Chapter 35
Elodie stood in the hall, looking at the door to her parents’ room. Others had walked into the space without a problem. Why did bone-chilling fear keep her rooted and stop her from doing the same?
“It’s just a room,” she told herself. “A place where Da died. Somewhere Mum killed him. But just a room.”
The words didn’t make her feel any better.
She lowered herself to the floor, never taking her eyes off the door.
She was a grown woman. It was irrational for her to be so terrified.
It wasn’t as if she had seen anything that day.
The only one who knew what’d happened was her mother and father, and her da wasn’t there to tell his side of the story.
But her mum was.
Elodie pressed her lips together. Maybe she should visit her mother and have that conversation. It couldn’t be any more difficult than her current situation. As a matter of fact, she felt better about going to see her mother than walking into her parents’ bedroom.
“It’s just a room,” she said again.
It didn’t matter how many times she said the words, they didn’t help. It was more than just a room. It was the place where her family had fallen apart. It was the epicenter of change for her siblings and her.
Elodie brought her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them.
She let her mind drift back to the past. The ghosts of the house had hounded her ever since she’d arrived.
She’d thought she could keep the memories away, but they rose even in her dreams. There was no escaping them.
She had deceived herself for years, thinking she could close the door on the past and forget.
Returning to Skye had proven how na?ve she was. Scott had been right. The only way to go forward was to face the past. It was such simple advice. Something a person should inherently know. But things were never that clear when trying to forget or ignore.
“It’s just a damn room.” She put more conviction in her tone.
Maybe if she said it enough, she might start to believe it.
As she sat there, dozens of memories filled her head. She saw quick glimpses of arguments she’d had with Edie, swimming with Elias, running along the beach with her mum. It was the recollection of her da making waffles one morning that her mind latched onto, though.
She had been about ten. She, Edie, and Elias were in the kitchen with their father as he sang along with a song on the radio. They joined in, each trying to out sing the other. There was lots of laughter as their da placed waffles before them. But someone had been missing—her mother.
Where had she been? Elodie had been sure she was there.
She closed her eyes as she went deeper into her memories. Most of her recollections about her father were filled with laughter, though she did recall a few times when he had lost his temper with them. And some others when he and her mother had fought.
That was normal, though. People argued. Parents got frustrated and angry with their children. There was nothing wrong with that.
Except the more Elodie began pulling up memories of her father, she discovered there were times her mother hadn’t been with them. Again, though, that wasn’t abnormal. She and her siblings had been alone with their mother often.
Why then did it unsettle Elodie?
But she knew the answer. Because she’d learned of her father’s abuse. She was looking back on this with an adult’s perspective, not that of a child.
Elodie went even deeper into her memories. There were more there. She was sure of it.
“You took my headband, didn’t you?” Edie demanded as she stormed into their room.
Elodie rolled her eyes as she finished brushing her hair. “No, I didn’t.”
“Just hand it over.”
“I didn’t take it!” Elodie stated angrily and faced her sister.
Edie glared at her. “Ugh. I’m so tired of sharing a room with you. You take everything.”
“Me?” Elodie replied, fury coursing through her. “That’s my shirt you’re wearing.”
Edie smiled and shrugged. “And it’ll be mine until you return my headband.”
“Maybe if you stopped blaming me for everything, you might remember what you did with it.”
“Whatever,” Edie said and turned on her heel. “I need to get Mum to sign that paper for school. Where is it? Oh, in the car. I can’t forget that.”
Elodie shook her head as Edie ran outside. A crash down the hall made her still. Elodie slowly straightened and moved to her doorway. Elias stood in the corridor, his eyes wide. Then he turned to face their parents’ room.
“You heard that, right?” he whispered.
The water was freezing, but Elias barely felt it. Instead, adrenaline pumped through him, keeping him alert and aware. He’d had enough time to raise a shield before hitting the water. It’d saved him from the rocks, but not the shards of glass from his window exploding.
Elias had no idea how many times his vehicle had flipped.
His head pounded. He unbuckled the seat belt as water rapidly filled the car’s interior.
He suspected that whatever had attacked him waited to see if he would surface.
The SUV was sinking to the bottom of the sea quickly.
He sucked in a breath as water covered him and waited for the vehicle to come to rest.
As the SUV drifted down, he looked around the interior.
The window was shattered, giving him a way out.
But he couldn’t just swim to the surface, and his lungs already burned for air.
To take his mind off that, he tried to think about what he’d seen as he’d gone off the bridge.
It had come at him fast. His eyes snapped open when he remembered catching a glimpse of what looked like mist form into a long, cylindrical shape before ramming him.
The slight jarring as his SUV settled on the bottom of the sea got him moving.
He turned and pushed off the seat with his hands and the dash with his feet, propelling him to the back, where a small air pocket had formed.
Elias turned onto his back, his face pressed against the roof of the vehicle as he sucked in mouthfuls of air.
He got in two before water filled his mouth.
Elias then went back to the front of his SUV and slipped out the window. He swam as far as his lungs would allow and then began to ascend. His head broke the surface just as his lungs felt as if they might burst. He treaded water as he looked toward shore.
