by Claudy Conn
“Would that it was I making ye groan like that, beauty,” he said on a low note that sent shivers through me.
I opened my eyes with a snap. His words filled me with desire and need. I couldn’t allow that to happen. I told him, “Turn around. I want to get out and dry off.”
“Do ye really want me to turn around? I’m thinking ye have the look of a woman who wants something else.”
“Oh, do you?” He was all too right. I wanted him. He was a vampire in another world and I was hot for him. “And even if I did…” What was I doing? “You are there, and I am here!” I said with resignation.
“Och aye, there is that, but I’m counting on ye to remedy that situation.” He grinned like a boy and for a moment, just a moment, I melted like a fool.
I bitch-slapped myself.
I called on my brain to start functioning and sternly said, “Turn around, My Lord, and give me the privacy you promised would be mine.”
Without a word, he turned and started to walk away. I was aware of a sinking feeling of absurd disappointment.
“I’ll be back and watch over ye when ye are sleeping,” he said.
I didn’t answer, but damn, I felt like a stupid school girl crushing over someone quite out of reach!
~ Twelve ~
IT WAS EARLY MORNING and I was deep in my Shama when I heard a whisper. Roberta…deeper, Roberta.
My mom was the only one that called me Roberta. Was it her voice? It sounded so much like my mom, but the tone was hushed and distant, and it had been so long since I had heard my mom’s voice.
On the chance that it was her voice, something she may have installed in my memory banks for a day when she wouldn’t be with me, I asked, Mom…is that you?
Yes, love. You need to open the door, the one with our family emblem. Everything you need to know is behind that door.
Mom…Mom…how is this possible? How am I speaking with you?
I had a vision that your father and I would not always be here with you, so I planted a memory of us in your mind and tried to answer some of the questions you might ask. Go behind the door with the crest.
I don’t see it.
Don’t open your eyes—open your Shama, call on it, command it!
“What are ye doing, lass?” a voice at my back asked.
Devin snapped me out of it and I was just a little irritated at the interruption. I wanted to find that door. I wanted to listen to my mom’s voice…see her smile, see my dad.
I frowned at him, sighed, and said, “Trying to find some magic that will help.”
My cell phone rang.
I took it out and saw it was from Jeremy and said, “Hi, what’s up?”
“I’m out on a job, but I am on my way back to the castle. Get ready, I will need your blood. We are going to install a Druid Blood Ward.”
Click and he was gone.
My blood?
Luckily, I was already dressed in comfortable gray sweats and a matching gray and blue tank top. I hurried downstairs to the library. I lit a few lamps as the sun had not fully risen, and the sky appeared to be overcast.
I heard Devin rustling on the other side of our transparent divider and turned towards him as he asked, “What is it? What has happened? What did Jeremy want?”
“Jeremy is on his way back…we are, apparently, going to install the Druid wards now.” I hesitated and then dove in. “Devin, whenever I see you…whenever we interact, you appear to be in something of a jungle terrain. Is where you are now the only viewing area you can see MacLeod through? When you are elsewhere in that realm…can you see MacLeod, or only when you are here in this one spot?”
“Only here. Apparently the transparent wall between our worlds allows me to see all of the castle and its immediate grounds,” he answered, and directed an intense gaze at me. “Why do ye ask?”
“Because,” I realized I was truly on to something, “that means this…where you stand, is where the original portal is. Where you stand…where you view MacLeod, that is the other end of the portal. Where was my grandmother, and Allora, when she created the portal?”
“In m’bedroom,” he said thoughtfully.
“That is important. Don’t you see? Magic is pretty specific to its elements. Certain elements control portals. Your portal would have my grandmother’s mark, a blood-mark, so once I find the elements she called on, and add my blood, I am pretty sure the portal will open.” This notion had me excited. It seemed so simple that I couldn’t believe I hadn’t thought of it immediately.
