Midnight's Master

by Donna Grant

  “Are you ready?”

  She shook her head. “I’m terrified, Logan. I’m scared of what awaits us, I’m petrified that Declan will find us and shoot you with those God-awful bullets again.”

  Logan gripped her shoulders and turned her to face him. “There’s only one thing I want you to worry about, and that’s yourself. I will keep anything from getting to you.”

  “I know,” she said and swallowed loudly. “It was just so much easier talking about doing this while safe at the castle.”

  “We will be on Eigg before Wallace knows it. It’s the others I’m concerned about.”

  She straightened her shoulders. “You’re right. No more pity party for me. They’re the ones having to face that psycho.”

  Logan grinned as he watched her push aside her fears and face the uncertainty that was ahead. There was no other woman who could compare to her. Not her beauty, her bravery, or her loyalty.

  She was unique. Special. And he wanted her for his own.

  Logan released his god as he took Gwynn’s hand and walked her to the shoreline. Her hand shook in his, but she didn’t pull back or ask him to wait.

  With a wave of his hand he parted the water. “Just like last time,” he told her. “We’ll walk into the water and it will surround us.”

  “Okay,” she murmured.

  It was Gwynn who took the first step forward. Logan moved with her, keeping her steady among the rocks along the shore. Once they were in the water and deep enough, Logan had it surround them, keeping him and Gwynn in a large bubble as they moved.

  “I can’t see anything in this dark,” Gwynn said.

  “Doona worry. I can.”

  “Lucky you. I wish I could.”

  He bit back his laugh at the irritation in her tone.

  Hayden had dropped them off thirty minutes outside of Mallaig, so they had a ways to travel before they reached Eigg.

  “You’ll tell me when you feel his magic, won’t you?” Gwynn asked.

  Logan didn’t need to ask who “he” was. “Aye.”

  “You think he’ll be on Eigg.”

  “I know he will. It’s what I would do.”

  She huffed when her toe hit a rock. “And my father. Do you think he’ll be here?”

  “Possibly,” Logan answered after a pause.

  They continued on in silence. Logan wished he knew what Gwynn was thinking. She kept it to herself, though.

  Not once did she slow or ask to rest as they walked closer and closer to Eigg. He had to steer her to keep her going in the right direction, but her mind was focused, intent. Absorbed.

  It wasn’t until they reached the edge of Mallaig that Logan felt it, the cloying, suffocating feel of drough magic. “Wallace is on Eigg.”

  Gwynn sighed. “I had hoped he wouldn’t be. He knows you can control water.”

  “Nay. He knows I have a power and that it could be water or wind. Since we battled him together, he has no idea what was your magic and what was my power.”

  She grinned as she looked at him. “You think of everything.”

  “I’ve been doing this for awhile.”

  “Do you think it will ever stop? This battle for Deirdre, and now Declan, to rule?”

  Logan asked himself that question every night. “I have to believe it will.”

  “There will always be evil in the world, Logan, just as there will always be good.”

  “Aye. But when that evil is trying to take over, it must be stopped.”

  “Yes. It must.”

  Logan took her arm and pulled her to a stop before they reached Eigg. “Gwynn, I…” he trailed off, unsure of what he wanted to say.

  She merely smiled and walked into his arms as she fit her lips against his. Logan angled his head and slanted his mouth over hers. He kissed her with all the desperation, all the yearning, and all the longing he had within himself.

  Her body melted against his, all softness and alluring temptation.

  She matched him kiss for kiss, their tongues meeting, mating in a kiss both frantic and demanding. Her sweet, exotic taste would forever be imprinted in his mind, just as she was a part of his very soul.

  Logan reluctantly pulled back from the kiss, their breathing harsh and ragged. She turned her head and rested it on his chest.

  He closed his eyes and held her tight. He wished she wasn’t going into danger, but more than anything he wished she were his.

  “I’m glad you’re here with me,” Gwynn said.

  He rubbed his hands up and down her back. “I wouldna allow anyone else.”

