“At least warn him then. Surely, a warning wouldn’t insult him.”
“Just get her here. I shall have Ishbel cast a protection spell around her. Hopefully, that will block any further contact until the appropriate time.” But Mairwen had her doubts. If the MacRaith had used blood magic, and if his kindred brother Talon had joined him, that was powerful energy indeed. “Are ye there at the airport now?”
“Aye. We board soon.” Keeva stiffened, sitting ramrod straight. “I must go now. She’s returning with our water.” Sheoffered a quick nod. “I’ll text ye soon as we land. Hurry and speak with Ishbel.”
“I will, child. Never ye fear.” The tablet’s screen went black. Mairwen stared at it long after Keeva’s image was gone. “She has done well. Keeva is coming into her own.”
“But ye’ll not step down, aye?” With a worried look, Lilias set the tablet aside and took a seat beside Mairwen. “We need yer leadership. The Veil needs ye.”
Mairwen smiled at the feisty pub owner, the impetuous child of a Tranquility Weaver and a sprite who had dedicated her immortality to serving the Highland Veil and brought along her twin brother Lyal to serve with her. “I am here for as long as the powers deem it shall be so.” She pulled her deck of worn tarot cards from the pocket within her sleeve and started shuffling. “Now, let us get Seven Cairns ready for our new music therapist. We must ensure she falls in love with Scotland—so much so that it strengthens her confidence and resolve when we send her to the Thirteenth Realm.”
Lyla emergedfrom the small rental car, feeling as though she’d crawled out of an extra small shipping container. She rolled her shoulders and leaned from side to side, trying to rid herself of the travel soreness. A twelve-plus-hour flight from the U.S., the three-hour train ride from Glasgow to Inverness, and then a forty-five-minute drive from Inverness to Seven Cairns had turned her muscles into one big, cranky knot. “I must be getting old,” she muttered while rubbing her lower back and high stepping to get the blood flowing in her hips and thighs.
“What was that?” Keeva sang out from the other side of the car.
“I said I’m getting old and out of shape. Last time I traveled for hours, I don’t remember feeling like someone had worked me over with a bar of soap in a tube sock.”
“A bar of soap in a tube sock?” Arching both brows higher, Keeva eyed her as if she’d forgotten to bring her sanity to Scotland.
“Never mind.” Lyla windmilled her arms and sucked in a lungful of crisp, clean air, immediately feeling refreshed. This trip had been exactly what she needed—maybe. She still felt a little queasy about it now and then. Turning in a slow circle, she took in the inviting quaintness of the village.
The main route of asphalt heading into town had become a picturesque cobblestone roadway of multi-colored stones at theWelcome to Seven Cairnssign. The narrow lane circled an ancient oak tree sprawling at the center of the town’s square. Cozy little shops, their wide display windows aglow with warm, flickering gaslights, made Lyla feel as if she’d stepped back in time. But the village’s most impressive feature was the largest structure of them all. Shaped like a fortress or an abbey of stone, its blocks a faded gray weathered by eons of sun, wind, and whatever else the Highlands had thrown at it, the impressive building ruled the settlement. Its tall, arched, cathedral windows stared back at Lyla, leaving her with the distinct impression that it was older than time itself. The shops snuggled up to either side of it, making it appear as though the building had been assigned the task of watching over Seven Cairns.
Lyla nodded at it. “Is that the village church?” She thought that was a bell tower toward the back.
“That’s the assembly hall where the Council meets, and any village gatherings are held.” Keeva pulled Lyla's bags out of the car and slung the ones she could over her shoulder. “And it’s also yer new home.” She tipped a nod at the warm, yellow glow coming from a window on an upper floor in the tower. “Yerapartment is just there. The stairs at the back of the practice rooms lead up to it. Ye’ll merely have to go down a few flights of stairs to meet with yer clients.”
“That’ll be handy.” Lyla picked up the bags Keeva couldn’t carry. It was better to keep moving. Once she became idle, her worries and insecurities caught up with her and tried to turn her into a wreck. As she had become more and more travel-weary, the bouts of second-guessing this life choice had gotten stronger. “Lead the way. I can’t wait to see it.” And she couldn’t. She was excited about this new adventure. It was just the length of the visit that kept gnawing at her. She’d always adapted to travel when on tour, but this was different. For some strange reason, she felt as though she had bid farewell to Cincinnati forever.
