Seeming to wake from her trance, Maggie really looked at Dylan for the first time that day, “Lost interest? Don’t be silly. I find ye verra attractive and I want nothing more than to be with ye.” Her tongue darted out to wet her lips and before Dylan could question what was happening, she was in his arms and kissing him.
His first reaction was to push her away, but on second thoughts, Dylan decided that maybe if he hung in there, the kiss would get better. So far, it was doing nothing for him. It didn’t improve in the next minute or so, but not for lack of trying.I’m overthinking this.He tried the kiss again and put everything he had into it. He could feel Maggie melting into him, but nothing was happening for him emotionally. He deepened the kiss, feeling Maggie’s feet go right out from underneath herand she hung in his arms like a ragdoll.At leastI haven’t lost my touch,he thought to himself, even though at the same time he was thinking he couldn’t remember not experiencing at least some reaction to a kiss. Opening his eyes, he noticed Alec staring daggers at him.
“I wonder what Alec’s problem is? He must be jealous,” Dylan murmured into Maggie’s ear.
“But of which one of us?” was her strange response.
Dylan thought it an odd comment to make, but let it slip to the back of his mind. Releasing Maggie, they continued picking apples until the trees were almost bare. Robert was gathering everyone around him in the center of the orchard when Dylan and Maggie completed their own apple picking.
“Thank ye all for joining us today. I believe we’ve made the faeries happy with all our singing and playing. They will surely bless us with another good harvest next year. Now, let’s all head back to the courtyard, where we will partake of cider made from the apples of these fine trees.” Robert scooped Irene into his arms before he continued. “The celebration will continue long into the night. There will be plenty of food and drink, good music and, of course, our traditional bonfire.”
The crowd cheered and began loading the apple-filled baskets back onto the carts. The sky was beginning to darken and the wind whipped fallen leaves in small flurries across the ground. Cloaks were gathered tighter to ward off the chill in the air and everyone moved quickly to finish loading the apples.
A clap of thunder rumbled loudly as the sky grew dark and ominous and a single bolt of lightning struck, too close for comfort, causing some of the group to shriek in fear. Striking a nearby tree, its shattered branches flew in every direction. The MacKenzies ran for cover as a second bolt flew from the sky, hitting another of the trees. A fireworks display of twigs and branches rained down on them as the tree exploded. Whole treelimbs were falling now and men and women dodged them, as they cried out to each other to avoid the heavy branches headed for the ground with such great velocity. Cormac grabbed Jenna and they ran towards the carts, followed by Ashley and Cailin. They huddled close to the wooden sides, Cormac and Cailin sheltering Jenna and Ashley with their large bodies. Robert and Irene, who had grabbed their children, were directing the rest of the clan to run. More lightning struck and more trees exploded around them. The sun, blotted from the sky, was unable to help them as they fled in almost total darkness. Latharn was hit by a sharp piece of tree branch that seemed to aim itself straight for him as he protected Sophia in his arms. Sophia screamed as he hit the ground, blood dripping from his head, where a jagged piece of wood had lodged itself in his skin.
Maggie knew this was not a random act of nature’s majesty. This was an act of Brielle. She had to put a stop to this, before someone else was hurt or even killed by a falling branch. Eyes searching in the near darkness, Maggie spotted Brielle, who sported a gleeful expression. Dylan was trying to drag her away, but Brielle was standing firm, rooted to the spot. Maggie couldn’t worry about her right now; instead, she concentrated her focus on the lightning and the exploding trees. She closed her eyes and took a calming inhalation, muttering beneath her breath. “Frozen in place, let these branches be. Lightning away from the apple trees. Calm once again, so mote it be.” Opening her eyes, Maggie saw the fruits of her labor. The tree shrapnel was suspended in the air above their heads. The skies cleared and brightened and the lightning disappeared. Relieved, she glanced around and saw Sophia sobbing over an extremely still Latharn.
“Maggie,” Dylan said to Brielle, as she stood with a knowing smile aimed at the real Maggie. “You did it! You stopped the trees from killing us all!”
“Aye. I did, Dylan. I couldnae let anything happen to you or the MacKenzies,” Brielle lied, with obviously feigned sincerity.
The real Maggie ran across to Latharn and Sophia. “Help him, please,” Sophia pleaded.
“I’ll do my best, Sophia. Let me get a look at him.” She guided Sophia out of the way and knelt beside Latharn. Maggie scanned the area surreptitiously, to make certain no one was watching. Fortunately, they all seemed to be preoccupied with other things. She passed her hand over Latharn’s head and his eyes opened. She made another pass, this time removing the shard of wood, and all the while making it appear as if she were merely examining his head.
“Sophia,” Latharn moaned. “Are ye safe?”
“Yes, Latharn. Is he okay?” Sophia asked Alec.
“Aye. It’s just a slight wound, but ye ken head wounds bleed furiously. It looks much worse than it be.”
“Oh, thank you, Alec. I was so worried when he wouldn’t open his eyes.” Sophia took hold of Latharn’s hand and held on for dear life.
“Leave him rest there for a minute. I think he should ride back in one of the carts. I’ll go see to it.” Maggie got to her feet and headed over to the carts. Angus was waiting for her.
“Brielle?” was all he said.
“Aye. I heard Dylan speaking with her and he thinksshe’sthe one who saved everyone and she agreed with him!” Maggie was fuming again. Brielle had gone too far this time. She had to find a way to get her away from Breaghacraig.
The MacKenzies, who had been enjoying the festivities so much all day had now become very subdued. All the joy had been sucked right out of them, which made Maggie both sad and infuriated. She would fix this. She had to, before someone ended up dead.
“Is Latharn going to be alright?” Angus asked.
“Aye. His wound was much more serious than it would appear now, but I used the healing spell Auntie taught me and it worked. I do think he should ride in one of the carts though.”
Angus hurried off and spoke with one of the cart drivers, directing him to where Latharn was still laying on the ground with Sophia clutching his hand tightly to her chest. They loaded him up beside the driver and Sophia scooted in next to him, holding onto Latharn for all she was worth.
As Brielle passed, she whispered so only Maggie could hear, “A fine piece of work you did, lass. Ye ruined my fun. Yer auntie has taught ye well.” She gave Maggie a challenging look and grabbed onto Dylan’s arm for the walk back to Breaghacraig.
Angus caught the tail end of what had just happened. “I don’t like this. I think we might be in over our heads.”
“Nae, we arenae. Dinnae even think it,” Maggie’s confidence was building and she knew that no matter what Brielle threw her way, she would be able to counter it. She knew she needed to keep her guard up and keep a wary eye on Brielle though. One minor slip of concentration could be the end of her, Dylan and the MacKenzies.
***
The atmosphere at the evening’s bonfire remained subdued, the day’s events had seen to that. The clan gathered quietly around the bonfire and stared into the flames, some of them wondering aloud what type of omen the exploding trees could be. Would next year’s harvest be lost? More than half of the trees in the orchard had been destroyed. People were whispering quietly to one another about the wrath of the faeries and the good witch Maggie, who had put a stop to their ire.
“How can I stop her?” the real Maggie whispered to herself.
