“Let’s review,” Liam said, motioning for him to hop in the passenger seat as he took the wheel. “First of all, you didn’t sleep last night. You’re infatuated with this woman, you refuse to see her for what she is – basically a badass magickal mermaid witchy healer woman – and she used magick on you in real time, as in real actual life, yet you still are trying to convince yourself that it was some natural phenomenon you can’t explain. I mean, the cove glowed blue, for Christ’s sake. How are you explaining that?”
“Bioluminescence,” Dylan said, but even to him it sounded dumb.
“Right. And they just switch themselves off and on in the middle of the day to light the cove up? Not likely. You know as well as I do that they shine only at night,” Liam said, driving handily along the cliff road that led to the cove.
“Fine, I can’t explain it. But I can’t explain a lot of things right now and it’s messing with my head, if I’m to be completely honest,” Dylan said.
“That’s obvious. Let’s start with the easy one. What’s your issue with magick? You were raised Irish, so you’ve learned plenty of folklore in your time. Your mother delights in all things magickal. As a sailor, you’re naturally superstitious and we both know there’s been a time or two where we’ve seen something on the horizon that we can’t explain. So what’s the deal? Does it scare you?”
Dylan took a sip from his thermos before answering, contemplating just what it was about magick that seemed to shake him so.
“I’m not scared of it, necessarily. I don’t like it because I can’t explain it.”
“You mean you can’t control it,” Liam pointed out.
“Aye, I suppose that plays a part in it. It’s more comfortable for me to be the captain of my own ship,” Dylan admitted, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. “And if there really is magick around me then I have no say in anything. It makes me feel like I have no will. That at any point magick can be used on me and it’s not a level playing field.”
“Sure and that makes sense,” Liam said. “But don’t most of these practitioners of magick and all that go by a credo of ‘harm no one’? Isn’t there a way to view it as an added bonus in your life? As in, it can help you, not hinder you?”
“Maybe, but frankly, I don’t see that this matters all that much. I don’t see it playing much of a part in my life one way or the other,” Dylan said, staring out at the water far below him crashing into rocks as gulls made lazy swoops in the morning breeze.
“If you want a life with Grace, it will,” Liam said.
The thought of life with Grace filled Dylan with a warmth, something he’d never known before, almost like a puzzle piece clicking into place.
“I don’t know how I feel about all that. I think about her constantly. A few weeks ago, I never even knew this woman. Now I see her in my sleep. She’s driving me to complete distraction. Then there’s part of me that thinks, if she really is magick, then how do I know she hasn’t just put a spell on me? Made me fall for her?” Dylan said. He massaged his neck, where he was currently carrying all his tension.
“Ah, don’t you see, my young friend?” Liam laughed, for though he was only two years older than Dylan, he liked to lord it over him as though he had all the wisdom in the world. “All women are magickal. That’s what makes them so special. They don’t need potions or chants or ancient rituals to weave a spell over you. It’s done with a smile, or the way they smell like flowers, or the soft little noise they make when they curl into you in their sleep. They trust you with their hearts. And that, my friend, is a magick all its own.”
“You’ve a poet in your soul,” Dylan murmured, inexplicably touched by his friend’s words. Liam had always been a romantic at heart, but had never settled for just one woman.
“I’m man enough to know that love, given freely, is the greatest gift in the world. There’s no reason not to celebrate it,” Liam said, a light smile playing on his lips as they pulled to a stop near the cove.
Despite himself, Dylan’s gaze trailed up the green expanse to where Grace’s cottage sat, tucked against the looming hills, looking for all the world like the perfect spot to go home to. Although he owned several homes around the world, he’d never seen anything as charming as this little cottage. Whether it was the woman who resided in it, or the cottage itself, it beckoned to him. If only he could know that the door would open for him if he came calling…
“Should we go tell her what we are doing?” Dylan asked.
“And have her lose her shite on you once again? I think not. I love women to pieces, but sometimes it’s better to ask forgiveness than permission.”
