Christmas in the House of O'Byrne

By L. S. Fayne

The House of O'Byrne has become the most magically powerful branch of Druantia's people. Adell, who is the new Matron, has opened its doors for the winter celebrations. Over a hundred people will be attending. These aren't strangers. They are Family. Magic literally dances on their fingertips. Things start off right with the love of family, and the magical shenanigans of those happily carrying on, Then start going terribly wrong. There is a traitor whose jealous spite wants to crush them all.

Fooling around, the teenage girls accidently open a doorway into Faerie. A big Oops when one of the girls gets kidnapped by a Prince of the Fae, no less. The Oops... is on Him.

• Language: English
• Publisher: L. S. Fayne
• Release date: Jul 29, 2011
• ISBN: 9781609030223

L. S. Fayne

I love to write. I love to entertain. I try to make people feel. I write fantasy adventures with a paranormal twist.Ha, in saying that... I'm at a stand still right now. Writer's block? Hell no! When a person writes, they feel... They Feel Everything. Sometimes, it can just get overwhelming. We laugh, we cry, we excite. It has to go deep to spring back up.The "O'Byrne" family is an idea of what it might be like if a Druid family was able to keep their ancestry alive. Their beliefs and their magic. This family has held tight through changes and generations. Truly, family comes first. Books are for teens through adult.The MONOP series are rather naughty. It is adult fiction. MONOP has their own ideas of how they want to protect those entrusted to them. There is a strong BDSM theme.About myself? Life can be stranger than fiction. Right now, it's baffling. I did just get a dog. Lol.

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Christmas in the House of O'Byrne

Druantia's Children - Book One

L. S. Fayne

Table of Contents

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Epilogue

From the Author

Copyright 2008 by L. S. Fayne

Publication by Fayne Artists

ISBN-13 978-1-60903-022-3

Smashwords Edition

License Notes: This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of the author.

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Some historic events are written into a fantasy forum. The author reserves the right to Freedom of Speech to express her views on some historic events. Any resemblance to person living or dead is purely coincidental—with the exception of the California governor in 1981 who did authorize the widespread use of the pesticide Malathion. This man did not have pie with the M.A.D.S ladies as stated in this book.

INTENDED AUDIENCE

L. S. Fayne writes for ages 12+. Her Erotic Romance series is for 18+ and does have Sexual Adult Content.

Prologue

The Migration of O’Byrne – 1843

The wagon stopped. Six very tired ladies, one child, and one black man stared out over the meadow. Haley was the first to spy the limoniads dancing between the meadow and the forest trees. She clapped her hands with the joy of them. Kellan and Dara smiled to each other. The meadow smelled fresh and sweet. Alana held herself still, looking around.

This area has converging ley lines. Alana told them excitedly. I can’t tell how many, but I can feel a very powerful vortex.

What do you think? Kellan asked all her sisters.

They looked around with wonder.

I think we’ve finally found home! Vevila said joyfully.

She climbed out of the wagon and burst into a wild and fey song. They had all learned the song at their mother’s knee. The song reminded them of the home they had left behind, and seemed to be well suited for this new place.

Jacob watched as the six lovely ladies shouted and danced with joy in the meadow filled with wild flowers and butterflies. He could hear Haley laugh as her sisters swung her up and around. He smiled with contentment.

The earlier explorers had named this large area Mariposa because of all the butterflies. The meadow was surrounded by tall granite cliffs and huge Sequoia trees. A stream rushed between the cliffs and into a deep blue pool.

The O’Byrne sisters were alive with magic. They craved a home were magic could thrive and they could live in peace. They missed their old home and were tired of the travel, tired of not finding a place where they could be free to practice the gifts born to them.

The advertisements concerning the Americas were wrong. They found that America wasn’t a place founded on religious freedom. It was a place where non-conformity was met with suspicion, and sometimes even imprisonment, torture, and death.

Barely escaping from their tormentors on the East coast, they fled to the West. With the help of Jacob Adair, they managed to travel across the continent to this land, and found this special valley—the valley of butterflies.

Again the persecution of being different had begun, but this time it was different—they were different. They were stronger, wiser, and had become great friends with the Miwok people—natives to the area. The sisters had great magic and were honored amongst the Miwok’s.

