by Donna Grant
“She’s right,” Aimery said softly. “Not a single one of them know what it is they are supposed to do.”
“Wonderful,” Roderick mumbled as he moved away from Elle and sat in a nearby chair.
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Elle shook her head sadly as she looked at her husband. “You would lose faith in me so easily?”
“Its not you I lose faith in,” Roderick said as he reached to take her hand. “The odds continue to stack against us. We move through time to find the Chosen who can destroy the evil, yet you don’t know what to do. I have complete faith that each of you will try to do whatever it is you think you must do. But will it be the right thing?”
Silence filled the solar once again as each turned to their thoughts.
Elle knelt before Roderick and raised her face to him. “There was a time when you asked me to give you my complete trust even though I didn’t know you. You know me, and I’m asking the same of you. If you lose faith now, then we are surely doomed.”
“I want a future for us,” he growled as he lowered his chin to his chest.
“As do I. Help me ensure that we get it,” she urged.
Finally Roderick raised his gaze. “I’ll do whatever you ask of me.”
A smile pulled at her lips then. “I want the warrior who fought to keep me from the Harpy’s. I want the warrior who stole my heart and soul.”
“You’ve always had him,” Roderick whispered before he pulled her into his arms.
“Now that that’s settled,” Hugh said. “Let’s form a plan. As much as I’d love to tell you that we should stay inside the castle, I think the evil will end up driving us out somehow.”
“How?” Nicole asked.
Val pulled her against him with a sigh. “After all you saw in Scotland, how can you ask that?”
“Val’s right,” Gabriel said. “The evil will do what he must to get us out of the castle. He wants the Chosen dead.”
Cole cursed. “If we are driven from the castle, we cannot fight the creatures and keep the Chosen safe.”
“True,” Aimery agreed. “Which is where my Fae army comes in.”
Hugh shook his head. “I didn’t think you could interfere.”
Aimery shrugged. “The time has past for the rules to be followed. If we stand aside and let the evil do what he will, then two realms will be destroyed and more to soon follow. I cannot allow that.”
“There will be punishment for you,” Gabriel warned.
Aimery turned his swirling blue eyes to him. “And I will gladly accept it.”
“You risk much, my friend,” Hugh said softly. “We thank you.”
Aimery inclined his head with a smile. “It is my pleasure. I’ve have been waiting for a long time to fight this evil.”
Roderick cleared his throat. “I think our two choices are the monastery or the old Druid ruins.”
“The ruins,” Aimery said. “You don’t want near the monastery. It might have been holy once, but too much evil has transpired there.”
Mina twisted her hands. “Even though the gargoyle was called up from the grounds of the ruins.”
Aimery nodded. “If you must leave the castle, make for the ruins. There is magic still in the stones. We’ll use it to our advantage.”
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“We’ll need horses for that,” Gabriel said. “The distance is too great to run, even if there wasn’t snow.”
Hugh sighed and ran a shaky hand down his face. “Agreed. Getting to the barn and saddling the horses is going to be a problem.”
“Leave that to me,” Val said.
Cole smiled as he glanced at Val. “And me. Between me and Val, we’ll get the horses ready.”
Gabriel felt better and better about the situation as they talked. Yet, it was hard to ignore Danielle and her obvious unease.
“What is it?”
Her gaze jerked to his. There was fear in her beautiful hazel eyes. Her lips parted as if she were about to say something, then she licked her lips. “Nothing. I’m just a little nervous.”
She was lying. Danielle had never been very good at lying, especially when she didn’t want to lie. “Trust is a hard thing to come by.”
“Aye.” Her gaze dropped from his as she played with her sleeve.
Gabriel inhaled deeply and turned back to the group. Where he found Aimery staring at him.
* * * *
Danielle had never felt so mixed up in all her life. She knew what she had to do, what she had vowed to do, but how could she when the realm was about to be destroyed.
Just as hers was?
She couldn’t simply stand by and watch her new friends lose everything. More disturbing was the fact, that she realized the Great Evil had been a part of the destruction of her world. How could she have been so blind to that?
Because you saw what Gabriel did and you wanted your revenge. At all costs.
At all costs. She sighed inwardly. She had sold herself to the very evil she should be fighting. All because she wanted her retribution. By all that was holy, what had she become?
But she knew that answer. She had become the very thing Gabriel had been.
Her gaze turned to him as it often did. His features were strong, just as he was.
It was what had drawn her to him in the first place. He was a warrior skilled in the ancient healing arts. Yet, his smile had come easy, his silver eyes expressive as they raked over her body.
