Warrior Reborn

by Melissa Mayhue

  What if Christiana’s injuries were fatal? What if she managed to escape? What if the man who had taken her ended up being the very one he needed for his own plans? Christiana would know that, and could easily enough prevent his return just to thwart Torquil’s desires.

  Everything, everything, hung in the balance and Ulfr had let them simply ride away.

  “Fool!”

  Frustration clawed at Torquil’s gut. He was no closer now to determining which of the brothers he needed than he had been before they’d left. Further away, in fact, since he no longer had control of Christiana or her Visions.

  “I’d thought to prepare a contingent of men to recover and repair the wagon, and to follow Noble and yer sister to the witches’ ”—Ulfr paused and cleared his throat before continuing—“to the lodging of Orabilis to bring our lady home. If that meets yer approval, my lord.”

  “Go. Bring my sister back where she belongs! And Ulfr.” He turned a hard stare on the man, holding his next words until he knew his captain had grown uncomfortable with the waiting. “Dinna fail me in this, or you’ll find yer next lodging to be in the oubliette. I want her back without delay. Are we clear on that?”

  Ulfr nodded, all but running from the hall.

  As he should, the incompetent fool. His days were numbered.

  Once the sun settled onto the horizon, Torquil would see for himself whether Noble had indeed taken Christiana to Orabilis, or if she’d convinced him to aid her in an attempted escape.

  For now, though, he needed to check on the strangers he’d allowed entry to Tordenet. What had possessed him to acquiesce to his men’s pleas was beyond him. This sort of indulgence rankled at his very core. But his father had always professed that the best way to tie your men to you was to win their hearts. Though his father had become a disloyal embarrassment with his marriage to Deandrea, the one thing he had been good at was building loyalty among his men. And loyalty was something Torquil would be counting on heavily come spring, when he led his men against Malcolm and Castle Mac-Gahan.

  For that reason alone, he’d welcomed the minstrels, despite the irritation of having Tinklers camped just beyond his walls.

  He stepped outside, immediately spotting the crowd of men gathered in the courtyard. His guests would likely be at the center of that throng. Descending the great staircase, he breathed deeply of the cold, crisp air and noted that clouds already gathered in the sky, a sure sign heralding a moonless night. And a moonless night was exactly what he needed to wing his way sightlessly across his lands.

  Nineteen

  CHRISTIANA SWAM IN the dark green pools that were Chase Noble’s eyes. She splashed and rolled, the water heating her body with its wet caress.

  And then there was no water, only his strong arms holding her, his head dipping close to hers as they floated weightless together. He spoke her name, his warm breath fanning over her face, and it was as if they were the only two people in the world.

  His mouth hovered over hers and she thrilled that at long last she would taste those full, smiling lips.

  And in that instant, he was gone, evaporating in front of her as her foot touched down on a familiar gravel path.

  “What are you doing here?”

  Christiana froze in her tracks, staring straight ahead at the three women squatting in the shade of an enormous green tree.

  She knew where she was. Her wonderful dream had carried her straight to the world of her Visions.

  “You can see me?” she asked.

  It was the first time any of the Norns had ever spoken to her. In fact, since none of them had ever even appeared to notice her presence when she’d traversed the Vision world before, she had assumed they couldn’t see her.

  Skuld, Keeper of the Future, her face hidden in the folds of her veil, snorted her disgust. “Do I look to be blind? Of course I see you. What do you want here?”

  “I come to travel the Vision world. I have a great need to see what I must do.”

  “You’ve no right to see what’s to come.” The beauty in the middle—Verthandi, Keeper of the Present—spoke. “Live it. You will see it as it happens, as everyone is meant to do.”

  “She has the right.” The eldest of the three, Urd, was Keeper of the Past. “In ages long past, Odin paid the price for such knowledge, and he’s chosen to pass it along to this one.”

  “But she’s already seen that which is to come.” Skuld kept her head down, her fingers busily working at the loom in front of her. “I’ve nothing more to show her.”

