Page 14 of Wild Scottish Gold (The Enchanted Highlands #7)

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Kaia

M y feelings were jumbled up in knots inside me, and I was more than a bit out of sorts. But now I had a raven sitting on the back of my armchair, staring at me, as the first patter of rain hit the window.

“Listen. I want to hang out with you, but I’d also like a shower and to get into comfy clothes. Do you want me to open the window so you can leave if you want to while I do those things?” I asked.

I’m just fine. I’ll come get you if I need anything.

“Do you want more snacks?”

I wouldn’t say no.

I laughed as Murdoch lifted his head, feigning indifference.

“Right, let’s see. Some more blueberries. How about nuts?”

I love nuts!

I made a small bowl of goodies for him and put it on the kitchen counter, and he flew over to enjoy himself. Ducking into the bathroom, I took a quick shower, my body loose and languid from my tryst with Thane, and I sighed.

Damn it, but I was screwing up again.

Finishing my shower, I dried off, got cozy in my soft clothes, and padded back out to the living room where Murdoch was still digging in his bowl. Walking to the window, I eyed the storm clouds before going around the room lighting candles. I’d found some brass pillar candle holders in the shed out back, ones with a handle that you could walk around with, and I’d brought them inside to use. I’d been lighting one each night, just for the charm of it, and I had to admit the candlelight added a rosy glow to the room.

Kind of like the rosy glow my body was feeling.

Murdoch flapped his wings out and hopped across the counter, before flying over to where I’d dropped onto the couch and pulled a throw over my legs. He hopped along the back of the couch until we were eye to eye.

“You’re very handsome, you know.” He really was. His feathers were such a beautiful inky color, and they had such a lovely sheen in the candlelight.

I’m aware. But I do enjoy the flattery . Murdoch preened for me, and I laughed.

“So how come you’re hanging out with me, Murdoch? Like, why me specifically? Is it because I’m new in town? Do you want to hear about lands far away? I didn’t know any ravens in the States, I’m sorry to say.” I didn’t think I’d paid much attention to any birds at all now that I looked back on it.

I’m here to help you. You’re mine and I am yours.

“Wait, what? Help me with what?”

Murdoch ruffled his wings and puffed up, bouncing along the back of the couch.

Anything. Everything. It’s my job. It’s a great honor to be a familiar you know. And my family has been with yours for generations.

I straightened at that, pulling myself higher on the couch to lean forward and meet his eyes.

“Your family has been with mine for generations? And a familiar? Like a witch has?” Even as I said it, I flashed back to Lia telling me she was a kitchen witch. What did that make me then? Was I really a witch?

Correct. Your family are forge witches.

“So it’s real? Being a forge witch?” Lia had mentioned my ancestor, Eithne, when reading her ancient book.

Aye. Your power is in the metals.

“But I don’t think my mother ever did much with metals.” I paused, thinking it over.

Not all witches claim their power.

“Is that right?” I was still trying to wrap my head around being a witch, and I burrowed more deeply into my blanket as the rain lashed the window, and a low rumble signaled the approach of a larger storm. “I can’t imagine not claiming power if you have it. Though I’m still trying to figure mine out.”

Power doesn’t suit everyone.

I thought again about my sunshiny, easygoing mother. Nothing much ever ruffled her feathers, and she’d been such a consistent, soothing foundation in my life. I supposed that was its own power of sorts. To mother with an easygoing and smooth nature was not for the faint of heart.

Murdoch tilted his head and hopped closer.

“Can I pet you?” I asked, curious.

Just my head. Light scratches. If you pet my other feathers, I’ll lose my oils.

“Is that right?” I reached up and gently scratched the back of Murdoch’s head, and he closed his eyes for a moment while I did so. “You’re quite soft. Does this feel nice?”

It does. It’s a tough spot to reach, so sometimes it is nice to have it scratched.

“If you know my family, and my magick, will you be able to help me? Do you understand everything going on with the Stone of Truth and the Order of Caledonia?”

I do and I can.

I brightened. That had been my hope when I’d invited Murdoch in. I didn’t want to force anything out of him, but knowing he was willing to be my friend and knew more about my family, I hoped he could offer some insight into my magick.

“How is it that I can just have magick? And how does it work for a forge witch?”

