“No!” She lurched forward, raising her hands and casting the curse she’d threatened him with. Golden light streamed from her fingers, rushing toward Boone, who was lying helpless on the ground, his eyes sad and accepting.
No!
I wasn’t prepared for the color of her Legacy, but I was quick enough to leap between them and deflect the curse before it hit him, or me for that matter. It shot off into the sky, flaring as it dissolved against the web covering Derrydun.
“Stay away from him.” I stood between them, giving Carman a look that was designed to wither.
“Skye…” Boone moaned, and I felt his hand curl around my ankle.
I tensed but didn’t look back. “I told you,” I murmured. “I’m going to fight for you.”
I felt a rush as he poured his Legacy into my body. It joined with mine, bright and clear, as Carman bore down on me.
Aileen was right, I mused. We are stronger together.
“Let’s see if she’s still the coward I remember,” Carman said, grabbing my arm. “It’s time to face me…sister.”
“Huh?” The air was forced from my lungs as I was torn away from Boone and the rest of reality.
Summer was back.
The sun shone, and golden light streamed through the green canopy of the forest. The woody scent of the earth filled my nostrils as I breathed deep. I would give Carman a point for this one. Her visions were super realistic.
I had bare feet again. Always with the feet. Feet were the grossest thing ever. Toe jam, warts, crusty heel skin. Ugh, I wanted to vomit.
“Look at me.”
I turned at the sound of Carman’s voice, and our eyes met. She looked younger, more innocent, her cheeks and nose dusted with freckles. Her red hair was loose and wild, the simple linen shift she wore looking like it was from a different era. Behind her, the ancient hawthorn stood tall, but not as tall as it did now. Was this what the clearing looked like a thousand years ago? Everything was so…different.
“Siobhan,” Carman said. “Stop hiding behind the baby. Come forth.”
“I’m not a baby!” I exclaimed. “I don’t know who this Siobhan is!”
“Siobhan is my sister,” she said with a hiss. “The matriarch of the Crescent Witches, and the bitch who forced me out of my home. My own sister!”
She slapped my cheek, forcing my head to the side. My face stung, but I barely felt it. Carman was a Crescent Witch? Holy guacamole!
“So this is about revenge,” I murmured. “You want to destroy the world for what? A little tiff with your sister? A thousand-year-old grudge for this…” I shook my head.
Carman waved her hand through the air, and the vision shimmered.
“They killed him,” she said, her eyes filling with tears. “The fae took him from me, and what did the Crescents do? Nothing. Look at him, Siobhan. Look at him!”
“Look at who?”
“My husband!”
She forced me to look at the charred and bloody remains of what was once Boone’s father. Twisted, torn, unrecognizable.
“I’m not Siobhan,” I said. “I’m Skye.”
“She’s there,” Carman said, shaking me. “Why do you think I needed you to break the curse? Her blood runs in your veins, you naive child. You are Siobhan! Her spirit is so tightly coiled around yours it’s a wonder you don’t choke on her self-righteousness.”
The dreams, the flare-ups in my magic, the ritual, the voices… Aileen was right. Someone was piggybacking on me. If I was a descendant of Siobhan, that also meant that I was related to Carman. Errmm…great. I was pretty sure that meant I’d been about to marry my cousin, and it was even more direct now that I had ancient witch blood.
“I’m here, sister,” I heard myself say.
“Finally.”
“This is folly,” Siobhan murmured. “All this death, sister, and for what end? Revenge is an empty cause.”
“You sealed the doorways. You forced millions into starvation. You trapped our parents on the other side!” Carman scoffed and shook her head in disbelief. “And you stand there and judge me! They murdered Finn!”
“You conspired to steal the power of the fae realm for your own gain. You corrupted your children and forced them into slavery. You were caught and given a choice, sister. Death or exile. Were we wrong to offer it to you?”
“Your mistake was my gain,” she said with a smirk. “You tarnished the Crescent Legacy for all time while giving me the opportunity to rise again.”
