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Trinity
The entire Castle Clair family joined us for dinner that night. It seemed none of them could settle. They were all deeply anxious about what was happening back in the seventeenth century with Wulfram, Romy, and Blaise. I guess they thought they’d rather be here with us, chewing things over, than fretting back at Castle Lodge.
Once Astra, Seren, and Aither were put to bed, we all settled down to eat and discuss the events of the day. Naturally, I’d had to confess what had happened in Gerrenporth, and I was in everyone’s bad books.
Sirius was furious with me and went on and on about how reckless and stupid I’d been. Ewella was in tears, and I wasn’t sure if it was because of fear of what might have happened to her daughters, or rage at my crazy behaviour.
‘No harm done,’ Killian assured everyone. ‘I was there to protect them, and now that I’ve put the tracker on Havok I’ll be there for them every time.’
‘If they stay within thirty miles of the island,’ Raiden reminded him. ‘Once they’re out of that radius we’ll have no way of knowing if he’s near them.’
‘And that’s only Havok,’ Sirius added. ‘What if he sends Malliss to do his dirty work? Or that cousin of his. What’s his name? Spite.’
‘Wow, you know how to bring a mood down,’ Killian said glumly.
Harley squeezed his hand. ‘Well, I think you were brilliant,’ she said.
He grinned at her. ‘Thank you, mo ghrá. That’s all I need to hear.’
‘The point is,’ Sirius said, ‘you could have been killed. It was sheer luck that Killian decided to leave the harbour and go and look for you all near the pub. You just can’t take risks like that again, Trinity!’
‘So what’s the alternative?’ I demanded, my eyes blurry with tears of humiliation and frustration. ‘I can’t just sit here on this island while my brother and sister are somewhere back in time, trying to save the world! Have you any idea how inadequate that makes me feel?’
‘You’re no different to the rest of us,’ Keely assured me. ‘I feel useless, too. My boyfriend and sister are searching for the Sword of Feidhlim. They’re trying to find the Tremaynes, and hopefully Wulfram will head to Scotland and reassure the Seelie Court that there’s no need for war. Meanwhile, I’m sitting here, staring at two tarot cards, and realising I can’t even fathom what they mean! Way to go, Keely.’
‘Tarot cards?’ Celeste asked with interest. ‘From where?’
Briefly, we explained what Lyrica had left for us in the envelope and showed everyone the cards we’d found.
‘I know a bit about tarot cards,’ Mrs Greenwood said, most unexpectedly.
‘You do?’ Castor sounded amazed. ‘Why would you know owt about them?’
She shrugged. ‘It made me feel like one of the gang. Silly, I know, but when your husband and daughter are witches it can leave you feeling a bit out of things. I thought I’d take up tarot reading. See if it worked.’
‘And did it, Nan?’ Benedict asked, his eyes wide with astonishment.
‘No,’ she admitted. ‘It was absolute rubbish. Mind you,’ she added hastily, ‘I’m not saying it wouldn’t work in the right hands. I clearly don’t have the gift. But I did study the craft, and I do know the meanings of the cards.’
‘So what do they mean, Mrs Greenwood?’ I asked eagerly.
She frowned. ‘What were they again, dear?’
‘The ace of pentacles and the tower,’ Keely said.
Mrs Greenwood inhaled sharply. ‘I’ll have to give some thought to what the ace of pentacles means,’ she admitted. ‘But I do know the tower is worrying. May I see it more closely?’
Keely passed her the card, and Mrs Greenwood peered at it. ‘Disaster, you see? Disaster is either striking now or has already struck. Or,’ she added in hushed tones, ‘it’s about to strike. You see the lightning strike, and the person falling from the tower? Karma. That’s what that is, my dears. You mark my words. Like a flash of lightning, the old order will be toppled, and there will be a fresh start for everyone.’
‘Well,’ Keely said hesitantly, ‘that’s good, right?’
‘Oh yes,’ Mrs Greenwood agreed. ‘It’s just getting to that point. And to get to that point there will be upheaval and revolution. Madness, despair, instability. Oh, we’ve definitely got troublesome times ahead of us.’ She beamed round at us all, looking almost gleeful. ‘But I’m sure it will all end happily.’
None of us knew what to say to that.
Emrick coughed and said, ‘Well, that was fascinating. Thank you. I must say, Mrs Greenwood, this Bakewell tart is delicious.’
‘Oh,’ she said, beaming, ‘thank you so much. I’m rather partial to it myself, I will admit.’
