The cottage came into sight, and an otherworldly force I hoped was Siobhan urged me on. I leaped over the fence like an Olympic hurdler and barreled up the path, not even missing a step. I fumbled for my key, but dropped it, cursed, then used my Legacy to blast the lock open. The door crashed inward, cracking the plaster behind it. Whoo, boy! It felt good to use my power openly for once.
Skidding to a stop in front of Mairead’s painting, I focused on the ruined tower house she’d painstakingly outlined with the tip of her littlest brush. It was perfect. Museum-worthy, even.
Just what I was looking for!
I practically tore the canvas from the wall and bounced back and forth down the hall until I was outside again. The painting was intact after my uncoordinated exit, so I ran toward the clearing, leaving the cottage door wide open and the picture balanced awkwardly against my head. It was massive, and the amount of work Mairead had put into it was on epic levels. Man, I hoped she wouldn’t be pissed. Pfft! How could she be angry when her work was going to save the world?
That was if my plan worked. It was going to work. No ifs, ands, or buts. It would work.
Light filtered through the forest as I approached the clearing, wind whipping the leaves into a frenzy. Debris whipped past my face as I ran down the path, the gust almost ripping the painting from my hands.
“That’s me paintin’!” Mairead shrieked as I reappeared in the clearing.
Slipping back into the circle, I propped the canvas against me and held it steady with my free hand. I felt Boone and Aileen connect their Legacy to mine, and I was back in the game. Time to suck that bitch into her prison.
“You think you can trick me?” Carman cried. She was on her feet, pushing back against the villagers. “I have the Legacy of a thousand witches!”
“Yeah, fat lot of good that’s doing,” I drawled.
“We were always a match for one another. Two halves of a whole,” Siobhan said through me. “You cannot overpower the united Crescent Legacy, Carman. Have you already forgotten in your lust for revenge?”
“Who’s speakin’?” Maggie asked. “That’s not Skye’s voice.”
I felt Siobhan’s ghostly hand grasp my shoulder, and my Legacy flared. The golden light that bound Carman twisted around her, completely enveloping her body.
“No!” she shrieked, holding up her arms to shield herself. “You’ll regret this, sister! I’ll come back for you, and you’ll pay!”
“I don’t think so,” I said, holding the painting steady as the witch was drawn into the image. “You’ll never be free again, Carman.”
A sucking sound filled the clearing as Carman’s body circled the drain, her physical and spiritual essence flowing into the painting. She was ripped away from reality, twisting and turning, shrieking and calling us names, then she was gone.
The villagers let each other go with a collective sigh, the light from their crystals fading. The wind dropped completely, and the din created by the mini-tornado died down. Silence stretched out into the forest as we stood before the hawthorn.
Carman was gone.
The painting shuddered in my grasp, and I jumped. I almost expected her to break free as it shook and shook, but it held true.
“Freaky,” Mairead said, staring at her masterpiece. “She’s really in there?”
“Hey,” Maggie said, turning toward the tree. “Is that music?”
“I hear it, too,” Roy said.
“It sounds like a trumpet,” Sean added.
I glanced at Boone, who nodded toward the hawthorn.
“Somethin’s arrived,” he said, taking the painting from me.
This time, I turned toward the light. The doorway was still open, and we still had to face what was on the other side. This didn’t end with Carman. There was still more.
Go…Siobhan’s spirit urged.
But I didn’t know what was waiting for me. I imagined darkness and fire and a horde of grotesque fae waiting to devour my magic.
Come… This time, it wasn’t Siobhan speaking to me. It was someone else.
Sucking in a sharp breath, I took a step toward the door. Who or what was inviting me in, there was no way of knowing, but I wasn’t afraid. Calmness flowed through me as I let go of Aileen’s hand.
As I walked toward the light, no one tried to stop me. I felt Boone’s gaze on my back, but he didn’t call out, either. He knew what awaited me. He always did in a way, which was one of the things that infuriated me most about him.
We’d won the battle, but the next part of the story was mine and mine alone to tell.
When the time comes, open yourself…
I stepped through the doorway.
Chapter 20
Summer.
Rays of golden light streamed through the canopy of a great tree, dappling over my tired shoulders. I looked up and found I was standing underneath a massive hawthorn, its shade stretching out across the greenest field I’d ever seen. Tiny white flowers dotted the mossy grass, and below the rise I stood upon, a forest stretched ever outward. A brilliant-blue butterfly flitted past my face, and the chirping of birds filled the sweet-smelling air.
What was this place? It was like a garden of Eden. It was a paradise, not a smoking ruin full of demons and monsters.
My gaze fell on a woman standing below me on the hill, and I froze.
She was small and lithe, her silver hair pinned up in elaborate curls and braids. Her skin shimmered like a pearl, creamy then tinted with translucent color as she moved. The silver and gold armor she wore was buffed to a high shine and reflected the sunlight like pure crystal. She held a matching sword in one hand, whose hilt looked mysteriously familiar. It’s like the athame, I thought.
She was definitely fae. I could feel magic everywhere. In the ground, in the sun, in the butterfly, even in her armor. She was alight with it.
Behind her stood a whole squadron of men and
