Lachlan scowled at him. “His…fiancée?”
“Aye. We plan to marry shortly after the curse is lifted.” Thomas glared back. “Here’s the rest of our party. Zoe, don’t you want to say goodbye to Sidney?” He pointed to the Jeep. She shot him a questioning look. “Go on, love. I’ll join you in a moment.”
“Okay.” She studied his face, and then glanced at the three men before walking away.
“What are you playing at?” Lachlan asked. “Have you told her your life will end in less than a week’s time?”
“She knows it’s a possibility. I’m not taking the antidote to immortality if the only outcome is death.”
“It’s no’ likely Áine will give you a choice.” Lachlan shook his head. “You’re treading on thin ice, and your fiancée is the one who will suffer.”
He raked his hand through his hair, and glared at Lachlan. “You can’t say for certain what Áine will do, and I’d appreciate it if you’d stay the fuck out of my business.”
“Oy, what are you on about?” Donald took a step closer. “Have we no’ been waiting for an end to this cursed existence for nigh on two millennia? Now you tell us you’re engaged, and our laird spends—”
“Wheesht.” Lachlan put his hand on Donald’s shoulder. “This is a conversation best left until we have more privacy.”
“Donald is right to be concerned,” Niall added. “We’re depending on Dermot. He’s the only one who can return Sidney to the place of Mairéad’s murder.”
“I’m no’ disagreeing,” Lachlan said. “I’m only suggesting we talk about it once we’re home. This involves all of us. The others need to hear it as well.”
“I want the curse ended as much as anyone.” Thomas watched Zoe as she linked her arm with Sidney’s. “I’m only saying we’ve all been robbed of a normal life. I’m asking Áine for mortality, aye, but no’ if the result is instant death. My love has returned. I mean to have the lifetime with her that was stolen from me.”
“You think Áine cares one whit about what you want?” Donald shot him an incredulous look. “Do you believe the passage of time has somehow made her more agreeable?”
“Nay.” He shook his head. “I’m hoping once she reunites with her reincarnated daughter, she’ll soften a bit. Maybe I can have Sidney plead my case. Wouldn’t you choose a normal life over instant death if it were offered?”
“I’ve lived long enough and seen enough. Haven’t we all suffered far too many losses already?” Lachlan stared out over the airfield. “I have no wish to continue. This is no’ our time.” He shook his head. “None of us was meant to live beyond our century. Everyone I loved is long gone. It’s time I joined them on the other side, or to meet them again in another life. My kin no longer know who I am.”
“Aye.” Donald nodded. “I’m with Lachlan on this. My descendants are spread all around the globe. Even though I’ve followed many through the span of our years, and helped them to succeed when I could, none even know I exist.”
“It is well past time for us to leave this world.” Niall started up the steps to the cabin of the jet. “We were cursed together, and we’ll die together. Áine’s father made the conditions clear enough.” He glanced at Thomas from the door. “We’re cleared for takeoff in twenty. Get everyone on board.”
Thomas’s insides twisted. He had hoped for support from the other men. Without it, his situation became far more uncertain. Taking a deep breath, he shored up his determination. There had to be a way, and he would be the one to find it.
“You have to tell me where this castle of theirs is located once you get there.”
Sidney frowned at Zoe. “What’s the urgency? Didn’t Thomas promise to come back right after the curse is lifted?”
“Yes, if he—”
“Come, Sidney. They’re waiting for us to board.” Dermot took her elbow.
“Call me.” Zoe reached for her hand. “Promise.”
“I will. Relax, Zoe.” Sidney allowed Dermot to lead her toward the jet, and Zoe headed for Thomas. Sidney had to turn away as she saw the two of them hold each other close while they said their goodbyes. She suffered a stab of jealousy. Thomas and Zoe didn’t have any ambivalence about how they felt about each other.
“Listen, Sidney,” Dermot said. “The anniversary is eight days away. We lose a day in travel. That gives us a week together. Can we call a truce? I want you to enjoy Scotland. I’d like to show you my home and some of the sights.” He stopped and put his hands on her shoulders, his gray eyes boring into hers. “I want you to be happy.”
