Dallan suddenly stopped, grabbed a generous portion of John’s shirt and pulled him into a side aisle. “Stay here.”
“Why? What’s going on? You hear something?”
Dallan’s eyes searched furtively yet looked at nothing. “Stay here, John, I’ll be back.”
“Dallan…” John’s voice had gone stern.
Dallan pierced him with a look so full of command John backed into a small book display and broke the hold only by stumbling over several fallen volumes of Shakespeare. By the time he righted himself, Dallan was gone.
* * *
Lany searched the aisle. The Maiden no where to be seen. He bit his lower lip in frustration and fought against the strange fear that pounded him, knowing full well it was not his own. It was the Maiden’s, and for some reason he could feel it.
And if he could feel it, then…
He turned and retraced his steps, anxious now to find Dallan, sure at this point the Scot knew, felt where the Maiden was.
Lany rounded a corner and stopped short. There were people in this section of the library, the first he’d seen all day, and he’d practically run right over one. “Excuse me,” he said as he made to move past the young man blocking his path.
The man glared at him, obviously disturbed Lany had invaded his aisle. He matched Lany’s movements and blocked his way.
Lany stopped and looked at him. Mid-twenties, rich parents, eyes too close together, too much aftershave, vain about his appearance, and probably father of several illegitimate children. In short an ignorant young thug. Through with the assessment and not having time to spare, he again tried to go around him. “I believe I said excuse me.”
“I believe I didn’t hear you.”
Lany’s face went flat, “Oh. Well then…” he shoved him out of the way and began to move past him, more anxious than before.
“I don’t think so,” the thug’s voice called from behind him. Lany was busy ignoring it when his shirt collar was grabbed so hard from behind the top button popped off and flew into a wall of books. Before he had time to react, he was on the floor next to the button with the back of his head against a large volume of poetry. He wasn’t sure which hurt more, his skull or the fact the thug had managed to quietly and expertly land him in the middle of the aisle.
He began to climb to his feet when he was unceremoniously yanked the rest of the way by the hand of a stealthy, prowling, and ready-to-kill, Weapons Master. Lany glared openly.
Dallan remained silent while he glared back, then released the handful of shirt he’d grabbed and moved away to continue his own search.
Lany glanced at the wrinkled material. “Hope Angus didn’t pay much for this thing,” then turned and quickly followed Dallan.
Dallan peered intently around the edge of the aisle, then looked at Lany and brought a finger to his lips before returning his attention to the sounds coming from around the corner.
“Little Bo Peep?” The voice was mocking, dangerous. “Where is your sheep? Send it out to play with us.”
Lany cringed at the words, and took a cautious step forward to stand next to Dallan whose eyes were narrowed to two bright green slits, his jaw tight, nostrils flared. Lany knew he no longer searched. Dallan was on the hunt, stalking his prey, and it wasn’t the Maiden.
“Oh look, a little lost sheep with tender white meat, all for us to devour. Can’t wait to eat this young little sheep, too bad we’ve only an hour.”
Dallan reached his right hand behind him, down the back of his loose sweatshirt, and silently pulled a dirk out from underneath. Lany grimaced. So that’s why Dallan had worn his hair unbound today, he thought to himself—to hide the weapon better. It also explained why he’d wanted to rip the elastic off the sweatshirt last night.
Dallan’s eyes narrowed even further. Lany tapped the Scot on the shoulder and he abruptly turned his head around, eyes intense, brow furrowed in warning.
Lany mouthed the word ‘No’, indicating the dirk with a nod of his head. Dallan remained expressionless and turned his attention back around the corner. Now he heard nothing. Only silence. He began to move.
Lany grabbed him. “Dallan, wait,” he whispered urgently. “This isn’t seventeenth century Scotland. You can’t just kill someone and be on your way.”
“Quiet, man,” Dallan’s voice was low. “She’s running again.”
They both froze and listened intently to the light footsteps fleeing down the next aisle. This section of the library was like a huge maze, the shelves and aisles all connecting in a pattern. The problem was, neither Dallan nor Lany knew it well enough to know where they were, not to mention the Maiden and the unexpected company which lurked nearby.
