 
### Budding Magic

### The O'Byrne Daughters - Book One

### L. S. Fayne

Copyright 2009 L. S. Fayne

Publication by Fayne Artists

ISBN-13: 978-1-60903-025-4

Revision B - 2020

Smashwords Edition

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Some historic events are written into a fantasy forum. The author reserves the right to Freedom of Speech to express her views on some historic events. Any resemblance to persons living is purely coincidental.

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BOOKS BY L. S. FAYNE

Fantasy Magical Adventure:

Written for Young Adult and Adults

19th Century Series: The O'Byrne Daughters

Budding Magic: Book One

It's Just Magic!: Book Two

Gathering of the Raven: Book Three

20th Century Series: Druantia's Children

Christmas in the House of O'Byrne: Book One

Druantia's Braids: Book Two

There Can't Be Shadows Without Light: Book Three

21st Century: Raven Investigations

Mad Queens and Dying Kings

Non-Fiction Books

FiBroMyAlgia Chatter

Romance Suspense Series: MONOP

CONTAINS ADULT SEXUAL CONTENT

The Lie that is Vermont Avenue: Book One

Marvin Buried in the Gardens: Book Two

Landing on Chance: Book Three
Table of Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

From the Author

Chapter One

June 1, 1838

The bedroom was shadowed and quiet. Although Aine slept quietly, her dreams were filled with unsettled dread. These weren't new dreams. They had been repeating for the last three months. She woke feeling depressed. She rubbed her tummy—feeling the life within. The baby would be a girl—strong and smart. She would name her Haley, meaning ingenious one. She could perceive her avoiding most situations and settling others with skill as well as magic.

When Aine thought about the magical aspects of her daughter's gifts, her vision was strangely fogged. She couldn't see the _depths_ of their _magic_. This was rather strange—and worrisome—because Aine's strongest gift was the ability to discern gifts. That she couldn't do this for her own daughters was very disappointing, and had caused many sleepless nights.

She had named all her daughters just days before they were born. Kellan had been the first. She would be strong, bold and would fight for what was right. Kellan was a term for a warrior princess. Aine smiled to herself. Kellan was living up to her name. She was only fourteen but was a natural leader. She definitely kept her sisters in line. She was not traditionally pretty, but her angular features were interesting. Her smile was wide and strong, her cheekbones high. Her dark brown hair emphasized her wide amethyst eyes. The villagers would say _witches_ eyes.

Then there was Alana and Dara, the twins. Both girls had flaming curly red hair, blue eyes and big grins. Both could be caught getting into mischief on a regular basis. The name Alana meant the bright fair one, and the name Dara meant one with wisdom and compassion. Usually, people were first drawn to Alana's bright, friendly face, but then tended to drift over to Dara for her kindness and compassion.

Dara had an old soul—eye contact with Dara could be very disconcerting. She was so adult like that people found themselves talking to her about things that most children wouldn't understand. Dara seemed to _always_ understand. The twins were thirteen and had very distinct personalities. Most people did not mistake one twin for the other once they got to know them. Dara, she knew, had sight similar to herself. It may or may not develop into being able to see into the future, but she definitely could see into _things_. There was also a hint which might manifest itself into true healing.

Alana—Aine sighed resigned—would be the temptress of the family. She had that animal magnetism which would lure men. Aine didn't know of any temptresses who bode well—none who had found true love. Sometimes Alana seemed a little vague. Aine knew she was _very_ smart, but sometimes it was hard to get her attention. She was quite a daydreamer.

Rhoswen would be eleven in August. She and Kellan had the same coloring—dark hair and amethyst eyes—but Kellan looked hearty and strong, while Rhoswen looked very feminine and fragile. Aine knew that the fragility was very deceptive. Rhoswen was exceptionally strong. Of all the daughters, Rhoswen was the most spiritual and pure. Aine had spied Rhoswen walking with _Druantia_ in the meadow.

Goosebumps surfaced on Aine's arms just thinking about Druantia. Druantia was a Goddess and was known as the _Queen_ of the Druids—she did not come to call on just _anyone_ —that she visited directly with her eleven year old daughter was very unnerving. All of the O'Byrne's who carried magic would meet Druantia at least once in their lifetime. That time was during the initiation of their personal magic. The O'Byrne's line was directly descended from her.

Druantia's blood literally flowed in all the O'Byrne's veins. They were her children. She watched out for them—sort of. A person had to be careful for what they asked of Druantia for it would always be on her terms. The archives read that she was the daughter of an elfin maid with some human blood—and an angel.

Vevila was her fifth daughter. Vevila was only nine but was already on her way to becoming a vivacious, green eyed, auburn haired enchantress. She was a whirlwind of energy, and could sing as good as—and in her mother's eyes—better than the angels. Her voice was pure and delightful. It was a little early, but Aine believed that when magic came upon her, she would be able to trance big groups of people with that voice.

Aine was most concerned about her sixth daughter—Kane. Just before Kane was born, Aine had visions of turbulence—of battles—even war. This daughter was in the middle of those dreams. The name Kane means the _bringer_ of war. Kane was tall for her age, taller than Vevila, and the only daughter who had blond hair. She had intense, dark blue eyes which were typically stormy. She questioned everything. She did not take anything at face value.

Kane was a little scrapper. She wouldn't back down if she felt she was in the right. Aine had been trying to teach her to see all the sides of a situation before jumping into it. Kane just wasn't interested. She would get mad and just want to hit someone. She also _would not_ understand that life wasn't supposed to be fair. She went to great lengths to ensure that it was.

Aine smiled nostalgically, Kane's one vanity was her hair. It was very fine, but there was a lot of it. Kane took scrupulous care of it, carefully brushing it out every night. It was the longest hair Aine had ever seen on an eight year old child. There had been many a night when mother and daughter spent time brushing out that tangled length.

It was Kellan who was having the greatest influence over Kane. Kellan gave up trying to stop Kane from fighting and started teaching her strategy, _that_ —Kane would listen to. The two spent hours talking about situational strategies. Some of their results were staggering. It was also interesting to note that in teaching her strategy, Kane was also learning about how the other side felt. Exactly what Aine had been _trying_ to teach her. Aine noticed that Kane had stopped just jumping into the middle of things, and even sometimes changed her mind about getting involved at all.

The baby decided to give Aine an enormous kick in the ribs. Aine suppressed the groan that would bring others into the room. Everyone seemed to want to hover over her. She knew that it would do no good. She knew that this baby would be her last. She didn't have the strength, or the will power to survive this birth.

Keegan—her husband of sixteen years—had died two months ago when a group of drunk young men tried to kill a feral sow. Keegan had been the love of her life. He had been so strong, and so vital. His hair had still been a vibrant dark brown. It hadn't had any white's or grays. His eyes were green except for the blue-green cast when he was excited or impassioned. He was not supposed to have left her so early in life! They still had so much to live for and to do!

The drunken idiots chased the sow into the center of the village. Keegan ran out to grab one of the children from the path of the charging sow, at that moment—one of the drunken men threw a spear and pierced Keegan through the heart. Mandy, one of the village weavers said he was dead before he even hit the ground.

Aine knew that was true. She saw the whole thing in her head. It repeated itself over and over again. What was worse was that the men weren't even sorry. They blamed the pig escaping on Keegan's interference. Two of them had the audacity to knock on the door two days later and demand compensation for the escaped pig! They said their families were hungry. Hell—all of Ireland was hungry! Aine wondered if anyone noticed that there were now two _boars,_ and a sow running around loose. Aine would bet that none of the villagers would hunt them down for food—no matter how hungry their children got.

The O'Byrne's had been here for as many generations as the village existed. The villagers knew what the purple eyes meant. There was _power_ in this house. The fighting and slaughtering between the Irish and the English _miraculously_ flowed around this prosperous little village—due to O'Byrne interference. The villagers dealt severely with any of its members who threatened that miraculous interference.

For generations, O'Byrne magic had convinced others that this area only contained a derelict old farm house with an uninteresting castle which was in ruins. The land itself had spell centuries old which _discouraged_ people from entering into its domain. For some reason people just didn't see the sweet pastures, or the lovely trees.

Aine reflected that change was coming. The old spells would no longer protect the land or her people from the ravaging hunger. Death would follow the wake of hunger for years to come. They only had a few years to prepare for the survival of the village. A time was coming when even an old farm house would seem like a castle, and worse, some would be desperate enough to _kill_ for. She was taking measures now to save all that she could. She fervently wished more could be saved—but could not perceive how. Her precious Ireland would never be the same again. The people, Irish or English, could not win this war.

Caryn peeked around the door. Concern filled her when she noticed her sister's vague eyes. Her naturally vibrant red hair was faded out—much like the rest of her. Normally, her bright lilac eyes would laugh at everyone, as if she had a secret which the others couldn't fathom. Today they were gray and flat. Caryn had never seen them gray before, she was scared for her, but was even more scared that Aine seemed resigned to die.

"So how is my baby sister doing today?" Caryn asked.

"About the same as yesterday," Aine answered, "come in. We need to talk."

"Not the dreary babble you spoke of yesterday, I hope," Caryn frowned at her.

Aine closed her eyes and prayed for patience. Caryn's main gift was the ability to communicate with the animals. She had never been comfortable with Aine's gift of foresight, or even the spells learned at their mothers knee, especially the spells requiring life energy— _blood_ energy.

"The baby will be born tomorrow. Her name is Haley—Haley Caitlin O'Byrne." Aine told her. "I've left instructions concerning the girls."

"You know that isn't necessary," Caryn protested.

"Yes, it is!" Aine was irritated that Caryn just _would not_ listen.

Times were going to get hard—very hard. She glared at Caryn, but then relented seeing the fear in her eyes. She sighed, it wasn't Caryn's fault. Caryn hadn't developed the harsher gifts which could take a person over. She wasn't born with the telling eyes that others automatically judged as witch. She _could_ have blended in with the village folk, but for some unfathomable reason, always stood by herself—always alone.

_She_ looked like the _younger_ sister, Aine realized. Her beauty hadn't faded. She still had gorgeously fierce blue eyes, her dark brown hair glistened with red highlights—not the dreaded whites, her body was lithe and strong with high bosoms. She knew from experience that Caryn was a handful, a handful that her husband, Arlen was dedicated to handle.

Just then Haley gave another swift kick under the ribs. Caryn saw the movement of the kick. Aine's face blanched and turned white. No wonder her sister was so out of sorts with that kind of movement going on. She walked over to the water pitcher, dampened a cloth, and pressed it against Aine's forehead.

"Rae got here last night," Caryn assured her, "you and Haley will be fine."

"I also sent for Terah," Aine told her bluntly, "I've hired her as a wet nurse, I don't have enough milk. She should be arriving this afternoon."

Aine didn't bother to tell her sister that she had hired Terah on a prolonged contract. She _knew_ what she _knew,_ and had come to terms with it a long time ago. Terah was one of the _cousins_. She was around sixteen, and had recently had a baby girl. The father wasn't in the picture, and Terah was having a rough time raising the baby. She had assured Aine that she had plenty of milk, and was excited about living with this branch of the family. She didn't have any magical talents, but understood the magic. She should blend right in with the other girls. Aine hadn't told her that she didn't expect to live past the birth of her child.

"Hi mama," Alana poked her head around the corner, "I've drawn a bath for you if you would like one. I've put in your favorite scent of lavender and vanilla."

Caryn used the distraction to leave the room. Aine was so intense when talking about their future. It tended to get on her nerves.

"That would be lovely," Aine smiled at Alana, "come in."

Both Alana and Dara came into the room. Aine smiled at her girls. Where one was—the other would soon be too. Their normally bright, blue eyes were unusually somber. They smiled bravely, but Aine could see the pain and fear in the slope of their smiles. She felt sad that she couldn't comfort them. She quickly suppressed the tears forming in her eyes, and swung her feet over the side of the bed. They helped her to stand. She could no longer see her feet, and didn't bother to find her slippers. She didn't need her slippers anyway. The stone floor was warm due to the thermal system embedded in the rock foundation.

Dara was disturbed by how frail her mother felt. She was thirty-two. Not old by O'Byrne reckoning, but maybe a little too old to still be baring children.

_:She feels wrong,:_ Alana sent to Dara.

_:I know_ ,: Dara sent back, : _Papa's death damaged her. Her life energy is really flat.:_

They carefully led Aine into the bathing room.

The bathing room had running water, a courtesy from Aine and Caryn's grandfather, the ever adventuring James Caidance O'Byrne. There was even a portrait of him over the fireplace mantle. Maybe if he hadn't been out adventuring, Aine thought, his daughter wouldn't have become such a terror.

A large claw-foot bathtub sat proudly in the middle of the room. It was filled with hot fragrant water. The toilet sat in the corner protected by a wooden barrier. It had continuous running water—which could be a little distracting for first time users. The twins preferred the bath _house_. It had a huge thermally warmed pool which could hold all the girls at the same time.

"Thank you sweeties," Aine said to them while she climbed into the hot steamy water,, "I'll call you when I need help out."

"Here's a towel," Dara hesitated, "make sure you call out when you're ready, do _not_ climb out on your own!"

Normally, Alana would be scolding her sister about now for being so bossy. Aine was surprised to see her nodding instead. She gave them the _look_. She had to laugh as they gave her the _look_ right back. Alana handed her the washing cloth which had slipped onto the floor.

Aine was shocked to see four distinct bruises outlining a pattern into her arm. She caught her arm and carefully turned it over, there was the fifth bruise—the bruise of a thumb. There was also a crescent shaped cut. So, Aine thought, Caryn still kept her thumb nail sharpened. She checked the cut to see if there was any curse attached by accident, or design. There was none. Caryn probably hadn't even known that she had cut her.

"What happened?" She asked angrily.

Alana and Dara were silent for a minute. They knew there was no point in avoiding the question. It was a sign of their mother's frailty that she even had to ask.

"Aunt Caryn became angry because Cally-cat was sitting on the cook table." Alana began hesitantly. "She told me to take him outside. I told her that Cally was a magi-cat, and would just end up right back on the table. She grabbed my arm and _stressed_ that I was to take the _cat_ outside."

"She didn't know that Cally was magic?" Aine asked.

"Didn't seem to," Alana said quietly. "I'm sorry mama. I should just have done what she asked."

"Oh baby," Aine held her face, "never do what you think is stupid or wrong! No matter who is doing the telling! It was wrong of her to not listen to you about Cally, and it was wrong of her to grab you as such—understand?"

"We understand mama," Dara reached out to caress her hand. "We just didn't particularly want to choose that battle to fight. So much is going on right now."

"No don't," Alana pulled away as she felt her mama's healing touch. "It will heal on its own. Have a pleasant bath, mama."

"Call when you're finished," Dara re-emphasized.

They waited until she was fully submerged in the tub before leaving. Aine thought about what Dara had said about choosing their battles. Maybe it didn't concern them too much about Caryn's bullying, but it concerned her greatly. She was leaving her precious daughters into her care. She frowned thoughtfully.

"Tread softly in my daughters spheres," She deftly pricked her finger with her sharpened thumb nail and let the blood drip into the water, "or be threefold so damaged."

She watched as the blood drops merged with the water, and were carried away to the world outside. She was very tired, but vastly satisfied with her curse. She would have liked it to have had more flair, but it would do.

She sighed with pleasure. The water felt so good. It felt marvelous to get the panic sweat off her. She tried to just let her mind drift, but ended up crying instead. She did not want to abandon her girls, but knew that no matter what she did—this was her time.

_:They will be okay you know,:_ a voice told her from across the room.

"I know," she answered sadly, "I can see them. They are going to have one hell of a ride. It's a time of change. You either change—or you die."

_:Is that what happened?:_ Keegan asked.

"No such thing," Aine snapped at him, "you were taken before your time—by the choice and free will of another."

_:Those little piggies look pretty good running around out there. My compliments,:_ he reached his hand into the water. It stirred just a little. _:Who were those murdering scum anyway?:_

"One was the Earl's son," Aine frowned, "The other two were homeless Irishmen. I don't know why the boy would be hanging out with the likes of _them_. We do what we can to help the displaced, but it is not for them to take out their frustrations and disappointments on others, especially those trying to help!"

_:And which two came knocking?:_ he asked.

"The Irish," she answered, "too bad for them."

She could hear him laughing. He would never have laughed about this while he was alive. Being dead must bring out the humor in a person.

"I'll be meeting with Lord Jaspin this afternoon. If he chooses to ignore our words—he and this village will lose everything. We can't save Ireland," Aine said sadly.

_:The second rule is freedom to make a choice,"_ he said ironically—considering why he was _hovering_ there, _:the rules of spirit.:_

He was referring to the belief that the sole purpose of living this life was the choices which are made. If choice isn't a freedom, then how will anyone be judged by the choices they make? So a rule would have to be the freedom to choose. The first rule is to not mess with anyone else's spiritual beliefs—hinder not.

"I hate to think of how I'll be judged. I just made a pig out of an ass." She could hear him laughing as he faded out of the room.

He was the reason why she would be able to endure the next day and a half. He would be right here waiting for her. She decided to get on out before she became gloomy again.

"I'm ready," she said quietly. Sure enough the twins popped into the room. She thought they had been listening in on her conversation, she grinned at them—they paused in thought.

"You were talking to papa weren't you?" Dara asked boldly.

"I could have. Does that surprise you?" Aine asked.

"We remember you talking to Grandma Tess, and smelling her perfume afterwards," Alana explained.

"Is he okay and everything?" Dara asked.

"He's okay, seems to have developed a sense of humor," Aine smiled and held out her arms. Dara stood to her left, while Alana stood on her right. They braced as she carefully pulled herself up by pulling on their arms.

"You're getting a lot stronger," Aine commented.

"We have too—to lug you around," Alana told her. Just then, little Haley gave a swift kick. Alana started in surprise.

"Meet your little sister, Haley," Aine introduced them.

### ****

Vevila led Lord Jaspin and his son into the parlor. Aine could tell that both men were uncomfortable. Keegan had always dealt with Lord Jaspin. She led them into Keegan's office. She didn't want this conversation to be overheard by her daughters.

Lord Jaspin had known the O'Byrne family all his life. This section of land, O'Byrne land, had been deeded to an English Earl during the time of plantations. Funny thing though, they tended to _forget_ about it. Lord Jaspin's family—loyal Protestants—had always been the perceived governors of this particular area. The two families had lived in peace for generations, and _tried_ to keep themselves separate from the various fighting fractions.

"This is Corin, my oldest son," Lord Jaspin introduced.

"I am Aine O'Byrne, Keegan was my husband," Aine introduced herself to Corin.

"I was sorry to hear about your husband," Corin told her sincerely.

She liked Corin instantly. He was well mannered and had a calmness about him which she found soothing. He was nervous about her, but willing to meet her eyes—her purple eyes. She had seen him in a vision caring for their people. Maybe, the village could survive their upcoming problems.

Corin had pale hair and sunny blue eyes like his mother. It contrasted charmingly with his father, who had earthy brown eyes and dark wavy hair. The image of the two together was very striking. They looked more like friends rather than like father and son. She could imagine the notice they would receive from the lady fair when they strolled around together.

"A senseless tragedy, I trust that the murdering scum has been brought to justice?" Lord Jaspin asked.

"Thank you, Lord Jaspin. Of course, by O'Byrne justice," Aine noticed a nervous sweat forming on his forehead.

"One of the sons of the Earl of Keatonway, our _benefactor_ , has recently discovered this little area of prosperity—and wants it. He has been asking questions of the villagers," Lord Jaspin told her nervously.

"There was an Englishman running around with those who killed Keegan. Could that have been him?" Aine asked them.

"It was him," Corin confirmed, "I had a slight run-in with him at Mickay's. He was still drunk and bragging about killing some ignorant _peasant_ with a boar stick. Mick chased him out with a fish bludgeon. He'll be back."

"He won't be back," Aine told them, "he's probably witless by now—hallucinations can do that to a person," she shrugged.

"Keegan asked us to meet this day," Lord Jaspin swallowed nervously, "Did you need something?"

Aine studied the faces of the two men before she could begin. She hoped they would be receptive to what she had to say.

"In about six or seven years the potato will disappear from the lives of our people for a few _years_. It seems like a long time away, but time will move swiftly. There will be mass starvation and disease. The English will continue exporting our goods instead of feeding our people. We will be forced to buy maze, an inferior corn, just to feed our people. If our people are to survive— _you_ must start now to prepare. It will take time to stealthily gather what you will need. It will take even longer to get our proud people to eat something else—besides a potato. That is unless you plan to stand by doing nothing and watch as hundreds of thousands of people die. We cannot save but a very small fraction, but a fraction is worth saving."

"But what of the Manor?" Lord Jaspin asked. "It is doing splendidly. I hear that it is only a fraction full."

"The manor was build to support 800 people," Aine told them. "That will only hold a smidgeon of the needy."

The _Manor_ , was an O'Byrne _fashioned_ workhouse. It had been finished two years ago from O'Byrne resources and management. Unlike other workhouses, it did not operate under the premise that people were lazy and deserved to be treated disrespectfully. It had not been designed to discourage dependence. It was a house where people could get the needed resources to survive, and in return were given tasks to perform.

It was the Macpherson's responsibility to match abilities to tasks. Aine reflected that they were very good at it. Since the manor was supported solely from the _plantations_ resources, they did not have to follow the English dictations on _how_ to procure the _poor tax_. They did however have to account for all monies spent and received for tax purposes— _English_ tax purposes.

"What about the O'Byrne's? Your family has always taken care of the village," Lord Jaspin was appalled. He knew to _always_ believe Aine O'Byrne's visions. He had been witness enough times to know to listen carefully now.

"This is bigger than our small village," Aine told them sadly, "we, the O'Byrne's, have been given a new direction. We will be moving our archive to America. Our family—like so many others—has dwindled down in size. This constant fighting is killing all of us. Only a small part of the family may choose to remain." She looked directly into Lord Jaspin's eyes. "You may wish to leave Ireland. The good landlords will probably bankrupt themselves. The rest will probably end up dead! There is no shame in running—most of Ireland will run with you. At least you have a home in England to return, too."

"What about you? Are you going too?" Corin asked.

"My daughters will be sent to create a new O'Byrne conclave," Aine answered, sidestepping the question, "they are the only future we have left. My sister will most likely hold the house and the land. Keegan and I have planned for this event for many years. There are storage rooms set up in the house which will aid with what you need to do. The girls will not leave for a few years—but leave they will—then Ireland will have to stand on her own."

She stood up. The stress of the meeting and Haley hammering on her ribs caused her to blanch. Corin was instantly at her side. Yes—she liked him a lot. Too bad she couldn't keep him for one of her daughters.

### ****

That evening she went into labor. Haley resisted being delivered until late the next morning. With Rae occupied with Haley, it was easy for her to use the placenta blood mixed with her own blood to activate the wards she and Keegan had drawn into the floor. They had drawn them so that the tail would be just within her reach, the rest hidden by the bed. They had no idea at the time that Keegan would not be there to initiate the spell.

"There you go, little girl," Rae returned and placed little Haley on her mother's chest. Rae looked grandmotherly, a bit pudgy with a kind smile and sparkling bluish eyes. Her graying hair was usually pulled back into a tight bun. There had been many a baby that had pulled her hair out by the roots before she started pulling it back. She had been delivering babies for most of her life. It was her passion. She had arrived yesterday evening just before Aine went into labor.

"I will always love you," Aine whispered into her infant's ear. She kissed her infant daughter's curly red head, and then with her hand dangling into the pattern below, she passed into the other realm. As she knew—Keegan was waiting there to receive her.

The others in the house had not even known that she had passed when there was an explosion of energy. The wards which had been drawn months earlier flared brightly—death magic with birth magic.

The whole house shook violently. Kane stumbled out of the house to watch—astounded—as the very earth on their side of the wall, cracked open and sunk downward. Her stomach lurched as she realized she was falling. Just as suddenly it stopped, making her fall to her knees. She looked over to see Alana sitting down as well, her face white.

For Alana it was not just that the earth fell, which was bad enough, but that the wild energy of the land erupted outward. Alana had felt an unease with the land ever since that old bell in the tower had fallen, but nothing like this. Alana just hoped it would settle down. It felt as if her skin was inside-out.

They looked at each other and walked toward the wall. The broken earth was chest high on Kane—they had sunk that low. The wall, which was only a mimic of a wall, was a step past the break. Alana pulled herself up to peer over the wall and shrugged.

"Nothing looks different over there," Alana told Kane, puzzled as she looked at the old stable. "Let me lift you over and you can tell me what you see,"

Kane nodded, and Alana lifted her over the wall. Kane looked curiously at the stable. She didn't see anything unusual, either. It was as if nothing at all had happened. She looked back toward Alana and screamed in fear. It was all gone, everything. She looked down at the perilous ocean, instinctively moving away from the edge. The surf was crashing against the rocks. Their house, their land, had fallen into the ocean, and where was Alana?

"Kane!" Alana shouted, "Kane!"

Alana watched as her little sister ran back and forth to look over the edge of the wall. Her blue eyes wide with fear. She was pulling at her long blond tresses with distress. It was obvious that Kane couldn't see, or hear her. Alana stared at her with fascination—she could see and hear everything that Kane was doing. With a sigh, she pulled herself up and over the raised earth.

Kane ran backwards screaming as Alana's started to materialize before her. Alana finished climbing over the wall and looked back towards the house.

"Wow!" was all she could say as she sat down and watched the surf pound against the rocks.

### ****

"She just died!" Rae was beside herself, "I thought she was asleep. There was no bleeding—nothing." She could count on one hand the lives who were lost to either mothers, or babies. Aine should not have been among them!

"She knew that she would not survive this birth," Kellan said through her tears, "she said it was the way she would want to leave this world—by bringing in another."

Rhoswen and Vevila walked over to sit with Kellan. Dara looked around confused wondering where Alana was. Scared, she realized that she couldn't _feel_ her. She started to panic, but then as suddenly, she could feel her again. She frowned in puzzlement and huddled at Kellan's feet.

Kellan suppressed her fear as she realized that she was truly the _eldest_ , her sisters depended on her. Their Aunt Caryn was an unknown. She didn't even _glow_ with magic, mama and papa could light a room from their personal flush. She had only started staying with them when their mama had gotten sick with this pregnancy. Up until then, they only saw each other at special celebrations. She didn't know much about Uncle Arlen, just that he blew glass—though she did remember his big grin and his tendency to tell the wildest of tales, totally different from the ever serious Aunt Caryn.

Rae watched the unity of the sisters and knew that they would be okay. Kellan was strong, she would hold them together—but more so—the sisters trusted in her. The bond was very apparent.

"She didn't say anything to me," Terah was saying between sobs, "she just told me that she needed a wet nurse. That she didn't have enough milk this time. It was true enough, look how thin she is—was."

Terah had been excited about joining Aine's family. She was ashamed to admit, but there were times when she was extremely envious of Aine's daughters. There was so much love in this house. She loved visiting here, riding the donkeys, laughing as they played in the cold pond. She loved to hear Uncle Keegan's stories and listen to Aine sing. Those days were the happiest of her life—and now they were gone—forever.

Alana and Kane ran into the room, their faces were flushed with excitement. They stopped abruptly looking around at the sad, teary faces.

"What is it?" Alana asked.

"Mama just died," Dara told them with tear filled eyes.

Rae watched sadly as the twins hugged into each other crying. Kane sat down on the floor and stared dry eyed into the stone floor, her fingers circling the grooves between the tiles.

"And what about the baby, Haley?" Kane asked quietly.

"She is perfect," Terah answered with a sad smile.

"We've been cut off," Alana said with shock. "Mama did this!"

"What are you talking about?" Kellan asked confused.

"The earthquake," Kane told her.

"What?" Kellan frowned at them.

"You didn't feel it?" Alana asked astounded. "How could you not? It knocked Kane and me right to the ground."

The others just stared at them.

"You need to see this," Kane said, getting to her feet.

"This isn't the time for _games_ ," Terah told Kane condescendingly.

_"Games_?" Alana faced Terah, her blue eyes flashing, her hands clenched into fists. Every since Terah had arrived, she had acted loftily with them. Alana assumed it was because she was older than they. It had gotten old real fast.

The two cousins faced each other. Terah scratched her brown hair uncertainly—her smoky blue eyes turned to alarm as she took in Alana's crazy red hair and furious eyes. She frowned as she noticed the dirt on Alana's dress. Terah felt confused. She had not meant to make anyone angry. It was just that Kane tended to get on her nerves. She just wasn't a _normal_ child. She was always coming out with the strangest things—earthquake indeed!

_"Enough_!" Kellan called out. "Kane, what must we see?"

"It's outside by the wall," she said glaring at Terah.

They all walked out toward the wall.

"What the heck is that?" Dara exclaimed looking at the raised portion of the yard.

"It get's stranger," Alana told her. "Climb up over the wall and look back."

"I'll not be climbing up there," Rae told them. "You just climb on up and tell me what you see."

Alana and Kane watched as the others climbed over the wall and stared back. Shock radiated across their faces. Alana would have laughed if she hadn't felt so scared.

"What is it?" Rae asked them, feeling scared.

"They can't hear you," Alana told her. "It's the ocean. It's as if this land doesn't exist."

"Oh my!" Rae exclaimed.

Dara climbed back over the wall to sit on the edge with her feet swinging downward.

"I can even smell it," she said and closed her eyes. "If I didn't know better, I would swear that the ocean was really below me, and I know that it's a long ways from here."

"Look over there," Vevila pointed, "isn't that rock, Norman's Point?"

"It is," Kellan agreed, "and it looks right, as if the earth _had_ fallen between here and there, mama somehow shifted the image of the ocean to this point."

Dara jumped toward the surf below, only to find herself beside Alana and Kane.

"Dara!" Kellan cried out rushing to the edge. Dara reached up and patted the earth just in front of the wall where Kellan could see it.

"Oh yah," Kellan said feeling silly.

"That was braver than me," Alana told her. "I didn't let go until I felt the earth securely under my feet."

"I could _feel_ you here, silly," Dara told her.

Kellan, Vevila, and Rhoswen climbed down to join them. They stood quietly looking around, trying to understand what they had just found. Terah was still above, too scared to climb down.

"What are you girls doing?" Caryn called out.

They were going to be a handful, Caryn realized. Aine had let them run a little wild up here. She sighed—it would be her job to make ladies out of them. At least they were pretty girls, not a wren in the bunch. Caryn was once again amazed by all the variations in the children, blond, brunette, red head—blue eyes, green eyes, those eerie violet eyes, different noses and mouths, and yet it was obvious that they were family.

She came out further and stared at the broken earth. She had just found Aine's design under the bed. It was very complex. She had frowned at the time, realizing that she might not be able to decipher it. She shivered reflectively. She had hoped there would be no need to decipher it at all. She looked at the raised ground. Obviously, here was _part_ of that puzzle, and it gave her the _hee-bee-gee-bies_.
Chapter Two

"Ouch!" Molly McPherson exclaimed as she dropped the bedding. She pulled up her sleeve to peer at her arm. Burned into the flesh of her forearm was a raven. "Bloody brickin'it!"

Molly had been Aine's childhood friend. They were both the same ages, Molly sighed, she was only thirty-two, but felt old. Her hair was a mix of faded red and gray. It was braided high to keep it out of her way as she worked. Her skin was still smooth—well, maybe except her hands which were a little work roughened. She considered her eyes her best feature. It was odd, but when Aine and she ran around together, others didn't seem to notice Aine's unusual light purple eyes. They just assumed they were blue, like Molly's.

She walked out of the front and towards the back of the manor. She stared out at the endless ocean. She lightly touched the new burn and only then, could she see the O'Byrne property, beyond the wall. She grinned savagely—Aine had done it! She sat down on the wall and released her wound. This meant that Aine was dead just as she had foretold. She let the tears flow as she looked out to the sea. Aine had been a precious and trusted friend since they were small children. She would be dearly missed.

### ****

"Bloody hell," Arlen exclaimed.

Arlen pulled up his shirt to see what was burning and found a disfigurement that looked like a raven burned into his flesh. Hagan and Brody looked on astonished.

"I wonder what the freck that means?" Arlen rose to run water over the offending image.

"Aine," Brody said staring at his father's raven. "Something is wrong at the house."

Hagan nodded. Arlen sighed. Both his sons had inherited a measure of Druid magic from their mother. If they said something was wrong at the house—there would be. No matter how much their mother had tried to discourage the magic—there it was.

"Is your mother okay?" Arlen asked.

"Seems to be," Brody nodded. "I would like to make known that if you decide to be moving to the property, that I won't be going with you. I plan on asking Melanie to marry me."

"About time," Hagan punched him on the arm.

Arlen smiled at his two sons. They took after Caryn with their dark brown hair and fine blue eyes. The only feature he saw in them from his family was their nose. It was a _little_ big. He and his family were mostly fiery redheads with brown eyes. From time to time Arlen would notice a flash of purple within his son's eyes. He knew that Caryn saw it also, but tried to pretend it wasn't so. Both sons were growing strong and tall. Hagan and Brody thought it was fun to look down upon their father. That was okay. He was still the man of the house!

"Melanie is a fine young lady," Arlen smiled and then frowned. "If we move to the estate, which unfortunately is likely, you boys may have this house. You can figure out the details."

"I'll go with you," Hagan told his father. "I like it there. Brody can manage the house."

"Hey, thanks," Brody said happily.

One of the reasons that he had hesitated about asking Melanie to marry him was because they would have nowhere else to live. Melanie and his mother did not get along. He couldn't move her in here. Neither woman would approve. His father caught his eye and winked. He just laughed. You could choose your wife—you could not choose your mother. If you were smart, you would marry someone as unlike your mother as possible.

### ****

Stefan James O'Byrne looked with surprised irritation at the raven's image which was suddenly burned into the flesh of his forearm. He knew that his younger brother, Keegan was dead. He had felt his death. He gently touched the scorch mark and knew that Aine, too, had died. With a sad sigh he put down the hammer and thrust the half finished sword into the water. With a _thought_ , he doused the fire.

He looked way off into the distance. It had been a long time since he had last been in Ireland. Resigned, he packed up his _home_ and headed north.

### ****

Lord Jaspin was just sitting down to compose a letter when two documents suddenly materialized by his hand. He closed his eyes tightly shut. He hated magic. He picked up the first letter and dropped it in shock. He had seen it before, a long, long time ago. In fact, he had sneaked a peek at it in his father's den—and had been severely punished for that— _peek_. A lot of good it had done. He couldn't even read it. It was from James Caidance O'Byrne, Aine's grandfather. All he remembered was that it was very old.

He knew that Lady Aine knew nothing about this contract. Its sudden appearance was due to some magic cast long ago. It was the contract—and magic—which had bound the two families, and had kept the British laws from encroaching on O'Byrne land. Its sudden appearance was very suspect. He reluctantly opened the document, and started with surprise. It was now in English. He knew that the original contract had been in Gaelic.

This was a land barter and tax contract which outlined the O'Byrne properties, and placed his father as the managing steward for the O'Byrne's and in _their_ pay—not the Earl of Keatonway. He blinked confused. He scanned the document. It seemed to be in order. This document outlined the property and included the small village and surrounding area. The Earl of Keatonway was going to be very angry! He didn't care about the property, but he wouldn't like it being purloined away from him, either.

Taxes and operation expenses, including Lord Jaspin's pay, had always come directly from the properties coffers. Lord Jaspin sighed with relief. He didn't want the Earl coming after _him_ for pay rendered. Luckily for the Earl, this property had always been _unimportant_ to him, so he hadn't bothered exploiting it. Otherwise, the O'Byrne's could have actually come after him for stealing the profits. It was all very complexing. He scanned the document suspiciously. It didn't seem to have any of the original magical signatures, no blood oaths, or any such thing. He'd have to ask Lady Aine to give it a look.

He reached for the second letter. Reluctantly, he pulled away the sealing wax and began to read.

June, 1838

Lord Jaspin,

Since you are receiving this letter it means that I did not survive the birth of our seventh daughter and that the steps I put into play were successful.

I had one last vision before I passed on to be with my Keegan. It was to see your family in ruin and Corin dead. I have taken steps to insure the safety of my people, and in so doing have removed them from your care. I have also tried to minimize your family's sorrows.

Depending on circumstances yet to come, a will and testament will be sent to the government concerning the visible land. The other of course, cannot be governed by English law. Celeste, Stefan, Caryn, or our daughter Kellan may be yet named as steward. I love my sister, but I love the people of Ireland more.

Your unbiased shielding has been a blessing through the years, but now I am setting you free. I further urge you to return to England. Enclosed with this letter is a deposit key to a box in the Bank of Ireland. The interior amount has never been accounted for. It is now yours to do with as you see fit.

Aine Roses O'Byrne.

Lord Jaspin reread the letter—appalled. He wondered if Aine had gone mental, between the death of her husband and carrying her baby—and all. The visible land? He hoped she hadn't done anything foolish.

He couldn't figure out why she was so adamant with her messages of doom and despair. Sure, there were a lot of wandering Irishmen, and hungry families, but that wasn't anything new. The economy was actually booming for the linen companies—things would turn around. The artisans were doing well, too. There was a great demand in England for their fine wares. There was a blind lady in the village just down from the O'Byrne estate who made fine pottery and china, the Lords and Ladies couldn't get enough of the stuff—even his wife had a few pieces. So Aine knew things were looking up.

He looked at the two letters and frowned. His stomach felt on fire. What was going on? He needed to get to the O'Byrne estate—like yesterday. He fumbled around for a pen and paper. He was in the process of writing instructions to his estate manager, when Corin walked into his office. His face was pale and he was sweating.

"Are you okay?" his father asked him, feeling a nerve twitching in the corner of his left eye.

"I just feel hot," Corin complained, "and a little achy. I guess I shouldn't have played such a vigorous game."

"Hurling again?" Lord Jaspin asked.

"Yes sir," Corin grinned while rubbing his arm. "The Lady Eugena was watching. I guess we played a _little_ rougher than usual."

Corin pulled up his sleeve to see what was irritating his arm. Lord Jaspin's face went pasty white when he spied the raven on his son's forearm.

"What is it?" Corin asked his father.

Without a word, Lord Jaspin handed Corin, Aine's letter.
Chapter Three

Kellan was surprised to notice a flicker of animosity in Aunt Caryn's eyes when she opened the door for Priestess Glenna. She hid it swiftly as she greeted the priestess with open arms. She and Glenna were upstairs with Haley and Aine. Glenna always came to dedicate the babies. She would bless Haley and place Druantia's protections on her. This time she would also be praying the last rights to Mama and Papa, Kellan reflected—a task which Glenna hated.

"We will be cremating their bodies together." Kane said quietly, "That is why mama didn't have papa consumed—she _knew_." Her hands were clinched in her lap. Her face was strained. She was only eight, but had grown up a lot since their father's death.

"I need to go hit something," Rae got up to leave. She squeezed Kellan's hand on her way out.

"Mother handed these to me a few days ago," Rhoswen entered the room with a large stack of papers, "she told me to hand them out on _this_ day—and at _this_ time."

Rhoswen's eyes were red from crying. The intense emotions caused the amethyst in her eye's to change to a deep purple, a color which others rarely saw.

_:Damn, she looks scary,:_ Dara sent to Alana.

_:I heard that,:_ Rhoswen responded and handed them each a set of papers.

Both twins started with surprise. Their little sister had never responded to their _voices_ before. The twins had been able to communicate like this before they could even talk.

"Mama told me to tell you that we can either help you to read these, or you could wait until you've learned on your own." Rhoswen told Kane and Vevila. "I have something for you too, Terah."

"I can't read them," Terah said with disappointment as she peered over her papers.

"You will be staying with us for quite a while, right?" Kellan asked.

"Aine asked me to stay for at least two years," Terah told them, "it seemed rather long for a wet nurse, but I was fine with that."

"We will teach you how to read your letter," Kellan looked at Terah's letter with surprise, "it's in English."

The letters were written on fine paper with expensive ink. They were spelled to not age or tear. All but Terah's were written in Gaelic—their mother's native language. Education was highly important to the O'Byrne's, and the girls tutored during the winter months. This had been so for many years. They had learned how to speak, read, and write English a long time ago. They had also studied math, science, philosophy, and politics (English and Irish).

They had learned to speak Gaelic at their mother's knee, but the reading and writing of the language was a little more complicated, and was still being worked on. Most of the spells handed down were written in Gaelic. These would probably never to be translated into English. Aine told them that someday that might happen, but not as long as they could be used to condemn the O'Byrne family.

Each daughter held her papers as if they were treasures—the last gift of comfort and love from their mother.

"Where did you get those?" Caryn asked as she entered the room and saw what they were reading. "Give those to me right now! You weren't to get those until I deemed you were ready!"

Caryn tried to take Kane's from her hand. Kane's eyes flared from blue to vivid purple and Caryn was launched across the room. They all blinked in surprise. Strong magic usually came upon a person when they were close to fourteen—an adult.

"Aunt Caryn! I'm so sorry," Kane rushed over to her.

"That's okay, dear," she patted Kane's hand but continued to sit on the floor, "she told me, but I wouldn't listen to her. She told me that your gifts started budding prematurely with the death of your father. She told me a lot of things. I need to think about all that she said. If you will excuse me..."

She gathered herself up and left the room. Silence was broken only by a few sniffles as they all just stared at each other. They felt lost with their mama and papa gone. Kellan started reading her papers. Her face turned pale.

"What is it?" Alana asked.

"She says that we have to leave here. That we have to go to the America's and restart the O'Byrne line," Kellan answered appalled.

"America? We get to go to America?" Vevila said with excitement, her green eyes flashing. "Where all the new lands are being found—and the explorers are finding treasures every day?"

"Druantia told me that it was getting harder and harder for her to visit here," Rhoswen shared, "almost as if a barrier was being formed. She also said that magic was disappearing and that all the killings were causing people's hearts to grow hard."

"I can see that," Kane said quietly. "So why doesn't she stop all this?"

"There's always been killing going on," Dara sighed. "According to our tutors, we've always been fighting over something—or our men folk anyway. Men fight over really dumb things."

_"All this_ is caused from the choices of people. Which is like stopping a river from flowing to the ocean," Kellan explained. "Would it be right for her to crush the free will of everyone who had an unkind thought, or to stop the _thoughts_ of greed when they surpassed the desire to just keep their family fed? She doesn't work that way."

"I guess," Kane wasn't convinced. It seemed that there should be a time for God or Goddess intervention. What better time than now with everyone killing everyone, and everyone being so hungry. "It's just not fair that the English gave our peoples land away."

"She told me a story once," Rhoswen told them. "I was complaining about life not being fair, and she told me life was not _supposed_ to be fair."

Kane rolled her eyes and prepared to listen. There was no stopping Rhoswen when she got into this mood.

"There were two brothers and each had twelve sons. Each brother had his own estate—both estates were much the same. When one brother died he left a will which divided the estate equally into twelve sections. Each son got a paltry little piece of the inheritance, but it was fair. No son got more than any other.

The second brother left the whole estate to his middle son—not fair to the others at all. But the brother knew that the middle son was very smart. He took his inheritance and tripled it. He was not a greedy man and shared the wealth with his siblings. Who ended up better for the decisions of the brothers? The one who treated all the sons fairly, or the one who knew his sons?"

"Point?" Kane asked. Sometimes Rhoswen drove her nuts with all her little philosophies.

"Sometimes fair—just isn't smart," Rhoswen went on, "and who are we to judge what is right for others? We know right from wrong and can definitely make our own choices on that, but can we make judgments for the better of the whole. Some think they can. That's why they keep fighting about religion."

"I don't think they are really fighting over religion. I think that is just an excuse to fight and steal the land. Greed wins again," Vevila's lip curled.

"I think it's both, that's why it gets so confusing," Kellan stated. "There are enough who really believe that their way is the only way. They have great convictions. It can either make them shove their ways on others, or it makes them vulnerable—to be used by others. They have buttons exposed and ready just for the pushing."

"Stealing is stealing and it's wrong," Kane said stoutly. "Especially when it means that whole families get tossed out of their homes."

"No one here is contesting that," Dara said quickly, "it's just that if people understand the motivations, sometimes they can prevent the occurrences. It's not the English coming in which caused the problem. It's that people came over with _promises_ of land, only to find the land _promised_ was already occupied. Now, we have too many people, and not enough land."

"The English don't care or understand our land and are stripping it bare," Alana stated angrily, "I get sick when we take the wagon out and see all the mining and timber clearing. They've taught their people that we Irish are sinners and are more animal than human undeserving of anything! They've created self-righteous monsters. All the people, Irish and English, are bitterly angry. I don't see how this mess can be stopped. If we want to blame it on any one person, blame it on the King or Queen of England—quietly of course—lest they chop off our heads."

"We would have lost our land long ago if we hadn't been able to protect it with magic," Vevila insisted, "all the philosophy aside—we are here because we had a weapon which they couldn't beat. It looks like mama set it up again. There's no way anyone will be trying to steal our land now!"

"That's true, but even the O'Byrne cannot win against what is to come."

They all looked up with a start and jumped to their feet. _Druantia_ was standing beside Glenna. The only sister who had previously met Druantia was Rhoswen. The others had not been ready.

There was no mistaking Druantia. She always wove her fiery red hair into twenty-two braids. Her eyes were a very intense green with white pupils. Most people could not hold her gaze. She wore a gold band which circled her forehead with a large multicolored stone that radiated all the colors of the rainbow. She was lean and warrior strong. Her clothes were designed for comfort and flexibility. She was currently wearing dark suede pants and a long sleeved multicolored shirt which would fade into the background of the forest. Her fingers were bare of rings. Her skin was pale and silky. There were no discernable marks, natural or from ink anywhere on her porcelain skin.

"I see that you have started to read your letters," Druantia came into the room and settled onto one of the couches. "Could you make us some tea, Glenna?"

"Of course, Druantia." Glenna walked sedately out of the room.

Druantia studied the girls. They were so young. She had been watching over them since they were born. She reminded herself that humans grew very rapidly once they started into the adolescence stage.

"Terah, you will be staying in Ireland, but know this, I will be watching out for you and your little Caitrina. You will never suffer the starvation and disease which will befall this land." She stood and handed four amulets to Terah. "One is for you, and the others are for your children. You do not have the type of magic to work a more powerful amulet, but these have my protections on them. Learn what they mean and how to operate them. The knowledge is within this house. I know these ladies will help you."

"Thank you," Terah acknowledged, flustered. She didn't know what else to say.

"It is traditional for the O'Byrne parent to make an amulet for the child once the child shows some type of magical gift." Druantia told them. "They are created with wards and helpful spells which enhance the child's magic. Your father was taken before his time, and your mother was unable to make them because of the pregnancy. I have made these for you. They look simple, but have very complex spells. Again, learn what they mean and how to use them."

She walked around and gave each sister an amulet. When she came to Kane, Kane did not instinctively reach out to take it.

"Why can't we just stay here?" Kane asked her. "Why can't you just stop all this?"

"Ah, Kane." She smiled at Kane—delighted by her boldness. "I would if I could, but it would be like a butterfly trying to stop an army of ants."

"You mean you can't then." Kane made it a statement.

"I could." Druantia told her. "But can the butterfly discern the difference between the good little worker ant and the mean old predator ant? I choose not to. The affliction which will hit this land comes from the very ships which bring in necessaries from America. It will be the greed and selfishness that actually destroys the people. I choose that _we_ prepare our people as best as _we_ can."

Kane stared at her for a few minutes thinking about things. Druantia watched proudly as Kane drew her own conclusion, and then held out her hand to accept the amulet.

"But why are we going to America?" Dara asked "Shouldn't we stay here and help?"

Druantia looked at them sadly. She had news which they did not know. It hurt her terribly that it was true.

"The O'Byrne conclave in Scotland has been destroyed. Who will you marry with and bring in children? The marauding English? The defeated Irishmen? As you know this country has been ripped apart. A lot of good people have died, or fled. All of you carry the seed of magic. America has potential. It has its own type of magic. The O'Byrne family can become stronger, larger than before. It's a new world out there with new possibilities."

"What happened?" Kellan exclaimed. She had visited just this last summer. She had been delighted by that line of the family. She particularly liked Malvin. "Are they _all_ dead?"

"Most, I'm sorry." Druantia said with tears in her eyes. "They didn't watch the registry close enough—or didn't wish to meddle. A child was born _wrong_ and was hidden—even from me. When the baby cried out—her furious anger roused the house into a murdering rage. She was an emoting empath. One incensed deed, begat another, and then another."

She turned her head and they saw the charred remains of one of her braids. She didn't mention the evil, malevolent creature she had glimpsed on her arrival. She was so angry with herself! That _thing_ just kept slipping through her fingers. She wasn't even sure _what_ it was, but it was menacing her people. She had pleaded with the _Seraphim_ to intercede. Their reply was just to sing, _We Are_. Her children were still in harm's way, and she didn't know how to protect them. She looked at these daughters with loving concern. She would do all within her power to keep them safe.

_"Their_ braid burned away, only single strands of hair remain. It happened very fast. I heard the uproar and went to see what was going on. They were _mostly_ dead. I have people there now to tend to the survivors. Those who weren't bloodied—were driven insane."

"What about Malvin's family?" Kellan whispered.

"I'm sorry," Druantia told her. "The young men were affected the most. Their family had four boys driven into a zealous rage."

Kellan nodded sadly. Malvin and his brothers were naturally competitive. She could just imagine what that kind of _pressure_ would have done to them.

"Born _wrong_ —what do you mean?" Alana asked.

"Too much inbreeding," Kellan answered softly. "I heard someone talking about that a long time ago. I guess if we marry too close to our own—we can breed up monsters."

"Is that true?" Dara asked Druantia, stunned.

"Yes. That is why the priestess _must_ be involved with an O'Byrne-to-O'Byrne match." Druantia answered.

"Mama and papa are both O'Byrne's," Alana frowned.

"They are," Kellan nodded, "but I've seen the marriage ledger, Glenna blessed their union. Besides, mama would have _seen_ if there was a problem with papa."

"Which also means that the Scotland couple didn't do a marriage _binding_ ," Rhoswen said surprised. "That was foolish."

"Which is _our_ braid," Kane asked inquisitively.

Druantia reached into her hair. Their braid was more complex and grew together with other braids. Kane rose up to watch her. She pulled forth a fiery red blade.

"It's thin!" Kane said surprised.

"Yes." Druantia said simply as she realigned it back within the others.

"How can we possibly do all this?" Kellan asked anxiously.

"You have a few years yet to prepare, to build your magic and to make the best arrangements to avoid unnecessary hardships. I have another group in China, which is where I'll be sending the Scottish archives. At some point, we may consolidate them in America."

Kellan could see the mixed feelings between her sisters. She felt that this task was going to be a _huge_ undertaking—and probably a _mistake_. So much had happened in just a short amount of time. She just didn't know if she could handle any of this. Her heart ached with the thought of Malvin and his family being dead. She was already missing mama and papa. If they were here, she wouldn't even doubt about them moving to America. Without them—she felt lost.

"Just who are you?" Kane asked Druantia.

Everyone stopped what they were doing to stare at her in shock—all but Druantia herself. She took the question very calmly.

"There is a very complex answer to your simple question. I am a lot of things. I am one of the deities. There are several of us. I was once human, died, was awoken and given a choice. I was then changed. I am as you see me. I can also be just moving energy. I am most _aware_ of births and deaths. That is why I was shocked by what had happened in Scotland. I have feelings as I did when I was mortal. I enjoy humanity. Now, who are you?" She asked Kane.

Kane paused and thought about the question. Her first instinct was to say that she was an O'Byrne, but as she thought about _that_ answer, it seemed awfully unsatisfying. She was a lot more than just an O'Byrne—she was—herself.

"That's okay." Druantia told her. "I just wanted you to think about the question you asked me. There is a higher order of being above me. They are hard to explain. They are not male or female. They are pure energy and spirit. The best description I can give is that they are conscious energy. They are aware of themselves and _all_ of creation. They have their own code for what is and what is not, one that I usually don't understand."

"I've brought tea and biscuits." Glenna came into the room. "Is it okay for Caryn and me to join you?"

"Yes." Druantia answered her. "Tea would be lovely. I wanted time alone with the girls, thank you."

Glenna poured tea for everyone while Caryn passed around the biscuits. It was strangely quiet for such a rambunctious group of girls. She was glad to see that they weren't intimidated by the presence of Druantia. She suspected that they were just shocked by all that had happened, and all which was yet to come. She was still reeling from the shock herself.

"How long do you think mama knew she was going to die?" Alana asked quietly.

"She always knew she would die during childbirth." Kellan answered. "She knew that with every birth she was taking a risk. I heard her and papa fighting about it when she got pregnant with Haley. She could have prevented the conception, but choose not to. She always thought she would go before papa. I think outliving him was a shock."

"She knew when she was around twelve that she would die during childbirth." Druantia looked at Aine's daughters. "That was one of her first visions. During initiation she talked about wanting children above all else in this world. I promised to be here during every one of the births of her children, to do everything in my power to make sure you were all whole and healthy."

"She kept her word, too." Rae returned to the room. "Kane, look at your hands."

Kane held out her hands. They looked the same as they always had.

"You were born with three fingers missing on your left hand and missing most all of your right hand." Rae told her.

Kane stared at her hands. She had a hard time imagining them as Rae had described them. Druantia sat quietly watching her. She really wanted Kane to believe in her.

"Thank you." Kane raised her eyes to Druantia. "I like my hands."

"You're welcome. I like your hands, too." Druantia stood up. "I'll be leaving now, but I'll be close. There is a lot to be doing."

Druantia was pleased when Kane stood to hug her. She held her tight. The other sisters came to hug her, too. She appreciated every one of them and held them in a way that they knew the hug was for them alone. She then stood away and glimmered, disappearing from their house.

"Wow!" Kellan blinked at Rhoswen. "Is she always so intense?"

"Mostly," Rhoswen murmured.

Return to Toc
Chapter Four

"There's a man at the wall," Vevila told her sisters, "a really big man."

"What was he doing?" Kellan asked.

"Nothing," Kane answered, "he was just staring out at the _ocean_."

"It looked like he was going to set up camp." Vevila added. "He had a fire going anyway."

"What is this?" Aunt Caryn asked, overhearing their discussion.

"He has a big wagon and even bigger horses," Kane told her. "I've never seen horses that big before."

"What did he look like?" Aunt Caryn asked.

"Really big," Kane told her, "not just tall, but giant like. He has dark longish hair which looks like it needs a good brushing, a beard and mustache."

"His clothes looked odd," Vevila added, "like maybe what they wear in France."

"What was the color of his eyes?" Aunt Caryn asked impatiently.

"I don't know," Kane answered sharply. "He had his head down."

"Humph," Aunt Caryn rummaged through one of the cupboards, and then grabbed her coat and hood. She then marched out the door.

"I'll follow," Alana announced.

"Me too," Dara told her. The others nodded

Alana and Dara were the stealthy ones. If they didn't want to be seen, they wouldn't be. They quickly changed into dark dresses and tall black socks.

Caryn made her way to the wall and climbed over. She crept toward the fire. It was Stefan! For a minute she panicked wondering what he wanted. She pressed her hand against her eyes, first things first. She watched as he took another swig of his drink. He was staring moodily out toward the ocean. She studied him for a while. She couldn't tell if he could _see_ the property or not.

She walked over to one of the horses. It was big! She shivered as it looked down on her with piercingly intelligent eyes. She quietly untied its lead. She walked back to where she could see Stefan. She picked up a rock and threw it at the loose horse. The rock smacked into its shoulder and it screamed in fright. Stefan smacked his mug down and hurried to the disturbed horse. She had expected it to rear and run, but it didn't. She ran to his mug and poured in the valerian. She heard him making soothing noises to the horse, and then heard him make his way back. She just barely made it out of the firelight before he returned. She settled in to wait for the sedative to take effect.

The twins watched their aunt pour something into the large man's mug. It didn't take long before he was snoring into his plate. They watched as Aunt Caryn got the groggy man to climb into the wagon. Dara watched with humor as she ran around trying to harness the big horses. She only managed one. The one she hit with a rock, wouldn't let her near.

"Fine," she exclaimed.

Caryn climbed onto the seat and started to drive the wagon across the ramp the girls had built up. She hoped it would hold against such a large wagon.

For days, they had been piling rock up by the wall, trying to create something that a wagon could be pulled up over. It was crude and the rocks kept shifting down. Their donkeys had no trouble at all walking up the newly formed incline. This was a little different. Caryn kept feeling the rocks shifting under her.

"What are you doing?" the large man slurred and lurched toward her.

She grabbed the first thing that came to hand and slammed it against his head. It was a hammer and made an ominous thud against his skull. He slumped down onto the floor of the wagon. Caryn ignored him and continued to drive the wagon down the embankment.

Alana jumped with surprise to find the big horse at her side. The horse stomped onto the ground. The twins stood and stared up and up at the horse. She lowered herself so they could climb up on her. She was so big that Alana felt as if she was doing the splits just to sit on her. They followed the wagon.

Caryn paused only long enough to grab one of the donkeys, and tie her to the wagon. She then made for the far reaches of the property—to the real ocean.

The girls and the horse stayed well out of her sight. They watched as her aunt left the wagon by the cliff side and climbed onto the donkey to return home. She hadn't even checked on the man she had injured, or unharnessed his horse. Dara wished her a good, achy ride home.

They waited until she was out of sight and then rode up to the wagon. Alana patted the horse to signal that they would like to dismount. The horse obliged them by lowering herself close to the ground.

"What a beautiful horse you are," Alana said soothingly as she stroked her long silky head.

Dara didn't waste any time before climbing into the wagon to check on the man. Alana quickly followed. He had fallen into an awkward sprawl. Blood was freely flowing from a scalp wound above his ear.

"She whacked him but good!" Alana exclaimed. "He's going to need some stitching."

"We need to get his body straighter," Dara said worriedly. "He's sprawled pretty strange."

"Here," Alana handed her a clump of cloth. "You try to stop the bleeding. I'll try to shift his body."

Dara held the cloth tightly against the wound as Alana shifted his legs around to extend in front of him. She _looked_ into the wound. The bleeding wasn't slowing down. She had heard that head wounds tended to bleed a lot so tried to stay calm. She could see the rhythm of the bleeding.

"We need to get his head higher than his heart," Dara told her.

Alana spied a bag of feed and pushed and tugged on it until it was placed behind him. They got on each side of him and pulled him up to lean on the bags.

"His skull is okay," Dara frowned in concentration. "It looks odd though. Maybe he had another injury before."

"How do you know?" Alana asked.

"I can _see_ it," Dara frowned. "I'm not sure how, but I can see that the injury rips through his skin and into the muscle. I'm going to give him some rough attachments to stop the bleeding."

Dara concentrated on sending little bits of energy to the edges of the wound. She had never done this before, but had watched mama do it to her knees countless times. The attachments seemed to be holding. The wound had stopped bleeding.

"I think, I got it right," Dara told her. "There is bruising into the muscle and he's going to hurt like hell. What did she give him?"

Alana sniffed the mug and found the pungent smell of valerian.

"Ugh! Valerian," Alana answered. "She used enough. She wouldn't have needed to club him if she had just been patient. I'm surprised he didn't smell it. It smells like old goat cheese. The wine doesn't hide the stink. He must have already been on his way to a bender, or he would have smelled this."

"He did,"

They both jumped and stared down into the brilliant sky-blue gaze. He lightly touched his head. They all stared at each other.

: _Do be polite, Stefan,_ : a voice spoke from outside. : _These two were spying on the woman to see what mischief she was up to. They did intervene, did they not?_ :

"Stefan!" Dara exclaimed. "Our _Uncle_ Stefan?" She stared into his eyes. "Huh!"

"You must be the twins," he mentioned. "Keegan mentioned you a time or two, wild red hair, blue eyes, and identical faces."

They stared silently at him as he got up and moved clumsily to the table to pour himself another mug of wine. Dara quickly grabbed it away and tossed it out the wagon.

"You are not poisoning yourself with more wine," she informed him.

His eyebrows rose at her audacity. He was secretly pleased with his nieces. When he realized that the girls were alone, after Aine's death, he had moaned to himself about the idea of six, no seven, girls to watch over. He was not comforted when he realized that Caryn was in charge.

Alana poured him some cold water from his chill cupboard and handed it to him.

"Hot tea would be better," Dara told him looking around. "But I don't see any hot plate."

"He's a Fire Knight remember," Alana nudged her. "He doesn't need a hot plate."

"Oh yes," Dara replied, "in which case I suggest some hot peppermint tea with honey to sooth your stomach. A clunk to the head and nausea usually end up hand-in-hand—and don't fall asleep. People _die_ when they fall asleep with a head injury!"

"We have to get back before Aunt Caryn misses us," Alana told him regretfully. "You should be fine. Celeste, in the village, is the best of healers if your head gets worse. The wound was clean, it bled enough and the hammer was apparently clean."

: _Would you mind giving us a lift,_ : Dara sent to the horse.

: _A pleasure,_ : she sent back. : _I am Shalley._ :

Stefan watched as Shalley rode away with the girls. They would get back to the house long before Caryn on her donkey. In fact, he knew Shalley would send a little _confusion_ to the poor donkey. Caryn might not even make it home till morning—serve her right. The girls would be fine.

Shalley had sent him a message about a stranger messing with her lead. Neither one of them had expected for Shalley to get hit by a rock. Shalley rarely got angry, but that stunt had made her furious.

He had recognized the stink of the drug in his mug, and had pretended to drink it, to see what the bloody heck was going on. He recognized Caryn when she showed up, although it had been many years since they had seen each other. He had not expected her to club him in the head with the hammer!

Caryn _had_ cracked his skull. He had to place himself into a _tranced_ state to heal his skull, and to relieve the pressure of the concussion, a little risky, but necessary. Luckily, she was busy with the wagon and didn't notice the slight glow. He had deliberately left the wound bleeding, hoping she would have enough decency in her to render aid—no such thing. He had no idea what she was thinking of to have hit him, a virtual stranger, so aggressively.

He had been amazed when she had just callously left him here by the seashore. Another person with that kind of injury would probably have died. Maybe that was what she hoped. He was about to rouse himself when the twins invaded his wagon.

He thought about the care the girls had given an injured stranger and felt a sense of pride. They were good girls—and smart. They hadn't confronted Caryn. They had simply done the best they could, and then left. He suspected that Caryn thought she had the upper hand with the girls. He grinned. He could tell, without even meeting Keegan's other daughters, that she was way out of her league.

He touched the work that Dara did to his head, and removed the attachments. He then healed the rest of the wound. Not bad, he thought, not bad at all. A little training and she'd be a top notch healer. He calculated in his head, and was surprised to realize that she was only thirteen. He grinned with pride.

He stacked up some wood and lit it off. Fire was his nature, his magic, and his passion. He sat down on a pillow and gazed into the fire. He watched for Shalley, and saw that they were indeed, approaching the house. Caryn was nowhere in sight.

: _Thank you kindly, Shalley,_ : Alana mind spoke to the horse.

: _You will be okay?_ : Shalley asked. : _She is a vicious person._ :

: _We are watching,_ : Dara agreed angrily. : _Meet the others?_ :

: _Yes,_ : Shalley snorted. : _I would like that._ :

"About time!" Kellan yelled out. "Oh!"

Kellan was astounded as the twins came out of the darkness riding the bloody biggest horse she had ever seen.

Shalley was not only big, but also very beautiful. Her head, legs and tail were a dark gray while her body was of a lighter gray. She had a very shaggy mane and her tail almost touched the ground. That was saying something considering how tall she was. She had dark spots which traveled from her loin and back quarters to her hock. Her fetlocks ballooned out like silky bells. She stood proudly looking at the sisters.

: _Greetings,_ : she called to them. : _I am called Shalley._ :

Stefan laughed as he watched the girls rub her down and brush her out. They even shined her hoofs. He watched as they worked and talked. He could see the anger in their expressions as Dara described their aunt's malice and his injury. He was pleased that they were aware of their aunt's defectiveness. He knew that Caryn could be totally manipulative and selfish. It had amazed him time and again, how blind Aine was to her sisters failings. Aine had been a true sweetie, he thought sadly.

Shalley repaid the kindness of the girl's brushings by taking them on rides. She loved children. He grinned—he wouldn't be seeing her this night.

### ****

They held the ceremony in the ruins of the old castle. The castle looked desolate and eerie. Kellan shivered as she looked over to the left to where the old cemetery was still standing. Lords and ladies had at one time lived within the castle and there were some very elaborate crypts and tombstones surrounding the grounds.

The O'Byrne didn't usually bury their dead. They honored them with fire—breaking the bond of spirit that holds fast to the flesh.

They were all wearing elaborate Druid ceremonial robes with silver symbols traveling the trim. Kellan's was of royal blue for her _Air_ nature. Alana and Dara's robes were red representing the _Fire_ of their natures. Rhoswen was of Earth, but her robe was white representing her name and her spiritual purity. Vevila's was also from _Fire_ nature, but she had so much Earth in her nature that her mother had made her robe green. Kane's nature was from the Water, and Aine had made her a silver robe with black symbols in the trim. Surprisingly, baby Haley was also there and Aine had made for her a pale blue robe, representing the Air in her nature.

They looked very bright and cheery, at odds with their sadness, but to do less, would have shown dishonor to Keegan and Aine O'Byrne.

Kane looked around remembering Druantia's thin braid, only family had been invited to this ceremony, and sadly—it was a pitiful showing. Caryn's husband and sons hadn't been able to attend. There was some type of emergency going on between the steward and his renters—something to do with the new tax which had been imposed. Others had sent condolences stating similar situations.

Only two _outsiders_ had arrived for the ceremony, their Uncle Stefan and Celeste. Kane was sad that none of the villagers had been invited to the ceremony. Here mama would have wanted that, but Aunt Caryn had firmly put her foot down about inviting them—family only! Molly would definitely feel slighted. Her and their mama had been friends since childhood, another fact that Aunt Caryn had despised.

Kane was surprised and delighted when she spotted Celeste. Celeste was wearing her own icy blue ceremonial robe. Celeste had lived at the convent for most of her life, until she deemed herself an adult and made her own way into the world. She had been born blind and apparently discarded. The priestesses at the convent loved her from the first second Druantia brought her to them.

Celeste had long white hair. It didn't look like old people's hair, not being gray or coarse. Kane liked the feel of it. It would slip through her fingers like fine silk. Celeste's eyes were eerily similar to Druantia's, being green with white pupils. Kane thought it was sad that she was blind. There was so much in life to see. She couldn't fathom what that must be like.

She had laughed secretly to herself when Aunt Caryn spotted her. Aunt Caryn should have expected Celeste would be here. She was very good friends with Glenna, their priestess. She would know about this even if Aunt Caryn hadn't invited her. So what if she wasn't family, both mama and papa were very good friends with her.

Celeste was one their mama's best friend, and Kane loved her. If she could, she would be standing beside her—not Aunt Caryn. Kane noticed the loathing between the two women and couldn't help but wonder why. Celeste just didn't make enemies, but then again, Aunt Caryn seemed incapable of making friends—even with her own nieces. Of course, Aunt Caryn thought _they_ were beneath her regard. Kane was familiar with that _tone_.

Kane hadn't figured out how she felt about Uncle Stefan, yet. She had to wonder why he hadn't arrived right after their papa's death—why now? Dara and Alana had told them about what had happened to him the other night, but none of them _knew_ him. She laughed to herself again upon remembering the shock in Aunt Caryn's eyes when she saw him arrive at the burial site. He just glared back at her without saying a word.

Maybe Aunt Caryn had expected him to perish in his wagon by the sea. They all thought she had behaved a little mental by hitting him and driving his wagon to the ocean. He would have to know it was a hoax as soon as he drove back. What was the point in all that? Just what was she expecting?

