by Donna Grant
Danielle wanted to believe she could protect herself with her magic, but since she knew nothing about Warriors, she wasn’t sure if her magic could stop them or not.
“Please, Ian. I need to reach MacLeod Castle. You know the way. I don’t want to freeze anymore.”
“All right,” he said after a lengthy pause. “I’ll do it.”
Danielle smiled and squeezed the key. “Thank you.”
“Doona thank me yet,” he cautioned. “We’ll be traveling fast, and through harsh weather.”
“I won’t slow you down.”
The doubtful expression on his face told her he believed otherwise. “We leave at first light. The storm should be over by then.”
“I’ll be ready.”
He glanced at her boots. “No’ in those.”
“We’ll have to find a town. There I can buy more suitable clothing and rent us a car.”
“A what?”
Danielle smiled. “Oh, Ian. So much has changed in the four hundred years since you’ve seen the world.”
“Like what?” he asked, and leaned forward.
“The cars I speak of are what we use to get from one place to the next.”
“No’ horses?”
She considered that a moment. “Horses are kept for pleasure, but not as a mode of transportation anymore. There are also airplanes that fly in the sky.”
“That I canno’ believe.”
Danielle laughed. She was getting a lot of pleasure out of trying to shock him.
“Your accent. I hear a bit of brogue in it, but something else as well.”
The smile died on Danielle’s lips. “My father was Scottish. He went to the U.S. on business and fell in love with my mother.”
“The U.S.? What’s that?”
“Another country. The United States of America. Britain had control for a bit, but the U.S. had a revolution in 1776 and kicked Britain’s butt back home.”
“The English always did think they could rule everything,” Ian muttered.
“They controlled a lot of countries for a while.”
“As interesting as that might be, I’d rather learn more about you.”
Danielle picked at her dress. “I’m nothing special, Ian.”
“You’re a Druid. That makes you more than special.”
She wouldn’t tell him how much his words meant to her. She’d never thought herself unique in any way.
“How many Druids do you know?” he asked.
“I only knew of my aunt Josie. Her sister, Aunt Sophie, didn’t have any magic that I knew of.”
“So your father was Scottish and your mother…?”
“American,” Danielle supplied as she recalled the laughter she had shared with her parents. “My father chose to stay in the States once they got married. They had me, and we lived quite happily.”
“Until?”
She looked at Ian and gave a shake of her head. “My parents were killed in a car crash when they went out one night. It took them both. Aunt Sophie came and packed up everything I had and brought me to Scotland.”
“How old were you?”
“Twelve.”
“Such a young age for such an awful tragedy.”
She nodded. “My aunts were good to me. This is my home now. Just as Aunt Sophie told me I would feel one day.”
“Tell me of your magic.”
Danielle was jarred by the quick change of subject. “I’d rather learn more about you. Tell me of your god.”
Ian relaxed against a boulder. “What do you want to know?”
“Everything.”
His chuckle was soft, hoarse. “My god’s name is Farmire. He’s the father of battle.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means he likes battles. I can hear him in my head urging me to join a battle. Or create one.”
“So I gather when you fought the wyrran he was happy.”
“Verra much so.”
“What kind of power do you have?”
“I have the ability to absorb another Warrior’s power and use it as my own for a short amount of time. Duncan used to be able to cancel another Warrior’s power.”
Danielle saw the sadness in Ian’s eyes when he spoke about his brother. “Do you have both powers now?”
“I doona know. I’ve no’ tried to use them.”
“With Duncan gone, it stands to reason that if you got the full rage of your god, you would also get its full power.”
Ian shrugged. “Perhaps.”
“How does it feel to have that power?”
“When I’m fighting Deirdre, the wyrran, or defending others against her, it feels glorious. Knowing I could verra well fall to Farmire makes me wish I never knew any of this.”
“How long have you been a Warrior?”
“I had been a Warrior for two hundred years before I was taken from my time.”
Danielle choked and coughed. “So you’re six centuries old? You didn’t say anything about immortality?”
“We have enhanced speed, hearing, and other abilities as well.”
“Like what?”
“We used to jump from the top of the cliffs at MacLeod Castle to the bottom and back up again.”
Danielle could only imagine how high the cliffs were. Immortality. Time travel. Powers. Warriors. Deirdre. It was almost too much.
“You doona believe anything I’ve told you, do you?” Ian asked, his sherry eyes studying her.
“It’s not that. It’s just so much to take in and believe all at once.”
“Unfortunately, I have a feeling I’ll be proving a lot of it to you on our way to MacLeod Castle.”
“What if Deirdre has gotten to them already?”
Ian started shaking his head before she finished her sentence. “We had fought Deirdre several times at the castle and defeated her each time. We attacked her in her mountain in order to free the youngest MacLeod, and managed to kill her. Only we didn’t realize it was going to take much more than beheading her to end her for good.”
“You beheaded her?”
“Aye.”
He said it so matter-of-factly, as if they were speaking of the weather. “And she didn’t die?”
“Her body died, but no’ her soul. She was able to create another body.”
