Concentric Circles (11 page)

“I’d appreciate it, Shay,” Meekal said, stepping away from the lamppost, “if you didn’t take off like that again.” His expression switched between amusement and annoyance. He finally decided on grateful. Relief spread across his face. He took two steps, grabbed her arms, and pulled her into a kiss.

She squirmed, and then decided to enjoy the offered treat. Sending her tongue within, she moaned and clasped his belt. With a teasing tug, she brought him closer, eliciting a delightful sound of appreciation. He deepened their kiss.

“I’ve said it before, git a room.”

Meekal laughed into her mouth.

Grinning, Harry joked, “Aren’t there enough private places in Glastonbury you could be doing that?”

Meekal shook with laughter under her hands. “Shayla just took out four of Syther’s thugs. We’re celebrating.”

She licked her lip and reached for his hand. “Come on. We gotta talk. I have something to tell you.”

Palm to palm, they walked to Chilkwell Manor with Harry.

* * * * * *

A voice laced with a Highland brogue spoke when they entered. “Ah, she is a comely lass.”

Surprised, Shayla  gasped. The portrait in the foyer at Chilkwell Manor was of a man and a woman, looking at her with happy smiles.

A musical laugh sounded. “That she is, Bry. Why, she looks just like Keira.”

Shayla stood frozen to the spot just inside the door.

“Bry,” Meekal said, shaking his head. “You shouldn’t startle Shayla like that.” He turned and squeezed her hand. “It’s okay, love. It’s just Black Bry and Morna.”

She swallowed, trying to push her surprise down. “Hi,” she whispered in awe.

Morna smiled.

Shayla, mesmerized by Morna’s face, stared while her thoughts spun in fast circles. Too rapid to speculate upon.

Morna studied her in return. “You have the look of my sister, Keira.”

Black Bryan quirked a brow, allowing his gaze to wander. “Is she setting?”

Harry sniggered.

“Bry!” Meekal pulled her toward the library, glaring at Black Bryan.

“Setting?” Shayla paused, looking from Meekal to his ancestor.

Meekal glared fiercely, and hissed low, “Nesting, with child, pregnant.”

Another gasp rose and she turned back to the foyer. Meekal stopped her, shaking his head. “Shay, he’s from ten sixty-six.”

Another sound assaulted her senses. Harry, collapsed on the couch, laughing and breathing hard, observed her discomfiture.

Her annoyance peaked, pushing to the surface. “Excuse me, what’s so funny?”

Harry pulled in a sharp breath, and then let it out with an ear-wide grin. “Well, I guess this confirms it, cous, you’re one of us. Welcome to the Radgie Farm.”

“Cous? Radgie? And why can I see them move now and not before?”

Meekal smirked at his life-long friend and tried to reassure her. “Morna says you look just like her little sister Keira. Mum thought that, too. If you are descended from Keira, you are related to Harry.” He paused to toss Harry a mock glare. “Radgie means crazy. I guess if you’re related to this prat, then aye, Radgie Farm would cover it. As to seeing Bry and Morna, your magic is fully opened now.”

Harry sniggered some more, turning red as he tried to suppress his mirth.

Shayla blew out through clenched teeth, walked to the round oak table, and sat. “That’s not all.” She met Meekal’s look, determination wrapping her heart. “Have a seat, Kal. We have a few things to talk about.”

Meekal sat next to her.

In slow contemplative motion, she reached into her boot and pulled out her
sgian dhu
. Before speaking, she studied it closely. “This,” she said, unsure where to begin.

“T
IS GOOD TO TELL HIM, LITTLE ONE
.”

A breath of exasperation burst out at the shear lunacy of the circumstances surrounding her. She looked between Meekal and Harry with dawning comprehension that they heard nothing.

Hearing voices—insane… Gotta do this, Brinawell
. The thought skipped through her mind like a petulant child.

“It’s damn radgie if you ask me,” she replied to the
sgian dhu
.
Small black handled knife, my arse
. A sense of laughter tickled her. She squeezed the handle in her palm, the tightening sensation of fingers around black adamant balancing her. At last, she looked up into Meekal’s confused eyes.

“What?” His black brows puckered into a jagged line as he looked from her face to the knife.

She took another deep breath, let it out, and handed the knife to him. “This is C
IARAN
L
EXISS
.”

