He climbed to his feet, never taking his eyes off her. She stared up at him warily, waiting to see what he would do next. At the moment, Dallan wasn’t sure what that was, still too busy puzzling how she did what she did. “How’d ye learn to hit like that?” He reached up and rubbed his jaw, “Saints, woman, ye’ve the swing of a blacksmith!”
She straightened herself, obviously proud of her achievement. “My father taught me.” Her voice reached into him, pulling and tugging again.
Like before.
He waited a moment, not wanting the odd sensation to stop. But if he didn’t speak, she wouldn’t either. “It seems we ha’ a wee bit o’ a problem, lass.”
She sat even straighter, still looking at him as though ready to hit him again. “I was not aware there was a problem.” She raised an accusing brow. “Until you kissed me, that is.”
Dallan had to fight to keep a straight face. He didn’t want to scowl at her, but laughing wasn’t going to help the situation either. She was frightened, he could see it in her eyes, but not of him. No, it was the situation that scared her. He knew the feeling well. “I wilna hurt ye, lass. I’m here to help.” He slowly sat back on the bench, capturing her in his gaze to hold her, keep her there a while longer. “I’ve come to help get ye back to yer people, yer own kind.”
That got her. Her hands flew to her mouth, her face paled and she acted as though she would be sick, her breaths now short and quick. “I do not believe any of this. None of this can be real. Do you not understand? None of this can be real!”
He leaned toward her. “Aye, little one, ‘tis real. By all that is holy, ‘tis all real. I didna want to believe any o’ it myself, and if I hadna seen with my own eyes one of your own kind… to see what ye are, who ye are…” He took a deep breath and waited before letting it out slowly, giving her a moment to collect herself, the color in her face completely gone now.
Dallan leaned again and inched closer. “M’eudain, listen to me. Yer not safe anymore. There are those that wish ye harm. Let me take ye away from here. Let me take ye back to where ye belong.”
She shuddered twice as he spoke, her reaction out of place. He couldn’t pinpoint what was wrong and began to recognize the first signs of panic in her eyes. Her mouth trembled when she spoke. “Please, I do not know who you are or what you want. I think you had better leave.”
He gripped her in his gaze, purposely fusing them together. Nay, little one. I wilna leave.
She gasped and fell back against the bench’s armrest. “Oh, God.”
Dallan scooted up to her again, one arm across the back of the bench, half around her frame. He left his other arm free, in case he needed to block a dainty yet lethal fist. Talk to me, M’eudain. Talk to me like before.
She slumped slightly unable to break the hold he had on her, and shook her head helplessly.
Try. Please?
She stopped breathing altogether and stared at him, wide-eyed. He knew what she battled with. If she remained silent, it would be easier to discount everything. If she spoke to him in the special way he knew she could, the whole thing would be undeniably real.
Try, M’eudain. Ye can do it. Ye’ve nothing to be afraid of. The people I’m with, they ken who ye are. We’ve come to take ye home. Dinna be afraid, trust me. Ye trusted me before.
She gasped again as her body, against her will, flung itself toward him. He caught and held her gently. She could pull away whenever she wanted.
But at this point, he didn’t want her to.
“It’s awake now. You woke it up. I’m hungry all of a sudden. Oh, God, this can’t be happening!” Shona looked frantically about.
Easy, M’eudain. What’s wrong? Is it yer heart?
She looked up at him, her face locked in total confusion. “My heart?”
He gripped her arms, half-holding, half-supporting her as she began to tremble. Yer heart. It’s yer heart that’s awakened, lass. I ken ye need to eat, to feed it. Zara said ye would need to feed it. But I dinna ken with what. What has helped it before?
She clutched at his arms now, her fingers digging into him. He glanced quickly at her small hands before turning his attention back to her face. By all the Saints, she was as strong as an ox! Her hands were bruising his arms.
“Please, I need Kitty. She knows.” She gripped him even harder.
Where is she? How can I take ye to her?
