Nioclas looked him in the eye. “She’s not the key to the legacy, Donovan. She is the legacy.” At Donovan’s stare, he groaned. “For the love of all that is holy, are you going to help me get her back or not?”
“Of course,” Donovan replied. “And then we’ll attempt to locate your mind.”
“Arse,” Nioclas muttered as Aidan came bounding into the stables.
“It’s over, Nick, and we’ve lost thirteen—seven guards, six villagers. The others are cleaning up and I’ll have all the Kildares and Burkes brought back to the Kildare land. They’ll bring Kildare first.”
“His wife will be relieved at his death,” Donovan said quietly.
“As will his daughter,” Nioclas agreed. “Perhaps they can breathe easier, knowing he’s dead. Let’s go get Brianagh before our sire does her serious harm.”
Aidan shook his head. “Nick, he probably doesn’t know about her.”
“Never underestimate that man,” Nioclas replied darkly. “He knows. And I think he’s taking her east.”
“Didn’t O’Malley tell you to keep her away from there?” Aidan asked cautiously.
“Aye, and I’m worried.” He quickly outlined his thoughts to Aidan. “We can’t let him change history.”
“No,” Aidan agreed, opening the stall for his own horse and mounting it. “We cannot.”
“Donovan, travel southwest, toward Burke’s lands. I need to cover every part of this country. Leave Bri’s guard with Erin and take your men. If you find Burke, don’t hesitate. Just kill him where he stands and bring the body back here.” Nioclas swung around to his brother. “Aidan, you’ll travel east with me. With seven less guardsmen, I’ll need you guarding my back against him.”
“We meet back here in a sennight,” Donovan said, “or send a messenger with news. Godspeed, MacWilliams.”
Aidan grasped Donovan’s hand, then turned to Nioclas. “Eastward. Lead on.”
Chapter 25
Brianagh had no idea where she was headed, but she had a feeling she was being held for ransom.
It was the only logical explanation she could come up with for the events of the last twenty four hours. When she gathered the courage to ask what her kidnapper wanted from her, he merely smiled and drew his sword across her upper arm.
As far as fear tactics went, it was highly successful. She did little more than breathe from that point on. At some point during the night, three men on horseback joined them, closing ranks around her and her captor.
His guard.
Her arm stopped bleeding a few hours after he sliced her. It ached abominably, but she knew it was not as deep as it felt. He’d merely scratched her to prove he was serious and scare her into silence. She hated that it worked, but she thought he really might kill her.
From the small snippets of conversations the men had, one of them finally said her captor’s name.
Burke.
A whole new wave of fear shook her. Burke—the same man who threw her into his dungeon—apparently had some issue with her that she couldn’t quite figure out. But when they finally dismounted and he tied her wrists together with a rope, she realized she didn’t have to.
“We will sleep here tonight. These men here have their orders. If you try to run, they will not kill you.” Burke yanked her against him, putting his face inches from hers. “They will hold you down and take turns having their way with you. And when they’re done, I’ll have my turn, and you’ll wish it was them again.”
He leaned back and grinned, taking a deep breath in. “I love the smell of your fear, Lady O’Rourke. Or do you prefer Lady MacWilliam? That’s not truly a clan name, anyway. I removed them when the woman I married proved inept.” He leaned forward once more, his beady eyes glittering in the moonlight. “I hope you don’t prove to be inept.”
She shook her head frantically, and he shoved her to the ground. “Sleep there,” he barked, “and don’t make any noise.” He indicated to one of the other men. “We camp here for a few hours, then move again. You’ll take first watch.” Burke made himself a bed of blankets he pulled from the saddlebags and laid down. Blowing her a kiss, he whispered, “Sleep well, my lady. Tomorrow, we ride for Dublin.”
Brianagh dozed but never fully slept. Each time she opened her eyes, Burke was smiling at her. Her stomach roiled at the sight and sweat trickled down her back. She had to figure out a way to get away from him. If she had to die, she wanted it to be trying to get back to Nioclas and not at the hands of his deranged enemy.
