Page 57 of Rory

Ava covered her mouth with her hand as the MacBren climbed back onto his horse, and rode up to her husband.

“You cannae change your mind halfway there,” Torra’s father said, looking skeptical. “Nor shall my men permit you to slay me.”

“I cannot wait to leave with you,” the laird said, and extended his hand. “From this day forth, I shall name myself your son.”

The sound of sharp cracking made Harper look up. Overhead long streaks of blue and white crisscrossed the green sky, making the waterfall cloud dissipate. Fortunately all the faceless attackers had been melted, thanks to Rory.

“Travars, I think it’s working,” Harper said, smiling.

More streaks appeared, thinning and crisscrossing like the sky was becoming a vintage crackled ceramic, or a snow globe that had been dropped. All around the castle the forest illusion blurred more and then sharpened as what seemed like real trees sprang up in all the voids.

Don’t implode and kill everyone, please, Harper thought as her body took on the apricot glow again.

Beneath her boots vibrations began along with a deep rumbling that seemed to shake the world. As the laird rode with his enemy out of the inner gate and up to the outer, the thugs following them started to vanish, one by one. At the same time, the zombie army came marching around the front of the stronghold, and then suddenly stopped, enveloped by the same violet glow as the waterfall cloud had been.

“What are you doing?” Bodach strode out into view, dragging Una with him. “Kill them all.”

“Not Una,” Ava said through clenched teeth.

At the outer gate the MacBren said something to Tasgall, but they were too far away for the sound to carry to Harper and Ava.

“I always sucked at reading lips,” she warned the laird’s wife as she watched the men’s faces. “Okay, Torra’s dad is saying how happy your hubs has made him, and that he will do anything Tasgall wants, including making him laird of his clan, too. Tasgall is just smiling and nodding.” She caught her breath as the outer gate raised, and both men rode through it. “Here goes.”

Bodach shoved Una away from him as his glowing zombies began to gather around them like interested spectators.

He’s finally using his power, Harper thought, enchanted by the sight of all the undead under the control of Rory’s magic.

“What are you doing?” the goblin shouted, lifting his pink, oozing hands as if trying to cast a spell, but nothing happened. “Obey me.”

Rory jumped from the watch tower, making Harper scream, but then she saw the rope wrapped around his fist. He swung on it like a medieval Tarzan, landing in front of Bodach.

“You stay away from me,” the goblin said, knocking over his revenants as he tried to escape the armorer.

Harper saw Kelso push his way through the unresisting zombies until he reached Una, who he threw over his shoulder. He then waded back out of the army and carried her into the stronghold. Rory kept advancing on Bodach, his beautiful face calm.

“You’re no’ welcome here, Goblin,” the armorer said in a clear voice, causing the wall behind Bodach to shake. “Get out.”

The power of Rory’s voice made the wall shudder violently over the last two words, and then it abruptly toppled. The goblin shrieked and covered his head before he vanished under several tons of stone.

Rory tore off the leather gauntlet he wore to cover up the black scythe inked on his forearm, which now dripped off as if the tattoo was leaking away.

“That’s my boy,” Ava said, her mouth curving into a proud smile.

The walls of Dun Talamh began to glitter with white, pink and red lights as the sky darkened and then lightened, first slowly and then so quickly the days and nights flashed by in a strobe light pattern. Beneath them the gardens went wild, sprawling over the sides of the beds. The castle walls started to crack, then repaired themselves, and then grew mossy as the stone paled and darkened.

Harper had seen this before, inside the world of the melia when she and her mother had stepped through the door in the tree. The clothes they had been wearing had turned into ferns stitched with vines, and then cloth again, and then cloth that had ferns embedded in the weave.

“This place is coming apart,” she said, unable to summon any fear. Whether they escaped or died, it was coming to an end.

“Let’s go inside and get the others,” Ava said, tugging at her arm.

Harper accompanied her down the steps and through the passages, watching as torches blew out and then re-lit themselves. The air changed from cool to frigid, and her breath puffed out in white clouds. In the great hall they found the other women had gathered, each watching from the window slits. Their clothing changed from cloth to woven plants and back again. The food on the trestle tables seemed to mound itself higher and higher before it vanished and then reappeared. Kelso was also there, holding Una in his arms as she sobbed into his shoulder.

“That’s new,” Harper murmured, oddly pleased to see the clan’s two biggest pains embracing. Maybe Elspeth and her guys would get a break now. “And logical, I suppose. Has anyone seen Rory come inside?”

“No, sorry. Looks like we may not have much time left,” Olivia said as she regarded Ava, her smile lighting up her neat features. “If this is the end for us, I just want to say thank you for being my friends. Aside from Alec, you were the best part of being here. That goes for you, too, Harper.”

Grace put an arm around her and Esme. “I never had friends until you ladies. You’ve been wonderful. Thank you.”