Page 135 of A Winding Wave of Magic
“Jonathan Lynch!” A high, imperious voice rose over the waves, causing the three of us to turn toward its source, a small woman in the doorway of the cottage. “I hope you’re not planning to roll around in the grass all afternoon like a dog. Not while I’m standing right here, waiting for your kisses and hellos!”
Jonathan immediately smoothed his hair back into a more reputable form.
“Come,” he said to me. “Robbie will get the luggage and stow your board. You should meet Caitlin.”
Just as herhusband exuded warmth and familiarity uncommon for a sorcerer, Caitlin Connolly was the kind of woman people listened to without argument, direct and forthright in a way that was rare for most people, but especially seers. Standing in her well-used kitchen in a worn, red wool skirt, scuffed leather clogs, and a cable-knit cardigan that looked like it would fit Robbiebetter than her, Caitlin looked like the type who wouldn’t stand to fuss about anything, not even herself.
Her shoulder-length brown hair was laced with gray and pulled back into a serviceable braid at the base of her neck, revealing a face full of freckles touched pink by the wind. A pair of hawkish gray eyes darted back and forth around the room, taking in Jonathan, her husband, and my appearance in torn jeans, a thin sweater, and my wool peacoat. Caitlin Connolly didn’t look like much at first, but when she turned her eyes on you, it felt instantly like she could See straight to the core of you and accept no lies about it. It was easy to see where Bronagh had gotten her strong personality, even if her power was inherited from her father.
“Come here, then, Jonny, give us a kiss,” Caitlin commanded, pulling Jonathan down into a tight embrace. “It’s been ages. Far too long since we’ve seen you.”
“I’m sorry.” Jonathan allowed himself to be tucked into the tiny woman’s arms for as long as she liked. She couldn’t have been more than ten or fifteen years older than him, but he bowed to her shoulder with the obedience of a son. “I know it’s true. I’ve been…occupied, as I’m sure Robbie has told you.”
With a quick glance at me, Caitlin clucked her tongue and patted him on the cheek before releasing him up to his full height. “Don’t you bother lying to me, Jonathan Lynch, when you know I can See right through your thoughts like they were just water in a pot. But you’re here now, safe and whole, and that’s all that matters. Now go help Robbie with the bags, and I’ll see what you’ve brought us.”
Jonathan left, and Caitlin turned her gaze on me, taking in my clothes, my unruly hair, and my gloves. She nodded, as if in approval—of my general disarray or wariness, I wasn’t sure.
“You’ll be Cassandra, then?” She extended a hand.
I reached out, but she shook her head.
“We don’t need barriers here,” she said, nodding at my glove. “You want privacy, you’ll have to do it for yourself, not with a crutch like that.”
I paused, uncertain. She hadn’t said as much, but something in me sensed that this was as much a test as my initial interview to enter my PhD program. How I responded would determine far more than our initial meeting.
To hell with it. I was here to learn. And if Gran chose Caitlin for my teacher, I would have to follow directions, not fight them.
Slowly, I took off my gloves and tucked them into my pocket. Caitlin’s callused palm found mine with strong, probing currents that traveled up my arm, pushing into my mind for a brief moment before she released her grip with a nod of approval.
“You’re a strong one. Just like your gran, though I see we’ve to teach you how to protect yourself. Spitting image of your granddad, though.”
“You knew my grandfather?”.
“Sure, I did.” Caitlin nodded toward the sea. “It was here that CiaránRoinmet Penny, just off those rocks during a low tide. Black Ciarán, as he wasmurúch. You didn’t know?” She squinted to where her daughters played at the ocean’s edge, as if CiaránRoinmight appear from the water and seduce them too.
I blinked, unsure if she was serious or not. Cary was the first actual merrow I had ever met, last night—how many more were there?
Caitlin was watching me intensely, and it was clear she was tracking my thoughts. “Hmm. I see we’ll have to start from the beginning, then. Yes, I mean he was a damned shifter, and his heart-animal was a seal, of course. Ciarán was a charmer, but a cad too. Captured poor Penny’s heart, and she hadn’t a chance. None of us do when it comes to love.”
The door opened, and Caitlin and I turned from looking out the window. Jonathan and Robbie stood in the kitchen, bothof their eyes shimmering as they took in the energy passing between Caitlin and me.
“Stop,” Caitlin ordered. “It’s a conversation, not a spell. I’ll thank you to turn those glittery eyes off now.”
Both of their eyes tamped to normal shades, though not without a smirk from Robbie.
“Rob and I are going to take the girls for a walk.” Jonathan eyed a fresh round of cheese sitting on the counter. “Goat?”
“Keep your kitty paws away from that, Jonny. That’s for our dinner, not your snack.” Caitlin smacked a hand on the countertop in front of Jonathan’s nose, and he snapped up obediently, a mischievous smile playing over his lips.
“Would you like to join us, then, Cait? Cassandra?” Robbie’s voice, amiable and easygoing, was an antidote to his wife’s general-like demeanor.
“She’ll be staying here with me, Jonny. Off you go.” Caitlin grabbed her husband’s coat and hat off the rack by the door and tossed them to him. “Cassandra and I’ve got a great deal to discuss, and it’ll work better without the prying eyes of you lot clinging to our every move. Don’t know whywe’rethe ones called seers when you’re the ones who have toseeevery feckin’ thing, don’t you? Now, take some biscuits for the girls and yourself, and have a nice long walk into town to see about the day’s catch.”
“And here I thought you were happy to see me,” teased Jonathan, accepting the small basket of cookies wrapped in rough linen and following Robbie back into the front yard.
Caitlin continued to push them out the door, talking the whole time. “Be gone with you, and don’t you be coming back until you’ve brought some pollack. And watch that the girls don’t get too close to the water!”
She shut the heavy wood door after them, then turned to me, a conspiratorial smirk brightening her weathered face.
