The Skye Trilogy: Isle of Skye, Isle of Night, and Isle of Dawn. * Bonus: Scrumptious Skye Confections Cookbook*

by Shannon Barczak

  An hour later I was feeling drained, and all pretense of trying to look in control flew out the window. I was barely holding on to the connection. I felt the earth give me another gentle push, and I clung to its encouraging nudge. I saw with relief that it was my family’s turn finally to pass thru the portal, and I said goodbye to everyone.

  “Willa, you take care of yourself,” Oliver said. I nodded and gave him a quick hug before giving my Aunt Gussie a kiss.

  “Good-bye girlie,” Uncle Cuddy said gruffly as he drew me in for a long bear hug.

  “Be safe Willa,” my grandfather Archie said. “When I come back I’m going to teach you to make a proper tart.”

  “Give him hell Will,” Jeremiah said as he and Veronica said goodbye

  “I love you Willa, take care and make sure Riah stays alive,” Julia said crying

  I hadn’t wanted Riah to stay, but he didn’t even contemplate leaving. He said he was my Guardian, and that was the end of the discussion. I knew it was going to be tough on him and Julia, but I was horribly grateful for his presence.

  Finally everyone was through the portal safely and Mathias and his team came back to the island. The second he stepped into the field I dropped the spell and sank to the ground in exhaustion. Mathias tried to get me to go home, but I couldn’t. I had to break the spell around the island so that the Fae could come here.

  Opening a massive portal was a piece of cake compared to attempting to break down my grandmother’s spell. She and I both were drenched in sweat a few hours later as we sat in the tower room. My mother had wanted to help, and I was regretting refusing her offer. Finally, I was able to find a crack and used the elements to smash the crack wide opened. I could feel the difference immediately.

  “Very impressive Willa,” Winifred said as we both sat and drank water. “I thought breaking Sabine’s spell of darkness was difficult but it was nothing compared to what you just did.”

  “When did you do that by the way?” I asked

  “A few days after you and Mathias left here,” she answered. “I was so upset with everything that I channeled all my energies and was able to break down that bloody horrid spell.”

  We chatted for a few more minutes until my phone rang. “Hello,”

  “Sidra called,” Mathias said. “Are you almost ready?”

  “Ready, willing and able,” I answered

  “We’ll put that to the test later,” he said

  “Did you just make a joke during work?”

  “I’m in my office alone,” he answered

  “Oh, so it’s when you’re around other people now that you act like an ass.”

  “I’m evolving,” he said

  “We’ll meet you in the living room,” I said as I hung up the phone. Winifred and I made our way down to the living room and greeted Sidra, who had just opened a portal from her study.

  I smiled in greeting as Machall walked through first, but then I was taken aback when Lord Braonan followed him.

  “Lord Bran,” I said in surprise. “What brings you here?”

  “I talked to Machall, Willa,” he said. “I have decided to throw my support behind you and the Gypsies.”

  “You should be doing this to support your queen,” I said

  “Wrong choice of words, sorry,” he said. “I also wanted to help with your training.”

  “Thank you,” I said. “I look forward to kicking your ass.”

  “Are you not going to give me a proper greeting?” Machall asked cheekily

  Mathias walked in the room and shot Machall a cold look. “Yes, please give Lord Machall a proper greeting Willa.”

  “Guardian Worthing,” Machall said and he went over to Mathias and held out his hand

  I think everyone held their breath as Mathias continued to stare at Machall coldly. He finally briefly shook it, but I could tell he still did not trust Machall no matter what I had said. He had only seen him for a short time in Lucian’s lair, and everything had been so crazy that I don’t think he wanted to get into with him. Machall being here changed his attitude though. He still had some residual anger, and I’m not sure if they would ever resolve things between them.

  Especially after telling him that Machall had taken care of me. I’m pretty sure that upset Mathias because he hadn’t been there for me. He needed to get over it because Machall was here to help, and I needed him.

