Ciaran’s voice grounded her to reality. She slowly became aware of the fact that she was lying beside him in a cage at the back of the plane. She looked over at him and nodded to herself in understanding. He had been the one to rouse her from her dream.
“Sorry. I know I was supposed to leave ya be and let the drugs do their thing until we get to Faol Seunta, but I just…” He shifted uncomfortably as he admitted, “I couldn’t feel ya there… Somethin’ was stoppin’ me reachin’ ya. Wanted to make sure ya were safe.”
“I am… for now,” Skye answered. She glanced around the plane, then nervously met Ciaran’s gaze. “I have something to tell you all.”
Unsurprisingly, neither of her men took this latest news well. The fact that Skye had met with the betrayer himself, face-to-face, while in the supposed-safety of their company, did not sit well with either of them. Their only interest for the first half hour was ensuring that she had successfully sealed the link with Brandubh. The possibility that he might decide to take advantage of his newly-discovered access to her was deeply alarming.
The cage had been abandoned temporarily. Skye sat on the floor at the center of the jet and allowed Drostan to search her mind for any trace of Brandubh’s presence. Once satisfied that Skye had already well and firmly closed the newly-discovered door, her Maker looked to her men and nodded. All of the jet’s current inhabitants breathed a collective, cautious sigh of relief at that.
“So, this link to… him… You think it comes from your powers?” Miko asked worriedly. He was seated off to Skye’s side with Aiyana. Both were watching her in barely concealed fear.
Skye nodded. “He must still be connected to Sorcha’s magic,” she reasoned as she looked around at all of the ancients present. “Even after all the transformations and evil Brandubh subjected himself to, he wasn’t able to break that bond. It’s rooted too deeply.”
Taran paced with his arms crossed tightly over his chest. His handsome features were set in a severe scowl. His jaw clenched. He could barely speak through his rage as he recalled, “When the bastard came after me, he said the two of ya share a link. Said I could ne’er understand the ‘slave’ he is to what resides in ya.”
Skye watched as rising fury made her King’s body rigid with the desire to fight something. Anything. She waited for his pacing to bring him beside her again and reached out to snag his leg. When he looked down at her, silently asking for an explanation for her grip, she gazed up at him lovingly in reply. His scowl reluctantly softened. With a grudging sigh, he abandoned his pacing and sank heavily into the leather recliner behind her. Skye scooted backward so that she was sitting on the floor between his knees, her back against his chair. She reached up for one of his heavy, warm hands and brought it over her shoulder, interlacing her fingers with his as she pressed soothing kisses to its back. Taran took a steadying breath and sat forward, bringing his other arm down around her chest and kissing the top of her head.
“Brandubh resents tha he is still starved for the Great Mother’s power, but can nah control his innate need of it,” Drostan reasoned.
“So, he’s like a junkie born with the addiction?” Miko asked.
“Yeah… that was my take on it, too,” Skye agreed and fought the urge to look over at Ciaran sorrowfully.
Taran gave her a knowing squeeze and nuzzled the side of her neck. She leaned into the comfort as her heart grew heavy. For the millionth time she worried – was that the real reason Ciaran adored her so? Was their bond reliant upon his inherited need for her magic? Was he a ‘slave’, too? Didn’t that mean, given her genuine love for him, that she had a moral obligation to find a way to sever their link and set him free to make his own choice? Ever-afraid that her thoughts might be overheard by Ciaran or Drostan, she stuffed the ongoing dilemma into the back corners of her mind.
Taran looked around the group as he cautioned bitterly, “Do nah be easily fooled by this creature’s empty words. He is cold and calculating. Let us nah cast him as a sympathetic monster.”
“Oh, aye, brother. He is every bit a heartless abomination,” Drostan agreed. “And I despise him every bit as much as the rest of the clan. The memory of your death and Skye’s capture is still fresh in all our minds,” he assured sincerely.
Ailean shifted uneasily at the reminder of events that still plagued his nightmares. Elijah put a hand on his Maker’s shoulder in a silent offering of support.
