Page 14 of Druid Cursed

CHAPTER

Despite Maggie’s intention to kick it back to the castle in the woods as soon as the coast was clear, two minutes after Jeeves had escorted her back from the sacred grove, she’d crashed on the bed, out colder than a corpse, then later spent the rest of the day reading.

Books were a much-needed escape from reality…

reality that was starting to feel more like fiction.

The next daybreak later—another night without Wendy, and after wolfing down the egg biscuit sandwich and cinnamon- and vanilla-laced coffee waiting outside her room—plans were back on track.

The strangeness of yesterday’s ritual still rattled in her head.

None of the other guests had taken an involuntary swim, not even those who “the Fates” rejected.

If anyone else had a vision of a crone and druid mini-battle, they’d kept their mouth shut.

And so had she. Falling into the pool was mortifying enough without announcing that particular detail.

Or the fact that she was fairly certain she’d seen the woman once before, at her Aunt Maeve’s ritual that she’d interrupted as a child. But that was so long ago…she could be wrong.

She ignored a shudder as she headed for the path Kellen had taken her on the previous day. The castle and its hidden treasures waited. She re-read the “task list” from Wendy.

Three items to find before the new moon

A ring with a secret

A boy’s hidden key

A rock touched by magic

Defeat my enemy to set me free

Whatever plan Wendy had concocted, the distraction was more than welcome.

And that’s probably where she’d been last night, arranging the clues on the scavenger hunt.

Or with her hot-tub business tycoon. Maggie could hardly be upset, considering she was at the beck and call of the competition.

How else was Wendy supposed to pass the time?

But she did miss having someone to talk to about…well, everything.

On the main lawn of the manor, guests were creating their own personalized scarecrows to burn in some bonfire later.

Apparently, to symbolically free themselves of past demons and start anew.

Patrick was closest to the path Maggie took, and she slipped behind a shrub before he could spot her and sneer—his favorite pastime.

Once the woods closed around her and cut off the view of the mansion and gardens, Maggie increased her pace.

She half expected Kellen to appear from behind a tree with a menacing scowl and a sweep of his cape, as if he could travel through the gloom to block her way.

Although the sun was high, its heat had diminished, and she rubbed her arms through her sweater to warm them.

A deep quiet thrummed in her ears, absent of birdsong or the tiny rustle of creatures passing through leaves and grass.

The scent of damp soil and stone reminded her more of a graveyard than a forest. Shadows that had seemed only secretive earlier slithered among the moss and leaves like the seeking tendrils of some dark beast beneath the earth.

Maggie snorted. Ridiculous. She needed to get out of her head.

Among the trees ahead, a flash of pale pink disrupted the darkness, and between one step and the next, Cara came into view. They both stopped walking, breaths clouding in the air.

Cara seemed as surprised as Maggie to see another person in this part of the woods.

Dressed in a powder-pink peacoat, khakis, and hiking boots without a single stain on them, she looked like a magazine model out for a nature shoot.

Her black hair had been plaited and curled atop her head like a crown, makeup perfect, her lips painted a dusty shade of rose.

“You seem recovered from yesterday.” Cara slipped her hands from her pockets and moved closer. Her gaze drifted over Maggie’s face. “Mostly,” she amended. “Didn’t sleep well?”

“No.” Maggie forced a smile. Were the bags under her eyes that bad?

“Neither did I,” she confessed, her tone surprisingly vulnerable. “Yesterday was…”

“Yeah.” Maggie’s smile came more naturally now. “It certainly was.”

“Do you mind if I join you?” Cara wrapped her arms around herself and glanced at the thick trees surrounding them.

“I ventured farther than I thought, and I’m not sure being out here alone is the best idea.

The city doesn’t prepare a girl for wildlife in the woods.

I saw a possum. It hissed at me.” She shuddered. “It was disgusting.”

Maggie didn’t want to delay going to the castle, but Cara was right.

It wasn’t safe for either of them to be alone out here.

The back of her neck prickled, as if someone—or something—watched from the shadows, hidden, crouched, and ready to spring.

Strength in numbers. And it wouldn’t be the worst thing to have an ally for the rest of the week.

“Sure,” she said, “if you’re okay with an adventure. Fair warning, though. You might get your shoes dirty.”