Dara nudged Kellan and linked with her. She looked over at Celeste and Stefan. Their aura's had merged and they positively glowed. Alana's eyebrows rose in question. Dara shared her sight with her as well. Alana grinned. Those two thought they were playing it so poised. Ha, no one could hide that. Alana was sure that there were others here who would see it, too.

Glenna finished her Gaelic recital. Everyone stood in silent remembrance of these two lives. The six sisters stood and held each other's hands—mentally linked for the first time. They looked up with surprise when they felt the baby Haley in their link. They hadn't given the baby much thought up until then. They were instructed by Glenna to share their fondest memories of their mama and papa. They stood in silent reverence sharing those moments, then as the oldest, Kellan lit the torch and thrust it under the scaffolding.

They all watched silently as the flame consumed their bodies. Glenna knew that the flame would burn all night. She looked up to see Druantia weeping sorrowfully in the shadows. Two very good, honorable, fun loving people were now departed from this plain.

Kane broke away and ran up to the house. She thought about going to Heidi, her beloved donkey, but found herself in the room she shared with Vevila and Rhoswen. She stubbornly set the lock and buried herself in her bed—crying.

Vevila knocked quietly on the door. Kane didn't answer.

"Do you think she's okay?" Rhoswen asked.

"Of course not," Vevila answered scathingly.

"Don't be mean," Rhoswen told her sharply, "you knew what I meant."

"I'm sorry, Rhoswen," Vevila said unhappily.

"I know," Rhoswen hugged her close. "Let's go visit the wine cellar."

"We can't do that!" Vevila said surprised.

"There's no one here to stop us!" Rhoswen told her angrily. "They left us."

"Mama would be so mad," Vevila said sadly. "Do you think _they_ are still here?"

"Yes," Rhoswen said with firm conviction.

"Let's get the wine," Vevila took her arm. "We'll hold up in Kellan's room."

"I like that red kind they served at the Christmas dinner," Rhoswen said as they walked toward the cellar.

Kane heard them come, and then leave again. She didn't care! She stared listlessly at the ceiling.

Kellan didn't go directly back to the house. They always had a dinner after these types of ceremonies. She joined Dara and Alana, and together they walked over to the new rooms which their papa had just finished. It wasn't really finished. The rooms didn't hold any furniture. They didn't know the purpose of the rooms, but right now they worked really well to hold the dinner.

"Why do you think papa made such a smooth floor in here?" Alana asked.

"I don't know," Dara answered, "but he put a lot of work and energy into making them as such. He must have had a reason."

"He shouldn't have died!" Kellan said angrily. "He should have finished this!"

"He should not have died," Glenna overheard them. "It was not his time."

"Then why is he dead?" Kellan asked sharply.

"Because of the thoughtless acts and decisions of another," Glenna answered and then made her way over to the table where Celeste was sitting. They watched as the two hugged and kissed each other on the cheeks.

"I would hunt those fools down," Uncle Stefan startled them by saying, "if not for your mother already taking care of it."

"You seem well," Dara studied him.

"I am," he answered with a slight smile. "Thank you for your attention that night." He stared over at Aunt Caryn and frowned. "That woman swings a mean hammer. Be careful of her."

"We are," Alana assured him. "Maybe you should as well."

"Maybe I should at that," he smiled and made his way over to Celeste's and Glenna's table.

Celeste felt him. Goose bumps rose on her skin. He still had that affect on her.

"Mind if I join you?" Stefan asked them.

"Please do," Glenna told him and grinned. He grinned back.

She knew about their past and did not feel threatened. She felt a spark of excitement with the thought of the possibility of him re-entering Celeste's life. What Celeste felt—Glenna also could feel. They had been so linked since they were little. The passion, flittered both ways.

Kellan looked around with disappointment. It wasn't much of a dinner, simple fare, just food they had pulled from their own cupboards. If mama had been in charge, they would be having one hell of a party. Mama knew how to throw a party. It seemed wrong somehow that no one had managed to throw a good party for her. She promised that one day she would cater a special party just for her, and it would be one hell of a party!

"Some party," Dara said dejectedly looking over the food stuffs. She settled on some roasted chicken and a bun.

Just then they heard a ruckus from the back of the room. Alana smiled widely as Doug Haugen and his workers made their way into the room.

Julie made a beeline for their table. Julie and three other women worked for Doug, the rest were men. The work was hard and exhausting. Doug's people had to be able to work several trades or he wouldn't hire them. Julie was a favorite with the sisters. She was short and sweet. She had wild red hair which she kept at shoulder length. Her blue eyes were always warm and sparkling with hidden thoughts. She usually wore men's clothes, but no one would take her for manly. She may have been half the size of Doug's men, but no one messed with her. If _she_ didn't break them—Doug would.

"How are you lasses managing?" She asked with concern. "Glenna sent us word. We would have been at the ceremony, but Celeste said it might be more circumspect for us to forgo it, since your aunt didn't invite the villagers—or us common workers."

"There's nothing common about you," Kellan told her and rose to get a hug. "I'm so glad you're here!"

"I see the men found the wine," Alana mentioned.

"Find it," Julie laughed, "they brought it—and it's not wine—but our finest Irish whiskey!"

"We should have brought down more food," Dara said embarrassed.

"No need," Julie told her, "watch."

Just then Della and her husband Danal brought in a basket full of pies. She was quickly followed by other renters bringing in dish after dish. The room was filling up fast. Danal stepped up to the front and brought out his fiddle. He and his brother started a wild, foot stomping jig.

"Skippy!" Dara cried happily, and patted her leg.

Alana joined her. Everyone laughed when the little dog started screaming happily at the sight of the twins. Dara happened to look up and found Aunt Caryn watching them curiously. She felt sad that her aunt no longer allowed herself to enjoy the animals. She thought it must be hard to have such a gift and be too afraid to use it.

"It is customary," Julie yelled over the fiddle and the stomping, "for the neighbors to bring food to the family with the deceased loved one, not the other way around. The best part is _you_ get to take home all the leftovers." She was quickly snagged up for a rip stomping dance.

"The only thing missing," Aunt Caryn told them looking around disagreeably, "would be for them to sit up the deceased bodies and make pledges to them. I dare say they would do it too, if they weren't already interned."

"They would?" Dara asked interested.

"Sometimes," she told them. "If they do the wake close enough to the time of death. That meat pie sure smells good."

"We should go get our sisters," Alana said looking around. "This party has definitely livened up."

Dara _looked_ for them and frowned. She found them. Rhoswen and Vevila were making inroads into a bottle of wine. Kane was busy punching the hell out of some type of pillowed form.

"Rhoswen and Vevila are into the wine," she told her aunt. "They're going to make themselves sick. Kane is too angry to enjoy this ruckus."

"Should we go get them?" Alana asked doubtfully.

"No," Aunt Caryn answered sadly. "Everyone has to deal with pain in their own way. Let them be."

"But they're little," Kellan disagreed.

"Not too little to know their own minds," Aunt Caryn looked at her, surprised by her concern. "I seem to remember you getting into your grandma Tess's _teas_ when you were around nine."

"She gave it to me," Kellan protested.

"You could have said no," Alana remembered. "Dara and I passed on _that_ invite. You were curious."

"It won't hurt them," Aunt Caryn told her. "They will be sick tomorrow and remember for the rest of their lives—just what that felt like."

"I guess," Kellan said still feeling unsure. It just seemed that someone needed to be there for them.

"I'm getting some of that pie before it's all eaten," Aunt Caryn wandered over to the table.

"They seem to be okay," Dara told Kellan. "They are rather enjoying themselves."

Kellan nodded and glanced at the food table. She was surprised to see all that food. She'd talk to them later, she promised herself before helping herself to the feast.

The feast and party was grand, but Kellan soon found herself feeling tired and wanting to be alone. She missed her mama and papa terribly. The party just seemed to define the fact that they weren't here—would never be here again.

She made her way up to the house. She was surprised to find Rhoswen and Vevila in _her_ room.

"Kane locked us out," Vevila explained with a slight slur.

"How much of that stuff did you drink?" Kellan asked.

"Just this much," Rhoswen held up a bottle, "and that bottle over there, last year's Christmas wine. It's really tasty. We didn't like it much at first, must be an aqui-aqured—acquired taste. Do you want some?"

"No thank you!" Kellan sighed. "If you make a mess—you get to clean it up first thing tomorrow!"

"We aren't going to spill any," Rhoswen said holding the bottle tightly to her chest.

Kellan started to say what she meant and decided to just not bother. They would find out soon enough. She picked up their mama's most recent workbook and walked out of the room. She walked over to Kane's room and knocked.

"Go away!" Kane said aggressively.

"It's me, Kellan," Kellan said through the door.

"I don't care," Kane said with pain laced words. "Go to your own room."

"Rhoswen and Vevila have taken it over," she told her, "they're drinking up the Christmas wine."

"Oh," Kane unlocked the door.

"What's going on with your hair?" Kellan asked shocked.

Kane's hair was a knotted mess. Kellan had never seen it in such disarray.

"I must have gotten it wrong somewhere," Kane cried. "Mama would just unknot it and it would be as good as before. It's the braid. I'm good at getting it up, but not so good at getting it out."

"Let me help," Kellan sat her back on the bed.

"To braid it," Kane told her. "It starts at the base of the neck and works its way upward and then back down. I'll step on it if I don't wind it upwards first."

"Have you thought about cutting it?" Kellan asked her as she started unwinding the knots.

"Never!" Kane scoffed. "Even when that brat Timothy dipped the end in the green sheep dye, I didn't cut it off. It'll fade—eventually—someday—maybe."

"I like my own hairs length just fine," Kellan told her. "Wet, it flows to the top of my thighs. I really see no reason to have it longer."

"Yes, but yours is thick, dark, and wavy." Kane informed her. "If mine was cut that short, it would be utterly boring."

"How can you say that?" Kellan asked surprised. "It's so fine. I've never seen hair like yours before."

"Huh," Kane looked at Kellan enviously.

Kane just had her hair. Kellan was utterly beautiful. Her purple eyes sparkled like gem stones. Her dark brown hair emphasized those eyes and outlined her high cheeks. People wanted to make Kellan smile. They loved to see her wide serene grin. Many a lad was already looking her way. If Kellan wasn't so strong minded, there would already be offers.

Kane noticed that she wasn't smiling now, and her eyes didn't shine. She had never seen them so dark before. Her skin was so pale. Kane knew she needed to do better. She needed to help her sisters make it through this tragedy. It was just so hard!

Kellan relaxed as she worked on Kane's hair. It was lovely. She had never seen tresses so blond, or so soft.

"What's with the bonnet?" Kellan nodded at the bonnet sitting on the bed.

"That was Grandma Tess's," Kane answered her.

"I know that," Kellan told her gently as she felt her stiffen. "I just wondered why it was on your bed."

The bonnet was a purple, rather elaborate affair with blue and pink ribbons. It looked a little unsightly with the gaping holes cut into each side.

"That was the only time I'd ever seen mama cry." Tears welled up in Kane's eyes, "and _I_ was the one to make her cry. I never even told her I was sorry."

"And were you," Kellan asked, "sorry, I mean."

"I was sorry that she cried," Kane answered. "Sorry that I caused her hurt, not so sorry that I re-patterned it for Heidi, though. It looked so cute on her. She liked it, too."

"I think she liked the attention you were giving her," Kellan smiled remembering the bonnet on Heidi's big head, "not so much the hat itself."

"I didn't know it was special to mama," Kane cried. "I didn't know it was the only thing she had to remember Tessie by. Mama never wore hats."

"I heard papa calming her," Kellan told her. "He mentioned that now, she would see the hat and remember her youngest daughter cutting it special for her favorite donkey. She laughed when he said that. He also said that knowing his mother as well as he did, that Tessie would be somewhere smiling about the whole thing."

"He did?" Kane asked with surprise. "He said all that?"

"He did," Kellan assured her.

"Did you notice that baby Haley was in our link?" Kane asked her. "I didn't think a baby could be in link."

"Yes," Kellan frowned. "We all felt her. If I think about her, I can _still_ feel her. I can feel now that she is hungry—again. I'm very glad that mama called on Terah. I sure don't feel ready to take care of a baby, and when would I find time for my learning with a baby in tow."

"Aunt Caryn would take care of Haley," Kane told her.

"Are you sure?" Kellan asked her. "It seems that there are a lot of things which Aunt Caryn should be taking care of—and isn't."

"Maybe she's just messed up by mama's death," Kane suggested. "Having seven nieces suddenly thrust onto someone has got to be—well—shocking."

"Maybe," Kellan said as she finished unwinding the knots out of Kane's hair. "Now about this length..."

"Out!" Kane stood, flipping her hair around her feet and pointing at the door.

"That's gratitude," Kellan laughed as she hurried out of the room.

She made her way downstairs to read from mama's book. An hour later, she watched as Aunt Caryn made her way into the house. Kellan laughed to herself. She was absolutely hammered.

"We'll just put this stuff away," Della told her. "Shall we?"

People piled into the house making a pathway into the kitchen. Kellan felt her eyebrows raise with surprise at all the food making its way into the house.

"More came after you left," Julie told her. "There were some strange stories about up north. Do you know what's going on up there?"

"Up north," Kellan said distractedly. "We haven't heard anything about the north."

"Oh well," Julie told her. "It's probably nothing."

After they left, Kellan continued to read from her mama's book. After reading the same line for the third time, and on her forth yawn, she figured it was time for bed. She walked into her room and pulled back abruptly. The smell was appalling. Someone—or two—had been sick. She opened the window and high tailed it to borrow a bed in Kane's room. _They_ would have to deal with it in the morning.

Kellan looked over at Kane, who was sleeping peacefully. She had a sad smile on her lips. Kellan made another promise that day. She promised that she would do anything needed to keep her sisters from harm's way.

Kellan heard the twins come in a short time later. They were giggling, probably about some boy. Kellan pitied the boy who would fall for them. He better be strong—being magic would help, too.
Chapter Five

"Alana—Alana pay attention," Caryn sighed. It seemed that Alana was daydreaming an awful lot lately. It was very unbecoming. "I plan to leave tonight so Arlen, I and the boys can collect our stuff to move in here—that is—if we can find the place" Caryn grumbled. "Aine tried to talk us into moving to the farm right after Keegan died. I was tempted, but moving is such a mess. Now, I don't see much of an alternative. No way are we leaving you girls here alone, and our house isn't big enough for all of us."

"Mama already moved papa's stuff from the office." Kellan nodded. "It will make a good room for Brody and Hagan. It even has a window."

"That will work for Hagan," Caryn frowned, "but Brody is a grown man, he will need a room of his own. No, I think we must have Kellan move in with Dara and Alana. The room is plenty big enough for three girls. After all, Rhoswen, Vevila, and Kane all share a room."

Kellan looked at her startled. She had always lived in that room. It was her _home_ , a place mama had set up specially for _her_. Her sisters were together in the other rooms because that was what made them the most comfortable. The twins had their own room together, and the younger sisters liked to play and romp around together. They had asked mama and papa to let them all sleep together. She looked up to see the twins eyeing her. They were no more comfortable with the notion than she was. They liked their own type of twinism seclusion.

"I don't think that's going to work," Rhoswen surprised them all by saying.

"And why is that?" Caryn asked calmly with her hands on her hips. She had expected Kellan to complain and was surprised to hear Rhoswen object.

"Kellan used to walk in her sleep," Rhoswen shrugged. "There are wards in the doorway to keep her safe. I don't know how they work exactly."

"Sleepwalk?" Caryn asked derisively. "Well I guess we'll just move the twins into her room then. We all have to make sacrifices."

She was satisfied when the girls looked submissively down into their plates. She was totally oblivious to their smoldering anger and resentment. She was mentally patting herself on the back for sorting out that dilemma to her satisfaction.

Caryn spent the rest of the day reorganizing the furniture, and wandering in and out of the girl's bedrooms, muttering to herself. They were quick to find tasks outside which needed to be done. It was easy enough. Since their mother had become bedfast—the outside tasks had only been moderately finished. The cow had been milked, the cream strained off—the milk drank—but the butter never seemed to get churned or kneaded. It just spoiled. There were other tasks in similar conditions.

Caryn set up the supper by herself. She was very aware that the girls were avoiding her. That was too bad, change was coming, and they would have to change with it. It was going to get a little rough for all of them.

"Supper," she told them abruptly placing the bread on the table.

They silently took their seats and started passing the food. Caryn would have liked to have said grace, but let that slide. It was a little soon to be opening their eyes to different beliefs and possibilities. There was more to spiritual wholeness than just _Druantia_.

"She could have at least cut us off with a better portion of land," Caryn grumbled as she bit into her cheese toast.

The girls stared at her with surprise. This was very fine land, the best in all of Ireland. Papa had seen to that!

"What do you mean?" Vevila asked.

"I shouldn't be burdening my worries with you girls," she sighed. "I'm just concerned about that _thing_ out there. How are we going to survive being so cut off? How are we going to come and go without _them_ trying to burn us out? It's hard being _Druid_ when the rest of the world is either Catholic or Protestant. The two groups hate each other—violently. How much more would _both_ groups hate us? I can't understand why she would have done such a thing—it's totally bizarre."

"But we have everything we need here!" Vevila assured her.

"Bogs and knats," Caryn grumbled.

"I can tell it's been a long time since you've _really_ visited," Kellan laughed. "Papa cleared out all of the bogs. We grow wheat in most of those fields."

"We still have one _potentially_ bogged area though," Vevila told her, "papa was experimenting with rice last year. That was a lot of work. We'd still be at it if it wasn't for the Haugers. Mama suggested that maybe growing rice just wasn't our thing."

"Growing it was fun," Alana added, "and pretty. It was the chopping, stomping, husking, and drying that was the problem. We had rice drying on every surface we could find—including the roof."

"If what mama says in her letters is true," Kellan added, "we'll be glad enough for it later. It's stored in one of the back rooms."

"Plan on it," Alana shivered, "mama's never wrong."

"Papa drained the last of our bogs," Kane told Caryn, "but didn't get around to _forming_ it to any purpose—that was the rice experiment. If it doesn't get formed, it will again, revert to bog. Papa had given permission to the Haugers to build a lodge there, but I don't know what they've been doing."

"Just who are these— _Haugers_?" Caryn asked.

"They are the workers," Kane frowned at her, "the ones who plant and harvest. Surely, mama told you about them?"

"No," Caryn frowned back at her. "Why would she?"

The girls looked from one to the other feeling confused. Hadn't mama and papa prepared anything? Who was supposed to tell the Haugers what to work on next? Sure, they knew the routine, but sometimes other things came up—like the bog.

"Doug Haugen is our foreman," Kellan answered. "His family has been in charge of the labor party _forever_. The _Haugers_ are his people. They work as a roving band doing whatever needs to be done. They take care of the live stock, too. Not our animals, but those that belong to the farm."

Kellan could tell by Aunt Caryn's bland expression that she didn't really care about the farm workers, the bog, or the farm. Papa and mama had always been animated when talking about their various projects and sooner or later, they always involved the Haugers.

"What about those who rent their plots?" Caryn asked. "How does that work?"

"They have their plots and smaller gardens," Vevila answered, "we all share in the property's harvests. The property has mostly wheat and hemp fields. There is also one dairy for cows. Mama _outlawed_ potatoes last year. You should have heard the uproar! People sure like their potatoes."

"She did relent though," Kellan reminded her, "she let them plant one third of potatoes—on their own plots."

"And they did that?" Caryn asked surprised.

The girls looked at her puzzled.

"No one ever disobeyed mama," Kane frowned at her. "Papa didn't even do that."

"How do they pay their rent?" Caryn asked. "How much do they pay?"

"I think it varies," Rhoswen shrugged and watched Aunt Caryn closely. "Last month Della baked us a pie each week. They had to get another cow, Belle stopped making milk. Cow's cost a lot you know. So she baked us pies."

"Mama sold her our Annie," Kellan mentioned, "which was a relief for us since we were so busy with taking care of other concerns. A cow was just one more thing to worry about with mama being so sick. They will take very good care of Annie."

"Huh!" Aunt Caryn scowled. She wondered how they paid for the cow when they couldn't even afford the rent. She sighed—Aine probably _gave_ them the cow.

Rhoswen was disappointed by Aunt Caryn's apparent disregard for the McGivney's hardship. Without a milk cow, the McGivney's were going to suffer greatly. Oh well, she thought, maybe it was just because she didn't know them. It would be different once their aunt got to know the families.

"Well, they have Annie now," Vevila assured her, oblivious to the fact that her aunt was totally unconcerned about the McGivney's _cow_.

"We need to check out the extent of mama's spell," Kellan stated with concern, "We need to know if it cut us off from the village, or the Manor. We need to know what the Haugers are doing and how they are managing. There are a lot of families who depend on us."

"How did Keegan clear out the bog?" Caryn asked curiously, totally ignoring Kellan's concerns. Her family had tried for decades to drain out that mess.

"Papa's a nature knight—he could do anything," Vevila told her sadly, "except dodge boar spikes."

"Papa started a project out back for your Arlen," Kellan told her, "you've been so busy with mama—you haven't even seen it."

"What is it?" She asked puzzled.

Kellan frowned, "It's that big empty room where we had the feast. The floor is real smooth. He said it was sealed concrete. Aunt Jaclyn _burned_ it out. I'm not sure what that meant. He put _screens_ on the windows. I've never seen screens before. There are rooms above. I thought maybe you were going to move into them."

"Mama hated it when you moved to Dublin." Alana stated. "Why did you move anyway? Weren't you happy here?"

"Dublin's a fine city!" Caryn explained, "Aine and I were the only children living here. It was pretty lonely, and the village didn't like mother very well. They were scared of her actually, and mean to Aine and I, more so to me I think. Aine was quite the charmer and she had her very good friend, Molly. The two were inseparable—drove mother nuts."

"Me too," Vevila told her, "scared of Grandmother Saidie. She was pretty fierce."

"Mama only had us stay one summer with her," Kellan commented. "That was enough."

"I love Arlen's family," Aunt Caryn's eyes got dreamy. "It was easy to want to move closer to them."

"The wagons ready," Dara called. "Heidi and Rosy are hitched up as you _asked_."

Dara wasn't surprised to see Kane come to attention at the mention of her special donkey, Heidi. She had stopped Aunt Caryn earlier while she was harnessing Button. She told her that Button had a week old baby. Aunt Caryn complained that the other donkey wouldn't let her near, so she would have to take Button, the baby would just have to keep up.

"You can always take the other wagon," Dara suggested. "It only takes one donkey to pull it."

"The other wagon?" Aunt Caryn looked at her aghast. "That's a children's wagon. I can't go off in that!"

"Mama did it all the time," Dara insisted.

"I am not Aine," she stared at her.

"Obviously," Dara said scathingly.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She put her hands on her hips. She didn't like Dara's attitude. If this was going to work, there were going to be some changes, and the changes were going to start now!

Aunt Caryn had then ordered Dara to hitch up Heidi. She had mentioned to her aunt that Heidi wasn't used to anyone handling her but Kane. She had just looked down her nose at Dara and demanded that _she_ hitch her up—now! So Dara reluctantly did as she insisted. She knew that Kane was going to be upset. The whole incident had upset Dara badly. It was so mean—and so unnecessary.

Dara couldn't understand how their aunt could just shrug off either Button having a new baby, or Kane's feelings about Heidi. Didn't she realize that the baby could _die_ from such a journey as this! Dara had literally brushed past her and unharnessed Buttons herself.

Kane glared at her and went out to scratch Heidi's nose.

: _I'm sorry_ ,: Dara sent to Kane. : _She was harnessing Buttons. There's something really wrong with that woman_.:

"All right then," Caryn grabbed her bag. "You have your tasks. The most important task is to try and figure out what Aine did to the floor. We'll be back in around a week—maybe two."

"What about Uncle Stefan?" Alana asked.

Caryn paused, "I don't really know how to answer that. I guess you'll just have to make a judgment—if he shows up again."

Alana frowned after her. They didn't know Uncle Stefan very well. Aunt Caryn obviously knew him well enough to smack him in the head. She obviously felt threatened about something. It would have been fitful if they had been told _something_ about him. After the ceremony, Dara had asked their aunt who that man was. She just told them that he was their Uncle Stefan _of course_.

It was late at night. Caryn had been afraid that someone would see her appearing out of nowhere with the wagon. Someone like who? Kellan thought scathingly. They were out in the middle of nowhere. The manor and the village were quite a ways off. There would be no one standing around just to spy on nothing!

They waved as Caryn headed for her home. Kellan fidgeted impatiently. She thought Aunt Caryn would never leave. There were things which needed doing, and with Caryn around, those things kept getting side-tracked. She had never met a person so disorganized before, and worse, she kept disorganizing everyone else in her efforts to get her own stuff done. It was going to be really hard without mama.

Aunt Caryn hadn't given them time to read their mama's letter, or to work with their amulets. They hadn't even ridden the village to see how the folk were doing. Kellan could imagine their shock— _she_ still felt shocked. She hoped Uncle Arlen was more organized and better at managing property, otherwise they were going to be in trouble.

"We'll get the books," Alana said as Dara grabbed an oil lamp.

"Thank you," Kellan nodded at them.

"I moved their personals to mama's favorite workroom," Rhoswen told them. "We can go through it later. Caryn spooked-out when she came across mama's workbooks. She's not going to be _any_ help with the _magics_. I hope we know enough."

"We know how to read and we know how to learn," Kellan told her. "We will do this! I see you've activated your amulet."

"I noticed that you have, too," Rhoswen countered. "I think we should help the others to at least activate the raven. They need to be able to _see_ what mama has done here—and outside."

"I agree," Kellan nodded, "we will do it when they all get back."

They stepped into the room and paused. It was hard to imagine that their mama and papa would never return here. This room had shared many fond memories of cuddles and loves, of laughter and gentle teasing.

They all returned to stare sadly at the large room. Kellan walked in to sit on the overly large bed. The others joined her. This would be the last time they would all sit here together.

"Rhoswen and I decided that we all need to activate the raven on our amulets," Kellan told them.

Every sister pulled out her cherished amulet.

"Druantia has already personalized them," Rhoswen told her sisters. "You can tell because it has a slight hum that you can hear."

"This raven, the one sitting on a branch," Kellan pointed at her amulet, "represents true sight, wisdom and prophecy. To activate any of the symbols on your amulet, hold it in your palm and concentrate on what the symbol means. If your vision is true, the symbol will activate, giving you the protection or power the symbol represents. They are kind of like a test. When you get the correct answer, you get the reward."

Kellan was pleased to see that all her sisters activated the raven on their amulets effortlessly. Alana looked around surprised.

"I didn't see that before," she pointed at the blue glow of their mothers design. She frowned, "it makes more sense, now."

"We need to dismantle the bed and get it out of here," Kellan started, "so we can see the rest of the design."

"How?" Kane looked at the overly large featherbed.

"One piece at a time," Rhoswen marched over and pulled the blankets away and tenderly folded them and placed them in the corner. Kane carried over the pillows and throws.

"They smell like mama and papa," Kane said as she clenched the last pillow tightly.

"Sit here for a while," Vevila patted the blankets and encouraged Kane to sit. Kane sat down—tears were streaming down her cheeks.

"This is a really big bed," Rhoswen observed. "It will take a while, but I think we should sew divisions into the material, and then cut between the stitching. That way we can keep the feathers together."

"That's a good idea," Kellan agreed. "There are probably enough feathers here to make around six manor beds. Caryn already informed me that she and her Arlen wanted nothing to do with this room."

Rhoswen grabbed up a pencil and started marking the mattress into sections. Vevila left to gather up the sewing tools.

Dara and Alana entered the room carrying armloads of books.

"I don't think we will be needing those for awhile, just set them over there," Kellan directed.

Dara set down her books and glanced over Rhoswen's shoulder. Alana joined her as Vevila walked in with the sewing basket.

"This design was on a rock by the wall," Alana told them settling onto the blankets. "I want to see if I can find it in one of mama's books. My sewing makes the Cally-cat laugh."

"Let me see," Kellan said surprised looking over her shoulder. She hadn't noticed any rocks with writings. "How did you find it? That looks like something I've seen in her workbook from last spring. Give it a go."

"I don't think just anyone could _see_ it," Alana frowned. "I was holding my amulet when _it_ seemed to find me."

"Maybe Kane can look with you," Kellan suggested. "She can check the drawings even if she can't read the language yet."

"I can sew," Kane told her stiffly.

"She's been practicing creating stitches," Dara smiled, "in case we get attacked and need her medical expertise."

"Good!" Rhoswen approved. "I've marked two sets of seams. We will cut between the sets _after_ they're sown."

"We're going to need bigger needles," Vevila said doubtfully looking at the delicate sewing set.

"There's some out in the stable," Kane grinned, "past the wall."

They all groaned. Dealing with the wall was bad enough during the day—at night is was a nightmare.

"Come on," Kellan told Kane.

"We can at least start," Vevila told them, "it doesn't have to be _fine_ sewing."

"I hate to interrupt your party," Terah called from the doorway, "but I need for one of you to heat some milk-mint. Little Haley has an upset stomach."

They all looked up at her annoyed. None of them minded helping out, but Terah had abused the privilege days ago. She seemed to think that because she was older, she could boss them around.

"We're tasking," Kellan told her, "I guess you'll have to get it yourself."

Kellan headed out of the room with Kane.

"Alana," Terah looked over at the girl sitting on the blankets, "it doesn't look like you're doing anything."

"Well now," Alana frowned at her, "perceptions can be rather deceiving can't they?"

"What?" Terah said confused.

"No one here is going to do your errands," Dara told her aggravated. "You were hired to care for Haley, not us. We're trying to take this bed apart—or would you rather sew the separations in the bed, and I'll rock Haley back to sleep?"

"Oh," Terah said surprised.

She looked on with interest, and then left the room. A few minutes later she returned with Haley. She gave her the milk and burped her. She then formed a crib around her with the pillows.

"What can I do?" Terah asked them.

"Really?" Dara asked surprised.

"Well, okay," Terah frowned at her, "really."

"Sew on this line," Rhoswen instructed. "Kellan and Kane went to get bigger needles out of the stable, but we can still get started."

"The stable?" Terah shivered.

"Oh yes," Dara teased her, "that could have been one of the other alternatives to sewing."

"I don't think so," Terah informed her. Alana giggled.

"Your seams curving a bit there," Rhoswen pointed out Vevila's seam. "At that angle, it's going to cross where we have to cut."

"At least it's going somewhere," Vevila told her, "why the little tidy stitches? Get going there sister. This isn't a fancy ball dress."

Outside, Kellan and Kane stealthily made their way to the stable only to find it wasn't empty. There was an old Chinese man sleeping in the straw. His clothes were old and ragged. He had straw entwined in the long braid of his hair. There was a long staff laying beside him. Kellan wondered if maybe he was lame.

: _Now what?_ : Kane surprised Kellan by sending her thoughts to her.

: _He's snoring,_ : Kellan sent back. : _Let's try to just pass him and get what we need. He doesn't seem to be hurting anything._ :

They quietly walked around the little sleeping man. Kellan was just stretching up toward the upper shelf when a gigantic monster rose up towards her out of the straw. Both she and Kane screamed. The little Chinese man laughed. He laughed so hard that tears came into his eyes.

_"AW-EE, AW-EE, AW-EE_ ," the monster roared.

Kellan sprang back. The _monster_ was the biggest donkey she had ever seen in her life. Kane laughed and patted the donkey's large head, and then scratched it between the eyes. She laughed again when the donkey tried to lip her fingers.

The Chinese man bowed to them, and then gathered up his things.

"You may stay here," Kellan said slowly using hand gestures to convey her meaning.

"Caryn will throw a fit," Kane reminded her.

"He's not doing any harm," Kellan said stubbornly. "He didn't even start a fire. It's cold and wet outside."

"Are you hungry?" Kane gestured to show eating with her hands, and then gestured to him and his _friend_.

He nodded and prepared to follow them. They stared at each other confused. Kane had meant to _bring_ him food, not to take him home. He nodded toward the door talking to them in Chinese.

Kellan shrugged and pulled the saddle kit from the shelf. He didn't seem much of a threat. He was a scrawny little guy, just a little taller than herself. Kellan didn't see any harm in extending a little hospitality, besides she thought, he looked hungry.

She and Kane pulled a bale of hay from the ground to drag to the house. Another thing which Caryn _should_ have had them doing was to empty the old stable. The little Chinese man took the bale from them and threw it onto the donkeys back. He picked up his one bag and waited for them.

"Wow," Kane muttered.

"Kingdom, come," he told the donkey in Chinese. The donkey followed him without rope or lead.

Kellan and Kane were astounded when the Chinese man and the donkey didn't even hesitate to walk into the oblivion of the ocean below. Kellan noticed that the man didn't put his weight on the staff. He didn't seem to be afflicted at all. They tromped right over the rocky incline and on up to the house.

They paused when they got to the house. The new stable was over in the glen next to the wheat fields. Kellan didn't know where to stable the donkey. The Chinese man settled their dilemma by simply putting down the bale on the porch. He looked at them expectantly.

Resigned, Kellan opened the door and bowed. "Enter as friends and family," she said simply.

"May peace always find you—you may call me Meifen," the Chinese man surprised them by saying in English, and then laughed heartily as he went inside.

: _I think we've been had,_ : Kellan sent to Kane. They both stared after him. Kellan shrugged yet again and went into the house.

"I am Kellan, and this is Kane," Kellan introduced as she lead the way into the kitchen. "We have more sisters, they are upstairs."

"Kellan," he did a slight bow toward each of them, "Kane."

"It has not been long since we ate, but if you are hungry or wish some tea, I can get it," Kane offered.

"We aren't shy," Kellan added, concerned for his diet, "you may look around for what may be best for you to eat."

"Hot water is all that I require," he told them.

"It is very hot," Kellan opened the tap for the thermal water. "It can burn."

"Nice, does not smell like rot-ten egg," He nodded approvingly. "Would you like some tea?" He offered from his bag.

"No, thank you," Kellan told him.

Kane curiously smelled from the bag and grinned. "Ginger!" She walked over to the cupboard and pulled down cups and a plate of cookies, "Ginger tea should be served with ginger bread."

Kellan sighed and pulled down a cup for herself—Caryn _was_ going to kill them. She nodded and allowed the Chinese man to put ginger tea into her cup. Kane placed the cookies on the table.

"So where's that saddle kit," Vevila called out, "Oh!" She stopped to stare at them. "We have company," she called out to the other sisters.

"I'm Vevila," Vevila introduced herself smiling curiously.

"His name is Meifen," Kane told her as she calmly took her seat and helped herself to a cookie.

Dara, Alana, and Rhoswen came into the room. Dara frowned when she smelled the ginger. Caryn had warned them to not use up all the spices. She sighed, once again missing mama. Mama didn't care, when it was gone, it was gone. It was then that she realized the scent was coming from the stranger's tea bag. She was surprised by the clear green glow coming from the tea.

"Dara—Alana—and Rhoswen," Kane told him as they entered the room. "This is Meifen."

They nodded to him—he bowed back. Kellan pulled out some more cups and filled them with water. Vevila sat at the table and motioned for him to sit beside her. The others took seats and helped themselves to the cookies.

"I don't recognize that spice," Dara mentioned.

"It's ginger," Kane told her.

"It's like ginger," Dara corrected, "but not."

"You are correct," Meifen told her, "it is ginger and yet it is not. It is like your ocean, and yet it is not."

"It is very good," Dara told him without tasting it. "It is very _green_."

"Yes," he said simply as he sipped his tea.

"And who is this?" Terah asked, surprised upon seeing a Chinese man sitting in the kitchen.

"This is Muffin," Kellan told her quickly, "an old family friend."

Straight faced the sisters all nodded. They'd get the story out of Kellan or Kane, later.

"I was surprised by your wall," Meifen said. "I waited at the stable for an answer, and was _surprised_ by these two."

"No more than we were _surprised_ by you, Muffin," Kane told him.

He just rolled his eyes at her.

"I have delivered Kingdom to you and now will be leaving," he stood to leave.

"Delivered Kingdom," Kellan repeated, "I don't understand."

"Nor do I," said Meifen. "I was just told to bring Kingdom to where the ocean isn't the ocean and my debt would be done."

"Old friend?" Terah asked doubtfully, "Why does he speak so then?"

"He's Chinese," Kane told her, "they speak with such riddles."

"Please stay Meifen," Kellan asked, feeling apologetic for her manner, "at least the night, mama and papa would be very disappointed in me to have displayed such discourtesy."

For the first time, light amethyst eyes met dark Han-purple eyes. Meifen nodded.

"I will leave when the sun rises and the sky is the color of your eyes," he told her.

Alana spied little Caitrina crawling toward her mother. She gave Dara the mental equivalent of an elbow jab. They both smothered a laugh. When Caitrina used her mother's dress to pull herself up, Terah just about jumped out of her seat.

"How did you get out of your crib?" Terah asked astounded. "I guess we'll be retiring for the night." She picked Caitrina up, "thanks for letting me be with you. I really liked that."

"We liked you being with us, too," Alana told her. Terah nodded and headed for the nursery.

"She helped us sew on the mattress," Dara told Kellan and Kane. "Maybe it will work out."

"How far did you get?" Kellan asked them.

"Not very far," Alana answered. "But we did pull the mattress out of the frame so you can see the diagram now."

"Good enough," Kellan stood and then turned to Meifen frowning, "I don't know where you are to stay. There are rooms above the workplace papa was preparing for Uncle Arlen. He won't be staying there, now that he and Caryn will be living in here."

"Show me," he turned to Dara, surprising her with his request.

Dara stepped toward the door.

"No, no," he stopped her. "Show me—here." He pointed toward his head.

They stared at him surprised. Dara pictured the rooms and focused the image toward him.

"Old view," he told her. " _Look_ there now."

She was surprised to find that she could _see_ the building. She was even more surprised to see that Uncle Stefan had setup shop. He had taken over one of the upstairs rooms, and had _finished_ the forge their papa had started on the outside wall of the bare room. She hadn't even known it was to be a forge—though it was obvious now.

"Uncle Stefan is there," Dara said with surprise, which surprised them all—except Meifen. He smiled contentedly.

"I will be fine there," he told them packing up his tea. "We will look more at your mother, Aine's diagram later. I suggest you sleep very fast, tomorrow will come very early." He bowed to them and walked out of the house.

"We didn't mention mama's design, did we?" Dara asked confused.

"Not that I recall," Kellan answered.

"He never hesitated to walk into our _ocean_ ," Kellan pondered. "He knew it wasn't real."

"But it is real," Kane told them.

"What do you mean?" Kellan frowned.

"I watched Jaimie throw a rock," Kane told them. "I expected it to land in the yard, but it didn't. I heard the sound of the rock clanking against other rocks—that _I_ couldn't see—before _plinking_ into the water _below_."

"That's just too scary," Alana shivered. "So if someone jumps, will they land in our yard—or in the ocean?"

"A better question would be," Rhoswen added, "are there times when _we_ might be stepping off into the sea?"

"Oh dear!" Kellan said soberly.

"We really _need_ to understand mama's drawing," Dara emphasized.

They walked upstairs and stared at the design.

"I can't make it out," Vevila commented. "We need to see all of it,"

Kellan rolled up the sewn part of the mattress and carried it out of the room. Alana and Dara started to carry out the part which had not been sewn yet, feathers started escaping everywhere. The more they tried to capture them, the more they escaped. Rhoswen and Vevila jumped in to help. Kellan returned to a room full of floating feathers.

"I think I can carry that," Kane told them. "Please stand back."

They stood back curiously. Kane concentrated on moving the mess as a solid group. She walked with it to the other room. Kellan quickly jumped out of her way.

"Wow!" Vevila said surprised. "When did she learn that?"

"And how?" Dara said with raised eyebrows.

When Kane came back into the room, she was pale.

"Maybe you should sit down for awhile," Kellan suggested to Kane.

"And maybe you should mind your own business," Kane said irritable, rubbing her head.

Kellan stared at her surprised. She shivered as she realized that Kane was developing an awesome and dangerous gift that none of them knew anything about. She was suddenly afraid of Kane, and then became angry with herself.

Kellan marched over to Kane, pushed her onto the pillows, and then sat on her. "You are still my _little_ sister, and you will do as I say!"

"All right, all right," Kane said angrily. "Get off me—you big oaf!"

"We need to all remember," Kellan said as she released Kane, "that our gifts are coming on fast. We need to make sure we don't harm others and ourselves, because we don't know what we are _doing_. Pact," she called out and lightly cut her palm. She held her hand out to her sisters. "We must not harm one of our blood unless there is no other choice."

Dara cut a slash into her own palm, "and we must be here for each other."

"Emotionally, spiritually, and magically," Rhoswen added piercing her palm.

Kane, Alana, and Vevila cut their palms as well. All six sisters slapped each other's palms. When Kane slapped Vevila's palm—the last sister combination—a burst of energy rocked them all, sending them to the floor.

"Wow!" Vevila exclaimed tiredly, her voice shaking, "I think we just did something else, we didn't know we were doing."

"I think so," Rhoswen reached for a pillow. Her hands were shaking, and the pillow seemed awfully heavy. "I think I'll just lay here for a few minutes."

"Me too," Alana said resting her head on Rhoswen's stomach.

Kane was already snoozing, and grunted when Kellan shifted her.

"We should have left the bed alone. We could all fit in it!" Dara complained as she stole a pillow from Kellan.

"Hey," Kellan complained tiredly, "share!"

They all settled out and fell deeply asleep.

The morning did come on very early. Terah found the six sisters laying in a mish-mash fashion with smeared blood everywhere. She started screaming.

All six sisters jumped to their feet—ready to fight. They stared around confused by Terah's screams.

"Stop it!" Kellan said shaking her.

"What is wrong with you?" Dara asked irritably.

"The blood," Terah stammered, "and you were all just laying there. I thought you were all dead!"

"What an eejit!" Kane said exasperated. "There's not _that_ much blood!"

"I need some tea!" Alana said glaring at Terah.

They could hear the babies crying from the other room. The sisters marched out of the room to the kitchen. Terah blinked with confusion watching them walk away. They hadn't even explained about the blood. Feeling slightly abandoned, she walked back to the nursery. Caryn would hear about this—and that China man. Old friend? Not bloody likely!

"Sit!" Meifen ordered as they walked into the kitchen.

Surprised, they did as he instructed. Gone were the raggedy old clothes. In their place was the finest purple silk robe the girls had ever seen. Alana touched the fabric and was surprised to receive a jolt for her curiosity. She quickly moved her hand into her lap.

"Drink!" Meifen commanded as he placed a cup of aromatic tea in front of each girl.

Dara studied the tea. She wasn't really surprised to see that there were ingredients which she didn't recognize, but what did surprise her was the emanating aura of the beverage. It glowed a deep green which Dara had always associated with healing energy.

The sisters peeked over at Dara, and when she drank they followed suit. The tea was rather sharp and made them sit up straighter for it. Alana also noticed that it replenished the supply of energy which she had started associating with the energy supply it took to work with magic.

_"Kaliton_ ," Meifen explained, "last night's magic drained you all. It is lucky for you that there were so many of you to share the affect, or Terah's screams would be for a real purpose—not just to irritate you."

"But what did we do?" Kellan asked.

"We will discuss it later," Meifen informed her, "now drink, and then eat!"

He placed egg omelets in front of them. They poked at them experimentally with a fork. They contained cheese, mushrooms, and sausage. Kane curiously put a forkful into her mouth. Its savory flavors made her stomach growl appreciatively.

"Mine seems to be missing the sausage," Rhoswen mentioned and then said quickly. "Not that I'm complaining. It was very nice of you to make us breakfast."

"And did you want sausage?" Meifen asked her.

Rhoswen frowned, surprised. "I guess I really didn't."

"Today," Meifen began, "you will take the wagon and _carefully_ check on your neighbors. While you are out, I would like you to _think_ about magic and how you feel _here_ about it." He pressed into the center of his chest. " _Think_ , but do not do!"

"Who are you?" Kane asked simply, and then added, "to us."

"I am one of the cousins," he laughed and walked from the room.

"He is one of Druantia's children from China," Dara whispered.

"This is really good!" Kane said enjoying her first omelet.

They all watched as Vevila picked at hers nervously. Everyone else was done eating.

"What's wrong with you?" Kellan asked.

"Well," Vevila said scornfully, "do you see any chickens around here? It's not as if mama had just picked some up from the village, right?"

They all stared at her cold egg omelet.

"Sea bird eggs," Dara declared. "I guess that's alright."

"Remember mama's letter," Kellan brought up, "about the famine. I guess we will be learning to eat other _things_."

"I thought that was just about potatoes," Vevila said squeamishly.

Food had always been a little scary for Vevila. The different textures could make her have a true-blue gagging fit. Kellan watched her with concern. There was a time when mama despaired getting her to eat anything as she kept getting thinner and thinner. She finally called in a healer. It was then that they realized that Vevila wasn't just being finicky—she had an over-reactive gag reflex at the back of her throat. Since then, mama was very cautious about the textures of the foods that went onto Vevila's plate. Now, Kellan realized, _she_ needed to watch out for her younger sister.

"Just try the sausage," Kellan warmed the plate without thinking. "It's really good!"

"What did you just do?" Alana exclaimed surprised.

"What?" Kellan frowned at her.

"To Vevila's plate," she insisted.

"I warmed it," Kellan told her still frowning, "like I do sometimes."

"How?" Dara asked interested.

"What do you mean?" Kellan asked them.

"You just did magic," Alana insisted. "I can't heat a plate like that. No wonder you didn't mind the bone cold baths grandmother used to make us take. You were heating them weren't you?" She accused.

"Well, okay," Kellan defended. "I was first in. It made sense that I should be the first to heat them."

"The first?" Rhoswen scoffed, "the only. By the time the bath was handed down to Kane it was damn cold."

"I didn't mind," Kane defended Kellan.

"Mine were cold too," Dara mentioned. "If you heated yours, mine should have still been warm."

"Grandmother probably made it cold again," Alana grumbled.

"I didn't know," Kellan said angrily. "Grandmother said I was only to heat my own, that you girls had to learn to heat your own."

"Can we?" Vevila asked curiously.

"Teach us!" Dara demanded.

Kellan looked at their determined faces. She couldn't remember how she had learned the trick.

"I have to think about what I'm doing to warm the plate," she told them. "Sometimes I get it wrong, and nearly wipe myself out with a headache, at other times I break things. The learning had something to do with grandmother."

"We'll be waiting," Dara warned her stubbornly.

"She's finished," Rhoswen announced.

"That wasn't bad," Vevila admitted, "once Kellan warmed it, it stopped being slimy. I think the eggs were a little undercooked. It would have been better though with some little fried potatoes." She finished wishfully.

"Dream on," Kane told her. "Mama gave the rest of our potatoes to the Manor."

"We can grow more," Kellan assured them, "the famine hasn't hit yet, remember."

"We don't know what we can grow," Alana argued, "we don't even know if we have any land anymore."

"Mama wouldn't have cut us off with nothing," Kellan argued back.

"What about them out there," Rhoswen frowned, "who have no land now? The evictions have been real fierce."

"Think about it," Kane added. "If the potato is gone, what will the people be able to _afford_ to eat? We have to do something!"

"True," Kellan said determinedly. "We will not just be sitting over here in our little safety zone, and watch others starve _to death_. We'll figure this out!"

"It won't get that bad," Alana asked nervously, "will it?"

They all just stared at each other.

_"AW-EE, Aw-ee,_ " they heard the bellow and ran to the front door.

"Kingdom!" Kane said with delight. "That's what Meifen called him. Isn't he beautiful?"

Kane ran up to the big donkey. The others stared at the biggest, shaggiest donkey they had ever seen. His shaggy hair was dark brown. Kane was delighted with his large brown intelligent eyes. He had a white mark just down from his eyes, and also had a lovely white nose.

"He is yours now," Meifen said from the yard. "He is the biggest donkey there is. He is a Poitou."

"But why?" Kellan asked.

"I do not know," Meifen told them. "When I was a very young and foolish man, a stranger saved me from a ravenous tiger beast. I was truly dead." He showed them the tiger bite scars in the back of his neck. "I promised to be his slave for life. He laughed at me and told me I was to find the biggest donkey I could find and when the raven appeared, I was to take it to Ireland and give it to the sisters who lived by the ocean which was not an ocean. If I was so inclined, I might stay with them for awhile and teach them some of the mysteries I had learned with the life which was extended to me." He bowed to them, "I so choose, if you also choose to do what I say."

"I can't promise that," Rhoswen informed him. "I will never _promise_ to obey any _man_!"

He laughed, "Promise to _think_ about doing as I say."

"That," Rhoswen smiled, "I can do."

"A raven?" Alana frowned.

He pulled up the sleeve of his robe and showed them the freshly burned raven which was etched into his forearm. Its pattern was very distinct. He placed a hand over the wound and when he removed the hand, the raven was healed. The raven was a fine white scare line.

"Wow," Vevila whispered in awe.

"You will all be able to do that," he told them.

Dara relaxed her mind and studied this strange man. She saw the flow of his aura and saw that unlike most people, it flowed freely, without any blockages. His crown aura was very bright. His heart chakra was very fierce. She knew him to be a very strong, honorable man.

"And who was that stranger?" Kellan asked.

"James Caidance O'Byrne," he told them. "Your mother's-mother's-father.
Chapter Six

"I don't think we should be using him like this," Kane complained sullenly.

"He really doesn't seem to mind," Vevila assured her. "Look at him, he's smiling."

Kane looked up at Kingdom. She relaxed and laughed as she realized his fidgeting was due to wanting to be going, not because of being harnessed to the wagon. She grinned affectionately.

_"AW-EE, AW-EE_ ," he bellowed. " _AW-EE_."

"He's really noisy," Dara mentioned with concern, "maybe we should leave him here after all."

"And walk the length," Alana scoffed. "I don't think so.

"Besides," Kellan added, "they can't hear us on the other side of the wall."

"This wagons too small to be pulled by a pair," Vevila commented. "It's almost too small to be pulled by Kingdom. He's so big."

Indeed, Kingdom looked a little squeezed between the poles, and the harnesses and leathers had to be lengthened.

"It was very nice of Meifen to offer to take care of Button and her baby." Kane mentioned.

"I think he is anxious for us to be going," Kellan frowned. "He _knows_ things."

Vevila layered the bottom of the wagon with all the blankets. It would not only make the ride softer, but would also save space for the otherwise rolled up sleeping gear. Rhoswen loaded up the lunch basket. It was a tight fit when they all sat in the bed of the wagon. There was no way they could all sleep in there.

"I remember when we were all little enough to ride in here—comfortably," Kellan said nostalgically.

"That was a long time ago," Alana commented, looking at the faded red and green paint.

She remembered when papa laughingly brought out the buckboard wagon. He had been building it since the beginning of fall, hoping to have it done by Christmas. He hadn't allowed them anywhere near his workshop.

"Was it a lot smoother then?" Kellan asked. "Or did we just have tougher butts?"

"I think we just had tougher butts," Alana laughed. "It always creaked and groaned when we piled into it. It always jerked us around."

"Yes," Kellan laughed, "it was a lot of fun."

"It's been years since we last took it out," Dara said as she put sweaters and capes into the bed. "Time is a really strange thing."

They had decided to plan for a night out. They didn't have any idea how long this was going to take.

"Did you bring your shoes," Kellan asked staring at Vevila's bare feet.

"Maybe not," Vevila told her with a grim expression.

"You don't have to wear them, but you have to take them," Kellan insisted. "There's no telling what we may run into."

Vevila gave her a scathing look. Kellan returned the look with calm dignity. Vevila sighed and trudged off to get her shoes.

"Do you think the wagon will make it?" Rhoswen asked. "It's been awhile since we were all in it at the same time."

"I think so," Kellan answered. "Mama uses it regularly. Besides it's this or nothing. Aunt Caryn has the good wagon. I personally don't want to wait for her to return, before checking out our situation. Mama and papa would already have checked out the damage."

"I miss Heidi," Kane said softly.

Heidi was her own precious donkey, a special gift when she was six. Her childhood friend Maya, had died that winter of pneumonia, Kane's papa had bought the donkey special for Kane to help her get through that sad time. Heidi wasn't just a donkey, she was a friend. Heidi was the name the girls used to call one of Maya's dolls. The donkey and the doll were nothing alike, but the name Heidi, had comforted the lonely, little six year old.

"She'll be home soon," Kellan assured her.

"Aunt Caryn didn't even ask to use her," Kane said bitterly.

"I know," Kellan told her. "When she gets back we'll make sure she understands that Heidi isn't just a stable mount, that she is special to you."

"What are you doing?" Terah asked fretfully.

"We need to see the affects of the wall and determine our situation," Kellan told her.

"You bunch look like peasant folk—running around in those old clothes, and besides—that's for Caryn and Arlen to decide about," she informed them. "She told you to decipher that mess under the bed. Is it done yet?"

They all stared at her, surprised by her aggressiveness.

"Terah," Kellan said quietly, "the sooner you learn that you are not the boss of us—and _never_ will be—the sooner you'll find some peace here. Caryn is not our mother! She is _also_ not the boss of us!" Kellan looked straight into her eyes. "Understand!"

Terah looked into Kellan's purple flashing eyes and remembered just whom she was talking to. She nodded nervously, and walked back inside the house. Maybe, she wouldn't mention last night's events to Caryn. What had she been thinking! These cousins were _those_ cousins. It had been difficult to realize that these girls were not the same girls who she had played with when they were all children. She got it now, and who could blame them with both their mama and papa dead. She missed Aine, too. She wandered to her room, letting her tears fall.

"Do you think you may have been a little harsh," Alana asked. "She's lonely."

"I know," Kellan said, "but we have a lot of work to do, work that she and Aunt Caryn will not understand. Aunt Caryn is nervous about magic. She is going to try to block it at every opportunity."

"How can she be nervous about something which has been around all her life?" Kane asked scornfully.

"Grandmother Saidie," Dara said sympathetically.

"Oh yeah, there is that," Kane had been six when Grandmother Saidie died, but she could remember feeling fear and uncertainty when in her care. She shivered, imagining being _raised_ by her.

"After that one summer," Dara commented. "Mama never left us alone with her again."

"She wouldn't have then," Alana commented, "if not for the cholera epidemic in the village."

"One time when mama got angry with me," Kellan told them, "she just walked out of the room muttering, _not like her_ — _never like her_ , over and over."

"Grandmother Saidie was mean and cruel," Dara remembered. "I did not cry at her internment."

"No one did," Kellan added.

They hadn't yet settled inside the wagon when Kingdom lost patience and stomped out of the yard.

"Hey!" Alana exclaimed as she was jerked forward.

They started just in front of the house where they had originally discovered the earth rift and headed toward the manor and the village, staying alongside the rift. The ground was mainly rocky with some grassy patches which occasionally pulled against the wheels. Kingdom didn't even seem to notice as he joyfully pulled onward. The wagon bounced along, Rhoswen holding the reins.

Vevila started singing...

"The sisters and I all riding a wild ride,"

_"With this beastie of a donkey,"_ Alana sang out.

"all shaggy and high."

_"The weirdest eggs I ever did eat,"_ Vevila sang out.

"seem to stay in my stomach, which surprises me much."

_"She ate his food without a thought,"_ Alana sang.

"to the little chickadee's that would never get out."

_"I left my shoes at home,"_ Vevila sang.

"though my sister warned me not."

_"I saw what you had done,"_ Kellan sang.

"you threw the offenders down in the well."

_"We will buy you some more,"_ Rhoswen sang and laughed.

"in the village fair."

_"Maybe some bright pink pretty's,"_ Kellan added.

"some that sparkle and shine."

_"So all the village boys,"_ Dara continued.

"will whisper in awe and swoon."

_"For just a smile,"_ Alana sang.

"a smile from the sweet Vevila."

_"And the village girls,"_ Rhoswen added.

"who are envious and green."

_"Will pull out your old shoes,_ Kellan sang.

"too mucky to be seen."

_"To parade them around,"_ Dara sang.

"like it's some kind of sin."

_"To have crappie old shoes,"_ Vevila finished.

"no one would ever justly wear."

_"AW-EE, Aw-ee,"_ Kingdom bellowed.

"I wonder what he sang?" Rhoswen pondered.

"Probably how happy he feels," Alana smiled, "The sun is shining, the grass is green, and he's pulling six pretty ladies who can actually sing."

_"AW-EEE, AW-EE_ ," he nodded. Kane stood up in the bouncing wagon.

"Hey," Vevila complained when Kane pulled her hair to catch her balance.

"I can see the Manor," Kane told them. "There's not much land between it and the rift."

The rift had lifted the wall higher had given over to a wide gully many fields ago. The gully in back of the manor was even wider yet.

"It will be harder for us to reach the Manor from over here," Kellan observed.

"And harder for anyone there, to get over to here," Alana added.

"Look, it's the Missus McPherson," Vevila said surprised. "I think she can see us."

Indeed Molly McPherson was waving at them from an upstairs window. She then motioned for them to move on and disappeared from view.

Puzzled, they moved on. They had moved to the other side of the Manor when Kingdom suddenly halted. They looked around confused. Kellan clicked for him to move on, but he held fast, his ears cocked forward.

"What's he doing?" Kane asked.

"Waiting for something," Alana explained.

Just then Molly came around the corner and sat down on the edge of the cliff. If anyone was looking, it would appear as if she was just taking a break, looking off toward the ocean.

They climbed out of the wagon to stand in front of her. She was singing. She looked directly at Kellan.

Hark, hark the dogs do bark  
The beggars are coming to town  
Some in rags and some in jags  
And one in a velvet gown.

She trailed off with one song and started another.

Goosey Goosey Gander where shall I wander,  
Upstairs, downstairs and in my lady's chamber  
There I met an old man who wouldn't say his prayers,  
I took him by the left leg and threw him down the stairs.

"She's singing about spies," Vevila said startled.

Horsey horsey don't you stop  
Just let your feet go clippetty clop  
The tail goes swish and the wheels go round  
Giddy up, you're homeward bound.

"There's crab traps down there," Kane pointed out, seeing the ropes swinging down from the Manor into the _water_ below.

"We will figure something out," Kellan told Molly. "We will return after we finish checking out the _damage_."

Molly pulled up the sleeve of her blouse to rub at the scar on her forearm. Rhoswen was surprised to see it had healed—just like Meifen's.

They were about to move on when they saw a finely dressed stranger walk around the corner to stare out at the ocean. He frowned and shook his head. He stopped to pull up a crab trap and shuddered, looking at the skinned out rat. He threw it back with disgust. Without a word, he marched back the way he had come, totally ignoring Molly—the _proprietor_ of the Manor.

Molly continued to sing.

A wise old owl lived in an oak  
The more she saw the less she spoke  
The less she spoke the more she heard.  
Why can't we all be like that wise old bird?

The girls continued on their way, thoughtfully silent. They continued along the path of the widened gully.

"I found it," Alana called, "finally!"

"Found what?" Kane asked.

"The description of the symbols I found by our wall," she frowned. "I still don't understand it though."

"Let me see," Kellan asked holding out her hand.

Alana gladly handed over the book. Reading Gaelic wasn't one of her strong skills. She grew concerned when Kellan's frown deepened as she read.

"Our land has been separated into _possibilities_ ," Kellan scratched her head. "These marks, according to mama's book, mean that the land sections with these symbols are from a possible reality which she could foresee from the future. She didn't just create an illusion. She _trapped_ a possible reality for this specific area of land."

"There's going to be a time when Ireland will be submerged into the ocean?" Kane asked startled.

"Apparently so," Kellan answered with concern.

"That's much worse than a simple famine," Dara shivered.

"That's way into the future," Rhoswen said from the front. "Our world is warming, and the ice melting. Has been for a long time, otherwise we would still be incased in ice."

"Oh," Kane said thinking on the matter.

"This workbook just has things jotted down for reference," Kellan mentioned thumbing through the book. "It's just mama's personal notes. She doesn't write what exactly she did, just what she was thinking about."

"Still," Alana considered. "That's deep."

"I wonder if she knew the results of her meddling," Rhoswen wondered.

"Except for this new fracture," Dara mentioned, "there doesn't seem to be much change. The land on this side looks the same."

"Thank goodness for that," Rhoswen said thankfully, "can you image the state we would be in if the land turned back to bog, or something just as bad?"

"I guess were just lucky that mama's spells worked out okay," Kane said.

"We hope anyway," Alana said skeptically. "We haven't even begun to see what all has changed."

There was a strip of land between the manor and the village. To Kellan's knowledge, this land wasn't owned by anyone and was used as common land and open range. It wasn't the best of lands, being pretty rocky, but the cows and goats didn't seem to mind. The gully split this a little, but Kellan thought there should still be enough grazing land. The gully mainly split off the more rocky section anyway.

"I don't see any of the village cows," Vevila pointed out.

"I don't either," Dara frowned, "or any of the goats."

"Whoa," Rhoswen called to Kingdom and looked around.

From their view, they couldn't see why the field would be empty.

"Can you _see_ to the other side?" Kellan asked Dara.

"I can try," Dara answered, "We should all try. Who's to say, I'm the only one who has a touch of sight?"

"What about Meifen warning us against using magic?" Alana said with concern.

"Since when do you care about doing as you're told?" Dara laughed. They all looked at Dara expectantly, "fine." She cleared her mind, and then _floated_ to the other side of the village.

"I don't get it," Dara told them. "There's nothing in the field at all. I don't see anything from preventing them using it—it's just empty."

"What about the village?" Alana asked frowning, "is anything going on there?"

Dara let her mind wander to the village. "The gully goes across the back of the village. The only part of the village on our side, is the back edge of Celeste's barn. It looks different from our area, or the village. It looks like a common ditch. The barn sticks out over that. Anyone looking out from the other side would think that Celeste's barn is sticking out over the ocean, ready to topple into the sea at any minute." Dara answered frowning with concentration. "Everyone seems to be in the streets. There's so much commotion, it doesn't make any sense."

"There are tax collectors in town!" Rhoswen said angrily. "They sure are early this year."

"Onward Kingdom," Kellan called and clicked.

_"AW-EEE, Aw-ee_ , he responded as he pulled the wagon.

"Stop!" Kane called out.

"Whoa, Kingdom," Kellan pulled back on the reins.

_"AW-EE, AW-ee_ ," he bellowed annoyed.

_"EE-aw, EE-aw_ ," They heard in the distance.

"That's Heidi," Kane shouted.

"How do you know?" Vevila asked.

Kane answered by letting out a high shrill screech. The others held their ears.

" _EE-aww, EE-aww_." They heard the excited response.

Without a word, Kingdom took the bit and ran with it. The wagon jarred and bounced. Kellan held tight to the reins, but with little effect. The girls were all screaming as the wagon threatened to bounce over. Alana reached over and grabbed the rein with Kellan. Kingdom instantly settled into his normal cantor.

"What happened?" Vevila asked.

"I think he got excited when he heard Heidi," Kane stated.

"What did you do?" Dara asked Alana.

"I don't know," she said confused, "I just grabbed the strap and wished for him to calm himself."

"Seems to have worked," Kellan said, relieved that Kingdom was no longer racing along the rutted grass path.

Kellan pulled the wagon to the side just outside the village. Dara was correct—the rift had meandered around the back of the village. Celeste's barn was sticking out over a wide, deep ditch. There was a large, brand new barn door.

"See the differences?" Dara pointed at the ditch. "Our place has the earth raised, hers has this ditch thing, and the village has that huge gully. I don't think anyone can cross the gully. It's too wide."

"Celeste's land extends past here," Dara mentioned, pointing away from the barn, "so most of her land would also _appear_ to have been lost to the sea."

They wandered closer to look out over the village.

They stared in shocked disbelief at the shambled, damaged houses in the village. Because they hadn't felt the earth move, except for Kane and Alana, they assumed there wasn't any actual damage.

"I hope no one was hurt!" Kellan said concerned.

"It's not as bad as it looks."

They started with surprise. Sitting up in a tree just ahead of them was Celeste. She looked like one of the fine dolls she crafted. Her white hair flittered in the breeze threatening to get tangled in the branches. Her lips held a hint of humor. Kellan wondered if she was afraid of getting sun burned. It was an exceptionally hot day and her skin was porcelain fine, much of it exposed due to her fine lady's dress. It was a light blue and delicately ruffled, at odds with her sitting up in the tree.

It didn't matter that Celeste's couldn't see, she was one of the best potters of the time. Her specialty was fine tea pots, cups, and doll faces. Her doll like appearance made others think she was a little dim, but the sisters knew she was very smart.

: _She's actually very pretty, when seen from this profile,_ : Dara sent to Alana.

: _Shhh!_ : Vevila turned and chastised her.

"Why, thank you," Celeste said and laughed.

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize..." Dara floundered, deeply embarrassed.

"There are others who can mind speak as well," Celeste replied. "You are too used to only talking to your twin. You, all of you, will need to learn how to whisper, or to direct your speech."

"We have a lot to learn," Dara said chagrinned.

"As do all young people," Celeste said unsympathetically.

"So what happened over there?" Alana asked. "Our place did not receive that kind of damage."

"Let me get out of this tree first," Celeste requested.

"Of course," Alana said, "Why are you up there anyway?"

"Burley, the burly one, collected me up and plunked me up here." Celeste answered chagrinned. "He means well, but you know..."

"Why would he do that?" Kellan asked her.

"We have visitors of whom Burley thought to _protect_ me from," she answered scathingly. "I guess he thought I wouldn't find a way down from the tree. That was silly of him."

Celeste nimbly climbed through the tree branches and dropped lightly to the ground.

Kellan pulled some twigs and leaves from her hair, realizing for the first time that she was taller than Celeste.

"So what went wrong over there?" Vevila asked.

"Can any of _you_ tell me?" Celeste quizzed them.

They stared at her strangely and thought about it.

"They did it themselves to throw off the collectors," Rhoswen told them. "I don't know why I know that, but I do."

"You are correct," Celeste told her. "They needed a plausible story to tell the authorities for what happened. They did that damage themselves. It looks really bad, but it was carefully staged. Nothing was really lost. Some of the villagers though, believe that Aine outdid herself, and killed all of you. Seeing you all here together is going to be a shock for them."

"It was a shock for us," Alana told her looking into her glazed eyes. "This happened when she died. We don't know exactly what she did."

"Death magic, birth magic, and nature magic," Celeste told them. "Only those circumstances could have done such as this."

"Nature magic?" Kane asked.

Celeste smiled. "Which is why only Alana and yourself felt the blow. You take after your father that way. He must have helped her set it up."

"How do you know that?" Kane asked.

"How do you think I find the best clay to make my pots?" She asked her.

"I hadn't given it much thought," Alana confessed, "I just assumed you found the clay, and started messing around with it, until you had learned to make some really nice stuff."

"So why the collectors?" Kellan asked as she unharnessed Kingdom and put him on a long lead rope which she tied to the tree.

"When Aine separated the land, there were strangers in the larger village looking for the Earl's son. They immediately sent word of the _earthquake_ , and then the wave which swallowed up all the land and people—that's our story."

"And they believed that?" Alana asked.

"They seem to," Celeste answered, "What other explanation could there be? Everyone and anyone owed money, or those who think they were owed money, descended like a bunch of vultures. Tread carefully if you cross over." She pulled up her sleeve to show the raven. She touched it with her fingers. "Everyone in the village was marked thus. Some—the dumb—are angry about it. You—Dara, can remove them if need be. That will also remove the promise of protection."

_"I can?_ " Dara said surprised. "How?"

"Heal the flesh and remove the scar," she instructed. "Only a healing O'Byrne can remove the Raven's bond."

Dara looked at her blankly.