“A portal? Jeremy and I considered so many different things, but we never thought of a portal. Ye must be in the right of it. Bloody hell! Of course,” he said with enthusiasm.
“Yes, and I’ve got to get to work on this,” I told him, expecting him to leave me to do my thing.
“Aye, I’ll just stand nearby and make certain ye aren’t interrupted by anyone who shouldna be interrupting ye,” he said in the voice of a man who didn’t mean to be dissuaded from what he obviously saw as his duty.
I grimaced and waved at him. “Whatever. Quiet…I need quiet.”
“Why, what are ye meaning to do?”
“Go into my Shama,” I told him impatiently.
“Aye, then,” he said, folding his arms and taking a stand.
I shook my head and closed my eyes, only mildly disconcerted by his presence, and yet somehow pleased that he was there ready to warn me if anyone, even Mrs. Tunny or Davis, peeked into the library.
“Right, here goes,” I said out loud.
* * * * *
I was shaken out of my Shama by Jeremy, who marched into the library calling my name, “Bobbie!”
“Yes, yes,” I said, getting up from the winged chair that hid all of my body and most of my head.
He stopped short and was suddenly distracted. “Your hair…is glowing…like a flame.”
“Well, I am a redhead,” I answered, perplexed.
“No, not just red…but twinkling and glowing,” he said in awe.
“Oh, that,” I said. Aunt Elle had told me about this many years ago. “It happens now and then. I hope it wasn’t flying around my head as well? It does that sometimes.”
“It happened when the lass went into what she calls her Shama,” Devin explained.
Jeremy’s expression was one of admiration and I felt a blush fill my cheeks.
He said, “Well, while your red hair all twinkling and glowing may be something to see, you might not want anyone else to see.” He paused and put a finger to his nose. “So don’t go into your…er…Shama when anyone else is around.”
“Which reminds me,” I said. “You, Tunny, and Davis are pretty tight. I know they told you what they believe…about the vampire.”
He looked surprised. “Yes, amazing that Mrs. Tunny trusts you already. Here is the thing, while they might suspect I have magical qualities, I never did confide that to them. You should keep that sort of thing to yourself, Bobbie. Safer, easier.”
“They know, Jeremy. They aren’t daft,” Devin said. “Ye haven’t aged, ye have certain qualities they have noticed over the years. ‘Tis why they confided in ye and told ye about Mrs. Tunny’s husband and the vampire.”
“Perhaps, but suspecting and knowing are two different things, my friend. Now, enough of that. I have news and it isn’t good. Shall I give you the news…or should we install the wards first?”
“News. We need to know the news,” I answered, and slumped back down into the brown leather chair with a thump.
“I’ll get right to the point. Allora’s presence in Paris was confirmed by one of my operatives in Calais. She will be in England tonight. I have a notion when her spy vamp didn’t check in, she became suspicious. There is nothing for it. She will no doubt make her way here within the week,” Jeremy said, looking as grim as he sounded.
Devin exploded, “The devil ye say!” His fists were clenched at his sides as he stepped up to the transparent wall and shouted, “Blast her to hell.”
“Don’t I wish I could do just that! Look, my operatives are superb at what they do. They are immortal mages and have been trailing her from the moment I made contact with you, Bobbie. It was my operatives who finally found you. So, this is what we have. I am told Allora only travels by night, which is something that has never changed over the centuries. I am expecting them to report to me early tomorrow morning as to her most recent whereabouts and if they have discovered her immediate intentions. As of this morning, they believe she is still unaware of your existence, Bobbie.”
“So, you knew…all this time where Allora was?” I asked.
“Yes, Mrs. Tunny and I speak often, and I knew that Allora had been spotted in Paris recently and I directed my operatives to investigate. It hadn’t mattered in the past where she was going…or why, but now, with you here, well, that changes everything. We need to keep you safe. This…you being here, is as much my fault as it is Devin’s. I put two of my best operatives on her. They have been watching from a distance, careful that she doesn’t spot them. Allora is very astute.”
