Page 40 of Blood Skye (Skye Druids #6)

Chapter Forty

Edie basked in the silence of the cottage. She sat on a chair and watched the mist curl delicately around her ankles before winding up her calves to her knees. She touched it with her hand, and it eagerly, zealously clung to her fingers. Its touch was as soft as gossamer wings. Soon , it covered her entire body.

But she wasn’t scared. How could she be afraid of something that was there to defend her? The mist settled around her shoulders like a lazy animal. Its very presence gave her a kind of peace she had never experienced before, a solidarity that eased the part of her soul that had never felt part of something. Had never felt truly loved.

Or seen.

Edie hadn’t realized she was drifting through life, hoping for the kind of life and love she had always envisioned. She’d even thought she had it once. But the truth had been revealed. She had settled for what she thought she deserved.

But no more. Her deceitful, philandering husband had been dealt with. Soon , her entitled, spoiled offspring would become the children she deserved. Edie was no longer weak. She wouldn’t take what others gave her. She would stand as tall as a mountain, as mighty as the great ocean, and carve out a new path for the Skye Druids .

She had been chosen, after all.

A creak sounded above her. Edie lowered her hands to her lap and lifted her gaze to the ceiling. They were here.

“ It’s time.”

The voice of the Ancients — Druids of the past who guided those of the present—filled her mind. But it wasn’t the voice of thousands. They had condensed to one singular voice when they picked her. Not just to lead the new Druids but to carry out their orders.

Edie rose to her feet. The mist curling on the floor parted to show her the way in the dimly lit cottage. The rest of the mist still clung to her body, trailing behind her like a cloak. She had been at the cottage for hours, waiting for her siblings and the others to arrive. Rhona had put her under surveillance, but the Ancients had alerted her to those watching and helped her get away.

It wouldn’t be long before Edie removed Rhona entirely, and Skye returned to the Druids as it had begun. Those without magic would be driven from the sacred isle, but not all Druids would be welcome either. Only those the Ancients deemed worthy would be able to call it home. Skye would return to the powerhouse it once was.

Edie heard voices now. She discerned the location of the interlopers on the roof. No need to make things easy for them. She lifted her hand, swirling the mist through her fingers as she leaned forward and softly blew, whispering one of a thousand spells the Ancients had given her. A smile spread at the sound of the rain.

She made her way upstairs to a bedroom. Edie focused on the voices again. There was one among them that the Ancients wanted. Edie discerned a male with a British accent, a Scottish female, and then a Scottish male. The instant she heard the British female, the Ancients hummed with excitement. She didn’t know why they wanted the Brit , but she wouldn’t question them.

“ Song was ours, ” the Ancients said. “ But she was lured away. You will bring her back to us.”

“ Of course,” Edie vowed.

She listened to the voices and moved until she stood directly beneath the one they’d called Song . Edie lifted both hands and concentrated on sending her magic upward. The ceiling cracked instantly, spidery legs shooting off in a dozen different directions. She pulled one hand down and pushed it outward. The ceiling dropped to the floor and off to the side.

She returned her hand to join the other once more. Then she focused on the materials beneath the slate tiles. Within moments, she heard a loud pop as it fractured. Edie smiled as those above went silent.

“ Song , slowly come to me,” the male Brit urged.

The moment Song had entered the cottage’s sphere, she was lost to the others. The Druid belonged to the Ancients now. Edie raised a brow when a different part of the ceiling creaked, alerting her that Song was moving.

“ I don’t think so,” Edie whispered and spread her fingers before drawing them back like claws.

She paused for a heartbeat before forcefully thrusting her hands outward. The might of her new power shot from her and punctured the tiles, making ten holes as if her fingers had done it themselves. A scream rent the air. Someone shouted. Edie curled her fingers and yanked downward.

Carlyle stared in horror at the holes in the tiles surrounding Song . Her dark eyes were filled with alarm when they met his. Something was in the house. He shot a quick glance at Kirsi and Callum , but neither had the holes around them like Song did. Carlyle knew he had to get to her before she fell.

He dove.

“ Carly —” she began, her words suddenly drowned out by the crashing of tile as she dropped through the roof.

He stretched out his hand, calling to his magic as he slammed into the hard surface. Something touched his fingers, and he grabbed hold. To his shock, he discovered that he had a hold of Song’s hand. Carlyle pulled himself closer to the massive hole in the roof and looked over the edge. She stared up at him through the rain.

“ Honey ,” he told her calmly. “ It’s going to be all right. I have you.”

A tear leaked from the corner of her eye. “ I don’t think it will be okay this time.”

“ Don’t you give up on me,” Carlyle demanded. “ We’re in this together.”

“ It has me ,” she mouthed.

He searched the darkness around her and saw the mist. If she couldn’t come up, he would go in after her.

