Page 25 of Blood Skye (Skye Druids #6)

Chapter Twenty-Five

The tranquility of being on the water was a juxtaposition to the threat hanging over them. Carlyle rubbed his temple and tapped the end of the pencil against the pad of paper. Rain pelted the boat’s roof and windows. It had begun as a mist just after breakfast. He’d taken the first shift at the tiller, using one of the raincoats on hand.

Carlyle had intended to steer the narrowboat until lunch, but Song had relieved him after two hours. He’d tried to wave her off, but something in her eyes told him she needed to be outside. He reluctantly handed over the tiller. Not long after he ducked into the cabin, the mist turned into a light rain that grew steadily harder the closer they drew to London .

There was a flash off to his left, followed immediately by a loud boom. Carlyle jumped up and threw open the bulkhead doors. “ It’s time to come in,” he shouted over the downpour.

Song was soaked, even wearing a raincoat. She frowned but nodded, knowing how unsafe it was to be on the water in a lightning storm. He watched as she steered the boat toward shore and dropped the anchor. Only then did he back up and give her room to enter. Carlyle took the jacket from her and handed her a towel.

“ We’re going to lose time,” she said.

“ We’ll make it up.”

She walked away, presumably to change into some dry clothes. He hung up the coat and fastened the doors. Carlyle then filled the kettle and set it on a burner to heat. Song emerged with her damp hair twisted in a knot at the base of her neck. She wore a dark gray and black turtleneck sweater, black sweats, and black, gray, and white fuzzy socks, with a cat’s face covering the toes.

“ I can start a fire,” he offered.

She shook her head and curled up on the couch, pulling a blanket over her for warmth. “ I’ll be fine once I warm up.”

“ Tea will help.”

She snuggled deeper into the cushions and mumbled, “ Yes .”

Carlyle busied himself by getting out mugs and looking through the assortment of teas. He chose a black for himself. “ What kind of tea would you like?”

“ Any of the green, please.”

He chose a sencha. After he opened the packets and set each bag in a mug, he looked out the window in time to see a spectacular display of lightning zigzagging across the sky. The boom that followed rattled the boat. Rain streaked the windows, making it difficult to see out. It was the perfect kind of day for curling up with a good book. Or maybe even a movie.

The kettle whistled, yanking him out of his musings. Carlyle poured water into the mugs and let the tea steep. When he glanced at Song , he found her staring at him.

“ Have you thought about what you’ll do if we can’t find Thomas ?” she asked.

Carlyle leaned a shoulder against the wall and crossed one foot over the other. “ Sabryn has always been a stickler for having at least three backup plans. It has kept us alive when we’ve run into tricky situations. If she were here, she would already have several alternatives in place.”

“ But she isn’t here.”

“ And this isn’t just any mission. This is my dad.” Carlyle shrugged. “ There is no backup plan. I have to find him.”

She rubbed her cheek against her shoulder to move a strand of hair that had come loose and fallen into her eyes. “ We have one shot to come at London when they’re unprepared.”

“ They’re prepared now, and you know it.”

Song’s gaze slid away.

“ We’re guessing where my dad and your sister will be held,” he said, removing the tea bag from her cup. “ Sugar ? Milk ?”

“ None , thanks. That may be true, but London can’t catch you.”

He walked the mug to Song and waited until it was in her hands before saying, “ Or you.”

“ I’m not the one they want to use to hurt your friends.”

“ I disagree. They’ve been using you for years.”

Song wrapped both hands around the mug for warmth. “ You risked banishment for the Skye Druids . Yet you don’t seem concerned about the elders using you.”

“ Trust me, I’m concerned. But I also know how strong my friends are,” he said as he returned to his cup. “ I’ve not only witnessed some of the things they’ve endured, I’ve fought alongside them.”

“ You might be the catalyst that changes everything.”

He met her gaze. “ Then don’t let that happen.”

“ Me ?”

“ London can’t use me if I’m dead.”

Her face shuttered. Steam from the tea rose around her. “ I know you’re not asking what I think you are.”

“ It’s the only way, and you know it.”

