by Donna Grant
He rose and raked a hand through his hair. It was too much. The memories, the questions. He couldn’t take it. He had to leave.
Ian started for the door, but Hayden blocked his path.
“Move.”
Hayden shook his head, his arms crossed over his muscular chest. “Let us help you.”
“Help me?” Ian asked with a snort. “Why were you no’ there to help me when I needed it most? Why were any of you no’ there to bring me back home when I sat cold and alone in that godawful cave?”
CHAPTER
TWENTY
“Because we couldn’t find you,” Ramsey said from the door.
Ian briefly squeezed his eyes shut and turned away from Hayden and Ramsey. He walked to the wall and leaned against it, weary to his soul. Every fiber of his being wanted to believe them, but he knew Broc could find anyone, anywhere.
They could have found him.
“We couldna find you,” Galen repeated. “We tried countless times.”
Broc’s face was resigned as he nodded. “I tried more than any of them realize, Ian. There was something shielding you so I couldna find you, just as I couldna find Deirdre.”
There was no doubt they were telling the truth. Ian had seen the lengths the others had gone to to rescue Quinn from Deirdre. They all would do anything to rescue one of the others. He shouldn’t have doubted them.
That thought had barely formed in his head when he felt new magic. It was faint, barely registering as magic, but it was there.
Ramsey closed the door and stepped to the side to reveal a young woman with short, dark blond hair. “I found a Druid,” Ramsey said.
“Two in one day?” Lucan said. “What are the odds?”
“Slim,” Ian answered uneasily.
Logan nodded. “Verra slim.”
A new Warrior and now this new Druid. What was going on? Ian wondered.
“Kirstin, these are the Warriors I told you about,” Ramsey said.
Fallon gave a shout, and a moment later Larena appeared at the top of the stairs. She hastily took Kirstin up with the others.
And then Ian found Ramsey standing beside him. “You brought a Druid?”
Ian nodded. “Danielle. She has something that could help us.”
“What is it?”
“It is hers to give. I’ll let her decide when to tell everyone.”
Ramsey had always been a man of few words, but he seemed to see so much more with his silver eyes. “We worried you were lost to us forever. It was devastating to lose Duncan, and then you disappeared. Broc figured out you had been transported to the future though.”
Ian looked to where Broc sat to find the Warrior’s eyes on them.
“It was Hell,” Broc admitted. “But I was no’ going to give up searching for you.”
Ian swallowed and glanced away, uneasy with the emotions that rose within him.
Logan shifted in his seat and leaned his elbows on the table. “Ramsey, Camdyn, Arran, and I had the Druids time-travel us to this time as well. We left just hours after you disappeared.”
“We did it to find you,” Camdyn said.
Ian felt like a fool. He dropped his chin to his chest and shook his head. “I didna know.”
“How could you?” Ramsey asked.
Hayden blew out a breath. “We knew you would have all of your god’s power now, and I realize how difficult that can be. We feared.…”
“That I might give in,” Ian finished for him. He looked at the men around the great hall. “I doona have control over him. No’ yet.”
“Which is why you were hiding,” Quinn said.
Fallon rubbed his jaw. “How did you find Danielle?”
“She found me actually.” Ian took a deep breath and told them how he had found Danielle and saved her from the wyrran and from the loch, of Charon, and the attack.
“Charon?” Arran said with a twist of his lips. “You trusted him?”
“He kept guard, Arran. He left his village without protection to drive me and Danielle here. Aye. I trusted him. I trust him. He also told me why he spied on us. I’d have done the same in his shoes.”
“Why did he?” Quinn asked.
Ian wasn’t sure if he should tell them. It was Charon’s tale to tell, and he hadn’t wanted to share it with Ian. But Ian suspected there might be a time when they would need Charon’s help. If the others understood what had motivated Charon, they would ask for his help.
“He had just had his god released and was battling for control, but even then he refused to follow Deirdre. So she put his father in the cell with him. Charon, in his rage, killed his father.”
“Shite,” Ramsey said, his lips flattened.
“Deirdre then threatened to toss every member of his family in with him until he agreed to do as she said.”
“Which was spy on us,” Arran murmured.
Ian nodded. “He did what any of us would have done to protect our families.”
“He should have told us,” Quinn said. “We could have helped him.”
“I asked him to come with me to the castle, but he declined,” Ian said.
“Damn,” Fallon said. “We could have used another Warrior who had experience fighting Deirdre.”
“Especially now that we know she’s found Ian,” Lucan stated.
Ian pushed away from the wall. “She willna get her hands on me again.”
“She killed Duncan to get to you,” Logan said as he gained his feet. “I saw the maliciousness in her eyes, the deadly intent. She knew exactly what she was doing.”
“Why bring me to the future then?” Ian asked.
Galen released a loud sigh. “She didna. Declan Wallace brought her to the future, but she was connected to you because of Duncan’s death. Somehow you were transported with her.”
“Declan Wallace?” Ian repeated the name. “Who is he?”
“A drough who is just as evil as Deirdre,” Logan answered. “I fought against him and nearly died.”
Ian had seen Logan fight. He didn’t think there was anything that could bring the Warrior down. “Impossible.”
