Sister Francis led us down toward the beach and in the misty haze of night, I caught a glimpse of the roaming apparition in search of final rest. She must have shot pure terror through the nuns’ souls. The angel of doom, having come to judge their souls.
Maeve was a genius.
She continued to move along the water's edge as if unaware of our arrival—too focused on her eternal journey. It was only when she turned to begin another cross along the beach that she acknowledged our presence.
Her eyes moved across Jayne and me, measuring us as if checking to see if we were the embodiment of the sins of Sister Francis. With a scowl, she passed judgment on the three women without question.
Maeve lifted her arm and reached toward us. With a wave of her fingers, she beckoned us over to her.
I took Jayne's arm and led her to Maeve. Her thin body quaked with the chill of night and also with the fear of the unknown, but she held no hesitation in walking with me.
Allowing Jayne in between us, Maeve and I protected her as our purple aura grew stronger and surrounded the three of us in an orb of lavender light.
The nuns stepped back from the strange phenomena and Sister Francis grimaced.
"Be off with you then, witches," she barked. "We want nothing to do with the ways of the beast."
Maeve's spine straightened.
"Oh, but you must face the beast, don't you see." Maeve's harrowing words filled the mist with terror that widened the nun's eyes. "Be ready. For you will suffer the same that you have made innocents endure here. Only, you must reconcile with your Lord." She nodded at each woman. "Do you foresee forgiveness?"
The women stood silent.
"Do you see forgiveness?" Maeve shouted.
One of the nuns turned and ran toward the home, crying. The meek one stared at Sister Francis, as if waiting to be told how to respond.
Sister Francis pushed her shoulder in the direction of the stark, gray walls of the institution, and sent her moving. She took a few steps backward, keeping her eyes on us.
"You will rot with the beast," Francis murmured to me in defiance.
"And he will consume you for the rest of your living days," I retorted.
With that, she turned on her heels and took several steps away from us.
I whispered from the corner of my mouth to Maeve, "What are you going to do?"
The thought of her using the ring was almost as frightening as being trapped on this island prison. Almost. I still feared what would happen to us if we launched to the wrong place, or the wrong time. Or maybe we'd be trapped in the abyss. There was still so much unknown with our abilities, I couldn't stop the insecurity from rising up in me.
Maeve reached for the ring and rubbed it.
In an instant, the air churned around us and gusts threw sea spray into our faces. Through the rising blasts, I watched Sister Francis and the other nun cower from the squall, shielding their faces as they retreated further from the force of the gale.
Torrents of whirling wind shot all around us, creating a dizzying funnel of chaos. I squeezed my eyes shut in pure terror at what lay ahead.
And then, all visibility went dark.
Chapter 6
Through the blinding squalls, Maeve grabbed hold of Jayne and me and pulled us back with her. We ran along the edge of the beach and continued around the bend of the shoreline. Glancing over my shoulder every few moments, I was certain Sister Francis would grab me from the blasting surge that Maeve's ring had conjured.
But the chaos of the wind and the uncertainty of the ghostly apparition were enough to keep the nuns away from us. They had run to the building for shelter, probably wondering if we would vanish into thin air. I half wondered it myself.
Rounding the bend of the beach, out of sight of our enemies, Maeve slowed as the wind died down. Jayne and I walked by her side as I glanced all around us for clues of time and place. I couldn’t be sure if Maeve had conjured a vision that had launched us off the island. The driving winds had blurred my orientation.
But the beach was the same. The looming shadow of the dark walls of the institution towered over us, keeping close watch. We hadn't blasted to a new place.
We were still here. Trapped.
I turned to Maeve with wide eyes. "It didn't work?" I asked. "We're still here. They'll find us before too long." I shot a paranoid look over my shoulder.
"Don't lose faith, Isobel," Maeve replied.
