Page 45 of A Little Highland Magic

“There are four of us now. That improves the odds,” Graeme said, meeting Aria’s gaze. “We could fight them.”

“I do not wish to kill them, which we would do if we fought them.” Aria pressed her lips together in thought. After a long moment she smiled. “I would like to try to switch places with them. While we escape the cave, we shall lure them into the cave and trap them behind the magical water.”

“How would we lure them into the cave?” Gille asked.

Aria stepped to the edge of the water and investigated the depths, pleased when she saw many fish. “The wulvers seem to like fish. Perhaps we can lure the wulvers with fish onto a trail I will create through the water.”

“If the wulvers come into the cave, how will we get out without them coming after us?” Pearl asked, with scepticism in her voice.

“You leave that to me.” Aria looked to Graeme as she lifted the hem of her skirt and tucked it into the belt at her waist. “Let’s catch ourselves some fish.”

Instead of removing their shoes and stockings, the two of them left them on as they waded into the knee-deep water. They had to protect the soil and pebble from Dunvegan at all costs if they were to return to the human realm. Aria remained still, with her hands hovering above the surface, until a dark object swam between her legs. Quickly, she swooped down and with both hands, clasped the fish, then threw it up onto the cave’s floor. Graeme did the same. Only after they had captured eight fish did they return to shore.

“Are you both ready to travel?” Aria asked her half-sister and mother.

Pearl nodded. “There is nothing of value to us here in this realm, except each other.”

Aria moved to the right. “Then all of you stand beside me, and I will draw the wulvers into the cave from the left.”

Pearl narrowed her gaze. “I still do not see how you can protect us while the wulvers enter the cave.”

Despite the tension Graeme must be feeling, his posture was not rigid, as would be most men’s given the situation. Instead, he stood with his hands relaxed at his sides, yet his eyes spoke of alertness, readiness to proceed. He was a man with a purpose in mind and nothing would keep him from that. “You must trust her. For I do, with my life.”

Graeme’s words warmed Aria’s heart and gave her the confidence to do what must be done. She lifted her hands, and as she did, the waterfall parted, leaving a dry patch of land for the wulvers to follow. The creatures stood erect with their snouts in the air, as though sensing the fish on the opposite side of the path. As the creatures stepped into where the water used to be, Aria kept one hand trained on the left side of the water. With her right hand she formed a protective bubble around the four of them as she had in the stream at Dunvegan, blocking them and their scent from the wulvers.

As the wulvers entered the cave and began devouring the fish, Aria and the others walked past the spillway until they were safely on the edge of the shore on the opposite side of the cave. With a drop of her hands, the waterfall fell back into place and the protective bubble around them vanished. Frantic howling filled the air as the wulvers realised they were trapped.

“They will survive, just as Mother and I did for months, until the enchantment either wears off, is broken, or Oberon discovers we tricked them.” Gille must have sensed the sudden concern that flared inside Aria’s chest.

Graeme helped Pearl and Gille out of the water before turning back to Aria and assisting her onto the shore. “Are you well?” he asked, taking her into his arms and searching her face, looking for her usual signs of fatigue.

“I am. I do not feel as drained as when I use my magic in the human realm. Perhaps it is because I am closer to the source of that magic here.” Aria savoured the feel of Graeme’s chest pressed close to her own. She would have kissed him had they been alone, showing him one more time how dear he had become to her.

“You are correct,” Pearl said, with admiration in her voice. “I was not aware that you had ever used your powers before. You seem to have excellent control of them.”

Regretfully, Aria stepped out of Graeme’s embrace while holding the sensations his touch brought close to her heart. “Oberon forced me to reveal them when he cursed the MacLeods.” Aria turned to Gille. “What is the most direct path to the desolate mountains?”

She pointed off into the distance. “Those are the mountains ahead.”

“I know of a secret passage through the mountain that might save us some time,” Pearl said. “But there are many dangers.”

“Graeme and I are prepared for danger.” Aria turned to him, and he nodded his agreement. “The shortest route is what we will take.”

The passage Pearl brought them to was not much more than a crevice slashed between two massive rock formations. It rose high into the eerie blue light with a sheer falling-off on either side. Inside the gap was no wider than the breadth of Graeme’s body and it was steeped in darkness. A shiver raced down Aria’s spine at the thought of entering the eternal darkness. “We will need torches if we are to make it through.”

“I can help with that,” Gille said, walking over to a small shrub that struggled to grow at the base of the mountain. She reached out and gently stroked the spindly branches and whispered to it as though it were a friend. Several moments passed, when suddenly the branches quivered, and the small bush grew before their eyes into a stout tree. More whispering followed as she reached up and broke the ends of four thick branches off. A sorrowful cry filled the air, but Gille stroked the place where she had taken the branches and leaves suddenly appeared. Silence filled the air as she returned to Graeme with wood for the torches.

Aria grasped the sword at her side and, lifting her skirt, slashed through her chemise until she cut four thin strips of linen and handed them to Graeme. He wound the linen around the wood and with his flint and steel set each of the torches on fire.

With a torch in hand, Aria stepped inside the opening, fighting back her own revulsion at entering the black maw. The path before them would help them return to the MacLeods faster. She drew a fortifying breath and stepped inside.

Torchlight illumined the silvery-grey shale rock, and the air immediately thickened with smoke. Aria could feel her eyes start to burn and tear, until she passed the narrow entrance and the ceiling lifted, allowing the smoke to draught upwards. Aria was also grateful that the added space would allow for her to draw her weapon should the need arise.

Several footfalls sounded behind her, and she knew the others had joined her in the dark void. The torchlight repelled the darkness for only a few feet at a time, causing the golden light to twist and writhe against the walls. In silence, the others followed. Every once in a while, Graeme got close enough to touch her back. An encouraging touch that helped ease the fear tightening her throat.

As they progressed deeper into the bowels of the mountain, the air grew heavy, and the cloying scent of decay surrounded them. The torchlight now cast an eerie glow on the dark rock, making fissures and outcroppings appear almost human one moment, gruesome and beastlike the next. Aria swallowed hard. “Gille, what kind of beasts might live inside this crevice?”

“Trolls.” The single word echoed in all directions around them. A terrible silence followed as they continued forward.