“Both worlds would have perished,” Siobhan said, her temper never once rising. “Your actions ignited a war.”
“They started it!” Carman shrieked. “They started it by killing my husband. My one true love. You know all about that…fae-lover.”
“I lost a love that day, too, sister.” Siobhan’s voice cracked, and I felt the wave of despair hit the ancestor who’d melded her spirit with mine. The dreams… Siobhan was going through the door to meet her secret lover! Talk about a soap opera. “We all made sacrifices for the greater good.”
Carman’s face twisted, her cheeks stained with tears. She was heartbroken, the pain of her husband’s death had twisted her into something dark. Her thirst for revenge wouldn’t be complete until both realms were a smoking ruin. The people who took her husband, and the people who denied her revenge. Carman was a world-killer.
“Justify what you did all you like,” she snarled. “There’s nothing you can do to stop me now. I would give my life to see Finn avenged.”
“Sister, please…”
“It’s over, Siobhan. Get used to utter desolation.”
**
My head ached something fierce, not to mention I stung all over.
The backs of my arms were bleeding, and the knees of my jeans were ripped to shreds. Where was I?
Blinking, it took a minute for my vision to clear. Above, I could see familiar snarled branches and red berries. Thousands and thousands of red berries. Cac! I’d been dragged to the ancient hawthorn, which meant…
“I’ve won,” Carman said to no one in particular. “After all this time, I’ve finally won.”
“No…” I moaned, rolling onto my side. Where was everyone? Where was Boone?
A clunk and a creak echoing across the clearing forced my head to rise, then I turned my face away as white light streamed from the base of the hawthorn. A burst of magic flowed over me, pure and intoxicating. Power like that couldn’t come from Carman. It had to be…
The doorway was open!
The light was blinding, and I raised my hand to shield my eyes from the glare. Was this it? Was this how the apocalypse began?
“Skye! Get out of the way!”
The sound of Aileen’s voice tore me out of my stupor, and I twisted, rocks digging into my back as I commando rolled my ass out of the line of fire. They were here!
A silent shockwave exploded from somewhere in front of me, and the trees around the clearing shuddered violently.
Hands grasped me under the arms, and I was dragged away from the hawthorn. I kicked and cried out, reaching for the light and where Carman had been. I couldn’t see her, the light from the fae realm far too bright. Had she already crossed?
The athame… Where was the athame?
“Shh,” a familiar voice crooned.
Warm eyes met mine, and I crumpled against a familiar strong chest. Someone had given him a shirt. It wasn’t black and red checks, but it covered all his indecent parts.
“Boone?” I whispered.
He smiled. “I’ve got you.”
“But…”
He glanced up, his body radiating with a power I’d never felt before. His true form…
“It’s not over yet,” he said. “Can you stand?”
I nodded, my fingers finding the curve of his jaw. “Let’s finish this.”
Chapter 19
People were running past us as Boone helped me to my feet.
Sean McKinnon, Roy, Maggie, Mairead, Mary Donnelly, Fergus and his fur
ry companions, Mark and Fiona Ashlyn, Mairead’s parents—Beth and Gregory, Cheese Wheel Aoife, Father O’Donegal, even Mrs. Boyle. They all rushed through the forest and into the clearing and formed a circle around Carman, who was pinned to the ground by a burst of golden light.
Aileen.
She stood above the ancient witch, her hand outstretched and her silver-streaked hair flowing backward. Behind them, the base of the hawthorn was alight with a blinding glow.
Aileen was the only thing standing in the way of Carman crossing over, but something amazing was happening. The villagers formed a circle around Carman, their arms linked at the elbows and their crystals clutched in their hands. Even Donkey had joined the chain, Fergus and Mary grasping her mane. Jack stood on his best mate’s back, his teeth bared, and the little spear of quartz on his collar glowed a bright shade of yellow.
I ached all over. I could feel my joints grinding together and the cuts on my knees and arms stinging as I moved toward the circle. Boone’s arm slid from my waist, and his hand grasped mine as I wound my other with Aileen’s hand. Sean yanked Boone into the circle with a grin, happy to have his best friend back and mostly in one piece.