Magick is always about intention. The Clach na Fìrrin has chosen your bloodline and given you the ability to tap into your magick. It remains latent, mostly, until the ritual to join the Order happens.

“Why do you say mostly?” I thought about the ghosts I saw before the ritual, and how Calvin spoke to me at Willow’s.

Power is magnetic, lass. It’s a multiplier of sorts. The closer you get to the source, the more you’ll feel it.

“So that’s why I always felt a pull to the island in the loch.” I stopped stroking his head and Murdoch opened his eyes, settling down onto the back of the couch so his legs tucked into his feathers.

Likely so.

“And my magick? Is Thane right? Will I be able to make things float and turn people into puffins?”

That’s a wee bit dramatic, lass.

Murdoch tilted his head and did that low call again that sounded like a series of knocks.

“Oh, right. I’m the dramatic one. Sitting here in my cottage talking to my bird after seeing a unicorn in the backyard. Excuse me for stretching the realm of possibility for a moment there.”

Murdoch fluffed his feathers, digging his beak underneath a wing, and I waited.

You can infuse your creations with your magick.

“Thank you. So you’re saying that my magick is specific to my metals. Can I create a sword or weapon with some type of magick?”

Aye .

“Interesting. What kind of magick? Like laser beams?”

Another low knocking call and a head buried in feathers. It appeared I was an embarrassment to my familiar. Likely to my entire people based on the way Murdoch turned his back on me.

“Right, got it. No laser beams. Protective spells. Charms. Courage, strength. What about love spells?”

You can use a spell to enhance attraction or to make people see what is right in front of them. But you cannot change free will.

“That’s fair. I don’t think I’d be pleased if someone was forcing me into a love spell either.” My thoughts went to Thane, my insides tightening just thinking about our fast and raw coupling outside. What had I been thinking? It was like I literally couldn’t trust myself to be around this man.

“Tell me a bird joke.”

Murdoch flipped around and flapped his wings, and I leaned back so he wouldn’t hit me in the face. Now I’d really gone and insulted him.

What kind of bird works at a construction site ? Murdoch tilted his head, studying me.

“Hmmm, not sure on that one.”

A crane.

I burst out laughing and Murdoch hopped along the back of the couch, clearly delighted with my response.

“Good one, Murdoch. I didn’t expect you to have a sense of humor.”

I am a bird of much depth.

I grinned, delighted with him. “Why you, Murdoch? Or your family? Why do you help mine?”

Ravens are highly intelligent, drawn to shiny objects like metal and gold, and we can help gather information for spells.

“Like how? What kind of information?”

Murdoch tilted his head, seeming to consider the question.

For particular spells, we can gather ingredients. For others, we can provide detailed intel. We can tell you where people are, if there are threats nearby, or what spells once worked in the olden times. We pass our knowledge down, generation to generation, and we like to help our people. You’re now our people.

“Aww.” Warmth spilled through me. “That’s nice. Here I thought it might be hard to make friends in Loren Brae, but not only did I have my first real girls’ night, but I also have you as a friend. That’s pretty cool.”

My phone pinged with a text message and I dug under the blanket to see Marisa’s name. Guilt tugged. We’d gone from talking almost daily to not connecting at all since I’d moved here.

What would she think of all this? Would it freak her out that I had a raven friend and magick and Kelpies screaming in the night? Pondering it, I hit video call and almost dropped the phone when her face showed on the screen and she immediately screamed. Murdoch fluttered behind me and took flight across the room.

“Your face!”

“Oh!” I slapped a hand over my mouth and then winced. I definitely should not be slapping my face with my bruises. “I forgot. I should have prepared you for that.”

“What the hell, Kaia?” Marisa, with dark brown skin, soulful brown eyes, and a wicked sense of fashion, looked like she was an off-duty model. She strutted down a sidewalk in an oversized blazer, slinky white tank, and slouchy bag at her shoulder. We’d always been an odd pairing, me in my overalls and hoodies playing with metals and tools, and her obsessing over this season’s Louboutins. But since the first day we’d met, rolling our eyes at a man trying to mansplain something to another student in our class, we’d clicked.

“Where are you?” I asked, trying to bring down the worry in her eyes.

“Chicago. What happened? You have ten seconds before I hang up and start looking up flights.” She’d do it, too.

