The Skye Trilogy: Isle of Skye, Isle of Night, and Isle of Dawn. * Bonus: Scrumptious Skye Confections Cookbook* (84 page)

“Do we even have a plan?” I wondered aloud

“Willa,” Jeremiah said seriously.

“Trust me when I say this, ok, you don’t want to know.”

“No, we do want to know.” Jeremiah replied

“Oh my gosh,” I whined. “I don’t even know how to answer this question without offending you.”

“Only Mathias will be able to help her if she may is struck with a temporary madness from absorbing the elements power.” Patcoena answered

“Mathias?” Machall said. “Surely Sidra or Winifred would be able to support her more than Mathias.”

I rolled my eyes and looked up at the dining room ceiling before answering. “Fine, you want to know how Mathias is going to get me out of my insanity induced coma. He’s going to have to give me intense sexual healing therapy.”

“Oh God,” Jeremiah groaned. “You’re right. I did not want to know that.”

“Told you so,” I shrugged

Lucia smiled. “I think what Willa and Patcoena mean is that Mathias will have to teach Willa to channel her energies elsewhere while she adjusts to her new powers.”

“I personally like to think he has to bang it out of me but your way of putting it sounds fine too.”

“Please,” Jeremiah said. “I beg you. Do not ever say that around me again.”

“She bangs, she bangs...” I sang

“That is Ricky Martin, yes?” Lucia asked

I nodded my head enthusiastically before continuing, “Oh baby, she moves, she moves.”

“Dear God in heaven can we please get back to discussing a plan or even the weather?” Jeremiah asked

“All right, I suppose we’ll just have to cross that bridge when we come to it,” Machall said. “I’m assuming you know where to look in each realm at least?”

“Nope,” I answered quickly. “Patty has no freaking clue.”

“The King did not divulge that to anyone,” Patcoena said. “That is why Jeremiah is here. He can sense magic from great distances.”

“All we know is that the powers are located in a cave, a cove, a forest and a mountain,” I said

“That is not only vague but could describe each realm as a whole,” Machall said before turning around and looking out the window.

“I wonder…” Lucia started to say

“What?” I asked

“Machall,” she said softly. “What about the caves located on the outskirts of the village? You remember the smaller ones that none of you children would ever play in when you were younger?”

“That’s what I was just thinking,” he answered before turning around. “Now let us discuss what we are going to do.”

“Thank you,” Jeremiah said gratefully

“We will travel to the caves and see if we can find the power source there. After Willa absorbs the King’s power of fire, we will then travel to the Earth realm. Willa, I’m sure you can perform a basic concealment spell?”

“Yes, of course,” I answered

“Great,” Machall said. “I want to have a talk with Lord Braonan. We need to find out what Fonn has threatened him with so we can maybe use that to our advantage by offering to help him. I am going to need to stay and visit with him because he’ll be suspicious if I don’t. You three need to go to Woodlia. The Nymphs will offer you sanctuary and hopefully their guidance.”

“Woodlia?” I asked, “Holy crap, I am so going to find Polly’s parents.”

“Holly and Forrest Woods will be excellent guides,” Machall agreed. “If anyone knows of any spooky places in the forest, it will be a wood Nymph.”

“Did you just say spooky?” I asked. “Wow, how very Scooby Doo of you.”

“God, help me but I thought the same thing.” Jeremiah said

“After you find the power source in the Earth realm you must leave quickly. Fae Lords can sense any shift or massive use of power within their realm. Go to the Air realm next. You must find the Sprites that reside in the mountains that surround the realm.”

“I’m finally going to meet a Sprite,” I remarked. “I have to be honest I’m a little wet my pants excited.”

“Be careful,” Machall said. “They’re cunning and downright nasty creatures but they have a common enemy. They loathe Fonn. He has been trying for years to get total control of them. We can only hope and pray that the power source is located far away from his castle. I think we can all agree that Willa needs to keep as much distance as she can from Fonn.”

“What about you?” Patcoena asked

“I will meet you there,” Machall said. “If for any reason I don’t make it in time, leave and make your way to the Water realm. I must warn you though, do not seek out Lord Cual.”

“Why?” I asked. “He seems harmless enough.”

“It is a well and carefully crafted façade that he has spent years perfecting,” Machall said. “I don’t want to get into it right now but trust me when I say that Cal is not as he seems.”

“So when do we start?” Jeremiah asked

“Right now,” I answered quickly. I wanted to get this show on the road as soon as I could. I had no desire to waste any more time than I had too.

“Oh surely not so soon,” Lucia said regretfully

“I have to agree with Willa,” Machall said. “Time is of the essence.”

We all left the dining room and made our way to the front door. Machall and Lucia were standing close to each other talking quietly before embracing. Lucia gave each Patcoena and Jeremiah a hug before turning to me.

“Be safe Willa,” she said. “I know you must be overwhelmed but after meeting you I have a feeling that you are the type of person that can do anything you set your mind too.”

“That’s funny,” I said. “My granny Winnie says the same thing.”

“When this is over, I hope that we can spend a proper afternoon together,”

“It’s a date Lady Lucy,” I smiled before turning to the men. “All right fellows, let’s get going.”

A mere few seconds later we landed in a fallow, dusty field. I could just see over the hill to my right what looked to be the start of the town. To my left however was nothing but large rocks and sandy hills dotted with brown vegetation.

“I’m assuming those are the caves…” I started to say but was cut off by the sight of Jeremiah sprinting towards the rocks.

“Jeremiah,” I yelled. “Where are you going?”

“I can feel it,” he yelled back. “It’s amazing. I’ve never felt this much power before.”