  “Because this was your mission with Duncan.”

  “Because it is you.”

  She lifted her face to his, her violet eyes searching. “I didn’t come to Scotland to find someone like you. I didn’t think a man such as you existed except in my dreams.”

  “You know my deepest secrets,” Logan said as he smoothed back her black hair from her face. “Secrets I thought I would go to my grave with.”

  “Why did you share them with me?”

  “I wanted you to know me. The real me. The one who can no’ look himself in the mirror.”

  “And the one who saved me,” she interjected quickly.

  “You deserve a better man.”

  “And what if I found a man who is better than he thinks he is?”

  Logan smiled ruefully. “Why would you want me?”

  “The question is why wouldn’t I want you?”

  He opened his mouth to answer her when he felt more drough magic. He knew the feel of that magic. Knew it and hated it. “Deirdre,” he grumbled.

  Gwynn stiffened in his arms. “Where?”

  “Verra near. Which way to the cave?”

  She closed her eyes, her magic rising like a tidal wave within her. A moment later, her lids opened to show her eyes glowing violet.

  “This way,” Gwynn said.

  Logan jerked, startled to hear the odd sounding voice of Gwynn’s once more. She pulled out of his arms and walked with sure steps toward Eigg, dodging rocks and holes as she did.

  He kept his gaze on the water above him. The closer they got to Eigg, the shallower the water became. And the easier they would be seen.

  Logan flexed his hands, his silver claws clinking together. His god bellowed for blood, but first Logan would see Gwynn get the Tablet.

  “The cave is just in front of us,” Gwynn said.

  Logan wrapped an arm around her waist from behind to halt her. “We need to get inside the cave quickly. I doona want you exposed for longer than necessary.”

  She turned her head to look at him, her eyes no longer glowing. “I won’t let you down.”

  “I know,” he said with a smile. Then he kissed the tip of her nose. “Ready?”

  Her fingers locked with his. “I am now.”

  They took off running, the water parting as they did. The night sky with the moon hanging low shone above them. Logan looked ahead to see the cliffs of Eigg rising out of the water.

  They traded the mud of the sea floor for slick rocks and boulders. The dark, menacing opening of the cave loomed before them. Water dripped down the cliffs from the waves that crashed repeatedly against them.

  Logan called to the water to block itself from reaching the cave and sweeping them into the sea as a wave came at Gwynn.

  He halted as they entered the cave and looked above him to the ceiling. “How far back is the Tablet?”

  “Quite a ways from what the book said.”

  “God’s teeth,” Logan cursed and clenched his jaw. “Stay behind me.”

  Logan might have been in front of her, but he knew every move she made. He was as conscious of her as he was of his god. His every sense was aware of Gwynn. Every breath, each shift of her eyes, every move of her body.

  He was cognizant of all of it.

  It tore at him the same time it appeased him. Everything about Gwynn turned him about, twisting his usual calm emotions into a whirlpool of chaos.

 
And he found he liked it.

  Logan moved from rock to rock, working his way slowly to the side of the cave where there was a ledge that would make their trek easier.

  Behind him, he heard the slightest gasp. He spun around to see Gwynn’s foot slip on the damp rock. He yanked her against his chest before she could fall between the jagged rocks.

  Her fingers dug into his arms as she clung to him. Logan glanced down between the rocks and inwardly grimaced. He might have used his powers to remove the water that normally filled the cave, but the centuries of waves pounding the rocks had left many with vicious edges that would easily rip the skin from the bone. And the way the rocks and boulders were piled upon each other, one slip between them would ensure a broken bone.

  “That was close,” Gwynn whispered.

  “Too damned close.” He held her for a moment longer before he allowed her to pull out of his arms.

  Logan ground his teeth together and prayed Gwynn got out of the cave unharmed. He’d never forgive himself if she were injured. Or worse.

  He reached the edge of the cave and leaped to the ledge. It supported his weight easily, but it proved as slippery as the rocks.