"Give me your hand." Celeste commanded.

Dara moved toward her and held out her hand. She felt silly as she realized that Celeste could not see her outstretched hand. She was about to withdraw it, and was startled when Celeste reached up and grabbed it—without groping around.

"I will link with you and show you what you must do," Celeste linked with Dara. The other sisters looked on disappointedly—seeing nothing but Celeste holding Dara's hand.

Dara could suddenly see through Celeste's _eyes_ and stared around with wonder. She could see all the energy patterns of every living thing, even the littlest of the mold spores.

"Pay attention," Celeste reprimanded.

Celeste drew her to the scratches on Dara's own arm and carefully showed her how to heal them from the inside out. She did this again with her scraped knee. She pulled Kane over and they healed the scrap she had received from the wagon seat just that day.

"Now you do it," Celeste held out her own arm where Burley had bruised her earlier, in his haste to remove her to _safer_ ground.

Dara carefully and hesitantly looked at the damaged flesh and stopped the bleeding.

"Good," Celeste instructed, "now let the damaged cells flow away with the blood, and then send the white blood to heal the area, nudge it with a little energy, just a little though."

Dara did as she was instructed. She was sweating, and felt a little shaky when she was done.

"Drink some cider," Celeste instructed, "and don't do any more of that today. It will get easier, but you have to learn how to draw energy outside of yourself. Come to me for more instruction. I will either be in my home across the street, or at the Manor."

"I'm still seeing like you do!" Dara said fearfully, "How long will this last?"

"That's inner sight," Celeste laughed. "It lasts forever. _You_ turn it off by focusing on the surface of things."

"Oh," Dara said relieved. "I didn't know about such things,"

"I know," Celeste told her. "Your mother would have sent you to me for training, but for the baby's selfish behavior which prevented her from seeing that you are a sighted healer. If she had lived, she would have initiated your training with me."

In a flash of insight, the sisters saw her for who she was—another daughter of Druantia. She smiled widely. Her blind eyes were seeing nothing, but her heart and her mind were seeing the whole world in its total glory.

"How come mama and papa didn't tell us about you being another daughter?" Dara asked irritably.

"I don't know," Celeste said sadly. "It may have been something Aine saw, or didn't see, which made her keep the truth to herself."

"Are you going to cross over?" Vevila asked her.

"No," she answered, "Burley would just toss me over his shoulder _again_ , and bring me back. He may even try sitting on me the next time. He can be so overprotective. He's a little—slow."

"Can we get you anything?" Alana asked.

"A cold drink would be appreciated," she requested, "and something for my hands to do. I get positively edgy with nothing to do."

"We only brought the drawing pads," Dara said doubtfully.

"Excellent," Celeste told them.

Vevila put some chipped ice and apple cider into a large mug and placed it into her hand. Dara placed her own pad and pencil set down beside her.

"This is very good," she said after sipping the drink. "Thank you."

She picked up the pad and began to draw. They watched with fascination as she outlined their own house and garden.

"I see it here," she told them, pointing at her head. "I'm not really blind you know. I just see differently—clearer I think."

"I'm going to check out the village," Kellan told them. "You stay here." She started toward the village and then paused.

"You have to enter through my barn door," Celeste said helpfully.

"I'm going with you," Dara told her.

Celeste watched them thoughtfully, wondering if they would figure out the magic. She noticed that Kane and Vevila had already wandered off and found the _stick_.

"Ouch!" Kane complained dropping the large branch. She checked her hand for slivers.

"It's magic!" Vevila said awed.

"What do you mean?" Kane asked her.

"It glows," Vevila told her, "and it has symbols—look!"

Kane had to focus on the magic in order to see the wards. They grinned at each other. Neither could read them, but it was fun _finding_ magic! They watched as Kellan and Dara wandered back and forth across the back of the barn.

"I guess we could jump," Dara said doubtfully.

"And then what?" Kellan asked scathingly, "hang onto the door and dangle as we try to swing it open?"

"We found something!" Vevila called to them.

"Over here!" Kane called.

They ignored Kane and Vevila as they continued to haggle over how to open the door. Vevila saw the flash of grin from Celeste's lips and knew that the branch had something to do with opening the door. She pulled on Kane's dress to sit down. They smirked to themselves as they watched Dara jump, and indeed, dangle from the barn door. She dropped off to land in the ditch.

Dara glared at Kane and Vevila when she heard them giggling.

"You might want to help," Kellan informed them, "not just sit there giggling at our blunders!"

"We called you," Kane said defensively, "but you just ignored us. Don't get all preachy now!"

"We found a magical branch!" Vevila told them. "I wouldn't pick it up if I was you. It doesn't want to be picked up."

Dara and Kellan walked over eagerly. They stared down in disappointment upon seeing the branch.

"It's just an old stick," Kellan said as she grabbed it.

Kane snorted as Kellan dropped it quickly enough.

"It has magical writing on it," Vevila told them.

"What does it mean?" Dara asked Celeste.

Celeste ignored them, her attention fully focused on her drawing.

"There's a hand print on that end of the stick," Kellan told them as she handled her amulet.

"You need to stop doing that," Dara told her.

"Doing what?" Kellan asked surprised.

"Touching your amulet every time you do magic," Dara told her. "It draws attention and tells everyone around what you are doing. It could be a very bad habit."

"She's right you know," Celeste told them. "Most of the time, you will not want people to know you are doing _anything_!"

"Oh!" Kellan said dropping the amulet. "I think we can pick this up if we use the hand print."

Kellan put words to practice and picked up the stick. A rune flashed as she lifted it up.

"Knock twice," Dara read.

They looked at each other and shrugged. Kellan walked over to the barn door and used the stick to _knock twice_. The stick _jumped_ from her hand to lie nonchalantly back on the ground. The barn door opened, they grinned to each other and started forward. They stopped abruptly when a platform folded down from a hinge on the bottom of the door to comfortably fit across the ditch.

"That is so neat!" Kellan told Celeste.

"Your father created the door before he passed," Celeste told them. "When I asked him what the heck he was doing, he just grinned and threw that _stick_ over in the grass. It's simple and very clever."

"Is this the only way to get to the village from around here?" Alana asked her.

_"Unfortunately_ ," she answered with a scowl. "It would have been nice if Keegan had asked me for the use my barn as such. Now, everyone who wants to cross will have to go through my barn."

"That could be rather—odd," Alana frowned.

"But very controllable," Rhoswen told them and turned to Celeste. "You can always _lock_ it up."

"I can," she agreed. "I'm assuming that there is also a way across by your house?"

"There is," Dara answered with a grin, "but nothing as grand as this. Aunt Caryn had us hauling rocks to make an embankment to drive the wagon over."

"How's that working?" Celeste asked them, "with your aunt and all?"

"It's a little early to tell," Alana told her quickly.

"Yes," Celeste's eyes glowed strangely. She continued to draw, "It's early yet."

Kellan and Dara walked through the barn and looked out. The village was a half pasture away. They walked the dirt path to the edge of the village.

"There they are!" One old woman screeched. "Devils spawn I say!"

"I had no say in being marked so," another yelled and pulled up his sleeve to show the mark of the raven.

Kellan stared around. The angry muttering turned silent as she laid purple eyes upon them. The old woman's screech brought on the attention of some of the other villagers. A handful of villagers gathered around them.

Unlike most country people living in small rural villages, these villagers looked healthy and spry. They wore good, comfortable clothes and lead a decent life—without the hardship of working only to feed themselves—and then feeding themselves only enough to work. They had always benefited from the O'Byrne resources.

"Our mother did this for your protection!" Kellan informed them talking softly. "This was the last act she did before she _died_. How dare you speak such trash!"

"Our pardon miss," an older gentleman spoke up. "It was a frightful thing that happened."

He was wearing an old brown suit complete with a top hat. Kellan identified him as the village elder, Mister Buckley.

"To us as well," Dara told them. "We had no idea of what our mother and father had planned. It was both of them who wrote the magic which caused this."

"We are here to figure this out," Kellan told them. "You can be sure that our aunt will do no such thing for you. You must be resilient and make this thing work for you. If you decide that you cannot cope. Dara will remove the mark, but be warned—you will have to leave the village and will lose _all_ O'Byrne protections."

Kellan looked around at all the stone-faced, silent villagers.

"No harm is what I've been telling them," a middle aged man told them, "as long as the Lady Celeste lets us out the back."

The villagers looked around confused. The angry vigor was gone— apprehension was left in its place.

"We don't know yet what this is all about," Kellan reemphasized. "When we do, we will get back to you."

"What can we do?" The elder asked leading Kellan and Dara away from the others, down the road toward the market.

Kellan had decided to tell the elder everything that they knew and to give him instructions to notify the rest of the villagers. Telling every individual was not only tiring, but also a waste of time. Often when one thought they were finished, the questions would repeat again. She didn't have the patience to deal with it.

Kane was annoyed as she watched Kellan and Dara walking away. She could hear Heidi calling out in the distance. Kane pulled Vevila's arm to get her attention.

"What is it?" Vevila asked, seeing Kane's stubborn expression.

"I'm going to get Heidi back!" She said determinedly and walked up into Celeste's barn.

"I can see I'm going to be getting a lot of company," Celeste remarked. "Maybe Burley wouldn't mind putting up a hallway. That way I can still have the use of my barn."

"You will probably want to do that," Rhoswen agreed. "It will need to be wide enough to pull a wagon through."

Rhoswen and Alana continued to visit with Celeste. They were amazed by her pictures and she encouraged them to begin ones of their own.

Vevila and Kane came out of the barn and wandered around the side.

"It really does look like it's going to fall into the ocean." Vevila mentioned. "I can barely _see_ the other side from here. Can you see Celeste back there?"

"Barely," Kane squinted, "It looks twisted somehow. I can't quite explain it."

"The gully looks different from the ditch." Vevila pulled Kane over to peer between the two different types of rifts.

Kane stared with raised eyebrows. Vevila felt goose bumps rise up on her arms.

: _I think if we were to cross back right here where the gully is_ ,: Vevila mind sent to Kane, : _we would find ourselves flung out to sea._ :

: _I agree,_ : Kane sent undaunted, : _so we just won't cross here, will we?_ :

"So..." Vevila asked her. "What do you want to do?"

"Find Heidi and find out why she's even here," Kane answered.

With bowed heads, they walked into the chaos of the market.

: _Rhoswen was right,_ : Vevila mind sent to Kane. : _There are collectors here._ :

: _Heidi is just up ahead,_ : Kane sent back and pulled ahead.

: _Wait_ — _listen first,_ : Vevila pulled her back.

They walked more cautiously, listening to the commotion around. There weren't as many collectors as they had at first thought. In fact, there was only one, he had one secretary, and was surrounded by bull-boys. They were guarding the make shift kennel which held all the village beasts. They stared around

: _He looks like a goat,_ : Vevila nicknamed the collected, : _and he stinks._ :

: _No wonder there's no animals grazing,_ : Kane said appalled. : _They are all here._ :

"Name!" The collector snarled.

"Arnold the weaver," he answered.

"Declaration?" The man asked.

"What?" Arnold asked confused.

"Which beast is yours," the man sighed. "The tax ledger says that you have only the one, so don't be clever."

"Elmer over there," he pointed.

The collector nodded and one of his men pulled the cow out of the pen.

"Next," he shouted.

"Merle Thatcher, I own that milk cow," she said angrily pointing at the cow.

The secretary nodded. The collector nodded at the boy who pulled the cow aside. She took her cow and stalked out of the square.

"Armand Tess," the next nervously announced.

The secretary handed the collector a note.

"It says here that you owe money to the Queen," he stated. "Now you wouldn't like to be arrested for tax evasion would you, or worse treason?"

"How much am I owing?" He asked despairingly.

"Can't say for sure," the collector said. "It just says to confiscate the goat."

Armand blinked repeatedly. Without the goat there would be no milk for his son, no cheese, no extra money to buy his mother her medicines from the healer.

"I have my father's watch," he swallowed convulsively. "He's dead now. I truly wished to give it to my son when he's older."

"Bring it!" the collector told him sternly. "Your son won't be needing no old watch!"

Armand nodded and slowly withdrew from the lineup.

Kane felt a hand grab her arm and pull her back. Vevila turned to see what was going on. It was Mandy, the head weaver. They turned to follow her out of the crowd.

"They came in early this morning," she told them quietly, "rounded up all our animals before we were even awake. That's Oliver Monk. He says he has crown authority to enforce collection. I'm not so sure, but they already beat up poor Mickay. Who's going to stop them?"

"Why are our donkeys with the rest of the village animals?" Kane asked.

"Why, your aunt sold them to Jeffers just yesterday," Mandy said surprised. "She said you needed a real horse, and traded the donkeys for a gelding."

"She didn't know Heidi was yours," Vevila told Kane quickly.

"But she did," Mandy told them. "She specifically said that Kane would need a ladies horse someday anyway, not a silly donkey. She said it was unfashionable, the way you talked with Heidi and such."

"How do we get her back?" Kane asked.

"I don't think you do," Mandy said sympathetically, "Jeffers already gone up and tried. _He_ said Jeffers owed too many taxes and only let him take one cow—after he offered up his wife's silver necklace. I'm sorry— _you_ be careful in there."

Mandy walked back towards her house.

"You can bet the collector has noted that the people in this village eat well, and aren't all raggedly." Kane noted. "He's going to bleed them."

"I think you're going to have to plead for Heidi," Vevila told her, "play the poor little orphan—it's true you know."

"I guess," Kane sighed.

They walked back toward the proceedings and carefully watched the collector and his bullies.

Some of the villagers lost their animals—some bartered them back by other means. Kane touched her amulet for courage, she would not fail Heidi. Vevila watched as Kane approached the collector.

"Name," he shouted.

"Kane O'Byrne," Kane announced with her chin high.

The collector stared at her. Kane could hear the mutterings around the market.

"The ledger says your people are perished," he squinted at her.

"I and my sister were staying with friends," she told him, "when _it_ happened."

"Just what do you think is yours?" He asked.

"The two donkeys," she faced him.

"I thought _they_ seemed a little _odd_ for a village such as this," the collector muttered.

"They were presented by Jeffers as tax," the secretary reminded him.

"Jeffers was cheated," Kane told him, "by one who did not _own_ the donkeys. He lost a gelding on the deal."

"Well," the collector rubbed his chin. "He can't pay with the gelding then can he? Nope, the donkeys have to stay. Unless you have some barter."

"What would we have," Kane let tears fill her eyes. "I am now an orphan. With nothing but the clothes I wear."

"Her hair," the secretary whispered into the collector's ear, "worth its weight in gold—plus court appreciation. The Queen's ladies would pay dearly for hair such as that."

He studied the girl. She did indeed have long, golden hair. By the looks of it, well maintained hair, not like these others.

"Your hair," he announced.

"What?" Kane asked shocked.

"The donkey for your hair," he stated. "That is as long as I like what is presented."

The more he looked at her hair, the more he coveted it. Sanders was right, hair like that would be a treasure in the Queens house.

"One braid, one donkey." He told her.

The village was strangely quiet. He looked around at the villagers nervously, but was reassured by his boys standing straight and strong.

"One braid," Kane said courageously, "both donkeys—and my saddle. I doubt anyone else could fit it anyway."

She was a stubborn one, he realized.

"Maybe we should just bring you in," he announced. "Place you in one of the work houses—orphan that you are."

"That wouldn't be very smart," a voice said from the rear of the group. "Her Uncle will be here soon to collect her and her sister, Stefan O'Byrne, _the_ Stefan O'Byrne. She is claimed. I suggest you just give her the donkeys and be done with it."

"Who is that?" the collector demanded.

The crowd parted and a lady stepped forward. Kane had never seen her before. Her maroon, silken dress was a little faded, but she had an air about her which spoke of culture and refinement. She was rather tall and wore a rather stiff brown wig which added to her height. Her brown eyes flashed with disdain, her wide lips pulled downward. It was obvious to anyone watching, that this _collector_ disgusted her.

"Lady Roswiold!" He said surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"Watching the ocean of course," she frowned at him. "I was quite serious about Stefan. He'll hunt you down, and skin you alive if you mess with his nieces."

"We are bartering here," he said stiffly.

She just looked on.

"Okay, one braid for both donkeys—and the saddle," he said nervously.

"You're getting a bargain," Lady Roswiold informed him.

"Come here girl," he called out.

"Oh let me!" Lady Roswiold said exasperated, "as though you know how to cut hair. You'll just ruin it and then it will be worthless. Someone bring me some scissors."

Kane stood firmly as Lady Roswiold unwound her fair hair, re-bound it—and cut it off. Kane was startled when she glimpsed the raven burned into her arm. The crowd was awed as a five foot plus braid of hair went into the anxious secretary's hands. Her braid was longer than she was tall, and glistened like pure gold.

"Best to guard that well," Lady Roswiold told him.

"Bring the beasts," the collected called out.

No one moved to do as he bid. The villagers snickered. Kane looked on with surprise.

"What's the matter with you, Chad?" he glared at the boy. "Bring the bloody donkey."

"That's a fierce beastie," the boy complained. "Kicked Earl in the head and he's been out since. I'm not looking to get my brains scrambled like his."

"Oh, for crying out loud," the collected shouted.

Kane relaxed and watched as the collector _tried_ to pull Heidi from the pen. Heidi pulled sharply back on the rope, sending the man stumbling into the pen. A nearby goat slammed him with his horns. Kane could hear the villagers snickering when he stepped into a pile of cow dung. She quickly grabbed both Heidi's and Rosy's leads. They didn't need any more problems. The villagers laughed to see the little girl calmly lead to two _ferocious_ beasts out of the pen.

"I'm sorry," Chad said sympathetically as he handed her the saddle and then hurried back to the collector.

Kane saddled Heidi, mounted her proudly, and led the donkeys out of the village. She noticed the villagers watching them silently as they made their way out of the village square.

_"EE-Aw, EE-Aw,_ " Heidi yelled, happy to see her.

_"EE-Aw, ee-aw,_ " Rosy agreed.

"You're worth it," Kane informed her rubbing her firmly along the side of her neck.

Vevila took hold of Rosy's rope and walked with her. Neither spoke. They came onto Celeste's property and on through the barn. They didn't stop until they reached the wagon. Once there, Kane dismounted, leaned into her pony's neck and cried. Vevila pulled her down and cried with her. Heidi nuzzled her hair distressed. Alana stared after them shocked.

"I'm so sorry," Vevila cried touching Kane's shortened hair.

"It's not just the hair," Kane cried. "It's the betrayal. How could Aunt Caryn have done such a thing? She knew that Heidi was mine!"

Alana hugged them both close, the time for explanations would wait.

"I think she's bitter about her gift," Celeste told them. "Caryn—she _was_ very good at it—not anymore though. The animals stopped trusting her."

"What happened?" Alana asked.

"Her mother," was all that Celeste needed to say.

"He took my braid in barter for the donkeys," Kane cried to Alana. "Aunt Caryn sold my little Heidi—knowing she was mine—and special to me."

Kellan and Dara stomped over to the wagon. Kellan was furious when she realized that they had crossed the rift without _asking_ her. She stopped abruptly when she caught site of her sisters. Alana, Vevila, and Kane had obviously been crying. Dara gasped when she caught site of Kane's missing braid. Kane was _very_ vain about her hair.

"What happened?" Dara demanded.

"The collector made Kane trade her hair to get Heidi back." Alana told them.

"One braid, two donkeys," Kane told them. "I actually traded very well."

"Worse," Alana continued, "Aunt Caryn deliberately sold Heidi knowing she was Kane's special donkey."

"Are you sure about that?" Kellan asked.

"It's true," Celeste told her.

She presented Kellan with a picture of Caryn handing over Kane's saddle to the stable hand. Caryn's face was smug and self important.

"Where's Rhoswen?" Kellan demanded.

"Oh no!" Dara searched for her and found her at the collectors table. "She's bartering for a milk cow."

"You lasses need to stop doing this!" Kellan said frustrated.

Kane fingered her lone braid. She thought about the collector's greed and the fact that the villagers would go hungry without their livestock to supplement their food. She sighed, it was already starting—preparing for the future—preparing the village for survival.

"I may as well barter this one too," Kane told them. "It really doesn't do me any good like this."

Kane stood to leave. Vevila stood to go with her.

"Wait a minute," Vevila was stopped when Kellan grabbed her arm. Vevila stared angrily at Kellan's hand, shrugged it off, and then turned to walk away with Kane.

"Let her do this," Celeste pulled Kellan to sit back down. "You must stay here. The collector's men must not see you. You cannot hide your eyes—and they will take you."

"Rhoswen..." Kellan started.

"Is _hiding_ her eyes," Celeste told her. "Alana and Dara should stay here, too. The collector and his men don't need to see _all_ the living O'Byrne's."

Kane and Vevila made their way back to the collector.

The collector was haggling poor Missus Heather for her five _chickens_.

"I will pledge my other braid if you will stop this nonsense," Kane spoke clearly—interrupting the barter. "Leave with what you have already bartered." She nodded toward the pen. "Leave the animals. These people need their animals to survive. They have done nothing to you."

"Such words from the little warrior," the collector scoffed.

"That braid is worth much more than anything else we'll squeeze out of these peasants," Sanders whispered, "and who wants to march a bunch of half dead animals back to market."

Oliver Monk looked around at all the pathetic faces. He was very disappointed. He had been sure he could get more out of them. He wasn't sympathetic to them and didn't pity them. They were just a means to an end. He looked at the animals in the pen and agreed with Sanders. He did not want to mess with taking those beasts back with them—and the chickens. What would he do with chickens? Sanders opened the box to show him the original braid. It looked like silken gold, wound around and around into a tight coil.

"Done," he declared, "get those animals out of here." He then approached Kane greedily. She took a step back surprised.

"Back-off—Mr. Monk!" Lady Roswiold stepped up.

"I thought you'd left!" He said quite put out.

"And miss the show," she growled at him, "hardly."

She again, unwound Kane's braid—rebound it—and cut it off. "You are very brave. Your mother would be very proud. I'd rather be doing this to his pecker," she whispered. Kane couldn't help but giggle.

The secretary waited impatiently while Lady Roswiold wound up the braid. She handed it to him regrettably.

The villagers quickly reclaimed their animals and left the area. The make shift kennel stood empty. The elder approached Lady Roswiold.

"I would have a word with you, please," he asked.

Lady Roswiold looked at him surprised.

"Did you want something?" She asked as she smoothed Kane's hair.

He hesitated, "Her gift might be for naught. The county has banned the field we use against grazing. It seems that someone has a claim on it and will be planting it this fall. Our animals will starve—we have no other place for them to graze."

"And what is that to me?" She asked.

"We just thought that maybe you could influence someone to let it remain the way it is." He shuffled his feet.

"I have nothing to do with any of that, dear man," she said appalled.

"Why don't you just let them graze in the forest?" Vevila asked him. Kane nodded. "No one will bother them in there."

He looked at them appalled.

"There are beasts and _things_ in there," he told them.

"I know," Vevila told him, "which's why no one will bother your animals. You sure won't have someone collecting them up to use against you again."

Lady Roswiold watched him speculatively to see if he would do anything to help himself. He stuttered around and walked away.

"Tell me about this forest." Lady Roswiold requested as they walked toward the edge of the village.

"Mostly, it's filled with unicorns," Vevila mentioned. "They don't bother us. They do get pretty aggrieved when men enter their domain, not such a good idea, but they do love to play with the young girls."

"The animals would be safe enough in there—maybe not the bulls though." Kane added. "There are the faerie circles, but if you know what to avoid, that's okay, too."

"And don't suck any of the honey suckle in there," Vevila mentioned. "You'll sleep for a hundred years, unless you know a witch who will awaken you."

"Could I see this forest?" She asked fascinated.

"Not a good idea," Vevila frowned, "you would smell wrong to them. They might not attack you, but then..."

"Wrong?" She asked.

"You know," Vevila looked at her and saw the puzzled expression, "wrong!"

"Like having _been_ with a man," Kane told her. "They don't like that."

"We could get you in," Vevila told her, "but we would have to make arrangements, not at all fun for you I'm sure."

"What arrangements would have to be made?" She asked curiously, desiring to see this forbidden place.

"You would have to be _private_ for a month," Kane began, "and every morning and every night you would have to take a bath in a special concoction of dandelion dew and mountain rain berries."

"She would also have to take glory-mint powder to stop her flows." Vevila added, "and wait to make sure that works right."

"She doesn't already do that?" Kane said surprised. "I thought all _women_ took that?"

"Most do not," Vevila said with certainty. Kane looked at Lady Roswiold expectantly.

"She must be right," she told Kane, "I have no idea what you are talking about."

"There you are," Rhoswen walked in with her shortened hair. "I was helping Widow Lavender get her cow home... holy aspen! What did you do to your hair?"

"We could ask you the same question," Kane stared at her.

"Kane bartered her last braid for _all_ the animals," Vevila said proudly.

They were surprised to hear Rhoswen laugh. She laughed harder on seeing their stunned expressions.

"I always hated my hair," Rhoswen laughed. "I would have cut it off long ago—but mama stopped me and said I'd be glad enough for it when the time came that I could trade it off for a cow. That was one of the strangest things I'd ever heard her say. Trade it off for a cow—indeed."

They all started laughing. The villagers looked on with concern. Rhoswen felt wonderful for the gift she had been able to bestow to the Widow Lavender. It's possible that Kane's barter would have covered the widow's cow, but this was her personal gift to the kind widow—and it felt extraordinarily good.

"We better get back," Vevila whispered.

Kane watched curiously to see if Lady Roswiold would enter the barn with them. She was a little disappointed when the lady stopped.

"I know of the barrier, but will not cross it," Lady Roswiold told them. "I have work to do over here. The county is trying to take over the Manor, they are saying it is too impressive to be a workhouse and want to convert it to an inn. My husband and I have to convince them otherwise. There is a will from your father, but it is tied up in litigations. It is surprising—or maybe suspicious—just how fast the vultures moved in. Trust no one without the mark." She gave Kane a firm hug—and then just walked away.

They walked silently through the barn. Vevila observed that Celeste would be needing hay this year. Her stacks were getting a little thin. Maybe she moved them, Vevila thought, not wanting the villagers to see all her goods.

They walked out of the barn and across the platform. Kane noted that it was well made, very firm. She smiled sadly to realize that it was one of the last things that papa had worked on.

Kellan, Dara, and Alana were all sitting in front of the barn. Looking from Kellan's stony face to Rhoswen's smiley face, Alana couldn't help but laugh. They had sure gotten into it this time. Then she felt very sad as she realized that mama and papa wouldn't be home to scold them.

"Can _we_ cross anywhere along our side to reach the other side? That is if we had a long enough rope, or maybe a wooden plank." Kane asked Kellan.

"I don't know," Kellan frowned at her. "Maybe we should tie a rope on you and let you jump. Then we would know, wouldn't we?"

"Oh Kellan," Kane complained, "you're just being pissy."

Kellan just grunted and walked away. She did feel pissy. She felt responsible for her sisters. She felt bad about Kane losing Heidi and felt even worse about her losing her hair. She didn't understand Rhoswen's sunny smile at the loss of her own hair.

"Celeste has invited us to stay the night with her," Dara told them as they approached the wagon.

"You should have seen that old goat faced collector circling the house earlier," Celeste told them with a wide smile "It _is_ the grandest house in the village. I should have let the cats out," she laughed, "I could just see them chasing thirty-six cats around to hold for ransom."

"Tonight might also be a good opportunity to talk with the whole village without any outsiders around," Rhoswen suggested.

"Sounds fine," Kellan said abruptly and walked away.

Dara squinted up her eyes at Kellan, and then marched off after her. She caught up to her by the old oak tree.

"You are no more the boss of us than Aunt Caryn is," Dara told her aggressively.

Kellan was taken aback by Dara's sharp words.

"You need to re-think yourself," Dara said scathingly. "Stop treating us like we're poor little bumpkins. You are barely a year older than Alana and I, and we all step downward from there. I think Kane—our littlest—is actually smarter than you are. So where do you get off making decisions for the rest of us. Even mama and papa didn't do that! Freedom of Choice—remember!"

Kellan stared at Dara dumbfounded. Dara gave her an exasperated look and stalked off. Kellan sat down to think things through. Why did she feel _so_ responsible for them? Dara was right. So why did she feel this way? When she felt she had her true answer, she returned to her sisters. They were sitting in the wagon, waiting expectantly. They all climbed out to sit with Celeste, Kellan sat down.

"I expected Aunt Caryn to step in for mama," she started, "when that didn't happen—and wasn't going to happen—because I was afraid, I started trying to step into mamas shoes myself. I didn't realize. I just suddenly felt responsible, and started reacting. I am truly sorry. I know that you are all very capable."

"Good!" Dara congratulated her. "Now you can stop behaving like such a twit."

"Hey!" Kellan responded defensively.

"You needed to face your fear," Alana told her, "before we could move on as sisters, and do what needs doing."

"I'm also afraid that I don't have any magic to offer," Kellan said uneasily, "that I'll be the weakest link."

They stared at her surprised.

"Why do you say that?" Celeste asked just as surprised.

"Kane there threw Aunt Caryn across the floor," Kellan said awkwardly, "Dara is a healer, and Alana seems to have a special bond with animals. Vevila can _sing_ for anything she wants. Rhoswen seems to be very intuitive, and I don't seem to do anything—magically. Maybe I'm a dud."

"I do?" Alana and Vevila said at the same time.

Kellan nodded.

"You have something," Celeste assured her, "something _very_ strong. When it reveals itself to you, there will be no doubt. I can see the magic building within you. Your Uncle Stefan was the same way."

"Uncle Stefan?" Kellan asked curiously. "We don't know very much about him, just that he left a long time ago and now he's back."

"He's a Fire Knight," Celeste told them, "a very powerful Fire Knight. He left because of the Lady Roswiold. He wanted her, but she was already married. There was a fight, somebody died, blah, blah, blah—he left."

"Blah, blah, blah," Alana laughed, "you can't just only tell us that. Tell us more please?"

"Maybe tonight," she said mysteriously, "with the lamp turned low as the wind howls through the trees."

They all laughed at her.

"Have you heard of some of the druid practices of _rule_?" Celeste asked them turning serious.

"Didn't they have a high priest or priestess organize the people?" Vevila frowned.

"Sometimes," Celeste told them, "but many times there wasn't any one person with more magic or anyone with more regard than the next person. So they had to manage in a different way. I think this way may work well for you girls. It is obvious that you will not allow one sister to boss you all around." She laughed at their sour expressions.

"You might be right with that," Dara mumbled.

"One way to achieve harmony is an understanding within a group that decisions will be made with the agreement of every person. That doesn't mean they have to totally agree, it means that by supporting an idea they are saying they can abide, or live by it, and every member has to agree to it."

"How is that?" Kane asked.

"That sounds hard," Dara stated, "I can't remember _all_ of us agreeing on anything."

"Let's say Kane wants chicken for dinner," Celeste demonstrated, "Vevila there wants rat guts. She positively hates chicken."

"I do?" Vevila frowned, "sick!"

"The group agrees on pork," Celeste continued. "Maybe Kane will be disappointed that she doesn't get to have chicken, but is very thankful she doesn't have to eat rat guts. Vevila is glad she doesn't have to eat chicken."

"Isn't that a compromise," Dara asked.

"Sometimes," Celeste told them, "but when the group agrees to something and supports it, there is usually more value than a simple compromise. A compromise might mean that Vevila has to eat chicken tonight, and Kane may have to eat rat guts tomorrow, neither will be happy with that. Usually a group of people will see more alternatives to a problem."

"So what happens when someone just will not agree?" Kellan asked doubtfully.

"It may take longer and may take more work," Celeste told her, "but if it's important enough, you'll get agreement. More idea's thrown into the pot, usually ends up with a better soup. You should all give it a try. You're all smart and very capable."

"So you're saying we need to start thinking of a way to all agree when making decisions which affect all of us," Dara got it, "there won't really be someone who is the boss—or _replacing_ mama and papa."

"That's right, start with something simple." Celeste agreed, "Kellan is old enough for them to marry off, and you twins are right behind her. There is no reason why you can't start making your own decisions. By standing together in choice, others will have very little ability to force you to some other way. It may be beneficial to think about your situation before returning home. You are right Kellan. Caryn will not be capable of filling in for your mother—or even understanding your needs. She will try to blindside you. You all have a lot to learn. Hopefully, Caryn will learn to manage, or our area will be solely damaged when hard times come."

"It's going to rain," Kellan looked up at the sky, "should we be going in?"

"That would be best," Celeste picked up the drawing pad and set it in the wagon. "The cider was excellent. Did Aine make it?"

"How did you know?" Vevila asked.

"It was very _sweet_ ," Celeste told her, "her _type_ of sweet. It would be best to leave the donkeys in the front pasture. The neighbors will talk, but that's better than your Kingdom straying into the forest, or into the public lands."

"What about leaving him in the barn?" Vevila asked.

"I'd rather not," Celeste told them.

Rather than hitching Kingdom back to the wagon, they just pulled out there gear and led the donkeys through the barn. Kane looked around curiously, wondering why Celeste didn't want the donkey's left in the barn. Maybe Celeste was afraid the donkeys would make a mess, and then she would have to clean it up. No, that wasn't it. Celeste was very capable of making them clean up after their own donkeys.

They took the harnesses off the donkeys and let them have the run of the field. They made a racket with enthusiastic bellows, and frolicked around in the grass. Kane watched them with fondness. She touched her shorn hair. It was worth it to have Heidi back again. From now on, Aunt Caryn wasn't going to touch her. She'd ask Celeste if there was a way to magically protect Heidi, or better she thought determinedly, she'd figure it out for herself!
Chapter Seven

Celeste led the way to her house. It was just inside the edge of the village.

"The neighbors are definitely going to notice that we are here," Rhoswen mentioned.

Celeste's house would have been the first house the collector would have seen. No doubt he thought he was going to get a lot of money or barter from the village, judging from the first house, but he was mistaken. Celeste, the _Lady_ Celeste, had not been born in the village, but had settled there later.

She had traded her hustle and bustle Dublin life for a more calm, serine existence. The country life suited her, and the village people were warm and welcoming. They didn't treat her like some poor little blind lady. They simply let her be, and she let them be—mostly. Burley's manhandling today was an exception. He would have been shocked to find out that this fine little lady could have squashed him like a bug.

Her two story brick house was on a good sized chunk of land. She had her own clay deposits which was why she had chosen this property to begin with. A stream meandered along the edge until it appeared to crash down on the rocks below into the sea. The girls knew in fact that the stream continued on its meandering path through their lands—before crashing into the sea.

"I wonder why mama didn't include your property into the safety zone," Alana wondered.

"I asked her not to," Celeste replied.

"You knew about her plan?" Kellan asked surprised. All the sisters looked at Celeste startled.

"She did mention it from time-to-time," Celeste hedged. "She had one plan or another, running in that head of hers, for a long time."

"Oh!" Kellan said surprised.

Celeste _opened_ her house. The sisters watched as the wards flared brightly. No one would be entering this house uninvited. She opened the door and cats came streaming out, most of them complaining for having been locked into the house all day. One particular lanky gray-haired tom circled her legs before exiting. There were plenty of cats who decided they didn't want to go out in the rain and curled up on the sofas, tables, even the mantle.

This wasn't the first time they had been in Celeste's house, their mama and papa had visited quite often bringing the girls with them. They always had fun here. Celeste didn't treat them as most adults did. She didn't ignore them, or insist on them being quiet. She had puzzles and games. She romped around the large front room with them. She would invite them to introduce themselves and play with her dozens of cats.

Now, she invited them into the large kitchen. She prepared tea in a lady-like fashion offering them tea with little sandwiches.

"I'd like some rat's guts please," Vevila asked with a serene expression.

"Right in front of you," Celeste answered her without a pause.

"Oh sick!" Vevila exclaimed, the others laughed.

"So how does this agreement thing work?" Kellan asked as she munched a sandwich.

"It's like running a business," Celeste explained. "First you need to make sure you're all on the same page. I suggest writing things down, so the first order may be to choose a scribe."

"That should be Rhoswen," Dara suggested. "She has a fine hand, and can think, listen and write. I'm only able to do two of those at the same time."

"Hey!" Rhoswen protested. "It's not all that easy. Besides, it wouldn't be fair for me to have to scribe all the time."

Celeste pushed herself back to _watch_ the sisters. She was very happy to have this opportunity to be with them. It had actually been a good thing for Burley to have tossed her out of town. This had come about so naturally.

"Maybe we should rotate the task," Alana suggested. "It wouldn't hurt for you to practice scribing," she added to Dara.

"Fine," Dara said resigned.

They were interrupted as a yellow tabby cat jumped onto the table to talk to Celeste.

"Alright then," Celeste answered and the cat jumped down.

"What did she want?" Kane asked curiously.

"Some silly nonsense about Kroger's dog getting into our shed again," she answered. "Apparently, they shut him in."

Dara looked at the shed and giggled. Indeed, two fluffy kitties were guarding the shed door after apparently shutting it. The dog whined pitifully.

"I'll go first—scribe," Rhoswen volunteered and left to grab one of the drawing pads. "Ready."

"So what's important to us," Kellan asked, "that we need to decide on and make a stand?"

"We need time to learn our magic!" Dara answered. "I think that should be number one. Every time I sat to read one of mama's books, Aunt Caryn had me out doing something stupid."

"She did that to me, too," Alana told her. "It was deliberate."

"I agree, we have to learn our magic," Rhoswen started to write it down. "Does everyone concur?"

They all nodded, so she wrote it down.

"No marriages unless it's for true love," Alana called out.

"That is a silly thing to write down," Dara protested.

"Is it?" Rhoswen asked. "After thinking about Aunt Caryn, I'm not so sure."

"Write it down," Dara agreed.

"What about the house?" Kellan asked.

"What about the house?" Vevila asked confused.

"There are a lot of magic rooms and then there are the storage rooms," Kellan explained. "I'm not sure that Aunt Caryn should have the run of them. I'm sorry, but I don't trust her anymore. I think we should lock them."

There was a pause as the sister thought about that. The storage rooms were filled with supplies which would help a lot of people get through some very rough times. Their mama and papa had worked really hard for a number of years to get it so. It would make them sick if Aunt Caryn was to just squander it. They would feel even worse if she ruined the magic rooms.

"Lock them!" Kane nodded, "She sold my Heidi."

"I agree," Vevila nodded.

"All?" Rhoswen asked. They all nodded.

"What do we do if she tries to force us to unlock them?" Vevila asked with concern.

"Or anything else we decide not to do—like get married?" Alana asked.

"We have to also consider Uncle Arlen and the boys," Dara pointed out. "They're going to support anything Aunt Caryn wants."

"We could run away," Kane suggested.

"That's lame," Vevila said scathingly, "it's our house!"

"It is not lame," Kane told her angrily, "there are other buildings on _our_ property!"

"I think we need a rule," Rhoswen interjected with her pencil raised. "No bickering."

"There's bound to be disagreements," Alana told her.

"Yes, but we don't need to be mean about it," Dara frowned.

"Let's call a code word out to let us just be silent for a minute and think about things," Rhoswen suggested.

"I like that," Kellan agreed.

"Something simple like just calling out— _Minute_ ," Kane suggested glaring at Vevila, "and we all have to agree to bite our tongues and just wait."

"I think that should go for glaring, too," Vevila stared at Kane.

_"Minute!_ " Dara called.

"For how long?" Vevila asked.

"Longer than that obviously," Kane told her.

Vevila sighed and started tapping her foot. Celeste was delightedly amused. They had so much energy, and were so interesting. It was good to bring these things up before they had to decide on something important.

"Will you please stop that!" Kellan burst out.

"We need something which will release the stress," Alana suggested.

"Like what?" Dara said interested.

"Eating crackers," Alana told her. "Just try to talk through a mouth full of crackers. That should make the rest of us laugh."

Celeste brought down a package of very dry oat cakes.

"They're pretty old," she told them. "I suggest that if you wish to say something scathing—eat a cake instead."

Kane picked up a cake and bit into it. They all laughed at her expression as she tried to swallow. Vevila poured her more tea. The crisis had ended. They had worked through their first obstacle.

"I have a concern," Rhoswen announced. "Let's say I have a problem, it _really_ bothers me, but I can't get the rest of you interested in it enough to meet. What can I do?"

"That could happen," Alana realized. "Not just naturally, but that would be a clever way to cause problems between us. I can see Aunt Caryn pushing us to different concerns to distract us from something more important. An example—and this is extreme—let's say she has Kellan and Dara in charge of canning the blueberries. They are out at the cannery consumed with canning for some poor people. At the same time she has Rhoswen, Vevila and Kane at some ladies house learning _womanly way_. Here I am alone, getting suspicious that she's trying to marry me off, but I can't get you to buy into it cause you aren't here seeing her manipulations. The next thing you know, I'm at the Catholic priest's house and they are signing nuptials _for_ me—in Latin."

"That's not such an extreme analogy," Kellan told her. "That probably will be the first thing she'll do since she doesn't want to concern herself with magic. She _will_ try to get us married away. She will feel it's her _duty_ to get us properly married. I can see her being conniving about it."

"There is a spell I read about that kind-of knocks," Vevila told them. "I didn't really get it, but the story was about someone mentally knocking to get someone's attention. The person would _feel_ them."

"That's just a courtesy knock before invading someone's privacy," Celeste told them. "It feels like this..." She knocked to each of the sisters. They looked at her startled. "If you really want to get their attention—you bang!"

"Wow!" Vevila's eyebrows rose. "I got it!"

"Can we add a vision to that?" Alana asked, "a bang, with an impression?"

"You can do anything you set your mind to," Celeste told them. "You just have to figure out how."

"How do you do the knock?" Kellan asked.

"First practice sending energy to your physical finger tips," Celeste instructed. "Get a sense for what that feels like. Now picture your body in your mind and send energy into the imagined body's finger tips. Kellan, imagine tapping on my arm with your imaged body."

"Okay," Kellan said, "give me a minute."

She thought about how to send energy to her fingers. She felt the heat of that energy. She pictured an image of herself and sent energy to the fingertips of the image. She then pictured herself tapping on Celeste's shoulder.

"Good!" Celeste told her.

"I could actually feel your shoulder," Kellan said surprised.

"That's right," Celeste answered her. "Now each of you do that with me, and then practice with each other."

"We should have been learning this with mama, shouldn't we?" Alana asked.

"Usually, magic comes on when we are about fourteen," Celeste told them, "if at all. Your magic came on early. Aine hadn't expected them to bud for a while. She also wouldn't have been able to tell that they had budded early because of being with child. A baby dominates the attention of the mother. If the baby is sick, the mother may even feel that sickness in her own body. Your mother started _unknowingly_ introducing magic to Haley as she drew up that diagram and made her preparations. Haley was literally born in magic. When Aine was aware that your magic had budded, she didn't have the time or energy to teach you. She called me and Glenna to help you with that."

"But, I'm fourteen," Kellan questioned hesitantly.

"Not at the time she became pregnant," Celeste told her, "she didn't feel your magic begin—and didn't know she wouldn't. She was taken by surprise. Now—practice what I just showed you."

They began hesitantly practicing what Celeste had shown them. She finally put a halt to it when they were literally knocking each other over.

"Can this be done to people who don't any have magic?" Kane asked—thinking of _knocking_ on Aunt Caryn.

"With you," Celeste answered, "certainly, but most people have magic, even if small amounts. They just don't know how to train it up."

"Be careful Kane," Rhoswen told her. "Using magic in a dark way will make you dark. You may lose your abilities—look at Aunt Caryn—or you may become lost to darkness."

"Is that true?" Alana asked.

"Of course," Celeste laughed. "Where do you think all the, _Witch in the Bog_ , stories come from? They're real enough."

"Think of grandmother," Kellan reminded them.

"True," Celeste shivered, "very true."

"I'd like to _bless_ the person who gets my hair," Rhoswen informed them.

They all looked at her surprised. Kane thought about who might end up receiving _her_ golden long hair. Maybe some sick old lady. Which would be okay, but Kane didn't really think that kind of lady would end up with her hair. She rather thought it would be a vain woman with a sense of entitlement.

"I'd like to bless my hair in a way that would encourage the wearer to be... kinder." Kane declared.

"Both those idea's can be done," Celeste told them, "it was _your_ hair. I suggest looking up some spells out of your mothers books and seeing what makes sense."

"Do you know how to do it?" Kane asked.

"I know how I would do it if it was _my_ _own_ hair," was her reply, "but you also need to learn how to do these things on your own. I will help you though—after you provide a magical possibility."

_Knock, Knock, Knock_

"Oh dear," Celeste replied getting up from her chair.

They followed her to the door. She opened the door to show the whole village of people standing in her yard. She stepped out of the house.

"Can I help you?" Celeste asked them.

"We want to talk to the girls," an old woman with roughened hands stated.

Kellan led the way out the door to stand before the crowd. They didn't really seem violent, just confused. She sighed—she and her sisters were just as confused, and a little scared.

"We are here," Kellan spoke out.

"I want to thank the girl there for getting my Betsy back," the old woman told her, nodding to Kane. "I don't know how I could have fed my little Annie without her."

"Betsy was the goat," Rhoswen reminded Kane.

"I'm glad that you got her back," Kane replied.

"We don't know what any of _this_ means," a confused young mother told them. She was holding her little daughter closely—fearfully—but with determination.

"We don't understand what all this means either," Kellan began. "Mother had visions of a mass famine due to a potato disease."

"We've had potato troubles before," a young boy frowned at her.

"Not just one year," Kellan continued, "and not just one field, but _all_ the fields and many years."

"I think she put up the barrier," Rhoswen spoke out, "not to block you out, but to reserve some true Irish possibilities. The English will not know that the O'Byrne lands still exist. They will not be able to take the lands bounty. So the bounty can be _carefully_ returned to the Irish people. The English will do very little to help us when the hard times come, in fact, they will continue to sell off our wheat and foods."

"And you're sure of this?" A man in the crowd asked.

"Aine O'Byrne was sure of this!" Kellan stared at them with flashing purple eyes. "She was _never_ wrong!"

"What is the harm if this isn't so?" Alana asked.

The crowd shifted around uncertainly.

"What about our potatoes?" One woman asked.

"There won't be any!" Dara spoke out. "I suggest you learn to eat other things. What did you eat before the potato?"

"What we hunted or gathered," an old geezer told them. "They call that poaching now-a-days."

"I suggest you plant turnips, or more cabbage, winter squash, or beans." Celeste pointed out. "The Americans plant pumpkins, we can get seeds if you're willing to try that."

"Momma, what's a punkin?" One child asked.

"This catastrophe will not be upon us for several years," Kellan took over. "We can prepare, find out what to plant, and try different things. I pledge thus, the O'Byrne have not abandoned you. We will help our Irish people through the hard times—IF—you help yourselves."

The villagers looked at the six very young O'Byrne children. They knew they were sincere, but they were just children.

"Why didn't your ma and pa simply stop this from happen'n to our potatoes?" Merle frowned at the girls.

"You have to understand the disease," Celeste told her scathingly, "before you can cure it, and it's not like they will be here when it happens—now will they?"

There was a murmuring through the crowd at the mention of Aine and Keegan's _deaths._

"We will help," a voice spoke out from the crowd.

Kellan could see movement as someone forced their way to the front. She was surprised to see three young girls standing before them.

"We have decided that we will take our animals into the forest," the tallest girl told them, "if you will show us the dangers, and teach us how."

Kellan felt proud of the brave village girls. They were willing to do what an elder was afraid to do.

"Sherrie Amber, you get yourself back here right now!" A very large woman pushed her way to the front. Sherrie raised her eyes and her chin.

"I'm ashamed of you," she faced the village folk, which included her mother. "These ladies faced a _collector_ and his bullies to get your animals back, and not only do you not say thank you, but you call them witches behind your hands, and talk trash about them. Then they make a suggestion about how to keep our animals safe, and you're too scared to listen. We aren't!"

The other girls nodded.

"You really aren't listening to anything they are saying," one of the other girls continued. "We can make life better, easier. We don't need to have our babies dying because we don't have the milk to feed them. That's what would have happened had they taken our cows and goats. That's just trash!"

"I don't see any damage caused by the arrival of the Raven," a middle aged lady spoke out. "We can all cross back and forth. We aren't trapped, but it's a mighty fine thing to have a back door which the English can't walk through. I for one am very thankful to the O'Byrne!"

"But what if strangers see us just disappearing into the ocean?" The elder asked nervously.

"So we be more careful when strangers are in town," another spoke out. "There is only the one entry, and that's in Celeste's barn. It's safe enough."

"We must be careful around those who do not have the mark," another added.

"Anyone not wanting the mark," Dara spoke out, "can have it removed, but must leave the village and not return."

There was a lot of murmuring and quiet discussions circling around the yard.

"There are some in the village who do not have the mark," Sherrie told them.

This surprised and concerned the sisters. They had assumed that mama had marked everyone of concern.

"That is 'cause they are of evil intent," Lady Baker told the crowd. "It is them Flynn boys, they have no mark."

"I suggest that _you_ tell them they must leave," Celeste spoke out. "Make sure they take _all_ their belongings and have enough food to live for one week."

"They're right mean they are," the elder told them worriedly.

"I will tell them," Mickay called out. He pushed his way to the front. "You need to find your backbone you do, or we need another village leader."

"Fine!" The elder told him. "I step down, you manage these ungrateful beggars."

"Beggars he calls us," the old geezer said scathingly, "called beggars by an old coot, a coward, and the biggest beggar I ever did see."

"We are getting off here," Widow Lavender called out. "I say we start making this work, not be part of the problem," she eyeballed the newly _retired_ elder.

"Okay," an old man spoke out, "But that creature cannot stay here!"

_"AW-EE, AW-EE,_ " Kingdom bellowed. " _EE-aw, ee-aw,_ " Heidi answered. Rosy just ate her grass. The O'Byrne girls laughed.

"Only in an emergency!" Kellan assured them.

"We can walk Sherrie and her friends into the forest in the morning, and show them what to watch for, and how to behave with the wild beasts." Rhoswen assured them. She laughed to herself when she saw the villagers shiver and make hand gestures against the witches.

"If there is anything else?" Kellan told them. "We will be staying here tonight, showing these ladies the secrets of the forest in the morning, and then be on our way sometime after that."

"We," Dara hesitated, "we aren't sure of our aunt yet. It would be best for you to avoid her."

"That would be Caryn McKenna?" A woman about their mother's age asked.

"That would be her," Alana confirmed.

"Oh yes," the woman commented. "That would be best—good for you—Ladies."

Kellan was surprised by the term Lady, and even more surprised as she watched the woman bow to them before turning away. They watched as the rest of the villagers made their way out of the yard.

"One more thing," Rhoswen called out, "does someone have a couple of boy's trousers and shirts to spare? Kane and I might as well be comfortable as we wait for our hair to grow back in."

A young woman approached Rhoswen and offered to let her and Kane have some of her younger brother's clothes. They walked down the road towards her house.

"That went well I think," Celeste commented as they walked back into the house.

Rhoswen and Kane returned to the house shortly carrying a few sets of clothes.

"We need to wash these before we can wear them," Rhoswen began. "Can we borrow your wash room, and if you have it, some Lilly-ash soap. These are just dreadful."

Rhoswen and Kane spent the next hour washing, ringing, and washing out the old clothes.

"How do boys get so dirty?" Kane asked, her nose wrinkled in disgust.

"No wonder why the Unicorns won't let the boys near," Rhoswen added. "We may be doing this again tomorrow, depending on what the girls wear in. It would be better for them to be wearing trousers, but not if they smell like these."

"I think they are clean enough now," Kane told her on the final rinse.

"Good thing," Celeste surprised them, "or there wouldn't be enough soap."

"We're sorry Celeste," Kane said startled. They had used a lot of soap.

"That's okay," Celeste told them. "I'll trade you for some with a different scent. I'm getting a little tired of that kind anyway."

She walked over to the hanging clothes and started pulling them down.

"But they aren't dry yet," Rhoswen told her.

"Aren't they?" She laughed and handed them the clothes. Rhoswen and Kane were surprised to carry the _dry_ clothes out into the front room.

"Let's see you in them," Alana requested.

"Not until I smoothen out their hair cuts," Celeste came into the room with a pair of scissors. "Some peasant children may run around with cropped hair—not ours."

They were surprised to see just how curly Kane's hair became.

"It makes sense," Dara commented, "I don't think it's ever been cut. It must have been pretty heavy."

"How does it feel?" Kellan asked Kane.

"Amazing!" Kane said with a smile, "it's so light—and if this means I can go around like a boy—it was worth it."

"Really?" Alana asked doubtfully—remembering just how careful Kane was with her hair.

"Really!" Kane told her sincerely.

Celeste bowed to Rhoswen and offered her the chair.

"Maybe we should style it into little spikes," Celeste teased. "That way no one would dare to pat her on the head, like the cute little girl she is."

Rhoswen laughed into Celeste's eyes. She was shocked to see just how much like Druantia's they were. She felt odd as she realized that Celeste was one born— _wrong_. She realized that she had a real fondness for Celeste, and would be terribly saddened if anything were to happen to her.

"I would like it all spiky," Rhoswen laughed.

Kane romped around dressed in the trousers and shirt. Her hair was curling up into a golden halo.

Rhoswen's hair didn't curl and wouldn't spike. It fell straight down. Celeste cut bangs to emphasize her lovely amethyst eyes. Rhoswen grabbed the pair of trousers she picked out and struggled into them.

"I thought they would be more comfortable," Rhoswen complained.

"Boys trousers," Vevila told her. "They weren't made to hug hips,"

"Mine are good," Kane said as she jumped around.

"They look a little big, but that's okay," Dara told Kane. "It makes you look more like a boy, a pretty boy, but still a boy. Is that okay?"

"I don't mind looking like a boy," Kane told her. "Boys get less noticed, and can do anything they want."

Celeste was unsure. There were real weird ones in the world who would find such a pretty boy desirable, but then the same weird ones might also find pretty little girls desirable. Kane could definitely defend herself against any such as them.

"Try the other pair," Celeste suggested to Rhoswen, "those are simply too tight."

The other trousers fit okay across the hips, but were loose in the waist.

"It's okay I guess," Rhoswen said.

"We can design something which will work for all of us," Kellan suggested. "We don't want to be crossing to America in confining clothes."

"I agree," Dara nodded, "I don't want to be wearing anything I can't move quickly in."

"I can help you with that," Celeste assured them. "I've become quite a master when it comes to comfortable and magical clothes. Check this out."

Celeste pulled an apple from her hidden pocket. Kane examined the area of the pocket and couldn't find an entrance. Celeste pulled out a lady's money purse, and then a comb. The girls looked on with interest as she pulled out a blanket, a vase with a rose, a live frog, a right shoe and then a left shoe which didn't match, a dress, a fan, a book, a blue-berry oat muffin, a bag of all-spice, salt, and a vial of oil.

"Hey," Kane exclaimed. "Mama made me a pocket like that in my brown skirt. It was my favorite."

"I don't think she made it so you could squirrel around all those little critters," Vevila told her.

"Why would you want to carry all that stuff?" Dara laughed.

"It has to be major magic," Alana said with certainty, "or your dress would be pulling downward."

"That would be very handy while traveling," Kellan said speculatively.

"Not so major," Celeste told Alana, "the limitation is that it has to fit into the pocket entrance. I can't put a chair or anything like that in there. I put stuff in here all the time." She held up the pair of shoes. "I was looking for that shoe a week ago. I forgot it was in there."

"Does the pocket have to be created with magic," Rhoswen asked, "or can an old pocket be magic'd?"

"You tell me?" Celeste countered.

"I think both," Rhoswen frowned considering. "Certainly we can create special pockets, but I think we can also _modify_ what already is."

"Correct," Celeste told them. "Let's work on modifying the pockets in your new trousers. I think they should be special. So what do you want them to do?"

"I want to be able to keep food fresh," Kane called out.

Celeste looked at Kane considering. It was time to see how intuitive the girls were with regards to magic. It was one thing to copy a spell that someone else had created—something else again to create something new. She looked at each sister. She was pleased to see every one of them interested in the possibilities of this magic.

"Grab a writing pad," Celeste told them. "I would like you to work alone and draw out what you would like to do with _your_ pocket."

"I don't know how to write that well," Kane said with disappointment.

"Then draw a picture," Celeste told her, "or use symbols. Magic is about focusing your energy and will to accomplish a task. It doesn't matter how it is written. We write it out in a language when we want to pass the knowledge on to another. There are magic users who never write anything down."

"That would explain some of mama's notes," Rhoswen frowned. "They don't make any sense. How are we to find out what they did to the wall?"

"By figuring it out one step at a time," Celeste answered her, "now for the pockets."

The sisters grabbed their own drawing pads and pencils, and separated out across the room. Celeste was surprised and pleased to see the twins move away from each other. They would probably end up together, Celeste noted to herself, but at least they started out independently. She went into the kitchen to put on some new tea. She could tell by their energy, that it was going to be a long night.

Celeste brought in the tea and biscuits. Several of her cats were _helping_ the girls draw. Kane impatiently pushed Tangle off her writing pad. Kellan erased and redrew a section that Benny had messed up by loving up her hand and chewing the end of her pencil. Alana seemed to be consulting with Roomy about a particular symbol.

Rhoswen signaled for her to look at her drawing. Celeste's eyebrows rose as she looked at it. She had only been gone a few minutes and Rhoswen was done.

"That will work," Celeste told her. "You may wish to _tighten_ the drawings." She pointed at two figures, "these can be drawn into one figure. That would save you time later and make it simpler. It is a very good spell."

"Oh I see," Rhoswen answered. "I can do that over here as well."

Celeste walked over to Dara's drawing. It was a lot more involved.

"That's pretty good," Celeste told her, "but very complicated. Your pocket would take a lot of energy. If you really want it to do all that, you need to break it up into sections that you can activate independently of the others. I don't think anyone has that kind of energy to expel. It will leave you depleted, and may not entirely activate."

"Oh," Dara said disappointedly. "I didn't think of that. I can probably write the part about transformation as an independent spell."

"Why add it at all?" Celeste asked. "You can always just perform the task as needed."

"She usually can't remember how," Alana said from across the room.

"Practice," Celeste said and walked over to see Alana's.

Dara blushed and glared at her twin.

"Oh!" Celeste said surprised. "I don't think that's a good idea at all. Think about it."

Alana frowned and stopped to consider.

"That is truly amazing," Celeste praised Kellan's. "It is simple, compact, easily activated, and gives you a lot of mark for the spark. I really like that. It's better than my own. May I copy it?"

"Oh," Kellan said surprised. She had just been doodling. She hadn't been terribly interested in the pockets, but very curious about the magic. "Yes of course. May I see yours?"

Celeste walked over to grab one of her own writing pads. She had them placed all over the house. She quickly drew out her own signature pocket. The sisters gathered around to see what she was drawing.

"I like that!" Dara told her.

"Look at Kellan's," Celeste instructed.

They all looked over Kellan's shoulder. Celeste noted Kellan's discomfort when showing off her work. She would need to help her with that—after all—she was going to lead these girls into the wilds of America.

"Wow!" Vevila said and frowned at her own drawing. She wandered off to complete her work.

"Good job!" Dara told Kellan.

"Mine doesn't make any sense," Kane told Celeste sheepishly.

"Let's see then," Celeste invited. Kane brought her the drawing. "Oh, I see. First things first, list out what you want the pocket to do. Start with what you need, work down to what you want, and then to what sounds like fun."

Kane looked at her confused. That's what she thought she had done.

"Write it out in English," Celeste told her. "A spell can be written in English, we just choose to not in case someone was to find it. So write it in English. It will make more sense to you then. You will be able to _see_ it better. When it is what you want, I will help you to figure out symbols, and then we will destroy the English version."

"I don't see anything wrong with my pocket," Alana said stubbornly.

"Are you willing to have it challenged by your sisters?" Celeste asked.

"Yes!" Alana answered, her eyes stubborn and her chin high. "Come see it then."

Everyone but Dara gathered around the drawing. Dara just scoffed at it and continued with her own work. She could see what Alana had done and agreed with Celeste. Hiding in one's own pocket was a very bad idea!

"I don't see what you're doing," Vevila frowned. "It's very complex. It sizes up and then it sizes down. I guess that would be good for stashing big and little things.

"Oh," Kellan said surprised and then frowned at her. "and how would you climb out again?"

"And what would stop someone else from picking up your _pocket_ and walking away with you?" Rhoswen asked.

"And how would you get out of your dress to hide in your pocket in the first place?" Kellan asked frowning.

"That would be a good spell for a closet," Kane told her and winked at Celeste, "as long as it had a knob on the inside."

"Or with a false bottom of the wagon," Kellan said excitedly. "I was wondering how all of us would fit in a wagon with all of our belongings."

"Oh," Alana's slightly hurt expression giving way to thoughtful consideration.

They went back to their drawings with more enthusiasm, each of them expanding out to other possibilities. Celeste was very pleased with the way they interacted with each other, and loved their sharp, curious minds. She could have hugged Kane right then for bringing up the closet. She had deliberately brought up something cheerful to make Alana feel better—this from Kane, the little fighter.

They worked late into the night, until Celeste pulled their writing pads away.

"Okay, okay," Vevila agreed, "but we should be able to activate one of them at least. Let's do Kellan's to Kane or Rhoswen's trousers."

"It will take energy and it's late," Celeste reminded them. "I will let Kellan activate it once only."

"Oh," Kellan said with pride. "I can do that."

"Activate Kane's pocket," Rhoswen said with disappointment. "She's earned it."

"You gave up your hair, too," Kane told her.

"Yes, but I didn't care about my hair," she told her. "It wasn't a sacrifice."

"Okay then," Kellan told Kane, "give me your trousers and I'll write it in the pocket."

Kane quickly dropped her trousers. Celeste handed Kellan a special type of stylist, one with a special kind of ink. It would disappear when dry, and it wouldn't wear out.

"Oh," Dara looked at her own drawing. "Mine would never fit."

"That is one of the limitations." Celeste told her. "That's why it's best not to include every possibility that you can think of. There are ways to condense a spell, but that takes even more energy, and some things are just not worth it."

"Finished," Kellan examined her drawing.

"A fine hand," Celeste complimented.

"Just _bleed_ on it?" Kellan hadn't ever activated a spell before although she had watched her mama plenty of times.

"You can," Celeste told her, "but this is a very simple spell. You can just spit on it, aim for the center, that's fastest."

Kellan spit on the spell. They watched as the spell started glowing and worked its way from the center toward the edges. Kellan felt the pull of energy until the spell was complete and faded out.

"What would happen," Kellan asked tiredly, "if the spell was just too big?"

"If you're lucky," Celeste told them, "you would faint and the spell would just stop—incomplete. There have been times though that the link was too great and the spell finally killed the person."

"Nice to know!" Vevila exclaimed.

"There are also dark sorcerers who will link a spell to another mammal and sacrifice it," Celeste told them. "Human or beast, they don't care."

"That's sick," Kane said angrily.

"Yes," Celeste confirmed, and then handed Rhoswen the stylist. "Now let's do Rhoswen's pocket. Rhoswen can draw it out, you have a very fine hand, and I'll activate it."

Rhoswen gladly removed her trousers and stretched out the pocket. She would do the other pocket later. She could spit on things as well as Kellan.

"Oh," Rhoswen said with delight, "it glides on really easy."

"Let's see," Celeste purposely bumped Rhoswen over. Rhoswen giggled.

Celeste spit on the pocket. They watched as the magic again spread from center out. As the glow reached the edges of the design, Celeste sank to the ground and lay without moving.

"What did you do?" Dara yelled at Rhoswen. She could see that Celeste was faking them all. "You must have drawn it wrong. Oh dear, Celeste can you hear me." She shook her and got no response.

"I'm so sorry," Rhoswen said with alarm and kneeled down in front of Celeste. "What do we do?"

Celeste suddenly lunged at Rhoswen and tackled her to the ground tickling her.

"Kill me, will you," Celeste yelled at her. "So take that and that."

Rhoswen was screaming from the tickles. The cats all bolted from the room. Celeste then tackled Vevila who was standing too close.

"Help me," Vevila screamed, "I can't take it."

Dara and Alana lunged at Celeste pulling her away from the panting girls.

"Hold her," Dara yelled at Kellan, "before the witch does cast a spell on us all and we are all doomed."

Kellan just laughed at them and watched Celeste turn the tables on them and tackle them both down. Celeste was very agile for a blind lady. Rhoswen and Vevila joined back into the row. Kane watched on with interest, studying the moves Celeste was using against them. Five-to-one, and Celeste was winning. Kane watched fascinated.

"Enough," Celeste yelled out. "More about magic. Grab your most comfortable squatting clothes. The next task we will do outside, sitting in the grass."

"Outside?" Vevila asked. "In the dark?"

"Are you scared?" Kane asked.

"No!" Vevila denied.

"Are too," Kane teased.

"I'm leaving without you," Celeste told them carrying her own bag towards the door.

"Hey!" Vevila shouted jumping to her feet.

They followed Celeste to the front door. Here she created a magic glow and put it inside an old lantern. It looked just like a lit lantern, except there was no smoke—and it hovered directly in front of them.

: _Shhh,_ : she sent to them, : _be very stealthy, we don't want any nosy neighbors following. Do as I do._ :

Celeste heard them giggling. She ran across the yard and into the barn. Here she dive rolled over a pile of hay and stealth walked across a creaky board. She laughed as she watched Vevila attempt the roll and instead entrench herself into the hay. Kellan executed a brilliant roll, but failed miserably on the creaky board. Dara and Alana executed both effortlessly. Rhoswen simply walked around both. Kane followed Celeste's moves _exactly_ as she had performed them. Celeste was fascinated by how different the girls were.

She led them out of the barn and to the biggest oak tree on the property. It had been standing for hundreds of years. When some prospectors came to _regard_ it a year ago, the villagers quickly sent them off—by way of a pitchfork.

"I'm getting out of this silly, stuffy, stiff dress," she told them. "No one is here, but us. No one else will come here. You may do as you please. You may even dance naked if you want to."

Celeste pulled off the offending dress to put on a soft flowing robe. She spread blankets on the ground and took a seat. Kellan and Rhoswen had grabbed nightdresses. The twins were sitting around in bloomers. Vevila and Kane were romping around in nothing at all.

Celeste drew in a deep breath. It was a lovely warm night. The moon was nearly full, and a soft breeze teased the tendrils of their hair.

"Tonight I'm going to teach you about this oak tree," Celeste began. "I want you to look down, deep down into its roots. See them buried deep into the earth where they take in nourishment, and also fan out to hold the tree upright."

There was a peaceful quiet as the girls got comfortably seated and focused on the big old oak tree. They studied the way the roots cradled the surface, before spearing downwards, toward the heart of the earth.

"Now follow the tree at the base and look slowly upward towards the sky. See how the branches span up and outward, each branch feeding another, and another until it can reach no farther. See the fullness upward and realize the fullness beneath, for what is above—is also below. The tree also takes in nourishment from the sun and the wind. Let your mind wander and think on these things. See the tree breath. Feel the tree live. The tree gives us the air we breathe, shelter for our smaller friends, presence, and joy. This tree is a very old soul. Here before we were born, it should be here long after we die. It has seen the benevolence of men, and the taint. It judges not, for it is meaningless to it, for a man is not a tree."

She let them think on these things. She could tell that they were not falling asleep. She judged it was time to break into their concentration when she could see that Kane had become restless.

