Chapter Twenty-Two
Edan
The group of five approached the standing stones of Cultoon slowly. They had timed their departure so that they would arrive around midnight, and the crescent moon confirmed they’d been correct.
Edan rode beside Ailith, wee Lia in front of Dyna, and Alasdair led the group. Ailith had tried to tell her sire to stay home, but he’d convinced Dyna that they needed at least one swordsman to ensure safe passage.
Lia had snorted before adding, “Come along, Alasdair. You can carry the pheasant Dyna will get on the way home. She already caught a deer.”
The path to the standing stones was clear, and they had no trouble finding the place, but the area was deserted. No faery, no mound, no door. Nothing.
Edan had convinced Roger and Catrina to stay back.
They had two bairns to guard in their clachan.
Dyna had warned him on the trip back from the faery hill that the banshee could be cruel and unforgiving.
Dyna, who had met up with them before Edan left, had specifically warned Catrina, looking her directly in the eye: “Stay home. We’ll handle this.
If you haven’t dealt with faeries before, this will be a challenge. ”
Catrina, exhausted, had agreed to stay back.
But Edan had to go since his daughter was involved, and the figure known as Gruin had deeply disturbed him.
His sire had made sure to train both lads with swords, but Edan had little experience in battle.
He was ready to use it now, having practiced with Maitland a bit at Duart Castle, where he’d also watched the lists in session and been thoroughly impressed.
And if Alasdair Grant challenged him to a duel over Ailith, Edan would go, but he knew who would prevail.
Their journey had been mostly silent, the cool night air settling over them like a shroud. He’d spent most of the time stealing glances at the lass, her soft murmurs and laughter with Dyna and Lia stirring an unnamed tightness in his chest.
As the ancient stones came into view, jutting from the earth like broken teeth, his belly began to churn.
He intended to learn what the banshee knew about Gruin and the bairns, though he steeled himself for disappointment, knowing she might reveal nothing.
But they needed three hairs from her head, and he was prepared to take them by force if necessary.
Now that they’d arrived, he knew their easy chatter would turn to darker matters. His jaw clenched as he studied the looming stones, uncertain how this encounter would unfold or if any of them would walk away unscathed.
Lia waved the group off to the side. She stepped close to Edan, but then stepped back and said, “Never mind. I’ll stand over here.” He wished he understood why the faery always stepped back from him, but this was not the time to examine her issues.
The lass stood a distance away from the other four, her small stature not indicative of the power within.
“First, let me remind all of you that we do not expect to find any bairns here. We shall seek the three hairs Gruin requests, ask for them, and hope she gives them voluntarily. But if she refuses, we’ll have to come up with another way to gain them. We’ll try to reason with her first.”
“Is she also a faery? A creature like Gruin? This faery world is entirely new to me. Forgive me for my questions,” Edan asked.
“But so much is at stake. If she’s a lass, couldn’t Alasdair and I hold her down and pull the three hairs?
” It had been tough enough to finally admit that what he had witnessed at the faery hill proved him wrong with all his conjectures and unequivocal denials, but he wasn’t about to believe they could do whatever they wished.
Dyna, Ailith, and Lia all stared at him and said, “Nay!” in unison.
Ailith explained, “We saw her earlier. Tora was able to follow a vision when a man approached, asked for help finding his son, and then he made the mistake of drawing his weapon on her. He was dead within moments.”
Edan couldn’t have been more shocked. “How? She’s a lass, how could she have killed him?”
Lia whispered, “Like any Unseelie faery, she possesses powers. One is her screeching that can take a man’s hearing, and the other is a flock of ravens that will do whatever she asks.”
“Unseelie?”
“As I’ve said, I am from the Seelie, known as the guid folk,” Lia explained.
“The Unseelie are evil faeries, and they can take many forms. They are not to be trusted. Some of my group can play pranks, but we are mostly good-hearted. The Unseelie are not. They often force young people to work in their land.”
“Their land?” Edan had no idea what she spoke of.
“Perhaps that explanation is for another time, Edan. For now, we must find another way to reason with the Bean Sídhe.” Lia waved them toward the stone. “We must find a way to bring her to us.”
Ailith reached for one of the standing stones, setting her palm against it and closing her eyes.
“Lass, be careful,” Dyna whispered, setting her hand briefly on Ailith’s shoulder before she stepped back again.