  “Where’s Beatrice?” I asked, but my face broke into a smile as she came through followed by my grandmother.

  “Hey Tricy,” I said before giving my grandmother Sidra a hug

  “Hi Willa,” she said. “I’m sorry, I know the rest of our little family went to serve as Guardians for the Gypsies at the Fae Reserve but I just couldn’t. I hope you understand.”

  “Of course,” I said. “You and Machall have been apart for four hundred years, and I’m also sure both you and Lucian have a little bit of anger towards Fonn.”

  “I hope you let me have a shot at him,” she said

  “Get in line Luv,” Lucian said as he came into the room. “Bran, I haven’t seen you in years. How have you been?”

  “Jesus, Lucian,” Bran said. “I haven’t seen you since the night before Machall’s coronation.”

  “Ahh yes, that was when I met the three fantastically limber wood Nymphs,” Lucian said fondly

  Mathias glowered. “Let’s get down to business. You can reminisce later.”

  “You’re no fun Mathias,” Lucian said. “I thought Willa had loosened you up a bit.”

  I opened my mouth to retort, but Mathias cut me off with a warning look. Lucian grinned and sprawled on the couch.

  “Yes, Mathias is right,” Sidra said. “We need to make some plans now that the Gypsies have left the island. How many Guardians are here?”

  “We have almost two hundred counting Beatrice and Lucian,” Mathias said

  “The Royal Guard will also be joining us shortly,” Sidra said

  “Has anyone heard from Lord Fonn or Lord Cual?” Winifred asked. “Do we even know if they intend to invade the Isle of Skye? They might have given up their intentions to implement their plan to overthrow Sidra.”

  “It doesn’t matter,” I said. “I’m planning on inviting them here.”

  “What?” Machall asked

  “I was thinking of doing a cute little e-vite,” I responded. “Does anyone have their email address?”

  “Is she serious?” Beatrice asked

  “Yes,” Mathias answered. “Welcome to Willa’s army and the Isle of Skye, Beatrice.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  The next morning everyone, including all the Guardians congregated in the field by the castle. Apparently the word was out that I was going to practice battling Machall and Bran, and nobody wanted to miss the action.

  “All right Willa,” Sidra said. “You need to focus on your opponent. You have to be able to gauge and assess their weaknesses in a very short amount of time. Machall and Braonan are both in control of their respective elements. They can move quickly and use their own weapons against you.”

  “Machall and I had a little skirmish already, so I’m aware of that,” I said. “I need to know how to go about stripping them of their powers to make them vulnerable.”

  “You will need to use the same element of power that they are in command of against them. Then you need to try to tear it from them.”

  “Then what do I do with the power?” I asked. “Release it or keep it inside of me?”

  “I think that it will probably be yours until you give it to someone worthy,” she answered. “Just remember that this is a practice session.”

  I grinned and walked away over to where Mathias, Lucian, and Robert were standing. “Hello gentlemen. Have you placed your bets yet?”

  “My money is on you,” Robert said

  “I’m still weighing my options,” Lucian remarked. I shot him an irritated glance before turning to Mathias.

  “Don’t fool around and don’t get too cocky,”
he said. “You have to be smart and for Christ sakes don’t kill either one of them.”

  “Thanks for the pep talk coach,” I said before walking out in the field. Lord Braonan joined me and gave me a low bow.

  “Princess Willa,” he said

  “Braonan,” I said before I called my air and blasted him with a gust of wind that knocked him off his feet. I heard the excited shouts around me, but I ignored them. I may have caught him off guard initially, but I knew I wasn’t going to be as lucky the next time.

  We both circled around each on the field as we teleported. Each of us was looking for an opening or weakness. I stopped to see where I was and just like that, razor sharp blades of grass came out of the ground and sliced through my jeans into my legs. I was momentarily stunned at the assault but recovered quickly when I realized that I had other weapons that I could use.

