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

by Shannon Barczak

  “Are you guys going to stay after this is over?” Polly asked

  “I’m not sure.” Robert answered. “I never thought we would ever come back. Everyone has been very welcoming, and I have to admit I did miss this place.”

  “I know my grandmother missed you.” I said. “She’s happier now that you are back.”

  “It’s odd.” Robert replied. “That we are all back on the island at the same time? It’s nothing short of a miracle. Archie, Cecily, Gus, and Julia, even Katya and I are back.”

  I set my fork down while Robert’s words sank into my brain. It was odd. Was there a reason we were all here? Was that that part of the Fae Lord’s plan? Did he want to gather all of us together in one place because it would be easier to get rid of us that way?

  “What’s going on in that brain of yours Willa?” Polly asked. “You’re the only person I know that thinks so loud I can almost hear it.”

  “We’re all here on the island so they can round us up and kill everyone.” I said, almost in a trance. The vision hit me hard. I could see my family, the Guardian’s and the islanders all corralled together in a big field by the castle. Hundreds of Rau vampires, as well as other beings, walked the perimeter and were killing the clan viciously.

  There was so much blood. What once was rolling hills of green on the small island was now streaked with dark reds and glimpses of flesh that peeked out obscenely. I could see myself chained to some crudely made metal cross that overlooked the massacre. My clothes were torn, and my eyes were wild with desperation.

  When a dark haired Fae lit Polly’s Japanese maple tree on fire, I decided to call upon water to douse the flames but I couldn’t move. All I could do was hear her screams of pain as her tree burned. I saw a Rau rip into Julia’s throat, and I called for my freaky fire but again I failed. My parents were brought before me, and I screamed with anguish as their bodies were ripped apart. I tried to shut my eyes, but they wouldn’t close. I could feel black magic being used on me and smelled the burning sulfur scent it produced.

  A veritable army of Rau dragged a struggling body before me, and my heart ripped in two as Mathias and my eyes met. When they plunged their hands into his chest to rip out his heart, as well as his other internal organs, they flung it at my feet and my knees buckled. When one of the Rau laughed and rolled his head like a bowling ball towards me, I begged for someone, anyone, to kill me.

  I never in my life felt so terrified. Murder, rape, carnage was all displayed in front of me, but I couldn’t move. I was being held up like a puppet on a string. I pleaded for them to stop. All of a sudden bright light flashed before my eyes and I felt like I was being ripped in two. They had torn my magic from my body, and before I slumped over to pass out, I could hear my grandmother scream.

  I awoke a few minutes later, not on a cross overlooking a bloodbath, but Polly shaking me and screaming in my ear.

  “Willa!” Polly screamed. “Willa, come back. Come back to me. You’re freaking me the fuck out.”

  “Willa,” my father’s voice broke through my agony. “Sweetheart it’s not real. You’re safe. Come back to the here and now.”

  The vision cleared and I opened my eyes to find myself flat on the floor in the dining room. Robert, Polly and my dad were sitting on the floor around me. Their faces lined with worry and concern. I sat up, and Cupcake nosed his way past Robert and came to sit beside me.

  “What happened?” I asked. “What the hell was that?”

  “You had a vision and began to scream uncontrollably.” Cormac explained. “Polly and Robert didn’t know what do so they called me to teleport here.”

  “It was awful dad.” I whispered, reaching for him. He gathered me into his arms and stroked my hair. I tried to hold back my tears, but I couldn’t. The vision had seemed real, and I was having a hard time adjusting to the present. My body shook so bad I thought my teeth were going to fall out.

  “Cormac, Willa,” Cecily yelled. I reached for my mother the minute I heard her voice. She sank on the floor beside me and wrapped her arms around me so tight I could hardly breathe. I felt another set of arms join hers and looked up into my grandmother’s eyes. I started whimpering again because I would never in my life forget the sound of her scream.