“Those offenses would be more than enough reason to condemn him,” Drostan continued, “and they’re nah even on the top of his list of most grievous transgressions against this world… But there’s no harm in taking his motivations into consideration. Figuring out what drives him is a wise strategy in taking him down, would ya nah agree?”
Grudgingly, Taran nodded and muttered his agreement.
“Some of the things he said made no sense,” Skye stated in perplexity. “Though, honestly, it seemed some of them were said involuntarily. He didn’t mean to, but when I first appeared to him, his power whispered for me to ‘help’ him. Apparently, his original plans for me involved me ‘delivering his salvation’ and he said I was his only hope of ‘putting right what was done.’”
Taran and Ciaran both growled in condemnation at that. They clearly did not want to have a conversation about anything Brandubh wanted to do with her.
Thankfully, her Maker was levelheaded enough to discuss the matter. “His ‘salvation’? I wonder what he meant by tha…” Drostan said with his brow furrowed. “What did he say?”
“He wants the fògaraich destroyed. Said they were a mistake and he is just as eager as we are to see them taken out. He doesn’t give a shit about them, he only uses them as tools,” Skye recalled.
“Tha’s interesting…” Drostan breathed.
“It’s shite, is what it is,” Ciaran declared.
“Aye,” Taran agreed in irritation.
Skye rolled her eyes. She abandoned the effort to continue relaying what she had seen and heard. They were clearly in no mood to listen. Drostan gave her a meaningful look. He knew there was more to tell and that it might very well turn out to be useful. Perhaps this was a conversation for the two of them to have privately or, at the very least, when her men were not so riled up.
“He said he’s not the one doing this to me,” Skye said. “And honestly…? I think he was telling the truth. I don’t think he’s doing this. It felt completely different there. Not at all like the nightmares or my hallucination of him.”
Ciaran grunted his agreement while absently chewing his thumbnail, lost in dark thoughts. “It was different, for sure. This time, I couldn’t –” he stopped mid-sentence, realizing what he nearly said. His eyes widened, and he swallowed hard, knowing that there was no getting out of this now.
“This time you couldn’t – what?” Taran asked, instantly on red alert. Skye was staring at him with just as much intensity.
Ciaran’s eyes grew mournful as he reluctantly admitted. “This time… I couldn’t… hear him.”
Skye gripped Taran’s hand tightly and fought to breathe. She felt like she was going to faint. Oh Jesus. All of the awful things the hallucination version of Brandubh had said…
“I didn’t mean to listen in before, a stóirín,” Ciaran insisted as he came and knelt in front of her. “Ya were just broadcasting it as it was happenin’. It was playin’ in me head like a radio with bad reception – cuttin’ in and out. I was tryin’ to talk over it and make ya hear me. Tryin’ to tell ya it was nah real and nah to listen to the lies he was tellin’ ya… but then…” He motioned to his chest, then held up his hands and shook his head. Closing his eyes, he said resolutely, “But none of it changes anything.” He opened his eyes and waited for Skye to meet his gaze before pressing, “None. Of. It. D’ya understand tha?”
Skye bit back tears. He meant the part about her liking some of the torture. Why did he have to hear that? And how they would abandon her if they knew how damaged she was…
Ciaran reached out a
nd gripped her by the chin, forcing her to face him as he stressed. “Hey. Ya listen to me right now. Nah for one bleedin’ second would somethin’ like tha ever change the way Taran or I feel about ya. Yeah? Tell me ya know tha.” He pulled her into a hug and held on tight until she finally nodded against his shoulder that she knew. “Good. Put tha fear to rest right now,” he declared before kissing her sweetly.
While Skye wiped her eyes and collected herself, Taran gave Ciaran a questioning look. Ciaran gave him a discrete look in reply that said, ‘I’ll tell ya later.’
Skye cleared her throat and fought to keep her emotions in check. She would be damned if she cried in front of everyone – no matter how hard things were becoming.
“It’s almost like now that I’m using my powers on a regular basis, I’m suddenly jacked into the Matrix. Like I just connected to the magic internet or something. Brandubh said Sorcha had barred the link between me and him. He said Sorcha never intended for me to find him.” Skye winced guiltily as she admitted, “I think… I might have accidentally hacked Her supernatural firewall by wondering whether Brandubh was the one coming after me.”