"Now," she told them. "You are the tree. You can stretch your essence deep into the earth. Even if your nature isn't earth—is fire, water, or air—you are born to the earth and are a part of it. Drive your spirit down, create the roots that will make you strong and nourish you. Breathe deeply in and out. Pull the water, and the earth into yourself. Now rise from the earth to the sky above. Reach high and out. Feel the moon on your face. Feel the wind in your fingers. Breathe deeply of the air—absorb what it has to offer. By daylight feel the sun on your face, absorb what it has to offer."

She sat quietly while they experienced these sensations. Listened to them breathe deeply in and out.

"Now I'm going to talk about magic," she told them. "Magic comes from the earth and the air. It comes from the spirit of everything living. We are born of earth, but also of magic—for life is magic. Like the roots of the tree, we absorb magic up from the earth and through our feet. We also magically nourish and replenish ourselves from the essence of the air and sun. Some people are more open through their feet and draw up magic from the earth. Some people are more enlightened and draw magic through their crown. All can learn to draw from either. Take a few minutes and see the magic all around you."

Celeste sat in harmony with the nature of magic. She tingled from its light touch. She, who was born too open, had to learn to shut it down. The daughters of Aine would have to learn how to open themselves up. Learn how to put aside their doubts and learn to trust in the magic.

"Kellan," Celeste called out. "Where do you feel it is easiest to absorb the magical energies? Where do you feel the tingle?"

"I don't know," Kellan said confused.

"Stand up," Celeste instructed. "Now hold your arms upward and apart. Think about pulling the energy towards you, accept its presence, and _allow_ it to fill you. Tell us what you feel."

"Wow," Kellan said as she was standing with her arms outward. "I feel like my head is very heavy."

"Allow that heaviness to flow on down your body and into the ground below you." Celeste instructed. "As the magic flows, it will fill those places which are empty and then move onward. You most easily absorb magic from your crown aura."

"I like to pull up from my head, too," Rhoswen announced. "It tingles."

"I can feel it in my feet," Kane told them.

"Me too," Vevila said to Kane. "My toes are tingling, and I feel like I want to run!"

"I can feel it in my head," Alana told them.

"Really?" Dara said surprised. "I can easily pull from my feet."

"We will stay here for a little while yet," Celeste told them. "I want you to think on the tree and practice pulling the magic to every fiber of your being. Think on letting the unabsorbed magic flow either back to the earth, or released into the air. Magic is never wasted. It is returned time and time again."

Celeste occupied herself by climbing up into the tree. She felt its presence, and was thankful that it was so unlike her own. She felt the moon above and the earth below, and gloried in both. She watched with joy as the sisters laughed and played. They would always remember this moment.

"Thank you," Alana climbed up in the tree to sit beside her.

"My joy and pleasure," Celeste told her.

Pretty soon all the sisters were sitting up in the tree, enjoying the night. Tonight, they were at peace with the world.

"Time for bed," Celeste told them as she climbed out of the tree. "I know you all feel like there is no way you want to sleep, but I think you'll find that this magical gluttony will make you snooze off with contentment."

None of them really believed her, but were willing to let _her_ get her beauty rest. Celeste laughed to herself, because she knew—what she knew.
Chapter Eight

The village girls arrived very early the next morning. Kellan groaned when she was roused out of bed. It seemed they had just gotten _into_ bed.

"You seem quiet today," Celeste said to Rhoswen.

"Dreams," Rhoswen answered unconcerned. What Rhoswen didn't tell her was that the dreams concerned Celeste. They were vague and uncomfortable. Rhoswen needed to think on them.

Celeste treated them all to a bowl of creamy porridge with nuts and currants. She roasted some bread slices in the wood oven. These were buttered and dipped in honey.

"Thank you," Sherrie said surprised.

"I'm Tessa, and this is my sister Ella," the tall girl introduced them. "We already know your names," she added shyly.

Kellan was pleased to see that the girls were wearing _clean_ boys clothes. She was a little confused though by the helmets, arm bands, and clubs.

"I'm sorry but we have to ask you some personal questions," Alana began feeling a little embarrassed.

"We are ten and eleven," Sherie told them. "We haven't started our flows yet."

"Grand-mama has been telling us stories," Tessa told them grinning mischievously. Tessa was tall and muscular. She had lively brown eyes and brown hair. The boys used to tease her about her boyish figure. That was until she thrashed them but good.

"So what's with the helmets and clubs?" Kane asked curiously.

"Oh those," Elle shrugged, "that's just to make it look good."

Rhoswen laughed. Elle and she used to swim by the old bridge—naked. She had the brown hair and eyes like her sister, but looked more delicate. She hadn't looked so delicate, smacking the crap out of the Kroger's mean old dog when it was dumb enough to attack them by the bridge.

Elle looked up to find Rhoswen grinning at her. She grinned back. They'd still be swimming at the old bridge if ma hadn't found out about it. That was a sad day, ma telling her to stay away from them witches. She was glad that Rhoswen hadn't taken it to heart. She definitely had not meant to hurt Rhoswen's feelings when she told her what ma had said. She had simply hugged Elle and told her that the water was getting a little chilly anyway—that next summer would bring warmer waters. Now, here they were ready to go into the enchanted forest. Elle felt a rush of excitement.

"We made these for you last night," Alana continued as she handed them all a bag that fit snug over their shoulders. "It's always good to have a bit of honey, some nice spice, some mean spice, some dirt, and some salt. We'll tell you what they are for after we get inside the forest."

"Can any of you sing?" Vevila asked.

"Tessa and Elle both have a fair voice," Sherrie told them.

"Good," Vevila said mysteriously, "that might come in handy."

"Let's march," Kellan told them heading out.

The entrance to the forest was well past the outer edge of the village. They quietly made their way through the sleepy village and along what used to be an open field. From this side, all they could see was the ocean.

Kane couldn't help but wonder what their side of the rift looked like. No wonder the money grabbers were trying to take over the other field. This one, which was rather large, was gone!

"There's only one place you can actually pass to get through to the forest," Kellan told them. "Anywhere else, and it's just too thick with brush. Some have tried to burn their way in. That was a very bad mistake. All they did was burn the farmers fields."

"The entrance looks a little scary," Alana told them. "It looks like you're walking inside the hollow of a tree. The path is actually between two trees, but they are so close together that it looks like one huge tree—and here we are."

Sherrie looked at the gapping dark hollow and shivered. It did look like they were about to walk into the rotted old tree.

"How would we get a cow to walk in there?" Tessa asked doubtfully.

"I think they see it differently than we do," Alana held her hand out to Tessa. Tessa took her hand hesitantly. "We've never had any trouble leading in our mares."

Elle put her hand into Rhoswen's. Rhoswen squeezed it reassuringly.

Sherrie pulled her chin up, determinedly gripping her club.

Kellan led the way into the gapping darkness. They hadn't even taken a second step and there was light. Sherrie was surprised to see the trees, and indeed there were _two,_ which led them out into a sunny circular field. She looked around surprised. It had been gloomy with rain and fog outside, but here it was a crisp clear day. She couldn't even tell what time of the day it was. Elle and Tessa also looked around pleasantly surprised.

"Who enters our fair?" A loud bellowing voice demanded.

A black unicorn charged toward them. Kellan stood firm. Sherrie couldn't help herself, she took a step back. The O'Byrne sisters stepped forward.

_"Open your eyes you old fool,"_ Vevila sang.

_"Or maybe it's true,"_ Alana sang out.

_"That the mighty have all fallen or fled,"_ Rhoswen sang.

_"Leaving nothing here but dread,"_ Kellan sang.

_"Oh I so hope not, for I so love them deer,"_ Dara sang.

_"To be charred, chewed and eaten with beer."_ Kane finished.

"Hello daughters of woman," the unicorn stopped before them laughing. His voice was deeply musical, and alive with frolicking and seduction. "Is that the best you could do? It's been a long while. I would think you could come up with something better than that!"

"Hello Fathion," Alana called out. "We have brought friends."

"I smell them," he told them, "they are fine." The big black beautiful unicorn nodded towards them. "Would they like to come in and play?"

"I would," Tessa stepped forward and halted.

He walked toward her and positioned his horn so that she might touch it. She reached up and touched it trustingly for he was so beautiful. She was surprised to feel the shock of energy rush through her body. Alana was ready to catch her when she fell.

"Is there another with courage enough to touch a _black_ unicorn?" He asked them.

Elle hesitantly stepped forward. He lowered his horn and she touched it. Rhoswen caught her and lowered her into the grass.

The unicorn looked at Sherrie—and she looked at him. Without a word of exchange, she stepped forward. He lowered his horn, and she too was laid gently in the grass.

"You have honored us, oh King," Alana said offering homage. "I am very grateful. Now they may enter safely to tend to their animals."

"We have seen what your mother has accomplished," he told them. "I am sad that she passed, for she played well. We don't like it when our favorites play with men, but are thankful for the daughters she has brought to us." He bowed to them and retreated to the far reaches of the forest.

Sherrie, Tessa, and Elle lay dreaming, learning of the things in the forest which might benefit them—or could harm them. It was truly advantageous for Fathion to have honored them with such a gift. For with the touch from a black unicorn's horn, came the knowledge of the grove.

The O'Byrne sisters sat down quietly. They could neither speak out loud, or even mind speak, lest they accidently intrude on these dreams. It could take minutes, hours, or even days. There was no way of knowing. They settled in to wait, remembering their own dreams of the grove from King Fathion's tender touch.

### ****

Weylin and Johnny followed the girls. It was easy. They weren't even trying to be stealthy. Weylin snorted at them as they chattered and sang. Why do girls have to be so noisy? They would scare all the game away, not that it mattered this day. Weylin thought smugly as he pictured the haul him and his brother were going to make. Finally—someone to show them the entrance to the forest. He knew it was there. It was really aggrieving to not be able to find it!

They stopped to watch as the girls marched right into the middle of a tree.

"Let's wait a little," Weylin called, "we don't want to just come up on them, now do we?"

"Oh, I don't know," Johnny answered. "That little blond girl looks appetizing, now that the mane is gone and all."

"She's only a little kid! You're sick," Weylin laughed. "Now, I'll take them twins any day—two jump'n—imagine that!"

Johnny laughed as he sat in the tall grass and began to empty the bag.

"Stupid old cow, leaving a fine pie out like that," Weylin grinned waiting for Johnny to pull out the delicious apple pie. "That old widow woman should have known better than that. Foxes and critters are always stealing windowsill bak'n goods."

"It's not here!" Johnny protested, dumping out the bag unceremoniously. Weylin shoved the items aside.

"You lying horse turd!" Weylin yelled at him. "I knew I should have been put in charge of the edibles. You ate it didn't you, when I was off having fun with little Melody, you went and ate it!"

"No, I swear," Johnny denied. "It was just right here, and then it wasn't. I think them witches had somethin' to do with it. I told you we better not be tak'n from that old widow. She's a relation you know!"

"The whole bleed'n village is related to them O'Byrne's stupid head!" Weylin smacked him in the head. "I figure you might be right though, she does have that purple glint to her eyes."

"She's blind, Weylin," Johnny protested. "My own grandmother has them glazed over eyes, and she's not a witch!"

"So you say," Weylin started shoving the ropes and tools back into the bag, "Fine! Let's just get do'n what we came out here to do. The day's not lingering!"

"But I'm hungry!" Johnny complained.

"Fine," Weylin shoved an old piece of cheese at him. "Chew on this!"

"Oh man! My mother feeds me better than this. We should have just stayed in Cork." Johnny complained, but took the cheese.

"Yah," Weylin glared at him, "maybe you should have."

Weylin looked into the bag and tossed the trash aside. Johnny stood, licking the last of the cheese from his dirty fingers.

"They went right through there," Weylin pointed.

"I know where they went," Johnny lashed out at him.

Weylin just grunted, grabbed up his bag, and then headed straight into the middle of the tree.

They wandered on-and-on. It was so dark, they couldn't even see their hands in front of their faces. It was eerily quiet. There was no sound except each other's breathing.

"Watch it," Weylin complained as Johnny kicked him in the back of his leg for the second time. "Do that again, and I swear, there's going to be a body laying around here—and it won't be me!"

"Uww—I'm so scared," Johnny mocked him. "So find our way out of here already!"

"Fine!" Weylin said frustrated, "you lead then—go on!"

"Oh for crying out loud," Johnny complained as he stomped past. "Damn—I can't see."

"No bloody crap'n," Weylin retorted, "where'd them girls go?"

### ****

Dara was surprised to see Alana pull out their mama's workbook and prepare to read. She scooted over to share the book. When touching, the twins didn't need any word exchange. They seemed to simply understand each other. The two read companionably, pointing our phrases of interest.

Vevila motioned for Kane to come play with her. They walked quietly away until they lost sight of their sisters, and then laughingly ran toward the water's edge, flinging clothes as they ran.

Rhoswen shrugged and prepared herself to watch over the sleeping girls. To pass the time, she practiced writing out spells and curses. Kellan's eyebrows rose when she saw the curses. Rhoswen showed Kellan how she was breaking them in half so they wouldn't have any power. Kellan shrugged and motioned that she was going to look for food. Rhoswen nodded.

With Kellan gone, Rhoswen drew out the dreams she had last night. She knew they weren't just dreams, they meant something—something important—something dreadful.

She saw her grandmother, Saidie holding an infant. The baby had green eyes. Baby's usually had very dark eyes, the vivid green left Rhoswen feeling uneasy. Saidie looked younger than Rhoswen had ever seen her. Rhoswen watched as the dream Saidie took the baby and gave her over to an old beggar woman with instructions to _bury_ her in the bog. Saidie handed her one coin. The infant cried feebly in her arms.

"This is what you want?" the old woman asked. "There ain't no com'n back from that."

"Just do it," Saidie snarled at her, "and don't be thinking you can get more money, either."

The old woman pulled down the cover from the baby's face and held her up.

"There, there," Saidie said angrily. "Just what are you doing?"

"I just figure," the old woman told her, "that the babe should see whose ordering her to die."

"She's blind," Saidie laughed at her. "She can't see anything."

"I wouldn't be so sure," the old woman said as she re-covered the infants head and walked away.

Saidie walked away without even a glance back.

"I wouldn't be too sure of that at all," Druantia said as her disguise fell away. "Shhh, shhh. I'll get you a wet nurse, and all will be well. We will call you Celeste, for you are so beautiful."

Rhoswen could see that the baby was anything but. It looked as if it had never been fed or bathed. The birthing fluid was still imbedded in its hair. It was scrawny and dirty. Rhoswen frowned with disgust.

Rhoswen's dream self jumped as Druantia met her gaze. Rhoswen looked at the baby again to find it clean and healthy. Rhoswen was enchanted by the baby's radiant smile. Her hair was snowy white. Even though the baby's eye's were blind, they glowed brilliantly green.

"She is special," Druantia told her. "From this day on, I do not recognize Saidie Alice O'Byrne. I will no longer hear her cry or bless her life's details." She removed a hair from her long braid and watched as it floated away. "Caryn and Aine, I do hear and will continue to hear their children's-children cry, and bless their unions and lives."

"What of the father?" Rhoswen asked. "Is he not responsible for this as well?"

"She did not tell _them_ ," Druantia told her, "her husband or her lover. No, this is fully on her shoulders."

Rhoswen could see the family links for the baby Celeste. Her mother was their Grandmother Saidie, but Celeste's father was not Saidie's husband. He was Rhoswen's own grandfather from their father's side. So, Celeste was their aunt—both mama _and_ papa's half sister. If was so confounding. Even more wretched was the fact that Uncle Stefan was only papa's half brother—and not related to Celeste at all! For there had been deception with that conception as well. Rhoswen carefully drew out the perplexing web of deceit, working out who had wronged whom, and trying to understand why a baby was ordered to be _murdered_.

Off in the distance, Vevila screamed as Kane grabbed her foot and yanked her under. She came up sputtering and immediately set out for revenge. She had Kane in a flash, and dunked her, but good.

"Okay, okay," Kane yelled out laughing.

Vevila had no chance to respond for she was suddenly surrounded with slippery hands and fins. They pulled her under with them to the deep, deep waters below.

Kane looked around expectantly, but found herself alone. Disappointed, she swam to the shore and brooded. She threw rocks into the water, which she knew irritated the merfolk. When no one responded, she paced back and forth. She wasn't scared for Vevila, because the merfolk loved Vevila, and would capture her at every opportunity.

What annoyed her was that they had been having so much fun and the merfolk ruined it! It had been a long time since they had so played. The merfolk could have at least stayed to play with _both_ of them. They didn't have to just steal Vevila away—again. They could have taken her, too! Even as she thought it, she shivered. Their city was way, way down in the waters. Vevila had described it, and it sounded so incredible. She longed to see such sights, but the cold depths scared her deeply.

The merfolk had trained all the sisters on the art of the swim. It was exhilarating, one thing which Kane had so dearly enjoyed. She sighed and kicked some more rocks. It had been a long time since the merfolk had stayed upside long enough to play.

Kane walked up a steep path that led to the high rock up above. She knew that there wasn't a chance that she could miss the water, but it looked so small and narrow from way up here. She had watched her sister's dive many times, but had never found the courage to do it herself. She grabbed her courage and dived.

She hit the water, her hands cutting a path. The dive drove her deeper than she had ever dived before. It felt exhilarating with the water rushing along her sides. Kane's body slowed from the drop. Determinedly, she kept her head pointed downward and continued to swim. She started to panic as her lungs demanded air. She stubbornly pulled up her courage, gritted her teeth, and moved on. The others swam to the merfolk, she could too.

Her head started to pound, and she was so scared. She was a long way down, deeper than she had ever been before. She could feel the pressure. She might have stopped and pushed toward the surface if not for the lights. They were so beautiful. They glowed in the water, a rainbow of flaring colors. She was mesmerized by the lights. She forgot about her body, forgot about her aching lungs, or the human need to breathe. She no longer felt the desperate urge to flee to the surface. She felt the current carry her towards the lights—and let herself drift.

Her thoughts turned strange and she was thinking how thankful she was to have such short hair, maybe that was the secret, maybe that was why she hadn't swam to the merfolk. Her hair had been too tangled and interfered with her arm strokes. She noticed that her arms now felt too heavy to move, it was getting harder to see the lights, and _something_ was making them dim.

A merman saw her drifting, surprised and alarmed—he swam out and caught her up. He knew this human child was one of Aine's daughters. He had watched them play, but this one had never shown a desire for the water deep. He breathed for her, and faster than sound, brought her to the shell.

: _Kane!_ : Vevila cried out.

Kane felt the sticky, slimy mouth on hers and pushed away—repulsed. The merman immediately released her and Vevila sat down beside her. Kane sat up and looked around—feeling confused. Merfolk watched her curiously. She was sitting on a spongy type floor, surrounded by luminance colors. She had to squint for the lights were so bright.

: _You're okay now,_ : Vevila sent to her. She quickly pressed against Kane's lips when she started to speak. : _Use only mind speech down here. Normal speech echo's off these walls and is very painful_ — _watch._ : Vevila sent an empathic warning to the merfolk. They quickly left the area.

"Lamb," she spoke very softly, almost a whisper.

**"LL-A-MM** ," Vevila's voice boomed against the walls. Kane quickly covered her ears, wondering if they were going to bleed. " **L-A-MM** , LAM, LAM, lam, lam, lammm," her words echoed around the chamber.

Vevila held Kane tight.

: _What were you doing, to have come this far unassisted!_ : Vevila scolded. : _Even I, do not come this far down_ _without help_ :

: _You left me,_ : Kane cried. : _I was so sad and lonely._ :

Kane was flooded with feelings of remorse and regret. She looked around confused, and realized the feelings were coming from a merchild down in the water.

: _They speak with empathy_ ,: Vevila told her, : _they are very sensitive to emotion. This one felt your pain._ :

: _I don't remember them being like that up above,_ : Kane was still feeling confused.

: _It has something to do with the water,_ : Vevila tried to explain. : _I don't really understand, either._ :

Kane felt a _curiosity_ with _anticipation_. She was surprised to feel Vevila send out a feeling of doubt. She then felt their disappointment. She had to hold her lips to stop herself from speaking out, it was all so strange.

: _They want to know if you will sing for them, too?_ : Vevila asked her.

: _Sing in my head?_ : Kane asked.

: _Not exactly—feel_ ,: were Vevila's puzzling words. She closed her eyes in concentration.

Kane was flooded with an empathic melody. It was like a dream. There weren't any limitations to the emotional extremes running through her being. She _heard_ an enchanting melody which touched her very soul. She felt giddy with joy, then languid and relaxed. She felt hugged and loved, and then empty with despair, only to find herself gathered up again to soar with the angels. Sometimes, she pictured images—sometimes it was just pure expression. Finally, after the roller coaster of emotions, she was let down to rest soothingly in her own body.

Kane opened her eyes, blinking with surprise. Quite a few of the merfolk had gathered around them. Their eyes glowed with that inner luminance which allowed them to see in the dark. Kane knew from experience that their shimmering skin, which seemed to glow, was very tough, but so soft and silky it was a joy to touch.

Kane had never seen so many in one spot before. They were vivid and alive, their colors ranging in every hue possible within the rainbow. They had the webbed feet and hands which allowed them such grace in the water. They had long silky fins which gave them the extra speed and agility. These people were totally unlike any of the sloppy pictures that Kane had seen. She would need to capture this in a drawing of her own. Their hair was a flow of strands which resembled the softest of silken-like fibers—like the finest of silk when blowing in the wind. Their gills were in the neck, directly below their delicately curved ears.

Kane felt a question posed at her. She knew, though she didn't know why she knew, that they were asking her if she would so honor them. She felt uncertain and regretted that she didn't know how to do what Vevila had just done. To her surprise, they nodded with understanding—young. She was young, maybe at another time.

: _You don't need to even try to explain,_ : Vevila told her. : _They seem to feel what you feel as you're feeling it._ :

: _That wouldn't always be very comfortable,_ : Kane said disturbed.

: _Maybe not, but incredibly honest,_ : was Vevila's reply before she launched into another melody. This one was perky and fun.

They brought them crunchy sweet things to eat. They seemed to know about Vevila's squeamish reaction to slimy type foods. Kane watched, as gladly they ate the slimy foods themselves. For once she was glad—and benefited—from her sisters finicky eating habits. Their food looked a little ghastly even for her bottomless gut.

: _You're not going to like the next part,_ : Vevila told her ironically.

: _Why is that?_ : Kane asked surprised.

: _You got down here with the help of high-rock right?_ : She asked, although she already knew.

: _So?_ : Kane frowned at her.

: _It will take more time to get us up to the surface,_ : Vevila told her, : _and for some reason, they will not take us faster than we can swim._ : She sighed. : _We will have to wear a bubble._ :

: _What is that?_ : Kane asked skeptically.

In demonstration, a merman formed an air bubble made from spit and snot in the water—mostly snot. Kane touched it tentatively. It was sticky, very slimy, and seemed to be pretty tough. She started to form the words, but found no words were needed. They were nodding their heads in expectation. She looked at the mess doubtfully.

Kane was surprised to feel little fingers in her hair. She pushed away with surprise, only to be pulled back around. She could feel her already wet hair get heavier as they splattered something onto it.

: _They are coating your hair,_ : Vevila told her. : _The oil will help the bubble to not stick into your hair—as much._ :

Kane looked over to Vevila and watched curiously as they braided and twisted her hair tight against her head. Vevila had a lot of hair and it tended to fluff out in all directions. It looked odd to Kane for it to be so contained. When they were finished confining her hair, they liberally covered it with _grease_.

: _You're going to have to do this first,_ : Kane told Vevila as she watched them create another _bubble_.

: _Try not to think about it,_ : Vevila instructed. : _Hold your arms out to the side or back. Your head has to penetrate the layer. It will instantly seal around your throat. Once it's on, it's truly amazing how far you can explore with their air. I think their air is higher in oxygen than our own. Oh—shut your mouth tightly while jumping into it—and don't breath_ — _until you see it is around you. It's very painful and scary when you get it up your nose._ : Vevila quickly pressed Kane's lips closed over her exclamation. She held Kane's mouth until she was calm. Kane shuddered, but nodded.

Kane watched, Vevila didn't even think about it. She just pulled her arms behind her and dived head first into the bubble. She came up smiling, her head totally enclosed in the bubble. The merfolk smiled, Kane could feel their approval.

Kane closed her eyes. She didn't want them to see her as the coward she felt. She put her arms to her side, pressed her mouth tightly closed, shut down her breath, and tipped into the bubble. She felt the pressure of the snot incase her hair and then allow her head to pass. She felt it seal lightly around her throat. The bubble forced her head upward, pulling her legs downward. She blew her breath out and opened her eyes. Vevila was looking at her proudly. She could see the merfolk smiling and felt their pride—another daughter of Aine.

She saw that they had been inside a giant pearl, opened on its bottom to allow passage. The giant pearl, was sitting in the bloody biggest oyster Kane could even imagine. She was very glad of the bubble right them, because she didn't think she would have been able to resist the gulp of breath upon seeing the oyster. She had trouble wrapping her mind around it. The spongy surface had been the oyster's muscles. She paused to watch the great beating heart.

Kane noticed that her bubble was getting a little smaller, and that there were little air bubbles attaching to its sides.

: _My bubble seems to be leaking,_ : Kane sent to Vevila trying not to panic.

: _Just the type of air we don't want to breath_ ," Vevila assured her. : _What you're seeing is supposed to happen._ :

: _Okay,_ : Kane responded still feeling a little afraid.

She soon forgot about the fear when Vevila grabbed her hand to show her the merbabies in the nursery. They were so little and delicate, so colorful and vivid. Kane noticed a merman on each side of the nursery guarding their precious little ones. They were playing some kind of racing game. She wanted to play with them, but couldn't figure out how to manage the bubble during such play. She shrugged and allowed herself to be pushed onward.

They didn't immediately head for the surface. The merchildren led them around showing Kane some of their wondrous sights. The luminous glowing still confused Kane, until she got close enough to see that fluid was rushing through some of their structures.

: _Illuminant,_ : Vevila told her and then pointed. : _they harvest it from those bloody big weeds over there._ :

Kane nodded, now she got it. The merfolk watched curiously as they explored the various shelters and food acres. They didn't stop them from going anywhere they desired. At the same time Kane realized how tired she was getting, the merchild was leading them up to the surface.

They gently touched fingers as had become their traditional parting. Kane placed her face in the water to watch the merchild retreat to the depths below.

"That was truly... ama—zing" Kane stuttered to a halt as she witnessed Vevila's struggle to get out of the bubble of snot.

Vevila used her hand to break through the upper portion pulling the gooey snot away with her hand, trying to keep it free of her hair. She flicked it away with disgust. Vevila grabbed some soap weed and started scrubbing out her hair. Her long strands were sticking together in a gummy mess.

"You can't stay in there all day you know," Vevila told Kane. "You'll run out of oxygen pretty soon. Notice how small the bubble has become. If you wait for it to finish, you'll have this goo totally imbedded in your hair and up your nose—not fun at all."

Even with her care in breaking the bubble, Vevila still had plenty of the repugnant snot in her hair. Kane watched her and thought about her own situation.

Kane made an opening at the base of the neck and worked her way around. She let the water push the mess up and away. She barely got any into her hair—her ears though were another matter. She scrubbed like mad to get the snot and the grease out of her head, neck, and ears.

"So that's what that smell is!" Kane said with disgust.

"That was really clever," Vevila praised, "getting the bubble off like that. I knew I took you down there for some reason."

Kane would have made some kind of retort, but was just too tired. They made their way back. Kellan had gathered up some nuts and berries. Kane ate a few, but then just curled up and went to sleep. Vevila made hand gestures to imply that Kane had swam down to the merfolk. Kellan's eyebrows rose with surprise. She knew that Kane had never gotten up the nerve to go that far before. She nodded proudly. Kane was no longer—the baby. Vevila watched for awhile as the girls moved around in their sleep, and then curled up and fell asleep herself.
Chapter Nine

Sherrie was the first to awaken. She looked around confused—such _wild_ dreams. She remembered the black unicorn. She remembered touching his beautiful horn, the shock, the deep sleep. Kellan quietly walked over to her, and motioned for her to sit quietly because Tessa and Elle were still sleeping. Sherrie looked over at Tessa and Elle. Elle was smiling in her sleep. Tessa was very, very still. Sherrie looked at Kellan with concern. Kellan just shrugged and indicated that she was breathing.

Sherrie wrinkled her nose at the pungent odor. She didn't remember _that_ being here before her—sleep.

Rhoswen was picking common blue-berries—common except that they were the size of her fist and were positively succulent. She paused with her hand in midair, and _knew_ that Sherrie had stirred. She figured one each would do and made her way back to the circle. Sherrie grinned when she saw her. Rhoswen happily handed Sherrie one of the blue-berries. Sherrie bit into it. Juice squirted down her hand, and then her arm. She didn't even pause. She just sighed with delight, and continued to devour the fruit. Kellan caught Rhoswen's eye and nodded toward the forest.

Rhoswen took that as an indicator that she would be escorting Sherrie around the forest to make sure she had truly learned her lessons. She pushed down her disappointment. She had been hoping to spend more time with Elle. She handed most of the blue-berries to Kellan, and pointed towards Sherrie's bag to indicate that she was to come with her.

They were about to walk away when they heard a thunderous roaring buzz. Kellan signaled for them to stand still. Rhoswen stared in amazement as a swarm of Bumble-bee's flew overhead. She was scared silly when one curiously flew around them—frightened because these Bumble-bees were bigger than Kellan's head—which she thought was pretty big—and could sting a person over and over again. She shivered in fear when she felt the big, black, red-butted, fuzzy, flying insect brush against her arm. It flew up to peer into her face. Its buzz, vibrating through her skull. Then just as casually, it moved on to inspect Kellan. She watched in amazement as it allowed Kellan to gently stroke its fuzzy head. It then flew up to join the others.

Kellan nodded and Rhoswen led Sherrie away from those still asleep.

"So how was your sleep?" Rhoswen asked her after they had walked far enough away from the field.

"Busy," Sherrie answered uncertainly, "but I'm not sure how much I remember."

"It will be like that for a little while," Rhoswen assured her, "until the knowledge settles. You have to admit, it's a pretty bloody fine way to learn your lessons—and a lot faster. So let's open that bag of yours and you tell me why you're carrying that stuff."

Rhoswen let Sherrie lead her around the forest and tell her about their friends and foes.

"But their bunnies," Sherrie complained when Rhoswen prevented her from petting the cut little rabbits.

"Yah," Rhoswen said scathingly, "bunnies with teeth. Watch this."

Rhoswen picked up a branch and shook it at one of the cute little bunnies. It growled viciously, sprang up, and savagely bit into the branch with its canines. Rhoswen dropped the branch and sprang back. When the other bunny curiously walked over to the branch, the first sprang on it, biting it viciously. The second bunny let out a dog-like scream and hopped away.

"Not all rabbits are vicious like these," Rhoswen told her. "These are rather stupid. There are those who are very smart and like to play."

"How can you tell them apart?" Sherrie asked.

"Toss them a stick," was Rhoswen's surprising answer. "If they catch it and toss it back, they're called _Honey's_ —the playful ones. If it rends the stick, it's a _Fabbit_ , you may want to retreat quietly while it's still gnawing on the stick. They look identical—except for the teeth."

Rhoswen took out a dart tube and loaded it with a red-tipped dart and blew it at the closest fabbit. It dropped like a rock.

"I would like to show you a Faerie circle later, and this critter may come in handy," Rhoswen told her placing the fabbit in a special bag.

"Do fabbits like human flesh?" Sherrie asked nervously.

"Oh yes!" a voice said from behind.

Both Rhoswen and Sherrie jumped violently. Rhoswen swung around, and then relaxed.

"They _love_ human flesh," the white unicorn told Sherrie, "but they know we would stomp every last one of them, if any of them were to attack our guests."

"Hello, Fiona," Rhoswen said gaily. "This is Sherrie."

"Hello, little trouble maker," Fiona replied and then turned to Sherrie. "Fathion has warn... told us of your arrival. My daughter and I would like to know if you would like to ride around for these dreary lessons of yours."

Sherrie was surprised to see another white unicorn beside the first. She hadn't noticed her arrival. She had the same curly, cream hair as her mother, the same golden eyes, and the same impatiently swishing tail. They both stood tall and strong. The daughter's horn though, was not as long—or as lethal—as her mother's.

"Wouldn't that be disrespectful?" Sherrie asked bemused.

"Oh no," the new arrival told her. "We love to play—riding is play."

"We would be honored," Rhoswen dipped into an elegant bow.

Fiona sank down so Rhoswen could mount. Sherrie watched curiously as Rhoswen simply climbed onto Fiona's back and was lifted up.

"I am Feather, by the way," the daughter told them. "I will choose another name when something comes to mind."

She sank down and nodded for Sherrie to mount. Sherrie hesitantly climbed onto Feathers back. Feather smoothly stood. Sherrie sat rigid, not knowing what to do with her hands. It felt strange to just have her feet dangling. She watched as Rhoswen played in Fiona's mane and watched the evident joy this brought the unicorn. She did the same with Feather, and was pleased when Feather pressed into her touch. They started walking towards the sound of running water.

"Did you notice, by the way, that you are talking common Elfin?" Feather asked Sherrie. "The King did that. You will need to remember to talk your language when you leave here, otherwise they will probably lock you up someplace. Which would be sad because I think I really like you. Oh look, flower honey. You can't have any though or it will make you sleep, and then you cannot tousle my mane. Mother, why are these girls barefoot. I thought all human children wore shoes, except the poor of course. Oh, I am sorry—are you poor? I like you with bare feet. I think boots would be rough against my sides."

"Quiet daughter," Fiona told her. "She is a little excited."

"But it is so exciting," Feather bounced, jarring Sherrie who was not a practiced rider. "Oh, I am sorry."

Rhoswen laughed to herself as Feather continued to chatter about this and that. Rhoswen let Feather do the teaching. She was covering things Rhoswen hadn't thought about in a very long time. Sherrie seemed to be enjoying the ceaseless chatter; she was wearing a bemused grin.

"Let's stop here a minute," Rhoswen requested.

"Oh," Sherrie said excitedly, "it's a Faerie ring."

Indeed, a ring of red topped toadstools circled an odd little dwarfed oak. They climbed down and sat in the grass _outside_ the circle. Feather and Fiona took the opportunity to roll in the grass.

"You _never_ want to enter into the ring," Rhoswen told her. "There is no way to tell if the Fey are friend or foe—even if you had just visited them the day before. Time in Faerie is not the same as here. Your friends of yesterday could be gone, leaving you to deal with a demented beast."

"Look," Sherrie said in awe, "it's a pretty little faerie."

The faerie was dainty with long blue hair. She smiled dreamily as she expanded her gossamer wings and sunned on a flower petal. She looked very enchanting.

"Watch," Rhoswen told Sherrie.

Rhoswen brought out the fabbit and dropped it just inside the circle. The faerie ignored the animal and continued to bask in the sunlight. Rhoswen took out another dart, this one blue-tipped, and shot it into the fabbit. They watched as the fabbit got clumsily to its feet.

"Ohhh," the faerie exclaimed. She walked over to the sluggish fabbit and cuddled up in its fur.

Sherrie started to warn the faerie, but Rhoswen yanked on her arm. The faerie continued to cuddle in its fur, stroking the inside of its ear. She then walked _into_ the fabbit's ear. The fabbit screamed a terrible cry and then lay dead. They watched with morbid fascination as the fabbit became thinner and thinner until it was just a skin of fur, and a head with blank, staring eyes. The pristine little faerie pulled herself back out of its ear. Her gut horribly distended from consuming the fabbit. She gave a very crude belch and returned to the flower to continue basking in the sunlight.

Sherrie stared at Rhoswen accusingly. Her face was pale, her forehead sweaty, her stomach sick.

"Some things you just have to see to really understand," Rhoswen told her unrepentant. "If I'd simply told you that some faerie folk look beautiful and pure, but are really ravenous monsters, you wouldn't have believed me—now you believe—and you will never forget."

Sherrie heard the shuffle of feet and looked behind them startled. Tessa and Elle had joined them. Their faces reflected the revulsion from that which they had also just witnessed. Dara and Alana just looked on with somber expressions.

"Oh, hello," Feather stopped to stare at the other riders. "This is my new friend, Sherrie."

Dara and Tessa rode double on a beautiful stallion unicorn, with intense blue eyes. Alana and Elle's unicorn was a mare and equally beautiful. Sherrie noticed a slight hum about these two unicorns which was lacking in Fiona and Feather. It was interesting, but for some reason, it set her on edge.

"We thought to show _our_ humans the spring falls next," the female spoke out. Her voice rang out like a soft bell. "Would you like to _follow_ us?"

"It would be our honor," Fiona answered.

Feather was strangely quiet. Sherrie stroked into her mane and realized that she was petrified. Sherrie continued to scratch and stroke. Feather started relaxing into the attentions.

The unicorns walked steadily up a steep incline. Sherrie was afraid that she would slide backwards, but soon realized that something else—besides her legs—was holding her securely in place. She relaxed and started enjoying the ride. The higher they climbed the more of the forest she could see. It was vast, much bigger than the villagers believed. It smelled heavenly fresh. She could hear the roar of the falls.

"Here they are," the female unicorn called out.

Stretched out below them were ten cascading waterfalls, aligned in a semicircle. They had been climbing a path which was even higher than the falls, so they could see all the falls in their forceful glory.

The first thing Sherrie noticed was that they popped straight out of the ground. There was no river running to a cliff, and then crashing to the land below. The water rose from artesian wells, shooting high into the air, before crashing to the land below. It formed a large lake. They could see offshoots of littler rivers and streams moving away from the lake.

"Wow!" Tessa exclaimed. "Feel that power!"

Indeed, magical and physical power was pouring out of those wells. The two lead unicorns were aglow from it. Sherrie realized why these two unicorns hummed—and why Feather had been so intimidated. These two were mages.

"Where does all that water go?" Elle asked.

"Mainly to the elfin realms, but some will travel back to the human worlds." The male mage answered.

This was the first time Sherrie had heard him speak. His voice rang out with power, unlike the sweetness of the female's bell voice, his voice felt a little harsh to the ears. Sherrie found herself cringing and reminded herself not to ask him any questions. She glanced over to Tessa and Elle and found them with equally distressed expressions.

"Isn't _this_ an elfin realm?" Alana spread her arms outward.

"Alana," the female mage chided, "this is a— _to-and-from_ realm—you know that."

"Of course," Alana grinned, "silly me."

"Come," the female mage called out, "we have lots to see yet."

### ****

Kellan was watching Vevila and Kane sleep when she noticed Rhoswen's writing pad laying in the grass. She bent down to pick it up. Her intentions were to just put it with the rest of her stuff, but curiosity got the best of her and she opened it up to the page of curses. She smiled in amusement for the situations some of Rhoswen's curses _corrected_. There seemed to be a lot of curses regarding Aunt Caryn. Rhoswen described a situation where Aunt Caryn might try to force her to snub her friend Elle. She wrote, _every time Aunt Caryn meant to say Elle, she would instead say hell_. Kellan laughed.

Kellan turned to the next page and was astounded to see Rhoswen's elaborate insights into a dream concerning Celeste. Her eyebrows rose. If what Rhoswen had written was true, then Celeste was _directly_ related to them—not just another daughter of Druantia. She frowned at the complex symbols Rhoswen used to outline the details of her birth and her heritage. Kellan could read the _pattern_ of the path to them, but not the details. Kellan guessed that Celeste was either mama or papa's illegitimate _sister_.

Kellan sighed and picked up her own pencil. She had recognized Rhoswen's growing intuition. Rhoswen would _know_ that she had read her book. Kellan felt embarrassed as she forced herself to write, _Rhoswen, I'm sorry I intruded into your personal writings, I did not mean any harm. Please forgive me for my lack of discipline, Kellan_. She placed Rhoswen's writing pad with her other belongings.

She sat back down to watch her sisters sleep. They had been sleeping for quite a while. Kellan wondered when they would wake up. It wasn't the type of sleep the others girls had, she could just wake them. She sighed and let them sleep. It wasn't as if there was anything needing done. She was concerned about Kane's hair. Kane had always treasured her hair, it set her apart from her other sisters—long and blond.

Kellan had been reading from mama's workbook which Alana had thought to bring along. It was very complicated. There wasn't just the spell burned into the floor of their room. There were spells carved or burned into various areas of the land around them, even property which the O'Byrne didn't own. There were even some spells written out in the _real_ ocean—at Norman's Point.

"Look on page 59," a voice called from a nearby tree.

Kellan looked up to see their calico cat, the same cat that Aunt Caryn had tried to force out of the house.

"Cally-cat!" Vevila called out.

"How long have we been here?" Kane asked.

"Two days," Cally answered.

"So long," Kellan said with concern.

"This is important," Cally told them. "When it is done, it will save you time—and a lot more."

Cally came out of the tree and curled around Kane's knees. Kane picked him up and started petting the long multi-colored fur. Vevila laughed as she heard the cat purr from across the grass.

"Why is it so eerily quiet?" Cally asked them and started stalking around.

"There are _men_ trapped in the wall," Kellan told her. "A nightingale sang it to us. They don't have the raven's mark."

"That is too bad for them," Cally said rather callously.

"Maybe I should be reading this in reverse order," Kellan turned to page 59. "Get to what mama has recently done."

"That would be a little strange," Cally told her, staring at the upside down words.

"What does it say?" Vevila asked excitedly.

Vevila was always fascinated by mama's books. She couldn't read them yet, they were in Gaelic, but she loved the stories as the other sisters read them to her.

"It's talking about when she discovered the bruises Aunt Caryn marked on Alana's arm." Her eyebrows rose with surprise. "She cursed anyone threefold who would cause us harm—a blood curse at that!"

"How does that work?" Kane asked.

"If someone hurts you, let's say hits you with a stick, that person will be hurt three times as much as you." Kellan explained.

"Oh!" Vevila smiled. "So if Aunt Caryn was to do that again, she would end up with fifteen bruises and three cuts."

"Or bad bruise—three times worse," Cally told her.

"I really like this!" Kane told them and then frowned. "What are its limitations?"

"It's vague," Kellan told her. "It just says... _Tread softly in my daughters spheres, or be threefold so damaged_."

"What if someone accidently hurts one of us?" Vevila asked with concern.

"Could be hurt," Cally stated, "if girl _damages_ —maybe."

"And if we hurt each other?" Kane asked.

Vevila tossed a stone at Kane. It hit her leg.

"I didn't feel anything?" Vevila told them.

"That wasn't damage," Kane told her scathingly. She threw a stone meaning to hurt, and hit Vevila in the leg.

"Ouch," Vevila exclaimed. "That hurt."

"Brutal!" Kane exclaimed in pain.

"Let's see," Kellan scooted over to Kane.

Kane pulled up her pant leg to reveal an angry area which was going to bruise deeply. Vevila's leg just had a red mark.

"Just so!" Cally's furry head tilted to peer at the marks. "She threw it harder, or 'cause of her _intention_?"

"We will need to understand this better," Kellan told them. "It could help us immensely, or hurt people by accident."

"Aine mother very smart," Cally told them. "She would do this thing right."

"She was also very tired and distracted," Kellan told her.

"And angry," Vevila added.

They were interrupted with the sounds of laughter as the girls returned to the field. Kellan was surprised to see the herd of unicorns following.

"Greetings to you, Sofia and Keitel," Kellan greeted the mages. To greet any others first would have shown them disrespect—except for the King of course.

"That was so much fun," Sherrie called out.

Feather regretfully let her dismount. The other girls dismounted as well, and then wandered around caressing the unicorns.

"We will be back," Sherrie kissed her on the nose.

"Come, daughter of mine," Fiona called her. "These have business."

The herd of unicorns left with Fiona and Feather, only the two mages stayed behind.

"Sherrie, Tessa, and Elle will not be allowed to enter for three of your days and nights." Keitel instructed them. "That will give their brains time to assimilate what has been given to them."

"What would you have us do with the strangers?" Sofia asked.

The sisters looked at each other confused. Never, had they been asked to interfere in grove business before.

"Why do you inquire?" Kellan asked.

"They are dirty scum and _we_ do not desire for them to remain in our lands, neither do we necessarily choose to _slay_ them," Keitel answered.

"They don't bear the Raven," Kellan told her sisters. "They are probably the ones who the villagers were going to force to leave."

"I'd say," Dara squinted up at Keitel. "Let them wander in the wall, but not to die. Let them get weak, close to death, and then let them out. The villagers will just have to deal with them."

"A wise choice," Sofia told her. "Do you agree?" She asked the rest of the sisters.

"That's a good plan," Kane mentioned. "By the time they get out of the wall, they'll be too weak to fight much."

"Put some water in there with them so they can remain awhile," Alana added. "When they _find_ their way out, the villagers will see them for their depravity, and not hesitate so much about expelling them."

All the sisters nodded in agreement. The mages nodded to them and started to retreated.

"I have a question if you would please to answer," Kane stopped them, "or if it is in your knowledge."

"Ask Daughter of Aine," Sofia faced her. Her serene blue eyes looked at her earnestly.

"I and my sisters do not have the Raven's mark," Kane asked confused. "Why are we allowed to see the secrets of the Raven?"

"But you all do," Sofia answered. "You received the mark at birth, the same as Haley. It is on your head."

"Oh," Kane frowned, "then why couldn't we see both views of the wall until after we activated the raven on our amulets?"

"You saw what you asked to see," Sofia answered.

Sofia and Keitel nodded in farewell and sauntered on past them.

Kane continued to puzzle out her answer.

"I guess we saw what we expected to see," she reasoned.

"No way did we expect to see the ocean," Alana disagreed, "after climbing up on the wall that first time."

"We did expect though only to see one thing—not two," Kane argued. "Maybe our mind wanted to see what was new—what had changed?"

"Maybe," Alana shrugged.

Sherrie listened to the discussion with surprise. The sisters were talking about magic as if it happened every day, maybe for them it did. She hadn't realized just how magical the O'Byrne sisters were. Sofia and Keitel had listened even to Kane, the youngest. Imagine, Mage unicorns _answering_ a little girl.

"Before we return," Kellan said abruptly. "We have something which needs to be known. The villagers also need to know this."

Dara, Alana, and Rhoswen looked at Kellan blankly. They had no idea what could be so concerning to her. Dara could tell by her hesitations that something was really bothering her. Kellan sighed.

"Mama put a curse on anyone who would harm us," she told them, "and even on us if we hurt each other."

"What are you talking about?" Dara asked her.

"Pull up your pant leg Kane, dear," Cally called out.

"Look," Tessa pointed up into the tree, "it's a talking cat."

"Isn't that Cally-cat?" Elle asked. "He can talk?"

"Yes," Rhoswen answered, "he could always talk. You just couldn't hear him."

"Oh!" Elle exclaimed staring at Cally.

"About the curse?" Dara asked impatiently.

"After mama saw what Aunt Caryn did to Alana's arm," Vevila told them. "She wrote a spell that would hurt anyone threefold if they were to hurt any of her daughters. Kane threw a rock at me. Look at the difference between my injury and hers."

Vevila showed them her leg. The red mark was barely noticeable—Kane's on the other hand, was bruising up splendidly.

"So why is Kane's leg bruised?" Sherrie asked.

"Because she threw a rock at Vevila that _caused_ damage," Kellan answered. "We don't know if she was injured because she did it purpose like, or if she would have been injured even if it had been an accident."

"Why were you throwing a rock at Vevila anyway?" Alana asked frowning at her.

"Hey," Kane said defensively, "she threw the first one. She just didn't throw it hard enough."

"Point is—it wouldn't hurt for people to be warned not to try hurting us." Kellan interrupted them. "We don't want people hurt threefold to our injuries."

"Says who?" Alana asked sweetly. "That would have been rather pleasing when Aunt Caryn bruised up my arm."

"Do you want her dead?" Dara asked her. "What if she had hit you in the head? You live, but her injury—being three times harsher— _kills_ her."

"Oh," Alana frowned unsure.

Rhoswen sat down in the grass and pressed her hand against her forehead.

"What's wrong with you?" Kane asked her.

"I don't know," Rhoswen's face was pale. "Something just doesn't feel right."

"Focus on various things until you connect to what is bothering you," Dara instructed. "Celeste, donkeys, home, villagers..."

"It is home," she told them. "Something there isn't right."

Dara looked toward home and started with surprise.

"The wards have flared," Dara told them. "I don't know what that means."

"The locks," Alana told her, "remember."

They looked at her in puzzlement.

"Mama's book," she reached over to open Aine's book toward the end of the passages. "She wasn't sure about her last visions, so she created a sequence of spells to react when certain events did—or did not—take place."

"One of those sequences was to lock the house," Dara continued, "just like we talked about doing."

"This is a contingency ward," Kellan said with surprise as she read Aine's notes. "If Aunt Caryn didn't talk to Celeste by—yesterday—the doors to _all_ the extra rooms would lock.

"They were open just a few moments ago," Cally said irritated. "I'm glad I was not there when they locked. I can't get through Aine's magical locks," she sighed, "I've tried."

"We can find our way back to the village if you wish to hurry home," Tessa said with concern.

"No point really," Kane told them. "It's locked. We might as well continue as we planned."

"I agree," Kellan told them. "Agreement to move on?"

"Agreed," the sisters all nodded or spoke.

"What was that about?" Sherrie asked puzzled.

"Celeste has shown us a way that we might manage without fighting with each other," Dara told her. "We were just practicing it."

"That's actually a good idea," Tessa told them. "Elle and I have a row now and then. I can't image having four more of her."

"Hey!" Elle said and then shrugged, "it's too true."

"So we need to return to Celeste's house," Kellan told them. "We've been gone two days. Will that be a problem with your folks?"

"I don't care," Tessa said smiling. "I'd take a beating for this adventure any day."

"They won't beat us," Elle said seeing their concern. "Pa was glad enough to have some place to graze Betsy. He would have lost her if it hadn't been for Kane."

"I'm okay, too," Sherrie told them. "Ma was furious when we spoke out, but pa set her right."

They gathered up all their belongings and looked around fondly. Only the indent in the grass showed of their stay. They marched out of the forest with chins high.

"So I wonder just who's trapped in the wall?" Kane asked.

"Probably those mean Flynn boys," Sherrie answered.

"They are more than mean," Tessa told them. "They are truly depraved and _sick!_ They get it from their father. I'm glad he's dead!"

Sherrie's home was the first on their way to Celeste's. They all paused in front of her house.

"I so want to thank you," Sherrie told the sisters. "This has been one of those life events which one never forgets. The fact is—it is an event that just doesn't happen to those like us. I will never ever forget this."

"Hey," Alana told her when she saw her tears. "We'll still be around. You visit with us anytime."

"I will," she raised her chin and walked into her house.

They waited for a few minutes before continuing, just in case something wasn't quite right.

When they reached Tessa and Elle's house, their mother was on the porch waiting for them. The sisters waited by the dirt road to see how things went. Their mother greeted them with a hearty hug and then hurried them into the house. The girls were turning away when she rushed back out carrying a pie.

"It's my favorite maple-sugar apple pie," she said gruffly pushing the pie into Kellan's hands and then hurrying back.

They continued to walk to Celeste's.

"It smells really good," Alana told them. "Dara?"

"It's clean," she answered and sighed. "I'm beginning to think mama's curse may not have been such a good thing. What if the pie had been mischievous? What would have been the punishment? I think I would rather take care of my own battles."

"We can't absolve the curse," Rhoswen mentioned, "but there are ways to _adjust_ it a little."

"I think we need to look into that," Dara told them, "even if it is to exclude only _this_ daughter."

"I agree," Kane said, feeling her leg. "I don't like the way it's stated either."

_"AWW-EEE, AW-EE_ ," Kingdom bellowed before they were even in sight of the house.

"He is really loud," Alana complained.

"But, oh-so cute!" Kane said as she ran toward the big shaggy donkey.
Chapter Ten

"Wait Kane," Kellan called out. "Celeste has company."

Kane halted just a few steps away. It was Lord Jaspin's carriage. It made sense that they would be checking on this event the same as them. Kane hung back unsure if they should be showing themselves.

: _They probably won't know who we are if only a couple of us knock,_ : Alana suggested.

: _Why don't Rhoswen and Kane do it,_ : Kellan suggested. : _With that short hair, Lord Jaspin wouldn't guess that you are Aine O'Byrne's daughters._ :

: _Thanks,_ : Rhoswen told her, : _I think._ :

Rhoswen and Kane made their way to Celeste's front porch and knocked at the door. They could hear raised voices inside. No one came to answer the door. They heard some curses, a crash, and then some more curses. Rhoswen opened the door herself and quietly walked into the front room. Kane nodded toward the stairs, Rhoswen nodded. Halfway up, they stopped to listen to the raised voices.

"That's just not right," Molly McPherson was saying in a harsh voice.

"It is what it is," Lord Jaspin was saying.

"But I've been running the manor for the last three years," Molly said aggrieved. "No one knows it's running better than me!"

"No one is saying that you have to quit or are removing you from managing it," Lord Jaspin explained. "But the will is very explicit that it is part of the O'Byrne properties, and that Celeste is the Steward of the manor, as well as the village."

"I just don't see why _she_ would have been put in charge," Molly complained. "I've known Aine longer. I was born here for god's sake. Celeste's only been here for a couple of years—an outsider. Just how did you influence Aine anyway?"

"I don't know," Celeste said calmly. "Aine and I just became very personal friends."

"Personal? That's just twisted somehow," Molly's voice turned ugly. "I heard about you and that priestess."

"My private life is none of your business," Celeste told her angrily.

Rhoswen had heard enough. She walked on up the stairs and pushed the parlor door open. Kane quickly followed. Lord Jaspin jumped to his feet in surprise. Molly was already standing and stared after them confused. If Celeste hadn't been so angry, she would have laughed. These two urchins didn't look anything like Aine's _clean_ little daughters. She could also tell by the odor that they had been playing with the merfolk.

"What is this?" Lord Jaspin asked the two little boys that had the audacity to intrude on the adult meeting.

"Oh my!" Molly exclaimed holding a handkerchief over her nose. "What have you two been _in_ to?"

"I think a bath is in order," Celeste said to the girls while getting to her feet. "You can call in the others while you are at it. Tell them to help themselves to the pantry. We will discuss this further when the girls can join us." She looked pointedly at Molly, "after all, this concerns them, too."

"This one first," Molly announced nodding toward Kane.

"Oh, Molly," Kane complained as she was led away.

Rhoswen went to the front door and signaled for the others to come in. It was only then that Lord Jaspin figured out just _who_ these two children were—disgraceful! Their mother had only been gone a short time and look at them. Why—they looked like boys!

"Disgraceful," he said scornfully.

"If they hadn't sacrificed their hair the other day," Celeste told him sharply, "the villagers would now be without their farm animals, which means starvation for their families. The collectors came into the village and corralled up all their animals—for taxes owed. You should be proud of those two little girls. They bartered their hair to get those animals back."

"I didn't know," Lord Jaspin told her.

"It was your job to know!" Celeste told him. "The collectors arriving like that shouldn't have happened!"

"I got here as fast as I could," he said defensively.

"Yes," Celeste sighed, "I guess you did. The _landslide_ shook people up. Everyone's been looking into it, including the _Queens_ own Steward. If that will and testament hadn't been standing, they would have taken the manor from us and used it as a paying inn. The property would have been in probate for a very long time. Someone may still contest it. I really don't know why Aine put me as the benefactor."

"I figure that the _smell_ may have put off that idea of a working inn," Lord Jaspin scrunched up his face. "No paying guest is going to stay there with that reek."

"Could be," Celeste agreed. "Good for crabbing though."

"What smell?" Kane smiled as she returned all cleaned up.

"The smell down by the manor," Lord Jaspin answered stiffly.

He wasn't used to talking to little girls. It struck him as peculiar to have the need to do so now. You didn't discuss things with children. You simply told them what they were to do.

"We didn't notice any odor," Kane said curiously. "I wonder if it can only be smelled from that side of the wall?"

"Wall?" Lord Jaspin said curiously.

"From our side," Kane told him surprised by his question. "We see a wall or gully, not the ocean at all."

"Oh!" he said surprised.

"I'm Vevila," Vevila said as she entered the room. "I didn't know if you would remember me. We weren't really introduced."

"Where's Rhoswen?" Kane asked surprised.

"Molly figured out that the smell was coming from me," Vevila said proudly. "She pushed me into the bath ahead of Rhoswen. That's a sweet little tub! The fragrance flows with the water! I would have stayed longer, but Molly pulled me out."

"Hey! Share," Kane complained as Vevila munched at a honey bun. Without a word, Vevila broke it in half.

"I broke," she said, "you choose."

Kane of course took the biggest half. Vevila just shrugged. She should have broken it more evenly.

"Mama used to make us do that," Kane said sadly, "that way we couldn't fight over who got the biggest piece. One would cut it—the other would choose which piece to take."

"I'm sorry," Lord Jaspin told her.

"Yah," Vevila told him, "us too."

Molly and Rhoswen came into the room with a plate of honey buns and tea. Kane looked up surprised. For someone who had been awfully upset, she sure was comfortable in her nemesis kitchen. Molly happened to catch her eye and actually blushed. Kane looked away confused.

"Thank you," Celeste told Rhoswen when she was handed a honey bun.

"They were talking about a really bad smell down by the Inn," Kane told her. "I don't remember a smell, do you?"

"Not at all," Vevila answered. "It was really nice down there."

"It's the lagoon just under the inn. Some lagoons are pretty and fun to play in, not ours—it's a little rank." Molly said as she poured out the tea. "Good for crabbing—better for keeping strangers away. Aine couldn't have planned that better if she had tried."

"What makes you think she didn't?" Rhoswen asked.

"I guess she might have," Molly gave her a surprised stare.

"She did," Rhoswen affirmed. "Mama planned every aspect of what has happened. It's written in her workbook. She wrote into a special book concerning all that this is involved. Papa wrote some entries, too. We're still trying to decipher her meanings."

"May we see this workbook?" Lord Jaspin asked eagerly.

"No," Rhoswen stated.

"Oh," Lord Jaspin said, surprised by her response.

"It would do you no good anyway," Vevila told him. "It's written in Gaelic and has a lot of Druid symbols. She used magic you know."

"Of course," he replied.

Kellan, Alana, and Dara came in wearing dresses and looking more dignified. Being the older sisters, they felt that it was more important for them to present themselves with some decorum.

Molly followed looking proud. They had helped themselves to some of Celeste's more elaborate wardrobes and voila, here were the ladies. She had been surprised when Kellan suggested the idea. It made sense with Lord Jaspin being in attendance. Kellan was a little old to be showing up in sleeping ware.

Lord Jaspin got to his feet. He hadn't realized that some of the O'Byrne daughters were actually old enough to be wed. They were exceedingly pretty girls.

"May I present Kellan," Celeste stood proudly and led Kellan over to Lord Jaspin.

Kellan made a delicate bow which he returned. She blushed as he kissed her hand. She looked splendid. Her dress was deep blue and made the lavender of her eyes look darker, more exotic. Her dark brown hair was elegantly styled. Her figure had grown shapely this last year and the dress exposed her womanliness. She walked demurely over to the sofa and seated herself.

"This is Dara," Celeste led Lord Jaspin over to Dara and Alana, "and this is Alana—the twins."

His eyes twinkled as he took their hands one at a time. It was a very graceful introduction. He was thinking of Vevila simply telling him her name and taking a seat. Yes, _these_ O'Byrne daughters were definitely growing up.

Dara was wearing a cream and blue day dress. Her red hair bounced playfully in curly tendrils down her back. Her blue eyes were shining happily from the fun of dressing up.

Alana chose a dark green velvet evening dress. The dark green made her blue eyes look soulful, her red hair was up in an exotic twist. Surprisingly, the twins looked nothing like each other, even though they had the same face and stature. The dresses made all the difference.

Kane looked from Vevila and Rhoswen to herself, and then snorted. They were wearing old housecoats and slippers. She and Rhoswen had the butchered up hair while Vevila's hair was in its normal snarled mess. The differences between her sisters—were just too silly. She grinned at Kellan, who glared back at her.

"How come the only mirror is in the guest bedroom?" Alana asked Celeste. "It's a grand mirror. I'd have thought it would be in this room, maybe above the fireplace."

Celeste looked at her surprised. She hadn't thought about it for years.

"I can't see reflections," Celeste answered her. "Mirrors have no purpose for me. It just looks flat and ugly. But since I had the mirror, I thought a guest might appreciate it."

"Oh!" Alana said surprised and embarrassed. "I'm sorry."

Alana tended to forget that Celeste couldn't actually see. She was relieved to hear her laugh. She had not meant to offend her.

"We heard that Lord Corin was with you?" Kellan asked with a smile.

"He's laid up I'm afraid," Lord Jaspin told her and frowned.

"Maybe later," Celeste told them. "He's upstairs resting."

"How could he have been resting with you all fighting up here?" Rhoswen asked surprised. "We heard you from outside the house."

Kane noted Molly's embarrassment, and the return of Celeste's anger.

"He's doused," Lord Jaspin told her. "Some type of fever. Celeste says he's not contagious. It occurred about the same time as the raven. It could just be a coincidence though. I just don't understand why he was marked and not me. Why mark my son at all? Especially since she advised us to flee to England."

"What do you mean?" Kellan asked frowning.

"I guess my job is done here," he shrugged. "Aine wrote a letter stating that it might be best for us to return to England."

"The mark?" Dara asked.

"The raven," Molly told her and rolled up her sleeve. "Corin has the mark, but not Lord Jaspin." She looked at him distrustfully. He saw her expression and frowned with aggravation.

"My family has been looking out for your people before I was even born," he told her. "Why would you start doubting that now?"

"Exactly," Kellan told them interrupting into their tirade.

"Pardon?" Lord Jaspin asked.

"The unicorns told us," Kane answered. "We have the raven on our heads. It was put there at birth. I also asked why we weren't so marked."

"Unicorns?" Lord Jaspin asked confused. These girls had some really strange notions.

"It doesn't matter," Kellan interrupted his thoughts. "What does matter is if you were also marked so, after all, your family is tied to ours. Your father managed our estates. You were born within that base."

"Let's see then," Celeste stood to scan his scalp.

"Ah, maybe Molly wouldn't mind looking," he murmured.

"Nonsense," Celeste told him holding his head still. She separated some hair on the right side of his head, "and here it is."

"Really?" Molly said surprised and peered at where Celeste had parted his hair. "Well, I'll be. Sorry about my suspicions, but these are confusing times."

"Now," Rhoswen asked sternly, "why were you all fighting?"

The sisters stared in surprise at the conflicting expressions. Lord Jaspin looked aggrieved, Molly looked embarrassed, and Celeste looked angry.

"I want to know why Aine left the Stewardship of the manor to Celeste!" She said determinedly indicating the document sitting on the table. "No offense, _dear_ , but I was as good of a friend to Aine as you. I've _been_ running the Inn, _you_ are a new comer, and I'm not blind."

"You forgot to mention _again_ , the fact that I have a woman as a lover," Celeste said angrily. "I'm sure that's a reason, too."

"You do?" Rhoswen asked surprised. She had read that one wrong! She thought that Celeste loved Keegan and Stefan, which would be confusing enough.

"Now ladies," Lord Jaspin interrupted ready to pull out his hair. "This is getting us nowhere. What was done—is done. You two need to get past that and figure out how you want to handle things."

"Huh!" Molly said and turned away tearfully.

"But this makes total sense," Rhoswen said reading the papers. She handed the papers over to Kellan pointing at the part about their home.

"How is that?" Molly asked feeling betrayed.

"Well... Celeste is both mama and papa's half sister," she told them and turned to Celeste. "You must have known?"

"What?" Celeste said confused. "Show me." When Rhoswen hesitated she added, "Please."

"Okay," Rhoswen told her reluctantly, "but you must not get too upset. It was a long time ago."

"What are they talking about?" Lord Jaspin asked Molly.

"A link," Kellan answered. "That way Rhoswen can show her what she knows—and how she knows it. Words just wouldn't do."

"Let's go into the kitchen," Celeste suggested.

A link was kind of a private thing. She didn't mind the other girls being there, but was uncomfortable with Lord Jaspin and Molly. They weren't magical. They wouldn't understand and there were times when explaining just took too much effort.

They seated themselves at the table and Rhoswen held out her hand to Celeste and opened her mind. She took her to the dream and her notes as she puzzled it out.

Celeste saw that what Rhoswen had been brought was a true vision. She saw Saidie give herself to Josh O'Byrne, _Keegan's_ father. She saw her own birth and the cold hearted woman who had tried to dispose of her. She saw Druantia rescued her and place her with the priestesses who had loved and taken to her.

: _There's more,_ : Rhoswen sent to her and opened her mind to another couple.

This vision was of Keegan's _mother_ opening up herself to a traveling minstrel. Stefan was the resulting baby from that union.

: _Stefan is no blood relation to you,_ : Rhoswen told her. : _I thought you felt bad because you had feelings for papa who was your half brother, but you didn't know. Why do you feel bad about Stefan?_ :

Celeste had to think about Rhoswen's question. It had been a very long time ago. She didn't even pause to think about the fact that this was a child asking the question. Rhoswen was a mature, kind, loving friend. In a link such as this, feelings of this sort couldn't be hidden.

: _I see now that my love for your father was of a sisterly nature, but didn't realize it at the time and was confused. This was long before I ever met your mother,_ : Celeste reached for understanding. : _I loved your mother and was happy to see them together. I'm afraid of myself with Stefan because I must not have children with another O'Byrne. I can't make it absolute that a child wouldn't be conceived. The child would be born wrong—like me._ :

Rhoswen could feel her lifelong ache. She knew that Celeste could not prevent her own conceptions. Her self-healing magic's wouldn't allow it.

: _Stefan isn't an O'Byrne,_ : Rhoswen told her. : _Glenna, or one of the other priestesses, could tell you if he would be okay for you._ :

: _You aren't bothered by what Molly was saying,_ : Celeste stated as fact, : _about me being with Glenna._ :

: _Who is she to say whom you must or must not love_?: Rhoswen answered. : _My mate will probably be stuck in a frogs body, and I will have to kiss all the toads to find my one._ :

: _Silly child,_ : Celeste scoffed, : _You will have many mates desiring just to hold your hand._ :

: _It's not the hand holding that I want,_ : Rhoswen sent her an image so graphic it made _her_ blush.

: _Where do you get these things?_ : Celeste asked.

: _Mama and papa had a love and passion like that,:_ Rhoswen told her. _:I know a lot of things, the good and the ugly. Sometimes it's hard to know when to speak, and when to be still. I wish I could understand_ _why_ _I'm shown such things. Then I would know how to handle them. It's not like mama, who could see things. I just seem to know stuff._ :

: _Are you usually right?_ : Celeste asked.

: _Mostly,_ : she answered, : _if I pay attention to whether I'm wanting it so, or if it just is. Does that make sense?_ :

: _Yes,_ : Celeste assured her. : _Your mother was not always right you know. She would sometimes see things but misinterpret what she saw._ :

: _Like what?_ : Rhoswen asked surprised.

: _Like she saw the field next to the village on fire,_ : Celeste told her, : _what she didn't' see was that the farmer lit it on purpose to kill the mold in the grass that was making the animals sick. She had some of the villagers dampen the earth the previous night. The farmer had a heck of a time getting the field to burn the next day. She felt a little silly for that one._

_There were other things, but I can't remember them right now. They are probably written in one of her workbooks. We should be getting back. We will chat another time very soon._ :

: _Promise?_ : Rhoswen insisted.

: _Promise!_ : Celeste hugged her close to her own heart and then released the link. They returned to the upstairs parlor. Celeste was surprised to see tears in all the sister's eyes.

"We are always linked somehow," Kellan explained. "Every since we made a pact in mama and papa's room—on top of _the_ design."

