by Grant, Donna
Laughter sounded around the table once again. Until Broc got to his feet slowly, his face lined with anger … and unease. The entire great hall stopped and looked at him.
“I can no’ locate Malcolm either,” Broc stated tersely.
As one, Lucan and Quinn stood. The other Warriors quickly followed. Gwynn closed her laptop. Evangeline, the Web site, and the hacker would have to wait. For now, Malcolm was their priority.
“Can you still no’ find Wallace?” Hayden asked.
Broc shook his head of long blond hair. “He’s hidden from me as always. I doona have a good feeling about this. Any of this.”
“Me neither,” Logan said and reached across the table for Gwynn’s hand.
She gave it a squeeze before he walked away with the other Warriors. When the men were gone to find Larena and Fallon, the Druids gathered at the table.
“What are we thinking?” Tara asked.
Sonya smoothed a hand down her face, her short red curls a riot around her. “I wish I knew.”
“I think we prepare,” Cara said. “It’s all we can do right now.”
Isla’s ice-blue eyes narrowed. “Whether it is Jason who is stopping Broc from seeing Malcolm or Evangeline, we will be doing something about it. If it’s Jason, then there will be another battle.”
“And if it’s someone else?” Ronnie asked.
Gwynn smiled coldly. “They’ll never know what hit them.”
* * *
Evie sat in the front seat of the stolen car and kept hoping and praying that no one found them as she gazed at the early morning sky still a muted gray. Her magic stirred, dark and tempting, and she tried not to dwell on the fact that she was drough. She expected to feel like a superhero after receiving the type of powerful magic Malcolm spoke of. She did feel different, just not in a good way.
It had to be the shock. Why did she feel as if she had been duped, conned, hoodwinked into becoming drough?
“Who came up with that word, I wonder?” Malcolm said.
Evie looked at him with a frown. “What word?”
“Hoodwinked. It’s rather a silly word for such a serious definition.”
She blinked at him as he glanced at her. “Did I say that last bit out loud?”
He gave a single nod.
“I’m losing my mind.” She rubbed her palms on her thighs and wondered if someone could know they were going insane.
“You’re no’ going daft. You’ve just had a rough morning.”
“Rough? It’s the mother of all bombshells, Malcolm. I feel this awful and powerful magic within me. I can’t wait to use it on the bastards who threaten my brother. And I can’t wrap my head around the fact that I’m going to Hell and Satan now owns my soul.”
She drew in a ragged breath when his hand reached over and took hers.
“First things first,” he said. “We’re going to get Brian. Then I’m going to discover who took him.”
“I want to know who it is.”
“Nay. Let me deal with them.”
Evie turned her hand over and laced her fingers with his. “Why? Because you think your soul is already lost?”
“I know it is. There’s no need to dirty yours.”
“Decisions, remember? You told me they were mine to make.”
A muscle ticked in his jaw as he steered around a corner in the road. “Evie, please. You’ll no’ survive the weight of taking another’s life on your conscience.”
“And you don’t need another life to add to the ones you carry.”
She studied his profile for several minutes as he drove in silence. Evie wasn’t foolish enough to believe she’d won the argument. Malcolm was a Highlander in every sense of the word. He would do everything in his power to keep her from anything bad.
“We have hours before we’re to meet. Why are we going so early?” she asked.
“I want to have a look around. I need to know all that exists and what to expect if there’s a large crowd or no’.”
“I won’t allow them to take me.”
His faced hardened as he glanced at her. “Nay, they willna take you. I’ll no’ permit it.”
She couldn’t help but grin. “You have all the answers, don’t you?”
“I doona. I’m just trying to keep you and Brian safe.”
Evie looked out her window surprised to see the storm clouds were drifting away. “If they’ve hurt Brian, I’m not sure what I’m going to do.”
“One thing at a time.”
Her mind drifted, the passing scenery became a blur. Evie had no idea how long she sat there lamenting the fact she was now evil.
She started when he put the car in park and she found them outside of a quaint inn. With her stomach in knots, Evie opened the door and stepped into the cool air.