As dawn broke, Brianagh was back on the horse, heading (she assumed) toward Dublin she presumed. Her wrists were chafed raw from the bindings. When his horse couldn’t run as fast as he wanted, Burke decided it was time for a new horse. He redirected them to a village where he very pleasantly bought a new horse—after reminding her of his skill with a sword and of her fate if she were to run.
She was allowed to place her hands inside her cloak during the half hour it took for him to purchase the horse with a bag of gold coins. And after he checked the inside of her cloak for anything she may have picked up in the village, he allowed her to keep her hands inside.
The man’s changeability was as frightening as his sword.
Two days into their ride, Brianagh was at the end of her rope—literally. She’d worked her fingernails to the quick scratching at the fibers, and she was nearly through them. She hadn’t a clue as to her whereabouts, but as Burke repeatedly stroked his sword in a loving way, she thought it best to get away from him as soon as possible.
She’d been devising ways for two and a half days, but the man was vigilant in his watch. He even watched her go to the bathroom in a cold, calculated way.
She was tired of being frightened. It was exhausting.
Bri thought if he was going to kill her, he would’ve done so already. Also, if he was going to use her as bait to get to Nioclas and then kill her, he’d be going much slower so Nioclas could catch up.
All her self-defense classes were useless—they were taught with modern-day amenities. She didn’t have her car keys to jab in his eye, she didn’t have any heels to slam into his foot, and she didn’t have a can of Mace, although that would’ve been the most handy.
Unfortunately, Burke clammed up every time one of his men so much as questioned their destination, so she was fairly certain he wasn’t going to blab his evil master plan to her. As the third night fell, she was still deciding how to go about it when she recognized where they were.
Dowth.
And suddenly, Brianagh knew exactly what Burke’s plans for her entailed.
• • •
“Open the time gate, Brianagh O’Rourke.”
Brianagh stared at him, open-mouthed. “I-I can’t!”
His sword was against her throat in a split second. “You can, and you will. Open the gate!” he growled.
Brianagh’s mind raced. If he needed her to bend time, then he wasn’t going to kill her if he thought she could do it. Immediately and with a confidence she didn’t really feel, she took a step away from the sword. “Put that away. I can’t travel through time now because it only works at sunrise. I can’t control when it’s effective.” She sat down by the front of the structure, then leveled a stare at him. “And you have to cut my rope—I need both hands.” She was quaking inside, but her voice didn’t hint at it.
Burke gave her a long look, then looked at the sky. The moon was brilliantly full. All around them the trees were bathed in the bluish light, casting long shadows across the open field where they stood. Dowth itself felt strangely comforting.
Brianagh drew her strength from it. “When sunrise comes, you will see if I can open this or not. But I cannot open it without the first rays of the sun.” She was babbling, making stuff up, but she needed the extra time to figure out what her next step was. She knew she couldn’t open it herself. “I’ll, ah, also need to know where you want to go,” she added.
It seemed like a good thing to say. Reilly apparently knew how to be
nd time to his will. Perhaps she could make it bend to hers as well. Say, to wherever Reilly was resting his head. He’d be helpful in getting her back to Nioclas.
Brianagh stopped short and realized what she’d just thought. It struck her like a ton of bricks.
If she really did have the ability to time-travel, she could go back to her family through this very ancient site. She could leave it all behind and live out the rest of her days in comfort: electricity, hot water, showers. Chocolate.
But the reality of leaving Nioclas—of never seeing him again, nor feeling his arms around her, or feeling his presence…no.
She couldn’t leave him. She didn’t want to leave him, because she loved him with every bit of herself.
She loved him.
“We stay here until sunrise, then,” Burke snarled. “With any luck, MacWilliam is lying cold in his grave. He can’t sneak up on us here.”
One of the men called Burke over, and he dragged Brianagh with him, apparently not willing to have her more than an arm’s length away.