  “Willa.” Winifred said. “Drink this, you’ll feel better.” She held out a bottle filled with brown liquid

  “What is it?” I croaked

  “A little bit of this, a little bit of that.”

  I took the vial and drank greedily. I was hoping it would knock me out or make me forget the last few minutes. Pleasant warmth spread through my body a few seconds later, and I untangled myself from the arms that were enfolding me.

  They were all quiet. I knew what they were waiting for, but I didn’t want to go back there. I didn’t want to revisit the vision I just had. It took me a few minutes to gather the courage to speak. Cupcake and Oscar both sat down on either side of me, and I tried to tell the story as dispassionately as possible while I petted their soft fur.

  I omitted the part about Mathias. That was one aspect that I still couldn’t even think about right now.

  “So someone burned down my tree?” Polly asked. “Are you serious? That’s a little harsh.”

  We all looked at her in disbelief. “That’s what you got out of the vision? That someone burned your tree down?”

  “It’s my tree!” she yelled. “Mother Fu…”

  “Polly, please, not now,” Cecily said

  “Well, we know the vision isn’t real.” Polly stated matter of fact

  “What do you mean?” asked Winifred

  “Because in case you haven’t noticed my tree isn’t even here. It would take six to eight weeks before I could get it here and regrow the roots.”

  I looked up quickly at Robert. “Six weeks to eight weeks? That’s how much time we have.”

  He nodded swiftly before he took out his phone and left the room. I could hear him speaking urgently to someone on the other line. I wondered if it was Mathias.

  “We run,” my father announced

  “Yes,” my mother agreed. “I think that’s the best option we have. If they can’t find Willa, they’ll call off their plan.”

  “I think you may be right.” Winifred said thoughtfully

  “No.” I said. “They’ll still use the islanders as leverage. They know I’ll never sacrifice an entire clan just for my own neck.”

  “Not for nothing Willa,” Polly started. “But you have some great power, right? Don’t you think it’s more important to keep that out of their hands? I know that the idea of sacrificing a bunch of people is terrible but if they had your powers wouldn’t they probably kill even more people?”

  That was thing about Polly, just when you wanted to write her off as some smart ass Goth chick, she comes out with sounding almost reasonable.

  Apparently my grandmother thought so too. “Very well put Polly,” she said surprised

  “We must leave at once.” Cormac said decisively

  “No dad.” I shook my head. “We’re not leaving. I’m not going to let the clan deal with my mess. I can’t do that. I’m sorry.”

  “Willa, Mathias would like you to call him.” Robert said as he came back into the room. Everyone ignored him, except for me. I was desperate to hear Mathias’s voice. Even if it resulted in a fight, I didn’t care, I needed him.

  I hated to admit that.

  “Honey, your father and Polly are right, if we go now they may give up on their plan.”

  Robert’s brow furrowed. “Leave? What is this?”

  “They think I should run and sacrifice the lives of a couple thousand people.” I answered

  “You need to call Mathias.” he repeated sternly

  “Willa…” Winifred said

  “This is non-negotiable.” I said. “I’m not leaving. Now if you excuse me I have to go and splash some water on my face.” I got up from the floor and walked quickly downstairs. After freshening myself up in the bathroom
, I pulled out my phone and called Mathias.

  “What did you see?” Mathias asked curtly

  I started telling him about the vision, haltingly at first, but soon it all came spilling out. I tried to be as businesslike as possible. I knew Mathias would not be appreciative of me blubbering like some irrational girl.

  He didn’t interrupt me once. I waited for a few seconds before I finally heard him say, “Hmmm.”

  “What does that mean, hmmm?” I asked

  “You were chained to a cross?” he asked

  “Yes, it was some weird looking metal contraption that was shaped like a cross.”

  “Then there’s nothing for you to worry about then. That was not a vision,” he replied

  “That was a not a vision?” I repeated. “And why is that Wolfie?”

  “Because the only place you will ever be chained to is my bed,” he said. “So obviously that vision is false.”