He respected Dyna for the way she supported everyone in her clan. Ailith had been right to correct him when he’d questioned a woman as a chieftain.
Edan clenched his teeth as Ailith moved closer to the tall stone, which stood a head taller than she did.
She closed her eyes, leaning into it as if to feel or hear something, though he wasn’t sure what.
This faery side of the world was so confusing to him.
The little he knew about it came from his father.
It had scared his father witless, enough to uproot their family from Islay. Now Edan understood why, and the truth humbled him. His father had refused to give his first-born son to the faeries.
Edan.
Where would he be if he’d been handed over to a faery like Gruin?
This entire situation angered him. He should be home, planting for his clachan with his brother and friends, tending the soil with his hands.
He should be doting on his daughter and his siblings’ bairns, watching them play games and swim in the loch in summer, eating berries in the warm months.
Not searching for strange creatures from the underworld. Was that what they called it?
Ailith began to hum. He stepped closer, wanting to touch her, to let her know he supported this endeavor, but he held back.
Hell, he’d do anything for Ailith Grant.
A cacophony of birds, not ravens but some other fowl, appeared in the sky, distracting them.
A loud whoosh erupted from the stone, throwing Ailith sideways into his arms. He caught her, steadying her, then stepped in front of the lass as an aberration materialized before them, a loud wail emanating from the lone figure.
At first translucent, the figure spun and shifted colors, the wind whistling in the trees around them.
It steadied, first into a blue rectangular shape, then forming into a tall woman with long, white hair.
“Leave me. I am in mourning and I do not need anyone here. Go away or pay with your life.”
“My daughter was stolen from me,” Edan said, “right from my home. I need her back. Can you tell me where she is? Please, help me find her.”
The banshee, now giant-sized, shrank to their height, then grew tall again, swaying in the breeze, her unending whine altering with the wind’s shifts. “I don’t have your bairn. I would never steal a helpless child. Go away or bear the consequences. Leave. Now!”
He’d accepted he was in their world now. That didn’t mean he’d be polite about it. “Nay,” he retorted. “Gruin said he needs three of your hairs, and in return, he’ll give her back to me. I respectfully request three hairs from your head.”
“My beautiful hair? Gruin wants my hair? He’ll use it for some twisted reason, not to retrieve your daughter. Gruin lies so. Go away. I’m keeping my hair.” She began to shrink in front of them, but Edan wouldn’t have it.
“Nay, I’ll take the hairs myself!” He took out his sword and ran directly at the creature as it gyrated and swirled in front of him.
“Your blood sings of iron and broken oaths. You shall pay with your life!” Her arms swept toward the sky and hundreds of ravens materialized in the treetops, coming straight for Edan.
“Nay!” Ailith screamed as the birds bombarded him, an endless line of them dropping out of the sky pecking at his head until he fell to the ground, bleeding from his scalp and his ears. Lia began to chant, Alasdair took out his sword, and Dyna held her bow in hand.
But Ailith’s quick actions stopped everything. “Bean Sídhe, your daughter was beautiful.”
The ravens disappeared and Edan lay on the ground, gasping as Ailith approached the wicked banshee.
“You saw my daughter?” The banshee came down to Ailith’s level and stood a horse length away from her.
Ailith nodded. “I did. She had the most beautiful golden hair, fine as silk. There was a wee lock that curled at the nape of her neck, like spun gold.” She tapped the back of her neck. “In this spot here, I saw it. She was the image of you.”
The banshee took a step closer. “You never saw her. You’re lying.”
“I did see her. I am a seer, I can see into the past. She was as delicate as any child I’ve ever seen. Her skin was the color of a dove’s feather. I’m sorry you lost her.”
The banshee tipped her head back and moaned, then flung her arms over her head, swaying them back and forth. “She was the most beautiful babe in all the world.” The ravens turned into doves, flying overhead.
The creature’s eyes flooded with tears, her hands dropping to clutch her waist as though she still held her bairn. “I had her for three days until she took her last breath.” Her wail carried across the wind.
“What was her name?”
The banshee stopped her movement to stare at Ailith, cocking her head, her reply careful and quiet. “Isolda. I held her for three days until she passed peacefully.”
“What a perfect name for her. What color were her eyes? I thought they were blue.”
“They were the color of a robin’s egg in summer. You did see her.” She reached toward Ailith, a brief smile crossing her face before her arms crossed over her chest. “I miss Isolda so much.” Her wail carried across the region, sending the tree branches shuddering.