They had built a fine house, and were happily living on the land, when a vision shattered their joy. Rhoswen, the forth sister, was scrying for a lost lamb. The serene search was shattered by visions of war between the whites and the Miwok’s. She saw their house in flames—angry people—blood—and death.

Jacob and the sisters gathered together their personal belongings, their food and animals, and departed to a valley within the walls of the mountains.

They told the Miwok people of the upcoming wars, of the massacre to come. Jacob, Kellan, Vevila, and Kane stayed with the Miwok people to assist and help them to survive in the upheaval to come—for war would come.

Dara, Alana and Rhoswen took Haley to the base of the Sierra’s—for here was a secret. Within the cave system was a magical place. Here the naiad nymphs played freely in the hot spring waters. The magical caves also held a long forgotten secret—a portal. Magic had called to magic, and the sisters had found the caves. They guarded the doorway and maintained an escape route for the Miwok people—a back door for those who wished to flee the devastation. The decision to pass through the doorway could not be made in haste, for they might not be able to return—for the doorway opened to the land of Faerie.

When the settlers came, filled with prejudice and hate, the sisters were gone. When the wars began—some of Miwoks escaped. Still, there was the gold fever and yellow fever—and the sisters returned.

Their house was a ruin, blackened and burned to the ground. Reverend A.J. Brown had led the mob who descended on the homestead—only to find it empty. In a mob rage—they set fire to the house and all the out buildings. On the orders of the Reverend, no one was to set another foot on this cursed land. The land had been left abandoned for the last two years.

The sisters stood and looked over their beloved meadow. Determination filled them as they stared out over the blackened buildings. It was time to heal and to mend. It was time to take back what had been taken, and to claim a stake for future generations.

Yellow fever struck the settler establishment in 1853. It spread like wildfire, wiping out over half of the town’s citizens. The odor from the cleansing fires could be smelled for miles around. Strangers avoided the road to the town. The settlers were all alone in the wilderness, and watched helplessly as their families and neighbors died. There seemed to be no hope.

One week after the first of the fires—the town folk were surprised to see Dara and Alana O’Byrne standing at the edge of town. They demanded to talk to the Reverend. To save his beloved wife Annabelle, who was also afflicted with the disease, the Reverend made a pact with the sisters.

The sisters administered to the town and there were no more deaths. That very month, the Reverend led a group to rebuild what they had destroyed. The citizens never again lifted voice, fire, or rock against the O’Byrne blood.

Only the Reverend and the sisters knew the details of the pact—but the pact was made with magic and blood—to this day, it binds the two families. The knowledge of the bindings and rites were passed from generation to generation through the O’Byrne descendents.

The seven O’Byrne sisters were Kellan—whose name means warrior princess, Alana—the bright fair one, Dara the one with wisdom and compassion, Rhoswen—the white rose, Vevila—the melodious one, Kane—the bringer of war, and Haley—the ingenious one. Their mother had named them for what she had glimpsed of their futures—for she too had the sight.

Return to Toc

Chapter One

May 18, 1980

The entity was in a shocked rage. He had been blasted to the outside. This was very wrong. It was never to go outside. The mother had said so. Shape and reshape, that was his job, his existence. He gloried in its repetitions. He wanted to go home. He had to go back inside. He roamed around the outside looking for a way back in. The only entrance was the still spewing hole that had developed when the mountain had flung them out. Others milled around outside as well, none as smart as he. He knew he was more evolved. He worked directly with the fire. There! He spied another entrance into the mountain. He flung himself down inside only to find that he was trapped. It was a trick—a warm blood trick. The mother had said they didn’t need to concern themselves with the warm bloods outside. He couldn’t move—hungry, very hungry—lonely, oh so lonely.

December 19, 1981

The house was a big, lumbering old mansion built upon granite and framed with oak. It had housed seven generations of O’Byrne’s. The house had expanded from the three bedroom structure the towns people had built in 1853. It was now three stories high and about three rooms wider.

Normally, there would be heavy couches and chairs strewn precariously about the great room, but Adell had removed them so there would be plenty of room for everyone to gather around the Christmas tree. She had made over a hundred festive pillows which now adorned the room. She wanted to make sure that everyone had a place to sit. When she finally completed her most tedious task, Adell vowed to herself to never ever do that again. It was pure craziness!

The south wall in the great room had the largest windows. These windows framed the spectacular cliffs facing the house. Even those who had lived in the house all their lives, felt a sense of awe, as they gazed out those windows.