Dylan knew that Liam was itching to go into the cove, to see if he could really feel any of the energy there. The man loved nothing more than an adventure, and finding out if this cove really was enchanted rated high up on the list of daredevil things to do. It was what made Liam a consummate storyteller – not only did he have a wide-open heart, but he was virtually fearless in everything he took on.
“I want to just say this once more, even if it brands me as a scaredy-cat,” Dylan said, turning to look at his friend. “But I don’t think this is a good idea.”
“We’ll soon enough find out, won’t we?” Liam said, ever affable, as he climbed from the truck and hightailed it to the trail that led into the cove. Dylan knew he was moving quickly so that Grace wouldn’t catch sight of him from her window, and stop them before Liam satisfied his taste for adventure.
Dylan approached the cove with trepidation. Visiting here on his own last time had not provided the best results, but hopefully with the two of them together there would be no incidents. He knew Liam craved some adventure, or to even witness some magick, but that was not the type of trouble Dylan cared to court.
The morning sun filtered through the entrance to the cove where the cliff walls almost met in a ragged C shape. The water this morning was calm, a brilliant blue – almost deceptively calm, if Dylan had to describe it. His pulse picked up as they approached the beach. In all respects, it was a picture-perfect morning with beautiful weather and an idyllic beach. So why had a faint sweat broken out on his brow?
“Liam, man, wait up,” Dylan called, not realizing that Liam had picked up his pace and was virtually skipping in delight across the sand of the beach.
“Do you see this place, man? It’s amazing! Heart-stopping! And not a soul for miles. Oh, I could spend hours here – no, days, camped out on the sand, cooking food over an open fire, making love to a good woman. Oh, yes, this is the place that dreams are made of,” Liam called, spinning around.
He never saw it coming.
But Dylan did, watching it unfold second-by-second, in horrifying slow motion. He watched, helpless, as a rogue wave towered over his friend from behind, casting him in shadow, and then seeming to devour him. Dylan screamed as the wave appeared to toss Liam neatly up in the air, impossibly high, then his friend’s body crashed down to the rocks below, broken and bent at an impossible angle.
He ran.
Chapter 34
Grace had been in a particularly nasty funk all morning, so much so that even Rosie wasn’t having anything to do with her mood and had taken herself off to lie on Grace’s bed and stare out the window.
She knew she was sulking. No matter how many times she tried to tell herself that a strong woman would forget about Dylan and move forward with her life – she had all these amazing things planned for herself, after all – she just kept circling back to the emptiness she felt in the pit of her stomach at the loss of him. Which, she reminded herself, was exactly what she’d been hoping to avoid, because she didn’t want to let a man hurt her the way Dillon had when he’d left her life forever. Hadn’t she promised herself to keep her walls up? And yet here she was, moping about after the damn man once again.
Sighing, Grace pulled a sweater over her head and shoved her feet into her boots. Perhaps a walk through the garden to harvest some herbs would help with her mood. Digging her hands into the
dirt and inhaling the damp scent of earth never failed to center her.
At Rosie’s sharp bark, Grace’s head popped up. Rosie rarely barked with such a shrill note. Then the dog lost it, racing to the door, her small body vibrating in hysterics as she threw her head back and howled. Grace’s eyes widened. There was trouble.
“Show me, girl,” Grace commanded, opening the door. Rosie burst out like a race horse from the gate and beelined straight for the cove. It was only when Grace’s eyes landed on Dylan’s truck that ice raced through her blood.
Grace hit the top of the trail at a dead run, her eyes searching the beach as she half scrambled, half ran toward the bottom. When she saw Liam – his body broken and bent, Dylan kneeling at his side – her stomach plummeted. Liam had been nothing but kind to her, Grace thought, shooting an angry look at the waters – waters she herself had enchanted – as she skidded to a halt where Dylan knelt by his friend’s side. All the color had drained from his face and his eyes, wide with shock, met Grace’s.