“ I can’t.” She shook her head. “ I won’t .”

Carlyle removed his tea bag and added a sugar cube. Then he sat on the sofa adjacent to her. “ I know what I’m asking is enormous, and I don’t do it lightly. I’m thinking about my friends.”

“ Then ask them for help.”

“ They have to remain on Skye to protect it. Don’t you want to know what’s going on there?”

She held his gaze for a long moment. “ Yes .”

Carlyle sat back and sipped the tea as the storm continued. “ It began with Elias’s sister, Elodie .”

He’d been waiting to share the details with Song . The more who knew and understood what was at stake, the more that would stand with Skye . To his surprise, she didn’t just listen. She absorbed the information, asking questions and delving deeper.

Their tea was long gone by the time he had moved on from Elodie and Scott’s tale to Elias and Bronwyn’s . Song’s eyes brightened when she learned that Carwood Manor was sentient. Carlyle continued talking, even after he rose to prepare lunch, and then moved right into Theo and Ferne’s story. When they sat to eat at the dinette, he relayed Willa and Jasper’s account between mouthfuls of soup. By the time he’d wrapped up Ariah and Killian’s tale, they’d finished their meal.

Song said nothing as she gathered their bowls and carried them to the sink. She shoved her sleeves over her elbows and began washing. He put away the rest of the soup and heated more water in the kettle.

Neither of them spoke until the kitchen was cleaned. Song slowly tugged her sleeves down and returned to the couch. “ This Druid spell book you speak of. The one everyone wants? How dangerous is it?”

“ I think in the wrong hands it can be extremely dangerous. There is evil in it. But there is good, as well. The wealth of knowledge within its pages is considerable. That book showed Bronwyn that a Druid can become drough in different ways. It isn’t only by the giving of one’s soul to the Devil , as we’ve always been told. And Bronwyn is a prime example.”

“ Bronwyn is a drough ?”

“ She is.”

Song’s look was serious, guarded. “ You never asked if I was mie or drough .”

“ I used to believe it mattered. Droughs were immoral. Period . There’s no reversal, after all. We’ve been taught that mies are virtuous, and droughs are wicked. It’s shite. The Skye Druids consent to droughs living on the isle as long as they do no harm to others. Mies and droughs live in harmony there. That surprised me. How could that be? After all, London pushed out anyone they learned was a drough .

“ Bronwyn was the difference between Elias living or dying. Not by her magic, but because she trusted him. She and the manor sheltered him when he was framed for murder. She allowed us into her life, too. Because we were his family. Through all that adversity, they fell in love, and Bronwyn became part of our family. She’s as much a Knight as Elias is.”

He was interrupted by the kettle’s whistle. It was Song who rose to pour water for their tea this time.

“ You think Bronwyn’s cousin, Beth , has the book?” she asked.

Carlyle nodded once. “ We know it. She’s in league with George .”

“ The leader of the Edinburgh Druids .” Song nodded, seemingly more to herself. “ There are more players on the board than the elders ever mentioned.”

“ They want it to appear that they’re in charge and winning.”

She turned her head to him. “ I’ve never heard mention of this book, but I bet they have. And I bet they want it.”

“ It is important. I won’t downplay that. But there is much more than that going on. Don’t forget the evil enveloping Skye . The killing mist. The Grey —that’s the place between dimensions.”

“ And the monster in The Grey . I remember,” Song said.

He watched her for a long moment. “ There is also the Three Pillars who will protect Skye .”

“ Three is a sacred number to Druids ,” Song said as she brought him his cup after adding a sugar cube. “ Speur , talamn, uisge .” Sky , earth, water. “ Ariah is the talamn . Do you know the other two?”

For just a moment, Carlyle hesitated. It was such a habit that he didn’t realize it until it happened. “ We do not.”

“ How long do you have to find them?”

“ I don’t know. With the rate things have been happening, the sooner, the better.”

Song got her mug and brought it to the sofa. “ I’ve never heard anything about Luke Ryan . That isn’t to say London wasn’t involved in his disappearance.”

