Aegis slipped into the chair opposite hers, pressing his torso forward to pull her attention his way again. Enough with the worship; it was time to refocus her mind on the task at hand. “Listen,” he said, “this is very important. What can you tell us about the Relic? Do you know the verse that will lead us to it?”
Her breath began to come in short bursts as she launched into some sort of panic mode. “I…I told Minach already…the verse says…No. Maybe I shouldn’t tell you…” The young woman looked more confused now than ever, overwhelmed by some conflict tearing her mind in two.
Minach spoke up. “The verse mentions a tower by the sea, and a fortress on a hill. Does that sound familiar to you, Aegis?”
“Not so much.” Aegis kept his eyes locked on the Wolf shifter’s, refusing to let her mind stray too far. His voice had altered, somehow, slowing and deepening as he addressed the young woman. Minach recognized what he was doing; it was an old trick that Lumen had mastered many years ago, but used only rarely to extract information from others. Aegis was charming the other shifter, using his scent, his eyes, his voice to reach into her mind and extract what he wanted from her. He was controlling her Wolf with the Dragon inside him, commanding her with his eyes, his voice, his scent. A subtle form of mind control meant to separate human from déor.
“I think Caitlin knows where the fortress is,” Aegis said softly. “At least her human side does, doesn’t she? Perhaps she could come out and tell us.”
With those words, the colour of the Wolf shifter’s eyes altered almost immediately, her bright blue irises dulling to a shade more human than animal. She shook her head as though trying to bring herself out of a trance, and looked about with fresh eyes at the large men surrounding her.
“There is a word…in Gaelic. It means fort by the sea,” she said. Her voice had turned rough, as though grief had set in once again. The same grief that Minach had observed when he’d first met her, a profound sadness for the loss of her mate. A decidedly human emotion was taking over her mind, fighting back her Wolf’s desire to protect her fragile heart from harm.
“What is the word, Caitlin?” asked Minach. Remorse sat in his gut like a lead weight for pressing the young woman when she was in such a state, but this might be his only chance to get the information he needed so badly. His only chance to escape this blasted place and to get back to London. “Please,” he said, “this could be the clue we’ve been looking for.”
“It’s…” Caitlin let out a long exhale as she let herself surrender at last to the Dragon shifters’ will. “It’s Dundurn.”
Aegis, Minach and Lyre headed outside to meet up with Ashlyn and Trix on the sidewalk just outside the café. Caitlin still sat inside, her eyes fixed straight ahead. The look of wonder had disappeared from her features, replaced by an expression of sadness, her eyes slightly red from the tears that she now fought back. Her Wolf had retreated for a time, her human struggling to maintain her presence long enough to help the others.
“Who’s that?” Ashlyn whispered to Aegis when she peered through the café’s window. “She looks like a shifter.”
“She’s a Wolf,” Aegis said. “That’s our Seeker.”
“Oh, so her mate must have been the one who died. I’m sorry to hear it.”
“Aegis has been working a voodoo mind trick on her to get her to help us with our search for the Relic.”
“Oh?” said Trix, one eyebrow raised high. “Interesting.”
“She’s got it in her head that a certain Dragon shifter should stick around and become her new mate,” Aegis said. “I merely focused her mind elsewhere.”
“It must have upset her. The poor thing looks so sad in there.”
“She is sad, Aegis replied. “But much as I hate to draw her human out, she needs to access her emotions in order to help us. Caitlin’s déor knows that if we get our hands on the Relic, Minach is gone. Her human side, however, wants him to fuck off so that she can mourn in peace. It’s that side that we need right now. I think she’s begun to realize that it’s for the best.”
Ashlyn looked at him admiringly. “You figured that all out in a matter of seconds, you clever thing. I don’t know if I should admire you or be frightened. But I will say this: you’d best not try those tricks to get me to do you sexual favours and the like.”
“I would never,” Aegis retorted. “Besides, I strongly suspect that you’d punch me through a wall if I tried any such thing.”
“Damn right I would. Besides, you don’t need to play with my mind to get me to take off my clothes.” Ashlyn planted a quick kiss on his lips.
