by Donna Grant
It took some doing, but she managed to get everything on like it was supposed to be, though she was sure Mina had laid things out in the order to help her.
Elle wished she had a mirror to see herself. The gown was a decent fit, if not a tad too long. The shoes were going to take some getting used to, but all in all, she felt much more comfortable than in her shorts since she was in Medieval England.
She had just finished combing her hair with her fingers when Mina returned.
“That was quick.”
Elle laughed nervously. “I was cold.”
“Do you come from somewhere warm?”
“Blistering hot is more like it,” Elle said.
Mina’s brows drew together. “I cannot imagine.”
“Believe me, it’s better than this cold.”
Mina laughed and took Elle’s hand. “Come. Roderick grows impatient.”
Just the sound of his name sent a shiver through her. Elle tried to tell herself the kiss meant nothing, but the fact was, it had rocked her world. Literally. There hadn’t been fireworks, but there had definitely been something that had moved deep within her, soul scorching in its intensity.
She followed Mina’s graceful form down the stairs to the great hall where all three men sat at the dais. Val and Hugh were deep in conversation, but Roderick, his feet propped up on the table stared off into the distance.
It wasn’t until Elle had nearly reached him that he turned his head towards her.
Had it been her imagination or had he looked happy to see her? All three men rose to their feet at her and Mina’s approach. Mina went to Hugh and sat beside him while Roderick pulled out a chair between him and Val. Elle took the chair and smiled her thanks at him.
“How fare you, Elle?” Hugh asked.
“I will be fine.”
“Good.” He took a deep breath. “I will get on with my story first since I know Val and Roderick wish to know the details.”
“Here, Elle,” Mina said as she handed her a goblet.
Elle took it and looked inside to see what looked like water. Thankfully when she tasted it, that’s what it was. She wasn’t sure about the Medieval wine, mead, or ale they had. Sticking with water seemed the safest bet.
“As I already told Val and Roderick. We lost a Shield,” Hugh continued.
Elle nodded sadly. She glanced at Roderick and Val to see their distressed expressions. “Darrick. Mina told me.”
“Cole and Gabriel were sent on another mission as soon as we killed the gargoyle.”
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Elle froze. A gargoyle? Those things weren’t supposed to be real. Only in the comics and cartoons did gargoyles come to life.
Hugh looked at Mina. “I couldn’t leave.
“We had fallen in love,” Mina finished for Hugh. “Aimery offered Hugh the best of both worlds. He is still a Shield who could be called upon if needed.”
“However, I would normally be used to house Shields that needed time to heal or rest,” Hugh said.
Elle looked at Val and Roderick, but neither man said anything. She leaned forward and smiled at Mina and Hugh. “That was very nice of Aimery to offer you a solution after years of service.”
When Roderick still didn’t say anything, she kicked both him and Val under the table.
“Owww,” Val yelped.
“What is it?” Mina asked.
Elle glared at Val, daring him to tell Mina what she had done. Apparently, Val thought better of it.
“Just a sore leg,” he murmured.
Roderick leaned foreword until his forearms rested on the table. Elle’s kick had barely grazed him, and though he knew he should say something, he didn’t know what.
The truth was, he wasn’t happy about losing Hugh.
“We’re pleased for you, Hugh,” Roderick finally said. “Sad to lose you in the field but happy to see you have found love and a life that suits you.”
He felt Elle’s eyes on him. Ever since she had come to the hall, he had tried his best not to stare at her, but it was becoming increasingly more difficult. Seeing her garbed in the dress of the time did something to him. No complaints had she uttered, and she looked as if she had been born into those clothes.
Finally, he turned and looked at Elle. She gave him a half smile that brought a surge of emotions he hadn’t explored after learning of Darrick’s death. He couldn’t think of Darrick right now, he needed to focus on what was ahead of them.
“Now,” Hugh said after he cleared his throat. “Why don’t you tell me what happened to bring you three here?”
Roderick turned his eyes to Hugh. “Harpies.”
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Chapter Sixteen
“What?” Hugh bellowed.
Roderick nodded. “Three of them.”
Hugh ran a hand down his face. “Three? We’ve never faced more than one at a time.”
“At least we’ve lost them for awhile.”
“Don’t count on it,” Val said.
Roderick look at his friend. “Why? What happened?”
“After they knocked Elle out of your arms and you two fell into the time tunnel, I saw the harpies return for Alex, grab the necklace, and find a tunnel themselves.”
