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

by Shannon Barczak

  When I opened my eyes, I found my father and Serena looking around the room and gasping.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked

  “You did it. On your first try, every single piece is gone,” my father answered incredulously

  “Cool. All right, see ya later Daddy O. I have to unpack and get ready for my date.” I walked over and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Tell mom I love her, call you both tomorrow, I’m out."

  “Yes, yes, love you too...wait, a date?" he asked stupefied

  "Don’t worry. It’s just a friend thing, bye!" I grabbed Serena’s hand and pulled her out the door. “C’mon Guardian, you can help me unpack and pick out an outfit for tonight."

  “Willa, I don’t think you need anyone’s help,” she said wryly

  “Just a psychotherapist when I wake up from this dream." I grinned

  Chapter Sixteen

  My good mood was lessened slightly as Serena, and I pulled up the driveway and Leo and Mathias met us.

  “What is he doing here?" I grumbled to myself as I stepped out of the golf cart

  “Princess, I mean Willa, how delightful it is to see you again.” Leo said graciously

  “Hi Leo, thanks for meeting me on such short notice."

  “Of course, of course, now I have the keys and both leases ready to sign, shall we go inside?" he asked

  “Great,” I replied, ready to get this over with as soon as possible. I just wanted to unpack my stuff and get settled.

  Leo unlocked the door and gestured for us all to enter. The minute I walked over the foyer I went straight into the living room where I was greeted by the sight of all my stuff that I had teleported.

  “Yes!" I yelled. “I did it!”

  Serena gave me a high five as we walked over to inspect my handiwork.

  “You already moved your things into the house? How did you get inside? Oh, Serena must have ‘helped’ you again?" Leo asked

  “Nope, I teleported everything on my own,” I answered

  “You teleported back and forth here with all your stuff?" Mathias asked

  “No,” I said proudly. “I got it here in one shot. I just gathered the elements, imagined it going here and poof... or should I say ‘Whoop there it is’?”

  “That’s quite an amazing feat.” Leo said in wonder.

  “Thanks. So what and where do I need to sign?"

  Leo put his briefcase on top of the dining room table and pulled out two separate manila files.

  “The first one is for the bakery. Your grandmother has agreed to do a lease on the property for three years at one hundred pounds a month. After the three years, she will then sell you the building for one pound if you should be so inclined.”

  “That’s more than reasonable.” I said as I pulled out my check book.

  “She was rather upset you didn’t accept it outright.” Leo remarked

  "That’s not my style. Besides if the business is a bust in three years, I’ll buy it for a pound and rent it out to Uncle Cuddy. I’ll make a nice little profit every month and live the life of leisure.” I said as I tore off the check and handed it to Leo

  “Wait a minute,” he said as he glanced down at the check. “This is for entirely too much."

  “I would prefer to pay the entire three years’ lease outright."

  “However you wish,” Leo said raising his eyebrows slightly

  I laughed to myself. A few weeks ago I would’ve had a heart attack for writing a check out for that amount. When I arrived, my father sat me down and gave me paperwork for my new bank account that he had opened with the Isle of Skye Bank. Apparently Cormac had been a busy little bee all these years, setting up and investing quite a trust fund for me since the day I was born.

  Now growing up, of course, I realized my parents were comfortably well off financially. Any girl that gets a new car the day she passes her driver’s license test is clued in pretty quick. The thing is though they never were flashy about it. I now know it's because they never wanted to attract undue attention to themselves.

  I signed my name in the appropriate places and Leo handed me an envelope with the keys. I glanced at them quickly, and a feeling of joy came over me. I was going to continue doing something I loved. Opening another bakery gave me the opportunity to bleed some of my old life into my new one. A sense of comfort and familiarity was truly a blessing right now, and I couldn’t wait to get started.

  Leo and I went over the lease for the house while Serena and Mathias talked quietly in the corner. Again I signed my name and handed over a check for my new home. I held out my hand for the keys, but Leo just put the papers back in his briefcase and zipped it up quickly.

  “Mathias has the keys and he will be walking you through setting up the security and keypads.” Leo said.

  “Oh, ok, well thanks again Leo for coming out and for procuring everything for me quickly and efficiently. I'm having a party next week on Christmas Eve. A housewarming, holiday get together. I would love for you to come and please bring a guest.” I offered warmly

  “You want me to come to your housewarming?" he asked in amazement

  “Of course, you're like only one of a handful of people I know. I don’t want to be a loser with only a few party guests.” I joked

  “I would be honored Willa. My wife Elsa and I would love to come, thank you,” he said

  “Great, I was thinking around six o’clock. Would that work or do you have plans?"

  “We are free and now I must leave. I want go home and tell my wife we will be attending a private party at the new Princesses house.” he said excitedly

  He gave Mathias and Serena a quick goodbye as he left whistling.

