“Miss Ciara! There you are! I have been looking for you all morning!” She scolded and Ciara had the decency to look abashed.
“I’m sorry Madeline, I went for a walk with Miss Lani to the cliffs and we got to talking. We’ve only just been back for a few minutes.”
“You should go have a rest. Putting your feet up would probably do you and the babies a world of good.”
“I’m looking forward to the day when these babies are born. Then I can stop laying around all day.” She grumbled, finishing her snack as she got to her feet under the watchful eye of her housekeeper.
“Then you’ll want to rest and won’t have time.” I winked at her with a light laugh and she nodded ruefully.
“Very true! Please keep what we’ve been talking about to yourself for now. Perhaps we can talk some more after dinner this evening. You look like you could use a rest too.” Ciara noted the shadows under my eyes and I nodded, the lack of sleep the night before finally catching up to me.
“With your permission, I’d like very much to go back to my cottage and take a nap.”
“Of course! Go woman, Madeline will take good care of me.” Ciara waved a hand towards the door and I smiled faintly and got to my feet.
“Thank you. I will see everyone later.” I reached for the door and I heard the faint inhale of surprise from Ciara as she saw the faint blue glow under my hand before I closed my hand around the handle. With a quick glance over my shoulder, I winked at her as Madeline tried to usher her away, murmuring something about how the light can play tricks on our eyes sometimes.
I didn’t really want to have a rest, I had far too much reading to do, but once back in my little cottage, I plunked down on the couch and the softness of the cushions seemed to call to me and I stretched out, my feet propped up in the air, extending over the arm of the couch, my head nestled at the other end against a throw pillow. My eyes grew heavy and I was asleep before I even realized my eyes were closed.
The night was inky-black and fog rolled in off the water, so thick and low to the ground that it swirled around like a serpent one minute, then swept over bushes and wild grass like a blanket the next. I walked along the edge of the cliffs, listening to the waves crash on the big rocks below me, sending spray up the embankment, dampening my legs as I walked. I stared up at the black sky, desperately trying to find even a single star but the darkness was so complete that not a sliver of light from the stars or moon could be seen.
From behind me I heard a rumbling sound, then the earth below me started to shake. I’d felt tremors like those before. Earthquake-like tremors that were usually followed by a volcanic eruption.
“Kilauea is obviously in a testy mood tonight.” I thought to myself and then stopped. That couldn’t be right. I wasn’t in Hawaii, I was in Scotland. Wasn’t I?
I turned in the direction of the rumbling, knowing that the big house should be there somewhere but nothing was visible except the silvery fog that seemed to shimmer in the moonlight, even though there was no moonlight. What was going on?
A piercing, blood-curdling scream ripped through the night and my blood ran cold at the sound. Where was it coming from? The scream was followed by another, this one not quite human sounding and I started running in the direction I thought it was coming from. I’d taken maybe a dozen steps when something very big swooped overhead and even though I couldn’t see it, I could sense the mass in the sky and I ducked as it flew over my head. Another shriek from the mass that had flown overhead had me spinning around, my hand extended outward to grab at whatever I could in assistance.
“Kailani! Help me!!” The voice screamed in sheer panic and my mind raced, trying to place the voice. It was female, that was the first, most distinct attribute. Ciara? No, there was no discernible accent. Alice? No, the voice was too young. Stephanie? No, again, no accent. But it was a voice I should know. Think woman! Who was it?
“Hang on! I’ll get you!” I called back, turning and running in the direction the mass and the voice had gone.
“Kailani! NOOO! Help me, please!” The mist in the air was the only thing that told me where the edge of the cliff was and I stopped suddenly, throwing my arms out to steady myself and stop myself from falling over the edge to the unforgiving waves below. I stared out over the black sea, desperately searching for some sign to indicate where the voice had gone and when a break in the clouds suddenly let a beam of silver moonlight shine down on the waves, hundreds of feet from shore, I squinted to try to make better sense of what I was seeing.
