wildly. ‘Where?’
‘It’s not here here,’ I tried to explain. ‘It’s just ... here.’
‘On these Lands?’ Brochan rumbled, understanding my garbled attempt at an explanation.
I nodded. Taylor whistled. ‘That’s amazing! We can sell it off for more money than any of us have ever dreamed of! Forget the Sidhe, I’ve got a few contacts in China. I bet they’d be keen to part with a considerable amount of yuan. Or there was that dodgy American businessman I met at...’
‘Taylor.’
He pasted on an innocent expression. ‘What?’
‘It’s a free agent, not a slave to be bought and sold.’
‘It’s a thing. It’s not a person.’
I looked up at him. ‘Frankly, we don’t really know what it is. Besides, it belongs in Scotland.’
‘Yes, but just think of all that money!’
I tutted.
Brochan was still watching me. ‘You want to know if the Foinse being here is affecting Speck’s magic.’
‘Yep.’
He didn’t move a muscle. ‘Is it affecting yours?’
‘I don’t have much magic left in me to experiment with other than truth-telling and its presence isn’t blocking that.’
‘Speck tried. You should too.’ He pointed at the distant tree. ‘You’ve still got that Carnegie woman’s Gift, right?’
‘A bit of it. I think.’
‘Then,’ Brochan said quietly, ‘make the tree grow.’
‘I think it’s already dead.’ I paused. ‘What’s wrong with the lonely fir tree? It’s pining to be poplar.’
Nobody smiled. ‘Go on, Tegs,’ Lexie said. ‘What’s the worst that could happen?’
I wagged my finger at her. ‘Don’t say that. Don’t ever say that.’ I ran my hand through my hair, teasing out the ends. ‘Fine.’ I stood up and walked towards it.
It was further away than it looked and, when I finally reached it, it was in an even sorrier state than I’d realised. I touched the gnarled bark; it felt cold and dead. This was never going to work.
‘Think positive,’ Taylor said from right behind me.
I jumped. ‘How can you do that?’ I complained. ‘How can you always know what I’m thinking?’
His eyes were warm. ‘I know you.’
I muttered something uncomplimentary and stared back at the tree. I reached down inside myself, feeling the tug of Morna Carnegie’s nature-based Gift. Then, not knowing what else to do, I flicked my fingers at the tree. ‘Grow,’ I commanded. Needless to say, nothing happened.
‘I don’t think that’s how you do it,’ Lexie said.
I grimaced at her. ‘Any suggestions then?’
Speck cleared his throat. ‘Look inside the tree itself. If there’s a spark of life left in it, you can focus on that.’
I bit my tongue to avoid snapping that I didn’t have X-ray vision. Instead, I nodded and tried it. I screwed up my face and hunched my shoulders, focusing all my energy on the tree. ‘It’s not working. Nothing’s happening.’ Morna’s Gift swirled through me. ‘Nope,’ I declared. ‘It can’t be done.’
‘Tegs,’ Taylor said. ‘Look.’
I opened my eyes properly. ‘What?’
He pointed to the furthest branch. ‘Right there.’
I sucked in a breath. He was right: at the very tip of the long, skeleton-like branch was a single little bud. ‘Oh.’
‘That’s power over life and death,’ Speck breathed.
I could taste something unpleasant on my tongue. ‘No. It’s not. It’s just...’ I cursed. ‘I don’t know what it is.’
Brochan nodded. ‘She’s right. It’s hardly a scientific experiment. She might have been able to do that without the Foinse.’
‘ She is standing right here,’ I muttered.
Taylor slapped me on the back. ‘And she needs to stop over-thinking and get going. Tree or no tree, you’ve got a Chieftain to sweet talk.’
I watched the bud for a moment. It was a tiny splash of green against the almost black tree. Extraordinary. Goose pimples danced along my arms. ‘Yeah,’ I said finally. ‘It’s time to go.’
