by Love, Dianna
Zeelindar lifted her lips in that creepy smile again. “You will know when your feet rest upon the ground.”
The lass asked, “Where are we going? How will we know we’re in the right place?”
“I will share the image with you.”
Luigsech tensed then shook her head. “How did you do that? Did you enter my mind?”
“I do not enter minds. I share wisdom.”
“I have it in my mind, Daegan,” the lass said. “I’m worried it will never go away.”
The oracle made a noise of disgust. “Do not trouble over small things.”
He hated to admit this to the oracle, but he might not be able to teleport to another country or world, not with the venom inside him. He would not try to bring Tristan here either. “Ya should tell us the specific location in case ... we end up astray.”
Zeelindar cocked her head in his direction. “Nothing will interfere with this trip.”
What if it ended up being a one-way trip? Daegan kept his concerns to himself. The oracle wanted no argument. That was clear.
Luigsech asked, “Are we just going to somehow drop in at the gateway?”
Zeelindar lifted her hands into a prayer position. She closed her eyes, singing softly. Strange tune. Strange words. Strange woman.
Daegan had very little hope this would work.
A piece of parchment floated gently as a feather from out of nowhere. Zeelindar kept her eyes shut and held her hands open. The parchment turned for her and dropped into her hands.
She opened her eyes and handed the parchment that would barely cover one of Daegan’s hands to the lass.
He leaned over to view it. Symbols unlike anything he’d ever seen before had been created in ink. Neat, perfect strokes.
Zeelindar. “You hold the map to the gateway.”
“How do we let you know we have the scepter?”
“I will know.”
Luigsech turned an unsure gaze to Daegan. “We can—”
The air between them shimmered. He immediately felt the odd change he experienced when teleporting.
He reached out and wrapped an arm around Luigsech before he lost sight of her and gripped her backpack with his other hand.
All the rock and lights turned into a spinning mash of yellow, orange, and brown. But this time, the tornado spun around them, leaving Daegan and the lass in a cloud blurring her face and his hands.
Not a hair moved on Luigsech’s head. She stared straight ahead then her eyes closed.
What had that oracle done to her?
His eyelids became heavy. He fought sleep, but the whirling colors turned darker and darker until no light remained.
The next thing Daegan knew, he stirred and blinked his eyes. He opened his senses to search for any threat.
Birds chirped and the sound of a light wind rustling leaves drew him fully awake. He sat up in the midst of trees everywhere and still at night.
Squinting, he took in an ocean stretching beyond the high point where he sat among ferns on a mountainside.
Luigsech lay next to him, curled toward his body, probably because he’d pulled her in close instinctively.
They stood at odds with each other so often, but ... he had this deep need to keep her safe. He couldn’t explain it away as simply being protective over a female.
Such a conviction had always run strong in his veins.
But what drew him to her and to protect her felt different.
His energy rose to the surface and reached out for her any time she touched him.
What could she be to affect him this way?
He brushed wild curls off her face and ran a knuckle over her smooth skin. She was no striking beauty compared to someone like Brynhild, but this lass a true beauty in her own way. She had a special attractiveness, one that ran deeper than skin. He had a feeling if she smiled, really smiled from happiness, she would be breathtaking.
Brynhild represented the only hope he had for mating and producing a dragon family, but the dragon shifter’s heart had become poisoned by hate.
He doubted this lass had the ability to harbor hate. She cared deeply and it showed in her every reaction. She would stand strong for the people she loved.
She would stand strong next to a mate.
Ruadh made a soft growling noise but no comment.
Daegan’s dragon had deserved a mate long ago. He’d failed his dragon as much as his family back then.
No, Ruadh stated firmly in Daegan’s mind. We are together in all we do. You have not failed me. Never think such.
We are together, Daegan agreed, but still felt he had to do more somehow.
Touching the lass’s shoulder, he shook her gently. “Wake up.”
She mumbled, but her eyes remained closed.
Was something wrong with her? He leaned closer and spoke softly to not startle her. “Time to wake up. We have arrived.”
Her eyes opened.
He lifted up.
She stared at him for a second then leaped up, arms wrapping his neck. “We survived!”
He hooked an arm around her back. “All is fine. Do not fash.” His body welcomed hers next to him. Only a bastard at heart would wish she would not calm soon and break this moment. To prove to himself he could be better, he rubbed his hand up and down her back, soothing her.
It sure as hell did not soothe him. Heat pooled in his groin, igniting a powerful desire from her touch.
Chapter 18
Casidhe realized who held her, or who she held, since her arms were involved in this embrace. She yanked her arms away and scooted to the side.
Daegan had a surprised expression, then glowered. “Do not give me such a look.”
“What look?”
“One that accuses me of handlin’ ya improperly,” he grumbled. “Ya jumped up at me. I only had soothin’ your distress in mind.”
Embarrassment heated her cheeks. She had done just that upon waking to discover they were both alive. She’d also recalled him protecting her when everything spun out of shape.
