Gavin sped away toward Raeglen Castle. Halfway there, he lit at the edge of a stream bed and chose two more rocks.
Gavin had known about the magical scrying stone for months but hadn't cared… until Dani's arrival. He detested the idea of Wilona spying on them, knowing the intimate details of their lives.
Because of his superior vision, he knew which chamber Wilona used. One day, she'd had the window open, and he observed her using the keek-stane. To take it, he had to make certain she'd left the chamber. Now was his opportunity.
Gavin took off from the stream bed and flew swiftly toward his enemy's property. His wings had grown strong because he flew every day for several hours. As he neared Raeglen, he noticed few people milling about. During the past year, he had observed Wilona's home to learn her habits and count her guards.
Gliding toward the window where he'd observed her, now closed, he released one of the stones. It hurtled toward the glass and shattered it. Altering course just shy of the wall, he circled back and let loose the other rock. Shards of glass fell.
Gavin lit upon the sill then hopped through the break in the window. The witch would likely keep her treasured keek-stane in a prominent area. A small mahogany box sat in the center of a round table. Could that be it? With his talon, he clawed at the lid. Damnation! He couldn't get it open, and footsteps padded closer outside the door. He grasped the box in both claws and flew to the windowsill. Finally, he maneuvered through the gap, then flew over the curtain wall and across a field. Seeing boulders below, he dropped the wooden box. It fell and splintered. He lit near it to find the keek-stane lying unbroken at the base of the rock in the grass and bracken ferns.
Aye! He had the damnable object. Wilona could no longer spy on him. Would she surmise he had taken it?
He pulled bracken over the shattered case to hide it. Next, he tried to pick up the round, slippery scrying stone, but he could not hold it in his claws. Finally, he got both feet around it and took off toward the small cave he had discovered one day on his rounds. A family of badgers used it sometimes, but they wouldn't pay any attention to another stone, no matter how shiny. Once inside, he lay it at the back of the cave and placed other small rocks and sticks over it to conceal it.
Exiting the cave, he glided as fast as he could back toward Caithmore Castle. Not seeing Wilona or her party again, he figured they had fled to Raeglen. But once she realized her keek-stane had vanished, she would return.
∞∞∞
"Where is it?" Wilona demanded, staring at the spot on the table where her scrying stone always rested.
"What, m'lady?" her maid asked.
"My keek-stane, you daft sheep! I left it right there." She pointed. "Did the chambermaid dust in here?"
"Nay, but one of the lads threw stones through your window and broke it."
"Where?" Wilona spun to see which window Ava referred to.
"I closed the shutter to keep out the cool draft, then I cleaned up the broken glass and took the stones outside."
Wilona strode toward the window and pulled back the shutter. "'Tis a giant hole! Who did this?"
Ava lowered her gaze. "We assumed 'twas one of the younger stable lads."
"Assumed? Never assume anything. I want to ken the truth of it. My window is shattered, and my keek-stane is gone. Someone came in and stole it!"
Eyes wide, Ava gawked at her. "Are you thinking someone could fit through that hole in the glass?"
"Not a man. A bird! Damn him!" Wilona returned to the broken window, realizing a hawk could easily fit through the opening. Hadn't he been dropping rocks on her and her guards a short while ago? Aye!
That vile guard Ewan had prevented her from throwing the potion on the lass. Now, this catastrophe had happened.
"I'll not fail next time." She spun to glare at Ava. "Go! And do not return to this chamber until I call you."
The maid curtsied. "Aye, m'lady. Pray pardon." She left and closed the door.
Wilona ground her teeth, then barred the door. She marched to the window and opened both panes of glass, allowing the cool evening breeze in. After speaking the magic spell, she transformed herself into her favorite beastly form, a great eagle-owl. She perched on the windowsill for a few moments, getting accustomed to her new size and shape. Leaping into the air, she flapped her mighty wings, sailed over the high curtain wall and across the countryside toward Caithmore Castle.
Chapter 12
Right before sunset, Gavin, in hawk form, landed on the windowsill of his chamber, then hopped through the open window and onto the floor inside. When the transformation burst through his body, he breathed through the pain for a few moments. Once the agony subsided, he dressed.
Damn Wilona for daring to show her face here and enter his home. Using the keek-stane, she had figured out Dani could break the curse, and she would try to stop it in any way possible. Thank the saints the hag hadn't forced Dani to leave with her.
He needed to give Dani a severe warning so she would understand the peril.
After he dressed, he strode into the corridor, then opened the door next to his own chamber.