***
T he one good thing was that the MacBain Clan Lands
‘It’s not here here,’ I tried to explain. ‘It’s just ... here.’
‘On these Lands?’ Brochan rumbled, understanding my garbled attempt at an explanation.
I nodded. Taylor whistled. ‘That’s amazing! We can sell it off for more money than any of us have ever dreamed of! Forget the Sidhe, I’ve got a few contacts in China. I bet they’d be keen to part with a considerable amount of yuan. Or there was that dodgy American businessman I met at...’
‘Taylor.’
He pasted on an innocent expression. ‘What?’
‘It’s a free agent, not a slave to be bought and sold.’
‘It’s a thing. It’s not a person.’
I looked up at him. ‘Frankly, we don’t really know what it is. Besides, it belongs in Scotland.’
‘Yes, but just think of all that money!’
I tutted.
Brochan was still watching me. ‘You want to know if the Foinse being here is affecting Speck’s magic.’
‘Yep.’
He didn’t move a muscle. ‘Is it affecting yours?’
‘I don’t have much magic left in me to experiment with other than truth-telling and its presence isn’t blocking that.’
‘Speck tried. You should too.’ He pointed at the distant tree. ‘You’ve still got that Carnegie woman’s Gift, right?’
‘A bit of it. I think.’
‘Then,’ Brochan said quietly, ‘make the tree grow.’
‘I think it’s already dead.’ I paused. ‘What’s wrong with the lonely fir tree? It’s pining to be poplar.’
Nobody smiled. ‘Go on, Tegs,’ Lexie said. ‘What’s the worst that could happen?’
I wagged my finger at her. ‘Don’t say that. Don’t ever say that.’ I ran my hand through my hair, teasing out the ends. ‘Fine.’ I stood up and walked towards it.
It was further away than it looked and, when I finally reached it, it was in an even sorrier state than I’d realised. I touched the gnarled bark; it felt cold and dead. This was never going to work.
‘Think positive,’ Taylor said from right behind me.
I jumped. ‘How can you do that?’ I complained. ‘How can you always know what I’m thinking?’
His eyes were warm. ‘I know you.’
I muttered something uncomplimentary and stared back at the tree. I reached down inside myself, feeling the tug of Morna Carnegie’s nature-based Gift. Then, not knowing what else to do, I flicked my fingers at the tree. ‘Grow,’ I commanded. Needless to say, nothing happened.
‘I don’t think that’s how you do it,’ Lexie said.
I grimaced at her. ‘Any suggestions then?’
Speck cleared his throat. ‘Look inside the tree itself. If there’s a spark of life left in it, you can focus on that.’
I bit my tongue to avoid snapping that I didn’t have X-ray vision. Instead, I nodded and tried it. I screwed up my face and hunched my shoulders, focusing all my energy on the tree. ‘It’s not working. Nothing’s happening.’ Morna’s Gift swirled through me. ‘Nope,’ I declared. ‘It can’t be done.’
‘Tegs,’ Taylor said. ‘Look.’
I opened my eyes properly. ‘What?’
He pointed to the furthest branch. ‘Right there.’
I sucked in a breath. He was right: at the very tip of the long, skeleton-like branch was a single little bud. ‘Oh.’
‘That’s power over life and death,’ Speck breathed.
I could taste something unpleasant on my tongue. ‘No. It’s not. It’s just...’ I cursed. ‘I don’t know what it is.’
Brochan nodded. ‘She’s right. It’s hardly a scientific experiment. She might have been able to do that without the Foinse.’
‘ She is standing right here,’ I muttered.
Taylor slapped me on the back. ‘And she needs to stop over-thinking and get going. Tree or no tree, you’ve got a Chieftain to sweet talk.’
I watched the bud for a moment. It was a tiny splash of green against the almost black tree. Extraordinary. Goose pimples danced along my arms. ‘Yeah,’ I said finally. ‘It’s time to go.’
***
T he one good thing was that the MacBain Clan Lands
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