Chapter Three
G ille’s heart was in her throat as she swung her legs over the side of the cliff, searching for footholds. She knew they had no choice but to climb down, but once her hands left the soil of the forest, time would become her enemy. She cast a quick glance at the sun through the haze of the smoke to see that it was halfway to its zenith. Seven days from now, at sunrise, she would only exist as a tree, unless by some miracle the forest was restored, or she broke her curse.
Callum saw the direction of her gaze and offered her a sympathetic smile. “I am certain we can find a way to keep you from...” His words died in the wind as he turned to concentrate on the task at hand. He moved slowly, making certain she saw the handholds he used as he lowered himself down the cliff before her.
Gille turned back to the blazing woodlands behind them. She closed her eyes and sent out a plea to the creatures that had been her friends for the past year, asking them to seek safety, to care for each other until she could return and try to repair the damage that had been done. If such a thing were possible. For her magic came from the flora and fauna. When they were destroyed, would her magic be as well? A flash of fear shot through her, clawing at Gille’s throat, its icy grip threatening to paralyse her.
“Don’t look down.” Callum’s voice pierced her anxious thoughts. “Simply focus on your next foothold, and before you know it, we will be safe.”
Gille turned her gaze back to the sandstone in front of her, and the fear in her chest eased. There was no fairy magic that could help either of them if they fell onto the rocks below. But Callum seemed convinced they could make it, so she would hold on to that hope and use it to lower herself.
Halfway down, Gille could feel the heat of the fire above and heard the angry shouts of the villagers as they too reached the edge of the cliff. One by one they threw their weapons at the pair. Callum flattened against the rock face, avoiding the scythe aimed at his head. It disappeared below. Next came a pitchfork that flew past them, and a torch followed. All the weapons missed her, but it only made the trembling in her body intensify. Her fingers slipped on a handhold, sending a spray of pebbles down upon Callum’s head.
“Steady,” Callum said. “You can do this.”
Gille appreciated his faith in her even as her vision blurred with exhaustion. Her climb might be easier if she released the tie that kept her cloak hanging about her shoulders, but Gille could not part with the garment. It was her refuge. If she died, she would die wearing it—whether on the rocks below or when she turned into a tree.
Ignoring her protesting muscles and the villagers also climbing down the cliff, she turned her thoughts to her next handhold or foothold until several minutes later she felt Callum’s hands at her waist, lifting her down to the rocky shore.
“We made it,” she said, her breathing still laboured.
Callum glanced at the men descending above them. “We are not safe yet. Now, it is you who must trust me. You know the forest. But I know this shoreline.”
She nodded and followed him over the rocky beach. There was nothing to hide them from the men who followed, and yet Callum seemed confident in their zigzagging path across the rocks. Gille looked behind her to see that the villagers had reached the ground and were heading in their direction just as Callum headed away from the water and towards the cliff face to their left. Were they going to climb back up? The thought had no sooner formed than she saw a large opening in the rocks.
“This way.” Callum tugged her along after him into the opening of the cavern.
The tide was out and only rivulets of water remained on the cavern floor as they ventured inside. The air chilled and the light dimmed as they crept in, and an earthy, clay-like scent came to her as she drew a shallow breath. “Won’t we be trapped if we—” Before she could finish her sentence, a view of a rowboat separated itself from the shadows.
“Grab the oars and throw them in the boat,” Callum said as he shifted the wooden boat from a ledge to the bottom of the cave. “We’re going to have to carry it to the water’s edge.”
Grabbing the bow, Gille lifted and headed back towards the cave opening. Callum carried most of the boat’s weight, while she guided them in the right direction until they were once again on the beach. A quick glance back showed the villagers struggling to make their way across the rocky beach. Where the rocks had been no obstacle to Callum, they slowed down the men unfamiliar with the coastline.
Following Callum, Gille waded into the water and jumped into the boat while he secured the oars in the crutches and started rowing them away from the shoreline. The angry roars of the villagers who apparently could not swim could be heard between the sound of the oars slicing through the chilled water of Loch Dunvegan.
They were safe for now.
Exhausted silence hung between Gille and Callum as the men on the shore faded into the distance. Instead of calm, a growing anger gnawed at her insides. Orange-red flames and black smoke still hovered over her beloved forest, devouring everything, including the last vestiges of hope in her heart. She was doomed, and there was only one person to blame for her predicament. “Why did you have to come into the forest today?”
The slap of the oars against the water stopped for a moment before continuing. “I came to find you.”
Her gaze narrowed on Callum. “And if you had left me alone as you all had for the past year, my forest might still exist.”
“Are you blaming me for the fire?” Callum raised the oars, causing the boat to drift in the vast expanse of the loch. “I am not the one who set the underbrush aflame.”
