“Where’s Nicole?” she said, upset as she reached out her hand.
“Here,” Nicole groaned. If he didn’t have such a secure arm around her waist, he knew she would be draped across the horse.
Niall leaned over and guided Cassie’s hand to Nicole’s. “She isnae well, but I swear I’ll see her to safety. I’ll find a way to ease her pain.”
He had never meant anything so much.
“I know you will.” Cassie felt around until she managed to cup Nicole’s cheek. “I wish I could go, sweetie. Like I said, you’re in the best hands possible.”
“Right, all the muscles will save me,” Nicole whispered then released another groan.
“That’s right.” Cassie stood on her tip-toes and kissed Nicole’s cheek. “Love you, my friend. Go kick some ass now, okay?”
Nicole was in too much pain to respond. Niall took Cassie’s hand and squeezed it. “I’ll take good care of her.”
Cassie nodded, tears in her eyes before she redirected her attention to the stable boy. “Please take me to the Laird.”
Meanwhile, Logan had evidently convinced Marjorie to let them take Robert because the boy was already astride Grant’s horse. Though her eyes were moist, the Countess stood tall, her stance strong.
“’Tis a short distance to the oak but ye’d best have the horse at a run,” Malcolm said, coming alongside. “The enemy is far too unpredictable.”
“Aye.” Niall nodded and kept trying to comfort Nicole the best he could. “I will follow Logan’s lead.”
Their eyes met, and he wondered for a moment if his father would have something to say about his intentional slight. But Malcolm only nodded. “Vika is strong. She will get yer lass there safely.”
“Aye.” Niall turned Vika away. Anything to keep from talking to his father. Their conversations, no matter how brief, never seemed to end well.
“Oh, hell,” Nicole gasped and clamped her hands over her ears.
Little Robert wasn’t faring much better as he cried softly.
“I thank ye for joining us.” Logan steered his horse around the warriors, voice loud. “Ye might not see an enemy, but that doesnae mean they willnae be here. Keep yer weapons at the ready and race for the oak. Laird Grant will see us to the Mother Oak from there.”
The men nodded, fearless as the portcullises were raised. Half the warriors led, the other half fell in behind them as they raced over the drawbridges and onto the field. Though he could see nothing of Brae Stewart and her minions, Nicole let out an alarming wail and wrapped her hands into Vika’s mane. Little Robert was flat out screaming.
Soon enough they discovered why.
Not only the Genii Cucullati spirits appeared but something far more ominous. Dwarfing the black shadows, it shifted and fluctuated until it began to take form. Without prompting, Vika raced harder than she had before. Grant and Malcolm started chanting, as did Niall and Logan. The warriors kept close to the monstrous shadow, but there was nothing solid for their blades to fight.
“If I go to him he’ll let everyone go,” Nicole groaned. “Even Robert.”
Niall frowned. “Go to who?” His eyes stayed on the inky cloud. “It?”
“Yeah,” she gasped. “He’ll make Robert’s pain go away too.”
“Nay.” Niall held her tighter. “You’re not going anywhere.”
Vika seemed to agree because she continued racing toward the tree.
Magic crashed against magic as they fought the strange entity. The nameless thing. Was that Brae’s demi-god laird? It had to be. Logan roared with rage when the spirit gods ripped away several warriors in an instant, their screams an echo on the wind.
Yet their shapeless nemesis remained without form, without identity as it pressed against their magic.
Nothing Logan did with Mother Earth affected the thing any more than Niall summoning water. Even when Darach appeared and flew across the field using wind, it had no effect. However, when Rònan appeared on the horizon, his massive winged body closing in fast, the entity seemed to take notice.
“Oh, no.” Nicole shook her head and struggled against Niall. “It’s gonna hurt Rònan. You’ve gotta let me go!”
“Stop!” He clamped one arm around her, all the while throwing magic. “My cousin will be all right.”
“No.” She tried to flail against him, but he had her locked tight. “He’s gonna get slaughtered. You have to trust me!”
He spoke telepathically to Grant, Malcolm, and his cousins. “Nicole says the beast is going after Rònan.”
