“If you’re all three, what am I?” The question had been in her mind since her mother began speaking of witches and gods and druids, but now, only now did she feel strong enough to voice it.
Her mother seemed to contemplate answering before she sighed and replied, “You are a druid, Vivienne, as is your sister. You two are the first druids born in almost a century, and that is why the witches are tracking you.”
“What?” She stared at her mother in confusion. “You’re telling me that witches are after me because I’m a druid?”
“Yes. There are some who believe you and Cassandre are the key to their salvation.”
“Key to their salvation?” Vivienne snorted, and when Evelyn raised a brow and looked concerned, rushed out, “It’s not every day a girl wakes up and finds out that witches exist, her mother’s one of them, she’s a druid, and witches are after her, so please excuse me while I have a breakdown.”
She was about to push away from the bed when her mother’s hand landed on hers.
“Please, Vivienne, stay calm. I know this is a lot to take in, but there isn’t much time. I need to find your sister so I can teach you both how to control your powers before they find you again.”
Vivienne heard the plea in her mother’s voice and took a deep, calming breath. She had many more questions, but her sister was most important now. “You found me. Can’t you find Cassie the same way?”
Evelyn released her and stood, shaking her head. “I’ve tried. Many times. I found you because your powers were unlocked.” At Vivienne’s lifted brow, she explained, “Because you’re a druid, your powers send out a beacon to any witch actively searching for it. That’s how the trackers knew where you were. Cassandre’s powers are still bound. I can’t even sense her. I’ve tried calling her but she’s not answering her phone.” Her voice dropped an octave and she stared at a spot on Vivienne’s wall. “We need to find your sister before they do.”
Cold fingers of fear traced her spinal column. She thought of the last time she’d spoken to her sister, the day of their twenty-third birthday, when she’d left Cassie with her friends. That was almost a week ago. She usually heard from her sister at least once a week, and would have called had she not been as distracted with work, and…Conall. Maybe she was still camping? Cassie wouldn’t spend more than a few days camping, and if she did, she’d find a way to call Vivienne to let her know she was okay.
“Okay. Tell me what I have to do.”
Chapter Eight
When Cassandre Bordeaux awoke on the large canopy bed facing the calm blue-green waters of the beach, she knew she was dreaming again. She wasn’t a big dreamer per se, but in the past week, she’d been having one, recurrent dream. At times, she would walk around the perimeter, noticing the place was completely deserted. At others she would remain in the bed and wait for her alarm clock to wake her up. “Life” on the beach consisted of two swaying palm trees. There were no people, no birds, no little batch of fishes swimming close to the surface. The silence was broken only by the constant movement of the waves gently brushing against the shore.
Pushing up, she propped the pillows behind her head and relaxed. She was not going to complain. Who wouldn’t want to dream about relaxing on a beach?
“Not me,” she murmured in response to her silent question. Closing her eyes, she tried to remember the things that she was supposed to do when she awoke. Nothing came.
“Right.” Chuckling, she closed her eyes, only to blink them open when she heard what sounded like a bird call.
Shielding her eyes from the sun’s glare, she scanned the sky. The sound came again and Cassie looked down. Right beside her foot was a small black, red, and white bird. She moved to kneel beside it but it flew onto the sheets of the bed.
From where she stood, she surveyed it. As it inched closer, she admired the pretty coloring, the pattern of the feathers, and the white line right above its eye. Something clicked in her mind at the sight of that line, but before she had a chance to explore it, another bird landed right beside the other. It was of the same species but slightly bigger.
“Hi there,” she murmured softly, moving forward slowly as they chirped to one another. “Aren’t you two beautiful?” She’d taken an ornithology class in college, and to this day, they were one of her favorite creatures.
She knelt, and then pushed her face close to the sand to get a better look at them. Both stopped chirping and turned to her. Cassie smiled and held still. As she stared at the two, she recognized why they were familiar. Just to confirm, she did one more thorough scan of the creatures, before staring in awe. Tahitian Rails! These are Tahitian Red-Billed Rails.