Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
The hum of the road beneath the tires soon filled the car as they merged into the evening, five o’clock traffic.
Rowen hated to drive without some kind of music.
The silence grated on her nerves, and they were still frayed from having to get back on the freeway.
She relaxed her fingers so they no longer had a death grip on the steering wheel and glanced at the radio.
Why hadn’t she taken a few moments to get acquainted with the car before driving off?
The strange roads and becoming adjusted to driving on the opposite side of the car took all her attention.
She didn’t dare try to split her awareness.
Mason was no longer wheezing as heavily as he had been once he got more comfortable, so she wasn’t about to ask him.
It looked like she would be driving in silence for a few hours.
She glanced down to find the gas gauge. As she had expected, the tank was full. It would be miles and miles yet.
She had been surprised to see that Mason’s second vehicle was a Ford Focus. The five-door hatchback wasn’t flashy, and the silver was ordinary. If the UK were anything like the States, the color would blend in with thousands of others on the road. Which was precisely why he had chosen it.
Rowen shifted in her seat. She was getting to see much more of England than she had expected.
It might be fun if Mason weren’t injured, and they weren’t worried about Druids catching them.
Then again, without the people after them, they wouldn’t have met, and she wouldn’t be sitting in the car with a handsome Brit.
She chuckled, imagining what her family might say when she got home and told them this story.
“What is it?” Mason asked.
She glanced at him and shrugged. “This isn’t how I imagined my time in London would go.”
“And that made you laugh?” he asked incredulously.
Rowen grinned as she shook her head. “I was thinking about what my family’s reaction will be when I share the story.”
“Do you have a big family?”
“It’s just Mom and me,” she admitted. “But I have a large extended family, with my four aunts and cousins—only a handful left over the generations. Most chose to remain on the San Juan Islands.”
Mason grunted. “I’ve never heard of the islands. Are they pretty?”
“They’re stunning.”
“I saw you pack a couple of the burner phones. You could use one to call home.”
She adjusted her grip on the wheel. “I will eventually. I want to make sure I’m safe first. Because if I can’t assure them of that, my mom will likely jump on a plane.”
“So, that’s where you get your fierceness from.”
Rowen jerked her head to him, surprised by his words. “I’m not fierce.”
It was his turn to chuckle. “I beg to differ. Tell me about your family.”
“Nope. You promised me an explanation about Skye when we got on the road, and we are headed north. So, start talking.”
“See? Fierce.” Mason sighed and went silent.
Rowen looked over to see him staring out his window. She regretted pushing and was about to tell him to forget it when he began talking.
“Every London Druid is raised on tales about Skye. They always paint the Skye Druids as evil and conniving. It’s done to strike fear in the young and make everyone else distrust them enough to stay away.”
“The threat of banishment doesn’t do that?”
“Most times, but some are curious, and others need to see and experience something for themselves to know if it’s all true.”
Rowen shot him another look. His face was turned away so she couldn’t see his expression, but his voice was tinged with what sounded like regret.
Mason braced his elbow on the door and rested his forehead against his hand. “When I learned my sister had reached out with her magic to someone on Skye, I urged her to go.”
“Even though you knew she would be banished?”
“Yes. I wanted us to go together, but she couldn’t wait. She was needed there. London had already kicked her out of the organization for talking to the Skye Druids. We knew they would keep coming after her, and I had to get her away to keep her safe.”
Rowen frowned. Something about the way he’d said the last part niggled at her. “She wouldn’t be safe with you?”
“My mum was one of the elders. My father was high-ranking in the hierarchy of the organization, as well.”
Her brows shot up on her forehead at the news. Mason wasn’t just a part of the London Druids. He and his family had been in deep. He must have stumbled upon something someone didn’t want him to know.
Mason’s head rolled to her. “They died in a plane crash.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry. What a horrible thing to happen.”
“There were things about the crash, and events after, that didn’t make sense. The more my questions were deflected or ignored, the more suspicious I became. That’s when I decided to look into it.”
“Let me guess, if London found out, they’d go straight for Ferne?”
He nodded. “And I couldn’t have that. I feared what might happen to her on Skye, but I knew she was safer there than anywhere else. Turns out I was right. She fell in love with one of their Druids.”
“I take that to mean she isn’t coming home.”
Mason looked out the windshield. “She’s found her place. She was always powerful, but now, she has the backing of Druids who will ensure that no one from London who means her harm ever gets to her.”
“Is she your only sibling?” Rowen asked softly.
“She is.”
That meant he was alone. No parents, no sister. Rowen sometimes got annoyed with her family for always being up in her business, but she couldn’t imagine it any other way. “Does Ferne know you’re looking into the crash?”
“She suspected it before she left, but I didn’t tell her much. I kept it from everyone. I was careful and diligent in hiding what I uncovered.”