Roderick rose to his feet and paced in front of the table. “They would only venture into the tunnel if they knew where we were.”
“Exactly,” Val agreed. “I expect them to show themselves at any moment.”
Roderick glanced at Hugh and Mina and knew he couldn’t put them in danger.
“We need to leave.”
“I’ll get my stuff,” Elle said as she rose to her feet.
“Nay,” Hugh and Mina said in unison as they stood.
“You’re better off making a stand against the harpies here,” Hugh said.
Roderick shook his head. “I cannot put the two of you in danger.”
“This is what I agreed to when I decided to stay,” Hugh argued. “Mina and I have been preparing for something like this.”
“It’s more than just the both of you. There is an entire village full of people that will be put in danger.”
Hugh smiled. “After dealing with the gargoyle and the prospect of future occurrences, we had each cottager dig a chamber below them to hide in. There is food and water in each that is changed out each month and will last them a week.”
“Trust me, Hugh,” Val said. “These harpies are nothing like the gargoyle.”
Hugh stared hard at Val. “We will find a way to kill them just as we did the gargoyle and the many other creatures we have faced.”
Roderick knew he should take Val and Elle and leave, but making a stand at Stone Crest was a good idea. He turned to Val. “What do you think?”
Val thought about it a moment, then raised his eyes to Roderick. “We stay and prepare for them.”
“Elle?” Roderick asked. Since her life was also at stake, it was only right that he ask her opinion as well.
“Personally, I would rather never see them again, but if they’re coming for us, then I agree with Val.”
Roderick sighed. “All right.” He resumed his seat, as did the others.
Hugh was the first to break the silence. “Why did they follow you?” he asked A KIND OF MAGIC
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Roderick.
“They
want
Elle.”
All eyes turned to the woman beside him. She shifted uncomfortably in her chair and glanced at him. He wanted to reassure her, but in truth, he couldn’t. There weren’t reassurances in this battle.
“Why?” Hugh finally asked.
“We not only found the stone and the creature while we were in the twenty-first century, but we also found Elle. She bears the mark Aimery told us about.”
“You do?” Mina asked breathlessly to Elle.
Elle slowly nodded her head.
“So do I.”
Roderick watched the excitement register on Elle’s face. Two of the five women had been found. It was amazing, but he wasn’t going to question it. He was just glad that two had been found.
“We will talk later,” Mina said, a huge smile on her face, “once everything has been decided here.”
Elle nodded and turned to Roderick, her eyes bright with happiness.
“Do you think the stone was sent to Houston because of Elle?” Hugh asked.
“I don’t know,” Val said. “I hadn’t thought of that. How could they know where the women are if the Fae cannot?”
“Now that’s a question I would like answered,” Roderick said. “It is very plausible that they might know the locations of the women, but to actually become close to them?”
“What do you mean?” Hugh asked.
“I had the necklace in my hand,” Elle said quietly, her eyes downcast at her folded hands.
“Necklace?
What necklace?”
Roderick took pity on Hugh. “The blue stone was put into a necklace that Elle’s friend stole from a man to give to Elle.”
“Jennifer didn’t know what it was,” Elle said in defense of her friend. “She paid for it with her life.”
“I’m sorry for your friend,” Hugh said gently. He lifted his eyes to Roderick and Val. “Why didn’t you two destroy the stone when you had the chance?”
Again Elle spoke. “I wouldn’t let them. At the time I still wasn’t sure about everything I had been told. I asked for one night to think about it. When I woke up the next morning, Jennifer had come and taken the necklace to give it back to Alex.”
“The man who controlled the harpies,” Val supplied for Hugh when Hugh frowned at Alex’s name.
“You shouldn’t have given her time,” Hugh said.
“It was her necklace given to her as a gift by a friend, Hugh,” Roderick said in Elle’s defense. “We had the stone, we had Elle. I thought one night would be enough time for Elle to come to grips with all she had been told.”
Roderick held Hugh’s gaze, daring him to say more on the matter.
“Fair enough,” Hugh said when Mina touched his arm.
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Roderick relaxed against the back of his chair. “The harpies want to kill Elle, and I’m assuming any other women that came from her realm.”
“Then we keep her and Mina safe at all costs,” Hugh said.
Val nodded. “Roderick lost his weapons when the harpy threw him over the building.”
“You know where the armory is,” Hugh said. “Take what you need until Aimery supplies you with new weapons.”
Roderick nodded. “My thanks.”
“What else do you need?”
Val snorted. “A plan.”