  “All right Wolfie, let’s get rolling, I got me a date tonight.” I announced.

  “Excuse me?" his eyes narrowed

  “I have a date with a person of the opposite sex, so I need to get unpacked and dig out my LBD.” I replied, smiling with childish glee. It was small and petty, but there was a part of me that wanted to piss Mathias off a little.

  "LBD, is that code for something?" he growled

  “Little Black Dress,” Serena answered but shrunk back under Mathias’s dirty look.

  “With whom are you going to wear this little black dress with?" he said

  I cleared my throat before answering, relishing and dreading the moment all at once, “Riah."

  Mathias continued to stare at me for a moment before I heard in my head his voice. “Are you fucking kidding me? What the HELL do you think you are doing?”

  “Oh for goodness sake Mathias, he’s my friend. In case you didn’t know, which you probably don’t since you don’t have any, friends get together and break bread. It’s part of this little thing I like to call socializing."

  “You have nothing to worry about Mathias. I fully intend to act appropriately. Besides, Riah is meant to be my friend, my good friend.” I said silently, as I figured out how to reach into his mind.

  “Stay out of my head and out of Riah’s bed,” he added silently

  “Can we get this over with, please? I heard you loud and clear.” I said exasperatedly

  “All right, that was freaky. Were you talking to each other, like, telepathically?" Serena asked confused

  “Serena, thank you for escorting Willa here, I think she’ll be good for now.” Mathias said

  “Sure, no problem, I’ll see you tomorrow?" she asked me with a curious look on her face

  “Bright and early,” I smiled. “It’s time to educate you in Bakery 101.”

  "Sounds fun, Guardian Worthing, Willa,” she said before she walked out of the house quickly

  “Alrighty...,” I started.

  “Willa, I’m absolutely against you and Riah, establishing a friendship of any kind,” he interrupted

  “Noted,” I said curtly as I turned towards the door to the basement.

  Luckily he took the hint and dropped the subject. “First you need to pick a twenty five digit code."

  I pus
hed his hand away and punched in the code I thought of earlier, “Done.”

  “You have to tell me what it is,” he added

  “Why? You’re not my Guardian. Serena has been assigned that arduous task.”

  “The only two people who are going to have this code are you and me,” he said

  “Why not Serena?” I asked incredulously

  “That’s how I want it,” he held his hand up as I began to protest. “It’s less likely that I will ever be captured or tortured. Serena is fantastic, but she is young and you are different.”

  “Fine,” I sighed. There was no point in arguing with him. I didn’t exactly agree but since I dropped the date bomb, I figured I would let him have this one.

  We went through the palm print lock and the retinal scan, I still thought this was excessive but I will admit, it made me feel safe. Before I could even blink, Mathias was upstairs and had grabbed my luggage to bring it down to my new bedroom.

  “Thanks,” I said softly

  “It’s nothing,” he said properly. “Have fun on your date."

  With that he was gone, leaving me alone for the first time in days, I fell on my new bed and let out a big sigh while I wished like hell my date was with him.

  The next week flew by so fast I could hardly catch my breath. My date with Riah had gone great. We laughed and flirted outrageously with each other. I found myself genuinely liking Riah when he lost his whole cheesy suave attitude. He and Serena were quickly becoming daily fixtures in my life, and I enjoyed being with them both immensely.

  My mother and I had not only tackled the bakery the day after I signed the lease, but we also worked in a few Caster training sessions during our breaks. I had heard through the grapevine that Winifred was happy with my progress. My father was also giving us a hand with the ordering of equipment and dealing with suppliers. Even Uncle Cuddy was slightly mollified when I had asked for his help with the interior design of the business.

  The only person I had not seen or heard from was Mathias. I sent everyone an email inviting them to my housewarming party and my only response from him was a short ‘yes’. I welcomed Christmas Eve, the day of my party, with a quick walk on the beach in front of my house.

  I had tried to plan a menu with both humans and vampire palettes in mind. The Gypsies would be dining on our family’s traditional meal, red and green, lasagna and salad or antipasto to be more precise. For the vampires, I bought a gorgeous beef tenderloin and had braised it before throwing it the oven to slow roast. Baby potatoes rounded out the simple fare for my guests, but the real star was going to be the desserts.

  I had something to prove in that department, especially to my grandmother. I wanted to make sure everyone knew, that I not only could run a bakery, but I could also bake my ass off with the best of them.