“We found these tracks in the snow,” the guard said, squatting down next to them. In the light of the moon, Brianagh saw Burke frown. She strained to see what they were looking at, then had to bite the palm of her hand to stop her gasp.
She’d know those tracks anywhere. Doc Martens.
Colin.
• • •
Brianagh didn’t dare look around. She had no idea where he was, if he was alone, or how he ended up here, but all the guards agreed the track was new. There were other footprints, but they were much less distinguishable. They couldn’t tell if it was just one other set, or if there were more than just the one person.
She cleared a spot on the ground, brushing away the snow, and gathered her cloak underneath her as a barrier, as she’d done each night since her capture. Carefully, she lay down, facing the opening of the monolithic structure, scanning it for any indication of her cousin.
She saw nothing, but she knew he was somewhere close, patiently waiting for his chance.
An hour or so after she laid down, she felt the ground tremble. Sitting up quickly, Bri realized it wasn’t an earthquake—it was hooves. And the riders were getting closer, fast.
Burke was on his feet with lightning speed. His three guards stood at attention, waiting for the riders to burst through the copse of trees. Brianagh was pulled behind Burke, placed between him and the opening of the structure.
“Do not open that without me,” he snarled. “If you do, I will go to the Maguire clan next and take care of your friend. And I’ll erase her new clan too.” His eyes held the promise of a determined madman.
“Burke.” Nioclas walked out of the forest, and Brianagh’s heart flipped in her chest.
He had come for her.
The horses they’d heard were nowhere to be seen, but Burke didn’t seem to notice. “I see Kildare didn’t finish you,” he said, his voice flat. “What a waste. At least I got what I came for, though…and, because you can’t see her where she stands—” He pulled her in front of him and placed a wicked-looking dagger at her throat. “—she’s right here. Safe as can be…unless you walk closer.”
“Release her,” Nioclas growled. “She can’t do what you think she can.”
“She’s already admitted it to me,” Burke snapped. “If I die, she dies with me, and it’s my understanding that your line dies out when she does, so truly…if you kill me, you accomplish what I want, anyway.”
“I thought you wanted your power and your clan back,” Nioclas challenged.
“I want your death more,” Burke replied, hatred lacing his words. “Tell whatever other men you brought with you to stand back, or I’ll kill her right now.” He tightened his grip on the dagger. “I have very little to lose, lad.”
Nioclas put his hands up. “My men will not move unless I give them leave to do so.”
“Well-trained puppies, are they?” Burke sneered. “All the more foolish for you.”
“Perhaps,” Nioclas agreed. Brianagh couldn’t see his eyes—he was too far away—but she never took her eyes off him. If she had to have a last look, she wanted her final vision to be of her love, ready to defend her in the predawn mist.
A movement to their right distracted Burke. Using all she’d learned at her self-defense class, she kicked backward and up as hard as she could, pushing his arm away from her neck. She twisted out of his grasp, then gasped as she saw Aidan, like an avenging angel, standing over them. He grabbed her by her wrists and yanked her behind him, then staggered back as the dagger that was at her throat not a moment before landed in his right shoulder.
Nioclas rushed in, calling out for his men, and suddenly there were men everywhere. Brianagh clutched at Aidan, screaming his name. There was so much blood, and she needed to staunch it. She was grabbed by the shoulders, but she shook off whoever it was as she tried to pull Aidan away from the battle.
A pair of arms went around Aidan’s waist, and Brianagh glanced up into Colin’s eyes.
“Hands on rock,” he said urgently. She placed both hands on the rock, and Colin, in the same voice she’d heard only once before in her life, said, “Le cumhacht na nDéithe, ordaím duit oscailt chugamsa, An Cosantóir.”
“By the power of the gods, I command you to open for me, the Protector.”
The rock widened and she stumbled inside, Colin following her as he dragged Aidan in with them. The wall closed immediately, and she felt her way along the wall to the small passageway.
“Colin, how d-did y-you…” she stuttered. “This is Aidan. We need to stop the bleeding! And we need to get to Nioclas! He’s outside, we have to let him in!”
