Page 37 of Blood Skye (Skye Druids #6)

Chapter Thirty-Seven

With the sun warming her face and Sinatra crooning softly through the speakers, Song found it impossible to keep her eyes open. She had let her guard down. Not because there weren’t any dangers on Skye , but because she didn’t need to guard her every word and movement anymore. She was free.

Or as free as she could be.

And she wasn’t alone. Carlyle was there. It was odd to realize that she could trust him. And not just him. There was something about the people within his circle of friends. They had opened their arms for her. Bronwyn had opened her home. All because of Carlyle .

She saw for herself that the group was a family made up of Druids and non- Druids alike. That wasn’t to say they were too trusting, though. They were observant and suspicious. She would be upset if they weren’t. Carlyle might have vouched for her, but she needed to prove herself. Not just to them, but also to herself.

Which was why she was so worried about the tears.

“ It’s you, daughter. You’re the one we were protecting. You’re the one who can see the dimensional tears. Just look for them. You’ve always seen them, but you trained yourself not to look. I’ve removed the spell. Now , you have to see .”

Her mother’s whispered words, hurriedly said, replayed in her head. Song opened her eyes and discovered that the SUV had stopped. Carlyle was outside, leaning against the bonnet of the vehicle, staring off at a lone mountain rising out of the earth. Its dark rock was a stark contrast to the clouds surrounding the peak. Wind howled, tugging tall grass and the occasional pop of color from a wildflower.

Song unbuckled her seat belt and got out. Carlyle’s head moved slightly to the side, but he didn’t look at her. She closed the door and walked to stand beside him. He had a pensive look on his face that she couldn’t quite read. She folded her arms over her chest when the wind cut through her.

“ It’s much colder here,” she said.

He wrapped an arm around her, dragging their bodies closer. “ And it rains just about every day. It’s maddening at times. But I love it.”

She leaned against him, soaking up his warmth. “ What’s the mountain called?”

“ I don’t know. It’s my first time here.”

“ It’s pretty.”

He nodded and rubbed a hand down her back. “ I think the wildness calls to people.”

“ I can see that.”

“ I didn’t stop here because it’s scenic.”

Now , they were getting somewhere. “ Why have we stopped then?” Song lifted her face when he didn’t answer. A deep frown furrowed his brow. “ Carlyle ?”

“ I don’t know why I drove here. I’d planned to take you to the Fairy Pools . Instead , I ended up here.”

“ And where is here?”

He released a soft sigh and looked at her. “ This is where they found Killian after he was taken.”

Song stiffened as his words sank in. Carlyle had brought her to the place of the most recent battle. She searched through her memories to recall the story. Ariah had actually fought—and won—against the shadow monster after it had abducted Killian . And Killian had been brought to an invisible house.

She scanned the area in front of her but only saw a distant road and the lone car that drove upon it. Song leaned out of Carlyle’s arms and looked behind her. The area did have a wildness about it, but now that she knew where they were, she saw the desolation. There was a forlornness about the land that sent a chill down her spine.

Song spotted the drive that ended in a spot where a house should stand—the indiscernible structure where a monster had brought Killian .

“ This was a bad idea,” Carlyle said.

She released him and walked to the back of the SUV , looking to where the house should sit. The longer she stared at the location, the more she thought she saw a shimmer in the air. Or maybe it was just her imagination.

You’ve always seen them, but you trained yourself not to look. Now , you have to see .

Song squeezed her eyes shut. She needed to see. Well , she was looking but not seeing anything. She tried again. She saw a shimmer twice, but no matter how hard she looked, she didn’t see anything else.

Maybe she couldn’t see anything. Perhaps the ability only worked when she was young. Now that she was older, it might be gone. She couldn’t give up, though. Not yet.

Song tried once more. She focused hard on a spot. The shimmer turned into a wobble. She fixated on the vibration, absorbing everything. The tremors became more discernible, stretching away from each other and growing taller.

You have to see .

Something was there, but it remained out of reach. A dull ache began behind her eyes as she fixated on the spot. Suddenly , a warm hand slid against hers. Carlyle . She would know his touch anywhere. His silent strength and unwavering devotion were the steadying influence she needed. Not because he thought she required it but because he wanted her to know he was there.

The final shred of doubt that she no longer had the ability vanished. It gave her the push she needed. Song blinked.

And she saw .

She gasped and leaned back against Carlyle’s chest as much for support as to touch him. “ Bloody hell.”

“ What do you see?”

“ A tear.”

“ Tell me,” he urged.

No wonder her child’s mind had shut it down, locking that first experience away someplace never to be reached. She wanted to look away, to forget. But there was no forgetting. Not now. Never again.

Song swallowed and tried to get her bearings. “ Imagine you’re stretching a piece of cloth in front of you. Now , picture something sharp cutting through it from the opposite side in a long, horizontal line. Envision the jagged edges of the cloth curling outward toward you with spikes oozing fog.”

“ Where is it?”

“ In the sky.” She shrugged. “ Maybe it’s over where the house should be. It might be farther away.”

Carlyle was silent for a moment. “ Is there anything else?”

“ Just an uneasy feeling.”

“ That’s what I felt in The Grey .”

She turned to face him. “ Is that the fog?”

“ It could be. Hard to tell.” His gaze was locked on where the cottage should stand.

Song looked back to make sure she could still see the tear. It remained in the air, and she didn’t have to strain to see it anymore.