Rowen had always been a sucker for a mystery. She was dying to know what he had uncovered, but none of that told her what she wanted to know about the Skye Druids. She was ready to shift gears when she suddenly put two and two together. “Wait. Is that why you were attacked?”
“I believe it is.”
“You found something, then?”
His lips flattened briefly. “I looked into something they had deemed an accident. I was questioning them, and that doesn’t happen.
But, yes, I found a link to a newly hired mechanic at the air strip and Thomas.
A little more digging, and I found that fifty thousand pounds was wired to the mechanic’s bank account the day after my parents’ crash. ”
“Did you confront Thomas?”
“I wanted more information, but I was getting close. I knew he was playing me, but he must have discovered what I was doing. He’s made it clear he wants me dead. He’ll keep coming until he finds me.”
“He won’t set foot on Skye. Good move to head there,” Rowen told him.
“I’m more concerned about Ferne and Carlyle.”
Rowen frowned as she cut a quick look at him. “I don’t understand. You said they were safe on Skye.”
“To make Thomas and those watching me believe I had banished her, I…”
Rowen grimaced as she realized what he had done. “She believes you cut her off.”
“I told myself it was the right thing to do for her, that I’d be able to fix it once I had answers. Now, though, I’m not so sure.”
Rowen moved into the other lane and drove around a slower car. The silence between them lengthened. She had so many questions, but she left him to his thoughts. There was plenty of time for him to answer them.
“The Druid Ferne reached out to on Skye was a woman named Kirsi,” Mason continued.
“Ferne saw her battling an ancient evil and wanted to warn her. Turns out, the Skye Druids already knew that something was happening on the isle. It began slowly. Minor things that few paid much attention to. Then Druids began losing their magic.”
Rowen’s stomach dropped to her feet. She thought about her family and the Salish Druids experiencing the same thing. But she kept it to herself for the time being.
Mason blew out a breath. “Then a mist started killing people. It targeted Druids, specifically. I don’t know all the details, but I do know that it’s one of the reasons Carlyle and his friends went to Skye.
He and a small group travel the world, providing justice for Druids who either can’t get it themselves or won’t.
They call themselves Knights. It had been years since I’d last spoken to Carlyle.
We were as close as brothers once.” Mason paused and lowered his arm to his side.
“My father spent hours training us. He created an obstacle course of magic so we could hone our skills.”
Rowen had grown up with magic, but Mason’s upbringing was vastly different. She could wield magic, and if need be, shield herself and others from it, but to use it in battle? That was something new.
“I see by your face that isn’t something you do,” Mason said.
She shot him a quick glance and shook her head. “Can’t say we’ve ever needed it.”
“I often used to ask Dad why it was so important that Carlyle and I knew what to do in battle. His response was always the same. You never know what could happen, son. Since his death, I’ve wondered if he and Mum challenged Thomas’s control of London.
That perhaps that’s why Dad took so much time training us.
Maybe he knew Carlyle and I would have to fight. ”
“Did Ferne not join you?”
Mason shook his head. “And she’s the one in the middle of a war zone right now. The irony isn’t lost on me.”
“What kind of war? I’ve not heard anything about it.”
“You wouldn’t. The Skye Druids have been careful about keeping it contained.
I don’t know what it is they’re fighting, but it’s a formidable foe.
I know it’s going to take all of them to pull it off.
Ferne made it clear that if Skye falls, the rest of the world will, too.
She originally wanted London to join Skye to help. ”
Rowen twisted her lips. “I bet that went over well.”
“She’s tried to talk to me about it the few times she called. I wanted to ask her more, but I knew the phones were bugged. I even caved and called her once. It was a mistake, but I didn’t learn my lesson. I called Carlyle. He was furious at me, and he let me know it.”
Rowen had the urge to reach over and cover his hand with hers, but she resisted the need to comfort him. “You’ve been doing all of this on your own. Once you explain it to them, they’ll understand.”
“If they let me explain. The point is, the Druids of Skye are at war, but they’re fighting something sinister.
Meanwhile, London has aligned with Edinburgh to kill those on Skye and wrest power from them.
Ferne and the others have been up against an ancient evil, as well as other Druids invading their home. ”
“The more you talk, the more I’m beginning to hate London.”
Mason twisted his lips. “I know how you feel. I’ve had to pretend to be a part of them.”
“You don’t anymore.”
“True. I’m not sure I’ve convinced you about Skye, though, have I?”
She shrugged. “I only have your word to go on. I’ve not met a Skye Druid—at least not that I’m aware of. But the ones creeping me out are the London Druids. So, I think it’s best if I reserve judgment until I meet those on Skye.”
“Does that mean you’re coming to the isle with me instead of going home?”
“It does.” She shot him a grin. “My family likes details, and they’re going to need to know all of this.”