Blue Keltic Moon (Children of the Keltic Triad) Read Online Free Page B

accidental fall. And all we found was the skull.”
    “Who found it?”
    “Coralie.”
    Breanna turned to Coralie who gave a one shouldered shrug. “I was out walkin’ an’ for some reason I walked a different path. I ken ’tis strange, but I ken now ’twas where I was supposed to be. ’Twas for me to discover.”
    “Any idea—”
    “Oh, aye. We ken who ’tis.” Coralie made a face so filled with disgust, Bree smiled despite the growing unease in her belly. “’Tis Pagas.”
    Bree jerked her gaze to Lucidea. “The high chancellor you beheaded? Are you sure? How?”
    Nodding, Lucidea angled the skull to point at an odd configuration of the bones. “See these? The openings for Sindhu breathers. And this...” She placed a heavy ring next to the skull. “This is Pagas’ ring. Before you ask like a thorough investigator, yes, I’m sure. This ring designates his position within the palace and if you look inside you’ll see the faint markings of his family crest etched on the back of the stone. It’s his. I’d never seen him without it. The ring... was inside the skull. And, I took measurements and drew the face supported by the skull. It’s Pagas.”
    To Bree’s relief, Coralie covered the stark bones. “After Lucidea delivered punishment, as was her right, Pagas was no’ taken to the Great Sea. Instead his disgrace was unceremoniously tossed into the deepest rift in our world. None should have found his remains.”
    “No one would,” Lucidea agreed. “I’m just taking a guess here, but from the condition of the bones, I’d say they’ve been out of water about a year.” She glanced at Lachlan’s bust and her voice broke. “The same time period as... like Daddy.”
    Silence surrounded the table while Jayse comforted his wife. Bree’s mind whirled with the possibilities. The similarities between the two incidents were far too precise to be coincidental. If the events of twenty years ago opened a passage from the world between worlds, then this—find—might help them do the same. “But, Pagas died nearly twenty years ago, would it still count as a sacrifice?”
    Jayse cleared his throat. “We have no idea how the skull was returned, or why. Unless we consider the timing. Then, yes. I would say this is our sacrifice. We’ll understand the truth of this discovery soon.”
    Rising, Bree straightened her spine. “The truth of now is that opening the veil into the world between worlds is highly probable as long as this coming blue moon is confirmed by other calendars. Gowthaman will know if it is. And he’ll help discover ways to support the spells Morghan used before, so we can rescue him.”
    “Very succinct.” Jayse smiled wearily. “Our thoughts exactly.”
    “I’m on my way. I’ll have Gowthaman here by this afternoon.” She gave Jayse a wink. “Even if I have to knock him over the head to do it.”

Three
    B reanna stood before Gowthaman and solemnly voiced Jayse’s command. Before she began her own arguments, Gowthaman stood, his slow smile halting anything she might have said.
    “Yes, I will come. I, too, believe this may be the propitious time. I am glad you have given me a little time before we must leave. I would like to show you what I have been working on. I have developed theories which may be of benefit.”
    “And you want to practice them on me?”
    Again he smiled that slow smile, one that delighted her to the tips of her toes. “Perhaps.”
    She pulled out a chair to keep from reaching for him but stopped when he shook his head. “Please come with me.” Bree nodded and followed him across the workroom into a smaller alcove.
    He’d covered the wall with a huge sheet of paper and begun a drawing in the center of the page. Breanna studied the arrangement of circles then faced him and shrugged. “I don’t understand this.”
    She sensed his hesitation to move closer so she eased back a step. While she expected relief, the flash of regret in his eyes startled her.