Shoulder the Skye (Skye Druids #2)(63)
Author: Donna Grant

 

“She kept repeating that I knew what to do.”

 

“She?” Rhona asked, her brows raised.

 

Kirsi nodded. “It was a woman. She sounded British, but I can’t be certain. I mean,”—she paused again—“I could hear her clearly, but her voice was slightly distorted.”

 

“Okay. Go on.”

 

“She told me she was reaching across time and space to contact me.”

 

The kettle began to whistle. Rhona removed it from the stove, cut off the burner, and got out cups and tea bags. Then she poured the water over the tea and set the cups on the table. Rhona lowered herself onto a chair across from Kirsi. “What else happened?”

 

“I think she’s been trying to reach me for a few days. I haven’t been able to sleep well, and I kept waking up from dreams that I couldn’t remember but seemed important. Then, it was clear. I didn’t see anything, but I heard her as distinctly as I hear you now.” She fiddled with her hands. “The voice told me that I know what to do and that I always have—in this life and hundreds before it. She said I need to look deep within myself and lower my walls. I was also told that I don’t need to see anything. That I need to feel instead. That the time is coming, and I need to be ready.”

 

Rhona didn’t like the churning in her stomach. The voice had been a warning to Kirsi, which could be taken as a good sign. The fact that there had to be a warning at all is what concerned her. “But the voice didn’t say what was coming?”

 

Kirsi shook her head.

 

Rhona wrapped her cold hands around the mug to warm them. “Do you know what’s coming?”

 

Kirsi’s brow furrowed deeply as she shook her head again. “Do you know what the woman was talking about?”

 

Rhona didn’t answer as she removed her tea bag and rose to throw it away, doing the same with Kirsi’s. Once she had taken her seat again, she said, “I don’t. Not yet. I only know things aren’t right on Skye.”

 

“Did the Fae Others do something? Maybe that’s what this is about.”

 

“They’ve been defeated and are gone for good. I’m not saying they didn’t do something, but I’m looking at every possibility.”

 

Kirsi took a drink of tea and lowered the cup. “The woman sounded frightened. For herself. And for us.”

 

There was much Rhona couldn’t tell Kirsi, at least not yet. The last thing she wanted was to send the isle into a panic, and that was exactly what would happen if word got out about everything she was dealing with. For the moment, it was just her and the deputies who were gradually unraveling the facts coming to light.

 

“I came to you because I feel this…need…to do something,” Kirsi said. “But I don’t know what to do.”

 

Rhona twisted her lips. “I feel that way most times. I’m glad you came to me. If you hear more, will you let me know?”

 

“Absolutely.”

 

“Also,” Rhona said hesitantly, “have you heard from anyone that their magic isn’t working?”

 

Kirsi’s hand holding the tea stopped halfway to her mouth. “What?”

 

“Word spreads quickly, so I’m sure you’ll hear it soon enough, but I would appreciate it if you didn’t say anything.”

 

“I promise.”

 

Rhona played with the handle of the mug. “A wind talker has been unable to hear the wind for over a week now. He isn’t the only one. A water dancer and a tree whisperer are having the same issues with the water and trees.”

 

“I’ve not heard anything like that. Is their magic gone?”

 

“They still have their powers, but they’re unable to communicate as they used to with the elements. It isn’t affecting everyone. Just a few.” But that number was growing, and that concerned Rhona the most.

 

Was the Skye Druids’ magic waning as some feared? Or was something else at work here? Rhona had to find answers soon.

 

“What about the mist?” Kirsi asked.

 

Rhona drank before answering. “What about it?”

 

“It isn’t gone, is it?”

 

“Why do you ask that?”

 

Kirsi shrugged. “A hunch. No one has seen anything since the last murder, but mist doesn’t kill on its own.”

 

“Nay, it doesn’t.”

 

“Do you know who’s controlling it?”

 

“Not yet.” But she would find out if it was the last thing she did. Her Druids were being killed on her watch. That was unacceptable.

 

Kirsi pressed her lips together for a heartbeat. “I want to help. I have to help.”

 

Rhona almost refused the offer, but then remembered the connection Kirsi and her family had to the rest of the isle. “All right. Here’s what I need from you.”

 

 

 

 

 

It had taken Kerry some time to lower her plump, old frame to the floor. Her bones had creaked and popped the entire time, and she was concerned that she might not be able to get back up without help. But she’d worry about that later.

 

She sat cross-legged in a circle of candles, then closed her eyes and whispered, “Ancients, please hear my call.”

 

It was rare for her to reach out to them since they’d first contacted her. She never wanted to overstep because they could take away her power as easily as they had granted it. They didn’t speak to her regularly. Sometimes, it was several times a day. Other times, days passed before she heard from them. But she knew they were there, waiting to implement the next step of their plan.

 

“It isn’t time to release the mist again yet,” the Ancient said.

 

“I will wait for your word on that. I wish to speak about Bronwyn Stewart.”

 

There was a lengthy pause. “Go on.”

 

“Her family can trace their roots back to the original Druids who settled on Skye. The power in that family is immense.”

 

“Her name isn’t on the list of those needing to be removed. You know that.”

 

“I think she could be an asset to the Druids’ new direction.”

 

“She uses blood magic. She won’t be alive for long.”

 

So that was why Bronwyn hadn’t been on the list. “But think of what she could do for us while she lives.”