Patcoena, Machall and I scrambled after him. I started sneezing at the amount of dust we were kicking up by our sprint. We finally caught up to him outside a small cave, and that’s when I felt it as well. It was almost like my senses went into overdrive the minute I stopped running.

“Wow, this is crazy, I’ve never felt so much magic in one place before,” I said breathlessly before turning to Patcoena. “So what do I do now?”

“Now you must enter the cave alone,” he said. “The rest will come naturally.”

“No, she’s not doing this on her own,” Jeremiah said. “I’m going in with her.”

“I’m sorry, Jeremiah,” Patcoena said. “This is something that Willa must do herself.”

I turned to Jeremiah, and he immediately folded me into a giant bear hug. “It’s ok J, I’ll be fine.”

“Willa,” he whispered. “I love you and I thank the Gods every day that you came into my life.”

I felt tears welling up in my eyes. There were no words that I could even say right now. Jeremiah was not only my cousin. He was the brother I never had yet always secretly wanted. He and his sister, Julia, were not only part of my family, but they were also my friends. Neither one ever judged me. They both accepted me right from the moment we met, and I never told them how much that meant to me.

I gave Jeremiah a kiss on the cheek before turning to Machall. “If anything happens to me, take care of Jeremiah. Get him back to the Isle of Skye safely.”

“I promise,” Machall said seriously. “I’m positive that you will do this in a most splendid fashion.”

“You’re just scared of what Mathias will do to you if I don’t make it out of here alive,” I smiled

Machall shrugged and gave me a small grin. I gave Patcoena one last nod before finally heading into a small cave. I had to duck my head because the opening to the cavern was low. As I scrambled further in, I stood up and looked around. Although it was dark, it was also surprisingly clean. The dirt floor was packed down, and it almost felt like smooth concrete. Instead of being musty and damp the cave held a cloying scent of cloves which confused me slightly.

I stood there for a moment because I didn’t know what to do exactly. I could feel the hum of magic, but I wasn’t sure where the source was coming from in this small room. I looked around the floor thinking maybe there was some special magical rock, but the surface was clear of any debris.

I walked towards the back wall when I spied something engraved on the rock. My trembling hands reached out to touch an ornate letter C that was intricately carved in the bedrock. The second my finger started tracing the letter my purple flames flared from my hands. I looked down in wonder as pleasant warmth started spreading from my fingertips all the way to the tips of my toes.

I closed my eyes and almost moaned in pleasure. My body felt like it was wrapped up in a toasty warm blanket. A glowing cocoon started surrounding me. I smiled as I felt its embrace, but the smile faded when all of a sudden I started to notice my purple freaky flames turned into an unfamiliar red. The snug, safe feeling evaporated almost instantaneous as the burning red flames started to overtake my body.

I was flung back into the rock behind me, and my arms were almost pulled out of the socket as flames seemed to jerk them away from my body. I could feel my long auburn hair spiral off my head and swirl around me. Scorching pain ignited in the pit of my stomach. I bit my lip to keep from screaming out in agony as the pounding waves vibrated off my body.

My eyes started to spasm and blink rapidly. I could feel that my body wanted to flee or fight, but I forced myself to calm down. I knew fighting this would only prolong the torture. When sparks began to fly off my body I opened my mouth to scream but instead of releasing a cry, I released a torrent of fire. I was too far gone even to be freaked out by this. I wanted this experience to be over. I begged and pleaded in my mind to whoever was listening to please stop this horrendous torment.

I felt like it went on for hours. I didn’t even know how I was still standing. I kept eyeing the floor in hopes that I could just curl up on its cool surface and die. I barely could remember who I was or why I was here. I just wanted it to stop. There was nothing worth all of this pain. I again begged to be released from the hell that had surrounded my body and inflamed my bones.

I tried to conjure up faces and names, but I couldn’t. What was my name, I asked myself. Why on earth would I do this? Why would anyone put themselves through this intense experience?

Mathias. Mathias, I called out as I felt my consciousness slipping away. Suddenly his face flooded my brain. I wanted to run my hands through his dark brown hair. I wanted to use my fingertips to trace his chiseled cheeks and lush mouth before I gently kissed his eyelids that I knew protected his whiskey colored eyes.

Slowly other faces flickered, and I finally remembered who I was and why I was here. I gritted my teeth and tried to straighten my slouching frame. I was not going to die. I was not going to leave my family like this.

All of a sudden a white light appeared in front of me and for a moment I felt like I stared death in the face, but it wasn’t an angel or a God. It was a ghost. I knew who he was the second I could make out his shimmering face. His dark hair had a slight curl and his blue eyes danced with delight as we stared at one another.

“Willa,” he said. His voice was faint and I had to strain to hear him

“Great-grandfather,” I answered. His name came out almost like a prayer on my lips.

“I’m afraid this is the only time I will ever be able to come to you,” he said. “You are such a brave and beautiful girl. You are the granddaughter of my own beloved daughter. You were chosen by the fates long ago. At the time, I didn’t fully understand what the chosen individual would have to go through when I placed my power in the realms but after watching you since the day you were born I now feel like weeping.”

“Yeah, thanks,” I said through my haze of pain. “Holy crap, this sucks.”

“You can do this Willa. You are strong enough, but you must not fight the elements. You have to let them overwhelm every part of you before you will ever be able to control them. This task will not be easy. You will have to embrace the darkness before you can step into the light.”

“Oh God, is this some medieval riddle?” I groaned

The King smiled. “You will know what I mean when the time is right.”

“So I will survive this?”

His smile dimmed. “That is up to you.”

My bottom lip trembled, “I don’t know if I can do this. I don’t think I’m as strong as you think I am.” I winced as another flaming pain shot through my body. My back tightened against the violent invasion that the power was creating inside of me.