“If you had not come today, I could have easily eluded the villagers as I have in the past.” Gille crossed her arms, not hiding her growing anger.
“Those men came with weapons,” Callum said with a tone of exasperation. “I do not think they were going to be as easily dissuaded as they might have in the past.”
“We will never know now, will we?”
“You are being ridiculous. You know perfectly well that those men were either going to find you and bring you back to the village or kill you today with or without me being there.” Callum returned the oars to the water. “My presence might very well have saved your life. Did you consider that?”
“Saved my life? My life was essentially over the moment I slipped over the side of the cliff, or did you forget the fact that I will turn into a tree in seven days? A tree!”
“Not if we work together,” Callum said far too calmly for her liking. “If you help the MacLeods save Lady Janet, then we will help free you of your curse before the curse takes effect.”
Gille’s heart leapt momentarily before she pushed the sensation aside. She could not rely on others to help her. She had learned that lesson over the course of her life. When she had given trust in the past, she had only been disappointed. “And if I refuse to help you?”
Callum drew a deep breath as he let one of the oars drag in the water, sending the little boat in a circle, and levelling her with his gaze. “You are right. It should be your choice whether you help us or not. But let us explore your options, shall we? Once we are on shore near Dunvegan, you can leave. You can go off into the woodlands and choose a nice sunny location where you will spend the rest of eternity. Or you can come with me to the castle. My entire family has centuries of experience dealing with Oberon and the fairies. We can help work the puzzle of Oberon’s curse on your behalf.” He paused as his gaze bored into her own. “What will your choice be?”
“Those are not my only two choices,” she replied tartly, as the reality of his words sank in. She would have a better chance of survival if she trusted the MacLeods to help her.
“Enlighten me.” Callum leaned back slightly. “What other options do you have?”
Gille pressed her lips together and turned her gaze to the water. “There must be some other way.” When she could think of nothing, she turned her gaze back to Callum. “How do I know I can trust you will do as you say?”
“Right now, you do not. I can only promise that I will help you. You are the one who must risk trusting me. But with that risk could come a great reward: the MacLeods saving your life.”
“I have had very little reason to trust humans or fairies in my life.”
His brows furrowed. “Wasn’t living in Fairyland an idyllic dream?”
“Idyllic?” A shocked laugh burst from Gille. “I thought the MacLeods knew about fairies and Fairyland, especially after Keiran returned to tell his tale of being under Oberon’s spell for so many years.”
“Keiran has not really discussed with me what his life was like, or with others in my family.”
“And Aria?” Gille asked. “Did she not share the horrors of her life with all of you?”
Unease shadowed Callum’s eyes. “She did not share her misfortunes with me either. I had always assumed Fairyland to be a place bathed in perpetual sunlight, where flower petals shimmer in every colour imaginable. Where crystal-clear streams meander through the landscape, the sound a constant melody. And where whimsical creatures flit about, leaving trails of sparkling dust. Where time flows differently, and everyday worries melt away.”
She shrugged. “For someone who has never been there, you are partially correct. There are parts of Fairyland that are exactly as you think, but there is a dark side as well.” She pulled her arms up tight against her chest. “The part of Fairyland I lived in most of my life was where the magic in the air felt heavy and oppressive. The sweet scents were replaced by the stench of rotting vegetation and decay. The melody of the birds was only a distant memory, replaced by the buzzing of insects and the unsettling rustle of unseen things.”
Gille shivered at the memory. “Laughter is a cruel echo, mocking your presence in that desolate place. Time stretches out before you, filled with a sense of dread and foreboding. My memories of Fairyland are not like the fairy tales you might have heard growing up, but a place where dreams turned to nightmares.”
Callum stared at her without speaking as a tortured expression shadowed his brown eyes. After a long moment he said, “I had no idea you had suffered so much. And I can understand why trusting me at my word would be hard for you.” He looked out at the water. “You might not believe me, but I do know what it feels like to be isolated, alone, and... afraid.” He dropped his gaze to a sheath on his belt and slowly drew a dagger from the leather. “This dagger was given to me by my father before he died. It is the only thing of his I possess. It means everything to me.”
He returned the weapon to the sheath and then, loosening his belt, slid the sheath and dagger from it. He turned the hilt towards Gille. “I want you to have this as a sign of my pledge to you. The MacLeods will do everything in their power to break your curse if you will agree to help our mother.”
Gille shifted her gaze between the dagger and Callum. “Accepting this does not mean I forgive you for setting fire to the woods.”
Callum inched the dagger closer. “So long as you agree to help my mother, I can live with that.”
Gille accepted the dagger and set it in her lap. “I will help her if I am able.” She could at least try to do one last good deed before she succumbed to her curse, even if it was for a ghost.
