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I know what I am.
I am a woman of the craft.
I open my arms to the sky and I dance with the wind.
I ride the earth with a lusty cry.
I love fiercely and I am proud to the end.
I close my eyes.
I think of Irvine and I reach for his hand.
When Zoë awoke it was with a sob in her throat.
“They killed her,” she whispered. She took a deep, shaky breath, trying to get hold of her emotions. The oxygen only fuelled the sobs that racked her.
“Hey now,” Gray said, and pulled her into his arms.
She clung to him, relieved to be back in that place and time, and yet filled with the pain of what she’d seen and felt. “They burned her body.”
Stroking her back, he whispered to her. “It’s hard, when you begin to feel close to the past and you see how cruel life can be.”
She put her hand against his chest, calmed by the beat of his heart. “Someone betrayed her. It wasn’t even about her witchcraft.”
“Now we know for sure.”
The sky lit up around them in a dazzling burst of light, as if a firework had gone off. “What was that?”
“A flare. We have to go, Cain is on his way. I’ll explain more on the way.”
She moved and felt dizzy. He put his arm around her as he drew her up to her feet, pulling her up with him. She was shaky and emotional. He rested a kiss against her forehead and she instantly felt stronger
“Come on, we can’t afford to waste time.” He grabbed her hand and then snatched up the flashlight from where it lay on the floor. Moving quickly, he led the way down, the light bouncing off the steps.
“What happened while I was out?”
“Annabel surfaced. You were right. She doesn’t want to come back to our world.” He glanced back at her, but in the gloom she couldn’t see his expression. “There was much more to it than we knew.”
They’d reached the entrance.
Gray flicked off the flashlight and looked out across the bay. Peeping over his shoulder, Zoë saw two speedboats making their way from Carbrey. The relief that she’d felt about being back with Gray withered away into nothing. The speedboats would reach the shore within a couple of minutes. The sea looked horribly choppy, and heaven only knows what Cain had in store for them.
Gray nodded his head at the boat, squeezing her hand. “This isn’t about Cain bringing her back,” he continued to explain, as they clambered into the boat. “He thinks it is, because that’s what Annabel wants him to think.”
“What do you mean?” She clung to the sides of the boat as she sat down. The water was much rougher than before.
Gray undid the rope tying them to the shore and started the engine. “Annabel has…well, set him up.” He had to shout across to her above the noise. He shook his head, as if he couldn’t quite believe what he was saying. “He’s not bringing her back to life. She’s just luring him into a trap, and you’re part of that. There is no possession spell. It’s not about that.”
It was almost beyond her to believe it, because if it were true it meant she was off the hook. “What is it about?”
Gray squatted low as he directed the boat, his gaze constantly behind her as he watched the approaching speedboats. “Cain is her old adversary.”
Whoa, that shed some light. “Ewan? Cain is Ewan?”
It all began to fall into place, and as she thought about the images of Ewan that she’d had in the visions, she saw the similarity. Had Annabel wanted her to guess? It would never have occurred to her that he would still be alive. “Is it his magic that’s keeping him…young, and alive?”
“Not exactly. He did a deal with the dark Lord of the Hidden World.”