Meekal took the
sgian dhu
and studied it. The carving of a snake and Pictish glyphs marked it as being of the House of Asp.

Harry stood and joined them at the table, his gaze focused on the black handled knife. “C
IARAN
L
EXISS
? Damn.”

“Precisely,” Shayla said, nodding. “He told me Dragar was going to attack. I wasn’t watching where I was going. When he spoke to me, it caught my attention.”

“
I’
LL SAY
,” C
IARAN
L
EXISS
responded with a chuckle. 

“The Guardian,” Harry murmured, awe reflected in his voice. “He really talks to you? I’d heard about that.”

Meekal jumped up, reached for the phone, and dialed. “Mum, you need to come to the library. Now.”

“Kal?” Shayla looked from one to the other.

“
Y
E ARE THE NEXT GUARDIAN, LITTLE ONE
.”

“Guardian?”

Footsteps drew her attention just in time to see Chaeli pause inside the door, watching them. “Meekal, what is it?”

Meekal held up the knife. “Mum, Shayla is the next Guardian.”

Chaeli appraised her, and then took the knife, studying it.

Shayla stood, frustration welling within. “Will somebody please tell me what is going on?”

Meekal responded, “You are the next Guardian for FyrTæhhers.”

“Huh?”

Meekal smiled and spoke slower. “Fire Tears. She’s a shadow phoenix. It’s a great honor to have such a destiny.”

“A phoenix?” She sat down hard on a chair.

“Aye, but she isn’t here right now,” Meekal said. “You can meet her later.”

The room spun out of control. Everything before Shayla’s eyes blurred, but not from tears. She was sure the speed of her life had just picked up and passed her right by.

Swoosh.

Around the edges of her mind, she thought of home, her mom, friends, and her lousy job. She groaned. None of that fit into the world before her right this minute.

Meekal knelt. “Hey, love. It’s gonna be okay.” He rubbed her arm in a soothing caress.

Sudden sadness welled within her, its poignant power overtaking her thoughts.
How does this fit in?
She closed her eyes and tried to even her breathing.

“Gail told me that the
sgian dhu
was an antique. She thought it was a family heirloom. I told her it wasn’t. I just bought it in Cleveland last month. Now, you tell me I’m the Guardian for some shadow phoenix and all this is connected with the knife? How can that be?”

“‘
T
IS TRUE, LASS
.”

“Shayla,” Meekal said, voice resonating with patience. “The Guardian always wields C
IARAN
L
EXISS
. He appears in the lives of the Chosen One, when the time is right. You’ve trained in martial arts haven’t you? That’s how you knew those moves you made today.”

“Yes. But I trained for enjoyment. Exercise.”

He became more insistent. “It’s just another aspect of your destiny. You trained even if you didn’t know why.”

“It’s gonna be okay, cous.”

She looked up at Harry, pain poking around in her forehead from just one more new magical thing in her life. “How can you be my cousin if Meekal isn’t?” She felt his amusement around her aura and heart almost like the juggling of a Jell-O mold.   

“Well, you are if you want to go back to ten eighty-one.”

Trying to accept the connection between their hearts, Shayla attempted to push the growing sensation of frustration away. So many new concepts.

Meekal’s eyes danced with humor. “That’s when Keira and Mikah were married. Mikah was FyrTæhhers’ second Guardian.”

She shook her head, tasting her lower lip yet again today. “Okay, if that’s true, then why am I the Guardian and not Harry. He’s the guy, after all.”

Chaeli finally spoke up. “I’m surprised you would ask that, Shayla. But you should know Mikah’s mum was the first Guardian. There have been seven other women in the position since then.”

She dropped her gaze to the knife. The feel of it clasped in her hand soothed the onrush of emotions. Its carvings against her sensitive palm served as a message from the past. A surge of energy went through her; the same she had felt the first time she touched it. “Just one more thing to accept, I guess. I have to be truthful though.”

She looked at the faces circling her. “All of this isn’t as important to me right now as how we are going to protect Meekal and the Well.”

Chaeli smiled, taking C
IARAN
L
EXISS
in her hand, she ran her finger over the asp on the black handle. “I’ve already contacted Meekal’s grandparents. They’ll arrive this evening. We also have some friends who have helped us in the past. They will be here tomorrow.” Chaeli handed the knife back. “You’ll need this. How is your magic progressing?”

