“Unless she decides to stay permanently,” Keeva said with a knowing look. “Scotland tends to take hold of ye and never let go.”
Lyla ignored that comment as the broken-chord strains of Bach’s Prelude No. 1 in C Major, BWV 846 came to them through the open patio door. Her heart swelled with pride, and she nodded. “Listen to his confidence. He’sfeelingthe music.” She pressed a hand to her chest and tried not to give in to tears. “I’m going to miss Jakey so much. You have no idea how much your son has helped me get through this difficult time.”
For the first time since her arrival, Sara shyly tucked her head and smiled. “He is beyond precious. Jake makes the world a better place.” But then her smile faded. “He’s going to be so heartbroken when I tell him you’re leaving, and his lessons will have to be put on hold till you return.”
“About that—I have something that might help.” Lyla slid the business card over to Sara. “My friend, a musical virtuoso who retired a few years ago, said she would love to take overJake’s lessons. She lives across town but has no problem coming over here every Tuesday so Jake can continue taking his lessons here. He’s entirely too young to cross town while you’re at work, and you can trust Sylvia. She’s a grandmama type who adopts everyone. I wrote her name and number on the back of my card here, but I’d be happy to give her a call and get things started if that’s okay with you.”
Sara stared down at the card, then looked back up at Lyla. “Will Jake like her? You know how…well…sometimes, he has trouble coming out of his shell around people he doesn’t know. Remember how he was when you first showed him the piano. It took him a while to trust you.”
“Sylvia has three grandkids,” Lyla said. “All three are on the spectrum. She knows about giving people the time they need to adjust. And of course we’ll ask Jake if he’s comfortable meeting her. If he’s not, he can simply continue to work on his own while I’m in Scotland. I’d be happy to FaceTime him so I can hear how he’s doing, but he’d be so much better off with Sylvia here to teach him. Actually, she can take him much farther with music than I can. She’s amazing. I can show him a few videos of when she still performed.”
Sara’s eyes filled with tears. She ducked her head and hurried to swipe them away. “Words can’t begin to describe how much you’ve helped us, how you made us feel like we mattered, that we weren’t…disposable. I don’t know what we would’ve done without you, Lyla. Jake and I will gladly help you any way we can. You can always count on us.”
“You and Jakey showed up in my life just when I needed you most.” Lyla sniffed, fighting not to cry. “You’ve already helped me so much, and I really appreciate your helping me with this.” Unable to restrain herself, she pulled Sara into a hug. “Thank you so much. Now, let’s go see if Jake wants to go to the next level in music with Sylvia.”
Sara gave her a tearful smile and nodded.
Keeva blew her nose loudly. “Wonderful. Just wonderful.”
Chapter
Four
Mairwen refused to hold the tablet, wouldn’t even touch the untrustworthy thing, as she prepared to contact Keeva with what Lilias, owner of the Seven Cairns’ pub, The Fearless Scottie, had called theFaceTime.Magic was trustworthy. These contraptions that the younger Weavers had adopted from the twenty-first century, even adapting one of them to hold the goddess’s Ledger of Infinity, were not. The old ways were the best.
Lilias stood there, more than a little peeved, holding the vile apparatus in front of Mairwen at eye level. “It’ll not bite ye, Master Mairwen,” she said, then nudged it closer. “Take it, tap on Keeva’s number right there, then hold it closer to yer face. Ye’ll see her when she answers. I need to get back to the pub. Lyal has been flirting entirely too much with those mortals who arrived yesterday. ’Tis unwise, I tell ye.”
“I dinna fear the thing, child. I simply dinna like it.” Mairwen caught hold of Lilias’s wrist. “And I want ye to stay. Yer brother knows what I’ll do if he oversteps his bounds with a mortal. I need ye here to help me with this fitful thing. A message appeared on it that Keeva needed to speak with me, and she says she canna do so any other way than using this cold bit ofslate. She’s never been able to master communicating through the waters or with an orb when not in Seven Cairns. Says it’s notconvenientif she’s out amongst the mortals.” Mairwen snorted. “’Tis my hope she is headed our way with Ms. Ibrams, and that this thing can reach her.”
Lilias rolled her eyes. “Fine. Tap on her number there. If she’s able, I’m sure she’ll answer.”
“Why would she not be able? She requested that I contact her.”
“Signal strength wherever she is. Whether or not she has any privacy and feels she can speak openly with you. When you call, she can tell it’s you because your name pops up requesting that she accept the connection.”
“I see,” Mairwen said, even though she really didn’t. She hated these mortal things. Magic was so much more effective—and comfortable. Gingerly, she tapped the number. Nothing happened.
“You have to tap it hard enough that it can feel you touching it.” Lilias released a groaning sigh and tapped it for her. “There. See? It’s ringing.”
“I hear no bells.”
“I promise,” Lilias said. “It’s ringing on her side.”
Keeva’s wide-eyed image blipped into view, filling the screen. “He was able to speak to her across the realms!”
“What?” Mairwen leaned closer, concern for the distraught apprentice surging through her. “Calm yerself. What are ye saying?”
“The chief used his magic to speak with her. She heard him in the pub. The first night I was with her. I didn’t hear him, but she did.” Keeva shook her head, then shuddered. “Ye should have seen her. Turned white as fresh cream in a saucer. I thought she was about to fall off her chair. I didn’t know what the matter was till she told me. She said that he told her she would like it wherehe was, and that he called her Lady Lyla. He’s also been speaking to her in her dreams.”
“Has she changed her mind, then, and refused to come to Scotland?” Mairwen cringed, dreading the answer.
“She thinks it was the drink she’d had that night that made her hear things, and stress that makes her keep dreaming about it. I told her it was the magic of Scotland calling out to her.”
“And she accepted that?” Mairwen feared Keeva might have overplayed her hand, speaking about magic to a twenty-first century mortal. Few of them believed in the old ways anymore.
Keeva glanced at something off-screen, then lowered her voice. “She finds the old waysinteresting,but I dinna think she truly believes in them. It’s more a matter of enjoying the myths and legends.” She clamped her mouth shut, smiled and nodded at something, then leaned in close and returned her focus to Mairwen. “Tell him not to contact her anymore. He could ruin everything. She’s still coming to Seven Cairns, but she’s as skittish as a wee moggy.”
Mairwen reared back as if Keeva had tried to reach through the thing and slap her. “I can do no such thing. The Chief MacRaith already possesses the greatest contempt for us, much as the dragons do.”