“ Scott and Willa want to find their father.”

“ Just as you want to find yours.”

Carlyle looked down at the cup in his hand. “ Yeah .”

“ The book worries me. Simply because it’s something I can see the elders intending to possess. It is power, and that is their main goal.”

“ I’ll destroy it before I allow them to have it.”

Her lips twisted in a rueful smile. “ You’d have to get it first. Besides , I don’t know if a book like that can be destroyed.”

“ Everything can be destroyed.”

“ It isn’t just the book and what it contains. It’s also the apparent union of London and Edinburgh .”

Carlyle closed his eyes for a heartbeat. “ We know it was London and Edinburgh who went after Saber . George blames Elias for the death of someone she cared about. It was a clean fight, but she doesn’t care. She wants revenge. The fact that Elias is a Skye Druid only made things worse in her eyes. She hates all of them, which means she’ll do anything, and align with anyone, to bring them down.”

“ That brings me to the other happenings on Skye . You may have caught the one controlling the mist, but even you said no one believes she created it. What was her name again?”

“ Kerry . And that’s because she didn’t create it. She didn’t have the magic to craft something like that.”

Song sipped her tea. “ Okay . That means someone else did.”

“ We’ve come to the same conclusion. The problem is we don’t know who. It could be anyone.”

“ You need to find whoever it is, and quick. Before they move on to someone else.”

Carlyle sank lower on the sofa and extended his legs, crossing them at the ankles. “ I believe they already have.”

“ Ah . That’s right. Elias and Elodie’s sister. I can’t recall her name.”

“ Edie .”

Song tucked her legs against her and covered herself with the blanket once more. “ She should be contained before she does anything.”

“ That’s …a little more difficult.”

“ If Rhona leads the Skye Druids , then she needs to fully embody that role and get on the offensive.”

Carlyle took a drink of the tea, letting the warm liquid slid down his throat. “ Easier said than done.”

“ You told me a lot, and there are several concerning items. But it’s The Grey that bothers me most.”

“ It’s terrifying. I never want to experience that again.”

She chewed on the side of her lip. “ Do you think the monster in The Grey attacked Killian ?”

“ Ariah doesn’t seem to believe so.”

“ There’s another monster?”

He shrugged. “ It could be the same one. It could be something different. It could all be connected, or there could be multiple enemies.”

“ And it’s only happening on Skye ?”

“ Without a doubt, they’re being targeted.”

She wrinkled her nose and took another drink. “ Sounds like something the elders would attempt.”

“ There is one more piece of information to this rather big puzzle. This isn’t the first time Skye has been targeted like this. It happened a few times in the past.”

“ I’ve never heard anything about it. Have you?”

Carlyle chuckled and shook his head. “ Not a peep. But it’s been passed down through the Druids on the isle. They managed to end whatever was happening in the past.”

“ What happens if they can’t triumph this time?”

“ My guess is the evil will spread.”

Song worried her lip and lowered her gaze to the floor for several minutes. Then she looked at him. “ I now understand why you were so insistent on sharing what’s happening there. You and your friends have had some success, and you’ve all managed to stay alive in the process.”

Carlyle shook his head. “ The mist took many lives.”

“ The bottom line is that your friends need you on their side. Not fighting against them.”

“ I agree. And I intend to get back to Skye as soon as I find Dad .” Carlyle paused, weighing a thought. He decided to put it into words. “ You could come with me. The Skye Druids would shelter you and your sister.”

Song hastily looked away, focusing on her tea. “ I’ve been thinking about getting into headquarters.”

Carlyle didn’t mention the change in topic. She hadn’t been ready for his offer. She might never be. But he was glad he had put it out there. The safest place for her and Lauren was Skye . “ I’ve already thought of that.”

Her head snapped up. “ How ?”

“ What’s in two days?”

She frowned as she stared at him. She was shaking her head when her eyes went wide, and her mouth formed an O . “ Beltane .”

“ That’s right,” Carlyle said with a grin. “ The Mayfire Fest .”

“ Getting in will be difficult. Good thing I have a way,” she stated with a smile.