"We don't notice it until one of us is... _moved_ ," Alana told her.

"What did you do?" Celeste asked with concern.

"A blood pact that we would not hurt each other, and that we would be there for each other," Dara told her.

"I saw Kane's gift rousing and was afraid," Kellan admitted.

"I wouldn't have hurt you," Kane said offended.

"Not intentionally, I'm sure." Celeste told her. "Believe me—I've seen more than my share of accidental magic, and have done so myself. It was a good pact, just maybe not performed in a smart place."

"I know it sure wiped us out," Dara told her. "Meifen said we could have killed ourselves."

"Who is Meifen?" Celeste frowned at them.

They all stared at each other. They had forgotten all about him and had left him at home with Haley and Terah!

"Oh," Kane answered. "He's a Chinese man who is one of Druantia's people up in China."

"And he _told_ you this?" Celeste asked annoyed.

"Not exactly," Rhoswen answered her. "But we know he is. He has purple eyes."

Dara did a quick scan of their home, and was surprised to see Terah with Stefan and Meifen. She was holding Haley while her little Caitrina was crawling around on that smooth pristine floor. She sent the image to her sisters. They all sighed with relief. Rhoswen noticed Celeste roll her eyes at them, and couldn't help but laugh.

"So what's going on about the property?" Molly asked.

"I am the half sister of Aine and Keegan," Celeste told her. "Aine would have known since her main gift was sight. It would have been advantageous if she had talked to me first."

"Oh," Molly said with disappointment.

"She didn't slight you—our mama," Rhoswen told her. "There will be things which will come up that only an O'Byrne can influence. It is something about the magic she used to create the boundary."

"And you got this from her book?" Lord Jaspin asked.

"Yes," Rhoswen lied. Celeste eyed her.

"What about Caryn?" Molly asked. "Why wasn't she named in the will? Your Uncle Stefan was named as steward for the house and land. Why they bothered, I don't know. It's not as if it's really _there_ anymore."

"Aunt Caryn is not what she seems," Kellan frowned at her. "Mama wrote about contingency plans. She wrote that there were too many different conclusions due to people's choices. She couldn't predict which was most likely. So she set up spells that would activate if certain events did, or did not take place. One such event was that Aunt Caryn had one week to visit the village and Celeste after mama's death. That didn't happen—so the house locked down."

"Her book said this?" Lord Jaspin asked again, feeling some type of deception.

"The house locked down?" Celeste said surprised. She _looked_ over to the house. "So it did! Can Stefan _unlock_ it? I don't think I can. The locks are very complicated."

They all just looked at each other and shrugged.

"Yes," Kellan answered Lord Jaspin, "her book talked about plans—as stated in the letter she sent to you!" She looked over to Molly. "The testament would have named Aunt Caryn if she had made the choices which mama desired. She did not. She would have made the wrong choices for our people, so mama did not put her in control."

"Would I have made the wrong choices?" Molly asked still not convinced.

"Aine's letter stated that she would be setting up the manor _and_ village to go to Caryn, Stefan, Celeste, or her daughter Kellan," Lord Jaspin told her. "It _was_ an _apparent_ O'Byrne thing."

"Oh," Molly had tears in her eyes.

It wasn't that Molly disliked Celeste. It was that she felt so hurt by Aine's apparent disregard for herself. She had worked so hard on the manor to make it right. She had felt betrayed. It had been hard to accept a new person into their long lasting friendship, harder still when it seemed that Aine was growing closer to the new comer, and farther away from her. She wished she had known that Celeste was Aine's sister. She didn't understand why Aine hadn't told her.

"There was a lot going on in mama's life," Rhoswen told her with tears of her own. "She just didn't have time to get everything done which she meant to do. She did the best she could. I know she valued her friendship with you—cradle-to-crypt—remember?"

Now tears were flowing freely from Molly's eyes. Aye—cradle-to- _crypt_ , a pledge they had made when they were only eight years old. It was a time when Aine had felt unloved by a cold and uncaring mother.

"Would you girls like to spend the night here?" Celeste asked. "It's getting late."

"Yes, please," Kellan answered. "We haven't discussed what we'll be doing next. The village girls are all set up for going into the forest by themselves, though they will have to wait a few days."

"There's a couple of men trapped in the forest barrier," Kane added. "They don't have the raven mark, and King Fathion didn't like them, and wouldn't let them enter. Sherrie said they were really mean."

"King Fathion?" Lord Jaspin asked.

"The black unicorn who rules the forest," Kane sighed. Explaining to adults was really tedious. "Anyway, they should be spewed out in a few days. You may want to look out for them. They won't be in very good shape when they get out, and angry as hell."

"We'll post a watch for them," Molly assured her. "They _are_ really mean. The elder was supposed to get them removed from the village already—bloody coward."

"I believe I will retire for tonight," Lord Jaspin said getting to his feet. "Corin and I have an early morning coming tomorrow, if he is well enough." He looked at all the ladies earnestly. "We are putting our affairs in order and then we will be returning to England. I wish you all good fortune. Oh! That reminds me. Aine left me a key to a bank box. Inside was a stash of cash and this note. Can you tell me what it means? I've had some rather odd events occur since I took it out."

He removed an old note and laid it on the table. Celeste looked at it and laughed. Alana glanced at the note without interest. She took that opportunity to slip out of the room unnoticed.

"It looks similar to some of the notes from mama's workbook," Kellan examined the note, "but it isn't in her writing. In fact, the writing looks very masculine—and old. I can't even begin to read the signature."

"What is it?" Kane asked Celeste.

"It's from your great-grandfather, James Caidance O'Byrne." Celeste announced. "It is a spell which will make anything unscrupulously removed from O'Byrne properties end up with this note. It was originally intended to return all taxes paid to the English—to be returned back to the Irish—but when Lord Jaspin, removed it from the bank box, the magical link identifying the _items_ as _money_ was broken and now the unjust removal of any O'Byrne _item_ will be sent to this note—wherever it is." She looked at Lord Jaspin's blushing face. "So what popped up?"

"Well," Lord Jaspin blushed brighter, "first there were these odds and pieces—an old necklace, a silver fork, a jewel case, an old watch that has a naked lady. Stuff like that."

"A watch you say," Vevila asked, "with a naked lady when you open the back?"

Kane and Vevila were grinning excitedly at each other. Kane recognized the old watch. It was Armand Tess's. The watch he wanted to give his son some day. It would be just _novel_ to have the villagers items returned to them.

"The first items belong to the villagers," Vevila said excitedly. "They were taken away by that _collector_."

"So—what else dropped by?" Celeste continued to torment him.

"One day a delicious apple pie landed on my table. I didn't know that the cook hadn't placed it there until we had already eaten it. It could have been poisoned for all we knew. Then the other day a chicken landed in my parlor, followed by a goat."

"And..." Celeste asked enjoying his discomfort.

_"A whore's undergarments_ ," he whispered, "some vile perfume, a money belt, a pair of earrings." He looked bewildered. "I don't know where all these things are coming from, or how to give them back."

"How do you know they were a _whore's_ undergarments?" Celeste asked innocently.

"They were made of bright red silk," he blushed crimson and his voice lowered, "and were slit in the _nether_ regions."

Celeste laughed at Lord Jaspin's appalled expression.

"I can return the items to the village," Lord Jaspin said, "but can you make it all just stop? Please?"

"Just hand over the note to the girls," Celeste told him. "It was written for O'Byrne benefit after all. Let them figure it out."

"So what was in the bank box?" Kane asked precociously.

"A lot of money," Lord Jaspin blushed, "enough for my son and I to set up business again."

"What business is that?" Kane asked interested.

"My grandfather built fishing boats," he told her, feeling nostalgic. "I've always been fascinated with the science."

"What about Lord Corin?" Kellan asked. "Does he want to build boats?"

"Nope," Lord Jaspin answered. "He wants to sail them."

"Maybe he can take us to America," Vevila said excitedly.

"Maybe," he smiled humoring her. "Now I will be going, and am leaving _that_ with you."

He grabbed his hat and left quickly, leaving the note sitting on the table.

"That note's going to be fun to figure out!" Alana said grinning. No one seemed to notice her return.

"Yah, fun," Dara said, not so sure.

Alana had taken the opportunity to slip up to talk with Corin. He was really sick. She always carried a stone on a shoestring which could detect sickness and warn against poisons and such. Her mother had made several of them through the years.

"Hi," she announced from the doorway.

"Hi, yourself," Corin called out. "I'm not real hospitable right now, but you can come in. Celeste says I'm not contagious—much. I don't know what she meant by that."

Alana pulled out the stone and set it near him. It turned blood red.

"Oh!" She said surprised. "I've never seen it that color before."

"What does it mean?" Corin asked, fascinated by the changing stone.

"It means that you are very sick," she frowned. "And that you are contagious, but only through blood. Like if someone cuts themselves with a knife that maybe was dirty from someone sick. I don't know how you would have gotten so sick."

Corin flushed up. He felt embarrassed, but also angry. He knew exactly what had made him sick—Lady Eugena. Normally, he was so careful, but that time with her, well—things got a little carried away. He was angry that she acted like such an innocent, when obviously she wasn't.

"You have to ask her you know," Alana told him.

"What?" He asked confused.

"Celeste can heal this affliction," Alana told him, "but you have to ask her. She will not just intrude—even if she can tell."

"Thank you," he told her earnestly. "I will ask her."

"You're probably tired," she placed the stone into his hand. "You can use this to stay okay. Red means disease by blood, blue means by air, brown means something you ate. Green will show that your food is harmful—poisoned or diseased. You try it."

"How?" He asked in awe.

"Hold it near what you are questioning," Alana grabbed up a potted plant. He held the stone towards the plant and it turned to gray.

"What does that mean?" He asked.

"There is nothing wrong with the plant," Alana told him. "If it had turned yellow, that would mean it needs water. You will just need to practice with it, but don't let others see you doing it. They will start calling you a witch. That's not fun at all."

"Thank you very much," Corin pulled the stone to himself and watched as it again turned to a bloody red. "I will definitely talk to Celeste—and the Lady Eugena."

"You're very welcome," Alana paused. "If you leave for England, please do keep in touch. We would like to know you are doing well."

"I will," he promised. He watched as Alana slipped back through the doorway. "I definitely will," he murmured.
Chapter Eleven

They had spent the night in Celeste's first guest room—it had the largest bed. Alana, Dara, Rhoswen, and Vevila easily fit on the bed. Kane was cuddled up on the settee while Kellan slept on a padded mat on the floor. They found comfort in sleeping in the same room when not at home.

Rhoswen found herself awake, staring restlessly at the ceiling. It was very early in the morning. The sun was barely shining through the window. Something felt odd, undone somehow. She noticed Dara awake also. Dara was frowning like one does sometimes when waking up from a tormenting dream.

: _Something feels odd_ ,: Rhoswen sent to Dara, : _but I can't figure out what_.:

: _I had a dream that mama was trying to tell me something, but I just wouldn't listen—and then she was gone._ : Dara sent back.

Rhoswen touched Dara's hand. They were both surprised to feel the magic flare between them.

: _I'm thinking of home, but don't get anything,_ : Rhoswen told her.

: _No, it's not home,_ : Dara agreed. : _Everything there looks quiet. Even Haley is still sleeping._ :

Rhoswen was silent as she let her mind drift. The uneasy feeling led her to the manor, and then out to sea.

: _Look out at the ocean by the manor,_ : Rhoswen suggested, : _way out_.:

: _Oh! There's a ship,_ : Dara replied, : _there is a fight going on and the ship is drifting listlessly. If it doesn't correct itself, it's going to end up in our sea and hit the rocks!_ :

: _There's sickness,_ : Rhoswen told her, " _and death._ :

: _They are waving and cheering. One group must have won over the other._ : Dara looked into the ship. : _Some see their peril and are staring out helplessly. They are now in our ocean._ :

: _They can't stop it_ ,: Rhoswen glimpsed one of their possible realities. : _They have no control of the ship_.:

"We need to get everybody up," Dara called out to her sleeping sisters. "I don't know what we can do, but we can't just let them hit the rocks!"

"What's going on?" Kellan asked from the floor.

"There's a ship by the manor's sea which is going to hit the rocks!" Dara told her as she struggled out of bed and started grabbing clothes. She ran from the room to rouse Celeste.

They found Celeste in her workroom. This part of the house had always been forbidden to them. This time they didn't even hesitate before running in.

"You see," Celeste said to them as they rushed in.

"What can we do?" Kellan asked.

"First we have to get the ship to stop drifting," Celeste told them as she concentrated on her drawing. "This is a magical anchor, that's the sea, and that's the ship. Crude, but it will work."

They watched as she connected the anchor from the ship to the bottom of the sea. She pierced her palm and let the blood drip on her drawing. They could see the magical flare of light interacting with the drawing. They could also see the sweat bead up on Celeste's forehead as the energy was drawn directly from her.

"The sea is really deep where they are at," Celeste whispered, "and the currents strong."

Kellan studied the simple drawing and realized that there would need to be another support. She took Celeste's pen and drew in a line from the rocks to the ship. She drew in symbols to represent a block or beam. Before Celeste could protest, she activated her drawing with her own blood. She instantly felt the drain, but stubbornly pushed her will on the drawing.

"The ship has stopped drifting," Dara told them.

"Thank you," Celeste told Kellan. "I didn't realize the strength of the current and the wind in the sails."

"Now what?" Vevila asked.

"These are sailors who had been overcome by pirates," Rhoswen told them. "They just took their ship back—an American ship."

"How come they are in our sea?" Kellan asked. "Isn't there a barrier from that side of the ocean? What would be the point of only partitioning our land, if it could be discovered by sea?"

"They've been _allowed_ in," Rhoswen told them.

"By who?" Kellan asked.

"There is a lot about this whole situation that is very perplexing," Celeste shrugged. "I only guess about the land barrier. I have no idea how they went about creating a sea barrier. I know they did because the sea creatures from the two realities do not mix, but I have no idea how, or why."

"There's been some type of intervention for them," Rhoswen told them.

"I agree," Celeste looked over at Kellan, "Are you okay to move on? That's some pretty strong magic."

"Actually, yes," Kellan told her. "I hardly feel the pull at all."

Celeste wished she could say the same for herself. She had really misjudged the magic. If Kellan hadn't taken control, she would have found herself drained and probably unconscious. The ship would then have found its fate on the rocks.

"People are sick from the wounds received several days ago," Dara looked up surprised. "Kellan's _line_ is a very narrow bridge. We can _probably_ walk it, but it's not visible to the naked eye."

"I don't see very many options do you?" Celeste asked them. "I'd rather not expose our magic, but can't see a way to have them rescued without them knowing about our magic."

"We don't have any boats in the area to get to them," Kellan frowned as she studied the situation. "If we release them, they will just smack into the rocks and the ship will be destroyed."

"Can you push them farther out to avoid the rocks?" Alana asked.

"It wouldn't do any good," Rhoswen told them. "They are badly hurt. I don't think they can manage a ship like that even if it was in a safe place."

Dara linked them all into her sight as she moved around the ship. The ships masts were damaged by fire. The men were wounded and miserably tired, sickened—and there was fever. Dara looked closer into their water and found something dark, deliberate—maybe poison. She couldn't find any man that looked like someone in charge.

"Let's load up supplies and get to the manor," Celeste requested wearily.

She paused as she realized that the anchor was draining her. She could still feel the pulling against her anchor. She looked out under the ship to see why there was such a strong pull.

"There's a cavern in the ocean floor causing a pull against my anchor," Celeste told them.

Dara linked her sisters in with her vision. They all looked out under the ship.

"Oh!" Kane exclaimed, "The ship wants to pull to the left. Maybe we should allow it to drift in that direction, and then anchor it to that reef."

"That should work," Celeste blinked with surprise.

Celeste released her anchor and they watched as the ship indeed started lisping to the left. It then started to pull around. Kane impulsively reached out to stop its movement at the same time Celeste used her anchor line to steady it.

"Nudge it gently closer to the reef," Celeste told Kane, "You will either be able to—or will not. Trying harder will only exhaust you. It will not make it happen."

Kane looked through Dara's eyes toward the anchor and the reef. She relaxed the muscles in her neck. She let her mind float to the object she wanted moved and _nudged_ it into place. She was surprised by how easy it moved, and awed by her ability to move such a large thing from such a distance.

Celeste immediately felt the ease of the magical drain. Vevila gently touched her hand. She was surprised yet again when she felt the surge of magical energy.

"Thank you," she said stunned.

"You're very welcome," Vevila told her with a grin.

Celeste studied the girls while they were loading the wagon. She hadn't really noticed their growth in magical energies until now. It was astounding! That bonding oath they created mistakenly must have been intense! There would have been an astounding amount of shared energy.

They ended up harnessing Celeste's wagon as well as their own. They needed one just for the supplies alone. They packed up bags of clean hemp rags for wounds, blankets, medicines and herbs, and food—a lot of food. The manor would have a lot of supplies on hand, but they didn't want to run out. They weren't sure just how desperate of a situation they were taking on.

Molly and Lord Jaspin were waiting on the porch when they rode up. Lord Jaspin had been pacing back and forth across the porch. Molly had been trying to make him stop.

"You saw the ship I take it," Molly called to them as they pulled to a stop. "Don't know what can be done about it though."

"We've anchored it," Celeste told them. "It won't be going anywhere."

"Anchored it?" Lord Jaspin asked.

"You know," Vevila told him, "with magic."

"Yes, of course," he said doubtfully.

"For someone who has been around the O'Byrne all his life," Kellan told him irritably. "You have a strange sense of reality. You know that there is magic in the world. We shouldn't have to explain that to you all the time."

"Kellan!" Molly called out.

"It's okay," Lord Jaspin told Molly. "She's right. Since I don't seem to be able to just believe, the best I could do is just not ask."

"That would be helpful," Alana told him with a sweet smile, "it just gets in the way and takes up time."

"Ah, yes," Lord Jaspin said bemused, his resentment at Kellan's words melting away. He couldn't even remember why he had been annoyed. What a delightful young woman.

Celeste scanned between them with raised eyebrows. Alana had just mesmerized him. She wondered if Alana had done it on purpose.

"Of course," Kane whispered to her. "She's been practicing. It only seems to work on men though."

Celeste laughed. Alana looked at Celeste and Kane suspiciously. They both just grinned back. She rolled her eyes and shrugged.

"So what now?" Dara asked worriedly.

"We can get to the ship from the rocks," Kellan frowned, "but how do we get to the rocks?"

"We have a small dingy," Molly told them. "Got it just a few days ago for the lagoon, but it isn't big enough to take out into the sea."

"Can it get to that rock?" Celeste asked pointing at the rock the ship was anchored to.

"We've been that far," Molly nodded.

"Let's get to there, and then figure it out," Kellan suggested.

"Can you hear each other from there to here?" Celeste asked her.

They looked at each other surprised. It hadn't been suggested before.

"I don't know," Kellan shrugged, "only one way to find out."

"I'll get Teddy," Molly told them. "He's the strongest rower."

Celeste stopped her. "We've been using some pretty obvious magic. Will that be a help or hinder?"

"Oh, Teddy will get a kick out of that," Molly laughed, relieved about the situation.

She had thought she was about to see her first shipwreck. She shivered. She had heard about the dead visiting such places as shipwrecks, returning over and over again. There unearthly, bony fingers pointing out toward the sea, calling out for their dead friends. Their faces...

"Molly," Celeste was calling her. "Molly, are you okay?"

"Oh yes," Molly snapped to, "I'll just go get him."

"Wow," Celeste told them. "You have been busy."

"Might as well take advantage of the gift given," Molly told them.

The workers at the manor had just finished this dock the day before. They would have finished it sooner, but had to wait while that Queen's man was snooping around. It was a short trip from the manor down to the new dock.

"The twins have the strongest link," Kellan mentioned. "It would make sense for Alana to ride out with Teddy, and have Dara remain here."

"Why Alana?" Dara asked. "Wouldn't it make better sense for me to ride out?"

: _She can sweet talk the sailors if there's a problem_ ,: Kellan sent to her. : _I've been watching what you two have been up to._ :

"Oh," Dara frowned at her. "Okay."

"It's better for the healers to remain here," Celeste told her. "Healing in those kinds of circumstances is very risky. A healer can become _lost_ , especially one just learning the trade."

"I'll go," Lord Jaspin called out.

"Of course," Celeste told him. "You are the authority here abouts. It is only right for you to deal with this situation."

"Take the ropes," Molly suggested worriedly. "It would be better to not need them, but if they are the suspicious types, the ropes may convince them away from think'n of magic. It's pretty warm in our lagoon, but chilly past that break."

Teddy climbed into the little boat, followed by Lord Jaspin and Alana. The boat was just a dingy and was pretty tight with the three of them. Alana hoped those from the ship didn't expect to be rescued with a dingy.

Teddy was a strong man, very capable. He had ended up at the manor when his wife had died in childbirth. He had taken a liking to whisky, and ended up in the gutters. The next thing he could recall, he was waking up at the manor, and a kind hearted Molly was changing his life. There wasn't anything he wouldn't do for that woman.

"The water is warm," Alana said with surprise as her fingers flittered in the water.

"Best to keep your hands in," Teddy told her. "There are _things_ in these waters."

"What kinds of _things_?" Alana asked him.

"Well," he hesitated. "Some of the fish look common, but may have teeth, or an added fin. The crabs, though tasty, are rather big. We were concerned about the algae we could see growing towards our lagoon, but for some reason, it didn't come on in. It was as if it hit a barrier and could not grow into our waters. Some say they noticed the same with the fish. They would be following a school when they would suddenly just vanish."

"Sounds like blarney to me," Lord Jaspin scowled.

"Sounds like mother didn't want _our_ world to mix with the _other_ ," Alana scowled at Lord Jaspin. He just shrugged.

"How could anyone possibly do that?" Teddy asked.

"Magic—of course," Alana answered. "Maybe we are grouped, new area, old area, raven people, non-raven people. Something to keep us all separated in some way.

Teddy was a strong rower and they were soon approaching the ship.

: _Rhoswen,_ : Alana called. : _Can you get a sense of who we should be talking to. Someone who might be a little sympathetic concerning magic? I'd hate to find a bunch of witch hunters over there._ :

: _Checking,_ : Rhoswen called back.

: _There's a lot of excitement coming from the ship,_ : Dara told them. : _They've spotted your boat_.:

: _Try to talk to the big man with a bald head and red beard,_ : Rhoswen told her. : _His grandmother, who he is very fond of, is a healer._ :

"If I row out farther," Teddy told them. "We'll be pulled out to sea."

"Rhoswen says that a big, bald headed, red beard man may be more understanding about magic," Alana told them.

They looked toward the ship. The railing was filled with sailors. They were calling out boisterously, making no sense at all. Most of them were big, had bald heads, and red beards. Lord Jaspin stared at Alana with raised eyebrows.

: _Can you be more specific?_ : Alana sent to Rhoswen sarcastically.

: _Oh,_ : was her only reply until Dara joined the link. : _That man there!_ :

"The man towards the middle with the red shirt," Alana told them. It was only then that she realized the shirt wasn't red. It was blood!

"Hail to you in the ship," Lord Jaspin called out using a big bullhorn. "How can we assist you?"

In answer, one of the sailors dived into the water. Alana sat astounded by the sailor's actions. She reached over and collected the thick blanket Molly had thoughtfully put into the boat. They waited worriedly for the swimmer.

: _Can this one be trusted?_ : Alana sent.

: _The man we discussed trusts him fully,_ : Rhoswen answered.

Alana heard the splashing as the man approached the boat. Teddy hauled him inside, being careful not to capsize the small craft. Alana quickly placed the blanket around his shivering body. Lord Jaspin handed him a container filled with whiskey. He took a stiff belt and then returned the whiskey to Lord Jaspin. Alana thought he looked like the walking dead. He was thin and very pale. His wet darkened hair clung around his face.

"I am Lord Jaspin, steward for these parts. This is Alana," he told the man not bothering to explain why a child was in the boat with them. "Who are you and what is your condition?"

"I'm first mate, Tailor Hilliard of the American freighter, _Liberty Annie_ , captained by Walter E. Brewster. We were attacked by Portuguese slavers," the man told them. "Their ship was floundering. We thought to render aid, and was overtaken instead. We got her back by God! The crew is down by half. Most wounded, and the wounds festering. The captain's down, but not dead. There is very little food and the water is fouled. We have a couple of sound long boats. There was a fire that damaged the sails, and burned parts of the deck. We can manage without that part of the deck, but we need those sails."

"Where were you going when you were attacked?" Alana asked him sweetly.

"To Portsmouth England where the H.M.S. Castor is in port," he answered frowning at her.

"Why do you want to go there?" She asked _persuasively_.

He scratched his head frowning heavily. She _pressed_ him for an answer. This was the first time she had used her will against another. She didn't like the feel. She pulled back. This use of the magic just didn't feel right. It made her feel _dirty_ somehow.

Tailor looked around confused. Maybe he had gotten too chilled in the water. He shivered and the girl pulled the blanket tighter around him.

"It doesn't matter right now," she told him. "What can we do to help?"

: _Good!_ : Dara told her. : _That didn't feel right at all. Celeste and Kellan have modified the line that Kellan drew into what would feel like a sand bar. It is still invisible, but they can walk on it without suspicion._ :

"There is a sandbar from here to about where your ship is," Alana told him.

"So that's what happened," he said. "We thought we were going to crash onto the rocks, but just stopped dead in the water. The sails, what we have left, were still full."

Alana looked back at the ship and found that the sails had been lowered.

: _Rhoswen says to be careful,_ : Dara told her. : _Fever was rampant on the slavers ship. They thought it was cholera. These people have to be quarantined._ :

"Slave ships are sloppy about disease," Alana mentioned. "Is there any of that going on with your own ship? We have to know you know."

"I don't know," he answered honestly, openly confused. "That would make the most sense with what happened. We yelled out to offer aid to the drifting ship, but no one responded. We figured it was a ghost ship, and made our way on past. After we set anchor that night, someone came on board and poisoned our water. We were all sick, the doc realized the water had been tampered with and started distilling ocean water. Handy man our doc. One night with the crew down and out, the crew from the drifting ship attacked and took us."

"What's a _ghost_ ship?" Alana asked shivering.

"A ship where the crew has all died," Lord Jaspin answered her, "usually from plague. The ship just drifts until it's finally ripped apart by rocks. Sometimes they crash on land. Whole villages have been wiped out by the disease they carry. So what happened?"

"They sank their own ship," Tailor shivered. "Lit it on fire and sank it. Those on deck that witnessed it said they could hear screams. The screaming continued until the ship was sunk."

"Who was screaming?" Alana asked horrified.

"Slaves," Tailor answered quietly, "probably _diseased_ slaves. They only brought over a handful of colored folk. Those who were _special_ to the captain."

"Have you seen any symptoms that the disease might have hopped ships?" Lord Jaspin asked.

"Don't know," Tailor answered. "Between the fouled water and the injuries from the fight—just don't know."

"What a bloody mess!" Lord Jaspin rubbed his hand through his hair. "Describe this sand bar?" He asked Alana

"Well," Alana guessed, "it's narrow and very hard to see."

: _About a foot underwater,_ : Dara sent her.

"It's hard to see because it's submerged under the water," Alana continued remembering the map with the line that Kellan drew. "The water hits to the middle of my shin when I stand on it. It runs from that side of your ship to the edge of this rock over here."

"If we lower the long boats from the other side of the ship we should be able to reach your dock." Tailor told them.

"Not until we know you are clean," Lord Jaspin told him. "I'm sorry, but we aren't risking disease."

"The sailors can just pick up supplies," Alana mentioned to Lord Jaspin. "It's up to our healers whether _they_ wish to risk themselves or not. That would be Celeste and Dara. I hope you don't plan to tell _them_ what they may, and may not do?"

Tailor laughed. He knew healers. They'd walk into plague stricken slums to get to the sick. He thought about Jerold and was suddenly furiously angry. The captain of the slave ship had run a knife through him for having the audacity of touching his private slave. Jerold had only been reaching out to turn her head to see her wound. His death was what had ignited the crew into an all out berserker rage. It hadn't mattered that they were outnumbered and sick, that captain was going to die—and die he did!

He felt the girl's touch on his arm and remembered where he was. He was shivering all over. The water had been a lot colder than he had expected. His breathing was raspy. He really shouldn't have risked the swim. He had already been feeling poorly.

: _Typhoid,_ : Dara told her. : _Celeste says she thinks they have typhoid. She asked that you check his lower chest and stomach area for a red rash. Neither one of us seems to be able to see clearly_.:

"Let's get that wet shirt off you," Alana told him persuasively. "The blanket isn't going to do any good while you're wearing that wet shirt."

He looked at her blankly while she gently pulled back the blanket and unbuttoned his shirt. He shuddered uncontrollably. She pulled the wet shirt away from him. His chest and stomach had the defining rash. She could smell the foulness of the sickness as the odor wafted up toward her. He was racked with another bout of shivers. She quickly pulled the blanket tightly back up against him.

"He has typhoid," Alana told Lord Jaspin. "Don't panic. It's only passed on by _dirty_ water or food from someone infected. We are safe. So would anyone else as long as we are being very careful."

"How do you know that?" Lord Jaspin asked her. "My physician has told me that these fevers can be spread simply by breathing the same air."

"I'm sorry," Alana told him seriously, "but your physician is not correct. Some fevers are spread by air, but this one is not."

"I won't risk it!" He declared.

"Risk what?" Tailor asked bewildered. Why was he sitting in a boat? He looked at the little girl with the big blue eyes and felt a calmness.

"He's getting worse," Alana told Lord Jaspin. "He's reacting to his dip in the sea."

: _Bring him in!_ : Celeste sent out, : _and the others with injuries._ :

Lord Jaspin jumped with surprise.

"You might as well just let us do our thing," Alana told him. "You are outnumbered, I hope you realize." She handed him the bullhorn. "Better let them know we aren't stealing their man away."

He took the horn resentfully. Sometimes...

"Hail the Liberty Annie," Lord Jaspin yelled into the horn, "We are taking your man to shore." He paused, thinking about those people in the ship. "There is a sand bar to the left of your bow which connects to this rock. If you cast off a long boat from the other side you can reach our dock. Our healers will see to your sick."

"Let Tailor tell us that!" One of the men yelled distrustfully.

Alana and Lord Jaspin looked at Tailor doubtfully. His eyes were glazed over and he was shivering profusely. Alana took the horn and stood up in the boat. She looked very small and very harmless.

"He is sick," she called out as loud as she could. "He doesn't know what he's doing right now. Do you really want this man to die? Do _you_ want to die? What are your choices?"

They waited in silence as those on the ship discussed their options. Action on the deck showed that they had come to some type of decision. A long boat was lowered.

"They are coming to us," Alana observed. "They won't be able to get over the _sandbar_ from that side."

"What exactly is this sandbar?" Lord Jaspin asked looking over at her suspiciously. "I see nothing of the sort!"

Alana studied Tailor. He was in some little land of his own. She didn't think he would really hear anything she told Lord Jaspin.

"They were going to crash on the rocks," Alana answered. "Celeste put down an anchor for them, but the current and the wind was too strong. Kellan drew in a connection line between this rock and the ship to keep it in place. That is our _sandbar_. You can't see it, but it will stop anything that can't float over it. This man was lucky he didn't smack into it during his swim."

"I really shouldn't ask about such things, should I?" Lord Jaspin commented chagrinned.

"Probably not," Alana confirmed.

The long boat struck the bar just a few feet from their small craft. The sailor looked surprised as the boat lunged to a stop. The wake bobbed them back and forth causing the smaller craft to thrash to-and-fro.

"Careful there," Teddy complained.

"You just hit the sandbar," Alana frowned at them. "We did tell you about that!"

"But we didn't see any such thing from the ship," the sailor complained.

"Yes," Lord Jaspin said sarcastically. "We would lie about something so easily proved otherwise."

There were three sailors in the long boat. They didn't look as bad as Tailor, but they didn't exactly look ready to dance, either. The taller one with the brown, bushy beard and eyebrows seemed to be in charge. The other two just seemed to be rowers.

"Tailor!" He called out. Tailor looked up at him vaguely.

"Your man is down for the count," Lord Jaspin told them.

"Typhoid," Alana told them. "He has typhoid. Probably got it from those slavers you ran into, or that tainted water. We _are_ taking him back with us."

"I see that," the bushy sailor told them. It was obvious that they couldn't stop them. There was still a boat sized gap between them and their crew member. They looked from one to the other. They really didn't relish a swim. They'd just end up like Tailor, shivering and dazed.

"Take the long boat back and lower it from the other side of your ship's bow. You can come ashore for supplies," Lord Jaspin instructed.

The sailor hesitated and scratched his head. It didn't take an empath to discern that something was troubling him.

"The captain is a mighty prideful man. We've never been indebted to anyone before," the sailor hesitated. "I don't know how the captain will handle this transaction. We kind of got ourselves into a situation."

"There's always a barter that can be made with a seafaring ship," Lord Jaspin told him. "We're willing, and you don't look like the types to just suck it up, and put up with a bad barter."

Alana watched as the sailor grinned. Lord Jaspin could not have put it better. He had struck this man's pride, and his confidence.

"Will do," the man called out. "We'll come on ashore. They call me Will."

The long boat made its way back to the ship. Lord Jaspin sighed with relief. He wasn't sure what he really expected, but things seemed to be working out okay. He'd love to get a look on that ship. It seemed that if the sail was fitted with a slightly more oblong shape, it would get more wind and have more control.

Teddy turned them around and started toward shore. Alana watched Lord Jaspin with amusement as he stared longingly toward the ship—as battered as it was.

The long boat reached the ship. The three sailors grabbed the roped ladder and pulled themselves on up into the ship. They were all tired and beaten. It had been one thing to retake the ship in a berserker rage, quite another to have to deal with the daily needs of the crew, or what was left of them. Will signaled for them to load up the long boat.

"What did they say?" Big John asked him.

"They said that Tailor has typhoid, and they're taking him back to shore with them." Will told them. "We've been invited, too."

"We might as well all go ashore," Timothy mentioned. "There are not enough of us to man the ship. It doesn't seem to be going anywhere. The anchor must have finally snagged on something solid."

Will and Big John exchanged looks. They didn't bother to tell Timothy, or any of the other men, that there wasn't an anchor. When that bloody whore of a captain saw he was losing the battle. He ran the chains out. The anchor might well have caught on to the bottom of the ocean, but it was no longer attached to the ship. Even if there had been an anchor, the ship was staying too steady. It was unexplainable. If sorcery was involved, their captain would know about it. They had never seen him do anything mysterious, but he sure seemed to know a lot about it.

"We aren't doing any good staying with the ship," Big John called out, "let's lower the long boats."

"So why the bloody hell did we just pull it back up?" Simon asked irritably.

"Sandbar," Will told him. "We can't get to the shore from this side of the ship. We crashed against it when going out to parley."

Big John eyed him wirily. Joey and Squint nodded their heads. Something just didn't seem right about that. He had never known Squint to bottom out before, and _he_ hadn't seen any damage to the boat when it was hauled aboard.

"People only," Will called out. "If it is typhoid, I expect we won't be returning for forty days. If it's something else—well, I expect we just won't return at all."

"What about those prisoners and slaves?" Simon asked.

_"Liberty Annie_ does not condone slavery," Will chastised him. "There aren't any slaves on board—just crew, passengers, and those pirates."

"There aren't any pirates," Big John told him.

"No?" Will asked surprised.

"No," Big John informed him.

"Huh," Will said surprised, "well then, lets load up,"
Chapter Twelve

Dara was horrified when Celeste started _harvesting_ the blue and green mold on every cantaloupe which she could find. She even had some men from the manor go to the village and get more. When she realized they weren't going to get enough, Celeste started magically aging perfectly good cantaloupe.

Dara could _see_ what Celeste was harvesting and set aside her revulsion to help her. Celeste mixed the mold in with other herbs which Dara could actually recognize. The resulting conglomeration, which Dara simply called _black gunk_ , were living organisms that would destroy the other _bad_ organisms. She had no idea why it worked.

"You got the recipe down," Celeste told her. "I will leave you to continue making the paste. I'll be _looking_ over the crew as they arrive."

"Okay," Dara agreed feeling proud that Celeste trusted her with this. It was a very important task.

Back on board, it took them an hour to load up the crew and the passengers. Big John looked at their sorry lot. Fourteen out of a crew of thirty were all that were still alive, and most of them a sorry mess. The captain was the worst of those that were injured. Big John thought for sure he'd be losing that leg—if not his life. Of the _passengers_ , there were only two colored women and one young man. Thank God there were no children.

Big John nearly laughed when they arrived at the little toy dock, but he sure didn't laugh at all the serious folk there to offer a hand, or a mug of coffee. He was surprised and pleased for the coffee. He had just never found a fondness for British tea. He was even more surprised to find the whiskey in the coffee—stout!

"Name?" A brown haired young boy asked.

"John," he answered.

"T," Celeste told Rhoswen. "He will need an infirmary bed."

Big John jumped with surprise when the white haired woman looked up at him with that blind stare. He shivered, unable to meet her gaze.

The first room they were led to was a bath house. His eyebrows rose with surprised indignation. He balked at going into the _perfumed_ chamber. His backward path was blocked by a very stubborn faced Irish lady. She glared at him with her hands resting on her hips. He didn't desire to argue, seeing those flashing blue eyes.

"We ain't playing with typhoid," she told him. "All your people will be well bathed, given _clean_ clothes, food, and a bed. Your old clothes will be burned. Celeste will determine who will be separated out for _special_ medical attentions. Now—strip and in!"

Fine! He was a big man and had nothing to be ashamed about. He raised his chin and stripped off his clothes right in front of her. She didn't even seem to notice as she moved past him. He sheepishly walked into the hot fragrant water. He noticed others of his crew getting the same attention.

Big John looked over to where all the yelling and shouting was coming from to see Simon getting scrubbed from head-to-toe by an old woman. She finally pushed his head under the water for his final rinse and shook him like a dog. She eyeballed Big John and the bar of soap. He picked up the soap dutifully and carefully soaped himself. He realized that the water wasn't perfumed, there were astringent herbs floating in it. These people were serious.

Big John was barely coherent by the time they shuffled him into clothes and to a bed. He barely noticed that he was in a large room with a lot of cot like beds, and most of them were filled with his crew mates. Someone gave him a cracker with meat stuff on it. He was hardly able to hold it. Someone else held some water to his lips. He crawled into bed, hurting in every fiber of his being. The cot was a little snug, but he didn't even notice. He was asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow.

Dara laughed to herself as the foul black stuff was given to the crew to _eat_. The manor staff had smeared it onto crackers. Good thing the crew was that hungry. Dara didn't even think they paused to wonder what they were being given to eat. Just wait till they had to have their second and third doses. They would notice then!

"Celeste would like you to help her in the infirmary," Molly told Dara. "Have you worked the infirmary before?"

"No," Dara answered, surprised by the summoning.

"All patients and staff put on those green uniforms before entering the bed wing or infirmary," Molly told her as she walked her into the changing room. "Celeste created the outfit. They make more sense, easier to move in—easier to clean. Patients respond better to the color, I don't know why, but they sure do."

Molly handed Dara some light soft trousers and a pull over shift. Dara blinked at the light weight clothing.

"Celeste made the rule about the clothes," Molly told her. "I'll help you with the hair bonnet. You'll want that good and tight. A lot of the people who come here, have lice and the like. You don't want them bugs running around in your own hair. Sometimes we use gloves made from very fine hemp. It will protect your hands somewhat, and sometimes it's just easier to have stuff not touching your hands. You know what I mean."

Dara held up the uniform. The trousers were loose in the hips, and had a pull tie for the waste. The shift was a pull over long shirt with tie strings at the wrists and neck. They slid on easily and she was surprised by how comfortable they were.

"Sit," Molly told her while she grabbed a comb.

"Let me do the braid," Dara requested, eyeing the comb.

"That might be best," Molly said, eyeing Dara's wild curls.

Dara wet her hands and dragged them through her hair. When it was damp enough to control the curls, she pulled it into two tight braids. Molly handed the loose fitting bonnet to Dara. Dara pulled it over her hair and tightened the ties.

"Your mama would be so proud," Molly told her with tears in her eyes, "just that way." She cleared her throat and pointed toward another room.

Dara had never been in this room before. It was the surgery. Celeste was inside setting up her cutting tools. Dara shivered, wondering if she was ready for this.

"You're never ready for the first time," Celeste greeted her. "I'll link with you so you can see as I see. Is that alright?"

"Yes," Dara firmed up her shoulders. "I'm ready."

Celeste linked Dara into her healing vision, and waited patiently while Dara acclimated to the new sight.

: _Watch as I focus in and out,_ : Celeste sent to her, and then demonstrated how to focus deep into an object, withdraw to its outer layer, and then withdraw again to just looking at the object. : _Now you try._ :

Dara relaxed and allowed her mind to _request_ for what she wanted to _see_. She didn't try to force it. She had learned earlier that it wouldn't come if forced.

: _Very good,_ : Celeste told her. : _This is complicated stuff, I may need an extra eye or hand. Ready?_ :

Dara nodded uncertainly.

"We rewash our hands before touching anymore of our clothing." Celeste moved over to a sink. It had continuously running water. She soaped clear up to her elbows before rinsing off. She used a newly cleaned towel from a pile and dried herself. Dara copied her movements.

"You will want a mask, like so. It protects the patient from us, and us from them. Today, I'm adding a little touch of peppermint to the mask. It will help us to breath and reduce the stench."

Celeste helped her dab a little peppermint oil onto her mask and tie it across her nose and mouth. Dara felt as if she was being smothered and felt a moment of panic.

"Are you okay?" Celeste asked as she rubbed across the back of Dara's neck. "You will get used to the mask—probably not so much to the stench."

Dara took a deep breath and realized that the mask did not interfere with her breathing. It was cupped and didn't actually press against her nose, or mouth. The peppermint was fresh. She nodded to Celeste.

Celeste handed her a pair of gloves that reached up to her elbow.

"There will be more at the table," she told Dara. "Change them _whenever_."

Dara looked at her for more information, but Celeste was avoiding her eyes. She squinted at her suspiciously.

Celeste was very pleased to be working with Dara. She was young, but Celeste had been watching her for the last few days, and knew that she was a very capable young lady. Celeste wasn't lying when she said she might need an extra eye, or pair of hands. Dara being there could mean the difference between life, death, or disability for this poor sailor.

They walked toward the bed. The patient was completely covered except for his head and leg. They had bathed him and shaved him bare. Dara gagged at the sight and _smell_ of his leg. His calf muscle was black. It looked as if mold had grown all over the top of it. In the center of the black mass was raw flesh. Dara could see the bone. She stood back as Celeste made her way over to the patient.

"Gangrene," Celeste told Dara. "It's okay to need a few minutes."

"Will we be able to save it?" Dara asked doubtfully.

"We will try," Celeste told her. "We will cut out the rotted flesh, and pack the wound with the black gunk. Normally, we would also use maggots to clean the wound, they would eat the rot and leave the healthy flesh alone, but there just isn't time. If this gets into the blood stream, he will die. It is amazing that he is still with us."

"Will there be anything left of his leg if we cut all that out?" Dara asked sickened. "Might it be better to just take the leg?"

"Cutting is only the first step," Celeste told her, "next will be fighting off infections. The final step for us will be to magically grow new flesh. The final step for _him_ —will be to fight like hell."

Dara came closer to the table. Even though Molly had doused him with a large amount of whiskey, he was still rolling back and forth against the restraints—moaning with pain and fever.

Celeste laid her hand on his head. Dara watched as she sent energy to a specific area of his brain and disconnected a pathway. He immediately went into a deep sleep.

Dara realized that she had a lot to learn. It wasn't just about _seeing_ and healing. It was about knowing the whole body, and doing the right things in the healing process. She felt humbled by Celeste's skill. This was going to take years to learn. She steeled herself to learn patience.

"How do we grow new flesh?" Dara asked astounded.

"Provide energy and substance to his body," Celeste explained, "and _encourage_ the building blocks to find their own way."

"May I help?" Stefan asked from the doorway.

"Stefan!" Celeste exclaimed excited and relieved. "Dara, your uncle can use fire to destroy the rot, instead of us just cutting it away. You are in for a treat!"

"A treat, oh what joy!" Dara said sarcastically, eyeing her uncle.

"Stefan," he told her. "Call me Stefan. I'm not really into the _uncle_ thing."

He looked straight back at her and grinned. He looked as scruffy as he had when they had found him in his wagon. She was about to mention something about getting him cleaned up _first_ , when she noticed his hands. They were spotlessly clean. _He_ was spotlessly clean!

When she had seen herself through Celeste's vision, she saw the _things_ running around on her hands, and then later—the gloves. No matter how much she had scrubbed, she just couldn't get rid of them. They were even in the water. How the hell was she expected to get rid of them if they were in the water? She was so disgusted that she had almost bailed out on Celeste. Great healer she would make—can't even stand the sight of a few _bugs_.

"You look so clean!" Dara blurted out.

Celeste frowned at her and realized that Dara was seeing the germs and bacteria's for the very first time. She noticed how distraught Dara was at the sight of them.

"I'm so sorry, Dara," Celeste told her abashed. "We just haven't gotten to that part yet. I save it for right before we touch our patients."

Celeste quickly reached out and sent a shock through Dara. Dara felt the sting and looked at her gloved hands. The bugs were gone.

"I have to learn that trick!" Dara told her.

Stefan laughed.

Dara felt Stefan merge into the link. She liked his flavor! She looked up at him and grinned. He winked and grinned back. Having him there made her feel more confident in what they were about to do. It wasn't that she thought that Celeste wasn't capable. It was just that another person knowing what they were doing had to be better!

Dara was careful to only observe and not intrude, or allow her emotions to slip into the link. Celeste and her uncle were concentrating on every little thing that they did, and some of it was very slight indeed.

Stefan started on the worst of the rotted flesh and burned it away quickly. Dara felt her stomach roll, but determinedly held on. As he got closer to the good flesh, he started focusing on smaller areas, using tight streams of magic. He cauterized off the blood vessels as he got to the good flesh.

: _If we had been doing this alone,_ : Celeste sent to her, : _we would have had to cut into his leg with a knife. We would inevitably have cut into good flesh._ :

Celeste started healing back the flesh as soon as Stefan had removed all the gangrene. Dara was amazed as Celeste manipulated the flesh into knowing what _it_ was. She was growing muscle, ligaments, skin, tendons, and other things Dara did not yet recognize.

"See these?" Celeste pointed out.

She jumped at the spoken speech. There were more bugs!

"These are good," Celeste was telling her. "We need to preserve them. They will fight off future infections of other bad bacteria's."

"Oh!" Dara said surprised. "How can you tell the difference?"

"Unfortunately," Celeste told her. "You just have to get used to what they look like, and try to see what they are doing, figure out where they belong. You can kill them later if you need to. Right now, _they_ aren't our concern. Over here though, we can see that these are attacking good body cells. We of course, want them destroyed."

Celeste sent a pulse of energy to the core of the infection and destroyed the invaders. Dara watched as the good bacteria's started destroying the bad. Sometimes they won—sometimes they were overcome by the invaders. Dara started cheering for the good bugs. Celeste showed her how she could add a small dose of energy and help or hinder the fight. She was not only cheering on the good little ones, but also started knocking the crap out of the invaders.

Dara felt Celeste pull her out of the link and frowned at her.

"You need to take a break," Celeste told her. "Go eat something. Come back when, and only when, you're rested. We will be doing likewise. We cannot heal him with just one sitting. His injuries are too extensive."

Dara nodded. She hadn't realized just how tired she was. Her head and back ached. She looked at her gloves and groaned. Now she knew why Celeste had avoided her query. Her gloves were caked in gore. She remembered her uncle asking her to pull some flesh aside so he could burn out some nearby, but not touch the other. She grimaced. Being a healer was not glamorous at all. It was darn hard work—and dirty. She pulled off the grimy gloves, and put them in the laundry. She sympathized with the laundress.

"Sometimes our job is exhilarating," Celeste told her, guessing her thoughts.

"At other times people are totally unappreciative of your tiredness and efforts—and you want to throttle them," Stefan finished for her.

"Can you tell me how to kill these bugs?" She asked Celeste indicating the ones that had regained territory on her hands.

"Those are harmless," Celeste told her. If she wasn't so tired she would have laughed at Dara's horrified expression. "Instead of sending a dose of energy at the bugs, send it to the top surface of your skin. You will probably burn yourself until you get the hang of it."

Dara walked away watching the bugs. It was only as she avoided walking into Molly, that she realized that she was using her own special gift of sight, and not Celeste's. She couldn't stand the bugs, so for good or bad, she zapped her skin. She couldn't help the small yelp as she did indeed burn her skin. Her hands were definitely pink, as if she had scoured them in lye. She sighed and made her way to the kitchen.

Dara was surprised to see Meifen and Terah sitting in the kitchen with her sisters.

"Sit," Molly pulled a chair out for her. "Eat," she plunked down a piece of apple pie.

"To our little healer," Meifen poured her a cup of liquid from his jug. "Kaliton."

"Why, thank you," she said stunned. Dara reached toward her cup, but pulled her hand back. The bugs were back. She looked at her hands with disgust.

"What is it?" Meifen asked her.

"I can't seem to keep my hands from getting dirty," Dara looked at him embarrassed. "Celeste says their harmless, but..."

"Oh," he looked into her eyes thoughtfully. "Be the tree."

"Be the tree," she repeated.

"Yes," he said simply and walked from the room.

Dara restrained from giving her hands another jolt. It hurt, and besides, she couldn't just keep doing that to herself. She'd have no skin left. She shut her eyes and focused on seeing as she had before she knew about sight. She opened her eyes and looked toward the back of the room. She sipped at the Kaliton—remembering its kick. It soothed away her aches. She looked at her hand and sighed with relief. She couldn't see the bugs. Unfortunately, as soon as she thought it, her sight returned and the bugs were again, running around on her hand.

"What did Meifen say?" Alana frowned at her.

"Be the tree," Dara answered.

"Oh," Alana thought about it. She knew Dara's thoughts about the bugs. It had come through in the link. They would have laughed, but were too busy being disgusted themselves.

"The tree is full of inhabitants," Rhoswen told her. "Get used to it."

Dara glared at her. Rhoswen just stared back unconcerned.

"Meifen's been watching over those in the infirmary who have injuries," Vevila interrupted her tormented thoughts. "None as grievous as the captain though. They had to cut one man in order to get that black stuff into him. They cut him, and then pressed the stuff into the wound. He was unconscious and couldn't eat it."

"We've been watching," Alana told her, "through you. You are very brave! I could not do that."

"I don't feel brave," Dara told her. "I feel a little sick. I don't know if I'm cut out for this."

"But what else could you do?" They were surprised by Terah's words. "There is no way you could simply walk away from someone with such need. It seems that healers are just made that way."

"Thank you," Dara was touched by Terah's acknowledgement of her as a healer. "Aren't you afraid of getting sick, or having the babies get sick?"

"No," Terah answered confidently. "Stefan assured us that it would be quite safe, that they were keeping everyone safe. I don't know if you know this yet or not, but the house has locked us out."

"I saw that the spare rooms had locked," Dara frowned.

"It's not just the unused rooms," she told them. "Once we leave a room, it locks us out, even the front room. The only rooms that were left unlocked were the nursery, the kitchen, and the bathing room. I finally gathered us all up, and moved in with Meifen and Stefan. It was creepy." Her tone brightened, "We brought Button and her baby with us. They are so cute! Stefan named the baby, Amber. He seems so scary, our uncle, and then he does or says something so— _sweet_."

"You're right," Dara said surprised. "The house is now _totally_ locked up. That doesn't make any sense. Why lock up the nursery and Kitchen? They have no other purpose."

"We don't know that," Kellan told them. "There are hidden rooms and passages riddled all through our house. There might be entries through those rooms, too."

"Why can't I see them?" Dara asked feeling insulted.

"Old magic?" Rhoswen reasoned.

"We talked about keeping Aunt Caryn locked out of the magic rooms, but I think we should all agree," Kane suggested tensely, "that when we do get the house unlocked, that Aunt Caryn will not be living there with us!"

"You couldn't do that!" Terah told her. "She's supposed to look after you all."

"But she isn't—is she?" Kellan questioned her. "The first thing she did was to reorganize the house for her, and _her_ family's own comfort. She can't manage the property. She doesn't care about the manor, or the village people. It is because of her that the house locked up. She sure as hell can't control us! Why would we need her there? I think Kane is right."

"I agree," Rhoswen spoke out. "She is also against magic. That is who we are."

"Life will be a lot easier without her," Vevila agreed, "Dara?"

"I'm for it," Dara told them. "I could see her next move to be marrying Kellan and us twins off. That's not going to happen!"

"We are all agreed then," Kellan announced. She noticed that even though Kane hadn't said anything else, she had been very tense. She watched the anxiety ease out of her posture. They could definitely manage better without their _dearest_ aunt.

Vevila's attention was caught by the boy that had come from the ship. He had been watching them intently. There was something not quite right about him. He was a very nice looking boy. She guessed him to be around sixteen or seventeen, older than Kellan, almost a man. He had blond curly hair that made a pretty halo around his head. His eyes were crystal blue. He had the kind of looks that would normally make people instinctively like him—but she did not.

"What's up?" Kane asked her.

"I don't know," Vevila answered her. "I don't like that boy, and I don't know why."

Kane looked over at the boy, and then back at Vevila surprised. Vevila didn't usually get her back up over people. That was more like Kane's response to new people. Vevila was usually overly friendly to strangers. People adored Vevila for her spontaneous perkiness. If Vevila didn't like this boy, there was something wrong with him.

"I'm going over to the _Ladies_ room," Vevila told her. "That's where Molly put the two colored women from the ship. I want to make sure they are okay. Molly said that they were in general good health—considering."

The _Ladies_ room was a large room that was dedicated to mothers and their children. Men were firmly discouraged from entering. There were other rooms designed to accommodate the family structure. Usually, the women who chose to reside in the Ladies room were either single, or afraid of men. This was a place where they could feel protected.

"Take some more dinner with you," Alana instructed overhearing her comment. "I noticed that neither ate much earlier. They may be hungry now that they're settled."

Vevila loaded up a tray of meats, cheeses, biscuits, and a bowl of freshly cut apples and cantaloupe. She covered the tray with a clean kitchen cloth and quietly left the kitchen. She was glad that Molly didn't mind _them_ helping themselves. It would be a big bother to have to always ask her for food stuffs.

The Ladies room had some of her grandfather's contraptions, so she didn't have to manage carrying up the tea. Their Grandfather, James Caidance O'Byrne, had not only been an adventuring man, but also one that liked to dabble with inventions and magic. The manor and their house held a few of his mysterious contraptions.

Vevila and Kane had climbed up on the roof of the manor one day, and looked at the panels that were up there to harvest the suns power. It didn't look like much, just a panel of colored glass. There was a large sealed water closet underneath that was made to hold this power. Wiring ran between the panels, the water closet, and his gadgets.

Vevila had seen this wiring, she and Kane had found some in the cellar. They cut it in half to see what was inside. What they found had disappointed them both. It was just a rubber coated piece of metal wire inserted in a hollowed out piece of wood, hardly mysterious at all. Vevila had to wonder if the gadgets were worth the bother, although she did like the zap plate.

The zap plate could heat small amounts of water for tea's and such. It was really nice for the nervous, or tired ladies to be able to help themselves to a nice hot cup of tea.

Vevila paused at the door. Above the door was a ward that was flaring yellow. She had never noticed the ward before. She didn't know if it had always been there, and she just couldn't see it, or if something was wrong inside the room.

She set the tray on the table along the wall and cautiously opened the door. The two new ladies had chosen the farthest beds from the door. They had drawn the curtain around two beds to form a little room. There were three other families living in the room at the moment. The room still felt pretty empty.

She smiled as she watched two little girls playing hide-and-seek. She frowned when she spotted the blond haired boy from the ship. He was sitting on one of the beds just outside the colored women's curtained off area—supposedly—staring out the window.

"You are not supposed to be in here," Vevila told him.

He ignored her and continued to look out the window. She marched over to him and blocked his view.

"You are not allowed in this room!" She told him. "It is reserved for the sole use of women and their children."

The two women had stopped talking behind the curtain. The room got very quiet.

_"They_ don't seem to mind," he nodded toward the curtain, staring up at her with an engaging smile.

"I don't care what _they_ mind!" Vevila responded back. "It isn't up to them. Now, do you leave, or do I get my uncle? He's a big man, my Uncle Stefan, and won't be taking any funny business from you!"

"Huh!" Jeremy said surprised. He frowned angrily as he walked through the doorway. He'd deal with her later. He could feel the pressure building in his head as he made is way outside.

"I have brought you food," Vevila called out. "We thought you might be hungry now that you've had a chance to settle in. I'll just get it from the hall table."

Vevila watched as one of the women got up and pulled the curtain away from the beds. Vevila quickly left to retrieve the tray. She studied the tray, and saw that it was as she had left it. The boy hadn't disturbed it. She also noticed that the ward was no longer visible—interesting.

"Here you are," Vevila placed the tray on the table. The ladies nodded toward her, but didn't speak to her.

Vevila hadn't ever seen dark people before. She liked the high cheekbones and the black ebony eyes. She thought their brown skin looked very radiant. Their lips were fuller. She was curious about their black hair and had to restrain herself from reaching out to touch it. Vevila guessed them to be about Terah's age, mature women, but not so old. They were both wearing the garb issued by the infirmary, the basic green trousers and shifts. They seemed comfortable enough. Vevila wondered if they missed wearing their own clothes, missed their own homes.

Vevila walked over to the zap plate and started heating up water for three cups of tea. She thought she might as well have a cup herself. The ladies didn't seem to find her intrusive. The tea was already bagged and laying in a complementary basket along with a jar of honey. Spoons and cups were set beside the basket with napkins.

She heard them continue to chatter conversationally as she prepared the tea. She felt as if she couldn't quite hear them, which seemed odd since they were sitting right across from her. She rubbed her forehead which felt rather hot. She hoped she had been careful enough and wasn't getting sick, too. She carefully carried over a cup in each hand.

"I hope this will taste right for you," Vevila told them. "If not, you don't have to drink it."

Vevila had trouble getting out the words and felt as if they were slurred. One of the ladies quickly took the cups and told her to sit on the bed.

At first her words seemed garbled to Vevila, but the bout seemed to pass and Vevila felt the pressure in her head ease. She was still having problems saying her words, but the women seemed to understand her.

"I am Vevila," she told them. "I hope you will be happy here. I heard the adults saying that you were slaves before. We do not go for that, and you are not such anymore. Celeste is our healer and she must have decided that you are well enough to not be in the infirmary."

"I am Jendayi and this is my _daughter_ , Marjani," Jendayi introduced them. "Thank you for the food and drink. We are very hungry now."

Vevila noticed that she talked slowly and clearly as if she didn't know the English language very well. Vevila helped herself to some of the meats and cheeses. She noticed that they stayed with the fruits.

"Do you recognize these foods?" Vevila asked awkwardly.

"We know that these are fruit," Marjani answered, "that these are meats although I do not know of what kind."

"This is cheese," Vevila held up the white square piece of cheese. "This kind is made from the milk of a cow. The meat is also from a cow. Let us hope not the same cow."

They laughed at her joke and soon relaxed.

"Was the boy bothering you?" Vevila asked.

Jendayi's smile withered away and worry lines marked her eyes. It was only then that Vevila could tell the difference between mother and daughter.

"He is..." Jendayi searched for the correct words.

"Evil," Marjani filled in. "He looks like an innocent boy, but I watched him killing a chicken. We had to eat, and the bird had to die, but he _enjoyed_ breaking its neck with his bare hands. It seemed also as if he broke it slower than need be. He is evil."

"I believe you," Vevila told her.

"He was the master's son," Jendayi told her. "We so prayed for deliverance. When we heard the fighting we were so afraid. I had walked among the captives, the ones that had been the ship's crew. They were so weak and so outnumbered. It was a miracle that they took back the ship. Nothing else but, could have saved us."

"They didn't just overwhelm the slavers, and take back the ship?" Vevila asked surprised.

"They could not," Jendayi said firmly. "I was in the captain's room and peering through the window in the door. I saw the slavers on deck be swept overboard. There was no wave. They simply were pushed over."

"Dara said that they had told her the revolt exploded when the slaver killed their healer?" Vevila asked.

"That is so," Marjani told her, "but they only were able to kill the master and a few of his man. They did not have the ability to retake the ship. That was brought about by God!"

Vevila didn't doubt them. She had thought it odd for the ship to be in their waters.

Molly came in as they were talking. She was pleased to see the ladies settling in. They seemed so isolated—so alone. She was glad to see them talking with Vevila.

"I've had your clothes cleaned," Molly told them. "Celeste determined that they could be saved."

They stared at her blankly. She stared back confused.

"That's good," Vevila smiled at them, "you will be able to have your own clothes back. I know I hate wearing other people's clothes, unless their Celeste's of course, she has some fabulous dresses."

"We would rather they be burned," Marjani told her. "They were given to us by the master. I would rather be naked." She hugged herself. "These clothes I am wearing are very fine."

"Oh," Vevila said surprised. "I'm sorry."

"What is she saying?" Molly asked Vevila.

"I don't understand," Vevila asked Molly confused. Marjani's comments were simple enough. What part of burned or naked hadn't Molly understood?

Molly looked at Vevila confused.

"What was she saying?" Molly repeated, not knowing how to ask the question any differently.

"That she would rather the clothes be burned," Vevila answered, wondering if Molly maybe just hadn't heard her. "The clothing was given to them by their master. She would rather run around naked, and likes the clothes she now wears."

"We understand," Molly nodded. "Tell her that we will destroy the clothing and they may choose new from what we have on hand."

Vevila wondered what was wrong with Molly. They were sitting right here. They did have ears. Molly's eyes seemed kind, but Vevila couldn't help but wonder if maybe she just didn't like dark people, or thought they were like stupid animals. Vevila felt offended by this. She liked Marjani and Jendayi.

"Why don't you just tell them?" Vevila said stung. "They are sitting right here. They can hear you and are very smart."

Molly's mouth hung open with surprise. Vevila was very angry with her. What had she done? Vevila was never the temperamental one of the sisters. That would be either Kellan, or Kane. She couldn't figure out what had gotten into her. It was a small thing to ask after all.

"I don't think they will understand me," Molly told her.

"Why ever not?" Vevila asked.

"Well, I don't think they speak English," Molly answered.

Vevila frowned at her and then looked at Jendayi's face. She did look rather baffled.

"Can you speak English?" Vevila asked them.

"No," Jendayi answered. "The master would not allow it."

Now, Vevila felt her own mouth falling open with surprise. She'd had no idea that she had been speaking another language. How could that be? She didn't even know what language she had been speaking.

"What languages can you speak?" Vevila asked.

"Only Ewe," Marjani told her. "Will you teach us English? I think we should learn it."

"Of course," Vevila answered and then turned to Molly. "I'm sorry for getting angry. I didn't know I was talking another language. I thought that maybe you just didn't like dark people."

"Oh," Molly blinked at her surprised. "You O'Byrne folk are always surprising me. I like dark people just fine, these ladies anyway. I don't know any other dark people."

"Dara is joining Celeste again," Vevila's eyes grew distant. "I want to be with my sisters. I will see you at dinner." She refocused on Marjani and Jendayi, "My sister, Dara is assisting the healer. Celeste is working on a sailor that has rot in his leg. I and my other sisters are watching."

"You must have a very strong stomach," Jendayi said with respect. "Such wounds are very gruesome. I wish you success."

"Thanks," Vevila replied as she hurried from the room.

Molly, Jendayi, and Marjani were left in the room staring at each other with nothing to say. For some reason, they all found it rather humorous and started laughing. Molly nodded to them and left the room. Some things were just universal.

Vevila found her sisters in the lounge room. This room was designed for pure relaxation. The chairs were plush and designed to unfold and raise the legs, another gift from their esteemed grandfather.

"I found the passage in mama's workbook which describes mama's spell that turned those men into swine," Alana announced excitedly.

"Really?" Kellan came over to sit beside her. "I'm glad you found it. Aunt Caryn said that couldn't be done—even by an O'Byrne. She said that mama was delusional."

_"She's_ delusional," Kane sneered.

"I know that this is right," Alana told them. "Celeste was talking about it while rebuilding that sailors muscle. Here," she passed the book over to Kellan.

_"There is a tiny, tiny, spiraling ladder_ ," Kellan began to translate from Gaelic, " _That repeats over and over throughout the body that identifies every single aspect of a person's makeup. I can see it in their tears, hair, skin, blood, spit—everywhere I look. The structure is always the same for that person, but never the same between two people. I stand corrected—it is identically the same for both Alana and Dara, how surprising since their finger and toe prints are not the same_."

"She is talking about me," Alana said with ready tears.

_"That day was a poor day to choose to walk up our doorstep. I was so distraught with grief, and trying desperately to distract myself, that I was studying the pig—a pig. Keegan, how dare you leave me like this! I had just realized the same spiraling ladder structure in our pig that I had noticed in people. It was different, but similar._

_Those men dared to knock on our door and demand money for their lost swine. They made me so crazed, that I lured them into the basement with the promise of money, and then I drove a piece of the pig's signature into their own._

_I remember screaming, "_ _There, there is your pig_ _!" The energy fused the two structures together. I hit them over and over again. I really meant to kill them, but was so depleted that my magic faded out before they were truly dead. I just left them there. By the next morning, they were already beginning to morph. I felt it was just so spelled them to harm none, and set them free._

_They don't really look like pigs so it is unlikely that any person will eat them. There is no going back from what they became. I would not if I could. There is no coming back for my Keegan, the father of my_ _seven_ _daughters_."

"Wow!" Kane said, "Maybe she was _delusional_."

"Definitely _demented_ ," Kellan said in awe.

That kind of power was just unimaginable. Kellan remembered a story which had been told to her about a woman who lifted a heavily loaded wagon up off her child's chest. That must have been what had happened to their mama. She must have been berserk with grief. Kellan felt saddened that her mama had hurt so much.

"Dara is gowned up and ready to start again," Rhoswen told them.

They linked up to watch. Celeste looked up surprised. She had wondered how Dara had recovered her energy levels so quickly. She hadn't thought about the energy entering through the sister's link. She and Stefan exchanged the same look. These girls were going to change the _world_.

"We will only be reattaching this muscle," Celeste told her, "and then we will be done for tonight. We need to get him to eat. We've been sacrificing nutrients from healthy tissue to build the new. If we do any more, it will start damaging the healthy. That defeats the purpose."

"How will you get him to eat?" Dara asked. She wouldn't want to eat if that was her leg sitting there.

"We'll just wake him," Stefan answered her. "He'll be hungry enough. We'll keep this nerve center here unattached so he won't be in pain."

"We'll also be keeping his leg limp," Celeste added, "so he doesn't _think_ he can just go run off somewhere."

"He'll need a lot of explaining done," Dara mentioned. "How much are you going to tell him—about magic?"

Stefan and Celeste exchanged glances. They had decided very early that they wouldn't block his consciousness.

"He has been listening to everything," Stefan told her. "What he _believes_ will be another story. We will just tell him that we've removed the gangrene."

Dara zapped her own skin and got to work. There were still plenty of infectious areas that needed cleared out.

: _Vevila said that we need to keep a watch on that boy who came off the ship,_ : Dara sent to them. : _The passenger ladies say he likes to cause pain to animals._ :

: _How does Vevila know what the ladies are saying?_ : Stefan asked curiously.