She moved closer to the water and reached down for a rope. She pulled it, again and again, creating a coiled pile like a python in the sand behind her. As she continued pulling, a dark shadow out on the water came into view. It emerged more clearly from the mist as it got closer and the gentle waves lapped it right up onto the sand.
Maeve reached for the tip of the craft and pulled it a bit further from the water.
"Hop in," she whispered.
I squinted my eyes to take in the details of the boat. It was black as tar and open like a wide canoe—a traditional fisherman's currach. And the shadow of a person lurked at the far end.
"Go on," Maeve encouraged me to climb in.
"Who the hell is that?" I whispered as I lifted my leg over the side.
"Sure ya don't think I'd miss a minute of this frolicking, would ya now?" Mother Maureen's voice turned the chill in the air to warm honey.
"Maureen!" I fell into the boat with excitement and, keeping low, stumbled over to her.
She threw her arms around me and pulled me into her bosom. I'd never felt safer.
"Come on, Jayne!" I waved her on. "It's Mother Maureen. You will love her. And I know she'll love you." I beckoned for Jayne to climb in.
She struggled at first, but then with Maeve's help she climbed aboard as Maeve gave us a good shove off. She jumped in then, wet to the waist, and hoisted the rope back on board.
Two sets of oars kept us busy rowing in shifts. Maureen guided us to follow a light on the far off shore.
In silence, we rowed and breathed and smiled.
Our salvation had come at last. I had Maeve with me, and Mother Maureen. And the best part was, we had Jayne now too.
The four of us were a sisterhood that could never be broken. We all needed each other the same as the next and together we could face whatever was thrown our way.
"Maureen." I broke the silence of the calm sea. "What about Ryan? What have they done to him?"
I couldn't help my brain from leaping to the next problem.
"Ach, yeh've no concerns of the lad, Isobel." She glanced to the light across the water and it grew brighter. "Things have changed now, ya see. When backed into a corner, Ryan understands now that he can use his gift as defense." She paused. "A weapon, really."
I stopped rowing for a moment, considering her words. She was right. We'd all made the transition from hiding our gifts to using them to defend ourselves, and those we loved, from people who wanted to stop us.
We'd just done it on the beach. Maeve used the power of the ring, as more of a decoy, to aid our escape. She’d pretended to be an angel of doom to get her way, exploited her gift ever so sweetly. Together, our mystical connection glowed purple in the face of our enemies and we made no attempt at hiding it. We’d used it against them.
I pulled on my oars again, digging deep into the water. It was the first time I'd realized our gifts didn't need to be hidden anymore. It was time to use them as a force.
And now, with the assassin Druids coming for us, there was no better time to band together and use the compounded energy of all of our abilities.
My mind wandered back to Ryan. He was the most reluctant of us all to use his gift.
"A weapon?" I asked Maureen. "What do you mean?"
"Ach, lassie," she chuffed. "Sure, the Garda had no chance against him. Their batons, their guns, and cuffs. Child's play."
The vision of the uniformed officers striking Ryan across the back of the knees made my stomach turn. As he’d dropped to the ground, they’d begun cuffing him behind his back w
hen the door of the white van slammed, trapping me within.
In those final moments, Maeve's glance and her wink told me she had it under control, but still, at the time, there was no way I could be sure.
Rowing faster now with a guttural need to see Ryan, I kept my eyes fixed on Maureen's silhouette beside me.
She continued. "All he needed was the opportunity to touch one of them." She chuckled. "The one with the cuffs. Poor chap. Never saw it coming."
The beam of light from the beach blinded me as we rowed our final pulls up onto the sand. Maureen's story of Ryan's escape hovered on pause as our focus shifted to exiting the craft and feeling the freedom of the mainland under our feet.
The thick ray of light that had been our steady beacon now shook erratically and then hit the sand, sending its light across the surface of the beach toward our boat. Then the shadow of a figure ran into the light, heading straight for us. His agile strength and speed along the sand left no doubt in my mind. It was Ryan.