  I called upon my fire and was free in an instant. I decided to stop teleporting and focus on what was around me. I called on my air again and also the water. I was just whipping them together when a blast of dirt came towards me. I closed my eyes and raced out the way of the mini sand storm. I tried to keep my attention on my hurricane/tornado that I was trying to conjure, and I flung it towards him when I saw he had stopped briefly.

  I heard him cry out in frustration. I had him locked in that mini whirlwind so tight he couldn’t even move. I flashed next to him and called upon the earth. I pictured the roots of the island below my feet and dug deep within in my mind. They shot through the air and snaked their way through the wind and water.

  I wrapped them around his body as tight as could before I paused. I wasn’t sure what to do or how far I should go, but I had to find out. I ripped the roots through him and called my own dirt storm to come to my aid. The dirt particles clung to his skin, and I could feel the energy being sucked out of him and back into me. The surge briefly intoxicated me, and that’s when I knew I had to stop.

  I was not only taking his powers, but I was also killing him.

  I released the elements and Bran slumped to the ground. He looked at me with fear as I walked over to him. I held out my hand to offer him help off the ground. Bran shook his head and stood up.

  “Well, that was interesting,” he said. “Don’t I feel like a wimp? So much for me being a powerful Fae Lord.”

  “It’s not your fault,” I said. “You’re good but I’m just a bad ass.”

  “I’m not even sure you need an army Willa,” he grinned before he walked away and joined Sidra. Machall sauntered into the field, and he, and I started walking slowly in circles around each other.

  “Impressive but you do realize you cannot beat me,” he said cocky. “Fire is far more powerful than any of the elements.”

  “If you remember Macky, I absorbed fire first and it was pretty easy,” I said

  “I have a score to settle with you so I’m not going to be gentle,” he said

  “Still pissed about the broken nose?” I called back laughing

  “Both broken noses,” he corrected

  “What are you talking about?” I asked. “Are you suffering from old age? Is your memory failing you?”

  “When I picked you up out of the water, and you were practically unconscious, you reached out and blindly punched me in the nose,” he said sourly. “Damn thing bled for an hour before I could get it fixed.”

  “Aww, you poor baby,” I said. “Did your mommy fix it all better for you?”

  The smirk fell off my voice when I heard Mathias yell my name in my head. I ducked out of the way of a stream of fire that came at me. I stood up and flung a blast of water at him and smiled as he stood there drenched.

  When a blast of heat came towards me again I was knocked down, and I could taste blood in my mouth. The mother fucker had sucker punched me. I could hear Mathias’s roar and hoped Robert had a good grip on him because I had a feeling things were going to get ugly. I teleported out of the way and tried to turn myself into vapor as fast as I could, but Machall was good, and he was on my ass in a heartbeat.

  He didn’t let up on me one bit and the more frustrated I got, the more he tried to take advantage of that. Flaming ropes kept coming at me but so far I had deflected them. I racked my brain to think how I was going to trap him. Air would only fuel his fire and water may douse him for a little while but he could easily plow through that.

  I decided to use the earth and called on a dirt storm from the bowels of hell. I heard him yell out before he teleported, but I knew I had gotten to him. I went after him as fast as I could and blasted him with a shot of my own ropes of fire. He slithered out of them but what he wasn’t expecting was me standing right in front of him as he caught his breath.

  I cocked my arm back and slammed it into his face. I then kicked him in the knee, and he fell to the ground. I called upon my fire and wrapped him in a circle of flames that grew higher and higher until I almost couldn’t see where they ended near the heavens. I plunged into the flames and began drawing his power out and into my own essence.

  I knew it was too much, and I almost stopped, but I could see him begging me with his eyes to keep going with my assault. I drew more flames over and over again until finally, there was no more light except for one small flare. It was no bigger than the one that would shine from a candle wick that was flickering in the howling of the wind and fire. I drew in a deep breath, and Machall was flung on his back as I tried gently to seep the power back into his body.