  Logan held out his hand for Gwynn. Once she grasped it, he pulled her beside him. “Now where?” he asked.

  She leaned around him and pointed. “Keep going.”

  He moved forward one slow step at a time. In the darkness he could see the crabs quickly moving out of their way. Water dripped relentlessly from the ceiling, and behind them, the roar of the sea grew stronger as the tide continued to surge against the wall he had put in place.

  Gwynn’s heart still pounded in her chest from her near fall. Logan might have kept the water out of the cave, but there were dangers aplenty.

  She looked at him, his gaze intense as he stared ahead. Although she knew what awaited them, he did not. Still, he forged ahead. Powerful. Compelling. Dominating.

  Logan never questioned her as she told him where to go. He simply made certain the water in the cave never touched her.

  Gwynn’s toe hit a loose rock and it tumbled into a puddle below. Logan stiffened and his head jerked to the side. Gwynn put her hand on his back to let him know she was all right.

  “I really doona like you down here,” he grumbled.

  She looked around and scrunched her face. “Well, neither do I. I’m more of a sit-in-front-of-the-TV kinda gal.”

  “I thought you liked adventure.

  Gwynn heard the teasing lilt of his voice. “Oh, you’re funny. The most adventurous thing I ever did before flying over an ocean was attempt the Galleria during Christmas.”

  “What’s the Galleria?”

  “A mall. A huge place where there are hundreds of stores. The Galleria is three stories high and just massive. There’s even an ice rink inside.”

  “And you went there?”

  She shrugged. “I like to shop. Not that I can afford much, but I still like to look. I usually stay away at Christmas though, because the crowds will mow you down in a heartbeat.”

  He laughed, which brought a smile to her face. They were in the middle of a cave trying to find an ancient relic while avoiding two droughs bent on killing them.

  How they could laugh at a time like this was something she couldn’t fathom. Yet she knew, she’d rather no one by her side other than Logan.

  * * *

  It was almost too easy for Camdyn and the others to take out the men guarding Wallace’s mansion. Camdyn wrinkled his nose as the stench of evil grew stronger the closer to Wallace’s house he moved.

  Fallon motioned them forward. They moved as silent as a spirit, and as deadly as the sharpest blade. Reaghan and Sonya were ringed by Warriors at all times.

  As they entered the house, an older man in a suit stepped into the foyer. Camdyn moved in a blink and had the man in a choke hold.

  “Don’t kill him,” Reaghan said. “He’s just a butler.”

  Camdyn raised a brow, but did as Reaghan asked and used the hold to make the butler fall unconscious instead of breaking his neck.

  “This way,” Larena whispered as she rose from her crouching position by the door and ran past the stairs. One by one they followed her. Camdyn and Arran brought up the rear and saw three guards coming down the stairs.

  They used their enhanced speed to race up the stairs. Camdyn sliced the neck of one guard as he ran past and broke the second’s neck. He looked to find Arran had taken out his guard just as silently.

  With a nod, they jumped over the railing and landed next to the door Larena and the others had disappeared through. They entered and followed the narrow steps down into the earth.

  It reminded Camdyn too much of Deirdre’s dungeons. A place he never wanted to return to.

  And then he saw the others standing in front of a cell door.

  Camdyn took one look at the chained woman and felt his god’s roar for vengeance.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

  Logan paused when he reached a series of caves that branched off from the main one. “Which way do we go? There are three other caves besides the one we’re in.”

  “To the right,” she said after a long pause.

  Logan peered inside and saw nothing but more rock and dripping water. The farther into the caves they went, the darker it became.

  “Hold onto me,” he said to Gwynn.

  Her hands grasped his waist. “I envy you being able to see. It is so dark I can barely see your outline.”

  “I willna lead you wrong.”

  “I know.”

  Her faith in him staggered him, and he was determined she would leave the caves with nary a scratch upon her milky skin.

  Step by slow step he led them farther into the cave. The ledge he had been on grew wider in the new cave. Every once in awhile there would be a missing section where he would leap over, then pull Gwynn to him.