“No’ when he has bullets filled with drough blood.”
Ian had seen what bullets could do to wyrran. To have some filled with drough blood would stop a Warrior in his tracks.
“How did you live?” Ian asked.
Logan shrugged. “I still doona know. Gwynn brought me here, and Sonya healed me.”
“It was a damned close thing,” Hayden said wearily.
Galen rubbed his eyes. “We thought we had lost Logan.”
“This has to end,” Ramsey said.
Ian turned his head to the quiet one of the group. Ramsey wasn’t a talker, but when he did talk, everyone tended to listen.
“What do you propose?” Ian asked.
“We need to unlock the Tablet of Orn. Once we do, I think we’ll be able to find where Laria is and awaken her.”
Fallon sat back in his chair and folded his hands atop his stomach. “I wish it were that easy, Ramsey, but you forget. We still need a Druid from Torrichilty Forest.”
There was something in the way Ramsey stood that caught Ian’s attention. It was Ramsey’s stillness, the way the mask of calm he always wore shifted for just a moment. And in that moment, Ian saw resignation in Ramsey’s silver eyes.
“That willna be a problem,” Ramsey said.
“Willna…” Arran shook his head in disbelief. “We’ve been looking in Torrichilty Forest for centuries for a Druid. We have no’ found one yet. Why do you think you can?”
“Do you trust me?” Ramsey asked instead.
There was a chorus of “ayes.”
“Then leave it be for now. You will have the Druid you need to awaken Laria.”
“Do we no’ still need the sword Deirdre got from the burial mound?” Ian asked.
Lucan smiled as everyone else chuckled. “We had four hundred years without her, Ian. We were in that damned mountain of hers every week looking for tha
t sword.”
“So you found it?”
“We found it,” Fallon answered.
Ian pushed away from the wall and crossed his arms over his chest. They had never been this close to awakening Laria before. “Then what are we waiting for?”
“We’re no’ sure if there is another artifact we need to get,” Logan said. “Gwynn found the Tablet of Orn on Eigg, but it’s locked. We have no idea what’s inside.”
Locked. Ian instantly thought of Danielle and her key. That’s what the key was for. The sooner the Tablet was opened, the sooner they could discover what was inside.
And possibly end Deirdre in a matter of days.
Urgency filled him, but he held it in check. Ian hadn’t lied to Ramsey. It was Danielle’s to give, and Danielle’s right to tell the reason that brought her to the castle.
But Ian was going to ask her to tell them soon. The idea of Deirdre being gone once and for all was too tempting.
The fact there was another drough they were going to have to fight made it all the more urgent to get rid of Deirdre soon. If Declan and Deirdre ever joined forces, Ian wasn’t sure he and the others could best them.
Farmire roared inside Ian. He clenched his hands, desperately trying to keep control. Ian had done so well while he had been with Danielle.
He had hoped he was actually gaining ground over his god, but that hope died swiftly and painfully. Ian hadn’t gained any ground. It was simply the battles that had saved him over the last few days.
Which meant he was putting Danielle in danger. Something he had sworn not to do.
He needed to leave, to get away as fast as he could. But he was finally back with his brethren. How could he leave now when they might be fighting Deirdre soon?
Ian looked up at the ceiling, wishing he could have one more night in Danielle’s sweet arms, to feel the heat of her body and the passion in her kiss. To hear her shout his name as she peaked.
It had been the best few days of his life. And he couldn’t believe it was ending.
CHAPTER
TWENTY-ONE
Somewhere in Scotland
Malcolm Monroe had always thought himself a decent man. He’d been a decent man. When he was still mortal.
He’d done what he thought was right and left his clan to be with his cousin Larena after he discovered she was much more than just a woman.
A Warrior.
He could still recall that first time when he’d been just nine summers and he’d seen her transform. Malcolm had been terrified. But he’d also been intrigued and fascinated.
Once Larena had found him spying on her, he’d visited her every day. They had become as close as brother and sister. When he reached manhood and learned she was leaving the clan for Edinburgh Castle to try and find the infamous MacLeods, he’d not hesitated to accompany her.
Not only had Malcolm met the eldest MacLeod, Fallon, but he’d watched his beloved cousin truly smile for the first time on meeting Fallon.
Malcolm had been delighted for her.
Then disaster struck when Deirdre had sent wyrran and Warriors after Larena. Drough blood had been used, and Larena had nearly died. It was only Fallon who had saved her.
But Malcolm hadn’t known that when he saw Fallon disappear with Larena in his arms. Malcolm had promised Larena he’d return to the clan he was expected to lead. He’d vowed to forget about her and the Warriors and most importantly Deirdre.
But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t. He had to know if Larena had survived.
Malcolm had only wanted to see for himself that she was all right. He’d planned to return to his clan straightaway. But Deirdre had sent her Warriors after him.
He could still feel their claws sinking into his skin, into his cartilage and muscle. He could still feel the ease with which the Warriors broke bone after bone in his body.
The pain had been more than he thought he could endure. Despite the Warriors’ obvious advantage, Malcolm was a Highlander, a laird’s son. And he had fought them.
