Chapter 22
Chapter Twenty-Two
Edie
There was peace in the in-between place, a kind of harmony Edie hadn’t realized could be so calming.
Her recent encounter with the sky pillar, Sabryn, had set her back.
If Sabryn’s strike had hit a little more to the side, Edie wouldn’t be here now.
But the Ancients were looking out for her.
Here, in this special dwelling, she was healing far quicker than she would have anywhere else.
She had sought out the invisible cottage once she got away from the Fairy Glen.
That battle had been hers to win. She’d seen the outcome, had felt it in her bones.
Sabryn had been weakening. Edie was ready to crush her—and the hopes of the other Druids—with one final blow.
Then Kurt joined Sabryn. Together, they had been unstoppable.
Even with the added power the Ancients had given her, Edie had come up short.
Worse, she felt the Ancients’ disappointment about her failure.
Their silence was deafening, their frustration pressing on her like a brick wall.
The Skye Druids had found their earth and sky pillars once more.
Edie had one more opportunity to prevent the water pillar from taking their place.
She couldn’t fail again. The Ancients had allowed her entry into the hidden cottage to rest and heal, but they wouldn’t be so forgiving a second time.
Kerry had failed them, and she was now dead, her blood splattered on the stones of the Druid prison where Rhona had taken her.
The thought of the Ancients doing the same to her left Edie cold.
She would take her own life before she allowed Rhona or that Fae husband of hers to take her to the Red Hills.
The one advantage she had was that the Skye Druids didn’t know who the water pillar was. That gave her time to watch and listen. Anyone she deemed might be the pillar would be removed—swiftly and effortlessly.
Edie’s gaze lifted to the roof above her.
The hole where Song had fallen through was gone now.
The Ancients had been interested in Song joining them.
It was the only reason they had stayed Edie’s hand when she would’ve taken the Druid’s life.
But that had backfired, too. Song had developed feelings for Carlyle that overshadowed the dominance the Ancients had offered.
Time was running out to take Druids back to a time when their magic ran free and powerful.
When those without such potency had bowed to them.
She sat up on the mattress and swung her legs over the side.
The first time Kerry had told her how the Ancients sought to remove Druids they deemed lacking, Edie had been horrified.
Her first thought had been about her children.
But that day felt like three lifetimes ago.
Her eyes had been opened since, and she saw the truth of things clearly now.
Druids had become meaningless, pointless.
Their magic and power diminished each time they mixed with non-magicals.
They stood on the brink of extinction, and no one even realized it.
The Ancients had, though. They had decided to take matters into their own hands and do what others couldn’t. They had handpicked Kerry, but she had allowed the additional power granted to her to sway her from their path. And it had gotten her caught.
That’s when the Ancients selected Edie as Kerry’s replacement.
Edie wouldn’t make the same mistakes as her predecessor.
A new world awaited them, and she understood the significance of her role.
Already, she had surrendered any semblance of family: her mother, her siblings—Elias and Elodie—and even her children.
It hadn’t been as hard to walk away as she had thought. They thought the worst of her, but she didn’t care. Room had to be made for the next generation of Druids who would thrive, be bigger and brighter than even the first of their kind who had walked the Earth.
Her family was dead to her, just as her husband was.
Elias and Elodie had chosen the wrong side, and they would die for that decision—her mother, no doubt, with them.
As for her children, she wasn’t sure where they would land.
If the Ancients allowed them to live, then she would bring them back into her life.
If not? Well, then that’s how it had to be.
She was one of the few who would survive and populate the world with more Druid babies.
The soft hush of the in-between was like a calming hand against her face.
She closed her eyes and sank into the soundlessness.
The cottage was special to her. Not only because the Ancients had hidden it for her, but because it had been her first home after she got married.
She had loved the small cottage. That had been a time when possibilities were endless, and years of what she assumed would be happiness stretched before her.
She hated that Rhona and her group had found the cottage by accident while searching for Killian.
A few had managed to find their way inside, and only then could they see the cottage.
They had tainted her sacred place. It wasn’t meant for any of them.
Only her. And each time she entered, it became harder and harder to leave.
The world as she knew it was garish, filthy, and immoral everywhere she turned.
Greed ran the world. It always had. And that would never change.
The difference was the sheer number of those living on the planet.
It was past time she flipped the switch on the garbage disposal and removed those not serving the greater power.
Skye had once been a Druid haven, and it would be again. It would become a place where no one but Druids dared to venture. Everything for the Druids—and the world—was just on the horizon. All Edie had to do was prevent the water pillar from being found.
That would be a lot easier if she knew who it was. But if the Ancients had that information, they weren’t sharing. They hadn’t known Ariah was the earth pillar, or that Sabryn was the air pillar. In all likelihood, they didn’t know who the water pillar was either.
Eons ago, when the Druids on Skye had fought against some unknown beast from another dimension, they had created the pillars, each location running from north to south through the isle. Skye was nearly impenetrable when the pillars were in place.
“Edie.”
The sound of the steely feminine voice rang through her head like a bell. She would never forget the first time the Ancients had spoken to her through the single voice—a sign that she had been chosen.