“And they are sure she hasn’t spotted them?”
“They are sure. They are shifters and can change into a raven, a beast, or a different persona at will. No, she has no idea she is being trailed.”
“And they—these…uhm, operatives, do this for…money?” I asked. I wondered immediately if they could be paid off. If Allora did notice them, could she buy them?
“Investigations are how they make a living, but in my case, friendship is involved. Besides that, they have their own reasons why they want Allora brought low. Aaron, Caswell, and I go back many years…and they were friends of my sister as well,” he said as a sad expression fell over his face.
Devin had been standing, quietly listening, but at this he said, “Jeremy, ye and the lass are in grave danger. Allora is cooming here…and she can coom and go at will. I cannae protect ye both stuck here on this side.”
“Look,” I stuck in hurriedly, “neither of you can decide anything for me. I have made the decision to help you, Devin, and will protect myself from her one way or another.” I smiled at Jeremy. “Besides, we made a pretty good team, Jeremy and I.”
“He was naught compared to Allora!” Devin shouted.
“And I am an immortal witch with my eyes wide open. I can protect myself,” I answered angrily. “You both brought me here on a pretext. Then you tell me you need my help. I said yes to helping. End of story. Besides, Jeremy and I will ward our rooms with our blood. I don’t know of any vampire that can get past a Druid Blood Ward. I know…I read about it in one of your ancient manuscripts last night. Druid wards are probably older than she is.”
Jeremy’s brows went up. “She isn’t wrong there. And you are sure you used the correct incantation?” Jeremy appeared impressed and asked before I could answer, “The door and the windows as well?”
“Yes, Jeremy, it was so fascinating. I drew on an ancient Druid ward and the spell just came to me as though I knew it all my life…I simply put a drop of my blood at the windows, the doors, and I even did the walls. I stood back and watched the blood spread and encase everything between my room and the outside world. My Shama was like a beast in my head…all dark and hungry, but I knew when I was done that it had worked.”
“Druids have used Blood Wards for eons,” Devin said quietly. “Their gifts coom from the Fae and in return for their powers, they must keep the walls of the Dark Realm up so the Dark Fae cannae escape. No vampire, not even Dracula himself, could pass through a Druid Blood Ward.”
“That is impressive,” Jeremy said. “Right, now we should do the outside perimeter of the castle as well.”
“Aye, but she isn’t easily deterred. She doesna think like we do. Her ways aren’t ours and she will find a way to kill Bobbie, if she can, and I cannae have that,” Devin said with feeling.
We all just stood and stared at one another.
I broke the silence. “Going to have to face her eventually, aren’t I?” They didn’t answer me, so I pointed a finger at Devin. “One day, if not now, she will discover that I exist and she will come for me. I would rather be here…ready for her, than walking down the street not expecting it. Don’t you get it? This is my fight.”
“She has a point there. At least…I’m here to help Bobbie. The way I see it, this is something we all have to face and be done with. Now is as good a time as any,” Jeremy said, and sighed before adding, “eventually, Allora will realize your bride had a warlock brother and she will come for me as well. Like Bobbie, I’d like to see the hammer dropping and stop it if I can.”
“So, now the question is, how do we ward the place with both Mrs. Tunny and Davis watching?” I said.
Jeremy laughed. “They have seen some stranger things in their time…but first…” He picked up his cell, which had been ringing, and read the message. “I have to go to the office. I’ll be back in time to walk the perimeter with you, Bobbie.”
I watched him leave and turned to find Devin had stepped closer to the clear wall between us. He put his palms up and I put up mine to his. We were all in a fight to the death and knew it. There was no running, and we knew it.
Even with the shield between us, a spark sizzled from his palm to mine. Damn, right through the barrier, a spark like I have never felt before, and it went zapping through my blood, and made my breath hitch.
“Did ye feel that, lass?” he asked huskily.
