Page 28 of After Midnight (Skye Druids #7)

Chapter Twenty-Four

Carwood Manor

“ I don’t see anything,” Elodie said.

Finn nervously stared at the wall. There was no sign of the massive gash that had been cut through the membrane-like section separating one dimension from the other, but he knew precisely where it began and ended.

“ The house doesn’t feel right,” Bronwyn said as she rested a hand on a wall.

Rhona asked, “ Has the barrier been breached?”

“ I’d have to open the portal to find out,” Bronwyn said, dropping her arm and facing Rhona .

Elias shook his head. “ I’m no’ sure that’s a good idea.”

“ We have to know if we need to seal any fissures,” Balladyn said.

Song walked to the far wall Finn stared at and leaned close. “ Is this where it happened?”

“ There about,” Elodie answered.

The house let out another loud groan, and it was all Finn could do to stay in the room. His palms were clammy, his breath thready. Every fiber of his being screamed for him to get out—of the room and the manor.

“ Let’s go,” Carlyle whispered and tried to push Finn to the door.

“ I’ve not backed down from a fight before, and I’m not going to start now.

” Finn kept his voice low and glanced at the others to make sure no one was listening.

If he left, if he ran, he would never be able to look at himself in the mirror.

This wasn’t the first time he’d been scared.

He hadn’t run then. He wasn’t running now.

Carlyle’s lips flattened. “ Nothing is happening. This isn’t a battle.”

No sooner had the words left his lips than a thunderous boom sounded from the other side of the wall. Everyone stilled, all eyes focused on where the sound had come from.

“ Callum !” Rhona called frantically.

Killian said, “ He’s not here. I’ve been trying to get in touch with him.”

“ Why the fuck is he no’ here?” Theo demanded.

Balladyn teleported out while Bronwyn splayed her hands on the wall, closed her eyes, and communicated with the house. Elias moved up beside her while everyone else started to spread out and assume defensive stances.

The very air crackled with tension. Finn glanced at the door.

Everything in him still screamed to get out, but he couldn’t do anything.

His friends needed him. Besides , he wasn’t facing the monster within The Grey on his own.

The Druids around him were fierce fighters in their own right, and together, they were nearly unstoppable.

There was an audible gasp before a crack split the wall. Elias grabbed Bronwyn , pulling her away as everyone else stepped back.

“ I have to open the portal,” Bronwyn cried.

Elias held her to his chest. “ No ’ until Callum gets here to close any rips.”

“ There may no’ be time for him,” Scott pointed out.

Another crack suddenly appeared in the exact spot they had cut through the barrier. Ice filled Finn’s veins. Something was about to come through. For him. He tried to move back, but his feet were frozen in place.

“ Out !” Rhona yelled. “ Everyone out now!”

Carlyle reached for Song and yanked her toward the doorway as the others hurried out.

Mist began pouring through the cracks and falling down the walls to the floor—coming right for him.

Finn lurched to the side half a step, but it followed him.

He tried another direction, but it mirrored him that way, too.

“ Finn !” Carlyle bellowed.

The mist was filling up the room fast. Finn realized he was the last one inside and spun around.

Carlyle and Elias stood at the door, their eyes wide as they screamed his name.

They both stepped back into the room just as something wrapped tightly around Finn’s ankle and yanked.

He pitched forward and landed hard on his stomach, banging his forehead on the rug.

He could hear everyone shouting as he rolled and watched the mist rapidly curling up his calf to his knee.

Within seconds, it was up his other leg. That’s when the pain started. He kicked his legs, trying to get it off. When that didn’t work, he flipped onto his stomach and attempted to crawl out. Elias and Carlyle each took one of his hands and hauled him toward the door.

But the mist tightened its hold. Finn clenched his jaw as what felt like millions of needles penetrated his flesh and poured fire beneath his skin, suspending him several inches off the ground while both the mist and his friends tugged on his body.

He vacillated between awareness and oblivion as his flesh and muscles burned and the shouts continued.

He looked at Carlyle and Elias and begged, “ Don’t let go.”

“ Never ,” his friends replied in unison.

Song stepped from behind Elias and targeted the mist with her magic.

Bronwyn , Theo , and Rhona managed to lean through the doorway and do the same.

Finn clenched his jaw to keep his screams in check, but the agony was unlike anything he’d ever experienced.

The moment the mist loosened its hold, Finn flew out of the room.

A shout tore from him when his legs banged against the floor.

“ We’ve got you,” Carlyle said, anchoring one of Finn’s arms around his shoulders and standing.

The reply faded on Finn’s lips as he passed out. He came awake screaming the moment someone touched his legs as they lifted him.

“ Stay with us, Finn ,” Elias urged frantically. “ A Healer is coming.”

Each step jostled Finn , bringing more pain as they rushed him down the hall. He tried to stay awake, but when oblivion called, he was powerless to ignore it. And anything was better than the shooting pain running up and down his legs.

The next time he woke, he was laid out on one of the sofas in the front room.

He waited for the agony to return, but thankfully, there was nothing.

Finn rolled his head to the side and spotted Elias sitting on the edge of a chair, bent over with his arms on his legs and his gaze on the floor.

