“Hell, yeah. That’s sorta protocol by now.”
Vika offered no answer as she jolted after Iosbail but Nicole sensed the horse was pleased with her response. So they flew toward the stream. Some might even call it a creek. Though snow barely fell, the wind whipped stronger than ever as Iosbail’s horse leapt over the water...then vanished into thin air.
“Ohhhh.” Nicole knew what that meant. She kept her head down as Rònan and Malcolm’s horses leapt as well and vanished. While tempted to close her eyes, she just couldn’t do it as Niall said, “Here we go, lass!” and Vika leapt.
Unlike her previous times on this horse, she didn’t suffer from pure terror as everything fluctuated around her. Instead, this was by far the most beautiful leap to wherever they were heading. And the sight that met her on the other side was nothing short of astounding. Though dimly lit, the sun’s rays rose over distant mountains as a lake churned wildly beneath them. This place looked familiar...sort of.
“Where are we?” Nicole started, but Vika had already stopped, and Niall was swinging down. It would not have mattered if he responded because that old familiar buzzing started in her ears.
“Nicole, can ye hear me?” echoed in her mind.
Robert? Nicole’s ears popped as though she was in a plane gaining altitude too fast. She ignored the sensation as complete chaos erupted around her. Not only the mega dark shadow laird but the three shadows or Genii Cucullati rushed at them. If that wasn’t enough, so did far too many enemy warriors to count with Brae Stewart at their lead.
Seriously not good.
Though tempted to pull out her hearing aid because the sounds were already too much, she didn’t. It was there for a reason. So she grabbed her dagger and shield.
“Stay by my side, lass,” Niall said. When her eyes met his with defiance because she thought he didn’t think she could handle herself, he shook his head. “Defend me as I will defend you.”
The world might be crashing down around her, but she felt an unusual but very acute sense of relief. He saw her as his equal. “You got it, Brute.”
Niall grinned even as his eyes grew wild. He truly loved to fight, and it showed as he muttered, “Come on, ye bloody bastards,” as his sword met the blade of the first man who rushed them.
Nicole might be worried about Robert, but she knew a crazy grin lit her face when Machara rushed into the mix with a host of MacLomain, Hamilton and MacLeod warriors at her back. The MacLomain woman grinned and nodded at Nicole moments before her blade met another’s.
Nicole didn’t hesitate another moment but rushed into the fray.
Niall had stuck several blades into her pockets so she used those first. Tucking her main blade into her side pouch, she grabbed another and started slashing. Suddenly, as warriors came at her, she wasn’t fighting the enemy but her past.
When a guy swiped his sword at her, she leapt back, ducked and came in fast. A trick Darach had taught her. She skimmed the dagger across his side. When he tried to spin away, she tripped him. Before he could gain ground, she cut his Achilles tendon. He cried out in pain and dropped.
That was for her blood parents who never looked back when they gave her up.
When Machara drove a warrior back so hard that he stumbled, Nicole gave him a good roundhouse kick, then lodged a knife in his throat when he fell to his knees.
There were great foster homes in Boston, but that was for the ones she had ended up in.
She heard the roar of fighting around her, even the dark laird growing closer, but for some reason, his words were a weak whisper in her mind. “Dinnae leave me, lass.”
Nicole didn’t give two shits about what he did and did not want. She was out for vengeance. For Robert. Her friends. The MacLomains.
For herself.
So when the next warrior rushed her, she didn’t mess around. She whipped her dagger. It caught him in the chest, and he fell.
That was for all the kids in school who made fun of her when she couldn’t understand what they were saying. Their endless, cruel taunts.
Machara’s grin was crazed as she eyed the man Nicole had just taken down. “’Twould be my honor to fight back to back with ye, lass.”
“Right, like they do in the movies.” Nicole nodded. “Sounds good.”
She thought at first it wouldn’t work, but hell, Hollywood had something figured out because when they went back to back and started fighting, they were solid. Thrashing, slicing, fighting, they were taking them down.