: _Oh,_ : Dara laughed, : _apparently, she can now talk Ewe._ :

: _Yes indeed_ ,: Stephan murmured, : _change the world._ :

: _What?_ : Dara asked.

: _We will watch the boy,_ : Celeste told her.

### ****

How dare that little red headed child of a whore tell him where he could, and could not go! He stomped off angrily. He was surprised—a little—by her apparent imperviousness to his power. He had tried to _sway_ her, but she seemed totally unbothered. The more time passed for him, the angrier he got stewing over it.

He had seen her earlier cuddling up to that ugly cat. He grinned to himself. Let's see how she feels when she finds its mangled, ugly little body.

"Here kitty, kitty," he called. "Come out Cally-cat."

He was outside the manor close to the wall by the sea. He remembered the cats name only because it sounded like _alley_ cat. He though it was fitting. He hated cats!

"Here kitty," he called softly. "Oh, there you are."

The calico cat looked at the strange boy and started purring. It was sitting sunning itself on the wall.

"Look at you," he said in a friendly tone of voice, "stupid little thing. You are so ugly, your mother turned, and tried to eat you."

He could actually hear it purring. He picked it up and cuddled it close. He'd like to just squeeze its little chest tightly, until it couldn't breathe anymore. Instead, he held it gently. He walked down the wall until he was out of site of the manor. He looked around to be sure, but he knew that there was no one around to watch him. He sat on the wall.

"Let's see," he told the cat conversationally, "should I break this toe or this." He handled each toe as he talked to the cat. "or maybe a leg. Tails are fun. The neck is too easy. I think you should keep living," he laughed, "but maybe with just one eye—one eye? Okay then."

He reached up around the head and started putting pressure on the eye socket.

Suddenly, the cat was three times its normal size and had grabbed him by the head, putting pressure on his eye socket. He screamed with terror and pain.

: _Or maybe I should just break your neck,_ : Cally sent to him. : _No—okay then._ :

Cally-Cat raked his cheek deeply with six distinct claw marks. He then jumped down and shrank back to his normal size.

: _You may want to get that cleaned,_ : Cally-cat told him. : _My claws feel a little soiled, hate for wound to get festered._ : Cally sauntered off to sleep in the sun.

Terrified and hurting, Jeremy ran back to the manor. He was screaming something incoherent about a monstrous cat that had just about beheaded him.

"Well," Molly said calmly, "we do have them wild cats here about. Lucky for you, it didn't just drag you off and eat you. There, there, let's put some salve on that. You don't want it getting all festered up after all."

Molly knew just who and what Cally was. She knew he wouldn't have done this without a very good reason. She had her suspicions about this boy. Cally-cat had just confirmed them. She led him away to put ointment on the wounds.

"Your face is going to mark," she told him. "There's no getting around that."

He stared at her horrified. No one listened to an ugly person. How would he use his art? His father had cherished his sons face. He said it was a face that the lords would love, and the ladies would love even more. His father said that between his street smarts, and his son's gift of gab, there would be no stopping them. So where was his father now! He thought angrily. Down in the depths—that's where. He had to get all involved with them black women. They changed him, tainted him. It was all their fault!

He let Molly smear the salve on his face, and then applied a bandage. She was rather rough, but he didn't mind, it just fueled his anger.

"Dinner is in a little while," Molly told him. "We will all meet in the dining room, right next to the kitchen."

He knew where the dining room was—stupid cow. Molly's eyes narrowed as he stomped away without so much as a thank you.

The dining room had been opened to the outside patio to allow the summer breeze to drift into the stuffy room. Jeremy considered sitting outside, but felt that sitting on one of the benched seats would be degrading. He made his way inside and chose a seat in the corner. He didn't want anyone staring at his face. Soon, most everyone had gathered.

He was surprised at seeing so many people, and then remembered that this wasn't an inn—it was a workhouse. They might act superior to the other poor houses, but when all was said and done, these were the poorest of the poor, and undeserving of his regard.

Celeste was about to enter the dining room when she felt an unusual nudge and realized that it was coming from the forest. She noticed Alana look up also.

"What is that?" Alana asked feeling uneasy.

"Fathion is calling," Celeste answered with a twisted smile. "He is about to release the men from the wall. Shall we get the villagers?"

"Oh, wow!" Alana exclaimed, "I forgot all about them."

"They've been in there what—a week?" Kellan asked.

"They should be ripe by now," Rhoswen grinned evilly.

"Let's go," Kane rose excitedly.

"Those of you who want to join us," Celeste announced loudly from the doorway. "Weylin and Johnny Flynn are about to returned from the forest. It is the right time to ask them to leave this village."

"I'll get Mickay," Molly called out.

There was a murmur through the crowd and people started leaving the room. Jeremy cautiously tagged along, keeping his face averted from curious eyes. Strangely, he found that others had very little interest in him. He shrugged of his irritation. Something significant was about to happen.

Jeremy hadn't expected such a long walk. He stared around with disdain wondering as to what could possibly stir these people up enough to traipse through the fields to get to the village. He was even more confused when instead of stopping, more people joined them.

They gathered by the entrance to the forest. Kellan looked around surprised—all the villagers were there. It felt good to see the determined expressions within their united front. It was about time.

They weren't sure what to really expect, but were sorely disappointed to just watch as the two came stumbling out. Kellan had expected them to be thrust out of the forest.

"Huh!" Kane said disappointedly.

"A little dull," Rhoswen shrugged.

"I told you I'd find a way out," Weylin was yelling as they made their way out of the darkness.

"You said that days ago—you jack-ass." Johnny accused. "It was your idea to get them girls to begin with."

"Mama," one girl complained, "What is that smell?"

"Something really foul," she answered.

The men stopped to stare around wildly. Johnny spied a child eating an apple and lunged for it—only to be stopped by Mickay.

"We've gathered up your gear, and are telling you to leave this village," Mickay told them.

They both ignored Mickay as if he didn't exist. Weylin laughed like a lunatic and shoved Mickay away to grab the child's apple. He bit into it aggressively. The villagers watched in astonishment as the two brothers began thrashing each other and fighting over the apple. Mickay started to intervene, but Stefan held him back.

"Let them tire themselves out," Stefan told him.

"Shouldn't we stop them," Molly said with concern when Johnny got his tooth knocked out.

"Why for?" Widow Brown told her. "It's no more than what they do to the children of the village."

The Flynn brothers seemed to be totally oblivious of the fact that the whole village was watching them behave like dirty, crazed animals. They kept fighting until they knocked themselves senseless. "Now what do we do?" The elder asked.

"Throw them in a wagon and take them to the bigger village," Celeste surprised them by saying. "Pay for one nights lodging with instructions to the inn keeper to tell them that they aren't to return."

"And just who's going to pay for this?" He asked indignantly.

"You are," Mickay informed him. "Out of the village funds we pay."

"I'll get my wagon," Burley grinned. "They won't be getting away from me."

"I better go with him," the elder sighed. "The inn keeper will need to be paid and instructions given."

Celeste laughed as Burley threw the two bullies into the bed of the wagon. They didn't look so _bad_ now!

"Since you are going there anyway," Widow Brown approached with a long shopping list.

Everyone heard the weary sigh of the elder. Odd, but no one seemed the least bit sympathetic. Celeste laughed to herself as she watched others begin making lists.

"I'm hungry," Kane frowned. "I'm heading back."

With the excitement done, people started disbursing back from where they had come. With a sigh, Jeremy headed back. He was even able to sit back at the chair he had earlier chosen. It didn't seem to matter though. He might as well be invisible for all these people noticed him.

Molly and her servers brought out the dishes. He had heard that everyone who stayed here had to do some type of labor—good luck getting him to do anything. A shepherd's pie was placed before him. Those around him dug in.

He realized that these people didn't even have the manners to say grace. They just loaded up their plates and started eating, even that Lord and his son. Jeremy didn't think he was a _real_ Lord anyway, just a common steward. Some of those stewards could sure be lofty. His son looked a little pale, but Jeremy noticed that he didn't seem to have any trouble eating, or flirting with the ladies.

Jeremy was looking down at his own plate when those colored women walked in. He could feel their stares. They were probably happy to see him so defaced. Hadn't he heard the younger one say that people should look on the outside, like they were on the inside. The other had laughed and said that eventually, they all did—just look at those angry scowl lines. He would have liked to have demeaned them by telling them that people who felt pain, like his mother before she had died, also had similarly lined faces—heathens!

He fingered his knife. It was very sharp. He never ate with someone else's ware. He always carried his own. He knew he could slit that cow's neck before anyone could stop him. He sneered. Before the incident with that damn cat, he would have just cried or such, and no one would have believe that he had done anything wrong, even when they had just watched him do it. What would happen now?

The snooty little red head walked in and sat beside the prettiest lady in the room. It didn't matter that the lady was blind. Blind could be fun. Oh yah, he'd do her. He watched as the girl whispered something in the lady's ear. She laughed. The girl looked over at him and frowned. She had no business frowning! This was her fault—all her fault. It had been her damn cat. It was because of her that he went after the cat to begin with.

He felt his anger flair. He tried to squelch it down. Revenge was better served on a cold plate. He could go after her later, just like he had with his sister. When he thought of his sister his rage heightened. She was just like her, whispering—always whispering. He felt the keenness of his blade and knew that he would take her. Soon, he thought, real soon.

"I'll get it for you," Vevila told Celeste.

"Thank you," Celeste appreciated Vevila's kindness.

Celeste was so tired. Stefan wasn't in much better shape. They had worked with Walt since early morning. They would have to do more later tonight. Thinking about it just made her feel more tired. At least he was eating well. They left him with a large plate of food. He may not have liked the selection, Celeste had picked it out, but he was eating it. He hadn't talked to them yet. She figured he was trying to unravel the messages in his brain.

Stefan was sitting across from her. It was so good to see him again. She hadn't realized just how much she had missed him. He looked as tired as she felt. He looked up and met her eyes. The smile inside was sincere and sweet.

They both looked up quickly at the sound of the harshly scrapping chair. Celeste could just make out that Jeremy boy, springing towards Vevila with a knife. She didn't even have time to do anything. Not so with Stefan, he was on his feet instantly. Before the boy could touch Vevila—he was a pile of ash. Stefan had incinerated him. Stefan collapsed on the table beside her. She caught him to stop him from sliding off the table and onto the floor. Meifen was at her side pulling Stefan into the chair.

Vevila was shocked speechless. The boy had just lunged for her throat with his knife. She had seen the dog-rage in his eyes, and then just as suddenly—he was just gone. She looked down at the floor, and was horrified to see the pile of ash. She looked up and caught the look of stunned disbelief from the big, brawny sailor. She felt Kellan pick her up, and hurry them out of the room.
Chapter Thirteen

Kellan watched in shock as their Uncle Stefan stood and shot the power at that boy—instantly incinerating him. She had never seen such power before. His eyes had radiated disbelief—and then fury. Kellan suddenly felt Vevila's shock shudder through the link. Kellan grabbed her up and ran out of the room. She didn't stop until she was in the room they were sharing. She sat on the bed holding her.

Kellan tended to forget how young Vevila really was. Her vibrant personality and tender spirit often surpassed her youth. Vevila seemed so little to Kellan as she held her tight. She was crying uncontrollably, clinging to Kellan's arms, her face buried into Kellan's chest. The rest of her sisters ran into the room. Dara quickly approached Vevila and touched her head.

"She's in shock," Dara whispered to them. "We need something that will give her a little _distance_ from what just happened."

"We can do that with the link," Rhoswen told them.

They found themselves linked. They could see Vevila fully caught in the grip of the memory. Alana interrupted Vevila's thoughts, using herself as a distraction from what had just occurred.

: _Vevila,_ : Alana called. : _Come play with us_.:

: _What?_ : Vevila said confused. : _The boy, he_...:

: _Yes,_ : Kane interrupted her. : _you never did show Alana the merbabies. Remember how cute and colorful they are_.:

: _Yes,_ : Alana reached out to her. : _Show me the merbabies_.:

: _I'd like to see them, too,_ : Kellan told her inserting her own blocks into the link. : _The merfolk let you see more of their world because of your beautiful song. Can you show us how you do that? I've always wanted to hear you sing the way that they do._ :

: _Oh, okay,_ : Vevila answered timidly, and then led them into the song she typically sang to the merfolk. They really did want to know what that was all about, and was soon enchanted by her song—the boy forgotten by all of them.

Celeste walked into the room. She was so tired, and so concerned for Vevila. She found the sisters in a very strong link, and gently touched its surface. What she found astounded her. She could hear a song. A song that was so powerful that she had to withdraw quickly, or be pulled deeply into it. Vevila was singing the song.

Curiously, she touched Kellan, hiding behind Kellan's personal shielding. She saw Vevila singing to the merfolk in the lake of the forest. No wonder they kept sneaking her away whenever the girls went into the forest. The song was so beautiful—and so soulful. Celeste was enchanted.

Kellan felt Celeste touch her shield. She watched as Celeste shyly listened to Vevila's song. Celeste was so tired. Kellan nudged her other sisters, and unknowing to Celeste, they connected her into their own core, replenishing her magical energies. They let her drift into a sleep with Vevila's song haunting her dreams.

Celeste didn't notice when they removed her shoes and unbound her clothes. They left Vevila sleeping next to her, lost in her own special place.

"Ugh!" Dara murmured with disgust. "There's ash on her dress."

"I'll get rid of it," Kellan said instantly. "It's just one more thing that would remind her of this atrocity."

Dara gently remove Vevila's dress and handed it to Kellan. Kellan walked with it to the outside fire pit and used the oil lamp to light it on fire. She also wanted to check on Uncle Stefan. She paused as she considered what she had witnessed. When he had struck out at the boy, she had felt something inside herself vibrate to his magic. She now knew that he wasn't an O'Byrne, and so wondered what the vibration meant, and wondered why he was able to do such powerful magic.

The dining room had cleared pretty rapidly. Molly had some of the workers from the house carry Stefan to a room. They were very careful to not step into the pile of ash. Molly frowned at the ash. She swept it up with an old broom, and carried it far from the manor. At the wall of the ocean, she threw the ash—and the broom out to sea. She knew that boy had been bad—bad to the core. They were well rid of him. She found herself shivering and hurried back to the manor.

She saw Kellan by the fire pit and went over to join her. She recognized Vevila's dress burning in the pit and shivered.

"How is the lass?" Molly said with concern.

"We have her," Kellan said. "How is Uncle Stefan?"

"We have him," Molly said with a twinkle in her eye.

"Vevila is sleeping soundly with my other sisters," Kellan rolled her eyes at her.

"The Chinese man is with your uncle," Molly told her. "He seems to understand what your uncle did."

"That's more than I can say for myself," Kellan told her. "I've never seen that kind of thing before."

"I have," Molly confided with her, "not as intense, but the same never the less. Surprisingly, it's not an O'Byrne thing, or even a Druantia thing. There are other types of power and magic in our universe. There's a performer who stops by now and then. He could do that kind of magic."

"What happened?" Kellan asked interested.

"It wasn't much," Molly told her, "but it surprised us, coming from a stranger and all. The man was quite fond of the ladies, even as old as he was. One of the husbands took exception to his flirting and rose to complain—with his fists. The husband suddenly found himself sitting on the ceiling. The performer told him that he would be staying there until he wasn't so angry. Charley was real fast in admitting that he wasn't angry at all. We couldn't help but laugh. He looked so addled up there with all the blood rushing to his face. No one ever bothered the entertainer again. This little village seems to be one of his frequent stops. He still drops in now and then—although—not for a while."

"Why do you think that was the same as what Uncle Stefan did?" Kellan asked. "He killed that boy."

"For sure," Molly agreed, "there was nothing else that could have saved Vevila. I couldn't even get to her fast enough, and I was only a few feet away. I should have been paying more attention to the boy. I knew he had anger brewing about his cut face."

"The magic?" Kellan prodded her.

"It had the same _feel_ ," Molly frowned in thought, "as if you could feel it riding along your skin."

"That's it!" Kellan told her, "an elemental power. I heard mama and Aunt Caryn talking about that kind of magic a long time ago. That's why papa is a knight. He was a nature knight while his brother was a fire knight. But if it isn't an O'Byrne thing, where does it come from?"

"Magic calls to magic," Molly shrugged. "Your mama had always been attracted to your papa, but when he came into his own magically—she was smitten with him. The professors go on about survival of the fittest. Magic power is fit indeed. I would imagine magical folk would either want each other badly, and be swept away—or want to kill each other."

"Pardon miss," a young man interrupted their conversation.

Kellan remembered him from the village. He had grown up! She remembered him slinging mud at his brothers, now he was all polished up, and had a hat in his hand. Gone was the muddy, raggedy, country boy with the dirty, tousled brown hair.

"What is it, Chet?" Molly asked.

"It's Katherine's family," he hesitated, "my betrothed. They were supposed to bring in their cloth yesterday. They work with wool and hemp—finest weavers around. They never showed up. They rent some acreage on the other side of the wall up in the northern section, and I'm concerned."

Kellan could see that Chet was more than just concerned—he was frantic. She was surprised he hadn't already jumped the wall.

"I can see that the land is still there," he turned to Kellan. "But I don't know how to get to it. I tried climbing down the cliff and got soaked for my efforts."

"We haven't checked out all of the barrier yet," Kellan told him. "But from here, through Celeste's barn is the closest pathway to the other side."

"That might be a good distraction for Vevila," Molly mentioned. "For you and the sisters to head on out there," she sighed. "Take Chet, too. I don't want him up on the roof while he's mooning about his sweet little Katherine."

Chet blushed, but nodded determinedly.

"Dara might still be needed here," Molly reminded her. "There will be times when you can't all stay together."

"We know," Kellan said simply, and then looked at Chet. "We will be leaving just after daybreak. Wear comfortable clothing, and bring a blanket. There is always the chance that we will spend the night out. Be on time, we won't wait for you. Sleep fast," she told him and walked away.

"Wow," Chet told Molly, "is she always so intense?"

"Mostly," Molly nodded. "You might want to sleep on the couch over there, morning will be here fast."

Kellan walked to the kitchen and started putting a basket together for the trip. She sighed, putting in extra cheese. She knew how to feed her sisters, but didn't have a clue how to feed a young man. She just hoped Katherine's family was okay, and that they could leave Chet in their care.

Katherine should be thrilled at seeing how much her betrothed cared. Talking about climbing mountains, climbing down magical cliffs should count for something. Kellan sympathized with how frantic he must have felt. They would all rest easier once they knew the extent of mama's and papa's spells.

Kellan ended up packing two baskets. She was sure they wouldn't need all that food, but they could always leave the extra with Katherine's family, or bring it back. The strawberries should be flush up there at this time of the year. She grabbed a bucket of sweet cream and added it to the basket.

Kellan set the clock to alarm at five. She glanced around the room. They had three beds and a settee. The beds were all occupied so she stole Kane's blanket and curled up on the settee. Kane always slept hot and usually tossed her blankets on the floor anyway. Kellan tossed and turned on the Settee. They just weren't as comfortable as they used to be. Next time, instead of stealing Kane's blanket, she'd toss her onto the settee, the older and bigger sister's right.

Kellan hadn't even felt that she had slept at all when the alarm sounded. She shut it off quickly. She preferred to load Vevila up while she was still groggy with sleep, before she had the chance to think about last night. No problem with that idea, none of the girls were stirring. She sighed, and started unwinding herself from the settee. She ended up landing on the floor, tangled up in the one blanket.

"What are you doing?" Rhoswen asked irritably. "It's barely light outside."

"Something's going on with the northern acreage," she whispered. "We've been asked to check it out. Chet, the worried betrothed, will be joining us."

"Can't Celeste take a look?" Rhoswen asked. "I don't sense anything."

"Didn't ask," Kellan told her. "Molly thought it would be a good reason to get Vevila out of here. I'm hoping to get us going before she really wakes up."

"It is a good idea," Rhoswen said worriedly. "Keep her from seeing the dining room for a while."

"Celeste won't want Dara to go," Kane's voice was muffled. "Isn't that my blanket?"

"I stole it," Kellan told her. "Next time you get the little sofa." She heard Kane laugh.

"They might want Alana to stay, too," Rhoswen mentioned. "She was really helpful directing those sailors and keeping everyone orderly."

"It's up to _them_ ," Kellan said firmly. "We aren't going to let others direct our gifts—or use us."

"What's up to us?" Alana startled Rhoswen by jumping on her.

"There is an anxious fiancé out there," Rhoswen told her, "worried about his missing betrothed. He tried to climb over the cliff to get to her. I guess we should show him the way."

"How did you know that?" Kellan asked surprised.

"I seem to know a lot of things when people get all excited by something," Rhoswen frowned. "I think they send out ripples."

"Anyway," Kellan continued, giving Rhoswen a curious look, "I want to go out there and take Vevila, too. Who wants to join us?"

"I do," Rhoswen told them. "I feel bored and restless here."

"Me too," Kane agreed.

"I want to go with you too," Alana frowned, "but Molly was saying that she would like me to be on hand when they give the sailors their next dose of black gu—medicine."

"You need to do what you feel you should be doing," Rhoswen frowned at her. "There will always be people who _think_ they know how to _use_ our gifts better than us."

"I agree," Dara said as she quietly joined them. "There is no reason for you to stay just so it's _easier_ for the nurses to give the medicine. The sailors will work with the nurses—or they will die. For me though, I think it's more important to help Celeste. I can learn from her, and can add to her own magic."

"I agree," Alana looked her in the eye. "I don't _feel_ like coddling those sick, grumpy, old, sailors—and I do think it is very important for you to learn all that you can from Celeste as well as give her your help. You helping could make the difference between that man walking again, or being buried."

"Can you see the north section?" Rhoswen asked Dara, "I can't get a sense of it."

"Not really," Dara frowned. "I can see it, but I don't really understand what I'm seeing."

"Is that normal?" Kane asked curiously.

"Sometimes," Dara told her. "The mind plays games when the eyes see something that just doesn't make sense to it. Sometimes, I just can't see what is there."

"I've seen that!" Alana nodded. "Remember the deck of cards that Terah had. The red and the black were switched—black diamonds, red clubs, so on. When she was holding them up quickly one at a time, I couldn't seem to write them down. My mind just wouldn't accept what she had. Not until she set them on the table and I really looked at them. Then I could see how _wrong_ they were, only then could I write them down as she held them up. It was really strange."

"I remember that," Kellan said. "I had the same problem."

"Anyway," Dara told them. "I don't know if it's just because it's far, or because my mind doesn't understand, so I can't quite see. You'll figure it out."

"So I take it you will be joining me today?" Celeste asked softly from the other bed, "If we still have a patient that is. You do realize that Stefan and I had more work to do with him last night?"

They all looked over at her and frowned. She and Stefan had been in no condition to do anything.

"And just what were you planning on doing with that poor man?" Rhoswen asked her. "The state you were in you most probably would have cut off his _good_ leg."

"It may have missed your notice," Kellan added scathingly, "but Stefan had to be carried to bed last night—just like someone else we all know and truly love."

"Ah, little things," Celeste told them nonchalantly.

Kane launched onto her smacking her with a pillow.

"Hey watch it," Kellan yelled out, "don't wake Vevila."

"It's okay," Celeste told them. "I gave her an extra wink last night. She won't wake for another hour or so—game on!" She yelled launching herself at Alana and smacking her in the head with the pillow.

Molly heard the commotion from the other room. She sighed, sometimes these homeless people were so unappreciative of the gifts and efforts people tried to bestow on them. Irritably, she marched into the other room.

The sight meeting her gaze made her pause. Kane and Rhoswen were in a corner with the settee, protected with blankets like a little fort. Alana and Dara were teamed up against Kellan and Celeste, pounding into each other with pillows. One pillow had shattered and there were feathers everywhere. All the while, Vevila slept peacefully in the center of the room. She watched amazed as _Celeste_ launched herself from on top of the bed, toppling Kellan into Dara and Alana. All four landed in a heap of laughing, shrieking girls.

"We do have guests you know," Molly told them indignantly. "You should know better," she scolded Celeste. With a sniff she walked out of the room. Once out, she grinned to herself as she made her way to the kitchen.

"Well," Celeste said laughing, "I guess she told us."

"I'm hungry," Alana said unrepentant.

"Me too," Kellan said, dropping the pillow.

They all left the room and walked directly to the kitchen—avoiding the dining room.

"Thank you," Celeste said giving Kellan a hug. "I appreciate what you all did for me last night. I was so tired that I hurt all over. Thank you for pulling me into your link. Vevila's song was very beautiful."

"Our pleasure," Kellan told her. "You need to lean on someone now and then. You don't _always_ have to go it alone you know—not anymore!"

"It seems that I always had to," Celeste told her. "Maybe, things will be different now."

"Especially with Uncle Stefan around," Kane announced as she fluttered her eyelids.

"Look, coffee!" Celeste hid her blush behind the bag of coffee beans.

"You can run," Dara said softly.

"But you can't hide," Alana finished.

Rhoswen started a big pan of oat porridge. She knew that the residents would be up soon wanting food. When it was simmering nicely, she removed it from the heat to thicken. Kellan had chopped up the blueberries they had gathered from the forest and folded them into the porridge.

"That smells really good," Molly said as she entered the kitchen. "Early blueberries, I see."

They grinned back at her as they helped themselves to bowls of porridge.

"Think you have enough?" Rhoswen asked Kane.

"You can't have too much honey," Kane argued.

They were surprised to see Meifen come in and also help himself to the porridge.

"I will come with you," he told them.

"Oh," Kellan said surprised, "okay."

"You may take some blankets from my foyer," Celeste told them. "I'd let you borrow the wagon, but I promised to haul Widow Brown to the larger village. Buckley gave her the slip yesterday."

"That's okay," Rhoswen told her. "We appreciate the blankets though, our wagon is _rough_."

"Aunt Caryn has the bigger, _newer_ one," Kane said moodily.

Rhoswen elbowed her. Kane knew that she had earned the elbow so didn't retaliate. She _had_ been dwelling on Aunt Caryn too much.

A sleepy faced Chet joined them in the kitchen and helped himself to the porridge. He looked up with appreciative surprise on seeing the blue berries.

"This is Chet," Kellan announced. "He will be joining us."

"Thank you," he said sincerely to them all.

"That's okay," Kane told him. "We can use someone to carry all of our stuff down to the stables."

They heard Meifen laugh into his porridge. The sisters looked at each other and shrugged. It wasn't that good of a joke.

Chet took Kane at her word and stowed everything away. They squeezed into the wagon to stare at each other.

"Aren't we forgetting something?" Kellan glanced around frowning.

"I don't think so," Alana frowned as she glanced around.

"We don't have Vevila!" Rhoswen laughed.

"I knew this wagon seemed too _roomy_ ," Kellan jumped out of the wagon.

"I guess it's a good thing Dara isn't going after all," Alana said sadly. "With Chet and Meifen along for the ride, there just wouldn't be enough room."

"Come Chet! I have a maiden for you to carry." Kellan called to him.

They laughed as Chet blushed and followed her into the manor. A few minutes later he was carrying a still sleeping Vevila out and carefully placing her inside the wagon. Alana had chosen to drive. Meifen climbed up beside her. Chet grinned as he noticed the three sets of female eyes upon him. He had sisters—he could do this.

"Away!" Alana called out to Kingdom.

_"AW-EE, Aww-ee_ ," he answered and pulled the wagon down the drive.

They had to make their way out through Celeste's barn. Once they were on the other side, Chet asked if it would be okay to stop for just a minute. He wanted to understand the barn.

"Whoa, Kingdom," Alana called out stopping the wagon.

"Vevila's starting to wake," Kellan told them. "It would be a good time to let her get organized and to get some food."

"You're not going to get it," Kane told Chet. "It's just too strange."

"Hi, little sister of mine," Alana called out to Vevila.

"Where are we?" She asked confused.

"We were roused early by a distraught betrothed to seek out his lady fair," Rhoswen smiled at her. "We decided to let you slumber whilst we worked."

"Oh, how very kind of you," Vevila smiled back and then frowned.

"Yes, it was all true," Kane told her. "But we are all okay now."

"The boy?" she asked.

"Gone," Kane told her.

"Uncle Stefan?" she asked.

"Fainted," Kellan answered.

"Oh," Vevila continued to frown. "I need to use the tree's."

"I'll go with you," Kane told her. "I could use a tree myself."

"Or you can just walk back a little and borrow Celeste's water-closet," Kellan suggested.

"A good idea," Vevila agreed.

Chet had not been in the manor at the time when the boy had attacked Vevila, but Molly told him what had happened. He was totally sympathetic to the confused little girl. He was stunned that the boy was dead, but better he—than her.

"There is something here," Meifen pointed out.

"But what is it?" Kellan asked.

Chet walked over to where they were standing, and looked up with surprise. From this side it just looked like something had undercut the barn.

"I know what that is," Rhoswen told them. Meifen's eyebrows rose with surprise. "It's an inscription, written to make all this happen, more than what we would see with a ward. It was written by papa, and then activated with passion."

"Passion?" Kellan frowned at her.

"Papa and mama doing the deed!" Rhoswen told her.

"Oh!" She looked at the inscriptions, and then saw the burn marks. They must have had great passion! She grabbed her drawing pad and drew out a copy.

"It is best to create a blockage," Meifen told her studying her drawing, "so it cannot be accidently brought to life."

"How?" Kellan asked handing him the pencil.

"You can separate it by space," he rubbed out a space to create a void through the drawing. "That is better."

"I like that," Kellan told him. "I can still understand the drawing. I can study it later."

As soon as Vevila and Kane were on the other side of the barn, Vevila started crying. Kane held her friend and sister close. Except when the merpeople interrupted, Vevila was her best friend. They were closest to the same age. They always played together—got into trouble together—whatever. Seeing her irritatingly cheerful sister so agonized made Kane feel angry.

"I'm glad the boy is dead," Kane told her. "Molly said he was trying to hurt Cally-cat, which was why he marked him so."

"I know," Vevila said, her tears slowing. "I was just so scared. No one has ever looked at me with such hate before. I don't know what I did to cause that. Was that just because I told him he couldn't be in the Ladies room?"

"It wouldn't have mattered," Kane told her. "Do you remember Old Man Beckard?"

"Yes," Vevila answered. "His wife's very existence was enough reason for him to beat on her. She thought it was her own fault for this or that, but it wasn't. He'd hit her for spending too much, and hit her again for getting a bargain from the baker. She couldn't win."

"He ended up killing her," Kane reminded her. "That Jeremy boy had fun being cruel. He needed to be put down like a mad dog. At least it was fast."

"That was him?" Vevila questioned, "the ash—I mean?"

"Yes," Kane told her. "In a flash—he was ash, and poor Uncle Stefan fainting away in his own stew, and then Molly threw the ash away into the sea where the tuna ate the ash, and we ate the tuna, so the ash is with us again."

"I'm not eating anymore tuna," Vevila said feeling better with Kane's silliness. "How did he do that?"

"I don't know," Kane told her. "I hope he will do it again. It happened so fast, I didn't get to see it."

"Maybe we can find _something_ that needs incinerating," Vevila suggested.

"That would be fun," Kane agreed. "Now, do you need the closet?"

"Do you think the wards will let us in?" Vevila grinned.

"Only one way to find out," Kane grinned back.

They walked up onto the porch and knocked on the door. They waited a minute and then tried the knob. It was locked.

"Oh well," Vevila said disappointedly, "a tree will be fine."

Celeste felt the ward on her door and looked to see who was at her house. She spied Vevila and Kane. She released the ward that held the door, and the door swung open.

Vevila looked with surprise at the open door. Kane didn't even hesitate, but just walked in.

"Aren't you afraid to go in," Vevila hissed.

"Of course not," Kane told her frowning. "Celeste can see us. Who else would have unlocked the door?"

"Oh!" Vevila blinked and wandered on through the door. "Thank you, Celeste."

Celeste nodded to herself and continued working with Stefan.

Kane and Vevila paused to let their eyes adjust to the darkness.

"Oh wow!" Kane said with surprise looking around Celeste's front room.

There were cats!—everywhere!

"Kitties!" Vevila ran out to meet them.

Kane laughed as the room erupted with purrs, meows, and yawns. There were heads bobbing from those that wanted treats, and tails switching from those annoyed. Cats came at them from every direction. Kane and Vevila stopped to play kitties.

It was when Vevila reached out to pet the shy kitty that she noticed the ash on her arm. She started screaming. The cats ran frantically from the room.

"Stop it," Kane ran at her. "Stop it!"

"The boys on my arm," she cried incoherently rubbing her arm frantically, "now it's on my hands."

Her face grew pale, her stomach revolted, she kept screaming. It was then that Kane saw the ash.

"Stop it!" She grabbed Vevila and shook her hard. "We'll use the tub and get that off you—now come!"

Kane grabbed Vevila's arm and forced her to stand, dragging her to the bathroom.

: _What's going on?_ : Alana called out.

: _Vevila just found boy ash on her arm and went into a fit_ ,: Kane sent. : _We're getting into the tub now, then we'll have to find her more clothes. She can't put these on again_ — _ever._ :

: _Do you need help?_ : Kellan sent concerned.

: _No,_ : Kane sent back.

"What's going on?" Chet asked Rhoswen.

"Vevila found some ash on herself and berserked," Rhoswen told him. "Kane's taking care of it, but we'll be here a while."

"Oh," he said disappointed. He understood about the need to get Vevila squared away, but was disappointed that they weren't on their way to see Katherine.

"Vevila just found ash on her arm," Celeste told Stefan.

"Damn!" He threw the bloodied cloth on the floor.

Dara looked from one to the other, afraid for the first time. They were having trouble getting the blood to clot. Celeste and Stefan weren't confident that they could save this sailor. Their uncertainty had astounded and shaken Dara. She had never thought about _not_ saving someone before. The new concept aggrieved her terribly.

They had taken care of the gangrene, that looked good, but the typhoid was taking its toll on the rest of his body. He was continuously racked with fever shivers, and didn't have the nutrition to maintain himself, much less have some to spare to build on his leg.

"We're going to have to stop on his leg," Celeste told them, "and focus on the typhoid. We need to get some nutrition into him. He's totally depleted."

"Did we cause this," Dara asked feeling guilty, "because we didn't get Celeste back to him?"

"No!" Stefan stared into her eyes. "Neither I or Celeste could have prevented this last night. He simply doesn't have it in him. The typhoid has caused him to _lose_ whatever he managed to eat last night."

Dara nodded. She remembered the fouled bed sheets.

"If only we could get food into him," Celeste said staring at the emaciated man.

"Is there a spell that could take the food from someone else's stomach and put it into his?" Dara asked. "Mama was rather good at inventing spells for whatever she needed."

Celeste paused to think about what Dara had just said. They had been able to give him energy, but not mass.

"There is a joining spell I once heard of," Celeste threw out for thought, frowning. "What if we do a joining from someone else's stomach, to his?"

"After the stomach would be better," Stefan said thoughtfully, "faster."

: _I think we can,_ : Celeste sent them a diagram of what would be needed. : _The donator would need to be absolutely still. We should paralyze him._ :

: _We don't have much time,_ : Stefan urged.

: _Let's get Nick_ ,: Dara suggested. : _He's always eating hemp seeds, very balanced and there should be some ready to donate._ :

Stefan left the ladies to keep the man steady. He approached Nick, who indeed was eating hemp seeds. He grinned to himself.

"Would you like to save a life this day?" Stefan asked.

Nicks eyes got big. His wife Molly, dealt with the O'Byrne—never him.

"I guess so," he said uncertainly.

"Then just step this way," Stefan escorted him to the infirmary.

Nick was terrified as they washed him down and suited him up. Stefan explained to him and Molly what they needed.

"I'm so proud of you," Molly told him. She was secretly laughing at his terror. Teach him for belittling her involvement with the O'Byrne.

"When we are done," Celeste told him, "you will feel nothing different, but be very hungry."

"But I'm always hungry," Nick whined.

"Then there's nothing to worry about is there?" She said pushing the trolley into the surgery. He took one look at the damaged man and fainted.

"You will still need to immobilize him," Stefan smiled.

"I'd like Dara to do that," Celeste told them.

"Me?" Dara said surprised and terrified.

"No big deal," Celeste told her. "We will just go into the brain and pinch off a nerve."

Dara swallowed nervously. Just go into the brain and pinch off a nerve— _simple_. Celeste linked them together.

: _You will do as I say,_ : Celeste sent to her, : _and then we will go over the details after we get Walt feeding._ :

: _Okay_ ,: Dara sent.

: _Use your sight and look into his brain_ ,: Celeste instructed.

Celeste had stopped sending her sight into the link. Dara opened her sight and pulled it into the link. She looked into his head. Celeste pointed to the path that she wanted blocked.

: _Use half the energy you use to kill the bugs and twist this pathway_ ,: Celeste told her. : _You will unblock it later_.:

Dara steadied herself and did as Celeste had said.

: _Good job!_ : Her uncle congratulated her. : _That was done very fine_!:

They connected the two patients in what looked like a magical feeding tube. As soon as the other patient started taking nutrition, Celeste explained the various parts of the brain, what it controlled, and how to influence it.

"Don't worry about remembering all this," Celeste told her. "We will go over it time and time again—until you are seeing it in your sleep."

"We will take a break now," Stefan told her. "We can't do more until he has fed."

They all de-gowned together. Dara felt a rush of pride due to being able to work with them. She didn't know it, but they felt very proud of her as well. Celeste had never worked with such an apt pupil before. Stefan had trouble remembering that she was only thirteen. In link, she seemed much older.

She settled into the kitchen with another piece of apple pie.

: _Guess what?_ : She sent to her sisters. : _I just got to go into Nick's brain and paralyze him._ :

Vevila and Kane jumped guiltily at Dara's interruption. They were in the process of going through Celeste's clothes, looking for something Vevila could wear in the wagon. They had gotten distracted when they came to the pretty gowns and were in the process of putting them back.

: _Molly's, Nick?_ : Alana asked.

: _Why on earth would you do that?_ : Kellan sent back.

Dara sent them a picture of what they were doing. They couldn't help but laugh when seeing Molly's rather smug husband stretched out feeding his fellow man.

: _Vevila, Kane, are you ready yet?_ : Rhoswen sighed. Chet had found the basket and was eating his way out of his nervous boredom.

: _Yes, fine_ ,: Vevila sent back.

: _Bring more food,_ : Rhoswen sent.

Vevila had just decided on a pair of boys trousers. If Kane and Rhoswen could wear them, she could too. Unlike Kane's boyish shirt, she grabbed a pretty blouse. Kane rolled her eyes at her.

"It's going to get dirty," Kane told her.

"Then I'll wear this one," Vevila held up a pretty blue shirt. Kane sighed.

Vevila was littler than Kane and they had to rummage through the bin that Celeste had put aside for the village kids. She collected clothing where ever she went.

Kane had come across some shoes. She really liked the shoes, but they were too small for her.

"Look at these," she held them up to Vevila. "Top quality leather. You should take them if they fit. You need some shoes."

Vevila frowned at the shoes. She hated wearing things on her feet! She liked the feel of the grass, or even the dirt. The rocks never hurt her the way they did other people. She had very tough feet.

"I have really tough feet," Vevila told her. "Those should go to someone who _really_ needs them."

"You do _really_ need them!" Kane argued and put her hands on her hips.

"Okay," Vevila hedged, "I'll try them, but if they don't fit, they go back into the bin."

"Of course, silly," Kane handed her the shoes. She also dug some socks out of the bin.

Vevila grudgingly tried on the socks and shoes. They really did fit well.

"Let me see," Kane demanded.

She felt around the toes and found that they fit Vevila's foot perfectly. She smiled satisfied. They looked to be very sturdy with good buckles.

"I don't know," Vevila frowned.

"They are perfect," Kane insisted. "Let's get some food."

Kane headed out of the room. Vevila carefully placed the shoes back into the bin, but kept the socks. Vevila grinned with self satisfaction. Someone, but not her, would someday enjoy those shoes.

Kane was in the kitchen rummaging through the cupboards. Vevila grinned and grabbed down the smallest basket. Kane frowned at her until she saw the magical signatures. It was a pocket basket. It even had a cooling section. They filled it up with everything they could think of knowing that Celeste wouldn't mind.

They couldn't help but play with the kitties again before leaving the house. They locked the house physically and headed down to the barn. Vevila was unusually quiet.

"What's up?" Kane asked.

"You realize that if Uncle Stefan hadn't incinerated that boy," Vevila said thoughtfully. "He'd still be dead due to mama's curse."

"Yes," Kane told her. "I thought about that, but you would be dead, too. He was going for your throat. There wasn't even any hesitation. You would have died first. I'm rather glad uncle got to him first—you?"

"Oh yes," Vevila said squarely. "I'm glad."
Chapter Fourteen

"About time," Rhoswen said irritably. She eyed the small basket suspiciously, and then broke out in a big smile when she saw what was inside it. "Pecan pie! I love pecan pie."

"That's not all," Vevila grinned. "Look at the signature on the side here."

"It's a pocket!" Rhoswen said happily. "So what all is in here."

"Almost all of Celeste's kitchen," Kane said proudly.

They laughed when they heard Celeste sigh into the link.

Vevila started singing...

"The sisters and I all riding a wild ride,"

_"With this beastie of a donkey,"_ Alana sang out.

"all shaggy and high."

_"With Celeste's favorite blankets,"_ Kellan sang.

_"and let's not forget her favorite magical basket,"_ Kane sang.

_"and now a stolen pie,"_ Rhoswen sang happily.

_"With a Chinese man sitting up front,"_ Meifen sang out.

_"Awe-EEe, Awe-EE_ ," Kingdom complained.

The song paused as they all laughed. Meifen simply couldn't sing a note. It came all out of pitch and strained.

_"Oh that reminds me, who's idea was this,"_ Kellan sang holding up the note. _"to bring along this paper, which stolen items do come,"_

_"That was my idea, to study on the way,"_ Rhoswen sang out. _"She didn't mean it to bring a chicken, and then a brick,"_

_"But it was changed from stolen to stolen or lost forever in time,"_ Alana sang, _"so now it brings us more than before."_

_"We had to put it into a special box,"_ Rhoswen continued.

_"A pocket box,"_ Alana clarified, _"because of the strange things it tends to bring._

"You changed it without talking to us first?" Kellan asked irritably.

"You don't tell us everything you are doing," Alana argued, stopping the wagon.

"I do when it concerns all of us," Kellan argued.

"Really," Alana questioned. "What about your decision to visit up north? You made a commitment before even talking to us!"

"What choice was there," Kellan asked stung. "It needed to be done."

"Yes," Rhoswen told her. "But we should have had a say in just how we were going to manage that. Maybe we wanted to go tomorrow when Dara could go with us. It is doubtful that one more day would have made any difference."

"Or we could have asked Celeste to look up there for us," Alana argued.

"And what about me?" Vevila stopped them all. "Whose brainy idea was it to wrap me up in a blanket, and steal me away?"

"We were just trying to lessen how badly you would feel about last night," Kellan told her.

"Well it didn't work," Vevila said angrily, "just ask Kane. I really would have liked a bath first—you nit!"

"I'm sorry," Kellan said feeling very contrite.

"Looks like you are not done practicing your meetings," Meifen told them. He took the reins from Alana's unresisting fingers.

"Kingdom come," he called out.

"I'm hungry," Vevila called out.

"You know what we packed up," Kane told her. "But we also put some porridge into a bowl for you. It has blueberries. Kellan can heat it."

Kane looked at Kellan speculatively.

"I want some of that pecan pie," Rhoswen announced and pulled the basket towards her. "Did anyone remember to bring plates and forks?

"Second basket," Kellan reminded her.

"I'd like the porridge," Vevila told them. "My stomach feels a little off."

"Mine too," Chet said.

"No wonder," Rhoswen said unsympathetically. "You nearly devoured the first basket."

"Nerves," he said sheepishly.

"Kellan can teach us," Kane declared.

"What?" Kellan asked confused.

"Teach us how to heat things," Kane reminded her. "You said you would, well _now_ seems the time."

They all looked up at her. She had meant to experiment with it, but had forgotten.

"Okay," she told them, "but it's going to be a little rough. I never did check to actually see how I was doing it. It would have been easier with Dara here to describe what she would have seen."

"If she's not busy," Alana reminded them. "We can link her in."

"Kellan can heat things up magically," Kane explained to Chet seeing his puzzled expression. "We can also link up to each other over distances and talk to each other, hence linking with Dara."

"Oh," he said curiously. "I guess I'll just watch then."

"There won't be much to watch," Kane told him, "but you're welcome."

: _Dara,_ : Alana called to her twin. : _We are going to have Kellan teach us how to heat Vevila's porridge. Do you have time to link with us?_ :

: _I have time,_ : Dara agreed. : _Our patient is still eating. I'll just go up to our room first._ :

After working around Celeste and her uncle, she was pretty sure she knew how Kellan had done the trick, but she didn't want to miss any learning's with her sisters. Besides, she missed them. It had only been a few hours, but she did. It was really quiet around here. She didn't think she would like being separated away from all of them to learn the healing. She would have to think about how to manage that.

: _Here_ ,: Dara called out.

: _This is going to be more difficult than water,_ : Kellan told them. : _With water, you can just blast it. With this, some of it would burn. No one likes burned porridge. If it's small enough, I like to hold it in my hand. You have to be careful though that you don't burn yourself. Just drop it if you go too far. It's not worth the burn_.:

: _Sounds like you've done that,_ : Alana questioned.

: _Grandmother didn't warn me,_ : Kellan told them.

: _She wouldn't,_ : Dara commented.

: _What did she die of?_ : Kane asked.

: _Meanness,_ : Alana muttered into the link.

: _She fell,_ : Dara answered. : _She apparently fell and was hurt for a long time before she died. That wouldn't happen to any of us, Druantia wouldn't allow it._ :

: _Druantia turned away from her when she tried to have the baby Celeste killed_ ,: Rhoswen told them.

: _I knew she had to have done something really foul_ ,: Alana confirmed. : _Druantia doesn't just abandon us for no reason. Never has, never will._ :

: _This bowl is going to be warm just from me holding it,_ : Kellan reminded them. : _Anyway, I think of pushing energy out from the palm of my hand. I can do it from the fingertips, but this way the energy seeps in with more balance. Magical energy seems to release as heat unless we tell it to be something else. I just slowly add magical energy until it's the temperature that I want_.:

: _That seems awfully easy,_ : Kane complained.

Kellan handed the warmed bowl over to Vevila, who accepted it graciously.

: _From what I've learned with Celeste,_ : Dara told them. : _The magical energy is easy. The hard part is figuring out how to pattern it so it will do what you want. I'd show you some of that, but Vevila is eating._ :

: _That's okay_ ,: Vevila told her. : _We've been watching you. We know about the—bugs!_ :

: _I'm glad,_ : Dara told them. : _I can't teach you everything I'm learning_ — _some of it just wouldn't work for you anyway_ — _but I hope you can pick up what will work for you. If you need a repeat of something you see us doing, write it down so we won't forget to show it to you. Stefan is a very good teacher. He's smart, funny, and really good with magic._ :

: _I wish he could work with me_ ,: Kellan thought wistfully.

: _Why wouldn't he?_ : Dara asked.

: _Oh!_ : Kellan felt embarrassed, : _did I say that out loud?_ :

: _Yes,_ : they all told her.

: _I'm just still waiting for my special forte_ ,: she said self-consciously.

: _It's something_ ,: Dara told them. : _Stefan has been paying attention to you. I think it might be elemental_.:

: _He's watching—me?_ : Kellan asked surprised. She hadn't noticed.

: _Yes,_ : Dara confirmed. : _And speaking of such, it seems our patient is finished eating. I'll get back with you later—I really miss you, all of you_."

: _We miss you, too_ ,: Alana told her. : _Next time, we need to plan our outings better_.:

They all thought their farewells into the link, and then broke away. They were surprised to see Chet studying them intently. He looked away mortified for having been caught staring.

"So what did you see?" Kane asked him curiously.

"Only Kellan handing a hot bowl of porridge over to Vevila, and her eating it up. It smelled really good," he answered wistfully.

"I hope Katherine can cook," Rhoswen smirked at him.

"Oh she can," he smirked back.

"We are coming to the wheat fields, I think," Meifen announced.

"Wow!" Kellan said appreciating the crop. "I think they are going to get a second harvest. This is looking really good."

"Hi, Mister Jerold," Kane called out.

"Hello, miss," Jerold called back eyeing the big donkey. "Hello there, Chet."

"How's it going?" Kellan asked when they got a little closer. "The crop looks bumper."

"How's the beer?" Vevila asked scrunching up her nose. She didn't like beer.

"Been experimenting with adding chocolate," he grinned at Vevila. "Even you might like it."

"Don't think so," she replied. "You would just be ruining good chocolate!"

He laughed, delighted with her scrunched up nose. He was surprised to see them dressed as boys, but then, his own daughter on occasion dressed similarly. His expression grew grave when he noticed that Rhoswen and Kane's hair was shorn. He had at first just thought it was pulled back.

"This is Meifen," Rhoswen introduced them. "He brought us Kingdom here." She pointed at the donkey.

_"Awe-EE, Awe-EE_ ," Kingdom greeted him.

Mister Jerold jumped back. Alana snickered.

"He is a bit of a show off," Meifen stood in the wagon and gave him a slight bow.

They were pleased to see that Mister Jerold returned the bow.

"Their mother, Aine, has died," Meifen told him. He was gratified when Mister Jerold removed his hat.

"I'm very sorry to hear that," he told the girls. First Keegan and then Aine, he sighed, feeling worried for the girls.

"Us too," Vevila told him.

"Would you like to come up to the house?" He asked.

Kellan looked toward her sisters before answering. She preferred not to. It was getting late. No one was jumping to accept the invitation.

"Not this time," Kellan answered, "maybe on the way back. We want to see the effect of mama's magic on the northern corner."

"Do you ladies know anything about the raven?" He asked them.

"A burn to your forearm," Kellan asked.

"Something like that," he answered with a frown.

"Did all your people get so burned," Alana asked him.

"Something like that," he answered again, "even the littlest."

"Have you been to the edge of the property?" Alana asked.

"Seen the new gully," he answered frowning. "Wasn't sure of what that was about so just headed back. The wife didn't need those fancy scarves anyway."

"The burns appeared at the moment our mother died," Kellan told him. "So did all the rest of the magical shenanigans. The people marked with the raven were trusted by her, concerning the problems to come. The same people can see to cross back and forth across the barrier. So far we have found a crossing in front of our house, and through the back of Celeste's barn. It seems that areas without the gully can be crossed."

Jerold knew about the O'Byrne, all those living on O'Byrne land had better understand about the family's magic. They knew something was up, of course, when the raven was burned into their forearms. He smiled to himself thinking about his grandma. She had just _humphed_ and continued with the planting of her flowers. He had to admit to himself that he had worried some when he came upon the gully, not enough to go to the O'Byrne house though.

"We had no idea that mother and father were working on this," Alana told him when she saw him frowning. "They had been working on it for a long time, to have done so much."

"Why would they have done such a thing?" he pondered.

"Mother believed that Ireland will be going through a potato famine so severe that millions of the Irish will perish," Rhoswen told him, "and the English will not lift a finger to help us. Mother and father did this to protect our people, from the English, but also from our own starving people."

"That was why she raised a holler about us planting spuds," he murmured, "was wondering about that. And just when is this all supposed to happen? We've had potato failures before and been fine—hungry—but fine."

"This one will be bad," Meifen told him showing him his own brand, "I was called to bring the big donkey, and to assist the daughters of Keegan and Aine. There will be no one in Ireland unaffected. It will last for many years."

Kellan was surprised by Meifen's comments. Up until then, he hadn't talked much about the upcoming problems. She also noticed that until Meifen spoke up, Mister Jerold had not been taking them seriously. He thought they were just scared little girls.

Mister Jerold looked up to meet her eyes. He shivered as he met the solemn purple gaze. He had not been really listening. He straightened up and thought about what they were saying. He had been of a mind that as long as it didn't come knocking, he wasn't really interested. He was interested now.

"Mother said it would not happen for several years," Alana told him. "That we had time to prepare, but it would never be enough."

"If you cross the barrier and look back," Kellan told him, "it will appear as if the land was swallowed up by the ocean. Your family will have been listed as lost. If you want it differently, you will need to contact the registry with a story as to why you weren't home."

"I will think on this," he told them.

"Trust no one without the mark," Kane told him. "Lord Jaspin is marked. You can't see it because it is on his head. He was so marked at birth. He can be trusted."

"Mama told him it would be best for him and Corin to return to England," Vevila told him. "I think he will do that. His work here is gone."

"What of you?" Jerold asked the sisters.

"We will be moving to America before the occurrence," Rhoswen surprised him by saying. "Druantia has said so."

"Take care of yourselves," Kellan told him solemnly. "We will be checking the rest of the properties. Our Uncle Stefan is staying near the house. If you need something, go to him."

"Kingdom come," Meifen called out and they started on their way again.

"Is that what all this is about?" Chet asked with concern.

"Well, yes," Kellan answered him. "Didn't Mr. Buckley tell you about it?"

"No, actually," Chet said angrily. "He didn't"

"We talked to the villagers who had gathered at Celeste's house," Kellan told him, "but we went into detail with _him_ about what mama's prophecy consisted of. _He_ was to prepare the village."

They rode in silence. Vevila didn't even have a song to start. They were tired and discouraged. Kellan had switched with Alana and was riding beside Meifen. Alana looked to be snoozing, but they all knew that she wasn't.

They stopped at a stream to do their business and to eat. For once Chet wasn't feeling very hungry. The more he rode toward the north, the more anxious he felt. When he had started this venture, he had no idea of the gravity of their situation. Now, he was glad he did, but also regretted that he did. It was a lot easier when all he had to do was fantasize about his fair Katherine and repair the manor's roof.

They hopped into the wagon and Kingdom pulled them down the dirt road. Meifen started quizzing the girls about different magical aspects. Chet listened with interest. It actually made sense. Similar to the way the professors talked about physics.

He had noticed the purple sheen to the Chinese man's eyes and had wondered about his relationship to the O'Byrne family. It was Rhoswen who told him that he was another child of Druantia, from a clan in China, not _really_ related to the O'Byrne family at all.
Chapter Fifteen

"That's different!" Vevila pointed out.

"Whoa, Kingdom," Kellan called out.

They could see a line across the land where the sunny afternoon had turned to night.

"The flowers are all gone," Alana pointed to an area where the flowers were bright and vivid, but when they got to the line where day became night—they vanished.

"Look at the trees," Kellan pointed to the leafless trees. "It's winter over there."

Dara _looked_ toward the dark and saw that the area was indeed dormant—just like in winter.

"It's dark only because in winter it would be dark at this time of the day," Dara pointed out. "Everything over there is winter. Nothing looks like it would harm us if we were to cross."

"Kingdom will bulk if there is anything dangerous," Alana mentioned.

"Come on, Kingdom," Kellan coaxed the donkey.

Kingdom paused when he reached the winter ground, but then continued on into the area. It was a true oddity when the wagon crossed from a warm sunny day—to a cold wintery night.

_"AAW-Eee, Awe-Eee_ ," he danced with delight in the cool breeze.

The sisters shivered and started reaching for blankets and cloaks. They continued on. The ride up until the crossing had been very enjoyable. They had sung songs, played see-what games, gossiped and laughed. Even Meifen had joined into the fun. Now they all sat around nervously, shivering in the cold.

When they got hungry, they stopped and brought out the basket. They were in a small wooded area. In the summer it would have been fun to get out and romp around, stretching out their legs. Kellan had hoped to gather some strawberries, but there were none. She had added the sweet cream to the basket for nothing.

"Katherine's family is about another hour away," Chet frowned looking around.

"I'd be for moving along as soon as I use a tree," Alana mentioned staring around, her meat and bun laying uneaten in her lap.

"I agree," Vevila said instantly.

"I can eat while traveling," Rhoswen agreed.

They repacked the basket and wandered to separate areas of the woods to do their business. They were all quick to get back to the wagon. The final trip to the weaver's household, Jay and Briana Flanagan, was relatively quiet. Nothing, like the boisterous start of that morning.

Katherine was calmly sweeping off the front porch as if there wasn't a care in her world.

Kellan watched Chet with amusement. She could tell by his bemused expression that Katherine was the most beautiful woman in the whole world for him.

Indeed, he was gazing at her, watching her graceful movements as she swept the old porch. She was wearing an old work dress, but that didn't matter to him. Her shapely form was outlined as she bent to pick up the debris. Her hair was golden blond, long and luxuriant. He couldn't see her eyes, but he knew them to be a dusky blue, large and full with hidden amusements.

"Chet?" She startled him out of his befuddlement.

"Katherine!" Chet said jumping out of the wagon. He grabbed her up and kissed her. "I was worried about you."

She stared back at him startled. He looked down at her and frowned. Her cheeks were bright pink. She was looking over at her father apprehensively.

"What is it?" Chet asked her.

"Well," she said shyly. "It's just that you've never kissed me before. I think it would have been more seemly to have maybe kissed me for the first time in private."

"What?" He asked confused.

He looked over at her father and quickly released her. He was feeling totally mystified as she walked away to stand by her mother. Jay's face was beat red, and he looked ready to punch Chet in the nose. This was not the side Chet wanted to be on with his future father-in-law. He had no doubt that Jay could whip his butt. Jay was tall and strong. He had a temper that matched his red head. His blue eyes flashed daggers into Chet's brain. Chet was at a loss for why he was so angry. He looked over toward Briana, Katherine's mother.

He knew that Katherine got her coloring from her mother, but until that moment, he had not realized just how alike the two women were. Both, Mother and daughter were watching him with identical wearisome expressions.

"What day is it?" Meifen asked them.

"What?" Katherine asked confused, "Thursday, of course."

"What month is this?" Kellan asked.

"January," Briana frowned at them with concern. She eyed the Chinese man suspiciously. She knew that she had never seen _him_ before. She recognized Aine's daughters, but couldn't quite put the face to the name.

"Do you remember coming to the spring fair?" Chet asked Katherine, feeling uptight. "You wore a pretty dress that was pink with silver flowers. You had the same flowers in your bonnet."

"I haven't finished making that dress yet!" Katherine said angrily. "Just when did you see that material. Betty said that it was unique!"

"We best be getting inside," Briana told them. "I think you need to be explaining things. All's not right, is it?"

"No," Kellan told her, "definitely not."

"Mind if I talk to you alone first, sir," Chet sighed.

"That would probably be best," Jay told him sternly. "We'll just be out here for a while—taking care of the _donkey_."

Chet sighed. It hadn't been fun requesting for Katherine's hand the first time, much less doing it all over again. What if he said no? What if _she_ said no? He had originally purposed marriage at the end of the fair. It had been a very good day. He looked at the dismal landscape, that day was nothing like this wintery gloom.

"I will wait with Kingdom," Meifen requested, "if that is acceptable to everyone."

Kane looked at him surprised. He winked at her. He preferred to wait with Kingdom rather than be involved in the upcoming drama.

Briana led the way into the house. She put on a new kettle of water. Her bones felt so cold. She felt as if this winter would never end.

Kellan watched her speechlessly. She didn't even know where to begin. It seemed a little abrupt to start with their mama's death, but then that's where all this began. She waited until they were all settled around the table, each of them nursing their own cup of tea.

"So, how long have you known Chet?" Katherine asked Kellan pointedly.

Kellan pulled back startled. Alana laughed. Something about Alana's laugh melted the tension.

"I just met him this very morning," Kellan told her. "I recognized him from the village, but we had never been officially introduced. He has grown up quite handsomely, hasn't he?"

"Yes, he has," Katherine glared at her suspiciously.

"He approached us to ask for our help in finding you," Vevila told her. "He was _very_ worried."

"Why was he worried about _us_?" Briana asked.

"It seems that you were supposed to deliver some cloth to the village a few days ago," Kellan told her. "When you didn't arrive—Chet became worried."

"He even tried to swim over the ocean to you," Kane laughed.

"Ocean?" Briana and Katherine asked, wondering what was wrong with these girls.

Kellan took a deep breath and launched into the story of what their parents had done to safeguard the Irish people. The more she told the story, the more incredulous it sounded. She was beginning to wonder if her parents had maybe overreacted to her mama's latest sightings.

"So it looks like your area has been pushed back by six months," Kellan concluded. "It's June just an hour's ride from here."

"That's daft," Katherine frowned at her. Kellan just shrugged.

"Interesting," was all that Briana said.

Jay came stomping into the house. His was furious. It was one thing to finally have to give consent to some young man to court his only daughter, quite another to see that young man kissing on her before they had even talked. That cock and bull story he had just spun was incredibly stupid. He would never consent for such a liar to marry his daughter. He was bitterly disappointed. He had liked Chet of all the other boys in the village. Now, he wondered, just where _would_ Katherine's intended come from. He worried as he gnawed on his lip.

"Jay?" Briana called out. She quickly followed the sounds of his stomping feet.

"I don't know how," Katherine eyed Kellan, "or even what, but if you dared to throw a wedge between my father and Chet—so help me!"

Katherine fled the kitchen to find Chet talking with that strange Chinese man. She stopped to watch them. She really didn't know what to say to Chet. The story those girls told was just too ridiculous. If Chet was in on it with them, well then, maybe he _wasn't_ the man for her.

Sadly, she walked back into the house. She was startled by seeing the two littlest sisters waiting for her by the door. One had glowing vivid green eyes; the other had dark stormy blue eyes.

"He pressed us," Vevila told her. "Strangers to him—to find you. He was worried to the point of being sick. When you find that what we have said is true, and you will find it so, remember that. My sister has other things to concern herself about. She doesn't need your waspish tongue following her around."

"Just maybe—you aren't the woman for _him_!" Kane told her.

Katherine's mouth dropped open, startled. She snapped it shut. It was easy to feel insecure around the O'Byrne sisters. Even little Vevila had a way about her that made people snap to, and Kane was just out and out scary sometimes. She had heard about Kane getting into fights with the bigger kids—and winning. Kellan, she thought, was just out-and-out frick'n gorgeous. Why would Chet notice her own vague blond, blue-eyed looks after seeing Kellan's vivacious dark beauty? She looked down confused.

"Your father has decided to take Charger out for a jaunt to see this seasonal change," Briana told her daughter. "He wants to get to that area quickly."

Katherine looked at her startled. Charger hadn't been broken yet and wasn't in the least bit charitable to any rider. They guessed that at one time someone had ridden him, he seemed to understand commands, but that time was long past. He was so named for his tendency to charge at anyone who came near him.

"He won't get there quickly with a broken back," she said sarcastically.

"I know," was Briana's reply as she walked back to the kitchen.

They knew there was no stopping Jay when he decided on something, like buying that horse to begin with. It was just plain mean.

Jay sighed as he approached the barnyard carrying the lantern. At least, the bloody horse couldn't run very far, the yard was small. Charger was the only horse that they owned who could get to the spot before night fell on the other side, if there was really a difference, and not these people's imaginings. Jay should have listened to Briana and left the beast in the village barnyard. He just felt bad for the horse. Someone had just tossed it aside, as if it was trash. That just wasn't right, and no one else wanted the animal.

Alana followed Jay out to the barn. She was curious about Charger. She hadn't met a horse yet that she couldn't soothe, or ride. She wondered what was wrong with him. She watched as Jay approached the yard. Charger was instantly on guard. Alana could tell that he had been badly abused. She could also tell that he was quite ready to hurt this human if he came into his pasture.

Jay was startled as the little redhead ran ahead of him toward the yard. He broke out in a sweat as he watched the girl climb up on the railing. He began to run. He was afraid to yell at her, afraid of startling her, and of her falling into the pasture.

"Miss," he grabbed her arm when arriving at the fence. "You need to climb off of there—now."

She turned and looked at him. The light from the lantern lit up her face. He was startled to see flecks of violet floating within her blue gaze. Until then he had not noticed any oddness about her, none of the peculiarities rumored about the O'Byrne's. He was surprised to find himself afraid. He pulled his thoughts together. This child was just that—a child.

"Charger doesn't like people much," he told her. "He can hurt you real bad if you fall in there."

"Hurt _you_ , too," Alana told him. "I'm Alana, one of the twins."

She had seen the fear in his eyes regarding her and respected him for his restraint. It was really distressing when people just went nuts and ran away from her.

"Horses like me," she told him. "He will tell me what is wrong, and then maybe, you could ride him. If not, it would be best to leave him be for now. He is quite put out and very ready to make _you_ go away— _forever_."

He flinched at her words. He had seen Chargers behavior, but had not wanted to admit that Charger could seriously damage him. He watched in still silence as she made clicky noises towards the big horse and held out her hand. He reared back. Jay held his breath. She clicked some more and the horse hesitantly made his way towards the fence. He pulled back, and then took the needed step to smell her hand. She scratched his nose after he was done sniffing her hand.

Alana didn't really understand this type of communication. It wasn't with words, but she could feel a link form and could simply understand what Charger needed—and what he feared.

"He has a very sensitive mouth," she told Jay softly, all the time stroking his nose. "His previous owner was mean. He used to pull hard on the rein just to have the bit bite into his gums."

She nodded to the horse. Jay was surprised when Charger allowed her to show Jay his gums. He cringed when he saw the scaring. He hadn't known that a bit could even inflict that much damage.

"The previous owner had a special bit made for his horses," Alana told him. "The nerves in his mouth are a mess. He will probably never be able to handle the feel of a bit. A hackamore is just as useless, he is over sensitized around his nose."

"Then how will I control him?" He asked perplexed. He didn't like the idea of inflicting pain, but he liked the idea of a useless horse even less.

"He's smart," Alana told him. "Use a harness without a bit. He will respond well to that. He's a good horse. He wants to be ridden and appreciated. He desperately wants a special friend _again_."

"I don't know," Jay told her.

"Where's your saddle and harnesses?" She asked.

She patted the horse and then followed Jay into the small barn. Jay nodded towards the wall which held the horse gear. He watched with interest as she unbuckled all the mouth and nose straps and connected the rein directly to the throat lash, just under the crown piece.

"That will just flip over his ears," Jay mentioned.

"If _you_ pull it," she told him as she picked up the leathers. "That is why I'm riding out with you. A gentle direction is all that he will need. Later, if he decides to run away with you, let him—no damage done. It will be worth it to have a horse, and a friend."

He just shrugged and followed her out, carrying the saddle. He couldn't see her getting the gear on him to begin with. He was apprehensive when she first climbed over the fence and approached Charger. He relaxed when he realized not only was Charger not going to charge at her, but was actually excited for her attention.

Alana had no trouble getting the straps on him once she had shown him that there were no tight circles, or metal bars. She modified her original design with a loop so she could attach the rein without intruding on the throat lash. Nothing was touching his face.

He was so excited that she had to give him a slap to get him to settle down so she could finish buckling the saddle. She easily pulled herself up into the saddle. She tested the leads with the horse to make sure he understood what she wanted. She nodded to Jay when she was ready for him to mount in back of her. She hadn't adjusted the stirrups so they would still be adjusted for the last rider, who had been Jay.

He eyed her and Charger nervously.

"Friend," she was saying gently to Charger while patting his long neck. She _impressed_ the feelings of how good it would be to have such a friend as Jay. She felt Charger accept the impression. She sighed with relief. Jay would not ever be hurt by Charger. Today would be the beginning of a great friendship between the horse and the man.

Jay put his foot into the stirrup. He was surprised when Charger just turned to stare at him. He used the saddle horn and pulled himself on up behind her.

"Let's go," she told Charger without pulling on the reins.

He shot out. Alana gave him his freedom, laughing into the exhilaration of the ride. He was mighty fast. She could feel the wind whipping at her hair. She imagined that Jay was probably eating some of it.

