Page 6 of Blood Skye (Skye Druids #6)

Chapter Six

The strings of a song floated through the lodge to Song’s room as she stared out the window, watching dusk give way to darkness. She could make out the music but not the words. It seemed Carlyle preferred a certain type of music. She would never have pinned the classic pop of the forties and fifties to him. But then, she was beginning to see many layers to the heir of the Oliver fortune.

Their last conversation had replayed in her head through the afternoon and into the evening. She’d attempted to sleep, but the pain in her shoulder was too severe to allow her any kind of relaxation. She had gotten used to having Healers close at hand whenever she needed them. Song couldn’t remember the last time she had gone any length of time with an injury. She was paying the price for that now. Her pain tolerance was low.

She stood and meandered around the room. Despite the hours spent mulling over her options, she was still unsure of her decision. London had given her a deadline, which had two remaining hours when the extraction group showed up. Her stomach knotted every time she thought about why they had been sent.

It must have been a mistake.

Or they’d set her up.

London didn’t make mistakes, which meant she had been set up. But , again… why ? Could it be as Carlyle had suggested, and London wanted him to believe she had been double-crossed so she could infiltrate the Skye Druids ? Surely , the elders would realize that scheme would never work.

But that line of thought suggested that London had been aware that Carlyle would be at the estate. She had expected him to return, but certainly not in the dead of night. And not to kidnap her.

The most viable scenario was that London had him followed. Then again, Carlyle would have anticipated such a move and gone to lengths to ensure he lost any tails.

That left her with precisely one conclusion: The team had come for her .

She halted in front of the window as she acknowledged that fact. Her stomach churned as if acid were bubbling up inside her, rising to choke her. The London Druids turned on others for a variety of reasons, so it wasn’t as if she could pinpoint one specific cause. But she had given everything to the organization. She never failed. Always got the job done without any issues. Coolly . Quietly .

Covertly .

She bit her lip. Had this all been a setup to throw her and Carlyle together? Her confusion and anger could lend a realistic slant to it. Song shook her head. It was the first thing Carlyle had guessed. There was no way such a plot would work.

It was all conjecture at the moment. She had no definitive answers. Just a slew of questions. And unease. The image of the gun being pointed at her flashed in her memories. Song squeezed her eyes closed, but the image was burned into her mind. Druid bullets or not, they had wanted to hurt her.

She reopened her eyes. Movement outside the window caught her attention. She was glad she had kept the light off as she searched the lawn. Something moving between the trees yanked her gaze to the side, where she saw two figures dressed in all black. Her heart leapt into her throat. She scanned the lawn and counted five more stealthily making their way to the lodge.

Song whirled around and raced out of the room. She hurried down the stairs, the music growing louder as she reached the main floor. Her socks slipped on the wood, and she caught herself with her left arm, sending shooting pain across her back. She bit back a yelp as she regained her feet. There was no time to think about the agony. She fully found her footing and raced to where the music was coming from.

She threw open the door, a warning already falling from her lips, but she fell silent when she found the room empty. Song spun around, frantic. She knew firsthand what it was like to be caught by London . She had dealt it out herself. And she had also been on the receiving end of it.

Blood pulsed loudly in her ears as her heart slammed against her ribs. She rushed back to the entryway, her gaze on the door. She had tried it earlier, along with every other door and window, to find them locked with magic she couldn’t get through. There was no getting out. She was caged in.

Maybe she had been set up—by Carlyle .

Perhaps it wasn’t London outside but the Knights .

She whirled around and saw a tall form fill the doorway. Even without seeing his auburn hair in the moonlight, she knew it was Carlyle by the way he held himself. He said nothing as he pivoted and strode away on silent feet encased in thick-soled boots. Song hesitated only a moment before following. She found him in a small closet filled with extra hunting gear. He looked pointedly at the floor. She followed his gaze and found boots. She didn’t waste a second slipping her feet into them.

He reached for something on a shelf. She heard a click, and then the entire back shelving unit swung open. His eyes locked on her. Song moved past him into another tunnel that sloped downward. At least this one had lighting every ten feet or so. She glanced back to see him shutting the closet door and entering the passage before pulling the shelving unit into place behind him.

She plastered herself against the tunnel wall as Carlyle shimmied past her to take the lead. Their bodies brushed against each other. They hadn’t gone far before she whispered, “ I di?—”

Her words cut off when Carlyle halted and swung to face her. The light was behind him, keeping his face in shadow. He covered her mouth with his hand. A moment later, she realized why when she heard voices.

“ East side in position,” a male voice with a British accent whispered. There was a pause and then, “ Ready .”

The man was right above them. Song lifted her gaze to the tunnel’s ceiling. She didn’t know how thick the ground was between them or if her magic would even get through. Carlyle didn’t move. Nor did he attempt to stop the trespassers. His hand on her mouth suggested that he thought she might call out to them. In reality, she wasn’t sure what to do. She had never felt so unsure or confused.

The team above had likely been sent from London . She couldn’t get the image of the gun out of her head. Yet she couldn’t go against the organization. There were consequences for such actions.

But neither could she willingly put herself in their crosshairs again. Not until she had some answers. The problem with that was that she had no way of getting them. Which meant the best thing to do was to stay with Carlyle . For the moment. He wouldn’t be able to contain her forever.

Song heard nothing else, and that was worse than knowing someone was above them. Had they breached the locking spell and entered the lodge? Were they even now looking through the rooms? And how had they found her and Carlyle ?

He suddenly turned her to the side so the light fell on them both. Carlyle leaned close and narrowed his gaze. Words weren’t needed to convey that he wanted her to keep her mouth shut. Song nodded once. He lifted his hand a fraction and waited. She gave him a flat look. She hadn’t fought him once since they’d run from the manor.