Yet somehow in the fray, a guy got ahold of her, and they were separated. Nicole scrambled, but he was fast. Faster than the others. When he dropped her, she wasn’t quite quick enough to get away. He had her locked tight, and they were outside the main battling. Now nothing was going to save her but herself.
She had yet to draw the blade Niall had given her and the shield Rònan gave her was pinned to the ground.
“Och, yer a feisty wee lass, ye are,” the enemy murmured against her ear.
Nicole realized that she had just ended up in the very position that Niall had her in back in the armory at MacLeod Castle. She was vulnerable as only a woman could be.
Could she do what she had with him and get away with it?
Or was she asking for trouble that there was no escape from?
Only one way to find out.
So she relaxed, wiggled her ass and murmured in the most feminine, damsel-in-distress voice she could muster, “Let me go. I’ll do anything.”
Then she prayed. Please let him take the bait.
Like clockwork, the guy stilled. “Anything?”
“Anything.”
She barely drew a breath before he flipped her, wedged her legs apart and leered down. “Aye, then, lass.”
Though Niall’s words in the armory came back to her about being fully prepared to defend herself if she egged this sort of thing on, his words in her head now were much louder. More furious. Straight from the heart. “Ye better bloody well handle things correctly, lass, because I cannae get to ye.”
Oh, she would. Nicole offered the man holding her down a soft smile and spread her legs wider. Sensing her willingness, he worked at lifting his plaid. She almost snorted. War might be echoing around them, but this douche was willing to slake his lust rather than fight for his cause. Then again, he was fighting for evil, so that said everything. No need to use her magical blade, she released a throaty moan. When he glanced at her, she drove a dagger up through the soft spot beneath his chin.
That was for her stripper friends. Better yet, it was against the men who hurt them one way or another. For the most part, guys were fine and just looking for a good time when they hit the clubs. They tipped and treated the ladies well. Then there were the few who didn’t. Who thought women existed to please them, didn’t tip and one way or another went after girls in a real bad way.
Nicole shoved the enemy aside when his eyes went blank and sprang to her feet.
“Fight on, warrior,” whispered through her mind. Iosbail?
With nothing left but Niall’s dagger and Rònan’s shield, she rushed into a scant fray. Most were behind her and falling fast. The bad guys that is. When she looked back, she almost wished she hadn’t. The mortal enemies might be falling, but Brae, her monster boyfriend, and the creepy shadows were full throttle.
Niall’s mind slammed into hers as he fought alongside his cousins. “Go, Nicole. Run!”
“Heck if I will,” she muttered and started back toward them.
But suddenly Grant was there and unlike his predecessor arch-MacLomain wizard, Adlin, he didn’t deal in jolly. Eyes glowing blue, caught in some sort of slow-motion wind, he roared, “Ye listen to yer MacLomain and run!”
Though determined to fight alongside Niall, whatever Grant did made her heels spin, and she started running. Fast. Hard. When she rounded the corner of the mountain, she stopped short.
No wonder she semi-recognized this spot. It was the lake on the backside of the mountain that the Viking ship appe
ared on. They had returned to the ‘mystical mountain of fertility’ as she called it. But where was Robert? He could only be within the mountain. Under the influence of Grant’s words, she raced along the shore toward the waterfall but slowed the closer she got.
Deep down, she knew Robert was safe.
But Niall was not.
Though she desperately wanted to stop, her feet tingled to keep going. Yet she fought it. She and Niall had come too far, and she refused to leave him behind. Because of the hearing aid, she caught sounds she never would have before. The cries of pain still echoing around the side of the mountain. The grunts and groans. The pure anguish of not only the enemy but allies.
“No, no, no,” she cried and pushed against Grant’s compulsion because she knew that’s exactly what it was. Sure, the wizard meant to keep her safe, but he also meant to keep her ring out of the enemy’s hands.
To hell with that if it meant her friends would die for it.