“I didn’t accuse you of anythin’,” she argued, but without genuine emotion.
“Ya would have.”
That he might be right didn’t help any. “For the love of turtles, let it go.” Guilt soaked her voice.
“Ya have love for a lot of critters,” he said, his face without expression, but those silver eyes creased a bit.
He’d done that before. Teased her to dissolve an uncomfortable situation. Who was this man? She had to do a better job of holding on to her anger with Herrick’s enemy.
To do that, she had only to remind herself of how many people his dragon had killed long ago even if he might not be on a homicidal tear right now.
She sent him a narrowed-eyed glare. In spite of feeling unfair to Daegan, she had to step up and do her duty as a guardian for Herrick’s family.
Consorting with the enemy was not part of that job description.
First thing, stand far enough away from Daegan so her IQ didn’t drop with her panties.
Whoa, wait. She was not interested in him that way.
She wasn’t.
But something seemed to be going on between them and their energies. She’d lowered her guard while searching for the oracle. She could just lift her barricades back up again.
“We must figure out where we go next,” Daegan announced, clearly ready to dispense with any conversation related to the two of them tangled up.
Just as willing to move on, she began replaying all the oracle had told them. “Zeelindar spoke in circles so many times I got dizzy. First, we have to figure out where a world inside a world could be.”
“She gave ya a map. Did ya lose it?” Now he sounded disappointed.
Good to know some things remained the same, such as him picking at her ability to do something as simple as hold onto a map.
Daegan held his hand above her and pushed light around them. At least he didn’t light a flame on his palm again.
She dug the folded parchment from her back pocket, glad she’d thought to shove it there as soon as the spinning started. That reminded her of something. “Did you teleport us or did the oracle?”
Her question caught him by surprise if the time he took to answer was any indication. “I am not sure. I do not think she teleported us, but somehow aided me in doin’ so. What is a world inside a world? Ya are the history scholar of supernatural beins’. How would ya open a gateway?”
He’d surprised her by giving respect for her background and skill. She explained, “That world could be what is known as a parallel world or dimension, which is a plane of existence ... ” She was losing him. “Think of it like a realm inside of a realm, as if you had found another world coexisting inside TÅμr Medb when you were there.”
His eyes turned a deep pewter color at that reminder of his imprisonment.
She held up a hand. “Sorry, probably a bad example. It’s like an alternate location existing next to the one we stand in. Actually, I believe we just entered an alternate world where the oracle resides, unless she used majik or some power to take us there and send us back.”
That smoothed out his facial features. “I understand. Where do we begin?”
Unfolding the parchment, she said, “I didn’t get a chance to look at this and ask her questions before we spun out of the oracle’s place.”
“If we do not find the scepter first, but locate a grimoire volume, we retrieve that and I shall come back for her scepter.”
She rounded on him. “I don’t think it works that way. I think we have to leave with both or nothing at all.”
He turned a face on her that would rival a volcano about to erupt.
She held up a hand. “Hear me out before you blow up at me.”
“I do not blow up.”
“Right. You’re the epitome of calm at all times,” she retorted sarcastically. “I am willin’ to help you find this grimoire, but you have yet to give me anythin’ on Fenella. You want a show of trust from me? Where’s your show of trust?”
He appeared to stew, taking his time to answer. “I spoke to Tristan about it. Quinn is sendin’ out word to our people in Ireland to hunt for her.”
“What will they do when they find her?”
“Do not berate me when I am givin’ aid. My people shall not harm Fenella. They only observe to determine where the phone is located and if it moves around. ’Tis unwise to assume anythin’ about a situation. They shall alert me when they have more to share.”
“You said you think Cathbad does not have her. How can you know for sure?”
“Did ya not see Tristan?” Daegan stormed back at her. “He went through hell to escape. If Fenella is human, Cathbad would not allow her to escape and move about freely. If he captured her, he’d have taken her to a secure place, probably another realm.”
Her heart climbed up her throat and threatened to choke her at that possibility. “How secure could it be for Tristan to have escaped?”
“Tristan can teleport, plus he half-shifted into his gryphon and had to bite off his hand to free himself from a spelled manacle preventing him from teleportin’ or callin’ to me telepathically.”
“He ... oh ... that’s awful.” She swallowed bile that ran up her throat at that vision. She hadn’t paid close attention, but recalled Tristan keeping one hand in a pocket. Tristan could shift into a gryphon? He bit his hand off. She still couldn’t get past that visual.
“’Tis more than many would do to escape Cathbad, but the druid intended to turn Tristan into a powerful monster capable of killing many. My man would never allow that to happen if he had a chance to protect those he loves.” Daegan clearly agonized over what his friend had suffered and been forced to do to survive.
“How would Fenella survive that?” she wondered out loud.
“Cathbad would have to do far less to imprison a human. He had no plan to negotiate a trade for Tristan, but he would with Fenella. The druid would have less negotiatin’ room with Fenella’s people if he harmed her. I believe she would be safe if he does have her, but Tristan did not see her where he was kept and indicated Cathbad lost another prisoner at the same time. One he would do all to recapture. Fenella may be with her phone.”
