Page 91 of Crown of the Fae King

“Deep breaths, lass. We’ve arrived at the crux of my story.”

I rolled down the window a little, let the cold air wake me up and remind me I was still alive, that I hadn’t been murdered as a child, emerging into the sun…from the Tunnel from Hell. And I hadn’t been standing there at the exit with young blood dripping off my sword.

“When a hundred witches—and the Grandfather—used their powers to curse that tunnel, their power became part of it. Imagine, even without the help of that old man, all the power caught in those stones, in that soil. Now, imagine a young man, eleven centuries later, sealed inside those same stones, that same soil.”

“You soaked up their power.”

“Aye. The tunnel and I were one. I am, for all intents and purposes, the tunnel itself. The tunnel isTime.I…amTime.”

“But you can’t read minds.”

“We’ve been through that. Telepathy is a gift of twins. It is more rare than it may seem, considering the company we keep.”

“So you have a little of everyone’s power? You can do what any of those witches can do?”

“Nay. Other than stepping out ofTimeandPlace, the rest is more of a…boost. The volume of my own power has been—”

“Amplified?”

He nodded.

“It’s why you could pop an entire carload of people, and the car, back to the house?”

“Aye. But I am no God.”

“At least, not yet,” I said, teasing.

“What do ye mean?”

“I mean, if you find all the Naming Powers before O’Ryan does…”

He shook his head. “I have worried what we shall do once they are found. But I have no such ambition. I simply want my family back.” His face paled, fell. He was suddenly hoarse. “My biggest fear is that I have robbed Fate by claiming a second life for Ivy and me…and that Fate will make me pay.”

37

A Thief Named Fingal

Getting to Muirsglen seemed fairly straightforward. There were signs for The Black Isle, which was the promontory upon which the village would be found. “I don’t understand how O’Ryan hasn’t heard of this place. If he’s looking for twin witches, wouldn’t he have started here?”

“Nay. The isle has been enchanted since before William conquered England in 1066. The outside world is like vampires. One cannot find it unless one has been invited, or a Muir witch, of course. Except by way of the tunnel. And I sealed that avenue years ago.”

“Why can’t you hide all the Muir witches here until we get rid of O’Ryan?”

“They might all fit back into Scotland, but far too many for this wee isle.”

“If O’Ryan can’t find it, why did you warn all the twins here to separate?”

“Because he is an unknown entity. Never trust the Fae. Never trust that you truly know them.”

I knew he wasn’t just talking about O’Ryan, and I rolled the window down again and let the rush of air drown him out before he could speak Griffon’s name. We still didn’t know he was Fae. And when we found out he wasn’t, I was going to find a very large crow, have Alwyn cook it, then hand feed the whole team.

The villageof Muirsglen was larger than I expected. Not a village at all, but a small town. I guess my idea of villages began and ended with that French provincial town inBeauty and the Beast. Of course, there were plenty of so-called cities in Wyoming and Idaho that weren’t half as big, but we never used the term out west.

Village Inn, yeah.

Village People, okay.

Never just a village.

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