God, this was hard, pretending she didn’t care, trying to maintain her distance. The conversation they’d had on the way back to the Cities had almost unhinged her. One minute he warned her away, and the next he begged her for a start-over. Being with him was like riding an out-of-control emotional roller coaster without the safety bar. Sidney searched his face and waited for the other shoe to drop. He looked truly desperate. Her heart melted. “All right, a truce.”
His whole body relaxed, and the smile on his face transformed him, causing her breath to catch in her throat. Dermot reached for her hand, and her heart did that pinball routine. I’m in so much trouble. “Don’t get cocky, MacMud. You’re on probation.”
“Fair enough.” Dermot helped her up the steps into the jet. “I think you’ve met everyone except Donald.”
She tried hard not to let her mouth fall open at the luxury before her. Two rows of leather recliners lined either side of the cabin; a bar, microwave and a small refrigerator banked a door in the rear, and a large flat-screen TV took up most the front wall.
A tall blond stopped next to the portal into the cockpit, nodding to her. “I’m Donald. Niall and I will be piloting this flight. We’ll stop once to refuel before crossing the Atlantic. Please get settled. We’ll taxi onto the runway shortly.”
Sidney followed Dermot to one of the rows of recliners. She set her cane against the wall and sank into the soft leather seat by the window. “Nice. You certainly travel in style.” He helped her shrug out of her parka before she settled back.
“I only take the jet when I must. I don’t much care for flying.” He sat next to her and lifted the armrest between them. “These seats swivel to face the center of the cabin.” He leaned across her lap. “I’m making sure it’s locked for takeoff. Fasten your seat belt.”
“You’re afraid of flying?”
“Aye, he does no’ like heights of any kind,” Thomas remarked from across the aisle.
“I love it.” She smiled. “Being in a plane always puts me to sleep.”
“That’s another thing,” Thomas added. “The Druid hardly ever sleeps.”
Odd, he’d had no trouble sleeping the other night. In fact, she’d worried he would sleep all day. She sighed and turned to watch the tarmac as they approached the runway. How long had it been since she’d taken this much time off from work? Especially with a man as attractive as Dermot? Never. Perhaps sometime during the next week Dermot would figure out what he wanted. Maybe they’d be able to work through his ambivalence and find a future together.
Sure, and maybe the sheep in Scotland laid hard-boiled eggs.
She stared out the window and let the motion lull her while the world below fell away.
A half hour into their flight, Sidney’s body went slack. Dermot reclined their seats and eased his arm around her. She settled against him without waking, and he was filled with contentment—yet another unfamiliar experience for him. How could he work his way back into her bed?
Perhaps he’d go the flowers-and-gifts route, fly her to Edinburgh or Glasgow to take her out to expensive restaurants and ply her with fine wine. He’d show her his bees and the orchard. Maybe he’d even invite her to his stillroom and share his collection of rare art. Surely Sidney would appreciate what he’d managed to acquire over the centuries. He’d even make a gift out of her favorite piece.
He’d been miserable for almost two millennia. Now the desire to share
everything about his life made him realize how many things gave him pleasure. Had he simply forgotten because he had no one with whom to share them?
“Dermot.” Lachlan loomed over him in the aisle. “I’d like a word.”
His contentment vanished, and he glanced at Sidney. “Now?”
“Aye, while Sidney and Thomas sleep.”
He turned to glimpse his cousin across the aisle. Nodding reluctantly, he disentangled himself and followed Lachlan to the cargo bay. He wasn’t sure he wanted to hear what Lachlan had to say. He preferred to hold Sidney while planning ways to please her—and pretending he wouldn’t be dead in a week.
Lachlan closed the door behind them and leaned against it with his arms crossed in front of him. “Thomas has gone and promised the wee blonde lass a future. He says they’ll marry after the curse is lifted. After the curse is lifted, for chrissake. How did this happen?”
“You know Thomas as well as I do.”
