“We’re certain these guys are chill, right?” Willow murmured.
“Aye, I believe so,” Hilda said.
“Because I’m really not down for another battle right now.”
“You and me both,” I murmured.
We reached the shore and the water lapped gently against the stones, peaceful and clear. Frankly, it was hard to believe that just yesterday, this same loch had tried to kill the man I loved.
Hilda walked to the water’s edge, the silver bowl cradled in her hands.
“Loch Mirren,” she said, her voice carrying across the still water. “Our sweet and sacred waters. Home to the Stone of Truth. Dwelling place of the Kelpies. We, the Order of Caledonia, speak to you now.”
The water shimmered, like sunlight hitting a disco ball, and I sucked in a breath.
“We return to you the water we borrowed, now purified by our oaths and blessed by our binding.” She knelt and tipped the bowl, letting the water flow back into the loch. “We ask that you accept our service and that you recognizeour authority. That you allow us to protect what lies within your depths.”
For a long moment, nothing happened.
Then the Kelpies rose.
I took a step back. It was hard not to. Too many times I’d seen the absolute havoc these beasts could wreak.
They emerged from the water, dozens of them, their dark forms glistening in the morning light. They circled the shore, their eyes fixed on us, and for a moment terror rose inside me.
But Sophie stepped forward.
“I am the Knight of the Order,” she said, her voice carrying the weight of command. “I claim the authority of Margaret, the First Knight. She who bound your kind to the service of the Stone. Will you honor that binding? Will you serve as protectors, not destroyers?”
The largest Kelpie—the old one, the one that had bowed its head to the Beithir on the island—emerged from the group. It approached Sophie slowly, water streaming from its shifting form, until it stood before her on the shore.
Then it bowed its head.
One by one, the others followed.
“They’re... kneeling,” Willow breathed.
“They’re pledging,” Shona said softly. “They’re accepting Sophie’s authority.”
Sophie reached out and touched the large Kelpie’s head. Her hand didn’t pass through. Somehow, in this moment, the creature was solid enough to touch. It still blew my mind the level of magick that thrived in Loren Brae.
“I accept your pledge,” Sophie said. “We are bound toeach other now, friends, not foes. You now have choice in how you serve your oaths, no longer bound by the malice that came before.”
The Kelpie bobbed its head, its ancient eyes all-seeing, and then it turned and led the others back into the loch, disappearing beneath the surface in a cascade of spray.
The water stilled.
“That was—” Willow began, waving a hand in front of her face.
A golden stream of light shot out from the center of the island and we all gasped.
“The Stone,” Hilda breathed. “Look at the Stone.”
The island was illuminated from within with a soft, golden radiance that pulsed like a heartbeat. The light spread outward across the water, rippling toward us, until the entire surface of the loch seemed to shimmer with it.
“What’s happening?” Lia asked, reaching out to grip Shona’s hand.
“The Stone must be responding to the ritual,” Archie said, his voice awed. “It recognizes that the Order is complete. That its guardians have been restored.” He turned to look at me. “That the Bookkeeper has returned at last.”