  “Really?” I asked. “Did you just say that?”

  “I’m curious though, how many of them did it take to restrain me?” he asked, almost excited

  I held out the phone and shook my head at the device before answering. “I believe it was anywhere from fifteen to twenty Rau.” I replied in annoyance

  “Is that all?” he asked. “Now I know that the vision is false.”

  “I just told you about the most horrible vision that I have ever had, and you dismiss it because you know for a fact you can take out more vampires than what was shown to me?”

  I could see him smiling over the phone. I knew what he was trying to do, but I still couldn’t shake how scared I was still.

  “My parents and grandmother think we should run.” I said after a moment’s silence

  “I agree,” he said. “We’ll go as soon as I get back tomorrow night.”

  “Mathias they’ll still carry out their plan.” I said aggravated. “They’ll use the clan as bait and lure me back home.”

  “Possibly,” he said. “But they might also believe you are running to save your own skin and focus the attention on finding you. If they do that it will effectively make the clan safer.”

  “Create our own battlefield?” I asked

  “There will be no battlefield Willa. We will not be found if we run. I’ll make sure of that.”

  I sat down on my bed and thought about Mathias’s reasoning. I wished that would be the outcome, but I had a feeling that running would only make things worse. We needed to face this situation head on. No running or hiding. Just balls to the wall, in your face, bring it on bitch, gunslinger kind of attitude.

  When I explained to him that my mind was set, I heard him sigh on the other line. “So you want to go all Wyatt Earp and Doc Holiday on their ass?”

  “It’s how the west was won and don’t forget I am from Arizona.” I reminded him

  I saw him in my mind. I knew he had a scowl on his face, and he was probably pacing back and forth furiously.

  “Where are you?” I asked

  “We are in Salisbury,” he answered. “We rented a room for the night. I don’t know if it’s luck or yet another coincidence, but the current Viscount, and his family are going on holiday tomorrow morning to the Canary Islands. As soon as the servants clear out we will enter the house and retrieve the paintings.”

  “How’s Julia?” I asked

  “Jesus Christmas,” he replied. His annoyance came over the phone crystal clear. “I thought you could talk someone’s ear off but she has nothing on you. She could run or talk rings around you. Do you know what the hell her problem is with Riah? All day long they have been going at it like an old married couple.”

  I chuckled trying to picture Mathias dealing with Julia and Riah. “Do they remind you of anyone?”

  Mathias swore. “Don’t tell me,” he groaned

  “Yup, although I don’t think it has happened or been fully realized by Julia or Riah but Julia has had visions of her and Riah in her dreams.” I answered

  “Shouldn’t they be happy then or at least her?”

  “Yeah, because you and I have been acting like we are holding hands and walking in a field of daisies since we met.” I replied

  “I’ll be back tomorrow and we’ll discuss things further,” he stated

  “Mathias?” I asked quietly

  “Yes, what is it Willa?”

  “The night you came back you wanted to talk in the hospital parking lot.” I said. “What did you want to say to me?”

  “Do we have to do this now?” he said impatiently

  “I want to know.” I replied. “I need to know.”

  I was greeted with silence. I almost gave up on him answering but like always he surprised me.

  “I figured my shit out.”

  I grinned. Before Mathias had left I yelled at him to get his shit together. I had no idea what that may have entailed, but last night and this morning actions made me confident that maybe he accepted what was meant to be. Of course I could be wrong though, my smile faded, maybe he was really going to tell me goodbye

  “I’m glad you’re as loquacious as ever.” I said.

  “I thought I made it pretty clear this morning what I want,” he almost growled

  We stayed on the line a few minutes just listening to each other breathing. When my heart stopped racing furiously, he spoke. “Get some sleep.”

  “I’ll do my best.” I answered. “Have fun with Julia and Riah.”

