Page 17 of After Midnight (Skye Druids #7)
Chapter Fourteen
Rhona didn’t think she had ever seen so much blood.
The Druid prison was painted with it. Her gaze fell on the body of their prisoner.
Kerry had been held there since they’d discovered she was the one controlling the killing mist. Few knew about the prison, and only a handful could get past her magic.
Once Balladyn added his, it was nearly impossible for anyone to get inside.
But someone had.
“ I’ve looked all over the mountain,” Balladyn said as he walked up behind her from the narrow tunnel entrance. “ I can’t find another entry point.”
“ They came in just as we did.”
“ They shouldn’t have been able to.”
Rhona was confused about what had taken place. “ Why kill Kerry ? She refused to tell us anything.”
“ Perhaps the individual or individuals who committed the deed wanted to make sure she didn’t change her mind about that.”
“ You can say the name we’re both thinking.”
Balladyn put his hands on her shoulders and turned her around. “ You believe it’s Edie ? I’m not convinced.”
“ How could she have survived the last battle? Carlyle was very clear on what he saw.”
“ That house isn’t in our world, nor is the thing inside it. We have no idea what happens if someone dies there.”
Rhona gave in and rested her forehead against his chest. Balladyn’s strong arms came around her. He was a leader in his own right, but he never tried to take control—and he probably could as the Warden of Skye . He’d only ever been her partner in the truest sense of the word.
She took a deep breath and lifted her head. “ If not Edie , then who?”
“ Who else wanted Kerry dead?”
“ The list is long if we add everyone touched by her murders. Yet not just anyone could get past our barrier.”
Balladyn released her and walked to the center cell, where Kerry lay sprawled on her back. “ She’s close to the bars. That means she came toward whoever was here.”
“ Greeting them, you think?”
“ Could be. I don’t believe she’d approach someone she didn’t know.”
Rhona walked to stand beside him. “ Good point.”
This was the closest she’d been to Kerry since discovering her. It wasn’t Rhona’s first dead body, but something about the blood was eerie. She had to force herself to look at her ex-deputy. Even then, it was hard to see anything of use with all the blood.
“ Where is the wound?” Rhona asked.
Balladyn grunted distastefully. “ That’s hard to determine in her current state.”
Rhona leaned toward the bars, careful not to touch them and get blood on her. “ Is that…a rib?”
“ I believe so. I also think that’s part of her intestines.”
“ Bloody hell. It’s like she was ripped open.”
Balladyn glanced around them. “ That would explain the blood.”
“ I wanted Kerry punished, but this…?”
“ Extreme ? I agree.” His head turned to her. “ As horrific as this is, I’m more disturbed that someone got through our combined magic.”
Rhona worried her lip with her teeth. “ I can’t stop thinking about that either.”
“ There’s also the fact that we were drawn here before Kurt and Sabryn could execute their plan for Parker .”
Rhona reached around to her back pocket for her mobile, only then realizing that she had forgotten it at home. “ We need to get back.”
Balladyn jumped them to the co-op without question. The moment they saw the destruction, dread filled Rhona . Balladyn dropped his veil as Rhona rushed toward Kirsi .
“ Rhona !” Kirsi cried when she spotted her. “ We’ve been trying to find you.”
“ What happened?” Rhona asked.
Matt exited the back. “ Everything .”
“ Start from the beginning,” Balladyn urged.
By the time Kirsi and Matt finished detailing everything, Rhona was sick to her stomach. She didn’t know whether to go to Emily , Ferne , Cullen , or Kurt first. Everyone had been hit.
“ They drew as many of us away as they could,” Balladyn said.
Rhona met his red-ringed silver eyes. “ Then Kerry was nothing but collateral damage. How did they learn about our plan?”
“ Someone told them,” Kirsi replied.
Rhona didn’t want to believe that. Everyone in their group had fought together. They all had something to lose.
“ What drew you two away?” Matt asked.
Balladyn answered for her. “ Someone got into the prison and killed Kerry .”
“ I need to check on the others,” Rhona said. “ Do you need anything? Where’s Nora ?”
Kirsi shot her dad a quick look. “ At home. The morning’s events tired her.”
“ I told her she should’ve stayed home, but my Nora is a strong one,” Matt said, his eyes bright with worry.
Rhona looked at each of them. “ I’ll be around later to check on all of you.”
“ Be safe,” Matt called, right before Balladyn teleported them away.
Rhona was surprised when he brought her to Carwood Manor . “ What are you doing? I need to check on everyone.”
“ We don’t know where Parker and his crew are.”
“ I don’t hide. Or run. You know that.”
Balladyn sighed as he touched her face. “ Believe me, I know. Sometimes , I wish you would, if only to save me from having a heart attack. I’m not keeping you from your duties, my love. I’m merely giving you a moment.”
“ Do I look that bad?”
“ You just learned there might be a traitor in our midst. That would set anyone back.”
She grinned. “ Even a Reaper ?”
“ Even a Reaper ,” he murmured, pulling her against him. He grew serious as he stared down at her. “ It’s easy to let today’s events spiral you out of control. Stay calm, and the others will follow.”
“ I don’t feel calm.”
He nodded and glanced to the side. “ I don’t either.”
“ You fake it well.”
“ Centuries of learning.”
She flattened her hands on his chest and shook her head. “ I don’t believe someone betrayed us.”
“ Maybe they didn’t. Leave that for now. Let’s get everyone safe, and then we’ll find Parker .”
Rhona pulled his head down and rose on her tiptoes to press her lips to his. “ Thank you,” she whispered. “ Take me to Emily’s first. Then I have a task for you.”
“ You wish me to bring Kurt to a Healer ?”
“ It might raise suspicions if he suddenly leaves, especially with the chief superintendent nosing around. I just want to make sure no one bothers him at the hospital.”
Balladyn cupped her face in his hands before kissing her. “ Consider it done.”