Page 25 of After Midnight (Skye Druids #7)

Chapter Twenty-One

Carwood Manor

The sitting room was silent as everyone looked at each other after Rhona finished recounting what Kurt had confessed to her and Balladyn . Finn walked to the sideboard and poured several fingers of Dreagan whisky into a glass and downed it.

He refilled it before turning to face the others. “ Anyone else?” he asked and lifted the bottle.

“ I think we could all use one,” Elodie said.

Finn set about getting extra glasses. It was easier than thinking about the lengths the London Druids had gone to in order to bring powerful Druids into their community—and kill. He’d always known they were dangerous. He just hadn’t realized to what extent until that moment.

Carlyle stood at the window, looking out into the night, his hands in his pockets. “ We knew London had killed before. Ferne and Mason’s parents are proof. So are Song’s .”

“ There could be hundreds like that,” Elias said.

Carlyle turned to face the room. “ Without a doubt. My point is that I always thought London would keep their attention on the UK .”

Finn didn’t hold back his snort as he handed out the drinks to all who wanted them. “ When has Britain ever kept their nose out of other people’s business?”

“ But America ?” Bronwyn asked skeptically.

Rhona took her drink from Finn . “ It’s about power. It’s always been about power for London . The more they have under their control, the larger their numbers, and the more formidable they are.”

“ They didn’t get Sabryn or her father,” Willa pointed out.

Finn placed the now-empty bottle aside. Another was waiting. One of the perks of being friends with the Dragon Kings was that there were always cases of whisky waiting. “ The fact that the London Druids have been searching for descendants from Skye is alarming.”

The manor door opened, and Theo entered, sporting a five o’clock shadow and dark circles under his eyes.

He glanced into the library before Ferne called out to him, drawing his attention their way.

She rose and crossed to him, greeting him with a kiss.

Finn sipped his whisky and eyed the Detective Inspector , who had been with his boss for the past several hours.

“ I take it things didn’t go well,” Jasper said.

Ferne handed Theo her whisky and tugged him into her vacant seat. He sank onto the cushion but didn’t even acknowledge that he held the liquor.

Theo bit back a yawn. “ The chief superintendent wanted everything, and I do mean everything .”

“ You told her?” Ariah asked in surprise.

Theo shrugged. “ I tried evading her questions, but she was relentless. So , aye, I told her everything. She’d already seen some of it herself. There was no point in lying now.”

“ And ?” Balladyn asked.

Theo rubbed the back of his neck. “ She said a lot of things made sense now.”

“ Please tell me she’s not going to interfere,” Rhona said.

Theo shrugged and tossed back the whisky in one swallow. “ I made it clear about the threats we faced and that anyone not a Druid would no’ only get in the way but also become a liability.”

“ I bet she didn’t take that well,” Finn said.

Theo’s dark eyes met his. “ She’s a copper. What do you think?”

Rhona released a long breath. “ I won’t deny that the chief helped today, and we needed her. She could be an asset. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to open our meetings to her. For the moment, we need to figure out what our next move is.”

“ If we’re going to find Parker , we need Kurt . How long are we going to give him and Sabryn ?” Elias inquired.

Rhona briefly looked at the clock. “ As long as she needs.”

“ I don’t think we can wait that long,” Carlyle replied.

Song lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “ Then we don’t wait. We found Parker before. We can find him again.”

“ That was before we knew Edie was involved,” Elodie said.

Scott ran a hand down his face. “ If Edie’s the bigger threat, maybe we should be focusing on her.”

“ That fire was intense.” Song shook her head. “ There is no way she should’ve lived.”

Elias finished his whisky and sighed. “ But she did. And my guess is she’s the one who killed Kerry . If Edie can get past Rhona’s and Balladyn’s magic, then I think we should concentrate on ending her before she does more damage. She went after her own mother and children, for fuck’s sake.”

“ I agree. The Edie out there now isn’t our sister,” Elodie said, looking at her brother. “ I don’t think she has been for some time.”

Finn set aside his glass. “ Am I the only one who thinks it odd that Edie consorted with Parker ?”

“ Far from it,” Jasper declared. “ I said that the moment I saw her on the street.”

Ariah nodded, her long, crescent moon earrings tinkling. “ Which means we can’t just fixate on one of them.”

“ Great ,” Filip said wearily. “ Two foes at once. Again .”

Willa snorted. “ Two ? Try four. Or are you forgetting Edinburgh and The Grey ?”

“ When is it time to call in help?” Filip asked as his gaze slid to Rhona . “ Who else has to die before you realize we can’t do this on our own?”

Finn exchanged a look with Carlyle . They’d had this conversation before.

Rhona didn’t get upset at Filip’s outburst. She scooted to the edge of the chair and set aside her glass.

“ We’re lucky we have friends who have helped in the past, and we may very well call on them in the future.

We’re Skye Druids , Filip . Our ancestors were called to these shores.

Every Druid around the world can trace their ancestry to this isle.

We’re not being harassed by multiple adversaries because we have powerful allies.

We’re being attacked because we’re formidable. ”

She drew in a breath and continued. “ London wants us out of the way because we have the means to stop whatever nefarious plan they have. Oddly enough, had they kept to themselves, we never would’ve learned of it and likely would have left them alone.

As for Edinburgh , this is all about George and her revenge plot against Elias .

The Grey …well, as we’ve recently learned, it wasn’t the first time that enemy attacked Skye .

The Druids kept the isle safe before—without help—and we will do it again.

Because we have to. And we’ll do it ourselves because we’re Skye Druids .

