by Mary Morgan
“Och, Aidan, I do miss your wisdom and wit,” muttered Liam.
Rory returned and pushed another pint toward him. “Let’s discuss your plan and forget about the past. We need to save the future.”
Once again, the doors opened, and both men peered around the booth. There in the doorway stood Conn MacRoich. Pain marred his features, his hands were clenched. The man moved slowly forward into the tavern. Nodding to another Fenian brother behind the bar, he made his way to Liam and Rory.
Coming to a halt in front of them, he pierced Liam with a hard look. “Your request for assistance stated it was a matter of life and death—to human and Fae.” He waved his hand about. “However, here you both sit drinking beer and acting blasé.”
“’Tis good to see ye, too.” Liam’s tone held an edge of sarcasm. “Please join us and all will be revealed.”
Conn took a seat and sneered. “We’re in the twenty-first century, Liam. Cut out the ye’s and ’tis.”
“Is your mood always thus?” criticized Rory. “Or has age made you more…cranky?”
Liam held up his hand. “Stop. We have much more to discuss than my use of language, or your age, Conn.”
“Well, if we’re drinking to an imminent disaster, I will require something stiffer than this.” Conn pushed away the pint. “Bring us your most expensive bottle of single malt,” shouted Conn to the man behind the bar. He turned to Rory. “I’m sure you can pick up the tab.”
“Of course,” he replied tersely. When the bottle of whisky arrived, along with three glasses, Conn filled each one. “Before we speak of grave matters, I would like to make a toast to the fallen from Culloden.” Lifting his glass, he sipped and then swallowed, his gaze wandering over the room. “To those that took up the cause. To those whose spirits have yet to cross over. To those that I called my friend. Forever you will live in my heart. Cuiridh mi clach ad chàrn—I’ll add a stone to your cairn.”
“Aye,” agreed Liam and Rory in unison.
Conn refilled their glasses. “Now, tell me why we are meeting here and not in the halls of the Fae?”
Liam placed his arms on the table and leaned forward. “Because what I am about to say cannot reach the Fae.”
“Continue,” replied Conn.
“Ye are Adam MacFhearguis’s guardian. He has traveled the veil to Margaret MacKay’s time.”
“You are speaking facts that are already known to me,” grumbled Conn.
“Yes. But did ye know another has ventured to their time? Seeking to destroy them both?”
Conn nodded. “Word traveled to the realm that Lachlan has journeyed through the veil—”
“And the Dark One continues to grow in power,” interrupted Rory. “We must intercede.”
“We are bound not to interfere. How dare you even speak of this.” Conn’s eyes flashed in outrage.
“Are ye a fool?” demanded Liam. “We have all meddled in this battle, including ye!”
“I have—”
“Don’t ye dare say ye haven’t.” Liam shook his head. “Ye assisted Brigid O’Neil through the veil, making sure she landed in Duncan’s time. We both know the power was unstable and without your help, she would have ventured to another time period.”
Conn remained silent, glaring furiously at Liam.
“By your silence, I can assume I speak correctly.”
“What are you suggesting we do?”
“Seek out Adam MacFhearguis. His power is unstable. As the most recent Dragon Knight, he is unprepared for what he faces. He requires someone to teach him.” Liam downed his dram in one swallow.
“You do realize that this will break all Fae laws. Death will surely follow.”
“Aye, I am already awaiting a summons from the Fae council. So it matters naught to me.”
“Rory?” asked Conn.
“I stand by my brother. I cannot sit by and watch the ancient dark magic slither in and destroy everything. If the death of three Fenian warriors saves two races—human and Fae, then I deem it worth the risk.”
“There is one more matter, too,” stated Liam.
“I fear to ask,” drawled Conn.
“We must involve the Dragon Knights. In order to destroy Lachlan, we will have need of their powers and strength.”
Letting out a loud sigh, Conn refilled their glasses. “I hope you are both prepared for the mighty wrath of all the MacKays when they hear that their sister, Margaret, is alive.”
“I am fully aware that any one of them will take a blade to my heart,” uttered Liam.