But even as she turned and saw everyone come around the corner, she was being sucked toward the mountain. The horses had already rushed by and ran through the waterfall. But not her friends. Rònan and Machara.
Most especially, Niall.
Not about to give up and let Grant somehow pull her away from protecting them, she shook her head. “Fuc-fudge no!”
She couldn’t fight magic like Grant’s, but maybe something else could. So she dropped to her knees and tried to dig her magical blade into the sand to stop herself. Yet she couldn’t get it lodged. Her friends raced along the shore. While no enemy warriors followed, something far worse did.
Brae, the dark shadow laird, and his minion Otherworld shadows.
All had rushed into the mountain which left Machara, Rònan, Malcolm, Grant, and Niall.
And based on their stances, they intended to fight to the death.
Nicole never gave up trying to dig her blade into the ground so she could help.
Based on the cry of rage and her rushing forward, Machara intended to go down first. Nicole wailed in denial as the shadows swamped her. Though she didn’t seem to care in the least, someone else did. Whipping around the corner on horseback, Conall leaned over, scooped Machara around the waist and sped toward the waterfall.
Though that gave her a modicum of relief, Nicole’s fear only increased when the others became the sole target of Brae and the dark, foggy laird.
“Noooo,” she kept murmuring as she fought against Grant’s compulsion. While she understood his need to protect her, her need to stay and help was too great. So she started to use both the shield and dagger to keep her grounded.
“Get the bloody hell to safety, Nicole,” Niall and Rònan roared into her mind.
Hearing them made tears fall. Stupid, defiant tears. So she screamed right back within the mind. “Over my dead body.”
After that is was a complete horror show made not of warfare but of magic. Nicole realized in that singular moment that she was in way over her head. She supposed it was a good thing that Grant was heading in her direction. It seemed his final stance would be protecting her.
The evil guy who had been in her mind roared forward. Niall was tossed. So were Rònan and Malcolm. Struggling to fight him they went for their weapons, but his darkness was too great. Water churned. The spectacular sunrise struggled as it splintered through blackened clouds. Even Nicole could feel the dark, powerful magic inundating around her.
This was insane.
How would they ever fight this?
But somehow she knew when Niall jumped in front of them and raised his sword sideways. He would die protecting everyone if given the chance. So would she. They might be half a lake away, but their eyes met.
Understood.
Nicole’s breath caught. It wasn’t just about protecting but so much more. It was about love. Not just a deep love for one another but everyone that meant anything to them. The people they knew. The lives that had changed theirs. It was about mistakes and new beginnings. It was about no more avoidance but only acceptance.
More than anything, it was about embracing change.
It had come, and it was theirs.
They were kindred. One. Always had been. Always would be.
“Screw this,” she mouthed and once more dug her blade and shield into the sand to stop herself.
“Aye, lass,” he mouthed back and kept his sword held high.
Whatever passed between them at that moment changed everything. Brae Stewart staggered back. The three spirit shadows twisted away. The wind that whipped died and the sun rays gave way to a bright, pale purple twilight. The waters calmed as Niall in his red Sinclair plaid kept his blade raised, as ready to defend as the dark demi-god was determined to destroy.
The rest might have meant to defend him, but they couldn’t get close.
No, he was caught in magic.
At first, she thought it meant the enemy had him but soon realized it meant something else entirely. Not only did the Celtic symbols in her blade ignite with dark blue but the prisms of her shield as well. Yet she knew that wasn’t what gave them the most power. No. Though terrified for his life as the darkness swamped down on him, Nicole’s eyes fell to her hand, and she smiled.
Outright, unabashedly smiled.
The stone in the center of her ring shone brightly. Dark blue.
To match Niall’s eye color.
There were weapons then there was the weapon. Though she would have sworn it was the worst plot possible in any book or movie, it was the best plot imaginable in their story. Whatever happened with her ring fed into not only her blade and shield but into Niall’s eyes and even his sword. He might have been able to control water before but now?
Now it was everything.