“I can’t… I can’t move him. I think it’s his spine. Help me.” Dylan’s voice cracked. “I don’t know what to do. My cell phone won’t work down here, I can’t reach the paramedics. Please, help him. He’s… he’s a brother to me.”
Rosie whined by her side, licking Dylan’s palm and leaning into his legs.
“Please, may I touch him?” Grace asked, gently putting her hands over Dylan’s and pulling them away from Liam.
“Don’t… don’t hurt him,” Dylan said, his breath ragged as he struggled to hold back his tears.
“I won’t, I promise. But I need you to give me some space so I can see what we’re dealing with,” Grace said, nudging Dylan with her hip until he sat back on his knees and watched her. Grateful that the fall had knocked Liam out, Grace closed her eyes and went deep within, not caring what Dylan would see or know. It didn’t matter anymore, not at this point, if she showed all aspects of herself to him. He’d already shown her that he didn’t trust her enough to be a partner to her – to share his truth with her.
Holding her hands out, she ran them over Liam’s body, keeping them just above his skin, never touching him, but only feeling. It was as she suspected, and her mind reeled at the sheer amount of strength and knowledge it would take to heal this man. And she couldn’t do it here. Turning her head to look over her shoulder at Dylan, she met his ravaged eyes.
“I can help him. But you have to trust me. Is this man your brother? Would you do anything to save him?”
“Aye, he’s my family, my brother, my best friend. Whatever you need,” Dylan pleaded.
“Then you have to promise me that you won’t interfere with anything you’re about to see. I don’t… I don’t heal using traditional methods. It may be scary, but we’ve no time to get him care. His light…” Grace clenched her hand to her chest. “It’s dying, you see?”
“Save him. Please, Grace. I promise to not interfere.”
“We have to get him back to the cottage. I have what I need there,” Grace said and stood.
“But… can we move him? How? He’ll be paralyzed, no?” Dylan stood, wobbly on his feet.
“You said you’d trust me. No more talking. I mean it, Dylan. One word and you can ruin everything,” Grace said. Perhaps it was slightly dramatic, but she would need every ounce of her focus to heal the broken man at her feet. Closing her eyes, she began to chant, calling on the elements, the angels, and the goddess herself to lift this man and carry him home.
Dylan’s shocked gasp didn’t deter her. Instead, she grabbed Dylan’s hand and continued to chant, never breaking her ritual, never losing her focus as they ran across the beach, Liam’s broken body floating in front of them, her sheer will and the power of all her angels bringing him to her cottage doorstep.
True to his word, Dylan had remained silent, but when they approached the cottage he raced forward and opened the door. With magick alone, Grace carried Liam to Fiona’s old bed and laid him gently onto the coverlet.
“Get the amethyst necklace on my bedside table,” Grace ordered, and ran to the main room to gather all the elements she would need for what would be the hardest healing session she’d ever undertaken in her life. “Fiona, I beg of you, if you’re near, I need you now more than I ever have.”
Handing her the necklace, Dylan whirled around to see whom she was talking to, but Grace just shook her head and moved past him.
“Stay back. Don’t touch me, don’t touch him, and don’t get in the way of my view out the window.” If Grace didn’t send the darkness somewhere physical, it would consume and kill her. As it was, she’d already be taking on something that would bring her to the brink of her own life.
“Is it worth it?” Fiona asked, coming to stand by Grace as she stood over Liam, her hands running gently over his body.
“It’s my cove. My enchantment. My responsibility,” Grace bit out, shooting a look at Fiona.
“Aye, it is. But he knew the dangers. Free will,” Fiona said.
“Either help me save him or get out,” Grace said.
Fiona nodded. Her Grace knew the consequences of what she was doing, and the decision was made.
“I’ll help,” Fiona said, and laid her hands on Grace’s shoulders, pouring power into her like a pitcher full of minty lemonade – a golden zesty energy of refreshment – and Grace closed her eyes to channel the flow of it.
In moments, she’d gone completely under, almost trancelike, and focused all her power and magick into saving the broken man who lay before her.