As the terror of the fire and the fear of capture faded, Gille focused on the sights and sounds of Loch Dunvegan. She had come to the loch occasionally to hunt for food. Even then, she had stayed no longer than necessary. The water frightened her at times. The endless expanse seemed to go on forever. She preferred places she could see and understand instead of a vast unknown.
She gripped the edge of her seat as Callum started to row once more. A light spray of salt stung her lips. A flicker of movement at the water’s surface caught her eye. A sleek, silverish-grey head bobbed up, followed by another, and another. Seals. A shiver snaked down her spine. These were not ordinary creatures. Gille could feel the simmering anger rolling off them in palpable waves.
“Selkies,” she whispered into the light breeze.
Callum chuckled as he continued to row with forceful strokes. “Do not worry. The seals like to play with the boats. They are harmless.”
Gille relaxed her shoulders just as one of the selkies, larger than the others, reared out of the water, its gaze locking on to Gille’s. Its eyes, intelligent and strangely human, held a cold fury that sent a jolt through her. This was no playful creature. This was a predator, a judge, and a jury all rolled into one.
They say the MacLeods always get what is coming to them , a voice, both smooth and gravelly, echoed in Gille’s head. It was not a language she spoke, yet somehow, she understood as it resonated deep within the primal part of herself.
Gille looked at Callum. Had he heard the voice? Obviously not, as he continued to stare off in the distance, at the fortress on the edge of a cliff that she knew to be Dunvegan.
Fear once again clawed at her throat. “Callum,” she rasped, her voice barely above a whisper. “We need to get away from here before these selkies tip the boat.” As her words were caught and carried away by the wind, the seals started ramming the boat with their heads.
Callum’s eyes flared as he started rowing in a zigzagging path towards the castle in the distance. “Is there anything you can do?”
“I have no power over the water. That is my mother and Aria’s gift.” Her power came from the forested world.
“Can you swim?” Callum asked.
“Aye. But if we end up in the water, I fear the selkies will drown us.” Gille clung to the sides of the boat as the ramming continued, almost succeeding in overturning the vessel.
Just when all seemed lost, another sleek head, impossibly black, appeared at the surface of the water, followed by several more. This time black seals, also selkies, forced the grey, spotted seals to disengage. A female selkie’s very human gaze connected with Gille’s. Hurry. We can distract them, but not for long. Again, that language of old resonated in her head.
Callum took advantage of the reprieve and rowed quickly until they reached the rocky shore of Dunvegan. He hopped out into calf-deep water and tugged the small boat ashore, then offered Gille his hand, helping her over the side of the vessel. He did not release her hand as they raced across the beach and to the wrought-iron sea gate cut into the side of the castle’s defensive wall. He pulled a key from his sporran, then quickly inserted it into the lock just as both black and grey seals reached the shores. Their furious barking filled the late-morning air.
Once inside the gate, Callum slammed it shut and locked it once again before expelling a heavy breath. “Perhaps you were right. Why would the seals want to hurt us?” he asked, studying the irritated grey seals who had reached the gate, slapping their fins against the wrought iron.
“Only the seals know the answer to that.”
The large grey seal turned her gaze to Gille. This is not over. We will have our revenge. It’s only a matter of time.
Everything seemed to be a matter of time now: her last few days of freedom. How long it would take the villagers to come after her again. Lady Janet’s return to the shadow realm. If the MacLeods could keep the threat of the selkies at bay.
“Come. My mother awaits.” Callum seemed not as concerned about other dangers except the threat against his mother as he continued up the pathway towards the rear courtyard of the castle.
Along the shoreline, the black seals with lighter spots waited in the surf. Instead of the barking she was used to hearing, a soulful melody whispered across the breeze. Were they singing? A ripple of sensation pricked the hairs on the back of her neck. The song. It was important somehow. Did the selkies know something about the curse upon her that Gille did not?
At her pause, Callum reached back and took her hand. “No need to worry, we are safe from the seals.”
Jolted back to the moment, Gille cast a quick glance back at the angry selkies then followed Callum. His features were no longer burdened with anxiety as they made their way to the castle and the mother who awaited him there. Instead, his face illuminated with so much loving radiance that it took her breath away. She had never witnessed such emotions before, in Fairyland or in the human realm. And all her misgivings about leaving her forest vanished. It had been the right thing to do, to come with Callum to Dunvegan and to attempt to save the woman he obviously cared about.
Callum never asked about her ability to heal injured or even dying things. Over the past year she had used her magic to heal many types of plants and animals, but she had never been able to bring back something that was already dead.
Gille continued up the pathway after Callum. He did not expect Gille to resurrect his mother. All she had to do was find a way to move Lady Janet from one spectral plane to another. How difficult could that be?