His nostrils flared, but he straightened and dropped his arm to his side. Then he started walking. His steps were soft and light. She wanted to run past him and put distance between her and the team, but he blocked her way. There was also the fact that she didn’t know where to go. All she knew was that she didn’t want to be anywhere near the extraction team. She hadn’t wanted to admit that was who had been at the manor, but she could no longer deny it.

They walked and walked and walked. The passageway wove them underground with no other doors branching off. She held her left arm against herself to minimize the pain. Song stared at Carlyle’s back for hours. Or was it days? She could no longer tell. He hadn’t stopped, spoken, or even looked at her. She had no idea what he was thinking. She wasn’t even sure what to think. Nothing made sense.

And that terrified her.

A few of the lights in the tunnel had burned out. When she walked in that total darkness between bulbs, Song felt utterly alone. She had feared the dark and all it represented when she was younger. Now , she wondered if it might be better if she disappeared into it. But that wasn’t an option. London had made sure of that. She was bound to them.

She was so lost in thought that she ran into Carlyle when he stopped. She stumbled back from the impact and reached out to steady herself with her good arm. He turned to put his back against the wall and look at her.

Maybe it was the dark thoughts that had been floating in her head all day, or the fact that she was confused and fearful that made the words explode from her mouth—or perhaps it was just his harsh look. “ I didn’t bring the team here.”

Carlyle stared at her for a long minute before running a hand down his face. “ I know. The Knights have been compromised somehow. I’m guessing whoever found a way in also discovered something about the lodge and decided to check it out.”

She hadn’t expected such an admission, especially from Carlyle . It made her wary. The simple fact was that she wouldn’t have been able to prove that she wasn’t responsible for the team finding them. Now , she didn’t have to. “ What now?”

“ The lodge and its surrounding twenty acres are part of Mason’s inheritance. His dad used to bring us out here.”

“ To hunt?”

“ To train.”

Another revelation. How many more did he have in store for her?

Carlyle flashed her a quick grin. “ Surprised you, didn’t I ?”

“ You did.”

“ Shane set up a course for Mason and me.”

Song didn’t like the unease that tightened her stomach. “ What kind of course?”

“ The magical kind. Each section was meant to teach us a different way to fight. He wanted us to be prepared for anything.”

That explained quite a lot about Carlyle . Shane and his wife, Alicia , had both been deep in the organization, though Alicia had outranked him. That meant Shane had been privy to things others hadn’t. If he’d believed that Mason and Carlyle needed to be trained, there was a reason for it.

She glanced at the ceiling. “ Let me guess. This tunnel comes out to that area.”

“ It does.”

“ Is the course still active?”

Carlyle nodded.

“ Can we go around it?”

“ We must go through.”

She looked behind her down the tunnel. “ But that means anyone coming after us will have to do the same.”

“ It does. If they get into the house.”

She faced him. “ What are we waiting for then?”

“ Mason and I never conquered some locations on the course.”

“ Thanks for the warning. I’ll be fine.”

Carlyle blew out a breath. “ Stay behind me. Step where I step and do exactly as I say.”

“ Got it.”

He still didn’t move. He studied her, his turquoise gaze serious, and Song got the impression that he was trying to see into her head and discern her thoughts.

“ This won’t be easy,” he told her.

She twisted her lips into a rueful smile. “ Nothing ever is.”

Carlyle remained in his spot.

Song was tired, hurting, and scared. It was a combination she hadn’t experienced in a long time, and she didn’t like it. “ I don’t want to be here with you, but my other option is the team behind me. The ones who tried to shoot me. I plan on being healed when I face them next, so there’s no need for you to worry that I’ll call out to them. Or run off,” she added.

“ You could try to run off, but you wouldn’t get very far,” he replied.

Carlyle pushed off the wall and started forward. A few steps later, she spotted the door. There was no handle or lock. She watched Carlyle draw some designs with his finger, but it was too quick for her to sort out. He then flattened his palm on the door and whispered something. Nothing happened for about three seconds. Then the door quietly popped open.

Carlyle stopped and looked at her over his shoulder. “ Remember . Step where I do.”

“ And do exactly as you say,” Song finished with a nod. “ I understand.”

They stared at each other for another heartbeat before he slipped out of the passageway. Song followed and found herself in another forest—the second in a matter of days. Carlyle closed the door behind them, sealing whoever might find the tunnel inside. If the team located the shaft, they would find they couldn’t exit and spend time retracing their steps. The problem was, she was already tired. The few hours of sleep she had gotten on the car ride to the lodge and when she passed out from the pain weren’t enough, and it was taking a toll. As was her injury.

Yet when Carlyle set out, she managed to keep up with him. She kept her eyes locked on the ground, watching where he stepped. It wasn’t easy to do by only the light of the moon in the thick woods. All she could hope for was that nothing too drastic would happen if she misstepped.

Carlyle paused a few times, his head moving one way and then the other as if he were trying to recall memories. Then , he would set off again. She wondered when the course would start when Carlyle lifted his hands to block a shot of magic. He twisted right, then left, going down on one knee as more shots targeted him. They came in quick succession, seemingly from all over.

At first, Song believed the team had found them, but it didn’t take long for her to grasp that it was the course. Carlyle rolled forward and got to his feet, spinning at the last second to divert the final blow coming at his back.

Then it was her turn. Song looked at the sixteen feet separating her and Carlyle .

“ Don’t try to remember what I did,” he said in a soft voice. “ It won’t be the same. You need to sense where the strikes will come from.”

Song called to her magic and stepped forward. It wouldn’t be the first time she had faced danger while hurt.