How she missed those days. But dwell on them she could not. It was time to take a stand, time to make a choice. She had no doubt Gabriel would help her leave Stone Crest if she wished, but she would not abandon her new friends.
She would help them.
When a warm hand closed over hers, she jerked and found Gabriel before her.
“You were lost in your own thoughts.”
She nodded and yearned to wrap her arms around his neck, to feel his warmth seep into her. “There is much to think about.”
“You know we’ll protect you. I will protect you.”
A smile pulled at her lips at the promise she heard in his words. “I know. We A WARRIOR’S HEART
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all have a part to play in this. What do we do now?”
He took her hand and led her from the solar. “We must stay on guard. The gargoyle will continue to fly around the castle and try to come in as well.”
“I don’t hear him anymore.”
Gabriel chuckled. “That is a trap. He sits atop one of the towers and watches, waiting for someone to venture out. The people of Stone Crest know to stay hidden until dawn.”
“And with the dawn it could very well bring the Harpy.”
“Most likely,” he said as he led her up the stairs. “We have no idea how long we’ll be able to stay in the castle. I fear that the Great Evil will drive us from here somehow.”
She laughed. “Surely that isn’t possible.”
Suddenly, Gabriel stopped and turned to face her. “I’ve seen him do things that could never be done. I’ve seen him turn a good person bad. He turned Nicole’s brother into an evil Gryphon so powerful that it nearly killed us.”
“Why didn’t the Gryphon kill you?”
Gabriel sighed. “No matter how much magic the Great Evil used on the Gryphon there was no ridding him of the love he had for his sister. That is what saved her. And killed the Gryphon.”
It all seemed too much then. She couldn’t go another minute without telling Gabriel the truth. He needed to know. “Gabriel, there is something I must tell you.”
He put a finger to her lips. “You don’t know who might be listening. Save your confessions for later when we know we are alone.”
“When will that be? I must tell you this.” To have finally resolved to do the right thing, then been kept from it made Danielle want to pull her hair out.
He shrugged. “
I don’t know. Maybe never.”
“I’m ready for this to be over.”
“It will happen soon. Very soon,” he murmured as he turned and led her to her chamber.
He built up the fire while she closed and locked the door. “Now I know why you didn’t want to return to your chamber. The Shapershifter was there.”
Gabriel nodded. “At least twice.”
“Facing a gargoyle or a Harpy is frightening enough, but facing a creature that you cannot see or know is terrifying. How do we fight something like that?”
Gabriel looked at her over his shoulder, his silver eyes sparkling with ire. “We draw it out.”
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Chapter Thirty Three
Gabriel wasn’t sure what woke him. He had been dozing in a chair by the fire for most of the night though he longed to crawl in bed with Danielle. But getting in bed with her would mean he would make love to her, and he couldn’t allow his defenses down for even a moment. Not until the evil was defeated.
He slowly sat up and stretched his back. That’s when he heard a noise in the hallway. In a heartbeat he was on his feet, his sword in his hand.
“What is it?” Danielle whispered from the bed.
He held up a hand for her to stay still. Slowly, he moved toward the door, his boots making not a sound. With his heart thumping in his chest he reached for the latch of the door and pulled it open to find…nothing.
But there had been something there, he was sure of it. He felt something beside him and turned his head to find Danielle fully dressed. “I told you to stay put.”
“Aye, but when you opened the door and didn’t charge forward, I knew it was safe,” she retorted as she pulled her hair away from her face to tie it with a ribbon at the base of her neck.
Gabriel sheathed his sword and slug his bow and quiver of arrows over his shoulder. “Something isn’t right.” He closed his eyes and let his senses wander as Aimery had taught him. That’s when he felt it. “There’s something in the castle,” he said as he took her hand and pulled her from the chamber.
“Wait. What do you mean something is in the castle? The gargoyle never tried to get in last night.”
Gabriel didn’t bother to answer her. He knew he was practically running, but he had to find the rest of the Shields. Their plan was about to be put into motion.
Suddenly something barreled into him from behind, throwing Gabriel to the floor.
He immediately let go of Danielle’s hand, but it was too late, she was pulled down next to him anyway.
He quickly rolled onto his back and pulled the dagger from his boot. As he jumped to his feet, he glanced at Danielle to see her slowly sitting up.
“Are you hurt?” he asked.
Her hand gently touched her forehead. “Just shaken.”
“We have to go. It’ll be back.” He reached for Danielle’s hand and kept his senses open. The Shapeshifter would return, and the next time Gabriel would be ready for him.