  Mathias grunted, and I hung up smiling. I felt a lot better after talking to him. I slowly made my way back upstairs where everyone was still arguing. That all stopped the second, I came into the room. I gave them an update on what had transpired so far with Mathias, Julia and Riah. I was trying to get their minds off of my vision but with no such luck.

  “What did Mathias say about you leaving?” my father asked

  “He agreed with you at first until I explained to him my plan.” I answered

  “Which was?” Robert asked

  “Showdown at the OK corral.”

  My parents both groaned. Robert and Winifred looked perplexed, but Polly smiled wide. “Bring it on douchebags.” she said. “So that’s the plan?”

  “Yeah, pretty much.” I said, sitting back down at the table and picking up an egg roll.

  “We’ll discuss this further tomorrow night.” Winifred said. “I’m planning an early dinner for the family and our respective Guardians. I also thought this would be a nice welcome home for Archie.”

  “Sounds good,” I said.

  “Willa,” my father frowned. “This discussion isn’t over.”

  “For me it is.” I said. “We’ll talk more tomorrow. Right now I just want to finish eating and curl up in bed with my BFF. What are watching tonight Pol?”

  “I think there’s an ‘Absolutely Fabulous’ marathon on BBC,” she replied brightly

  “I heart Ab Fab.” I said thoughtfully. “It always makes me want to smoke a cigarette though.”

  “I could run out?” Polly asked brightly. “Pick up some smokes and a couple bottles of vodka? We could be our TV show by the end of the night.”

  Robert groaned. I had almost forgotten about our night Guardian. “Don’t worry Robert, we’ll behave.”

  “No drinking or smoking,” my mother said sternly. “You need to get your rest.”

  My grandmother walked over to me and grabbed my shoulders. “Oh, I think a little bit of fun is fine. After all this maybe the last chance you get for a while.”

  “Did you just approve of me getting wasted?” I asked in disbelief

  “I most certainly suggested no such thing,” she sniffed as she walked away. “Dinner is at five o’clock tomorrow evening. Don’t be late.”

  “I’ll be there with bells on.” I answered. I walked over to my parents and gave them both quick hugs. “Thank you both but I’m better now. You should go home and relax.”

  “Are you sure?” Cecily asked looking concerned. “I could stay?”

  “I’m good.” I reas
sured her. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “If you need us just call. I can be here in a heartbeat,” my dad said

  After a few more minutes, they finally left. I looked at Robert and Polly. “All right, let’s get this threesome started.”

  Polly laughed, and Robert looked faintly alarmed. I chuckled as I grabbed his arm. “You could call Katya and we could make it a foursome?”

  Robert brightened. “Good idea. Will there be a pillow fight?”

  “Yes, we girls always have pillow fights wearing short, frilly nightgowns.” I answered with wide eye innocence

  Later that night as I sat on my bed, giggling with Polly and Katya, I realized that this is why I had to stay and not run. This is what was worth fighting for, being able to laugh, love and live without a care in the world.

  That is more precious than anything.

  Chapter Eleven

  I woke up the next morning with my ass hanging off the bed and fur in my mouth. I sat up slowly and took a look around the bedroom. Cupcake was pressed right against me. Polly was squished next to him with Katya sleeping soundly on her other side. Robert was sitting quietly in a chair reading a book.

  “Good morning,” he said quietly

  “Ugh.” I yawned. “I think my right side is numb from the waist down.”

  “I tried to keep Cupcake off the bed but he wouldn’t listen to me,” he smiled

  “Not a big surprise. He doesn’t listen to me very often either.” I answered

  “Where’s Oscar?” I asked as I looked around the floor and noticed him missing

  “He’s right here.” Robert said. Oscar poked his head up and I saw he was indeed sitting by Robert’s side contently

  Polly groaned and tried to roll over on Cupcake, which he deemed as an invitation for attention. Chaos ensued as Cupcake jumped in between Polly and Katya. Polly started cursing up a storm while Katya and Robert laughed hysterically.

  “Welcome to my life.” I said as I got up and went into the bathroom