Highland Raven

Chapter 14

I sighed heavily. I wasn’t sure if Epona had heard Banquo’s words or not, but she said nothing. The bards were leaving and goodbyes were being given. Not having the heart for another farewell, I went to Sid’s house.

I knocked on her door. The door opened swiftly. She pulled me inside before I could think of resisting and banged the door shut behind me. We both watched in horror as several objects—a brush, a cup, a scarf, and a scroll—whirled around the room.

“What…what is this?” I stammered.

“Brownies. I can’t get rid of them.”

“Let me go get some snowdrops. I think Druanne has some in—,” I said and reached for the door handle, but a brush came hurling at me. I ducked before it could hit me in the face.

“Buggers,” Sid shouted.

“Where is Nadia?”

“She went back through the barrow.”

“Well, what now? How do you get rid of brownies?” I squinted around the room. I didn’t see sign of the actual creatures themselves, just the items they had enchanted.

“Drive them away.”

“How?”

“You must see them first. Call your wings. Do what you were taught, Raven Beak.”

I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and tried to calm my heart, which was slamming in my chest. At first all I could hear was Sid’s upset breathing. “Scotia,” I whispered in my mind. “I need you. Scotia?”

There was a distant, hollow, rustling sound. Faintly, I heard: “Yes?”

“Aid my eyes.”

“It is within you, ancient one,” she said in an echoing reply, then the voice disappeared.

I slowly opened my eyes. The room shimmered gold. Then, I saw them. Neither fairy nor troll, brownies were kin of the fey folk somewhere in the middle. They were no more than six inches high, had wings like wasps, lionesque manes, and bushy tails like squirrels. Their skin was furred and spotted like spring fawns. They had small, wrinkled faces with long noses. When they saw me looking at them, really looking at them, they stopped and stared, their small black eyes gleaming.

I took a deep breath and felt my body, my power. My arms had become the wings of a raven, yet my body remained intact. I rose on my wings; the brownies scattered. They flew toward the fireplace and went up and out. As if I were translucent, I floated through the roof. The brownies balked to find me on the other side. I laughed, and in a heartbeat, I overtook them. I flapped my raven wings on them, teasing them a bit. I didn’t want to hurt them. I just wanted them to go. They zipped off on their tiny wings, never looking back. It was a warning. It was enough.

I opened my eyes. With a whooshing sensation, I floated back into my body. The wings were gone.

“My thanks,” Sid said then went to pick up the fallen items. She looked up at me from under her long lashes. “Raven Beak,” she said then chuckled, shaking her head.

“How is it you see all these things, them, me?” I whispered.

“I see what no one else wants to see.”

“Yet you don’t dislike or mistrust me. Druanne dislikes me.”

Sid set the brush on her bureau. It was then that I realized her room was very beautiful. I hadn’t noticed before, but Sid’s room was decorated with fine furniture. The ornately carved bed, looking glass, and armoire inlaid with shells were all beautifully designed. As well, her bed was covered with heavy green velvet blankets and black bear furs. Her room was outfitted finer than my old chamber in Madelaine’s castle. I was puzzled.

“First, for all her pomposity, Druanne lives in this world. She knows only the rules, the procedures. She never takes the next step into the unknown, to really feel the magic at the heart of it all. She says the words then calls it done. That is not the way of the otherworld, so she does not understand the powers you possess. You are a protector of the land, as you have always been. Because of the White Christ, the fey now live on the other side. I speak for them as best as I can, and it is time for some wrongdoing to come to an end. And second, dislike you? If I disliked you, why would I be back with you yet again?” Sid asked then laughed. “Besides, it has been a long time since anyone has understood me. I’m so thankful you’re finally here. Ah, and here is Nadia,” she said then looked toward her fireplace.

I followed her gaze. Floating before the fireplace, inside a capsule of golden light, was a tiny woman in a gown made of flower petals. She had long, bronze-colored hair strung with ribbons. She floated on tiny gossamer wings. The look of surprise on her face was a mirror of my own. Instantaneously, however, she disappeared. Nadia. I had seen her.