The huge Christmas tree stood in the corner. Adell had laughed, as she watched her husband Phillip, drag the monstrosity in. Then she got a little more serious as she considered the task of decorating it. He saw the look, kissed her on the head, and told her they would make a family event of the decorating. When he stood the tree up, the top bent over against the ceiling. He had misjudged the height of the massive tree. Instead of trimming it down, they left it there, distracted by yet more things to do.

Adell never did decorate the tree. She was going to, but got interrupted and left all the decorations sitting out on the floor. The tree miraculously decorated itself—with the help of many little hands. Someone even created little magical lights. A delicate angel was set on the top of the tree. Adell had never seen it before. Adell’s head tilted sideways as she viewed her new acquisition.

Along the wall which separated the great room from the kitchen was a spectacular tapestry of the Yosemite Valley, a gift from a thankful father. The room had a lot of special gifts received through the years—a bracelet here, and a cup there. Most of the gifts were displayed, every gift was cherished. The family felt proud of helping people, and liked to remember the deeds from all the generations. Feeling that pride was the true payment for all the efforts, and sometimes pain of using magic.

Across from the tree was the formal dining area. A large twelve person oak table was sitting in the corner. The table and chairs had been hand crafted, and were around a hundred years old. The set had been another such gift to one of the O’Byrne ancestors.

Through the doorway was the kitchen. It was a large country kitchen which hadn’t been updated in a long time. The floor was covered with tired, green linoleum. The kitchen didn’t have a dishwasher or a microwave. Lidia—the previous Matron—simply didn’t see the need, she had dishwashers—although her helpers begged to differ, since they were her dishwashers.

The kitchen had two older stoves with top burners, and a stand-alone indoor grill. In the corner of the kitchen was a large walk-in refrigerator. It was large enough to feed the whole family through the winter festivities. A long table shared space with the center of the room. It was a most excellent table, long enough to keep order when there were so many people doing tasks in the kitchen at the same time. There were only a couple of chairs and one stool in the kitchen. More could be brought in if necessary, but Lidia thought her workers worked better when standing, rather than sitting and gossiping.

The window above the large double sink looked out towards the cliffs. Occasionally, deer could be seen meandering in the distance. Sometimes bear came to the back door to beg for food, but the family was wise enough not to feed them.

There was a small pantry accessible from the kitchen. It contained the obvious house hold staples such as baking supplies, canned goods, and laundry soap—but towards the back was a secret door. A door most didn’t notice—this door led to an underground labyrinth, and could only be opened by those magically keyed to the door. The complex labyrinth led to various magical workrooms and libraries, and was routed into the base of the mountains. In the back of the labyrinth was the chamber their ancestors had simply called the Gate—the portal to Faerie.

Outside the back deck was built along the whole width of the house. On it was a twelve person spa, and an old picnic table. Many generations of O’Byrne’s had sat on top of the old picnic table, and gazed at the glory of the stars above. Stairs led down from the deck to a large fire pit.

The first floor also had a large bedroom at the back of the house with its own bathroom and French doors which opened into the garden. Lidia, the previous Matron, had been living there, but had vacated the room to return to Oregon.

There were eight bedrooms on the second floor with three bathrooms. Amber and her daughter Emily lived in two of those bedrooms. The other rooms were identified by their colorful schemes. Some were quite beautiful, some a bit dreadful. Lidia had never taken the interest, or the time to redecorate them.

There was the blue room, which had lovely blue drapes and an old fashioned feather bed. The white room had lush silky white drapes and a glossy white bedspread. The yellow room was lined with cheerful daffodils. The orange room was a tad boring, and would put people right to sleep—whether they wanted to or not. The green room was rumored to be haunted. The purple room was simply horrid. Each room had been styled by generations of O’Byrne’s.

Lidia had the third floor remodeled when Adell and Phillip were pregnant with Natilie. They moved into the new rooms just before the baby had been born.

The O’Byrne house had an inconsistent flow of residents and visitors. Beside the Matron, who ruled the house, and her immediate family—it was home to the Priestesses of Druantia, and those who came to study and work magic. To many, it had also become a refuge in a time of need.

Return to Toc

Chapter Two

Lidia walked down the long gravel drive to the old road. She came down to get the mail. Others could have gotten it, but she wanted some fresh air and decided to walk it herself. She had probably walked this path a couple of thousand times, and probably complained just as many about its condition. She should have had the drive paved a long time ago, but somehow it never seemed very important.