She looked him right in the eye, sealing them together again. “Kitty…” Her eyes clutched at him with the same helplessness her hands did, gripping him just as hard. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She and Tomy are behind the rose hedge, watching us. I do not know if they can hear anything.
Dallan breathed a sigh of relief and drew her into his arms. Thank God, lass. There ye are. I knew ye could do it. He drew away from her. How can I help?
She took another deep breath. What is happening to us? Why does this happen?
Dallan looked at her with as much understanding as he could muster. Life sometimes isna verra picky as to who it throws to the wind, to watch how they land. We’ve both been tossed, lass. But with luck we’ll land together. It’s as I told ye. I came here to find ye, to take ye back to where ye belong, where the wind first caught ye up and carried ye away. Just as it did to me one day.
Shona stared at him in stunned disbelief, as if her entire life had just been ripped from her hands. Or placed in them for the first time.
He stroked her cheek with the back of a large finger. Ah, lass. I ken how strange this all is for ye. It was for me too, and I wish we had the time ‘twould take for understanding what’s happening to us. But there is no more time. I need to get ye away from here. I need to take ye now.
Her entire face dropped. No!
He got as close to her as possible, offering her his compassion and understanding, the safety of his gaze. Yes. He hooked a finger under her chin and brought her face closer to his. ‘Tis for yer own good. Ye canna survive here any longer, Flower.
The thing which had bound them together in days past flamed anew, drawing them into each other again. Dallan could feel his strength building, as his heart filled with the Maiden’s. He brought his other arm up and wrapped it around her as he cupped her face with one hand, lowering his lips to within a hairsbreadth of her own. We canna fight this, M’eudain. Not either of us. I’ve tried, and I can’t. It is stronger than we are. Let me take ye home with me now. Let me take care o’ yer heart.
Her fingers relaxed their grip and her body slumped again. If Dallan had not been holding her, she would have slid right off the bench. She shook her head in confusion. Please, who are you?
Who am I, M’eudain? Dallan paused, waiting for the words he knew must come. Words the Maiden herself would have to utter in submission to him if she was to survive. He let his eyes bore down into her very core, possessing her, taking full responsibility for her and every aspect of her life. Claiming her.
I am your future, Flower. I am you protection, your love, your life. I am everything to you that is needed, as you shall be for me. Dallan brought his face even closer. I am your Master.
His lips touched hers, leaving no doubt in either of their minds as to the truth of his words. In that moment, during that single, breathless kiss, the Weapons Master and the Maiden recognized each other.
And neither the bonding couple, nor the company hiding a small distance away, not even Tomy noticed the roses bursting into bloom.
Only Kitty took in the entire scene and watched not only the odd glow which seemed to generate around the kissing pair, but also stared in rapt awe as the roses around them bloomed row after row after row…
The Joining
A man will leave his father and mother
And be united to his wife, and the two will
Become one flesh. So they are no longer
Two, but one. Therefore what God has
Joined together, let man not separate.
Mark 10:7-9
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
&n
bsp; “Shona.”
Her father’s voice tugged at her consciousness, pulling her from a breathless wonderland of sensation. She slowly realized the physical contact of the kiss was now broken. The sensational impact, however, was still vibrantly alive.
She couldn’t bring forth the effort to turn her head in her father’s direction, though she knew he stood somewhere behind her waiting for a response. Hazily she wondered why he offered no protest to her recent action as she’d half expected him to. But she was still too lost between the recent moment and two very separate realizations.
First, the little boy in her dreams had indeed grown up. Grown into the man who often skirted the outer reaches of her thoughts. The man who meant protection, life and love. The man now holding her as if they’d never been separated by years and lost realities.
Secondly? Kitty had not raved about first kisses in vain.
She looked up into Dallan’s eyes, now firmly planted on something, someone, behind her. “My father,” she managed to whisper.
Dallan narrowed his eyes slightly and held her tighter. “Aye, Flower, I ken who he is.” He lowered his gaze and offered her a tender look. “And I ken he’s come to fetch ye, no?”