  “Please, there were so many paths the last time I was here.” How could she know what to do? How could she possibly make sure Chase walked the proper path?

  “So many paths?” Verthandi laid aside the yarn she held, turning her gaze toward her sister. “You allowed her to travel the Maze of Possibility? What’s to be accomplished by that? Nothing. She might as well have wandered in the Paths of Possible Pasts. She could have been lost in there forever.”

  Skuld shrugged. “She’s the one who pushed her way into that maze. I didn’t force her.”

  “Now that you know the danger, why are you back?” Verthandi turned her gaze toward Christiana.

  “Yes, why?” Urd echoed.

  Guilt pooled in Christiana’s stomach. But feeling guilty was ridiculous. She had every right to be here. It wasn’t as if she were searching out something to aid only herself. It was the common good she sought. A way to stop Torquil from committing the evil he planned.

  “I know why she’s here.” Skuld’s head swung her direction. “It’s because of him.”

  Verthandi nodded as if now she understood. “She’s willing to risk the dangers of losing herself in the Maze again for the love of a man.”

  “Love?” Christiana squeaked. “Absolutely not.” Love had nothing to do with any of this, despite the dream that had brought her here. Chase was the one who could save her from Torquil. She’d seen it. All that existed between them was a rescue—nothing more.

  “And because you saw it, you forced it.” Skuld chided as if she’d read Christiana’s thoughts. “You bargained with the Elf to bring him to your world. You placed him in danger for your own benefit. Best you search your heart before you return here again, youngling. Best you consider why you deny your feelings so vehemently, lest you end up here forever like us.”

  With that, Skuld pulled the hood from her head, revealing herself for the first time.

  Christiana recognized her instantly.

  It was her own guilt-ridden blue eyes staring back at her that sent her running from the Norns screaming, their cackling laughter following her in her frenzied escape.

  CHRISTIANA’S SCREAM SPIKED fear in Chase’s chest and had him on his feet, headed for her door.

  “No need to get yerself all in a tizzy,” Orabilis assured him from the pot where she stood stirring. “Naught but a bad dream. The dwale does that now and again.”

  Bad dream or no, Chase wasn’t taking any chances. Not with the potent combination of drugs she had flowing in her system.

  “I think I’ll go check, all the same.”

  “Do as you like. I canna leave the elixir I’m working on. No at this stage of boil.”

  Chase pushed open the door and hurried to Christiana’s bedside. She lay on her back, the light of the fireplace glinting off the side of her face.

  He dropped to his knees and, without thought, reached out to run his thumb over the shiny spot on her cheek.

  Wet with tears.

  She turned toward him, her eyes wide open.

  “You screamed. Are you in pain?” The idea of her lying here in the dark, alone, hurting, was almost more than he could stand. “I can go get you some more of the dwale that Orabilis gave you before.”

  “No.” She placed a restraining hand on his forearm. “It’s no my leg but my Visions that trouble me now.”

  “Visions?”

  She tightened her grip on his arm. “I have little hope you’ll accept what I say. It’s a lea
p of faith for any man. But you must hear the truth, whether or no you believe me.”

  “I’m all ears.” At her frown, he tried again. “I meant to say, I’m listening. Tell me whatever you need to.”

  She scooted up to sit on the bed, her expression serious in the faint flicker of firelight, her arms crossed protectively in front of her.

  “I’ve the gift of prophecy, come to me through my father’s bloodline. I have Visions of what’s to come. At least, I do when Skuld permits it.”

  “Who is Skuld?”

  “One of the Norns, the three goddesses who weave the tapestry of our fates. Skuld determines what it is to be, and it is within her world that I travel the Visions to see what is to come.”

  Chase’s first instinct was disbelief. But he, the son of a Faerie, living seven hundred years out of his own time, knew better. The world was filled with Magic beyond mere man’s ability to imagine. And only accepting that fact saved his sanity.