I nearly fell out of the boat, scrambling to get to him. As I stumbled into the shallow waves, he splashed over to me and scooped me up into his arms.
"Isobel. Thank Christ," he whispered in my ear, pressing his cheek against mine. His hands ran through my hair and he inhaled the smell of me like it was his oxygen.
Every thought and emotion he held exploded in my mind. Our contact sent him through me like an electric current, blowing my mind with his worry, and now his relief.
My hand ran behind his neck and pulled his eyes to mine. Staring into his soul, I saw a new version of him.
He was more awake than ever. Alive.
There was a fighter in him that I hadn't seen before. One that was ready for battle and would do whatever was necessary to protect those he loved. It sent a chill through me that excited every nerve. I kissed him with a passion that had been sheltered and protected from fear, from the uncertainty of new love. But now, that passion was unleashed, leaving me desperate for his touch and his complete soul.
His arms wrapped me with his strength, proving he would never let go, and he kissed me with equal desperation. The feel of his mouth sent my mind to places it usually dared not go and I shivered with excitement.
Flashes of the moment of his arrest threatened to distract my bliss and I pushed them back for the moment. Nothing was more important than reconnecting with him now.
"A little help here?" Maureen's voice pulled at the back of my mind. "Um, lovebirds. Have ye forgotten the rest of us?"
Ryan's hold on me loosened and I blinked my eyes open. Our moment had passed, but the joy of it lingered in every fiber of me.
We pulled the currach further from the water to help the others plant their feet on dry land. I held Maureen’s arm as she lumbered out of the currach. Ryan lifted Jayne out of the boat as she struggled, too weak to climb out herself.
"You must be Jayne," he said as he assisted her out and steadied her on her feet. "I'm glad to finally meet you."
"Thank you," she murmured as she found her balance in the sand.
As he checked her steadiness, his eyes lifted to mine in a jolt. It was dark on the beach but I could still see enough of his concerned gaze to know he'd seen something unusual in Jayne.
Something that scared the shit out of him.
The heavy mist in the air turned to rain as we made our way up the beach. Ryan had secured the boat and led us along a trail through the dunes, using his big light to show the way. His heavy stare held concern about Jayne and I couldn't wait to have a moment alone with him to hear what he had seen.
Before long, the rain turned to a downpour that started us scurrying to the truck faster.
Ryan held Maureen's arm for her balance through the uneven terrain. Before long he pointed to the inlet where the truck waited. I helped Jayne navigate the sandy trail in her bare feet, as she wobbled along with unsteady steps.
"I can't believe it," she whispered to me as we made our way to the truck. "I just can't believe I'm off the island. It feels so strange. Like I don’t know myself any more."
"I know," I replied. "It's a lot to take in. Let's just focus on getting you to the cottage. We'll have warm food and clothes for you. And you'll have a cozy bed."
She slowed a moment and huffed, as if she was second-guessing her escape. She glanced back in the direction of the island.
"No, Jayne," I responded to her disbelief. "You deserve this. You’re free. It's the way things are supposed to be."
She swallowed hard, fighting tears, and picked up her pace again. “But…,’ she hesitated, looking up at me through worried eyes. “There are things I haven’t told you, Izzy. About my past.”
I stopped short and blocked her.
“You need to stop judging yourself, Jayne,” I stated. “There’s nothing you can tell me that will change anything between us.”
I held her gaze to confirm to her I meant what I said and then I blinked. The blink was a natural response to my shock. The shock that I couldn’t see her truth. She had some form of a shield in place and I couldn’t penetrate it.
Then in that exact moment, as if the heavens had exploded and shattered into a million shards, a boom shot through the air and rattled our bones. A second later, we were pelted by chunks of ice, smashing all around us.
Hail. Pounding everywhere, the size of golf balls.
Ryan covered Maureen's head with his arm and jacket and we ran in a frenzy to make the final distance to the car.