Carlyle paced behind him, shaking his head every few moments, likely having a conversation in his head.

Finn was about to say something when Carlyle looked at him and did a double take.

“ Finn ,” he said and hurried over.

Elias’s head jerked up, and the moment their eyes met, he surged to his feet. “ You’re awake.”

“ How do you feel?” Carlyle asked.

Finn lifted his head and looked down to see his legs covered with a blanket. No one else was in the room. That wasn’t a good sign. He lowered his head to the pillow and slid his gaze to his friends. “ Where is everyone?”

“ Warding the manor,” Elias answered.

Carlyle stood at Finn’s feet and asked again, “ How do you feel?”

Finn took stock of his legs and realized he didn’t feel anything. Fear of being paralyzed curdled his stomach. He sat up and threw off the blanket before his friends could stop him.

“ Fuck ,” Elias said.

Carlyle turned away, mumbling, “ Bloody hell.”

Finn stared in horror at his bare legs that now had thick, dark marks running up them like winding vines.

“ We wanted to tell you before you saw them,” Carlyle said.

Finn touched one of the markings on his thigh, but there was no longer any pain. He peered closer, frowning when he realized what it looked like. “ Is that…?”

“ A tattoo? We think so,” Elias replied.

Finn let that sink in. He tried to curl his toes and sighed in relief when he could move everything normally. He swung his legs over the side of the couch and looked from Elias to Carlyle . “ I was expecting a lot more with the pain I endured.”

“ So were we,” Elias admitted.

“ What other damage occurred?” Finn was almost afraid to ask, but it was better to know.

“ Nothing ,” Carlyle said.

Finn frowned. “ Nothing ? That can’t be right. I’m not talking about just the pain, there was a sinisterness to the mist.”

Carlyle nodded in agreement. “ We saw it go right for you. Ulrik thinks it was because you were marked.”

“ Ulrik ?” Finn repeated, his frown deepening. “ Why did you seek out the Dragon Kings ?”

Elias sighed and lowered himself back into his chair. “ Something similar happened to his mate, Eilish . Her markings are similar to yours.”

“ Where did she get hers?” Finn asked.

Carlyle shifted uncomfortably. “ That’s the odd part. Apparently , she was transported someplace when she got them. She didn’t see anything but the mist, where it climbed her legs and left marks.”

“ You’ve got to be fekking kidding me.”

Elias sighed. “ I wish we were.”

“ I take it she’s had no adverse effects?” Finn moved his hands up and down his legs from the top of his thighs to his ankles to make sure there was no more discomfort.

“ Nothing ,” Elias confirmed.

Finn shrugged. “ I’d really like some pants before we continue this conversation.”

Carlyle pointed to a spot behind Finn . He turned to find a pair of his jeans laid across the back of the sofa. He wasted no time getting them on and fastened.

“ Whoa ,” Elias said as he stood and put a hand on Finn’s chest when he tried to walk past. “ Where are you going?”

Finn met his blue eyes. “ First , I’m going to find my boots. Then , I’m going to help ward the manor. Which is where you two should be.”

“ We’re continuing the conversation, remember? You sensed you shouldna be in that room.”

Finn glared at Carlyle , but he wasn’t surprised he had told Elias about their discussion. He would’ve done the same.

“ You should’ve listened to your instincts,” Elias finished.

Finn ran a hand over his jaw. “ It isn’t the mist I’m afraid of, but what I saw moving in the shadows of The Grey . I overreacted.”

“ The hell you did,” Carlyle snapped. “ Look at your bloody legs.”

Finn knew they were worried, and so was he, but he didn’t want to know just how much. “ I was tattooed without permission. You said Eilish has something similar, and nothing has happened to her. So , I figure I’m fine.” Or he would be. As soon as he had some time to himself to let it all soak in.

“ The mist went right for you . It targeted you ,” Elias stated.

Carlyle released a long sigh. “ Nothing about The Grey is good. The fact that something cracked the wall and mist escaped, only to go for you concerns me greatly.”

“ And me,” Elias added.

Finn nodded. There was no use denying it.

“ It does me, too. But the pain is gone now, and I have the use of my legs. We can worry all day about things that could go wrong, but it won’t change what’s happened.

Right now, our focus needs to be on keeping the manor strong so nothing like this occurs again.

When and if something happens because of my marks, we’ll handle it. ”

He held their stares for a long minute before both men relented. They were headed toward the door when Sabryn threw it open. Her hair was tangled, and her eyes were wide. She looked at each of them before bending over to brace her hands on her knees and drawing in huge gulps of air.

“ Thank god,” she murmured.

Kurt walked in behind her, his hair also in disarray and his shirt torn.

“ We were wrong,” Sabryn said as she straightened and threw a look over her shoulder at Kurt .

Elias frowned as he glanced at Finn and Carlyle . “ About what?”

“ We thought the manor was being attacked, and that’s why we were confined,” Kurt answered.

Carlyle’s lips twisted. “ Actually , we were attacked.”

“ And what the fek do you mean you were confined?” Finn demanded.

Sabryn looked between the three of them. “ You first.”