The men exchanged bewildered looks.
“Wait, wait, wait…” Aiyana began with an astonished laugh and held up her hand.
Miko cut in before she could get any further. “You mean to tell me you think you broke through a barrier put in place by the Goddess-with-a-capital-G, Herself-with-a-capital-H by accident… in your sleep?”
Skye nodded as Taran held her hand tightly.
Ailean let out an impressed whistle.
Ruarachan shook his head and muttered, “Sweet Jesus, girl.”
“Sorcha said that my powers would respond to my wishes and desires. She didn’t warn me that included my subconscious ones,” Skye said worriedly. “That makes this even scarier. I don’t always get a say in things. When I really want or need something, my magic just… does it. Like when I healed Ciaran. Or when Miko was in danger at that club the other night. I didn’t have time to think to react. I didn’t plan on blasting those fògaraich – it just came out of me. And – somehow – just wondering whether or not Brandubh was up to no good translated into ‘Hey, let’s go ask him in person!’ I am so far out of my element here.” She sighed and added, “Maybe Sorcha can teach me how to reel this in. At this rate, I’ll be making regular trips to Faol Seunta until I get a grip on my powers.”
14: Snare
After that little incident, Taran and Ciaran were no longer on board with Skye’s original request to be sedated for the trip. She stayed in her cage, but they were unwilling to risk drugging her if it might mean handing her over to Brandubh for an encore dream-world playdate.
When they landed in Scotland, they were met by an additional group of at least 60 ancients. Altogether, their envoy now numbered well over 100. The men all bowed their heads to Skye as she slowly exited the jet. Her earlier sedation had done very little to help her recover her strength. She smiled warmly when she spotted Cathal’s familiar face at the front of the crowd. He met her gaze and clutched his fist to his heart respectfully. She greatly looked forward to seeing Latharn once they reached the castle. She had missed him terribly.
Skye inclined her head to the men and leaned into Taran as he helped her down the stairs. The runway was covered in SUVs to transport all of the men and luggage. Skye was placed in the back of a heavily-fortified truck with Taran and Ciaran. Ruarachan would drive. She saw that Aiyana and Miko were placed in a similar vehicle behind them, along with Ailean, Drostan, Elijah, and Aodh.
That feeling in her gut was back with a vengeance as they set out. The sense that something big was about to happen that was completely beyond her power to stop. She tried to ignore the knots in her stomach, but it was no use. Seeing the great stress Ciaran and Taran were already under and the extreme care Taran was taking in every decision trying to keep her safe, she kept her concerns to herself. Her men could not be any more on guard. It would do no good to say to them now, ‘Something is coming. No, I don’t know what it is, but I do know that nothing you’re doing right now will protect me.’
She sighed and looked out the window to the trail of vehicles behind them. She decided the least she could do to ease her mind was make sure the others were as alert as Taran and Ciaran.
Aodh… she called. She felt him instantly immerse himself in their link. She still marveled at the ease with which he was taking to their ability to communicate in this fashion. Given that he had been relying on facial expressions, body language, and his own version of sign language for 4,000 years to convey his thoughts, he was always eager to talk with her.
Bright lady? the gentle giant answered sweetly.
You, Ailean, and Drostan… Please… she began and closed her eyes as she chewed her thumbnail anxiously. Please keep Miko, Aiyana, and Eli safe for me?
Aodh bristled at the intensity of her request. Ya have our word, bright lady. Our very lives to defend them, he assured. A moment later, after signing back and forth with his brothers about her fears, he added laughingly, Drostan says for ya to pipe down and rest. He says ya are meant to be relaxing and asks if Ciaran is remiss in his duties… Aodh sent an image of Drostan’s teasing scowl.
Skye smiled as she replied, Trust me, I wish I could let Ciaran ‘relax’ me right about now. Her smile faded as she went on, But I don’t think that’s going to be possible. All of you… just stay alert, okay?