Now, pavement would have been rather nice on her tired ankles. The mail delivery couldn’t come up any closer to the house. Frankly, she was surprised that they were able to deliver as far as they did. The roads around this area were very narrow, and severely wound in on themselves.

When Adell was a child, she used to say that the roads could almost bite themselves in the butt because they curved around so tight. The road traveling along the property was the old highway. Parts of it had long since fallen into the stream. The road looked quite deserted—people were amazed when they discovered the O’Byrne house.

She didn’t need to get the mail. There were plenty of able bodied people to make this trip, but the serenity of the view and the quietness of winter soothed her spirit. She had moved back to her smaller house in Oregon, but had found it lonely without Josh. Josh had been gone a long time now, but that house had been their home. Her loneliness had deepened. Her thoughts kept returning to when he had been alive.

Lidia’s mind wandered to the night her husband Josh had died. It was in the spring of 1957. He had died from complications due to Parkinson’s disease. They had worked with the symptoms the disease had caused, for the last twenty years of his life.

Intellectually, Josh’s death wasn’t a surprise—but the heart can’t seem to understand that. The passing of a soul—even though expected—still shocks the heart. Lidia kept expecting to see him walk in a door, or lying on the bed. She would turn to tell him something funny, only to realize he wasn’t there. She would see something beautiful and think to tell Josh when she got home, only to realize that Josh wouldn’t be there waiting to hear her—would never be there. Her heart would seize. Her face would agonize with unshed tears. He had been her life mate. The sorrow of his passing ate up her soul, making her ache for him. To this day, she missed him terribly.

Maybe, she should move back here. She missed having people around. The O’Byrne house was energized by the comings and goings of so many people, it was never stagnant, life pulsed within those walls.

The weather though was harsh. Much harsher than her quiet house in the Oregon Cascades. Still, in the spring it was glorious with its abundance of wild flowers, and the scent of the budding trees.

Lidia had just turned 102, and her bones were letting her know about it. She spied Adell coming down the drive in her brand new, red Ford Bronco. She walked over into the snowy grass. Her boots came up to just under her knees and protected her ankles against the cold. She snuggled deeper into her black down coat. Damn it was cold!

Hi Nana, Adell said as she rolled down the window.

Lidia smiled, she liked being called Nana. It was the nickname Adell had given her when she had first started talking. Adell was actually her great-great-granddaughter, but after a while all the greats sounded ridiculous, and Lidia preferred to just be called Nana. It stuck and now all the children called her that.

Did you see the long list I left on the table? Lidia asked.

Right enough, Adell answered earnestly. Thank you so much! I had no idea, we would need this much stuff. You even mentioned the light bulbs.

Well, this is your first year as Matron, Lidia told her. I just wanted to make it easier for you.

I’m glad I have you here with me this year, Adell saw Lidia shiver. Would you like a lift back to the house? I’d love to practice driving this thing in reverse.

Adell was very aware of Lidia’s age. She didn’t look her years, but Adell knew she hurt from the cold. Lidia was slender and looked a little frail, but Adell knew she was very strong and quite independent. Her face was smooth. She didn’t have the massive wrinkles which insisted on marking the age of people. Her hair was pure white and fine. She usually wore it up in an intricate French braid. The braid settled into the middle of her back. Her eyes were of the softest shades of lavender.

Adell respected Lidia’s strength and resilience. She loved the old lady. Lidia had given her a home and refuge when she was just a child. Adell would do anything for her.

I think, I’ll take you up on that, Lidia answered thankfully. I didn’t realize it would be this cold. The driveway seems a lot longer than it used to. Lidia opened the passenger side door and climbed up into the Bronco.

Ready? Adell asked.

All ready, Lidia said.

Adell shifted it easily into reverse, and backed towards the house. The ride was smooth and effortless.

I think we’re probably half a mile from the road, Adell mentioned while keeping her eye on the road behind them. That’s a long way when it’s as cold as it is today. Here we are.

Thanks sweetie, Lidia got out of the Bronco and waved as Adell made her way back towards the highway.

She didn’t immediately set out for the stairway leading up to the house, but detoured to sit and reflect in the lower gardens. Here, she was blocked from the wind. The wooden bench exactly fit her body. It knew her. She had planted this garden. It was her pride and joy. She had planted every bush, every shrub, every bulb. She had moved every rock. It was in fact, her life’s story.