It took a split second before he realized Grant’s intention when he swung his horse around, came alongside and swung Robert onto Nicole’s lap. Powerful magic swirled in his eyes when they met Niall’s. “Get them out of here now!”
Niall nodded, and Vika kept going. Nothing was harder than watching what happened next. Despite all Grant and the others threw at it, the enemy was indeed going after Rònan. Though he felt the tension in Nicole’s body, he knew she remained silent for Robert’s sake.
The dragon and the behemoth black cloud crashed into one another mid-air. Better yet, it seemed to envelop his cousin. Somewhere deep inside, he heard the mental roar of his Aunt Torra’s dragon as her son was swallowed by the beast. Pure anguish rent him as he felt not only her pain but Rònan’s swiftly followed by the remainder of his family.
“Bloody hell,” he whispered. It took bone-deep honor not to stop the horse and rush to Rònan’s aid. To somehow save him. But he had spent his life preparing for this moment. He had devoted his life to protecting Robert the Bruce and the future of Scotland.
So he focused on the tree and let everything else go.
It might seem like they were going to run right into the trunk, but magic of another sort roared up around him. The portal that only those with MacLomain blood could use opened as wind rushed around them. Then the tree vanished, and a suctioning sensation seemed to yank them forward. The next thing he knew, Vika stopped, and everything quieted.
They had arrived at the Mother Oak.
A massive tree that grew up the side of a mountain and spread its top into the mouth of a cave, it was unlike any other. He swung down and pulled Robert and Nicole after him. Holding the wee Bruce, he kept a steadying hand on Nicole as they acclimated.
“How are ye, lad?” he murmured to the bairn.
Trying to hide his sniffles and red eyes, Robert said, “The pain is gone.” His eyes rounded. “So are the voices in my head.”
“Aye, ‘tis good.” He kissed the top of the boy’s head then turned his attention to Nicole. She had one hand protectively on Robert’s shoulder and the other cupping her forehead as she leaned against Vika. “How are you, lass?”
Her eyes flashed fire as they met his but softened when she looked at Robert. “The pain’s gone. So are the voices.” She gently squeezed the Bruce’s shoulder. “See, I told you we’d face this together. Are you sure you’re all right?”
Robert nodded and offered a wobbly smile.
She smiled in return. “I’m going to sit down for a sec, okay?”
“Aye.” His little brows pulled together. “Can I sit with ye then?”
“Of course you can.” She took a few steps and sunk down onto a thick branch before holding out her arms. “Come here, you.”
Niall was about to bring him over, but Robert shook his head. “Nay, Mister. If she can walk then so can I.”
“Call me, Niall.” He smiled and set the boy down.
Robert, little shoulders thrust back, walked over and plunked down on her lap. Moments later, the air around them started vibrating. More were coming. Of all people, Machara and Conall first.
“Ye bloody fool,” Machara spat at Conall. “How dare ye push me here? There was fighting to be had and kin to be protected!”
“Ye would’ve been next ye ungrateful—”
“Conall. Machara. Enough,” Niall cut in and nodded toward Robert. “Save yer bickering for later, aye?”
They scow
led at each other before they separated. Soon enough, more warriors started pouring into the tree through the portal. Niall did his best to remain patient as his eyes scanned everyone. Machara plunked down next to Nicole and Conall joined him.
As Niall was first-in-command and Conall his second, they had long ago struck up a friendship. Too often they had saved one another’s lives. He had respect for the man that almost rivaled what he felt for his cousins. Voice low, he said, “What happened?”
A heavy frown settled on Conall’s face. “Half our ranks lost last I saw.”
Niall felt like he had been punched in the gut. Those were some of their fiercest warriors and longtime friends.
Upset, he growled, “Why did ye come through before them? Ye should’ve been the last lad standing.”
Uneasy, Conall’s eyes flickered to Machara. “One of those shadow creatures had at her. When I tried to push the lass into the tree, she fought me.”
If it had been anyone else, he might have thought Conall was looking for the easy way out but he knew better. His friend would lay down his life for their clan, especially for their Laird. “Then I thank ye for saving her.”