In no time at all, Malcolm had secured them a room. He left her to find breakfast and ordered her to relax. When he refused to leave the room until she was lying on the bed, she had no choice but to do as he wanted.
“I’m not tired,” she argued. Not that it did any good.
Malcolm was as stubborn as they came.
CHAPTER
TWENTY-NINE
Malcolm sat by the bed and watched Evie slumbering. He’d purposefully left her alone in the hopes that exhaustion would win out and she would sleep.
He spent the last hour and a half scoping out Urquhart Castle. Malcolm wasn’t sure why the kidnappers wanted to meet at that particular castle. Or why a castle at all.
As a visitor, there was only one way in and out of the castle. He found three more points of entry used by the staff that worked at the ancient castle.
But as a Warrior, there were infinite ways he could gain access.
Malcolm held his mobile in his hand and debated about calling in reinforcements. His finger hovered over Phelan’s number before he changed his mind at the last minute and dialed another.
The phone rang three times before a perturbed voice answered, “This had better be good, Warrior.”
“Are you up for some action in saving a lad, helping a damsel, and possibly keeping hundreds of innocents alive?”
“Where are you?” Guy demanded.
Malcolm let out a breath he’d been holding. After the way he’d dismissed Guy the last time, he hadn’t been sure the Dragon King would help. “Loch Ness.”
“Who is it?” Malcolm heard Elena’s sleepy voice through the phone.
“I’ll be there in fifteen minutes,” Guy said and ended the call.
Malcolm set down his mobile and glanced at the sky. The sun would be up in less than an hour. The darkness would give Guy the cover he needed if he was arriving in dragon form.
He left the small room and walked outside the hotel to await Guy. Malcolm stood looking over the loch for several minutes just watching the way the deep, dark water moved. Memories of the first time he’d seen the loch washed over him.
His parents had gone to visit friends, and Malcolm had been allowed to tag along. The loch had been as dark and impressive then as it was now.
While they rode along the water’s edge in the carriage, his father had told him stories of a giant beast that was believed to live in the loch. The memory was a pleasant one.
“You’re smiling. That’s a good sign, aye?”
Malcolm cleared his throat and looked over his shoulder to see Guy buttoning a shirt that barely fit over his large chest. Malcolm raised a brow when he took notice of the jeans bunched around his hips by the belt that held them in place.
Guy gave him a droll look. “It’s no’ like I can carry my own clothes while in dragon form. I had to make do.”
“Obviously.” Malcolm glanced away. “I didna think you’d come.”
It was Guy’s turn to lift a brow. “I said I’d be here. I doona go back on my word.”
“Aye. I’m just … surprised you came.”
Guy came to stand beside him and sighed. “We all do idiotic things. I meant it when I said to let me know if you needed
anything. I’m glad you took me up on the offer. So, tell me why I’m here.”
Malcolm parted his lips when the sound of a motor approaching halted him. He turned and saw a red Ferrari FF pulling to a stop. The doors opened, and two men stepped out.
“I thought we might need reinforcements,” Guy said. “Since you contacted me, I had a feeling you didna call the other Warriors. And more eyes are always better.”
Malcolm nodded to the dark-haired Dragon King. “Rhys.”
“Malcolm,” Rhys replied with a lopsided smirk. “I was glad to get Guy’s call. I’ve been a bit … well, let’s just say bored.”
“You’re always bored,” Hal said as he stepped around Rhys and held out his hand to Malcolm. “Good to see you again.”
Malcolm shook his hand and met Hal’s moonlight blue eyes. “I wasna expecting the two of you.”
“Someone has to keep Rhys in line,” Hal said as he cut his eyes to a smiling Rhys. “Banan was otherwise occupied, so I volunteered. Cassie is a bit irritated with me at the moment anyway.”
Guy chuckled. “What now?” Hal refused to answer, which only made Guy laugh harder. “You might as well tell me because Cassie will tell Elena, and I’ll find out anyway.”
“Let’s just say I lost my cool with her wanker of a brother.”
