Time of the Druids: A Time Travel Romance (Hadrian's Wall Book 3)

by Jane Stain

Nobles was an unfamiliar word to him, so Tal was relieved when Aalish cocked her head to the side.

  “Who are the nobles?”

  Deirdre furrowed her brow in concentration.

  “Nobles are above even clan chieftains, rather the way Breth is above nine chieftains.”

  They all laughed a strange laugh at this. They didn't mean the nobles harm, but they didn't regard them with as much respect as Tal would've thought.

  Of course, Deirdre was having him make keys to these people's most secret room, so obviously she didn't respect them very much either.

  Tal froze for a moment.

  Aalish put a hand on his shoulder.

  "Do you need a rest, Tal? You’ve been working very hard. Here, pull up a log and sit down for a few moments and catch your breath and relax those hard-working muscles. You deserve it. I'll send someone for mead, and some of that deer from the evening meal."

  This was as good an excuses as any for his pause, so Tal did as she suggested. His hunger was great after the two days he and Deirdre had spent traveling constantly, fueled only by the magic of the woad decorations. And come to think of it, that was a good line of questioning to throw them off the track of what he was really thinking.

  “Will you be woading us up again when we leave here? Is that the plan, to travel two days in a row at all times?"

  Aalish came over and wiped his sweaty forehead with a damp cloth. It felt good.

  "Aye, for this is an errand of great haste, as you know. We must have peace between the people and the Gaels. It is the only way we will ever fend off the hordes of barbarians to the south."

  Tal made small talk with the druids in this way until he had finished the large meal. He took just a just a tiny bit of the mead, though. He needed to keep his wits about him.

  How was he going to make peace with the Gaels while Deirdre snuck in and plundered them? Was she even going to allow him to try?

  "It occurs to me that in the same way Deirdre can speak our language now, I need to be able to speak the Gaelic language when we get there. I know you can make this possible, so please, let's do that now, while we have time and we aren't under attack and nothing very much is happening. We have this guarded area you've created for us. It's a perfect opportunity, and this needs to be done no matter what."

  All three druids looked at each other with earnestness, then resignation, and finally acceptance.

  Mailcon was the one who communicated this in words.

  "You're right, Talorac. I don't know why we didn't think of that. Join hands with Deirdre, and put your heads together to make the transfer of knowledge easier.”

  Tal turned to the beautiful blonde druid with the petite features and short stature. Such a simple request this was, but he knew it would cost him a bit of his self-control, and so he hesitated to comply.

  Mailcon laughed.

  "She's not going to bite you."

  But Deirdre appeared hesitant as well, taking several breaths and looking anywhere but in his eyes as she turned toward him and extended her hands.

  At least he wouldn't be at a disadvantage when it was only the two of them, not if she was affected by him as well. Good to know.

  Joined by hands and touching foreheads at last, most of the ritual that Aalish and Mailcon performed was vague to Tal. As he had feared, her touch roused him. This was wonderful on his hands. He felt like he could forge 20 more such tools as he'd already been trying to tempt, no problem at all. Which was good, because he had only finished one — the one that was in his pouch.

  He wasn't a fool. He would give her the ones that worked if and when she brought him in on her plan. If and when he survived to reach their destination.

  Or, she would just take them off his dead body.

  But he didn’t think she would do that, not right now while her forehead rested against his, he didn’t. No, at the moment it felt as if the two of them were joined somehow — not in a sexual way, but on the spiritual plane, and mentally. He felt almost as if he could read her thoughts, with her mind so close to his and their breath mingling, the sweet scent of hers causing his heart to race.

  And then he really could formulate his thoughts in a new way. He had learned a new language.

  He stared at her in awe as they drew apart and he uttered his first phrase in Gaelic.

  "That was far and away the most mystical experience I hae ever heard o."

  She tried to act as if she went through this daily, shrugging her shoulders and looking away.

  But he could see it had impressed her as well. He also could tell she'd been as affected as he had by their closeness, by the mingling of their breath. She looked straight into his eyes for the first time this day. And her eyes were kind toward him. Accepting. Welcoming.

  He looked away. He must be imagining that.

  Her voice came to him in the new language, and he understood it effortlessly, as if it were his own language, the one he'd spoken since birth.

  "Perhaps this will na be the most mystical experience ye hae in yer life. If ye bide by me, ye will hae many more."

  As soon as Deirdre said this, a panicked look came over her face.

  Aha.

  She had not meant to say that, but it had been what she was thinking in her heart. Maybe he had some sway over her and he could actually make his own mission come to pass, the mission of getting the Gaels used to the idea of helping the people raid the barbarians.

  Chapter 10

  The second time the woad was applied to them in front of each other, self-control was even more difficult. They slept one more time before this happened, waking up just in time to share the evening meal with Mailcon and Aalish's clan before they were woaded up and departed.