“What about what we used for the gargoyle?” Mina asked Hugh. She turned to Roderick and Val. “We cut a tree and shaped it into a large spear, then pulled it back amidst trees. When the gargoyle set off the trap, the tree impaled him.”
Val shook his head. “The harpy’s wings are made of metal.”
“And when I cut one, she healed instantly,” Roderick added.
Hugh shook his head. “Just as the gargoyle did.”
“Then how did you kill it?” Elle asked.
Mina smiled. “We had to wait until he was asleep, and then we pushed him over the side of the old monastery, and he smashed to bits.”
“Too bad the harpies don’t turn to stone,” Elle grumbled.
Roderick thought the same thing. He shifted and grimaced as his arm pulled. He needed the shoulder put in place soon.
“By the gods,” Val roared as he jumped to his feet. “You still haven’t seen to that?”
“Seen to what?” Elle asked Val, then turned to Roderick. “What haven’t you seen to?”
“He’s injured,” Val answered her. “His shoulder is out of joint.”
By Elle’s horrified expression, Roderick knew she was thinking of him carrying her. He wanted to explain that it didn’t hurt, but he had a feeling she wouldn’t believe him.
“I wish Gabriel were here,” Val said as he went to Roderick.
Roderick jumped from his seat. “There is nothing Gabriel could do that I cannot do myself. His herbs cannot put the joint back in place.”
“Then I will.”
There was no way he was letting anyone do it but himself. “Nay, Val. I will see it done.”
He walked to one of the stone pillars, closed his eyes, and gritted his teeth from the pain he knew would come. After several deep breaths, he opened his eyes, reared his shoulder back, and slammed it into the pillar.
The first hit put it back into place, but the pain brought him to his knees. Small hands touched his face, and when he opened his eyes it was to see Elle kneeling beside him.
Sweat poured from his face, and his body shook from the exertion it took not to cry out. His breathing was labored, and the pain put a dull haze around him. Now was A KIND OF MAGIC
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when he needed one of Gabriel’s foul tasting concoctions.
“What do you need?” Elle asked.
You.
He shook his head and leaned half against the pillar and half against her.
“He needs a bed,” Hugh said as he and Val walked up.
Roderick wanted to shake them off as they took hold of him, but his strength was depleted. Hugh took Roderick’s good arm and looped it over his shoulder to support his weight. Roderick kept his injured arm against him while Val carefully took hold of him to help Hugh carry Roderick up the stairs.
It wasn’t long after Roderick was laid on the bed that something was pressed to his lips. The smell alone nearly made him gag. There was no mistaking one of Gabriel’s mixtures.
“Gabriel left me a few things as well as instructions,” Hugh said. “Now drink.”
Roderick wanted to say nay, but he knew after drinking the awful brew he would be almost back to normal with very little pain. He took the goblet in his good hand and drained the contents.
Sleep pulled at him, but he tried to keep his eyes open. Elle walked to him and laid a hand on his arm.
“Sleep,
Roderick.”
“I’ll see her safe,” Val said from beside her.
Roderick trusted Val with his life, but he had made a promise to Elle. How could he keep that promise if he was asleep?
Despite what he wanted, the medicine didn’t give him a choice. He tried once more to stay awake, but the darkness pulled him under.
Elle sighed when Roderick gave in and slept. She had been worried he would continue to fight it. “Will he be all right?”
Val nodded. “He’s immortal, Elle. There is only one thing that can kill him. He can get injured, and he might suffer some pain, but he will be fine.”
“I know. I just needed you to say it.”
Val chuckled and turned to leave the room. She looked at Mina and Hugh. Hugh stared down at Roderick as if deep in thought.
“Thank
you.”
He raised his eyes to her. “For what?”
“For opening your home to us. I’m a stranger who didn’t destroy the stone when I had the chance.”
“If Roderick trusts you, then I trust you. We have been together so long that the men under my command are more like brothers than my soldiers.”
“From the way I heard Roderick speak about you, he felt the same way.”
Hugh smiled. “Thank you for that. I never thought to see either of them again, especially not this soon. Come,” he said. “Let us go below and eat.”
“What about Roderick?” Elle was loath to leave him. He might need her.
“When he wakes, he will be virtually as good as before he hurt his arm. Gabriel’s mixtures are magical I think. No one knows what the herbs are, or where he gathers them. They have saved each of us on more than one occasi
on.”
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Still Elle didn’t move.
“You need your strength as well,” Mina said. “We have a long night ahead of us planning for the harpies. Let us get some rest before then.”