“She adored you. I could see it in her gaze when she looked up at you, her loving mother.”
“Aye, she did love me.” Her eyes closed, and she clasped her hands in front of her face as if in prayer. “And I loved her so. I was a good mother to my sweet lass. Oh, why did she leave me?”
Edan stood next to Ailith, so proud of her strength, for how she was able to connect with this odd creature in front of them. And she’d done it for him, for Heilyn and Milo. There was naught she could gain from this interaction, proving she acted selflessly.
To his surprise, Ailith reached for his hand. “Just as my friend Edan loves his daughter,” she said, clasping his hand tightly. “Will you help us? Heilyn has blue eyes too, and she needs her father.”
“Are you her mother?”
“Nay. Sadly, her mother died, but I would love to get the chance to hold her. Will you help us?”
The banshee shed several tears, then reached up to pluck three hairs from her head. “Cherish these. I’ll not give you any others.” She set them in Ailith’s hand.
With a whoosh, the banshee disappeared.
Ailith held up the three hairs with glee.
“Well done, lass!” Dyna said, coming up to hug her.
Ailith was quick to release her. “Who wishes to guard them? I don’t.” She handed them over to Dyna.
Edan cupped her cheek and said, “You were so brave. How can I ever thank you?”
Ailith leaned into him and his thumb brushed her skin, her gaze locking on his. She wished to say much more, but she was forever conscious of who was listening.
“I feared the ravens were going to kill you. Are you hale?” Ailith reached up to straighten some of his wild hair, ruffled by the birds. “I think you’re still bleeding in some spots.”
“I’m fine, Ailith. I’m grateful for your quick thinking.”
Her father approached, parting them. “MacRuari,” he said, “you were fortunate my daughter was here to help you. But I have to admit, I would have acted as you did. I had my hand on the hilt of my weapon too.”
Lia said, “You show such promise with your gift, Ailith. You use it well. Did you see anything else when you reached into the stone?”
“Nay. Just a strange chamber with bairns sleeping, surrounded by a score of guards.”
They mounted and set off back toward Finlaggan. Dyna muttered, “I have the insane need to check all my bairns at Magni’s cottage.”
“I feel the same,” Alasdair said.
Ailith said, “I’m starving. I hope you see a pheasant on the way back, Dyna.”
Two pheasants dropped out of the sky in front of them.
Edan stared at her. “What powers have you again?”
Her father said, “Don’t ask for a deer, daughter. I don’t want one landing on me.”
Lia interrupted their conversation. “And now, I’ll take my leave and visit with you all on the morrow.” She disappeared.
Ailith glanced over at Dyna. “Is she always like this?”
“Nay. She is different here. Something she saw in the faery hill caught her attention. I thought she’d tell me later, but she’s keeping it hidden.” The group traveled on without a word, as if they’d lost their leader.
“Where did she go?” Edan asked, searching for the lass. “She just vanished.”
He stared after her, wondering where she was headed. If he were to wager, the wee faery was going back to see the bogle.
Dyna said, “I don’t ask Lia, Edan. Some things I don’t wish to know.
We’ll find out when she wishes to tell us and not before.
Your guess of going back to the bogle is as good as any.
I’m going to forget about faeries for now.
We all need a rest.” She glanced over at the plump birds attached to Alasdair’s saddle.
“Ailith, I don’t know if it was you who brought the pheasants or if it was Grandda sending them along, but I’m grateful. I’m too exhausted to hunt.”
Edan wondered briefly if he should follow the faery to the bogle, but then he decided he was desperately in need of sleep too. This journey exhausted him.
Dyna whispered, “You’ll never find her to follow her, Edan. Don’t try.”
Edan thought about heading home to an empty hut again, lacking the joy of his wee daughter. He glanced over at Ailith, and she smiled back, but the dark circles under her eyes told him she was as exhausted as he and Dyna were. What would it be like to go home to a lass like Ailith?
His mind traveled to a place where Ailith would be the one chasing Heilyn on the beach instead of him. Where Heilyn would run to her and wiggle her fingers the way she did when she wished to be picked up. Where she would hold her open lips up to Ailith to offer a kiss instead of to him.
Instead, he had to go home alone and think of bogles and banshees and pecking ravens.
When had his life turned into a succession of odd events?