One moment he knew death was coming, and the next he was at MacLeod Castle with Larena beside him. The Druids there had done what they could, but Deirdre’s Warriors had already inflicted their damage.
They might not have killed him as Deirdre instructed, but they ruined him, broke him. There were no more dreams about returning to his clan or illusions of being laird.
What man in his right mind would follow a laird with only one good arm and scars so hideous they could make children cry?
No one.
Malcolm had stayed at MacLeod Castle trying to determine what his future could bring him. He was useless to anyone at the castle. He wasn’t a Warrior, and so couldn’t fight in their battles. He wasn’t a Druid so wouldn’t be coddled and hidden away.
He was … worthless.
Though he’d known it was wrong, Malcolm had walked away from everyone at the castle during one of Deirdre’s attacks. He had to find his way in the world somehow. Somewhere. Some way.
He just never expected it to be with Deirdre.
Not that she had given him much choice when he discovered her standing before him. For the second time in his life, he found himself on his knees, bellows of pain ripped from his throat.
Only this time it wasn’t because Warriors were trying to kill him. It was because Deirdre had unbound his god, a god Larena had known he held within him but hadn’t told him.
Malcolm had wanted to run from Deirdre as fast as he could, but the newness of his god, the rage and the sheer power that ran through his fingertips, was too much.
Deirdre was much more intelligent than Malcolm had ever given her credit for. “Stay with me. Be the leader of my Warriors, and I’ll allow Larena to live,” she had promised him.
Malcolm couldn’t attack her. She was much too powerful for him, and after all Larena had done for him, he wanted to protect her if he could. So he had agreed to Deirdre’s terms.
And became the monster Larena and the others at MacLeod Castle hunted.
Deirdre had done more than release his god. She had made his scars from the attack vanish as well as healed his right arm so he could use it once more.
Yet, when he saw himself in the reflection of a loch, he wasn’t the same man he’d been just a year earlier. He was something different, something cold.
Something evil.
A horn sounded to his right as a car came up behind him while he leisurely walked along the roadside. Now he wasn’t just evil, he was evil that had been transported through time hundreds of years into the future.
It was a world that dazzled him. So much had changed. He had wasted no time in diving into the new culture and language. Thanks to the god within him, he’d caught on very quickly.
Malcolm could see himself with his own flat, sitting on the sofa watching the telly every night. He could see himself fading into the crowds of people in a large city.
A part of him was tempted to run off and do just that. If there was a chance he could do it, he would. But he knew Deirdre would find him. With her black magic, there was very little she couldn’t do.
Malcolm tensed when he sensed a car slowing as it neared him. He glanced over his shoulder to find the window of the sleek red sports car being rolled down. The woman within had stunning black hair and the brightest green eyes he had ever seen.
Before he’d been a Warrior or his body ruined, he’d had his share of women. He’d quite forgotten what it felt like to have a woman smile at him with interest.
“Hello,” she all but purred.
Malcolm might be interested, but he knew better than to bring a woman into his world. It would mean certain death for her. He might have evil inside him, he might work alongside evil, but he wouldn’t kill an innocent.
You’re about to. Nothing gets more innocent than children.
Malcolm inwardly shook his head to clear it. “Hello,” he responded.
“Are you lost?” the woman asked.
He shook his head
and continued walking. He’d hoped the woman would take the hint and go away, but she kept the car rolling slowly beside him.
“Can I give you a ride? It’s rather cold out.”
Malcolm glanced at the sky. It would snow again soon, possibly by nighttime. “I enjoy the weather.”
She laughed. “I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone quite like you. There’s something different about you.”
Malcolm stopped and leaned his hands on the door of her car. “You’re a verra beautiful woman. You shouldna talk to men you doona know.”
“Is that a threat?” she asked, wariness sharpening her gaze.
“Nay. Just an observation. Thank you for the offer, but I enjoy walking.”
He straightened, and the woman took off without another word. Malcolm sighed. He wouldn’t have minded her conversation. Or her body.
But if he had gotten in the car, he’d have arrived in Edinburgh too soon.
He still couldn’t believe he was going to carry out Deirdre’s command to kill a school full of children in order to find a Druid within it. Was Larena’s life worth those of a multitude of children?
Malcolm started walking again. There was no doubt that Larena’s life wasn’t worth more than even one child’s, but if he didn’t carry out Deirdre’s orders she’d send someone else. At least Malcolm would make sure none of the children suffered.
That wasn’t a lot, but it was something. If he’d been the man he used to be, the man who had risked his family’s ire to help Larena, he would be rushing to Edinburgh and the school to try and save the children and the Druid.
But that man was long dead. The man he’d used to be had died, and in his place stood a cold man. A man without emotion.
A man without a soul.
* * *
Danielle puffed her checks and blew out an exhausted breath as she stood in one of the towers overlooking the sea. The day had begun by fighting off wyrran before she had arrived at MacLeod Castle.
But once she was inside the castle, the women had taken over. They had gone over their names with her, and even told her stories of how they’d met their Warriors and came to be at the castle. Even now, recalling the tales of their adventures made her eyes widen.