“It’s a long story, but it was an accident. No man involved, I promise. Though there is a man.”

At that, Marisa veered off the sidewalk, and from what I could see over her shoulder, into what looked to be a softly lit bar with funky mirrors hanging on cream brick walls.

“I’ll have an old fashioned, please.” While Marisa waited for her drink, giving me serious side-eye, I decided to join her and crossed the room to open a bottle of red wine. By the time we were both situated, her in a round booth with tufted black leather cushioning, and me on the couch with Murdoch back at my shoulder, Marisa was almost foaming at the mouth for details.

“You have a bird behind you.” She stated this matter-of-factly, as though it was a common enough thing for me, and I grinned.

“I do.” I angled the screen. “This is Murdoch. Murdoch, meet Marisa. She’s my best friend in the whole world.”

Murdoch tilted his head to look at the screen, and I smiled as Marisa did the same back.

“Girl, he’s darker than I am. I approve. His feathers are gorgeous.”

She’s pretty.

“He thinks you’re pretty,” I said, reaching up to scratch the back of his head.

“He’s got good taste.” Marisa laughed. “Are you sure you’re okay? I don’t like the look of your face.”

“It hurts, but just bruises. I …” I took a sip of my wine and Marisa took a larger gulp of her drink, signaling someone off screen that she’d want another. I didn’t blame her. There was a lot to unpack here. “Which part do you want first? The magick or the man?”

Marisa sucked in a breath, pressed her lips together, and made a funny little popping noise she always did when she was thinking.

“What kind of magick? Voodoo? I can get down with some of that. Don’t know much about the rest of it though.” Marisa gripped her glass with both hands and gave me a level stare. She’d always been this way, just sailing over the speedbumps of life, a steady hand on the wheel.

“Turns out it might run in my family. But now that I’m here, it’s like returning to my ancestral home or something. Power’s amplified.” I shrugged. “Looks like I come from a line of forge witches. Others in my family worked with metals. My great-grandmother made hearthwards for the doors in the village. To ward off evil.”

Marisa was nodding along with me, listening, not interrupting.

“And there’s a group of women here. All with different kinds of magick. Like a kitchen witch, a garden witch. And we’re tasked with protecting a great treasure. We’re here to help the town.”

At that, Marisa pursed her lips and drained her drink. She waved a finger in the air, motioning for me to continue.

“I know it sounds ridiculous. But it’s not like … I don’t know, it’s not like what you’d see on television or something. I did my first spell, infused a pendant with some protection magick.”

“Like some evil eye shit?” Marisa asked, smiling as a waiter brought her a fresh drink.

“Pretty much. It was for a … friend’s … niece. And I think it will help. I could feel it.” I smiled at her, feeling confident with this for the first time. “Like inside me. I could pull at this power and feel it go through me and into what I was creating. It was pretty … I don’t know … special, I guess.”

“You’ve always been special,” Marisa said, almost absentmindedly. “But I’m glad you’re finally seeing it. And if this place is making you feel magick or do magick and it’s a good thing for you, then I support it. Except the bruises, I don’t like those.”

“Yeah, that’s the not so great part. There are these beasts called the Kelpies here. They’re magickal water horses.”

Marisa raised one perfectly manicured eyebrow, and I gulped down a laugh.

“I know. I know. It’s what we’re protecting the town from. I wasn’t prepared and they crashed into me. Knocked me down.”

“Not a fan of that,” Marisa said, a scowl on her face.

“Nope. Me either. But I’m learning. I have friends who are helping me learn, including Murdoch. I can hear him.”

“Right.” Marisa nodded and switched to her fresh drink. “You’ve got magick now, you were attacked by water horses, and you can hear the bird. I’m trying here, Kaia, I really am.”

“I should have called you sooner. I’m sorry. It’s a lot, even being here and experiencing it all, but I’m sure even more so trying to digest it in one conversation. I know you’ll have a million questions, and I’ll do my best to answer them. I’m still kind of absorbing it all myself.”

“Did the bird really say I was pretty?”

“He did.”

“And he’s watching out for you?”

“He is.”

“Humph, okay. I’ll accept this new turn of events. Tell me about the man.”

I shifted, sinking backward into the cushions, and took a sip of my wine.