She sensed Aodh’s growing concern over her prediction, but she needed them to be prepared to go on the defensive at the very first sign of danger. She adored all of those ancients. They were her family now and they were carrying three comparably-fragile pieces of her heart along with them in that vehicle.
Aye. We’re at the ready for any trouble tha may come, Aodh assured.
Thank you all, she sent sincerely. Stay safe.
She closed her eyes and leaned into Ciaran’s embrace. She tried to give and take as much love and comfort from him as she could while listening to Taran’s increasingly tense radio conversations with Ruarachan and the others. She heard it all begin falling into place: The roads that were unexpectedly closed. The bridges that were out. The areas that had been flooded by massive storms overnight, rendering them impassible.
By the very first detour, Taran and Ruarachan were discussing whether or not to turn back. Fearing their enemy’s goal was to prevent Skye from reaching the safety of Faol Seunta, they agreed the best option was to try and push through in hopes of finding a safe course. But it only got worse from there. Taran’s mood darkened by the moment as their route was repeatedly adjusted, their options rapidly dwindling to a single path not of their choosing.
Taran exhaled heavily before calling over the radio, “All right. Tha’s enough. Let’s do it, Ruarachan.”
“Aye, my King,” Ruarachan answered. “The road here is far too narrow, but we shall keep our eyes peeled. At the very first opportunity, we shall turn back.”
The other drivers in the convoy all radioed their agreement.
Taran cursed under his breath in Gaelic, then turned to check on Skye. He found that she was kissing Ciaran deeply, which was not out of the ordinary in itself, but there was something about the level of care she was taking in the action that gave Taran pause. It was no ordinary kiss. It looked far too much like it could serve as a goodbye if necessary. When Skye pulled back, Ciaran stared at her tearfully before looking to Taran. The stricken look on Ciaran’s face made Taran’s blood run cold. His brother clearly sensed something through their link that he could not put into words.
Skye’s eyes locked on Taran. The quiet acceptance of fate Taran found in her gaze shook him to his core. He quickly moved to kneel in front of her. He searched her eyes for hope, for a sign that she believed they could get through this unscathed. He found none. It made it difficult for him to draw a breath. Skye placed her hands on his cheeks and gazed at him adoringly. She kissed him sweetly and held him close. They whispered words of love…
&n
bsp; Then held on tightly to one another when the truck’s engine suddenly cut out. They both grabbed for Ciaran’s hands as the back of the truck went dark. The truck rolled to a stop with frantic calls coming over the radio. All of the vehicles had shut off with no explanation. They were sitting ducks on the side of a deserted stretch of road in the middle of nowhere. Then the radio silenced, too.
The sudden absence of sound was jarring. Time slowed for the Trinity for that instant. They each looked at one another and tried to burn every detail to memory. To cherish the fleeting togetherness and calm before the storm. Taran kissed Skye deeply. Then kissed her again with more passion and left his lips to linger, savoring the taste and scent and feel of her. When he finally pulled away, he looked from Skye to Ciaran. He took each of their hands in his and gave them each a smile and a nod of reassurance. Whatever was to come, they would fight. They would endure. They would survive. And no matter where their paths led them, they would be reunited.
They had only just stood to exit the vehicle when the entire truck jostled as if it had been struck from the side. The metal bowed inward slightly, but it was widespread, no definitive shape to be seen. They stayed still for a moment, staring at one another in surprise and listening to the shouts outside from their clansmen. No one sounded to be in any pain. No direct attack was taking place, but the men were clearly fearful. The three nodded to one another anxiously and began again to move toward the rear doors.
This time, their truck shuddered and skidded violently as if it had been plowed into by a train. The truck was being pushed or dragged sideways across the road with enough force to cause the tires to stutter and screech along the asphalt.
“What the fuck?!” Skye shouted as she fought to stay on her feet. A second later, the truck began tipping over onto its side. “Whoa, whoa, whoa!” she cried out.
The crash of crunching metal and shattering glass began when the truck collided with the asphalt, then continued as it slid down a rocky embankment. Taran, Skye, and Ciaran all crashed into one another, along with what felt like every sharp corner in the truck’s interior.
Goddess Rising Page 20