Meekal chuckled. “She called for Dragar’s wand, and then broke it before returning it.”

“Excellent.”

“All in a hectic day’s work,” Shayla replied, fighting the heat in her cheeks.

Chaeli went to the bookcase and pulled out a book. “This will help you in conjunction with the book Meekal already loaned you. I’m sure you can peruse them before everyone arrives. I’ll leave you to it.”

Shayla looked at the book placed before her, ‘Simplified Travel in the Wizarding World,’ by Myra Wickett d’Arc. “Travel?” She pulled it closer. The book, heavy in her hands, as she looked up to find Chaeli gone. She swallowed another dose of trepidation and gazed at Meekal, puzzled.

He gave her one of his half shrugs that she now understood as being a habit. “She wants you to learn to wind-ride with intent.”

“Unt uh,” she said, shaking her head in protestation. “No way. I hated it.”

“Shayla,” he said, trying to sound reassuring. “It’ll be okay. You rode to the Tor with me. It didn’t bother you that time.”

Now at boiling point, she glared at him. Agitated, she stood, twisted her hair up, and poked the knot with two hair sticks from her back jean pocket. She knew her loose hair sticking out wildly everywhere was a sharp contrast to the peaceful atmosphere in the library. She growled, not caring, and paced in front of the double windows, frowning and muttering under her breath.

“Shay, it’ll be fine.”

“Kal,” she said, cringing at the shakiness of her voice. “I’m scared.” She glanced around at the calm collection of wisdom surrounding her in the form of written works, and then let out a sigh that was half groan. “I felt as though I was being ripped apart the last time.”

“That’s because you fought it, love.” His voice was gentle and coaxing. He stood and walked to her, stopping to run his palms up her arms.

“Kal,” The tremble in her voice stuck roughly in her throat.

“Kal,” Harry said from his seat at the table. “Why don’t you take her for a couple of rides? That way, she can get used to it.”

She shuddered and a cold chill traveled down her spine.

“He’s right, Shay,” Meekal said. “Come on, love.”

[7] Journey into Mayhem

Shayla groaned when they landed. She stepped away from Meekal’s embrace, shaking her head. “No more right now. Can’t stand it,” she said, rasping through the tremors that washed over her.

He took her elbow firmly, yet with gentleness, eyes expressing concern. “Shay, it didn’t affect you like this before. What’s wrong?”

A sigh of entangled emotions erupted. The sensation and sound rattled forth, even from her perspective. She looked around at their surroundings, attempting to dispel deep-rooted qualms. They had landed in a wooded area that boasted a clearing with a stone circle. “Where are we?”

“Midmar Circle,” he replied, caressing her forearm and taking her hand. “I thought you might like to see a couple of stone circles while we island hop.”

“Humph.” She began walking the perimeter, trying to force the shakiness from her knees. Three stops in less than five minutes was rough riding. She reached up and pulled the sticks from her hair, allowing its comforting blanket to cascade.

“Are you going to continue avoiding the topic?”

She planted her feet to the grassy ground, stubbornness spinning in her mind. She turned her head, tossing him a frown over her shoulder. “If you must know, my stomach lurches every time we, oh I don’t know,” she said, tossing her hair back, “fly?”

“Wind-ride.”

She growled.

“We’re near Echt, Aberdeenshire. Midmar Kirk is right over there.” Meekal caught up to her, reached for her hand again, and waved off to the left. “The Kirk owns the property which is the reason the circle is so well maintained. Do you see the dirt circle linking the stones? Midmar Kirk is the only caretaker who does that. Cullerlie is cut in the same manner; however, it has kerbed cairns in the center.”

Shayla surveyed their location. They were in a circular clearing bordered by trees, a church and tombstones. The fall breeze whispered through nearly empty branches. Green turf, neatly trimmed, surrounded the outside of a stone circle, and bordered a round path where the stones stood, exposing the bare ground, creating a perfect earthen circle. The inner sanctum returned to well-trimmed turf. Shayla swiveled her gaze back to Meekal. “Kal, why are we doing this?”

He entwined their fingers, and squeezed gently. “Doing what? Talking about the beautiful monument in front of us?”

Exasperation sent her eyes into a dizzying roll. She pulled their joined hands up to motion toward the nearest stone. “Island hopping.”