“I met him in Edinburgh.” I filled her in on the finer details and she cheered up until I got to the bad news. “And he’s basically my new work landlord. I lease workspace from him, and now we’re co-workers on a huge project for this new distillery called Common Gin.”

Marisa’s lips rounded, and she tapped a finger with a bright red nail with a singular crystal in the middle against her lips.

“First. Congratulations on the job! I bet that’s exciting for you.”

“It is!” I beamed at her. “Huge job, great company, and they liked more of my designs than Thane’s.”

“Naturally. You’re brilliant.” Marisa waved that away. Why have I deprived myself of this? Yes, she’s completely biased, but she’s also completely candid, which was incredibly uplifting. I loved this woman so hard. “This man…Thane? Kaia, he’s your co-worker. We’ve been here before.”

“I know. I knooooow.” I winced. “And we both keep agreeing that this can’t happen again.”

“And yet it does.” Marisa accurately guessed.

“It does. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. It’s like he’s a magnet the minute I’m around him. We can’t seem to keep our hands off each other.”

“He’s single?”

“Yup. Verified.” The town was too small. None of my new friends seemed the type to hide news of a wife from me.

“He’s the friend with the niece then?”

“Correct. She paints his nails every week.”

Marisa’s expression softened.

“What’s he look like?”

“He’s massive. Just all tall and broad shouldered and muscley and lifts me like I weigh nothing at all.”

Marisa fanned her face. “Go on.”

“Moody eyes. Stormy expressions. Gruff. He’s also a good boss, and everyone seems to respect him. He’s just … all sorts of in charge and …” I sighed. “He almost lost his mind when he saw my face. I thought he was going to burn the town down until I told him what had really happened.”

“This I like.” Marisa saluted with her drink.

“But now he wants me to leave.”

“Hmmm, dislike .” Marisa hummed. “Why does he want you to leave?”

“He’s worried I’ll get hurt again so he thinks kicking me out of town is the only way to protect me. It’s stupid. We’re all here trying to help Loren Brae.”

“I mean, I don’t want you to get hurt again either. Do you really think that’s a possibility?” Marisa’s eyebrows drew together in concern, and she leaned closer to the phone.

“I don’t know. I hope not. I’ve got support now, help, and tools. I think it’s going to be just fine. I mean, there are people living here, going about their lives every day. It’s a threat, but also not a threat, you know?”

“On a scale of Snickers to Three Musketeers, how worried should I be?”

We’d always used candy bars as a rating system for where something was at, with Snickers being the best. I thought about it.

“Mounds bar.”

“Okay, I can handle that.” We both loved coconut. “But you need to check in more now. I can’t do this ‘weeks of no contact’ bullshit and then almost have a heart attack in the middle of the day. Look at me. You’ve got me drinking before five in the afternoon!”

“Apologies.” I smiled at her. “I’ve missed you. It’s just been a lot.”

“No kidding. Just … be careful with this man. I am giving you a very light approval rating with him. Maybe not a red flag warning, but a pink flag, okay?”

“You’re not swearing me off him?” I looked at her, incredulous.

“It doesn’t honestly sound like I’d be able to do much since he just banged you against the wall of your cottage.”

Murdoch made a sound that distinctly sounded like he was laughing.

“See?” Marisa pointed a finger at the screen. “The bird agrees. He’s smart.”

I like her.

“He says he likes you.”

“Good, because I like him too. Can he FaceTime? Someone’s got to keep me updated on your chaos.”

“I’ll see about getting him a live stream.” I took a sip of my wine and smiled. “Now tell me what’s going on with you. Dating anyone?”

“Girl, why do you think I’m in Chicago? I met a running back at one of his away games. You think your man is all tall and muscle-bound?” Marisa shook her head in exaggeration. “You have noooo idea.”

I laughed and leaned back, glad I’d decided to call her, and to not keep anything from her. Even if she didn’t believe everything that was happening to me, she didn’t judge.

She has power too.

I took in Murdoch’s words with a small nod. I’d ask him more about it later, but it certainly didn’t surprise me. Marisa had always been a force to be reckoned with. Now that I knew magick existed, it wouldn’t surprise me in the least if she had it.

Because maybe, just maybe, I’d always been meant to surround myself with magick.