“The weather here changes by the hour, beauty. We’ll need to be prepared for anything.”
“Don’t worry about me. I don’t get sick.”
He moved with lightning speed to stand before her and grab her arms. “You’ll have everything you need before we get on those slopes. You’re mortal, beauty. You doona know what that means.”
“You forget, I know exactly what it means. I watched my daughter take her last breath in my arms.”
His lips pressed into a firm line. “I willna argue with you about this.”
“Fine. I just don’t understand why you think we need to go to the mountains. Can’t we just ask around any one of the villages we’ve been through?”
“It willna be that easy. We can ask, but we’ll no’ discover anything. What we want will be in those mountains.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “All right. Spill, Warrior. What do you know?”
He dropped his arms and raked a hand through his hair. His gaze moved behind her to the window and mountains beyond. “That range of mountains isna treacherous for nothing. I’ve seen Celtic markings there before.”
“Celtic markings doesn’t mean Druids.”
“It does if you know what to look for. We’ll find whatever clues we need in those hills.”
“I’m glad you’re confident.”
He pulled off his shirt and tossed it in a nearby chair as he crossed to the bathroom. “Somewhere on this isle is a Druid who has the answers we seek. We just need to find that Druid.”
“Are you sure that’s such a good idea?” she asked as he shut the door.
“Aye,” he yelled through the door.
She rolled her eyes and fell back on the bed when she heard the shower turn on. A moment later the sound of something hitting the window made her raise her head.
“Rain.”
Just a few minutes ago the sun had been out.
She grinned when she recalled hearing a tourist complaining about the lack of darkness during the summer months. They didn’t know that during the winter there were only a few hours of sunlight.
Aisley leaned up to grab her iPod from her purse. She missed hearing the music. Once her earbuds were in, she hit play, closed her eyes, and let the music soothe her. The agitation she’d felt while having dinner diminished.
She wasn’t sure what it was about Skye that set her on edge, but it wasn’t a place she felt comfortable in. Phelan was right though. There was magic everywhere.
It came through the land and filled the air. It was in every flower petal, every blade of grass. It was in the rain, in the sea, and in the clouds.
The only thing that came close to feeling like this was the standing stones throughout Scotland. Aisley, like any Druid, was drawn to the stones.
It had been her ancestors who erected the many standing stones across the land. The power of those Druids had been so great, the magic could still be felt, centuries later.
Skye was similar, except the magic felt … more solid. As if it wasn’t an echo of magic, but the magic itself.
* * *
Corann stood on a peak of the Cuillin mountains and stared at the hotel where the Warrior and Druid had gone. A curtain of rain fell over Portree, cloaking it in gray.
“They’re getting closer,” Ravyn said.
He glanced down at Ravyn and gripped his walking stick tighter. “Aye. What has the wind told you?”
She shrugged and played with the ends of her waist-length black hair. Her bright blue eyes were trained on the hotel. “The wind tells me to help them.”
“Hmm.” Corann had never known Ravyn to misunderstand the wind. She was a Windtalker. Unlike the Druids on the mainland, those on Skye retained the full strength of their magic, but only by being selective and careful.
“You don’t want to help them?” Ravyn asked.
“I worry about the
Ravyn dropped her hands and turned her gaze to him. “The wind only tells me that she’s in danger.”
“From the Warrior?”
“That I don’t know. Maybe Isobel will know more.”
Corann grunted. Isobel was his Waterdancer, and she had learned nothing more than Ravyn.
“That means she hasn’t,” Ravyn said with a smile.
“Doona get cheeky with me, lass.”
Ravyn nudged him with her fist. “You like me being cheeky, old man.”
Corann’s smile faded as he thought of the Warrior and Druid again. “Have everyone ready, Ravyn. Whether these two are just visiting or no’, I’ll no’ have us unprepared.”
“I’ll see it done.”
“Good.”
She turned to leave, then paused and put her hand on his shoulder. Corann turned his head and met her gaze. Ravyn had an old soul. As a natural born leader, she had no problem taking her place among the Druids of Skye.
It was her future he fought for. It was hundreds of generations to come that he would die for.
“There’s been no sign of Jason Wallace,” she said. “Nothing our magic has been able to pick up anywhere in England or Scotland.”
“Perhaps he left the country.”
“That’s a possibility, but I don’t think so.”
Corann sighed wearily. “I’ve a feeling we’ll know the answer soon enough.”
“There are Warriors fighting evil. The wind has told me.”
“Aye. Those at MacLeod Castle. Warriors and
“They killed Deirdre.”
He gave a nod. “And Declan. This I know, Ravyn. What’s your point?”
“Maybe that’s why this Warrior is here?”
“With a
Ravyn let her hand slide from his shoulder. “No one knows of us. We’ve kept hidden. If there is an attack here, they’ll not be prepared for our assault.”
“And if that happens, lass, there’ll be no more hiding for us. Everyone will know our location. There is more evil out there than Jason Wallace.”
She folded her arms over her chest and planted her feet. “You’ve said that since I was a little girl, except you used Deirdre’s name. Give over, old man. What evil are you talking about?”
“Pray, Ravyn, that you never find out.”
“Corann—”
“Enough,” he said with finality. “Go to the others. I’ll keep watch.”
Only when Ravyn had walked away did he slump against his walking stick. He was running out of time. If things didn’t work out, he’d have to tell his Druids everything he knew.
They had to be prepared.
CHAPTER
TWENTY-SEVEN
MacLeod Castle
Aiden rubbed his eyes and blinked several times before he looked back under the microscope. The celebratory feeling that had rushed through the castle was gone.
