Beyond the Pale: A Thin Veil Novella (The Thin Veil Book 3) by Jodi McIsaac Page B

Tír na nÓg for hundreds of years! And they would hardly have the ability to do such a thing.”
    “I know,” Felix agreed.
    “This is Lorcan’s doing,” she spat. “He spreads these rumors, puts these thoughts into their heads.”
    “But they are not disagreeing,” Felix said softly. “There is a poison spreading among our people just like the one that poisons our land.”
    “That’s exactly it,” Kier said urgently. She told Felix about the prophecy, and what Eolas thought it might mean.
    Felix frowned, digesting this new bit of information. “It’s a bit of a leap, don’t you think? I just don’t see how Lorcan could pull this off. Unless he has some new destructive ability I don’t know about?”
    “It’s quite possible,” Kier said. “It just feels like poison, doesn’t it? The way he’s spreading lies and rumors and fear. It’s like he’s infecting our people.” Felix still looked unconvinced. But the more she thought about it, the more it made sense to her. “So we just need to find this dyad to which the prophecy refers. Someone or something that should not be. Eolas thinks we need to wait for to prophecy to fulfill itself, but what if this dyad never comes? What if…” She froze mid-sentence as the idea hit her. “I could do it.”
    Felix was watching her warily. “You could do what?”
    “Fulfill the prophecy. I could become the dyad .” Her words started to tumble out as a plan formed in her mind. “At first I thought maybe Brogan and his human woman would have a child. But even if it did happen, by the time that child grew to strength it might be too late. If Lorcan attacks Ériu, the child might be killed along with everyone else. But what if one of us becomes part human?” Realizing that she was ranting, she paused to take a deep breath.
    “Kier, that’s crazy,” Felix said softly.
    “Why? Why should we wait around for something to happen? Maybe this is what the prophecy was referring to.”
    “Even if it was, how could being part human help you defeat Lorcan? Or heal the land?”
    “Because that’s what Cairpre mac Edaine said would happen, and according to Eolas, he never made a prophecy that didn’t come true. And it just feels like the right thing to do. We know our people and our land are in trouble, and it says that a dyad will cure the land of poison. We can’t just sit around and wait; we need to take action. Now, before it’s too late.”
    “How?” Felix was shaking his head incredulously. “How would you even do such a thing?”
    “I need a druid. In the old stories, it’s always when the druids and the Danann worked together that the greatest magic is performed.” She paused. “Lorcan told me that,” she said quietly, remembering the many long conversations they’d had. Then she shook her head, trying to clear those memories away. “I need to find a druid who can turn me into a human.”
    Felix opened his mouth to say something, but just then a wave of dizziness washed over her, and the healer lunged forward to steady her. He held both of her arms tightly and looked her in the face. “Kier. I know you want to stop Lorcan. I know you want to fix whatever is happening to the trees. I know you want to fix everything . But look what you’re doing to yourself. If what you say about Lorcan is true, and we are going to come to war, what the people will need most is a strong, healthy queen. They won’t need a dyad, and they certainly won’t need a human. They will need you . Now tell me, when did you start feeling this way?”
    “It’s been a couple of weeks. I’m just tired. It’s nothing.”
    “It’s not nothing. Some—like Lorcan—think there is nothing we can learn from the humans, but I’ve come to believe that they can teach us a great deal—not only about their race, but about ours. I know that we are very different from them, but I think one of the secrets to our long lives and general good health is that there is very little stress