Hail struck the ground in every direction, bouncing off the sand and shattering on rocks. The pelting sounds exploded our senses as the hail bombarded everything in its path.
It was a complete freak of nature. I'd never seen actual hail in my entire life.
The sound of hammered metal and shattering glass sent chills through me as the truck took the worst of the hits.
Ryan threw the door open and lifted Maureen in. He hurried the rest of us to the passenger’s side and helped us climb in. I jumped to the small back bench where he kept his tools and Maeve joined me. Once Jayne was nestled next to Maureen, Ryan flew back around to the driver’s side, holding his jacket up over his head.
Hail continued to pound down on the truck, smashing every last inch of it as we covered our ears from the deafening assault.
With a final slam, Ryan settled behind the wheel, and in that same moment, all went silent.
After a couple seconds of stillness, we dropped our hands from our ears and adjusted ourselves in our seats.
"What the hell was that?" I murmured, reaching for Maureen's shoulder. "Is everyone okay?"
We checked ourselves and each other for any signs of damage, but we seemed to all be unharmed. All except the truck. The hood was a pocked mess of dents and the windscreen was shattered like spider webs in every location.
Ryan put the key in the ignition and turned it. The engine roared to life like a pristine machine.
"It's okay. Nobody's hurt," Ryan stated. But we all felt his pain for his truck.
He glanced around the cab at all of us, then added, "We're together. That's what matters." He shifted into gear and pulled out.
We drove in silence as Ryan navigated the dunes, finally finding paved road.
I glanced at Maeve next to me and found her staring with a harrowed expression.
"Are you okay?" I reached for her knee. "We made it. Your plan worked."
She turned her gaze to me and blinked slowly.
"Yes. We made it," she agreed with flat affect.
"What is it then?" I pressed.
She shifted in her seat to face me. "And then the heavens will break and fall upon the earth in shards of shattered souls."
Her voice held a haunting tone of foretelling.
I swallowed hard. "What does that mean?"
Her voice went low and in a hushed whisper she added, "The second sign." She rubbed her temples and then her eyes. "The hail. It's the second prophecy."
Chapter 7
So the prophecies continue
d.
First the swarm, then the hail.
They were signs. Signs of the countdown to the end of time. Signs that the arrival of the assassin Druids was getting closer.
They knew we were trying to stop the prophecies. They knew if we succeeded before the eclipse, we could put a stop to the curse. And they were willing to travel through time to make sure we didn’t get the chance to do that.
But we were willing to face them. That was the part they hadn’t anticipated.
Maureen broke the somber silence in the truck. "So, Maeve has explained to us, while we planned your escape, what ye two found in the tomb. The prophecies. We just need to study it all more closely now.”
“And you’ll have yer share of explaining to do, Isobel,” Ryan’s voice cut through the truck, reminding me that I’d gone back to the tomb with Maeve after promising not to.
Shit. I forgot I still had to navigate that one.
Ryan lightened his foot on the gas and turned his head slightly. His half-lifted smirk proved he’d already forgiven me.
Maureen added, “Well, now that yer off that wretched Friar Island, it's time ye regroup and set your agendas straight."
She was right. The obstacle of my ongoing witch hunt had finally been removed, for the time being anyway, and that gave us time to plan our next steps without interference.
I glanced at Maeve, grateful for her courage and her foresight for seeing what we could accomplish as a team. My brief incarceration proved what our combined strength could do. And it made me realize the power in the team we had.
I gazed out the window at the shadows of the far off hills, watching them rest in heavy slumber in preparation for a new day. A tightness in my gut pulled my attention back to Maureen’s name for the island.
Friar Island.
It had been my first time hearing the official moniker of the loathsome island and it turned my stomach with the misleading tranquility of its name.
My eyes trailed up into the hills again and I considered the misleading tranquility of the clearing as well.
The knot in my stomach clamped harder then as I realized what lay ahead.
Truth Seer (Irish Mystic Legends Book 3) Page 5