  Tal had been impatient to get going, but he knew that a couple nights’ sleep and six meals would hold him in good stead. The woad magic made him not feel these needs, but his body had them nonetheless. He’d been on more than one raid after news of the enemy’s whereabouts had come so soon after a previous raid that they hadn't had time to sleep in between. The days following that woad wearing off were among the most difficult the people had ever spent: sleepless yet sleep deprived, hungry yet retching.

  Yes, Tal knew it was best, the way they were going about this. The good news was that they were close enough now to the Gael territory that, woaded, they could make it inside two days, if they kept moving and didn't run into any enemies along the way. Deirdre had assured him she could help with the latter so long as they stayed near trees, hiding their scents, movement, and sounds.

  But Tal had to get through this second woading first. Naked. And aroused.

  To Aalish's credit, she didn't outwardly snicker. But Deirdre was another story.

  The young and beautiful blonde druid looked at him knowingly, raising her chin and arching her eyebrows while she actually flexed her chest, thrusting her bared breasts out for him to see all the better while Aalish decorated them with sunbursts, strategically putting her nipples at the center of the suns.

  Tal groaned as his manhood strained on its own to reach over and into Deirdre, where it promised his hunger would be sated. He couldn't do that.

  Oh, it was permissible to sate such appetites with a druidess, encouraged even. But this was different. He felt his emotions being tangled up in every expression on the beautiful young druid's face.

  No, if you join with her, even in ritual, your heart will no longer be your own.

  She would be gone in a few days, and he probably would never see her again. He couldn't bear having his heart go with her, never to be seen again either. No, he couldn't even touch her, much less tell her what he wanted.

  Mailcon worked on him while Aalish applied the woad to Deirdre. Mailcon's hands were sure, and the work was done quickly and effectively. Tal tried to keep his eyes closed most the time, but every once in awhile Mailcon would ask his opinion.

  "Do you fancy the live oak I started here on your thigh, Tal? If you don't feel an affinity for the oak, I could
end it here along your muscle line and start a falcon instead."

  Dutifully, Tal looked.

  "I like the oak. It's especially powerful for me, as it fuels the smithy fire which makes the weapons I wield."

  Mailcon nodded in appreciation.

  "I hadn't thought of that. You're right. The oak is a powerful talisman for you. I'll use it to cover the entire leg if you think that will serve."

  Tal nodded, closing his eyes again to shut out the view of Deirdre's exquisite rear being decorated with the end of a fall of boulders down her back.

  "Aye, that is well."

  At long last, the two of them were entirely woaded, protected from feeling hunger, the lack of sleep, or being pierced by bladed weapons for the span of two days and two nights. This Deirdre was the first druid Tal had seen woaded in this way. Usually, the druids stayed behind during raids, preferring their sacred groves and needing rest after the work of woading up with all the warriors.

  But she was a warrior in addition to a druid, a contradiction. This both made him worry for her and made him admire her. It was a problem.

  But fortunately, she wished to be recognized from afar by the Gaels as a druid, so she put on white robes over her woad decorations.

  Similarly, he did not wish for the Gaels to be wary of him as he approached their territory, and so he put on her long flowing Gaelic shirt with its billowy sleeves. A leine, she called it.

  "There," she said once it was over his head and smoothed down over his knees, "you look like an Irishman."

  He gave her a puzzled look.

  "And what, pray tell, is an Irishman?"

  She wrinkled up her cheek in the most adorable way, getting a look of frustration that suited her face most charmingly.

  "In my time and beyond, the land across the sea west of here is called Ireland, and the people who live there are called the Irish. It comes from the Gaelic name for that land, Erin."

  Tal grunted in thanks for the explanation, not wanting to reveal just how grateful he was for it.

  "Some of the people have been over there during this time, but mostly druids. We have plenty of land up here to the northeast and don't need to hazard a crossing of the sea."

  Her eyes grew concerned.

  "I've often wished you had crossed the seas. There are people across the east sea who will be a problem once the Romans leave. Ah well. They too will intermarry with us, making us Scots stronger in the end than the Irish. But that's very far in the future, outside your lifetime and those of your children's children's children. Probably no concern of yours at all."

  Now she looked downright superior, and he had to take her down a peg on this board she was measuring him against or he would never again have respect from her, he just knew.

  "What do you know of the life of the people today? By your own admission you no longer know how to forge even the simplest tools. There is not one member of my clan who wouldn't be able to make a simple knife should the need arise. You would be left using rocks, would you not?"

  She took in a breath as if to say something but then let it out, took another in a huff, then turned around and started walking west.

  “We’ve a long trek ahead of us. We shouldn't waste the time standing around talking. Let's get going."

  She said this not in Gaelic but in his language, no doubt so that all around would hear and understand that she was taking charge.

  Let her think she’s in charge.

  He patted his pouch with the three real brooch keys and waved to Mailcon and Aalish before following her west.

  Chapter 11

  The trip West was uneventful. Deirdre was good to her word: they didn't have any encounters, not with animals nor with enemies.

  Tal almost wished they had. He wanted to know for sure that she could hold her own as a warrior before he trusted her to guard his back. But now he had nothing to go on, and they'd already passed several Gael gathering parties. They were drawing near to the Gael stronghold, where he would be utterly lost and dependent on her.