“At least you could’ve told her what is to come. It’s no’ likely she would’ve gotten involved with him if she knew.”
He shook his head. “Thomas already told her. His version of what is to come, anyway. Zoe is Iselda reborn. As much as I disapprove of Thomas’s actions, I do no’ blame him. Can you imagine how’d you’d feel? You remember—”
“Damn.” Lachlan shoved his hands into his pockets. “I remember all right. What those bastards did to Iselda that day still haunts my dreams. What god did we piss off so badly that we deserve to be punished over and over, do you think? Thomas has never recovered, and now it’ll be her turn to continue on without him.”
“If that’s all—”
“Nay. There’s more.”
“What else?” Dermot’s stomach clenched.
“When we came to fetch the Jeep in Ely—” Lachlan studied the floor of the jet, “—I noticed Sidney said you’d made the bed. No’ the beds. I see the way you look at her. We all do. Are you sleeping with her?”
“As Thomas pointed out earlier, I hardly sleep.”
“I’m no’ talking about sleep. Have you bedded the lass?”
“You’re crossing a line.”
“What the hell is going on? First Thomas, and now you? I suspected you were getting in too deep when we bought the dress, but this…” He shook his head. “We have but a handful of days until the anniversary of Mairéad’s murder. One chance to end this wretched curse, and you’re the only one who can do it. Is your commitment to us wavering?”
Guilt washed through Dermot. He had gotten in too deep, and it was well past time he remembered why he’d crossed the ocean to find Sidney. It wasn’t to take her sightseeing, or to share his life and risk his heart. Gods, it was time for a reality check. “You’ve no need for concern. I’ll do my part.”
“Do we need to worry about Áine? She’ll try to prevent you from returning Sidney to the place of Mairéad’s murder, won’t she?”
“Aye, she sent the blizzard that caused Sidney to sprain her ankle. I’ve cast a protection spell over the jet as a precaution.”
Lachlan lifted an eyebrow at his revelation. “Did you tell Sidney?”
“Nay. I don’t want her to be frightened. She’s had enough to deal with.”
Lachlan nodded. “What will you do about Thomas and his lass?”
“What will I do? When have I ever interfered in anyone’s private life?” He glared at Lachlan. “There is nothing to be done. We’ll die, and that will be the end of his engagement.” Dermot wanted to shove Lachlan away from the door. He wanted his fist to connect with something. He’d never wanted to be laird of his clan, or a Druid. He hadn’t chosen any part of his life, and right now resentment choked the air out of his lungs.
For the first time in his long life, he didn’t want to die. Not now, not since he’d met Sidney, and it was just one more thing he had no control over. Gods, he knew how Thomas felt. He couldn’t draw enough breath into his lungs. “Move.”
Lachlan shot him a curious look and stepped aside. “Dermot—”
“You’ve naught to be concerned about. I’ve nothing more to add.”
After they’d stopped for a meal and fuel, Dermot dozed off and on. Sidney had bought a book at the airport, but after reading for about an hour, she set it aside, leaned against him and fell asleep again. Shifting himself in his seat, he glanced across the aisle where Lachlan and Thomas played cards. The vast expanse of the Atlantic sparkled below them. Soon they’d be home.
The jet lurched, and dropped. He gripped the handle of his chair with one hand and tightened his hold around Sidney’s shoulders. He hated flying and heights of any kind. They dropped again and bobbed forward like a rock skipping along the surface of a loch. “Shite.”
Donald stepped through the cockpit door. “We seem to have hit some kind of turbulence that should no’ exist. There’s no’ a cloud in the sky and no reports of any weather to speak of. Our control panel has gone out of control. We—” The jet listed hard to the side, and Donald had to grip the portal frame to remain standing.
“Áine.” Dermot looked around the cabin at each of his men. The sound of their engines stuttering sent his heart pounding. “I’ll deal with this. If Sidney wakes, she’s no’ to know we’re under attack.”
“Hurry,” Donald said and turned back to the cockpit. “I do no’ fancy a swim in the Atlantic.”