A dark mass was in the sky, was it an eagle? And from its talons dangled a flailing human and my heart stopped. Something big enough to lift a human? That wasn’t an eagle? If it was, it was the biggest eagle I had ever seen. What else did I know that big? A dragon. No, it couldn’t be!
“Lani!!!!” The wind blowing across the water carried the cry and the one word was said in a voice I’d recognize anywhere. Rachel!
“Rachel! I’m coming!” In my panic and haste to get to my friend, I ran headlong off the edge of the cliff, forgetting I didn’t have wings yet and as I plummeted towards the waves below I screamed and closed my eyes, the mist from the water quickly soaking my body. Just before I hit the waves and rocks, my body transformed and I had the wings I needed and I swooped over the rocks and headed as quickly as I could towards the large mass that had Rachel in its claws. The two of them were further out than I originally thought and I flapped my wings as hard as I could to get out to them.
“Lani, help!! Hurry!” Rachel’s petrified voice carried to my ears and I willed myself to fly faster. Just as I got close enough to determine that it was indeed another dragon that held my friend, it saw me coming, gave me an evil wink and let go of Rachel.
“NOOO!” We broth screamed, the word echoing in my head as I watched my friend plummet towards the sea. I dove for the water too, hoping to intercept her before she hit the water but I was a second too late and Rachel slammed into the waves and disappeared. Without hesitation I dove straight in after her but once underwater I couldn’t see her. I looked around frantically but there was nothing below the waves and eventually even I had to resurface to breathe in fresh air.
“Rachel! RAY -CHEL!” I screamed as loud as I could but it was no use, my voice only echoed in my head. In absolute heartbreak I tipped my head back in anguish and shot fire straight up in the air. Above me, the dragon that had dropped her disappeared and I cried out again in anger and anguish.
“Kailani! Wake up, you’re dreaming!” I felt someone shaking my shoulder and I opened my eyes slowly. Stephanie was standing over me, her face full of concern and when I sat up and raised my hands to my face to rub my eyes, I discovered tears running down my cheeks. I hastily wiped them away and sat up on my little couch and my friend sat down on the couch beside me.
“Are you okay? I could hear you crying out as I walked by and it sounded like you were in so much pain! Should I go get the doctor?” she asked worriedly and I shook my head hastily, the dream still feeling very real in my mind and I swallowed hard, trying to compose myself.
“No, I’m fine but thank you. I was just having a bad dream.” I assured her, patting her knee but she didn’t look convinced.
“That was one hell of a dream then. Might I ask what it was about?”
“I was dreaming that I heard someone scream for help and when they called my name, I realized it was my best friend back home. But I couldn’t see her because it was pitch-black outside and when I did finally find her, it was because she was being carried through the air and out over the sea by a dragon. And it dropped her over the waves before I could reach her and when I dove in after her, I couldn’t find her.”
“Sounds to me like you were dreaming of the Sluagh.” Stephanie said knowingly and I looked at her in surprise.
“The Sloo-ha?”
“It’s pronounced ‘sloo-ah’. They are spirits of the restless dead according to both Scottish and Irish folklore. It is said that they carry living sou
ls out over the water and drop them to their deaths and then they carry the souls with them.”
“Have you ever dreamt about them?” I pulled the elastic from the end of my braid and absently raked my fingers through it, pulling the braided strands apart and then combing them up into a ponytail and beside me, Stephanie shrugged a bit sheepishly.
“Not in a very long time. I used to have dreams of them when I was little, but that was because my brother would tell scary stories right before bed, knowing I was naive and maybe a bit gullible and would take everything he said to heart and would have horrible nightmares.”
“Nice guy.” I muttered sarcastically and she laughed and nodded.
“Aye, my brother was always a bit of a trouble-maker. Haven’t seen him in ages, although I know mother still hears from him occasionally.”
“Where is he? Does the rest of your family live here on the estate?” I asked in surprise, realizing that I didn’t know much about her and she shook her head with a smile.