“I’m beginning to really dislike this woman.”
“She’s no’ a woman, Danielle. She’s a monster.”
“I may have run into her on the street and never known it.”
Ian’s brows drew together. “No’ possible. No’ only would Deirdre have sensed your magic, but you would have known if you’d seen her. She has long white hair that reaches to the ground. She uses it as a weapon, killing and torturing with it. And her eyes are the same white as her hair.”
“White? Was she born that way?”
“It’s the use of the black magic that has turned her hair and eyes white. Believe me, when you see Deirdre, there’s no mistaking who and what she is.”
Danielle shuddered at the thought of meeting up with something so evil. She hoped she would never have such an encounter, but if Ian was correct and Deirdre had brought him forward in time with her then it was inevitable that Deirdre would find him eventually.
When that moment would come was the real question.
CHAPTER
TEN
With his arms crossed and one fist beneath his chin, Declan Wallace stared at the empty cell that had held his greatest prize—Saffron. He hadn’t believed his luck when he had found a Seer.
Saffron had fought him. She hadn’t wanted to accept she was his prisoner. So, he had taken away her sight. That had curbed her need to try and escape every ten minutes.
But it hadn’t stopped her from fighting.
Declan had been raised to never hit a woman. That’s why he had his cousin, and captain, Robbie, do it for him. No matter how many times Robbie hit her, she never stopped struggling.
With no other choice, Declan had had her chained i
n the dungeon. She could have had riches, could have been showered in jewels had Saffron but agreed to help him.
But the interfering MacLeods had somehow found Saffron and freed her.
The fury that welled inside Declan made his vision run red. He would take his vengeance on the MacLeods. He would wipe them from the earth, but first, he would make them suffer. Terribly.
“Declan.”
He turned his head slightly and raised a brow at Robbie. “What is it?”
“More wyrran have been spotted.”
Declan dropped his arms and let out a resigned sigh. He had more than Saffron and the MacLeods to deal with. There was also Deirdre. “She’s gone back to Cairn Toul as I knew she would.”
“Do we go after her?”
“Nay. We lure her to us. She’s been after the MacLeods from the beginning. I’m going to get them, and when I do, Deirdre will come to me.”
Robbie looked down, his jaw tight as he hooked his thumbs in the front pockets of his black fatigues.
“What is it?” Declan demanded.
Robbie’s lips tightened for a moment before he answered. “Declan, I’ve seen your power. I know what you can do. But I also know Deirdre’s magic.”
“You’ve heard about Deirdre’s power,” Declan corrected.
“Same difference. You know how powerful she is.”
Declan rolled his eyes. “Your point, Robbie?”
“If she attacked the MacLeods and was never able to take them, what makes you think you can?”
Declan walked over to his cousin and slapped him on the shoulder. “Is that what your concern is?”
“Aye. We lost several men when the wyrran and Deirdre’s Warriors broke her out of here. We lost more when you tried to take Gwynn and the Warrior Logan. There were additional men lost when we were attacked.”
“Do you fear the MacLeods?”
Robbie’s gaze narrowed. “I’m no’ afraid of anyone.”
“You should be afraid of me,” Declan said as he took a step closer. “I could end you now, cousin. You may be able to find more mercenaries because there are plenty to choose from, but there is only one of me. I captured a Seer. I brought Deirdre forward in time. I can do anything.”
“Then how do we get into MacLeod Castle?”
Declan smiled. “A Druid, of course.”
“Why no’ a Warrior?”
“First, we’d have to find one, and I suspect that will be rather difficult, especially since I doona have the spell to unbind the gods. Second, the MacLeods willna expect a Druid to betray them.”
Robbie chuckled. “I like the plan, Declan. How soon can you find a Druid?”
“Verra soon.”
Declan took one last look at Saffron’s cell and followed Robbie out of the dungeon. Declan needed to focus his attention on finding a Druid.
And he knew just the one he was looking for. One who had no idea of her magic. One who would be easy to mold and manipulate to do exactly what he wanted.
She wouldn’t survive, but then again, Declan didn’t care. All he needed was for her to get into MacLeod Castle and he could do the rest.
* * *
Ian glared at the thick newly fallen snow from the entrance of his cave. Their journey was made even more difficult now.
“Oh,” Danielle murmured as she came to stand beside him. “The snow is deep.”
“Possibly too deep. We should wait another day.”
“Nay.” Her eyes were wide and filled with anxiety. “I need to go now.”
There was something in her voice that drew Ian’s gaze. He watched her carefully, noting how pale her face was. “Are you ill? Do your wounds hurt you?”
He had seen the cut on her forehead, but she had assured him she was all right. Now, he wasn’t so sure.
“I … I’m fine,” Danielle answered. “I just need to get to the MacLeods.”
“I’m no’ taking you anywhere until you tell me what is going on. I’m no’ a fool. I can see that you’re in pain.”
“And I will stay in pain until I get to the MacLeods. It’s part of my magic, Ian.”
That’s when he realized she had no intention of telling him about her magic. “You doona trust me.”
