Midnight's Warrior

by Donna Grant

  Just as he was about to walk out of the bathroom, he heard his door open and close. There was no feel of Tara’s magic, or any magic period, so he knew it wasn’t one of the Druids.

  But Ramsey wrapped the towel around his hips nonetheless. He stepped into his room to find Arran. Again.

  “This is becoming a habit,” he said with a grin as Arran stared at him. “Do you always know when I’m in the shower?”

  Arran leaned back against the wall and shrugged. “My entrances have always been excellent.”

  Despite the slight smile, Ramsey wasn’t fooled. Arran was in the tower for a reason. “What brings you here this morning?”

  “Fallon wants to see you.”

  “About?” Ramsey prompted.

  Arran glanced at the ground, giving Ramsey an idea that he wasn’t going to like what he heard.

  “Arran,” he urged.

  “Fallon wants to take you to Torrachilty Forest.”

  Ramsey’s mind went blank. His chest felt tight and it was difficult to breathe. Not once in all his immortal centuries had he gone back there.

  “I knew you wouldna like the idea,” Arran said as his arms fell to his sides. “I tried to tell Fallon that last night when they returned, but he thinks if you go there you might learn more about what happened to your people.”

  Ramsey ran a hand through his wet hair that dripped down his back and onto the floor. Many responses came to mind, but as he was known to do, Ramsey let the idea sink in before he made any decisions.

  Yet inside his mind he was screaming, “Nay!”

  “Give me a moment to change,” Ramsey said.

  Arran frowned before he gave a nod and left the tower.

  Ramsey didn’t move as fast as he normally did while he dressed. He kept going back and forth in his mind about returning to the forest. He might find answers, but then again, it could only bring him more pain as well.

  Was it better to not know? To speculate? Or to have the answers and wonder how he could have changed everything if he’d only been there.

  Galen might have discovered that his people had gone out to kill Deirdre, but it never said what had become of those who had left the forest.

  Ramsey could well imagine though. He’d not only been put through many of Deirdre’s tortures, he’d seen—and heard—most of them. She had been ruthless and merciless.

  He grabbed his chest as he realized she could very well have taken their magic as she had done with countless other Druids. The thought left him ill, with an ache in his chest that threatened to devour him whole.

  After pulling on a silver short-sleeved tee that had a dragon on the front mixed with a Celtic design, he raked a hand through his still-damp hair and left the tower.

  As he walked into the great hall his gaze sought out Tara, but she hadn’t made it down yet. Before he could reach the table Fallon and Galen stepped in front of him.

  “A word, please,” Fallon said as he held his hand out toward the hearth and the chairs there.

  Ramsey walked to the hearth and stood before the roaring fire. The heat licked at his skin while he watched the flames devour the wood.

  Behind him he heard a chair squeak as Fallon sat. Ramsey knew Galen well enough to know his old friend remained standing, probably behind one of the other chairs.

  “Arran told me,” Ramsey said before Fallon could speak.

  “And?” Galen asked.

  Ramsey didn’t immediately answer since he hadn’t decided how he felt.

  “You want answers to your people’s disappearance,” Fallon said. “This could give it to you. Frankly, I’m surprised you have no’ returned before now.”

  “Did you want to come back here after the massacre?” Ramsey asked as he turned his head to look at Fallon.

  Fallon’s dark green eyes clouded for a moment. Then he gave a single shake of his head. “But I knew what happened.”

  “Ramsey, all we know is what is written in some book. You know as well as I it could all be wrong,” Galen said.

  It could be, but Ramsey doubted it.

  “Galen thinks you might find something there, and I’m inclined to agree,” Fallon said.

  He understood Fallon’s and Galen’s arguments. They were the same ones he’d used on himself. But the thought of returning to his beloved forest, to walk upon the ground he had trod as a lad seemed inconceivable.

  A warm wave of magic washed over him then, compelling him, luring him. Ramsey lifted his gaze to the stairs to find Tara descending, her eyes locked on his.

