Chapter Seventeen #2
“What?! When?” I asked as Jace’s face filled with cold fury. It occurred to me that behind Jace’s lighthearted and easygoing manner was a man every bit as dangerous as Owen, especially when it came to people he cared about.
A faint blush stained Shae’s cheeks as she looked down at her hands.
“This morning. He tracked me down in the library stacks and asked for any information I could find on Druids. When I said it would take time to pull the records, he got aggressive. Said maybe there were other uses for me besides being a librarian. As I was walking away, he grabbed my ass. But I put an end to it quickly.”
“Shae, I’m so sorry. He’s a complete asshole. What did you do?”
“Grabbed his balls and squeezed. Hard. He got the message.”
I nodded my approval while Jace murmured, “That’s my girl,” His face remained stony, and he and Owen exchanged a look in the rearview mirror.
“Well, I don’t think he’ll be there today,” I said, “but you need to report him to hr for sexual harassment. He can’t be allowed to get away with that shit.”
“I already did,” she said. “But I don’t want to see him.”
“He won’t touch you again, Shae,” Jace said. Shae smiled at him in gratitude and looked more at ease.
We turned onto a gravel side road, bumping along through thick woodland until we arrived at the parking area where Sylvia was waiting. As we exited our cars, Sylvia and I exchanged curt nods, and I was relieved that she seemed unharmed from our last encounter.
But I let out a low curse when the passenger door opened and out stepped Todd Fucking Calder. Would we ever be rid of this asshole? Beside me, Shae bristled. Jace moved immediately to her side.
“Kira,” Todd said, nodding at me. His usual smirk was missing. “Grandma told me you made some progress with your magic the other day.”
I crossed my arms and glared at Sylvia, but she was too busy adjusting her rain jacket to notice.
Owen stood at my side, tense, but I was both surprised and pleased that although I found Todd’s presence irritating and I was angry at how he had treated Shae, I felt none of my past insecurities or shame upon seeing him.
I resolved to ignore Todd and keep a close eye on Shae.
Jace, however, strode toward Todd, his movements clipped.
He leaned close, gripped Todd’s shoulder, and spoke into his ear.
Whatever Jace said had Todd’s eyes widening and his face turning pale.
With a final, hard slap on Todd’s back that caused him to stumble forward, Jace returned to Shae’s side and wrapped a protective arm around her waist.
I breathed a sigh of relief. Shae was in good hands. She could take care of herself, but I felt better knowing Jace was watching out for her. Shae’s expression suggested she felt the same.
“We’ve wasted enough time,” Sylvia said sharply. “Let’s go.” Without another word, she took off down the path, her walking stick leading the way. I followed, then Owen, Shae, Jace, and Todd, last of all. Good. Maybe Todd would fall behind and get eaten by a bear.
“Where are we going?” Jace yelled after a few minutes, pushing a branch aside. He did not hold it for Todd.
“Just like Druidic magic, many of the Root Paths are long gone from this world,” Sylvia called back.
“Kira needs to go where the trees are oldest. The older the tree, the more magic remains. There aren’t many old trees in Ontario.
Well, not like in the United Kingdom or other parts of the world.
We must hope the eastern white pines at the end of the trail will be old enough to allow us transport. ”
The steady drizzle made the trail treacherous and slippery. We hiked slowly, carefully picking our way over roots and rocks, our heads bowed beneath our hoods to keep the rain off our faces and our eyes on the path.
“What’s with this weather?” I asked after a while, barely catching myself as I slipped on moss-covered roots that criss-crossed the trail. “It’s been raining since last Friday!”
“It’s probably because a portal was opened to Craos’s realm,” Shae explained.
“Since his realm is one of heat and fire, Earth is trying to find balance, fighting back the only way it knows how. The rain won’t stop until we close the rift between the two worlds.
Mother Nature will drown the world and every living thing before ever surrendering to Craos. ”
I blinked. It had never occurred to me that the portal’s opening could affect the Earth like this. But what Shae said made sense.
We arrived at the edge of a cliff overlooking Georgian Bay.
The wind lashed the waves against the rocks far below us, and a grey and stormy sky stretched to the horizon.
While the pine trees had grown tall and straight in the forest through which we had just traversed, here they jutted out of the rocks, their gnarled and twisted trunks curving in on themselves as they grasped for purchase on the craggy cliff face.
“Can you feel it, Kira?” Shae asked me, a new childlike gleam lighting her eyes. “I still can’t access the magic, but it’s so close…”
“It is,” Sylvia agreed. “The trees here are very old. Some of them are over a thousand years old. Even the little ones have been here for centuries.”
“What?” Jace exclaimed, kicking at a small pine near his foot. “This thing is hundreds of years old?”
“Stop that,” Sylvia admonished, swatting his leg with her walking stick. “The tall straight pines are new growth, but the ones in the rocks have never been disturbed. They’re hardy and resilient and don’t need a lot of resources to survive, but they also don’t need your big boot stomping on them.”
“Okay, okay,” Jace mumbled, moving away from the small pine.
“Kira, come here.” Sylvia gestured for me to approach her at the cliff’s edge, but I hesitated. She gave me an exasperated look. “If anyone should be uncertain, it’s me. Your power is incredibly strong. Now come here. Please.”
Owen gave my hand a squeeze, a gentle reminder that he was right behind me. Taking a deep breath, I moved to Sylvia’s side and peered over the edge, my stomach swooping at the sight of the jagged rocks far below. Owen immediately followed, staying within arm’s reach.
“Close your eyes,” Sylvia intoned, already closing hers and lifting her face to the wind.
A few paces behind me, Shae closed her eyes as well and I hoped with all my heart that this training session would unlock something for my friend.
“Feel the power in the air. In the trees. In the very rocks upon which you stand. Let it flow over you. Through you. Let it be a part of you.”
I closed my eyes, but all I could feel was the cool afternoon air. This place was beautiful in a rugged, harsh kind of way, but not magical.
“I can’t feel anything other than the wind,” I admitted, opening my eyes in disappointment.
“You’re only using your five senses. You are a Druid. Use your sixth.”
“My sixth?”