“Agreed,” stated Rory gravely.
“Well, I may be prepared, but I can still move faster.” Conn lifted his glass. “To our success, before our deaths.”
“Sláinte mhath!” proclaimed Rory and Liam.
Chapter Eleven
“If you stay focused on the path ahead, you will miss the beauty and calling of the landscape.”
Sitting on his horse within the shadows of the trees, Adam watched the birds welcome the new morning. Their song filled the air, while the first rays of dawn’s light touched on the ancient stones. Once a place of respect and awe, now only sorrow waited for him. He stared into the vast stillness of the circle, his heart shattered after last night’s revelation.
Meggie had a son.
When sleep finally claimed him, he was haunted by dreams—one in which his Meggie was with another man. As he tried to free her from her lover, the shadows blurred his vision and she mocked him.
He screamed her name and woke, finding his room filled with darkness. Only when he had eased his racing heart and mind, did they vanish.
“Ye fool!” he shouted, ending the birdsong. “How can I make her love me, when there was another?”
Adam dismounted from his horse. Taking the reins, he moved slowly within the circle. Removing the ring from his pouch, he knelt down. Rubbing his thumb over the red stone, his heart broke once again. Placing it down upon the ground, he stood.
“Did ye bring me here to show me what I cannae have?” Adam clutched at his cross. “I had hoped, prayed for one last moment with Meggie. Ye have shown me she lives. She has a son.” He swallowed. “Now, I ask ye return me to my own time. I have nae wish to remain. There is naught for me here.”
The stones remained silent.
“Your heart does not speak the truth, Adam MacFhearguis.”
Turning swiftly around, Adam unsheathed his sword and leveled the blade at the man. “Who are ye?” he demanded, though he could have sworn he had met the man somewhere.
“Conn MacRoich,” he replied.
“Have we met?”
The stranger leveled him with a sharp look and unclasped his hands from behind his back. “Many times.” He touched the tip of the blade with his finger. “Please be so kind as to remove your sword from my face.”
“I would have remembered the many times,” stated Adam gruffly.
“Do you still hear the screams of your Templar brothers?”
Adam lowered his sword, the realization hitting him square in the chest. “Christ! Ye were there. Ye were the one that saved my life during the battle in Jaffa.”
“Aye,” whispered Conn.
Stunned, Adam moved forward. “I sought to thank ye, only to find ye vanished within the smoke. How?” His voice choked on the word as if he could taste the smoke filled air.
“Because I am your guardian, Dragon Knight. I am honor bound to protect ye, if the Fae so deem it to be so.”
Conn’s eyes shifted colors, and Adam was stung by his words. “Fae, ye are Fae?” he spat out. His fury rose, and he stepped away from the man. “I want naught to do with the Dragon Knights, nor the Fae.”
“What do you want, Adam?”
He glanced at the Fae, confused and bitter. He waved his hand in the air. “To leave this place and return to my brothers. There is naught for me here.”
“Your reasons are clouded with shadows. You refuse to see the truth. You are as blind now with fury as you were on the
night Meggie died. You continue to wallow and fester in your own sorrow. Even your own crusade was one filled with death and grief.”
“Enough!” roared Adam, shaking his head. Dark spots flashed before his eyes. “’Tis nae concern of yours.”
“Sadly, on the night Meggie died, you became a Dragon Knight. The bloodline divided. A quest to save two races had begun. And in the process, an ancient evil grew. Furthermore, on that night, I was made your protector. If you wish to run, then you are not the man the Fae have chosen, and you can only bring more harm to Meggie and her son.”
Adam raked a hand through his hair, frustrated at Conn’s criticism. “I have no wish to bring harm to Meggie. Or her son. Yet, I was not given a voice in this grand decision. Find the father of her son. He can be your champion—your Dragon Knight.”
“You’re an ass!” snarled Conn, his eyes flashing silver. “The Fae have found the father, and you are that man. How can you be so blind?”
Adam’s sword dropped to the ground, and he stumbled backward. The shock of Conn’s declaration sent a blow to his mind. Leaning against the tall standing stone, he shook his head. “Me? I have a…son?” he muttered. “Impossible.”