Malcolm watched the exchange with interest. The camaraderie between the Kings was very much like the Warriors, and it made him long to return to MacLeod Castle.
“Tell us why we’re here,” Rhys urged.
Malcolm looked at the hotel and the window to Evie’s room. “I met an unusual Druid. She was under the impression there might no’ be any more of her kind so she set up a site hoping to find others. She did.”
Guy crossed his arms over his chest as he widened his stance. “It isna Wallace, is it?”
“I can no’ know for sure. She’s been exchanging e-mails with a person who calls himself by the letter J. I doona believe in coincidence. To make matters worse, Evie’s brother was kidnapped.”
“Bloody hell,” Hal muttered.
“There’s more.” Malcolm ran a hand through his hair. “Brian is mute, and Evie’s been his guardian and only family since she was eighteen and he a small lad.”
Rhys’s lips flattened. “Let me guess. This J told her how he could help.”
“In a manner. He told her how she could strengthen her magic by going to a stone circle and performing a ceremony.”
Guy followed Malcolm’s gaze to the inn. “She’s drough?”
“She wasna until a few hours ago,” Malcolm said. “She couldna leave Brian in the kidnappers’ hands, nor can she turn over what the kidnappers want.”
“Which is?” Rhys asked.
“A necklace that holds a spell her family has been protecting for generations. They even stopped passing down the information on the spell, so she doesna know what she’s protecting. Only that it could be dangerous in the wrong hands.”
Guy rocked back on his heels. “So she chose to become drough.”
Hal shook his head and stuffed his hands in the front pockets of his jeans. “It has to be Wallace.”
“My thoughts exactly.” Malcolm’s skin felt too tight over his body as he itched to take his anger out on Jason Wallace. “I suspect Wallace is involved in the kidnapping, and I also believe he wants the necklace Evie has.”
Guy’s hands fell to his sides as he frowned. “This just gets better and better. Anything else?”
“The kidnappers want to trade Brian for the necklace at noon today at the castle,” Malcolm said and pointed to Urquhart.
Hal clapped his hands together and nodded. “It looks like we’ll get to play the part of tourists.”
“No’ all of us,” Guy said. “Two out in the open. Two hidden.”
Malcolm grinned at the Kings. “Aye. I’ve already had an up-close look at the castle an hour ago.”
“Sun’s coming up,” Rhys said. “There willna be time for us to have a look.”
Malcolm squatted in the loose rocks and grabbed a thin stick. “No need. Rhys, I want you here,” he said as he drew a quick diagram of the castle layout and put a stone in the tower. Next he put a stone on the east side by the castle wall. “Hal, that’s you.”
“And me?” Guy asked.
Malcolm put a stone in the courtyard. “Here. I want you as close to Evie as possible.”
“Why are you no’ taking that position?” Rhys asked.
Hal bent over to look at the sketch. “Because he fears what he might do to the kidnappers.”
Malcolm blew out a breath and stood. “Hal’s right. I’m no’ in control of my emotions. I doona know if I can remain levelheaded if something goes wrong.”
“Something always goes wrong,” Guy said. “It’s inevitable. But we’ll be prepared.”
“If it is Wallace, he’s mine.” Malcolm waited for the Kings to argue, but they simply nodded in understanding.
Hal rubbed his chin. “If it is Wallace, we willna be able to help you. But we’ll get the innocents out.”
“And look after Evie and Brian,” Guy added.
Malcolm agreed, and after confirming the meeting at noon, Hal and Rhys drove away. Malcolm looked back over the loch and tried to draw the feel of Evie’s magic closer around him.
“What’s changed with you?” Guy asked.
“The Druid. I knew it as soon as I came across her. She’s … different.”
“And now a drough.”
Malcolm inwardly winced. “Just one reason I didna call the Warriors.”
“What are the other reasons?”
He turned to glare at the Dragon King, refusing to state the reasons. “You’re nosy.”
“I usually am with my friends.”
Malcolm jerked as if punched. “Friend?”