Nicole didn’t mess around trying to save everyone because she knew they would be just fine as she raced toward the waterfall. Niall loved her and his wrath, his element, was crashing down. The lake swirled up and became a massive, watery weapon against Brae and her laird. It was unstoppable.
A roar swallowed the heavens as evil tried to attack one final time but had no chance against...
Love.
Nicole held back when the others rushed through.
The dark laird roared again, trying desperately to get past the magic she and Niall had created, but he was going nowhere fast. Apparently, now that her ring had ignited, he no longer had control over her because she heard his words struggle within her mind then zap out entirely. Within moments, the dark laird wrapped around Brae and they both vanished.
Nicole gasped when Niall scooped her up and raced through the waterfall. The fury of their nemesis’ departure made the ground shake, but it didn’t last long.
“We are safe,” Grant announced even as he continued to weave what she assumed were protective spells.
The second Niall lowered her; she wrapped her arms around him and pressed her face against his chest. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”
“Aye, I could say the same of you, my crazy, wee, lass,” he murmured.
“Och, ye two had me worried out there,” Rònan said and embraced them both.
When Rònan started sniffing, Nicole warned, “Stop it, Rònan.”
Rònan only offered an indefinable sound before inhaling a few more times.
Nicole chuckled, mumbling, “You guys really like group hugs, huh?”
“Well, ye cannae blame us,” Niall rumbled. “Ye are a bonnie lass if ever there was one.”
“Aye,” Rònan agreed.
“Nicole!”
“Alrighty, time to let me go, guys,” Nicole managed before they stepped away. When she crouched, Robert flew into her arms, and she held him tight. “Hey, kiddo, good to see you!”
“Aye!” She heard the tears in his voice. “I thought ye truly gone for good when ye protected me and went with the evil lass.”
“Nah. You can’t get rid of me that easily.” She pulled back enough so that she could tilt up his chin and meet his eyes. “Besides, I was too darn proud of
you not to make it back so I could tell you how amazing I think you are.”
“I am?” He sniffled a little and rubbed away some tears. “Why?”
“Because...” She made sure her voice and expression were very serious. “Remember what I told you back in the Viking cave? I asked you to steer clear of the bad guy, and you did. You listened to those who tried to protect you because you knew you could trust them.”
He brushed away the last of his tears. “Just like I trusted you.”
Nicole nodded. “That’s right.”
Robert stood up a little taller and nodded. “Thank ye for everything ye’ve done for me, Nicole.”
“Anytime, kid.” She ruffled his hair and grinned.
Nicole no sooner stood before Darach was there. He spun her once and grinned before he gave her a big hug. “’Tis bloody good to see you alive and well, lass.”
“Good to see you too, sweetie.” She hugged him and laughed. “I wish you could’ve come along for the last part of the ride.”
“Och, nay. Someone needed to keep an eye on the wee King.” He pulled back but kept his arms around her, still smiling. “Besides, I couldnae have gotten past Niall if I wanted to.”
“Probably not,” she agreed.
“Enough with that, Cousin,” Niall muttered and pulled Nicole free even though he patted Darach on the back. She found it amusing he was fine with Rònan putting his hands all over her but not Darach.
Niall took her elbow and nodded at a tall, stunning redhead. She might be older with traces of silver in her hair, but she was still rocking it. “Nicole, this is my Ma, Cadence.”
Ah, Leslie’s sister.
“Nice to meet you,” Nicole started, but Cadence pulled her in for a tight hug before she could finish.
“So nice to meet you too, Nicole.” Then Cadence held her at arm’s length. “Thank you for taking such good care of my boy.”
“Well, it was really more the other way around,” Nicole said with a smile.
“Don’t be so humble.” Cadence’s eyes narrowed a fraction. “You’re a Broun. That means it worked both ways.”
Not going anywhere near arguing with Niall’s Mom, Nicole only grinned. “I suppose it did one way or another.”
The MacLomain Series: Later Years - a Scottish Time Travel Romance Boxed Set Page 52