Dark Isle(16)

Grumbling behind me, Luke finally spoke up. “How much further?”

Our guide skipped ahead and twirled in a circle, her dress spinning out around her. “We are here now.” She clapped her hands as she twirled and laughed, and what I can only call her energy rose up around us, creating a protective shell about ten metres wide. It was as if everything was caught in a gauzy curtain.

Aednat led us to a recess against a rock wall, where a spring flowed into a small pool surrounded by wildflowers. It was all very pretty, but none of it fit with the forest here; that bothered me.

“Banshee tricks.” Luke whispered, his words only reaching me and Cora, who bobbed her head in agreement.

Aednat motioned for us to sit around the pool’s edge.

Keep your wits about you, Quinn. The banshee may have helped us, but she will have a reason. We just don’t know it yet.

Cora’s tail flickered against my upper arm, her nervousness apparent. If she was nervous, I should have been downright scared. Crossing my legs under me, I sat at the pool’s edge. “Alright Aednat, what do you want from us? No lies now between . . . sisters.”

With a thump Luke sat beside me. “Great subtlety.”

Pursing my lips I sat up straighter, stretching through my back. “Aednat.” Was all I said. She flounced across from us and all but flung herself to the ground.

“You don’t know all of the prophecy. I will tell you it. I will help you fight in big battle. If you help Aednat first,” she said, her eyes glittering with a feral awareness that matched her tiny dagger-like teeth.

“Maybe,” I said. “Tell us something first, something so that we know it’s worth it.”

Aednat pursed her lips mimicking me, and her eyes narrowed. “Card has taken his father’s seat.”

A long low hiss erupted out of Cora, startling all of us. “The little bastard! I should have known when Lir went missing it wasn’t of his own volition.”

The little Banshee smiled, her teeth glinting. “Aednat knows where to find Lir; also knows what Card is doing. Maybe how to stop it. Aednat knows where to find missing people. All of prophecy you need, Aednat knows.”

I wondered how she could know so much. I shared a look with Luke, wishing this time that he and I could converse telepathically. Motioning for Luke to stand, I excused us and we stepped outside the bower that Aednat had made. She watched us go, but didn’t move from her seat, her eyes tracking our steps.

“How do we handle this?” I asked in a low voice. Even though we were a good distance away, I didn’t want to take the chance Aednat might hear us.

Cora stretched her head out between Luke and I. “We hear her out. But if she can truly help us with these things, then almost anything she wants will be worth it.”

Luke snorted. “Hardly. She could be lying Cora, how do we know?”

An idea had begun to form as I listened to Aednat. “What if I Called Lir? I could talk to him, find out if what she is saying is true, at least on that account.”

They shared a look, one that clearly stated they didn’t think it was a good idea. Cora slid her head back to my shoulder. “You may not be able to truly Call him. He is stronger than you, so you may be drawn to where ever he is. That could be dangerous.” She shook her head. “But I do not think there is another way. You will try to contact Lir. Then we will proceed.”

Stepping back into Aednat’s bower, I explained to her what I was going to do.

“You will sleep now?” Her expression was quizzical, her brows lowered in consternation. Then her eyes lit up, and she snapped her fingers. “Of course, Call Lir. Ask him questions. He tell you Aednat is speaking truth.”

I laid down on the moss, my exhaustion finally working in my favour. Cora coiled up on my chest and began to hum a soft tune, the rhythm of it vibrating through my body. My eyelids slid shut, the scent of the forest filled my nose, and a hand began to brush along the edge of my face.

Lir, Lir. My mind whispered, focusing on his name. I didn’t know what he looked like; not even whether he was tall or short. I hoped that calling his name; that the blood we shared would be enough. Lir, Lir.

The bower began to fade; my body slumped and muscles relaxed. The feel of Luke stroking my brow soothed my fears, uncertainty floating away with his touch. Maybe the prophecy didn’t speak of Luke and I, or maybe it did. But he cared for me, that much was obvious.

What Don had said was true. I could feel that more now than ever. “I think he was right,” I mumbled.

“Who was right?” Luke asked, his touch never wavering.

“Doesn’t matter,” I said as I drifted off to sleep.