Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
“Did you find anything?” Ferne asked as she and Theo walked into the command center on the second floor of Carwood Manor.
Kurt nodded as he finished typing before mirroring his laptop screen on the huge monitor he had just hung on the wall the day before. “I did, indeed. I have all you’d want to know about the Thornevales of the San Juan Islands.”
Behind him, a chair squeaked as Rhona, the leader of the Skye Druids, shifted in her seat. “They’re called the Salish Druids.”
Kurt glanced over his shoulder at Rhona before meeting Sabryn’s gaze.
His lover gave him a wink, which made him smile.
On her left were Carlyle and Song. To Sabryn’s right was Finn.
On the other side of the room sat Elias and the manor’s owner, Bronwyn.
The others in their group were off doing different things, but Kurt was recording everything to send to them later so everyone could get caught up.
He pointed to the top right and a picture of a pretty woman in her fifties with light brown hair and blue eyes.
“At the top is Maris Thornevale, Rowen’s mom.
She’s an only child, and it appears her father left before she turned one.
Maris has four sisters—Talia, Sela, Rhea, and Maelin.
I’ve traced the Thornevale line from the islands, across the US to Boston, up to Canada, and straight to Skye. ”
“You sound surprised,” Finn said.
Kurt shrugged and leaned back in his chair. “More astonished at how simple it was to trace those roots, not that her ancestors are from the isle. All our ancestors are from here, but for most families, connecting those lines isn’t nearly as easy.”
“Are they powerful?” Carlyle asked.
Kurt leaned forward and hit a key, displaying all five sisters and their children. “The Thornevale line is what I would call strong, in magic as well as extending the line. As you can see here.”
Theo scratched his head. “Are all those Rowen’s cousins?”
“Looks like it,” Bronwyn replied.
Rhona blew out a breath. “Then why send only her to London?”
“That’s something she should be able to tell us,” Ferne said.
Kurt swiveled his head to Ferne. Her lips were pinched, and her brow furrowed as she stared at the screen with all the pictures. “You all know I take what I do seriously, and every time I hack something or someone, it’s to ensure our safety.”
“We know,” Elias said. “What did you find?”
Kurt pressed his lips together, his hands on the arms of his chair as he rocked back twice before hitting another button on the keyboard.
The screen changed, showing incoming messages to the Salish Druids, sent by the London Druids.
“As you can see, the emails go to Brenna Tidewell, who is the leader of the Salish Druids. London has been sending requests for someone from their group to visit for over two years.”
“Is London’s interest in just these Druids? Or is it others?” Rhona asked.
Ferne made a sound at the back of her throat. “I bet it’s others, too.”
“You’d be right.” Kurt swiped his screen to the side, where dozens of emails from London popped up, addressed to Druid communities around the world.
Carlyle shoved his chair back as he lurched to his feet. “What the bloody hell is Thomas up to?”
Song wrapped her hand around his wrist and gently pulled him back down to the chair.
Everyone in the room shared in Carlyle’s animosity toward Thomas, but it went much deeper for him since Thomas was his father.
Kurt could relate after his younger brother had tried to kill him and had murdered their mother. Things like that ripped families apart.
“The sooner we talk to Mason and Rowen, the better,” Rhona said.
“Thomas tried to end Mason’s life,” Ferne said. “He would be dead now if Rowen hadn’t been there.”
Kurt punched a few more buttons. “You’re right, and I have proof. I found footage of Rowen hesitantly entering London HQ at 6:56. I’ll start things an hour and a half later, when she comes rushing out the front.”
Four smaller screens filled the larger one as he played the footage from all of them to show different perspectives.
An image from a traffic camera across the street showed Rowen leaving the building.
She looked both ways, in obvious distress, before going around the side.
They watched her head in one direction before backtracking to go the opposite way.