  Well, at least he had their language.

  "Deirdre."

  Perhaps hearing the urgency in his voice, she turned around and stopped walking, casting her eyes about wildly for the threat.

  "What is it," she whispered.

  He shook his head impatiently.

  "No, it's not a threat. Not an immediate one. Thank you for giving me the Gaelic language, but I feel I must know some of their ways."

  She nodded impatiently as she turned around and started walking again, gesturing for him to follow.

  "Normally, I would agree and give you a lesson on Gaelic etiquette and procedures and customs and all, but we need to get inside before the woad wears off. These people are warlike, and if they see us outside, well, I just would rather we got inside before the woad wore off."

  That made sense, and so he followed her.

  At last, they came to the end of the trees and had to come out into the open. They were within shouting distance of the Gael settlement, and many people were out in the surrounding fields, tending animals and tilling the land.

  Deirdre took a deep breath and turned to face him with a serious expression that, as usual, made her face all the more demure and lovely.

  “I can't hide us any longer. Let's head straight for that doorway right there, see it?"

  "The one with all the guards standing in front of it talking?"

  "Aye."

  "Should we plan what we’ll say to them before we go rushing down there?"

  On the verge of doing just that, Deirdre paused and turned back to him.

  "You're right. We should. Let me do the talking. They ought to respect a druidess."

  "If you say so."

  She bristled at that, as he had meant for her to. It gave him some satisfaction as he followed her over the wide expanse of open ground toward the cliffs that fell off into the sea beyond.

  The people working in the fields looked at them curiously as they passed by didn't say anything. The guards at the door were another story.

  As Tal had known they would, they called out a challenge and put their hands on their weapons while he and Deirdre were still quite far away.

  "What is yer business here?"

  "We are na expecting any druids."

  Deirdre held her hands up in front of her and glanced at Tal significantly until he did the same, making the two of them extremely vulnerable as they approached. Thank goodness for the woad. Did the Gaels know about it? Oh, they had seen the people dashing about in their woad decorations during many a battle, but did they know about the protection it afforded them?

  Apparently, they did.

  "Halt!"

  "Why hae ye come here all decked out for battle?"

  The third guard spoke with a bit of a snicker.

  "And why then hae only two o ye come?"

  The other guards snickered a bit at that too.

  "Deirdre," Tal hissed, "I really think I should do the talking and present myself as Breth’s brother and explain I'm here to try and negotiate a peace with them. Wouldn't that be the most sensible thing to do right now?"

  She drew in a deep breath to protest, but then relented.

  "Go on.”

  "Hail and well met," said Tal with his chin up. "I am Talorac brother o Breth, leader o ten clans o the people, come tae negotiate a peace with the Gaels sae that we might all raid the southern barbarians together and overrun their despicable wall."

  There, that should get them in and shown to the right people.

  Deirdre looked dubious — and she was also looking around as if she didn't recognize anything in the area and had expected to. He wanted to put his arm around her and comfort her, she looked so lost and disappointed. Nevertheless, she held her head up as they approached the entrance to the underground stronghold, addressing the guards with all of her druidic authority.

  "And I am Deirdre, druidess emissary, expecting tae lodge with Talorac rather than with yer own druids, though
I would like tae meet with them." She sounded a bit flustered as she said this, as if she knew how convoluted it sounded and realized at the last moment that it was a mistake to sound so unsure of herself and to make so many unusual requests of people she had just met.

  Under his breath, Tal said to her, "You haven't done this before, have you."

  For a response, she just jabbed her elbow into his side, and despite the gravity of the situation this made him laugh out loud, startling the guards and making them raise their eyebrows at him.

  "The lass is tickling me," he said to them by way of explanation. "She's a bit feisty, this one."

  It was a pleasure to see Deirdre turn beet red at this comment, and he surmised it was as much from his assertion of familiarity with her as it was from him saving face for her.

  Ah well. It was best they realized she was under his protection. To back this up, he flexed his muscles and put an arm protectively behind her, if not quite touching her, as the guards stepped aside and gestured for them to go on down the stairs.

  It was dark down here, but there were torches, and the one guard who followed them also carried a torch, so it was not so bad.

  Deirdre appeared to not like it at all, though. And she shuddered with cold.

  Without even thinking about it, Tal put his arm around her and made contact, holding her close to him to share his heat with her as they descended the stone steps into the darkness below ground.

  He was thinking better of it and about to pull away when she clung to him, her arm holding firm to his flexed muscles.

  The guard behind them spoke.

  "I wull take ye tae the druids foremaist. They likely ken a place where ye can wash all that blue stuff off. And then after that I wull take ye tae one o oor Lairds."

  At this, Deirdre squeezed Tal’s waist so that the two of them paused, and she turned around to look at the guard with incredulity on her face.

  "Yer druids are doon here underground? How dae they stand it?"

  The guard looked amused in the torchlight, but feigned a quizzical look.

  "They stand it just like any o the rest o us — with warm fires and warm cloaks."