Chapter 12 #2
I let my breath out slowly. The rain on the water, the dark hills, the quiet of a place with centuries of history called to me, steady and present. “I’m still glad we came. In Dublin, I always tried not to get caught in a storm, but the cleansing energy that’s swirling around us is incredible.”
Maeve pulled her coat tighter and looked at me sideways. “You’re right about that. Mother Earth and all her lovelies enjoy a good shower too.”
The light from Maeve’s phone was enough to illuminate Nora’s face as she glanced between us. “The castle is just up from here.” Her voice was quieter than usual, but more deliberate. “I’d love to see inside it, especially on a night like this. If that’s not an imposition.”
I recalled she’d mentioned the possibility of coming to see the castle now that I worked there. She’d been curious about it for years, but it had been locked tight. “It’s not an imposition, and I have a key.”
Maeve’s expression brightened immediately. “Oh, ho ho. And here I was thinking the adventure was over so soon. We’d love to show you what we’ve been up to.”
The keeper’s wrinkles deepened as she smiled. “It’s this way then.”
She led us to where her path rejoined the drive farther along, and we followed the gravel in single file, our boots crunching softly, the rain easing as we walked.
The castle rose from the trees ahead, the shape of it large and just a touch darker than the night.
It was so still, so silent, like a sleeping giant waiting for something to awaken it.
Or someone.
I slid my key into the modern mortise lock and turned it, stepping inside, out of the rain. Shadows flitted in the corners, dodging the light from Maeve’s phone. She aimed the beam toward the portable work light I kept near the entrance, and I turned it on.
The Great Hall took shape around us. I glanced from the scaffolding along the far wall to the tarped furniture, from the stone floor running the length of the room to the cold hearth.
Though I’d seen it all before, it felt different at night. I slid my gaze toward the decorative stone inlay but sensed nothing out of place.
I turned back to see Nora’s expression at being inside the castle. She paused at the threshold, one hand touching the frame. The keeper nodded, as if to herself, and then moved forward and stood in the entrance, slowly gazing across the room.
The pressure hadn’t seemed off when we’d entered, yet it seemed to settle a touch. A sound came from somewhere above, the low movement of old timber. A wisp of air warmed me, noticeable against the cold we’d brought in from outside.
Maeve strode to her and wrapped a hand around her elbow. “Isn’t it magnificent? I never dreamt I’d work in a place such as this.”
“It’s…more than I have words for.” Nora’s reverent response echoed in the stillness.
My friend tugged the woman forward. “Come see this. Dare I say it’s magical?”
Maeve stopped when they reached the inlay, releasing Nora as she shone her phone on the design to fully illuminate it. The keeper stood at its outer edge and looked down at the Celtic knot design in the darker stone, the pattern running outward from its smooth, worn center.
I joined them. “Remember when you asked me about this?”
Nora licked her lower lip. “I do. It’s more than the rumors say.”
I wasn’t sure if she meant its beauty or something else.
The keeper glanced between us, Maeve’s beam of light casting shadows beneath the older woman’s eyes. “It’s a crossing point. A very old, very powerful one.”
Maeve’s brows shot upward. “A crossing point? Is that the same as a thin place?”
Nora dipped her head and turned to me. “You said it reacted to you.”
Maeve glanced at me as I nodded. She’d seemed uncertain before when I’d mentioned that the castle seemed aware, but she didn’t question me now.
Nora gave me an approving nod. “That must mean something, don’t you think?”
I stared at her, trying to decipher her meaning, but I couldn’t. “Why do you say that?”
The keeper lifted her shoulder in a mild shrug. “It’s good to get along with those you work with, don’t you think?”
I agreed, but I longed to know more. “Even buildings?”
The keeper held my gaze, hers giving me a shiver. “Of course. Places may not have the same type of spirits we do, but nothing on earth except ashes is truly dead. Do you understand?”
Maeve caught my hand and squeezed it. “We believe, right?”
I nodded solemnly. “Right.”
Nora turned and moved to the fireplace, stopping before the hearth. She ran her fingers along the lower edge of the lintel, slow and deliberate.
She murmured without looking at either of us. “I sense a female presence.”
Maeve and I shared a look before I spoke. “Same. We call the castle the grand lady.”
Nora was quiet for a moment. “It’s a shame that, until now, Bren has been kept from the castle. He has a right to his heritage.”
My heart tightened as I absorbed her words. I’d thought the same, but hearing it spoken deepened my disdain for those who’d kept him from it.
The keeper lowered her hand from the lintel. “There was a woman, perhaps his ancient grandmother, who loved this place, who revered the land it sits on. I wonder at times if she’s the ghost we’ve seen.”
Maeve nodded, speaking quietly. “I would believe it.”
Nora inhaled deeply before releasing her breath. “We should head back.”
I arched my brows, wondering why she was suddenly eager to leave. “Don’t you want to go upstairs?”
She was quick to shake her head. “Not tonight. I’ve quenched my curiosity enough for one evening. I’ll come back another day if that’s okay.”
Maeve answered before I could. “Of course. Pop in any time. We’d love to show you around.”
We headed toward the door. Nora paused at the inlay’s edge to look down at it once more before she continued. At the threshold, she touched the frame as she passed through, the same flat-palmed gesture as before. Maeve glanced at me, brows raised. I shrugged, and she turned to follow Nora.
Outside, the rain had dropped to a mist. The patters echoed softly on the leaves while I locked the door. I turned to the quiet forest, the darkness full and even. Somewhere on the lake shore, something moved through the reeds, but whatever created the noise belonged in this world.
Of that, I was sure.
We walked back along Nora’s path without speaking. Just as the trees thickened, I glanced back.
The clouds had thinned enough to allow slivers of moonlight to come through. Mystwood Castle sat with its narrow windows unlit, its red sandstone softened by mist. From this angle, I imagined it looked much the same as it did when it was built hundreds of years ago.
I sensed an underlying soft pull from it. As if it wanted me to come back. And I would. For many days still to come. What waited at the end of those days, I did not know.
I faced forward and continued walking.