Page 30 of After Midnight (Skye Druids #7)

Chapter Twenty-Six

Callum braced his head against the stone building at his back and rubbed his tired eyes as the new day dawned.

His gaze wasn’t on the sunrise, though. It was on the house where Kirsi’s parents, Matt and Nora , lived.

No one saw him in his hiding place, and that’s how he wanted it.

Skye wasn’t safe anymore, and someone had to watch over the Browns .

There was movement in the shadows to his side. Callum jerked his head, looking over, magic at the ready, when he spotted Balladyn ten feet away. It didn’t matter how much time he spent in the Reaper’s presence, Callum would never get used to him vanishing and appearing.

“ Killian said I might find you here.” Balladyn walked closer, his unusual eyes darting toward the Browns ’ home. “ Why didn’t you come to the manor when we texted?”

Callum drew in a breath and released it with a shrug. “ I lost my mobile in the attack.”

“ We need you.”

“ You know what happened to all of us. No one was watching Kirsi and her parents,” Callum stated. His anger had been simmering for hours, and, unfortunately, it looked like Balladyn would take the brunt of it.

The Reaper stared at him for a long moment. “ Nor was anyone guarding you.”

“ Me ?” Callum asked in surprise. “ I doona need protection.”

“ On the contrary, I think you do. You’re the only one who can heal the rifts. You’re a vital part of our group.”

Callum looked away, hating that the Reaper had brought it up. “ I wasna able to do anything last time.”

“ You have before, and we need you again.”

Callum’s gut clenched at the thought of another split opening between the dimensions. “ Where is it?”

“ At the manor.”

His stomach dropped to his feet in shock as he swung his head to Balladyn . “ What ? How ? When ?”

“ A lot happened last night. We’re still working it all out. Something got through, though we’re not sure how. Mist spilled out and went straight for Finn .”

Callum pushed away from the wall, his mind recoiling at what he heard. “ Is he okay?”

“ He’s been left with marks on his legs, but otherwise, he appears fine.”

Appears . Callum remembered walking through the mist when he went with the others to locate Ferne .

He had felt a presence near him. Something dark and dangerous.

He would never forget how heavy his feet and legs became the longer he stood in the fog.

It was almost as if something had gripped him and tried to keep him there.

There hadn’t been anything on him but the swirling vapor, yet no one else had been affected.

“ Bronwyn hasn’t opened the portal to see if there is a rift, and she won’t until you’re there,” Balladyn continued. “ But if one has formed, there’s potential for other things to come through.”

Callum looked at the Browns ’. A shape moved past a window. He would know Kirsi anywhere. She had spent the night tending to her mother nonstop. “ Mrs . Brown’s muscular dystrophy flared up yesterday.”

“ I see,” Balladyn said.

“ Mr . Brown and Kirsi tried to get her to the hospital, but she refused. Her nurse came to help them, but Kirsi still wouldna leave her mum’s side.”

“ With Matt’s magic fading, Nora unable to use hers with the MD , and Kirsi absorbed in her mother, you stayed to watch over them.”

Callum shrugged a shoulder and met the Reaper’s gaze. “ Someone needed to.”

“ We’ll get you a new mobile so we can stay in touch. Right now, you’re needed at the manor. As soon as I drop you there, I’ll return and stand guard,” Balladyn promised.

“ Then I suppose we’d better go.”

The next second, Callum stood outside a closed bedroom on the second floor of the manor. He didn’t need to count the doors to know it was the one they had gone through to enter The Grey .

“ Callum ,” Rhona said, hurrying toward him from down the hall. “ I was beginning to wonder if Balladyn would find you.”

He looked at the leader of the Druids as she made her way to him. Her steps were hurried, and there were dark circles under her eyes. Her long, red hair had been hastily fastened into a high ponytail. She smiled at him, her relief evident in how her shoulders sagged.

“ I didna ignore you,” he told her. “ I lost my mobile.”

Rhona stopped beside him. “ Are you all right?”

He flinched when her gaze dropped to the cut on his lip. Callum turned his head away so she couldn’t see it. “ I failed the last time I tried to seal a rift.”

“ Not only could you not see that one, but you were gravely injured while trying to close it. No one blames you for that.”

Maybe not, but that didn’t alleviate the pressure he felt to get the job done.

There was a beat of silence before Rhona said, “ You don’t have to do this.”