Casidhe admitted, “I tried callin’ her phone after you left. No answer.”
Daegan shrugged. “Ya told Quinn your friend was not good about answerin’ her phone. Ya need to give my people in Ireland a chance to do their job.”
He had a point.
His people in Ireland? Casidhe’s mind slid to a halt. She wanted confirmation about her guess that his people were Beladors. “Who are your people in my country?”
“’Tis not somethin’ I wish to discuss. We waste time.”
She considered yammering on at him to knock his arrogance back down to normal size, but nothing about him was normal.
His people had to be Beladors.
What would Herrick say to all of this?
If he knew she sat talking to the red dragon, Herrick’s language would bruise her ears. What about Skarde? Would Daegan tell her if he knew anything?
Daegan stood, stretching his back. “’Tis important to keep movin’. What information is on the parchment the oracle gave ya?”
She’d lost her chance to slip in a leading question about Skarde without drawing Daegan’s suspicion. Time for that later. “I don’t know what it says yet.”
“What good is information if ya cannot read it?” He growled at the end of his words.
“Did you catch when I said the word yet?” she snapped at him. She opened her hand, releasing the parchment she’d crumpled while arguing with Daegan. Thankfully, the material withstood creasing more than paper.
He extinguished the light when he put his hands on his hips and gave her a disgruntled look at her lack of action.
Shaking her head in irritation, she ignored him and crossed her legs. Good thing she’d worn jeans with no idea of the escapade she’d end up surviving, but they were ripped and dirty. She still wore the long-sleeved white shirt Daegan must have conjured up. Recalling that reminded her of all he’d done to get them to this point.
She had to let her anger go and work with him as a partner.
She retrieved her LED light then smoothed out the parchment. As she studied the inked marks, she dug mentally through her vast knowledge of languages. It didn’t take long to realize she’d have to use her gift.
To do so now would mean allowing Daegan to see her power in action.
“So ya can read those symbols?” He dropped down beside her, crushing ferns with his weight.
“I think so.” She stalled another minute.
“What language is it?”
Crap. She had no way around this. “To be honest, I don’t know without more information than what’s on this scrap. Callin’ it old would be like sayin’ you have been alive a long time.”
“I have been alive a long time.”
Casidhe dropped her head to her knees. “I mean it would be an understatement. Are you goin’ to argue every comment I make?”
“Not if ya move along and figure out where we go next.”
Grumpy dragon.
Lifting her head and stretching her shoulders, she returned to the parchment. “My point is that these symbols remind me of some I’ve reviewed from 42 AD, but not exactly like those.”
Daegan leaned close to her, studying the paper. His warm scent swirled around her, teasing her nose, and waking parts of her body that had no business coming out of hibernation.
Not with this dragon shifter.
But she had no way to stop the undercurrent of energy sizzling and swarming between them like a bee hunting a flower.
She didn’t need this strange interaction of their energies going on with so many more important issues to worry about.
Angling her head to catch his attention, she asked, “Are you able to translate it?”
“No.” He pulled back and frowned. “I should be though.”
“Why? What makes you special?”
“I lived in 42 AD and was taught to read anythin’ available then.” He shared that in a melancholy voice, full of longing and disappointment.
Through all the years around Herrick, she’d rarely thought about how long he’d lived. He hated talking about the past as much as she thirsted for any details from that long ago era.
But she would not ask and make Herrick sad.
To hear Daegan comment about living back then as she would talk about her college days put a lot of things in perspective.
Seeing him as a man of that time and not the red dragon shifter who she’d been taught had killed everything in his path created havoc in her head. She had to stay on track. Do whatever it took to find the grimoire, save Fenella, then find out if Daegan had Skarde or knew anything about him.
Daegan dropped to his knees and scowled. “Can ya read it or not?”
Typical. When nothing went his way, Daegan became irritable and demanding. “I need a moment to work on this if you can’t read it. Seems like you should be able to since you’re older than dirt.”
He snapped back, “I am not. I am in my prime.”
She lifted her shoulders “Two thousand and countin’. Just sayin’.”
“Foolish conversation,” he grumbled.
“I agree. Why don’t you walk around a minute and stop hoverin’ so I can concentrate?” She tried to think of another tactic to get rid of him.
He surprised her by standing and walking off.
She started to ask how far he was going then changed her mind. He would remain close enough to hear her if she called to him.
Placing the parchment on the top of her knees, she put the small light between her teeth and ran two fingers above the letters. Words began to form in her mind.
A time or place of the mind obeys no rule of such define,
Our hall of all is known, our world is not so known,
To savor the loot of a sleeping king,
For those who lust a Laverna tryst.
She read it slowly, translating Latin words such as definire to define and rex to king. She read it again and ended up with the same translation.
Clenching the worthless paper in her fist, she pounded the ground.