“Enough of that talk, you two. You did the right thing, Aegis,” said Minach, getting back to business. “We need more than just the name of the Relic’s location; we need her to bring us to Dundurn and find the stone with her own eyes.” He glanced back into the café. “As much as it pains me to say it, I think we ought to do it sooner rather than later.”
The Relic
“Caitlin,” Minach said softly as he crouched beside her. She was still staring straight ahead, white fingers clasped around the mug that held the dregs of her now cold cider. She turned and looked up at him, her expression utterly changed. Her eyes looked almost fearful, as though she were recalling all that had happened before Minach and Amara’s arrival in Perthewey. Aegis was right; her human had surfaced fully, pushed her Wolf aside.
“What is it?” she asked.
“We need your help. We need you to take us to Dundurn Castle’s ruins.”
“Dundurn, yes.”
“Can you lead the way?”
She nodded slowly. “It’s a bit of a hike, but I can take you, yes.”
“Thank you.” He hardly dared utter another word for fear that she’d change her mind.
Caitlin drew herself out of her seat and stepped towards the door. A mask of ice covered her face, concealing any sign of emotion.
She’s trying to be strong, Minach thought. She knows she’s doing this for the good of the Dragons and for her mate, but all she really wants is to curl up into a ball and forget the world.
I know the feeling all too well.
He followed her out to the street where the others stood in wait. “Caitlin has agreed to guide us,” he told them.
“Thank you so much,” said Ashlyn, who lay a hand on the Wolf shifter’s shoulder in a gesture of support. “You don’t know how important this is.”
“It’s for Duncan. For my mate,” she replied, her voice thin with sorrow. “I know it’s what he would have wanted.” With that she turned away to lead them out of the town’s core.
The walk took them along the main thoroughfare and up a hill at the south end of Perthewey. Moss-covered stones and round, tropical looking plants were interspersed with a well-worn dirt path, no doubt hiked many times over the years by curious tourists.
The ruins of Dundurn were almost half an hour away on foot, and with every step, Minach forced himself to fight off his mounting impatience. Even more than locating the Relic, he was consumed by a desire to see Amara, to speak to her. He hated that they’d parted on less than stellar terms.
But he reminded himself that once Caitlin set the stone into his hands, this could all end. He could head back to London with Amara on his back. Then perhaps they could go back to being friends.
Friends who don’t fuck. Or kiss. Or even touch.
Friends without benefits.
Whatever they were to be, surely it would better than this silent hostility. He found himself missing her more with each minute that passed, with each blade of grass and each wild flower that his eyes took in. Every bit of the beautiful landscape paled in comparison to her incredible eyes. Her lips. Her legs. Every scent seemed weak and thin in contrast to her heady, sexy aroma.
Stop thinking about her. You’ll never have her. Stop.
As they walked, he tried to take his mind off his troubles with small talk.
“Any news on Lumen and Neko’s baby’s name?” he asked Aegis, though such trivial m
atters were certainly the last thing on his mind.
“Not yet. I think they’re both a little preoccupied, what with all that’s happened.”
“Right, of course. Still, I must say that I think Minach would make a fine name. I hope they’re at least considering it.”
“I suppose they might. That is, if they want their boy to form frown lines by the age of seven.”
“Fuck you, anyway, you plonker.”
Lyre, who’d been watching the other two men’s lips move, turned his brother’s way. “My name’s better,” he said out loud. “More concise.”
“You’re named after a sodding musical instrument, Brother,” Minach retorted, smiling with pleasure at hearing his twin’s voice.
“What’s wrong with that? Your name sounds like some kind of unsalted nut,” Trix replied, laughing. “Now stop bickering, you two. There are more babies on the way, remember. Perhaps if you get lucky and stop being such a bastard, Minach, some foolish auntie will name a child after you.” She looked towards Caitlin, who was far ahead by now, leading their hiking party in silence. By now, odd rock formations had begun to crop up ahead of them at the top of a tall hill, and their guide had nearly reached them.
“That looks promising,” said Aegis. “I think we’ve reached our destination.”
