by Donna Grant
He shrugged. “It’s Gaelic. I can read it. Now, let’s begin.”
“Gaelic. I read a little, but badly. I found a stone before I opened the box. It appeared to have a prophecy.”
A muscle ticced in his jaw. “Show me.”
Ronnie took him to the broken tablet and watched him study it. For long moments, silence reigned and she grew uncomfortable. Arran, as usual, was calm and to the point, but she knew just what she had done.
She had nearly killed the both of them by releasing the creatures from the box. Her magic, which had always been used to dig up harmless relics, had been used for evil. For those beasts were evil. She didn’t have to be a Warrior to know that.
It oozed from them, choking her with the foulness of it. And now they were out in the world. They had to be stopped.
“This is a prophecy,” Arran said as he ran a finger down one broken side of the stone tablet. “One that was put into words long, long ago.”
“What does it say?”
He met her gaze. “Why do you want to know?”
She was about to tell him she didn’t know when she paused and knew she owed him the truth. “I can’t explain it, but I think it’s about me.”
“It says, ‘The one with untapped magic / Will free those trapped by the magic-wielders / She will unknowingly bring about destruction and death.’”
“I got most of that. What does it mean?”
“It would be difficult to know without the rest.”
Ronnie grabbed hold of the table to keep herself steady. “There’s more?”
“Aye. It’s along the sides.”
“What does it say?”
The female Druid will be the bringer of doom
Only to be ended by a man-god.
The new darkness will join forces with the Druid
And it will be the end of all.
“Tell me that’s not about me,” she asked.
Arran took her hand. “It could be about anyone.”
“Let’s see. I’m a Druid who had untapped magic, and I released those creatures who had been locked away. If that doesn’t tell you it’s about me, then I don’t know what does.”
“Easy, Ronnie,” he said softly.
And to her amazement, the fear that had its iron grip on her lessened. She knew with him by her side, she’d be able to face anything. He was a Warrior. Immortal and powerful.
And she, apparently, was a Druid.
Arran released her long enough to take a picture of the tablet and send it to someone through his phone. He pulled her away from the tablet.
“Who is the ‘new darkness’?”
His eyes grew hard at her words. “I’ve a feeling we’re going to find out verra soon. We’d thought to have defeated them, but I’ve long had a belief there was something out there waiting to make its move.”
“Like what?”
“Someone like Deirdre or Declan. A drough, Ronnie. It’s been my viewpoint that this new ‘darkness’ was amassing itself and waiting for the right move. We’ve no idea who it could be.”
“And I just helped it, didn’t I?”
He turned to her, halting her. “Nay. If that prophecy is about you, then we’ll deal with it.”
“You don’t have to spell it out for me, Arran. I get that it’ll be you, or another Warrior, who will have to kill me before I can do more harm.”
He grabbed her arms and pulled her to him. Instantly her body came alive. He drew in a ragged breath and forced his gaze up from her mouth.
“Then let’s find out who this new darkness is.”
She nodded and didn’t pull away when he tugged her head onto his chest. Ronnie leaned on him, with not just her body, but her troubles as well. It was as if he took the weight of her problems onto his very wide shoulders, giving her a boost.
“Come. Let’s see what else we can find,” he urged.
Ronnie didn’t want to leave the safety and comfort of his hold, but she steadied herself and squared her shoulders. There was a spell to find, monsters to kill, and a prophecy to stop. The time for wallowing in pity or guilt was over.
For the next hour, they meticulously went through and matched every item on the list save one.
“Why is just the one gone?” Ronnie asked.
“Verra good question. I’ve a feeling it’s exactly what I’m looking for, too. It says on the manifest that it’s a necklace. There are long sections of knotwork connected together and then to the chains of the necklace. There appears to be more, but whoever wrote this didna finish the sentence.”
Arran rolled the parchment and sighed. “Bloody hell.”
“What do we do?”
“I doona think we can destroy these items, but neither can they be allowed to sit in a museum or chance being stolen. I need to get them out of here.”
Ronnie blocked his way when he started to walk off and shone her flashlight on his face. “How do I know you aren’t doing all this just to get the relics?”
He grinned and pulled out his iPhone from his back pocket. The screen was cracked, but it still worked. “Call Saffron.”
Ronnie took his phone and looked deep into his golden eyes. Would she be able to tell a lie from the truth? Especially when she wanted Arran so desperately? And she did want him, even after seeing what he’d become.
She’d been afraid, but that fear hadn’t lasted. He’d had plenty of opportunities to kill her if that’s what he wanted. Instead, he’d saved her.
Trust had been an issue with her since Max, but there was going to have to be a time in her life when she did trust once more. She might get it wrong again, as she had with Max, or she might get it right.
She unlocked the phone and found Saffron’s number. While the phone rang, she resumed staring at Arran. By the third ring, there was a feminine hello.
“Arran?” Saffron asked over the phone when Ronnie didn’t immediately answer.
“No, it’s Ronnie.”
“Did something happen to Arran?” Saffron asked quickly, her voice low and urgent.
Ronnie cleared her throat. “No, he’s standing right here. He wanted me to call you to ask about … Well, I need to know if he was sent to take what we found.”