“She’s ungrateful,” Conall muttered.
“Dinnae get me started on ungrateful lasses.” He set his jaw and prepared for the worst. “What of my immediate kin?” His eyes met Conall’s. “Rònan?”
Conall at least had the decency to look him in the eyes as he shook his head, emotion evident in his voice. “’Twas not good, friend.”
Those words weren’t just a punch in the gut but a knife down his middle. But he had seen Rònan get out of tight situations before. He prayed he would again. “Did ye see him die then?”
Conall hesitated and clearly did not want to continue as he said, “The last I saw he had been consumed. When the monster released him, there was naught but ashes left in its wake.”
Though Niall knew she couldn’t hear them, when his eyes went to Nicole, her gaze locked with his. She must have seen the anguish he thought well-hidden because though she thrust out her jaw in defiance, moisture welled in her eyes.
The air vibrated, and more warriors rushed in followed by Grant, Malcolm, Logan, and Darach.
No Rònan.
Malcolm’s eyes searched out Niall, and for a moment he thought he saw relief flicker in them. But there was no way to know before they turned to the fifty or so warriors left. “Ye did good lads. Follow me, and we’ll set up camp below.”
Logan’s eyes narrowed with anger on Machara. “I told ye to stay and protect Cassie.”
“I told her to follow afterward,” Grant said. “Seònaid and my daughter, Lair will protect yer lass. They’re stronger in magic and fight nearly as well as Machara.”
Logan frowned but said nothing.
Grant’s eyes went to Machara. “Take the wee Bruce with ye so that ye might show him the Defiance again, aye?”
Machara eyed her kin. She knew they needed to talk without the Bruce around, so she nodded and looked at Robert. “I know we saw it not that long ago, but would ye like to come and see one of the first portals ever created in Scotland by the great wizard, Adlin MacLomain?”
A small smile blossomed on his face. “Aye.”
So they were off, leaving him, Nicole and his immediate family behind.
The minute they were gone, Nicole strode toward Niall, renewed anger in her eyes. “Rònan’s dead, isn’t he? All because your stubborn ass wouldn’t listen to me!”
“Enough!” Grant roared, stopping her dead in her tracks. Niall didn’t much blame her. Not once had he heard his uncle raise his voice against a lass...against anyone besides the enemy for that matter.
Logan and Darach remained silent. Darach hung his head while Logan seemed sad and aloof as he clenched his fists by his side. Vika trotted to the far side of the cave and kept an anxious eye on them all.
“Everyone sit,” Grant said, his voice far softer. “Now.”
Nicole sunk down on a branch next to Darach and held her head in her hands, whispering, “I could’ve stopped this. I could have saved him.”
“I heard the enemy in your head, lass.” Grant shook his head. “Ye could have stopped nothing.” Then, despite the anger and grief he struggled with, he crouched in front of her and tilted up her chin until their eyes met. “Evil makes bargains but never sees them through. ‘Tis half its allure. But their terms are never real. Never met. You cannae offer yourself up so that others might be saved.”
“I could’ve at least tried.” Her eyes narrowed at Niall. “But the choice was taken from me.”
“Niall followed my orders,” Grant said. “And followed his own honorable heart by protecting you and the wee Bruce when all he wanted to do was save Rònan. Dinnae fault him for such a thing. ‘Tis nothing but misplaced blame. Blame you should only have for the evil that we now face.”
Nicole frowned and remained silent.
Grant stood and walked further into the tree, eyes to the setting sun. He remained silent for a few long minutes. Nobody spoke. There was too much heartache. Too much sorrow. When Grant at last turned, his uncle’s words were surprisingly strong. “I no longer feel Rònan’s essence, but that doesnae mean he’s gone. The enemy is part of a Celtic Otherworld that I dinnae have the power to access. There is a verra good chance he has been taken there.”
“Why, when ‘twould make more sense to kill him?” Darach said. “’Twould be one less thing for the enemy to deal with. A dragon-shifter no less.”
“A dragon-shifter.” Grant arched a brow at his son. “Now that would be a powerful beastie to have at his disposal, would it not?”