She followed Keeva up the flagstone path that led to the front of the castle. Assembly hall or not, Lyla would always think of it as the Seven Cairns castle. But rather than enter through the massive arched wooden doors at the front, they turned to the right and took a path that wound its way around the side of the building. Slowing, Lyla walked backward for a few steps while studying the pair of concrete statues guarding either side of the front entrance. The figures had the bodies of humans—sort of—and the heads of wolves. She’d never seen those sorts of creatures. Not only that, but it felt like they watched her, their heads slowly turning to follow her as she took the path around the building. “Wow, traveling has never done this to me before.” She tried to shake off the eerie feeling. “Hey, Keeva, what are those statues? I mean, what are they supposed to be?”
Keeva glanced back and smiled. “Wulvers. Dinna worry about them. They be good-natured and verra helpful creatures. Mythologically speaking, of course.”
“Of course.” Lyla forced a laugh she didn’t feel and decided that once she got settled in, she’d look those creatures up and do a little research.
As they climbed the steep, narrow stone steps that stretched to a doorway high on the tower, Keeva held up a large, bronze skeleton key. “Ye can come and go as ye please this way from the outside, or ye can use the inside way through the practice rooms. But Mairwen is the only one who has the key to the hall’s main doors at the front, and ye dinna ken if she’ll always be around to let ye in or out.” She nodded and tapped the key on the blocks that created a solid banister for the precarious stairway tucked against the outer wall. “But this way will always be available to ye. Ye’ll not be tied to Mairwen’s comings and goings.”
“That’ll be good.” Lyla preferred to be independent. “But I’ll be able to get down to the practice rooms, right? Mairwen doesn’t keep those locked up, does she?” Music not only calmed her but would help her acclimate to these new surroundings.
“Oh, aye. Anytime ye wish.” Keeva halted and unlocked the outer door that resembled the sort of barrier you’d find at the entrance to a dungeon.
“What’s the history of this place?”
With Lyla's bags on her shoulders catching in the narrow doorway, Keeva grunted as she shoved her way inside and stumbled partway down the hallway. “Ask Mairwen. She can tell ye all about it.” Out of breath from the steep stairs and wrestling with the bags, Keeva used the same skeleton key to open the only door in the wide entryway. “The hall is older than old, I grant ye that. I dinna ken all its history, but Mairwen does.” She pushed the door open and stepped aside for Lyla to enter first. “Welcome to yer new home, Lyla!”
Lyla passed through the door, and the strongest sense ofdéjà vunearly knocked her to her knees. The cavernous loft apartment, with its walls of whitewashed stone and exposed wooden beams across the high ceilings, embraced her like a long-lost friend—a long-lostbestfriend whom she’d loved dearly and was happy to see again.
“Are ye alright, hen?” Keeva caught her by the arm and led her to the overstuffed couch in the sitting area in front of a hearth wide enough to burn eight foot long tree trunks. Thankfully, squatting directly in front of that hearth with its smokestack connected to the massive chimney, was a small, cherry-red cast iron woodstove that would be a great deal easier to manage.
Sinking into the pillows, Lyla kept her gaze locked on the cheerful little woodstove that already had a fire crackling behind its glass door. She leaned back, resting her head against the plump cushion of the couch as she pulled in deep breaths. What in the world was wrong with her? It had only been a couple of years since she’d traveled, and it had never affected her like this.
“All will be well, Lady Lyla. Dinna worry about a thing. All will be well.”
“Oh, shit.” She covered her eyes with her hands.
The couch shook as Keeva plopped down beside her. “What is it? Are ye about to be ill? Shall I run for a basin? The kitchen’s closer than the cludgie.”
Eyes still covered, Lyla concentrated on her breathing and tried to pretend that the deep, enigmatic voice wasn’t still echoing through her mind. “I just need to sit here and breathe for a while. I just heard that voice again. It followed me.” She tried to focus on Keeva, on anything other than the seductive baritone that felt as intimate as a kiss. “And what is acludgie?”