She nodded, not knowing what to say or even think, her mind still half drowned in unfamiliar pleasure. She watched Dallan’s jaw tighten and the small twitch she’d seen displayed in the library yesterday begin its dance. She quickly filed the physical action away: twitch equals concern or trouble. At the moment, she sensed a little of both.
“Shona,” her father said again. “We have to go home now.”
Dallan un-wrapped her from his arms and stood slowly, never taking his eyes from her father. He took one of her hands and pulled her up as well, maneuvering her so she was backed against his chest, his hands on her shoulders, his face bent next to her ear. “I dinna wish to let ye go Flower.” His deep voice reached down into her heart to yank away any thoughts of leaving she might have left. “But I wilna disobey yer father either. Yer not mine yet. I canna let ye go against his wishes.”
She smiled at his words. He knew she didn’t want to go. He also knew what they just shared told her to stay.
Wait a minute, what did he say? “Yer not mine… yet?”
He gave her shoulders a light squeeze and whispered, “Nay, Flower. Not yet. Soon, I hope.”
She took his hands from her shoulders and turned to face him. “What do you mean?”
Dallan glanced to her father, then back, capturing her easily with a fierce gaze. He took her by the arms and pulled her against his tall frame. “I came to find ye, to tell ye…” He lowered his face to hers. “…to take ye home with me, lass. Back to yer own kind.”
“I do not understand you. If all you say is true, how does any of it make me belong to you?”
He closed the distance between them and kissed her gently. Shona’s knees gave way and he had to hold her up. When she opened her eyes he was smiling.
“Ye’ll go back as my wife, lass, or not at all.”
It took a moment for his words to sink in. By the time she gathered her senses he had turned her around again and was leading her by the hand toward her father. They had barely reached him when her mouth decided to start working again.
“What!” She spun on Dallan. “Wife? What do you mean wife?”
Evan jumped slightly, startled by his daughter’s abrupt voice. He squinted at Dallan. “Wife?”
Dallan ignored him and looked right into her eyes, his voice stern. “Wife.”
“Wife!” Shona squeaked.
“Wieeefe!” Rang out in a deep male voice from somewhere behind Evan. He turned but no one was there. When he glanced back to Shona and Dallan, the latter was giving a large hedge twenty yards away a dirty look, sucking air through his nose.
Dallan turned his gaze from the hedge and back on Evan. “She’s not safe.”
Evan straightened himself and cautiously looked over his shoulder in the direction of the hedge. “None of us are.”
“I can protect her.”
“I don’t doubt it!”
“Let me take her.”
“She’s still my responsibility. And until I understand all of this better, she’ll stay with me.”
Shona glanced between Dallan and her father. “Will one of you kindly explain to me what is going on?”
The two men had locked gazes, Dallan still holding one of her hands.
She watched them battle each other in a heated stare for a moment before one of them finally spoke.
“Ye ken why I’m here, d’ye no?”
“I have a pretty good idea.”
Dallan offered the hand he held to the man in front of him. Evan took it and pulled Shona away from the Scot.
“Dad, please. What is going on?” Shona pleaded.
Evan never took his eyes from Dallan’s. “I’ll explain on the way home, sweetheart. Go to the car. I have to speak with this gentleman a moment.” Shona hesitated, her own confusion warring with the fact that no one was going to explain things to her anytime soon. Her earlier annoyance with the situation surged anew. “Why does no one care to tell me what is going on? All I would like to know is if I am crazy or not. Is that really too much to ask?” The sharp sarcasm in her voice was hard to miss.
Dallan threw her an understanding yet stern look. “I ken what ye go through, lass. Och, I’m still suffering through it myself.” His look softened, reaching out to her. Trust me, Flower. ‘Tis no longer safe for ye. Yer father knows that. He also knows he canna protect ye for verra much longer. He’ll ha’ to release ye soon. He’ll ha’ to let me take you.