“Feel it? It almost knocked me out, yeah, I felt it. How is this possible?” I asked, feeling heat course through me as I gazed into his bright blue eyes and saw an amber glow deep in the recesses. He is a vampire, I told my stupid heart. A vampire.
All at once he said, “I can smell yer blood…?” He looked down and at my palm. “Yer bleeding…”
I was. The wound I had made with my scissors last night had opened up. How could he smell it? “Whoa,” I said to ease the fact that this was startling. “How?”
“Tell me, lass…when ye were in yer mind, in yer Shama, what did ye find?” His question was edged with excitement.
“My mother was there in my head. This was the first time I have ever heard her. She left me a memory and told me it was activated when I was in mortal danger. Devin, I…found enormous magical powers, but I only tapped into them for a little while. I just wasn’t there long enough,” I said more to myself than to him. Had I absorbed a power I would be able to call on now to help Devin?
~ Thirteen ~
I STARED AT DEVIN as my thoughts tumbled into one another. I had heard my mother whisper a word, and that word exploded out of me before I knew what I was doing, “Ramabien.”
Waves of gray mist swirled between us, and suddenly vanished. In the swirling mass’s place was a silver sliver opening between our worlds, no more than five feet tall and one foot wide.
I licked my lips and Devin said, “Stay back, lass, we dinnae know what this is…do we?”
“No, but we are about to find out,” I said, and amazed myself by putting my finger into the shimmering opening in front of me. I am adventurous, yes, but this was way dangerous. I could lose a hand, or have it stuck between worlds. What the hell was I doing?
A tingling sensation took over my body and my Shama came to life in my brain all on its own and said, Go ahead, Bobbie…now!
In went my hand, and a force so strong took hold of my entire body and pulled me into what I suddenly realized was a live portal.
The next thing I knew, I was tumbling into tall palm fronds and a jungle of green vegetation and about to land on my face when strong hands grabbed hold of me. His arms were around me, steadying me as I actually collapsed from the recognition that I had just been pulled into another world!
“Lass…how did ye do that? Yer here…yer actually…bloody hell!”
All at once, his lips were covering mine and once again, I was falling into an abyss of sensation.
His lips sparked an erotic reaction in my blood, one I had never experienced before. His mout
h moving on mine, parting my lips as his tongue only licked at my bottom lip, made me want to lie down and spread my legs. No words. No questions.
He pressed my lips apart with his. His tongue found and danced with mine, taking me on a journey of pleasure, and one that I had never imagined possible.
I was locked in that kiss and never wanted it to end. I was locked in that kiss and wanted more, so much more, when all at once, he abruptly pulled away!
He set me on my feet and stepped back from me. His gorgeous head was lowered, as though he couldn’t meet my eye, and he said, “Forgive me, Bobbie.”
“I…I…” was my brilliant response, because I wanted back in his arms. I wanted his tongue in my mouth. I wanted him. Why had he stopped?
“How did ye get through the barrier?” he asked, and dropped his hands from my shoulders. “Did ye figure out how to create the portal—is that it, lass?”
Wait, what? He had just passionately kissed me. Ah, it was, a ‘wow—you opened the portal’ kiss. A thank you kiss.
It was difficult to concentrate on anything, but I managed to get myself together and said, “Well, I’m not sure. A word came to me and I…just shouted it and then, well, here I am.” For a moment, only a moment, I was moving in a world of shock.
Shock that I had found the portal. Shock that I had not only been kissed by a vampire and survived, but shock because I wanted more kissing—more touching—more!
However, I am resilient. I shoved my confusion aside and assessed the situation. He had been thrilled and kissed me out of gratitude. That was all it was. So I said, “Okay, then, come on, let’s get into the portal and home!”
He turned and looked back toward the place I assumed he had come to think of as his home. “I need to say good-bye to m’friends. They have been here for me for a very long time. I cannae just leave and have them wonder what became of me.”