“ Of course, I do,” he replied, his gaze on the door.

She turned him to face her, and her green eyes locked on his. “ No , you don’t.”

“ I just…” He trailed off and glanced away. “ I doona want to let you down. I closed it once, but it reopened. I might have done something wrong the first time. What if that happens again?”

“ Then we’ll deal with it. Just as we do with everything that comes our way.”

She was right, and he knew it. It was time to stop worrying and do what he could. Callum gathered his long hair behind his head and tied it off with a leather string. “ I’ll try my best.”

“ That’s all anyone can ask.”

He opened the door before he changed his mind and stepped into the empty room, his gaze drawn to the opposite wall and the large crack.

He still remembered how he had reached up to the cut membrane and run his hand over it.

He hadn’t known he could close the tear until then.

“ It’s the same shape as the one we cut through the membrane separating the dimensions. ”

“ Exactly the same?” Rhona asked apprehensively.

He nodded and walked to it, running his hand along the fissure. “ I remember how the angle curved slightly as it traveled toward the floor.”

Callum peered into the split and saw that it went through the plasterboard. “ Are you sure only mist came out?”

“ It’s all we saw, but we were focused on getting Finn out since he was screaming in agony.”

He turned his head to her. “ Balladyn said the mist left marks.”

“ More like tattoos. It burned through Finn’s jeans into his skin from his ankles to his hips.”

“ Shite .”

Rhona nodded, her lips pinched. “ He passed out from the pain, but when he woke, it was as if nothing had happened. The Healers took away his pain, but there wasn’t anything for them to repair. He’s not the only one to have such marks, either. Ulrik’s mate, Eilish , had something similar happen.”

Callum frowned. “ She went into The Grey ?”

“ Neither she nor Ulrik are sure where she went, but Eilish told me it was misty and had dim lighting. She did experience some pain from the fog, but other than ending up with tattoos on her legs, she’s been healthy.

Is that because she’s mated to a Dragon King and essentially immortal, or because the marks didn’t do any lasting harm? We may never know.”

“ I take it the thought is that Finn will be okay, too?”

“ We hope.”

Callum returned his attention to the splintered plasterboard. Behind it were the stones used in the construction of the manor. He had walked through the tear weeks ago and sealed it on his way out. They were the ones who had cut through the barrier. Maybe that’s why he had been able to close it.

“ What are you thinking?” Rhona asked.

Callum took a step back to look at the crack as a whole. “ I can no’ tell if there’s a tear or no’. I see this,” he said, pointing to the wall.

“ But you don’t know if there’s something to seal.”

“ Exactly .” He looked at her. “ I need Song .”

Rhona drew out her mobile and sent a text. “ She’s on her way upstairs now.”

Callum returned to studying the fissure. He wished he knew more about his ability. It might come from his family, but he couldn’t ask his mother since she had left, and his father would never give him a straight answer, so it was pointless.

“ You’re always welcome to stay here,” Rhona said into the silence.

“ Bronwyn tells me that every time I’m here.”

“ It might be safer.”

Callum knew she was referring to his lip.

It was odd how everyone assumed his injuries came from him instigating fights with others for most of his life.

No one had thought to ask him—not that he would’ve told them.

It was his shame to carry. It was bad enough that Killian had guessed.

And Kirsi . Now , the rest of their group knew.

Whether someone had told them or they figured it out didn’t matter.

Everyone knew about the abuse. Thankfully , no one asked him to give voice to it, and he wanted it to remain that way.

“ I’ll think about it,” he said as two sets of footsteps approached. He wouldn’t, of course, because his father would make an appearance and disrupt everything. But it was the only thing Callum could say to end the discussion.

Song and Carlyle entered the room before Rhona had a chance to respond. Callum turned to face the couple.

“ It’s good to see you,” Carlyle said with a nod.

Callum returned the gesture before shifting his gaze to Song . “ Shall we try again?”

She gave him a welcoming smile. “ This rift should be easier than the last since we won’t be balanced on a roof.”

“ That’s true.” Callum glanced at the wall. “ Can you see anything?”

Song narrowed her eyes and examined the fracture in the plasterboard.

His gift was closing rifts, but hers was seeing them since they were invisible to everyone else.

Song was the only reason they had learned about the one on Skye .

There could be—and probably were—others around the world, which was a terrifying thought.