Colin placed a hand on her arm. “Slow down, Bri. Your friend here has passed out. And sunrise is just about here.” He carefully worked the dagger free and laid it on the ground. Ripping his shirt into pieces, he quickly made a tourniquet. “We can’t see the light from this side, but it still works the same,” Colin explained in a rush. “Lie against your friend and hold onto him. I’ll hold onto you, and we’ll make it back. James is there and he will help.”
“But Nioclas…”
“This is all I’m allowed to do,” Colin implored. “Hold onto him!”
Bri laid against Aidan’s chest, wrapping her arms around him, ignoring the pain in her wrists and arm. Without warning, the world around her exploded into shards of light, and her only coherent thought was, Please let him live.
Chapter 26
“He doesn’t look so good.”
Colin’s voice floated to her as if he were very far away. Slowly, Brianagh came to. She was lying down on someone, her face skyward. Arms were around her. She struggled to sit up but couldn’t move her limbs very well. Whoever was holding her helped her into an upright position, then steadied her as she clutched her spinning head. Blinking in the light, Brianagh dimly realized she was sitting with Colin on the ground.
“Col?”
“Go slow, Bri. James and Reilly are stabilizing your friend so we can get a move on, before we get caught here,” Colin said, steadying her.
“I’m bleeding,” she said numbly, looking at her dress. “A lot.”
“That’s your friend’s blood,” Colin replied, “and we’ll get you cleaned up. Don’t worry. We’ve got this. Just relax.”
Bri saw James and Reilly leaning over Aidan. His eyes were closed, and she couldn’t tell if he was breathing. When asked, Colin reassured her that he was alive, just unconscious. She let out a shaky breath, then paused.
She’d time-traveled again.
“Colin?” she asked, twisting in sudden surprise. “You’re a time-traveler?”
“Direct descendant of a well-kept family secret,” he replied with a cheeky grin.
She just stared at him in shock before turning back to the scene in front of her. James was in full doctor-mode, checking all sorts of things on Aidan. Reilly kneeled in the dirt and handed James whatever he requested. And Colin, dressed in full medieval garb, still h
eld on to her.
“Is this really happening?” she whispered, her eyes filling with tears. “Without Nioclas?”
“Keep it together,” Colin said quietly. “We’ll figure it out, Bri.”
At James’s nod, James and Reilly hefted Aidan and began to haul him toward the SUV parked nearby.
“Come on. We’ve got to move before anyone sees us,” Colin said, helping her stand. She stared at him in shock, then looked over to James, and finally to Reilly, who rolled his eyes at her, then winked.
“You’d think you’d be used to this by now,” Reilly said with a smirk.
His teasing had the desired effect; she let out a quick breath and assessed the situation. “O’Malley,” she called sharply. His head swung around in surprise. “I’ll need answers, but first, we need to get his shoulder fixed. Where are we taking him?”
“We’re going to bring him back to Reilly’s house,” James replied briskly as he and Reilly carefully loaded Aidan into the SUV, “and see what we can do from there. We can’t bring him to a hospital. They’ll throw him in a mental hospital when he eventually wakes up.”
Brianagh stopped paying attention. She’d caught sight of what they’d set up inside the vehicle. The back seats were laid flat, and everything from IV bags to bandages was stocked inside of long white bins they’d attached to the sides.
“It’s a makeshift ambulance,” Colin explained.
“Answers later,” she said firmly, snapping her mouth shut and clambering in once James settled Aidan. Colin hopped into the front seat, and Reilly took off as the sun rose in the distance.
“He’s lost a lot of blood,” Bri said nervously. “And he’s not waking up, James.”
“Relax, Bri. I’m an ER physician. I know what to do,” he replied calmly as he started an IV in Aidan’s arm and began checking all sorts of things. “He’s not going to wake up for a while yet. I’ve given him some pretty strong pain meds so he won’t wake up in the car and freak out.”
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