The footsteps stopped just as another set, heavier, could be heard in another aisle, and yet another. They, whoever they were, had split up to either try to box the Maiden in or simply flush her out into the open.
Dallan took a step forward and Lany again grabbed him and got his face right in the Scot’s ear, albeit on tiptoe. “No killing! If you do we’ll all be in a lot of trouble!”
Dallan turned to face him, narrowed his eyes, flared his nostrils, then spun away. He crept down a side aisle, stopped abruptly, and motioned Lany to do the same. He listened intently, and then looked to Lany, a wicked smile on his face.
Lany glared back and folded his arms across his chest.
Dallan merely winked at the Assistant Councilor as he turned to the wall of books at his left. He brought a hand to the shelf at his own eye level, paused then moved his hand to the shelf below and began to quietly shove books aside.
Lany watched nervously as Dallan reached into the hole he’d created and started pulling books from the shelf in the next aisle over. Comprehension dawning, Lany tiptoed to the opposite end of their aisle to carefully peek around the corner. Sure enough, what must be one of the thugs stood up against the shelves. The young man had a long ponytail that swished every time he moved his head to scan the aisle. He probably waited for the Maiden to come running by.
Lany turned and glanced back into his own aisle. Dallan looked at him, flipped his dirk in the air once and smiled broadly. Lany gulped as quietly as he could and waved his hands frantically. “No blood, no wounding, no killing!” He mouthed.
Lany got an inspiration. “However,” he added, eyebrows arching mischievously, “you can humiliate them.”
Dallan smiled and reached through the hole in the books. Lany gulped and carefully peered around the corner. Thug Number Two’s head was turned away from him at the moment. Lany switched his position and looked back to Dallan, who had his left arm in the hole, the dirk in his right hand poised and ready for use. The Weapons Master’s eyes intent on his prey.
Lany nearly gasped at the audible thud that followed, and prayed no on else heard.
Almost afraid to look, Lany leaned back far enough to see Dallan, dirk still poised in his right hand and what looked like a long piece of hair in his left. The Scot quickly strode past and tossed the severed ponytail at him.
Lany caught the hair, looked at it, glanced at the unconscious form in the next aisle and sighed audibly. He then threw the hair over his shoulder and trotted after Dallan. “Well, that takes care of humiliating that one.”
He continued to mumble under his breath as he sailed around the corner, only to find the same thug that had landed him on the floor earlier staring up into Dallan’s face as he blocked the Scot’s path. Or was it the other way around?
“Out of my way, creep!”
Lany casually leaned against the shelves. Not only was it the other way around, but interesting as well.
Dallan didn’t move.
“I said move out of the way.” There was an audible click of some sort near Thug Number One’s right hip.
The Scot still wasn’t moving.
“Fine then, give me an excuse.” The thug held the knife in front of Dallan’s face threateningly. They were only an arm’s length apart.
Lany couldn’t see the look on Dallan
’s face, but he did see him shrug and calmly move out of the other man’s way.
The thug passed on Dallan’s left and was just about parallel with him when he saw Lany. “You!” he snarled just as Dallan’s right arm flew across his broad chest. One huge fist hit the thug squarely in the face to knock him against the shelves and onto the floor with a thud.
Lany let out a chuckle of triumph, then noticed Dallan had kept moving, continuing the hunt. Once again Lany jogged after him and around another corner. When he finally caught up, Dallan was on one knee at the end of yet another aisle, his head cocked to one side as he listened intently.
Lany stopped to listen as well, and sighed in relief.
“Shona? Shona are you all right? Geez, I’ve been looking all over this place for you! Julia wants you back at your house by two. That gives us just enough time. C’mon, let’s get out of here! I’m starved!” Kitty tugged at Shona’s shirt-sleeve.
Shona looked at her as relief slowly replaced the panic on her face. “Oh, I am glad it is you.” Her voice came out a strangled whisper, barely audible from not having used it practically all day. Instead communicating… no that was impossible.
