Chapter 1
Isle of Skye, summer, 1596
Crouching low,Sheona MacLeod peeked around the huge evergreen and waited. She’d followed her brother, Alasdair, into the wood to watch him hunt, something she was not permitted to do, but lost sight of him. He could not have gone too far ahead and so she took a deep breath and let it outslowly.
Moments turned to minutes and longer. Still, he did not return. Her father had taken her hunting in the past, but had decided recently that it was toodangerous.
Sheona stepped out from behind the tree and scanned the dark forest for sign or sound of movement. Wind rustled the leaves and a nearby stream trickled. Other than that, she was very much alone. She smiled to herself, enjoying the solitude. These woods were old and familiar; she would have no problem finding her way home. But she wouldn’t go until she found Alasdair. What if he’d beenhurt?
A dark shadow ahead caught her attention. She stepped behind another tree and peeked around again. A figure moved through the wood, much taller than Alasdair. It must be one of the clansmen. Perhaps their hunt had been successful and they would feast this night. She listened for the sound of crunching leaves, but there wasnone.
Her curiosity got the better of her so she moved out into sight and walked toward the dark figure. It moved back and forth as if pacing. The closer she got, the more the figure intrigued her. It looked like it was floating, or drifting left andright.
Sheona squinted when a ray of sunlight broke through the trees directly onto her face. She blinked several times and when she could see again stopped and stared. The figure had ceased its lateral movement and approached. A shiver raced down her spine. The figure was cloaked and did indeed appear to befloating.
She opened her mouth to scream but no sound would come. Her feet would not obey her command to turn around and run. She panted as fear welled up, threatening to consumeher.
When the figure was still several feet away, it stopped, reached up, and pulled the hood back, revealing a beautiful woman with golden, shimmering hair. All fear left Sheona’s body as she beheld the sight before her. The woman’s eyes were so pale blue they almost held no colour and her skin was white and smooth looking. Like the inside of a shell. Shesmiled.
“You see me, don’t you?” Her voice was deep and dimensional, as if three people spoke instead ofone.
“Aye,” Sheona whispered. “Who areyou?”
“I am the enchantress, Ava.” She turned her head to the side. “Curious. I have never encountered one so young who could see me before. From whence do youhail?”
Sheona pointed behind her. “I live in that castle. My father is thechief.”
“You are a very special girl, daughter of the chief. Would you like agift?”
She had never seen an enchantress before, but she’d been told many stories about them. They were usually good, but if you made them upset they could put a curse onyou.
“Is it a good gift or a badgift?”
“’Tis a good gift, sweetlass.”
“Will you tell me what itis?”
“Aye, but first you must do something forme.”
“What must Ido?”
The enchantress moved closer and reached inside her cloak and withdrew a pouch tied at the top with leatherstraps.
“Will you open this and touch thecontents?”
“Aye.”
Sheona reached out her hand. The leather sac dropped onto her palm; it was surprisingly heavy for such a small thing. She opened it and shook it over her hand. Stones. There were five of them in total and the loveliest colours. As she gazed at them, a dazzling array of light sparkled within them. Before long, all five stones glowed bright hues of crimson, emerald, sapphire, gold, andamethyst.
“What arethey?”
“They’re special stones from beyond this world and into the next, where spirits go when theydie.”
“LikeHeaven?”
The enchantress nodded. “LikeHeaven.”
Sheona smiled. The stones were the most beautiful things she’d ever seen. “What makes themglow?”
