“Good luck to you.” Cian saluted them with his sword. “To you all.”
With a heavy heart showing clearly in his eyes, Hoyt stepped back, lifted the crystal. Light beamed in it, and from it.
“Worlds wait. Time flows. Gods watch.”
Tears glimmering on her cheeks, Glenna took his hand and repeated the words.
“It’s not right.” Larkin spoke softly. “It’s not right to leave one of us.”
“Maybe we can—Oh shit,” Blair murmured as the ground began to rumble. The wind swirled up, and light began to pulse.
“Slan, mo cara.” With one last look at Cian, Larkin gripped her hand. “It’s a hell of a ride,” he told her. “Best hold on to me. Moira?”
She held her crystal; she spoke the words. And she stared into Cian’s eyes as she felt the world shift. Then she reached out, grabbed his hand. “We are one force, one power. This is meant!”
And pulled him into the circle.
It was like being sucked into a tornado, Blair thought. Impossible wind that seemed to pull you away from the earth, spin you in mad circles while the light blasted your eyes.
Would there be munchkins on the other side?
She could see nothing but that wild white light, the spinning whirl of it. Could find no footing, no solid ground, so anchored herself with Larkin’s hand.
Then there was dark, and utter stillness. She rubbed her hand over her face, tried to catch her breath. And she saw now there was moonlight, silver streams of it that speared down and struck the standing stones.
“Is this our stop?”
“Oh my God!” Glenna’s voice was giddy. “What a rush. What a…wow. And Cian.” Putting both her trembling hands on either side of Cian’s face, she kissed him soundly. “How did you do it?” she asked Moira. “How did you bring him inside?”
“I don’t know. I just…It was meant. You were meant to be here,” she said to Cian. “I felt it, and…” Moira seemed to realize she was still clutching his hand, and pulled hers away. “And well, here you are.”
She pushed at hair that had come loose from its braid. “Well then, fàilte a Geall. Larkin.” She made a laughing leap into his arms. “We’re home.”
“And handily enough, it’s night.” If Cian was shaken, he hid it well—merely glancing around him as he shoved back his hood. “Not that I don’t trust your magical powers.”
“There’s still the matter of getting ourselves, and all this stuff where we’re going.” Blair gestured widely to encompass the chests, the weapons and cases.
“We can send men for most of it in the morning. I think we carry what we need most,” Moira suggested.
“Weapons then. We don’t know what we’re walking into. Sorry,” Blair added. “But you’ve been gone well over a month. We can’t know.”
“I can carry three, take the air.” Larkin tugged Moira’s disordered braid. “I could see if there’s anything to worry about. And you can take one on the horse.”
“My horse,” Cian reminded him before he looked at Moira. “I can take you on my horse.”
“Sounds like a plan. Let’s get it in motion.” Blair slung on her own duffle, then grinned at Hoyt and Glenna. “You guys are going to love this.”
Across Geall they flew, with the stallion and its two riders galloping below. As the moonlight dripped like magic, hills and wedges of forest were edged with silver; the river gleamed on its wandering journey through them. Blair saw cottages with thin smoke spiraling from chimneys, the dots that were cattle or sheep lolling in fields. The roads below were narrow and dirt, and empty of travelers but for Cian and Moira.
No cars, she thought, no lights but for the occasional glimmer that might have been a candle or lantern. Just land, she realized, left to roll and spread, and rise to the silhouettes of mountains.
A land, she reminded herself, that until a few weeks ago, she’d believed a fairy tale.
She turned her head, saw the coast with its high, steep cliffs that flowed down to graceful inlets. The sea spread out, velvet black, and cupped a trio of rough little islands on its journey to the horizon.
She heard Glenna give a quick gasp behind her, and looked over again.
The fantasy rose from the high hill, a wide curl of river at its back. Its stones gleamed like jewels in the moonlight, rising up into towers and turrets, stretching out into crenelated walls.