Jay had his arms wrapped around her hanging onto the saddle horn. He didn't really notice her hair hitting him. He was much taller than she was. He was very glad that she was so small. He had never ridden like this before and didn't know what to do with his hands. When he found his rhythm, he let go of the horn and just let his hands dangle into his lap, letting his waist roll with the gallop—just as Alana was.

Charger had a smooth gallop. From time to time Alana gently pulled on the leads to slow him down so that they could see this or that. They could see the change in the sky for quite a while before actually arriving on the spot. Alana could feel Jay stiffen fearfully behind her. His fear was transferring to Charger.

"You need to take a deep breath and relax," she told him. "Charger can feel your fear and will start responding fearfully himself. _We_ already passed this way earlier. It is strange, but not harmful.

Jay realized that her words were true. He could feel Charger's gallop become agitated. Gone was the glory and pure exuberance of the run, leaving a tense stride. He reminded himself of how the earlier run had felt. He thought about the horse's strength and momentum—the freedom. Charger responded by steadying out his stride and galloping onward.

Charger slowed on his own as he approached the changed area. He came to a dead stop at the edge of the season. Jay handed Alana down before descending himself. Alana stayed back with Charger as Jay checked out the area.

Jay had a hard time taking in what his eyes were seeing. He had to touch the ground on both sides before he could really believe that their story was true. He walked over to a strawberry bush. It was lush with unpicked berries. He wished he had a basket. Briana would have loved to have some of these fresh berries.

"You can always bring your wagon and visit the village," Alana told him seeing his wistful expression. "Stop here on your way."

"This is just wrong," he told her. "Why hasn't Keegan come out to talk to us about this? Why all the secrecy?"

Alana stared at him appalled. Of course! They wouldn't know, being pulled back in time.

"Papa died a couple of months ago," Alana told him. She felt the tears well up in her eyes. She had thought she was finished with her grieving.

"Oh sweetie," he pulled her into a hug. "We didn't know, or if we did, we forgot."

He felt so much like her own papa, that she started crying. Her heart gave and the tears fell. No one had held her like this since her papa had died.

"Mama died too," she sobbed into his shoulder, "when little Haley was born. That's what set all this off. They had been working on this for a long time. I don't know why they kept it a secret. The more we find, the more we realize how much work they did to do all this."

Jay had a hard time not to break into tears himself. His heart ached for the girl, ached for the loss of a friend—for Keegan was a friend from childhood. They had played many pranks together. He had been the best man at Keegan's wedding, and him his. Aine had been the beauty who Keegan had fallen madly in love with. It was sad just how far their paths had separated. They hadn't really romped around together since their bachelor days.

They had both become too entrenched in their own little worlds to realize that they were no longer close. Jay thought about him sometimes, but never really felt the need to go see him. He figured it must have been that way with Keegan as well. Now he wondered, considering all the stress he must have been under to have been a party to all this magic.

"How did he die?" Keegan couldn't help but ask.

"Some drifters were trying to spear a sow," Alana told him, "and speared him instead. They said he was dead before he even hit the ground."

Jay was suddenly, unreasonably furious.

"Are you okay?" Alana asked him concerned.

"Me?" He asked confused.

"Yes, you seem to be pressing my arm kind of tight," she told him.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," he immediately released her arm.

"Another curse mama initiated was that anyone hurting us would be rewarded three-fold what they had done," Alana surprised him by saying. "We didn't know if that meant unintentional damage. I guess we know now, otherwise you would have one really bad smarting arm."

"I'm very sorry," Jay told her remorsefully. "I was so angry to hear about your father. Were they brought to justice?"

"Mothers kind of justice," Alana told him.

Alana noticed his shiver and laughed to herself. He didn't ask how, and she didn't volunteer the information. Some things were probably better left in ignorance.

"Are you satisfied?" She asked him.

"Yes," Jay told her feeling aggrieved. There was just too much wrong. "When we get back, I would like more details. I'm sorry to say that I was only listening to part of what Chet was rambling on about."

"Even Chet is having problems believing what he already knows to be true," Alana told him. "How could he possibly tell a convincing story?"

"He couldn't," Jay told her chagrinned. "I was very close to popping him in the mouth."

"He already purposed to your daughter," Alana told him. "The whole village knows that she accepted."

"Why pull the seasons back?" He pondered. "Why not spring ahead?"

She shivered. Why indeed?

On the way back, Alana had Jay in charge of the reins. At first he was very insecure with the idea of controlling a horse in this manner. After a while, he realized that he didn't need to control Charger, that they were building up trust and a new partnership. He really liked this horse. He felt a lot better about him, now that Charger wasn't trying to kill him.

Everyone was waiting for them on the porch. It hadn't taken them very long to ride to the edge. Jay could see by Briana's eyes that she had been told of Keegan and Aine's death. They were red rimmed. She was a tough lady. It took an awful lot to make her cry. He felt sad for all of them. They had lost some good souls.

"The story is true," Jay told Briana and Katherine. "We have lost the time it seems."

"Why would they do this to us?" Briana said angrily. "Why do it at all?"

"Food," Jay answered thoughtfully thinking of those lush berries. "If they believed that we would go through a famine, how better to serve our people than to have a year round growing operation. We will be harvesting while everyone else is dormant. That's definitely going to give us an advantage."

"I don't think it's worth losing six months of my life," Katherine said angrily thinking of her wasted dress. "Like mother said—why us?"

"Rhoswen!" Alana frowned. "Are you okay?"

"She's been staring out like that for the last few minutes," Katherine shrugged. "Daydreaming I suppose."

"She's not daydreaming," Kellan said irritably. "She's tranced."

Kellan walked over and sat down below her, but not touching her.

"Rhoswen," she called. Rhoswen didn't respond. "Rhoswen," she called louder.

"Shake her," Briana stood to do just that.

"No!" Kane shouted.

Kane started to move in her way, but was too late. As soon as Briana touched her, she was pulled into trance with Rhoswen.

"What's going on?" Jay asked harshly.

"Your wife must have some O'Byrne blood," Meifen stated. "Otherwise she would not have been so drawn in. She is in trance with the girl. What Rhoswen is _knowing_ , so is she."

"Pull her out!" Jay ordered as he stood up.

This time they all blocked his way.

"It _hurts_ to be pulled out like that," Alana told him. "Really hurts!"

"They will be okay," Kellan told him. "Just let it run its way."

"But what is _it_?" Katherine asked, concerned for her mother.

"Rhoswen's strongest gift is intuition," Vevila told them. "Something about this day has brought it on. It could be very important, or it could be about a swarm of butterflies. We never know. Sometimes she tells us about it, but most times she needs to think on it awhile."

"Well," Kellan said staring at Briana, "she won't have time to _think_ on it this time, not alone anyway."

"How long will they be like that?" Chet asked curiously.

"Usually just a few minutes," Kellan told him. "The _visions_ , or whatever, are fast. The mind processing could take some time."

"You really don't know, do you?" Katherine asked surprised.

"No," Kellan stared at her. "Why would I? I've never been so tranced. Dara was once, trapped into one of Rhoswen's _things_. She told us about it of course."

"What was it like?" Katherine asked Alana.

"I'm Alana," she smirked, "not Dara."

"Oh," Katherine said disappointed.

"What I can tell you is that it interrupted our twin link," Alana told her. "Not much can do that."

"They are coming out of it," Chet told them.

Rhoswen and Briana suddenly realized that everyone was staring intently at them. Rhoswen just sighed, she was used to it. Briana stared at Jay, stood, and then swiftly ran out of the room.

"Processing time?" Kane asked curiously.

"Please let her be," Rhoswen surprised them all by saying when Jay rose to go after her. He looked around confused, but sat back down.

"Here," Meifen handed her a cup. "I always seem to be giving this to you girls."

"Kaliton—sweet—thanks" Rhoswen said taking a sip.

"Are you going to tell us about it?" Vevila asked sarcastically, "or go off thinking about it?"

"No point in that is there," Rhoswen answered and then sighed. "It's about why mama chose this area to winterize, and why at this time—with these people. I think Briana needs to explain it."

"She can't do that while crying in her room—now can she?" Katherine glared at them.

"Then we will wait," Rhoswen told her firmly. "I'm hungry. Do we have anymore of that pecan pie?"

"I don't know," Kellan stared at her. "How much did _you_ eat?"

"Just a couple of pieces," Rhoswen said defensively, "Chet had some, too."

"It's gone," Chet said defensively. "I was nervous."

"Scared more like," Jay said with narrowed eyes. "You might as well know, my little Katherine. You and Chet here are engaged to be married. The whole village knows about it. I _apparently_ gave him permission to ask for your hand, and _apparently_ —you accepted."

"But I never," Katherine exclaimed.

"Yes," Kellan told her laughing, "you did—right after the dance. Everyone clapped and applauded. You showed everyone your ring."

"My ring?" She said looking at her bare finger.

"Her ring," Chet said forlornly.

They all stared at her empty hand.

"The box!" Rhoswen and Alana said excitedly and ran from the room.

They came back in carrying a rather large hat box.

"We put the note in here," Alana told them.

They put the box on the floor. Rhoswen blindly reached inside. Her face grimaced as she pulled out a fish.

"The one that got away," Kellan laughed.

"What is this about?" Jay asked them.

"There is a note that our great-grandfather wrote," Kellan explained as Alana and Rhoswen dug around in the box. "It was meant to return all stolen monies—English taxes—back to the Irish. But when it was removed from a bank box, the meaning became obscure and it started bringing in any object stolen. I don't really know why they are digging around with it now."

"We changed it," Rhoswen said pulling out a chicken. "What is with all this livestock!" That was the third chicken she had pulled out of the box.

"I hope you can use some more chickens," Kane said as she gathered them up and put them outside.

"We changed it to read, _or lost to all time_ ," Alana continued.

"The song you sang said, _lost forever in time_ ," Vevila told them.

"Well we didn't want the stuff that would be found the next day," Rhoswen said defensively, "now did we."

"That would be very annoying to someone," Kane realized.

"I don't know why you want any of this stuff at all!" Vevila told her after she pulled out another chicken. "Why don't you just dump the box over?"

"Good idea," Rhoswen said as she dumped the box over and sat it on its side. "It seems heftier than it was earlier."

They watched in amazement as a little lamb climbed out.

"It's so cute," Katherine exclaimed picking it up. "May I have it?"

"Why not?" Alana shrugged, "As long as my other sisters agree."

They all shrugged watching the box.

"I think you're going to have to tip it," Kellan told Alana.

"Can you help," Alana asked her. "It's too heavy."

Kellan, Alana, and Rhoswen lifted the box at an angle. A flood of items came out. Chet was looking through it for the ring and gave a startled exclamation. A small boy of around three climbed out of the box.

"Oh dear," Rhoswen said appalled.

"Now what have you done?" Kellan asked.

"I found it!" Chet said triumphantly holding up the ring.

No one was looking at him. They were studying the little boy.

"Lost forever in time?" Vevila asked.

"Someone has lost a little boy," Rhoswen said with wonder.

The little boy started crying. He was babbling incoherently.

"Oh dear," Rhoswen said again.

Briana swept in and picked up the little boy, cuddling him close. She had been watching with amusement as the girls were pulling things out of that box. Her amusement vanished at the sight of the lost little boy. Some mother had lost her child, the worst nightmare for any mother to face. They would have to find her.

She set the boy down on the counter and handed him a cookie. He looked up startled and grinned.

"I don't think he knows yet that he's lost," Vevila noticed. "His clothes are strange. Where could he have been lost from?"

Jay watched Briana with concern. They knew nothing about the child. Her eyes caught his. If he could keep a foul horse, she could keep a lost child. His eyes widened with understanding—until this child's natural parents were found—Briana was keeping him. He scratched his head and then started biting his nails.

"Mama," Katherine called out to her, "are you okay now?"

"Yes," Briana answered quietly, still holding the child. He had apparently fallen asleep in her arms. She carried him into the bedroom. He was still sleeping as she put him down and covered him up. He was muttering what seemed to be a call for his mother. Briana's heart wept. She tightened her heart strings and returned to the room.

"Do you wish to tell them about it?" Rhoswen asked her.

She pressed her eyes tightly closed. "It was because of that damn horse."

"What?" Jay asked, surprised by her tone.

"It killed you—in May—their May," she told him angrily. "Our land wasn't originally planned to be offset, that was to be eastward of here. Aine saw an alternate possibility and took it, resetting time and giving us a different possibility. As long as you don't die during _our_ May, I'll be very happy for the change."

"Should we put the horse down?" Katherine asked.

"No," Rhoswen and Kane shouted out.

"Yes! Absolutely," Briana exclaimed.

"That would just be wrong!" Alana said angrily, "murder in fact."

"Justifiable," Briana argued.

"No," Alana argued with her. "The path has been changed. Charger and Jay now have an understanding. Charger will not hurt him."

"How can you be sure?" Briana argued heatedly. "I'm not willing to risk it!"

"But I am," Jay told her. "I will not _kill_ him!"

"There's no need for that," Rhoswen told her. "You saw—that possibility is now impossible."

"How can you say that?" Briana asked her. "We both saw that horse kill my husband!"

"Yes," Rhoswen agreed, "last April down by the grove. That area is now June. April is gone from there, so also is that possibility."

"This is just too confusing," Briana held her head.

The vision of Jay being killed was one which she would never forget! How could such a thing have actually happened? Why was there no memory? How could such pain be simply vanished? She must have grieved terribly.

"That is why I _usually_ take time to sort out what I suddenly know," Rhoswen told her. "It is not always as it seems."

"Do what you want with the bloody horse," she muttered walking out of the room. "You will anyway."

Katherine watched as her mother left the room.

"I'm tired," Kane complained. "Maybe everyone is. People make more sense come morning."

"There's just one more thing," Chet said reaching for the ring.

"No, wait," Rhoswen stalled him.

"Now what?" He looked at her annoyed. It had taken a lot of courage to make the move.

She pulled him away. Katherine knew what he was about to do, and didn't know if she should be annoyed with Rhoswen, or thankful.

"There's a strong possibility that her memory will be connected to the ring," Rhoswen told him, "memory could be— _lost forever in time_ —just as other things."

"That's good though," he said happily. "She will remember the fair."

"She will also remember her father getting killed," she reminded him.

"Oh!" His face turned pale. "Maybe, I should buy a different ring."

"Let her choose," Rhoswen told him. "She might say no this time, considering all the stress of the moment. Do you really want to choose _this_ moment?"

"I just don't know," he frowned.

"Maybe, you should talk to me!" They looked up to find Katherine glaring at both of them.

"You sure you want to do this?" Rhoswen asked out loud.

"Positive," he said, looking into his beloveds fiery eyes.

"On your head be it," Rhoswen said walking away. "Love is stupid."

"Definitely," Kane agreed watching the two idiots.

"I am going to ask you—again—to be my wife," he told her, "but Rhoswen said that your memories may be attached to the ring. I can get you a new ring."

"But I want to remember that moment," she told him confused.

"She says you will also remember the last six months," he said concerned, "even your father's death."

"Oh!" She said startled. "Maybe I need to know. Maybe there are other things that need to be remembered."

"Are you strong enough?" Vevila asked her. "Don't get your back up—this is important. You just saw your mother. She saw what was. Life is not a game! Are you strong enough?"

Chet wanted to tell Vevila to just shut-up! He looked over at her to scold her, to tell her that this was none of her business. He got caught up into her fathomless green eyes, and realized that she was not just idly making trouble. He looked deeply into Katherine's blue eyes. Was she strong enough, or could the memory break her? Did he even know what he was asking of her?

Katherine was irritated by Vevila's interference. This was between Chet and herself. She, too, was going to tell her to leave it alone, when she also was caught inside her gaze. There wasn't any mischief there, only a deep seated concern for herself. She felt touched, and surprised.

She looked into Chet's eyes and knew that she loved him. She knew that she had loved him for a very long time. She remembered the first time he had mistakenly hit her with a mud ball. It had gotten her pretty yellow dress all dirty. He had been very sorry—and very cute. She had been eight at the time. No matter what pain, she didn't want to miss one second of time with him. She would not let her memory of that time slip by because she was either too weak, or a coward.

"I want to marry you," she told him. "I want to have your children. I want to share _every_ memory with you—no matter the pain. I will wear my ring, now!"

"My daughter has always known her own mind," Jay said, his eyes suspiciously bright.

"Just like her papa," Briana told him slipping her arm into his. He kissed her hand.

He slipped the ring onto her finger. They were unprepared for her groan and sudden faint. They called her, but she was lost to her memories.

"Don't be concerned," Rhoswen told them after she had been placed on the sofa. "Six months doesn't seem like much time, but there would have to be a ca-zillion thoughts going on in the brain during that time. She should be okay."

"Should be?" Chet said with _great_ concern.

"This was her choice," Kellan told him, "and her right!"

"I'm going to bed now," Kane informed them. She had gotten her favorite blanket and cuddled up by the fireplace. "The one good thing about winter—a nice toasty fire." With that comment—she was out.

The others soon followed suit. Meifen made his way out the door to sleep in the wagon beside Kingdom. He was more comfortable sleeping outside then in a stranger's house—even if it was a little damp.
Chapter Sixteen

: _Alana!_ : Dara called irritably. : _Wake up for goddess sake!_ :

: _What?_ : Alana asked.

: _We have never gone to bed without a what's up!_ : She complained. : _So what's up?_ :

: _I'm sorry_ ,: Alana apologized. : _I just fell asleep._ :

: _I can feel your tiredness_ ,: Dara told her. : _It must have been a rough day._ :

: _A very strange day,_ : Alana told her. : _Do you remember Jay and Briana Flanagan?_ :

: _A little,_ : Dara frowned, : _Papa's childhood friend and his wife. They stopped coming by a long time ago. That was when grandmother was staying over in the cottage_.:

: _Yes, that's them_ ,: Alana agreed. : _They are the family living up north that Chet was so concerned about_.:

: _Oh, that Katherine_ ,: Dara laughed into the link remembering Katherine showing off her ring at the fair. It was a pretty ring. : _I didn't recognize Chet yesterday, but then I wasn't paying that much attention._ :

: _Well, It's really a confusing mess up here,_ : Alana hesitated wondering where to begin.

Alana started with the seasonal shift of the area and continued from there. It was so good to feel her twin with her. They had never been this far apart before. She had missed her at a very deep level through the day. It felt strange to just fall asleep like that—without Dara close by.

. She was telling Dara about Charger when she felt Dara's stillness.

: _What is it?_ : She asked.

: _It has been peculiarly quiet here,_ : Dara told her.

: _?_ :

: _I think a gift that I thought was ours is really yours,_ : Dara told her.

: _What do you mean?_ : Alana asked.

: _We've always heard a hum,_ : Dara told her. : _I haven't heard that hum all day. It got fainter the farther you rode away. I think it's your hum. Maybe Meifen can help you to figure it out—if it's a gift. If it isn't_ — _get rid of it. No offense, but it's been kind of nice not having that in my head._ :

: _Oh!:_ Alana was surprised. She had never thought about it. It had just always been there. : _It would be nice to block it sometimes. It can be a little distracting. I'll have to think about it. So how are the sailors?_ :

: _Crazy!_ : Dara told her. : _They found out about us using Nick as a nutrient siphon and asked Molly for some hemp seeds. They were all lined up and ready to do the same. We told them to forget it. They all had typhoid for goddess sakes. They couldn't keep what nutrients they had, much less give some away. Molly did give them a hemp type paste smeared on some bread. It seems to be staying with them._ :

Alana loved to hear the enthusiasm in Dara's thoughts. She personally would hate to be a healer, but was happy that Dara was happy. She then told her about the boy.

: _Oops!_ : Dara sent. : _Maybe we took on more than we can handle._ :

: _I don't think so_ ,: Alana told her. : _Briana's taking charge of him. We'll find where he belongs. Between all of us, we should be able to find his home. Can you imagine, lost for all time, which means that even his bones would have never been discovered. How sad is that?_ :

: _I just mean that life can get pretty full_ — _you know._ : Dara reiterated.

: _I know,_ : Alana said sadly.

: _I'm going off to sleep now_ ,: Dara told her. : _Think about that hum thing_.:

: _I will,_ : Alana assured her. : _Good night_.:

: _Night,_ : Dara responded sleepily.

It was some time before Alana found her way back to sleep. She had a lot of things to think about. She had missed Dara, and she could tell that Dara had missed her. They would have to work something else out. Being separated like this just didn't feel natural. In fact, Alana realized, it was out-and-out painful. She noticed that she was not the only restless sleeper. There was more than one pacer walking around the house. It was a busy night.

Most of the family was surprised to be suddenly waking up to the morning sun. They couldn't even remember falling asleep.

"Morning, little Briany," Jay called to his wife. "I have a surprise for you."

"What is that?" she murmured.

"Oh no," he laughed, stroking her hand. "You aren't using your sweet womanly ways on me to get me to spill the beans—well maybe—if you touch..."

"Get out of here!" She exclaimed laughing. "We do have guests in the house you know."

Chet had been watching Katherine through the night. Kane saw them and just rolled her eyes. Vevila giggled. Katherine was finally sleeping peacefully. For part of the night, she had been crying in her sleep. Chet finally settled in behind her to hold her close. Jay came out of the room at one time during the early morning and started to say something about his brazenness, but kept the words bottled upon seeing Chet's determined glare.

Everyone seemed to wake up groggily to wander into the kitchen.

"I feel like I got hammered last night," Jay complained. "What's the fun of that without the beer?"

"Is that what it feels like?" Kane asked. "I'm never drinking beer."

"It tastes like crap anyway," Vevila told her.

"Vevila!" Kellan laughed.

"Oh!" They heard Briana exclaim. "What beautiful berries!"

"It's a miracle really," Jay told her kissing her ear. "Seeing them berries in the dead of winter."

"You went out early," she accused him. "I never even stirred."

"I can be stealthy," he grinned at her.

"Yah, right!" Kellan scoffed. "He stumbles into the chair, then crashes off the stone step, only to bounce off the wall. He _sounded_ hammered!"

"How are you feeling sweetie?" Briana asked Katherine as she entered into the kitchen.

"A little fragile, I think," she answered. "Okay though. How about you?"

"Probably about the same," Briana answered. "I'm putting things aside to deal with them later."

"Me too," Katherine told her. "I still have to sort through what almost was, and what is. It's terribly confusing." She looked up at Chet. "But darn worth it!"

"I promised Charger we would brush him out this morning," Alana informed Jay. "That is, if you have nothing more pressing to do?"

He looked at her guiltily. Charger had never been brushed out since arriving at the village. Everyone was afraid of him, and if Rhoswen's alternate pathway is correct, for a very good reason.

"I thought we were going to head for the village today," Katherine said disappointed.

"Do you really want to do that?" Rhoswen asked her. "Before you've sorted through that scrambled brain?"

"Well," Katherine thought about what the village people might ask of her, or expect, "maybe not this day. How many people think father is—you know—dead?"

"I didn't know," Chet said and frowned. He didn't know why he hadn't been told.

"It was about a month ago," Briana told them.

"We had no way—or desire—to get to the village," Katherine told them. "Glenna came to perform the rites. That's why Aine knew about papa's death, just Glenna and Aine."

"Well, at least we don't have to explain why I'm still breathing and walking," Jay said sardonically.

Rhoswen was a little worried, but didn't choose to share it with anyone. If it was a person's time to be gone, she believed that it would be so. It wasn't up to her mother to cheat death. She didn't even know if it was possible. She'd have to talk to Druantia about these alternative realities. She liked this family, and was scared for them. They had endured the pain of loss once. She didn't know if they could endure it again.

Just then a sleepy faced little boy stumbled out of the back room. He blinked at them.

"Would you like some breakfast?" Briana asked him. "Do you know what you would like to eat?"

The boy just stared at her and started to whimper. He started talking baby gibberish. Vevila was a little surprised. She thought he seemed a little old to not be able to talk out words. She listened harder trying to make out what he said through his tears. Her head pounded as she tried to hear him. Briana was asking him if he needed to use the toilet room. She started to make out a word here or there. He was settling down now, making more sense.

"He just wants to go home now," Vevila told Briana. "He's not hungry."

"Well, of course, he wants to go home," Briana told her sharply, "but he needs to eat something."

Vevila watched with amusement as Briana mimicked eating, and then started pulling down various foods for him. He was frowning at her. Vevila shrugged and pulled a strawberry scone from her own family's basket. She warmed it up the way Kellan had taught them. Its fragrance could be smelled across the kitchen. Everyone turned to look at her.

"What?" She asked.

"Share," Alana scolded her.

"That smells really good," the little boy told her. "Can I have one?"

"Oh, of course," she told everyone and started handing out warmed scones. "We just learned how to heat things from Kellan. It does make things smell like they just came out of the oven."

"You learned how to _heat_ them?" Katherine asked surprised.

"Well yes," Vevila told her, "with magic of course."

"Of course," Katherine murmured.

"I'd forgotten what it was like to hang around with an O'Byrne," Jay smiled. "Keegan used to do things like that."

"Really?" Kane said eagerly. "Like what specifically?"

"Well," Jay had to think a minute, "like he had pockets in his coat that could hold everything in them. Not just a few things, but a lot of things."

"Like our basket," Alana grinned. "Celeste just taught us how to make pockets. Since then I swear, Kane's been making pockets out of everything."

"They're darn handy," Kane said defensively.

"Can I see your basket," the little boy asked.

"We have all kinds of things in here," Vevila murmured to him as she scooted the basket closer to the boy. "This one we keep for food, cold and hot."

"I like you," he told her. "You can call me Davy."

"Davy then," Vevila smiled at him.

Vevila started pulling food out of the basket. The boy's eyes got bigger and bigger with every item she took out. Those watching couldn't help but laugh as Vevila kept pulling out items.

"Can I have some of those?" He asked her.

"Apples," Vevila handed an apple to Kane who deftly peeled and quartered it. Kane handed Davy a perfectly quartered apple.

Everyone could understand his expression of awe. Chet felt the same himself, watching Kane so deftly handle the knife.

"Where did you learn that?" he asked Kane.

"It just seemed like something interesting to know," she told him. "I just practiced it until I was good."

"You are very good," he told her.

"I'm going to brush out Charger now," Alana told them. "Anyone want to join me?" She looked pointedly at Jay.

She knew that Jay had ridden Charger to get the berries—and hadn't brushed or rubbed him down. She walked over to the other basket and reached inside calling for the donkey's grooming bag. She figured the tools in there would work for Charger as well.

She hadn't really gotten a good look at the horse during their nocturnal ride. She was startled to see the scrawny little beast. She laughed out loud. She knew it wasn't big, but hadn't realized how stubby he was. He was also very shabby. No one had combed or trimmed him in a long time. His coat was positively matted. She wasn't even sure what color it was. She groaned to herself for the task ahead.

"It's okay," she patted his neck, "we'll get you straightened out, and Dara will help you with that mouth of yours—I'm sure."

"Dara?" Jay asked her.

"My twin," Alana answered. "She's working with Celeste at the manor with the healing arts. She can definitely make Charger better."

Alana looked down at Chargers legs and started laughing.

"How did he get that kind of speed out of those stubby little legs?" She asked.

"Hey," Jay cautioned. "Don't tell him that. He'll start feeling small around the ladies."

"I don't think so," Alana told him staring at the horse's dangly.

Jay just laughed. Charger nickered excitedly on seeing the dandy brush.

"Not so fast my friend," Alana told him pulling out the curry comb. "First things, first."

"He's sure a changed beast," Jay told her. "I can't believe the change within one night."

"It was a long night," Alana told him. "He wanted to have a friend. He'd had a friend before. Horses are very sociable people."

He looked at her strangely—wondering where she got these things. Was this magic? Another type of magic than what her father had?

Kane and Vevila came out to watch Alana and Jay groom the horse. Meifen watched with interest when the little boy started following Vevila around. He wondered if she knew that she was the only one who could understand him. He doubted it. She hadn't started talking the other language to him yet, but he figured that would come. He would like for her to soon learn his own language. It had been a long time since he had heard it spoken—not counting by himself to himself.

"I think we should ride this part of the property out," Kellan told them as she watched them playing with Charger. "It's early still," she frowned. "I would also like to know how the average family eats. I've been reading some of mama's entries and she mentions the mass amounts of potatoes the common man eats. I just don't see how they can eat all that. What can we advise them to grow instead? Everything that I can think of doesn't require a person to eat those kinds of quantities. They will eat too much."

"There's still time," Vevila said uninterested.

"There's time to grow things," Alana shared Kellan's concern, "but not much time to convince people to change such a major everyday occurrence. It would be like us, suddenly _having_ to eat _only_ potatoes day in and day, out for a year. We wouldn't like that."

"Oh," Vevila frowned. They had never eaten only potatoes. Mama had always varied their fare. She would sure get tired of eating only potatoes.

"It will help with this property being in an opposite season," Jay told her. "Whatever is grown, can be grown year round. It's always the dormant months which are the hardest. I could have wished for this little bit a magic, a few years sooner."

"I could agree with that," Briana told them walking up to the fence. "I am so looking forward to riding into June weather tomorrow."

"So you will be okay to go to the village tomorrow?" Jay asked with a smile.

"Very," she hugged him close.

"Well, look at that!" Rhoswen exclaimed. "He's beautiful.

Charger's coat was of lush light browns and gleamed in the winter sun. His face was creamy blond. Alana had already liked his intelligent, big brown eyes, but who would ever guess that a bath and brush could produce such a lovely creature.

"He's truly amazing," Jay said happily. "If he will pull the wagon, I'd like Charley to get a good look at him. He was so damned ready to make him into stew meat."

"Yes," Katherine said sardonically, "but then Charley would eat most anything." She looked over at Kellan, "It was rumored that last winter he cut off his dog's leg when he got hungry, and then let the stump heal. He then cut down another leg later."

"That's sick!" Alana said angrily. "Animals feel pain the same as we do. Someone should do that to him, see how he feels then."

"No animal will stay with him now," Jay told them, "they all run away."

"Good for them!" Alana said with narrowed eyes.

"We should ride to the real ocean," Kane called out restlessly. She had been hovering while they brushed out Charger. He looked pristine now, so why were they still here? "We sure have a lot of ground to look over."

Kellan wasn't surprised by Kane's comment. She had been surprised by how patient she had been up till then. Kane couldn't hold still for very long—ever.

"We could actually get to the beach by nightfall," Rhoswen prodded. "A beach bonfire sounds delightful. I wonder what season it will be?"

"Summer again, I hope," Vevila said shivering. "Beach parties aren't much fun in the dead of winter."

"See you soon new friend," Alana said as she patted Charger good-bye. Charger woofed into her hair.

They reloaded the wagon. Meifen again took the reins with Kellan sitting up beside him. Davy broke free from Briana.

"I want to go with you," he told Vevila and started climbing into the wagon.

Kellan looked over at Briana and noted her tear filled eyes.

"We will take very good care of him," Kellan told her, "and we have the best tools to find out where, and when, he belongs."

"We can bring him over for visits," Alana told her, "until we find his parents of course."

Briana nodded. She knew that it was right for him to be going with them. She tried not to see the relief in Jay's eyes. Chet and the Flanagan's watched as they drove on down the dirt path, wondering what other changes they were going to find. Hoping the most shocking changes had already been discovered. Briana for one, didn't think she could accept much more.
Chapter Seventeen

: _Druantia_ ,: Rhoswen closed her eyes and called. : _I need to talk with you_.:

: _I will see you at the crossroads_ ,: was Druantia's answer. With that, Rhoswen had to be satisfied.

They had left the _winter zone_ and were traveling towards the sea. Alana and Kellan had traded places so Alana was now driving the wagon. Alana glanced from time to time at Meifen who seemed to be sleeping. She'd bet her boots he was doing no such thing. She was glad for the sunshine, glad for the warmth flushing her face.

Alana thought curiously about what Dara had said regarding the noise in her head, and wondered just exactly what was normal. She had always heard the buzz of the creatures around her. She knew people thought she was a bit absent minded, the mean ones would say scatterbrained—or worse, because she didn't _immediately_ give them her full attention, but sometimes she needed to listen to what the creatures around were chattering about. She was listening now. They seemed unusually cheerful, or maybe it was the land which was cheerful. Either way, this was a happy area. Alana smiled with contentment.

It was only a few minutes later when everyone was suddenly thrust forward as the wagon lurched to a standstill. Davy would have toppled out if Kellan hadn't blocked his tumble. Meifen, as Alana suspected, had not been sleeping. His eyes were very alert as he bent over to peer at the stuck wheel.

"Pull, Kingdom," Alana instructed.

_"AW-EE, AW-EE,_ " Kingdom yelled back at her and refused to pull.

"Fine," Alana called out and climbed out of the wagon—and straight into a patch of bog. The mud slid up to her ankles. "Oh no!"

Kellan scrambled to look over the side at her. She grimaced sympathetically when she saw the wet slimy marsh suck her foot down farther. She held out her hand and pulled Alana back into the wagon.

"That shouldn't be happening," Vevila exclaimed. "Papa drained this bog out!"

"It resisted," Meifen stated calmly. "It is in the natural state it was meant to be. How far does it extend?"

Rhoswen frowned looking around. They were actually at the tip of the bog. The main part of the bog extended over several acres.

"If I remember this area correctly," Rhoswen figured. "We should be able to avoid the bog by swinging a little to the west. Can you get Kingdom to try to move backwards?"

"No," Alana told them. "I can tell. He isn't going anywhere until we unhitch him and let him out of this gunk. I'll do it. My feet are already a mess."

Kellan watched Vevila hide her bare feet in the blankets and sighed. If they were going to have to walk, she would be carrying Vevila. This could be hazardous on bare feet.

Alana climbed back out of the wagon. Her face wore a fixed expression of disgust as each foot sunk into the mud, and then made a ghastly sound every time it was pulled back up.

_SLUKSH-FUFT_ — _SLUKSH-FUFT_ — _SLUKSH-FUFT_ — _SLUKSH-FUFT_.

"That is really nasty!" Vevila complained as she watched Alana make her way to the donkey. "It stinks, too."

"I don't blame you for not wanting to walk any further in this." Alana told Kingdom while unbuckling his harness. In thanks, he rushed her to get out of the mud, sending her flying into the bog.

"Kingdom!" Alana screamed at the donkey as she sat in the mud. He pulled his ears back.

"Oh!" Kane called out. "Careful!"

"Are you okay?" Kellan asked.

They all stood to watch as Alana pull herself out of the mud and make her way back to the wagon. She glared furiously at Kingdom. He hung his head with shame. Alana looked up sharply when she heard a snort, and a giggle. She started with surprise to see Meifen holding his mouth with both hands. His whole body was shaking. On seeing her expression, he let loose.

_"Hee-hee-hah-he_ ," he laughed loudly, " _hee-he_."

Hearing him laugh sent the others laughing, too. Alana glared at them all at first, but couldn't help but see how funny she and Kingdom must look. She started to laugh as well and started to climb into the wagon.

"Oh no, you don't!" Rhoswen blocked her way.

"You're all slimy all over," Vevila frowned at her.

"And no offence," Kellan laughed at her, "but you smell."

"So what do you expect me to do?" Alana glared at them.

_"After_ we free the wagon," Kellan told her. "We can bathe in the stream which is a little farther up the road. I imagine you will not be the only one to get bogged."

"Fine!" Alana said resigned.

"We're going to have to get into that," Vevila grimaced, "aren't we?"

"Not you," Kellan told her. "You don't have any shoes. Get scratched or punctured in that mess, and you're looking for a festering."

Vevila just grinned at her. Kellan sighed and climbed out of the wagon. Kane cautiously followed.

"The front left wheel is sunk to the axel," Kellan told them. "It could be worse."

"I don't see how," Alana frowned at the buried wheel. "If Kingdom won't pull it out, how are we?"

"Know any spells?" Rhoswen asked sweetly from inside the wagon.

Kellan looked up at her smug face and quickly walked over and pulled her out of the wagon to stand in the mud with the rest of them.

"Stop it!" Rhoswen screeched as Kellan dumped her into the mud.

"Yes," Kellan told her, "the spell of good old fashioned manual labor!"

Meifen jumped out from the back of the wagon, landing on dry land. They watched him with disgust, cringing as they felt the cold, wet slimy, water pull over their boots and slide down their ankles.

"Work smarter," Meifen told them. "Not harder."

"Rhoswen may have had a point," Kane told them. "I can try lifting the wagon up magically as you try pulling it backwards."

"Maybe you should try putting rocks behind the sunken wheel," Vevila suggested. "I've seen papa do that."

"I think that only works when you have a donkey to pull the wagon up onto the rocks." Alana gave Kingdom a grievous look. "I don't think we can pull it out of the mud—and up over a pile of rocks."

"What about breaking the suction around the wheel?" Kane suggested.

"That's a good idea," Alana looked thoughtful, "but how?"

"Maybe one of us could poke at the mud while the others pull," Rhoswen suggested.

"We can try," Kellan sighed. "I'm the strongest, so I'll pull."

"I have to touch what I want to lift if it is heavy," Kane told them. "So I'll have to be at the stuck wheel."

They both looked between Meifen and Rhoswen expectantly.

"I'll find a stick," Rhoswen said dejectedly, "or can I use your staff?" She asked Meifen.

"It is very heavy," Meifen told her. "It would be better for you to find a stick."

"Oh," Rhoswen said with surprise.

Rhoswen hadn't expected him to refuse her request. She eyed his staff curiously, and climbed out of the mud and went in search of a sturdy stick. When she returned, she grudgingly stomped through the mud to the front wheel.

"Ready?" Kellan called.

Meifen and Kellan were in the back ready to pull. Rhoswen was ready to poke at the base of the wheel with a stick. Kane was touching the seat above the wheel. Vevila was smiling serenely sitting on a rock with Davy, between them sat a basket of food stuffs, under them, the pile of blankets. Kellan had told her that she was to sit on the rock, so she was here, sitting on the rock.

"Are you comfortable enough?" Alana asked her.

"Oh quite," she laughed. Alana just rolled her eyes.

"Ready," Kane called out, "on three."

"One—two—three," they counted together and pulled, yanked, and poked.

The wagon started to lift. They pulled harder. Suddenly, the seat which Kane had been pulling on went soaring into the air. The wagon sank back into the mud.

"Oh!" Kane watched as the seat struck vertically into the bog and got sucked down under. "I guess I should have held onto the wheel itself."

"No," Meifen told her. "Then you would have just torn off the wheel, and we would still be stuck. We can drive without a seat, but not without a wheel."

"Can you lift the wagon equally from the underside," Rhoswen asked. "Kind of spread your energy out?"

"I think I can do that," Kane thought about the wagon and the energy she could use to move it. She imagined the energy as a color, and then imagined that _color_ spreading across the bottom of the wagon. It felt right. "Let's try again."

This time Kane lightly touched the side of the wagon. She pictured her color all under the wagon. She held that picture. She would feed the color when they called on three.

"Let's do this linked this time," Rhoswen requested. "That way we can add our magical energy to Kane's."

"She already tore off the seat," Alana scolded her. "What more energy does she need?"

"Linked will also provide more unity," Meifen told them, "and more control."

"Okay," Alana shrugged.

The sisters linked. They were surprised when Meifen linked in with them. The link was very strong.

: _Ready_ ,: Kane called to them.

: _One—two—three_ ,: they all counted out.

On three, they all did their jobs. This time when the wheel started to pull upward, Rhoswen furiously went at it with the stick. She could tell that the stick was indeed, breaking the suction and allowing air to mix with the mud.

Kane could feel her magic adding to lift the wagon. She could feel it lifting the wagon equally across the bottom, exactly as she wanted. It was moving. They were all getting excited and trying a little harder.

Kellan could feel the wagon lifting. She was pulling it backward as hard as she could. She could feel Meifen straining beside her. Her sight suddenly shifted and she could see the bindings which were holding the wagon fast to the earth. There were millions of them. They attached themselves to the total length and width of the wagon. She felt her magical energy stir and allowed it to pierce through those bindings. They sorely resisted. She pressed more energy against all the bindings. She could feel the energy from the link pass into her efforts.

In a brilliant flash of light, all the bindings broke at once. The whole wagon suddenly hurled into the air over Kellan and Meifen's heads. They all fell into the bog with the release of the wagon. They watched in wonder as the wagon tumbled over and over across the sky. Its path seemed endless. It just kept going and going. They all stared until it was out of sight.

"Well," was all that Vevila could say.

Kellan stared around confused and then passed out. Alana and Rhoswen ran to her with concern. Meifen just hoped Vevila had chosen the basket with the Kaliton. It was going to be a long walk home.

"Vevila," Davy asked. "Why did your sisters throw the wagon away?"

"They didn't plan to," Vevila answered dazed. "It just kind of happened."

"Oh," he frowned looking off into the direction the wagon had gone.

Vevila had actually cleared most everything out of the wagon. She had thought that the emptier it was, the easier it would be to move. She glanced thoughtfully around looking at all their stuff. She had no idea how they were going to carry it all. She was surprised when Meifen handed her a cup of Kaliton.

"All of you depleted energy from the link," he told her.

"What happened?" She asked him.

"We will ask Kellan when she wakes," he answered. "She did this."

"I thought it was Kane," she questioned.

"Not this time," he told her.

Vevila was surprised to see a prideful look on his face. Whatever Kellan had done, Meifen seamed unusually satisfied.

It was hardly afternoon, but Meifen built up a fire, handed them all blankets, and told them to sleep. It was a warm afternoon, but with the energy depletion, they were going to feel cold.

Doug Haugen, Julie and around twenty of his men had arrived a few acres over expecting to get to work on their new lodgings. They had arrived with stone and wood only to find that the bog had returned. Doug looked on with anger and disgust. Keegan had gone to great lengths to convert the bog. Doug had watched as he expended a large amount of time and energy to drain it. Keegan had made good his promise to create an area that Doug and his workers could build a permanent homestead—now this. Doug scratched his head with obvious irritation and disappointment. They couldn't build in this mess!

They all jumped, startled when a huge crashing bang echoed from the next field over.

"Good god!" Julie looked up toward the sound. "What was that?"

"I don't know," Doug walked over to Ginger, his horse, "I better check it out."

"I'm going with you," Julie told him.

"What do you want us to do?" Gerald asked.

"Take a break," Doug told him, "the bogs not going anywhere— _unfortunately_."

Julie grabbed an aid kit and strapped it onto her horse. It was lucky that they hadn't yet unharnessed the animals. They had still been checking on the dimensions of the bog.

"Wait," Doug cautioned, "slowly."

Doug had spied a splintered mess of wood and wheels. He noticed a strange glow around the object. Most people didn't know it, but Doug—like many that lived in this area—had a small portion of O'Byrne blood himself. Nothing like the purple eyes, but enough to recognize magic when he saw it.

He and Julie ventured slowly toward the destroyed wagon. Doug instantly identified it as the O'Byrne girl's buckboard. He shivered as thoughts raced around his brain as to what might have just happened.

He tentatively touched the wheel. It was scorching hot. He quickly pulled his hand back.

"Look!" Julie pointed to a nearby piece of wood. It was mending itself!

"Step back," Doug yelled.

They pulled back by a decent distance and watched in wonder as the wagon repaired itself. It started out rather sluggishly, each piece lifting slowly into the correct position, but the more it repaired, the faster the pieces moved into place.

"Will it hold?" Julie asked awed.

"I would suspect so," Doug answered. "Keegan made that wagon for his girls. He must have put some spells and protections on it."

"I hope that means the girls are safe," Julie said worriedly. "Where could they be?"

"I'll head in that direction," he pointed toward the obvious landing marks the wagon made across the land. "You bring the wagon—when it's finished."

"Yes, boss," she answered distractedly.

He looked at her sharply to see if she was being sarcastic, but she was simply absorbed with fascination at the sight of the wagon mending itself. He couldn't blame her. It was probably the first time she had seen _real_ magic.

Doug kept to the edge of the marsh. He thought it would be unlikely that they would have actually entered into the bog. He hoped not. It didn't take him very long before he came upon their site. He was surprised to see them all sleeping peacefully around a blazing fire. A strange little Chinaman stood up as he approached. Meifen pulled his sleeve up to show him the raven. Doug also pulled his sleeve up to show this stranger his own raven.

"What happened?" Doug asked when they quietly seated themselves. "The wagon crashed close to our site."

"Kellan has come into her gift," Meifen told him. "It was she who tossed the wagon as if it was a mere toy."

Doug blanched. He was uncomfortable with that kind of magic. He was fine with the simple stuff, darn handy in fact, but magic like this disrupted the energy plains.

"She will learn," Meifen told him.

"Or die," Doug stated bluntly.

"Or die," Meifen agreed.

Gifts like these would burn the person out unless they learned control. Meifen did not know if Kellan had been saved because of the energy flow of the link, or if the link had caused the blaze of energy. Only Kellan could tell them what she had actually done. This magic had felt unfamiliar to Meifen. He was familiar with earth, wind, fire, water, nature—meaning life energy, and even dragon magic. He was also familiar with demigod bonds such as Druantia's, the benevolence. This was different from all of those. He was surprised to realize that there was magic which he did not recognize.

Julie rode up hauling the wagon.

"Ah," Meifen nodded seeing the flaring wards. "I might have guessed."

They all jerked with surprise when the seat flew out of the bog with a loud slurp, and then land in its correct position. They watched in wonder as the wood finished bonding, and the flaring subsided.

### ****

Dara was suddenly and inexplicably tired. Celeste and Stefan looked up surprised and then ordered her to go lie down. Celeste looked off into the distance and saw the wagon tumbling in the sky, and the magically depleted girls being cared for by Meifen.

"I'm glad I didn't loan them my wagon after all," she told Stefan and continued working on the sailor.

### ****

"I must have been dreaming," Alana said confused, looking at the wagon.

"No dream," Meifen told her as he handed her another cup of Kaliton. "Look closer."

"It's different," Rhoswen stared at the wagon. "The wood actually looks _less_ fragile, but there's no paint."

"It put itself back together," Doug told them with a grin. "Julie and I watched it. It was all hot and glowy. The pieces started moving into place fast and faster. I bet it put itself back together faster than your father built it in the first place."

"Yes, but their father had to create all those spells," Julie told him. "That had to take some time, too."

"True," he said with a grin.

"Let's go find some bird eggs, Vevila," Davy called. "There are some nests over by the water."

Meifen and Davy had been exploring the area while the girls slept. Davy chatted on to Meifen. It didn't bother him that Meifen couldn't return his words. Only Vevila could do that.

"I feel tired," Vevila complained, "and I didn't even do anything, but sit on a rock."

"What did the boy say?" Meifen asked her.

"He wants to collect the bird eggs over there by the water," Vevila told him.

"How did you know that?" Meifen asked her expectantly.

"He just said so," Vevila answered irritably.

Kane and Rhoswen looked at her surprised, Alana just nodded. She had suspected that Vevila had picked up on the boy's language.

"Oh!" Vevila said as she realized what Meifen was implying.

"Later," Meifen told her. "When we have time, I would like for you to learn my own language."

"Okay," Vevila answered with surprise.

She hadn't realized how lonely a person could get with no one else around to speak his or hers own language. Meifen spoke English so well, she had just not thought about it.

"Kellan is still sleeping," Alana frowned.

"She is depleted," Meifen told them. "Look inside yourselves and to your link. You will see that you also need to refill your energies. We will be staying here today."

"Here?" Alana looked around. There was nothing but bog!

Meifen nodded. He nodded towards Davy and invited him to go egg hunting. Vevila looked down with disgust. Great, more weird eggs! She looked towards the baskets and frowned when she realized that Meifen had _locked_ them.

"I guess our survival training is about to begin," Kane told her. "I'm going to find that spring—I stink!"

"I'll join you," Vevila started to walk with her.

"Okay," Kane waited.

"What?" Vevila asked.

"You have to get your shoes," Kane told her with a frown. "You can't go traipsing around here barefoot. You can get bog fever."

"I don't have them," Vevila told her sheepishly. "I left them at Celeste's."

"You what?" Kane asked angrily. "Those were good shoes. I would have wanted them if they were bigger, and you just left them there? That's pathetic!"

Vevila looked on forlornly as Kane stomped off towards the stream. She didn't know what else to do with herself so she sat down—again—on the rock.

"What's wrong with you?" Rhoswen asked her.

"Kane's mad because I left some shoes at Celeste's," Vevila told her feeling foolish. "I didn't know we would be stopping in a bog."

"How could you know what we would be doing?" Rhoswen rolled her eyes. "That's why you were just supposed to _bring_ them."

"I understood why you tossed your old ones," Alana told her, overhearing the conversation, "they were too small anyway, but what's this about some at Celeste's."

"They were really nice," Vevila said feeling ashamed. "I just didn't want them because I like my feet bare."

"I bet you wish you had them now," Rhoswen sighed.

"I do," Vevila whimpered. "I don't want to be stuck just sitting on a rock all day."

"Did they look like these?" Alana held up a pair of girl's shoes with sturdy buckles.

"Those are them!" Vevila said with surprise reaching for the shoes.

Alana held them away. "Not until you promise to _think_ about things—at least a little more."

"I promise," Vevila told them.

"Kane saw you put them back into the bin," Rhoswen laughed. "She thought it would be better to just grab them out, rather than argue with you. I'd say she was right."

"You better go thank her," Alana told her, "or you would be just sitting on that silly rock all day."

Vevila found Kane trying to scrub the mud off her feet.

"It went everywhere," she complained.

"Thank you for getting out those shoes for me," Vevila said to her. "I don't know why I fight so much about wearing them. I know I sometimes have to."

"Do you want to know what I think?" Kane asked her.

"Yes," Vevila told her sincerely. "I do."

"I think it's your pride," Kane told her. "You _have_ tougher feet than any of the rest of us. I think you're proud of that. It's okay to feel pride, but not okay to let it get you to do foolish things."

"Oh," Vevila paused. "That might be partly true—but I also don't like the feel of shoes confining my toes. I like to wiggle them a lot, and they get sore when I wear shoes."

"Truly?" Kane asked surprised.

"Actually, yes," Vevila responded.

"Maybe we can create a spell to allow you to have wiggle toe shoes," Kane studied her feet.

"Not another pocket?" Vevila frowned.

"Maybe a sort-of pocket," Kane confirmed, "I'll think on it."

"Breakfast is ready," Rhoswen told them, "and Kellan is awake."

"Bird eggs?" Vevila asked.

"Bird eggs," Rhoswen agreed. "Meifen is scrambling them this time. They look really good."

"A little bit of this," Kane teased, "and a little bit of that, top it off with cheese and you have Meifen eggs."

Doug and Julie joined them by the fire. It had burned down to a nice little crackle, perfect for a mild summer evening.

Meifen seemed to have a strong opinion of how much each person would eat. There weren't any two plates alike. Vevila was relieved to see that she only had a small portion of the eggs and a bun. She picked at her eggs. They seemed to be okay.

"What are these?" She asked Meifen.

"Eat," was his only reply.

She glanced around the circle and noticed that Rhoswen and Kellan were digging in with obvious enjoyment. She was scrutinizing her eggs when she heard a giggle. She looked up to see Kane laughing at her. She quickly looked away when she realized that Kane was about to do her famous— _see food_ —joke. She didn't think her stomach would take it at the moment. She ignored Kane and Alana giggling from the other side of the fire.

Vevila tested a small amount of egg. It was actually quite tasty. She finished her eggs and was thankfully eating the bun—having survived the Meifen eggs.

"So what's up?" Kellan asked Doug noticing his deepening frown.

"The bog," he said simply.

"That's where we were going to build our lodge," Julie added.

"The grove by the Flanagan's is nice," Alana mentioned.

Doug blinked with surprise. He hadn't thought about building somewhere other than where Keegan had suggested.

"Why not?" Kellan agreed. "Nothing else is going on there and it's nice. Jay and Briana would make good neighbors, and I think they would appreciate someone close by."

"Could we?" Julie said hopefully.

"Who's going to say otherwise," Kellan argued, "if us sisters agree. I can't see Uncle Stefan being against it, and we don't care what Aunt Caryn thinks."

"We've already decided that she's not going to be living with us at the house," Alana told them. "We don't care where else she will live—but not there."

Doug nodded. Stefan had told him about the stunt she had pulled with the hammer. No telling what else that woman was capable of. The girls would be better off on their own, and Kellan and the twins were old enough to pull the other sisters in line. Besides, with Celeste and Stefan as mentors, where could they go wrong?

"If the crew agrees," Doug told them. "I would like to claim the grove."

"We like to be involved with important decisions, too," Julie told them when she noticed their expressions. "We are like family, and a happy family—well—is a happy family!"

Doug laughed about her rattled happiness. They watched with interest as she smacked him in the head, which made him laugh all the harder.

"You knew what I was saying," she said scathingly.

"Sure do," he told her. "Bonnie and Art want to settle in and start a family. That's why the lodge is important. I don't want to lose them from the crew."

"As you know," Julie reminded them, "many of our folk rent plots from your family when they want to start a family. Now, they can have the stability of a home, but keep working with us. I'm all for that!"

"So you think they will agree to the grove?" Kellan asked.

"Oh yes," Julie smiled happily.

"In fact," Doug stood up, dragging Julie up with him. "I think we will head back now, and let them know what that explosion was. We'll take all of five minutes to talk about building in the grove, and then start building tomorrow."

"Why talk about it at all?" Vevila asked, "if you're going to do it anyway?"

"It's a life decision," Julie answered. "We all need to have a say. With that many people, there might just be one who will have a very good reason not to move there. It would save a lot of time and resentment to just take the five minutes and get buy-in before we start."

"That's like what we started doing," Alana told her. "Celeste has been showing us how."

"Good woman, Celeste," Doug nodded, "much better than that aunt of yours."

Kellan noticed the look Julie gave Doug. She didn't need to be concerned about him wanting Celeste. There weren't any affections going on from either direction. Besides, Celeste was falling for Uncle Stefan—again.

"We found out that Celeste is our aunt," Rhoswen told him. "Grandmother Sadie was um—."

"Indiscrete," Alana piped in.

"Oh," Doug sighed, "that's too bad. I mean for Stefan, not you. That's good for you."

"It's okay for Stefan too," Kellan laughed. "Grandmother wasn't the only indiscrete one. They aren't related. Stefan isn't an O'Byrne!"

"Wow," Julie was surprised. "Who would guess? He's so vital, and well—magic."

Kellan laughed to herself upon seeing Doug giving Julie the look she had just been giving him. She figured there would be a handfasting coming their way soon.

Doug and Julie made their way out of Meifen's impromptu camp, and made their way back to their people. Julie was excited about the grove. She had always loved it there. While the girls were busy getting cleaned up, Meifen had told them about the off season zone. What a wonderful idea! She kind of wished they would have had that zone. Silly—she thought—be happy with the blessings they had just received.

"So little wagon tosser," Meifen said to Kellan. "What did you do?"

"I was pulling really hard," she explained, "when I felt my vision shift the way it does with Dara and Celeste. I could see these—strings—a massive amount of strings. They were connecting the wagon to the ground. Every little area of the wagon had these strings. I pushed energy at them and cut them loose. The wagon went sailing."

Kellan had been thinking about what had happened. She knew that her description wasn't quite accurate, but couldn't figure out how to describe the experience any better.

"Possibly Kinematics," Meifen stated. "It is a study of objects and motion. I think you are describing gravity pull. I have never heard of another with this type of magic. We will investigate it—later. For now, you all need to be the tree, good night."

They stared after Meifen as he snagged up his own bedding and made a nest just in front of the fire.

: _I think he means for us to replenish our magic the way Celeste showed us at the tree_ ,: Rhoswen suggested. : _I don't know if you noticed, but our link looks a little thin._ :

: _Thin_ ,: Alana agreed. : _It is hard to hear you and you are right here. I can barely hear Dara and it feels too hard to_ _knock_.:

: _Yes indeed_ ,: they heard Meifen, : _and to block one's thoughts—now—be the tree_.:

Kellan didn't know how successful she was at _being the tree_. The next thing she remembered was having some wild ride dreams. She kept finding coins everywhere—only to lose them again.
Chapter Eighteen

Dara woke from her own dreams. When Celeste had sent her away to rest, she had _just_ been able to check up on her sisters. She found them to be in the same state as she. She looked in on them now and found them all soundly sleeping. Meifen, she noticed, was not sleeping. He and Kingdom were guarding them.

"Your aunt will be back today," Celeste told her at the breakfast table.

"Great," Dara grumbled. "She'll end up coming here. Terah's settling in well here. I hope she doesn't start becoming overly influenced by Aunt Caryn again. Molly is a good influence on her. She's actually starting to think for herself. She's also very good with Haley."

"I noticed you holding your sister last evening," Celeste mentioned.

"She's very sweet," Dara said earnestly. "She doesn't even cry—much."

"I think Terah needed more companionship," Celeste told her.

"I think so, too," Dara squirmed. "She tried with us, but we were just too hurt because of mama and papa being gone—and way too busy."

"I think she understands that," Celeste assured her. "You all used to be friends. You probably will again."

"I hope so," Dara nodded. "She is a really nice person—when she's not quoting Aunt Caryn at us."

"This whole thing was a shock to her as well," Celeste reminded her. "She had no idea when she signed on that Aine was going to die. She loved your mother and father, too."

"This whole mess just isn't right!" Dara said angrily.

"Life is not fair," Celeste grumbled, and then frowned, "Caryn is bringing over a large amount of people with her. I have no idea who they are. What could she be thinking? The only ones who have the Raven are Arlen and Hagan. Hagan, like you, was born with the raven. I wonder why Brody isn't with them."

"She's thinking that she _owns_ our properties and the house," Dara told her. "She's wrong! So how do we mark people with the raven who we find trust worthy enough to move about on the other side of the wall?"

"I don't know," Celeste told her. "It's my understanding that the mark has been a part of the family for many generations. Glenna might know. It might be a priestess blessing thing."

"Can you ask her?" Dara sighed. "I think we're going to need to know, especially if our aunt insists on bringing strangers home."

"Like her nieces," Celeste's eyebrow raised. "Don't forget about bringing home a strange Chinese man."

"But he was so cute," Dara laughed, "and what a marvelous gift he was bearing."

"Are you missing them?" Celeste asked.

"Yes," Dara's smile slipped. "I couldn't talk to Alana last night. We were all too tired. I miss them all, but I miss her to the point it hurts. We've never been away from each other like this before."

"Do you resent it?" Celeste asked.

"No," Dara said firmly. "I know we will be together soon, and being with you and Stefan, has been wonderful."

"I'm glad," Celeste hugged her. "I also feel blessed having this time with you."

"And _blessed_ ," Dara teased, "having this time with Stefan?"

"Oh yes," Celeste's tone got sultry.

"And Glenna?" Dara asked.

"That's different," Celeste answered. "We grew up together with the priestesses. We've been friends and lovers since around twelve. I would never accept any man who couldn't also accept my other mate. Stefan _seems_ to be fine with it. I'm looking forward to finding out."

"Polyandrists!" Dara laughed.

"I hope so," Celeste laughed with her.

"How's our sailor this morning?" Dara asked her.

"Impatient," Celeste answered. "I'm hoping he will tell us what is so concerning him. It's interfering with his healing."

"I'm hoping he will actually be able to lift that leg," Dara frowned. "Are you concerned that it just won't be so?"

"No," Celeste answered confidently. "It's all there. He'll make it happen."

Dara was the first to enter the infirmary. She was getting used to the scrubbing process and had become quite adept at it. She wandered over to his bed and looked down sympathetically. He looked so withered. Celeste assured her that he would regain his weight. He hadn't talked about anything other than to enquire about his men. He was agitated to the point of injuring himself. Dara felt proud that it was her idea to scrub Big John up and allow them some visit time.

They withdrew as the two men talked with each other. The captain wasn't happy about what Big John was saying, but seemed resigned to the situation. That same afternoon he gave it his all to move his leg, but it just stayed limp.

"Don't be too concerned," Celeste had told him. "You have feeling in the leg—it will be whole again."

Dara was more hopeful on seeing the man today. He seemed more aware and judging by the firm mouth and chin, more determined. Dara was startled by his brilliant blue eyes as they regarded her warily.

"I'm Dara," Dara hadn't talked to him before. It seemed only proper to do so now. "I know you are Captain Walter E. Brewster. Your men are very concerned for you."

"You're a little young to be a cutter," he was surprised by how raspy his voice was, and appalled by how that sounded to his ears.

"You're my first," she laughed at him. "Celeste is my aunt, Stefan my uncle. Celeste saw how hurt you were and hauled me in. Stefan just joined us for the fun of it."

"A strange bunch of cutters," he replied.

"Not cutters," she reprimanded. "You still have your leg don't you?"

"And hopefully," Celeste joined them. "You'll be using it today."

Walt had been scared witless the first time he had opened his eyes and found that intensely green, but blind regard. He still found the white pupils very disturbing. For some reason, he had been able to hear and understand everything they had been doing long before he had been able to open his eyes. He had recognized the fact that he was vulnerable to whatever deed they deemed needful, and that they were— _witches_.

"May I see my leg?" he requested.

"Oh," Celeste said with surprise, "of course. I hadn't realized that you hadn't yet seen our handiwork. We tried to build it to look much like the other."

"You don't mind two left feet do you?" Dara asked serenely. "It seemed like an adequate pattern."

He looked up startled to see the blue laughing gaze.

"Dara," Celeste scolded, "you're terrible. Besides, we didn't have to rebuild your foot."

"It was close though," Dara said seriously. "The gangrene had grown into the bone of your ankle."

"Why am I still alive?" Walt asked confused.

"Magic," Dara told him, "as you well know."

"Help me to lift him forward," Celeste instructed her.

The two of them pulled him upward. He tried to help them, but only caused them more work. He was solely disappointed by his weakness. He was afraid to look, and then chastised himself for his cowardly thoughts. He looked down at his legs.

"It looks like my leg!" He said with surprise, "if a little thin."

"I wanted to make it look more beefy," Dara sighed, "more commanding, but Celeste assured me that it would build up on its own."

"The tattoo is gone," he smiled. He had hated that tattoo almost as soon as he had been too stupid or too drunk and had it done.

"We saved it for you," Dara assured him.

"You're teasing, yes?" He laughed.

"Actually, no," she smiled back at him. "Waste art like that. I don't think so. She must be some babe, to have a figure like that." She walked over and picked up something from the table.

"Oh, that's just not right," he squirmed, looking at his tanned out tattoo.

"A souvenir," She smiled and returned it back to the table.

"Okay," Celeste turned serious. "Today we will be moving your leg, having you move it, and then massaging it out. Your body took a beating. We will be starting you on extensive manipulation treatments. It will be tiring, and hurt a lot."

"John says we've been here for over a week," he rubbed his face feeling anxious. What a mess.

"What is it?" Dara asked him. "What is so urgent? Your men, those not too sick, are pacing around in circles. They won't tell us, they are very loyal, but don't you think _you_ should?"

"We might be able to help," Celeste said softly.

"It probably doesn't matter anymore," Walt closed his eyes to hold back the tears. He hated being this weak! "My cousin was conscripted by the English. My brother, who has studied law, came to get him free. Now they are both conscripted aboard the H.M.S. Castor. It was going to be docked at the Cape of Good Hope. We thought that would be our best shot at retrieving them. Now, I don't know where they could be."

"Conscripted?" Dara asked.

"Press ganged using English Royal Navy authority to become English sailors," Celeste said sourly.

"You mean the English make slaves of men to work on their ships?" Dara asked stunned. "The government authorizes these practices?"

"Yes," both Celeste and Walt answered.

"Both my brother and my cousin are American citizens," he said angrily, " _with_ proper documentation. It should have been easy to retrieve my cousin. We would not have even known what had occurred with my brother, if not for a letter he managed to smuggle out."

Walt was so tired, so weak, and so frustrated. Bad luck just seemed to stalk them. Even if he had been well, they no longer had a crew large enough to even manage the ship, and the ship was in no condition to sail, much less mount a rescue mission.

"We can, and will assist you," Celeste told him feeling angry. "We would not just sit by and allow such English barbarism to go unchallenged." Her tone lowered. "Some of us Irish—hate English domination. We need to think on this—in the mean time, let's get you walking."

Celeste had not overstated the amount of pain these new techniques were causing. It was with great relief when they would take a break and massage his body back to some type of normality. It wasn't just his leg that had been damaged. His whole body had been beaten badly by the pirates, and then typhoid had taken its toll.

"It's worth it," he said out loud as he slowly lifted his leg. It only lifted by a couple of inches, but lift it did.

"Try bending the ankle," Celeste commanded him.

It was stiff, but he managed to bend it. He bent his knee. Thankfully, it wasn't as stiff as the ankle. He remembered that they had to rebuild his ankle, even bone. He looked down at it with wonder.

"So," he paused not knowing how to ask, but then just blurted it out. "How many _witches_ are here?"

"Everyone is a _witch_ ," Dara didn't even blink. " _We_ are Druids."

"It's true you know," Celeste told him unconcerned. "Everyone has some type of gift—even if slight. _You_ for instance are intuitive—and more than just a little."

"That's not being a _witch_ ," he said defensively. "I just sometimes get a gut feel about things."

"Of course," Celeste smirked at him.

"It's not like I can make a new ankle," he added thoughtfully, "or stop a ship in mid wake."

"Or incinerate a murderous boy?" Dara asked.

"Big John said it was necessary," he said quietly, "a righteous kill. We had dealings with the boy. I don't doubt his actions at all. I'm just envious that I could not have done that earlier with his father."

"You're getting tired," Celeste told him. "We will let you rest. Do not be working your leg. We will do more with it this evening."

"You will be okay again," Dara assured him. "We will have your leg better than before."

"Would you like to take lunch with us in the dining room," Celeste asked him, "or are you too tired?

"I would like that," his eyes perked up with interest. "What is this place? Big John seemed a little confused by it."

"We are O'Byrne's," Dara told him. "This is _our_ idea of a workhouse. People come to us in desperate need. We provide the necessities, but also training and opportunities."

"When they come here, Molly will find some kind of work for them," Celeste added, "even if it is something simple which can be done from a bed. I expect she will be visiting you in the dining room to see what you can contribute. Our goal is to get people back out there."

"We are very good about finding those who are simply lazy," Dara told him, "they tend to leave anyway, and if they are addicted to substance—well—there's none of _that_ here."

"Opportunities?" he asked.

"Ones that mean something," Dara's eye held disgust. "The English find things for people to do at the workhouses, but they are useless things to be doing—like building roads that go nowhere. We may choose to just haul our people over to some struggling farmer and build them a barn, or a house."

"The English don't want to help the struggling," Celeste told him. "They think that it's improper, as if those people are stealing. We don't believe that way. Last summer our work crew built a barn for the McFerrin family, theirs had burned down that spring. We not only built it, but taught them how to prevent another fire."

"They had wet hay," Dara added.

"Then how did it catch fire?" Walt frowned at them.

"Mold grows causing the hay to get very hot," Celeste told him, "and then other reactions occur. It's actually very common, but confusing to the farmers."

"I see," Walt had to take their word for it. He knew nothing about farming.

"We will get you for lunch in a couple of hours," Celeste told him. "Rest fast."

Walt wasn't surprised about how tired he felt. He was surprised by his lack of pain. He experimentally wiggled his toes and found that he couldn't. He started to panic, and then realized that Celeste had again immobilized his leg. She hadn't trusted him not to be _working_ it. He sighed, she was right not to trust him.

Celeste smiled to herself. She watched as he fidgeted, and then fall asleep.

Caryn and her party came in just before the noon meal. Celeste noticed that both Dara and Terah were in their room. Terah had moved herself and the babies into the room Dara had been sharing with her sisters. Dara didn't seem to mind. Celeste was glad to see Terah and Dara getting along. She was also glad to see Dara getting familiar with Haley.