  “So it was one of those visions, something you saw happening in the future, that frightened you as you slept?”

  Christiana shook her head. “I’m no sure whether what I saw was Vision or merely a phantom brought on by a nightmare. Traveling to Skuld’s world has been difficult since . . .” Her words stopped as if she changed her mind partway through the thought. “It’s why I came to see Orabilis. I needed the herbal elixir she prepares for me in order to control the Visions. I canna seem to manage them on my own anymore.”

  “Maybe it’s whatever is in that elixir that makes it difficult for you to concentrate.”

  Again she shook her head. “It’s no a matter of concentration. It’s much larger than that. And as to whether or not it was a true Vision that awoke me, it’s of no import to what I must say to you. Although, that which I just experienced did confirm that I canna in good conscience hold my tongue any longer.”

  He waited, allowing her the time she needed to collect her thoughts.

  “Yer in danger here.”

  “In danger? From what? That little old woman in the other room?” He seriously doubted that.

  “No, I dinna mean here in Orabilis’s home. For a fact, this is the safest place for you to be in all the land.” Her hands tightened around her upper arms, her fingers visibly biting into the tender flesh there. “It’s yer presence at Tordenet of which I speak. Yer in danger as long as you remain there. You and yer brother both. Yer in danger, and it’s my fault for bringing you there in the first place.”

  She looked close to tears and she shivered as if she were freezing.

  “Listen to me. You just had a bad dream.” He rose to his feet and pushed her gently back down onto the bed, pulling the covers up to her chin. “What you need right now is to sleep to allow your body time to heal.”

  “I must warn you,” she began.

  “Then consider me warned. And believe me on this, you didn’t have anything to do with my being at Tordenet. Hall and I made that decision on our own.” Or Hall had, anyway. He’d just tagged along because what else was he going to do but go where the Faeries sent him?

  “But I did,” she protested. “You dinna ken the whole of it.”

  “Then tomorrow, when you’re all rested, you can fill me in on the whole of it. But for now, you need your sleep.”

  “I dinna want to sleep. I dinna want to see those apparitions again this night.” Already her eyelids drooped, belying her protest.

  She reached out a hand and he took it. Soft and smooth, it fit his grasp as comfortably as if it were meant to be there.

  Again he dropped to his knees, meeting her gaze at eye level.

  “Don’t you worry about a thing, Christy.” The name Orabilis had used fell easily from his lips as if he’d known it always. “I’ll stay right here to guard you while you sleep. Whatever came after you before has no chance of getting to you with me here. I promise.”

  She smiled, her eyes closing even as the corners of her mouth curved up and he was lost, determined to spend the whole night right here, protecting her from the hallucinations that plagued her dreams.

  Twenty

  SUNSET, AT LAST.

  Torquil carefully laid the old scroll on his desk, glancing at the open wooden chest that held its twin. Another fruitless afternoon of chasing the elusive Magic had eaten away his hours. When he returned, he would replace the scroll on its silken bed where it lay with its companion, one on either side of the ancient sword. He hadn’t the time to roll it properly now. He had overly much that required his attention this night.

  He began the process of clearing his mind as he removed his clothing, folding each piece and placing it in a neat stack beside the bed of pillows. Lowering his body to the pallet, he ignored the aches and pains of a day spent trying to force the Magic to work. It would come. It would be his. These spells were more challenging than anything he’d done before, but he would master them just as he had the others.

  With a glance to the door, he dismissed any concerns about being interrupted. Ulfr usually guarded his lair when he set out on a spirit journey, but he had nothing to worry over. No one in the entire castle would ever consider entering his tower chambers without his express permission. No one but his sister, and it was her absence that instigated the need for what he was about to do.

  Still, caution was his ally. He spared an extra moment for a spell of protection before turning his attention to the task at hand. Now, his only concern was to concentrate, a task made more difficult by the beast within, demanding its freedom. He wrestled the beast back into the dark corner where it lived and reached once again for the concentration this task demanded.