As she walked, the screen on the lower left showed Mason stumbling out of the back door and collapsing. Ferne’s gasp made it hard to watch. No one spoke as they watched Rowen hurry to Mason, then struggle to help him to his feet and, eventually, to his car before driving off.
Kurt quickly shifted the cameras to follow Mason’s Aston Martin through London and down the highway to a storage facility.
The sight of Mason falling while trying to open the unit was particularly difficult to watch.
Kurt kept it playing, right up until Rowen moved the car and disappeared back into the unit.
“Is that all you have?” Elias asked.
Kurt shook his head and clicked another button. “I got them leaving.”
It was a short clip of the unit next to the one where Mason and Rowen had disappeared. It opened, and a car pulled out. Rowen shut the rolling door before climbing into the driver’s seat and driving away.
“I’ve not tracked them all the way to Skye, but I can if it would help,” Kurt said, pausing the screen to show Mason leaning back in the seat, his face filled with pain.
Theo cleared his throat as he glanced at Ferne, who had yet to tear her gaze away from the screen. “Mason said Rowen drove all night. Based on the CCTV footage timestamp, it seems she did. She’s wary of us, though. She said something about hearing rumors that we’d been attacking other Druids.”
“We know that isn’t true,” Rhona said.
Sabryn stretched her back as she said, “But Rowen doesn’t. And it’s likely the other Salish Druids won’t either.”
“They need to know where she is and that she’s safe,” Ferne said. “Give me the number. I’ll call them. I owe her that for what she’s done for Mason.”
Kurt sent the number to Ferne’s mobile. “That’s to her mum.”
The room was quiet as Ferne dialed the number, but she kept it on speaker so everyone could hear.
“Hello?” answered a female.
Ferne licked her lips. “May I speak to Maris Thornevale, please?”
There was a slight pause, and then, voice tight with worry, Maris said, “This is she. How can I help you?”
Ferne hesitated, and Theo put his arm around her. “My name is Ferne Crawford. I wanted to let you know that Rowen is safe, but she is no longer in London.”
“Where is she?” Maris demanded.
“She’s resting right now. She was up all night driving,” Ferne began.
“She could’ve called, then. Why didn’t she? Where is she? And why isn’t my daughter in London anymore?”
Ferne winced at the growing anger in the woman’s tone. “I’m sure Rowen will explain everything as soon as she’s up. She was exhausted and asked us to reach out so you wouldn’t worry.”
A loud snort came through the line. “I’m beyond worried. I’ve called and texted her, but she hasn’t answered. None of the London Druids will tell me anything. You certainly sound British, though. I might be thousands of miles away, but trust me when I say, you don’t want me and mine as an enemy.”
“Rowen saved my brother’s life,” Ferne replied softly. “I still don’t have the entire story, but I do know that if she hadn’t been there, he would have died. They came to the Isle of Skye, where I am.”
Open air met her words. Ferne looked around the room as the silence on the other end of the connection stretched on.
Finally, Ferne said, “I know what you may have heard about the Skye Druids, but it’s a lie.”
“So you say,” Maris retorted.
“You’re welcome to come and see for yourself.”
Kurt shook his head and pulled up flight information from the Pacific Northwest and the flights to get to Skye.
Maris made an indistinct sound. “One of my sisters is at the airport now, trying to get a flight, but it’ll take us well over a day to reach Rowen.”
Kurt suddenly had an idea. He messaged Mason and asked for a picture of Rowen to reassure her mother. Within seconds, Mason sent over a short video. Kurt forwarded it to Maris’s mobile and put it on the screen for Ferne to see.
“You should have gotten a video of Rowen,” Ferne said. “You can see for yourself, she’s sleeping.”
When Maris next spoke, it was clear she was crying. “If I find out any of this is a lie—”
“I would expect nothing less. Rowen was a hero in saving my brother. I owe her everything, and we’ll make sure she remains safe.”
“From who?” Maris asked with a sniff.
Ferne licked her lips. “London.”