When at last they came to the ruins, the shifters wandered among a series of labyrinthine walls, staring up at the strange, dark stones that seemed on the verge of tumbling down on top of them. The place had no doubt once been an enormous castle, but had suffered through countless wars, crumbling to nothing more than a shell of its former self.
Minach watched as Caitlin stepped quietly through the overgrown grasses, her eyes assessing the walls to her left and right. He slipped up next to Trix to whisper in her ear. “Do you think I ought to follow her and make sure she knows what she’s doing?”
Trix shook her head. “No. Let her be. The Seeker has to find her own way. You can’t force this.”
Minach bit his tongue, reminding himself that it would do no good to voice how much he wanted to get this ordeal over and done with. Trix was right, of course. She knew whereof she spoke as well as anyone.
“I’ve heard rumours about this place since I first came to England,” said Ashlyn, whose eyes were focused on the empty window frames towering high overhead. No doubt they’d once held panes of alabaster and stained glass. Even without any contents, they were quite beautiful.
Her mate stood next to her, raising an eyebrow. “Rumours, you say? So you know this was quite the bawdy place.”
“That’s what they say.” Ashlyn winked at him. “Too bad we came here in the wrong century.”
“Oh?” he said. “What have you heard, exactly?”
“About their intriguing sexual practices and so on. Legend holds that many threesomes took place here.”
“Ah, yes, but they were the wrong sort,” her mate replied, chuckling. “Two men with one woman, bah. It’s meant to be the other way around. Much more pleasurable.”
“I seriously beg to differ,” Ashlyn retorted. “Women are literally built for sex with multiple men, whereas your gender has only one appendage.”
Aegis held up his hands and wiggled his fingers. “And what exactly do you think these are for?” he asked.
“Oh, I don’t know. Typing?” His mate grabbed him and pulled him close, laying a kiss on his lips.
“I’d tell you two to get a room,” growled Minach, “except that there aren’t any around here. But perhaps you could do us the honour of waiting until we’ve located the Relic to begin your canoodling?”
“Perhaps,” said Ashlyn, pulling away from Aegis. “For a few minutes. Or seconds.” Surreptitiously she slipped behind him and pinched his backside, laughing when he leapt into the air.
Far towards the other end of the ruins, Trix had been watching Caitlin intently from a distance, sympathetic to her plight. “Are you seeing anything yet?” she asked, slipping forward. She was going against her own advice by speaking up, but the Wolf shifter looked so lost that she could scarcely help herself. “You know what the symbol of Earth looks like, right?”
Caitlin nodded. “Yes, Duncan and I both have—had—it. I know it well. I’m trying to find the Relic, honestly I am. But there are so many stones to look through. It’s a daunting task, to say the least.”
“I know how it feels. If it helps, when I located the Relic of Air, I felt like it called out to me.”
Caitlin stopped in her tracks and turned to face the redheaded Hunter.
“You’re a Seeker?” she asked.
Trix nodded. “Yes. Lyre is a Dragon shifter of the line of Air. I shudder to recall what we went through to find that Relic.” She mustered a smile of encouragement. “The best advice I can offer you is to let your mind empty of everything but thoughts of the symbol of Earth. Try and picture it in as much detail as you can.”
“It’s hard,” Caitlin sighed. “Whenever I try to focus on anything, I can’t help but think of Duncan, and every time I do, I want to call to my Wolf to come out and save me from the agony of it all.” She turned to face Trix, meeting her eyes. “I just want to run away, you know?”
“I know,” Trix said, laying a hand on the other woman’s arm. “I understand perfectly.”
Caitlin offered her a weak smile and stroked a palm over her swollen belly. “There’s this little person to think of, too.”
“When are you due?” Trix asked. The Wolf shifter was about the same size as she was.
“November. So far away, and yet so soon. I don’t know whether to be happy or terrified, to be honest.”
“Same here,” said Trix. “Here’s something to think about: that baby of yours will be marked with the symbol of Earth too, you know. Just like you and Duncan. One day you’ll be able to tell him or her stories of your great heroism in finding the last of the four Relics, and helping the Dragons to come into their power.”
