My gift had rarely been welcomed by others in my life.
In fact, I could count on one hand the number of times I’d shared it and had been celebrated for it. Three of those times had been after I’d been unable to shield my gift from owners while healing their animals. However, I’d lucked out in those cases, as they’d been so grateful for my help they hadn’t cared how I had managed to do it.
And then there was the fourth time.
My ex-boyfriend.
My first love.
In the beginning, he’d been excited about my gift. A fellow student in my vet classes, Stuart had loved knowing that I had this added tool to help animals. Until I’d started getting more accolades than him. I’d tested higher on the exams, was picked more often in demonstrations, and even scored an internship that he’d also coveted. It had all proven too much for Stuart. One night, after second year exams were done, he’d tried to expose me to the other students. Luckily, Eriska had taught me the art of deflection and there was enough alcohol flowing that I’d been able to flip it into a joke. Everyone had laughed at Stuart, and the next day he’d broken it off with me. The following year, I found out he’d switched to a different program, and that had been my first lesson in sharing secrets with someone I loved.
Protect thyself first. Eriska had warned me of that, herself having been burned by my own father. In most parts of the world, magick was not met with fanfare and well wishes.
And yet here I stood in a room of people blithely telling me that magick existed, they each had it, and that I was part of some sort of ancient magickal Order. Suspicion formed, and I put my glass down, ignoring Sophie’s chatter about pizza.
“What’s wrong, lass?” Archie’s sharp voice cut through the conversation, and everyone turned to look at me.
“How do I know this is real?” I asked, holding my hand out to the room. “This Order of Caledonia. Ancient truth stones. Magick.”
“I mean, it’s a valid question. One that will probably disappear the minute a Kelpie shows up on your doorstep.”
Or a talking fox.
“If you want the full history, Agnes of Bonnie Books has the historical records. But largely, I can tell you as keepers of the castle, it’s our job to restore the Order as soon as we can. The last Order had fallen defunct, with Sophie’s uncle being the last of the standing Order. When he passed, it triggered the Kelpies to appear more often.”
“If you’re the keepers, why did you allow the Order to get down to just one person?” I asked, and Hilda winced, while Archie’s brows drew low over his eyes.
“Och, it’s not something I’m real proud of, to be sure of it,” Hilda murmured. “We’d grown a touch complacent, hadn’t we? The Order had hummed along nicely enough and we were optimistic that even though the Order was no longer complete, that there were enough surviving members to maintain the necessary protections.”
“Until Lachlan’s mum.”
I glanced to Lachlan and he rubbed a hand over his face. Sophie leaned in, murmuring something in his ear.
“It’s all right, Soph. It’s not a secret.” Lachlan folded his arms and looked up at me. “My mum died in the loch. Drowned by Kelpies. It took me a long time to accept the truth of it. I wanted something real to blame, you understand? For a long time, it was her. I was so mad at her for swimming in that icy cold water. I’d convinced myself it was just something that happened. Water too cold. Leg cramp. Drowning. But it wasn’t. It was the Kelpies, and now the only way for me to avenge her death is to banish them forever and protect Loren Brae from further harm.”
It was the quiet righteousness in his voice that convinced me.
And the flash of very real pain I saw in the shadow of his eyes.
I recognized a wounded animal when I saw one.
“I’m sorry. It’s terribly hard to lose someone you love, particularly your mum. I’ve lost mine as well.”
Sophie’s eyes went soft in that way of people who want to express condolences and I held my hand up, stopping her. My grief was a scab that I tried my hardest not to pick. Rubbing my thumb across my tattoo on my wrist, I thought of Eriska.
She would have loved this.
Despite the number of times she was run out of town, spat on, and shunned for her magick, she’d been an endless optimist. She’d also been willing to give people the benefit of the doubt far more often than I had. If she were here right now, she’d be urging me to join this unique little magickal club and to fight the good fight and all that.
Maybe I should.
This could provide the answers to the many things that plagued me. Sophie owned the freaking castle here, which meant people looked up to and respected her decisions. If I was a part of her group, so to speak, it would be less likely that I’d be run from town on suspicions of witchcraft. In fact, if Loren Brae was as open to magick as I was beginning to think it was, I might finally have found my haven.
The practical side of me that had just invested my life savings in my new vet practice stood up and cheered.
“I’ll join.” I looked over at Archie, who gave me a sharp nod of approval. “What do I have to do?”
“There’s a ritual …” Sophie began and I raised an eyebrow at her. She winced. “I know, I know. It sounds awful. But it’s just a ritual where you go to the four corners of the property with your weapon of choice, pledge to protect the Stone of Truth, and then once you pass your three challenges, you’re a part of the Order.”