“No, my mother and father moved to Dublin about four or five years ago now. Da wanted to own his own pub and nobody drinks like the Irish do so he figured it would be a good investment. My brother is a primary teacher and the last I heard, he was teaching somewhere in south Africa.”
“Wow, that’s quite the occupation to have.” I said, impressed despite myself but beside me Steph just shrugged.
“Aye it sounds impressive. But he does it more to get away from all of us. He thinks we’re crazy and a bit too superstitious.”
“I’m sure if you hunt hard enough, Africa has its own superstitions.” I wrinkled my nose and Steph laughed again.
“Aye, I hope so. Would serve him right. You’re sure you’re okay? I’ve got to get back to the barn to help Jamie but I don’t want to leave if you’re not sure you’re feeling better.” The concern was back on her face and i quickly shook my head and squeezed her hand gratefully.
“I’m okay now, I promise. You head off to the barn, I’ll make my way up to the house and see what’s going on with Ciara.” We both got to our feet and left my cottage together and while I walked through the grass, I cast a glance towards the sea and a shiver went through me. How could I possibly have a dream about something I had never heard of before? With a firm shake of my head, I promised myself I would Skype Rachel later tonight and assure myself that she and everyone else I loved, was okay.
⧫⧫⧫
It seemed like forever before I was able to get a moment alone with Ciara and it was eventually she who grabbed my hand and pulled me towards her studio with the excuse that she wanted to show me her latest piece of artwork. Once the door to her studio closed soundly behind us, she turned to me as she sat down on her work stool.
“I thought we’d never get free so we could talk! So, where did we leave off this afternoon? You were going to tell me about something else that’s going on here.” She leveled her expectant gaze on me and I sighed and twirled my ponytail around my fingers for a second as I thought about where to start.
“I found a hidden stash of old journals that my grandfather and other ancestors have written. In doing so I’ve learned a bit about who my family was, what I am and that I’m bound to this strip of land because it was the home of my ancestors. But we weren’t the only ones that lived here and now the old, original residents want it back. I think.” I launched into the same story I had told her husband and father-in-law and she sat and listened in complete astonishment.
“So what do we do? Do you think the crow in my room was a Fae?”
“I can’t prove anything, but I believe it wasn’t completely natural. Both Edan and Hugh are determined to stay here and fight for their land and I’ve promised that I will stay too and do whatever I can. But I don’t know how to fight Fae and that puts me on edge because I don’t know just what good I’ll be if and when the time comes.”
“We’ll figure it out together Lani, not to worry. The most important thing to remember is that none of us are alone.”
Chapter 11
“Alice! Ye look like you’ve seen a ghost! What happened?” Will asked his friend when Alice entered the kitchen a morning or two later and the woman sank down on one of the island stools shakily, rubbing her face with her hands.
“I just saw - or I think I saw - a ghost in my bathroom mirror!”
“Bah! A ghost? More likely a shadow.” Will scoffed and Alice shook her head vehemently.
“If not a ghost, something else other-wordly! It was a fair-skinned man with swirling blue-grey eyes and an evil smile. I saw it like I see you. I was brushing my teeth and just as I bent forward to rinse my brush, the face appeared over my shoulder in the mirror. When I looked again though it was gone.”
“How long ago was this?” Will asked carefully and she shrugged.
“Fifteen, twenty minutes ago maybe? I searched my entire cottage looking for anything that would explain what I saw but I can’t find anything.”
“I had my bathroom mirror crack on me this morning, I’d say around the same time as you saw the face. Shook me up pretty good and it popped so loud it made me jump, and I was nowhere near the bathroom when it happened.”
The two cooks looked up when the kitchen door opened again and Jamie walked in, looking a little rattled.
“What can we do for you this early mate?” Will asked, but his tone was mildly suspicious and he started nodding as soon as Jamie started speaking.