She pushed away from the books she’d been using for protection and was amazed the men chasing her had twice practically walked right past, not seeing her at all. She should tell Kitty what happened. But no, Kitty wouldn’t listen. Julia said she wouldn’t. Kitty was in love with men, all men. She would never believe it, just like Julia said…
Or would she?
“Little Bo Peep…”
Shona froze, half-turned from the wall of books, as the leader of the three men stepped into the aisle and slowly walked toward them. Kitty looked at him, quickly adjusted her sundress, and smiled warmly.
Shona’s eyes widened at her friend. “Oh, Kitty, n… no.” Her voice was leaving her again. She slumped to the floor, fear pulling her down, making her head swim. She thought she might faint. Why did this happen? What could suddenly make her so helpless? It seemed all they had to do was speak and she was at their mercy. And he was coming closer, Kitty the only thing standing between them.
Oh please, please, wherever you are, please help me.
No answer. It was just as she feared; she had imagined the whole thing. The man was gone, if he ever existed at all, and now she was helpless, with Kitty totally unaware of the danger drawing nearer.
Shona clutched her stomach, the thing suddenly awake and hungry.
“Well, you must be Little Bo Peep,” the man said softly to Kitty as he stopped several yards away.
Kitty began to smile at him when she suddenly noticed Shona on the floor. “Oh my gawsh! Shona, what’s wrong?”
“Tsk, tsk. You’ve got a sick lamb there. I’d better take care of this myself.” He began to slowly walk toward them just as another man came around the far corner into the aisle. The first man turned to the newcomer. “About time,” he began to look at him curiously. “What happened to you?”
The newcomer rubbed the back of his head gingerly and shrugged.
Another man came round the same corner to join them, the left side of his face black, blue and puffy, his left eye swollen completely shut.
The leader gasped with disbelief. “And you?”
The second newcomer shrugged as well.
The leader ignored them both and turned back to his prey. “Don’t worry,” his voice rasped. “We’ll take care of your friend.”
Kitty looked up at them as she kneeled by Shona. “Wha… what do you mean?”
“As a matter of fact,” he said, taking several steps closer, “I think we could take care of you, too.” His face became a leer.
Kitty slowly stood. “I think you ought to leave now. I don’t like your tone of voice.”
He looked to his companions. “Oh, she doesn’t like my tone of voice.”
They each chuckled haphazardly as they took in the sight of the other and grimaced.
“Shut up!” the leader snapped, then turned back to Kitty. “C’mon let’s get out of here and go have ourselves a good time. My friends can take care of your friend, don’t worry.”
Kitty shifted her weight from one foot to the other. “I don’t think so. I think you’d better leave now.”
“No, it’s I that don’t think so, darlin’. When I leave, so will you.”
Kitty glanced quickly to Shona who seemed frozen to the spot, helpless. She suddenly straightened herself and glared at the three hoodlums. “Leave us alone or I’ll… I’ll call the librarian!”
The men laughed. They knew as well as Kitty they were probably the only ones occupying this section of the third floor. One where sound was easily absorbed by the many books…
“And the librarian will call the police, and I’ll sue you for… for harassment.” Kitty swallowed hard, her voice weak as she waited to see what they would do next.
They just kept laughing.
She threw out her next best line of defense. “My father is a very influential man in this city. He’ll see you’re locked up and… and they’ll throw away the key.”
The laughing abruptly stopped. Each man now stood transfixed, staring at her, or rather behind her.
Kitty’s bravery suddenly ignited. “I’ll see you get a life sentence! You’ll never be able to set foot in this place again!”
Lany laughed into one hand as he watched through a space he’d made in a wall of books. The three thugs were just in front of him, beyond them the Maiden and her friend. Beyond them was Dallan, casually leaning against the wall as he picked at his fingernails with his dirk. His eyes, however, conveyed the message he wanted to give: they were narrowed to slits, his stare piercing and very deadly.
The Maiden slowly lifted her head before she threw it back and moaned.