Dermot breathed deep to calm himself. He should’ve known his protection spell wouldn’t protect them from Áine. It had been too hastily thrown together. Slipping into a trance, he searched for the threads of magic. Once he found them, he set to work unraveling her hold on their jet.
Sidney jerked awake beside him. The desire to comfort her was a distraction none of them could afford. One of the engines stopped. He turned his focus to deal with the new threat and shut himself off from everything around him.
Sidney’s life depended upon it.
“What the hell is going on?” Sidney sat up in her seat just as the jet bounced and dropped.
“Um, we’ve hit some turbulence,” Lachlan told her.
“It sounds like one of the engines has stopped.” She wanted to believe him, but a glance out the window told her otherwise. “What kind of turbulence could there be? We aren’t flying through any kind of storm.”
“Well, sometimes there are jet streams and air currents…” Thomas leaned forward in his seat. The jet lunged and rattled. The remaining engine made a stuttering noise.
“Shite.” Thomas gripped the back of the seat in front of him. “I never did much care for bumpy rides.”
“Are we going to land? Something’s wrong with this jet. I think we should turn around right now and land before things get any worse.” Sidney fastened her seat belt with trembling hands.
Lachlan nodded toward her window. “We’re over the ocean, lass. It’s a hell of a long swim to either shore.”
“No’ to mention the water is bloody cold,” Thomas added. “We could do it though. There’s a life raft in the cargo bay. If Dermot can manage to keep us levitated until we can put down on the ocean’s surface, we can take turns swimming and keep Sidney in the—”
“What the hell are you talking about?” she shouted. “How can he sleep through this?” She turned to shake him awake. “We’re going to crash, aren’t we? I’m going to die before I’ve even had a chance to live.”
Lachlan shot out of his seat and stopped her. “He’s no’ sleeping. Do no’ disturb him while he’s in a trance. He’s trying to divert the, um, turbulence and deal with the engine problems.”
She searched Lachlan’s face. “Can he do that? Can he keep us levitated like Thomas said?” She’d seen Dermot send a blizzard away, but fixing failing mechanical parts? All of this was way beyond her. Panic must be clouding her judgment, because she desperately wanted to believe whatever Lachlan told her.
“Aye.” Lachlan patted her hand. “He won’t let anything happen to you. Trust him.”
The dead engine coughed back to life, and the
other stopped its out-of-control revving. Her eyes filled with tears of relief. My God, was there anything Dermot couldn’t do?
Oh, yeah, give his heart.
“Did I no’ tell you?” Lachlan patted her hand again and returned to his seat. “Everything is going to be fine.”
Chapter Fourteen
“There you have it, Eithne.”
“There I have what, mistress?” Eithne frowned as she set the tray of food down on the table next to Áine.
“I have tried twice now to prevent the Druid from bringing the human back to Scotland, and twice he has foiled my attempts.”
“Oh? I’m certain you tried your hardest, Princess Áine.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Eithne’s dry tone set her on edge. “Of course I did. They should be snowed in right now at Sidney’s summer home. The damned Druid sent my lovely blizzard off. You saw just now how he thwarted my efforts to put their jet down in the middle of the ocean.”
“What I see, if you don’t mind my saying, is the smug look of satisfaction on your face. I know you too well. Had you wished to succeed, you would’ve.”
“Hmm. Since I’m such a magnanimous—”
Eithne snorted, and tried to cover it up with a cough behind her hand.
“Oh, all right. Have it your way.” She raised an eyebrow at her indentured servant. “Since I’m in such a good mood, I’ll take what you said as a compliment.”
“Ha! I knew it. You wanted this all along so you can justify taking the human away from the Druid. I don’t think it’s a good idea. I said it before, and I’ll say it again. No good can come from breaking your father’s laws.”
Áine picked at the food on the tray. “Removing the mortal from the Druid is the only way I can be assured of victory. If she’s compliant, I’ll even make her stay a very pleasant one.”
“And your father?” Eithne’s eyes went wide.
Heart of the Druid Laird Page 16