Magic Unbound: Book One in the Fae Unbound Series by Jill Nojack

Author:Jill Nojack [Nojack, Jill]
Language: eng, eng
Format: epub
Publisher: IndieHeart Press
Published: 2013-12-14T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TEN

Burning Point

It took them longer to get to the castle on the hill than it should have. They didn't have a map, so they tried to keep sight of it as they made their way through the city. Eventually, they ran into the barrier of the river and had to follow it until they found the bridge and crossed it to enter the street that was marked out for the tourists as "The Royal Mile". Lizbet didn't recognize any of the buildings as belonging to Maude's time. Despite this, when she closed her eyes, she could hear the sounds and smells of times past, with animals and peddlers thronging the streets. Maude had lived within one of the crowded closes of King James's time. In brief bursts, Lizbet saw and experienced Maude's Edinburgh—crowded, filthy, and glorious.

They walked their bikes through clusters of tourists and residents. She noticed how awed by it all James seemed, too. His eyes roved hungrily around them as he took in the architecture. They both stood and stared for a while at a blackened gothic tower with a high spire. It was beautiful. Everything around them was old, grand, and heavy with a sense of history you just don't get even in the oldest cities she’d visited in the United States. She wished they could just sit down, be tourists, and soak it all up.

As they entered the short esplanade that would lead them up the path to the castle, Lizbet felt suddenly weak and terrified. She had to hang on hard to the handlebars of her bike to stay upright as her knees gave out beneath her. She found it difficult to breathe, and her heart was beating so rapidly she felt she was going to faint. She couldn't possibly be so worked up from the slight hill they'd traveled.

"Support her, lad. I've got the contraption." Eamon appeared in his human guise and eased the bike away from her as James lay down his bike and rushed to her to support her with an arm around her waist. He helped her over to a short wall at the opening of the esplanade, and she sat down, breathing heavily and trying to recover from the strong rush of out of control emotion that had overtaken her. Her head was full of screaming and fire and pain.

She got herself under control and lifted her head up. Eamon was standing directly in front of her, his large golden eyes full of concern. "I didn't think of where I was sending you. I'm sorry, lass. Are you alright?"

It hit her then: the full horror of the place filled her mind and emotions. It was where they burned the witches in the time of King James. It was where they'd burned Maude because she had dared to use the gift of healing. She stood up and snatched her bike from where Eamon had placed it. "We're going. Now."

She walked swiftly back down the hill from the castle of Edinburgh. She never wanted to see the birthplace of Queen Mary's son again.

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