There, he saw the mist hovering near the waterline next to the bridge.
It was waiting for him, just as he’d thought it would be.
Though it wouldn’t come into the water for him.
He kept an eye on the mist as he swam diagonally away from it to the shore.
When his feet finally struck ground, Elias had to use his hands to pull himself out of the sea.
He shook water from his face and waited, but the mist didn’t come his way. He crept up to the road and peeked around the bridge. The mist appeared to be gone. For now.
He dripped as he traveled the road. It would take him much too long to reach Elodie on foot. He couldn’t even call Edie to come and get him since his phone was in the SUV with the rest of his belongings. But there was nothing around him.
Elias started to run, each beat of his heart urging him to go faster. It was just over a mile to Kyleakin. Once there, he hoped to find someone to help him. He was out of breath when he finally reached the city. Elias passed several cars. He stopped beside one to see if it was unlocked.
“Mate, you’re soaked.”
Elias halted at the slurred voice behind him. He turned to see a thirty-something man swaying slightly from too much drink. “I went for a swim.”
The man frowned in confusion. “Why would you do that?”
“I doona know.”
“Marty is never gonna to believe this,” he said.
Elias walked to the man. “You’ve had a few too many, my friend. This never happened. It was just a dream.”
“Same with that mist I saw hit a vehicle?”
“Aye. An illusion.”
The man wrinkled his nose and let out a burp. “That’s what I get for drinkin’ vodka.”
“Do you have a car?”
“A car? I can no’ drive now.”
Elias prayed for patience. “I can drive you.”
“Oh.” The man swayed back so far that Elias had to catch him to keep him upright. “Wait. I just live there.” He pointed.
Elias looked across the road at the flat. Then he faced the man. “I need to borrow your car.”
“Sure,” the man said and pulled a set of keys from his pocket.
Without another word, the drunk stumbled home. Elias watched to make sure he made it inside before Elias pressed the unlock button on the key fob. When lights blinked, Elias rushed to the vehicle.
“What the bloody hell was that?” Filip asked.
Scott shook his head and dashed from the garage. He didn’t care if Elodie was pissed at him for being there, but he had to see if she was safe. He went to the door and banged on it.
“Elodie? Are you all right? Please,” he called. “I just need to know you’re okay.”
There was no answer.
“I’ll look around the front,” Filip said and ran around the house.
Scott hadn’t even heard Filip follow him. Scott’s heart pounded wildly. He leaned to the side and looked through the window, but the curtains were tightly shut. “Elodie!” he shouted and banged on the door again.
“I can no’ see her,” Filip yelled.
Scott looked at the door. They couldn’t break it down. It had been warded against just that.
“What do you want to do?” Filip asked as he returned.
Scott shoved his hands into his hair. His gut told him that he had to get to Elodie and quickly. He dropped his arms and glared at the door. He was getting in one way or another.
It didn’t take Rhona and Balladyn long to fill Ulrik, Eilish, Broc, and Sonya in on what had been happening on Skye.
“No one at MacLeod has heard the Ancients in a while,” Sonya said.
Eilish shook her head. “Same with at Dreagan. We were just talking about that yesterday.”
“Seems the Ancients wanted to get everyone’s attention,” Ulrik replied.
Balladyn nodded. “What do we do?”
Rhona turned to Balladyn. “I need to talk to Emily MacLean.”
“Where is she? We’ll get her,” Ulrik said.
Broc quirked a brow, his brown eyes meeting hers. “She’s in prison.”
“So?” Balladyn asked.
Ulrik shrugged. “I’m game.”
“Me, too,” Balladyn added.
Broc’s lips thinned into a flat line. He closed his eyes for a moment, using his power to find anyone, anywhere. When he opened his eyes, he nodded at Rhona. “I found her.”
“We’ll go,” Ulrik told Balladyn. “You need to stay on Skye.”
Balladyn’s nostrils flared, but he bowed his head in agreement. Rhona watched as Broc told Ulrik Emily’s exact location. Then Ulrik placed a hand on Broc’s shoulder and touched the silver cuff on his wrist, which allowed him to teleport.
“Do we have time for this?” Sonya asked.
Rhona battled a wave of anxiousness. “We have to make time.”
Suddenly, Broc and Ulrik were back, along with a woman.
Emily MacLean didn’t look like a woman in her mid-fifties.
Her blond hair was in a plait that fell to the middle of her back.
It was nearly the same shade as Elodie’s.
Emily’s blue eyes matched Elodie’s perfectly, and the resemblance didn’t end there.
“What’s going on?” Emily asked.
Rhona took a breath. “I’m sorry we’ve gone to such extremes, but I need to know about the day your husband was killed.”
“Why?” Emily demanded warily.
Rhona held her gaze. “It’s about Elodie.”
Emily’s face drained of color. “Where is she?”
“Your cottage,” Balladyn answered.
Emily grabbed Rhona’s arm. “Take me to her immediately.”
“No’ until you tell us what’s going on,” Ulrik stated.
Rhona felt the woman’s apprehension, but she stood her ground. “Quickly. Please,” she urged Emily.
“There isn’t time,” Emily replied. “Take me to her now!”