“ Don’t you dare,” Song said.

“ I’m not letting you go.”

She winced. “ It’s out of our control.”

“ The hell it is.” Carlyle felt her slipping from his grip. “ Honey , please. Hold on just a little longer.”

“ I love you.”

The words were barely past her lips before something wrenched her out of his grip. “ SONG !” he bellowed.

“ Carlyle !”

He looked over to see Callum pulling a lighter out of his pocket and flipping open the lid. The raspy strike of the flint filled the air right before fire flared. Carlyle held out his hand, calling the flames to him. They rushed from the lighter and filled his palm as he slid headfirst into the hole, curling into a ball as he somersaulted forward and landed on his feet.

Carlyle spun in a circle, looking for Song while splitting the fire so the flames churned in both palms. But there was no one to fight.

“ Carlyle ?”

He glanced up at Callum . “ Find the tear. Fix it. I’m going after Song .”

“ Wait !” Callum called.

Carlyle was already out of the room by then. The moment he exited the bedroom, he drew up short. Ariah had described being inside the house when she and Callum had gone after Killian . Carlyle had thought it sounded a lot like The Grey . Now , he knew for sure that it was. He wanted to call out for Song , but he didn’t dare. Not yet, at least.

The cottage wasn’t that big. There were few places Song could be. Carlyle would search every room, pull up every floorboard, and bust through every wall if he had to. She was here, and he intended to find her.

Song saw stars after thumping her head against the floor. Each time she opened her eyes, the room swam around her, making her stomach heave. Someone had a hold of one ankle as they dragged her on her stomach.

“ Don’t worry. You’re right where you need to be.”

The female voice sent chills of dread through Song . She managed to flip onto her back when the dragging halted and the grip on her ankle released. She lifted her head to look around but was met with only fog. Horror settled in her bones. She got to her feet and plastered herself against a wall as a laugh filled the room around her. The mist rolled toward her like a wave. She watched it swarm her feet and begin climbing up her legs.

The fog, the haziness of the room… Was this The Grey ?

“ So , tell me, Song , what’s so special about you?”

She scanned the room for the source of the faceless Scottish voice, but she couldn’t see much in the obscurity. “ Nothing .”

“ Liar . They chose you.”

“ I don’t want anything to do with London .”

More laughter. “ This has nothing to do with the London chapter.”

“ Who are you? Show your face,” she demanded.

A woman rounded the doorway and came toward her. She had blue eyes, and short, wavy blond hair parted on one side. For a split second, Song thought she was talking to Elodie . She glanced out the door, wondering what else was out there.

“ No one is coming for you,” the woman said, then pulled a face. “ Well , they might, but they won’t find you.”

“ Who are you?”

The woman stopped before Song and crossed her arms over her chest. “ Edie .”

It was as Song had feared. This was Elodie and Elias’s sister, the one everyone was talking about—and watching. The Skye Druids suspected Edie of conspiring with the evil on the isle. They were right. The question was whether Song would get to tell them or not.

“ What do you want?” she asked.

Edie looked her up and down. “ I don’t want anything from you. The Ancients , however, do.”

“ The Ancients ?”

“ Shocking , I know. I probably wore that same expression when they came to me.”

Song watched the mist swirl around Edie as if it couldn’t get enough of her. And Edie welcomed it. “ The Ancients have never spoken to me.”

“ They have to me. They’ve tapped me to be the new leader of the Druids , but there needs to be a reckoning first. Looks like you’ll be helping with that.”

“ I’m not helping you do anything.”

Edie leaned her head to the side and stared at her with cold, blue eyes. “ The Ancients are all-knowing, all-powerful. Only a fool would refuse—or go against them.”

“ Do you know what’s happening on Skye ?”

“ Of course. It’s part of the process to sweep out those the Ancients want gone to make room for the new Druids .”

The mist was at Song’s waist now and creeping higher. “ Innocents are dying.”

“ There are always causalities when the old ways are finished and the new begin.”

“ And you’re fine killing your own?”

Edie’s expression hardened. “ What did anyone ever do for me?”

Song needed to keep her talking until she could find a way out. Carlyle would look for her, but she didn’t want him caught up in whatever this was. Besides , she didn’t believe Edie was alone. “ If you’re leading the new Druids , then what am I supposed to do?”

“ That’s why I want to know why they chose you.”

“ The Ancients didn’t tell you?”

Edie stroked the mist lovingly. “ I was told you belonged to them but had been lured away. They want you back.”

“ I wasn’t lured. I learned the truth about my family, the organization in London , and my sister. I chose to be with Carlyle .”

“ Why were you on the roof?”

Song swallowed nervously as the mist reached her chest. “ If the Ancients didn’t tell you, I’m not going to either.”