  Focus on the breathing. See the shape of what he would be. Will his spirit to take that shape. Feel the great owl claiming him. Become one with the great owl.

  In an exhale of breath he rose above his body, taking no time this night to admire the shell that housed his spirit. There was no time for such small pleasures.

  Onto the ledge and over it. With a swoop he was airborne, his great wings beating against the cold, damp air.

  He circled the courtyard, where the castle’s activity had begun to settle down for the night, and allowed the air current to sweep him up and over the massive walls that protected his keep. Just below and off to the right, the Tinkler wagons camped. He circled, but as he’d expected, the pale green glow of Faerie Magic hung over the encampment like a shroud, all but obscuring the people themselves.

  Unexpectedly, a movement within the camp stood out. A glow of red spiked from the canopy of green, like a ruby tumbling through sluggish waters.

  What had the Tinklers got their hands on? Some new trinket they’d likely stolen from an unsuspecting host somewhere along the way, he’d guess.

  It intrigued him, and at any other time it might bear further scrutiny. But not on this night. He had too many miles to cover, and after a day spent pushing his mind to its limits, he could already feel his energy flagging.

  With a flap of his enormous wings he turned west, following the trail he knew all too well.

  All sorts of small creatures made their way across his lands this night, but none of them the human prey he sought. He came across Ulfr’s party camped in a small clearing near a stream, their fires burning brightly. Nothing out of the ordinary there.

  Torquil lowered his head against the wind and flapped his wings, covering great swaths of ground. Ahead on the right was the wagon his men had abandoned. He circled, dropping lower to inspect the scene more closely. The wagon lay on its side, one wheel clearly broken. From what he could see, only one barrel of flour had been lost, its contents spread all around. The others appeared to be fine. His sister and her witch would have to make do with those because he had no intention of sending more.

  Not much farther to go, now. He could already see the glow up ahead.

  He couldn’t fly any closer. The dome of color covering Orabilis’s home prevented his approach. Not the soft fuzzy green blanket that masked the Tinklers’ encampment, but a ha
rd, emerald green shell dominated here, with random sparks of color shooting out into the sky. Sparks that could, and had in the past, singed his feathers.

  It was the damned rowan trees ringing her property like a chain of sentinels on guard.

  He’d known he’d see nothing there, but from here, he’d begin his search, spreading out in ever-widening circles, covering all the distance a mortal on horseback might have covered in the day since Ulfr had last laid eyes on Christiana and Chase.

  If they were anywhere but inside that ring of emerald, he would know it. He would find them.

  He would find them and make them pay for their disloyalty.

  A GREAT WHOMP of wings overhead had Brie scanning the dark sky above her. There was no moon, but she possessed the excellent night vision of a born hunter.

  High above her, an enormous bird circled against the backdrop of clouds. If only she had her bow she could easily pick it from the sky. A creature that size could feed the Tinkler families she traveled with for a good two days.

  But her bow was neatly stored in her room at Castle MacGahan, and her sights were set on larger prey. Tonight she foraged for information to help her in her quest for revenge. Tonight she tracked Torquil MacDowylt. Once she had a feel for his routine and habits, then she could formulate a plan to make him pay.

  She pulled the cloak she’d borrowed from Eleyne closer around her face. It was too short by far, but in her experience men didn’t waste time looking at a woman’s feet. It was her face she wished to hide. If she slumped down a bit and kept her face to the shadows, she stood a chance of being mistaken for one of the old women who lived here at Tordenet.

  If she were careful enough, she just might manage to avoid contact with everyone.

  Though the iron gates had been shut for the night, the small wooden entrance to the massive castle wall had been left open. She could thank the small but steady stream of women from the castle out to the Tinklers’ wagons for that. Women everywhere loved an opportunity to inspect the Tinkler wares, even if their laird did not approve.