The Call! Now?
Lany saw Dallan’s body jerk slightly in response. He knew he had to be in pain but the Weapons Master stood as solidly as before and continued to glare at the thugs.
Head Thug decided to glare back. Dallan smiled wickedly at him and came away from the wall.
“I swear I’ll tell my father about this and he’ll have you all run out of town!” Kitty blurted, having also caught the thug’s challenge.
Dallan took a step forward and flipped his dirk into the air, catching it by the blade. He now held it poised for flight, his eyes clearly marking the leader’s heart as the primary target.
All three thugs backed up a step. Head Thug quickly glanced at his two companions whose faces were both white, then looked back to Dallan and swallowed hard.
“Yeah, you’d better be scared!” Kitty squeaked. “No one fools around with my dad and stays out of jail long enough to tell about it! Get outta here! Leave us alone!”
Dallan raised the dirk, preparing for the throw.
“And if you’re not out of here by the time I count to three, my mother’s cousin is a judge, and I bet you’ll get him and if you do I’ll see to it he throws the book at you!”
The thug’s eyes all widened.
“One…”
Dallan pulled his arm back.
The three thugs began to turn, their eyes still locked on Dallan.
Dallan’s eyes narrowed further.
“Two…”
All three continued to turn and back up as one.
“Yeah, that’s right! You’re not so tough, are you?” Kitty yelped.
Dallan brought his arm forward quickly to begin the throw…
“Three!” Kitty suddenly blurted at the same time, jumping slightly at them for emphasis.
All three squeaked in alarm and practically tripped over each other as they ran from the aisle.
Lany stifled his laughter as he chastised himself for not having any way to record the whole thing. Cari and the kids would have loved this!
Kitty stood proudly. "Cowards!” She then turned to Shona and stopped short as she noticed Dallan for the first time. He had just returned the unreleased dirk to its hiding spot and leaned against the
wall of books.
“Oh,” Kitty managed to breathe. “It’s you.”
Dallan’s face remained expressionless for a moment before he also looked to Shona and began to move in her direction.
Kitty quickly bent down and pulled Shona into her arms protectively. “Shona,” she began, eyes still fixed on him. “It’s all right, they’re gone. I got rid of them.”
Dallan pressed his lips together tightly as his eyes brightened.
Shona looked up at him as she clutched at Kitty’s arms and both struggled to their feet. “Thank you,” she mouthed silently, her voice still gone.
He took an unconscious step forward, every muscle tense as a warning, the same one from the day before, screamed through his head; don’t touch her! He stopped again, straining against the words, desperately wanting to go to her, yet heed the warning at the same time.
The girls backed up a step as they heard the sound of feet heading straight for them.
Kitty looked frantically about. “Oh, gawsh, Shona, if my dad finds out what went on, he’ll kill me! I bet that’s the librarian!”
Shona ignored her, and instead stared longingly up at Dallan.
“We’ve got to get out of here!” Kitty began to tug on Shona’s arm. If there was one thing capable of tearing Kitty Morgan away from a handsome man, it was the possibility of her father’s wrath. She grabbed Shona’s other arm and proceeded to pull her away.
Shona's gaze was torn from Dallan’s as Kitty dragged her down the aisle, now anxious to leave the library and any possible confrontation that might arise should they be caught and charged with disturbing the peace or being a public nuisance.
Lany watched Dallan fight the urge to follow. His fists opened and closed, his jaw danced and his eyes filled with pain, yet he didn’t take one step. The Maiden quickly disappeared around the corner as he stared after her. For some reason, he never followed.
Lany rolled his eyes then trotted along quietly and caught sight of the girls as they descended the wide staircase leading to the first floor lobby and main exit.
“Lany!”
He’d been so intent on the Maiden he didn’t even see John emerge out of a nearby aisle. He kept moving as he acknowledged his superior. “Dallan’s back there. I’ll take care of the Maiden.”
Time Masters Book One; The Call (An Urban Fantasy, Time Travel Romance) Page 23