“It’s true, I suppose. Our baby will be half Dragon, the son or daughter of a Kindred.”
Trix took Caitlin’s hands in hers and held them tight. “When thoughts of Duncan make you sad, try to think of your child. He or she will be a part of you, but you’ll also have a part of your mate with you. I know you’ve lost him, but a part of him is very much alive, and you need to remember that. You’re going to love that baby like you never thought you could love anything in this world. You’ll see your mate every day, smiling, speaking, growing and flourishing.”
“You’re right,” sighed Caitlin. “The one joy I have in this world comes to me when I think of what Duncan and I created together.”
“So do something for yourself and hold onto that feeling. Close your eyes for a moment, and picture yourself in November, after your child is born,” said Trix. “Picture yourself holding onto your baby for the first time, and imagine a future where you’re together and happy.”
Trix watched as Caitlin shut her eyes and thought about the child who would soon be running about her legs. A little boy or girl with bright eyes, a strong will, and all sorts of energy. A child marked by the symbol of Earth…
“I can see it,” she said quietly, opening her eyes. She stared up at the wall before her. A moment later she was slipping along its surface, her hands caressing the stones, as Trix followed close behind.
Minach came around the corner, stopping when he spotted the two women advancing slowly, Caitlin’s eyes scanning each stone for the symbol that would reveal itself only to her. He barely dared to breathe as he watched, hoping against hope that the hunt would soon be over. Hoping selfishly to see Amara again, to be able to tell her of their success.
“I’ve got it,” Caitlin said after only a few seconds. Standing on her tiptoes, she reached up for a nondescript bit of rock that protruded slightly from the wall’s surface. She pulled it away, wiping it down with the palm of her hand. After a few seconds, her lip began to tremble, and she turned to hand it to Minach. “Here,” she said. “Please, take it away fr
om me.”
The stone was shaped like a perfect quarter circle, the outline of a mountain range glowing faintly on its surface.
“Amazing,” said Trix, wrapping Caitlin in a warm embrace. “You did it.”
Minach studied the stone. The image on its face perfectly matched the one he’d seen on the Wolf shifter’s belly. The symbol of Earth.
“Thank you, Caitlin,” he said, his tone uncharacteristically sincere and warm. “You don’t know what this means to me—to all of us, and to Duncan and your child as well.”
“You’re welcome,” she replied as she turned away, her voice catching in her chest. “Listen, would it be all right it I went home? I’m very tired.”
“Of course.”
“I’ll walk you back into town if you like,” said Trix.
“No, it’s all right,” the Wolf shifter replied. “I think I’d sooner let my Wolf run loose, if that’s okay with you. I need her right now.”
“Of course,” Trix replied. “Do what you need to do, Seeker.”
Minach stepped towards Caitlin and took her hand in his, but she didn’t turn back to look at him.
“Listen,” he said, “you’re not alone here. The Dragons won’t desert your pack. We’ll see to it that you’re protected. I promise.”
“Thank you, Minach.” He could hear in her voice that her tears had begun to flow once again, but his intolerance for her emotions had finally come to an end. He understood now that she wasn’t weak for crying; if anything, she was braver than he was, letting herself weep for the life she would never have.
He never wept. Instead, he hid behind an angry countenance and a hostile exterior. It was he who was weak.
May your Wolf protect you in absence of a mate, he thought. May you find happiness.
Caitlin shifted into the form of her sleek brown déor and darted down the long slope towards Perthewey and her home. Her duty had been fulfilled. Now, at last, she could return to her quiet house and mourn her mate in peace.
Trix extracted an elegant wooden box from her backpack. She flipped open a small latch and opened the lid, revealing three quarters of a stone circle that lay on a bed of red velvet. Each of the Relics’ symbols glowed faintly under the dull grey of the overhead clouds, awaiting the placement of the fourth. “I’m assuming that you want to assemble them,” she said.
Dragon's Curse: A Dragon Shifter Romance (Dragon Guild Chronicles Book 4) Page 13
