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 theirclachan.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 theguid 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 theBean 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 hewasn’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 hisclachanwith 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.