“ We should get to the manor and tell the others,” Carlyle said into the silence.

He led her back to the vehicle. She didn’t want to look at the tear, but she also couldn’t look away. It was disturbing on so many levels. Within moments, he drove them away. Song didn’t look back. She didn’t need to. That image would never leave her.

“ Well ?”

She blinked in confusion and looked at Carlyle . “ Well , what?”

“ Are you going to tell me the rest?”

A denial was on her lips when she hesitated.

He leaned an elbow on the door, his eyes on the road. “ I know you’re used to mistrusting everyone, but if things are going to work between us, there can’t be anything but honesty. For both of us.” He glanced her way. “ I felt you stiffen. You saw something else.”

“ It isn’t what I saw. It’s what I remembered. And you’re right. I shouldn’t have held anything back. I’ll do better.”

He laid a hand on the center console, palm up. Once she’d placed hers into his, he said, “ There will be many adjustments in the coming weeks and months. No one—especially me—expects you to make the changes without issues. You have to untrain your mind. Ignore the things that have been drilled into you for years.”

“ I wish it were easier.”

“ All things worth fighting for are worth it.”

“ We’re definitely worth fighting for,” she told him.

Carlyle smiled as he drove and tightened his fingers around hers.

Song looked in the side mirror to catch a fleeting glimpse of the tear before it was out of sight. “ Did you know a tear was there?”

“ I did not.”

“ But you suspected something was.”

Carlyle hesitated before grimacing. “ I did. Seems I’m not being completely honest either.”

“ You wanted to test a theory. I would’ve done the same. Tell me why you really brought me here.”

“ It was something Rhona said about Kirsi . Apparently , she kept staring at the place where the house was long after Killian had been rescued. It unsettled Callum . And others. The way it was described, Kirsi was enthralled.”

Song understood then. “ You want me to tell you if a tear can do that to someone. To me.”

“ Yes .”

“ It doesn’t. At least not with me. I’m put off by it. And afraid. Not enthralled by any means.”

He glanced at her. “ Not even when you first saw them?”

“ I was five or six the first time I saw a tear. Very young. I don’t remember where it was, only that I was frozen in fear. I screamed and screamed—long after my parents took me home. I was too terrified to explain what I had seen. It took them days to pull it out of me. And longer to calm me down. I don’t know what happened after that. I forgot about it.”

“ That’s when they used magic to help you.”

“ Yes . As petrified as I was, I’m glad they did. My next memories are of us arriving in London to start a new life. There was no talk of what’d happened in China . I never once recalled that memory until I saw the tear just now.” Song watched the sun’s rays move through the vehicle as they turned. “ It wasn’t just the tear I saw the first time. There was something within it. It was just a shadow, but I saw it move.”

Carlyle slowed to take another curve. “ Did it come toward you?”

“ I don’t recall.”

“ How many tears are there?”

She shrugged. “ I have no idea.”

“ It can’t be that many. Otherwise , that thing within The Grey would’ve gotten out. And trust me, it wants out.”

“ It obviously isn’t making the tears. Otherwise , it would’ve gotten out by now.”

He grunted. “ I hadn’t thought of that, but you’re right.”

“ Then what is making the tears?”

Carlyle raised his brows briefly. “ Good question. Were both tears you saw curled outward?”

“ This one was. I’m ninety-five percent sure about the first one. Why ?”

“ That means something not of our world is creating them. If it was something or someone here?—”

“ The curls would be inward,” Song finished with a nod. “ Of course.” She shivered at the implications. She hadn’t been in The Grey , but Carlyle’s description was enough to ensure she never ventured there. “ You said Callum could close the seam between dimensions. Maybe he can do it here.”

“ We cut through the wall last time. Everyone saw the slash because that was how we crossed into The Grey .”

Song twisted her lips and sighed. “ And this is different because none of you can see it.”

“ Maybe we can change that.”

“ How ?”

Carlyle put both hands on the wheel and sped up. “ Only one way to find out.”

They reached the manor to find the drive filled with vehicles. Carlyle parked and was out of the SUV quickly, making his way to the front door. Song had to stretch her legs to keep up with him. As they reached the structure, the door opened for them. She expected to find someone on the other side, only to recall too late that the house was sentient.

“ This way,” Carlyle said as they headed up the stairs.

He turned down a second-floor hall. Song spotted an open door and people standing and talking in the hall. She started to follow Carlyle inside the room. Then she halted and took a step back. She turned her head to look farther down the hall.

Song continued on. She didn’t know what had caught her attention. There was no sound, smell, or movement, but something urged her forward. She couldn’t have stopped if she wanted to. The runner cushioned her footsteps, but nothing could dampen the sound of her heart slamming against her ribs. Finally , she halted at a door. She grasped the handle and turned it, pushing it open to reveal a bedroom. But it was so much more than that. Now that she saw inside, she heard the stillness, sensed the emptiness. Felt the rage.

“ This is where you entered The Grey ,” Song said.

Carlyle came up behind her, his hands on her shoulders. “ It is. What do you see?”

“ Nothing . But I feel a prevalent anger.”

“ The creature,” Finn said as he moved to stand beside her.

Elias came up on her other side. “ Did Carlyle tell you about this room?”

She shook her head and closed the door before looking at him. “ He told me it happened in the manor, but not where.”

“ A lot has happened since we left today,” Carlyle told the men. “ Everyone will want to hear this.”