, so to speak, every ten years. We use the same story each time so no one gets confused.” Galen closed his eyes. “The fever.”
“Aye,” Mairi answered. “There is a fever during that time, so we aren’t lying to her. It begins with the headaches. They will grow more frequent and more severe until it is time and her magic takes hold, wiping away the last ten years of the life she’s led.” “So she will remember nothing when she wakes from this fever?” Though Galen knew the answer, he had to ask.
“Nothing.” Mairi wrapped her arms around herself and shivered. “I’ve seen this occur many times. She will be all right.” He nodded and glanced at the cottage.
Logan snorted and crossed his arms over his chest. “You say it’s to hide from Deirdre. Why?” Mairi looked from Logan to Galen. “The spell to take her memories is so that if Reaghan were ever captured by Deirdre, Deirdre would never be able to sift through layer after layer of erased memories to find the one thing Reaghan is keeping hidden.” “And what is that?” Galen asked. “What is Reaghan hiding?”
“I’m not exactly sure.”
Logan growled.
Mairi threw up her hands and hastily said, “I swear, Galen. I’m not lying. The reason was lost through the years.” “How long has she been in your village?” Galen asked.
“At least three hundred years.”
Logan whistled long and low. Galen rubbed the back of his neck. “So your village has been hiding her for three hundred years?” “I think you had best start from the beginning,” Logan said.
Mairi shook her head slowly. “I swore never to tell anyone but another elder.”
“Things have changed,” Galen said. “We can protect Reaghan, but you must help us.”
After taking a deep breath, Mairi began. “The story has been passed down so many times I’m not sure what is truth anymore.” “Just tell us what you know,” Logan urged.
“The story is told that Reaghan came to our village all those years ago with a proposition. She would use her magic, as powerful as it was, to help shield the village from Deirdre and in exchange we would protect her. She explained the spell she would perform would erase her memories and continue to do so every ten years until such time as the spell would need to be broken and all her memories returned.” Galen frowned. “How do we break the spell?”
“I have no idea,” Mairi answered. “The spell took a great amount of magic. In some stories it is said a man came with her to help with the spell, but the enchantment took such magic that he died.” Galen had thought he would get answers, and all he was getting was more questions. How much of Mairi’s story was truth he had no idea, and that was what frustrated him the most. “Do you know what she’s hiding from Deirdre?” “Knowledge of some kind, I believe.”
Logan scratched his neck and grimaced. “Just what kind of knowledge does Reaghan hold that would make her want to put that kind of spell on herself?” “Knowledge that could either harm or kill Deirdre perhaps?” Galen said.
Logan smiled and rubbed his hands together. “Now, that is good news.”
“Not if Deirdre gets her hands on Reaghan,” Mairi said.
Galen nodded and put his hands on his hips. “Isla told us Deirdre planned to raid your village for the artifact. If Deirdre knew Reaghan was that object, she would have told Isla she was after a person.” “So Deirdre doesn’t know,” Logan said.
“Maybe no’, but the man with the wyrran was certainly after Reaghan.”
“Coincidence?” Mairi asked.
Galen thought back to the way the man had stared at Reaghan. There wasn’t recognition as if he knew her, only intent. “I doona think so. I think the attack by the wyrran was merely a raid to look for Druids.” “But once Deirdre discovers where the attack took place she’ll likely piece things together,” Logan said.
“Let’s hope no’.”
Mairi walked to the cottage door and paused with her hand on the latch. “We must keep Reaghan safe. At all costs.” “Of course,” Galen agreed.
“I will gather together what food we have left for our meal this evening,” Mairi said before she entered the cottage.
Galen waited until she was inside before he bent over and placed his hands on his knees and gulped in air. “It never entered my mind what we sought was a person.” Logan moved to stand beside him. “This explains almost everything.”
Almost, but not all. Galen straightened as another streak of lightning forked across the sky. Trails from the droplets of rain ran down his face, but he paid them no heed. “Reaghan is looking for answers to her past. I wonder if this occurs each time she’s about to lose her memories.” “Maybe some part of her knows what is happening, and she’s scared so she looks to find answers.” “Answers that could break the spell, perhaps?”
Logan shrugged. “Anything is possible. I wondered when you would use your power to gain your answers. I was watching the entire time.” Galen twisted his lips. “I gather you would no’ have waited?”