Danielle sighed and leaned against the stone wall. “If I didn’t trust you, I wouldn’t have asked you to take me to the castle.”
“You would if you didna know the way.”
“Why do you want to know what my magic is?”
“Because those people at MacLeod Castle are my family. I willna see them harmed in any way.”
“Oh,” she said softly. “You want to make sure I’m not going to betray them.”
“Aye.”
Danielle looked at the snow and took a deep breath. When she raised her gaze to his, her emerald eyes were open and honest. “I’ll begin by telling you I don’t care for the power my magic gives me.”
“It causes you harm?”
“When I don’t do as it asks.”
Ian was more confused than ever. “Explain.”
She shivered as her fingers rolled something in the pocket of her coat. “I will find something. A scarf, money, a locket, a wallet, anything. Once I see it, the object tells me who its owner is. If I don’t return the object, I feel tremendous pain throughout my body. So, I’m compelled to follow the directions given to me by the object. As long as I am going toward its owner, I won’t feel any pain.”
“You have something that tells you to go to the MacLeods?”
“I do,” she answered.
“Will you no’ tell me what it is?” He knew he was asking a lot. He had no right to ask either, but he wanted to know not just in order to keep those at the castle safe, but because he wanted her to trust him completely.
It was important to him. More important than anything had been in a long, long time.
Lengthy moments passed while Danielle did nothing but look at him. Ian was beginning to think she wouldn’t tell him but then she withdrew her hand from her pocket.
She held her hand out, fist up, and slowly opened her fingers.
Ian kept his gaze on her face until her lips tilted upward in a small smile. Only then did he look down to see a key resting in the middle of her palm.
“I found it the other night. Sometimes I’m able to wait to take the object to its owner. This time, it made me set out immediately in the middle of a storm.”
Ian put one of his hands under hers while with his other he closed her fingers over the key. “Thank you for showing me. It must be verra important for you to need to go to the castle so quickly.”
She took a step toward him, their hands between their bodies. “I wanted you to know I trust you,” she said.
Ian’s body flared to life at her nearness. As if she too felt the desire, the overwhelming need to get closer, her emerald eyes darkened and her lips parted.
He wanted to press his mouth against hers, to sweep his tongue through her luscious lips and taste her sweetness. The need was so great, so powerful, that Ian found his head lowering.
Danielle leaned into him, the pulse at the base of her throat as erratic as her breathing.
How easy it would be to close the small distance and get his first taste of her. How simple it would be to take what she was freely offering.
But then he remembered why he was alone in a cave.
It was Ian who looked away first. When he returned his gaze to Danielle, she had dropped her head and taken a step back. Reluctantly, Ian released her hand.
“I’ll walk in front of you to help move aside the snow,” he said and stepped out of the cave.
He didn’t wait to see if she followed. He knew she would. The snow came up to his thighs it was so thick. He trudged several steps and glanced over his shoulder to find Danielle using the trail he had made.
The sun continued its ascent into the sky while Ian walked onward. He looked behind him every few steps to make sure Danielle was there.
She met his gaze with a dire
ct look every time. She kept her shoulders back and her head high. How she managed to walk in the snow with such heels on her boots he’d never know, but she did it with grace and a skill he couldn’t help but admire.
She did trip a few times, but not once did she fall. Her emerald eyes were bright, and her nose and cheeks red, but she kept pace with him, telling him of this new time he found himself in and all its wonders. And many wars.
They paused at noon to eat some of the leftover meat from the night before and for Danielle to rest. She’d told him she was fine, but he could see the fatigue in the way she held her mouth.
Ian had wanted to rest longer, but Danielle would have none of it. So onward they moved. As the day wore on, Ian was thankful the storms that had wreaked havoc on the mountains in the days and weeks before had seemed to dissipate. At least for a while.
The sun had been bright and the sky a vivid blue with thick clouds rolling past. But with his advanced eyesight, he could see another storm gathering in the distance. If they were lucky they would reach the MacLeods before it hit.
“The sun feels good,” Danielle said.
They had walked most of the day in silence. Ian had been quiet because he couldn’t stop thinking about their near kiss and how her tempting body had felt against his.
He knew it had been a while since he’d had a woman, but the need, the sheer yearning he had to pull her into his arms, was distracting and impossible to ignore.
She seemed content to be with her thoughts, which had suited Ian just fine since he was satisfied recalling how soft her skin had been, how plentiful her curves. And how nicely she had fit against him.
“Aye,” he answered.
She chuckled. “I think you’ve been alone too long. You’ve forgotten how to have a conversation.”
Ian smiled as he kept looking straight ahead. “Aye, but you talk enough for both of us.”
“Oh. Now that was just wrong,” she said in mock horror. “So where are we exactly?”
“We’re in the Monadhliath Mountains.”
“I wonder if we’re close to a village?”
“There used to be one no’ far from here. I’m heading there now in the hopes we can find lodging for the night and something else for you to wear.”
“Why? Is my cocktail dress not fancy enough for a hike through the mountains in the middle of winter?” she asked sweetly.