"I'm not going down there," Dara told Terah.

"I'm not either," Terah looked aghast. "Just how many people did they bring in?"

"I don't know," Dara frowned, "but it sounded like a lot. Celeste said that none of them had the mark. Well, Arlen and Hagan do, but they're family."

"I don't want to be there," Terah sneered, "but I'd love to see her face when she realizes that the house is locked against her."

"We can do that," Dara told her. "All we need is a large bowl of water. Silver would be better, but that will do." Dara pointed to the large bowl with the matching pitcher.

"How about using the tub downstairs," Terah laughed. "We can make a party of it. I'm sure Molly would love to watch, too."

"A party it is," Dara then added, "as soon as she leaves."

"I'll sneak down and start filling the tub," Terah said excitedly. "How full does it need to be?"

"About hand deep should do," Dara said marking the depth on her own hand.

Dara was happy that Terah was excited about seeing a little magic. When she first arrived, the only magic she wanted to see, was _them_ cleaning out the nursery. That didn't happen.

: _Do you need my help getting Walt ready for the noon meal_?: Dara sent to Celeste.

:No,: she sent back. : _Stefan will take care of him. The last thing he needs is a pretty girl watching his struggles_.:

: _Or a pretty woman_ ,: Dara sent back. : _I'm going to activate the tub and Terah and I are going to watch the aunt._ :

: _Oh, good idea_ ,: Celeste laughed. : _I'll be joining you_.:

"Molly's got it going," Terah laughed as she entered the room. "She caught me on the back stairs. I told her what we were going to do, and she rushed me back upstairs. I think she doesn't want Caryn to see us, either."

"Probably," Dara nodded, "no one wants to hear _her_ shrill voice."

The manor was built stout on the outside, being made of stone, but the inside was built with thin wooden walls. Heat circulated better with the thin walls, but so did sound. Dara and Terah had no trouble hearing the ruckus downstairs. They cringed upon hearing Caryn's voice raise another octave.

Caryn only wanted to stop for lunch, and then to travel on to the house. Arlen told her firmly that he wanted to see the barrier in front of the house himself, before inviting in their guests. Even with her description, he had felt shocked and awed by the barrier. He tried to question people in the village about it, but even with the mark of the raven, they were weary of talking to him.

"They have a way of crossing over," Hagan told him as they looked out over the spectacular sight of the ocean, "but wouldn't say how. I'm _pulled_ towards Celeste's property. It makes sense that it would be in her barn. I find it unlikely that Aine would have deliberately left it dangling like that."

"They don't seem very inclined to talk to your mother, either." Arlen said with concern.

"They are mad at her about something dealing with the girls," Hagan told him. "They are also fearful of all these strangers."

"I don't blame them there," Arlen nodded. "That's my fault. I couldn't really comprehend what your mother was saying. At the time, it made sense to invite my friends to move in with us when they were so unjustly evicted. I was angry."

Arlen had been very angry when the Sander's had been evicted. There was no just cause. The Sander's _were_ paying their rent, but the landlord would pay less tax if they were gone. Instead of raising the rent, the landlord nailed an eviction notice onto the gate. They had one week to get out.

Sheridan was an excellent glass blower, so Arlen offered him a partnership. Arlen and him were to work out the details when they got settled. Arlen hadn't realized just how big Sheridan's family was when he made the offer. He thought it was just his wife and two young children. He hadn't realized that it was also Sheridan's mother, his grandmother, his grandfather, his four cousins, and then his _wife's_ ken, too. All-in-all, Arlen counted twenty-six people. Oh well, he sighed, they had to go somewhere.

"You did the right thing," Hagan assured him. "We couldn't let them become homeless. They had no other option, either."

"I gave your mother an ultimatum you know," Arlen told his son. "I told her we would not be moving, if they did not move with us!"

"Did you mean it?" Hagan asked.

"At the time," Arlen sighed. "Now, I'm not so sure."

"It will work out," Hagan told him.

Hagan had always been fascinated by the O'Byrne house. He was very keen on the idea of living there. When he was young, a long Christmas ago, he had found a secret passage leading off the nursery. He laughed to himself. They were always confused by how he managed to get out of the nursery. That was before Kellan had even been born.

He hoped that he could learn more about magic. That was a taboo subject around his mother. It frustrated him to have to learn everything about magic on his own. It felt as if he was always learning things the hard way. His Aunt Aine had always been very open about magic, but they had to talk discreetly. He was going to miss those talks very much. He had been shocked and hurt to hear of her death.

"We're going to ride on in," his mother's voice intruded in on his thoughts.

"I'm going, too," he told her.

She just shrugged. Caryn was frantically afraid that she was losing control of her life. It had not just annoyed her for Brody to announce that he was going to marry that girl. It had terrified her. He hadn't even discussed it with them.

Hagan grinned to himself. His mother was mad at Brody, so was giving them all the silent treatment. He wondered if she realized that everyone else found it a relief.

He made his way through the gathering of wagons and horses to Jesse. Jesse had been a gift from his father when he had turned sixteen this last August. He was a New Forest stallion with shiny dark brown hair. He wasn't pretty, and he wasn't young, but he was his. He hadn't unsaddled him because he knew they would be going on to visit the property. When his father used that tone, he meant it!

"Come on Jesse," Hagan called out. He didn't wait on his father and mother. He knew the way—straight down the dirt road.

It didn't take him very long to get to where the road broke off into the ocean. At first all he could see was ocean. He made himself relax. He could then see the field, and then the house. His vision kept flicking back and forth between the two images as if a switch was being turned on, and then off. He could see it, and then he couldn't. He climbed off Jesse to lead him carefully down the road. Jesse had to watch his steps when they got to the shifting rocks.

When they were across, Hagan looked back. There was no sign of the ocean. He scratched his head pondering. He climbed back on Jesse and made his way to the house. He looked around confused. His cousins usually shouted greetings to him from wherever they might be. Now, nothing, it was totally quiet. He tied Jesse onto the post at the front of the porch and made his way up the stairs. He tried the door knob. It was locked. He had never known for the house to be locked before. He made his way around to the back.

"Can you see the dual image?" Caryn asked her husband as they approached the barrier.

"I can when I think about the house," he told her. "I didn't get that at the manor. It just looked like ocean. I can also smell—and _feel_ it," He added when drenched by a wave.

"Oh," Caryn exclaimed as the wave drenched her dress, too.

Arlen carefully made his way down the incline. The new horse which Caryn had gotten did not like the rocks and tended to shy sideways. He sighed with relief when they were down. It was a little unnerving for his vision to keep shifting between the images.

"It was that way for me at the manor, too." Caryn told him. "I think it's because we can't cross there, although Molly said that the girls could see the other side."

"You know," Arlen told her. "It wouldn't hurt for you to try to get along with your new neighbors. Life can get pretty harsh without your friends."

"Like you and your friends?" Caryn was still steamed about Arlen inviting those people to _live_ with them of all things.

"Exactly!" He glared at her. "Where would _you_ be in their circumstances?"

"I would not be in those circumstances," she said arrogantly.

Arlen didn't believe in hitting a woman, but sometimes he just really wanted to smack her. Anyone could find themselves in that type of situation.

They rode up to the house without any further conversation. Arlen stopped the wagon and looked around. Except for Hagan's horse, the place looked abandoned. He noticed that Caryn was looking around as equally mystified.

"Where are those girls?" She muttered.

Caryn helped herself down from the wagon and made her way to the door. She turned the knob and stepped forward crashing her face into the door. She pulled back startled. She had expected for it to open, it hadn't. She rubbed her nose perplexed.

"We're locked out," Hagan said as he approached from the side. "We can get into the outbuildings, but not the house. There's a new building which I think you should see. I think Keegan built it especially for glass blowing."

Arlen climbed out of the wagon to follow his son. Caryn was still persistently jiggling the doorknob.

"This is it," Hagan opened the door.

Arlen was very impressed. The floor was very smooth and sealed. The windows were screened. There were big bellows and a furnace at the far side of the room. It was perfect for glass blowing, he thought excitedly. His biggest problem with blowing was the contamination which ruined the glass. He breathed in deeply. The air seemed so clean.

"Did Keegan put magic into this room," he asked Hagan.

"Yes," he laughed and studied the wards, "against accidents, and something else which I can't decipher. How did you know?"

"It smells too clean," he said distractedly already picturing where he was going to set up his tools.

"Stefan has been using the furnace on the other side of the wall as a forge," Hagan told him. "It's a two way furnace."

"That will help with keeping the building cool in here," Arlen was making his way up the stairs. He was pleasantly surprised to find living quarters, even a small kitchen. Two of the rooms were in obvious use, but he could see himself staying up here—at least until the house was unlocked.

"You're going to have to break down the door," Caryn announced startling him out of his daydream—he sighed.

"I'm not going to be breaking down anything," he told her. "We will find the girls, and everything will be okay. They must have locked it before leaving."

"But that's the thing," she told him. "There are no locks on this house. The door must just be stuck."

"It's locked," Hagan told her, "magically."

"And how would you know that?" She asked him.

Hagan just snarled at her and made his way outside.

"You're going to drive the boy away," Arlen told her feeling frustrated. "Whether you wish to acknowledge it or not, he's gifted. You cannot just wish it away!"

"There is a very fine line between magic—and evil," she told him.

"Rubbish!" He turned away from her and marched down the stairs.

"He just doesn't know," she murmured to herself.

She found them downstairs with their heads together. She was feeling more and more distanced from her family.

"I don't know if the magic with the barrier will allow those without the raven to cross," Hagan was saying. "Molly was saying that Dara was going to ask Glenna, the priestess, if others could be so marked."

"It would be better for _them_ to remove the barrier," Caryn told him. "Then we could all just get back to normal."

"And just who is _them_?" Hagan argued with her. "Aine and Keegan? No one else knows anything about this."

"I bet Celeste and Glenna could do it—and maybe even Stefan," she said unreasonably.

"Do you think Stefan would do anything for you?" Hagan said angrily. "I heard you belted him with a hammer, cracked his head open, would have killed a normal person!"

Arlen looked at her stunned. This was the first he had heard about any attack. Her face was pressed together in anger.

"Well," she exclaimed. "He's not dead, is he?"

"It took death magic to create this," Hagan told her. "Who should have to die to remove it, or was that what you were trying with the hammer?"

"You know nothing," she said as she stomped out.

"What is that about a hammer?" Arlen asked his son.

Hagan told him what Molly had told him, which had come from Kellan, who had heard it from Dara.

"So it could have been exaggerated," Hagan gave his mother a little wiggle room.

Arlen didn't think so. He had always hated it when Caryn visited this place. It always seemed to unhinge her. He knew that her mother had been cruel to her, but Aine had come out very steady, and had some very good girls. He was going to watch Caryn carefully for any more strange behavior. He found the fact that Caryn hadn't mentioned belting Stefan on the head at all—a bit ominous. He'd find a house somewhere else if that was what it would take for Caryn to behave _normal_.

"We can stay here," Hagan announced.

"I'm not living in any foundry!" Caryn yelled from downstairs.

"We have no home," Arlen told her. "So which friends of yours will house us?"

"We will stay at the manor," she said angrily.

"I'll stay here," Hagan told his father. "The manor has its hands full with all those sailors."

"I wish I could, too," he said wistfully.

"Dara, Terah, and the babies were hiding out at the manor," Hagan confided. "They aren't going to be very pleased to hear that mother is heading back."

"I should have known," Arlen laughed. "Where are the other girls?"

"They are touring the property," Hagan told him, "like they tried to get their aunt to do. She's going to be shocked when she meets up with them again."

"Why is that?" He asked.

"They've come into their own—magically," Hagan told him with a smile. "I can feel them. They are _very_ powerful."

"That won't go over well," Arlen sighed.

"I think _you_ better plan on another place to live," Hagan told him.

"Yes," Arlen rubbed his face, "I believe you are right. I'll talk to Stefan. This is a big property. He should know where we can live, although considering what Caryn had done to his head—he may wish us into that ocean."

"He could do more than just wish us there," Hagan commented, "if he so wished."

"And there you have it!" Dara was saying to the growing party.

There was no sound with the images so Dara and Terah had been mimicking her aunt and uncle. Celeste started mimicking Hagan.

"I thought you couldn't see reflections," Molly said with surprise.

"Who's looking at the reflection," she had laughed.

There were around twenty-odd people pressed inside the bath house watching the show. They cheered and scoffed. It was a lot of fun. Dara considered that maybe they should do it more often—just for fun.

"Good job," Jendayi, and Marjani said with careful English. "The pictures were very clear."

"I'm glad that you joined us," Dara told them slowly.

Molly watched with a smile as they left the room. They were trying so hard to learn English and to fit in.

"What are you doing?" Dara asked as she watched Molly scribble things on a piece of paper.

"Things for Caryn to do," she said scornfully. " _No one,_ does _nothing_ in this house."

"She hates doing laundry," Terah told her.

"Laundry! We always need clothes being washed," Molly wrote it down, "especially with the infirmary being in use.

"Too bad she didn't get here sooner," Dara smirked, "when the sailors were so sick."

"That was bad," Molly admitted, "but then I wouldn't have trusted her with it, either. I wouldn't have risked us all getting sick because she cheated somehow."

"Lunch everyone," Molly's cook called them all in. She had put off lunch to see the show. It had been marvelous, better than those traveling shows.

Stefan had already brought Walt into the dining room. Dara smiled, happy to see him chumming it up with his men. There was much to-do over his leg. Big John had seen it at its worse. He was astounded to see it whole, even if a bit frail. When they saw Dara watching them, they raised their mugs to her. She blushed furiously.

Walt was seeing Celeste for the first time out of her infirmary clothes. He was astounded by the white hair. She was always so vibrant in the sickroom that he assumed that she would have rebellious bright red hair. He knew that she was blind, and was confused when she looked up and winked at him. He knew that he owed his life to her, Stefan, and the girl—Dara. He was deeply grateful.
Chapter Nineteen

Rhoswen was feeling impatient. They would be at the crossroads soon, but soon just kept getting sooner away. She was anxious to talk to Druantia. They had taken a break from the ride as Dara sent them the images from their aunt's return. Now, Rhoswen had even more questions. Then there was lunch—a Meifen lunch. She wasn't sure what they had eaten, but she pulled a piece from her teeth which looked suspiciously like a beetle's leg. He wouldn't be serving them bugs—would he? She had kept her opinion to herself, watching Vevila valiantly eating through her _meal_. Davy didn't seem to mind, he just dug in.

Rhoswen's eyes were heavy. She was just starting to drift off when she was scared speechless by the sudden roaring shout as six big, grimy looking men attacked their wagon. One had grabbed Kingdom. He reared back into the wagon. They felt the wagon tip and were thrown onto the ground, all except Meifen. He did a springing flip, striking the man in the head with his staff. The man stumbled, but determinedly came back at him.

Alana looked around stunned. Davy was between her and the invaders. She spied a knife nearby and grabbed it up, pulling Davy behind her.

"Kellan," Alana screamed, spying one of the men charging towards Kellan, "behind you!"

Kellan just had time to scramble away from the dirty man. Alana darted out and distracted him with the knife, giving Kellan enough time to grab a branch.

"Get back," Kellan screamed at him, brandishing him with her branch. He laughed and pushed the branch aside. Kellan sprang towards him and slugged him into the front of the head as hard as she could. She'd dropped a donkey before with that trick. The man was knocked to the ground. Kellan sprinted past him.

Alana looked back for Davy only to find one of the slavers running at him! She ran towards Davy, screaming for him to run. Meifen beat her there and used his own body to shield him. Meifen was struck in the shoulder with the man's knife. Alana was able to grab Davy and pulled him farther away from the fight. Meifen didn't even pause, but swung his staff around and took out the slaver.

Rhoswen scrambled out of reach as one of the men lunged for her. He missed and made another grab. She stabbed him as hard as she could with the knife she had used for lunch. It lodged itself into the bone of his hand. He screamed out something in pain. She sprang back looking for a bigger weapon. Meifen was just suddenly there, tripping the big man with his staff, and then striking him across his neck. He fell—still.

Kellan watched fearfully as Kane daringly dodged in and out around the intruder's feet, tripping them up at every opportunity. She was so scared for her. The big one had almost caught her!

Two of the men had Vevila trapped up in a tree. With a yell, Meifen sprang off the tree and hit each man with his staff. They yowled in pain, but neither went down. They circled the little Chinese man. In moves so fast that they couldn't be seen, Meifen had hit them countless times. Rhoswen and her sisters watched mesmerized as they staggered and fell. Meifen was breathing hard, but kept his staff still poised. When he saw that they were all down. He lowered his staff to the ground.

The sisters looked around in shock. All the slavers lay as if dead. Kellan secretly hoped they were. She didn't know what they would do with them if they were still alive.

"Very good, but not perfect!" Druantia walked out from one of the trees. The men disappeared. Meifen bowed deeply towards her.

"This is what I want you to do," Druantia told them. "I want you to learn all types of personal defense."

"So they weren't real?" Kane asked disappointedly.

"Ask Rhoswen or Kellan," Druantia instructed her.

"They were real," Rhoswen showed the wound in her hand from slipping down on the knife. She hadn't even noticed it at the time.

"They felt real to me," Kellan told her shakily, "and nasty. I know my hands hurt. I was _very_ scared."

"They have been sent— _home_ ," Druantia told them. "Meifen is a masters-master with the martial arts. He is a trying teacher. You must work very hard to be worthy of him."

"I am honored," Meifen told them.

"You are getting maybe a little sloppy?" Druantia asked as she healed the wound to his shoulder.

"I was scared for the boy," Meifen had sacrificed his body to block Davy from the man's knife.

"You care," Druantia smiled.

"Yes," he said simply.

Druantia walked over and drew a circle into the dirt. They watched as it shimmered and an image appeared.

"I want you to watch carefully of what had just happened," she told them. "It could have been true. Those slavers _could_ have breached this land."

"What about the protections?" Kellan asked, "The raven mark?"

"There is always a battle going on between good and evil," Druantia told them. "Good does not always win. Any spell or protection can be overcome. You must be diligent. Why did you not use any of your magical gifts?"

"I didn't even think to," Kellan said surprised.

"I can sing, what good is that?" Vevila asked her.

"I will show you," Druantia motioned them towards the reflection.

They gathered around the images and watched greedily. Unlike images from scrying with glass or water, they could hear as well as see. First they watched the way it had played out. Then Druantia showed them where their gifts could have contributed to their victory.

Vevila was seen singing a song that mesmerized the men. Alana was also talking to mesmerize them, or feeling what the earth had to offer for their downfall. Kellan was pulling them down to the earth, or flinging them away. Kane was either launching them the way she had pushed her aunt, or was throwing rocks—really big rocks. Rhoswen's gift took the most work, and concentration. She could see possibilities, but in order to act on them. She had to be very fast, and very sure.

"Dara is a healer," Druantia told them. "What a healer knows to put someone back together, they know how to tear them apart."

"Euww," Alana squirmed.

"If an enemy is going to do worse to you, or people you love. Be determined to do worse to them." Druantia told her. "Be committed to their downfall—or you will not succeed."

"Yes, Druantia," Alana nodded. She should have poked out that man's eyeballs. She had the chance. Next time...

They watched a replay of the attack several times more. Meifen would describe either what he was doing, or what they could have done. He also praised them when they had done something either very brave, or very smart. They also watched as the picture showed them more about their gifts, and how to better enhance them.

Rhoswen felt a tap on her shoulder. Druantia beckoned to her. She followed her away from the others.

"You have questions?" Druantia asked her.

Now that she was here, Rhoswen felt shy and a little stupid for her questions.

"They were good questions," Druantia told her. "Ask."

"Why was mama able to bring Jay back from the dead?" She asked bluntly. "I'm glad he's back, but why? And why couldn't papa and mama be brought back, too? Was it a life for a life? Did papa die so Jay could live? Why all _this_ —anyway?"

"Sit," Druantia instructed. Rhoswen sat stiffly in the grass. Now that she had asked, she felt like crying.

"I saw what your mother and father were doing and supported it," Druantia told her. "I only intervened that the worlds they merged actually stayed separate, thus the raven. Only the raven can cross the barriers."

"Why would you do that?" Rhoswen asked.

"Would you choose for a plague way in the future, when medicine is more advanced, to hit your shores?" Druantia asked.

"I see," Rhoswen said quietly, imagining more than just dead potatoes.

"We, even I, cannot bring back the dead," Druantia began. "However, sometimes there is divine intervention. It was not yet time for your father to be taken from you. It was the choices and deeds of another that caused for it to have happened. If Keegan had not put himself into harm's way—a choice he made—a child would have been taken instead. Your mother was given such an intervention with time realities. She could have chosen to pull back time and save your father, but there were no realities where an innocent would not have died. She chose to honor her husband's choice. She chose to pull back time for Briana's sake, so that Briana would not also be feeling the pain which your mother was feeling."

"She knew all this?" Rhoswen cried.

"She did," Druantia told her. "She chose an— _all win_ —reality. She chose unselfishly."

"And _her_ death?" Rhoswen asked.

"It was her time," Druantia told her. "I do not know the answers to why. There is an understanding between the divine and _every_ person as to when, or what that person will learn, or feel with every life. We, including myself, forget while we are in our mortal body. We remember when we are again in spirit."

"That seems pointless," Rhoswen frowned.

"Spirit can know many lives," she told her, "flesh, usually only the one. Some people can remember more, but they are rare. It is like an agreement, we make with ourselves," Druantia tried to clarify. "We want to experience something, or to learn something, or maybe even to have something. In spirit we choose how best to get it. We are given the guidance, and the opportunity. It is up to _us_ if we do as we plan."

"Maybe Vevila wanted to sing?" Rhoswen tried to reason out what Druantia was saying, "and now she has been born with a really fine voice, but it's up to her to sing?"

"Yes, maybe like that," Druantia agreed. "In my first life I was barren. I wanted very much to have children, so I bartered for that with the next life. Now, I have all of you."

"Are you flesh," Rhoswen asked, "or spirit?"

"I have revivified," Druantia explained. "I was mortal. My mother was half human and half Elfin. My father is an angel. When I died in my second life, I was given the opportunity to _change_ and watch over my children. My children would be destroyed without a keeper. So I chose to watch them. I was revivified by the divine. I am energy that can move as spirit, or flesh."

"Why would they destroy your children?" Rhoswen asked appalled.

"Children between human and angel are taboo," she said bluntly. "My mate was human, which made my children more human than angel—a Nephilim. At one time the Nephilim walked the earth. They were evil and vile. They corrupted all that they touched. These were destroyed. I am charged to not allow such ever again."

"What if one is born?" Rhoswen asked.

"It will not be born," Druantia told her firmly.

"Celeste?" Rhoswen asked.

"Is not a Nephilim," Druantia answered. "They have an inverted soul. They cannot hide. Celeste's as pure as any human could be."

"Why aren't you a Nephlin," Rhoswen asked.

"I was _enough_ Elfin—not human," she answered.

"That _next_ life," Rhoswen asked shrewdly, "it didn't go as you thought—did it?"

"No," she stated. "You can produce the raven."

She held out her hand. Rhoswen trustingly reached out to take it. There was a flash, a pain, and Druantia was gone. She looked down at her hand and didn't see anything. She _looked_ deeper and saw the faint outline of a raven.

: _You will know if they are worthy of the raven when you touch their hand_.: Rhoswen heard Druantia's words. : _No one can cross without the raven. Except by direct divine intervention.:_

She looked up with surprise to find the others practicing with staffs. She had been so absorbed with what Druantia had to say, that she hadn't noticed that the training had begun. Kane came running over to her carrying two staffs.

"Druantia left these for us," Kane said excitedly. "They already have some wards etched into them, and there is a tool that we can use to scribe even more. Come on."

Kane shoved a staff into her hand and hauled her over to the others. The staff she was holding seemed to fit perfectly in her hand. They seemed to be made from the forests iron wood trees. As she studied her staff it flared. She didn't recognize any of the wards. She looked at the others using their staffs. The staffs were all different. They seemed to be perfectly made for whoever was using it. Rhoswen was wondering if the staffs adjusted for the holder, when a ward on her own staff flared brighter. She realized that it was her name written in Gaelic. This was made just for her by Druantia herself.

Rhoswen wasn't too sure that this was such a good thing, when she saw what Meifen expected her to do. She watched as Kane flawlessly went through her moves. He even had Davy practicing hit movements and tumbling. Rhoswen sighed. It looked like an awful lot of work. She looked down at her wounded hand and nodded. That could have been very real. She jumped with surprise and watched as her wound healed shut. Determinedly, she joined in. Meifen nodded with pride and acceptance.

"This is just the beginning," he told them. "You will also learn to fight—without a staff."

They worked out until dinner. Meifen allowed them to choose what they wanted out of the baskets. Surprisingly, Davy chose the dish which Meifen had made earlier.

"What is that?" Vevila asked Davy.

"Beetle with barley," he told her surprised. "Mama fixed it special."

"Oh," Vevila's smile looked a little strained. "I think I'll just have the chicken."

"That's not chicken," Davy looked over her shoulder.

"Of course it is," she scolded him.

He just shrugged. He had watched Meifen fry up the frog legs that very morning before the girls were awake. He remembered because Meifen winked at him.

They didn't have a very long evening. Everyone, except maybe Meifen and Davy, were tired and couldn't wait to get to their beds. Meifen still built up a fire. Kellan was thankful as she gazed into it. Rhoswen thought it would be awhile before she slept. She had a lot to think about. Not so, she fell asleep before she even got the covers correct. She wasn't aware when Meifen pulled them up for her.

The next morning found them too sore to move. Meifen insisted that they get up and stretch. Then he had them reviewing what they had learned yesterday. They were then sent out to look for eggs. Breakfast was already cooking when they returned.

"I wish he would let one of us cook," Vevila complained quietly.

"Why don't you offer," Kellan asked her.

"Oh," Vevila looked surprised. "I've never cooked before."

"A nice time to start," Meifen surprised them both. "You will choose and cook lunch."

"Me?" she asked confused. "I'm only nine."

"Ha," he said. "I was only five when I made my first meal. You are a little slow maybe?"

"No, I'm not," Vevila said stung. "I can do that!"

"Good," he smiled. "Then you may also choose for your breakfast. I was cooking my clothes. They were getting a little—stiff."

They looked inside the pot. Sure enough, Meifen was cooking his spare robe.

"We will stay today and wash all of our clothes," he told them. "Yours are a little—stiff, too. Even Kingdom has noticed."

_"AWW-EE, aww-ee_ ," Kingdom bobbed his head.

They did as Meifen said and stayed there that day cleaning out their clothes. When they had the spare set clean and drying, Meifen had them clean the originals. Kellan and Alana felt a little shy about their near nudity, but Vevila and Kane seemed to glory in their total nudity. Rhoswen seemed indifferent to their situation. She was busy reading her mother's writings.

They chose foods out of the basket for their breakfast, mostly oatmeal with nuts and berries. Vevila did cook lunch—with Meifen's assistance. She didn't actually cook anything, but put together little meat and cheese buns. She beamed proudly when her sisters ate what she provided and complimented her on it. Meifen assigned Alana to help cook the next meal.

The next day they made for the seashore. They arrived that afternoon. It was as they remembered it. Alana sat and paused to _listen_ , no surprises here. They spent the next two days at the beach site. Meifen had them practicing defense both days. The sisters had gotten very proficient with the staff. Kane was also very agile and quite the acrobat. Where Kane and Alana were fast, Kellan was strong. Only Meifen would fight against Kellan.

"When you are better," he told her. "You will learn control. It is not always desirable to smash the crap out of everything."

Vevila and Rhoswen were rather indifferent fighters. This bothered Kellan and Kane.

"They aren't trying very hard," they complained to him.

"When they are threatened," he told them. "They will _try_ harder. Remember Rhoswen with her knife."

Kellan nodded. When they were looking into Druantia's _reflection_ , Kellan was surprised by how fierce Rhoswen was during the attack. _She_ wouldn't want to be on the other end of that knife. She had never seen Rhoswen so angry before. Kellan was sure that the knife would have found its way into that man's heart, if it had been close enough.

Kellan looked sadly around. They were packing up to go home. She had so enjoyed the beach. She had also enjoyed the freedom of romping around. They had never been gone for so long, or for so many reasons.

"We will be back," Alana told her. "Anytime we want."

"Yes," Kellan agreed, "but never like this with Meifen teaching us so many things."

"I miss Dara," Alana confided. "It hurts. Like part of me isn't here. We talk every night, but that is not the same. Life is going to be different now. She's always going to be off healing someone." Alana laughed sadly. "Even I have been volunteering her healing. I promised that she would look at Chargers gums and teeth."

"You can bet she will, too," Kellan hugged her close. "You two can visit him together."

"We're packed," Rhoswen interrupted them.

Meifen had them pick up everything. He even had them bury the ashes and smoothen out the sand. It looked totally untouched.

"What path are we to use to travel back?" Meifen asked them.

"From here we can travel straight back and avoid the bog," Kellan mentioned. "We would come out a little past the village."

"I think that would be best," Rhoswen agreed. "I don't think I'm up for more visiting. No one's on that track."

"I agree," Alana said simply.

Kane and Vevila just shrugged.

"What is he asking?" Davy asked Vevila

"Which route we want to take to go back home," Vevila told him.

"Will that be to my home, too?" He asked hopefully.

"No," Vevila answered sympathetically, "but we will find your home."

"Promise?" He asked.

"Promise!" She answered firmly.

"When we get home," Rhoswen told Vevila. "We can start scrying for his parents."

Vevila just nodded.

"Kingdom, Home," Alana called out.
Chapter Twenty

Alana was tired and sore. She missed Dara desperately. They were almost to the manor. Instead of stopping for meals, they just dug into the baskets and ate what was at hand. Alana laughed to herself, Vevila was most happy to be choosing her own foods. She was a lot more cautious about just assuming she knew what was what when she found out that Davy was right. Those chicken legs weren't chicken legs. She went screaming from the camp that next morning when she saw Meifen cooking up the frog legs. He and Davy had gone out early that morning to catch the critters. Alana thought they were really good eating. Chicken, frog, who cares, good is good.

Dara and Molly were both standing out on the porch to greet them. Alana jumped out of the wagon and ran to hug her. Dara greeted her with open arms. It wasn't until they had separated that Alana noticed the blood on her clothes, or that she was still wearing her infirmary outfit.

"Sorry," Dara told her. "One of the farmers sliced into his leg this morning. It was a bit of a mess."

"Is he okay?" Alana asked concerned about all that blood.

"Yes," Dara said proudly. "I was already working so was first to see him. I got the bleeding stopped right away. Celeste was very proud."

"I'm very proud of you, too," Alana told her giving her another hug.

"Hey," Kellan complained, "share!"

Dara laughed and hugged her older sister. She had so missed all of them. So had Molly, there were tears in her eyes as she listened to what Vevila was saying to her. It was so good to have everyone together again.

"This is yours," Kane thrust a staff into her hands. "Druantia made them for us. Now you have to learn how to use it. We can help you though."

Dara tested the staff. If felt really firm in her hand. She could see the wards flaring. She nodded to Meifen. She would be proud to learn its uses. Some of the sailors, as well as Jendayi and Marjani, had told her about their experiences with those slavers. It had made her feel very angry, and surprisingly vulnerable.

"So what of the raven?" Dara asked Rhoswen.

Rhoswen showed Dara her hand. She could see an imprint of the Raven. Her eyebrows rose with surprise.

"Druantia says that I will know if someone is worthy of the raven when I touch their hand." Rhoswen told her. "So now we can judge who can cross over. No one can cross without the raven."

"Good," Dara told her, "because we have a bunch of people here who want to cross over."

"How's that?" Kellan asked.

She didn't like the idea of people crossing the barrier yet. They still had so much to learn. She glanced at Meifen and noticed that his brows were furrowed in thought. He was still sitting in the wagon. He grinned at her when he caught her looking his way. She had grown really fond of the strange little Chinese man. Davy was sitting beside him. She nodded knowing that he would take care of Davy, while they took care of themselves.

"So here you are!" Caryn called from the doorway.

Caryn took in the site of the girls. It was disgraceful, and Dara standing there covered in gore. _She_ should have known better. Three of the girls were wearing boy's trousers of all things. She had heard about their hair. That was too bad. Short hair was so unseemly, and you could do absolutely nothing with it. At least it was the younger girls with the sheared hair. It would grow back.

"What do you have to say for yourselves?" Caryn called out.

"Maybe it would be better if we all went inside," Molly suggested.

Caryn ignored her. These were _her_ nieces. Molly might have control of the manor, and Celeste of the village of all things. But these girls belonged to her.

"If you would excuse us," Kellan told them. "We would like to bathe and change to fresher clothes."

Caryn was surprised when the six girls just marched right on past her. Her fists clenched with anger. She was going to have to get more stern with them. That arrogance wasn't to be tolerated.

Arlen was standing at the front window and was concerned about Caryn's obvious hostility towards her nieces. If it had been the boys returning, Caryn would have greeted them with arms wide open. She would have let them catch up on the news and get sorted out. Kellan had behaved very graciously towards his wife's obvious animosity.

They practically ran to the bathing house. They felt so sticky, and smelled a little strong. Kellan didn't see how Meifen could stand them. They had the room to themselves, which was probably lucky for any of the other patients.

"Ohh," Rhoswen sunk to her chin in the hot fragrant water. "I so missed this."

Alana immediately attacked her hair. She had never gone so long without washing it before. Alana noticed Kellan was doing likewise.

"There are definite benefits to shorter hair," Rhoswen commented.

She simply dunked her head into the water, and then lathered it up. Kane was doing the same. Vevila was struggling with the snarls. She gave up and just let it be. She floated back and let the peace of the room fill her.

"So how's it been with auntie here?" Kellan asked Dara.

"Mainly," Dara answered. "I've been too busy to be bothered by her. Molly's had her busy doing laundry. Did you notice how she kept her hands hidden? They're raw from the unaccustomed work. Hagan is staying with Stefan. Poor Uncle Arlen would dearly love to, but Aunt Caryn won't have it."

"She's a mess you know?" Rhoswen told them. "Torn out of the world she had created for herself. It's not just about us. Hagan and Brody have gifts that our aunt just can't deal with."

"I know," Kellan commented. "I don't want to cause her more agitation, but she just can't continue to think she can step into mama's shoes. Frankly, we've outgrown the need for her. As long as we have each other, we can manage."

"We also have Uncle Stefan," Dara told them. "He's a very sweet man and non-intrusive. He will do his thing, and allow us to do ours."

"And Meifen," Kane told her. "I wish you had been with us on this trip. Meifen is amazing. He even got Vevila to eat beetles and frogs."

"He tricked me," Vevila complained.

"No, he didn't," Kane argued. "You never asked. You just ate what you thought was chicken, and you must admit, the beetle barley was pretty good."

"Davy sure liked it," Vevila said grudgingly.

"Meifen said we weren't to make you feel bad about not knowing how to use the staff," Rhoswen told Dara. "He told us just like we don't have to learn how to heal, you do not have to learn the staff. We will have to learn a little healing, but just enough probably to heal simple wounds. Nothing like what you are doing."

"I have every intention of learning how to use the staff," Dara told her. "You should see what those slavers did to their captors. No way am I not going to learn how to stop that from happening. I'd love to bash those men's heads in."

Molly entered the room bringing in their robes. They had been in such a hurry to get clean, that they hadn't thought to bring in extra clothes.

"I've moved you to a larger room," Molly told them. "Terah is there with the babies, but there is space enough for all of you. Your aunt and uncle are on the top floor with a smaller room all to themselves."

"Oh, thank you," Kellan told her sincerely.

"Just a word of advice," Molly stalled a minute, "it would be best to deal with your aunt right up front. It will save you all a lot of misery later. She has not been acting very rational. It would be best to think of a strategy before leaving this room. I don't trust her not to do something rash—like picking up another hammer."

"Oh!" Alana said surprised. She had thought they could deal with it when they returned to the house.

"Your right," Kellan nodded. "She needs to know right up front that she will not be living with us at the house, nor will she be regaining any authority over us."

"I thought as much," Molly smiled. "You are a lot stronger than when you left. A lot more united and confident—good job!"

"Thanks," Kellan appreciated her support. Dealing with their aunt was going to be hard.

"Your Uncle Arlen is aware that your aunt is behaving poorly." Molly told them. "He will support you and your decisions."

"That will make it easier," Rhoswen sighed. "I'll just float here a while and see if I can learn of the best strategy in dealing with her."

"I'd like to do that, too," Kellan told them. "Just float and think about things."

Molly went out to do her other chores. She knew the girls would be fine. They were a lot stronger and had more willpower than just a few weeks ago. Terah was also less of a pawn where Caryn was concerned. She had grown fiercely protective of Haley and would do what was in her best interest.

They finished up and returned to their room. They were pleased to see blue berry muffins sitting on the table with a large pitcher of milk.

"Milk!" Vevila exclaimed. "We haven't had milk in a long time."

"Notice the berries," Alana pointed out. "They're cut. They are from the forest. One of the girls picked them. That is so huge—to know they are using the forest, just as we all planned."

"So what did you see?" Kellan asked Rhoswen.

"Not a lot," Rhoswen was disappointed. "No more than makes sense anyway. We can sneak off and just move back into the house, or we can confront her here, preferably without an audience."

"Same thoughts as I had," Dara said. "I don't think we can sneak home though. It's still locked."

"Oh! I did have a revelation about that," Rhoswen told them. They looked on eagerly. "It will take the combined efforts of our magic. Mama created the lock to recognize our magical signatures. I don't think it will be important how we do it, or the order, as long as we work it out together. That's why neither Uncle Stefan, nor Celeste could unlock the house."

"I like that!" Kellan said happily. "It means that we are supposed to have control of the house, that mama trusted us with it and the magic found inside."

"It sounds like a test," Dara considered. "To show what we have learned. I think we should figure out how best to use our gifts as demonstration."

"I would like that," Vevila told them. "If mama and papa are watching, they will see how much we have learned."

Rhoswen frowned. Something was wrong. She noticed that Alana also looked up sharply— _listening_ _._

_"Someone is moving energy," Alana frowned. "It's not right. It feels tainted_ —dark. _"_

_"Someone is using death magic," Rhoswen paused. "Someone has just_ _killed_ _to perform a magical act."_

_"They are close by," Alana rose to pull on some clothes._

_The others hurriedly followed suit. They each grabbed their staffs and followed Alana into the hallway. She walked as if in a daze, following the trail of unrest. She led them to the stairway which led to the cellars. She went through the normal workrooms to an area they had never seen before. Kellan ignited a magical globe. The room was covered with dust and old cobwebs. It had been left unused for a very long time. They could see a trail of footprints leading to the back wall._

_"The taint is coming from there," Alana pointed past the footprints._

_Dara could see very old magical wards outlining the far wall. She didn't recognize there inscriptions._

_"We need to link," Dara sent. "You need to see this."_

_From thought to action, they found themselves in link. They could see the inscriptions through Dara's gift. None of them knew what they were, but they knew they felt dark. Not like anything their mother or father had delved in._

_Kellan could see a lever and pressed against it. The wall moved away. No one was in the room they had just opened, but it wasn't empty either. There were cages along the walls. Some were empty, but many were filled with small type animals. Most of them held cats, rabbits, and various types of birds. One particular cage held an old and dear friend_ — _Cally-cat._

_"Look," Alana rushed to Cally's cage._

"No, don't," Dara called out.

Alana drew her hand back abruptly. She had been about to open Cally's cage and take her out. Dara sent them her view of the cages. There were not only wards to lock the cages. There were alarms to notify _someone_ if any were being tampered with.

_"Cally," Alana called softly. The cat did not stir._

_"He's breathing as if asleep," Dara told them, "a very deep sleep. He seems to be in some kind of trance._

_"How do we get him out?" Kane asked worriedly._

_"I think I can get him," Alana frowned. "I can camouflage my touch to blend with the rest of the room. That should prevent the alarms from activating."_

_"Be careful," Dara whispered._

_Alana closed her eyes and opened her mind to the room. She shivered. She pushed the aura of the room away from her consciousness._

_:_ _You only need this one lock_ _,: Dara sent to her. :_ _The key is in the center of the triangle_ _.:_

_They watched with concern as Alana reached up and pressed where Dara had indicated. The door sprang open. She reached into the cage and drew out the cat. She then shut the door and reactivated the lock._

_:_ _I have to leave here, now_ _.: Alana shoved Cally into Vevila's arms and ran from the room._

_They found her just outside the room huddled down on the floor tightly hugging herself. Vevila started to touch her, but Dara pulled her back._

_"She needs to remove the taint of the room from her senses," Dara explained._

_Kane felt around in her special pocket. She found the Annie doll that her mother had made for her a very long time ago. It went everywhere with her. She squatted down and pressed it into Alana's lap._

_"This has all the energy of our mama and papa's love," Kane told her. "Feel it, absorb it. It always helps me when I'm scared."_

_Alana heard what Kane was saying. She remembered Kane's doll even though she had not seen it in years. She had thought that Kane had gotten rid of it years ago. Indeed, she could feel the loving aura of their mother and fathers presence. She let that love fill her senses and her heart, pushing out the foul stench of that room. She felt the tears flood her closed eyes, but pulled them back. Now was not the time. Alana stood and pulled Kane into a heartfelt hug._

_"Okay, already," Kane pulled back, removing her doll from Alana and putting her back into her pocket. No one was supposed to know that she still had that old thing. Now, they all knew._

_"I'm going to want to borrow her!" Kellan told Kane._

_Kane looked up sharply to see if Kellan was making fun of her. She was surprised to see tears in all her sister's eyes._

_"So tell us," Dara told Alana._

_"_ Grandmother Sadie used that room," Alana told them. "When Caryn was around eleven, Sadie would demand for her to lure animals to her. Then Sadie would sacrifice them for her magical experiments." Alana shivered. "To be asked such a thing, and to watch them be put to death would be unbearable. Caryn had renounced magic until she found her world falling apart. It was she who reopened the room and performed some type of rite."

"What did she do?" Kellan asked.

"I don't know," Alana closed her eyes, "but there's more. There are the bones of a child in that room—a girl child. We have to be very careful when we help Davy to make sure we— _never_ —accidently search for _him_. We don't want to find—his bones."

"If we were to find his bones," Vevila said with concern. "What would happen to him?"

"Let's not find out!" Kellan's jaw tightened.

"I'm going to remove our footprints," Kane told them.

Surprised, they peered around the door to see Kane lightly dusting out their foot prints.

"She has done something to hurt Celeste," Rhoswen told them. "Wait," she called when they started rushing out. "We have to unlock the house first."

"Why?" Kane asked anxiously.

"There's something in the house that we need to free Celeste," Rhoswen told them. "Caryn used death magic to initiate her magic. We don't have the tools with us to fight that!"

"What is at the house?" Alana asked.

"I don't know," Rhoswen answered anxiously.

"Let's get out of here." Alana whispered. "We will return for the bones of the girl when our fight is finished."

They didn't return to their room, but to the stable. Meifen already had their wagon ready for them.

"Davy is with Molly," he told them. "I felt the stir of darkness and knew you would also."

They climbed into the wagon and quietly rode toward their home. The moon was full and they had no problem seeing the way in front of them. For once, Kingdom was also being very quiet. He too, seemed to know that something in the night had stirred. He didn't even pause at the barrier but continued onward.

A figure up on the upper floor peered out into the darkness. She saw the girls make a stealthy escape. She had expected as much. They were too sensitive not to notice the change in energy. It would make sense that they would return home. In the morning she would go to collect them. The house would be open, and all would be hers.

They had totally forgotten about their original plan to make an _impression_ when opening the house. Now, they just wanted to do it as quickly as possible.

They unharnessed Kingdom as soon as they arrived. Meifen wanted him free in case they were attacked. They were worried because Caryn could cross the barrier. Alana carefully placed Cally-cat on the lawn chair. He was still sleeping deeply.

"Can we wake him?" Alana asked Meifen.

"That would not be wise," Meifen told her. "Caryn could possibly see through his eyes. It would be best to let him sleep."

"Oh," Alana said appalled.

"Where do we begin?" Kellan asked feeling overwhelmed.

Rhoswen knew they had to play to their strongest magical gifts. She relaxed and let her intuitive nature stir.

"I think Vevila should sing the song that our mama sang long ago when we were scared of the lightning storms," Rhoswen suggested. "I could feel the power rouse when mama sang it. How much stronger if Vevila was to sing it? Do you remember?"

"Yes," Vevila remembered vividly. "Should I start now?"

"Not yet," Rhoswen continued. "Alana, what does the property want?"

"I don't know why," Alana told them. "But there has always been an unbalance in the energy flow since that old bell fell from the belfry. It has since felt rather—raw—unsettled."

"Your great-grand father built that from the old castle," Meifen told them. "He told me so a very long time ago. There may be more to the belfry than just a bell."

"We have to repair it," Rhoswen told them. "I remember seeing the bell by the back porch."

"I will stay here," Meifen told them. "I will watch for your aunt's creatures."

"Creatures?" Kellan asked.

"She can control animals," Meifen reminded them.

"She's also roused something," Alana nodded, "something very dark. I can feel it stirring."

"That is so," Meifen confirmed.

They started walking toward the back of the house. They rolled the bell out of the brush. It was very heavy and had a cracked side.

"I can mend that," Dara told them. "I should be able to send energy into the crack and pull it together. I may need to borrow some energy though."

"It's yours," Kellan told her.

Dara used her skirt to rub the grit and grass from the bell. She sent a spark of energy along the rip to further clean away the dirt and debris.

"I need Kane to push the crack together," Dara told them. "Start at the top. I'll melt it together as you press.

Kane placed her hands on both sides of the bell and pressed. She borrowed strength from the link. They cringed with the sound of the bending metal. Dara hurriedly added energy to the edge of the rip.

"Stop, Kane," she blinked as she studied the fracture. "This isn't working. It just thins out the metal. We need Stefan. He's a blacksmith. He would know how to repair it."

They looked at her surprised. Dara had been working with their uncle. They had gotten to know Meifen—she had gotten to know Stefan.

"Is there something else we can do to unlock the house?" Kellan asked Rhoswen.

"Alana has to answer that," Rhoswen told her. "She can feel the land."

Alana closed her eyes to again question the land.

"It's the bell," she told them, "or the rift. I think the bell will be easier don't you?"

"Let's carry the bell to the forge," Kellan sighed with resignation. "If he is there, we can ask for his help."

Kellan released some of the gravity bonds from around the bell and gently shoved it ahead of them.

"Sure beats carrying it," Dara stated.

They walked to the newest building and called out. No one was there. Kellan let the earth's bond reattached to the bell and carefully lowered it back down.

"Isn't Hagan supposed to be staying here, too?" Kane asked.

"He was," Dara answered. "I know that Stefan wasn't at the manor. I don't know where he would be."

"You link with him all the time," Alana suggested, "can we call him? We can at least knock."

"You talk," Kellan said to Dara.

"By the way," Dara told them. "He likes to be called Stefan, not Uncle Stefan."

"That feels a little awkward," Alana frowned.

Dara just shrugged and knocked. He seemed a bit preoccupied. Dara knocked a little harder.

: _Yes,_ : he answered distractedly. : _I'm a little busy right now_.:

Dara sent him a flood of thoughts showing him what they had learned and what they needed to do.

: _I will be right there_ ,: he told them.

"What else do we need to do?" Kellan asked. "What is the whole picture?"

"Dara will work with Stefan to repair the bell." Rhoswen described for them. "Kellan and Kane will be raising the bell back up into the tower—Dara will need to guide you. Once the bell is in place, Vevila will sing. I don't know what else from there."

"What about you?" Dara asked concerned.

"I am doing it," Rhoswen answered.

They paced around while they were waiting. They tried to figure out just what their aunt had done. Dara was frustrated because she couldn't _see_ anything. She couldn't find Hagan or Celeste. She couldn't even find Stefan.

Kane walked out front for a while to sit with Meifen. She told him what they were doing. He was a very calming presence. She got restless with the calm and paced back to her sisters.

They jumped when Stefan walked around the corner. He did not at first see them and almost walked over the top of Rhoswen. It was Kane's shiny blond head which let him see that they were sitting in the grass.

"Let's get that bell fixed," he told them and led the way to the forge.

"It's cold," Kane told him. "We would have started it going, but couldn't figure out how."

Before her words were even finished he had the forge glowing hot. It wasn't a typical forge, only a Fire Master could operate it.

They watched curiously as he repaired the bell. Where Dara had been trying to use the metal of the bell to repair the crack, he added metal. They watched silently. He turned to them as the bell cooled.

"Even if you had been successful," he told Dara. "It would have sounded off. I think that would not have corrected the problem with the lands energy."

"Where were you?" Dara asked him. "I couldn't find you."

He paused and studied his nieces. He sighed. It was not only their right to know. They needed to know.

"Caryn took control of Hagan," he told them. "I followed him to Celeste's house. When she opened the door he threw something into her face. I tackled him at the door and was treated to the same foul dust. It must have been something that Caryn had prepared. It immobilized me. I could hear him carrying her away. He used her own carriage to take her. They are somewhere on this side. I heard Keegan's door open and close."

"How did she take control of Hagan?" Kellan asked.

"He's her son," Rhoswen said. "She's had him and Brody tied for a very long time—in fact since birth. It must have made her crazy to learn that Brody had broken loose."

"They were born with the raven same as us," Vevila asked feeling scared. "How come she could do that?"

"A mother has her own magic," Rhoswen answered.

"I thought she had denounced magic," Alana frowned. "She sure seemed shy of it around us."

"She would need to be," Stefan told them. "As soon as she used any magic, you would feel the taint. She's very good—and very dark."

"We will get Celeste back!" Kane declared.

"Let's finish this!" Dara stood up.

Dara led the way to the old tower. Kellan pushed the bell along with her staff.

"That's handy," Stefan told her respectfully. She grinned shyly up at him. He regretted his time away from his nieces. They were really very sweet—if you didn't cross them.

Most of the tower was gone. There was enough of the mounting bracket to place the bell. The first storm to come along would take it out, but it would do for now. Dara showed Kane and Kellan where the brackets were.

Kellan kept the bell liberated as Kane moved it into place. Kellan was very proud of Kane. She was learning how to control her gift. Kellan thought that the wagon incident had scared her. She was definitely being more careful. She flinched thinking the same for herself. She didn't want to be flinging things to the stars.

"Sing Vevila, sing," Rhoswen called out.

Don't be scared little baby girl,

It's only a little light,

It's only a little noise,

Both mama and papa are here.

Tomorrow will shine as bright as before,

The energy from this night,

Will honor some of natures call,

Both mama and papa are here.

Vevila almost panicked when she ran out of words, but then she knew she must write her own.

The power in nature is of the most pure,

With it we will begin again,

Bonded by sisterhood, the power is ours.

Both mama and papa are near.

As Vevila sang she could feel the power of nature ringing through the link. She could feel it lightly touch her and then return to the earth only to come up again through Kane and migrate upwards to Kellan and Rhoswen. She watched the power surge outward to the little baby Haley, and return to touch Dara and Alana, and then on to Stefan. She watched it touch Meifen as he guarded them, and then onward to Celeste as she slept. The energy circled the land and finished on that old bell.

Even as they all watched, a raven grabbed the tong and rang the bell. The bell sounded pure. The raven then cawed and flew away. They all stared speechless as the house was lit from every room on every floor. The door swung open inviting them in. Alana picked up Cally-cat and they walked through the doorway joyfully.

"Breathe deeply," Alana called out. "We are truly home."
Chapter Twenty-One

They breathed deeply and could not only smell the essence of home, but could feel the vibrations emanating from the room of all the years of the family living within its walls.

"Come," Meifen said. "We have work to do this night."

"What do I do with Cally?" Alana asked. "He could wake and ruin everything."

"Maybe you should put him back out on the lawn chair," Kellan suggested. Alana nodded regretfully and walked back outside. They waited for her to return.

"What can we do?" Vevila asked as they walked through the house.

"First we need to stop them from hurting Celeste," Kane told them all.

"She is right," Stefan told them. "We don't know where she is right now, but we can create a barrier around her that they can't cross."

"How will she have her needs taken care of?" Dara asked him.

"It truly is like in the tales of the sleeping princess," Meifen told them. "Even in China we have such tales."

Meifen led the way into their mama and papa's bedroom. He didn't stop until he had reached the back wall. Here, he pressed the seventh flower petal on the seventh flower. A door opened towards them.

"How did you know that?" Kellan asked with surprise.

"I recognized it when you showed me this room," Meifen told her.

Unlike the dirty unused room at the manor, this room had been used very recently and was stacked full of ledgers and writings. Those little workbooks they had been searching through so diligently were only a tiny whisper of what filled this room.

While the sisters looked around with wonder, Stefan and Meifen were looking around for the proper tools to aid them with what they needed to do. They both seemed to know what they would need.

"A kiss?" Meifen asked.

"Yes!" Stefan answered.

The sisters watched amazed as they started drawing out very complicated figures and symbols. It was as if they both had always worked magic together.

: _They're linked_ ,: Alana sent into her own link realizing how they were getting this work done so quickly and in agreement.

: _Of course_!: Dara agreed.

"We need some blood from the eldest," Meifen requested.

Kellan came forward without any question. She stood firm as Meifen cut her palm and had her bleed onto the figure that represented Celeste.

"I don't think Caryn knows that Celeste is her sister," Rhoswen told them.

"What?" Stefan asked.

"Her half sister," Rhoswen corrected.

"Oh," Stefan tore off part of the paper and started again.

"She is also papa's half sister," Rhoswen told them.

They watched as his face turned white and sweat appeared above his brow.

"She is not your sister, either," Dara told him realizing what had made him look so sick. "You aren't truly an O'Byrne."

"Explain," he demanded.

"Well," Rhoswen started. "Sadie cheated with your father, and your mother cheated with a traveling minstrel. We—I realized this due to my gift. It is true. It has only been known since we went into the forest to train the girls."

"Oh," he said staring at the diagram.

"We will then need your blood here," Meifen told him.

"What will that do?" Kane asked mystified.

"Kellan's blood was meant to link to Caryn, but from what you just said, would also link to Celeste," Stefan explained. "My blood is the link to my brother, who we now know is also linked to Celeste, but not to Caryn. We can touch both Celeste and Caryn separately. Otherwise one action could touch both women. We don't want that."

Kellan nodded, but the others looked at him blankly.

"You can think on it later," Meifen told them. "We are finished."

They were startled when the magical plans burst into flames. Kellan was racing toward the table with the water pitcher, but just as fast, it was out again—leaving nothing behind but ash.

"You do like to burn things," Vevila murmured to herself.

"She used death magic," Meifen explained. "We used elemental magic. It is different. She will not know how to combat it. Tomorrow—no today—when she comes to collect you, we will be waiting."

"Collect us?" Alana asked alarmed.

"She has use of you," Meifen told them, "and the house. She will be here."

"In fact," Stefan told them. "She is approaching now."

"Eat this," Meifen held out a cup with what looked like orange little peas. "It will counter the dust I collected off Stefan."

They downed the _peas_ without question. Meifen and Stefan also ate peas.

They had worked through the night. There was daylight now shining through the windows. They looked at each other surprised.

"What do we do?" Kane asked, ready to fight her.

"We need her alive," Stefan told Kane. "We can find Celeste, but it will be easier if we can persuade Caryn to lead us to her."

"She can no longer hurt her?" Kane asked.

"No," Dara answered excitedly. "I can see her now. She has a shield around her that Hagan can't get through. He can't move her, either. It's working!"

"All you have to do is get her to enter the house," Stefan told them. "She will be trapped inside."

"Be natural," Meifen advised them. "She expects some resistance."

There was a banging at the door. Vevila jumped. Kellan led the way downstairs. She hesitated before opening the door.

"Open it," Alana told her.

Caryn smiled to herself—like hooking fish in a barrel.

Kellan opened the door and just stared at her.

"Not even going to invite me in?" Caryn frowned at her.

Kellan moved out of the way, waving her in with a sarcastic gesture. They were surprised and disappointed when she remained on the porch.

"So what is it?" Kellan asked her.

"You girls will come with me now," Caryn told her. "Arlen and I have decided that you will be living at the manor."

"Why is that?" Alana asked with her chin up.

Alana peered at her from Kellan's side. Something wasn't right. Caryn should have just arrogantly walked into the house and started throwing her weight around.

"We have talked," Kellan told her bluntly, "and we have decided that we don't want you to live with us. We don't need you, and we sure aren't going to live at the manor. This is our home!"

"Just because you happened to open up the house," Caryn told them. "Doesn't mean you are stronger than I. You don't want to mess with me, little girl! You and your sisters will come now!"

"Why would we do that?" Kellan asked confused.

"I have your little friend Davy," she told them. "I will damage him if you do not come out right now!"

"You what?" Vevila screamed at her and charged towards the door.

"She's lying, Vevila!" Dara yelled out. "She does not have him!"

Kellan and Alana tried to stop the berserked Vevila, but she shot right out past them. They tore out after her followed by Kane. Dara and Rhoswen had the sense to grab their staffs. Meifen and Stefan came pounding down the stairs. They heard Caryn laugh shrilly as they plowed into a wall. They had meant to trap her. Instead, she had trapped them.

"Dara," Stefan shouted, "open the door! Dara!"

: _OPEN_ ,: Stefan sent to them all, : _THE DOOR_!:

Stefan pounded against the invisible wall. He then tried burning his way through—without any success.

They were too focused on Caryn to hear him. He rubbed his face worriedly, and watched with frustration and fear.

Meifen left the doorway to try and find a different portal in which to escape. He wandered from the very top floor—to the cellar below. He knew there was an exit, but could not find its key.

They had set up the trap using the houses imbedded protections. They hadn't thought about Caryn using those same protections to trap _them_.

Caryn removed a device from her pocket and darted Vevila. Caryn felt her shoulder blaze up with pain. She looked at it with shock to see blood dripping from a wound. She snarled at Vevila who was staring off into space. Her dart was lodged into Vevila's shoulder. Caryn instantly knew what had happened—Aine! She would have to be more careful. She was lucky. If that dart had held a _harmful_ poison, Caryn would be dead right now.

_"AWW-EEE, AWW-EEE_ ," Kingdom came from around the house and charged her.

Kellan watched Kingdom breathlessly as he rushed out to trample her. He screamed his aggression as he rushed her. Kellan started with surprise when Kingdom found himself stomping the empty earth. One minute her aunt was in his direct path. The next she wasn't.

Caryn swiftly threw a pouch to the ground. They watched horrified as weeds grew swiftly around Kingdom's legs and started pulling him down to the ground. He screamed as the plants dug thorns into his flesh. Alana quickly placed her hands against the earth. The weeds stopped pulling him down, but she couldn't get them to release him. She couldn't let go, or they would continue to grow up and choke him out. She sat on the earth and desperately concentrated on maintaining her control. Kingdom screamed with anger and frustration as he continued to struggle to get free.

"Don't give up," Alana murmured to him, "please, please—don't give up!"

Kane threw a rock and hit Caryn in the cheek. Caryn looked up startled and quickly pulled together a shield. Rhoswen hit her staff across the shield and was disappointed to find that it could not reach her aunt. She was shocked to see the malicious amusement in her eyes.

"We seem to be _deadlocked_ ," Caryn sneered at them. "Thought you were safe? Thought I was stupid? I've been watching you. All of you, all night long. I saw what you each could do. I saw you with _Stefan_. Meet my observer."

The rangy little dog crossed the field towards them. It was Skippy, Della's dog.

"Skippy!" Kane called out surprised.

"Here Skippy," Dara called. "Come to Dara."

The dog growled and bared its teeth.

"He's mine now," Caryn told her. "If you come repentantly," her voice lowered, "you will be left to live a pretty normal life. You will do as I say. You will marry whom I tell you to marry. Your children will be raised the way I see fit."

"Why would we do that?" Kellan asked her angrily.

"I have your beloved little Celeste," she told them. "I _will_ kill her, and I will do it in such a way that she will wish she were dead long before I finally thrust the knife into her heart."

"We know you have Celeste," Rhoswen told her. "I think you've taken on more than you can control. She is one of Druantia's priestesses you know."

"Druantia!" Caryn scoffed. "She's too busy letting us all have _free choice_ to save Celeste. She let your mother and father die!"

"Regardless," Dara told her. "We will not go with you."

"I will kill her," Caryn told her, "and then I will kill all your little friends. I could have had Davy." She paused in thought. "In fact that would have been smarter than grabbing Celeste."

Kellan stepped forward. "We will hunt you down," she told her angrily, "you must sleep sometime."

"For all your strong words," she sneered. "You're too squeamish to do what would need doing. I'm too strong for you—even with your little sticks."

: _Druantia's hunting_ ,: Rhoswen sent her sisters an image of Druantia tracking a creature so vile, that it made Caryn look puny. Druantia was between the heavens. : _It is up to us_.:

: _Let's just bombard her and try to take her out_ ,: Kane suggested.

: _I agree_ ,: Kellan told them.

Kane started the assault by bombarding her with every rock she could pick up. Dara and Rhoswen started beating on Caryn's shields with their staffs. Kellan tried to pull her body down hard against the earth, but the bonds would not attach. She then tried to cut the bonds away, but the shield held her in place. They couldn't touch her. All the bombardment did was rock her to and fro.

Dara sent sparks of power into her, but quickly stopped as she realized that the shield absorbed them and became stronger. Instead she started siphoning off the energy and sending it into the ground. She could feel the shield weakening. Caryn seemed unaware that her shield was growing thinner.

Caryn was shocked when one of Kane's rocks whirled through her shield, shocked again when Rhoswen's staff slammed down onto her shoulder. She dropped to one knee. They stopped to glare at her—waiting for her to make the next move.

"You need to set Celeste free," Rhoswen told her, "and to not bother us again."

Caryn had never seen her nieces so enraged before. She looked at them confused. Why did they hate her so much?

"You are mine to do with as I please!" She yelled at them. "Aine didn't deserve him. He should have been mine! You—should have been mine." She stared at every one of them. "Well, your mine now!"

"Papa loved mama!" Kane yelled at her. "He would never have chosen you!"

"Mama would never have chosen you as our guardian had she known how perverse you were!" Alana glared at her.

"Now release Celeste," Kellan commanded her.

"I will not!" Caryn yelled at them.

Dara stepped forward and swung her staff into Caryn's stomach. Caryn doubled over, her eyes reflected the shock from the blow. She realized that these girls meant to kill her if she did not do as _they_ said. Between her confusion of their betrayal, and her hate for Celeste—she could not think! In a panic, she pulled out her only remaining tool. She closed her eyes and threw it to the ground.

"Rassptishae," she shouted. "Rassptishae , Rassptishae!" She started laughing. Mother had never had the nerve to use it, although she had taunted her with it time and time again. _She_ —the useless daughter—was stronger than her mother!

"Back away!" Rhoswen screamed out.

Kellan ran towards Vevila and scooped up her limp body. She ran with her to the porch.

"Alana!" Dara screamed. "Let go!"

Alana knew that if she was to let go, the weeds would finish pulling Kingdom down and kill him. She refused to let go. She could hear her sisters screaming at her to get out of there—but she couldn't.

"Seal the porch!" Alana shouted at them. "I will not leave Kingdom!"

Rhoswen screamed as a creature's harmonics pierced her natural shielding. Dara dragged her further up onto the porch. Kellan tapped the symbol on the porch which would seal it the same as the house. Caryn was laughing at their horrified expressions.

A huge serpent with venomous fangs broke through the earth and stood swaying to and fro. Its black fathomless eyes trained on Caryn. Its scales shimmered with rainbow illuminations. Its huge green head momentarily turned towards Alana sitting helplessly on the ground. Alana stared back at it mesmerized. Its black eyes with the white slit pupils seemed uncannily intelligent as it stared into her eyes. She heard Kingdom scream as the weeds started pulling in on him again. Determinedly, she broke free to stare at the ground. She jumped with surprise when the serpent's tail snapped down into the weeds. They immediately withered and died. Kingdom stood free. They were surprised when Kingdom bowed towards the serpent and retreated, stepping backwards. Alana stood to stare at it, unsure of what her next move should be.

It returned its gaze towards Caryn. Its black tongue flickered out.

: _You summoned me?_ : the serpent hissed at her. : _Where is my offering_? _Where are my servants?_ :

Caryn stared at the serpent flabbergasted. The book said nothing about an offering—only a summoning. It had not even mentioned the fact that it could speak. She pointed helplessly at the girls on the porch, and then pointed at Alana standing vulnerably nearby.

The serpent hissed angrily and sprang on her, coiling its body tightly around her. They could hear her screaming as it retreated down the hole it had ascended from—taking her down with it.

They stared in shock and silence towards the large gaping hole. The serpent and their aunt—gone.

"Is she dead?" Alana asked.

"Not likely, it will want a servant," Meifen said from the doorway. "Now, would one of you please—open the door?"

They stared at Stefan and Meifen speechlessly. Kellan reached over and opened the door. It swung open easily.

"Is that all we had to do?" Kellan asked.

"Yes," Meifen told her.

"Come here," Stefan commanded, and then pulled them one by one into his large arms and held them close. He peered into each girl's eyes to insure that they were truly okay.

Dara walked over to Vevila and gently removed the dart from her shoulder.

"Is she okay?" Kane asked worriedly.

"She will be fine," Dara told her. "At least she won't be having nightmares of being dragged down a hole by a great snake!"

"Serpent," Kellan corrected.

"Whatever!" Dara answered edgily.

They heard a whimper and saw Skippy laying listlessly in the field.

"Careful," Stefan called as Alana ran from the porch.

She was kneeling down beside him, petting his head. The others joined her.

"He fought it," Dara said sadly. "See how much he's aged. He's only a year old, but has the body of about ten. She used him hard."

"What can we do for him?" Alana asked.

"Nothing," Dara said sadly. "He has just gotten too old, too fast."

"Does _she_ still have a mental connection to him?" Kellan asked Meifen.

"No, it is broken," he answered her, "but he is vulnerable to further tampering. He would be helpless against her."

"We will keep him inside," Alana said through her tears as she picked up the dog. "She cannot come inside."

"If she ever gets free," Kane said looking down into the hole.

"Kane!" Kellan shouted, "Get back from there."

Kane just shrugged and joined them back on the porch.

"Come," Meifen called. "We have a lot to plan. This battle is won, but the next must be prepared for. We are not finished."

"Indeed," Stefan's voice lowered. "We have much to do!"

"We have to rescue Celeste!" Rhoswen insisted.

"And set Walt's brother and cousin free," Dara added. They looked at her confused. "The sailors!"

"And Hagan," Alana mentioned, "What's to be done with him?"

"And find where Davy belongs," Kane stated firmly.

"And find out who's bones are in the evil room," Kellan whispered.

: _And what about me?_ : Cally-cat asked querulously.

"Cally!" Rhoswen ran and cuddled up the big cat. He purred blissfully.

"And what about our aunt?" Kane asked staring out toward the gaping hole.

Her question was met by silence. They stood looking at each other with baffled expressions.

"She created her own fate," Meifen told them, "she must find her own way out,"

"Good thing," Rhoswen told them. "I was beginning to think that we were going to have to save the whole world!"

Stefan and Meifen exchanged looks. Indeed—change the world!
From the Author

I found my passion in creating and writing stories. It is on ongoing challenge to entice non-book readers into finding themselves lost inside my worlds. The stories are a little complex so I acknowledge that maybe they are best to be read by those who are teenage and older.

If you find yourself with an autographed book in hand, it will probably say, "Embrace Joy." I write this because joy is our most fleeting, but marvelous of emotions. If you find it, hold it, and cherish it for as long as you can.

L. S. Fayne
