GAISCE (At Our Best, Book 3, Part 2 in Baile Series)

Chapter 6 Possessed

Isla

"You're up next." Alick approached me while I sat with my legs hanging over the edge of a bridge.

"Lucky last." I joked.

"It'll be fine. She reckons that I could shift even bigger with practice and be able to speak and control actual wolves."

"So maybe one day you'll run away and join a pack of wolves?" I accepted his hand to help me up.

"Are you kidding? I much prefer my back of Faeries, a Vampire and a Hellhound."

I gave him a look that conveyed I was unconvinced as I made my way inside the temple.

"Isla, please follow me." Asuka greeted me, moving through the room neighbouring our bedrooms to a dark room that was solely illuminated from an open ceiling. "I would like permission to enter your mind."

"Excuse me?" I was praying that I had heard incorrectly.

"I would like to enter your mind, as I am sensing a strange energy there." She elaborated.

I took a moment to consider it. I barely knew Asuka; I had literally met her less than twelve hours ago. On the contrary she had taken the time to tell us her story and had provided a safe place to stay in a dangerous country.

"Fine, but I'm going to warn you, it's not pretty in here." I tapped my head.

Asuka's expression turned somber. "I wouldn't expect otherwise." She gestured for me to lie on a woven mat in the middle of the room.

I positioned myself on the mat, my eyes cast heavenward through the open ceiling.
"I will now attempt to enter your mind." She cupped my head in her hands. "Throughout this experience I would like you to stay calm. What happens next will not harm you, I promise."

I released a breath to calm myself as I felt a subtle weight settle upon my forehead while orange and red light flooded my vision. My eyes closed and I sunk deep into sleep.

When I reopened my eyes I found myself gazing up at the stars.

'What do you see?' Asuka's voice resonated in my subconscious.

'Stars.' I answered quietly.

'Where are you?' She asked.

I sat up to find myself in a familiar wildflower dotted field. 'A field.' I found my feet as I began to hear pounding in the distance and the beeping of an ECG machine.

My heart began to race as the sounds increased in tempo and in decibels.

'It's all in your mind Isla.' Asuka's voice did nothing to drown out the noise, despite her soothing tone. 'Nothing can harm you.' She reminded.

'My brother was King of the Unseelie.' The Unseelie Queen's voice overshadowed Asuka's, diverting my attention as the cacophony of noise grew louder as it attempted to close in on me.

'The Wild Hunt, saw his potential for greatness. They recruited him, second in command to Gwyn.'

Gwyn appeared in the field, clad in gold armour and a helmet that had metal antlers spiralling out of his head. His cape bellowed silently in the breeze as we gazed at one another.

'The stars have called your name Cursed one.' Gwyn spoke in his deep baritone voice as the field flickered out of existence, momentarily being replaced by a lab. 'Your time has come to join us on The Wild Hunt, it is the debt you must repay.' He stalked toward me.