“For the love of Danu, why would you believe it is not possible?”
“The lad is far too large and speaks as one older.”
“And this is a problem?” snapped Conn. “I have heard that Meggie keeps the boy hidden from prying eyes. Now I understand. Even his own father would look at a child conceived with Fae blood as odd and different.” The warrior sneered. “Do you not think that the MacKays would have put a sword in you earlier had they known of her condition? Or a birth?”
Adam rubbed a hand over his face. His memories drifted back to that summer. The last time he had made love to her was near Midsummer—joyous and full of passion. Afterward… His gaze snapped to Conn. “Angus ordered her not to leave the castle unattended after the Midsummer festival. He knew she had been with me. In the beginning, he locked her in her own chamber.” Adam slumped to the ground.
Conn went and sat beside him. “When did you see Meggie next?”
“At the bonfire during the Harvest festival. I had prayed she would be there, so imagine my surprise when the MacKays were there, as well. However, they never ventured far from her. I made an attempt to walk near her, only Alastair blocked my path and leveled a fist to my jaw.”
Adam rubbed at his chin recalling the night within his mind. “The ground rumbled beneath me, and Meggie screamed at him to stop. As she knelt down beside me, she tucked a note into my hand. Then my bonny Meggie whispered she loved me and left me there.”
“What did the note say?” asked Conn, pulling Adam back to the present.
He gave the man a half-smile. “To meet her at the standing stones on Samhain, so we could be wed.” Letting out a sigh, Adam stood. “And we ken the outcome of that night.”
Conn stood slowly. “So you didn’t know she was carrying your child?”
Adam’s laugh was bitter. “Nae. Though tell me this, Conn, did my son die with her on that night?”
“Yes.”
“Why did the Fae not save her in our own time?” he protested. “It makes no sense!”
Frowning, Conn moved to the tallest standing stone. Taking his finger, he traced a path within the Celtic spirals. “The threads of fate were broken that night. The Fae did not foresee Meggie’s death. An ancient evil power emerged. If they had healed Meggie in her time, the evil would have won, claiming the Fae interfered. The circle weaves and twists, so they sent her to the future. Here.” He turned and faced Adam. “You must have faith, especially in the Fae. A great evil has spread across your own lands in the past and has slipped through the veil into this time.”
“I no longer believe,” he stated brusquely. “There is only the one God.”
Conn lifted one eyebrow. “Even the druids believe in the Christ. They say he is their druid teacher. The Fae believe that all can be learned from this new religion—one of love.”
Adam remained silent. Meggie’s words came back to him regarding the two beliefs. She did not seem to mind his own faith. Yet, he judged hers. Only God can judge, Adam. “How can I protect Meggie and my…son from this vile threat?”
“First, you must begin your training as a Dragon Knight. You are unaware of the power within you. If you don’t learn to control and harness the ability, you will be consumed by the darkness.”
“Power,” he snapped. “What power?”
Conn ignored his question and moved closer, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Second, Meggie holds one of the keys to unlock the power of the ancients and destroy this monster. If you do not free her memories, all will cease to exist. The Order of the Dragon Knights—vanquished. You, Meggie, her cousins, and your son shall die.”
Adam’s jaw clenched so tight, he feared it would snap. He would never let his beloved die again. And his son? By all that’s holy, he would do whatever it took to protect and save him.
Shrugging free from Conn’s grasp, he watched a lone doe make a path through the trees and stop at the entrance of the stones. Her dark eyes regarded him. For the first time in many moons, Adam relaxed and raised his hand out to her, calling her forth. Silently, the doe ambled to him. His hand shook when he made contact with her soft head. Soon, Adam found himself sighing and released his hand. He watched as she strolled away past the stones and through the trees.
“The animals are your teachers,” said Conn softly. “I am happy to see you have not forgotten.”
“Is this my power?” he asked hoarsely.
“Nae, only a small part of the whole.” Conn laughed. “Yours is much more. You have the power of the shadows. You can blind a person’s mind or eyes with this skill—even cloak yourself in the darkness for protection.”