Lidia nodded, Adell would do very well as the new Matron. The house respected her. It wouldn’t just take her over with its own demands. Adell was strong. Adell was firm with people as well. Lidia had gotten too tired. People had started taking advantage of her tiredness, and started helping themselves to the amenities of the house. They seemed to think that she wouldn’t notice. She noticed! She was just too tired to raise a fuss. Adell would put a stop to all that.

Lidia’s lips twisted into a satisfied smile, thinking of the day when people would push Adell too far. Adell was feisty. Her eyes appeared to be of the darkest of browns, but when she was angry, they flashed with purple sparks. She was a lovely, curvy woman with long, silky, black hair. She had high cheekbones and lush lips. She looked more like a Madame than one of the most powerfully gifted Druids of the time. The house would not accept anyone less. Yes, people were in for a surprise! They thought they knew her, but Adell had not really bothered with them before. Times had changed.

Sadness entered her eyes. Yes, time changed many things. Adell was a survivor. Adell, her sister Amber and brother Richard had moved into the house upon their mother’s death. Violet had been brutally murdered by her estranged husband—George Leonard Taite. Amber was twelve, Richard was eleven, and Adell was almost eight. George Taite had never been prosecuted for his horrendous crime. He had escaped from the law and disappeared.

Lidia had set up rooms on the second floor for herself and the children. The children were so traumatized by the death of their mother, that Lidia felt overwhelmed with the stress, and just how to deal with them. She sent out a S.O.S to the family for assistance.

Leah answered her cry for help. She was one of Druantia Priestess. She came to live with them. She was young for a priestess—only twenty-four—but was very wise. She had a calmness about her that the children responded well to.

Lidia had been surprise on the day of her arrival. Leah was a beautiful woman with wild red hair and lovely blue eyes. She, like Adell, had a curvy body. Leah was a private person. To this day, Lidia had no idea why such a lovely woman would remain single and live out in the caverns below, but then, the O’Byrne were known for some rather strange eccentricities.

Leah was a very strong empath. She set up rooms down by the chapel in the underground labyrinth. Lidia assumed it had something to do with her vow to the Goddess. Leah had created a rather cozy home within the caverns. Her house was complete. She had no need to use the facilities of the house above.

It was at Leah’s suggestion, that the children legally regained their mother’s name of O’Byrne, clearing some of the emotional baggage the name, Taite, triggered.

Leah had also influenced the creation of the large natural hot pool in the caverns. The pool was made from stone, and baked by magic into a smooth surface. The heated thermal waters were fed to the pool from the mountain itself. Lidia had done a lot of soaking in that pool. It was very soothing to sit in the hot fragranced water while drinking one of Leah’s home brewed beverages. They had become very good friends through the years.

Derrick Andrew O’Byrne, nicknamed Shade, also lived in the house when the children were moved in. He was a stable influence and genuinely loved the children. He was Violet’s brother. The children’s uncle. He was only around twenty at the time of her death.

He was then, and still is today the Keeper of the property. Now, he lived in a cottage out by the sugar pines. He had a special affinity with the earth and watched over the land. He was an earth healer. He, like her, had accepted the binding. Only with him, it was a binding with the property. It was his true love. He accepted the O’Byrne name as his right. It wasn’t his father’s name—it was the name for those with magic.

The lanky boy had grown into a tall lanky man. He had dark piercing eyes, dark brown hair, bushy eyebrows, and a thick raggedy mustache. Both hair and mustache were now liberally dusted with grey. Lidia laughed, a lot of that liberal dusting was caused by Adell. She had not been the easiest of children.

When Derick was a child, he had developed a sensitivity to the sun. When someone was looking for him, others would nod in a direction and say something like… Over there in the shade. After a while, they would just nod and say shade. Pretty soon he was being called Shade. The nickname stuck.

Michelle and Gary Marvin also answered Lidia’s cry for help. The twins, Lilly and Teddy, were the same age as Adell. The Marvin’s offered to let Adell stay with them in Fresno. Lidia thought it would be a good distraction for her, and would allow Lidia to have more one-on-one time with Amber and Richard. She accepted their offer.