Cara’s eyes brightened in either challenge or curiosity. “I’m always careful where I step.”

Alrighty then. Maggie shrugged and led the way.

As they walked down the path, their footsteps muffled by pine needles and moss, Cara glanced at her. “You’re not like the other people here.”

Maggie felt heat rising to her face. “You’re right. I’m neither rich nor famous, and I have zero influence over anything. I’m only here because I randomly won a wildcard entry, and I need the prize money to get my house out of foreclosure. Very glamorous, I know.”

“That was meant as a compliment.”

“Sure it was.” Maggie narrowed her eyes.

“It was .” Cara laughed softly. “Of all the guests, you alone seem…real.”

“I’ve tried before to be someone I’m not. Wasn’t really my super-skill, so I gave it up.”

“You’re fortunate that it’s an option. Not everyone is afforded that luxury.”

Cara’s expression was unreadable. A mask . Maggie couldn’t help softening at her words, though. Maybe being rich and beautiful wasn’t as much fun as it sounded. She’d spent enough time trying to be the wife Darren wanted. Better to be single and broke than married and fake.

“Why are you here this week, Cara?” She shoved her chilled hands into her jacket pockets. “I suspect it’s not for the money.”

“I need something that only the Ravenwoods can offer.”

The snap of a twig underfoot cracked from somewhere in the trees, and they both turned their heads toward the sound. Maggie listened, searched the forest, her senses straining as they continued walking. Probably just a deer…

“I hope you don’t take offense, but both brothers seem to have taken a particular interest in you, Kellen especially.” Cara’s gaze flicked her way before returning to the faint path they followed. “Why is that, do you suppose?”

“Ah, I get it now. You’re being nice to me because you think I have some sort of pull with Kellen.

Or Caedmon. Sorry to disappoint you, but I don’t.

I have zero idea why Kellen seems to stalk me or why Caedmon calls me little sparrow.

But if I win the money, it’ll be worth the aggravation they cause. ”

Cara laughed again, louder this time and more genuine, the sound echoing like church bells in the trees.

“I think I like you. Anyone else would have manipulated the conversation to see why I wanted to know, how they might put this information to their own use. Your honesty and sincerity are so refreshing.” Her eyes glittered dangerously. “If you repeat that, I’ll deny it.”

“I don’t talk to anyone else, besides my best friend Wendy, and she’s off doing things without me here, so I think you’re good.”

“Perfect.”

They walked for a moment in silence, drawing closer to Kellen’s castle, before Maggie spoke again. “So, what is it you need that only a Ravenwood can offer?”

“The boon,” Cara said.

“Oh, the one you told me requires a price I wouldn’t want to pay?”

Cara’s cheeks flushed, but she didn’t explain the statement she’d made at the dinner their first night. “I’m looking for the last ingredient of a healing potion for my grandmother.”

Potion? She hid a shudder. That was a trigger word for her, though Cara probably just meant it was some sort of alternative medicine. Maggie knew from experience with her dad that doctors and hospitals could only do so much.

“And I dare not ask either Ravenwood for it,” Cara said. “In the past, others who have asked for a boon, instead of being gifted it, were immediately escorted from the premises and never invited back. I can’t risk that.”

“But you’re thinking maybe I can help? I can’t risk that, either. I need the money.” Even though she doubted very much that either twin would kick her out merely for asking. Though stranger things had happened since her arrival here, so anything was possible.

Something scurried in the shadows, rustling a shrub. A flock of birds burst into the air in a whirring of wings, disturbed from their roost.

“What was that?” Cara stopped, and her gaze followed the birds. “Do possums stalk humans?”

Maggie shrugged away the goose bumps on her arms. “Possums are nocturnal, so the one you saw before was super rare, and our grand destination is only a little farther.”

Kellen might have said the castle was dangerous, but she knew how to be careful around old structures, and there hadn’t been a single sign posted telling guests not to explore.

If someone happened to chance upon them while inside the ol’ family stones—she wouldn’t be surprised if Jeeves was waiting for her there—she’d point out the lack of notice.

The offshoot path leading to the castle was hardly more than a deer trail sliding between ferns and rotting, fallen logs, and Maggie almost breezed right past it.

If she hadn’t remembered from her earlier walk that there was a delicate mushroom ring a few steps before the path split, she would have completely missed it.