The entire village of Derrydun surrounded Carman, and the power of their crystals joined together. As Aileen and I placed our magic into the circle, the web tightened, forcing our prey to cower.
“No!” Carman screeched. “Human scum!”
“Well, I never!” Mary Donnelly exclaimed.
“It’s over,” Sean said. “You can’t hurt us anymore.”
“We won’t stand for it,” Mairead added.
“No one messes with Derrydun,” Beth said.
“No one at all!” Cheese Wheel Aoife cried.
Donkey hee-hawed, and Jack barked to add their support.
The light of our circle grew, whipping up a gale as Carman fought back with the Legacy she’d stolen. I felt Boone’s power rise beside me, clear and crisp as it was when he’d grasped my ankle. We hadn’t been enough to fight her then, but all of us together was just enough to bind her bitch ass in place.
“I have to close the doorway,” Aileen said, her gaze meeting mine. “My spirit will bar the way, then you can end her. The athame is in my boot.”
“No!” I exclaimed. If she did that, she would… I couldn’t lose her again.
“It’s the only way.”
“No, you can’t sacrifice yourself. Not again.”
“It’s the only way,” she repeated. “The loss of one life is better than the loss of millions. I know you wanted to save the witches magic, but it can’t be done.”
I desperately racked my brain for another solution. Boone was safe, his connection to his mother severed, but it would mean nothing if Carman crossed over into the fae realm. We had to kill or imprison her… Any of those would do.
My gaze caught Mairead’s, and I had an epiphany. We had to give Carman a new home. One she couldn’t get out of this time. One that would allow me to take back what she’d stolen.
“Can you hold her without me?” I asked.
“Skye…”
“Can you or not?”
“Not for long.”
“I’ve got a better idea,” I declared, hoping my crazy idea would save everyone, not just a few. “Stall her for as long as you can.”
“Skye—”
“Trust me, Mum.”
She choked, a tear falling from her eye. “That’s the first time you’ve called me that.”
“Third,” I corrected her, breaking away from the circle. “Buy me ten minutes.”
Aileen nodded, grasping Boone’s hand. He stared at me, his wild hair blowing in all directions.
I blew him a kiss, then I was off.
My boots pounded on the path as I sprinted toward the village. The icy air burned my lungs, and my heart beat faster than it had ever beaten before. I was so not made for track and field. Short distances were my best friend. Why was the cottage so far away? I never did sign up for those mixed martial arts classes…
A branch whipped my face as I sped past, opening a cut on my cheek. Ignoring the sting, I pushed on, adrenaline fueling my flight. The coven was counting on me, so was the village. I’d vowed to protect them whether they knew it or not, and seeing them all standing there, all of them human, facing a thousand-year-old suped-up witch gave me the chills. I couldn’t fail them now.
The cottage came into sight, and an otherworldly force I hoped was Siobhan urged me on. I leaped over the fence like an Olympic hurdler and barreled up the path, not even missing a step. I fumbled for my key, but dropped it, cursed, then used my Legacy to blast the lock open. The door crashed inward, cracking the plaster behind it. Whoo, boy! It felt good to use my power openly for once.
Skidding to a stop in front of Mairead’s painting, I focused on the ruined tower house she’d painstakingly outlined with the tip of her littlest brush. It was perfect. Museum-worthy, even.
Just what I was looking for!
I practically tore the canvas from the wall and bounced back and forth down the hall until I was outside again. The painting was intact after my uncoordinated exit, so I ran toward the clearing, leaving the cottage door wide open and the picture balanced awkwardly against my head. It was massive, and the amount of work Mairead had put into it was on epic levels. Man, I hoped she wouldn’t be pissed. Pfft! How could she be angry when her work was going to save the world?
That was if my plan worked. It was going to work. No ifs, ands, or buts. It would work.
Light filtered through the forest as I approached the clearing, wind whipping the leaves into a frenzy. Debris whipped past my face as I ran down the path, the gust almost ripping the painting from my hands.