She took a step back, her hand pulling out of her father’s. This is all real isn’t it?
Aye, lassie, neither of us can deny that fact any longer. Too much has happened to both of us. Too much has passed between us, no?
She said nothing, unable to speak with her voice or her heart, too stunned at the moment to even think.
Yer not crazy, lass. Go with yer Da. Let him take ye home. I’ll come for ye later. I promise.
She slowly backed down the path a few steps in stunned silence, her mind and heart both tangled in a confusing jumble of thought and emotion. She stopped herself as the earlier knowledge of his identity began to hit full force and then walked to where Dallan stood. She looked up into his eyes and searched him with her heart. At last, she let go a moan made up of equal parts rapture and defeat. “You grew up,” was all she could offer.
He hooked a finger under her chin and stroked a cheek with his thumb. “Aye, lass, as did you.” He looked away for a brief moment as if fighting with a troublesome thought. When he gave his gaze back to her it was filled with an all-too-familiar longing. “Go now. I’ll come for ye later.”
She forgot how hard it was to leave him. Belatedly she remembered what she was to give him, reached into the back pocket of her jeans, pulled out the white envelope and handed it to him.
He took it without taking his eyes from hers and placed the envelope into his shirt pocket. That done, he nodded for her to leave.
Very reluctantly, she did.
Shona knew she would have the answers she wanted soon. The question now was how badly did she want them?
* * *
Dallan stood, arms crossed over his chest, Evan Whittard helplessly trapped in his penetrating stare, when the rest of the company emerged from behind their earlier concealment.
Kwaku marched up to the Weapons Master chuckling lightly. “De Maiden, she is willing now, yes?”
Dallan never let up on the piercing glare encompassing his latest victim. “Ye well ken she isna, ye bloody heathen.”
Kwaku merely laughed and spun around to face Kitty and Tomy’s own concealment. He grinned and began a purposeful stride down another path.
John, Lany and Angus approached slowly, all eyes on Evan who still stood chained by Dallan’s stare.
“Eaton?” Lany began as he studied Evan. “Whittard looks sort of glassy eyed.”
Lany let loose a huge grin followed by a whistle.
John continued to smile as he approached the Weapons Master. “Dallan, loosen your hold a little. You’re stronger now. You’ve taken some of the Maiden’s attributes already. You’ll have to let Kwaku and Zara tell you about a few things before we retrieve her.”
Dallan rested his weight on his right foot and released Evan from the mental hold he’d ensnared him in.
Evan’s entire body fell into a slouch as he shook off the after-effects of Dallan’s stare. “What happened?”
“Wow,” Lany began, still studying him. “Dallan can almost lure. And he hasn’t even been joined yet.”
“Preliminary bonding, Lany.” John explained as he stepped over to Evan. “You know why we’re here, sir?”
Evan shook himself again and looked at each man, his eyes finally coming to rest on Dallan. “Tell me you can keep her safe. Promise me.”
Dallan held his body erect, proud, and instantly captured Evan again.
“Easy, Dallan,” John reminded him.
“Ye ken why I’m here, sir. Ye also ken I wilna harm the lass. She’s to be mine, whether ye want it or not. Ye canna change that fact anymore than I can.” He loosened his hold and stepped to where Evan stood. “I’ll take care o’ her and keep her safe. I promise.” He extended his hand to Evan. “And you were right, she liked the wee blossoms.”
“Shona loves flowers, any kind of flower.” He stared at Dallan’s hand with a delayed sort of uncertainty and swallowed. “She doesn’t like sudden loud noises. They scare her. She was always afraid of thunderstorms and hates sirens. She can’t stand the sight of blood… and well…” He looked up into Dallan’s eyes. “She’s a terrible cook.”
Dallan’s firm expression never left his face. “She’ll do as she is. Name yer price.”
Time Masters Book One; The Call (An Urban Fantasy, Time Travel Romance) Page 40