“There is a new Druid on the isle. We want her.”
Edie frowned at the news, thinking about how badly it had gone with Song. “I can do anything you need.”
“You know better than to question us!” the Ancients bellowed tersely.
Edie winced at the fury in each syllable. They had finally seen something in her that others had overlooked. And she wasn’t ready to share that with anyone.
“She will not replace you,” the Ancients replied in a softer voice. “She will merely be another of our soldiers—your soldier—to help return our kind to how we were always meant to be.”
With a nervous lick of her lips, Edie asked, “Who is she?”
“She’s an American Druid, but do not be fooled by that. She is formidable.”
“Just the kind of Druid we’re looking for. What is her name?”
“Rowen. She’s with Rhona’s contingent at the moment.”
Edie wrinkled her nose at the news. “That will make getting to her difficult.”
“Leave that to us,” the Ancients said with a little chuckle that made her grin.
“Is she the water pillar?”
There was a long beat of silence before the Ancients said, “It’s possible. We’ll get her free of the others so you can have a little chat with her.”
Edie ran her fingers through the short strands of her pixie cut. “And if she won’t join?”
“Let’s make sure she does.”
“I understand.”
There was venom in the female voice as it said, “We hope so. You’ve already failed us. There won’t be a second time.”
“I’m not quite healed. I would rather not run into Rhona’s crowd until I am.”
“You have your orders.”
Edie sighed as she pushed to her feet. She had no interest in meeting the same fate as Kerry, though Edie wasn’t happy about leaving the cottage so early.
She didn’t have access to Healers, but she was recovering quicker in the in-between.
If she left, it would slow that process and put her at a disadvantage.
She headed down the stairs. Some might think she was already at a disadvantage going up against so many Druids on her own. But she wasn’t alone. Not really. She had the Ancients. They didn’t just guide her, they imparted some of their magic to her. Which more than made up for the rest.
Edie paused at the back door before turning the handle and stepping out and into her time.
The sun was descending into the horizon.
She’d stashed her SUV two miles away. It made things difficult, but since Rhona’s gang drove by the cottage often, she couldn’t take the chance of it being seen parked in front of the concealed building.
It wasn’t just the cottage that interested Rhona.
It was the giant tear in the dimension above it.
Song was the only one who could see the tear.
Edie wished she could see it so she could crawl through it and discover what was on the other side.
The Ancients didn’t seem concerned about it when she mentioned it, so she had set aside any worry.
But the tear was there for a reason. The Ancients knew everything.
They knew what it was for. Whether they ever told her or not was anyone’s guess.
The trek to her vehicle was over wide-open land, where the wind howled and lashed at her.
Behind her, a mountain rose in the distance as an eye-catching backdrop.
She loved everything about the isle. Its bleak mountains, the spectacular waterfalls, the dazzling lochs, and the impressive ocean surrounding it.
Scotland was wild and untamed, but Skye was also mystical and enchanting.
The land had called to the first Druids, summoning those with magic to its shores.
It had been a safe haven, a sanctuary. Skye shone so brightly that even those without magic felt its call.
They were powerless to stay away. Those early Druids should never have allowed any of them to set foot on the isle.
They had contaminated the bloodlines, which had brought things to this drastic point.
Edie looked up at the deep sapphire sky as the first twinkling stars became visible.
She was tainted, too. Every Druid around the world had been fouled with blood from those without magic.
Her father had been a vile, disgusting man who beat her mum and Elias.
He had deserved to die for his actions—just as Trevor had deserved the painful end that’d come to him for his philandering.
In order for Edie to rebuild the new world, she had to survive her next run-ins with Rhona and the others.
They had been following her. She had lost them, but now that she was out in the open again, they would pick up her trail soon enough.
She would have to be extra watchful. Kerry had lived in the shadows for weeks until Rhona’s unit discovered that she was the one killing the Druids.
Edie hadn’t had that long before they found out that she had taken Kerry’s place. She would rather everyone know it was her. That way, she didn’t have to pretend to be something she wasn’t anymore. Yet it made moving about Skye difficult at times.
She found the car and climbed inside, just as it began to sprinkle.
The engine roared to life, and she put the SUV into drive as she headed toward Carwood Manor.
It was the group’s favorite location because the house was sentient, making it impossible to get inside.
The Ancients knew that, which meant they would get Rowen outside to her.
It was the best way for them to meet. Meeting in the village would be tough with so many others watching them.
Of course, it was possible that Rowen wasn’t staying at the manor.
Edie would find out one way or the other soon enough.
The farther away from the manor she got, the better.
Edie didn’t like the house—or being near it.
Carwood Manor was part of the reason Kerry had gotten caught. Edie wouldn’t make that same blunder.
She put her foot on the brake to slow down and make a turn. The Carwood estate was large, but she couldn’t come up the drive. She would have to go the back way through the forest to watch the house. It wouldn’t be her first time, and she had everything she needed to remain for several days.
The best thing was that no one ever thought to check the grounds. She grinned as she pulled off the road to a dirt section and began the bumpy ride.