Niall felt a spark of hope. “But Conall said there was nothing but ashes left behind.”
“Were there naught but ashes left behind when the Genii Cucullati transported Brae Stewart out of this cave not that long ago? And is she not verra much alive and well?”
“Aye, she is,” Niall said. “But I felt the bone-deep loss of Rònan as did his parents.”
“As did I,” Grant said. “Yet might it not feel that way when our kin is ripped from this world into another? Not death exactly but a shifting betwixt realities or dimensions.”
“That sounds sucky as hell but better than death I suppose,” Nicole said. Yet the moisture had vanished from her eyes. Instead, there was a glimmer of hope. “Damn, if that’s the case then they snagged the wrong guy. Rònan will be pissed.”
“Aye,” Logan agreed, his eyes on Grant. “Do you really think he’s alive, Uncle?”
“Aye, I do. I have to,” Grant whispered, eyes turned back to the sunset. “We all have to.”
Niall understood his reasoning. Rònan would never give up on any of them if there were the slightest chance they still lived. So they couldn’t give up on him either. “How do we find him then?”
Grant shook his head and turned, eyes meeting Niall’s. “You dinnae try to seek him, lad. ‘Tis for me and mine to locate him. You and your cousins will stay here and protect the Bruce and Nicole until I contact you again.”
By ‘me and mine’ Niall knew he meant the Next Generation excluding Logan, of course. Grant intended to seek out the help from his lot and their Broun witches.
Grant’s eyes turned to Nicole, and he said remarkably surprising words. “You will stay here until the Celtic god Fionn Mac Cumhail says ‘tis safe to leave.” He gave her a knowing look. “’Twill likely be when my Viking ancestors come to help you.”
Chapter Eight
NICOLE WATCHED AS GRANT vanished into thin air and almost wished she could do the same. Sure, she was tough. She had learned to wear a brave face a long time ago. But this? This was beyond anything she had grown a thick skin for.
As if he sensed her distress, Darach wrapped an arm around her shoulders and worked at a grin. “Not quite what you thought it’d be, now is it?”
“Hell, no,” she murmured and couldn’t even manage a grin. “If I had known all this back in New Hampshire, I would’ve called a taxi and
booked it.”
“Och, nay.” He squeezed her shoulders. “Had you known all this, Niall would’ve never had the chance to drag you here. You would’ve been here already.”
Was that true? She would like to think so but damned if she knew. Then again, now that she had met little Robert the Bruce, she knew he was right. There would have been no need for Niall to drag her.
Niall.
Just when she started to soften toward him, he got her riled up all over again. She might understand what Grant told her in regards to Niall, but for whatever reason, it didn’t lessen her aggravation. The target of her sour thoughts now stood in front of them, arms crossed over his chest and a scowl in place as his eyes flickered between her and Darach.
“Come, Darach,” Logan said, evidently sensing a renewed battle on the horizon. “Let’s go check on the wee King and make sure there’s game roasting.”
Darach cocked a brow at her. “Are you well enough, then?”
Niall’s eyes narrowed on Darach. “She’s well enough, Cousin. Off with ye now, aye?”
“Are you, Nicole?” Darach repeated, not intimidated in the least by Niall.
If Darach did one thing for her, he made her feel like her twenty-first century self again. A strong woman that could handle life. So she gave him the best grin she could muster. “Yeah, I’m fine. Thanks.”
Darach kissed her temple then winked at Niall. “I best let the MacLomain have his way then.”
“He’s not having his way with anyone,” she shot, frowning.
“Aye, then.” Darach shook his head as he left with Logan.
Bracing her hands on the branch, she narrowed her eyes at Niall. “Stop looking at me like that.”
“Like what?”
“Like you’ve got some sorta claim on me,” she said. “Because you don’t.”
“Nor do I want one.”
“Yet you said just last night you were interested in me.”
“I said I was curious.”
“Same thing.”
He shrugged. “I changed my mind.”
She shrugged. “You would.”
The MacLomain Series: Later Years - a Scottish Time Travel Romance Boxed Set Page 37