They had gone a few steps when Danielle lifted her skirts in her free hand and lengthened her stride to keep up with him. “That was him, wasn’t it?”
Gabriel gave a quick nod as they reached the stairway. He glanced down into the great hall and found it as deserted as the hallway.
“I’m not liking this at all,” he murmured. “We’ll have to make a run for it.”
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“For what?” Danielle’s voice held an edge of fear in it, but it also held a note of determination.
He smiled down at her. “A surprise.”
She pulled her hand free of his and hiked up her skirts. “What I wouldn’t do for some pants right now,” she grumbled. “It isn’t easy keeping up with your long legs with the skirts about my legs.”
“Just make sure you stay with me. It’ll try to separate us.”
She gave a very unladylike snort. “I’m not letting you out of my sight.”
Gabriel stared down into the eyes of the woman who held his heart, the woman who could give him the world. She was everything to him. He cupped the back of her head and bent down to give her a quick kiss. “You’re amazing.”
She gave him a wink and a seductive smile. “I know.”
“Are you ready?”
She pulled something from within the sleeve of her gown. He looked at the dagger and grinned. Now that was the woman he had known before. Danielle had always been prepared for any situation.
“I am now,” she said as she once more gathered her skirts in her hands.
Gabriel tried to keep his strides shorter so Danielle could keep up, yet the urgency that drove him urged him faster. Danielle’s ragged breathing and their footsteps beating on the stone floor as they ran were the only sounds in the castle.
He counted the tower hallways as they ran past. It was vitally important that he get the correct one. It was the fifth stairwell and he slowed as he neared.
“Run up as fast as you can,” he urged Danielle as he pushed her up the stairs.
He started up after her but had only gone a few steps before something grabbed his feet. His head hit the steps with a resounding thud that left his head exploding with pain and his jaw aching.
Still clutching his dagger, Gabriel rolled onto his back and slashed at the empty air. Not once did his blade touch anything. He looked over his shoulder to find that Danielle had stopped and waited for him.
With a groan, he rolled onto his stomach and straightened. They ran up the winding stair case to the next floor, and when they reached the landing, Gabriel looked down the stairs and sensed the Shapeshifter was near. Very near.
“Surely you aren’t done now? Weren’t your orders to kill?” he mocked the creature.
A blast of cold air hit him in the face just before a blow landed in his stomach.
Gabriel fell to one knee as he struggled to get his breath back. A scream behind him made him forget his pain as he looked to see Danielle thrown against the wall.
Gabriel flipped his dagger in his hand so that he held the blade and waited to throw it. He used the wall to help him gain his feet.
Before he could throw his
dagger, Danielle was yanked away from the wall just before being slammed back against it.
“Enough,” Gabriel bellowed.
Danielle hung limply in the air against the wall, her head hanging to the side and her beautiful golden tresses tangled around her.
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“She’s easy bait. Why not try your hand at me,” Gabriel taunted. “After all, I did manage to knick you in the forest with my arrow.”
To his relief, Danielle slumped to the ground. It left him just a moment to prepare as a force was propelled into him. Gabriel wrapped his arms around the Shapeshifter and turned so that the creature took the brunt of the fall.
The impact jarred Gabriel’s teeth as they hit the ground. When he opened his eyes it was to find Aimery looking up at him.
An evil smile spread over Aimery’s face. “My the secrets you have, Gabriel.
They could destroy the Shields if they ever got out.”
Gabriel reared his hand back and punched the Shapeshifter in the kidneys.
Before his eyes, he changed from Aimery to Danielle.
“Would you hit a woman?” it asked.
For a moment Gabriel didn’t know what to do. He knew it wasn’t really Danielle below him, but it was her face that stared up at him, her beautiful hazel eyes that beseeched him.
“I…I….” Gabriel shook his head before jumped to his feet. “No more tricks.”
“Tricks,” the Shapeshifter asked in Danielle’s sweet voice. “This isn’t a trick.
Now, put the dagger away. We both know you won’t hit a woman.”
“Nay, but I will,” Danielle said just before she punched the Shapeshifter in the face.
&nbs
p; Gabriel could have cheerfully kissed her, but instead, he took her hand and turned to run down the hall.
“Where are we going?” Danielle asked.
Gabriel looked over his shoulder to see the Shapeshifter had once again returned to his invisible self. “You’ll see.”
They were nearly there, just a few more steps to the tower stairs when Gabriel felt the Shapeshifter coming toward them. He pushed Danielle to the floor and raced up the stairs. The door to the tower came into view the same time icy cold fingers began to claw at him.