“Aye. Doona look so surprised,” Guy said with a crooked grin. “Well, maybe you should since I didna want to think of you as a friend at first. You’re too obstinate and careless.” His smile faded. “But I saw your pain. You did a good job of hiding it from your fellow Warriors, but no’ from me.”
“I’ve no right to ask, but will you look after Evie and Brian for me?”
Guy’s brows lowered over his eyes as he took a step closer, understanding dawning. “You doona plan to come out of this alive.”
It wasn’t a question, and Malcolm didn’t treat it as one. “If it’s Wallace, I’ll no’ stand by and allow him to get away.”
“Deliberately putting yourself in his path with no one to help you is foolish. What will Evie think?”
Malcolm’s hands clenched as he thought of holding her in his arms again. “She’ll understand. Just keep her away from Wallace. I doona know what his plans for her are, but they can no’ be good.”
“I’m in agreement there. And of course we’ll watch over her and her brother. She belongs with the others at MacLeod Castle.”
“Nay,” Malcolm said angrily and immediately took a step back to calm himself. “She’s drough, Guy. They may no’ believe her when she tells them why she did it.”
“Then you be there to tell them.”
“I doona know why she came into my life. I hate the constant feelings that bombard me incessantly. Just when I think I can get a handle on one, another arrives. I’m undeserving of her soft touch and giving heart. If she remains near me, she’ll get hurt. It’s what always happens. I can no’ walk away from her, but she can leave me.”
“If she will.” Guy stared at him for several seconds. “I think you’re making a mistake in this.”
“I’m no’. Trust me. For once, I’m doing the right thing.”
“No’ if she’s the one bringing back your feelings. You were a cold bastard before. I often wondered if there was any humanity left in you.”
“There was,” Malcolm said with a shrug. “It wouldna have fit in a thimble, but somehow Evie found it.”
Guy smiled wryly. “She sounds like a remarkable woman.”
“She is. She’ll
no’ know you. Evie is already concerned by the fact that I’ll be there. If you have to take her and Brian away, tell her I sent you.”
“If she’s anything like Elena, she’ll no’ want to leave you behind.”
Malcolm knew that wouldn’t be an issue. “She’ll have Brian to concern herself with. He’s her only family.”
“So you mean nothing to her?”
“I protected her when she needed it. That’s all it is.”
“On her part,” Guy said as he pinned him with a stare. “And you?”
Malcolm turned to the inn. “Me? I’d like to say that I doona crave the feel of her magic. I’d like to tell you that I could walk away and forget her kisses or the way she feels in my arms. But I’d be lying. Evie found my soul, and in the process touched my heart.”
CHAPTER
THIRTY
Dreagan Distillery
Constantine replaced the receiver on the phone atop his intricately carved desk and leaned back in his chair. “Well, that was interesting.”
Banan sat forward in his chair across the desk. “I gather that was Warriors from the castle.”
“Aye. Looking for Malcolm.”
Banan met Con’s gaze. “You didna tell them what we know. Why?”
“I’m no’ sure.” Con rose and turned to one of the large windows behind his desk looking over his land. “Fallon told me Broc wasna able to use his power to locate Malcolm. They think Wallace may have him.”
“You could’ve told them Malcolm was all right.”
Con rolled up the sleeves to his starched dress shirt. “There’s a reason Malcolm called Guy and no’ those at MacLeod Castle. I doona know that reason yet, but I feel it’s important.”
“You’re the one who didna want to get us involved with the Warriors in the first place. But we have. To deliberately keep information from Fallon could be contrived as a betrayal.”
“Could be. I’m no’ worried about it.”
“Are you no’ troubled with why Malcolm asked for Guy’s help?”
Con turned and looked at Banan. Banan was loyal and a great King to his Blues. Con never stopped his Kings from questioning his decisions or motives. They hadn’t been chosen as Kings for nothing.
“Guy, Rhys, and Hal know they can no’ show their true form to humans. I’m no’ concerned with that possibility. We’ve remained hidden from humans for thousands of millennia, Banan. Tell me what’s truly bothering you.”
