Page 46 of Only a Highlander Will Do

When she saw four sets of glowing eyes in the water before her, Fiona smiled. “Good evening, friends. I have a favour to ask. The MacLeod brothers are heading out at dawn to rescue their sister, Rowena, from the MacDonalds. If there is any kind of help or protection you can extend to them, I would be forever grateful.”

Other seals had joined the original four while she’d been talking. No doubt they thought she had come bearing fish for them to eat. She counted the heads of twelve, thirteen, fourteen seals now. “I’m sorry I have nothing to offer you.” She held out her open hands. “I promise to bring you some fish in the near future if you help Rowena and her brothers return to the castle safely. Agreed?”

A few of the seals bobbed their heads and barked, while others dove below the water, then blew a rush of air when they resurfaced. Others simply continued to stare and hold out hope she would eventually produce fish for them. With a wave at her newfound friends, she turned away and headed back up the bank to the castle.

At the top of the rise, she stopped at the sight of the Grey Lady. The spirit’s brow was furrowed, and Fiona could have sworn she saw nervousness in the woman’s grey eyes. But before she could be sure, it was gone. What are you doing out of the castle?

“You asked me to return the pebble to the Fairy Cave. I did.”

The Grey Lady motioned with her hand that Fiona should follow her. Then let us return to safety inside the gates. I could not survive another of my children being in jeopardy.

Fiona followed as the ghost floated back towards the gate. “Are you worried about Rowena?”

And you. You should stay away from the seals.

“They seem harmless enough,” Fiona said with a glance back over her shoulder.

They are not. She floated ahead. Hurry, before they close the gates for the night.

Fiona stopped walking and waited for the Grey Lady to notice. When she did, the spectre returned with a frown.

Why did you stop?

“Because I would like some answers before I go back inside. Your words just now make me think you do not like the seals for some reason. Why is that? Tell me the truth.” Fiona crossed her arms over her chest and waited.

The silence between them seemed to intensify the sounds of the seals barking, the quiet whisper of the wind as it tugged at the loose strands of her hair, the ebb and flow of the water in the loch as it splashed against the shoreline then retreated. The constant hum of insects and the chirping of frogs that rose from the growing shadows.

The Grey Lady moaned. The unearthly sound sent a shiver up Fiona’s spine. You and Tormod are well matched. You are both high-spirited and relentless when you want to know something or right a wrong. She paused. Are you certain you wish to know?

“I do,” Fiona insisted.

Very well. Ever since the fairy princess came to live at Dunvegan for a time with the laird, and especially after she bore him a son, there have been visitors to these shores and to the castle.

“Fairies?”

All manner of magical creatures. It is as if the fairy princess opened an other-worldly portal that lets all manner of creatures explore the lands surrounding Dunvegan.

Fiona frowned. “Good creatures or bad?”

Both, but they are not permitted to have interactions with the human world. If they do, it comes with a great cost to themselves.

“Have you ever seen these creatures?”

In my ghostly form, aye. As Janet MacLeod, nay. They very rarely show themselves, which is why there has been harmony over the past centuries. But something is changing, and it makes me fear for all of my children.

“How can you tell something is changing?”

As we get closer to Samhain, when the barrier between the other worlds and the human world thins, I have seen more activity.

Fiona’s frown increased. “Other spirits?”

Nay. Mainly fairies and selkies, but not all are helpful and friendly. When you were talking to the seals just now, you were at peace, though I sensed danger, which is why I came to help you.

“Are these other-worldly beings coming to Dunvegan through the portal you showed me?”

The Grey Lady nodded.

“Is there a way to stop them from using the portal?” Fiona asked.