Chapter 35
Though it felt like days, it was likely only a matter of minutes, perhaps an hour, that Dylan sat, frozen in place, his arms around a shivering Rosie, as he watched Grace.
He’d never seen such magnificence, nor frankly could he even understand what he was seeing. A golden halo of light seemed to pulse around her, quickly enveloping Liam, and the two of them seemed to shine in this almost otherworldly glow. Sweat poured from her brow, and he wanted to go to her and wipe her brow, or put a cold cloth on her neck, but he held himself back. Dylan had promised to not interfere, no matter what happened.
She was enthralling, at one with the universe and all its energies, and he had never been more in awe of anyone or anything in his life.
And yet, as the minutes ticked by, nerves started to rack Dylan’s gut. What if she couldn’t save Liam? Shouldn’t he call the paramedics from the house phone? It would make sense to have them on their way, just in case. Worried that he was failing his friend, Dylan shifted from where he crouched, deciding he would just sneak into the living room and place a call to the medics.
Liam’s eyes opened.
“Oh, there he is,” Dylan whispered, careful not to disturb Grace’s flow, or whatever she was doing. The light began to build around them both, pulsing in liquid waves of gold, becoming so bright that Dylan threw up his arm to shield his eyes and Rosie whined and buried her face in her paws. For a brief second, Dylan’s heart seemed to stop as the thought crossed his mind that maybe he was witnessing Liam’s soul leaving his body.
When a dark cloud, almost like a swarm of bees, flew from Liam and out the window, a resounding crash shook the entire cottage. Dylan jumped up, Rosie in his arms, and looked out the window, unsure of what do to.
“He’ll be okay,” Grace said and Dylan looked to where she kneeled now, her head to the mattress. Gingerly, Dylan crept closer to look down at Liam.
“Hey, mate. Sorry the scare. Guess you were right about the cove,” Liam said, his face pale, but the same smile hovering on his lips.
“How… how do you feel? Are you okay?” Dylan whispered, bending to place Rosie on the floor, casting worried glances between Liam and Grace. He wasn’t sure if he was allowed to touch, or interfere, but she said nothing, only stayed with her head bowed to the mattress.
Liam stretched and Dylan almost passed out with joy to see his body moving seamlessly – no paralysis, and no broken bones to be seen.
“I
feel like I was hit by a truck, and I could sleep for a week. But I’m okay. See to your woman,” Liam said, nodding to Grace. “She needs you more than I.”
With those words, Grace slumped to the floor, motionless. Dylan scooped her up on the fly and, after depositing her neatly on the bed in her room, he called the only person he could think of.
Chapter 36
It wasn’t long before voices filled the small cottage. Margaret and Sean had unerringly found Dylan, who was hovering over Grace where she lay on the bed.
“What’s happened?” Sean demanded.
“Liam was hurt. Gravely. She healed him,” Dylan said, feeling slightly embarrassed by the explanation but too tired to care what they thought.
“Did she take it into her? Or send it out?” Morgan demanded from the door where she, Cait, and Aislinn were crowded.
“Um, out? Something dark went out the window and there was a huge crash,” Dylan said, and the women seemed to collectively sigh in relief.
“Here, now, let us in, will you?” Margaret said, nudging Dylan back a bit. “We’ll see to her. Check on Liam, please.”
Reluctant to go, Dylan just stood there. He’d never felt so helpless in his life, or so completely out of his element.
“I don’t want to leave her. She saved Liam. For me, she saved him. It’s my fault she lies here like this,” Dylan said, his eyes on Grace, who lay motionless on the bed but for the light rhythm of her breathing.
“She has her own mind, doesn’t she? You didn’t cause this, but I hope next time you’ll be more careful in your choices,” Margaret said, then shooed him back so that the women could crowd around the bed. Dylan watched as they all linked arms and laid their hands on Grace.
“Come, boyo. Let’s check on Liam. Come, come,” Sean said, pushing Dylan out of the room and closing the door behind them.
Wild Irish Grace: The Mystic Cove Series, Book 7 Page 15