Adam narrowed his gaze. “Tell me, what power does my son have?”
Conn removed his jacket and whistled for Ciar. “You have to ask the question? Or do you want it confirmed?”
“Fire? And Ciar doesn’t come to any command but my own,” Adam replied.
Conn’s expression stilled and grew serious. “You forget, I’m Fae. I don’t command animals. They just like me.”
Fisting his hands on his hips, Adam was about to utter a retort when Ciar came trotting through the trees toward Conn. “Traitorous beast,” he mumbled.
Ciar shook his head and gave a loud snort.
“Humph! Then let the Fae feed you carrots.”
Conn smiled in delight. “He favors carrots? Well, I believe I have a few in my jacket.”
Adam’s jaw dropped, watching as the Fae produced a few carrots and then fed them to his horse.
“Ye are full of surprises,” commented Adam.
Giving the horse a pat, Conn placed his jacket on the saddle and turned to Adam. “Ready to begin your training?”
“Aye,” grumbled Adam. “Let me retrieve my sword.” He had only taken a few steps, when Conn lifted and tossed him outside of the stones. The blow of the fall sent him tumbling against the hard ground. “God’s blood!” he shouted. Shaking his head, he stood instantly. He would not let the Fae think him weak.
“No swords, Adam,” stated Conn. “And we fight outside of this sacred place. You can fetch your sword later.”
With a great roar, Adam charged forth, only to be pushed away with Conn’s power. His back slammed into a tree, but he quickly stood. Shadows danced before his eyes, and he blinked in frustration.
“Harness the shadows, Adam,” ordered Conn. “See them swirling, building. Let the shadows travel through your body and out your hands.”
Adam’s anger intensified and with it, the shadows. He shook his head, trying to free the darkness, but it only grew.
“You are a Dragon Knight! Embrace who and what you are! Accept your fate, or all will die.”
“I will not let them!” he bellowed and surrendering to the darkness, Adam let the shadows flow from his mind down to his arms. Opening his eyes, he g
athered the mass and tossed it out at the Fae. The effect barely registered on his opponent.
Conn smiled slowly. “If I was a mortal, I would have been felled. This is only the beginning.”
“Then what will it take to knock down a Fae?”
“Tread carefully, MacFhearguis. You must respect the Fae.”
“Respect is earned, Fae,” stated Adam.
They circled each other—man and Fae. Conn built the energy within his hands, letting the swirling mass grow. “How are you going to protect yourself, Adam,” he chided. “You have no weapons, only your brute strength and power. Use the shadows as a cloak.” His smile turned lethal as he continued to stalk around Adam. “If I use this ball of fire against you, I fear you will not survive. Or worse, be horrifically scarred.”
Concentrating with all his might, Adam regarded the Fae with a cold glare. “I dinnae fear ye.”
In a blink of an eye, Conn had Adam by the throat, holding him upward with one hand. The other, holding the glowing sphere. “Your pride will be your undoing, MacFhearguis!”
Unable to speak, Adam focused all of his thoughts on the darkness, seeing it cloaked around the Fae’s arrogant face.
Conn released him, gasping for breath, and stumbled backward.
Adam took advantage of the momentary loss of the Fae’s powers and slammed his fist to his face. Not waiting for his foe to recover, Adam gathered the shadows within his mind, letting it travel down his arms and sending it outward over Conn. As the Fae warrior tried to regain himself, Adam used his fist once again. The energy surged through Adam, pulsing, growing, and he reveled in the way his body felt. Strong. Powerful. A Dragon Knight.
He blinked in confusion. As if there were two voices within his mind—his body. He brought his outstretched hands to his face. “Who are ye?” He spoke to the other within his mind.
I am one with ye. Do not keep me hidden again.
Wiping a hand across his mouth, Conn spat out blood. “It is your dragon that speaks to you. The source of your power. All Dragon Knights have a dragon, which dwells inside them. Only Angus and your son have the power within their blood, though, I believe your power resides within, as well.”