  When it was all over, and the fire had died down, I fell onto the ground next to him, and we both laid there in silence. I heard voices, but I was too exhausted to respond. Finally, I sat up and Machall looked at me and started laughing. I joined in, and suddenly we were in hysterics on the ground.

  “Thanks for not breaking my nose,” he said. “My jaw however is pounding and my knee is killing me.”

  “I didn’t know what to do so I thought if I went all Muhammad Ali on you I could catch you by surprise enough to start ripping your power out.”

  “That certainly was not something I expected but in hindsight I should have,” he chuckled

  “Machall,” Beatrice cried as she hurried over to where we were sitting. “Are you all right?”

  “I’m fine darling,” Machall said soothingly, “Just slightly embarrassed to get my ass kicked by a girl.”

  “For the third time,” I said. “Although breaking your nose when I was unconscious truly trumps this by a longshot.”

  “Well, I think you got the hang of it,” Sidra said. “Well done Willa. Your grandfather will be so proud of you.”

  “I wish he were here,” I said. “When is he coming?”

  “Tomorrow,” Sidra said. “He’s been detained by Alvie.”

  Alvie was my dad’s sister and technically my aunt. She had been kidnapped by Lord Fonn years ago. After he had married her, he had sucked out her powers and apparently she was under his spell much to Sidra and Kelvin’s dismay.

  “I’m sorry,” I said

  “No worries,” she answered. We both looked up as Winifred came over with Mathias, Lucian and Robert. I saw Lucian pull out a hundred dollar bill and hand it to Robert.

  “That’s what you get for betting against me,” I said

  “I have learned my lesson,” Lucian said. I stood up and swayed on my feet as a wave of vertigo hit me like a ton of bricks. Mathias caught me and was looking down at me in concern.

  “Are you all right?” he asked. “What’s wrong?”

  “Well, I just sucked out the powers of two Fae Lords,” I said. “I’m a little tired.”

  “Mathias, take Willa home,” Winifred said as she fussed over me. We said our good-byes and flew over to the island. Mathias set me down on the couch and gave me a bottle of water which I drank greedily because I was thirsty.

  “Are you hungry?” he asked. My stomach revolted at the mere thought of food, and I shook my head. I barely had enough energy to do that tiny movement all of a sudden. Mathias took one look at me and picke
d me up again. I was barely aware of him taking my clothes off and tucking me into bed before I drifted off into sleep.

  I woke up and blinked around in confusion. The last thing I remember was Mathias putting me into bed, and I knew it had been in the mid-morning. I looked at the clock and couldn’t believe that I had slept for almost three hours. I went to the bathroom and washed up before going into the kitchen to find something to eat.

  Mathias was sitting on the couch and stood up when I walked in the room. “Feeling better?”

  “I’m feeling much better,” I answered with a yawn. “I’m also starving.”

  “Why don’t you get dressed and I’ll take you out to lunch?”

  “I would love too, unfortunately, all the businesses and restaurants on the island are shut down remember?” I said in return

  “I was thinking somewhere else,” he said

  “Is it safe to leave the island?” I asked

  “I don’t think you’re in any danger,” he said. “Get dressed.”

  “Yes sir,” I saluted him before going back into the bedroom and throwing on a pair of jeans. I pulled a pretty red top over my head and pushed my feet into my sparkly flip flops. I glanced in the mirror and decided that a little makeup may be in order and applied a very light application before heading back out into the living room.

  “Are you up to opening a portal?” he asked. I was a little shocked but also excited. Mathias had something up his sleeve. I could tell just by looking at him that there was something other than lunch that he had planned. He looked almost nervous which I found endearing.

  “Where do you want me to open it?” I asked

  “I think it’s time I took you to Wales,” he said. My mouth hung open for a second. Mathias was from Wales, but he never mentioned that he ever went there or that he even wanted to take me there. I had assumed that he had no desire to go back to his childhood home, and I was stunned. I wordlessly opened a portal to Wales. I had no clue as to where we were going, but I remembered the paintings in Mathias’s office and sure enough we landed in a fallow field.