  He wanted to go to her, to wrap her in his arms so she could make him forget what Fallon asked. He never had the chance, because as soon as she stepped off the stairs, she headed straight to him.

  “What is it?” she asked when she reached him.

  Ramsey turned to her, unable to do anything else. “Fallon wishes me to return to Torrachilty Forest.”

  “Ah,” she muttered, her face reflecting the understanding that filled her voice. Tara looked at Fallon. “You really think it will help him? Despite how much it’ll hurt him?”

  Fallon looked from Tara to Ramsey and back to Tara. “I do, or I wouldna have asked it. Ramsey, as is every Warrior here, is my brethren. I want to help him.”

  “Ramsey has suppressed his magic for too long,” Galen said. “Magic is a part of who he is. He needs to find it again.”

  Ramsey looked at his friend with new eyes. “You doona think I know who I am?”

  “I think you’ve become someone you think you should be,” Galen responded. “But I doona think you’re the man you were supposed to be.”

  Fallon snorted derisively. “None of us are, Galen. That’s the curse of being a Warrior. I was supposed to lead my clan.”

  “You are leading a clan. Just no’ the MacLeods,” Galen said with a wry smile.

  Ramsey had to admit Galen had a point. But he still wasn’t sure about any of it.

  Tara’s hand rested upon his arm. “I’ve not been back to my family in ten years. I long to go, but I know I can never return. You can go back, Ramsey.”

  Ramsey looked into her clear blue-green eyes, amazed that she was able to look at the world so neatly, and despite everything, find a way to make it suit.

  Ramsey turned to Fallon. “All right.”

  “Good,” Galen said with a smile as he leaned on the back of the chair in front of him.

  Fallon stood. “We need to leave soon. I doona want to be out there too long. I still doona trust Declan. And I willna be able to stay the entire time. I’m taking Larena, Gwynn, and Logan to London to search for the scroll.”

  Ramsey looked about the great hall, a sudden feeling of dread coming over him. “Fallon, I doona think we should all go at once.”

  “Why?” he asked, concern flattening his lips.

  “I doona know. Just a feeling.”

  Galen turned and called out, “Saffron, have you had any visions recently?”

  Saffron shook her head of long, silver-blond hair. “None. Why?”

  “Ramsey has a bad feeling about these trips everyone is taking,” Fallon answered.

  “I just doona think we should all go at once,” Ramsey stated. “If we stagger, then if Declan does strike, we can answer quickly.”

  Fallon shrugged. “I think it’s a good idea. Consider it done.”

  Ramsey felt a little better, but it still didn’t dispel his worry. He looked down at Tara. “I’ll be back soon.”

  “I’ll be here,” she said with a smile.

  Ramsey walked to Galen and Fallon.

  “Fallon hasna been to Torrachilty, and neither have I. So, think of it,” Galen said.

  With Galen’s ability to read someone’s mind, he could see what Ramsey saw, then put that image into Fallon’s mind so Fallon could teleport them. Ramsey let the forest fill his mind as Galen laid his hand upon his head.

  The sounds, the smells.

  And suddenly Ramsey was standing in Torrachilty Forest.

  CHAPTER THIR
TY-FOUR

  Ramsey didn’t move, didn’t breathe as he listened to the lively sounds of the forest. Even in the coldest, darkest winter the forest had always been alive with sounds.

  In the distance he could hear the Black Water River full of salmon as it thundered off the Falls of Rogie. Wind whispered through the trees. Pine and spruce were most prevalent in the forest, but there were also pockets of ash, oak, and birch.

  Ramsey smiled as he heard the claws of a pine marten as it clambered along a tree limb. He could well imagine the dark, silky coat of the sleek animal.

  He couldn’t believe he was back in the forest. His home.

  “Ramsey?” Galen asked.

  Ramsey opened his eyes and drank in the sight of the trees reaching toward the sky, their limbs heavy with snow.

  “I’m all right,” he answered. Though, in truth, he wasn’t sure if he’d just lied to his friends or not.