The five children spent a lot of time back and forth between the O’Byrne and the Marvin households. The bonds of friendship were still strong. Now, the children were all grown. Lidia was very proud of all of them. They had grown into strong, fun loving people. They still carried the scars, but also the strengths of those who persevere.

Amber had moved out when she became an adult, but moved back into the house when she became pregnant with Emily. She never talked about the father—Lidia never asked. She just supported and loved them both. Amber and Emily still lived in the house. It was their home.

Adell was living at the house when she met Phillip during an ice storm. They were both assisting in a search and rescue mission to bring some rock climbers down from one of the nearby cliffs. He was a helicopter pilot, and she one of the searchers.

Lidia definitely understand why Adell fell so quickly for Phillip. He was tall and strong, strong enough to pull Adell and the fallen rock climber to safety. He had black hair, vivacious blue eyes, and a charming smile. He was very gentle and kind. The two fell in love, married, and had little Natilie. Lidia had the upper story remodeled into a suite when Natilie was born. The O’Byrne property now had a helicopter pad sitting in its back pasture.

Lidia was finally free of the house and property. She had been waiting to hand the keys over to someone else for quite some time—but the house wouldn’t choose anyone. It had its own code, and would only allow ownership to the family member who passed its own rite of passage.

Adell had recently passed those tests. Lidia was finally able to step down and let someone else take over. It was a great relief. The house was a huge responsibility—a very demanding presence. It was ageless and didn’t seem to notice the aging of its occupants.

It was almost as if she had never lived anywhere else, which wasn’t true at all. She hadn’t grown up here, in fact she was already married to Josh and had their three children before she had ever stepped foot into the house. But somehow, her years here seemed fuller, more colorful—more alive.

The house had called to her in 1922, when she was forty-three years old. She was surprised to realize that was nearly sixty years ago. At first she just felt a compulsion to see the ancestral estate—a compulsion which had led to an obsession. She just had to see this place! Josh had enough of her agonizing, and packed her up for a vacation into their Model T Ford, and drove down from Oregon.

When she and Josh arrived at the house, it had looked abandoned. She was confused about the neglect. It had been her understanding that the family used the house as a sort of O’Byrne stronghold, and that it was always ready to receive visitors.

For some unfathomable reason, she asked Josh to stay with the car, and approached the house alone. She tested the door and it squeaked open. She entered into the foyer, and read the sign on the entry door. Obediently, she removed her coat and shoes, and then entered into what seemed to be, a large empty room. From the moment she stepped through that doorway, the house tested her.

She was in the house for hours. Josh frantically tried to get inside—but the house denied him entrance. In a state of panic, he threw a foot sized rock at the window—it just bounced off. He sat on the steps to wait. He knew some of what she was, and the history of her family. He prayed to God, that she would come out soon and be whole.

When she finally came out—the house was hers—or maybe she belonged to the house. The last Matron had died and the house hadn’t chosen a replacement, though many had tried. It had locked down, and only admitted those of the O’Byrne family, strong enough to challenge for the Matronship. Lidia had won that challenge without even realizing what she had been fighting for.

The property consisted of 640 acres, the deeded amount from the mid 1840’s, and was very valuable. 640 acres sounded like a lot, but some of the acreage included sheer cliffs that ran straight up and down.

It was a fact, that the seven sisters had coaxed gold from within the caves in those cliffs. The gold was long gone, but the investments the money went into still flushed the family coffers. The property had a rather strange trust which was set up to go with the O’Byrne descendent who could acquire the house. Since the property trust was with an O’Byrne attorney, no questions were ever asked.

Lidia could still feel the warmth of the hug Josh gave her when she’d stepped out of the house after the trials. He had just grabbed her and held her tight. She hugged him back, and knew, she was loved. He knew that she was the same Lidia he fell in love with. The house had not changed her. She might belong to the house, but she also still belonged with him.

She cleansed and opened the house. It again, became the stronghold for the O’Byrne family. It was a place where discrepancies could be fixed, hearts could be mended, and sickness could be healed. The house became a home where everyone was free to laugh and to love.

The family was not without its problems, the ability to use magic created its own complications. Magic could be used to make life easier and to make great things happen—but sometimes the magic went wrong, and created its own anxieties. This house had seen it all—Lidia had seen it all—weddings, births, and deaths. Lidia’s life had blossomed outward after she had become the Matron.

Smiling with contentment, Lidia stepped out of her garden and climbed the stairs to