The tear he had closed was one they had cut through, which was probably why he could see it. Others had created the rifts, which likely explained why he couldn’t discern them.

“ I don’t,” Song finally answered after a thorough examination.

Rhona’s brows drew together. “ I don’t understand. We all saw it open last night.”

“ If the proof weren’t on Finn’s legs, I’d be questioning it.” Song’s dark gaze slid to Carlyle . “ I don’t like this.”

He grunted and moved to the wall beside Callum , leaning his face close. “ The evidence is here and on Finn’s legs.”

“ Are you telling me that something can tear open a rift between the dimensions and then close it?” Rhona asked.

Callum shrugged. “ It stands to reason it could. My concern is no’ that it happened, but that it happened inside the manor, exactly where we cut through the wall to get into The Grey .”

“ Exactly where we cut?” Carlyle asked, his gaze probing.

Callum nodded and glanced at Rhona . “ Aye .”

“ Finn didn’t say anything,” Carlyle mumbled.

Song asked, “ You think he noticed?”

“ He was staring at it hard enough.” Carlyle blew out a breath. “ Yeah , I think Finn noticed it was the same.”

Rhona’s face pinched in concern. “ Why didn’t he say anything?”

“ He’s dealing with some PTSD from our visit to the other side,” Carlyle admitted reluctantly.

Callum debated talking to Finn to see if they suffered from the same issues. Finn had likely kept quiet for the same reason Callum had. But one other person had it even worse— Kirsi . The monster from The Grey had been plaguing her dreams and visions since she entered its dimension.

Song swung her head to Callum . “ Bronwyn is pretty rattled about all of this, too.”

The manor had protected them all at various times, but its connection was through Bronwyn . Callum scanned the room. “ We’ve put a lot on the house. We should add some wards to help it defend itself.”

“ We had the same thought,” Rhona said. “ We’ve already started, but it’s a huge house, and we could use your help.”

Callum dipped his chin. “ Of course.”

“ I’m going to go ahead and reinforce this room,” Song said.

Carlyle turned and walked to the doorway. “ I’ll get the hallway.”

“ Sounds good,” Rhona said before walking away.

Callum watched the couple begin their work, but his attention was constantly drawn back to the crack.

“ What is it?” Song asked.

He shook his head. “ I’m no’ sure. Something isna right.”

“ What do you mean?” Carlyle asked, poking his head inside.

Callum pointed at the crack. “ I see the evidence here, and all of you witnessed it. While I think it’s possible something can tear through dimensions and close up behind itself, why would it? It left others visible.”

“ You think it’s because it wanted Finn ?” she asked.

Carlyle leaned a shoulder against the doorjamb. “ Finn didn’t want to enter the room. It was like he knew something was going to happen.”

Callum thought about the times Kirsi had been terrorized by the monster from The Grey . He had always thought it was because she knew she would eventually have to face the creature, but now he wondered if he had been wrong.

“ Sabryn said Edie warned her,” Song said.

Callum looked at her. “ What kind of warning?”

Carlyle explained what had happened to Sabryn and Kurt at the cottage when the manor was attacked.

When he finished, Callum asked, “ What if what we’re seeing is a trick? What if there isna a tear at all?”

“ But we saw it happen right before our eyes,” Song insisted.

Carlyle grunted. “ Not to mention the mist.”

“ The killing mist could get into houses,” Callum reminded them.

Carlyle stilled for a heartbeat before shaking his head. “ It was never able to get into the manor, though. Besides , we ended that.”

“ No , you stopped Kerry . That’s different,” Song said.

Callum shrugged. “ Edie took Kerry’s place. Who’s to say she can no’ also control the mist? What happened to it after you got Finn out?”

“ I don’t know.” Carlyle ran a hand down his face. “ We slammed the door and carried Finn downstairs. This is the first time we’ve been back inside since it happened.”

Song turned to the fissure again. “ So , it could indeed all be a trick.”

“ To scare us?”

They exchanged glances and, in unison, said, “ Finn .”

“ Bloody fucking hell,” Carlyle murmured.

Callum rolled his shoulders as a cold chill ran down his spine. “ The evil is getting stronger.”

“ And coming for the manor,” Song added.

Carlyle walked to the wall and placed his hand beside the broken plasterboard. “ Every one of us needs to reinforce the wards in every bloody room, inside and out.”