  I started the day before with my red velvet whoopie pies. They were filled with light, fluffy filling and these delectable little cookie cakes not only screamed Christmas but were extremely decadent. Next I made my Chocolate Mascarpone cups, hell to make, but delicious to taste as Polly called them. I whipped up my chocolate ganache frosting and using an artist’s brush I painstakingly stroked it on the miniature paper muffin cups. When that was finished, I chilled them in the fridge for a few hours before taking them out and filling them carefully with a mascarpone filling made with a hint of milk chocolate.

  Next up was my lemon tarts, with a rich, buttery, pastry dough and tart lemon curd. I painstakingly cut fresh strawberries into tiny slivers, forming a perfect fan design on top.

  The jewel in my cap though, the one I was banking on was my cannoli’s. I had met the castle chef, John, when I went pillaging the freezer for strawberries, and he told me with his charming cockney accent that Winifred loved a good cannoli.

  To make cannoli shells are a pain in the butt, and it embarrassingly took me a few tries but I finally was able to do. After a quick run to my new friend Mary’s store, The Kitchen Magician, I found not only everything I was looking for but several hundred dollars’ worth of other things. All in all, I was feeling pretty good about tonight and was looking forward to celebrating with my new family and friends.

  I slipped on my new dress from Desiree’s Dress shop in town. It was a sexy strapless black silk dress that hugged my curves. It featured a slit up my left thigh, and tiny little white and red flowers embroidered into the waist. I strapped on my black stilettos and hurried up the stairs.

  My guests all seemed to come at the same time, first up was my family, Cecily, Cormac, Winifred, Cuddy, Jeremiah, Oliver and Rhoswen all arrived with smiles and small gifts. I ushered them in and gave my Uncle Cuddy a quick thanks when he positioned himself behind the small bar I had set up in the living room.

  Next to arrive was Leo and his wife Elsa, who presented me with a bottle of wine and a huge poinsettia plant.

  “Awww, thank you so much, you didn’t have to bring me anything.” I said as I gestured for them to come inside the house.

  “Nonsense, we are so happy to be included, thank you for asking us.” Elsa said, her dark eyes twinkling.

  A few other of my new friends arrived all in good cheer, Mary from the kitchen store, Susan, who owned Some Enchanted Florist, which was located directly across from the bakery. Lavinia and her husband Louis who ran The Tattered Covered Bookshop right next to me also joined our party.

  I had just finished hanging up everyone’s coats when the doorbell rang again. I opened the door and was just about to greet my two new partners in crime, Serena and Riah, when he picked me up in his arms and walked down the walkway with me laughing and protesting.

  “Put me down you idiot! What are you doing?” I asked giggling

  “Happy Christmas and happy new home!" said Serena as she held out a box towards me. “Put her down Riah. You are enjoying this entirely too much, scoundrel.”

  Riah grinned wolfishly at me and winked before he set me down on the walkway.

  “What’s going on you two?” I asked

  “Open your present first.” Serena demanded.

  I ripped the paper off the small box and opened the lid. I saw a bright silver key lying on a black velvet lining. I held it up high and looked at them questionably.

  “Ta da.” Serena sang as she flung her arms out towards the driveway.

  There sat a big, black golf cart on steroids.

  “You got me my own golf cart?” I asked confused

  “That is not a golf cart. In fact, that’s an insult, that my dear friend is a Street Legal 48v Black stealth Club Car Precedent.” Riah corrected

  “That’s a fierce looking ride, I’ll give you that, but it’s too much. I can't accept this.”

  “Of course you can. I’m tired of being your beck and call girl. Besides it’s already paid for and been put in your name." Serena smiled

  “You may not realize this Willa, but I’m loaded, this was a drop in the bucket.” Riah whispered

  “You guys are crazy. I love it. Thank you so much." I said as I hugged Serena.

  “Do I get a kiss?" asked Riah.

  “Oh all right,” I said, pretending to be put out by his request, I wrapped my arms around his neck and gave him a peck on the cheek.

  “Hey, I was hoping for a least a little tongue.” he joked

  “Eww,” Serena and I both said.

  “What’s this?” my father asked coming out of the house.

  “A little gift for Willa from Serena and me, we were getting sick and tired of hauling her ass around all week so we thought we would give her own wheels.” Riah answered.

  “Nice.” my father said appreciatively before he began to fire questions at Riah.

  While everyone had gathered outside to take a look at my gift for a few minutes, I grabbed my mother, and we both went inside to start setting up. I had decided to forgo the traditional sit down dinner and served it all buffet style on the dining room table. When my guests had come back in I was pleased to see everyone take a plate and pile it with food. Th
e informal setting made the atmosphere relaxed and jovial.

  I had sampled everything a dozen times throughout the day, so I wasn’t hungry. I instead sat back and watched with pleasure as everyone ate and complimented the food. I heard the doorbell rang and jumped up out of the chair. My stomach went into overdrive as I opened the door but instead of Mathias it was Frank.