  Fallon glanced around the area. “How far are we from your village?”

  “No’ far,” Ramsey said. He didn’t say anything more as he turned left and started walking.

  Even after all the centuries he still knew his way blindfolded through the dense forest. So much had changed, yet so much had stayed the same.

  The closer he walked toward the river, the louder the water became. Ramsey paused as he passed a tree and looked down to find a wildcat.

  The animal stared at Ramsey with its pale green eyes. Its coat was of a medium brown color with black stripes, and a small piece was missing off the top of the cat’s left ear.

  Ramsey used to track these cats, which were believed to be the descendants of house cats. They were stealthy creatures, and did remarkably well in any climate and terrain.

  “He’s a fighter,” Galen said with a grin. “You can see it in his eyes.”

  Fallon chuckled. “He’s a Scot. Of course he’s a fighter.”

  Ramsey lifted his gaze before him. Just through the grove of trees ahead and over a small rise was where his village had been located. But he didn’t immediately continue on.

  He’d been too content while looking around the forest and remembering his childhood that it took him a moment to notice the forest.

  “It’s quiet here. Too quiet,” he whispered.

  Fallon’s black claws lengthened from his fingers. “Declan?”

  “Nay,” Galen said with a single shake of his head. “The magic is older.”

  And then Ramsey knew. They were feeling the residual magic from when Deirdre had destroyed his village.

  He didn’t say another word to his friends as he ran through the snow. He needed to reach his village to see it first.

  His heart pounded in his chest as he leaped over a fallen tree and slowed as his village came into view. Ramsey put his hand against a tree and took in the emptiness around him.

  Gone were the cottages, the well-tended gardens, and the pens for the sheep and goats. Nothing remained but the echo of laughter that only he heard.

  “I’m so sorry,” Fallon said softly from behind him.

  Ramsey had expected to find exactly this, but expecting it and actually seeing it were two different things. “I’m tempted to bring Deirdre back from the dead so I can kill her again.”

  Galen snorted. “She’s burning in Hell, but I agree. It doesna seem enough after everything she’s done.”

  Ramsey pushed off the tree and walked to where the middle of the village had been. “This is where I stood, where each male Druid stood, as we were put through test after test. All around,” he said as he pointed in every direction, “were cottages.”

  “What clan claimed these lands?” Fallon asked.

  Ramsey looked at him and smiled. “We did. None dared to cross us.”

  Galen chuckled. “I can well imagine what neighboring clans thought of you. But I’m having a hard time picturing warrior Druids. You trained with swords?”

  “And spears and bows,” Ramsey answered. “Anything that could be used as a weapon. Our magic would penetrate the weapons and make them doubly effective.”

  Fallon whistled. “I’d have loved to have seen your people in battle.”

  Ramsey squatted and shoved aside the snow. He used his claws to dig through the hard ground until they scraped against stone. For the next few moments he moved aside the dirt until one stone showed.

  Ten minutes later and all twenty stones were visible. Each held a carving of a Celtic symbol.

  “I feel their magic,” Galen said, his voice filled with awe.

  Ramsey ran his finger over one of the stones. “These stones tested us, and protected us. They hold powerful magic.”

  “They look ancient,” Fallon commented as he bent and ran a finger over one.

  “They are. Though I have no idea how old, they’ve been passed down through my people for generations too far back to count.”

  “Amazing,” Galen mumbled.

  Ramsey took a deep breath and raised his head. “We shouldna have been defeated. They should have survived.”

  “Anything left would be buried under seven hundred years of soil.” Fallon caught his gaze. “Tell us where to look, Ramsey. Tell us where they might have left something behind for someone to find.”

  Ramsey stood and thought of each elder. “None of the elders would have dared leave anything just anyone could stumble upon. It would have been put somewhere safe, somewhere secluded…”

  He trailed off as his gaze lifted to the hill to his right. “Only once did I wake and follow my father as he went to join the elders. They met at midnight once or twice a year. One time I followed them.”

  “Where?” Fallon asked.

