AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"Do you think the Staran can get us to her or are they too weak?" Izban asked the two wraiths and Macey's smile disappeared. She could see the barb in the mage's question. He was trying to make her feel guilty for using the Staran and she didn't like that at all. Maybe because in her mind, she knew he was right, while hear heart was telling her to race to Nessie without delay.
"We could split up," Macey suggested diplomatically. "I could go find Nessie and then join you on St Kilda. Although I'd need Cam or Flint to help me travel."
"No, all of you need to be there together," Luch said sternly. "It won't work otherwise."
"What won't work?" Cam asked, suspicion lacing his voice. "What aren't you telling us?"
Luch didn't even look embarrassed or uncomfortable. She just shrugged and said, "I've told you too much already. I've been helping you more than I should. So, don't ask me any more questions, just believe me when I say that all of you need to arrive on Hirta together."
"Hirta?"
Luch sighed. "So, you don't just need to brush up on your history, but also on geography. It's the largest island in the St Kilda archipelago and our destination. It's where the very first Warden lived, before it was decided that more than one was needed. Her house, the Taigh na Banaghaisgeich, is where we want to go."
"But what about Nessie?" Macey asked quietly. Her wish for personal closure was fighting her need to help the Wardens. Was this the first inner battle she'd been warned about? Or was a lot worse to come?
"Once we're done exploring St Kilda, you may have more things to discuss with Nessie," Luch said, and Macey was tempted to strangle her. How many more mysteries and unanswered questions were there going to be?
Yes, she was in the mood to go to an island, but one with beaches and sun and peace, where she could stretch out and read, maybe sleep a little, play on the sand with her men. Not an island full of legends and problems.
It took all her inner strength to bury her desire to talk to - or better, confront - Nessie and instead focus on the greater good.
"Let's go," she said and got up before she could change her mind. Let's go to Hirta."
13
St Kilda looked a bit like Macey imagined Avalon. A group of green islands, shrouded in mist. High cliffs were rising from the sea, where foamy waves were battering the dark stone. Tiny white dots signaled the presence of sheep who'd somehow stayed behind when the last residents were evacuated. Seabirds, mainly gulls and gannets, were circling far overhead, curiously looking down at the newcomers.
Tourists came here regularly, that much was clear from the information boards and the metal bin by the pier, but right now, there didn't seem to be anyone else on the island.
They'd stepped out of the Staran in the imaginatively named Village Bay, at least that's what it said on the map Macey was looking at.
Some of the stone houses around them had turned into ruins, but some still looked habitable, with complete roofs and unbroken windows. Somewhere here was the Taigh na Banaghaisgeich, the female warrior's house. Oh yes, there it was. The map called it the Amazon's House, which was intriguing. Macey wouldn't have associated a remote Scottish archipelago with a warrior woman.
It probably wasn't even anyone Scottish that had named the place. It sounded like the kind of thing a foreigner would have come up with.
"This way," Flint said, turning them up a small dirt track to the left.
"How do you know?" Macey huffed, feeling terribly unfit. She was going to blame her stint in the Voice's keep for that. She'd been in much better shape before that. Though she hadn't shifted properly since they'd been at the ceasg's home, and that hardly counted. She hadn't been in kelpie form for long, and she'd been fighting for Amber's life. Or thought she had been. The exact details of that were a little hazy.
"I don't know, just a feeling."
She didn't like that idea much. Feelings had normally turned out to be bad so far. And ended in them being trapped places they shouldn't, with people who got angry at them for the oddest of reasons.
Even so, she stuck with it, and they all climbed the very basic path without saying a word. Too much concentration was needed to navigate the rocky path. Why no one kept it clearer of the pebbles and other debris that were strewn over it, Macey had no idea. It was like everything about this world was out to get them.
"It's a pile of stones," Jared huffed as the Amazon's house came into view.
Macey didn't voice her opinion out loud, but she couldn't help but agree with Jared. It was just a pile of stones. Though she could see where the house would once have stood. It was a shame really, the shape of it made it seem like the structure would have been a sight to behold.
"Oh ye of little faith," Luch said, amusement colouring her voice.
She cleared her throat and opened her mouth, music beginning the moment she did so. Macey stared in awe at the mouse. This was the last thing she'd expected.
“By the steam so cool and clear,
And thro' the caves where breezes languish,
Soothing still my tender anguish,