There was a moment of silence and then a click as the phone was put on speaker, and Ronnie could hear a man’s voice. She’d never met Camdyn, but she’d heard he could be a difficult man to take at times.
“What has Arran told you?” Saffron asked.
Arran jerked his chin and took the phone from Ronnie so he could put it on speaker. At her questioning look, he grinned and said, “Enhanced senses are part of the package.”
Ronnie should’ve guessed.
“Saffron, she knows what I am. She also knows about you and the other Druids.”
“Why?” was Saffron’s only response.
Arran licked his lips and gave a slight shake of his head to Ronnie. “There’s been a wee problem. I’m going to need to talk to Fallon, so Camdyn, get your arse to the castle. It’s going to take all the Warriors.”
“Shite,” came a male voice.
A baby cried, the sound getting closer over the phone. Ronnie could hear Saffron shushing the infant as Camdyn told her good-bye.
“All right,” Saffron said a moment later. “Ronnie, everything Arran told you is the truth. All of it. I know it may seem … odd, but that’s our lives.”
“Hers as well,” Arran stated.
There was a slight gasp over the phone. “So you are a Druid. Somehow, Ronnie, I’m not surprised.”
Ronnie heard the excitement and acceptance in Saffron’s voice, which made her grin. “We found the manifest of the magical items lost in the shipment from Edinburgh. There appears to be a necklace missing, and Arran thinks that could be the spell.”
Saffron let out a breath. “Thank God.”
“I’ve told Ronnie that the objects here can no’ be found by anyone else. There is magic everywhere, Saffron. I even found a scroll with another spell on it,�
� Arran said.
“I wonder what that other spell does. Regardless, he’s right, Ronnie,” Saffron said. “If you’d battled the evil we had, you wouldn’t think twice about making sure those items are never found again.”
Ronnie glanced at the door. “That’s why this place was built, wasn’t it?” she asked Arran. “It’s why the door was barred? No one was supposed to find this place or be able to get into it.”
Arran gave a single nod, his golden eyes holding a hint of worry.
“I want to know more, but for the moment, trust us,” Saffron said. “Please, Ronnie. If not for me, then for the innocents like my baby girl and everyone else out in the world.”
Ronnie licked her lips, her mind made up. “What do we do with the objects?”
“I’ll handle that,” Arran said.
They disconnected the call, and Arran began to gather up items in his arms.
“There’s no way you’ll be able to get up the rope with all of that.”
He smiled and said, “Watch.”
Ronnie took the rest of the items, including the manifest, before picking up her flashlight and following Arran. As soon as they walked out, the door slammed shut. The boom of the door was loud and final.
She shivered as something ominous snaked down her spine. When she looked back, it was just in time to see Arran bend his legs before he leapt to the top and over the side of earth.
“Well, hell,” she muttered.
It was just a few seconds later that Arran jumped down from the top, his arms now empty. “Everyone still sleeps. Are you ready?”
“I guess,” she said.
The words had barely passed her lips before the wind whooshed around her and she was staring at the food tent. Ronnie looked around to make sure they weren’t seen and handed the items to Arran.
“Don’t get caught. I won’t be able to help you if you’re seen with these.”
“Doona worry. They’ll be gone within the hour.”
Ronnie glanced down at the arch and door. She could have died in there, and probably should have. She’d unleashed who knew what out into the world, but Arran was still beside her, still helping her.
“What now?” she asked.
“Get to your tent and try to rest. I’ve got to call Fallon.”
“Fallon?”
“MacLeod.”
She blinked. “One of the MacLeods?”
“Aye. He’ll come for the items.”
Ronnie laughed. “Not within the hour, depending on how far away he is.”
Arran began to walk, and she hurried to catch up with him.
“Remember when I told you each Warrior has a special power given to them by their god?”
“Ah, no, not really.”
“I might have left that part out. Well, we do. Fallon’s power is teleportation, as you call it. We say jumping.”
She rubbed her eyes with her thumb and forefinger as she took it all in. There was an entire world out there she hadn’t known about. Now that she’d gotten a taste of it, she was curious to know more.
Though she might be frightened, she knew knowledge was power. And she needed that knowledge.
“And what is your power?”
“I have control over ice and snow.”
A glance showed he wasn’t joking. “Wow. And all of you are white when you release your gods?”
“Nay. We each have a different color favored by our gods.”
When he stopped walking, Ronnie found she was in front of her tent. She was beyond exhausted, and her mind was full of everything she’d learned.
“Get inside, Ronnie,” Arran urged softly. “Nothing will happen to you while I’m near.”
And strangely, she believed him.
CHAPTER
SEVENTEEN
Arran waited until Ronnie was inside her tent before he continued to his. He dropped the items he’d taken from Ronnie onto his cot with the others and dialed Fallon.
“About bloody time,” Fallon said as he answered the phone.
Arran rubbed his jaw. His body was still drained from what he’d gone through, but he was recovering. “I had to get Ronnie safe.”
“What happened?”
“She opened the door, and just as I expected, the chamber was full of magical items. I convinced her to allow me to give them to you.”