I don’t care that some of you weren’t born here.

I don’t care that others once had affiliations with London or Edinburgh .

Like I said, all Druids trace back to Skye . Which makes you one of us.”

Elias turned his head to Rhona . “ And Edie ?”

“ Whatever turned Kerry and Edie into what they became is, I believe, connected to The Grey somehow,” she answered. “ Parker and those like him being pulled into this from the fringes will be dealt with.”

Finn raised his brows. “ Does that mean we can get back out there and search for that twat?”

“ I never stopped,” Balladyn replied smoothly.

Bronwyn asked, “ Then what are we waiting for?”

“ We’ve gone in blind before. It would be better if we knew more,” Jasper pointed out.

Finn had heard enough. “ How much more do we need to know? Edie is against us. Parker is with London , and whether he came to take Kurt home or kill him doesn’t matter. His attempt on one of the Knights is enough for me. They both need to be stopped.”

“ They will be,” Rhona rejoined. “ However , Jasper has a good point. We have gone in blind, and we’ve gotten very lucky. I don’t want to press that luck further than we need to.”

Carlyle crossed his arms. “ What do you suggest, then? Because , frankly, I agree with Finn . We need to strike before they come at us again.”

“ What we need is Kurt . I want to give him and Sabryn a chance to talk, but right now, we need details only he can get,” Elias stated.

Finn nodded. “ Every minute counts. We need them both.”

The room grew quiet as everyone waited for Rhona’s reply. She looked at Balladyn . At that moment, they heard a loud thump upstairs. Everyone froze. The sound was one they had heard before. Finn looked up at the ceiling before glancing at Elias .

Bronwyn’s face paled as she jumped to her feet. “ Oh , no,” she murmured and raced out of the room.

Elias followed, and Finn was quick to join.

Bronwyn raced to the second floor and to the left, only to skid to a halt in front of the second-to-last door on the right.

The very room she had used to open the rift between the dimensions and hide her unconscious cousin, Beth , for a time.

It was the same rift Ferne had been pulled into. The one they’d gone into to find her.

Finn loathed the room. He abhorred anything to do with The Grey . The entire place terrified him. It was somewhere he never wanted to venture into again.

Bronwyn put her hand on the wall near the door and closed her eyes. Almost instantly, she jerked her hand back. “ Oh , god.”

“ What is it?” Elias asked.

She turned her hazel eyes to him, wide with fear. “ It’s trying to get through.”

Finn didn’t need to ask what she referred to. It was the beast that had taken Ferne . The same creature Kirsi was meant to fight in the final battle. A monster that haunted his dreams by its sound alone.

“ I thought Callum sealed the tear,” Finn said.

Bronwyn nervously wrung her hands. “ He did. We all saw it.”

“ We need to stop whatever is attempting to get in before it gets through,” Elias said. “ What do you need?”

“ I - I don’t know. The portal isn’t open. None of this should be happening,” Bronwyn whispered.

The minute Elias looked at him, Finn raced to the stairs. When he reached them, he shouted for everyone to get up there. The house had held off the beast before, and while he didn’t know what the house told Bronwyn , her fear was enough of a message. The manor needed their help.

Finn ran back to the couple. The thud of rapid footsteps grew louder as their friends sprinted up the stairs.

Finn looked at the bedroom door, praying they didn’t have to go inside.

It was bad enough that he stood outside the room.

He gave it a wide berth, and there were even times he could almost forget he slept in the same house.

If he went into the room today, he wouldn’t come out. The truth of it filled his soul.

He winced and backed away when Bronwyn opened the door. Finn found himself staring into the darkened room, his heart hammering against his ribs. In that instant, he was back in The Grey with the eerie silence, faint lighting, and the shadow threatening and moving ever closer.

Someone gripped his arm, yanking him to the side and whirling him around. Finn found himself staring into Carlyle’s worried eyes.

“ What’s wrong?” his friend whispered.

Finn shook his head. “ Nothing .”

“ Don’t bloody lie to me,” Carlyle bit out, his voice pitched low.

Song put a soft hand on his arm. “ Babe .”

“ Finn ,” Carlyle challenged, ignoring her.

“ I don’t like the room,” Finn finally admitted.

Carlyle searched his face before his turquoise eyes narrowed. “ You’re not telling me everything.”

“ The others are going into the room. They need us,” Finn stated.

“ Let me help. What is it?” Carlyle urged.

Finn closed his eyes and dropped his chin to his chest. Then , he looked at his friend. “ If I go in, I won’t come out.”

Carlyle blinked before his gaze darted to the room and then back to Finn . “ The room, or The Grey ?”

“ The room.”

Song pulled her hair back and tied it off. “ You two stay here. I’ll be back.”

Finn watched her walk away and waited for Carlyle to call her back. When he didn’t, Finn swung his gaze to her. “ What are you doing?”

“ Staying with my friend,” Carlyle replied.

Any argument Finn had died on his tongue. He didn’t want to go into the room, and Carlyle was giving him a way out.

“ When this is finished, I want details,” Carlyle said.

“ There aren’t any.”

“ Stop fucking lying. We’ve been through too much for you to do that.”

Finn turned to lean back against the wall. “ There’s not much to tell. I saw something when we were in The Grey .”

“ What did you see?”

“ A shadow.”

Their talking ceased when the manor shook violently as if the very earth beneath it trembled.

“ Carlyle ! Finn !” Elias shouted.

Carlyle put a hand on Finn’s chest when he started to move. “ Stay out here.”

Finn shoved his hand away and headed into the room with his friends.