"We've been through this before. "
"Yeah, but what seems cut and dried rarely is. The first sister, her counterpart, trapped the man she loved. You take a silkie's pelt, you bind him to the land and to you. They had a life together, a family. But his feelings for her were a result of magic, not free will. When he found his pelt, he reverted, left her. "
"He couldn't stay," Sam put in.
"No argument. Now, a possible interpretation is that Mia is required to find a love without boundaries. One that comes to her without qualification or magic. That just is what it is. "
"I'm in love with her. I've told her. "
"She has to believe you. " Zack laid a hand on Sam's shoulder. "And either accept or let you go. "
"But that's not the only interpretation. You need to follow along here. " Mac picked up one of the old books, opened it to a section he had marked.
"This is a history of the island, written in the early seventeen hundreds, that used documents I've never seen. If Mia has those documents, you didn't get them from the library. "
"She wouldn't keep them there. " Worry clouded Sam's gaze. "She'd probably have them in her tower. "
"I'd like to see them, but for our purposes, this is enough. It goes into the legend in some detail," Mac continued. "I'm going to hit the highlights. "
He adjusted his glasses, skimmed down the yellowed page. " 'By magic it was formed, by magic it will thrive or perish. So the choices of the circle deem life or death, one times three. Blood of their blood, hand of their hand. The three who live must face the dark, each to her own.
" 'And Air must find her courage. To turn from what would destroy her or to stand against it. ' You did both," Mac said to Nell. " 'When she will see herself, give herself for what she loves, the circle is unbroken. So Earth will seek her justice, without blade or lance. To shed no blood but her own in defense of what she is, and all she loves. ' "
Ripley turned her hand palm up and studied the thin scar that slashed across it. "I guess we pulled that
one off. "
"You had a choice. " Mac turned to her. "More of a choice than we'd realized. 'And when her justice is meted with compassion, the circle is unbroken. Thus Fire must look into her heart, open it and leave it bare. To see love with no boundaries and offer for what she holds dear, life. When her heart is fr
ee, the circle is unbroken. The power of the Three will join, will hold. Four elements rise and end the Dark. ' "
"Sacrifice? Her life ?" Sam surged forward. "She can sacrifice her life?"
"Hang on. " Zack clamped his hands on Sam's shoulders. "Is that how you're reading this, Mac?"
"You could interpret this that any one of them could have given her life, for the others. For us. For courage, for justice, for love. This book came out of Mia's library, so it's an option she's aware of. The question is, is it one she would consider?"
"Yes. " Pale now, Nell looked at Ripley. "We all would have. "
Ripley nodded. "If she thinks it's the only way. But she wouldn't. " Uneasy, she pushed herself off the counter. "She would pit her power against anyone or anything. "
"It's not enough. " Sam fisted his hands as if he could clamp the fury and fear inside them. "Not close to enough. I'm not standing back while she considers dying to save a few square miles of dirt. We're going to put a stop to this. "
"You know better. " As her nerves built, Ripley yanked off her cap. "You can't stop what's been in motion for centuries. I tried, and it ran right over me. "
"Your life's not on the line, is it?"
If she'd seen only anger, she might have snapped back at him. But she saw fear as well. "What do you say we both take it out on Mia after this is done?"
"Deal. " He gave her shoulders a squeeze, then dropped his hands. "There's no point in confronting her about this: We won't budge her. Dragging her bodily off the island won't change anything. The last step has to be taken, and it's best that it be taken here. It's meant to be taken here. With all of us. "
"Center of power," Mac agreed. "Her center, her circle. Her power's the most refined, and it's the strongest. But that leads me to conclude that what's going to come against her will build its power to match. "
"There are more of us now," Nell pointed out. She reached out a hand for her husband's, laid the other on her belly. "Linked, our energy is formidable. "
"There are other sources of power. " Sam nodded as the idea formed. "We use them. All of them. "
His mind was clear, his thoughts controlled when he walked into the house on the cliff. Mia wasn't the only one who could block.
He found her in the garden, calmly sipping a glass of wine while a butterfly fluttered in the palm of her
outstretched hand.
"Now that's a picture," he said as he kissed the top of her head, then sat across from her. "How was your day?"
She said nothing for a moment, studied his face, sipped her wine. What was inside her yearned under the steel of her will. "Busy, productive. Yours?"
"The same. Some kid stuck his head through the iron pickets on one of the balconies. He took it pretty well, but his mother screamed the roof off and wanted us to cut through. As there was no way I was damaging a centuries-old rail, I was about to flick him free with a quick spell. The housekeeper beat me to it. Slathered his head with baby oil and popped him out like a cork. "
She smiled, and was obliging enough to hand him her wine for a sip. But her eyes were watchful, wary.
"I imagine he enjoyed the entire thing. Sam, I noticed some of my books are missing from the library. "
"Mmm?" He held out a finger so the butterfly on her palm flew gracefully to him, perched. "You said I could use the library. "
"Where are the books?"
He passed the wine and the butterfly back to her. "I spent some time looking through some of them, thinking I might find some fresh angle on this whole business. "
"Oh. " A chill shivered around her heart. "And?"
"Never claimed to be a scholar," he said with a shrug. "I mentioned it to Mac in passing, and he asked if he could borrow them. I didn't think you'd mind. "
"I'd prefer that the books stay in the house. "
"Oh. Well, I'll get them back. You know, sitting out here with you like this feels . . . perfect. And every time I look at you, my heart rolls over in my chest. That feels perfect, too. I love you, Mia. "
Her lashes lowered. "I should do something about dinner. "
When she rose, he took her hand. "I'll help you. " He kept his fingers linked with hers as he got to his feet. "There's no need for you to do all the work. "
Don't touch me, she thought. Not yet. Not now. "I'm better . . . in the kitchen, by myself. "
"Make room," he suggested. "I'm not going anywhere. "