  It didn’t take long to come upon another section of caves. He stopped and looked into each of the yawning entrances. Anyone who didn’t know the way could easily become lost.

  “Have we reached the next section?” Gwynn asked.

  “Aye.”

  “Good.” She moved until her body was pressed against his back. “There should be five caves.”

  “There are.”

  “We need the second from the left.”

  Logan glanced at the rocks they would need to cross to get to the other side. “Of course we do.”

  Gwynn chuckled and rubbed her face against his back. “I gather it won’t be easy.”

  “Remember the rocks outside the cave?”

  “That bad, huh?”

  “Worse,” he grumbled. “I can no’ take the chance of you slipping. Do you trust me?”

  “I do.”

  Her response had been immediate, making Logan smile. He turned so that he faced her. For a brief moment he allowed himself time to look at her as her gaze searched the darkness.

  “You’re staring at me,” she said with a grin.

  “Maybe.”

  She cocked an eyebrow, but her smile never wavered. “Are you laughing at me?”

  “Laughing?” he asked in confusion. “Never. Gwynn, I’m amazed at you. I doona know many women who would have done the things you’ve done and no’ be hysterical.”

  “We Texans are a strong lot,” she said with a smile.

  Logan wanted to kiss her. He wanted inside her. He wanted … her. But it would have to wait until they were out of the caves.

  He leaned down and whispered in her ear, “Hold on tight.”

  Her arms wrapped around his neck as she kissed his cheek. Logan straightened and gauged the distance across the cave. A mortal man might be able to make it if he had a running start, but thankfully Logan wasn’t mortal.

  He held Gwynn with one arm and leaped across the cave. As soon as he landed, his hand reached out and his claws sunk into the rock to hold them.

  “Wait,” he said when Gwynn began to move. “The ledge is … well, it’s no�
�� really a ledge. There’s barely room for my feet.”

  “You cannot carry me the entire way.”

  He chuckled. “Aye, I could, but I doona think there will be a need. At least no’ yet.”

  “So now what?”

  “Now, we get to the next cave.”

  “How?”

  Instead of answering her, Logan bent his legs and jumped again. The second leap was shorter but just as difficult. He lowered Gwynn to the ground, her delightful curves pressed against him, and then reluctantly released her.

  “Well,” she said after a moment. “That was something I thought never to experience. How far can you jump?”

  He shrugged, then remembering she couldn’t see in the dark said, “I’ve no’ measured. I can easily jump over a castle wall. We routinely jump from the shore to the top of the cliffs at MacLeod Castle.”

  She whistled. “Impressive.”

  “I usually jump midway up the cliffs, then do a second jump to the top.”

  “But you can jump all the way down?”

  “Aye,” he said with a smile and took her hand.

  The cave’s floor was smooth enough that they could walk in the middle. Occasionally Logan would steer them around a large boulder that seemed to grow out of the floor, but all in all, it was easy. If not slippery.

  “Do all the caves fill with water?” he asked.

  “Yes. At least the ones we will be in do.”

  He looked above him as he noticed the ceiling began to slant downward so that he hunched over. “And low tide? Does it last long?”

  “Not long enough. Did you command all the water out of the caves?”

  His lips tightened. “Aye. From anyone looking at the cave, it will appear normal, but the water stops just inside the cave.”

  “Then why do I hear water?”

  He’d hoped she would have gone longer without noticing it, but with no other sound penetrating the caves, it was hard to miss. Logan had heard the water long before now, but hadn’t mentioned it because he had hoped they would go in the opposite direction. He should have known better.

  “It looks like we’re heading toward it, so we should know soon. Doona worry. I’ll make sure it doesna harm us.”

  She nodded, but clutched his shirt tighter. “I know.”

  Logan had barely taken a dozen steps when he stopped again. This time there were two options. Continue forward, or go right. Right would lead them away from the sound of the water, but would they get that lucky?