“The mirror in my cottage! It cracked and fell off the wall this morning right after I saw a face in it that didn’t belong to me! And the animals are going crazy in the barns this morning! Something’s got them right worked up!”
“The face! Was it a really fair-skinned face? With swirling grey eyes?” Alice pounced on his words and he nodded, his gaze still wide.
“Aye it was! You saw it too?”
“Aye but I don’t think my mirror broke, unless it happened after I came here.”
“What’s got the horses spooked?” Hugh asked as he walked into the kitchen from outside and Jamie, Alice and Will all turned to him with varying looks of bewilderment.
“I dunno. They were restless and stomping around when I walked in this morning.” The door opened again and I walked in just as Edan and Ciara rounded the corner from the dining room into the kitchen and we all looked at each other silently for a moment. Then chaos erupted as everyone started talking at once. No mirrors had cracked or faces had been seen in the main house but when Ciara had looked out their bedroom window she had seen a flock of blackbirds circling over top of the house. I had seen the same thing, which is why I was here, I wanted to make sure everyone was okay. And of course, on my way over I’d passed the barn and heard the horses making a commotion and wanted to make sure Jamie was okay.
“Sir, what do we do? We’ve never had something like this happen before!” Alice looked to Edan for guidance and he looked around at everyone as he chewed on his bottom lip. His gaze came to rest on me and the look on his face clearly asked if I thought it was related to the Fae I had predicted were coming. I shrugged slightly in helplessness, even while I wavered, my head bobbing slightly from side to side. It might fit. I had done the cleansing on the main house so it would make sense that nothing negative was taking place in it. The crows in the air were clearly outside the range of my spell so Ciara and Edan and anyone inside would be safe. But the others?
I slipped out of the kitchen and into the yard without a word and as I started to head towards the barn, Ciara came outside behind me and called my name.
“Ciara! What are you doing? You should be inside where it’s safe.” I scolded her as she came to stand beside me and she looked at me worriedly.
“What do you think is going on?”
“I have no idea but I’m going to take a look around and see if anything seems out of place. You should stay inside, too much negative stuff seems to focus on you so if the main house stays clear, stay inside.
“I did have plans to putter in my gardens today, m
ore just to enjoy the flowers than anything and I was thinking…. I remember my Gran talking about herbs warding off negative energies. If I had Edan or Hugh take me out, I could buy some and we could plant them around the estate. Do you think that would help?”
“Yes, that might just work. At least, it can’t hurt. I’ve read similar stuff, things like blackberries, rowan and ivy in a wreath on a door will keep evil spirits away. I’ve also recently read that hawthorne and mistletoe will protect against fairies and prevent them from taking babies and leaving changelings. If you believe in such things.” I pulled a face and Ciara chuckled.
“Funny, I’ve read that too. Many of the herbs are hard to find here, especially when we don’t have all the time in the world to look for them. Many times you can burn the leaves to help protect against evil spirits. Maybe I can get the dried leaves somewhere and give everyone here some to burn in their homes.” Ciara turned hopeful and I nodded thoughtfully.
“That might not be a bad idea. I’m going to go the barn and see if there’s anything there that is spooking the animals. If you see Jamie, send him that way, okay?”
“Of course. Be careful.” She squeezed my arm warmly before turning and disappearing back inside and I turned and jogged towards the barn. As I was nearing it, I glanced over at my cottage and saw Ian and Stephanie standing out front of our homes, Ian looking at the inside of her arm critically. My better-than-human eyesight detected something red on her skin and a flash of panic almost choked me.
“Steph? Are you okay?” I detoured from the barn and went over to the two of them and Stephanie looked up with a rueful nod.
“I’ll survive, Miss Lani. My mirror exploded for some reason and I took a big piece of glass to my arm. I wanted a medical opinion on whether I need stitches before I wrap it up.”
“Damn, your mirror too? Doctor, what about you? Anything out of the ordinary happen to you this morning?” I asked and he shook his head quickly.
DragonSpell Page 17