“There’s something else. I can hear it in your voice. And you told Camdyn to get here.”
Arran dreaded this part. He looked at the box on the bed and clenched his jaw. “Ronnie opened a box. There were … creatures that came out of it.”
“What kind of creatures?”
“I’ve no idea, Fallon. I’ve never seen the like. I didna get to Ronnie in time to stop her from opening the box, and as soon as these things were out, they attacked.”
There was a slight pause before Fallon asked, “Did you kill them?”
“I killed some. Or I thought I did. They’re immortal.”
“Damn. Were you injured?”
Arran frowned and tried to think of how to answer. He didn’t want Fallon to worry, but he didn’t want to lie to his friend either.
“Answer me,” Fallon demanded as he appeared in Arran’s tent.
“Shite!” Arran jumped back when Fallon, along with his brother Lucan, materialized in front of him. “Doona do that!”
Fallon pocketed his phone and stared at Arran with intelligent green eyes. “You took too long to answer. Tell me what happened.”
Lucan glanced around the tent before his gaze turned to the cot. “Did you find the spell?”
“One thing at a time,” Arran said, and raked a hand through his hair as he turned away from the brothers.
He turned back to them with his hands on his hips. “The first thing you should know is that these creatures are verra tall and bony. They have stringy white hair and fangs longer than ours. Their skin is the color of ash, and their blood burns when it comes in contact with our skin. At least it did with mine.”
“Just ours or anyone’s?” Lucan asked, his brow furrowed.
Arran shrugged. “That I doona know. They’re fast, too. But the worst part is … they bit me and drank my blood.”
“Like a damned vampire?” Fallon asked in surprise.
“I guess, but these things were more, Fallon. They were strong, verra strong. I beheaded a few, but even more got out before I could stop them.”
Lucan tugged on one of the small braids at his temple that he’d worn since before his god was unbound. “That means they’re out in the world. Who knows what kind of havoc they can wreak.”
“I’m sorry.” Arran shook his head, angry at himself for not watching Ronnie more closely. “I knew something bad was in that chamber, and I should’ve known Ronnie would try to get in herself.”
Fallon clamped a hand on his shoulder. “You are no’ to blame, my friend. You did all that you could.”
“Aye, you saved Ronnie,” Lucan said.
It should have been enough, but it wasn’t. Arran had said he could handle this mission alone. He’d failed, and by doing so, he’d failed to stop an unknown evil from getting out into the world.
“I know I’m no’ the only Warrior looking for something to kill,” Lucan said with a grin. “Hayden is one who’ll be especially excited we have something to hunt.”
Fallon shook his head with a grin. Then he turned to Arran. “I gather Ronnie now knows what you are?”
“Aye,” Arran answered. “She had no idea she was a Druid. I’ve told her the story, but she has questions.”
Fallon nodded. “Is she afraid of you?”
“A little. She blames herself for the creatures getting out. They targeted her, Fallon. They knew she would open the box.”
Lucan’s green eyes narrowed. “Why are you so sure of that?”
“The prophecy she found.” Arran pulled up the picture with his phone and showed it to the brothers.
Lucan ground his teeth together as Fallon let out a string of curses.
“Ronnie is sure it’s about her,” Arran said. “I agree, but I didna want to worry her.”
“It says she’ll bring about the destruction of the world and that a Warrior must stop her.” Lucan rubbed the back of his neck. “But I’m concerned with the ‘new darkness’ mentioned.”
Fallon put his hands on his hips and stared at the ground. “We were fooled for a year. We thought the evil was gone. Tara was right all along. There can no’ be good without evil.”
“Then who is this new darkness?” Lucan asked.
Arran crossed his arms over his chest. “Ronnie and I will try to find out, just as I’m going to discover what these creatures are.”
“How?” Fallon asked. “You doona even know what to look for.”
“Nay, but we have to start somewhere. I’m no longer needed here. The spell is gone.”
Lucan raised a dark brow. “And Ronnie? Are you willing to leave her?”
Arran met the green gaze of the middle MacLeod brother. “Nay. I doona believe I could even if I wanted to. I’ll have to convince her to come with me. Though that might be difficult with the dig still in progress.”
Arran picked up the hated box and examined it again. “Ronnie said it was like it made her open it. She had planned to take it back to her tent, but before she could, she said it was like she had no control over herself. She saw herself opening it, and then the white dust swirled around her. That dust turned into those creatures.”
“We’re going to have a tough mission on our hands if these things can turn to dust at will,” Lucan said as he rubbed his hand over his jaw.
“There’s magic in the box. We need to know what kind,” Arran said.
Fallon took the box and gathered a few other items. “We’ll inspect each and every one of these objects. As soon as I know about the magic of the box, I’ll call you.”
Arran had known Fallon held off asking about the spell. Saffron must have told him. “Here’s the manifest,” he said, and handed the scroll to Lucan. “Everything was in the chamber save one item. A necklace. The description is written. I believe that’s where the scroll is.”
“Why take only one object?” Lucan asked.
Fallon grunted. “Why hide the rest beneath the ground?”
Lucan eyed the artifacts before he filled his arms. “I doona think we should take these back to the castle.”