  Ramsey pointed to the hill. “There. Hidden there is an entrance into a cave.”

  Galen started forward. “Let’s get moving then.”

  It took no time to climb the hill as they followed the path that Ramsey remembered. Finding the entrance was another matter entirely.

  “Do you recall where it was?” Fallon asked.

  Ramsey shrugged. “My father later told me that the entrance moved each time.”

  Galen rolled his eyes and said, “Let me guess. The entrance is hidden by magic.”

  “Of course.”

  “Of course,” Galen mimicked sarcastically.

  Fallon let out a sigh. “Can you use your magic, Ramsey?”

  Without a doubt Ramsey knew he could. But did he dare? “I’d rather you both got far enough away from me so I didna harm you.”

  Galen turned on his heel and retreated back down the hill. “Fair enough.”

  Ramsey shook his head at his friend. Only when Fallon had joined Galen did Ramsey look at the steep hill before him. He couldn’t climb any higher. Ramsey would have to work his magic from where he stood.

  He drew in a deep breath and sought out his magic. It swelled within him, filling, flooding him from each fingertip to each toe. He felt alive with the magic inside him.

  Ramsey placed his hand on the slope before him as words from a spell summoning a door fell from his lips. He couldn’t believe he remembered the spell, or why he knew it would work.

  The hill seemed to inhale as his magic passed through his hand into the earth. And then a section of earth slid away to reveal the entrance to the cave.

  His god bellowed excitedly inside him as his magic called him, beckoned him to surrender to it. It would be so easy for Ramsey to give in, to let his magic take him as he’d done when he was younger.

  But he hadn’t had a primeval god inside him then. Ramsey ignored the call of his magic and concentrated on reining it back. Slowly but surely he got command.

  With a sigh, he looked at the opening of the cave and into the darkness within.

  “That was easy,” Galen called from below.

  Ramsey held out his hand, stopping them from venturing forward. “That was too easy,” he muttered to himself.

  He reached out his other hand and was thrown backward as a blast of magic slammed into him. Ramsey caught hold of a tree b
efore he rolled too far down the hill.

  “Ramsey?” Fallon called.

  He glanced at them. “I’m unhurt. Stay there.”

  Ramsey climbed his way back to the cave entrance and glared at it. The spell to get in would cost him much more. Possibly too much more.

  He turned to Fallon and Galen and said, “I need a promise from both of you that if I can no’ get myself under control you’ll do what needs to be done to stop me.”

  The men both nodded, their faces a mixture of concern and dread.

  “If they only knew what could happen they wouldna ask this of me,” Ramsey whispered to himself as he turned back to the cave.

  His fingers itched with the magic inside him, as if it couldn’t wait to get out. Just as he couldn’t wait to release it. He’d always loved using magic. He’d felt more alive, more powerful … more everything with his magic.

  Ramsey took a deep breath and slowly released it as he lifted his hands to the invisible barrier that blocked his way.

  He tried spell after spell, but nothing worked to weaken the barrier. Each time he used his magic it became more and more difficult to pull it back.

  How many more times could he use it before he was taken completely? The idea of it didn’t frighten him as much as it had before, which told him he was fast losing control.

  Ramsey bent over at the waist and rested his hands upon his knees. His head ached from trying to hold back his magic as well as from all the spells running amok inside his brain.

  He held his head with both hands and let out a roar of fury.

  The sound of footsteps rushing up the hill had Ramsey whirling around to face his friends. “Nay!” he bellowed.

  Galen’s brows shot up. “It’s just me, old friend.”

  “Get back.”

  “Look at yourself,” Fallon said.

  Ramsey glanced at his hands to see his skin flickering from normal to bronze and his claws out. He could well imagine his eyes had transformed as well.

  He squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head. “Get back,” he repeated. “Please.”

  Thankfully, Fallon and Galen did as he requested. Ramsey didn’t waste another moment before he faced the cave again. He swallowed and searched his mind until he found the spell he’d hoped not to have to use.