“That’s me paintin’!” Mairead shrieked as I reappeared in the clearing.
Slipping back into the circle, I propped the canvas against me and held it steady with my free hand. I felt Boone and Aileen connect their Legacy to mine, and I was back in the game. Time to suck that bitch into her prison.
“You think you can trick me?” Carman cried. She was on her feet, pushing back against the villagers. “I have the Legacy of a thousand witches!”
“Yeah, fat lot of good that’s doing,” I drawled.
“We were always a match for one another. Two halves of a whole,” Siobhan said through me. “You cannot overpower the united Crescent Legacy, Carman. Have you already forgotten in your lust for revenge?”
“Who’s speakin’?” Maggie asked. “That’s not Skye’s voice.”
I felt Siobhan’s ghostly hand grasp my shoulder, and my Legacy flared. The golden light that bound Carman twisted around her, completely enveloping her body.
“No!” she shrieked, holding up her arms to shield herself. “You’ll regret this, sister! I’ll come back for you, and you’ll pay!”
“I don’t think so,” I said, holding the painting steady as the witch was drawn into the image. “You’ll never be free again, Carman.”
A sucking sound filled the clearing as Carman’s body circled the drain, her physical and spiritual essence flowing into the painting. She was ripped away from reality, twisting and turning, shrieking and calling us names, then she was gone.
The villagers let each other go with a collective sigh, the light from their crystals fading. The wind dropped completely, and the din created by the mini-tornado died down. Silence stretched out into the forest as we stood before the hawthorn.
Carman was gone.
The painting shuddered in my grasp, and I jumped. I almost expected her to break free as it shook and shook, but it held true.
“Freaky,” Mairead said, staring at her masterpiece. “She’s really in there?”
“Hey,” Maggie said, turning toward the tree. “Is that music?”
“I hear it, too,” Roy said.
“It sounds like a trumpet,” Sean added.
I glanced at Boone, who nodded toward the hawthorn.
“Somethin’s arrived,” he said, taking the paintin
g from me.
This time, I turned toward the light. The doorway was still open, and we still had to face what was on the other side. This didn’t end with Carman. There was still more.
Go…Siobhan’s spirit urged.
But I didn’t know what was waiting for me. I imagined darkness and fire and a horde of grotesque fae waiting to devour my magic.
Come… This time, it wasn’t Siobhan speaking to me. It was someone else.
Sucking in a sharp breath, I took a step toward the door. Who or what was inviting me in, there was no way of knowing, but I wasn’t afraid. Calmness flowed through me as I let go of Aileen’s hand.
As I walked toward the light, no one tried to stop me. I felt Boone’s gaze on my back, but he didn’t call out, either. He knew what awaited me. He always did in a way, which was one of the things that infuriated me most about him.
We’d won the battle, but the next part of the story was mine and mine alone to tell.
When the time comes, open yourself…
I stepped through the doorway.
Chapter 20
Summer.
Rays of golden light streamed through the canopy of a great tree, dappling over my tired shoulders. I looked up and found I was standing underneath a massive hawthorn, its shade stretching out across the greenest field I’d ever seen. Tiny white flowers dotted the mossy grass, and below the rise I stood upon, a forest stretched ever outward. A brilliant-blue butterfly flitted past my face, and the chirping of birds filled the sweet-smelling air.
What was this place? It was like a garden of Eden. It was a paradise, not a smoking ruin full of demons and monsters.
My gaze fell on a woman standing below me on the hill, and I froze.
She was small and lithe, her silver hair pinned up in elaborate curls and braids. Her skin shimmered like a pearl, creamy then tinted with translucent color as she moved. The silver and gold armor she wore was buffed to a high shine and reflected the sunlight like pure crystal. She held a matching sword in one hand, whose hilt looked mysteriously familiar. It’s like the athame, I thought.
She was definitely fae. I could feel magic everywhere. In the ground, in the sun, in the butterfly, even in her armor. She was alight with it.